Meet Alyssa Chiang & Alexis Constantino | Lotus Magazine Co-Founders

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alyssa Chiang & Alexis Constantino and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Alyssa Chiang & Alexis Constantino, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
We started Lotus Magazine to uplift the voices of the Asian American & Pacific Islander community, particular those of women and nonbinary folks. By highlighting the diverse experiences of the AAPI community through the lens of a lifestyle magazine, we bring awareness to them so that we can celebrate our unique value together. There is so much to be co-created and shared, and we maintain our outlet as a community-centric space. As such, we invite our community members to contribute to Lotus Magazine or to share with us the amazing work they’re doing so that we can bring visibility to their talent, creativity, and passion.
Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
In our editorial lifestyle magazine curated for the modern Asian American & Pacific Islander woman, Lotus Magazine is dedicated to sharing diverse stories and perspectives aimed at empowering, inspiring, and promoting visibility for our community. Spanning topics surrounding culture, lifestyle, identity, media, and art/prose, Lotus Magazine focuses on AAPI perspectives and stories with a lens that strives to include our San Diego community. Rather than relying solely on the team to generate relevant content, we intentionally include writing and ideas from the community we aim to serve and we constantly create ways to engage in-person with the community through events. This allows us to explore topics that our community finds interesting and relevant, so that our readers can define for themselves what it means to live their best lives while still honoring their unique heritage and experiences, especially with the constantly evolving dialogue. Through our pages, we want our readers to feel seen and heard, and to perhaps learn something new that might help them better understand and accept themselves.
Our community is paramount to our work, and our priority for our platform is to uplift our fellow AAPI community members. This is the pride and soul that drives Lotus Magazine’s every article. To connect in-person with our community, we even started the AAPI Pop-Up Market for AAPI Heritage Month. Our inaugural market was in 2024, and this year, we held it at Kilowatt Brewing in Kearny Mesa, bringing out nearly 40 AAPI-owned vendors, live performances by local talent, and more than 500 attendees from the community.
The team of volunteers driving Lotus Magazine is the reason for where it is today. They are pouring in hours of work simply because they care about and hold their community dear. Though the journey has been far from easy, having a passionate, creative, driven team goes a long way in carrying the workload. We also overcame challenges by reaching out to others who have built their own businesses or creative pursuits, including other local AAPI-owned businesses, organizations such as Mixed Asian Media and Asian Wander Women, and resources such as Asian Business Association and ACE Next Gen. Reaching out to others has opened so many doors and allowed us to connect with so many amazing people. At the end of the day, the important thing is sometimes to not be afraid to take the leap of faith and make a decision with the information we’ve gathered. This has been one of the most important lessons we’ve learned along the way. There’s no way to know all the “right answers”. Oftentimes, we just had to move forward as best we could and adjust along the way.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First: definitely get plenty of beach time and sunshine!
For food, go to Convoy District to find delicious Asian food, from innovative fusions to traditional fare. Some of our personal faves are Soup du Jour (Taiwanese family-owned place with high-quality ingredients) and Matcha Café Maiko (do NOT miss this for some amazing and creative dessert!). If you go to the Convoy District, make sure to drop by Kilowatt Brewing for an afternoon beer. The owners are incredibly supportive of local businesses and grassroots organizations. In the City Heights area, there are a ton of Vietnamese food spots. And one of our personal favorite recommendations is the Mira Mesa area. Although it doesn’t share the same hype as the Convoy District, it is up-and-coming, with lots of new restaurants and dessert spots. Finally, if you’re looking for something a little more upscale for dinner, try out Animae – Chef Tara Monsod’s work is stellar!
For things to do, make sure to check out Sunset Cliffs – if you wait until low tide (just Google when low tide is), you can climb down underneath the big cave and see the natural skylight from underneath. We’re biased on this one since we’re both alumni, but stop by UC San Diego! The campus is a beautiful place to walk around, plus it’s close to the beach! If you’re into bookstores, definitely go to Libélula in Barrio Logan. The owners are so incredibly sweet and they are supportive of local artists and creators. Lastly, if you head out to Balboa Park, our favorite museums are Museum of Us and Mingei International Museum!
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are SO MANY individuals, organizations, and businesses we could shout out – Lotus Magazine is the result of a collective effort and tremendous support. Here, we’d like to give a special shoutout to True KBeauty Store, a small business in SoCal that we met last year. The ladies of True KBeauty Store, especially the owner, Michelle Nguyen, has been a massive supporter of Lotus Magazine ever since we met. She consistently makes an effort to open doors for us and she is invested in our success. The whole team at Lotus Magazine is incredibly grateful to True KBeauty Store. If you’re looking for Korean skincare or beauty products, this is the place to go! You’ll be met with utmost love and care.
Website: https://www.lotus-mag.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lotus_mag/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lotusthemagazine
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lotusthemagazine/
Image Credits
Pop-Up photos (popup1 and popup2): Lorelle Mauricio
Lotus Magazine Winter 2025 Edition: Art by Deanna Day
Lotus Magazine Spring 2025 Edition: Art by Faith Cao