Meet Ari Takata-Vasquez | Artist, Designer & Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ari Takata-Vasquez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ari, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk is probably the thing that’s lead me to live a happier life, overall. Before starting my businesses, I had just finished my master’s degree, I worked in a very secure and stable 9-to-5 job, owned a house, had a retirement. These were all the outward markers of a ‘successful’ life but I really didn’t feel very fulfilled. I did the un-risky things and so I ended up with an un-risky, but also sort of boring life. When I started my first business I was only 23 and so I figured this was the least risky time of my life that I could take on this venture. I don’t have kids and if I lost a ton of money, I was still young enough to earn it back. In the years since I’ve seen risk tolerance a lot more like a muscle to be exercised. I learned how to see risk more as a positive. It meant the outcome wasn’t certain, but it also meant that a lot more could unfold for me. And usually, the universe has bigger plans for me than I have for myself.

In the moments when I feel like I’m facing a lot of risks or am experiencing fear, that’s usually a sign that I’m onto something bigger. I’ve learned to become friends with that feeling and embrace it rather than try to push it away. A year ago, I did my largest mural yet and had to learn how to use a boom lift. The gag was that I’m afraid of heights. I knew I would need to figure out how to work around it but when the moment came to go up in the lift on my own I felt all the terrible sensations of fear– my knees felt weak, I started sweating, feeling queezy. But then I remembered meditation usually tells you to notice the feeling and bring curiosity to the sensation. So I started meditating 30 feet up in the air and the feels started to subside. After being afraid of heights my entire life, I was able to push through that discomfort and haven’t been afraid of heights since. The feelings pass but my mural gets to stay.

What should our readers know about your business?
My business, Viscera Studio, offers design and creative services. We do everything from photography to websites and graphics to space design and art. Our motto is visualizing beautiful ideas. I enjoy being able to work with other passionate business owners and being able to help them realize their businesses and pull together the various design pieces. My other business Viscera is a brand and, up until 2020, was a brick and mortar shop. I create 3D-printed jewelry and a plant-based apothecary line including face oils, perfumes, and balms. The ethos behind the Viscera brand is to have fewer, more intentionally made goods. When I’m not working in either of those businesses I’m also a muralist and create botanical and abstract pieces. I’ve been so lucky to have my work in Union Square in San Francisco, a part of the San Francisco Foundation, and on in businesses throughout Oakland.

These days, I’m really proud of integrating more of my art and design work with my businesses. Before, I felt like I need to present each thing separately because I feared that I would look ‘scattered’ but now I realize each aspect of my work enhances the others. This has been one of the most difficult things for me do to. I tend to be a person who needs a lot of both creative and analytical work and so I’ve had to learn that I’m not someone satisfied with just one project or one role. I enjoy having a lot of variety and getting to learn new things along the way.

What I think I’d like the world to know from my business story is that you can be your full self. You don’t have to quiet one part to make the other louder, you can be your full self and that’ll actually be one of the best tools you have as an entrepreneur or creative.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I usually organize adventures around food. I’m from Hawaii where we have so much melding of food ways and cultures and the Bay Area has that in common. I would start out with donuts and from my favorite spot, Donut Savant in the Laurel District. They make the most amazing donuts in my opinion, and I do consider myself a self-taught donut expert! Next for lunch we would over to Aburaya for lunch. They make Japanese style fried chicken and also have really delicious vegan/vegetarian options. Then to walk off lunch, I would head over to Lake Merritt for some roller skating. There are some really great weekly meetups put on my Lake People Skate at Lake Merrit. From there we could head over to Portal for dinner. They have the best backyard set up and the food and drinks are both always solid. After dinner, we could head over to the Miranda in Downtown for First Class, my friend Rob’s (@Methods1) set and some beautiful cocktails. And depending on what’s on the calendar, a show at the New Parish or Fox Theater might be in order.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This is such a tough question! There have been so many people who have helped me immensely over the years. I’m so grateful to the other small businesses in Oakland who have supported me in starting my business, growing, and personally evolving. When I started Viscera, I emailed a bunch of retailers in my neighborhood to ask if I could take them out to coffee and ask, “what do you wish you knew when you started?” and all of them were so generous with their time and their knowledge. I learned so much from them.

I’d like to shout out the Oakland Indie business community. I couldn’t have done any of this without their support. Anything I’ve achieved isn’t just mine, it’s ours.

Website: VisceraStudio.com //@VisceraStudio

Instagram: instagram.com/arimadeart

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ari-takata-vasquez/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arimadeart

Other: ShopViscera.com // @ShopViscera ari-made.com

Image Credits
Photo by Andrea Arevalo (@a.j.a).