PART 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction I started working for Bobblehaus in October 2019. They first posted a call for editorial contributors in a slack group called The Cosmos, a community for Asian American women to connect and support each other. The brand was pitched as both a blog and soon to be clothing label that centered around uplifting Asian diasporic and Asian American voices–a space that was built to be community driven and community led. Bobblehaus was still in its infancy stage at this point–they had yet to publish editorials or launch their clothing line, but were looking for those with similar backgrounds to share their voices. The call, which is now lost in a collection of old postings, sought Asian American or Asian diasporic contributors to contribute articles that covered everything from pop culture events to personal essays. Focusing on youth perspectives, Bobblehaus sought to give space to voices that were underrepresented and overlooked, particularly in the Asian diaspora. I eagerly messaged the girl who posted, soon to learn that she was the editor-inchief, Leona Chen. An interview was held with her and Bobblehaus’ co-founder, Ophelia Chen, before a contributor agreement was quickly signed. I joined the team. During our interview, Chen explained how she came to conceptualize Bobblehaus: it stemmed from her desire to create a community for bi-cultural Asians around the world. As someone who was raised with Chinese and American values all the while listening to K-pop and watching Japanese anime, Chen realized that there was a whole generation that shared the same mash up of cultures that she did.1 Bobblehaus
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Chen, Ophelia. Interview by Yin Chin Casey Huang. New York, 17 October, 2021.
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