Anthony Interviews: JELLI

Dec 5

Anthony: EMBELLISH: ISSUE 01 is all about celebrating and decorating ourselves with trinkets as a form of expression. How did you come up with this concept that is fun but has a deeper meaning of connectivity with others & celebration in our individuality?

Juli: Deciding on a theme for this first issue was easy when we were able to use real-life experiences as inspiration. For example, there have been several times when we connect with strangers through the way we dress or accessorize our trinkets. I remember a specific time when we went to Lucky Stars Market and we got to meet a super cool person (shoutout Alyssa!) because I complimented her Snoopy bag. It was amazing to me how easy it was to meet and make friends with people when you express yourself authentically. It’s also just incredibly fun to decorate yourself with your favorite trinkets. There have also been several influences and inspirations like our childhoods, different cultures, and our community. All of these things meshed together to form EMBELLiSH! Which has got to be one of my favorite words to use now.

Anthony: JELLi Girl, Who are they? Are we…or can we all be JELLi Girl?

Jem: I wanna say JELLi GiRL at its core is more of a concept one embodies than an actual person or character. Sure, we have a JELLi GiRL model for iSSUE 01 and a defined original character we call JELLi GiRL, but that’s because they encapsulate this idea of not being afraid to be your authentic self. JELLi GiRLS loudly express themselves in the outfits they wear, the spaces they decorate, and the trinkets they collect! They’re playful, colorful, and maximalist. Anyone can be JELLi GiRL as long as they are true to themselves and are proud to show it. So yes, you can be JELLi GiRL, BOY, or PERSON if you see yourself as so!

Anthony: Do you have any highlights while creating JELLi? How was the process of creating?

Jem: Honestly, Juli and I had no prior experience in the process of making a magazine whatsoever so it was a learning process throughout. All we had were a vision and a dream! With that, I think the biggest highlight is having to have built this magazine entirely from scratch. We have an incredible team who believed in us and were so kind and understanding that they made such an unknown, daunting process into a fun, supportive one. We also have a couple of members familiar with zine-making, so their knowledge was definitely helpful in making important choices for the logistics of the magazine. It’s truly an honor to work alongside such talented, creative individuals that the process of creating brought so much joy and excitement to us–it’s so inspiring. Thank you JELLi team, you all are the best!

Anthony: I was so thrilled to attend the JELLi Release Party, it was immaculate! What are some highlights of the night for you? It had an amazing selection of vendors, delicious coffee and of course the pinnacle of the night, the print of the 1st issue!

Jem: Thank you for coming! We really appreciated some of The Look members celebrating our launch with us. A highlight for me would definitely be seeing both new and familiar faces coming to support us. We’ve made new friends throughout our JELLi journey this year, so it was so sweet having them as vendors or coming to congratulate us personally. The same can be said about the friends we’ve made from the local trinket community throughout the past two years or even from school! I also really loved seeing some of the team meet each other for the first time. We work remotely, so it was lovely seeing some of the team come together and express their adoration for one another. (Some since we have members based outside of San Diego–we wish you all were there!!)

Juli: Thank you so much! One highlight of the night for me was definitely seeing almost my whole family show up. Even my grandparents came! It was a lovely surprise and it warmed my heart knowing how much my family loves and supports me (and of course my best friend Jem who they all know and love as well). It was also amazing to see friends whom Jem and I have made throughout the years! Along with that, being able to see the team get the praise and cheers they deserve was amazing. One of our goals as a magazine is to uplift the creatives in our community so I definitely felt like we were able to do that. Overall, it was a great feeling to be able to show our loved ones what we have been working so hard on.

Anthony: Top Songs that capture JELLi’s essence or help you while creating the issue? Drop the playlist!

Jem: Lucky for you we have a playlist solely dedicated to capturing this issue’s essence! You can find it on our Spotify profile here which has songs curated by the JELLi team that give the same fun, colorful vibe this issue does. If I had to pick a top 3 though I would choose 1) Tutti Frutti Lover by Caramella Girls, 2) wonder2 by Perfume, and 3) Let Me Be With You by ROUND TABLE ft. Nino.

Spotify Playlist: https://linktr.ee/thisisJELLi

Anthony: San Diego. As a trinket collector, What are your favorite spots to accessorize in San Diego?

Juli: One of my favorite spots to get cute trinkets and accessories in SD is definitely Pixley's Oddities. We actually had the opportunity to interview the amazing owner Simone and it was so much fun. Make sure to look out for that in our issue! They have a vast array of trinkets from some awesome local artists. You can find keychains, jewelry, stickers, and even other zines. They are also official retailers of Sonny Angels, Sanrio, and San-X! All of my favorite things in one shop, what else could I ask for?

Anthony: What are some hopes for the future in the JELLiVERSE? Personally, I need 100 more comics of The Adventures of JELLi Girl and an animated series ASAP!

Jem: An animated series would be so cool! The Adventures of JELLi GiRL is personally one of my favorite pieces in the issue, so shout out to its artist Jay Lara (@azuratis) and writer Jade Sumulong! In iSSUE 01, we introduce JELLi GiRL, her little pudding friend, and the found magical spoon, but there’s so much lore behind all three that we are eager to explore and hope our readers are also excited to learn more about! I know our art team is excited to expand the JELLiVERSE with more storylines and potentially new characters to look forward to. Stay tuned for more artwork in our upcoming issues that delve more into the world of JELLi ;)

Anthony: And for newer fans of JELLi, Is another print order release of Issue 01 something they can look forward to?

Juli: It all depends on how many people want it! For now, we will be selling whatever is leftover from pre-orders online but we hope to also sell some in person soon. Whether that’s at a local bookstore or maybe a market. So be quick because you won’t want to miss our first issue!

Jem: I also wanna say thank you so much for the love and support we’ve received for our debut issue! We’ve received an overwhelming amount of support from all over the world and it feels unreal to know that so many more people want our magazine than we could’ve ever imagined. We’re so grateful, it’s crazy. And like Juli said, get yours while you can!

Check out Jelli: https://linktr.ee/thisisJELLi

By Anthony Gutierrez