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Hey there! I’m so excited you’ve visited my creative space on the web. I’m Gigi, a one-woman show behind Mogigi. Figured there was no better place to start than to share a bit of my story as an illustrator and designer. Me, I’ve always considered it a blessing to be given my artistic gift from God. I love creating and sharing my talents with the whole world to see.
So, who am I? You may ask...
Well, my first name is Gretchen. My mom always told me she loved the name and she wanted to nickname me Gigi. I prefer my nickname more so I always introduce myself as such cause IMHO it sounds better and looks like me lol.
Oh, as a side note, one of my favorite movies is Gigi, with Leslie Caron. I love classic films from the old Hollywood Golden Era. They don’t make movies as they use to, but we get a few good ones here and there.
I am an introvert at heart, but my artistic side is an undercover extrovert
Yes, I have always been a quiet person, but with age, I have come out of my shell a bit more. Some other tidbits about me are: I’m a lover of Christ, not perfect by no means. Still learning my walk every day. I may fail at times, but with God’s help, He is always right there with me. I’m very thankful for the talent and skills He has given me and allowed me to use.
Distant memories of school days
Art was by far my favorite class from K-12 to College. After graduating from Moore College of Art & Design in 2005, I tried giving freelancing a go, but I needed something more stable. In my early years, my business was known as GigiStudio. After getting my web developer degree from ECPI in 2014. I immediately started working full-time and GigiStudio slowly got pushed to the side.
In 2017, I told my family I wanted to get back into really freelancing more. Start selling my art prints again on my Etsy shop and focusing more on my art overall. My first goal was rebranding myself, and getting a new portfolio website up and running under my new name. Eventually, after some brainstorming, MoGigi was born.
New Instagram Branding
Moving to MoGigi, I wanted to start with a fresh Instagram page. Then from there, I would begin to build out my new page content and overall brand.
Streamlining my process
Next, I started researching a better way to organize my side hustle as a freelance illustrator/designer. I was on a hunt for something where everything was contained in one place because using different apps and trying to keep track of multiple cluttered email accounts became overwhelming. After a while, I learned what I was looking for was called a client relationship management system, CRM. Now that I knew what this thing was called, I had to decide which platform to use. There were a few options available at the time, like Honeybook, Bonsai, and the one I chose is called Dubsado.
Currently, new platforms have entered the scene and like a new gadget they’re catching my eye, but for right now I’m good with still using Dubsado, especially since it was a real pain of a learning curve to set up. I’m trying my best not to let the shiny new platforms distract me and send me down a new rabbit hole of learning a new program. Especially when I haven’t had a chance to fully use Dubsado yet.
You might be wondering why I said “yet”. Welp, even though I was having big dreams and trying my best to work toward them, my life was about to shift drastically.
Coming To Terms With My New “Normal”
Today it’s tough for me to remember how it feels to live without a chronic illness and an invisible one at that. After being hit in many car accidents in my life, folks just loved hitting me. The last time I was hit, this pain was triggered that would never go away. In 2017, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. With the constant pain, a stressful web job, and declining mental/emotional health everything was changing. Every day it literally felt as if I was constantly fighting with my own body.
In May 2019, my body wasn’t able to keep up anymore! My health steadily declining it began to affect my mental health on top of the unexpected passing of my nana in September 2019; in February 2020, a few weeks before the pandemic hit, I was diagnosed with major depression and anxiety. It was hard coming to terms with my new normal.
I hate the fact I can’t do what was once so easy to do. Been on a rough journey of searching for answers for this 24/7 pain and fatigue. Adjusting to now having memory issues, cognitive issues, bouts of lack of motivation, trouble with focusing, sleep problems, difficulties keeping up and doing basic tasks, depressive relapses, etc.
One of the biggest hurdles was how Fibromyalgia/CFS truly affected my creativity in a bad way during the first few years. On a brighter note, over the past few months, I feel like my creativity has been reborn and is aligning itself into a much happier place. Maybe one day I’ll share a little more about what I do to help manage myself living with a chronic illness as an artist.
Starting Anew
A new site, a new name, going back to having a blog. How did that come about? Well, I have established myself just a wee bit on social media, specifically Instagram, before their identity crisis, smh.
So with IG, not being what it once was, I kept having thoughts of it would be cool to have a blog again, but brushed it off. Back in the day, I kept getting lil nudges from my co-workers that were, to my surprise, actually shocked I didn’t have some sort of fashion blog lol.
Yep, I laughed it off cause I was like me doing Fashion Blog? I’m only a self-proclaimed “fashionista” in my own mind and I might post a selfie every now and then, but blogging about what I wear was not on my radar at all.
Trying my hand at blogging, but I want to start off right!
So the idea of blogging has crossed my mind more and more over the years. Even though at first I had no clue what to even write about. Every so often I would research and jot down topic ideas to revisit at a later date.
I dove into “blog school” by googling, watching youtube videos, etc. Like anyone else I want to be successful in whatever I do, sure I’ll make mistakes, but that’s all part of the process. At least I’m learning and hopefully starting with sort of a “plan” will save me time in the long run in building my blog. This is an opportunity to grow my creativity and ultimately have fun growing my personal brand.
What's MoGigi Blog Gonna Be About?
Well, I want MoGigi to encompass different things that I love and find interesting. The main topic will be art focused with a mixture of lifestyle topics. As well as, sharing things that I enjoy using that work for me, that can possibly work and be helpful to you as well.
So the journey begins…
Woohoo! I’m glad that y’all stuck with me through my first post. If you are interested in getting updates from me, subscribe to my newsletter MoGigi News.
About the Author
Hey there, I’m Gigi, the creative force behind MoGigi. As a Virginia-based illustrator and designer represented by Shannon Associates illustration agency, I’m passionate about creating vibrant art that celebrates diversity and positivity.
My journey in art began years ago, and since then, I’ve delved into various creative endeavors, from designing picture books to crafting engaging editorial illustrations. I pour my heart into each piece, aiming to inspire and empower through my art.
When I’m not busy creating, you can find me tending to my Etsy and Shopify shops or sharing insights into my artistic process on social media. Join me in this artistic journey and explore more of my work here on my blog or follow me on these platforms for more updated work Instagram, Pinterest, & LinkedIn.
