1. what titles would you give yourself? food lover, food giver, food stylist, chef, artist, story teller, creator…

2. what are your websites? jloeats.com (for now it’s jloeats.blogspot.com)

3. what are you probably most know for? my crazy energy, passion for life, zest for learning, smiley face, and yummy food

4. where do you live/how long and how has it shaped you? born and raised in Toronto, moved to CaLi for my B.A. in Theater at UCLA; took a super senior year and found love, life, and a family of supporting friends & amazing artists, moved to Manhattan right after graduation to pursue my culinary dreams of working at the FoodNetwork (which i achieved in 7 months after i completing an intensive 6 month culinary degree program that whipped me into shape at the Institute of Culinary Education), moved back to Toronto for a year to replenish my soul while working at a high volume well known restaurant and applying to grad school, and as of today am planning to move back to New York for Fall 09 to begin my Graduate studies at NYU in a M.A. Food Systems and Cultures program. — how has it shaped me? well… i was on a quest when i moved out of canada to find more in life, to find me, and to live and spend my time to the fullest. i was also looking for love. i am still learning everyday how i relate to the world, and how what i do can make a difference… even if it means leaving the tiniest impression on people or inspiring them in anyway when i leave a place or space. i guess i like to think of it as a symbiotic relationship – places i go shape me because of the people i meet. Mutual love, trust, and respect (or lack of) is exchanged, and i notice the systems in place that people work under and the cultures in which people base their lifestyles on. i like to think that when i enter the picture, that i shape the environment too, by leaving my mark and adapting to where ever i am. as long as i’m constantly growing and moving, i’m happy to be a forever traveller in my own space, wherever that may be.
Having the privilege to grow and study both in canada and the states has definitely given me an inside/outside point of view of both clashingly similar yet vastly different cultures that both countries like to argue ignorantly about. haha

5. favorite asian cuss word? in cantonese “SAY LA!” which isn’t much of a cuss word really, cuz i hate to cuss in chinese — although i’m a huge potty mouth in english
6. what was your ‘aha’ moment where you said ‘this is what i want to do’? my 4th or 5th week at the food network when it was 6am (i’m usually not a morning person) and i was walking onto set so excited after a “i got your back moment” with my co-worker who needed my help, and i felt and said to myself “man, i was BORN to do this!” it felt so good to be good at a job that combined both my passions – story telling and food, and be appreciated for it.

9. What would your biopic be called? haha, i’m too young to have a biopic, no?
i guess i just want it to be called “The life of Janet Lo” because hopefully by the time it comes out, it’ll be honouring the life i had and what i spent my time on earth doing to inspire people.

10. With what movie character do you identify most? hmm, i don’t choose one specific character to relate to because i find all kinds of people relatable, and it’s the actor’s job to bring that story out in the most beautifully vulnerable way possible

11. a charity you would choose to give to. why? i would probably create my own – one that teaches kids in schools how to feed themselves, one that offers cooking classes as part of a curriculum, how to make healthy choices in lifestyle and eating habits, one that gives their parents resources to learn about where to get and how to grow their own food – there are a few out there that already exist like this, which i think is GREAT!

12. last song stuck in your head? livvi franc’s “now i’m that bitch” – hahahahahaha.

13. what’s new that we should be on the lookout for? links? let me get back to you, i like to stay updated and in the know too! let me dig around but of course — jloeats.com!

Trong Gia Nguyen
The Diabolical

Vietnam-born New Yorker Trong Gia Nguyen has a history of making artwork that activates an unusually high level of criticality. In The Diabolical, he has mobilised the cultural authority of not only the art object but the very wall it hangs on to impose upon the viewer an authoritarian quantification of his/her physical presence.

These impasto works, which are always painted the same colour as the walls they occupy, reproduce the height charts used in police stations and retail spaces. Sized up under the paintings’ watchful scrutiny, the viewer is rendered subject and suspect: peeps is perps.

THE DIABOLICAL

In 2001, against great protest, then New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani proposed the formation of a decency committee to restrict artistic freedom in New York City. This was in response to Renee Cox’s naked self-portrait as Jesus in a group exhibit of contemporary African-American photographers at the Brooklyn Museum. A year prior to that, Giuliani fought and lost a battle to evict the same cultural institution over an “immoral” work by Chris Ofili in the Sensation exhibit.

Its namesake inspired by the inexplicable stories of Jules Amedee Barbey D’Aurevilly, The Diabolical is an installation that swells with the same demonic control and power fancied by wayward politicians. In this case, the possession of this control comes from the work establishing its own restrictions and “standards” that direct the viewer’s experience of seeing art and orchestrating the looking process from beginning to end.

The Diabolical installation consists of a series of variously sized monochromatic paintings. Each canvas is a variation of the “crime lines” one sees at police stations, used to identify the heights of suspects. Some of these paintings depict horizontal bands and cardinal numbers, while others just contain the demarcating lines. The paintings themselves are painted whatever wall color they hang on, or vice-versa. Subtly they blend in with their backgrounds. Necessarily, the lines and numbers are rendered in impasto, allowing them to be repeatedly painted over without losing what is represented – at least until the layers are so numerous and the paint so thick that they are hidden. In this way, the works assume a belying passiveness, with each subsequent layer of color adding a page to their evident provenance. “Painting over” also becomes a coy comment on the futileness of restoration, “touching up,” and other de riguer archival practices that attempt to freeze time.

Together, these seemingly innocuous works surround and ambush the viewer inside an “incriminating” space that, like it or not, forces him into a position where all attempts at “gazing” are negated and swiveled in favor of the work itself. It is entrapment.

When a viewer enters any exhibition space, he or she determines the conditions for looking at art — how long to look at the work, under what aesthetic criteria, and so on. By disarming the notion of the “gaze” and taking control of the seeing process, via the simple act of displacement, all these choices become moot, leaving the viewer powerless to initiate the looking process. Lacking this traditional control, the viewer is thereby placed under the work’s watchful scrutiny, where looking becomes an act of paranoia, self-incrimination, guilt, and indecency.

On one final note of playful subversion, The Diabolical’s lines and numbers are painted to accurately represent the heights they depict when the canvases are hung at the institutional 60-inch middle marker, which, like good or bad taste, is arbitrary.

Trong G. Nguyen

LOST & FOUND follows Stephanie, an undocumented student at UCLA, as she attempts to regain what she’s lost

A CAMERA AND A DREAM

by Lori Kido Lopez

For Tam Tran, making videos has always been a way of communicating her message to the world.  In 2007, as a Visual Communications Armed with a Camera Fellow, she made a film called LOST AND FOUND that told the story of a friend named Stephanie who struggled to regain her identity when she realized she was undocumented.  She’s been showing the film around the country to stir conversations about immigration reform.  And when she testified before Congress at age 24 in favor of the DREAM Act to help undocumented youth gain citizenship, one of the key parts of her testimony was in another video she had made. When she returned from Washington DC, the impact of her messages and videos collided in a stunningly Orwellian moment—federal agents raided her parents’ home and arrested her parents and brother.  After Tran’s flurry of phone calls to lawyers, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, and a congresswoman she had just met, her family was released, but they had to wear ankle bracelets and return home by a certain time each day or else they would be detained again.  Although she cannot say for certain that her testimony lead to her family’s detainment, she is still angry that they were treated so terribly and vowed to keep doing exactly what she had been doing—making movies and fighting to change the structure of immigration in this country. “I wasn’t going to let anything stop me,” said Tran.  “Now my parents understand why I do immigrant’s rights activism.  If anything, ironically, this whole mess of events made us closer as a family.” Tran’s film, LOST AND FOUND, is showing at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival on May 6, at 7:30PM, at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy.

Although she can’t make it to the screening herself, the film’s star Stephanie will be there. “Stephanie is going to go and represent the film.  I think in a way that’s going to be even cooler because it’s one thing to see an undocumented person on screen, but to see her in the flesh will create another kind of intense reaction for people watching the film,” said Tran. Tran first discovered her passion for filmmaking and activism as an undergraduate at UCLA, where she learned to make grassroots, guerrilla-style videos.  Since she hadn’t had the opportunity to learn any of the technical aspects of filmmaking, she jumped at the opportunity for mentorship and guidance under VC’s Armed with a Camera program.

As a Fellow in 2007, she was able to participate in workshops that taught her skills like cinematography and lighting, as well as share her treatment, rough cuts, and finished film with a cohort of like-minded young filmmakers. “I remember when I got there it was really cool because there was a mix of people with different experiences,” she said.  “This film has been the most intense intellectual and emotional one that I’ve ever worked on.” Since finishing LOST AND FOUND, Tran has used the film to do outreach to unions, schools, and community organizations.  Others have also been requesting it to show at their own schools and in their own communities at a rate so fast that she can barely keep up with all of the requests, but she’s excited about the fervor it’s inspired.

“Sometimes it’s hard to put a face to the issue and describe the struggles that people go through with their everyday lives,” she said.  “With the film you see Stephanie’s childhood and also her day to day activities.  She wants to get a hold of these legal documents, these government documents that show who she is.  I think her experiences are something a lot of undocumented youth go through.” For Tran, the film is also a reminder of her family’s situation.  They have legal status in this country because they immigrated from Germany 18 years ago after escaping Vietnam, and since Germany refused to allow the family to return, they have to stay in the US.  But they have exhausted all of their avenues to citizenship and can only hope that something like the DREAM Act will pass.  The DREAM Act would give the children of illegal immigrants the opportunity for citizenship if they earn a high school degree and complete two years of college or military service. “I think immigration enforcement means you don’t have a life if you’re an undocumented immigrant.  They’re telling immigrants you have to work and pay taxes, but when you do, like my parents and brother, they’re going to restrict your freedom so you can’t go to work or school,” said Tran.  “It’s just really messed up essentially.  I still have a really emotional visceral reaction.”

Tran is now pursuing a doctorate in American Studies at Brown, where she hopes to incorporate ethnographic filmmaking into her academic research.  She’s been able to take film and other visual media courses so that she can learn more about communicating the politics of immigration through storytelling. “ I want to combine all of the things that I love to tell the story of millions of people who are stuck in this broken immigration system,” she said.  “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
Tickets for LOST AND FOUND are $12 general and $10 for students, senirs and members of Visual Communications, JACCC and DGA. Tickets are available at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, 111 N. Central Ave. in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles.
Tran’s film, LOST AND FOUND, is showing at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival on May 6, at 7:30PM, at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy.

Profile
Name: 董璇 / Dong Xuan
English name: Michelle Dong
Profession: Actress
Birthdate: 1982-Nov-05
Birthplace: Beijing, China
Height: 170cm
Weight: 50kg
Star sign: Scorpio
Chinese zodiac: Dog
Blood type: A
Talent agency: HY.Brothers

ABOUT VIET CLUB

In the fall of 2003, Hong and I were lamenting about the lack of young Vietnamese creatives in New York City. There had to be some movers and shakers in NYC, some dreamers, visionaries and future superstars. Why did everything seem to happen in California? In a flurry of e-stalking, calling old college friends, contacting long lost cousins, and basically approaching anyone and everyone who could help, we have begun to discover that YES, they are out there. And they are doing amazing things. We are dedicated to finding them all here in our hometown, on our turf, New York City.

I am the oldest sister, with Hong a scant year behind me, in a family of 4 siblings. Both our younger siblings are at Princeton. Sieu, our ‘number one son’ brother is working on his Phd while Thu is discovering the joys of undergraduate life. Our parents live in New Jersey and so we are home often for mom’s delicious cooking. Our family is very tight knit and close, Hong and I talk almost everyday.

Thu calls us “SAME”, said in a deadpan voice. And it’s true Hong and I love many of the same things. We love our coffee black, our bacon crisp, non-soggy french fries in the afternoon, Lucky Strike Lights all the time, cheesy chick flicks, Bon Jovi and Emmylou Harris. We also adore our family – the Haduongs in Paris and California, the Huynhs in Montreal and Vietnam.

I never dreamed there would be so many young Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American creatives in New York City. After years of feeling like we were the only ones interested in anything remotely contemporary and well designed, it’s been refreshing to learn that we are not the only ones. We’re not looking for new friends or soulmates and we’re not interested in every single thing that is “Vietnamese”. We just want to know what’s going on with you, eager to see who’s where doing what.

the HA sisters,
Yen & Hong

http://vietclub.blogspot.com

http://vietclub.blogspot.com

Meet & Eat: Yen & Michi

Posted by Alaina Browne, September 28, 2007 at 12:00 PM

Yen and Michi’s blog, Lunch, is exactly what it sounds like: a blog about lunch, updated daily with a photo of what they had for lunch and a 4 p.m. snack. A virtual peephole into Yen and Michi’s day, Lunch inspires me to take the time for lunch. We get to know Yen and Michi in this week’s Meet & Eat.

Name: Yen Ha and Michi Yanagishita
Location: New York City
Occupation: Architects at Front Studio
URL: lunchstudio.blogspot.com

What prompted you to start your blog, Lunch?
We’ve always eaten lunch the way we do (which is to say everywhere and everything) and we’ve always had this slight obsession with cataloging, so it seemed normal to combine the two compulsions in a blog. Architecture tends to be a rather serious profession, so we wanted to create a light and amusing distraction.

What’s the most surprising thing to come out of your blogging?
We’ve been pleasantly surprised to be making friends through Lunch. Using the blog as a pretext, we’ve been writing old friends, acquaintances, and sometimes strangers, inviting them to share a meal. We’re seldom opposed to meeting new people or trying a new place for lunch, which makes for some fun meals.

What do your family and friends think of your food obsessions?
Interesting question, because we don’t necessarily think of ourselves as obsessed by food—any one of our friends would instantly agree to hop in a car with us for the six-hour drive to Pittsburgh to have the french toast brunch at Deluca’s in the Strip District. Maybe it’s because we’ve (subconsciously or consciously) surrounded ourselves with other food lovers it just seems normal to always be talking about where and what to eat next.

When did you first realize you were a serious eater?
Michi: Probably when I started skipping high school classes to go try our new restaurants.
Yen: Probably when I met Michi.

Favorite comfort food?
Young chow fried rice for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, or dinner. Perfect anytime!

Guilty pleasures?
We don’t really subscribe to feeling guilty over food. If it’s good, we want to enjoy it for what it is. No guilt!

What food won’t you eat?
Cats and dogs. The whole idea of extreme eating doesn’t really hold any fascination for us, either.

What’s an unexplored food you’d like to try?
We wouldn’t know what they are since the answer is pretty much anything we haven’t heard of! Although lately we’ve been dreaming about a trip to Singapore for the food hawker stands as described by Calvin Trillin in the food issue of the New Yorker.

Favorite food person?
We like to read Jeffrey Steingarten for his obsessiveness, the former R. W. Apple for his passion, and Harold McGee for his food nerdiness.

Favorite food sites or blogs?
Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen is a total crack-me-up for her no-holds-barred casual food writing. Delicious Days for the delicate photos and beautifully designed website. Pioneer Woman Cooks for the ridiculously detailed step-by-step photos.

Describe your perfect meal.
It starts in the morning, when Jeffrey Steingarten picks us up for some green market shopping; later that afternoon, Thomas Keller comes over to help cook everything; and, finally, early evening Clive Owen shows up to have dinner with us. Aaahhhh…

Yen Ha, RA
Michi Yanagishita, RA

Yen and Michi studied at Carnegie Mellon University together where they met one fine autumn day strolling through Schenley Park. Over the years the two have shared a particular passion for architecture, design and food. As principals of Front Studio, Yen and Michi head one of the youngest Asian female owned architectural practices in New York City.

Yen has been working since the completion of her studies at bringing thoughtful design into public awareness.  She pursues beauty and meaning in her design work, integrating formal studies with humanistic insight.  As a registered New York State architect, Yen uses an innate sensitivity towards a person’s individual experience of space with a thorough comprehension of materials and methods to construct spaces both elegant and engaging.

Michi’s natural curiosity and love of adventure informs her design, articulated in visually appealing work. She balances a temperate sensibility with an enthusiasm for the built environment that produces perfectly moderated spaces. Michi, a New York State registered architect, enjoys a reputation among her clients for her clear communication skills and ability to clarify the complexities of the design process.

http://www.tu-anh.com

http://www.tu-anh.com

Born:

may 15, 1972

Birthplace:

nha trang, vietnam

Favorite colors:

blue for truth and intelligence, pink for feminine energy and romantic love.

Style must-haves:

pin-stripe suit, little sexy black dress, pencil skirt, crisp white cotton shirt, black, silver, gold stilettos, sequined clutch, pearl jewelry, red lipstick, and a naughty nurse outfit.

Inspirations:

music, the arts, languages, people, animals, places, books, most importantly – being able to make a difference and inspire others to be positive and live life like there is no tomorrow.

Story:

Tu-Anh showed a flare for style as early as age 5. Growing up in the post-Vietnam War era, she endured extreme difficulty in her early childhood years. Shortly after the fall of Saigon, Tu-Anh’s father and older brothers escaped to the US, leaving her mother working long hours to provide for her and two younger sisters. Out of necessity, Tu-Anh, as the oldest girl, felt the need to take on a motherly role for her two sisters at the age of 7. This left her no time for school and friends. Growing up, she was greatly influenced by her mother. Through her mother, Tu-Anh learned how to survive with little means – be quick on her feet, perseverance, and the importance of appearance and etiquette. As a result, that had a profound effect on developing her current unique endearing style and grace.

Finally, after several life threatening and failed attempts to escape Vietnam, Tu-Anh, her mother, and sisters found freedom in the US where they reunited with her father and four older brothers. Tu-Anh ‘s first formal education began in 1981 at the age of 10 in New Orleans, Louisiana after departing Singapore Refugee Camp. It was then that her love of style was rekindled. From yard sales, to flea markets, to church donation items, Tu-Anh, as a teenager, could transform any old item into modern day glamour. By middle school, she was designing, styling and making clothes for her sisters and schoolmates. Presently, her sisters are still her biggest fans. When Tu-Anh reached the age of 16, she had already produced, choreographed, modeled, and styled numerous fashion shows. Furthermore, she worked passionately behind the scenes of Vogue, Seventeen, Glamour, Teen magazines, Marc Jacobs, Todd Oldham, and Anna Sui fashion shows.

Tu-Anh attended the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, where she learned to better develop her creative talent and technical skills for fashion design.

After several years of working in the Fashion Industry and with photographers, models, actors, and multi-national brands such as: Adrienne Vittadini, Ava Forsythe for Arnold Scaasi, Admerasia NY, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Victoria Secret, Aura Science, Shiseido, Prescriptives, Mary Kay, Stila, and being head designer for Belle Couture, “tu-anh” label was launched. Her collection officially hit the stores in spring of 2000 and immediately attracted national attention from leading media such as InStyle, Lucky, Glamour, Seventeen, Cosmo Girl, New York Magazine, Capitol File, HGTV, The Today Show, NBC, Shuz, Washignton Post, Washingtonian, Women’s Wear Daily, and many more.

Tu-Anh’s inspiration to start her own business came from her initial return to Vietnam in the winter of 1997. Moved by the elegance and exotic beauty of Vietnamese culture and skilled craftsmanship of her people, she sought to blend traditional arts into her feminine and timeless collection. The various textures of Asian silks, rich embroideries, and intricately beaded works set the unique collection of “tu-anh accessories” apart from others. Her colors represent specific moods and the meanings further add richness and beauty to her stylish collection.

Today, Tu-Anh has expanded her collection to include beautiful one-of-a-kind jewels made of semi-precious stones. Her products are currently available on-line at www.tu-anh.com and can also be purchased through private showings and charity functions around the country.

Tu-Anh currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia with her pet kittens, autumn and poeme, and her chi-hua-hua, nini. In addition to being the talent behind “tu-anh accessories”, Tu-Anh also manages her consulting business “polished by tu-anh” where she spends her time producing fashion shows and stylish special events, teaching fashion art, and helping professional men and women get polished for success. Tu-Anh is also a mentor to countless young, aspiring designers and teens around the globe.

In her spare time, Tu-Anh likes to donate her time and services to charity causes, host stylish parties, cook, garden, spend time with loved ones, and her most favorite, dancing. She is a big advocate for helping children, animals, and the elderly. Tu-Anh mostly wears her own creations. They embody femininity, sex appeal, and sophistication, concepts she hopes more women will embrace.

questions for tu-anh? please email tuanh@tu-anh.com

FILM; Art Meets Life for a Vietnamese Actress

• Enframing the Petty Bourgeoisie: Gender, Expertise, and the Classification of Market Trader in Postwar Vietnam

  March 6, 2009
  12:10 – 2:00pm
  Arts Screening Room

• Prof. Tamara Ho was recognized with the Outstanding Faculty or Staff Member Award at the Leadership and Service Awards banquet hosted by Asian Pacific Student Programs on May 28, 2008.

(left to right) Joe Virata, Director, APSP, Tamara Ho; Judy Lee, Rivera Library

 

• News about Professor David Biggs
• News about Professor Lan Duong
• News about Professor Tamara Ho
• News about Professor Hendrick Maier
• News about Professor Justin McDaniel
• News about Professor Sally Ann Ness
• News about Professor Christina Schwenkel
• News about Professor Deborah Wong

Thu Tran is the host and creator of Food Party, quite possibly the only cooking program you should be watching. The show is a labor of strange love between the 27-year-old and her friends, who hand-make the supporting cast, sets and props. In the first two episodes, cardboard versions of Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and LeBron James make dinner plans with Tran, and the artist spends a good half hour whipping up snacks made from common household items like spray cheese, Buffalo chicken wings, and tree-grown doughnuts. Also making appearances on Food Party are the devil (who plays righteous rock hero guitar), and a lovelorn ice cream cone that lives in the permafrost freezer compartment. Maybe just watch some segments here.

Thu Tran and her collaborators are currently putting final touches on the fourth episode. From the looks of a preview posted on their site, major changes are coming to the pantry. We met up with Tran last week at the Roebling Tea Room to discuss the show, the mysterious ubiquity of Elijah Wood, and the fate of the crusty but beloved Senior Baguette, token Francophile.

What happens to the Baguette? It’s a secret, I don’t want to give away the ending. But someone gets sick.

He looks dead in the sneak peak. All shall be revealed.

[a hamburger arrives at the table] I like the squishy picnic bun.

Have some of my fries. I’m too full. I ate a lot of eggs.

Like how many eggs? Well, I made all this gravy for Thanksgiving. This turkey gravy. And before we ate my friend Peter made all this bacon as a snack so then we poured the drippings on the turkey and I made the gravy with the bacon-turkey drippings. So I just made scrambled eggs with tomatoes and scallions and all the gravy. It was so good.

Q&A: Stephanie Tran

Pink tulip skirts with satin trim.  Racerback camisoles in nudes and greys.  Wisps of yellow chiffon.  With Duskin’s Spring 2009 collection, Stephanie Tran seems as though she spent her time sketching at the Lincoln center.  In between rehearsals for Giselle and Swan Lake.  Or maybe it’s just the quiet strength of impeccable tailoring meeting the grace of silk, cotton, and jersey that forms the perfect pas de deux.  Either way, dressed in slouchy separates and satin wraps you’ll be sure to be on pointe wherever your twinkle toes take you.  Below a little more about the brainchild behind the beauty.

EM: Occupation and Position

TRAN:  Designer/Owner of DUSKIN, a clothing line. (see below)

EM: What neighborhood do you closely identify with? What makes your community so unique?

Having been in New York for eleven years (there was one year of Los Angeles in the mix), I have been in a lot of neighborhoods.  Currently I am in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn-I love it for its youth and creative energy.  The cheaper rents don’t hurt, also.  There are great bars and restaurants and Bedford Avenue itself is great for people watching.

EM: What’s the greatest item that you found at your local garage/estate sale?

A needlepoint of a little girl and a wooden pony (the ones that are sticks that you play ride), small framed prints of botanicals.

EM: If you could interview one unsung hero, who would it be? Why?

Glenn Danzig is my unsung hero. him.  His voice is so angelic…considering.

EM: What’s your favorite youtube video?

When I was living in Los Angeles, my boyfriend made this video for me of Lou, my dog, who he was watching in New York for a month.

First Aid Kit Fleet Foxes Cover Song

EM: Where are your favorite local spots to eat?

Dumont Burger (Williamsburg)
Fiore (Williamsburg)
Casimir (Manhattan-East Village)

EM: What songs are at the top of your playlist at this very moment?

Ryan Stratton- “Holograms and Cigarettes”
Adam Green - “Dance with Me”
Neil Young - “Little Wing”
Dr Dog - “Easy Beat”
No Age - “It’s Oh So Quiet” (Bjork Cover)
Babyshambles - “Albion”
Cat Power and Karen Elson - “I Love You Me Neither” (Serge Gainsbourg cover)
Animal Collective - “Grass”
MGMT - “Electric Feel”
T Rex - “Mambo Sun”

EM: What is your current bedside read?

Stacks of WWD (Women’s Wear Daily)

EM: What is your favorite city to visit when you travel abroad? And why?

Paris.  Do I really need to explain? Food, style, culture, cute boys…

EM: What new projects are you building on right now?

DUSKIN Fall 09/10, the DUSKIN blog www.duskin-ny.blogspot.com, The DUSKIN website www.duskin-ny.com, trying to revive Bryn & Lou in some form www.brynandlou.com, and a new project that I cannot talk about yet!-it involves clothes, etc.

***
For more on her Spring ‘09 line, check out this gallery:

www.duskin-ny.com

Get To Know… Designer Stephanie Tran Of Duskin, Stylehive’s Next Big Thing! – Stylehive

by Anna Yu • Nov 17, 2008 10:16 AM PST

Design • Next Big Thing • Fashion

Stephanie Tran’s debut collection for her label “Duskin” hasn’t even hit stores, yet she’s has an already impressive background in fashion. Prior to launching her own collection she was an editor at Vogue in addition to designing for retailers like American Eagle and Forever 21. Now she’s making it on her own with Duskin, a collection of versatile pieces like fitted blazers, slouchy tank tops, wide leg trousers, and delicate dresses. It’s no wonder Steven Alan immediately picked up her collection. Her spring line won’t be available until February and I’m definitely snapping everything up the moment it comes out! Read on to learn more about Stephanie, and check out the slideshow for a peek of her upcoming collection!

Stylehive: Give us a mini-background of your beginning.
Stephanie: I’ve been in fashion for about 10 years, in various capacities- shopgirl, fashion special events, magazine editor, designer… When I was a shopgirl, I would wear some of my own designs and people just started asking about them, and eventually I made some things to sell here and there. It wasn’t a business at the time, but more of a fun side project. I’m very lucky- I don’t have much formal training in design, but I’ve been given amazing opportunities to learn hands-on.

Stylehive: What are your inspirations?
Stephanie: I’m a visual person, so pretty much everything I lay my eyes on becomes fodder for some kind of inspiration. I don’t have the best memory, so I always have to write things down or take pictures on my phone.

Stylehive: What’s next for you?
Stephanie: I like to have lots of projects to keep myself motivated, so there’s quite a bit.
Spring ‘09 production, Fall ‘09/’10 designing, and putting up the Duskin website.
I’m also working on my Duskin blog which really started as a place for me to store the various inspiration I find while online. It’s come to mean a lot more to me now because I actually have an audience, and it’s so great to be able to share your visual/mental thoughts and know that people care. It’s also an excuse to stay online for just another minute…

Stylehive: How do you feel about being The ‘Next Big Thing?’
Stephanie: Flattered, honored, and suddenly very shy…! There’s a lot of amazing talent out there, so it’s really just nice to be recognized and know that other people enjoy what I do. Thank you, Stylehive!

Also Read :

Total Recall

Stephanie Tran taps a childhood friendship for her debut Duskin collection

By Whitney Vargas | February 26, 2009 9:00 a.m.

Photo: Jason McDonald

Tran’s new muse, NYC indie-folk singer Rebecca Schiffman

When Stephanie Tran started sketching soft silhouettes for her first collection, the Brooklyn designer had one girl in mind: her childhood friend Thea Duskin. “She was really pretty and slightly rough around the edges, and lived with her eccentric British parents in this crumbling old Victorian in upstate New York,” says Tran, who not only named her clothing line Duskin, but kept returning to memories of the house’s overgrown gardens and dusty bookshelves for inspiration. Victorian mourning lace and studded boots. “It’s a very romantic collection, but it’s for a tomboy at heart,” says the designer. The line also taps into the season’s new pajama trend, which isn’t such a coincidence considering Tran’s last job was launching lingerie and loungewear for Forever 21. (Tran, 30, has also worked as a magazine accessories editor, a celebrity stylist, and an event planner.) “I wanted to design things that are very reflective The effect is a whimsical debut of silk slipdresses, lowslung blazers, and boyfriend trousers in faded pastels and basic black that share a sensitive calm—the kind of pieces a twenty-first century Virginia Woolf heroine would wear if, like Tran, she toughened them up with of me,” says the creative pixie, giving an example of how she spent the previous evening at home tea-staining (with Earl Grey) a favorite T-shirt while listening to Adam Green’s droning “Dance With Me” on repeat. As for her old friend Thea: The last Tran heard, she’d become a tattoo artist in Virginia.

Brooklyn based designer Stephanie Tran is known for her ethereal, flowy designs that have a whimsical look with slipdresses, blazers, and boyfriend trousers. She says, “My childhood friend Thea Duskin was pretty pretty, and lived with her eccentric British parents in this crumbling old Victorian in upstate New York.”

And as these thoughts of the Victorian house and it’s gardens have permeated her mind, Tran decided to name her collection, “Duskin.” Ironic name considering her resume which included stints as lingerie designer at Forever 21, celebrity stylist, and event planner.

Fellow Blogger and muse Stephanie Tran just had a great write up about her new line Duskin in this month’s Elle Magazine!!

I’m so proud of Stephanie!  View Stephanie’s blog, Other Pretty Things and Duskin.

Alexa Chung: Bound for America, MTV

Americans will soon be inundated with an example of it, as The Alexa Chung Show is set to replace TRL and premiere on MTV in June.

The series will, aptly, be hosted by Alexa Chung, a British TV personality and former model. She’s really pretty. See for yourself:

New MTV Show this Fall: The Alexa Chung Show

New MTV Shows were announced recently. I was interested in The Alexa Chung Show because I thought she was some sort of Asian person. But I guess not? Unsure.

Press Release:
“British television personality and model, Alexa Chung will host this daily one-hour live entertainment show which includes a large dose of viewer interaction. MTV will partner with Twitter offering viewers instantaneous input opportunities with Alexa, celebrity guests, or their own friends watching the show. The show will also feature a RockYou Live video sharing application, allowing viewers to submit their favorite viral videos and those they shoot themselves. From Reveille.”

Alexa Chung

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alexa Chung (born 5 November 1983) is a British TV presenter and former model.

[edit] Early life

Alexa Chung was raised in Privett, Hampshire, England by her English mother, a housewife, and her Chinese father, a graphic designer. She is the youngest of four children and has two brothers and one sister.

She attended the local comprehensive school, Perins Community College, and later the sixth form Peter Symonds College, Winchester (2000-2002). She had been accepted by King’s College London to read English and by Chelsea College of Art and Design to do an art foundation course, with two ‘A’ grades (English and Art) and a ‘B’ (History) at A-level, before being scouted by a modelling agency. ^[1]

[edit] Modelling

Chung was first scouted by an agency, Elite Model Management, while attending The Clothes Show at the age of 14, but nothing came of it. She was approached again, in the comedy tent at Reading Festival, at the age of 16 and was taken on by the London-based Storm Model Management.

She modelled for teen magazines such as Elle Girl and CosmoGIRL! and appeared in adverts for products including Fanta, Sony Ericsson, Sunsilk and Tampax.^[2] She also modelled for Urban Outfitters. She appeared in music videos for artists including The Streets, Westlife, Delta Goodrem, Reuben and Holly Valance and starred as Jake in a scripted reality show called Shoot Me, broadcast on Fashion TV in 2005.

After four years, Chung quit modelling with the intention of beginning an art foundation or fashion journalism course, having become disillusioned. She had developed a “distorted body image” and “low self-esteem” through modelling. ^[3]

After becoming a famous TV personality, Chung made a return to occasional modelling. In 2008, she was the face of both Australian fashion label Antipodium’s SS 2008 collection and Oxfam’s ethical fashion range, Revamped. In September 2008, Chung walked the catwalk as part of the Vivienne Westwood Red Label Spring/Summer 2009 show at London Fashion Week. In early 2009, she became the face of British high street giant New Look. Also in 2009, Chung joined London-based modelling agency, Select.

[edit] TV career

In April 2006, then-model Chung was offered the job of co-host on Popworld on Channel 4, a music show known for its irreverent and awkward style of interviews. Chung and co-host Alex Zane also presented a weekly radio show called Popworld Radio in conjunction with the TV programme.^[4] The last show aired in July 2007, after Channel 4 decided not to recommission the programme, which had been on air for nearly seven years.^[5]

Following this, Chung signed a year-long “golden handcuffs” deal with Channel 4 in August 2007, worth £100,000.^[6] As part of this deal, she guest presented Big Brother’s Big Mouth and appeared as a panellist on quiz show 8 out of 10 Cats. She hosted a number of T4 Movie Specials, 4Music Specials, T4 Holiday Mornings along with T4’s coverage of many music festivals.^[7]

In January 2008, Chung became one of the four anchor T4 presenters. She hosted T4’s Vanity Lair, a reality show investing the concept of “beauty”. When the show was mentioned in a later interview, “Chung raises her eyebrows, indicating embarrassment”. ^[8] As well as her work on T4, she became a long-time host of Channel 4’s early morning music programme Freshly Squeezed, beginning in September 2007.

In addition to her Channel 4 commitments, Chung presented the ITV1 series Get a Grip (2007) and BBC Three’s The Wall (2008).

In mid-2008, Chung began to host more fashion-oriented programming. She was the “roving reporter” on Channel 4’s “Gok’s Fashion Fix“.^[9] On the programme, Chung roadtested the latest fashion trends with members of the public, and interviewed fashion designers such as Roberto Cavalli, Karl Lagerfeld, Jean Paul Gaultier, Margherita Missoni and Christian Lacroix. She described it as ‘pretty much my dream job’.^[10] Chung also hosted a T4 fashion and music show called Frock Me!, with fashion designer Henry Holland.^[11]

Chung has also hosted industry events including the Hair Magazine Awards 2007, Diesel U Music Awards 2007 and the Elle Style Awards 2008 and 2009.

She was awarded the Elle Style Award for Best TV Presenter in 2009.

Chung left Channel 4, and the United Kingdom, in April 2009 in order to pursue a stateside career. She will begin presenting The Alexa Chung Show for MTV on June 15, 2009. The live, daily show – billed as TRL’s replacement- will feature celebrity talk, live music and online interaction with viewers .^[12]

[edit] Columnist

Chung wrote a monthly column for British women’s magazine Company from October 2007 to June 2008.

She currently writes a weekly newspaper column for The Independent, ‘Girl About Town’, which is published every Wednesday.

[edit] “It Girl” Status

In 2007, Chung came to the attention of the fashion press for her distinctive, quirky style. She frequently appears on Best Dressed Lists, in fashion magazines and on the front row of fashion shows. She socialises with many well-known faces but has said the idea of lots of celebrity friends is “so cheesy”.^[13] She has dismissed the notion of being an It girl, saying “there’s not much to being an It girl. It’s really quite a depressing title to hold”.

[edit] Relationships

Chung has dated Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner since July 2007.^[14] In August 2008, Chung starred in the video for Turner’s side-project band The Last Shadow Puppets’ song, ‘My Mistakes Were Made For You’. ^[15] In October 2008, it was reported that the couple cohabited in East London. ^[16] They both relocated to Williamsburg, New York in April 2009.

Previously, Chung had an on-off relationship with Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins from mid-2006 until mid-2007 – this relationship ended soon after Chung was linked with Turner. She dated James Righton, vocalist and keyboard player with Klaxons for a few months in early 2007.^[17] Righton later said of the relationship, “sometimes things don’t work out. We still keep in touch and Alex (Turner) is a friend of mine and there’s no problems at all. They’re a really good couple.” She dated the Horrors frontman Faris Badwan for six months in late 2006/2007 and they have remained friends.^[18]

While modelling, Chung met photographer, and singer with 80s pop group Blue Mercedes, David Titlow (born September 10, 1963), who is twenty years her senior. They lived together for three and a half years.^[19] Titlow continued to photograph Chung after their break-up.

Tabloids have also linked Chung to actors Josh Hartnett and Adam Brody, model Jamie Dornan and musician Alex Greenwald, but she has dismissed these as rumours.

[edit] Charity/Campaign Work

Chung has supported numerous charities including the Terrence Higgins Trust, World AIDS Day,^[20] Friends of the Earth’s The Big Ask,^[21] Product Red,^[22] Greenpeace ^[23] and Attitude is Everything^[24]

In December 2007, Chung designed a condom tin for Company magazine to help “convince people to carry condoms”.^[25]In January 2008, Chung designed a range of jewellery for Made Boutique, a Fair Trade organisation, which she is often seen wearing.^[26]In May 2008, Chung was announced as the brand ambassador for Oxfam’s ethical fashion boutiques^[27]

In November 2008, Chung teamed up with activist movement Ctrl.Alt.Shift and VICE Magazine to launch a photographic initiative encouraging youngsters to get behind the lens. Chung was one of five mentors, including Nan Goldin who worked with artists aged 18–25 to explore the global issues of gender, power and poverty through photography.^[28]

[edit] Filmography

• The Alexa Chung Show (2009)
• Freshly Squeezed (2007–2009)
• T4 Weekends (2008–2009)
• T4 Holiday Mornings (2007 – 2009)
• T4 Movie Specials (2006 – 2009)
• 4Music Specials (2006 – 2009)
• T4 on the Beach coverage (2006 – 2008)
• Gok’s Fashion Fix (2008)
• Frock Me (2008)
• The Wall (2008)
• Vanity Lair (2008)
• T4 NME Awards coverage (2008)
• V Festival coverage (2007 – 2008)
• The Devil Wears Primark (2008)
• Big Brother’s Big Mouth (2007)
• Fashion Rocks is Coming (2007)
• T in the Park coverage (2007)
• Get a Grip (2007)
• Popworld (2006–2007)
• Rip Curl Festival coverage (2006)
• Shoot Me (2005)

External links

• Elle TV meets Alexa
• Vanity Lair – 2 video interviews
• Channel Four – video interview
• The Guardian – We Can Do It! interview
• The Times – A Day in the Life
• The Observer – Who’s Hot Now
• The Telegraph – The One To Watch
• The Guardian – She’s the One
• The Independent – Television’s Hottest Property
• The Times – Style Quotes
• The Times – Small Screen Goddess
• The Telegraph – All The Trimmings
• The Independent – How Do I Look?
• The Guardian – The Close Up
• Lovefilm – Alexa’s ten favourite films
• Psychopedia – May 2007 interview
• TV Hits – interview
• Popworld introduces Alexa

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We already know that Alexa Chung is to move to New York to build a career in the States, but now we have a few more details on exactly what she’s heading over there to do!

Alexa will have her own live daytime show on MTV — airing at midday on weekdays from June 15 — which will apparently follow in the footsteps of TRL. That show ended in November 2008 after running for ten years, filmed live in Times Square.

The Alexa Chung Show will be a “mix of celebrity talk, music and online interaction with viewers” and was picked out as one of the highlights of MTV’s new season of programmes during a presentation to advertisers in New York this week. Audience members will also be encouraged to communicate their reactions to the shows by using social networking sites Facebook and Twitter.

Lets hope that MTV UK also shows the programme, as we’ll miss Alexa on our British TV screens!