Meet Jeanette Ponce

We were lucky to catch up with Jeanette Ponce recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jeanette, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome is something Ive struggled with a lot , especially when it comes to my work with hair. Being self taught & beginning my journey brought up a lot of anxieties at first. Ive always been a control freak so the idea of not having everything pre planned out and being prepared for every possibly mishap caused so much unnecessary panic/stress. That’s called not being secure in your abilities that you have to control every little thing to feel a sense of stability. Mentally I was my biggest hater/critic, I always counted myself out of so many opportunities because I didn’t think I deserved it or was at that level yet. I was so afraid of not being able to come through for whatever it was I was doing, I wouldn’t even try. I didn’t know everything immediately & was a baby in the creative world fresh out of high school and then having dropped out of college. I was following my heart & because so much of me felt like it was on the line I was just afraid all the time of failing, mistakes, unforeseen mishaps, etc. Since then, I’ve seen how interconnected my work is with the place I’m at with myself. Hitting rock bottom a few times forced me to do so much healing and inner work and that is when everything started to change. Once I understood that my reality was just reflecting my inner world, I started to see things differently. Building a better relationship with myself , regaining that trust & confidence within me was the first building block to a better path. Also because my brain is so loud, I had to learn how to rewire my entire way of thinking/self concept. I started putting me first & things like yoga showed me I could quiet the noise and actually guide myself into a better state of being. Now it’s like I can tap into the peace within the chaos I’d feel when I’d normally lose my head. Now I can appreciate the peace/flow so much more. I never thought I could do things on the fly & just see what happens but now that’s most of what I do & I’m no long afraid.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My name is Jeanette, I’m a Los Angeles–based multimedia artist and storyteller, but most people know me as Kitti. My work currently centers around hairstyling, but it often expands into video, photography, mixed-media installations, and wearable art. At the start of my journey (2021) the storytelling aspect of my work was mostly expressed through video/editing. All I had was my mom’s old camcorder & that was all I needed. A lot of what I was creating stemmed from my love for music. Music has always been my rock and what came naturally for me to build worlds off of. Creating my own fantasy based on feeling. Because I’m all water (I’m a double cancer, no earth in me) I’m extremely sensitive to feeling which is why music just fulfills everything in my heart . Playing around with fantasy & whimsy I loved the weirdness of watching something and being slightly confused, mostly intrigued, leaving things subjective and up to the viewer to decide what to make of it.
Over the years I’ve done a lot of reconnecting with myself & my culture especially. I often tap into my Guatemalan heritage, childhood memories, and the dreamy aesthetics I loved growing up. Those influences guide a lot of the themes I now explore—nostalgia, fantasy, and cultural identity.
One of the most exciting parts of what I do now, is getting to storytell in new ways, uniting so many passions/interests. Hair has always felt like a medium in itself—intimate, expressive, and deeply personal. I’ve done art installations all centered around the stories I get to tell through hair and physical mediums. Most recently I made wings out of hair for a beautiful art show curated by an amazing artist/photographer, Thalia Gochez, titled “The Land Will Always Remember Us”. It was an ode to flight & resilience in honor of our immigrant elders. I got to share some bits of my mom & abuelita’s migration story.
I also have my brand, Yesterday Princess, where I create handmade hair pieces. Its just what I would’ve loved to see as a young girl. I swear a part of me heals every time I create something. They’re playful, dreamy, and rooted in self-expression, and I love seeing how people interpret and embody them.
What feels special about my work is how it lets me merge so many parts of my identity and creative practice. I get to bring whimsy/fantasy into the everyday and create styles/pieces that make people feel seen, transformed, or connected to a part of themselves they may have forgotten.
I’m continuing to expand Yesterday Princess with new handmade pieces, photo/video collaborations, and future installations that lean even deeper into nostalgia and cultural storytelling. I’m excited about creating more spaces—both physical and digital—where people can tap into that sense of childlike wonder and expressive freedom. Just play and see what happens. I think a lot of people forget we all carry our baby selves within us, we can’t forget about them.
Ultimately, everything I make is about honoring where I come from and inviting others to celebrate their own stories, too.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1 quality most impactful in my journey I would say is open-mindedness. Even when I wasn’t the best (with hair for example) not very technically sound but the heart & vision was always there. Being open to change/evolution with my style/taste. Open to working with new people, even when it’s scary & doesn’t always work out. I don’t see anything as a waste of time & there’s always a lesson to be learned. 1 skill that’s been most impactful is determination/finesse. Seeing the way my mom was always so independent, if she wanted to do something she wouldn’t wait, she’d just do. For me, this skill extends from hair to whatever other creative endeavor I want to pursue. If I want to learn how to make my own hoodies at 17 with my own custom design for my senior class in high school & hand deliver them to my friends, I did that. If I wanted to learn graphic design & how to work adobe photoshop/illustrator/various editing platforms or how to make 3D animations and learn that software, I did that. Youtube is free. The finesse is strongest when I don’t put so much pressure on myself. The flow came with time, as I strengthened self trust I learned how to slow my mind down.
1 area of knowledge very impactful has also been the principles surrounding yoga/self care. I learned so much from my older sister Julia and best friend Kylee. They taught me better ways to treat myself. More sustainable ways to exist. At my lowest points they were the difference between me being here and not. Nothing matters if you’re rotting deep down, or letting yourself break to try and get somewhere you think with solve everything. Our wellbeing should always be #1.

Because art is an extension of its creator, I knew I always wanted my work to evoke some kind of feeling. I think that’s what makes art, art honestly. What are you doing and why does it mean anything to you? Otherwise it feels empty. I would suggest creatives to hone in on what makes them feel the most, it doesn’t all have to be rainbows n sunshine. Most of the time it’s not. As long as it’s honest. Everyone has a unique story to tell, only we know what we’ve been through & you have no idea what others are going through ever so literally just be kind. Be your biggest cheerleader & learn to regulate that nervous system. Also you don’t need as much as you think to make something great, limitation is the mother of creativity.
As a viewer, I know I gravitate to the art that makes me feel connected to the artist in some way, sometimes it’s simple sometimes it’s not. Maybe even feel some type of comfort/hope along the way . That’s what I hope my work does for viewers at least.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I’ve done a lot of collaborations in the past and still now, which I love & plan to continue according to my capacity. But at this time, for this next chapter Im really looking to prioritize exploring partnerships that allow me to see the full scope of my capabilities . Partners/brands that I can see my work making sense & growing with. I spent a lot of time just doing whatever came my way, not really asking myself if it made sense for me, I would rarely say no even if my gut was leaning away. People take advantage when you let yourself be a doormat. So now is the time to decide what aligns with me & more deeply explore what I want to do. I know Im worth investing in. I love to creative direct/set design/shoot/edit/hair/model.
I would love to work with more brands that feel alive, a lot of big brands feel so cold and boring. I’d like to be seen as a person rather than a number. Also working with more musical artists is a dream. I love Fka Twigs/Bjork/Isabella Lovestory/Lexa Gates/ Faye Web etc. Just artists that aren’t afraid to do something weird or different. I admire the ones who are true to themselves. Deep down I know music is where my heart feels most at home for sure. My end game has something to do with that world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.yesterdayprincess.com
• Instagram: @kittypiddl3 @yesterdayprincesss

Image Credits

photo 1 (all denim look), taken by Victor Arriola
photo 2 (cowboy hat of hair) taken by Alex Han
photo 3 (black & white) taken by Xiana Mireya
photo 4 (aqua blue background) taken by Thalia Gochez