Meet Aliya Bora | Artist, Designer & Creative Producer

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

Hi Aliya, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?

I’m a deeply creative person and can’t see myself in anything other than a creative role. I took a non-creative corporate sales job right out of college and it wasn’t the right fit. So many of us fresh grads at the time were told to find a “stable” job, and that would be our ticket to a successful career. But then the recession happened and my job was suddenly gone. It taught me that there is no such thing as a stable job, so you might as well pursue something you love.

That’s when I realized the importance of building your own personal brand and freelancing. I always loved design, color, and artistic pursuits, but veered away from them in college. I thought other majors would lead to that so-called stability, but I ended up losing the “stable” job anyway. I took that as a sign that and my second chance to go back to school and study the two things I was always passionate about – design and video storytelling. I enrolled in both programs at my local community college and never looked back.

I’ve always been an artist and designer, but got distracted along the way by other people’s projections and societal expectations. It’s extremely freeing to embrace what you love.

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.

I’m a multidisciplinary creative – much of my professional career has been spent in the design and TV media world. I’m a trained graphic designer and also a video producer with experience working with TV news networks. My background allows me to flex between video, design and art projects which comes in handy in the fast-paced digital and social world we live in.

I love flowing between my designer, video producer and artist backgrounds. I have a few different offerings and projects going on at the moment. In my creative agency and consultancy, Aliya Bora Creative, I work with Fortune 500, small business, solopreneur and agency clients on their design and social video needs.

I’ll be opening a template shop soon with pre-built Notion and Canva templates that are based off my years of creative experience, and meant to simplify the process for people building out social video and design projects.

I also do private commissions for my hand-skilled artwork like watercolor painting, succulent plant design and seed bead silk embroidery. I like to keep my creative skills sharp by signing up for different creative classes and workshops to try in San Diego and on my travels, and love exploring new creative mediums.

This is what inspired me to start my travel design blog – I used to travel internationally frequently for work and wanted to make the most of my spare time overseas, but it was hard to find activities geared towards women or creative art classes. I wished there was a place that easily listed the women-friendly activities and creative workshops, so I started creating a series of “Girls Guide” posts on my blog where I wrote about the creative workshops and women-friendly hidden gems I found on my travels. Most creatives would love the opportunity to make these artistic connections around the world, so I hope to bring this to a wider audience through a streaming show.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

I love this! San Diego is so amazing. I have a few favorite spots that I love to bring people when they visit. I’d probably spend a day in each of these places:

Coronado: I love bringing guests down to Coronado to walk along Orange Avenue and stop in the independent shops along the way like Fuzzwig’s Candy Factory or Crown Meets Sea gift shop. We generally follow this with brunch or a coffee stop at the Hotel Del Coronado and a stroll along Coronado Beach.

Encinitas: I love grabbing a matcha from Goodonya Organic Eatery and taking a short walk down to Swami’s Beach to enjoy it by the water. If I have guests in town and the tide is low, I’ll bring them down to the beach to check out the wildlife in tide pools – they are absolutely breathtaking! I’ve seen everything from starfish, tiny crabs and even an octopus!

I also love the treats from Nectarine Grove like their baked goods and pizza – they are great with substitutions if you are gluten or dairy-sensitive. I’d grab bites from here to enjoy for a beach picnic at nearby Moonlight Beach. Encinitas is also home to some fun shops, I like bringing guests to Soulscape Books & Gifts and the Grounded furniture store for design inspo.

Liberty Station: For all my creative guests, I bring them down to Liberty Station to check out the creative shops and galleries. Pigment is one of my favorites and they offer creative workshops throughout the year. I’ve taken a macramé workshop and floral design class there, and I love to bring a creative friend if they are in town. I also dig the eats from Liberty Public Market (taco lover here), it reminds me a bit of Chelsea Market in NYC. There are a few creative spaces at Liberty Station on my list to check out: The Hot Spot for pottery and candle making and San Diego Craft Collective for hands-on craft classes.

La Jolla: I’d take guests to enjoy some eats on the rooftop at Trilogy Sanctuary, walk them by the beautiful rose garden along Coast S Blvd, and take them to observe the sea lions at the Children’s Pool or down to the tide pools to see the sea life. Then I’d take them over to La Jolla Shores to enjoy some beach time.

Del Mar: For my friends who love furry friends, I’d take them on a walk along the dog beach and Powerhouse Park in Del Mar, and book a nice ocean-view dinner table at Poseidon to have a great meal and catch up. Camino Del Mar has some cute shops and English countryside vibes, so I’d stroll the block with them so they could check it out.

Street Fairs: I can’t forget to mention the various festivals in San Diego, so if I have a friend in town I would bring them along to the Encinitas Street Fair in April and November, or one of the other street fairs in Carlsbad, etc. I love supporting the independent makers and businesses there. I’ve had great finds from jewelry to honey from local farmers and amazing handmade bath products. 

Some new places on my list to check out are the afternoon high tea service at Desserts by Clement in PB, and creative projects at All You Can Make Del Mar. I’ve also written extensively about my favorite places in San Diego and creative stops around the world – you can check them out on my blog or Well Traveled Club profile.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

I have to shout out my neighbor, Martha, who lived across the street from my childhood home. She was a former teacher who had just moved to the area. We became fast friends soon after we met, thanks to her dog Sammy the red golden retriever.

I’d go over to her house after school and she became like a second mom to me. She quickly saw that I loved art, and would sign me up and drive me to art classes to build my skills. She encouraged me and told me I could become anything I wanted to be. She made me feel seen and created a safe space for shy kid like me to develop their creative abilities. I started getting invited to art gallery openings when I was in third grade and had my art selected to hang in downtown office buildings, and she was there to support me along the way. We’re still in touch, and she encourages me and celebrates my artistic wins to this day.

I also have to shout out her dog, Sammy the red golden, without whom we never would have met. Sammy loved to swim so much, one hot summer day she jumped three of our fences just to go swimming in our backyard pool. Martha came to retrieve her dog and that’s how we met. So thank you Sammy (R.I.P.) for bringing us together!

Website: https://aliyabora.com/

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

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

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@aliyabora

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/aliyabora/

Well Traveled Club: https://www.welltraveledclub.com/aliyabora

Image Credits
Aliya Bora