You know how people say the funniest things when they’re sedated after getting their wisdom teeth out?
Most mumble nonsense about celebrities or spill their deepest darkest secrets. But Diana? She started planning a business. High on anesthesia, wrapped in a blanket, and barely able to feel her face, Diana sat on her balcony having an epiphany about life. She realized she wanted more than a typical 9-to-5. She wanted freedom. She wanted sunlight. She wanted something of her own…something meaningful. And in that hazy, half-lucid moment, the idea for PEAR Life was born.
The Girl Who Brought Flavor to Cuernavaca
Meet Diana!
She’s Chinese and Mexican, born in a suburb about an hour south of Mexico City. Growing up, she slowly became aware that she and her family stood out. “I remember realizing that my mom was the only one who looked the way she did in our neighborhood,” Diana recalls. As one of the only Asian families in the area, she and her sister sometimes faced bullying at school.
But over time, that difference became something special. Her mom, a single parent and successful entrepreneur, opened a large Chinese restaurant in Cuernavaca. “It was the size of a Cheesecake Factory,” Diana said. Locals started calling her mom “la chinita, [...], the Chinese lady at the restaurant.”, and the family became well known in the community.
“Little by little, the neighborhood embraced us,” she said. “Even my classmates began to accept us. And my mom always taught us to find the silver lining. She’d say, ‘Doesn’t it feel kind of special that people know who we are?’”
Now, Diana sees how much things have changed. She says, “There are so many Asian people in Mexico today. I meet people speaking perfect Spanish with no accent.” She’s proud to see more representation and believes her family’s presence made a small impact. “Even though our cultures are different, there are similarities. Latinos appreciate bold flavors, and that’s probably why they enjoy Chinese food so much. One impact really can make a difference.”
The Flavors Are Melting On My Tongue!
Diana’s passion for food goes beyond just eating. It’s about the stories and memories each dish carries. When asked about her favorite Filipino food, she instantly mentions kare-kare, a peanut sauce stew. Her favorite food is also Mexican mole, a rich chocolate-infused sauce that pairs perfectly with chicken. “It’s like a stew with 35 or 40 ingredients, and the dark chocolate makes it velvety,” Diana explains, encouraging others to try it if they enjoy kare-kare. When it comes to Chinese food, Diana picks some of the more unusual dim sum dishes like pig ear in chili oil and chicken feet, showing her appreciation for unique flavors and textures.
Finding Home, Staying Grounded, and Falling for Vietnam
After spending her childhood in Mexico and adolescence in the Bay Area, Diana relocated to Seattle with her husband for his latest project. Her move hasn’t slowed her down. As a content creator who frequently travels with family, she's found a way to stay grounded despite the constant movement.
“Being a parent now, it makes you stay in the present a lot,” Diana explained. “It brings you back to reality because you have to continuously be where you are and just be present.” Whether traveling abroad or exploring places closer to home, she holds tight to the moments that matter, soaking in her surroundings and staying connected to the now.
When asked about her favorite destination, Diana didn’t hesitate. “My favorite country in the entire world is Vietnam,” she said. “That happens to be Anthony Bourdain’s favorite country as well!” She shared her love for the vibrant and accessible culture, describing it as a gateway to Southeast Asia where travelers can experience rich food, scenic tours, and beautiful accommodations without breaking the bank. “The food is explosive,” she added, her excitement clear.
For Diana, travel isn’t just about movement. It’s about presence, discovery, and creating lasting memories with the people she loves.
From Anesthesia to Ambition
Diana didn’t expect her business idea to come to her while sedated from wisdom teeth surgery. But as she sat wrapped in a blanket on her balcony, recovering from the procedure and enjoying rare time off from her teaching job, she had a realization. “Most people don’t get to enjoy the daytime,” she said. “By the time they get home from work, they don’t get to see the beautiful day. They come home and it’s already evening.” That clarity sparked the beginning of Pear Life—a brand born from the desire for flexibility, freedom, and joy. With support from her husband and a name that stands for “People Empowered and Renewed,” Diana’s vision for PEAR Life was clear from the start: create products that empower individuals while promoting sustainability. The brand launched with a collection of eco-friendly essentials, including bamboo toothbrushes, reusable utensils, and other zero-waste products that align with her values of environmental responsibility and mindfulness. By offering high-quality, sustainable alternatives, PEAR Life quickly gained a loyal following, especially during its first holiday season.
Encouraged by early success, Diana and her sister expanded the brand, combining their shared love of journaling to create handmade journals, adding a new layer of heart and creativity to Pear Life’s journey.
Cork & Luna + Diana & Lizzy = Dynamic Quadruple
It started as a simple idea: reusable, eco-friendly journals that looked good and felt intentional. “We were like, let’s do it,” Diana says, remembering the early days of Cork & Luna, a sustainable brand she co-founded with her sister, Lizzy. Their first product was a handcrafted journal with a cork cover and removable inserts, held together by rubber bands. “When you open it, you can take out the inserts depending on what you need but it’s the same cover each time.”
The idea took off. Each journal was hand-bound, hand-stitched, and quickly became a hit at the height of the journaling trend. “We completely sold out,” Diana says. “People really liked our handmade journals.” For years, the sisters managed everything — from design to packaging to vending at pop-ups.
But by last year, there were already so many brands selling sustainable products and journals. “You see journals everywhere now, sold by everyone,” Diana explains. Around the same time, she became a mom and moved homes, making in-person pop-ups and hands-on production harder to manage. That shift led the sisters to officially close the chapter on Cork & Luna.
Now, they’ve taken different creative paths. Diana has returned to her passion for content creation. “It’s something I had always wanted to do,” she shares. With limited time, she found flexibility in editing videos and running her YouTube channel, even while nursing her daughter. “I realized that content creation is my life’s purpose, especially travel-related content.”
Her sister, meanwhile, has embraced a slower lifestyle as what Diana calls “a modern-day apothecary.” She now runs a small business called Studio Mestiza, where she crafts handmade homeopathic products using herbs and flowers from her own garden. From balms and soaps to natural paints and aerosols, everything is made with high-quality, thoughtful ingredients. She also shares the process on social media from time to time, giving a behind-the-scenes look at how she makes her products, especially her soaps, which have become a specialty.
Even though Diana and her sister have moved on to other projects, their work continues to reflect the passions they started with.
The name Cork & Luna holds personal meaning. “Cork” represented their sustainable mission, while “Luna” was inspired by her sister’s beloved Australian Shepherd. “We just loved the name Luna. It made a beautiful logo and added a piece of her to the brand.”
Among their product line, the best-selling and most-loved journals included a simple to-do list planner, a mood and habit tracker, and their crowd favorite: the Travel Planner. Nicknamed “The Journeyman,” it featured a unique two-page layout, one for planning trips and one for documenting highlights. “It kept things focused. A lot of journals are too vague,” Diana notes. “We designed ours to highlight the main things.”
Although that chapter is closed, its impact continues. Cork & Luna wasn’t just a business, it was a shared creative journey, one that reflected who they were, what they loved, and how they wanted to live.
The Ideal Dream Team!
When asked about what it’s like to work alongside her husband on PEAR Life, Diana didn’t shy away from the reality of the challenge. “The beginning was tough,” she admitted, referring to the early days of their brand’s sustainable product phase. “We were trying to figure out the ebbs and flows of working together.” Like many couples who start businesses, they had to learn how to balance personal and professional life.
The turning point came when they began identifying each person’s strengths. Her husband naturally leaned into finance and logistics, taking the lead on tasks like cost analysis, profit margins, and spreadsheets. “He’s very, very good at financial literacy,” she said. Diana, on the other hand, found her stride in branding and communication. “I was better at selling. I was a saleswoman,” she explained. Her sister also joined the effort, lending her artistic skills to design. Once they divided responsibilities based on their individual gifts, collaboration became smoother and the business stronger.
What Makes PEAR Life Truly Unique in the Wellness World?
In a market crowded with wellness and sustainable brands, Diana explains that what truly makes PEAR Life stand out is the deep intentionality behind every product. "They were crafted and designed with a lot of intention," she says. "It came from a place of passion and creativity." Unlike brands focused on profit alone, PEAR Life prioritizes quality and meaningful impact. Diana shares, "When people think, ‘How can I profit off this?’, that mindset doesn’t create good quality. But when you think, ‘How can I make a product important in someone’s life? How can I do something better for the environment?’ that changes everything."
Inspired by eco-conscious habits in her household, she and her husband constantly look for ways to be more environmentally friendly. This focus on passion, creativity, and care for the environment makes PEAR Life’s products truly special and different from generic brands.
Suitcases, Sponsorships, and Something New!
A new chapter of PEAR Life is unfolding and it’s full of momentum!! Recently, she’s been collaborating with multiple brands through her personal Instagram and YouTube channel, creating travel product reviews and packing videos. “I’ve been receiving a lot of emails on a weekly basis from companies that want to collaborate,” she says. “They’re paying me to do review videos, and it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”
Her focus now is on growing her YouTube presence and officially monetizing her content. With YouTube’s recent announcement prioritizing original content over AI-generated videos starting July 15—coincidentally, her birthday—Diana sees this as a perfect opportunity. “It’s been hard competing against AI videos,” she explains. “So I’m happy they’re making that switch.”
One major brand, which she can’t name yet, recently reached out with a dream collaboration that ties into her passion for sustainability. “It’s a brand I already love and use, so I’m over the moon about it,” she shares. On top of all that, Diana and her partner are planning international travel—possibly to Greece—and thinking about expanding their family.
“Going from hoping a brand might reach out to getting five collaboration emails a week feels surreal,” she says. “It’s really a dream come true.”
From Pop-Up Chats to Creative Collaboration: PEAR Life x Kurated Kultura
Diana first connected with Alexa after Alexa had met her sister Lizzy and their mom at SJ Made. Their initial interaction began with a collaboration between Alexa, Lizzy, and Cork & Luna, which later evolved into working with Pear Life. When Diana and Alexa met during a pick up of journals, Alexa’s warm and friendly personality instantly stood out. They chatted and got to know each other, quickly realizing they shared a passion for creativity and community. This connection eventually led to a direct collaboration between Diana and Alexa!
Peace Over Happiness, Living with Intention
People often believe that the key to a good life is to be happy. But Diana thinks there's something even better: peace.
When asked what advice she would give to someone who wants to live more intentionally, she paused and reflected. “I would say to strive for moments of joy and peace instead of striving for happiness,” she said. “For the longest time, I kept asking myself, ‘How can I be more happy?’ It’s always about the pursuit of happiness. But happiness is a fleeting moment. It doesn’t mean you’re not a happy person, but it’s hard to stay in that state all the time. We’re human, and our emotions fluctuate so much.”
Instead of focusing on being happy all the time, Diana believes it's more realistic to aim for peace. That shift in mindset, she says, can change everything.
“It’s more sustainable,” she explained. “When you feel at peace, you feel content. You’re not rushing. You’re mindful and intentional. You make decisions more clearly, and your life takes on a better pace.”
To start, she recommends one simple habit: keep a gratitude journal.
“Just write one thing every single day,” she said. “Even if the day wasn’t great, there’s always something good. Writing that one thing brings a little bit of joy, and over time, you’ll start realizing there’s a lot more joy in your life than you thought.”
She also shared that our minds are often wired to focus on the negative. That can lead to a victim mindset, where people feel stuck with the circumstances they’ve been dealt. But Diana believes change is possible.
Reading self-help and self-care books helped her reframe her thinking. “I try to read as much as I can to expand my mind. A lot of people stay stagnant, and I didn’t want that. I wanted more from life.”
Peace, she says, is something anyone can strive for.
“Being peaceful becomes part of your personality,” she said. “Everything slows down. Life feels more graceful. And you don’t feel the pressure to constantly be on the go.”
She also gave advice she wished she had heard earlier. “No matter what happens in college—bad grades, tough classes—school is not the most important thing in the world,” she said. “Especially in Asian families, there's pressure. But whatever path you take, know that everything will be okay. Whether it’s school, travel, culinary school, content creation—do it for yourself.”
She emphasized the importance of trying everything and not letting outside opinions control your future.
“There are so many ways to build a career and live a fulfilling life. Don’t let anyone make you feel like there’s only one way.”
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Written by Mia Tandingan
