ISSUE 01: CHRISTIE TYLER

Fika is an online magazine produced by creative souls (aka teenagers). Fika, which means “drinking coffee usually accompanied by something sweet� in Sweedish, displays a unique community of writers, photographers, fashionistas, and many more intelligent beings with a voice and a vision.

Michelle / Founder and Photographer Lavinia / Writer Delfina / Writer Paige / Writer Maddie / Writer Sylvain / Photographer-model and Editor Isabella / Editor

Matilde / Photographer Molly / Writer Tessa / Photographer Cristina / Photographer & Public Relations Danny / Writer Mia / Photographer Mitch / Model & Writer Lucia / Writer

contents + 05 08 10

new york new york vs. los angeles lifestyle

FEATURES 11 18 21

christie tyler sylvain wuyts dame

New York. The city that never sleeps.

Literally, towards

you can walk out your Manhattan, and you’ll

house at still find

3 in the morning, head civilians walking around.

I’ve recently started College in Manhattan and let me tell you its the best experience ever! You’re surrounded by people from different upbringings, ethnicity, social classes, ages, and people who’s first language isn’t English. It’s safe to say you won’t run into the same person twice!

Nobody has the same style in Manhattan. Walking down the street you’ll see a girl in leather shorts, the highest of heels, and hair dyed of every color of the rainbow. However, nothing catches me off guard, I find myself saying “Only in New York” a lot in my head.

One word: Subway. You can’t think about New York with out the famous subways.

I take the subway every day to get to my College and believe it or not I never get tired of it.

Once I take my sit (if I find one), I look around my surroundings. I’ll see someone falling asleep, someone drinking their coffee and reading the morning newspaper, and mostly everyone is on their phones either listening to music or playing games. I’ll look at a person ( with out them noticing of course) and wonder how their morning is going so far. Whether they’re on their way to work, If they’re running late, did they have a chance to eat breakfast. I’ll also hear different languages; people speaking Spanish, Russian, etc. Every time I get on the subway I see different faces. Let’s say the guy sitting next to you is cute and you can’t help but think about kissing him. Do it. Run out the cart as soon as you do it. You won’t have to worry about anything, you’ll never see him again. (I’ve personally never done it before but my best friend has) In New York, there is no limitations. No one can tell not to do something, whether it may seem impossible or just down right crazy. Do it. Thrive for it. People are constantly pushing for their own success, regardless of the measure. I, like many others as well, feed off that ambitious energy, it keeps me constantly pushing forward. I fully understand now why so many people from across the world come to NY. They’re looking for new opportunity, inspiration, and a different perceptive.

WORDS: CYNTHIA - deceptiveness.tumblr.com photo: James nord -jamesnord.com

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NEW YORK CITY

LA

VS..

NYC

West Coast vs. East Coast surf vs.city, Pacific Ocean vs.Atlantic Ocean,Rout 1 vs.5 Ave,golden state vs.the big apple.

California is always a good idea or is New York City always a good idea? People from California are obsessed with NYC and people from NYC are obsessed with California. Ironic right? People from California and New York City both have one thing in common, they have too much shit to do to be xenophobic.

It’s easy to find Cali, just head west in America. You cannot miss it. Nine national parks, over a million acres of state parks, spanning volcanoes, forests, beaches, and deserts. California geography combines every 50 states of North America into on states. Take a trip to Death Valley and witness the chilling glimpse of America to come, or travel around the multi-ethnic population mix of Los Angeles and San Francisco. You can ski down Big Bear Mountain in the morning, drive west two hours to the beach by mid-afternoon, and then drive another two hours south to the desert of Joshua Tree by the afternoon, all in one day without crossing a state border. The reason movies come from Cali is that a century ago, before filmmakers had powerful lighting equipment, they relied on the California sun, which allowed longer shoots than the rest of the country world. Tired of the sun 365 days a year? Don’t worry; much of the coast is cucumber-cool, especially NoCal, which seems connected to God’s air conditioner. One-tenth of America’s population lives in Cali, which means it has the most diverse scene of potheads, surfer dudes, hippies, and the wealthy Hollywood coward. Organic pot! When you buy bud in Cali, you are not supporting international drug cartels. It is 840-mile coastline means it’s impossible to ever be surround entirely by assholes. California boasts two world-class cities: Los Angeles and San Francisco.

No other state can say the same. As if to apologize for giving the world McDonalds, California gave the world In-N-Out Burger. Cali provides most invention head quarts like, Google, Netflix, Twitter, Facebook, Apple, and the next, and the next, and the next… For a broke-ass, ungovernable, impossibly large state, California is a hell of a lot of fun. New York, New York, do I need to say more? It holds the birthplace of the iconic skyline of skyscrapers. When people talk about skylines, they’re talking about midtown Manhattan - home to the cloud-piercing spires of the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings. NYC’s is made up of patterned numbered avenues and streets, which makes Manhattan easy enough for any mouth breather to navigate. In New York bars are open until 4am. Bet that London and Chicago. New York is the home of Broadway - which still does better than anyone else in the world. It has more than earned its name as not just as musical theater’s birthplace, but the spot where it’s done better then anywhere around the globe. Plus, it has the most theaters in the world by a long shot. I suggest buying a ticket for ‘The Wizards of Oz’, ‘Lion King’, or ‘The Book of Mormon.’ After an entertaining musical, just head out down the NYC streets and make the tough decision of picking out of 7,966 sit-down restaurants. New Yorkers have access to just about any edible they want at anytime. Also, New York city is a fashionista’s playground, with Fifth Avenue being the city’s premier shopping destination. Stores vary from cutting-edge designer chic to vintage one of a kind shops, which means the city streets become your runway.

So is California better than New York City? or is New York City better than California? You decide.

WORDS: MICHELLE - not--mainstream--enough.tumblr.com photo: andy tomasello

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I encourage everyone to run. Not just for the exercise, calorie burning and muscle toning, but more for the rewarding sensation you get from within.

I recommend doing it in the mornings. I know, it might sound like the craziest thing ever, how could anyone wake up early enough to run for a certain amount of time, shower, get ready, have breakfast and start the day? It is absolutely possible, the answer is willpower. The first step that will surely surpass this is to create a routine, first starting small, marking down 2 or 3 days a week on the calendar, and setting an alarm with an early, but reasonable time to wake up. Then, increasingly adding more days, & finally extending the running pace and time. In no time, you will wake up not even realizing how early it is, or how tired you might feel.

A good thing about running is that it fills you up with energy, as odd as it might sound, the mornings I run and workout, I feel the most active and awake; going in rhythmic steps depending on the song that is playing on my ipod, getting that painfully pleasant sensation in my leg muscles, morning breeze embracing my face and hands, warm enough to feel comforting, cold enough to wake me up. Right when I get to my room, I feel invincible, as if I could conquer the world.

“I loved the feeling of freedom in running, the fresh air, the feeling that the only person I’m competing with is me” quote by Wilma Rudolph, former Olympic runner.

TEXT: LUCIA - fuckyouimmaunicorn.tumblr.com

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QUESTIONS: LAVINIA - umoyaa.tumblr.com How

would

you

describe

your

style??

I would describe my style as a mix of sort of everything; a bit grunge, a bit feminine, but overall boho with simple details!

Do you remember starting g??What was it first like and come so popular on the

your tumblr/blo. how did you be. social network?

I remember starting my blog so clearly, it was a spring afternoon and I had a ‘rosy’ blog and all I wanted to do was start my own site.

So I did, and before I knew it I was posting my daily outfits and just random pictures (that I look back on and cringe), and people started sending me messages…it all happened from there! It’s so insane, it’s like one day I woke up and I knew that this is what I had to do.

Do ple

you who

have any advice want to start their

for own

peo. blog??

Definitely just be yourself, be your own person, create your own rules, and don’t copy!! I know it’s easy to say and everyone gets inspired by everyone else, but it really helps if you stand out and create your own sort of style, people love that. And always, always be nice!

What is it like in your shoes?/ describe your typical day.

My typical day consists of different things happening really…I like to shake up each day a bit. I always drink coffee and go to school, but afterwards it’s a free-for-all. I like going to bookstores or coffee shops or taking pictures for the blog, of course.

That’s usually what I do; take pictures. Then I hang out with my friends or family and have dinner and blog the night away.

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photos by christie for nomadic store

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Were you always into fashion/AND photography? What are your other interests?

I always was into fashion, even in middle school I always wanted to look my best, and I was constantly into photography but never knew how to come about it in a style that was my own. Hopefully I’d like to think that has changed haha! My other interests..hm..I’m super into music, I love concerts and bands (if I could be in one I would), I also really like reading, going on adventures, and doing crazy things.

Is there anything else you’WOULD like to add to this interview?

I’d like to just thank everyone for supporting me, seriously, I’d be no where without you guys.

And always remember to do what you love, please, don’t waste time doing otherwise. And be happy. Life is too short not to be :-)

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Sylvain Wuyts QUESTIONS: LAVINIA - umoyaa.tumblr.com

Interview

with

Singer/Youtuber

Sylvain

Wuyts

Y o u t u b e . c o m / u s e r / S y l v a i n W u y t s

How

did

you

get

started

in

music

/

/singing??

My interest in music started when I was about 10 years old, when I was still obsessed with girl groups like the Pussycat Dolls or The Sugar Babes. So I looked up their video clips on YouTube and I was like “that’s what I want to do as well!!”.

Full of hope I searched for instrumentals so I could actually start singing. Of course I was pretty bad at first and I was too shy to ask anyone’s opinion so I just spend a lot of hours on my room humming by myself.

By the time I was 13 years old I was dreaming about learning how to play an instrument, so I went to local music store and bought myself my very first guitar. At first I was determined to learn how to play but after a while I realized playing an instrument is kind of hard and to be honest I was just too lazy.

While my guitar was only hanging around somewhere in my room, my older brother was actually taking guitar classes from one of his friends, so every time he got back, he would show me all the things he had learned in class and teach them to me.

It really took off from there. I started to get the hang of the guitar and my vocals were slightly improving and I actually got a bit more confident about it, but still not confident enough to show anyone. But yeah that’s kind of how I got started.

What

made

you

start

a

Youtube

and

what

was

it

like?

Since I was too shy to sing in front of people, I would never get any feedback on my singing. And I actually didn’t want my friends’ opinion, because I always thought that even if I really did suck at it they would never say it to my face and just say something nice instead. (continue) fika magazine // 18

So YouTube seemed like the perfect place for me. I’d put up my videos on there and get genuine, honest opinions, and that’s all I wanted back then. Some were bad but there were a lot of nice, positive ones as well, so I decided to keep making them.

I actually really enjoy making videos so it has been a lot of fun trying to improve my videos. If you watch my very first video (it’s actually still on there and I should probably delete it…) there a huge difference with my recent ones and I’m kind of proud of it hehe When and

did the

you see subscribes

your YouTube getting increasing?

What was

recognition that like?

There’s still hasn’t been that crazy moment when you wake up to find out you just gained thousands of subscribers overnight but oh well. My channel has been growing for about two years now, slow and steady. I like that, because I can actually see it growing, I see people coming back, commenting of my videos, and it makes me feel ohhh so good. It also helped me meet a lot of new amazing people, which is lovely.

What

genre

of

music

would

you

say

you

are?

I’m a bit of everything really. I love pop music, indie, synth-pop, triphop, trap and bit of rock.

So if I’d ever make my own album it would be like all of these genres had a sweet love child.

Do you want to

have anything start a

to say to youtube for

people their

who music?

If you really want to make YouTube videos, JUST DO IT!!! Whether it’s music, beauty, make up, lifestyle whatever, if you’re passionate about something and you want to share it with the rest of the world, just do it! And please don’t be a afraid about other people’s opinions, you should always do what you love and if that’s it, just go for it.

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youtube.com/user/TheDameSound INTERVIEW TO NORA FROM THE GIRL GROUP “DAME” did you as an individual get started in music??

Since the age of 6, I started taking an interest in singing when i went to go support my best friend at a local festival she was supposed to sing at. Unfortunately that day, she could not make it because she became very ill, so she called me and told me to go on for her! At first I was hesitant, but I had to be a good friend, so i got up on the stage and sang, and ever since that day, I have found a love in singing and music.

How

How did Dame start?

What’s the story behind that?

We were originally a group called, “The Janes”- it was a great experience, but we decided to move on and form a new group called “Dame”. We are trying to create a new message through our new group.

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How would you describe your style as an artist along with the style of Dame?

My style is very modern, I would say. I like to wear a lot of black and white and love to accessorize with hats, scarfs, jewerly, and I love heels. Each girl has a very unique style, but all in all, our styles together come together to form one group look.

You mentioned awhile back that everybody else from the Danes live in (Long Island?). Does that make things more difficult for you guys to produce music, etc?

Yes, at times it does, however we always make it work because I travel there most weekdays and they travel to the city sometimes too! This is our dream, so we try not to let something as small as location become an obstacle.

When did ty as a

you girl

guys group

start to realize increase?

What did

your populari. that feel like??

After posting many covers on Youtube, we started to see our views go from a couple hundred, to tens of hundreds, to hundreds of thousands. The process of seeing this happen was incredible and honestly was such a wonderful feeling, because a lot of people watching our videos do not realize how much work we put into each one, so when we saw that people enjoyed watching them, it was such a rewarding feeling. We could not be happier. The one thing better than being able to share your music is having others enjoy the music just as much as you do.

What are your goals/where would you like to see Dame in a year??

We ger

would love to see ourselves audiences and hopefully putting

performing in front of bigout singles and an album!

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Issue number 1 - design: Cristina Reverte nitrons.tumblr.com