An illustrator and general maker-of-things, Kaye makes ceramic sculptures and homewares, a line of jewelry under the name Datter Industries, and runs Horizontal Press, a grubby small press.
Read MoreMeet Kaye Blegvad
in Illustrator
Meet Puno Dostres
in Entrepreneur
A web designer and digital entrepreneur at heart, Puno is the Founder of ilovecreatives, a platform connecting creatives working that slashie life and PeopleMap.co, an Instagram tool where you can strategically build an organic community.
Read More
Meet Tuesday Bassen
in Illustrator
Tuesday is an award-winning illustrator from Lincoln, Nebraska. She owns an online store as well as a sister store called Friend Mart in LA's Chinatown where she sells illustrations in the form of prints, patches, and pins.
Read More
Meet Syvan Mandel
Svyan is a designer based in Williamsburg. She specializes in embroidery and is currently working on her own collection. In addition, Syvan also creates unique head pieces that are popular among brides.
Read More
Meet Cassie Marketos
Cassie is a freelance community manager, writer, customer service agent, you name it. She's from California, but has lived in NYC for almost ten years now.
Read More
Meet Jenna Saraco
in Photographer
Jenna is a photographer and designer based in New York City. She co-founded the lifestyle website Local Creative with friend Nicole Steriovski.
Read More
Meet Ally Russell
Ally moved to London from Perth, Western Australia in 2011 to study History at UCL. Since graduating, she has been working in TV journalism and PR, and drawing a 200-page comic adaptation of an '80s cult horror film.
Read More
Meet J Wortham
in Writer, Podcast Host
“J moved to New York in 2009 to work for the New York Times as a technology reporter. Before that, they lived in San Francisco and worked as a waitress and fact-checker at Wired Magazine. They’re originally from Virginia, and studied biology and anthropology as an undergraduate at the University of Virginia. Having a background in science really helped them to see that they loved everything about information tech, infrastructure and thinking about how things work and evolve. Initially, J felt alienated from tech culture because they didn’t present as a stereotypical “nerd” but the more they dug into it, the more they became fascinated with the way the Internet, machines and software shape our understanding of ourselves, the world, and each other. And they’ve been doing that ever since. ”
on their Morning Routine by season
In summer, I wake up naturally. I love warm weather, and I can’t wait to be outside. In winter, it’s the complete opposite. I lie in bed and negotiate until I’m on my way into the day. No matter the season, I like to alkalize as soon as I wake up, with charcoal filtered water with a squeeze of lemon, lime or blood orange, whatever is in the fridge.
on becoming a writer
I’ve been reading since I was 2, the story goes, so it feels natural that I would work in words. My family is very working class, so it took me awhile to realize I could earn a living by writing, and once that happened, there was no going back.
I love having a job that allows me to investigate the human condition, and think about life, and explore alternate ways of being and doing things.
on what they’re working on now
My goal for the rest of the year is to expand my idea of myself as a creator. I am working on an art book with a friend, and teaching myself more about film and moving images. I love working with video. In five years, I hope to be as excited and invigorated as I am today to write and connect with new people.
“Anything that explores the interiority of black women appeals to me and I was lucky enough to get a copy of the new Zadie Smith and I haven’t been able to put it down since.”
On their personal style
I mostly shop online. Trying on clothes gives me body anxiety and so many places have free online returns, so. In general, I aim for maximum comfort and bright colors, which I get from all over. I am experimenting with more masculine styles right now because that's what is in my heart. I love ASOS and I have a few friends who sell vintage and they occasionally set pieces aside for me, which is dope.
on the perfect skin mask & their skincare routine
Raw honey is a perfect skin mask. I just buy a jar of something raw and organic and spread it on my face a few minutes and then rinse it off. I do it a few times a month, in the morning or before bed . Honey is a natural antibiotic and moisturizer. It keeps my skin clear and looking dewy and moist. It’s THE BEST!
My skin is so temperamental and hyper-reactive, so I can’t use too many things at once or too much makeup, or my face has a meltdown. I just try keep it clean and moisturized to prevent break-outs. I love Orgaid sheet masks because they have probiotics and witch hazel in them, which is incredible. I’ve been using a vitamin C serum too, which is working wonders for my summer complexion.
“Holistic health is very important to me! I’ve become extremely attuned to the foods that make me feel great and the ones that make me feel terrible. And now I’m learning to experiment with teas and things just for health. I bought a block of organic reishi mushrooms at the Union Square Farmer’s Market for $10! I’m going to brew it this winter as a health tonic. I just started a newsletter to document these adventures. TinyLetter.com/FermentationandFormation”
J's Favorite Books
The Black Book by Middleton A. Harris, Ernest Smith, Morris Levitt, Roger Furman, & Toni Morrison
This Bridge Called My Back by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa
J's Favorite Places
Best Coffee: SuperCrown
Best Paletas: Tulcingo Deli
Best Juices at AP Cafe
Best Place for Cool Shows: Trans-Pecos
Best Discowoman Sets: TheLotRadio and Market Hotel
Best Acupuncture: TigerLily
Best Spot For A Date & Sushi: Momos
Best Place for a Movie: Syndicated
Streetstyle Details: Vintage
Meet Nicole Steriovski
in Art Director
Nicole is a creative director, producer, filmmaker, copywriter and co-founder of Local Creative, a collaborative lifestyle collective and studio.
Read More
Meet Sam Giordano
Meet NYC passerby, Sam Giordano, a a fashion designer and owner of the womenswear label Dolores Haze.
Read More
Meet Sam Tarter
Meet NYC passerby, Sam Tarter, an Assistant Designer at Coach, designing Coats and Leather Jackets all the while continuing her alternative lifestyle in her Brooklyn home with her rockstar boyfriend and 2 teenager cats.
Read More
Meet Angie Myung
in Entrepreneur
“Angie Myung is the Creative Director at Poketo and oversees all curation of the site and store. It all started as a side project with her husband, but after a life-changing release party, all of their products completely sold out. Their business has grown into what is now two brick and mortar shops in popular spots in Los Angeles, including collaborations with artists and musicians.”
on her morning routine
Get up. Make coffee. Drink Coffee. Check email. Jump in the shower. Get dressed. Eat breakfast. Put some stuff on face. Walk the dogs, and out the door.
on starting her business
Poketo began with one single product, the artist wallets back in 2003. We had an art show and as part of the show, we made something that everyone could afford, but with art on it. It was our friend's artwork made into a form of a wallet. The wallets completely sold out the night of the art show. We had so much fun that we kept making products with more artists, including apparel, housewares, and stationery.
In our early days, we worked with bands like Postal Service, The Shins, Weezer, and Arcade Fire. We got together some artists, and we designed the wallets that were sold at the bands' concerts. It was so much fun, and the musicians were totally stoked on the wallets too.
“Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro is a book that I picked up at the Copenhagen airport. It’s very emotional and heartbreaking. It’s about an older couple who started on a journey to look for their son. They come from a village where memories fade away so quickly that they don’t even remember what happened to their son and where they are. It’s about memory, loss of memory, and what’s real or made up. It’s an interesting read.”
on her style and aesthetic
I hardly ever go shopping. When I need something to wear, I get it from my own shop, Poketo. I think and breathe design and color for living. Poketo's aesthetic is all about colors that are bright and happy. My aesthetic in my personal life is really minimal. Our house is white with pops of color. I wear a lot of white and black, or the combination of two colors. I also don't own much. When you're surrounded by design all day long, the last thing you want to do is surround yourself with more colors and products when you come home.
on her beauty routine and recommendations
My beauty routine is pretty simple. I use what my mom buys for me, which is mostly Korean products. Since I'm Korean, I feel like it matches my skin better. In the morning, I just wash my face once. At night, I wash my face using two different products. First, with oil cleanser that takes off all my make up, and then with regular face wash. At morning and night, I use toner, lotion, and serum with sunblock, and I use Sulwhasoo Perfecting Cushion Brightening Foundation. It's like a sunblock and light foundation, but it's really light and I don't feel like I'm wearing makeup. I recommend IOPE Plant Stem Cell Skin Perfection Softener and Emulsion and IOPE Nutritious Anti-wrinkle Serum. Then I put on Laneige Eyeliner and Laneige Volume Setting Mascara.
on self-care rituals
I'm pretty lazy. I don't get my nails done and my hair is usually in a pony tail. I guess the one thing I do religiously is putting on sunblock even on a rainy day. The sun in Southern California is really strong. You need to wear sunblock even when it's cloudy.
angie's favorite books
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro, South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami, Winkreative Design Stories: A Global View on Branding, Design and Publishing by Camilla Belton, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
angie's favorite movies
When Harry Met Sally, Sweet Bean, Chungking Express, Eat Drink Man Woman
angie's favorite places
Civil Coffee is a new coffee shop and they serve really good coffee with some brunch options
Huarache Azteca in Highland Park is the best Mexican restaurant in this area
For shopping, Poketo Flagship in the Arts District, of course
Dress, ace and jig ; Shoes, Birkenstocks
─ Photography By Claire Donoghue
Meet Julia Sherman
Julia Sherman was born and bred in New York City. Sherman runs "Salad for President," an evolving publishing project that draws a meaningful connection between food, art, and everyday obsessions.
Read More
Meet Sarah Vinciguerra
in Nurse
Sarah was born in a beach town in Florida. Seeking more energy than the small towns she was accustomed to, she moved to Brooklyn with her husband two years ago to pursue a degree in Nursing as well as be closer to her friends.
Read More
Meet Arpana Rayamajhi
in Jeweler
Born and raised in Kathmandu, Nepal. She received her BFA from The Cooper Union School of Art, focusing primarily on Painting and Sculpture. She founded her jewelry brand in 2014, where she brings her Nepali heritage and craftsmanship to each of her pieces whilst drawing inspiration from tribal/ethnic, pop cultures, Rock & Roll and Death. In addition she is also the co-founder of DISPOSE, an online magazine collection of disposable photographs that narrate the day of an individual.
Read More
Meet Lauren Nostro
in Writer
“Lauren is the Music News Editor of Genius.com. She’s responsible for mining the internet for the stories behind your favorite songs, lyrics, and artists. Lauren was previously the Managing Editor of Complex Music where she profiled the best rapper alive Nicki Minaj, spent a day with Khloe Kardashian, and wrote Complex’s first digital cover story on Danny Brown. More importantly, she did her master’s thesis on Future and went on a SlutWalk with Amber Rose. She has bylines on VICE, Fader, Paper Magazine, Jezebel, and more. These days, she lives in Brooklyn with her cat, Tunechi.”
♫ LISTEN TO Lauren'S PLAYLIST | ⌨ LAST GOOGLE SEARCH
STREETSTYLE DETAILS: Jersey, joefreshgoods
Photography by Xenia Alexandra
“I moved to New York to get my master’s in writing at NYU. I ended up getting an internship with Complex and worked under the music editor Insanul Ahmed at the time. We work together at Genius now, too. I really had no idea what I was doing, I knew a lot about music but certainly not enough. I’m pretty sure I learned more in that year of interning at Complex than I did in all of grad school and possibly college. From there I was an editorial assistant, bounced around and worked at VICE’s Noisey for a bit and ended up back at Complex from 2013 to March 2016 as managing editor of the music channel.”
“My cat, Tunechi, usually wakes me up around 5:30 a.m. to be fed and then I’m in and out of sleep until 8. I’ve narrowed my morning routine down to 30 minutes so that I can lay around and pretend to meditate/snuggle with my cat all morning. I force myself to drink 4 glasses of lemon water before I leave the house.”
“I’d been at Complex for almost five years and I think there was just a breaking point of, “OK, what now?” I ended up leaving to go freelance for a few months and grow up. Then I started talking to Genius and ended up doing some freelance for them before coming on as their music news editor. It helped that a handful of my old editors at Complex moved to Genius, too. What appealed to me was that Genius was solely dedicated to the music—the stories behind the lyrics, the songs, the production, and the artists. These days, artists don’t need media to tell their stories, they have their own sites, their own magazines, their own platforms. We work *with* artists to tell their stories. What Genius does is really just add another layer to that by dissecting and breaking down the meaning behind that.”
“My favorite record that I own is Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday—the vinyls are pink, but I have them framed on my wall. The others are all ones I stole from my college’s radio station—they basically had them outside of the studio in crates to give away and I came across them at midnight after a long night in the college newspaper office. I have so many random vinyls at this point—Ma$e, Lil Flip, Black Rob, Faith Evans, a lot of early Bad Boy records. Then Take Care, of course.”
“I also interviewed Khloe Kardashian and I had a very nice lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel -probably one of the more honest and open interviews I’ve ever done. Then there was the Amber Rose Slutwalk, it was surprisingly one of the most emotional experiences I’ve had while writing a piece. It was a really incredible experience that I feel like opened a lot of people’s eyes to the women’s issues she’s trying to tackle.”
“Anyone that works in music should have a copy of egotrip’s Book Of Rap Lists, it’s like the bible for rap writers. Shea Serrano, one of my favorite writers, commissioned a ton of music writers for The Rap Yearbook, I was able to write about Kanye West and Jay Z’s Watch The Throne in it. As for So Sad Today, Men Explain Things To Me, and Joan Didion, I like to make myself cry.”
“I interviewed Nicki Minaj for a Complex cover story at 2:30 a.m. after an almost 20 hour shoot. It was rough, we were both out of it, but we ended up really connecting during the interview. I never wanted to interview my idol—she’s my favorite artist of all time—but I lucked out. After it was over, she basically gave me a pep talk on how to navigate the industry, handed me a Myx moscato, hugged me and then I ended up sitting outside in Hollywood crying for 30 minutes after the shoot.”
“I use a L’oreal day lotion with collagen in it and an Aveeno ultra-calming night cream because I have combination skin. I love Mario Badescu rose water spray to refresh my skin throughout the day—and my hair. I’m also newly obsessed with their drying lotion for any blemishes. A lot of my make-up is Make Up Forever including their HD foundation because it’s easy on my skin and never feels cakey. I use the Anastasia Dipbrow pomeade after my friend put me onto it. Other than that I use a combination of drugstore makeup that’s better than any ultra expensive shit—Maybelline liquid eyeliner has been my go-to for the last decade. As for fragrances, I’ve been wearing Acqui Di Gio, the men’s cologne, since I was in my teens.”
“I rotate maybe four to five outfits and usually wear black jeans, white Sk8-Hi Vans, a white, black or gray tank/V-Neck, and some sort of sweater. I love robe sweaters in the winter and occasionally fuck around with spandex plain black dresses in the summer. I have no real aesthetic to my wardrobe I just like plain clothes that fit and then I just stack a lot of my grandfather’s old gold jewelry on.”
RECOMMENDATIONS
✓ I love this old school Italian spot in Carroll Gardens called Red Rose —go on Thursdays for the stuffed artichokes.
✓ Soft Spot for drinks.
✓ Three Kings for tattoos.
FAVORITE MOVIES
Meet Sue Williamson
in Editor
Born in a small town outside of Memphis, Tennessee, Sue moved to New York over seven years ago to study Fashion Design and Art History at Pratt, interning for stylists and at places like NYLON and Refinery29 along the way. She is the digital editor at W, where she writes about fashion, beauty, and culture. In her free time she loves taking pictures with a cheap old film camera, drawing, watching tons of movies, and hanging out with her dog Owen.
Read More
Meet Pamela Garavano-Coolbaugh
Meet NYC passerby, Pamela Garavano-Coolbaugh, Head Project Manager at Captured tracks, where she oversees albums from beginning to end on all fronts.
Read More
Meet Emma Orlow
“Born and raised on the Upper East Side, Emma is a confessional writer, aspiring curator, taurus and an only child. In high school she co-founded a global webseries about telling the stories of teenagers via videos of their bedrooms which garnered a front page NYTimes spread. She is currently graduating from NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study with a concentration in confessional art and contemporary female artist. Emma writes poems and creates text art that focuses on the relationship between female sexuality and food. Emma is also working on a curating collective and trying to put together her first show which is going to be an entire home for visitors to explore.”
on her morning routine
My morning routine is usually making awkward eye contact with my neighbors across the way who have seen me eat snacks in my underwear, have sex, and cry way too many times because for no reason I refuse to get blinds. After that’s over, I usually put on music and try to remind myself to hydrate.
on her interest in confessional art
Confessional art as a genre intends to reveal a truth that is inherently shameful. I guess I like that because I don’t go to therapy and am an only child, so it’s the way that I deal with things on my own. Plus I like turning gross, rotten memories into the silliest, most colorful looking objects to cherish. Although I suppose you can argue that all art intends to reveal something autobiographical, even a paired down abstract painting. I like making work that most people probably think is embarrassing, like anything about the time my laundry bag opened in the elevator and this guy handed me back my period stained underwear seems like relevant fodder, even though period art for the most part is pretty done at this point.
“I used to work as an editorial assistant at New Distribution, which represents all these amazing independent magazines I love like Buffalo Zine, Food For Fashion, PIN-UP, and Editorial Magazine. I care about spending full price on thoughtful independent print projects because for titles that are actually going back to long-form journalism and using really experimental typography in their layouts I just feel like this is the most functional form of art to indulge. My favorite books of all-time are “The Glass Castle” and “Please Kill Me.” In the photo above though there some other good ones: Frida Kahlo’s diary in particular uses such poetic language to talk about selfhood and colors. I can always go back to it for inspiration. There’s also a hardcover poetry book I self-published called “I Want to Scratch ‘n Sniff You,” as well as a Japanese photo series on pregnant women and the uncanny of the domestic sphere.”
on the beginning of her art series
My best friend in high school and I started [The Do Not Enter Diaries]. Part of it came from the fact that we were obsessed with the art direction that went into the bedrooms in some of our favorite films and how it was, in a lot of cases, the crux of the characters’ development. We knew how much we had worked to make our own bedrooms these special havens and how much we hoped it said about us and our friends. We wanted to showcase how something as simple as the way you decorate is a form of storytelling. The other part was we felt like we didn’t have the outlet for all of our weird ideas in our claustrophobic high school atmosphere and wanted a space of our own to work on. It was very low-tech—we only had a crappy camera and didn’t know much about web development but it was such a fun and important learning experience. It was incredible that we got the kind of press we did. The fact that MTV and Amazon’s E-book office invited us to their office at one point was insane. But I am honestly glad none of that came into fruition at that point in my life.
on moving on to other projects
[We didn't continue The Do Not Enter Series because] we were at first limited to our friends and friends of friends and those who emailed us, which didn’t make the project nearly as diverse as we wanted it to be. If we had a bigger network it would’ve been different. But eventually we started getting correspondents from as far as Slovakia and Shanghai, which was great. I think it had a lot of potential, but there are still so many other issues I would’ve loved to touch upon and it was hard to keep the film style consistent when the correspondents were sending us the footage. We realized that having your own bedroom itself was such a privileged concept and we wanted to explore more subjects who were engaging with the teenage bedroom in nonconventional ways. Had we had better resources—funding, even just a better camera-- I would’ve loved to delve in even deeper. But in the end, we both went off to college and got involved in other projects and being obsessed with archiving the teenage bedroom sadly seemed less pertinent all of a sudden.
Dress, Vintage
“I just finished a series called “Packed Lunch” which are humorous silk tapestries that use food metaphors for different erotic situations. I am kind of fixated on the relationship between food and sexuality, mostly because meals are a way that I archive a lot of memories. Someone recently told me that Graham crackers were created by this religious guy to keep boys busy so that they wouldn’t masturbate. I am so into that. I’ve been thinking of what foods would be the equivalent for women. Rewriting a mythology around Cheetos, maybe…where a psychoanalyst was like, women eat Cheetos because they remind them of penis envy, or something? I don’t know. I also just bought a dollhouse off of Craigslist that I am going to recreate, where each room is a different story from my past. I recently got back from this curators intensive program and my friend and I are brainstorming work for a curator collective we want to start.”
on her beauty routine
I don’t wear much makeup, but when I do it's usually a little bit of the Bare Essentials bronzer, Glossier Boy Brow, and maybe some sort of black eyeliner or red lipstick, depending on the occasion. I also recommend Glossier Priming Moisturizer, St. John's Shield Light Regenerative Bath & Body Oils, DKNY Be Delicious Eau de Parfum Spray, and C.O.Bigelow Rose Salve.
My dad is a dermatologist so I think I’ve grown up being really skeptical of most beauty products that say they can rock my world. I am still totally attracted to makeup with really groovy packaging or anything that smells like a Jamba Juice smoothie. I still think simple stuff like Dove soap really gets the job done best. I am wary of complicated ingredients.
on her shopping habits and style
Most of my wardrobe is vintage, junky thrift-shops, and random online places I follow on Instagram. I love 10 Ft. Single Stella Dallas, Amarcord Vintage, 9th Street Haberdashery, Coming Soon, and Georgia Vintage. I just want my wardrobe to look like a lava lamp sort of spilled all over an episode of Lizzie McGuire.
Dress, Vintage
Top, Topshop ; Skirt, Vintage ; Tote, Rube Goldberg
emma's favorite books
How Should A Person Be by Sheila Heti, Chelsea Girls by Eileen Myles, The Diary of Frida Kahlo by Carlos Fuentes, A Coney Island of the Mind by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, I Want to Scratch 'n Sniff You by Emma Orlow
emma's favorite movies
The Doom Generation, Coffee and Cigarettes, Reality Bites, Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion
emma's favorite places in nyc
Lowkey brunch spot: B&H Deli
Favorite sandwich: Cheeky Sandwiches
Best bookstore: Mast Books
Photography by Audrey Cotton
Meet Nadia Bedzhanova
in Filmmaker
Meet NYC passerby, Nadia Bedzhanova, Russian native now pursuing film directing.
Read More