My Palace in Dallas - Aboo Nguyen — James Kung Photography

“Solitude requires you to move past reacting to information created by other people and focus instead on your own thoughts and experiences – wherever you happened to be”

— Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism

Hi everyone, missed me? I will just assume you all do, after taking a little break from shooting and talking away, it’s good to be back sitting in front of my laptop, going through the recording every night, like how every article here is born. We’ve got some fun plans in the works for those who stumble upon this blog, and I can’t wait for all of them to meet y’all!

I started My Palace in Dallas during the height of the pandemic, and it was born from pure curiosity: I want to know, I want to see, and, most importantly, I want to document what the people around me have become after these unprecedented years. They can be artists or comedians, or they can also be the people you meet on the street—which is quite hard cause, supposedly, people in Dallas don’t walk at all. So, what is it that they do? This project delves into their stories and, as the name suggests, explores their Palace in Dallas.

Without further ado, allow me to introduce you to Aboo Nguyen. Many, many years ago, when I was living in Addison, my buddy and I went on a photowalk/location scouting walk and discovered a sick railway spot. Little did I know that become the spot where Jooniverse did their T-shirt drop photo. Like many of us during the pandemic, years flew by, and the brand, Aboo, and I all grew and evolved into who we are now. Four years after hearing his name, we sat down at his playfully decorated loft on a hot Sunday afternoon, talking about our journey and what community and home mean to him.

Hello Aboo! Thank you for sitting down with me today! Before I bomb you with questions, for anyone who might not have the chance to know who you are, would you like to tell me a bit about yourself? Who are you, and what is it that you do?

My name is Aboo Nguyen, and I’m the owner and head designer for Jooniverse Lab.

Since 2021, Jooniverse has been growing steadily with great suave, and fun rowdy flavors. Now, the name Aboo and your piece is considered a community favorite following every drop and every collab. Could you tell me what the journey was like for you? How did you get to where you are now?

It's truly been a blessing to walk this path with Jooniverse—a journey that has been nothing short of beautiful. Not long ago, I made the leap and left my full-time job to dedicate myself fully to Jooniverse, pouring everything I had into this dream.

Our first breakthrough came when a TikTok video unexpectedly blew up. The surge in online engagement and the flood of orders made me realize that Jooniverse could be something truly special. Fast forward two years, and we were lucky enough to go viral once again—this time thanks to Matt (@cha.siu) sharing his “ungatekeeping” IG reel. I was actually in Japan when it happened, and I couldn’t understand why I was suddenly gaining 100 followers every ten minutes.

At that point, we were still only offering pre-orders. But as I took a step back to assess everything, I felt a deep, instinctive certainty: this brand—and the team behind it—had the potential to become something far greater than I had ever imagined.

To see my vision grow into what it is today is an incredible honor. I’m endlessly grateful for this journey, and for every single moment that has brought us to where we are now.

In 2021, when I helped scout the location for the Eva T-shirt drop and went to your Demon Slayer shirt event, there was a noticeable shift following up within your design that indicated you were moving away from graphic Tees and leaning more into fabric, new logos, jewelry, patterns, and set pieces. What was that transition like for you as the sole mastermind behind all that?

Jooniverse was meant to be affordable for everyone. I orchestrated the brand to have a design that goes seamlessly with your everyday wear. I want people to have things they could wear every day, and if it happens to be Jooniverse, that would be fire.

At the time, vintage in 2020 was getting its momentum, and thrifting along with it became a huge market. No one was making anime bootlegs yet, so as a huge lover of the genre myself, I decided to design some anime pieces, and looking back, it became the foundation to support what I really wanted to do with the brand.

Thank you for noticing the huge shift in brand identity. At the time, people viewed Jooniverse as just this anime bootleg brand, but that was a gateway for me to have enough funds to create cut and sew pieces that I ultimately wanted to do. Whenever the rebranding went live, it was both refreshing and shocking to many of our friends and supporters.

Funny story: The new logo that you’re seeing now was actually a mistake. When I was going back-and-forth with my graphic designer (Mateo), we landed on this shape, and I told him to “STOP GO BACK! Don’t you think it kind of looks like a portal?” he laughed and said, “Yeah, kinda“ and the rest was history.

I’m super into futuristic and outer-space, so the name Jooniverse and the logo were meant to empower this concept, where the logo resembles a portal and grants you entrance into the world we created.

A really good logo is something you can black out and still be recognizable in the consumer’s mind. (AKA like Adidas, Nike, Disney, Apple and etc.) That night, I just knew we nailed it. Shoutout to the boy Mateo for dealing with me *laughs

As much as jewelry design can fall under fashion, it’s still such a different medium to work on and make into reality. How was it like for you expanding your reach into a genre that can feel like such a different world from cutting and sewing?

Going from making clothes to jewelry was definitely a challenge; it is indeed a different realm.

You can’t just draw a sketch and send it out to manufacturers. To make it a reality, you’ll need 3D renderings and different files for them to process. So seeing it come to life was always worth the headache. *laughs

The market in jewelry is much bigger than I could’ve imagined. The profit margins on them are actually insane if done correctly. So you will definitely see more designs in the near future!

Seeing my friends or even supporters across the globe rocking a jewelry piece from Jooni always puts a smile on my face.

To be a simple kid aiming to do cool things, I still get overwhelmed by the excitement whenever I see my project come to life. How do you balance the urge to get it out in the world as fast as possible versus being patient and refining your piece to perfection, even if multiple revisions are needed when you receive your pieces back from the manufacturer?

For me, it’s less about balance and more about learning to find patience within myself. As creators, we’re often perfectionists by nature. Others might see the final work and think it’s flawless, but we tend to notice the imperfections instantly.

Every design I create feels personal—like it’s my baby. I hold each piece to incredibly high standards because I hold myself to those same expectations. I won’t release anything unless I can truly see myself wearing it first. If it doesn't feel right for me, I don’t want to put it out there for anyone else.

Sometimes, all a design needs are small tweaks to reach that point of perfection. And if that’s all it takes, then learning to be patient becomes a small price to pay for bringing a vision to life the way it’s meant to be.

You work with friends pretty often, from my observation. I could even take a step further and say you built your brand from scratch with friends, from implementing the visuals down to helping out with the shipping and events. What was it like working so closely with your community and friends?

When you bring a group of creatives into the same space, something electric happens — ideas spark, energy bounces, and inspiration becomes contagious. That’s the kind of environment I thrive in.

Lately, I’ve been working with friends a lot, and it’s been both fun and deeply fulfilling. There’s something incredibly meaningful about collaborating with people you trust and admire—not just sharing the creative process, but also recognizing and valuing their artistry.

One of the most rewarding parts has been being able to pay my friends for their talent—compensating them for doing what they love, and what they’re incredibly good at. Even though this started as a solo project, it’s become something greater: a collective effort, a shared vision, all under one roof.

It never really feels like work—because when you’re creating with people you care about, and everyone’s having fun, it becomes something far more powerful than just a job. It becomes a community, a movement, a moment.

Aboo Nguyen on its own is a well-recognized staple in your community. When your personal brand becomes so intertwined with your project, do you ever find yourself having the need to keep them separate?

I think Jooniverse has become part of me at this point. Just me staying authentic and real is now a reflection of the brand itself.

I definitely like to be the “behind-the-scenes type of guy” and let Jooniverse have its moment to shine. But if for some reason you knew I was the brains behind it, cool. I like the IYKYK approach.

It’s been almost a full five years since the drop of bootleg Ts. I want you to take a huge step back and ask you: have you had time to fully process how far you’ve come?

Man, to be honest, I haven’t fully processed how far I’ve come.

The windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror for a reason. What lies ahead matters more than what’s behind. You glance back to learn—but you move forward to grow. And I want to keep going to see how the story ends.

To quote myself: “ The story has already been written, you just have to get to the next chapter and find out. “ *laughs

You mentioned earlier that you wanted to move your own goalpost, break out of being comfortable, and refuse to hit a plateau. Was there a moment that made you feel that way?

The trip back to Vietnam was what did for me. I was gone for too long and got way too comfortable. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely needed the trip, but I came to realize I am just a workaholic.

So coming back to the states, I told myself we need to switch gears and grind harder! Big projects pending, so stay tuned!

And grind you did! From cut and sew to now, multiple jewelry styles and chains being part of the family, multiple lookbooks and events popping up here and there. As a mostly one-man operation, what was the skill set you learned compared to who you were 4 years ago?

Learning that you can’t do this shit alone forever.

It’s still only me behind the vision and most of the day-to-day, but I have my community and good friends to help me out when I need to delegate. Like you mentioned, I work with friends a lot, and I loved the fact that Jooniverse has grown to a position where I could give them a position and get paid for it.

For example, my brother David & Wu to handle the shipping, and Chloe Gonzales to handle the marketing and photoshoots.

Having teammates who know what we aim to achieve now is going to be a crucial component for scaling Jooniverse upward to where it needs to be. Hopefully, in the future, I could hire more people on board to hand off responsibilities so I can focus on designing and do more cool shit.

We don’t often give ourselves enough credit, yet too many self-critiques. I want you to go back in time and think of a moment where you’d like to thank the old Aboo. What would that moment be?

I would just go back to a time when I was broke and just thank myself for never giving up. There were a lot of tough days, but I’m glad the old Aboo kept pushing. Because I wasn’t exaggerating when I said I was broke, it was really bad.

Not only would I thank the old Aboo, but I’m also glad to let him know we are broke boys no more. *laughs

To further peek into who you are, can you tell me where you usually get your inspiration from?

I can give you the final product, but not the ingredients. You're going to have to figure that out yourself. *points at me

Jokes aside, I will say I draw a lot of inspiration from anime & space movies. Something about how they design spacesuits or draw futuristic things in anime just clicks in my head, and that often translates into my designs.

It’s been five years since the pandemic hit, and for some reason, we all came out alright, if not stronger. What did you do to stay centered and sane? Have any of those new habits carried over now that things are back to normal?

Sipping some mushroom tea has kept me grounded and opened my mind to endless possibilities. But for real though. *laughs

I learned to be accepting of who I am and who I’m becoming. Trading old habits for new ones — ones that lift me, grow me, and align with the life I’m building. I used to be super lazy, but now I’m somewhat lazy and more productive.

I’m sure you have your fair share of traveling experience and exposure to different scenes across the states and even countries. From an industry perspective, what do you think sets Dallas apart from all the other well-known big cities or any other city you’ve been to?

Dallas has such an untapped market, even after doing my own thing here for so long. There are many talented designers based in Dallas, like Crespatrick, Charles Smith, Devaun Robinson, Tommyjay, and Javier Tellez off the top of my head - people whom I look up to. Seeing what they do and have done for the city is such an inspiration for me because I also aspire to carve out my own path with love and my ideas.

It makes me sad sometimes that there is so much talent in here, but the opportunities aren’t up to par with the rest of the world. A lot of people with an abundance of talents ended up moving away to bigger creative hubs like NYC or LA to expand their portfolio or simply because they’ve outgrown the city. I applaud their hustle and encourage people to allow themselves to be challenged, but it also saddens me because then, there won’t be anyone left here if we keep exporting talent out into the world.

That’s why I’m excited to tap into the community and learn about what everyone excels at, be a pusher, and something that could nurture Dallas into a household name. Just know I’m going to be the one to represent the city and elevate the game.

But to answer the question, we got the ingredients here in Dallas to make it into something special. We just need some good chefs to make it happen. Aka me and my goons.

Are you a Dallas native? Having spent quite some time finding your identity and setting roots here, what do YOU personally think of this city?

It’s a great HQ, no matter how far I go chasing experiences and inspirations, this city will always be home for me.

I’m just trying to be stamped as a Dallas Legend when it’s all and done. I hold this quote by Virgil Abloh (RIP) dear to me, where he says, “ You can do it too. “

Like I truly believe that I, too, can be someone great like Virgil and be the one who comes out of Dallas to do it.

As I look around, I can see a lot of your taste in a tangible form! Now, the hard part is, what would you say is your most prized possession in your home?

Man, it would be Apollo. The best doggo and my little on-site therapist! haha

She’s my roommate’s dog, but she follows me everywhere and sleeps in my room, so she's technically mine. Wu, if you're reading this, I don’t care. *laughs

And we are almost to the bottom of my list of Qs for today, for those who are interested in getting into this business or starting something of their own. What suggestions or advice would you like to give them, or wish you had known sooner?

Your phone—this small, everyday device—is more powerful than we give it credit for. Its potential is limitless. You can shoot, edit, connect, create, and build something meaningful, all from the palm of your hand. I shot an entire video for my brand, Jooniverse, on my iPhone—by a pool, with nothing but a dream, a loose idea, and the curiosity to see just how waterproof Apple made it. That moment reminded me: you really can make something happen with what you already have.

If you’re serious about building your own brand, dive deep into understanding marketing—not just textbook definitions or corporate strategy, but the kind of marketing that works specifically for the identity you’re trying to create. Learn the rhythm of your audience. Test, adjust, and repeat. And surround yourself with people who get it. Finding like-minded individuals who believe in your vision and want to support you—that’s everything. You won’t get far doing it alone.

But let’s be real: none of this is easy. No matter how effortless it may look from the outside, myself included, there’s a long road behind every “overnight” success. So before you jump in, ask yourself:

What’s the DNA of your brand? What feeling, energy, or message will be so clear and consistent that even out of context, people know it’s you? That’s been one of the most important (and ongoing) journeys for me with Jooniverse. If going to school helps you, do it. But whether you're in school or not, be patient with the process. Learn how to connect the dots: from tech packs to software, from sourcing manufacturers to building your supply chain. Use what’s available. And never, ever cringe at the idea of marketing yourself. You can have the most incredible product in the world, but without visibility, without storytelling, it risks becoming just another lost idea in this massive universe. Most importantly—walk with love, stay creative, and enjoy the ride, bumps and all.

To wrap this interview up, also because I am curious personally, what’s on the horizon for you? Are any “Big things coming” in the works for you? What would you like the world (whichever random soul stumbled upon this article) to know about?

All I can tell you is to stick around and find out; trust me, you won’t regret it.

We have a big show coming on September 13th during NYFW in NYC with Sundae School. We will be doing special collaboration pieces and showing tons of new designs with Jooniverse.

The upcoming Dallas show in November will be the biggest event Jooniverse has ever done. I’ve been working on this project since January, and it went from a mere concept to a sketch, and now something so tangible in real life. I’m really excited about it, and it will be a show where I set the bar high for the city and for my future endeavors.

Keep an eye out, y’all, I’m pulling all of my Avengers squad out for this. *laughs