04.09.2025
Very Important Nobody [001]
Alex Liang & Little Wild Ones
INTRODUCTION BY DINO MANUEL
Little Wild Ones is an inspiring and wild story of how Alex Liang — an interior designer with a floral shop — became a mother to a baby with a condition requiring an around-the-clock development plan during the pandemic, turning her kitchen into a science lab, as she puts it. Out of a pure need to find a provider she could trust to care for her son, rather than searching for the unavailable, Alex, with her husband Vince, decided to open a preschool of their own — taking the chance to challenge traditional education systems in her own way. She set out to create something that worked for her family, and in turn, something “fresh” was born. As a designer who gave her all to the industry and practice she devoted her life to, Alex, like myself, has questioned a simple idea: What makes me happy? What are the important things in life? This is her story.
[SHOKO] Can you tell us about what it was like to go from zero to one — from the conception of an idea to actually executing the vision to now having and running your own daycare?
[ALEX] It's wild. Once you have an idea, especially in childcare, it's not like, ‘Okay, I'm gonna get a business license and launch,’ right? I had to go back to school and there are classes you need to take to be a teacher; but in order to run your own preschool, you need a lot more education. And so I went back for a full associate's degree which took about a year and a half or two years.
Honestly, I think it's just willpower. This is what I want to do. I'm so passionate about it that even with one child at home and one on the way, I was like, ‘We're gonna do this. I'm gonna take on full class loads just so that we can get this rolling.’
I feel like my claim to fame in that season of life was going into finals week and then also going into labor with the second child. There were moments of, ‘How are we doing this?’ I think it's just adrenaline, you know, pushing out a baby, and I was thinking about an essay I had to write. That was a wild journey. From conception, the schooling was for me to really understand which philosophy and how I wanted to jump-start or differentiate us from other programs.
Vince (Alex’s husband) took over what needed to happen, partly because I was in the newborn phase with our daughter. But he's my researcher, my go-getter. I like to call him my ‘PowerPoint Presenter’ and my ‘File Filler Outer.’ He just keeps me in check and organizes me. He's someone who doesn't take no for an answer. So he's also the one who talked to banks when we originally thought about launching a full center versus an in-home preschool. He's the one who really knows what's next, and that's kind of how we partner together. And I've appreciated how he fills in the gaps in my capabilities – but we’re also like-minded. So, when we do collaborate, we strengthen each other and see eye to eye.
[SHOKO] Is there anything you learned about your relationship once you started working on Little Wild Ones?
[ALEX] We have always gotten along very well as friends; we have an easygoing relationship. Once kids hit, it adds a little tension and it rocks your marriage in a lot of ways. And then you add a business, and that's a whole other venture.
It's been years since I've been in the workforce with other coworkers, so I wasn't used to having to collaborate or get feedback all the time. And he's working with Europeans in his day job who naturally have a blunt way of saying things. He's also from the East Coast while I'm from the Bay, so the way that we talk to each other in a work setting was very different. And I've had to be like, ‘I am, yes, your coworker, but I'm also your sensitive wife. Please talk to me kindly.' So we've had to have talks about things like, me having thicker skin and him learning how to check himself and his tone. But now that we've worked through some of those communication kinks, we are grooving and really supporting each other.
Things come full circle if you’re willing to remember them, be grateful for them, and not see things as a wasted endeavor.”
[SHOKO] We can see your background as a designer coming through on your website, photography, and even the naming of the Little Wild Ones and its logo, everything is so beautifully presented. Are there things that you didn't realize before that are now coming to life as you run your daycare?
[ALEX] It's so interesting how things come full circle if you're willing to remember them, be grateful for them, and not see things as a wasted endeavor. I used to think, ‘I went to school for interior design, how does that apply? It probably was a lot of wasted money and time and effort.’ But you know, our philosophy actually comes from this Italian learning philosophy called Reggio Emilia, and one of the pillars and core beliefs of this philosophy is that the environment is the third teacher and that it matters, the space that kids are learning in. And I've found that what resonates so much with the parents that are coming into our space and having tours is that it automatically feels like a breath of fresh air. It feels like a calm and safe space. And we really invite the children to come into our space for the tours, so that their parents can watch them engage and interact in the space.
I found that my understanding of aesthetics, flow, and the functionality of a space have all naturally played a part in the way that I've set things up. And so, I think it's come a lot easier than maybe others who don't have that background. Or even maybe some of the more traditional home preschools that you see that are just spaces, an afterthought, or not even a thought at all. Whereas for us, it's one of the main pillars.
[SHOKO] Your mission statement talks about the importance of play in life, and also creating the environment for play. That’s something we tend to forget living an adult life. Do you have any tips on how we can all continue to have that joy, confidence, and love for play as we get older?
[ALEX] As an adult, it's just so easy to forget to play when your life is so busy with all these other priorities and your time is really limited. In fact, even the word 'daycare' or 'preschool' can be so limiting. It's not a perfect phrase, but we like the notion of 'play-centers' better because they capture more of our ethos. Which is really to inspire kids to simply play. They learn by doing that. Us adults can learn a lot from that insight.
That's the reality of being an adult — you tend to let go of play because it's not at the top of the priority list. But when we can shift our mindset and allow ourselves to play and think outside of the box for a moment, we can make things that are more creative — more intriguing, more fascinating, more inspiring. And therefore, leads to more learning and more development even as adults.
You know, if you just pick up a book, or listen to a song, or doodle without any instructions — those moments really give your mind the freedom to expand and play and learn. So, the productivity of your life actually grows. But it's this mindset shift away from the idea that playing detracts us.
‘Rad’ is how people arrive where they are. The failures too; because that’s everything we’re trying to teach our children: there’s no failure that is so catastrophic.”
[SHOKO] What does it mean for something to be ‘rad’ in your opinion?
[ALEX] I think anything can be rad when there's authenticity and there's a story to tell. I'm someone who’s more interested in the ‘How’ versus the ‘What.’
What would make it a rad piece of art or a rad story? How they got there, the wrestling of the artist or the obstacles of the business owner, all of those things. I'm fascinated and intrigued by the story behind everything. As I think about that, ‘rad’ is actually more of the process behind anything, and how people arrive where they are. The failures too — they are a part of the story; because that's everything we're trying to teach our children and trying to help our students learn, especially at such an early age: that there's no failure that is so catastrophic. And the more they learn about their failures now, the less they will make later, and also they will know how to handle them with so much grace and self-love that will only move them forward (hopefully), than have them shrink back.
[SHOKO] Lastly, who are the three people that are doing rad things?
[ALEX] The first one is Tara Donovan. She is an American sculptor and her stuff is, so mind-blowing. You can't really explain it until you go see it, even in person. The first thing I saw of hers, she took styrofoam cups, stuck them all together, and created this massive ceiling structure where light was coming through. Until you read or look closer, you can't even tell that they're styrofoam cups. And that's what her art is all about. She's always inspired me in the background, remembering that the mundane things hold so much beauty too, and that it's just how you put them together, how you see them, how you view them, that makes the difference.
Secondly, both Vince and I want to buy everything from Kalon Studios — based in Brooklyn. They are artists, but they also create these functional pieces, that hold so much beauty they could be pieces of art on their own. We had two of their cribs, and because we just love them so much. It's called the caravan crib because it's a convertible crib like most are, but they do it so beautifully. My son is in the toddler bed now, and it's something that I will eventually just move into another part of our house to be a day bed for anybody.
And then lastly, my husband found this tea shop, Hermit's Hut. A tea shop that's in this cute, quaint arts district in Taiwan. We needed to get out of the rain and just rushed in, and then we spent the rest of the afternoon there. It's got this European, Japanese wabi-sabi philosophy and the way that they've produced their aesthetic. It created this tradition for me and Vince and the people that we welcome into our home: We have tea time with little tea cups, experimenting with all the teas that we have from Taiwan. But it's really a time where we tell ourselves, ‘Hey, slow down. Life has been busy. What is going on in your brain?’ It's this pause for us to connect as parents and connect with those in our community when we are given the chance to. So that place has inspired us a lot to slow down and appreciate a quieter intentional time for people.
