Updated: May 15
We celebrate AAPI Heritage Month in May specifically to commemorate the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant to the United States, a 14 year old fisherman named Manjiro, on May 7, 1843 and the completion of the transcontinental railroad, which was built by more than 20,000 Chinese immigrants, on May 10, 1869.
Honor the voices, cultures and contributions of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community by introducing your little ones to Piccolina's Trailblazers of Asian descent who've all made their marks on the world!
PICCOLINA
Kids Clothing / Dolls / Artwork / Onesies & Pajamas
Womens Clothing (twinning with your littles)
Home Decor + More!
Piccolina is a lifestyle brand dedicated to empowering today’s young children to become tomorrow’s leaders and problem solvers!
Research shows that starting at age 5, many girls develop self-limiting beliefs and begin to think they're not as smart and capable as boys. Many kids’ clothes and products, perpetuate these gender stereotypes by underrepresenting women in leadership positions or fields relating to science, technology, engineering and finance.
Piccolina is a brand that believes in putting people first. At the core of Piccolina’s identity is a commitment to social justice, equality and inclusion, and those are values that Piccolina incorporate into all aspects of their business.
Amplifying AAPI stories helps us all to understand that our differences are what makes us all beautiful and unique.
ASIAN AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER
TRAILBLAZERS
Gravity-defying gymnast Amy Chow, women's suffrage activist Mabel Ping-Hua Lee and Vice President Kamala Harris, the highest-ranking female elected official in United States history. They are only three of many trailblazing AAPI women who will inspire your little ones to do big things! Learn more about them & other amazing trailblazing AAPI women below!
Junko Tabei
In honor of Junko Tabei, Piccolina created this exclusive short sleeve tee illustrated by artist Julia Kuo. This 100% cotton tee features a portrait of the mountaineer and is the perfect way for your Piccolina to celebrate her inner adventurer.
Junko Tabei (Junko Ishibashi) (1939-2016) was a Japanese mountaineer, an author, & a teacher. She was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest and the first woman to ascend the Seven Summits, climbing the highest peak on every continent.
Junko was born as the fifth daughter among 7 children & was considered a frail child in her early days. Nevertheless, just at the age of 10, she began climbing the mountain, while on a class trip to Mount Nasu. Junko loved climbing but her family did not have enough money for such an expensive hobby so Tabei made only a few climbs during her high school years. She went on to study English & American literature at Showa’s Woman University & climbed consistently through her studies.
After graduating, Tabei formed the Joshi-Tohan mountaineering club for women only, whose motto was “Let’s go on an overseas expedition by ourselves”. Tabei led her club on a number of ascents, including the first woman-only ascent to Annapurna III, in Nepal & then made history in 1975 when she became the first woman to climb Everest at age 35 with a two year old daughter at home. Junko continued climbing until the year she died.
Purchase the Junko Tabei short sleeve tee HERE.
Wang Zhenyi
The story of astronomer and mathematician Wang Zhenyi is sure to inspire your little ones.
Wang Zhenyi was born into the Qing dynasty China, a time when women had no legal rights and women’s education was limited, Wang breached the feudal customs of the time, which hindered women's rights, by working to educate herself in subjects such as astronomy, mathematics, geography, poetry and medicine.
Purchase the Wang Zhenyi long sleeve shirt HERE.
Amy Chow
In honor of Amy Chow Piccolina created this exclusive children's short sleeve tee with contrast sleeve stripe illustrated by artist Cynee Chiu. This 100% cotton tee features a portrait of the Olympic gymnast & is the perfect way for your Piccolina to celebrate their inner gymnast.
Amy Yuen Yee Chow began gymnastics training at the age of 3 and went on to become the first Asian-American woman to win an Olympic medal in gymnastics!
As a member of the Magnificent Seven (the first U.S. team to win a gold medal in the Olympics), Chow, nicknamed "the Trickster,” performed extremely difficult skills with apparent ease -- including one of the most difficult balance beam routines ever performed to date. Chow’s eagerness to try new things on uneven bars led her to develop two difficult pirouetting skills that now bear her name in gymnastics’ “code of points.” Today, Chow is a licensed physician and surgeon.
Purchase the Amy Chow short sleeve tee with contrast sleeve stripe HERE.
Mabel Ping-Hua Lee
In honor of Mabel Ping Hua Lee Piccolina created this exclusive short sleeve children's tee illustrated by artist Li Zhang. This 100% cotton tee features a portrait of the women's suffrage activist & is the perfect way for your little one to celebrate her inner activist.
Mabel Ping-Hua Lee was a Chinese advocate for women's suffrage in the United States. She was regarded as "the symbol of the new era, when all women will be free and unhampered"
At only sixteen years old Lee was already a recognized activist and suffragist that would help to lead almost 10,000 people in the New York suffrage parade. Lee went on to become the first Chinese woman to get a PhD in economics.
Purchase the Mabel Ping Hua Lee short sleeve tee HERE.
Kamala Harris
In honor of Kamala Harris, Piccolina created this exclusive short sleeve tee illustrated by artist Shreya Gupta. This 100% cotton tee features a portrait of the first female Vice President and is the perfect way for your Piccolina to celebrate her inner leader.
Kamala Harris is the highest-ranking female elected official in United States history! She is also the first female Vice President, the first African American and first South Asian American Vice President.
After graduating from Howard in 1986 for her undergraduate degree and from the University of California Hastings College of the Law in 1989, her career began as an assistant district attorney at the Alameda County prosecutor's office.
In 2003, Harris won her first race for San Francisco district attorney, becoming the first Black woman to hold such an office in California.
In 2010, she became the first Black woman elected as California attorney general, and in 2016, she became only the second Black woman ever elected as a US senator.
While her career has been full of many barrier-breaking accomplishments, she continues to open the door and inspire many women and young girls of the possibilities they are capable of.
Purchase the Kamala Harris short sleeve tee HERE.
Meet Piccolina's AAPI Artists
I'm so proud of the diverse, global community of artists that Piccolina works with. This month, get to know three of Piccolina's AAPI artist partners, Julia Kuo, Shreya Gupta and Li Zhang and their extraordinary stories!
JULIA KUO
SHREYA GUPTA
LI ZHANG
