I didn’t even meet Jo yet when I discovered her Los Angeles themed cards at Urbanic Paper Boutique on Abbot Kinney. I loved the concept, of course, and I then connected with her on Instagram – which is how a lot of people meet these days. Naturally, I wanted to feature her on the blog and get to know the girl behind the cards.
Jomana Siddiqui is a graphic designer and owner of Pences Design Studio, a stationery company in Fullerton, California. She authors the lifestyle blog, A Happy Blog, posting on food, DIY, parties and fashion.
Tell us about yourself in a tweet.
A creative snarky bleeding heart pop culture loving perfectionist with low patience yet obsessed to learn everything. Wearer of many hats.
Where are you from?
Born in Toledo, Ohio currently residing in Fullerton, California.
What brought you to LA?
My father moved us here when I was ten years old for work, and I have been a California girl ever since.
What’s your favorite thing about LA?
Hands down the diversity. I just love how you can be in LA surrounded by so many different cultures, thinking, and people and yet we are all the same.
What is your favorite LA neighborhood?
The Arts District is a fave. I just love how art and culture sprung up and pushed it’s way through these old factory buildings. Like seeing a dandelion push it’s way through a cement sidewalk- you just can’t keep it down.
What has been your favorite LA experience?
Years back with a group of friends, we did a scavenger hunt through Hollywood. We had to complete tasks in historic hotels, find landmarks, get photos doing some pretty crazy things, all on foot. It was just such an amazing experience to go from one historic landmark to the next, take a picture with “Marilyn Monroe”, and get frisked by LAPD all in one afternoon!
How did you come up with the idea to start PENCES?
While I studied neuroscience in college, I always seemed to gravitate towards my artistic side. One summer, I designed some greeting cards that got picked up by a local store, and did some wedding invitations for a friend. Before I knew it I became a full time stationery and design business and that’s how Pences was born!
The daily hustle of running a business didn’t leave me much room to be creative for myself. I wanted to be able to create without limits and do things I loved like cooking, crafting and fashion. I had also suddenly lost my father and needed an outlet to work through my grief.
That’s when A Happy Blog was born, the name is just a simple reminder of why I started the blog, to make me happy! The hope is while doing things that make me happy, I can help bring a little happy to everyone else.
What is your favorite thing about A Happy Blog?
Just the ability to be creative on my own terms is what I love about blogging and A Happy Blog. I love discovering new things, tips and tricks in my life and often I share them with my friends. A Happy Blog widened my “friends” so I can do what I always have and just share it with a bigger audience!
What inspires you to be creative?
I feel that I constantly have ideas swirling in my brain, ideas for a new product, art, blog post. Looking at things, I imagine how I would have done it differently, this is my motivation and curse at times! I just can’t seem to turn it off! But I guess it’s also the reason why I do what I do, and where the creativity comes from.
What’s next for you?
I’m focusing Pences Design Studio on creating more products versus custom design. The reception I’ve received over the past couple years for the “405” card inspired me to build a larger product line.
For A Happy Blog, I have so many ideas and things to offer to help other entrepreneurs be successful so you can expect some courses and webinars in the near future.
You can find Jomana Siddiqui on her website or on Instagram.
