About Hei Mao Studio
Hello random person who might be curious about Hei Mao Studio and how it started. Thanks for stopping by!
Here's a compilation of answers to questions you didn't ask for.
What does 'Hei Mao' mean?
Hei Mao or 黑貓 is Mandarin Chinese for 'black cat'.
Who started HMS?
Oh hi, that’s me. I’m Rosa. I am a 1.5 generation Taiwanese American (she/her). If you’re wondering what that means, I kindly ask you to google it. I am a designer turned HMS founder. Everything on the website is created by me in Seattle at my home studio.
Where does the name Hei Mao Studio come from?
As a designer who always had to show her work publicly via a portfolio, I wanted to steer away from using my name and start fresh with my business. In 2020 I used oaee - all the vowels in my name - as an alias but as my studio work evolved it felt more appropriate to use a name that embodied cuteness, animals, and a nod to my Taiwanese American heritage. The logo comes from a painting I did of Ollie that hangs in the studio now.
Who's Mao & mao (The Maos)?
In August 2020, the CIC, Ollie, and I decided to adopt the last two kitty bud vases and then someone (me) had the brilliant idea of making them our customer reps.
Parting Words?
So here we are at the beginning of a hopefully long journey with HMS! The brand will surely evolve quite a bit with time. Thank you for being here, and for your support in whatever form you are able to give!
Still curious to learn more?
Read about the Maos origin story!