To celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander month, Highline College hosted “AAPI Avenue,” an event held in the Student Union where many different Asian vendors sold their crafts. One of the many ways to honor Asian culture is to support small Asian owned businesses.

AAPI month was officially established in 1992 under the George H. W. Bush administration with the passing of Public Law 102-450. Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month was renamed as AAPI Heritage Month in 2009, according to History.com.

The month of May was chosen to honor the first immigration of Japanese people to the United States on May 7 of 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, which was primarily built by Chinese immigrants, as stated by The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Asian and Pacific Islanders Commision. 

Asians are a big part of America and have substantially contributed to its culture, economy, society, and many more aspects. It is vital for us, as people, to help support one another and build one another up. Many of the vendors who were present at AAPI Avenue had connections to each other, and mentioned how supporting other Asian businesses is important to them. 

Among those vendors, Mandy Shishido, a Filipino American business owner of “Shishido Creative” in partnership with her husband, mentions how her goal is to open a store in Chinatown. She mentions that she feels it’s in a slump currently, and needs more small businesses to occupy this district. 

When she had first started vending, she had only a few stickers to sell. But over the years, she grew her business and believed in her passion, which eventually enabled her to have Shishido Creative as her full-time career. Along with her shop, she has done some wholesale as well, with her products being sold at the Smithsonian Museum, Japanese American Museum in Los Angeles, and the Asian American Museum.

Shishido designs all of her products, her most iconic and popular item being her anime and Japanese inspired pins. She has an online shop where she also sells apparel, jewelry, art prints, and more.  “I want to host more pop-ups to support the BIPOC community and collaborate with other businesses in the CID,” Shishido says. Soon, she will also be opening a physical store in Seattle at 616 Jackson Ave., in the Chinatown International District area, soon making her goal a reality. 

Shishido is a very conscientious and hardworking person who shares her love for Japanese culture, and shows her support for other Asian creators through her business. If you’d like to support her and buy some amazing, high quality anime merchandise, check out her website and socials as Shishido Creative. 

Another amazing business is “Two Squirrels and a Nut,” owned by Susan – her two kids being the squirrels and her being the nut. She is very eco-conscious in what she creates, and uses every bit of scrap material to upcycle it into something beautiful. She uses a lot of fabric scraps to make pouches, headbands, flowers, accessories, and more. 

She also makes stickers inspired off of her three bunnies: Cinnabuns, Yum-Yums, and Lola. She donates all the money she earns from her stickers to a bunny rescue. Some of her designs feature another Seattle based pop artist, Enfu (Ken Taya) as a collaboration between the two creators. 

Susan mentions that she tends to vend at AAPI or Asian events because it’s important for her to take part in the Asian community. She has also had her art featured in the Wing Luke museum and International District in Seattle. Her upcycled work is available to purchase on Etsy, so please take the opportunity to buy an upcycled mask perhaps, to protect yourself from FLiRT (a new strain of Covid as of 2024).

On the subject of Covid, a lot of the vendors mentioned how the Covid-19 Pandemic gave them time to create and kickstart their businesses. Some of those vendors include Vietnamese artist Truc-Quan, or TQ, who owns Modern Meliora and paints vibrant and floral scenes that she offers as prints. She hopes to one day sell her art at Pike Place Market in Seattle. 

Vietnamese creator Khanh, owner of Xyzstyleco, who started vending in 2020 as a side hustle and works as a social media manager. They edit and manage podcasts and the children’s show “Look, Listen, and Learn.” They’re a fan of Indie, cinematic films and would potentially like to work on films as a career.

Filipino creator Shasta, owner of Keipopstancreations on Etsy where she sells adorable handmade, k-pop themed resin charms and accessories. She started her business in 2021, and vends as a side hustle because she wants to have time for her baby and toddler at home. 

K-pop fan and creator of Magic Shop, Angela, started her business in 2020. She vends official k-pop photocards, holo photocards, and also does collaboration k-pop themed cup holders with local boba shops like Puffy Pandy, Drip Tea, Copper Kettle, and Share Tea.

And finally, Filipino-Chinese-Black artist Shaye – the creator of MADEBYCHINITA and is also a former Highline College student. She started her business in 2020 by drawing on clothes, and eventually started commissions when her mutuals had asked her to draw and make custom clothes for them as well. 

However, what really kick started her business is when she unfortunately got into a car crash and had to be hospitalized for head injuries. During her hospitalization, she took the time to draw and design art. From that point on, she created more clothing, accessories, art prints, and more. 

Shaye is also the author and illustrator of her activity book, “MADEBYCHINITA Interactive Magazine Vol I” which is available for purchase at Barnes & Noble. The book includes coloring pages, creating your own doll, educational pages, and “Sharing my knowledge of Baybayin which is the original script of Tagalog prior to colonization in the Philippines,” Shaye explains on her website. 

So during the month of May, think of the Asian people in your life, or Asian culture you participate in. This is a great opportunity to learn more about Asians now, and the history of their past. Whether you’re part of a k-pop fandom, drinking boba, watching anime, or buying from a local Asian vendor, you’re participating in Asian culture, and supporting us as a community. We thank you for that.