Meet Holly Guenther | Artist & Small Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Holly Guenther and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Holly, what are you inspired by?
I’m inspired by so many things in daily life! A lot of my designs are based on puns or word play and I can be walking around and suddenly see something like a tree or hear something in a meeting that my brain immediately turns into a pun. I also love looking at all the colors and shapes in nature for my more traditional illustrations and going to art museums. Seeing other artists’ works pushes me in my own creative process.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Kimchi Kawaii is based on nearly 100% original art/designs created by me (I recently started doing some BTS fan art cause I’m ARMY, but it’s a super small part of my brand). Doing mainly original content is definitely the harder path to take, especially in anime con world where people tend to gravitate to the fandoms they love. So my brand has grown much slower than many others who’ve been doing it the same amount of time as me. I also still work a full time job so balancing time can be a challenge, but I’m also determined to keep up with my peers and so I forge ahead with sheer will and probably coffee. I remember when first starting out, I thought that I needed to fit the kawaii aesthetic that was popular at the time – pastels were huge and definitely not me. It was when I stopped trying to do what I thought was expected for kawaii artists that I started to grow. I love doing lots of bright color and packing my designs full of detail – both things you don’t often find in kawaii art. But I think that helps my stuff stand out.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’ll be honest, I’ve never been to Texas! Eek! But I do have a friend who I’ve become close to recently who’s been trying to get me to come out and visit. I’m hoping to come in 2023 and I know I’ll be relying on her to show me around.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d definitely like to give a shoutout to my family, especially my parents. I’ve been blessed to have a mom and dad who are fully supportive of me pursuing my art. Sadly, you sometimes hear of artists who aren’t so lucky. I know they are behind me 100% and have celebrated my successes and listened to all my complaining and fretting when things aren’t going so well. They even came to an anime con once where I was selling so they could see my set up and the world that Kimchi Kawaii was involved in. One time, my dad was talking about my plush – a Chinese lion dance plush – during his eye appointment and the dr went and bought one!

Website: https://www.kimchikawaii.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialkimchikawaii/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KimchiKawaii1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimchikawaii

Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@officialkimchikawaii Non-kawaii Illustrations: https://www.instagram.com/haetaeillustration/