Art And Design: Tracing Illustrator Alicia Souza’s Quirky Art Line

Drawing influence from color and interesting doodles, creating contemporary artwork and products had caught much of Alicia Souza’s fancy. With a penchant for creative illustrations, the artist has developed a melange of brands and products.

Alicia Souza co-founded the lifestyle venture Chumbak, and dabbles with design projects along her eponymous brand which recently collaborated with UK-based illustrator Katie Abey to launch their products across the country through AliciaSouzaUK.

In an interview with us, Alicia talks about the initial hiccups before launching her own line, and the colorful going so far:

“I’ve always been attracted to colorful things, be it stationery or knick-knacks,” she tells us. With a growing circuit of friends who loved her products, it drove the inspiration to take the plunge into designing.

“I don’t think I had one sole influence. I’ve derived inspiration from everything – from hardships I’ve had to go through, to illustrators I admire to women in tech!” she tells us, reminiscing about the many influencers that came her way.

The artist’s decision to take up designing is largely attributed to her parents’ support. “To be honest, I don’t think I had faith. I was really weary getting into designing and if my parents, being the lovely people they are, had even thrown a flinch of a negative doubt over my decision, I would have probably now been an accountant. Once I got into designing, I knew I could probably hack it but definitely not when I just started or considered the field,” she says.

Drawing parallels between her university course and her choice of career, Alicia is upbeat about the plethora of career choices one has today. “I think the scope for jumping careers is a lot more these days because it’s not frowned upon as it was back in the day. In my parents time, you studied something, got a job in it and stuck to it for life, whether you liked it or not. It was pretty much the reason why my folks insist we take up fields we love. I truly appreciate them for that!” Alicia says.

Her career shift from finance to a quirky startup wasn’t devoid of scepticism. “I didn’t really announce it, which was the scary part. Everyone thought I was being hasty and really risky, which I was! Not something in my nature either, but even though it initially didn’t work out, I feel like it was the best decision,” she says.

Alicia’s work regales many with fun stories about her pets, Henry Oats and Charlie. Her favourite muse? Has to be the her husband, George, and her pets.

“The three of them together and individually have such strong personalities that I can’t be partial to one. Charlie has been with me the longest, Hen is my baby and George is my human,” she says, fondly.

Alicia’s rendezvous with art has got her chalking out a long list of projects she’s love to get her hands on, and hopes that she might get working on a fun exhibition sometime in the future. “I can’t imagine having the time till I retire at a 102!” she exclaims.

Chasing art and seeing her career waltz into illustrating happiness, Alicia has come a long way. And she hopes that others might take the leap to pursue their passion. “Evaluate your risks and take the plunge. Life is all about the courage to make yourself happier!” she says.

You can check out her fabulous creations on her website: https://www.aliciasouza.com