Meet Maya Ghavidel | Owner of Pixel Chick

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maya Ghavidel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maya, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Honestly, I was just a senior in high school trying to make some extra money before college. It wasn’t until after I graduated that I began to build my brand and take myself seriously. I made my own logo, ordered business cards, and came up with the name “Pixel Chick”; an homage to one of my favorite games growing up, and a reference to my business being started online.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Being a young woman in charge of basically everything hasn’t been easy. People don’t really take me seriously a lot of the time, and the fact that I could probably pass as a middle schooler doesn’t really help. There have definitely been times where people have brushed me off, tried to take advantage of me, or just straight up ignored me. At my first ever pop-up shop, my booth was put in the back of a sketchy parking lot in Montrose where no one could really see me. I sat there in the heat with my friends (who had been kind enough to come and support me), feeling embarrassed and defeated because no one was buying my stuff. I thought my jewelry wasn’t that cute and might’ve been overpriced. After a couple hours of sitting around, someone came by my table and bought a necklace I had made. It was the first time that somebody bought something that I had made by hand, and my first face-to-face interaction with a customer, as my business had been completely online up until that point. The fact that someone saw something I made and felt the desire to spend money on it was so crazy to me, and it was definitely one of the happiest moments of my career. I really wanted to give up that day and never come back, but I ended up being a regular at that market, and people would DM me on Instagram asking if I would be a vendor that month, hoping to buy some new earrings from me. It was honestly surreal, and really made me believe in myself and Pixel Chick.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My best friend, Marina, actually just came to visit me in Houston so this is a perfect question! (Hi Marina) I always take them to my favorite thrift stores, where we laugh at the weird sayings on T-shirts from the 90’s and wish we didn’t spend $200 on our prom dresses. My entire family is from Iran, so I’m always sure to show my friends my favorite Persian restaurants (Kasra and Garson) and I have them order the koobideh kabob. I could really go on about my favorite places to eat forever so I’ll just say that Phat Eatery, ROKO Grill, Fat Bao, The Burger Joint, and Rodeo Goat are some of my top picks. We recently visited the Butterfly Center at the Museum of Natural Science and it was like being in a Disney movie. At the end of the day, nothing beats escaping the humidity by hanging out in the pool with your friends and drinking a can of Cacti, which honestly doesn’t taste that good but definitely makes you feel like a proud Houstonian.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My parents have always been the most constant pillar of support in my life. My career and studies definitely haven’t been conventional, but they’ve always believed in me even if I wanted to spend my entire paycheck on jewelry supplies, or turn our spare room into my workspace.

Website: https://www.depop.com/shoppixelchick

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shoppixelchick

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayaghavidel/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shoppixelchick