We had the good fortune of connecting with Coco Awesome and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Coco, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Personally, Starting my own business was something I had done by accident. When I created my first book I had created an LLC under the name of “For When You Are Feeling” in turn accidentally creating my own business. At the time, I was a Sophomore in college and had no clue what an LLC was and or how to run a business, as my major was in the Fine Arts program with a concentration in Graphic Design and animation not business. Personally, I think thats the beauty of it all. I truly live by the mantra: “There are no mistakes only happy accidents” and this most certainly was the happiest accident I ever created. This Business has been a way for me to heal, grow, and educate myself on things that I would never have learned in school. That being said, I am genuinely so grateful with all 8 octillion atoms in my body that this happy little accident led me towards creating an outlet that not only helps me and my mental health but also helps others. I am so excited for the future, and the growth that my business will be taking over the many years to come.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Expressing myself creatively has always been a really big part of my life. “Creating” has single handedly been the best way for me to process my emotions in a non-destructive way. When I was little I would get home from school and when being asked “coco, how was your day” I would respond with one syllable answers because the questions adults were asking of me felt so broad, but after a couple hours I would be outside or in my playroom singing a song that quite literally explained how I was feeling and how my day was. For example I would sing a song like “coco went to the park, coco had a bad time at the park, coco was sad” or something like that. My point in bringing this up, is that expressing myself creatively has been a very important part of my life and is something I have always naturally done. As I transitioned into my young adult life, the idea of making my “doodles” a real life job was a goal I was absolutely determined to make a reality. That was when I made the decision to go to LMU for Fine Art and from that point on I made a promise to myself to stay dedicated, because at this point in my life, the technical skill was the only thing stopping me from developing a professional career. During my first year at LMU I was sexually assaulted (not at school, just clarifying if any of the administration see’s this) but this traumatic incident was the catalyst towards me creating my first book which leads me to my main point: I started creating things as a way to process my own trauma. It wasn’t until I finished my first book that I realized how there are hardly any tools for neuro-divergent women to process sexual trauma in a non-verbal way and I really wanted to change that. As a result of being fueled by this undeniable sense of motivation to help people who are similar to me and have different needs I decided to continue creating products and art to help heal myself and others, which ultimately is the main goal of my business: to help people who feel out of place, have different needs, and to create products whilst building a safe space, an inclusive and non-judgmental community of individuals geared towards developing products to help people with different needs.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My best friend and I currently live 5 miles from one another. BUT If my best friend was visiting the area I would probably start the day with a dance class at this pole dance place called “VERTITUDE” Its a great workout and so much fun. My best friend and I always leave with so many good laughs. Their “freestyle” class is our personal favorite. After dance class, we would probably get a juice or a coffee at Juicy Ladies, Bristol Farms (their coffee is underrated), or maybe Lodge Bread. In a perfect world after doing the activities listed above we would probably go steam in the sauna, do a cold plunge, and or end the night with a nice meal at Shibuya because its her favorite or Matushisa because its my favorite. Yes we are both really boring people but that is why she is my best friend. We got our party phase out at the age of 15-18.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The person I would like to thank the most is myself. Not in a conceded way, but in a respectful way. I can genuinely say that if any of my closest friends/family saw this, they would agree that the person who deserves to be honored in this section, would be myself. Over the course of this last year (2022) I have been faced with one of the darkest and hardest years of my life. Whilst struggling to navigate through it all, the most consistent (only) person I could count on was Me and for that I am grateful; and to the person reading who doesn’t know me and has no context on my life story; I offer you some food for thought: Sometimes in one’s life, an individual will have a year or two or more, where the only person who can fix it is themselves, and for me personally, that is the kind of year I had, and for that I choose to proudly honor and thank myself during this interview because I truly wouldn’t be here without MYSELF.
Website: https://www.forwhenurfeeling.com
Instagram: @cocoawes0me
Image Credits
@pumpkin666 credited for “hot girl forever collection photo and Be Careful Who You Give Your Energy too sweatshirt product photo” (GRAPHICS AND EDITS DONE BY ME) @ericagouldd for the “For When You Are Feeling” book photograph
