RuLai Deco
By RuLai
July 30, 2025
Hello to Starhouse’s followers!
I am RuLai, the deco maker of Rulailai (@rulailaiii).
On June 3rd, 2022, I uploaded my first deco post to my Instagram. I’ve been so absorbed in deco-making these days that I never reflected on my journey of running a deco store.
The story began when I became a K-pop fan in my high school years. Like other K-pop fans, I listen to the music, catch up on the latest comebacks of my favorite groups, and buy albums. There is something these albums have that can drive fans crazy: photocards!
I knew that many K-pop fans were collecting photocards, but I didn't understand why until I bought my first K-pop album myself and pulled my first photocards. As a high school student, I couldn’t really afford the price of an album, along with the international shipping costs from South Korea to the United States. Eventually, I was able to save up enough money. When one of my favorite groups, NCT Dream, had their comeback, I bought two of their albums for the very first time. I pulled two of my bias Jisung's photocards, which officially started my collection.
Algorithms, as everyone knows, understand what you like. Ever since I looked up photocards on social media, other photocard-related content showed up on my phone, like decorated toploaders. I liked them not only because they adorned photocards, but also because I couldn't keep myself from buying beautiful stickers. I had many people message me asking where I get my stickers, most of which are from Chinese PET sticker studios. Many studios make various styles of stickers, and I can never buy enough of them.
Another inspiration for my deco is colors. The beautiful color scheme of the nails, outfits, and hair dye gives me new ideas. I have an album on my phone for the photos, including colors that I want to use for my deco. This is my process behind making deco: I pick the color schemes from the album, then I look for the right sticker from my sticker books. In other words, colors always come first, and the design comes second.
Just one month after my first try at decorating a toploader, I created my Instagram account because I was confident I could make decorated toploaders that people would like. This confidence has held me up for the past three years. Being happy with my creations helps me to continue making more.
Keeping it going is another vital thing to run a deco store. Sometimes, I look back at my decos and feel unsatisfied, thinking I could have done better. But if you share this feeling, it doesn’t mean you aren’t good at it! On the contrary, it can mean that you are doing pretty well because your skills and aesthetic have improved. I believe that as long as I keep going and trying new ideas, people will see my path and appreciate my growth.
Sometimes, when I have conversations with my customers about how much they love my deco, I am happy, but also upset because of my bad communication skills. Chatting is my biggest struggle. I wish I could better express how much their support means to me. I will try doing better because I get so much love and support from this community. It is the adorable people in this community who make it a lovely platform. It makes me want to create more!
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More from RuLai on her Instagram page!