Meet Kimberly Carrasco | IMCU Nurse & Artist

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

Hi Kimberly, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Due to the nature of my nursing career and partly of my personality, I am a strategic person who likes to plan ahead. I find comfort in knowing the next steps and what to expect. Though, when I have dreamt to start a stationery shop years ago, making it a reality was quite the scare because I lacked the business experience and just didn’t know when and how to start. That hesitation took a quick turn in the wake of COVID-19, and reality hit hard when my unit in the hospital converted into a COVID floor. That was when I realized I would’ve lived a life of regret if COVID took me into the wrong direction before I had the chance to even start fulfilling my dream. With that said, I started my Etsy shop “Blushing Boba Studio.”

Taking this risk has allowed me to become more flexible with goals, especially in this pursuit of creative happiness. Did I know what I was doing when I started? Definitely not. Was I ever confident in starting my shop? Absolutely not, especially because I had initially doubted people would be interested in purchasing stickers in the middle of a pandemic. However, the reality check of losing many patients to COVID had given me the push I needed to do my research and apply the knowledge I already had in creating my own stationery and designs. I started to look at life differently with the “now or never” or “better late than never” mentality. The risk in starting this shop also became the coping mechanism I needed to get through the hard times working in the COVID unit. I encourage anyone who has a dream in the back in their mind to just start. right. now. before it’s too late.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What keeps me busy with Blushing Boba Studio is the growing process of running a small business. I am constantly learning and evolving. Everything I’ve done for my shop was self taught, so I’m always on the grind to teach myself various methods and techniques in creating my products. I only have a handful of products that were manufactured so far, otherwise I draw, design, print, cut, and package the products myself!

One day, I was craving bubble tea so I doodled them with faces for fun in my Happy Planner notebook. I thought it would be cool to have stationery that reflected my favorite treat, but I didn’t find much on Etsy except for generic bubble tea designs with kawaii faces. Thus, Blushing Boba Studio was created to make fun stationery based on my bubble tea obsession! Also known as boba, this chewy tapioca-filled beverage fueled the inspiration behind my brand.

It was not easy to start this shop in the beginning of the pandemic, especially not knowing how and where to begin, but I overcame the struggle with tons of research and lots of practice. I remember using one sticker paper that had colors bleeding when wet despite the paper being branded as “waterproof” so trial and error got me through finding what methods and materials worked and didn’t work. Also, boba may not be everyone’s cup of tea (no pun intended), so I had to learn how to be more flexible in my designs and market myself as a brand that does *more* than just boba-inspired designs. Another challenge I faced was finding balance. After working in the hospital, I’d go home to do some more work at home or on my days off. Working from home is convenient but it was tough to separate work from home when I needed to. With that said, I’ve created a designated work space at home so if I need to relax, I’d step out of that space. I’ve learned the importance of setting boundaries and rest.

What I want the world to know about my story is that Blushing Boba Studio started during a tough time, when the world was still, and when I was surrounded by uncertainty and chaos in a COVID unit. Blushing Boba Studio is not just a stationery shop of my original artwork — it is my creative journey, artistic therapy, and a way of coping, so I am truly thankful to anyone who chooses to invest in my growth as an artist!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If one of my besties is in town for a week, we’ll be in for a fun SoFlo “craventure” (what I call adventures based on our cravings)!

Day 1: My bestie and I would start a day with bubble tea from Boba & Chill in Pembroke Pines because I love their unique flavors and variety. We’d also grab refreshing Vietnamese summer rolls to go and head to Oleta State Park to picnic and paddleboard.

Day 2: We would make a trip to Wynwood to take Instagrammable photos with the cool art murals. Then we would grab doughnuts from my favorite doughnut spot called The Salty. Got room for more sweets?? We’ll make space for ice cream from Salt and Straw. Ironically, these places have salty names but I promise these sweet treats are delicious!

Day 3: We’d have lunch at Kura and then shop at Aventura Mall. After a full day of shopping, we’d head to YardHouse for happy hour to enjoy some beers and share some poke nachos, cheese curds, and a pizza. Cheers!

Day 4: My bestie may not want do planning while on vacay but if so, we’d go to Paris Morning Bakery in Miramar so we can grab a table to enjoy some baked goods and boba while decorating our planners with K-pop playing. Then, we would have dinner at Green Papaya and grab some drinks at The Bend right across the street. Hopefully that night we go is Karaoke night!

Day 5: Sistrunk Marketplace is a great place to have a little bit of everything because it’s good food hall. Then nearby we can enjoy some drinks, either at Glitch Bar to play games or Karma Kava to chill. Before leaving the area, we must get Softea for their yummy soft serve + boba combo! My favorite is the Thai milk tea with and earl grey soft serve topped with a Biscoff cookie.

Day 6: We’d start the day with a big lunch at Lemongrass Hot Pot and make sure we wear our stretchy pants to this yummy all-you-can-eat spot. And because I always believe there is room for dessert, we can walk next door to Tea Plus to get some boba. Afterwards, we would go right across the street to test our luck at the Hard Rock casino.

Day 7: It’s the last day of my bestie’s trip so we’d go to J28 Sandwich bar to grab their famous pork belly sandwiches to go and head to Hollywood Beach. This is our moment to wind down before the bestie heads back home. Then, we can grab an early dinner at Yellow Green Fresh Market so we can enjoy some variety of foods and do some shopping from local small businesses. Perhaps bestie will find some gifts to take back home!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Blushing Boba Studio wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the inspiration of the planner community. This community that I have been a part of for over eight years is the reason why I wanted to start an Etsy shop and make cute stationery. Side note, I hope to expand from paper goods to lifestyle products and more in the near future. Special thanks to Belle, Brian, Whinkie, Tiffany, and Chris who have helped with packing orders during seasonal peak sales. Also thank you Mom for always supporting my creative endeavors and the life-change behind the start of this business. And to my Gorls, thanks for being the unofficial PR and marketing team. The continued support from my friends, my partner, my family, my coworkers, and the planner community have been instrumental with the growth of my small business and kept me motivated to grow my brand. It’s not only about the sales — shoutout goes to anyone and everyone who have spread the word about Blushing Boba Studio, engaged with my social media, shared my posts, etc. When you are not able to buy from your favorite small business at the moment, sharing their content is a free way to still help support!

Website: https://blushingbobastudio.etsy.com

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076513387802

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=pUh_daJ4MoGzwxmbA4mCQg&utm_source=ishare

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thekimichannel

Image Credits
Kimberly Carrasco