Wearable art is a pretty broad term, and Yaya Kieu’s creations certainly fit this description. After feeling overwhelmed in her past career, Kieu turned her life around once she decided to leave it all behind to create the most stunning hand-painted hats that you’ll ever see.
Kieu started her brand Beyond the Canvas while she was stationed in Okinawa, Japan with her husband. Working on base for the Department of Defense brought her zero joy, and she eventually decided to quit her 9-to-5 job and explore her creative side.
“My business started on my kitchen table with supplies from Daiso! I wasn’t sure where this path would take me, but I quit my job working on base after experiencing panic attacks for weeks! I had to completely trust the process for the sake of my happiness and health,” she explains on her official website.
Kieu was initially selling her art to military families and the local Japanese community, but her audience expanded in years to come, and she’s now followed by over 150,000 people on Instagram. She finds inspiration everywhere she turns and enjoys using pretty much anything as a canvas, but her original textured art on hats eventually put her on the map.
