— PROJECT
VLY GRL
— ROLE
Owner
Branding
Design
Illustration
Social Media
— TOOLS
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Procreate
Big Cartel
ShipStation
— DATE
2016-Present
Inspired by my hometown of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, I started VLY GRL to smash the "bimbo Valley Girl" stereotype while flexing my design and illustration skills. Proudly homegrown in the SFV, I can tell you first-hand that women from the Valley are down-to-earth, scrappy, and fierce! VLY GRL is a love letter to the gritty and diverse San Fernando Valley, and strives to provide Valley Girls with rad accessories and apparel to represent their hood on their own terms.
The Valley gets a bad rap thanks to 80s pop culture, but our stories are unique, multidimensional, and far more profound than Hollywood has portrayed. So I started the VLY GRL Zine, a collection of visual art, poetry, short fiction, and essays by creative women from or residing in the San Fernando Valley. Sharing our diverse personal experiences through creative self-expression brings us together and lets the world know that we’re more than just an outdated cliché.
In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, vlygrl.com garnered a 74% conversion rate increase (8% compared to 4.6% in 2019). In July 2022, VLY GRL received a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Legislature for our partnership with the Getty Museum and their 25th Anniversary Celebration.
Through the sale of certain VLY GRL products, we've been able to donate a percentage of proceeds to various organizations. In 2020 alone, we raised $168 for Rainbow Railroad, $66 for typhoon relief for Kids for Kids Philippines, $78 for The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), and $56 for the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition's COVID-19 Relief Fund. In 2021, we raised $372 to donate to AAPI Women Lead, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
VLY GRL at the Getty Museum's 25th Anniversary Celebration in Reseda, CA in July 2022. Filmed by Jeff Estrada
Collaboration with A Kid from the Valley, November 2022
Collaboration candle with Valley Girl Apothecary, January 2021
Collaboration with Meet the (818), August 2021
Bookmark for Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore’s Celebrating Words Festival, May 2021
VLY GRL at the inaugural Valley Fest in Canoga Park, CA in August 2021. Filmed by Jeff Estrada