boo sun! & new stuff posted!

I think I've mention before that I'm not a big fan of summer. I know I'm a bit of a weirdo but, I actually don't like to get darker. I rather be pale then to dark is that odd to say?? Since this wonderful warm weather is upon us these past few weeks and, I can't seem to avoid the sun wether I'm driving, walking, or even at home, the sun always seems to find me. More and more people are obviously laying out in the sun to get their vitamin D.  But, at what point is to much?? with people naturally tanning with the sun burning on their skin to get the leather look down pat, then flipping over to get their other side equally tanned, it's almost like cooking a roast chicken. Is having a super dark,burnt, leather skin really attractive?? people will always argue that its good to get some sun. Which I completely agree but, what about skin cancer? aging? wrinkles? looking older then you actually are? at least put on some sunscreen! or a hat!  This whole tanning and sun thing is just as bad as certain types who go to the tanning salon religiously. I'm not just talking about women but also men! What makes you think  having a tan in any color ( orange , dark brown, bronze ) help you achieve a nice "healthy glow"?  I personally like to age naturally and take whatever  happens comes my way the way it comes to me. Meaning no plastic surgery, no botox, no tanning, not so much makeup, no special tea's, no special vitamins  etc.

 I've learned aging nicely over the years from my mom. Recently  my mom and I were just hanging out. I was looking at my mom's skin on her arms and her hands, and wondered since I'm a young women and that its a given that younger people's skin are tighter and firmer then those who are  a lot older,that if i lightly pinched my mom's hand and arm that i would be able to gather some skin that has been aging. My mom's was sitting all relaxed so, she wasn't tightening up her arm or anything. I reached over the table to pinch her and I was surprised I couldn't gather as much skin as I thought I could. She grabbed mine and started to laugh because my skin wasn't as firm as her's and I'm 24!  Now coming from a asian background might have a slight advantage to my future of aging.

 I asked my mom what she does to have such healthy skin and, her answer was just so simple. Drink lots of water to keep you and your skin hydrated, don't smoke, drink ( to much), get plenty of rest, eat a big variety of fruits and veggies , don't pound on the makeup, and moisturize!  My mom is in her late 50's and, she barely has any wrinkles, is the oldest out of her friends but, looks the youngest out of all of them. I know 40 year old women who look twice their age and my mom for that matter.

So, I've been taking my mom's advice from a early age and it definitely pays off to actually listen to your mom! I feel better inside, more energy , firmer skin, no wrinkles, and I look younger then most of my friends! I have always respected my mom's points and views on just aging in a healthy and natural way. It's worth a listen and to even follow the advice coming from a mom, friends, dad, grandma, etc of their ways of how to take care of yourself is an eye opener. In this generation now an days everything seems to be taken care of in such superficial ways.  We are always trying to find fast and easy ways to get rid of little things about ourselves that will only be gone for a moment. Don't change who you are physically by going to the tanning salon, getting plastic surgery, doing special "diets" etc.  You might actually enjoy and like yourself just the way you are by doing super simple things, to live longer and to be happier.  Learn how to love yourself the real self first before you love yourself for the wrong reason.

ANYWAYS.....

I just posted up some new photos that I did with photographer ben kwan. With the fashion industry being the way it is (unfortunately)  I'm super fortunate and glad that I've establish a good professional and personal friendship with ben kwan. The way we work is one of us has a concept, he finds the model, I find the makeup and hair and the clothes. We come on the day of the shoot and start shooting. Simple as that. He trusts my styling and I trust in his photography. At the same time we both don't have a problem speaking up if we have a problem with each other. My next shoot is with Ben again this weekend. It's "athletic" fashion. I'm super excited about this one so stay tune!  In the mean time enjoy  the photos =)

Be Nice!

Am I the only person in Vancouver that wants the rain back?? I prefer to be to cold then to hot. You can always layer yourself up and keep yourself warm, there's so much that you can take off unless being completely naked but, i don't think the public would like that to much .

I just posted up some new photos of my latest shoot that I did with photographer pooya.  The shoot went so well and the model made the job so much easier. She was so enthusiastic about being a model. She loved every moment  from start to finish. Her mom was there to be her escort at the shoot and even her mom was enthusiastic and so curious about what happens on a shoot. The model's mom seemed so supportive and happy for her daughter in anything she wanted to pursue. When the shooting started going the model was so comfortable with her body. She wasn't afraid to move around and be "awkward" Her dad came by at night to pick her up and he was even more enthusiastic about his daughters modeling then the mom! he was so cute with telling all the embarrassing baby stories about her. He kept to his self away from the shoot to make sure he wasn't making his daughter uncomfortable. The model didn't mind at all and kept her energy up throughout the whole day.

Recently I was chatting with a good friend and artist all about the industry. Every time we get together I'm always learning something new. It's always nice to talk to someone who understands where  I'm coming from. The topic of our conversation was just about how people in the industry need to be more modest and humble with who they are and with their work. If your work as any kind of artist is that good then let your work speak for its self. Let the "fans" or admires  go and pick up a magazine where your work might be published or search online. There's no need to post it on a facebook status or to text everyone about a potential published print or a sell. If an artist is declaring that their work is so much better then others or they claim that they thought of an idea or a concept first. Think again! There's no need to post it up anywhere about complaining how others are "copying" or "stealing" your idea. The artist who does complain about it usually is the one at fault. They are usually the one who's guilty of copying another photographer or another concept with their own added "twist" Wake up! you aren't that original either!  Just because you might of seen it in a European vogue magazine 6 months earlier doesn't give you the right to have the idea that it was your original concept when you shoot it in Vancouver . Their main goal is to make everyone feel bad about themselves and to second guess their own artistic abilities. I understand that the fashion industry is a very dog eat dog world. But, there's no harm in helping others out or at least to keep your mouth shut.  Everyone is a struggling artist in some shape or form so, help all of us out and start being a humble, modest, friendly artist. You'll be liked more I promise.

TEASE

I've been so busy these past few weeks that I have been neglecting my blog! but, it's worth the wait folks =) I just received  CD's of images from photographer Ben kwan  from the shoots that we did together. Lets just say they look AWESOME. I'm so excited about them. Every time we meet up we always a good long chat about everything. It's just nice to  talk to someone  who thinks the same and someone who I can learn from as well. Looks can be deceiving...Ben knows more about fashion then I do! We are also  in the process of planning a few more shoots together. We are taking advantage of the nice weather as much as we can. One of the shoots is going to take place at a playground and, the other possible at the beach! I think the main challenge is to shoot on location but, to shoot it in a way that it doesn't look like an obvious "playground" or a Vancouver beach.

I know i've been putting it off with posting my little paper flower project. The reason being is the head piece shoot just didn't turn out the way the rest of the team wanted to. It was a shame and a bit waste of time but, it was worth making the overall decision to just re-do the whole series with a stronger model, who actually likes to model!!! I understand new face models are new to the scene but, you agreed to be a model or at least to try it out so, come to a set with some enthusiasm and with a personality, not with an attitude that seems like your mom forced you to be a model or that you wish you were doing something better.  If modeling isn't your first priority then get out of it! go and learn and explore and study anything and everything that you want.  There's no rush, model's now are so young that they have tons of time to develop as, a person, as a model, as a individual.  Every photo shoot new models attend are all a learning experience . I say take it with a great deal of gratefulness , and a positive attitude.

In the mean time, my next shoot is with pooya on sunday, followed by a shoot with ben kwan again then its the Know show! I posted up some teaser photos from the last shoots I did with Ben. I can't post all of them yet since Ben is working on putting them into a series so we can submit them! so cross your fingers for us! And, of course I do PROMISE to post up my paper flower project, once the ball gets rolling.

I've also posted up my "anthem" for the past few months. I'll just let the song speak for how I feel in general lately =)

Actual work

It's a gorgeous day today in Vancouver! Finally! even though I'm not to much of a beach person I'll defiantly be one of those people riding my bike around the sea wall.  I tan easily and fast so hopefully I don't get to to dark,or get any raccoon eyes while wearing sunglasses. I'm sitting at my new job and, just taking everything in.  Everything is exactly what I expected. It's a small company and since I've joined the team  now in total there is 3 of us working. I just found out earlier today all the trade shows i'll be attending. This part I'm personally excited for. I've always been interested in the snowboard / skateboard industry and to actually attend the trade shows that so many brands that I even personally love are going to be all under one roof  what  a hoot that will be also with cute boys! First up will be the Know Show in Vancouver, second will be little trade shows held at the building in Vancouver as well, thirdly the Trends show in Edmonton then to end it all the Magic show in Las Vegas!! It's a great way to network and to shake hands with the industry insiders. So many travel plans already in such short notice. We will also be making a little road trip to victoria. I'm glad my boss and my other co-worker are super cool laid back people who are originally from Montreal. Go figure hey?? Good thing my passport is still working. Since being with this new company I've learnt that you definitely  need to be aggressive. I'm a entrepreneur at heart so this was just right up my alley.

 Recently I have received many emails regarding photo shoots and some already planned. Since starting my blog I've been getting more request to do shoots then usual. The last few weeks I've been shooting with photographer Ben Kwan. I'm so happy with his work and end results, I'm even more happier that we have a good stylist and photographer relationship. I always make an effort to have the atmosphere on any shoots that I'm on to be laid back, easy going and fun! I goof around a lot on set but, I do actually do my work! My next shoot is with Pooya. Lets just say that shoot is going to be SEXY! I always enjoy oiling up a hot male model. Anything for a shoot I suppose..... After my shoot with Ben Kwan  I sat down and had a chit chat over coffee with one of my favorite makeup artist. We originally were suppose to meet up for an hour or so to talk about concepts but ended up chatting for 2 hours then talked about concepts for an hour.

on a side note...

Like I mentioned in my last post that I would be posting up photos of my little art project that I did, with the inspirations from Channel's 2009 couture show making paper flowers.  I'll post up photos of the Channel version then mine underneath as soon as I receive the photos from the photo shoot. All I ask is don't laugh!   Next photos i'll be posting will be the one's from Ben kwan and perhaps i'll start posting behind the scenes to, show you that I'm not just all play!

Work Rant Work!

The past week or so, I've been buried under my work. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do and I'm so fortunate to be one of the lucky few people who actually have a career in what my passion is. I've worked so hard as an individual and an artist to be where I' am today and, to be connected and befriend people in the fashion industry. I'm still growing and learning a lot about the industry. I've had some great opportunities to work with some great photographers and I can't wait for the end results.  As, a freelance stylist I've always made it my goal and apart of who I am as a stylist to promote local designers and vendors in the city. Believe it or not Vancouver has some great talent out there. We just need to be open minded and accept them as an artist and to give them a helping hand in the industry. I have no problem of the idea of buying and returning clothing to the big department stores in the city but, usually that would be my second choice to go to if I couldn't find something locally first if they didn't have what I was looking for. I find that new stylist now and days have been pulling all their clothing choices from H&M, Club monaco, urban outfitters. There's nothing wrong with that but, how many other stylist have done the same old style over and over again using the same store over and over again?  I admit I do buy and return things from those stores as well but, I don't make it a point to use it for my whole wardrobe choices while on a shoot. It would likely be mixed in with some other pieces that I pulled from designers or vendors. Not being agency represented isn't a bad thing or a harder way to pull clothes from vendors or designers. Its all self marketing and, how you sell yourself and the overall concept. It's also being confident in your own skills as, a stylist and your ability to make a designer or vendor feel they are getting their worth.  Living in a not so fashionable city isn't an excuse. I say open your mind and think outside of the box a little. If I had one advice to stylist who are wanting to have it be their full time career is, to connect and network with as many designers and vendor owners as you can. Of course at times you will get rejected but, that's part of the industry. If you get rejected just remember there's another designer or a new vendor that is probably more willing. Help them to help you.

On a side note...

I've been doing back to back photo shoots with some great talent recently. I finally got to shoot my paper flower headpiece segment. The flowers photographed super well but, unfortunately my model didn't have the personality to pull it off. Photos of the end results of my little project will be posted up soon!  I've been fortunate enough to shoot with some great new faces from NEXT Canada and Liz bell. Such beautiful models that just made the job so much easier and enjoyable. I love it when their mom's come and hang out on set. They have such an interest in the whole photo shoot aspect. My next photo shoot is this sunday with Ben Kwan and hair artist Natalia Petcu. Then its back to work on Tuesday. This year I'll be attending the Know Show? in Vancouver. Its a big trade show for the snowboard and skateboard industry. I better start freshening up my snowboard/ skateboard lingo.

I'll be posting up some new photos of my new work ASAP.

Blog

Since starting my blog I've been getting great responses and opportunities. I'm still working on my head pieces so, photos of my before and after will be arriving soon! At first I was going to tackle this project all by myself and thinking it was just logical thinking. Fold some corners here and there. Then again I was wrong! So, I did some research and of course good ol Martha Stewart was ms resourceful and creative when it came to making paper flower headpieces. Making the flowers start with the cheapest and simplest tool...coffee filters! I would of never of thought until I watched a demo that Martha was doing. So, lets just say my FIRST attempt at making this paper headpiece failed and, I'll be doing it the RIGHT way. I'll be posting up my not so embarrassing  progress of making flowers out of paper the right way soon.

On a side note...

I have back to back photo shoots coming up this weekend 3 in a row! all working with great photographers and artists some are new and some are old. None the less I'm just  excited to work with all of them. While pulling for shoots today for the one's coming up. I went to visit  my good friend and wardrobe stylist Krista Sung to dump all my styling wardrobe and accessories that I have accumulated over the years of styling  over to her place. We both came up with the idea of just putting both of our "over the year consumption of clothing, accessories and shoes all in one pile". Since we both decided to just put all of our styling left overs in one big room  it allows us to haves access to more accessories, more shoes, more clothing and props then we would if it was just our own things. It still needs some organization but, that will come in time.  We then headed out to pull for my shoot. While Krista was my right hand man for this pulling adventure and for Friday's shoot, she kept me calm and realistic with saying "you can never have enough" so, the more the merrier of clothing. I was glad I listened since coincidentally the photographers I'm shooting with all wanted to shoot the same type of concept that I had pulled for. So, Half the work  is done for me already! now just need to style it.

Keep coming back to view my progress of my coffee filter paper flower project and photos from Krista and I wardrobe closet or..room. In the mean time enjoy the photos that I just posted with photographer  Kelly Jill.

Project

So, I've given myself a little side project / challenge for myself for this next few weeks. The project is making a flower headpiece out of paper for a photo shoot. I got the inspiration from Channel's runway couture 2009 spring / summer show. Of course since this is Vancouver europe is always so many steps ahead of us creative wise and anything last year or at least a few years ago is now either in style or popular in Canada. Channel did the whole entire show out of flowers made out of paper!  It took 7000 handmade paper flowers, 4000 square meters of paper and 4800 hours to work on. Since there's only one of me and two my hands it will take even longer and more planning on how to tackle something like this.  Since my origami and cutting paper in a straight line skills are lacking these days. I 'll have to resort to internet sources and craft store employees and a lot of patience  and planning ( so I don't waste to much paper and save some trees) to get this done. Thankfully I've only decided to do one for now. I know how ambitious of me! I'll be sticking with one color, let it either be just nice simple white or a black. I'm a black and white type of gal. In my head I'm thinking this is easy enough I can mold the paper into any shape or however big I want it. Then again I'm sure its harder then I think.

So, I'm off to the craft stores and dollar stores to find the right kind of paper to do something like this. I'm sure I'm not the only one doing paper flower headpieces out there. I've posted up some photos from the Channel runway show to show you all the inspiration and hopefully, possibly, slightly a similar end result.

I'll be posting my progress from start to end.

Music

This week I had back to back photo shoots. One was assisting  a fellow wardrobe stylist and the other was dressing a up and coming musician.  The assisting job was a night shoot at the Loden hotel right downtown  Vancouver. We started at 9pm and went till at least 1:30am! Good thing we had dinner at sanafir before hand. Sanafir is a great place to check out for dinner or just to hang out. It's all about sharing and its right along Granville street so after you can go out and dance the dinner away! The makeup and hair crew at the night shoot was great to be around they were so funny and made everything go by super fast. I have another night shoot coming up with photographer Ben Kwan. Since its "summer"  and the weather is always a hit and miss this year it doesn't get dark till later so, this is going to be another late photo shoot. But, so worth it!

Today was my shoot with photographer Mike Chatwin and  musician Warren Dean shot at the fortune sound club. He was such a down to earth guy which made the shoot have an easy going atmosphere. The raw images that I saw looked great! I can't wait to see the final results.

I'm off to watch the JCI students grad fashion show at heritage hall. It will be nice to watch the fashion show and see all the grads pull it off  since I've  gone through the same program and know how they feel! after graduating from JCI a few years ago.  I'll be posting later about that event. In the mean time I'll post some more teasers from my underwater shoot.

New

I just posted up new photos that were taken last month with photographer Alan chan in this months vancouver fashion ezine. The weather for that shoot was such a hit and miss. It was raining all week till the day of the shoot and surprisingly  enough the weather was on our side when it started to clear up and actually became warm. We shot it at the oh so popular location whytecliff park in west Van. The team was great with such a easy going atmosphere. I've also posted up a teaser photo from Sunday's shoot with Kaela Smith. I remember saying that the next time I mention about the underwater shoot there would be photos. So, I posted up a teaser. It looks great so far and I can't wait for the others!

This week I have back to back photo shoots. One will be dressing musician Warren Dean! If you haven't heard his music or know who he is you better start! Very John legend with a bit of edge to him. I can't wait to meet him.!

Little time

I was Digging through my photo albums and, I  came across some old photos that I did when I was just starting out with styling. I was fortunate enough to work with some talented people who gave me a chance to develop as a person and as a stylist. Now they are huge in T.O and in vancouver! The disappointment of being from BC is the weather and locations for shooting. We have such minimal locations to shoot if its outdoors and shooting it in a way that doesn't look so familiar with other people recognizing it right away of what area of vancouver its in. Its just more encouragement to move somewhere that has more options. This year the weather hasn't been so nice with it being rainy. On top of that I might be coming down with a cold which isn't a good time to have one! so better stock up on that vitamin  C!

I'm off to pull for a shoot and to gather last minute things for my back to back shoot this weekend then assisting  one on Tuesday which should be interesting to help out on . Wish me luck!