Meet hapimonsta | Artist & Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with hapimonsta and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi hapimonsta, what do you attribute your success to?
To be frank, I just say what I feel and do as I please. I don’t chase commercial success, and I imagine people find authenticity endearing? The most insightful thing I’ve heard in regards to my online presence was: “the most challenging part [of the pursuit of being noticed] is finding your unique voice, finding people who vibe with your voice, and continually tapping into the things that motivate you”.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Where do I even begin? I don’t know if I’m that different from others in the art space. If I really think about it, I think my favorite part of the art/design community is our relatability with each other. My high school had a minuscule art department, and it got really lonely with no one to talk about art with, haha. Because of that, I have unbelievable gratitude for the talented nerds I connected to in college.

I am most proud of the community that I have been so graciously included in online. In other words, my humble amount of followers remind me that I will always have people who support me and who I can relate to- especially at times when I feel down and uninspired.

I am actually in a state of limbo right now in terms of professional work. The art and design space is filled with such skilled people, it seems as though it’s difficult to stand out. Still trying really hard, though! However, in my own personal escapades, I managed to get through the social media lottery by starting early, posting consistently, and making friends. On top of that, the algorithm on Instagram made it surprisingly easy to find my people. The most challenging part for me was balancing my personal work and my school work when I was in college. I think it is pretty common to feel drained after college too, so I took a quick break. I think remembering to take time for yourself is very important. Remembering that you don’t have to post everything you make online is important too! That being said, I am planning on posting regularly again soon!

My biggest goal and aspiration is to be a good influence for people and our environment. I think art and design is impactful in a lot of ways- and I am working towards creating work that is a source of positive change in the world.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My area? I am currently located in Victorville, CA.- A city meant to be driven past to get to Las Vegas! A week long trip, nevertheless? Hahaha.

Okay. Well here goes, places to visit:
Oro Grande- there is a strip of antique stores that takes a good couple hours to get through. After that we would take a visit to a local artist/cosplayer’s studio/store that is super fun and charming. She sells her artwork, and cool witchy crystals and things if you’re into that kind of stuff. Next door is a quaint thrift store that’s cool too! Finally, we would eat at the pizzeria Cross-Eyed Cow. Each place has very unique charm that you would expect out of a T.V. set.

After that, there really isn’t much to do around here, but leave the city. If it were a tour of Southern California, I would love to take them to Frank and Sons in Rowland Heights, the Griffith Observatory, Little Tokyo, Aquarium of the Pacific, and Disneyland! We would probably eat at Cafe Maji in Artesia, the fried mushrooms at Fantasics in Long Beach, KBBQ, Din Tai Fung and some Korean Fried Chicken at Kokios!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The amazing powerhouse of an artist Maggery / Maggie Huang! Their contact is maggery1018@gmail.com. They not only create art and designs- but they also make their own music.

Website: hapimonsta.com

Instagram: instagram.com/hapimonsta

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jed-irish-dar-juan-5a2512171

Youtube: youtube.com/hapimonsta

Image Credits
Portrait by Andrew Phan