Yvonne Leung is the founder of Hereafter, a Los Angeles-based gift company with a goal of inspiring more love and reflection in our everyday experiences. Founded in 2012, Hereafter creates beautiful wooden gifts and keepsakes that help people to express their love, thought, and care. Our products are inspired by the range of life’s experiences, from the little everyday moments to the most joyous milestones. We make all of our unique products by hand in our Los Angeles studio and source our wood from certified, sustainable forests in the U.S. to ensure our products are built with equal parts quality and social responsibility.
Share the story of how your business started. How did the idea come about? What goals did you set out to accomplish?
I started Hereafter over 10 years ago, starting with a single wooden greeting card. This card was a way for me to express my love in a way that I couldn’t distill into words. At the time, I was in my 20s and working in finance. I struggled to find joy and meaning in my work. I saw much of the same in those around me and knew I needed to take a risk and find my own path.
My parents were immigrants from Hong Kong; I still remember their confusion and concern when I told them I was starting a business to make wooden greeting cards. Like so many children of immigrants, I was taught to work hard, to take the safe path, and be practical, not to chase dreams.
Almost a decade later, what started as a solo mission has turned into the work of a team of seven women, six of whom are first and second generation immigrants. When I started my business, I likely wouldn’t have put it in these words, but I wanted my work to nourish me.
What does success mean to you? Have you achieved the goals you envisioned?
The last decade has been a journey of self-discovery, challenges, and evolution. Through it all, I have continued to express parts of myself through Hereafter. I guess in that sense, it has been a success – being able to learn, evolve, and create.
I’d want to continue to be a workplace where people can find purpose and meaning. People don’t necessarily see business as a force for good. With how many of today’s businesses prioritize and conduct themselves, I can see how people might come to that conclusion.
Success would be: continually evolving and deepening the ways in which our core values show up in how we care for our team members, our customers, and our world:
· Creating warmth and building connections.
· Staying curious and continuing to grow
· Remembering our interconnectedness
Hereafter, is one of over 220,000 small and medium sized businesses and independent authors from across California who sell in Amazon’s stores. More than half of all items purchases in Amazon’s stores come from businesses like Hereafter.