Meet Erica Cantua

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica Cantua.

Hi Erica, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I was around 16 or 17 years old, I began painting for my AP Literature class in high school. I had no intention of turning this into a career at the time. One day, for a fake business project in my entrepreneurship class I decided to digitally put my watercolor artwork on shirts. It was just an idea I had for the project until I presented it to my classmates and they loved the shirts. This sparked the thought: “Hey… maybe I could do this”.

My experiences while attending high school are a big reason why I started painting the creepy faces I’m most known for today. I enjoyed dressing up and doing my makeup for school. However, I did not enjoy the labels and comments of being less intelligent that came along with it. Painting faces was an outlet for my confusion and frustration. When I learned about the word “preconception” the paintings then became part of my support system. They served as a reminder to me that someone’s opinion of you does not have to become how you view yourself. I graduated Tucson High early at 17 years old with a 4.0 GPA and was president of the business club “FBLA”. I decided to not attend college and keep working on my entrepreneurial venture.

My art business was doing great until the pandemic. It was a VERY hard time for my business. I figured, I could give up or I could take this time to rebrand and figure out a creative solution. The decision: I wasn’t ready to give up on my dream yet. Fast forward to today, I have improved so many parts of my business like having all my products ready to ship, better product photography, improving the quality of all art shirts, and the big one… buying a school bus that is now a mobile shop! You can follow the journey and see where the bus will be next on my Instagram page: @erixaartmobileshop.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I love summer but the heat has been a challenge for the inside temperature of the bus. In the beginning, while I was removing the original seats and flooring in the school bus I had to think about removing the original AC units as well. They worked and blew air but not cold air (which was no problem- it could be fixed). The problem was: the AC only worked when the school bus was running.

I decided to keep them just in case I had an idea in the future but so far the AC units have not been used much at my small business markets. Now, I plan to remove these original AC units and figure out something else to cool down the bus during the summer. It is important to me to keep my customers happy and comfortable while they are shopping inside the bus. This does mean that there are more changes to come to the bus and more awesome videos of me working on it that will be posted on social media!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Providing customers with unique abstract art on a variety of different items, encouraging individuality, and having a mobile shop sets my art business apart from others.

The bus is the newest and main attraction for my business right now. Customers can walk inside the 20ft white school bus and shop all my unique products. I set up at different events all around Tucson, AZ but hope to travel to other cities to set up and sell with the bus soon. Cash and card is accepted on the bus and new products are constantly being released. To see which event the bus will be at next go to my website erixaart.com.

If you are hosting a local event or know of one happening, be sure to invite the bus! I am always looking to fill my schedule with events I can take the bus to. You can follow the journey on my Instagram page: @erixaartmobileshop.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
An important lesson I learned during the Covid-19 pandemic was to keep working on my dreams even if it wasn’t the right time for them to come to life. I knew how critical it was to keep going and believe in myself.

A quote by Les Brown that reflects this is “It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared”.

I wasn’t sure what the future held but working on my business always felt right. Mistakes are something I welcome and I love to experiment with different ideas I have. If something doesn’t work out, oh well! Live and learn.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://erixaart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erixaartmobileshop/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erixaartcom
• Other: https://erixaart.com/blogs/erixaart-mobile-shop/about-the-bus-erixaart-mobile-shop-tucson-az

Image Credits
Imagesbylaila: https://imagesbylaila.com and Erica C