Where Did We Begin?

On July 1st, 2025, one year ago, I started posting a few pictures and short writings on Facebook.

At that time, Angelina Studio was not really a studio yet. It was more like a small corner of my life: a meal I cooked, a photo I liked, a thought I did not want to lose.

One year later, that small corner has slowly grown.

Today, Angelina Studio has four platforms — Facebook, Instagram, Xiaohongshu, and WeChat — plus a website of its own.

It is still small.
It is still growing.
But it has begun to feel like a real place.

What Is This Studio For?

The heart of Angelina Studio is simple.

I hope it can be a place where people pause for a moment after a long day, and leave feeling a little comforted, a little inspired, or simply less alone.

In the recipe section, I want to share food that is healthy but not exhausting. I care about real home cooking: meals that are nourishing, colorful, and possible in an ordinary family kitchen.

Not perfect food.
Not complicated food.
Just food that helps us live a little better.

In the story section, I often choose gentleness. My stories rarely have true villains, because real life already gives us enough difficulty. In my little story world, there is usually a soft ending, a kind reversal, or a small light waiting somewhere.

In the notes section, things are more mixed — just like life.

Sometimes I write about hospital visits, recovery, fear, or the inner life of being a cancer survivor. Sometimes I write in a more humorous way, about bread, family, heatwaves, or the strange little dramas of everyday life.

Both are real.

How Do I Balance It All?

One of my biggest challenges is balance.

Angelina Studio is not created in a quiet office with unlimited time. It is built inside real life: family meals, school events, hospital appointments, hot weather, tired days, and all the small things that interrupt our plans.

This past week was a perfect example. London was in a heatwave. I had a hospital visit. My son had a school celebration. Life kept happening.

So I am learning not to be too harsh on myself.

When I have energy, I create more.
When life is full, I slow down.
Consistency matters, but so does kindness.

The beautiful thing is that creative work does not only happen at a desk.

Sometimes an idea comes while I am cooking dinner. Sometimes I see a scene and take a photo. Sometimes a piece of bread, a plate of food, or a sentence from my family becomes the beginning of a new note.

For me, Angelina Studio is not separate from life.
It grows from life.

What Comes Next?

From this July to next July, I want to focus on building more meaningful work.

I want to improve the website, create better recipe PDFs, and continue developing Little Mouse Big Hope — a story inspired by my cancer journey, told in a softer and more illustrated way.

I do not want Angelina Studio to become big for the sake of being big.

I want it to become useful.
Warm.
Memorable.
A place where someone can find a recipe, a story, a little courage, or a quiet kind of hope.

One year is only the beginning.

But I am grateful for this beginning.

And I am ready to keep building — slowly, honestly, and with love.

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