Angela Hire, an illustrator who says she is practical and has always liked to make art with her hands. At 19 years old she has started her own brand of designs, online store and today she shares with us some of her experiences, many of her inspirations, and some of her desires.
This interview was conducted in March 2021, today November 2021 her brand is celebrating one year of challenges and experiences.
Current conversations
Angela lives in Aguascalientes, Mexico, with her family, since she was a child she has been drawing because her sister also draws, she told me.
“my sister is a real artist, she studies at Bellas Artes in Mexico City”.
But to differentiate herself, to find what identifies her she decided to approach music. When she was in high school she learned to play the electric bass with Maestro. Juan Guadalupe Hernandez, better known as “Lupe”, “who was a great inspiration who really motivated her to keep learning” she says smiling.
A few years ago she started playing the cello in the University Ensemble, but because of the Pandemic, she had to quit and rehearse alone at home.
Angela didn’t stop drawing but she didn’t take it seriously, she didn’t go to painting or drawing classes, it was always just experimentation, constancy I would say.
In the virtual world
Two years ago she opened her Instagram profile where she was uploading her drawings, space through which I met her.
Thanks to the support of her friends were that her Instagram account grew and now her company.
Being on social networks has been a tool to be in contact with people who like what she likes, “I have been learning from others, each time I was becoming more professional in what I was doing, then I was not only doing portraits on demand but I was already doing designs for t-shirts, for stickers as a brand, not only to sell products but to make myself known with what I do”. And those connections paid off.
Not more than a year ago she had her first collaboration in the fashion world, as she collaborated with the Mexican swimwear brand Swimsey, “I’ve always liked to draw nature, animals, and plants and she really liked my work. And the line called Bengala came out, the works came out with bright colors and because they were swimsuits they had to look good, that was my first big professional project”.
College Life
Angela is currently in her second semester of Industrial Design at the Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes.
From her first professional experience she dedicated herself to finding her own style, experimenting with various styles, “many people worry about not finding their style but little by little you realize that in the end, it is the least important thing because the beauty of the design is that you also grow, in aesthetics, in contemplation as well, it is important to see.”
She follows many illustrators but here in Mexico, she follows Catalina Novelli. She likes her a lot because she knows how to apply her illustrations to products very well.
From Spain, she follows Jaime Hayon, because he applies his illustrations to his designs and goes beyond the flat, you can see his work in parks for example.
In September 2020 she formally opened her online store where products such as t-shirts, stickers, and pins are for sale. “Since before I made my small sales very personal, and I have already been in two bazaars where more than selling I have made myself known. I made annual planning where every month there is a theme. Now the Instagram profiles are a Portfolio. I’m looking for everything to look uniform and orderly in my profile, so I want to put a theme per month and take a uniform color palette.
“What I really like about illustrating is to express myself, I really like to take the space I have to say what I think, what I feel, I also like that people write and read what people express, and you feel identified with people, they feel the same as me or feel like me. I take advantage of the space to express myself. What happens in my life is also an inspiration for what I’m going to draw”.
In January it was a space theme where I wanted black to be very present with the contrast of very bright colors”. This is how, with her work, she gives us the possibility of using shapes and colors to use everyday items full of emotion and creativity.
In her new line, Angela began to collaborate with one of her friends, and thanks to her technique, she now sells cell phone cases with her illustrations: “Supporting my friend is a win-win situation”.
Now that her university courses are online, she draws on some of her subjects to use those theories or techniques in her brand. “The theory of color, shape, figure, proportion are very valuable tools when illustrating, because you know a little more about composition, form, etc.”
About the techniques she uses for his illustrations she says: “I try to have a balance between the digital and the traditional, of traditional techniques I use a lot of watercolor, gouache, and markers, and when I started selling portraits I made my money and bought my Ipad, the best investment I could have made because working on the iPad is the most comfortable”. And to work not only is inspired by his environment but music plays a relevant role in his creative process “I’m always listening to music even when I shouldn’t be listening, I listen to music, it’s very therapeutic”.
To celebrate March 8, she was invited to participate in the exhibition of murals at her university.
An event that served not only to make herself known but also to reflect on the subject and using only 3 colors: light pink, Mexican pink, and purple. “I really like everything I do, it is also like a way to make this revolution that we are doing in Mexico, which makes me proud to see that there are more and more, this company of women in Mexico is growing”.
Being a Mexican woman is not easy, but Angela is one more testimony of the new impetus we are taking in the culture.
The pandemic has marked us
Nowadays “I miss going to my rehearsals and seeing my friends, I would like to meet my college classmates, go to the University”.
The pandemic has marked us all in one way or another.
Angela could not attend her high school graduation and has not seen her college classmates, which has not prevented her from connecting with the world in other ways, a little more creative, digital and get to realize her dreams under an entrepreneurial prism, very motivated and smiling.
This is how Ángela fills our lives with colors, optimism, and thanks to her courage to undertake even in times of uncertainty, she shows us that there are other ways, other more creative ways to face the challenges we face.
