August 28, 2024 • 57 mins
In this Conversations with Your Chinese Auntie podcast episode, we welcome Isabel Bagsik, a soulful brand designer and creative wellness guide. The conversation explores Isabel's journey, her lineage from the Philippines, insights into her work, especially with Brown Papaya, and her thoughts on building and finding community. The episode is rich with discussions on identity, ancestry, cultural intersection, and creative expression.
Connect with Isabel at unconventionalbliss.com/
Follow her on Instagram
Bio:Isabel Bagsik (she/her) is a Soulful Brand Designer and Creative Wellness Guide. She helps heart-led healers, entrepreneurs, visionaries and revolutionary leaders like you to launch your innovative projects and get paid for your culture-shifting creative gifts. She designs authentic and attention-grabbing brand assets for your website and social media and helps you to prioritize the strategies that bring your creative visions to life while honoring your wellbeing in the process. Isabel’s unique methodology incorporates creative rituals, rest practices, and original, personalized design strategy.
She spent 10 years designing for high profile businesses, brands like Google & Target, organizations like CAIR, LEAD Filipino, and University of California Davis, and changemakers like Stephen Curry and Michelle Obama. She also launched a successful magazine “Brown Papaya”.
During this time she also developed her wellness practices, leading her to discover an effortless and pleasurable branding process that she applied to successfully launching her current business!
***
Learn more about my offering, Community for Asian Women
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi everybody.
Welcome.
Welcome to season two of conversationswith your Chinese Auntie podcast.
I am your Chinese Auntie YiYi.
That's me and I am so excited to showcasea few amazing people in this season.
(00:24):
In addition, I want to share with you thatmy offering community for Asian women.
Early bird pricing ends on September 8th.
Please check it out.
Go to my website, Patricia Petersen.caand check out this amazing community where
eight Asian women are coming together.
(00:46):
To be in space with each other.
. Today, I'm excited to welcomeIsabel to the podcast.
Isabel is a soulful brand designerand creative wellness guide.
She helps heart-led healers entrepreneurs,visionaries, and revolutionary
(01:09):
leaders to launch innovative projects.
In this episode, we talk abouta few things like the successful
magazine that she launched.
Brown Papaya.
And we also talk about her life.
Her family.
And Isabel gave great adviceon how to find community.
(01:33):
I hope you enjoy this episode.
Hello, Isabel.
Hello.
I'm so excited to be here.
I'm so excited.
You said yes.
Thank you for coming.
Oh my goodness.
Thank you for having me on.
I'm so excited to chat withyou, learn more, and just get
into this chit chat with you.
(01:55):
Me too.
So first question, who are you,where you're from, your ancestors,
where you live, what you do,what else shows up for you?
Please share with us.
Yes, beautiful question.
I love finding different ways to talkabout where my lineage comes from.
(02:15):
And so, um, for me, my lineage comesfrom the Philippines, and If we were
to explore what its name was beforecolonization, some like to call it
Maharlika, but I don't think therewas, um, any recording of what it might
have been, though I continue to dothat research to learn more about what
(02:39):
that culture was like, and I believe,if I remember correctly, Maharlika
is in the realm of, like, royalty.
If it were to be translated or somethingaround that, though I could be wrong,
but that is what I do remember when Iwas looking into this, and specifically
my father's from the city calledPasay, which is near Manila or within
(03:04):
Manila, um, and my mother's from theprovince called Bicol, and they're
very well known for its coconut trees,um, peely nuts, and its specific
kind of, uh, chili pepper, uh, sealy.
So it's very well known overthere for, uh, dishes in
coconut stews that are spicy.
(03:27):
Um, so yes, that's mylineage, my ancestry.
And for those listening,I'm Isabel, Isabel Bugsik.
My pronouns are she, her, andfunny enough, continuing in this
conversation around lineage, my lastname actually means fierce in Tagalog,
the language in the Philippines.
(03:48):
And I truly, as I've gotten older, haveclaimed that, have been proud of that.
and love that history in my name.
And who am I?
I am a multidisciplinary creative,specifically a brand designer for
heart led revolutionary leaders andcreatives and spiritual practitioners
(04:10):
and people in the social impact space.
So, I'm excited to fuse my passion forculture and ancestry and creative rituals
into how I support other folks with theirmissions through the lens of design.
That's wonderful.
(04:32):
So, did you grow up in San Francisco?
I, I did.
So, specifically, um, not in thecity itself, but yes, in the Bay
Area, not too far from San Francisco.
I was born in the Philippines,but my family came over,
uh, before I was even one.
(04:53):
So pretty much my whole life in this area.
Yes.
Do you speak Tagalog?
I can.
It would be very choppy,but I do understand it.
Growing up, I was listening to thesoap operas and the, uh, afternoon
game shows and the music and myparents didn't explicitly teach me.
They were actually trying to justfocus on English, being the first
(05:16):
child being raised in this country.
Um, but fortunately the culturewas around, so I picked it up.
Yeah, it's all about assimilation,isn't it, in the beginning,
just trying to fit in.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Why did, why did yourparents come to the States?
(05:37):
Yeah, the more that I havegotten older, the more curious
I get about their history.
And when, and it was actually reallysurprising to hear my dad share that
he actually did not have a goal tocome here, to come to California, to
come to so called US, um, or originallyknown Turtle Island, but he, uh,
(06:02):
just by chance, the job opportunity.
landed over here.
So he had no, he actuallywould have been quite fine with
staying in the Philippines.
Um, before where we eventually settled, hedid, uh, work a little bit in Hong Kong.
And I think I was there for a few monthsor so myself when I was quite young.
(06:28):
And, um, it could have been as faras that, but it really was because a
job opening just happened to be here.
And the rest is history.
That's awesome.
What did, what did your dad do?
He is a software engineer, sovery different realm from my work.
But what did mom work?
(06:49):
Uh, she did before I was born, andthen, um, up until I finished high
school, um, she was at home, uh, butwhen I started college, she got her
first job here, uh, in retail, yes.
Oh, that's so sweet.
(07:10):
Mm hmm.
That's so sweet.
Have you been back to the Philippines?
I have.
I've had, I have been afew times since I was born.
Um, the most recent was earlier thisyear, 2024, and fortunately was also
there at the beginning of 2023, butbefore that it was almost a decade.
(07:30):
It's been a decade since the last trip.
Yeah, and usually it would be biggertrips or bigger gaps in between trips.
But as my grandparents have gottenolder, my dad really wanted to
make those trips more frequent,uh, to be able to visit family.
Do you love the visits?
(07:50):
Oh, yes.
Oh, definitely.
It's always so, um, so exciting to reunitewith extended family because it really
is my immediate family here and reallymy cousins, my grandparents, my aunts
and uncles are really all over thereand it's always such a trip because my
(08:11):
mother's side, Um, they're all over theplace, but her father is still in the
province and a couple of her siblings.
So it's a big eight to 10 hourroad trip already after the 14
ish hours of flight to get there.
So it's definitely a huge, hugeexperience to plan out to go over there.
(08:36):
Wait, so there's 10 hoursof road trip after you land?
Mm hmm.
Yeah, so we definitely always haveto make sure that we plan it out,
um, because it is quite a trip toget to the, um, main city that we
usually enter into, which is Manila.
Um, and when we eventually do thebig road trip into the province,
(09:01):
it is, um, it is a journey itself.
Uh, to get there, uh, winding roadsthat my mom does not always enjoy,
um, but it's always so beautiful.
Once you get deeper into the area,it's just hills and hills of coconut
trees and just this connection tothe countryside is so, so powerful.
(09:27):
And, um, Just to see the contrast ofthe simplicity from the province to the
city, my father was raised in that citytype of culture, um, is always really
interesting to think about how thosetwo worlds combine to who I am of loving
the city life, but also loving thebeach and the quiet and the solitude.
(09:51):
So it's always very, the tripover there in general is always
this deepening into my identity.
Uh, learning more about my ancestry.
What is the most impactful thing you'velearned so far about your ancestry?
If you'd like to share.
Sure.
Yes.
(10:11):
Um, two trips ago, I would say was,um, so at the start of 2023, I had
the chance to visit my mother's aunt.
So the sister.
Of my biological grandmother,who's no longer with, with us.
Um, and though she has been inthe periphery and my life, I
(10:35):
never had a conversation with mymom's aunt before, like directly.
And so, now that I'm an adult, Ifelt like I really wanted to learn
more about my biological grandmother.
My mother doesn't really share.
I'm sure there was a lot of trauma losingher when she herself was only seven or so.
(10:57):
Um, and it was so insightful about who shewas as a young woman, the challenges and
the difficulty of raising seven children.
And she was.
Just in her early thirties, she hadpassed just a few days after her
last child, just like learning all ofthese things was, I would say, really
(11:23):
insightful in terms of learning aboutwhat generational cycles that I've been
breaking unknowingly that have beenrepeated through her and their mother.
Um, and a lot of maternal, uh, stories.
Or matriarchal stories that werehappening in that side of the
family that I didn't realize I was,um, releasing and moving through.
(11:48):
So, yeah, I would say that was one ofthe most powerful conversations and
aspects of deepening into my identityin the work that I'm doing with
myself and the work that I do with mysister that I'm doing with community.
Um, and really always thinking about.
My lineage and my ancestry and thatthe work that I'm doing is not just
(12:12):
for me, but it and not just impactingfuture descendants, but also healing,
um, past lineages and ancestors.
Oh, thanks for sharing that my.
I'm so glad you got a chance to talk toher, because my parents, they're both
past now but they won't talk about didn'treally want to talk about the past.
(12:32):
Thanks for having me.
You know, yeah, but when Istarted doing ancestral healing
work, Oh, maybe six, seven yearsago, like really focusing on it.
The interesting thing was about eightmonths into it, my mother started sharing
about her Sisters, which we didn'teven know she had sisters, you know,
(12:58):
and where they lived and everything.
And it was so interesting that becausethe teacher that I did it with the
ancestral healing work, he said, youdon't be surprised once you start doing
this thing such a shift in the lineages.
And it was literally a phone callwith my mother, and she just spilled
everything in my an hour conversationthat I've been trying to get her
(13:19):
to tell me for like 40 years.
That is powerful.
So powerful.
Since we're on the topic of travelingfor a bit, best favorite place visited?
Oh no, that's too difficult.
I'll give you a few favorite places.
(13:40):
Okay, I feel like I'm not well traveledyet so I feel like there's still
so much to explore in the world but
That's tough because there's quitea few places within the Philippines
itself that are so incredible andI still have yet to visit as well.
(14:01):
Um, I would say top places.
I would say the Philippines in general,I'll keep it contained in that way.
Um, I recently visited Japan, specificallyTokyo, just for a few days in the middle
of my trip back home to the homeland.
(14:23):
And that was reallyexciting to explore and see.
I always love seeing and learningabout different, um, places.
public transit, the culture,the style that happens.
Um, and then, uh, I, othercountries, I feel like I haven't
gone to too many other countries.
I would say states.
(14:44):
Um, so maybe I would say Hawaii.
Um, that was absolutely beautiful.
And I'm so glad that I had thehonor of being able to go there.
Uh, the last time I went was whensome of my mother's family visited And
so one of them has a cousin in, overthere, and we got to stay at their
(15:06):
place, knowing that there's a hugetourism issue and, um, a lot of issues
happening over there with, with that.
So wanting to be mindful of our time andspace over there, but I'm glad that, you
know, I got to visit the healing oceanwaters, something else, food, just like
very reminiscent of the Philippines.
(15:27):
That's another thingthat I really enjoyed.
Is there any place or what otherplaces are on the top of your list?
Yeah, so I am actually going tobe traveling to Portugal and Spain
with my family later this year.
First time for all of us.
So, very excited for that and, you know,one day I think New Zealand would be
(15:51):
really exciting because I have a cousinwho is starting his family over there and
I just hear only amazing things and havenot been on that side of the world yet.
Um, and other places in Asiawould be absolutely exciting.
I know some of my friends have goneand love exploring Vietnam, Thailand,
(16:12):
um, Really just, there's so much.
I could keep going, but those are justwhat's coming to mind in this very moment,
but I don't want to exclude any othercountries or cities, but I'm very open
to, you know, exploring different foods.
I think that's a huge way to learnabout culture, food, art, even
exploring their shops and seeing howthat, um, how they showcase that.
(16:36):
art and crafts and things like that.
Yeah.
Many, many years ago, my husband andI went to Portland and we did the food
tour and then we thought to ourselves,that's how, that's what you should do
the first day or second day when youland in the new, new city, because like
(16:58):
you, like what you said just now, itreally introduced you to the culture.
the food that's available.
Yeah.
Spain is amazing.
Oh, have you been?
Yeah.
My, it's a funny story.
So my niece, my sister's only childmany years ago was baptized in Spain.
(17:20):
So my parents went, my sister, her exhusband, And my sister's best friend,
she's Spanish, so we, we met her there.
And then we drove from Barcelona tothe south of Spain, which I think
back was a bad idea with a sixmonth old baby and all the parents.
(17:41):
That was too long a trip.
But it was such a great place.
Like, I landed and I, I landedin Barcelona in the city, I
looked at the Coliseum and Ithought to myself, I'm home.
And I've never been before that.
Wow.
Yeah, the people arefriendly, the food is great.
(18:04):
Yeah, I think you'll love it.
Oh, wow.
Thank you for sharing that.
I, I feel very excited now because Iwas, I haven't done too much research
yet to prep and plan for the trip.
Uh, and one of the questionsthat I have is like, one of the
curiosities is when I feel safe?
Will I, or will I feel like Istick out, especially as someone
(18:27):
who does not look European?
You know what was interesting?
So this was, 2006, we went,and this was before China
stopped international adoption.
They reopened it, I think,a few years ago, but for a
while there, they stopped it.
(18:48):
But what was interesting was when wewent to Spain, in Barcelona, in the south
of Spain, there were many, uh, Spanishcouples who adopted Chinese children.
So we didn't stand out at all.
It was very, I mean, even ifwe stood out, it wasn't obvious
(19:12):
because there were so many babies.
with Spanish couples that wereChinese, especially girls, right?
Because usually it's the girlsthat adopted out, like almost every
day when we went out, I would seeat least four or five Chinese.
(19:34):
So it's so interesting tolearn more about that history.
Yeah.
But they are very friendly.
They're great people.
They're friendly.
Afternoon, siesta.
Is it 1 to 5pm?
Nothing happens.
I love, I wish that wasthe culture everywhere.
(19:57):
I know, but see, it'llbe interesting to see.
We should catch up when you comeback to see how it is for your
parents because my parents, Doyou don't eat dinner to tend to
that was my parents bedtime.
Yeah.
Oh yes, that will be interesting.
Even my sister.
(20:19):
She's an early go early to bed.
So I feel like at leastfor me I will thrive.
and feel just fine.
I think, well, yeah, I'm earlyto bed, but it was fine because
by the time siesta happens, youstart cooking dinner at 7 or 8 p.
m.
You don't eat till 10, you know?
Okay.
(20:39):
But we brought, we boughtsnacks, so yeah, it was fine.
It was fine.
I would love to talk about your journey.
How did you get to doing what you do?
Yes.
Yes.
So, I have always been creative, asfar as I can remember, wanting to
(21:04):
do a bunch of arts and crafts, andFortunately, I was able to study
design and digital media in college.
It was a bit difficult to get myfather's approval as we talked about.
He's a software engineer.
I'm the first to attenduniversity, uh, in our family.
(21:25):
So in America.
So that was a lot of newness for himto get comfortable with, but after
a lot of, um, difficult, challengingconversation, um, he, it all worked out.
I was able to go to the university.
that had the design programand grateful for it all.
(21:49):
Um, and I also credit my advanced artstudio teacher in my fourth year of high
school for even naming that a creativecareer was feasible and opened up my
mind to consider that because I hadgrown up with As I've gotten older, I
was not considering anything creative.
(22:11):
It was pushed to the side, wasn't sociallyencouraged in general in my vicinity.
So yeah, just like appreciate her andappreciate my dad for the compromise to,
uh, enter university with the compromiseof minoring computer science and fast
forwarding, realizing that was not easy.
(22:33):
the case.
That was not, uh, meant for me.
No, a lot of tears and,again, more conversation.
I was grateful that he had said, as longas you do, um, as long as you work hard,
I want you to do what makes you happy.
And so that was the thingthat I would tell myself.
Throughout those four years studying,find any opportunity to prove that
(22:57):
I'm taking this career seriouslyand continued that after graduating,
finding design designer opportunities indifferent spaces and different companies.
And fortunately.
You know, not the case for everyone who,uh, study something that they still do
(23:18):
that particular field in their work.
Um, but I am one of those peoplewho did end up still pursuing
what I studied in college.
And after a decade or so of doingthat work for other people, when
I did get laid off from my job.
I felt ready.
(23:39):
Actually, I didn't havethe sense of urgency.
I am grateful that I get tolive with family and I have
had a savings for an emergency.
That I felt ready and excitedthis release of like, I'm
going to do what I want to do.
I want to explore building my ownbusiness and I feel ready, which is
funny because for years, I would say,I don't think I'll ever freelance.
(24:03):
I don't think I'll ever run my own thing.
But, A culmination of a lot of thingsthat I've done out of my passion, like
community building, developing eventsin the realm of creativity, wellness
and culture, design, all of that byfollowing my intuition and my interests.
It all was preparation for openingup my own business in brand design
(24:29):
and creative mentorship work.
Or heart led leaders and creativesand social impact leaders.
So I'm just grateful looking backin my journey of listening to
my intuition and connecting withthat part of me, even though there
were many times where my externalsituation was not supporting that.
(24:52):
And I really had to have this strong willto be able to trust that, even though
it may not have made sense, logically.
To follow through withwhat I wanted to do.
So yeah, that is where itall led to where I am today.
I'm curious what the dad wantedyou, what did he want you to study?
(25:18):
Yeah.
So it's interesting.
There wasn't a particular rolethat he was pushing me towards.
It was more so he was uncomfortablewith a creative career because
that was not his field.
He didn't understand.
He doesn't have peers in that space.
So he, it felt, uh,because it was unknown.
(25:42):
It was uncomfortable, which, you know,it's totally understandable, the older
that I get, the more I empathize withwhat the parent's lifestyle might be like.
Um, but it's interesting thatI am grateful they didn't push
me towards a specific role ashard as other parents might.
(26:04):
Um, in stereotypical Philippine,uh, culture towards nursing or
doctor or engineer or lawyer.
Um, so yeah, nothing in specific,but more so on the flip side of
that, um, just, just something quoteunquote safer than something creative.
(26:27):
Oh, that, I, I'm giggling in thebackground because, um, it's so, it's,
it can be so typical of an Asian family.
I was 15, I think, when I went homeand I said to my mother, Hey, what do
you think if I want to be an artist?
That was shot down right there and then.
But, because, you know, art, creative wasseen as, like what you said, not safe.
(26:53):
It's not going to bring any money in.
It's not stable.
It doesn't put a roof over your head.
So, I'm glad you're that kindof like compromised with you.
Listen to you.
That's so great.
Yeah, a lot of gratitude and alwaystrying to remember that, that,
(27:15):
uh, that was not the case for alot of peers when I was studying.
Some of them did name that they wanted tostudy design, but had to study something
scientific or something quote unquotesafe because their parents told them to.
And so just having those constantreminders that I should not take this
for granted, that I should continueto prove myself and not, um, You
(27:40):
know, not get using the word lazy,um, but more so, um, not losing sight
that the position I'm in is unique.
To my situation, but even for myancestors, they didn't have the capacity
(28:03):
to be able to explore something likethis because they focused on survival.
So again, thinking back togratitude, thinking back to,
um, how I actually can choose.
That it is safe to, that I dohave family and parents who can
support me in exploring this new.
(28:24):
trajectory in a life and trust thatI can create something different,
that it is safe and also, uh,viable and abundant as well and
opening up a new, new possibility.
I'm curious, do any of your siblingsfollow the more traditional route?
(28:49):
No, which is great.
I love it.
And it's funny because, um, my familyfriends that I grew up with essentially,
Um, kind of like they end up being likeour cousins and our aunts and uncles,
but not blood related, but also Filipino.
We grew up with them.
And for the kids, the generation,my generation of kids, um, growing
(29:16):
up are me and my sister, I wouldsay, are the non traditional.
career as compared to the other so far.
Um, and so I have one siblingand one sister and she had an
even more unconventional, um,uh, career through college.
(29:38):
She went to community college.
I think she was the first one outof our group of family friends to
do prove that it is a wonderfulpathway, uh, to go through, but
then went to a top university.
And it is, um, Exploring and shestudied communication and she has a
(30:02):
passion for events, event coordinating.
And like, this is not something thatyou would, it's a very specific kind of
a role, but it's not one that would betalked about as like, Um, As revered as
something like a doctor or an engineer,but it's something that she's so good at.
And now is something that, um, our family,our extended family and peers and friends
(30:28):
think like, Oh, we need to hire her.
We need to get her to help us doa family party or, and not just
planning a family friends wedding.
And so I love.
How unconventional we both get to be,and prove that we can do really cool,
exciting things, um, the more that wecan have the space to explore those
areas that we Are so good at that.
(30:52):
She so she's younger than you.
Yes.
So she's about three anda half years younger.
I would say so I'm yeah I'm the youngest.
I would say you open the door for herto follow a non traditional route.
Would you would you wouldyou say that's true.
(31:13):
I, I would like, I, it's interestingbecause I don't want to take all credit
because she had her own journey, but Iwould like to say being able to show that
I can be someone who kind of understandsher to choose those choices and be
(31:34):
that liaison or that middle person inbetween my parents and her to help be an
advocate for the choices she was making.
So I don't know to how much Imight have, um, uh, influenced
her choices and her career.
But I do like to say thatI did as much as I can.
(31:57):
I do as much as I can to advocatefor the non traditional choices
that we try to do that are still,you know, in the benefit of people.
ourselves and our family.
Um, I say, take the credit Isabel.
Oh my goodness.
Sure.
Why not?
For this very moment.
(32:18):
My sister is four years older.
She opened the door for me to marrya non Chinese cause she married
a white man the first time, butthat was like a long time ago.
I mean, the whole, the whole clockwhen she brought him back to Singapore.
(32:38):
Family was like, what?
She endured it.
And then everybody was fine withit after the initial shock, but,
uh, I give her all the credit.
So sis, if you're listening, you get allthe credit for me to marry a white man.
That's so funny.
I love that.
Yeah.
Right.
Sisters.
(33:06):
Talk about Brown Papaya and please talkabout how you came up with that name.
Yeah.
Oh, thank you.
Um, so first off the name, uh, actuallyI'll start off with what the project is
so that would make, give more context.
So the project started offwhen I was in one of my earlier
(33:30):
jobs right after college.
Because I wanted to do a creativeproject that was not reliant on a client.
That was something that I,that was a passion project.
And I also had the yearning tohave a sense of community because
I was so involved with the FilipinxAmerican community on campus for
(33:53):
pretty much all my time there.
Um, and I was a student leader and Iloved the spaces where we had vulnerable,
courageous conversations, deepening intoour identity and exploring our history.
And I wanted to do somethingcreative in relation to print
design because I love print design.
Magazines, I love posters and allof that, and fusing that together.
And so the idea of a magazinemade sense for all that.
(34:16):
I also have a background in photography.
So I felt like I could doputting that, put that together.
And I wanted to focus on the themearound colorism, which is a huge issue
in regards to beauty expectations.
Not just in the Philippines or in thediaspora, but across many, many cultures.
(34:40):
And so the name brown papaya,papaya in terms of a really popular
skin whitening, essentially skinbleaching product is papaya soap.
So it's not naturally, it's not just likethis organic like soap made of papaya, but
(35:00):
there are other ingredients there that.
chemically, I think, bleach orlighten and whiten the skin.
And that's the generic likeproduct that you know and hear of.
And brown, naming it brown papayasto reclaim the golden brown darker
skin that is often looked downupon and seen as not as beautiful.
(35:21):
So I put that together and it grew intothis beautiful co creative community
Project that is started off withmagazine, but with how it grew people
resonated with it and I got invited toworkshops at universities, speaking at
(35:43):
the university for a talk and a panel.
I was.
I had developed, I co created a retreatwith one of the participants that I
interviewed, and that was beautiful.
So, I had no expectation of it growing.
I thought it would be just like a handfulof friends that I would do this with.
But it was over 40 people that weredirectly involved with the project.
(36:05):
Two people who volunteered theirphotography because they saw it online.
And we just wanted to support inany way they could and it really
opened a lot of doors for me andalso opened up the potential of
what I can create in the world.
And so I would say thatwas also really pivotal.
(36:25):
experience of showing that I do have aunique perspective and lens and capability
creatively to do something on a largescale that people do resonate with.
Um, and I feel like was somewhat atraining ground for my business now.
And so I always look back towards thatproject with so much And so much gratitude
(36:49):
to all those who believed in it beforeeven really knowing who I even was and
before there was any a volume one thoughtand just excited and appreciative of
all the support that went into thatproject of all those who were involved.
It sounds like it was meant to be.
(37:13):
Hmm.
Yeah.
When you look at, well, I often lookat things like that, you look back
and you go, wow, things fell intoplace, people showed up, and now it's
made such an impact in your life.
The bit about the papaya, the skinwhitening, I did not know that.
(37:33):
Mm hmm.
Yeah.
I know about colorism, but Ididn't know about, about the fact
about the papaya, uh, product.
Mm hmm.
Yeah, I can't remember if there wassomething around papayas naturally
doing something with skin lighteningthat that's why they've used,
(37:53):
um, papaya to be added with thesechemicals or why papaya was chosen.
But yeah, how can we reclaim that andhonor and amplify those of different skin
colors and hair textures and body sizes?
Like that was the goal of dismantlingwhat Expectations were quote unquote
(38:17):
supposed to be and highlighting theincredible beautiful diversity of
what beauty means for those in thediaspora and highlighting their stories.
Yeah, that is so great.
And it's, it's very interesting becausefor me, growing up in Singapore, I
was always darker skin as a Chinese.
(38:39):
And of course my mother was always,don't be out in the sun so much, you
got to be fair, Chinese has a certainstandard, you got to have straight
hair, you got to have pale skin.
And I didn't really see the impactof it until I came to Canada.
And then, and I still didn't really,it didn't land for me, you know,
(39:02):
how darker skin and white skin, thedifferences and how you're treated.
And I knew, I knew it was there.
impactful, but I still didn'treally get it until I met one of
my girlfriend, Debbie, and thenwe started talking about it.
So Debbie is also Chinese and she'salso darker skinned than me because our
(39:23):
ancestors were from South China, right?
So South, Of China, a lot ofour ancestors were farmers, you
know, darker skin, built stocky.
And it wasn't until Debbie andI started talking about it, I
was like, okay, now I feel seen.
Now I feel heard.
Why I look different.
(39:43):
And it's okay.
And I, that's why I love this work thatyou, you did with this project, because
it just brings so much awareness to me.
Yeah, yeah, it, a lot of it did stemfrom conversations I was hearing at
family parties and things that I wouldhear to me or to friends or family.
(40:08):
And I was just so frustrated and soannoyed that I'm like, I need to, I
am going to say something, but throughthe lens of a creative project and.
The initial anger kind of dissipatedand was replaced with so much love and,
um, so much, um, community and hearingso many overlapping stories that even
(40:35):
though these people are coming togetheras strangers, cause we would have these
in person photo shoots, but before thephotos, we would have these community
discussions around this topic andit just deepened the work even more.
around what we were talking about,what we were presenting and putting
(40:56):
together and It isn't just like,it isn't just representation, but
it also delves into mental health.
It could really affect someone's, um,self concept and confidence and how
they show up in the world, affectingall other aspects of their life.
So it isn't just me being emotional ortoo sensitive around this topic, which I
(41:20):
hear my dad saying, um, oftentimes when Italk about something I'm passionate about,
but of course I am emotional about this.
I care.
I care.
And I want to talk aboutthis and bring this to light.
So
I'm curious with everythingthat you've done so far,
(41:40):
because you're still very young.
I'm aging myself.
Um,
is there any project, you know, besideswhat we just talked about that stood
out to you that you thought you had themost fun, or it was the most unexpected.
(42:04):
Yeah.
Um, so far I, the next thing that comesto mind is the retreat I co created.
That was kind of an extension,um, out of the work I was doing
with Brown Papaya, but wasn'tnecessarily, um, focused on that topic.
It was in the intersection of creativityand, uh, mental health and culture.
(42:28):
And it was such a beautiful experience.
Um, I learned a lot about takingcare of myself through that process
and boundaries and budgeting.
But I would definitely want to takecare of and create those foundations for
in the future because the retreat hasbeen in the back of my mind since then.
(42:50):
Um, but what has been so beautiful wasagain, this beautiful community space of
about 15 of us, um, having these again,courageous conversations around those.
topics that intersected together aroundtheir desires and yearning to be creative.
(43:11):
Some of them were fulltime creatives and artists.
Others had more quote unquotetraditional jobs and had passions
and hobbies that they were exploring.
Some who were scared of exploring thatand How they can take care of their mental
health and wellness in, uh, relationto that or because of the way that they
(43:34):
might be in, um, relationship with theircultural identity and learning about that.
Um, and so we had such beautifulspaces and conversations and
workshop speakers and, um, beautifulspirits that just trusted the space.
Um, and.
(43:55):
Yeah, they, um, some of themhave continued to stay close.
Some have gone to each other'sweddings, have met one person's
child, um, and so that's somethingthat I love looking back on, my gift
of community gathering, communitybuilding and cultcommunity cultivator,
(44:18):
in a way, of creating these spaces.
Super intentionally that it draws inthe people that need that space or the
space to connect, um, and find theirpeople to be friends with or life.
Um, this, that situation is not new.
(44:40):
I have, um, witnessed other lifelongfriendships because of some spaces that
I've created, like in Brown Papaya.
Um, and that really warms my heart thatthis is not for just putting a project
together and getting views or whateverthat does not make a sustainable project.
You'll burn out.
(45:00):
You're not going to follow through.
It's not going to be launched.
Um.
When there's a strong intentionor strong why, then that's how
a project feels more potent, andit resonates with other people.
So, I would look back to thatretreat, which we called In
Bloom at the time, very fondly.
(45:25):
Strong intention and strongwhy, those are wise words.
I'm a big proponent of community building.
Yeah.
And I find so most of myclients are women of color.
And I find a lot of them lackcommunity because the way we look
(45:52):
at community and we as in those ofus who were born in a collectivist
culture or come from a collectivistfamily, we look at it very differently
than the Western idea of community.
You've done such a good job ofcreating community, finding community.
I am curious.
(46:12):
Do you have any advice forpeople looking for community?
How to go about it?
Or any lessons you've learned?
Because I think it would help so manypeople because people are lonely, but
they don't know how to find community.
Beautiful question.
Thank you.
Yes.
(46:32):
So, I agree that there is this deepyearning for connection for community.
Um, I've been co facilitating, um,a book club for the artist way.
And the first session we gatheredwhat everyone shared of why they
(46:53):
joined was a sense of community.
And so it's, it's definitely clear in myown circles that that is a deep yearning.
And so there's several ways to go about.
discovering what this looks like for you.
And I think an important factor isto zoom in on what you're desiring
(47:16):
and what is supportive for you.
Like what would make anourishing, supportive community
space or friend be like?
And what would that be focused on?
Because There, um, the one mentor hastalked about this kind of work of how
(47:37):
to get clearer on a supportive group orcircle or community, and that it's okay
to have different groups for differentneeds, that you don't need to have one.
For everything that actuallywouldn't work or be helpful for you.
And so that just opened uphow I connect with people.
(48:00):
Like, I have a group of businessentrepreneurial friends, and that's
helpful for one side of things.
I have my hometown friends orother personal things I have.
Entrepreneur friends who are in theintersection of spirituality and wellness
and that's its own unique specific lensat going about work, and I'm part of a
(48:24):
book club that's focused on romance andfantasy so it's, it's really figuring out.
What needs and desires that you havethat you'd like extra support with and
going about that to guide you and informwho you end up connecting and reaching
out to or what clubs or what communitiesyou sign up for that way that when you
(48:50):
do reach out and sign up or grow andconnect, um, or a particular community.
You can directly addressthose needs very clearly.
And so getting clear with that andalso getting clear with your own
boundaries and capacity and commitmentsso that it is clear on all sides that.
(49:14):
You are available to do monthly zoomcalls, or maybe you only have capacity
to do voice messages or yeah, sogetting clear on what your capacity
is to contribute is also helpful.
So that there's no, um, sense of.
Um, Tension around expectationsnot being met and so on.
(49:37):
Communication is so important at thestart of building new communities.
Um, and also moving throughthe energy of generosity.
So I've been for the past several months.
I myself have been connecting withfolks I've been really interested
to chat with and learn more.
Thank you And oftentimes in thoseconversations, I ask, um, what support and
(50:01):
desire they need and look for, and theyare so taken aback and so appreciated that
they also pose that question back to me.
And so there's this sense of reciprocity,and I think that's important to get,
um, be open with and be comfortable in.
(50:22):
That sense of generosity and reciprocityand also practicing discernment because
there's some people where the more thatI've connected with more folks and been
in several spaces, the more I can discerneven from online digitally, if they might
be a person I should connect with, ormaybe we're not aligned in certain things
(50:43):
or at the same journey and certain,let's say, entrepreneurial journeys that
maybe it's not the right fit or whateverthe case may be practicing a sense of
discernment is going to be a practice.
Um, so listen to what your guts oryour intuition might be feeling.
And again, clear communication, um,honoring capacity, getting clear in
(51:10):
your desires and showing up, um, youknow, showing up when, when you've
set those expectations and, and calls.
Um, Yeah, and I think those wouldbe the top things that come to mind.
Of course, there's so much in terms ofbuilding larger communities or other
movements, but in terms of maybe if it'sfor your particular, um, smaller goals
(51:35):
or personal needs, um, I think thoseare top things that have been supportive
for me and I've noticed for others.
Those are some great, great advice.
Beautiful.
Thank you.
I know we're almost at time, butI'd love to hear what are you
working on now or what's nextthat you want to share with us?
(51:59):
Yes.
Yes.
Thank you so much again, Patricia, forhaving me on this beautiful conversation.
Um, uh, again, for those listening,I'm Isabel of Unconventional Bliss.
You can find me on Instagramthrough that or my website.
I'm always happy to chatwith folks who feel, um,
(52:21):
resonating with the conversation andanswering any questions or continuing
the dialogue, um, and things that I'mworking on that are exciting that I'd love
to invite folks who are interested, um,I have this really beautiful, exciting,
um, three day, um, creative ritualsexperience that is shared through email
(52:48):
that you get one a day for three days.
And really that's for those who,you know, want to figure out
their branding, whether it's theirpersonal projects or the personal
brand or their business or products.
And fuse in different creative rituals.
To get clear and excavating what that isfor them again, like their intentions and
(53:11):
their wise, and then we get more tangiblein their brand colors or their brand fonts
through, um, the meditations and other.
Reflection activities that are offeredthrough these email prompts, um, being
able to provide these different waysof approaching branding and design
(53:32):
that feels accessible, but also veryconnected to your authentic essence
is something that I'm really, reallyexcited to continue diving into and
offering this free resource for folks.
So, again, if.
That's something thatyou're curious about.
Find that at UnconventionalBliss and more, um, creative
wellness resources through there.
(53:54):
Oh, that's so great.
And I'll put your website andInstagram account on the show notes.
Last question for you, just for fun.
What do you do for fun?
You sound like you're so busy.
Do you do anything for yourself for fun?
I do.
Thank you for that beautiful question.
I think that's so important to beable to bring in rest and care and
(54:17):
pleasure and not just business.
And so something that comes to mindright now is reading romance books.
I love reading that.
I have, um, I would say when I, uh, I likelogging my books or books I've read and I
would say a huge percentage of the booksI read last year were romance books, so
(54:41):
I would say that and also going outsideand getting fresh air and going on nature
walks is really, really replenishing.
Oh, romance books.
Those are great.
Yes.
Well, thank you, Isabel, for comingand thank you for saying yes.
It's such a pleasure to talk to you today.
(55:02):
Oh my goodness.
Thank you for having me once again.
This was absolutely sucha lovely conversation.
You had such beautiful questions.
So appreciate it.
Have so much fun in Spain.
Oh yes.
Thank you.
Thank you for sharingyour experience as well.
Excited.
Hmm, listen to your gut and yourinstincts and practice discernment.
(55:26):
Such great advice from Isabel.
I really enjoyed thisconversation with her.
Go follow Isabel.
I will put her website and anInstagram on the show notes.
She is doing amazing work.
Thank you for listeningand please check out.
My offering Community for Asian women.
(55:48):
Early bird pricing ends September 8th.
And this week.
Advice from Yiyi me Your Chinese Auntie.
Reach out to a friend or maybeit's a coworker who you've been
wanting to spend more time with.
Give them a call.
(56:09):
Go for Dim Sum.
Go eat some Sui Mai and Har Gao.
Or, go for a meal.
Spend some time with people youlove and you enjoy build community.
By the way I say Dim Sum becauseI'm allergic to shellfish.
So I always love that when people gofor Dim Sum, and they share it with me.
(56:35):
Half a great week, everybody.
=I hope you stay well.
Thanks so much for listening tothis episode of the Conversations
With Your Chinese Auntie Podcast.
If you're enjoying the show, pleasefeel free to rate, subscribe,
and leave a review whereveryou listen to your podcasts.
That helps others find the show,and we greatly appreciate it.
Also, remember to sign upfor our newsletter to receive
(56:57):
free materials and updates.
Links in the website, patriciapeterson.
ca.
That's P A T R I C I A P E T E R S E N.
C A.
Again, thanks for listening.
We hope you have a great week, andwe'll see you in the next episode.
Hi everybody.
Welcome.
Welcome to season two of conversationswith your Chinese Auntie podcast.
I am your Chinese Auntie YiYi.
That's me and I am so excited to showcasea few amazing people in this season.
(00:24):
In addition, I want to share with you thatmy offering community for Asian women.
Early bird pricing ends on September 8th.
Please check it out.
Go to my website, Patricia Petersen.caand check out this amazing community where
eight Asian women are coming together.
(00:46):
To be in space with each other.
. Today, I'm excited to welcomeIsabel to the podcast.
Isabel is a soulful brand designerand creative wellness guide.
She helps heart-led healers entrepreneurs,visionaries, and revolutionary
(01:09):
leaders to launch innovative projects.
In this episode, we talk abouta few things like the successful
magazine that she launched.
Brown Papaya.
And we also talk about her life.
Her family.
And Isabel gave great adviceon how to find community.
(01:33):
I hope you enjoy this episode.
Hello, Isabel.
Hello.
I'm so excited to be here.
I'm so excited.
You said yes.
Thank you for coming.
Oh my goodness.
Thank you for having me on.
I'm so excited to chat withyou, learn more, and just get
into this chit chat with you.
(01:55):
Me too.
So first question, who are you,where you're from, your ancestors,
where you live, what you do,what else shows up for you?
Please share with us.
Yes, beautiful question.
I love finding different ways to talkabout where my lineage comes from.
(02:15):
And so, um, for me, my lineage comesfrom the Philippines, and If we were
to explore what its name was beforecolonization, some like to call it
Maharlika, but I don't think therewas, um, any recording of what it might
have been, though I continue to dothat research to learn more about what
(02:39):
that culture was like, and I believe,if I remember correctly, Maharlika
is in the realm of, like, royalty.
If it were to be translated or somethingaround that, though I could be wrong,
but that is what I do remember when Iwas looking into this, and specifically
my father's from the city calledPasay, which is near Manila or within
(03:04):
Manila, um, and my mother's from theprovince called Bicol, and they're
very well known for its coconut trees,um, peely nuts, and its specific
kind of, uh, chili pepper, uh, sealy.
So it's very well known overthere for, uh, dishes in
coconut stews that are spicy.
(03:27):
Um, so yes, that's mylineage, my ancestry.
And for those listening,I'm Isabel, Isabel Bugsik.
My pronouns are she, her, andfunny enough, continuing in this
conversation around lineage, my lastname actually means fierce in Tagalog,
the language in the Philippines.
(03:48):
And I truly, as I've gotten older, haveclaimed that, have been proud of that.
and love that history in my name.
And who am I?
I am a multidisciplinary creative,specifically a brand designer for
heart led revolutionary leaders andcreatives and spiritual practitioners
(04:10):
and people in the social impact space.
So, I'm excited to fuse my passion forculture and ancestry and creative rituals
into how I support other folks with theirmissions through the lens of design.
That's wonderful.
(04:32):
So, did you grow up in San Francisco?
I, I did.
So, specifically, um, not in thecity itself, but yes, in the Bay
Area, not too far from San Francisco.
I was born in the Philippines,but my family came over,
uh, before I was even one.
(04:53):
So pretty much my whole life in this area.
Yes.
Do you speak Tagalog?
I can.
It would be very choppy,but I do understand it.
Growing up, I was listening to thesoap operas and the, uh, afternoon
game shows and the music and myparents didn't explicitly teach me.
They were actually trying to justfocus on English, being the first
(05:16):
child being raised in this country.
Um, but fortunately the culturewas around, so I picked it up.
Yeah, it's all about assimilation,isn't it, in the beginning,
just trying to fit in.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Why did, why did yourparents come to the States?
(05:37):
Yeah, the more that I havegotten older, the more curious
I get about their history.
And when, and it was actually reallysurprising to hear my dad share that
he actually did not have a goal tocome here, to come to California, to
come to so called US, um, or originallyknown Turtle Island, but he, uh,
(06:02):
just by chance, the job opportunity.
landed over here.
So he had no, he actuallywould have been quite fine with
staying in the Philippines.
Um, before where we eventually settled, hedid, uh, work a little bit in Hong Kong.
And I think I was there for a few monthsor so myself when I was quite young.
(06:28):
And, um, it could have been as faras that, but it really was because a
job opening just happened to be here.
And the rest is history.
That's awesome.
What did, what did your dad do?
He is a software engineer, sovery different realm from my work.
But what did mom work?
(06:49):
Uh, she did before I was born, andthen, um, up until I finished high
school, um, she was at home, uh, butwhen I started college, she got her
first job here, uh, in retail, yes.
Oh, that's so sweet.
(07:10):
Mm hmm.
That's so sweet.
Have you been back to the Philippines?
I have.
I've had, I have been afew times since I was born.
Um, the most recent was earlier thisyear, 2024, and fortunately was also
there at the beginning of 2023, butbefore that it was almost a decade.
(07:30):
It's been a decade since the last trip.
Yeah, and usually it would be biggertrips or bigger gaps in between trips.
But as my grandparents have gottenolder, my dad really wanted to
make those trips more frequent,uh, to be able to visit family.
Do you love the visits?
(07:50):
Oh, yes.
Oh, definitely.
It's always so, um, so exciting to reunitewith extended family because it really
is my immediate family here and reallymy cousins, my grandparents, my aunts
and uncles are really all over thereand it's always such a trip because my
(08:11):
mother's side, Um, they're all over theplace, but her father is still in the
province and a couple of her siblings.
So it's a big eight to 10 hourroad trip already after the 14
ish hours of flight to get there.
So it's definitely a huge, hugeexperience to plan out to go over there.
(08:36):
Wait, so there's 10 hoursof road trip after you land?
Mm hmm.
Yeah, so we definitely always haveto make sure that we plan it out,
um, because it is quite a trip toget to the, um, main city that we
usually enter into, which is Manila.
Um, and when we eventually do thebig road trip into the province,
(09:01):
it is, um, it is a journey itself.
Uh, to get there, uh, winding roadsthat my mom does not always enjoy,
um, but it's always so beautiful.
Once you get deeper into the area,it's just hills and hills of coconut
trees and just this connection tothe countryside is so, so powerful.
(09:27):
And, um, Just to see the contrast ofthe simplicity from the province to the
city, my father was raised in that citytype of culture, um, is always really
interesting to think about how thosetwo worlds combine to who I am of loving
the city life, but also loving thebeach and the quiet and the solitude.
(09:51):
So it's always very, the tripover there in general is always
this deepening into my identity.
Uh, learning more about my ancestry.
What is the most impactful thing you'velearned so far about your ancestry?
If you'd like to share.
Sure.
Yes.
(10:11):
Um, two trips ago, I would say was,um, so at the start of 2023, I had
the chance to visit my mother's aunt.
So the sister.
Of my biological grandmother,who's no longer with, with us.
Um, and though she has been inthe periphery and my life, I
(10:35):
never had a conversation with mymom's aunt before, like directly.
And so, now that I'm an adult, Ifelt like I really wanted to learn
more about my biological grandmother.
My mother doesn't really share.
I'm sure there was a lot of trauma losingher when she herself was only seven or so.
(10:57):
Um, and it was so insightful about who shewas as a young woman, the challenges and
the difficulty of raising seven children.
And she was.
Just in her early thirties, she hadpassed just a few days after her
last child, just like learning all ofthese things was, I would say, really
(11:23):
insightful in terms of learning aboutwhat generational cycles that I've been
breaking unknowingly that have beenrepeated through her and their mother.
Um, and a lot of maternal, uh, stories.
Or matriarchal stories that werehappening in that side of the
family that I didn't realize I was,um, releasing and moving through.
(11:48):
So, yeah, I would say that was one ofthe most powerful conversations and
aspects of deepening into my identityin the work that I'm doing with
myself and the work that I do with mysister that I'm doing with community.
Um, and really always thinking about.
My lineage and my ancestry and thatthe work that I'm doing is not just
(12:12):
for me, but it and not just impactingfuture descendants, but also healing,
um, past lineages and ancestors.
Oh, thanks for sharing that my.
I'm so glad you got a chance to talk toher, because my parents, they're both
past now but they won't talk about didn'treally want to talk about the past.
(12:32):
Thanks for having me.
You know, yeah, but when Istarted doing ancestral healing
work, Oh, maybe six, seven yearsago, like really focusing on it.
The interesting thing was about eightmonths into it, my mother started sharing
about her Sisters, which we didn'teven know she had sisters, you know,
(12:58):
and where they lived and everything.
And it was so interesting that becausethe teacher that I did it with the
ancestral healing work, he said, youdon't be surprised once you start doing
this thing such a shift in the lineages.
And it was literally a phone callwith my mother, and she just spilled
everything in my an hour conversationthat I've been trying to get her
(13:19):
to tell me for like 40 years.
That is powerful.
So powerful.
Since we're on the topic of travelingfor a bit, best favorite place visited?
Oh no, that's too difficult.
I'll give you a few favorite places.
(13:40):
Okay, I feel like I'm not well traveledyet so I feel like there's still
so much to explore in the world but
That's tough because there's quitea few places within the Philippines
itself that are so incredible andI still have yet to visit as well.
(14:01):
Um, I would say top places.
I would say the Philippines in general,I'll keep it contained in that way.
Um, I recently visited Japan, specificallyTokyo, just for a few days in the middle
of my trip back home to the homeland.
(14:23):
And that was reallyexciting to explore and see.
I always love seeing and learningabout different, um, places.
public transit, the culture,the style that happens.
Um, and then, uh, I, othercountries, I feel like I haven't
gone to too many other countries.
I would say states.
(14:44):
Um, so maybe I would say Hawaii.
Um, that was absolutely beautiful.
And I'm so glad that I had thehonor of being able to go there.
Uh, the last time I went was whensome of my mother's family visited And
so one of them has a cousin in, overthere, and we got to stay at their
(15:06):
place, knowing that there's a hugetourism issue and, um, a lot of issues
happening over there with, with that.
So wanting to be mindful of our time andspace over there, but I'm glad that, you
know, I got to visit the healing oceanwaters, something else, food, just like
very reminiscent of the Philippines.
(15:27):
That's another thingthat I really enjoyed.
Is there any place or what otherplaces are on the top of your list?
Yeah, so I am actually going tobe traveling to Portugal and Spain
with my family later this year.
First time for all of us.
So, very excited for that and, you know,one day I think New Zealand would be
(15:51):
really exciting because I have a cousinwho is starting his family over there and
I just hear only amazing things and havenot been on that side of the world yet.
Um, and other places in Asiawould be absolutely exciting.
I know some of my friends have goneand love exploring Vietnam, Thailand,
(16:12):
um, Really just, there's so much.
I could keep going, but those are justwhat's coming to mind in this very moment,
but I don't want to exclude any othercountries or cities, but I'm very open
to, you know, exploring different foods.
I think that's a huge way to learnabout culture, food, art, even
exploring their shops and seeing howthat, um, how they showcase that.
(16:36):
art and crafts and things like that.
Yeah.
Many, many years ago, my husband andI went to Portland and we did the food
tour and then we thought to ourselves,that's how, that's what you should do
the first day or second day when youland in the new, new city, because like
(16:58):
you, like what you said just now, itreally introduced you to the culture.
the food that's available.
Yeah.
Spain is amazing.
Oh, have you been?
Yeah.
My, it's a funny story.
So my niece, my sister's only childmany years ago was baptized in Spain.
(17:20):
So my parents went, my sister, her exhusband, And my sister's best friend,
she's Spanish, so we, we met her there.
And then we drove from Barcelona tothe south of Spain, which I think
back was a bad idea with a sixmonth old baby and all the parents.
(17:41):
That was too long a trip.
But it was such a great place.
Like, I landed and I, I landedin Barcelona in the city, I
looked at the Coliseum and Ithought to myself, I'm home.
And I've never been before that.
Wow.
Yeah, the people arefriendly, the food is great.
(18:04):
Yeah, I think you'll love it.
Oh, wow.
Thank you for sharing that.
I, I feel very excited now because Iwas, I haven't done too much research
yet to prep and plan for the trip.
Uh, and one of the questionsthat I have is like, one of the
curiosities is when I feel safe?
Will I, or will I feel like Istick out, especially as someone
(18:27):
who does not look European?
You know what was interesting?
So this was, 2006, we went,and this was before China
stopped international adoption.
They reopened it, I think,a few years ago, but for a
while there, they stopped it.
(18:48):
But what was interesting was when wewent to Spain, in Barcelona, in the south
of Spain, there were many, uh, Spanishcouples who adopted Chinese children.
So we didn't stand out at all.
It was very, I mean, even ifwe stood out, it wasn't obvious
(19:12):
because there were so many babies.
with Spanish couples that wereChinese, especially girls, right?
Because usually it's the girlsthat adopted out, like almost every
day when we went out, I would seeat least four or five Chinese.
(19:34):
So it's so interesting tolearn more about that history.
Yeah.
But they are very friendly.
They're great people.
They're friendly.
Afternoon, siesta.
Is it 1 to 5pm?
Nothing happens.
I love, I wish that wasthe culture everywhere.
(19:57):
I know, but see, it'llbe interesting to see.
We should catch up when you comeback to see how it is for your
parents because my parents, Doyou don't eat dinner to tend to
that was my parents bedtime.
Yeah.
Oh yes, that will be interesting.
Even my sister.
(20:19):
She's an early go early to bed.
So I feel like at leastfor me I will thrive.
and feel just fine.
I think, well, yeah, I'm earlyto bed, but it was fine because
by the time siesta happens, youstart cooking dinner at 7 or 8 p.
m.
You don't eat till 10, you know?
Okay.
(20:39):
But we brought, we boughtsnacks, so yeah, it was fine.
It was fine.
I would love to talk about your journey.
How did you get to doing what you do?
Yes.
Yes.
So, I have always been creative, asfar as I can remember, wanting to
(21:04):
do a bunch of arts and crafts, andFortunately, I was able to study
design and digital media in college.
It was a bit difficult to get myfather's approval as we talked about.
He's a software engineer.
I'm the first to attenduniversity, uh, in our family.
(21:25):
So in America.
So that was a lot of newness for himto get comfortable with, but after
a lot of, um, difficult, challengingconversation, um, he, it all worked out.
I was able to go to the university.
that had the design programand grateful for it all.
(21:49):
Um, and I also credit my advanced artstudio teacher in my fourth year of high
school for even naming that a creativecareer was feasible and opened up my
mind to consider that because I hadgrown up with As I've gotten older, I
was not considering anything creative.
(22:11):
It was pushed to the side, wasn't sociallyencouraged in general in my vicinity.
So yeah, just like appreciate her andappreciate my dad for the compromise to,
uh, enter university with the compromiseof minoring computer science and fast
forwarding, realizing that was not easy.
(22:33):
the case.
That was not, uh, meant for me.
No, a lot of tears and,again, more conversation.
I was grateful that he had said, as longas you do, um, as long as you work hard,
I want you to do what makes you happy.
And so that was the thingthat I would tell myself.
Throughout those four years studying,find any opportunity to prove that
(22:57):
I'm taking this career seriouslyand continued that after graduating,
finding design designer opportunities indifferent spaces and different companies.
And fortunately.
You know, not the case for everyone who,uh, study something that they still do
(23:18):
that particular field in their work.
Um, but I am one of those peoplewho did end up still pursuing
what I studied in college.
And after a decade or so of doingthat work for other people, when
I did get laid off from my job.
I felt ready.
(23:39):
Actually, I didn't havethe sense of urgency.
I am grateful that I get tolive with family and I have
had a savings for an emergency.
That I felt ready and excitedthis release of like, I'm
going to do what I want to do.
I want to explore building my ownbusiness and I feel ready, which is
funny because for years, I would say,I don't think I'll ever freelance.
(24:03):
I don't think I'll ever run my own thing.
But, A culmination of a lot of thingsthat I've done out of my passion, like
community building, developing eventsin the realm of creativity, wellness
and culture, design, all of that byfollowing my intuition and my interests.
It all was preparation for openingup my own business in brand design
(24:29):
and creative mentorship work.
Or heart led leaders and creativesand social impact leaders.
So I'm just grateful looking backin my journey of listening to
my intuition and connecting withthat part of me, even though there
were many times where my externalsituation was not supporting that.
(24:52):
And I really had to have this strong willto be able to trust that, even though
it may not have made sense, logically.
To follow through withwhat I wanted to do.
So yeah, that is where itall led to where I am today.
I'm curious what the dad wantedyou, what did he want you to study?
(25:18):
Yeah.
So it's interesting.
There wasn't a particular rolethat he was pushing me towards.
It was more so he was uncomfortablewith a creative career because
that was not his field.
He didn't understand.
He doesn't have peers in that space.
So he, it felt, uh,because it was unknown.
(25:42):
It was uncomfortable, which, you know,it's totally understandable, the older
that I get, the more I empathize withwhat the parent's lifestyle might be like.
Um, but it's interesting thatI am grateful they didn't push
me towards a specific role ashard as other parents might.
(26:04):
Um, in stereotypical Philippine,uh, culture towards nursing or
doctor or engineer or lawyer.
Um, so yeah, nothing in specific,but more so on the flip side of
that, um, just, just something quoteunquote safer than something creative.
(26:27):
Oh, that, I, I'm giggling in thebackground because, um, it's so, it's,
it can be so typical of an Asian family.
I was 15, I think, when I went homeand I said to my mother, Hey, what do
you think if I want to be an artist?
That was shot down right there and then.
But, because, you know, art, creative wasseen as, like what you said, not safe.
(26:53):
It's not going to bring any money in.
It's not stable.
It doesn't put a roof over your head.
So, I'm glad you're that kindof like compromised with you.
Listen to you.
That's so great.
Yeah, a lot of gratitude and alwaystrying to remember that, that,
(27:15):
uh, that was not the case for alot of peers when I was studying.
Some of them did name that they wanted tostudy design, but had to study something
scientific or something quote unquotesafe because their parents told them to.
And so just having those constantreminders that I should not take this
for granted, that I should continueto prove myself and not, um, You
(27:40):
know, not get using the word lazy,um, but more so, um, not losing sight
that the position I'm in is unique.
To my situation, but even for myancestors, they didn't have the capacity
(28:03):
to be able to explore something likethis because they focused on survival.
So again, thinking back togratitude, thinking back to,
um, how I actually can choose.
That it is safe to, that I dohave family and parents who can
support me in exploring this new.
(28:24):
trajectory in a life and trust thatI can create something different,
that it is safe and also, uh,viable and abundant as well and
opening up a new, new possibility.
I'm curious, do any of your siblingsfollow the more traditional route?
(28:49):
No, which is great.
I love it.
And it's funny because, um, my familyfriends that I grew up with essentially,
Um, kind of like they end up being likeour cousins and our aunts and uncles,
but not blood related, but also Filipino.
We grew up with them.
And for the kids, the generation,my generation of kids, um, growing
(29:16):
up are me and my sister, I wouldsay, are the non traditional.
career as compared to the other so far.
Um, and so I have one siblingand one sister and she had an
even more unconventional, um,uh, career through college.
(29:38):
She went to community college.
I think she was the first one outof our group of family friends to
do prove that it is a wonderfulpathway, uh, to go through, but
then went to a top university.
And it is, um, Exploring and shestudied communication and she has a
(30:02):
passion for events, event coordinating.
And like, this is not something thatyou would, it's a very specific kind of
a role, but it's not one that would betalked about as like, Um, As revered as
something like a doctor or an engineer,but it's something that she's so good at.
And now is something that, um, our family,our extended family and peers and friends
(30:28):
think like, Oh, we need to hire her.
We need to get her to help us doa family party or, and not just
planning a family friends wedding.
And so I love.
How unconventional we both get to be,and prove that we can do really cool,
exciting things, um, the more that wecan have the space to explore those
areas that we Are so good at that.
(30:52):
She so she's younger than you.
Yes.
So she's about three anda half years younger.
I would say so I'm yeah I'm the youngest.
I would say you open the door for herto follow a non traditional route.
Would you would you wouldyou say that's true.
(31:13):
I, I would like, I, it's interestingbecause I don't want to take all credit
because she had her own journey, but Iwould like to say being able to show that
I can be someone who kind of understandsher to choose those choices and be
(31:34):
that liaison or that middle person inbetween my parents and her to help be an
advocate for the choices she was making.
So I don't know to how much Imight have, um, uh, influenced
her choices and her career.
But I do like to say thatI did as much as I can.
(31:57):
I do as much as I can to advocatefor the non traditional choices
that we try to do that are still,you know, in the benefit of people.
ourselves and our family.
Um, I say, take the credit Isabel.
Oh my goodness.
Sure.
Why not?
For this very moment.
(32:18):
My sister is four years older.
She opened the door for me to marrya non Chinese cause she married
a white man the first time, butthat was like a long time ago.
I mean, the whole, the whole clockwhen she brought him back to Singapore.
(32:38):
Family was like, what?
She endured it.
And then everybody was fine withit after the initial shock, but,
uh, I give her all the credit.
So sis, if you're listening, you get allthe credit for me to marry a white man.
That's so funny.
I love that.
Yeah.
Right.
Sisters.
(33:06):
Talk about Brown Papaya and please talkabout how you came up with that name.
Yeah.
Oh, thank you.
Um, so first off the name, uh, actuallyI'll start off with what the project is
so that would make, give more context.
So the project started offwhen I was in one of my earlier
(33:30):
jobs right after college.
Because I wanted to do a creativeproject that was not reliant on a client.
That was something that I,that was a passion project.
And I also had the yearning tohave a sense of community because
I was so involved with the FilipinxAmerican community on campus for
(33:53):
pretty much all my time there.
Um, and I was a student leader and Iloved the spaces where we had vulnerable,
courageous conversations, deepening intoour identity and exploring our history.
And I wanted to do somethingcreative in relation to print
design because I love print design.
Magazines, I love posters and allof that, and fusing that together.
And so the idea of a magazinemade sense for all that.
(34:16):
I also have a background in photography.
So I felt like I could doputting that, put that together.
And I wanted to focus on the themearound colorism, which is a huge issue
in regards to beauty expectations.
Not just in the Philippines or in thediaspora, but across many, many cultures.
(34:40):
And so the name brown papaya,papaya in terms of a really popular
skin whitening, essentially skinbleaching product is papaya soap.
So it's not naturally, it's not just likethis organic like soap made of papaya, but
(35:00):
there are other ingredients there that.
chemically, I think, bleach orlighten and whiten the skin.
And that's the generic likeproduct that you know and hear of.
And brown, naming it brown papayasto reclaim the golden brown darker
skin that is often looked downupon and seen as not as beautiful.
(35:21):
So I put that together and it grew intothis beautiful co creative community
Project that is started off withmagazine, but with how it grew people
resonated with it and I got invited toworkshops at universities, speaking at
(35:43):
the university for a talk and a panel.
I was.
I had developed, I co created a retreatwith one of the participants that I
interviewed, and that was beautiful.
So, I had no expectation of it growing.
I thought it would be just like a handfulof friends that I would do this with.
But it was over 40 people that weredirectly involved with the project.
(36:05):
Two people who volunteered theirphotography because they saw it online.
And we just wanted to support inany way they could and it really
opened a lot of doors for me andalso opened up the potential of
what I can create in the world.
And so I would say thatwas also really pivotal.
(36:25):
experience of showing that I do have aunique perspective and lens and capability
creatively to do something on a largescale that people do resonate with.
Um, and I feel like was somewhat atraining ground for my business now.
And so I always look back towards thatproject with so much And so much gratitude
(36:49):
to all those who believed in it beforeeven really knowing who I even was and
before there was any a volume one thoughtand just excited and appreciative of
all the support that went into thatproject of all those who were involved.
It sounds like it was meant to be.
(37:13):
Hmm.
Yeah.
When you look at, well, I often lookat things like that, you look back
and you go, wow, things fell intoplace, people showed up, and now it's
made such an impact in your life.
The bit about the papaya, the skinwhitening, I did not know that.
(37:33):
Mm hmm.
Yeah.
I know about colorism, but Ididn't know about, about the fact
about the papaya, uh, product.
Mm hmm.
Yeah, I can't remember if there wassomething around papayas naturally
doing something with skin lighteningthat that's why they've used,
(37:53):
um, papaya to be added with thesechemicals or why papaya was chosen.
But yeah, how can we reclaim that andhonor and amplify those of different skin
colors and hair textures and body sizes?
Like that was the goal of dismantlingwhat Expectations were quote unquote
(38:17):
supposed to be and highlighting theincredible beautiful diversity of
what beauty means for those in thediaspora and highlighting their stories.
Yeah, that is so great.
And it's, it's very interesting becausefor me, growing up in Singapore, I
was always darker skin as a Chinese.
(38:39):
And of course my mother was always,don't be out in the sun so much, you
got to be fair, Chinese has a certainstandard, you got to have straight
hair, you got to have pale skin.
And I didn't really see the impactof it until I came to Canada.
And then, and I still didn't really,it didn't land for me, you know,
(39:02):
how darker skin and white skin, thedifferences and how you're treated.
And I knew, I knew it was there.
impactful, but I still didn'treally get it until I met one of
my girlfriend, Debbie, and thenwe started talking about it.
So Debbie is also Chinese and she'salso darker skinned than me because our
(39:23):
ancestors were from South China, right?
So South, Of China, a lot ofour ancestors were farmers, you
know, darker skin, built stocky.
And it wasn't until Debbie andI started talking about it, I
was like, okay, now I feel seen.
Now I feel heard.
Why I look different.
(39:43):
And it's okay.
And I, that's why I love this work thatyou, you did with this project, because
it just brings so much awareness to me.
Yeah, yeah, it, a lot of it did stemfrom conversations I was hearing at
family parties and things that I wouldhear to me or to friends or family.
(40:08):
And I was just so frustrated and soannoyed that I'm like, I need to, I
am going to say something, but throughthe lens of a creative project and.
The initial anger kind of dissipatedand was replaced with so much love and,
um, so much, um, community and hearingso many overlapping stories that even
(40:35):
though these people are coming togetheras strangers, cause we would have these
in person photo shoots, but before thephotos, we would have these community
discussions around this topic andit just deepened the work even more.
around what we were talking about,what we were presenting and putting
(40:56):
together and It isn't just like,it isn't just representation, but
it also delves into mental health.
It could really affect someone's, um,self concept and confidence and how
they show up in the world, affectingall other aspects of their life.
So it isn't just me being emotional ortoo sensitive around this topic, which I
(41:20):
hear my dad saying, um, oftentimes when Italk about something I'm passionate about,
but of course I am emotional about this.
I care.
I care.
And I want to talk aboutthis and bring this to light.
So
I'm curious with everythingthat you've done so far,
(41:40):
because you're still very young.
I'm aging myself.
Um,
is there any project, you know, besideswhat we just talked about that stood
out to you that you thought you had themost fun, or it was the most unexpected.
(42:04):
Yeah.
Um, so far I, the next thing that comesto mind is the retreat I co created.
That was kind of an extension,um, out of the work I was doing
with Brown Papaya, but wasn'tnecessarily, um, focused on that topic.
It was in the intersection of creativityand, uh, mental health and culture.
(42:28):
And it was such a beautiful experience.
Um, I learned a lot about takingcare of myself through that process
and boundaries and budgeting.
But I would definitely want to takecare of and create those foundations for
in the future because the retreat hasbeen in the back of my mind since then.
(42:50):
Um, but what has been so beautiful wasagain, this beautiful community space of
about 15 of us, um, having these again,courageous conversations around those.
topics that intersected together aroundtheir desires and yearning to be creative.
(43:11):
Some of them were fulltime creatives and artists.
Others had more quote unquotetraditional jobs and had passions
and hobbies that they were exploring.
Some who were scared of exploring thatand How they can take care of their mental
health and wellness in, uh, relationto that or because of the way that they
(43:34):
might be in, um, relationship with theircultural identity and learning about that.
Um, and so we had such beautifulspaces and conversations and
workshop speakers and, um, beautifulspirits that just trusted the space.
Um, and.
(43:55):
Yeah, they, um, some of themhave continued to stay close.
Some have gone to each other'sweddings, have met one person's
child, um, and so that's somethingthat I love looking back on, my gift
of community gathering, communitybuilding and cultcommunity cultivator,
(44:18):
in a way, of creating these spaces.
Super intentionally that it draws inthe people that need that space or the
space to connect, um, and find theirpeople to be friends with or life.
Um, this, that situation is not new.
(44:40):
I have, um, witnessed other lifelongfriendships because of some spaces that
I've created, like in Brown Papaya.
Um, and that really warms my heart thatthis is not for just putting a project
together and getting views or whateverthat does not make a sustainable project.
You'll burn out.
(45:00):
You're not going to follow through.
It's not going to be launched.
Um.
When there's a strong intentionor strong why, then that's how
a project feels more potent, andit resonates with other people.
So, I would look back to thatretreat, which we called In
Bloom at the time, very fondly.
(45:25):
Strong intention and strongwhy, those are wise words.
I'm a big proponent of community building.
Yeah.
And I find so most of myclients are women of color.
And I find a lot of them lackcommunity because the way we look
(45:52):
at community and we as in those ofus who were born in a collectivist
culture or come from a collectivistfamily, we look at it very differently
than the Western idea of community.
You've done such a good job ofcreating community, finding community.
I am curious.
(46:12):
Do you have any advice forpeople looking for community?
How to go about it?
Or any lessons you've learned?
Because I think it would help so manypeople because people are lonely, but
they don't know how to find community.
Beautiful question.
Thank you.
Yes.
(46:32):
So, I agree that there is this deepyearning for connection for community.
Um, I've been co facilitating, um,a book club for the artist way.
And the first session we gatheredwhat everyone shared of why they
(46:53):
joined was a sense of community.
And so it's, it's definitely clear in myown circles that that is a deep yearning.
And so there's several ways to go about.
discovering what this looks like for you.
And I think an important factor isto zoom in on what you're desiring
(47:16):
and what is supportive for you.
Like what would make anourishing, supportive community
space or friend be like?
And what would that be focused on?
Because There, um, the one mentor hastalked about this kind of work of how
(47:37):
to get clearer on a supportive group orcircle or community, and that it's okay
to have different groups for differentneeds, that you don't need to have one.
For everything that actuallywouldn't work or be helpful for you.
And so that just opened uphow I connect with people.
(48:00):
Like, I have a group of businessentrepreneurial friends, and that's
helpful for one side of things.
I have my hometown friends orother personal things I have.
Entrepreneur friends who are in theintersection of spirituality and wellness
and that's its own unique specific lensat going about work, and I'm part of a
(48:24):
book club that's focused on romance andfantasy so it's, it's really figuring out.
What needs and desires that you havethat you'd like extra support with and
going about that to guide you and informwho you end up connecting and reaching
out to or what clubs or what communitiesyou sign up for that way that when you
(48:50):
do reach out and sign up or grow andconnect, um, or a particular community.
You can directly addressthose needs very clearly.
And so getting clear with that andalso getting clear with your own
boundaries and capacity and commitmentsso that it is clear on all sides that.
(49:14):
You are available to do monthly zoomcalls, or maybe you only have capacity
to do voice messages or yeah, sogetting clear on what your capacity
is to contribute is also helpful.
So that there's no, um, sense of.
Um, Tension around expectationsnot being met and so on.
(49:37):
Communication is so important at thestart of building new communities.
Um, and also moving throughthe energy of generosity.
So I've been for the past several months.
I myself have been connecting withfolks I've been really interested
to chat with and learn more.
Thank you And oftentimes in thoseconversations, I ask, um, what support and
(50:01):
desire they need and look for, and theyare so taken aback and so appreciated that
they also pose that question back to me.
And so there's this sense of reciprocity,and I think that's important to get,
um, be open with and be comfortable in.
(50:22):
That sense of generosity and reciprocityand also practicing discernment because
there's some people where the more thatI've connected with more folks and been
in several spaces, the more I can discerneven from online digitally, if they might
be a person I should connect with, ormaybe we're not aligned in certain things
(50:43):
or at the same journey and certain,let's say, entrepreneurial journeys that
maybe it's not the right fit or whateverthe case may be practicing a sense of
discernment is going to be a practice.
Um, so listen to what your guts oryour intuition might be feeling.
And again, clear communication, um,honoring capacity, getting clear in
(51:10):
your desires and showing up, um, youknow, showing up when, when you've
set those expectations and, and calls.
Um, Yeah, and I think those wouldbe the top things that come to mind.
Of course, there's so much in terms ofbuilding larger communities or other
movements, but in terms of maybe if it'sfor your particular, um, smaller goals
(51:35):
or personal needs, um, I think thoseare top things that have been supportive
for me and I've noticed for others.
Those are some great, great advice.
Beautiful.
Thank you.
I know we're almost at time, butI'd love to hear what are you
working on now or what's nextthat you want to share with us?
(51:59):
Yes.
Yes.
Thank you so much again, Patricia, forhaving me on this beautiful conversation.
Um, uh, again, for those listening,I'm Isabel of Unconventional Bliss.
You can find me on Instagramthrough that or my website.
I'm always happy to chatwith folks who feel, um,
(52:21):
resonating with the conversation andanswering any questions or continuing
the dialogue, um, and things that I'mworking on that are exciting that I'd love
to invite folks who are interested, um,I have this really beautiful, exciting,
um, three day, um, creative ritualsexperience that is shared through email
(52:48):
that you get one a day for three days.
And really that's for those who,you know, want to figure out
their branding, whether it's theirpersonal projects or the personal
brand or their business or products.
And fuse in different creative rituals.
To get clear and excavating what that isfor them again, like their intentions and
(53:11):
their wise, and then we get more tangiblein their brand colors or their brand fonts
through, um, the meditations and other.
Reflection activities that are offeredthrough these email prompts, um, being
able to provide these different waysof approaching branding and design
(53:32):
that feels accessible, but also veryconnected to your authentic essence
is something that I'm really, reallyexcited to continue diving into and
offering this free resource for folks.
So, again, if.
That's something thatyou're curious about.
Find that at UnconventionalBliss and more, um, creative
wellness resources through there.
(53:54):
Oh, that's so great.
And I'll put your website andInstagram account on the show notes.
Last question for you, just for fun.
What do you do for fun?
You sound like you're so busy.
Do you do anything for yourself for fun?
I do.
Thank you for that beautiful question.
I think that's so important to beable to bring in rest and care and
(54:17):
pleasure and not just business.
And so something that comes to mindright now is reading romance books.
I love reading that.
I have, um, I would say when I, uh, I likelogging my books or books I've read and I
would say a huge percentage of the booksI read last year were romance books, so
(54:41):
I would say that and also going outsideand getting fresh air and going on nature
walks is really, really replenishing.
Oh, romance books.
Those are great.
Yes.
Well, thank you, Isabel, for comingand thank you for saying yes.
It's such a pleasure to talk to you today.
(55:02):
Oh my goodness.
Thank you for having me once again.
This was absolutely sucha lovely conversation.
You had such beautiful questions.
So appreciate it.
Have so much fun in Spain.
Oh yes.
Thank you.
Thank you for sharingyour experience as well.
Excited.
Hmm, listen to your gut and yourinstincts and practice discernment.
(55:26):
Such great advice from Isabel.
I really enjoyed thisconversation with her.
Go follow Isabel.
I will put her website and anInstagram on the show notes.
She is doing amazing work.
Thank you for listeningand please check out.
My offering Community for Asian women.
(55:48):
Early bird pricing ends September 8th.
And this week.
Advice from Yiyi me Your Chinese Auntie.
Reach out to a friend or maybeit's a coworker who you've been
wanting to spend more time with.
Give them a call.
(56:09):
Go for Dim Sum.
Go eat some Sui Mai and Har Gao.
Or, go for a meal.
Spend some time with people youlove and you enjoy build community.
By the way I say Dim Sum becauseI'm allergic to shellfish.
So I always love that when people gofor Dim Sum, and they share it with me.
(56:35):
Half a great week, everybody.
=I hope you stay well.
Thanks so much for listening tothis episode of the Conversations
With Your Chinese Auntie Podcast.
If you're enjoying the show, pleasefeel free to rate, subscribe,
and leave a review whereveryou listen to your podcasts.
That helps others find the show,and we greatly appreciate it.
Also, remember to sign upfor our newsletter to receive
(56:57):
free materials and updates.
Links in the website, patriciapeterson.
ca.
That's P A T R I C I A P E T E R S E N.
C A.
Again, thanks for listening.
We hope you have a great week, andwe'll see you in the next episode.
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