Heal the world and your mind with Chibinendo Art
In need for some positivity and happiness in your life? IndieBloom are happy to welcome to you Chibinendo Art.
Arts & craft
Founded by Victoria, a sculptor and mixed artist based in Leicester, UK. Chibinendo Art's About page explains in further detail about the brand (which is definitely worth reading). Focusing on sustainable materials including sugar, dressed up as colourful spotted dinosaurs, named Chibimonsters. Her artwork (which includes stickers, prints and illustrations) is based on learning about and researching colour psychology (which she started reading about in-depth about a year ago when planning the branding of Chibinendo Art.)
Colour psychology is the study of hues and how they affect human behaviour, and it has been demonstrated that bright and light colours can improve or ease a bad mood. Every product and Chibimonster is made bearing in mind this theory so when you look at it, it makes your brain react and start making a change in your mood.
Originally started in Spain 2014, Chibinendo Art's cute figurines came about during a dark period in Victoria's life, while in London in 2018. The idea and concepts of the the designs are explained further below.
Playing Chibimonsters are a reminder of embracing your inner child. They also help you by scaring away negative thoughts.
Resting Chibimonsters will remind you to stop and take a deep breath whenever you are stressed or/and to take time to rest.
Reading Chibimonsters are the totems for hobbies and incentives; they will remind you to spend time doing what makes you happy or pursuing a goal.
'Chibi' means small and cute, while 'nendo' means figurine in Japanese, put them together and you get Chibinendo. Inspired by mostly anime and manga during the beginning stages. When we asked Victoria her advice and suggestions for brands/businesses on how to be more environmentally sustainable she gave us an useful answer.
I've learnt that there is always a more sustainable option, no matter if it's for the materials you use to create or for packaging. I would recommend starting with something small, like on your packaging, there are many companies now that have recyclable or compostable packagings that are not much more expensive (if not the same price) than the non-sustainable ones; or repurpose materials from things you have ordered yourself. Every little counts!
Being a sculpturer, Victoria feels working with clay always gives her a lot of satisfaction and happiness, especially while creating her Chibimonster figurines. 'It calms me down and it's my go-to when I want to make art.' Though lately, she's also been enjoying digital illustration a lot. Her favourite design so far has been digitally, 'The eating Chibimonster; I think it's the cutest thing I've ever made!' 😊
While creating her figurines, it usually takes Victoria up to two weeks minimum from start to finish, but it all depends on how many per design and the complexity of the design itself.
Staying positive
Before the launch of Chibinendo Art, Victoria made a big yearly calendar and tried to choose themes according to the beginning of the seasons or important international days/festivities. Once this was decided, she would do some sketches and decide which designs she liked the most. Then clay time! Making one Chibimonster takes almost two hours, so the production days depend on how many Chibimonsters she does per theme. This is the same process also for painting them. 'Once painted I give them a thick layer of glossy varnish to protect the paint.' 🎨🖌
In relation to this, Victoria states,
Honestly, I don't think I have a typical working day. Every day I do different things… But I can say that a typical month starts with the launch of a new collection, then I spend the next two weeks working on social media, outreach, improvement of the website, doing loads of admin tasks, and half way through the month I start with the next collection: production, recording of materials for social media, product photography, newsletter, etc.
It never ends running your own business.
Can you guess what brings a smile to Victoria's face most for Chibinendo Art? 'Every time someone takes a Chibimonster home!' It makes her really happy to see that someone actually likes what she's created and believes in what she does. 'Social media likes are nice, but there is nothing compared to the feeling you get when someone buys something you have made.' Very true 👍
Staying positive these days can be difficult for us all, Victoria's advice and tips are 'I don't think the goal is staying positive, but staying calm.' By explaining further, 'Toxic positivity exists and is quite dangerous because it doesn't make you realise what you actually need.' Is this something you've experienced before? While further expanding on her answer with 'Happiness might be mistaken for being positive, but it's not the case, someone cannot be happy nor positive all the time, and forcing yourself to be like that might make problems/situations worse.'
To combat this, Victoria recommends to 'To stay calm and in control so we can understand our feelings and emotions.' And the best solution for that? 'To do that I obviously use my Chibimonsters, they help me focus on my goals, but I also do other things like making myself a tea, rewatching a series or writing.' Mental health is important 🙏🧘
Ending our questions we were keen to ask Victoria what's next for Chibinendo Art?
Many things! But I guess the new line of products that I've been working on. One are stickers and prints; they have a more affordable price but they follow the same principle as the figurines. And the other one is a course that I'm preparing about creative anxiety and how to overcome it proactively.
We greatly appreciate Victoria for getting in contact with us as the perfect blend of art and joy in your life which we are very pleased to showcase to you. Allow IndieBloom to set the mood and bring a smile your face, while checking all of Chibinendo Art's socials on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch or buy a coffee for Victoria on Ko-fi ☕