Photo by Julia Woock

RESONATING WITH RESIN—SC student Karla Luna enjoyed success at a pop up stand in Mission Valley. (She removed her mask very briefly for the photo.) Her art honors her Native American and Latino heritage.

By Kristen Hernandez and Victoria Rietz

Karla Luna looked right at home in a Mission Valley shopping mall selling her exquisite resin jewelry and art to ogling passersby.

It was actually her first time as a public artist-entrepreneur, but no one seemed to know.

Had anyone told her in March that she would own a business in November she would have laughed aloud at the notion, she said. Necessity is the mother of invention, it is said, but pandemic boredom gave Luna an extra push.

“Originally I was just doing it for myself,” she said. “Then I thought ‘Oh, maybe I’m making a little too much of this,’ so my mom suggested I start a small business.”

As Luna’s inventory grew, she opened a virtual shop on Instagram to display and market her handcrafted works. Some early successes further encouraged her. A pop up table at a regional shopping center seemed like a logical next step. That also went well, she said, as streams of people stopped by to admire her translucent creations.

Stock options and a busy factory may not be in the immediate future, but Luna said she is willing to ride the wave of her fledgling company to see where it leads.

“A small private business isn’t as serious and stressful as the larger ones,” she said. “Right now I’m just having fun with it, being creative and doing something I love.”

Luna has throughout her life been a creative soul. She was a singing, dancing dervish in the nationally-ranked show choir Sound Unlimited at Bonita Vista High School. At Southwestern College she was an award-winning photographer, writer and editor of the Arts section of The Sun. After school she worked as a dance teacher.

When the college moved to remote instruction in March she embarked on a weekly Do It Yourself column online that encouraged students to engage in inexpensive creative activities using things found in most households.

“Staying busy and being creative is good for your mental health and your soul,” she said. “When you start to feel that itch to do something creative, you should always pursue that because you never know where it could lead you.”

Luna’s jewelry reflects her multicultural upbringing. Her Latino father and Native American mother each taught her beautiful things about their heritage, she said. South County’s rich diversity and creativity also rubbed off on her.

“Exercising your creativity is relaxing and fun,” she said. “Everybody has gifts, but not everyone explores them. They should.”