It started with cardboard keychains and a dream.Aria Mendoza, 11, wanted a 3D printer after spotting articulated animal designs on Pinterest, but she didn't have the money to buy one. So she and a friend got to work — cutting and selling handmade cardboard keychains and clay items until they'd saved enough to purchase their first machine.
Out came the first print: a small pink crab Aria named "Dear Sherlyn."
"She wasn't just plastic; she was proof that if you hustle through the 'cardboard days,' you eventually get to the '3D days,'" Aria said. "The small crab still sits in my lab today to remind me where I started."
That scrappy origin story has since grown into Print Love by Aria, a 3D printing business run out of the Santa Monica homeschool-turned-lab where Aria serves as founder and CEO. The business has accumulated more than 40,000 followers on TikTok, with multiple videos reaching millions of views, and donates a portion of its profits to the Marayah Cares Foundation, a nonprofit that assists families facing the financial burden of childhood cancer treatment.
Aria's mother, Kathy Mendoza, serves as manager and homeschool lead — and, she is quick to add, the proudest mom in the 310.
Aria structures her days like a seasoned executive. Mornings begin with a walk with the family dog, Mia, followed by Bible reading, breakfast and homeschool lessons with her mother. By 3 p.m., Aria transitions to business mode, heading to her regular spot in the neighborhood to sell prints directly to the community.
"It's a beautiful, messy mix of being a kid and being a boss," she said.
Her bestsellers — articulated snakes and dinosaur pencil holders — are popular with Santa Monica locals, but Aria said her product decisions go beyond trend-chasing.
"I don't just print products — I print smiles and love," she said. "If the people want it, I print it."
A pivotal moment for the business came when Aria was selling on the corner of 6th Street and California Avenue and struck up a conversation with Greg, a local business owner and leader. He placed what Aria and her mother describe as their first large bulk order — more than $600 worth of prints — through California Lithuanian Credit Union.
"For Aria, it was a total 'pinch-me' moment," said Kathy Mendoza. "That partnership gave her the confidence to stop seeing her work as just a hobby and start seeing Print Love as a real business. It taught her the most important lesson in business: Your character is your best currency."
The credit union's support has become emblematic of a broader embrace by the Santa Monica community. Kathy Mendoza said local leaders and even Santa Monica police officers have stopped to support Aria's ventures — including her earlier lemonade stands.
"They didn't just buy her prints; they bought into her dream," Kathy Mendoza said. "Our neighbors have watched her grow from a 'cardboard kid' into a '3D CEO,' and their support is the fuel that keeps her printers running."
Aria's proudest achievement, she said, came in two parts. The first was purchasing her second 3D printer with her own earnings. The second was harder to quantify: messages from other young people saying they had started their own businesses after watching her videos.
"Knowing that I'm inspiring other kids to be their own bosses is such an amazing feeling," Aria said. "Ultimately, my proudest moment isn't just being a CEO — it's showing others that you're never too small to make a big difference."
That sense of purpose extends to the Marayah Cares Foundation, named for a young girl who fought cancer. The foundation assists families with travel and housing costs during treatment and also supports animal rescue organizations and sports scholarships for low-income youth.
Aria said she envisions Print Love growing into something larger — a brand that funds more charitable work and eventually uses 3D printing technology to solve practical problems, from assistive tools to environmental applications.
"I'm not just printing plastic," she said. "I'm trying to print a better future."
Kathy Mendoza said parents who want to nurture an entrepreneurial spirit in their own children should resist the impulse to shield them from failure.
"Stop buying them toys and start buying them tools," she said. "If you believe in their dreams today, they will build the world tomorrow."
Print Love by Aria can be found on TikTok at @printlovebyaria.