My name is Jessica. I am a half Japanese, half Caucasian artist and fashion lover! I have 3 lovely sisters and a cute Yorkshire Terrier :)

I live in the Northern (South) Bay Area of California. I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Creative Advertising and a minor in Studio Art in 2010. 

When I was little I thought I wanted to be an interior designer. As I got a little older I thought perhaps illustrating books would be my forte. I went through three majors in college, 1st) Business, 2nd) Graphic Design and 3rd) settled on (Creative Track) Advertising. It might sound like exactly what I do now but I truly believe it really didn’t have an effect on my fashion blogging route (or even teach me anything about the realm of blogging and social media). It does however reflect that I’ve always had an inclination towards creating anything that might be aesthetically pleasing to the public eye!

When I stumbled upon Chictopia in late 2011, I felt like it wouldn't be too hard to start fashion blogging because I love clothes, had done a little modeling for friends, and already owned a DSLR after taking a photo journalism class a few years ago. But I was wrong! Fashion blogging is a lot of work! But it is also worth it because I love shopping and inspiring others to dress well and thoughtfully! See my January 2012 post called "How I got Started" for a bit more on this :)

Sometimes I have people ask me what hapa is. The term hapa can't actually be found in the dictionary, though it is recognized slang for mixed racial heritage with partial roots in Asian and/or Pacific Islander ancestry. It is also a loan from the English word half. In Hawaiian Pidgin, hapa has an extended meaning of mixed descent [Wikipedia]. When it comes down to it, you can call me Eurasian, halfie or half-asian, but I prefer hapa (not to mention my grandpa is from Hawaii!) as it's just one of the coolest words ever :)