Love Blooming

Vikki is an illustrator, artist and founder of kids brand NIANYI年衣, currently living in Shanghai. She was born in China, Jiangsu. She studied traditional Chinese painting when she was a child, and that experience had a fundamental influence on her future artworks. One decision that changed her life and confirmed her idea to be an illustrator is going to MFA program from School of Visual Arts—Illustration as Visual Essay, lead by head Marshall Arisman.

Vikki graduated in 2018 and began building her creative career in New York, at then same time, setting up NIANY年衣 with her partner in 2018. In 2022, sje moved to Shanghai and opened Red Box Illustration Studio, working on branding, packaging, fashion, book covers, children’ books, and toy designs.

She love reading, running, movies, toys, vintage, nature, croissant and coffee.

Phuong Ha has been known to overstay her welcome in libraries and bookstores ever since she was young. When she wasn’t reading magical books and manga, she was daydreaming about adventures of her own. After earning a B.A. in Literature and Broadcast Journalism from the University of Houston, she built a career in literacy and museum education before joining the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco as Director of Public Programs. At her core, she is passionate about creating experiences that make storytelling, art, and culture accessible to everyone.

Mei Qi is Senior Development Manager at Asia Society Texas, where she supports the mission of providing diverse programs in arts and culture, business and policy, and education that celebrate Asian and Asian Americans. In addition, she coordinates the organization’s internship program and contributes to internal Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion task forces. Previously, she worked in the Business & Policy programs department and led the Young Leaders Institute for high school students during the summer. She graduated from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and subsequently earned a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. Outside of work, Mei haunts her neighborhood library and local bookstores, travels to eat, and has a lot of sports opinions for someone who is terrible at sports.