THE CURIOUS ISSUE by Eide Magazine

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THE CURIOUS ISSUE

CURIOUS THE CURIOUS ISSUE

THE SLOW FASHION MOVEMENT • INDUSTRIAL DESIGN • SOPHIA WEBSTER • AMSTERDAM • DARK CHOCOLATE • EDIBLE FLOWERS

noun, plural of ei·dos [ahy-dee]. The distinctive and formal expression of the cognitive or intellectual character of a culture or social group. It is the essence of each thing and its primary substance.

Tova Gelfond EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/ CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Craig Rosenberg CFO

Avi Gelfond ART DIRECTOR

Jaime Lin Weinstein SENIOR EDITOR

Tian Justman FASHION DIRECTOR

Ashley Brechtel, Bonnie Herring, Austin Holt, Lauren Ladov and E.J. Ogle CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Colby Blount, Ming Han Chung, Julia Gartland, Jamie Hopper, Jimmy Johnston and Nathan Stoan CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Charlie Watts STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Christina Montford, Alex Taylor and Gina Yu EDITORIAL INTERNS

Lauren Foster and J.G. Ginsburg DESIGN INTERNS

Daricka Walton FASHION INTERN

SALES & MARKETING

Bill Giller VP OF SALES

Victoria Knight Borges MARKETING/PR ASSISTANT

© Enlightenmint Media Group, LLC 2014. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher Enlightenmint Media Group. The views expressed in Eidé Magazine are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily shared by the magazine or its staff. The registered office of Enlightenmint Media Group is at 1200 Foster Street NW, Suite 20, Atlanta, Ga 30318. All information contained in the magazine is for information only and is as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Enlightenmint Media cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. Readers are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this magazine. If you submit unsolicited material to us, you automatically grant Enlightenmint Media a license to publish your submission in whole, or in part, in all editions of the magazine, including licensed editions worldwide and in any physical or digital format throughout the world. Any material you submit is sent at your risk and, although every care is taken, neither Enlightenmint Media nor its employees, agents, or subcontractors shall be liable for loss or damage. Published six times a year by Enlightenmint Media Group, LLC 1200 Foster Street NW, Suite 20, Atlanta, Ga 30318

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CONTRIBUTORS E.J. OGLE 1 E.J. Ogle is a freelance writer and DJ based in Atlanta, writing primarily about music for Eidé Magazine. “I love writing about music that I’m initially unfamiliar with — I knew of Young the Giant but hadn’t sat with their records,” he says of the group he interviewed for this issue. “I’ll binge on a band in preparation, which often turns me into a fan, as it did with Young the Giant. It certainly helped that the guys were so unassuming in person, which made talking to them feel like hanging out with friends. The best writing is born from situations like this.”

ASHLEY BRECHTEL 2 Ashley Brechtel is a freelance writer and photographer currently living in Atlanta. She’s happiest when she’s on the move and living out of a suitcase. “For me, nothing is more fulfilling than seeing or doing something completely new,” she explains. “If I can tell a story while I’m at it, then that’s even better.” That’s exactly what she did while visiting Amsterdam, the city she writes about in this issue. “I’ve always wanted to write about my life, so explaining why deciding to try marijuana was such a big deal for me offered the perfect way to do that.” (aspiringgypsy.com)

JAIME TERLECKI 4 Growing up near New York City, hair stylist Jaime Terlecki

has always been drawn toward hair and fashion. Throughout her seven years in the industry she has trained under some of Atlanta’s and New York’s top stylists. She loved working with the Chrisleys for this issue’s “Knowing the Best of Chrisley.” “They are such a welcoming and fun couple to be around,” Terlecki says. (byoubeauty.com)

NATHAN STOAN Nathan Stoan is an award-winning, Atlanta-based fashion, beauty, lifestyle and music photographer and video director. His work has been exhibited at Atlanta’s Fernbank Museum and the Museum of Design Atlanta. The intention behind his work is to generate imagery that resonates with the viewer in order to create a space for the visionaries involved to flourish in their chosen expertise. Heavily influenced by the work of Liz Von Hoene, he thrives in a collaborative environment, producing conceptual work from idea to completion. “‘Chasing Gravity’ was a result of the work of multiple creatives at Eidé and The Spin Style Agency, placing me in my ideal element,” Stoan explains. (nathanstoan.com)

NOORFACE 3 Noor Farooq, aka Noorface, is a professional makeup artist

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ON THE COVER Photography by JIMMY JOHNSTON Styling by TIAN JUSTMAN Model: KAT GREEN Makeup by NOORFACE Hair Styling by JAIME TERLECKI (more on page 34)

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based in Atlanta with a versatile style of makeup from mild to wild. With a start at MAC Cosmetics, Farooq is now working for herself as a freelance artist, teaching one-onone classes and doing bridal and commercial work, as well as creating looks for editorial photoshoots. “For this makeup look, I was inspired by the minimalist vibrancy of the ’70s, so I chose pink flushed cheeks to be the focus feature of the face,” she explains of her work in the “Sun Daze” editorial spread. “It was such an electric experience working with the Eidé team because the vision is always executed with such passion!” (noorface.com)

THE CURIOUS ISSUE

CURIOUS THE CURIOUS ISSUE

THE SLOW FASHION MOVEMENT • INDUSTRIAL DESIGN • SOPHIA WEBSTER • AMSTERDAM • DARK CHOCOLATE • EDIBLE FLOWERS

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LETTER FROM THE

Curious Much? Curiosity killed the cat. But that cat probably had a lot fun. We’re no different, nor better. There comes a time when we just need to get it out of our systems; we need to know. Ask that question — confront the bewilderment that chokes up from your stomach and screams, “why in the world do we do this?” If you’re a fan of pop culture’s run-a-muck starlets and makeshift heroes you should be asking yourself that a lot more … even if it is rhetorical. The power of a question mark is oh so much more than a curved form with a singular and poignant dot below (or if you speak spanish, above, respectively). This grammatical nuisance articulates all the finer things in life. I wonder when we stopped questioning things. When did the artist-philosopher genes of the Golden Age wilt on the vine and leave us here just accepting the status quo? Possibly it was around the time we started watching cat videos on YouTube instead of reading foreign affairs columns in the newspaper. It seems that most people have traded in curiosity for entertainment … probably because the former takes more work. But we’re on the way to recovery with a steady diet of life hacking and a rigorous regimen of app usage and Googling. Over

time we won’t be afraid to say what we are really wondering. “Who is Satoshi Yakamoto?” “What is a capon?” “Can you make a good pair of stilettos from a 3-D printer?” “Where is the second ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ Movie?” Curiosity is imagination, simply put. For everything you wonder, you encourage. All the celebrated discoveries you have made over the course of a lifetime are owed largely in part to your curious attributes that begged you to push further. But perhaps the most poignant inquiry we can make is about ourselves — why we do precisely the nutty things that keep us in character. How we treat our friends and our enemies are telling signs of our wounds and victories, if we have the courage to discover our reasons. I never said that asking these questions is easy. But it’s a start. And it doesn’t matter how complex or silly the question might be (No, but seriously. They are almost done with “The Hunger Games” trilogy and there’s still no “Girl Who Played with Fire” … what is going on?). What matters is that we simply ask. Don’t you think?

Tova Gelfond

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TABLE

OF CONTENTS:

14 MUSSELS

With Meyer lemon, fennel and tomato jam broth.

22 THE “BAR” EXAM

What separates the details in artisan dark chocolate bars?

30 TASTE BUDS

Flowers can be a part of the menu, not just the décor.

34 SUN DAZE

Swimwear at a poolside locale reminiscent of the Hollywood Hills circa 1970.

48 THE GRAND DESIGN

A look at the role of industrial design.

52 THE ART OF THE AD

A “behind-the-scenes” look at three exceptional advertising campaigns.

57 THE COAST IS CLEAR

Learn what to eat, where to stay and what to do in North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

60 TAKING A TRIP

Amsterdam & getting past the stigma of marijuana.

66 CHASING GRAVITY

An Escher-inspired exploration of fashion.

76 GROWING UP WITH YTG

Are Young The Giant’s fans ready to mature with them?

82 WHAT IS BITCOIN?

Virtual currency is the future, so we break it down, “Bitcoin for Dummies” style.

86 PRESERVING THE LANGUAGE OF

MACHINES Inside the Museum of Endangered Sounds.

88 LIFE, LIBERTY & PURSUIT OF COOL

A different sort of American virtue has been driving us all along.

92 CONCRETE DISTORTION

Illusion meets instinct on this men’s fashion journey through the streets of NYC.

104 QUANTIFIED SELF MOVEMENT

Taking curiosity out of the equation.

106 UNCOMMON SENSE

22 life hacks and know-hows to cure the curiosity.

116 NOVEL BUSINESS

Local bookstores find a way to survive and thrive.

120 BEST OF KNOWING CHRISLEY

Millionaire real estate mogul, TV personality, Southern style maven and family man.

126 SHOPPING ON A DIET

Slow fashion has emerged as the latest shopping trend.

130 FRAME UP

Feel free to skip wash day and leave your contacts in the case.

138 SUGAR SOLES

120

116

130

Sophia Webster’s candy-colored footwear brings pop art to your shoe obsession.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

MUSSELS WITH MEYER LEMON,

FENNEL AND TOMATO JAM BROTH

Recipe and photography by JULIA GARTLAND

EIDEMAGAZINE.COM

SPRING 2014

INGREDIENTS 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 tablespoons butter 2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced 3 small spring onions, minced 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 large leek, thinly sliced 2 pounds mussels

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1 1/4 cup white wine 3-4 tablespoons tomato jam 1 Meyer lemon, juice and zest 3 tablespoons marjoram leaves, de-stemmed 1 tablespoon tarragon, roughly chopped Sea salt to taste Freshly ground pepper to taste

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EIDEMAGAZINE.COM

DIRECTIONS Rinse and clean mussels well. Soak in a large mixing bowl of clean, cold water. Drain in a colander and rinse well with cold water, using a brush to remove all sand. Make sure to remove any beards from the shells, and discard any mussels that are open or not tightly closed. Set aside. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, fennel and leek — sauté until translucent (about 5-7 minutes). Pour in white wine carefully, then stir in tomato jam, lemon

juice, zest and fresh herbs. Add sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, then bring mixture to a boil. Add mussels and cover for 6-8 minutes, or until all the mussels have opened. Shake the pot well once or twice during cooking to make sure mussels are evenly dispersed. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, and top with extra fresh herbs. Transfer mussels to shallow bowls, making sure to include plenty of broth. Serve with crusty bread and/or french fries — enjoy!

SPRING 2014

EIDEMAGAZINE.COM

FOOD & BEVERAGE

the

“BAR” EXAM Story by ALEX TAYLOR & GINA YU Photography by CHARLIE WATTS

Close the door. Turn off the computer, any ghastly machine that beeps. Send everyone home. Cork that bottle of wine. It’s been a long week, and all you want, no, all you need is a bar of chocolate. Chocolate has its own ceremony: undressing the confection of its thin, delicate foil; grazing your fingertips over the smoothness of its exterior; satisfying the desire for either something creamy or crunchy. One of the most beautiful things about chocolate isn’t the intimately designed wrapper, sensual glossy sheen or the intensely satisfying snapping sound when breaking into a bar. No, it’s the fact that no one can tell you what you should like. But when sifting through the booming universe of couture chocolates, it’s hard to see past the fluffy descriptions and hefty price points that make you feel like the more expensive and the shinier, the better. With a plethora of cocoa confectioneries touting taste bud bliss, we’d be remiss to declare one chocolate bar better than the rest. What really separates the artisan U.S. chocolate bar with 62 percent cocoa content from the 77 percent bar with Venezuelan-cultivated cacao?

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Eidé’s staff decided to set up a challenge of our own. We put our tastebuds to the test to see if select chocolate bars live up to their artisanal hype. We proved tough critics, but 19 chocolate bars later, we’re unsure if we are any the wiser. When tasting the chocolate, direct your senses to certain qualities. When breaking the chocolate, look for a smooth consistent color, not white chalky lines at the top or edges. Take the time to take in the scent of the chocolate. Does it have fruity notes? Roasted ones? Notice the texture. Does the chocolate feel waxy? Or is it smooth, maybe creamy? Do the flakes of sea salt or the ground coffee chunks add to the bar’s success? Trying multiple chocolates in a row can overwhelm your palate, making subtle nuances in each bar go unnoticed. As a palate cleanser, drink room-temperature water, or eat a room-temperature apple (bread works too!).

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OLIVE & SINCLAIR SOUTHERN ARTISAN CHOCOLATE Using slow-roasted and stone-ground chocolate in small batches, this Nashville chocolate company focuses on rich, full-bodied flavors and inventive add-ins. $6-$8

SEA SALT

“Speckled with flaked sea salt, this chocolate begins with its clean salinity, lending itself to the occasional satisfying crunch and burst of flavor, awakening the tongue to a citrusy, deep, dark chocolate finish.” - Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Co. Eidé Staff: Instead of an expected earthiness, we tasted a raisin-like, citrus flavor. The coarse grain salt was more powerful than anticipated.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE NIBS

“Studded with freshly roasted Ghana cacao nibs, our 67% cacao is transformed into a double chocolate treat sure to please and intrigue as you experience the nuance of the before and after of pure roasted cacao. The textural interplay of creamy chocolate and crunchy fruity cocoa nibs presents a more interesting take on great chocolate.” - Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Co. ES: More than being bitter, the chalkiness of the bar was prominent — almost like the texture of cocoa mix. But the crunch of the cocoa nibs added a fantastic texture.

SALT & PEPPER

“Classically seasoned, kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper lend a toothsome mouthfeel and intriguing, familiar complexity to our 67% chocolate, adding a burst of fruit juice and a slight Southern heat to each snackable bite.” - Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Co. ES: The salt and pepper seemed to emphasize the sweetness of the chocolate. Savory, complex and balanced enough for another bite, this was an office favorite.

COFFEE

“The fudgy backbone of our 67% single-origin Ghana chocolate mixes and matches perfectly with the flavors of Bongo Java Roasting Co.’s. This bar gets you going with the bright and fruity flavors of the freshly-roasted ‘Barista Boy’ from Bongo Java Roasting Co., coming together with the slightly nutty dark Ghanaian chocolate.” - Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Co. ES: The chunks of espresso beans added a great texture to the chocolate. Deeply bitter, subtly sweet and earthy.

MEXICAN STYLE CINN-CHILI

“Explosive with floral spices, this bar introduces a granular melt and a steady progression from bright organic Ceylon cinnamon to deep, salt-driven chocolate with a subtle smoky warmth.” - Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Co. ES: It almost tasted like red hot bits covered in chocolate. With a gritty, cinnamon texture, the heat of the chili grows as you chew. Complex and exciting. Our Editor-in-Chief ’s favorite!

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SPRING 2014

CHOCOLAT BONNAT With only the finest cocoas, pure cocoa butter and high-quality ingredients, the French chocolatiers from this family company, started in 1884, offer up some of the finest single-origin chocolate bars. Beans are sorted in a winnower, then are crushed, mixed and “conched” (a grinding process) to give bars a smooth and velvety finish. $10.95-$19.95

MADAGASCAR (75%)

“A blond and sweet cocoa from the Indian Ocean region — fruity, well balanced.” - Chocolat Bonnat ES: The bitterness was very strong, with sharp tannins and raisin notes.

PUERTO CABELLO “VÉNÉZUELA” (75%)

“Remarkable for its delicacy and tonic fragrance, this Venezuelan chocolate lingers on the palate.” - Chocolat Bonnat ES: With a smooth texture, the bar offered little flavor, but a strong bitterness.

CHUAO “VÉNÉZUELA” (75%)

“Originating in Venezuela, the indisputable king country of cocoas, this chocolate offers a powerful and warm cocoa taste.” - Chocolat Bonnat ES: Sweet and less bitter, the chocolate was creamy and subtle.

TRINITÉ (75%)

“As vivid, spirited and sunny as the Caribbean island where it originates. Its fragrance increases on the palate. A ‘must’ in major cocoa.” - Chocolat Bonnat ES: Tart sweetness and hard sharpness, the bar began subtly and finished with citrus notes.

ÉQUATEUR (75%)

“With cocoa from South America, this chocolate is the color of the sun, with a subtle and delicate fragrance and an aftertaste of flowers and honey.” - Chocolat Bonnat ES: With a harder snap, the chocolate was smooth and slightly waxy with subtle hints of raisin. Our Art Director’s favorite!

VOSGES HAUT-CHOCOLAT With inventive spices, roots, herbs, flowers and liquors sourced from all over the world, Le Cordon Bleu Chef Chocolatier Katrina Markoff makes chocolate that brings an appreciation for diverse cultures. $7.50

MO’S DARK BAR (62% WITH BACON & SALT)

“Sulfite-free hickory smoked bacon is baked in small batches before we hand chop it into fine nibbles. Alderwood smoked salt exudes a campfire aroma and perfectly offsets the sweetness of the chocolate.” - Vosges Haut-Chocolat ES: Very salty with bits of bacon, the flavors seemed to be unbalanced and slightly overwhelming for this crew.

POMEGRANATE, GOJI BERRIES & PINK HIMALAYAN SALT

“Pomegranates and goji berries add a welcomed texture and floral, fruity flavors that enhance similar notes in the dark chocolate.” - Vosges Haut-Chocolat ES: Smooth and well-balanced, the added berries leveled out the bitterness of the chocolate. The clear Eidé Staff overall favorite! SPRING 2014

ASKINOSIE CHOCOLATE Paying their farmers above the Fair Trade market price, the Missouri-based company crafts exceptional chocolates with an environmental and social impact in mind. $8-$9

PHILIPPINES (77% DARK)

“Earthy with notes of brown sugar, vanilla and a clean, caramel finish. Silky and full-bodied.” - Askinosie Chocolate ES: Bitter and pungent at the end, it was earthy and slightly fruity.

TANZANIA (72% DARK)

“Notes of strawberry, blueberry, and graham meet with a creamy, velvety smooth texture.” Askinosie Chocolate ES: With noticeable notes of blueberry, the chocolate was earthy and smooth.

HONDURAS (70% DARK)

“Intriguing bursts of citrus, molasses, sharp stonefruit, and woodiness. Slightly tannic with vibrant pops of flavor and a drying finish.” - Askinosie Chocolate ES: Intensely acidic, the bar had a strong, woody, charred flavor.

PHILIPPINES (62% DARK MILK CHOCOLATE + SALT)

“Caramel sweetness, vanilla, subtle salt character, with a soft thrill from the goat’s milk. Ultra silky, full.” - Askinosie Chocolate ES: Sweeter and creamier than the rest by this brand, the subtle saltiness kicks in at the end.

HEMP SEED CHOCOLATE

“We handcraft this single-origin 72% dark chocolate with cocoa beans we source directly from farmers in Tenende, Tanzania plus 28% organic cane sugar, then generously sprinkle the back of the bar with heaps of toasted hemp seeds.” - Askinosie Chocolate ES: Nutty and slightly salty, the crunch and creaminess played well together. Our Senior Editor’s favorite!

COFFEE CHOCOLATE

“Complex, full-bodied, bright citrus like acidity, notes of red fruit meet with a remarkably smooth and creamy texture.” - Askinosie Chocolate ES: The chocolate had the flavors of chocolate-covered espresso beans in bar form. Smooth and creamy without any actual chunks of coffee bean.

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In huddles, they line the streets with subtle yellows and energetic violets. In hands, they transform into emblems of friendship, sorrow, romance or empathy.

n linen tablecloths or sun-bleached wooden tables, they welcome those in search of nourishment, conversation and community. But on the plate, flowers are a rarity. As an edible, we simply know the faint memory of sucking on syrupy honeysuckles at age 6 or sticking a plant in your mouth with a goat-like tendency to assume everything and anything can be eaten. But maybe we were on to something. For hundreds of years, edible flowers have been used to flavor and garnish plates. Early histor-

ical reports show that the Roman, Chinese, Middle Eastern and Indian cultures used them, even Queen Victoria herself. As dainty as the flowers may appear, they should be approached with caution … meaning don’t go to the nearest street corner and start stuffing your face. Mandy O’Shea at Three Porch Farm in Athens, Ga. says that while many of these flowers can be found at a florist, they tend to be heavily sprayed with chemicals. “Edible flowers should only be eaten if wild harvested or grown organically,” she explains.

SPRING 2014

EDIBLE FLOWERS Bee Balm: Sweet Bergamot-like, minty. Calendula: Peppery, “poor man’s saffron.” Carnation (petals only): Spicy, peppery, clove-like. Chamomile: Faint apple-like. Chrysanthemum: Tangy, faintly peppery to mildly cauliflower-like. Dandelion (flowers): Sweet, like honey. Fried in butter, like mushrooms. Daylily (petals only): Sweet, crunchy, faintly like chestnuts. Gardenia: Light, sweet. Hibiscus: Acidic, sour. Lavender: Sweet, spicy. Lilac: Lemony, pungent. Marigold (petals only): Citrusy. Mustard (flowers): Broccoli rabe-like. Pansy: Mildly sweet to tart. Quince: Citrusy. Rose (petals only): Sweet, aromatic. Violet: Sweet, nectar-like.

WAYS TO USE EDIBLE FLOWERS Crystallize petals: Gather flowers with larger petals and lightly paint the petals with an eggwash (dehydrated egg whites that have been pasteurized work best for consumption). Then dust the petals with super-fine granulated sugar and dry. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for preservation. Make flower syrup to use in baking, cocktails, coffee, drizzle over pancakes, ice cream, everything: One cup water, three cups sugar, three cups flower of choice. Dissolve sugar in water over medium heat, then throw in the flowers and simmer for 10 minutes. Throw peppery flowers into eggs or rice to infuse vibrant colors and add flavor. Throw in oil-and-vinegar-based homemade salad dressings for extra sweetness or pepperiness. Make flower vodka: Two cups vodka, half-cup flower petals. Combine and let sit for 48 hours, then strain. Freeze in ice cubes for cocktails, lemonades or sparkling water. Dry petals and steep in teas, sauces and syrups for a more concentrated taste. Simply use to garnish cakes, desserts, beverages. Get creative!

SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND Use flowers that are grown without pesticides. For the best flavor and aroma, eat flowers at their peak. Avoid wilted, faded flowers and unopened blossoms (they tend to have a bitter or unappealing flavor). Slowly introduce new flowers into your diet, carefully watching for any allergic reactions. Proper identification is key! Some flowers are poisonous, while others have only certain edible parts.

SPRING 2014

S SUN DAZE

Photography by JIMMY JOHNSTON Styling by TIAN JUSTMAN Models: KAT GREEN and JESSICA ORTIZ for Factor Atlanta, SAMARIA REGALADO Hair Styling by JAIME TERLECKI for b. You Blowdry and Beauty Bar Makeup by NOORFACE Photography Assistant: AUSTIN HOLT Production Assistance by AVI GELFOND, TOVA GELFOND and JAIME LIN WEINSTEIN Stylist Assistants: ALEX TAYLOR and DARICKA WALTON Shot on location at a private residence.

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Swimsuit, $75, KAMALI KULTURE, at shoplesnouvelles.com. Swimsuit, $297, WE ARE HANDSOME, at shoplesnouvelles. com. Top, $75, BLACK, at Bridge Boutique. Bikini, Stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Own.

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Dress, $96, SAVANNAH RAE, at Bridge Boutique. Belt, CHRISTOPHER ROSS, Private Collection. Platforms, $850, GUCCI, at Nordstrom. Earrings, $95, VINTAGE, Ring, $118, F is for FRANK, both at Bridge Boutique. Chevron Bustier, $108, HARLYN, Pants, $158, LOVE ZOOEY, Cuff, $142, VINTAGE, all at Bridge Boutique. Sunglasses, $85, TUMBLEWEEDS HANDCRAFT, at eidemagazine.com.

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Dress, $78, ORIGAMI BY VIVIEN, at Bridge Boutique. Swimsuit, $253, RACHEL COMEY, at shoplesnouvelles.com. Sunglasses, $100, WILDSOUL, at eidemagazine.com.

SPRING 2014

Chevron Top, $76, HARLYN, at Bridge Boutique. Swimsuit, $220, MARA HOFFMAN, at shoplesnouvelles.com. Earrings, $40, VANESSA MONEY, Platforms, $164, DOLCE VITA, both at Bridge Boutique.

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SPRING 2014

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Bikini, $200, MARA HOFFMAN, at shoplesnouvelles.com. Shoes, $45, OKA-B, at Flatz. Sunglasses, $100, WILD SOUL, at eidemagazine.com.

Swimsuit, $130, SIN ON THE BEACH, at eidemagazine.com. Pants, $245, NIEVES LAVI, at Bridge Boutique.

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Top and Bikini, Stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Own.

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Swimsuit, $297, WE ARE HANDSOME, at shoplesnouvelles.com. Sunglasses, $100, WILD SOUL, at eidemagazine.com.

SPRING 2014

Swimsuit, $253, RACHEL COMEY, at shoplesnouvelles.com.

Dress, $150, ONE OAKS, at eidemagazine.com. Belt, CHRISTOPHER ROSS, Private Collection. Shoes, $70, MELISSA, at Flatz. Dress, $98, CHAMPAGNE & STRAWBERRY, at Bridge Boutique. Swimsuit, $74, KAMALI KULTURE, at shoplesnouvelles.com. Cuff, $112, VINTAGE, at Bridge Boutique. Shoes, $145, MELISSA, at Flatz.

SPRING 2014

DESIGN

Post-its: one of 36 genius items in the spotlight at “Hidden Heroes: The Genius of Everyday Things” now at MODA.

a L o o K aT T H e R o L e i n d U S T R i a L d e S i g n P L aY S i n o U R e V e R Y d aY L i V e S

Story by AUSTIN HOLT

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If you want to figure out industrial design, think about a chair. You love chairs. You’re probably sitting in one right now, chair lover. In fact … you’re a chair aficionado. You have a whole bunch of chairs. Some of them are on your back porch, some of them are in your living room, there are a few of them in your car. You have, like, all the chairs. But, you’re not alone. So do all of your friends and your whole family. The movie theater — now they have a lot of chairs. Uncle Bernie owns an Italian restaurant in upstate New York, and he has hundreds of chairs. Don’t feel so special anymore, do you? Apparently, there are lots of people who are into chairs way more than you. Chairs tap into a shared need that all humans possess. Across all cultures, and for the entirety of human history, people have thought that standing all the time sucks. So as soon as our nomadic ancestors started taking the idea of civilization seriously, they settled down and started to invent new ways to sit. The first chairs came into being 10,000 years ago. As a product, the chair is one of humankind’s proudest, most successful achievements. It’s so simple, but so useful. It can be a block of wood, or it can have four legs; it can have wheels; it can cost $17,000 or 17 cents. And even after thousands of years of honing and perfecting the basic design, there are always new chairs (seriously everywhere) that look like no chairs have ever looked before. But each chair, like every other chair you saw while chair shopping, has been designed with a specific purpose in mind, both aesthetically and functionally. Someone, somewhere, decided why all those chairs should be shaped, just that way. And it’s not just chairs: your home, your garbage can, the shirts you wear to the gym, the pen in your

hand, the bottle of Scotch in your desk drawer and the street sign on the corner — everything. When was the last time you were completely outside of the realm of consumer design? If you really think about it, and say “Never,” then that’s probably a good thing, because being naked in the middle of the woods is almost never going to end well (unless you bring a friend. Heyo!).

The impact of design for a consumer sensibility, then, is an unavoidable fixture in conventional society, and we’ve finally started to take notice. Product designers, after all, are the people who have created the KitchenAid stand-up mixer, and three-ply toilet paper, and everything that makes our lives better. But who are they? There was a great movie that explored this idea. Objectified was the second in a trio of design-themed documentaries by filmmaker Gary Hustwit. The film explored the roles objects play in our everyday lives through the lens of the people who create them. Outside the realms of fashion and performance, the artists who make the products of tomorrow receive relatively little fanfare — a dialogue on them hardly exists in a world dominated by popular creativity. We all know Kanye West and Tory Burch, but has anyone ever heard of Jonathan Ive?*

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Legos reach impressive heights at MODAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new exhibit featuring industrial design.

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t might have something to do with the amount of artistic merit we assign to our everyday possessions. Is the iPhone art? It’s good looking, functional and does a million things. But it’s a consumer good; something you use. It’s a pretty tool. For most of us, our appreciation for a product ends with how well it does what it was built to do. We don’t typically think about our belongings as art. That’s a job for an industrial designer. Currently, the Museum of Design Atlanta is hosting an exhibition called “Hidden Heroes: The Genius of Everyday Things.” The traveling exhibit explores a few dozen common objects, and peels away the layers to explain why paper clips and pencils are designed like they are and how post-it notes got their glue. For the cynics who may balk at the idea of spending two hours staring at items they probably have in their desks, it’s relatively easy to nerd-out over this stuff. It ends up lending an appreciation of what design actually means to us as consumers and how that role is constantly changing with advances in personal technology. One of the centerpieces of the exhibit is a trio of 3-D printers, which are capable of churning out small trinkets for visitors. A customized bracelet, or a small statuette in a brightly colored plastic. In the capacity of this exhibit, it’s a novelty that asks you to consider

3-D printers plateau as novelties, only to be retired to the attic along with old Blu-ray players? Or will they become functional parts of our lives — devices as common as microwaves in our homes? It’s tempting to believe that the ability to personally design and manufacture a sweet new phone case would be more than just a kickass party trick. In the same way we latched onto the revolutionary thought of being the content providers during the social media age, we may also wish to be the designers and manufacturers of tangible products. I mean, how future-y would that be? But like all cool, futuristic things, there are problems. One of the first products to roll off the assembly line during the Industrial Revolution was the gun. In a world already embroiled in a dialogue over gun violence, how much do we need a product that allows an individual to download a piece of software online and effectively print all the parts for a firearm? As with all new technologies of any power, certain ethical dilemmas arise, and we are forced to adapt as we tread the fine line between self-expression and legality. We’ve come a long way since the Industrial Revolution. Prior to the inception of mass production two centuries ago, all fabricated objects were crafted carefully by hand, by skilled craftsmen with lifetimes of training and experience. The blacksmith and the shirt

AS WITH ALL NEW TECHNOLOGIES OF ANY POWER, CERTAIN ETHICAL DILEMMAS ARISE, AND WE ARE FORCED TO ADAPT AS WE TREAD THE FINE LINE BETWEEN SELFEXPRESSION AND LEGALITY. the implications. Already, prosthetic devices have been created with 3-D printing. Medical researchers are printing functional organs in labs using stem cells and science. The technology is even adaptable on a large scale — building-sized units that are capable of printing a whole house, layer by layer. Individuals with advanced 3-D printers 20 years from now may simply be able to purchase something online and have it printed out within minutes. It begs the question: as the price drops and the technology is perfected, will commercially available

maker, designers themselves, evolved into teams of men and women who have dedicated their talents to the role of commercial near-futurists who polymath R. Buckminster Fuller referred to as “a synthesis of artist, inventor, mechanic, objective economist and evolutionary strategist.” The power to create is going high-tech in a whole new way. How many of these roles the consumer wants to take on, is up to them. In the meantime, here’s to the industrial designers, the unsung geniuses who build our world, one tiny bit at a time.

* He’s that British guy from the Apple commercials who would always talk so Britishly about Apple’s newest product, back when Apple made new products. He’s also the VP of Design for the company, and is the reason Apple products look amazing, even when they just roll out of bed in the morning. SPRING 2014

DESIGN

THE ART OF THE AD Story by JAIME LIN WEINSTEIN

A “behind-the-scenes” look at three exceptional advertising campaigns.

We’re living in an age of information that’s resulted in fragmented attention spans. Thus, it has become even more difficult to grab consumers and make an impression — one to not only be merely remembered or recalled, but to also be considered, contemplated, debated and shared. After all, ads these days aren’t just competing with other brands, they’re competing with whatever meme struck a chord with the public that week; the latest social media share gone viral. But a great advertising campaign can be revolutionary. Because when creativity and strategy combine, they can yield dramatic results: outcomes worth millions, even billions of dollars, in fact. But, moreover, results that can illicit thought and conversation in a world rife with, well, thought and conversation.

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Shops Around Lenox Creative Director Jess Graves poses for an impromptu behind-thescenes shot with photographer Erik Tanner.

c o m Pa n Y: S H o P S a R o U n d L e n oX c a m Pa i g n : Fac e S o F L e n oX agencY: inTeRnaL

Built in 1979, Shops Around Lenox was basically an Atlanta strip mall until a recent $20 million redevelopment transformed the retail center into an upscale, open-air, boutique and dining district. With national brands from Crate & Barrel, Lululemon and Paper Source to Indian fusion restaurant Bhojanic and apparel store Swank, the new challenge was to take some 20 different brands and market them together as one. Luckily, Shops Around Lenox Creative Director Jess Graves had a solution. Inspired by “the online world and the way blogging and social media has created a transparency in business that consumers have come to expect,” Graves conceived of the “Faces of Lenox” campaign. “I thought it would be really interesting to sort of brand the people behind the stores and these businesses, rather than just pick out a logo and a pantone color and call it a brand,” she explains. Photographer Erik Tanner, known for his strong portrait work (like the 2012

Time Magazine cover of Pakistani politician Imran Khan) brought the vision to life. A former documentarian and photojournalist, Tanner says he “likes the idea of representing subjects as they are, and not trying to make them something they’re not.” Which is exactly what Graves was going for. Featuring black-and-white photographs of each shop persona from the made to measure specialist at Suit Supply to the chef from boutique restaurant Seven Lamps (and even the charismatic Graves herself ), the images display these individuals in their own element — whether that means dressed to the nines in a suit of their own creation or wielding the knife they use to craft food each day. “We wanted to put across the eclecticism of all the

people here, but present it in a consistent way,” Graves says. “And that’s why we’re doing the black-and-white portraits and putting it across in a way that makes sense and creates a vibe and feeling around this place, but still lets the businesses and the personalities shine through.” Minimalism was another core concept. “I feel like the mistake that so many ads make is trying to answer all the questions at once, and really I’d rather create and evoke questions,” Graves says. And in the age of the Internet, the answers to any questions evoked can simply be sought online. “And then (the consumer’s) spent more time doing it, too, and spent more time thinking about our brand rather than just flipping past something in a magazine.” Touché. SPRING 2014

c o m Pa n Y: P R e m i e R ag e n c Y c a m Pa i g n : g R a B a S e aT agencY: inTeRnaL

Premier Agency, an Atlanta-based PR and creative firm, is used to crafting campaigns for other companies such as Popeyes, Porsche and ESPN. Now they take on the hardest client of all: themselves. Already well equipped in the entertainment and lifestyle space, Premier was looking to garner even more business in the hospitality industry. However, doing a campaign for themselves proved to have its own set of challenges. “It’s 10 times harder creating a campaign for yourself,” explains Premier CEO Justin Epstein. “Nothing is ever going to be good enough because you know what’s possible. You don’t want to settle.” But Premier is no stranger to internal branding. “Lots of agencies lose sight of who they are as a business and their own brand identity,” Epstein says. “We try and focus on ourselves once a month so as not to.” “We try to treat Premier as one of our clients.” Mandy Nicho-

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las, President of Premier adds. So they approached the campaign as they would one for any customer — the old-fashioned way. It was traditional brainstorming (though upgraded with a modern-style erasable paint wall) that led Premier to their “Grab a Seat” campaign. Tailored in language that speaks to a restaurateur, the campaign and its components mimic the dining experience, from the website (complete with a “Menu” of services) to the advertising materials (printed coasters). While looks are important (“Simplicity is key,” Epstein says), equal significance lies in the messaging. “Something could look awesome, but if there’s not a key message or

goal you are trying to achieve, its worthless.” Good thing the new campaign is rich in verbiage that’s both captivating and succinct, and certainly not lacking in personality: “We look to create that perfect dish (or in this case, strategy) to craft a plan and stick to it like white on rice (or brown rice, if that’s your thing),” the site reads. A great name also lends to an effective campaign according to Premier. And it’s about what’s available — and easily Google searchable — as much as it is what conceptually sounds good and what falls in line with the brand. “The name really shapes everything,” Epstein says. Could be the perfect recipe for success.

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Tropical climate, clear-blue water, sandy beaches — the Caribbean’s exceptional geography and climate have made it an attractive destination for shore-seeking vacationers. But with thousands of islands that broadly compose the region, how can one group of islands stand out among the rest? That was exactly the question the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) asked itself when approaching its latest advertising campaign. “In a sea of perceived sameness in the Caribbean we must distinguish ourselves,” says Chantal Figueroa, Deputy Commissioner of the USVI Department of Tourism. So they brought on JWT Atlanta, a fully integrated advertising agency, in partnership with Mindshare Atlanta, a global media and marketing services company, to craft a national campaign that highlights not only the beauty, but also the variety of experiences the islands can

provide. “Anyone in the Caribbean can offer blue waters and white sands, but what makes USVI truly unique is the diversity of St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John, and their ability to deliver a personalized experience,” remarks Sebastian Benjamin, JWT Atlanta Group Account Director. “This, above all else, has to come through in our communications.” It was that individuality and each island’s distinctive offerings that inspired them to create the “You, Unscripted” campaign. With images featuring scenery special to each particular island (like diving in St. Croix, the only destination in the Caribbean where you can dive a wall, wreck, pier and reef all in a single day),

“it tells the story of the USVI as a vacation destination that is not packaged or ‘scripted.’” Benjamin explains. “Travelers can ‘script’ their own interpretation of exploration, adventure, romance and more in the U.S. Virgin Islands.” The idea of “unscripted” also ties in to the notion that consumers can escape from their daily lives at the islands, “and become someone totally different based on the experience they choose” — a corporate workaholic can transform into a hopeless romantic on a honeymoon, relaxing aboard a day sail charter yacht in St. Thomas, or a modern-day Indiana Jones on a solo adventure exploring the ruins and ancient petroglyph rock carvings in St. John. SPRING 2014

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Dr. Miles Graivier is a highly skilled surgeon, industry innovator, teacher and humanitarian. He successfully combines the science of medicine with the artistic opportunities of plastic surgery. He has been in private practice in Atlanta for over 20 years. While his business has grown and become a renowned plastic surgery facility, The Graivier Center maintains an intimate setting. Dr. Graivier and his select team of nursing and administrative professionals strive to uniquely enhance the natural beauty of each patient â&#x20AC;&#x201C; boosting confidence and elevating self-image.

TRAVEL

THE

COAST is CLEAR WHAT TO EAT, WHERE TO STAY AND WHAT TO DO IN NORTH CAROLINA’S SOUTHERN OUTER BANKS

Photography by AVI GELFOND

Lining the outer banks of North Carolina, flanking the sides of the coarsely ground sand, is a strip of water so crisp, they call it crystal. Not just scenic landscape or purity of resource, but also in spirit. This stretch of land known for 56 miles of protected beaches which preserves the land and water has aptly earned the name, the Crystal Coast. But it’s the scattered clusters of local eateries, bars and pubs with the briny taste in the air and adventure-quenching activities that give this travel moment a picture book ending.

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EAT With world-famous fishing, it should come as no surprise that the signature cuisine of the region is seafood. Want to know where the locals go to eat? Go for a “Hungry Town Bike Tour” where you can see the city and stop in some local favorites for a quick bite, like Clawson’s Restaurant and Pub. A Crystal Coast staple since 1905, the homecooked menu offers everything from spicy shrimp and grits, and Caribbean jerk tuna, to a surf and turf burger, and their famous mud pie (plus a great beer selection).

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STAY There are more than 10,000 rooms available on the Crystal Coast amidst hotels, motels, historic bed-and-breakfasts, and beachfront cottages and condos (plus the actual beach — you can set up camp on the islands off the Coast’s seashore, accessible by private boat or ferry). Casa Bianco (pictured here), is a single-family oceanfront cottage featuring all the amenities you could possibly ask for, including a pool, hot tub, covered deck, wet bar, surround sound, covered top deck and, of course, spectacular ocean and sound views.

DO Whether on water (boating, fishing, diving, kayaking) or land (hiking, shopping, touring, tanning) there are numerous ways to spend your days. History enthusiasts can visit Ft. Macon, home to a Civil War fort, or Beaufort Old Burying Ground, the oldest of the town’s cemeteries, established in the early 1700s. You can also climb the 163-foot high Cape Lookout Lighthouse (the only one in the U.S. bearing a checkered daymark to show direction), or ferry over to the nine-mile-long island of Shackleford Banks to see the wild horses that inhabit the island (which is also home to one of the best shelling beaches where you can find conchs, whelks, sand dollars, Scotch bonnets, olive shells and more).

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T a

Trip a m S T e R d a m T H e

S T i g m a

g e T T i n g

o F

m a R i J U a n a

Story and photography by ASHLEY BRECHTEL

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P a S T

People asked why I was going to Amsterdam, and I’d jokingly tell them that it was for the hookers and weed. But the real reason? Art. At age 30 I was a well-seasoned world traveler, and Amsterdam had been on my bucket list for long enough. It was time to pay a visit to the city that held the largest collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world. If I was being honest with myself, though, that wasn’t the only thing that lured me to Amsterdam. I knew I’d finally get to try marijuana while I was there, but was also aware that Americans have a bad reputation for overindulging in the cannabis capital. I didn’t want to be a

poor example of my country, so I began preparing myself. I googled “smoking pot for beginners” and asked all of my friends for their advice. (It was official, I had turned smoking weed into the lamest thing ever.) Why a liberal-minded writer would still be a pot neophyte at the age of 30? History. Most stories of pot begin behind a high school football stadium, or in the basement of a friend’s house that smells of mildew and soft drinks. This story begins

when my mother, a 16-year-old whose wardrobe consisted of cut-off shorts, bandanas and Led Zeppelin concert tees, went into labor with me in New Orleans, La. on Oct. 28, 1983. Once admitted to a birthing room at Charity Hospital she promptly went into the bathroom shower and smoked a joint. She knew it’d be her last one for a few days so she took her time, slowly enjoying each puff. The first time I heard this story I turned to her with wide, accusing eyes. “What?” she rebuffed, “I was stressed.”

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i HaVe memoRieS oF SiTTing on mY dad’S LaP aS a YoUng giRL wHiLe He PaSSed THe commUnaL BUd on To THe neXT PeRSon,

leetwood Mac playing in the background. Roach clips — metal, scissor-like instruments used to hold joints so they don’t burn your lips and fingers once the papers singe down — were a common sight in our home. I thought they were beautiful accessories with their attached feathers and beads. I’d clip them in my hair and traipse around our tiny house. My childhood nickname, partially in response, was “Ashley Roachclip.” It was bestowed upon me by my Uncle Billy, whom everyone lovingly called “OneLegged-Billy” because, well, he only had one leg. The name stuck because when

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my mom would hang up the telephone and say, “Shit, your maw-maws coming over,” I’d promptly jump up and collect all the marijuana buds from the ashtrays to hide. The grown-ups were amused; I was their little human roach clip. Weed wasn’t the only recreational drug I saw growing up. I’d watch my parents do cocaine and slip into a senseless state for long periods of time. As my siblings and I grew up, my parents became more aware of our presence and would try to hide their drug use, but we knew what was going on and the effects it had on the adults in our life. My mom eventually realized that it was impossible to

be both a good parent and a drug addict. She kicked the habit over 20 years ago as testament to the desire to watch her kids grow up. While that decision changed the course of our lives, it didn’t exorcise all drugs from it. My dad became sneakier about his use with drug-induced, lackluster hiding places. I’d find pain pills hidden in his nightstand, a baggie in his jean pockets while doing laundry or drug-related paraphernalia in his truck’s glove compartment. Of course, we could also tell by his moods. I’d have to remind myself this was the same man who cried watching me sing my first church solo.

To my point — drugs were drugs were drugs to me. Painkillers, cocaine, methadone, marijuana; I lumped it all together. They were all used in such abundance that, in my mind, they were equally terrible and were the reason that the people I loved couldn’t hold down jobs and were in and out of jail. I was an observant and responsible child. I credit much of this to being the oldest of four, subbing in as a parent when need be. Thus, as I entered teenagehood, I hung back as my peers smoked and drank. I was certain that addiction was in my blood, and I didn’t want to unleash it (I was that girl who read the Tylenol label three times to make sure that it was indeed two pills I should take and not one.). By college, I had moved away from home, but had also rediscovered the hemp leaf in a new way. For the first time in my life, I witnessed educated and successful adults who smoked weed without it consuming their lives — and without mixing it with other drugs. This was a completely new concept to me. I’d find myself not walking out of a room when someone lit up a joint. Instead, I would hang out and enjoy the company. But still, if I was offered, I declined. Friends would ask me why I never smoked, and for awhile I’d ask myself the same question. It had become obvious that marijuana wasn’t what I perceived it to be growing up. Certainly I could enjoy it as socially as I did alcohol. I had no problem indulging in the occasional cocktail, so why was a couple of puffs on a joint any different? But my answer always hinged on one undeniable fact: it’s illegal.

It’s no secret that the United States locks up millions of its citizens for non-violent crimes each year. A 2010 study released by the Center for Economic and Policy Research revealed that nonviolent offenders make up over 60 percent of the prison and jail population. Many of these incarcerations are marijuana-related. Once you’ve been in the prison system, it follows you for the rest of your life. I’ve seen it happen. So my answer changed from, “I’ll never smoke marijuana because it’s bad,” to “I’ll try it if it ever becomes legal, or if I’m in a place where it is legal.” And in Amsterdam, it’s legal. My husband and I rented a houseboat docked along a canal in the city center. Our host was a Dutchman who had been living in Amsterdam for 25 years. As he was showing us our accommodations he said, “If you have a question,

from strangers. It’s illegal and dangerous. Only buy in the shops.” Oh, if only this man knew me. I’d just as soon run naked through the Anne Frank house before buying drugs from a stranger. Not wanting to seem overeager, my first night in Amsterdam was smokefree. I likened it to deciding to have sex: you don’t want to jump on the first thing that moves. You want to wait for the right moment, maybe enjoy some foreplay. That’s exactly what I thought I was doing by visiting the Hash, Marijuana & Hemp Museum. I hoped that a visit would be like taking an informational class on marijuana usage. Instead, it was just a collection of bongs and pro-weed posters. It should have been called the “Marijuana is the Best Thing Ever Musuem.” I actually learned more by simply walking around the city and seeing the

It should have been called the “Marijuana is the Best Thing Ever Musuem.” just ask. Don’t be embarassed. If you’d like to know the proper etiquette for obtaining a prostitute or the best places to purchase marijuana I can tell you. There are no wrong questions.” My husband looked at me before saying, “We definitely plan on smoking weed while we’re here. Any suggestions?” Our host nonchalantly gave us directions to some of his favorite coffeeshops before offering a stern warning, “Do not buy anything

drug culture firsthand. As you stroll, it’s obvious that pot is just not a big deal here. Coffeeshops are plentiful and dotted throughout the city, not annexed to a specific part of town as one might think. Many even feature sidewalk patios where customers can enjoy the fresh air while they smoke. Parents walk by, children in tow, without a second glance. This is Amsterdam’s dirty little secret … there’s no secret. SPRING 2014

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The next night was the night. I would no longer be a marijuana virgin. My husband and I had dinner where we enjoyed an intelligent and probably popular conversation about the benefits of regulating prostitution. Afterwards, we set out to find the perfect coffeeshop. The first place we entered was very crowded and blaring “Big Poppa” by Biggie Smalls. The whole scene was too intense for me, so we decided to keep looking. The second coffeeshop was a little more relaxed, playing Naughty by Nature’s “Hip Hop Hooray.” In my head I conjured up an image of a vintage poster with a 1950s housewife smoking a joint and words reading, “Gangster Rap: The Official Music of Getting High.” This made me smile to myself, perhaps making me look as if I were already high. “I should fit in just fine,” I thought. I sent my husband to buy the goods knowing that I would have made the moment much more awkward than it needed to be with a smartass line like, “Hello, good sir. I would like to purchase one of your finest marijuana cigarettes,” in a British accent, all before tipping my imaginary top hat. My first few drags were very calculated; I took small puffs and waited long periods between each one just as my friends had instructed. As we sat there splitting our joint, I peered through the haze of smoke and took in my surroundings. What surprised me most was

how normal everyone looked. The older couple whose backpacks certainly held gifts for their grandkids back in Ohio sat comfortably next to the group of young people with dreadlocks and skirts presumably made of hemp. The people seemed to vary as much as the menu options, each one in their own little world. We headed back to our houseboat for the night, and it was safe to say that I was high. Not why-are-there-three-ofyou high, but high nonetheless. It felt like being a little bit drunk and a lot stupid all at the same time. We spent the rest of the night laughing at things that weren’t funny and flipping between porn and music videos on the television, staring intently at the screen as if it were a puzzle to be solved. When I called my dad the next day to tell him that I had tried marijuana he was weirdly proud. “How’d it feel? Nice, right?” he asked. I don’t think he believed that I would actually do it. During the remainder of our stay, we smoked several more times. One day, we were eating lunch after having just visited a coffeeshop, and I was so in awe of my french fries, shoving several in my husband’s face: “Why is it so long? Look at it. It’s crazy!” The fact that our dining conversation had lowered drastically in quality from just a few days earlier was not lost on me, but this seemed to be how my mind worked when it was high. The effort it took to comprehend the simplest things seemed so great. It was fun, like my brain was on vacation. Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t

spend the majority of my time in Amsterdam high. I did smoke enough to get a feel for the drug and its effects, but this city is too beautiful to not enjoy with all of your senses intact, and it was quite clear that I couldn’t do both. When people ask me how my trip to Europe was and I explain that Amsterdam was my favorite city, I get the same “I bet it was” response accompanied by a wink and a nudge. But marijuana really played a very small part in my opinion of this place. There is so much that makes Amsterdam a great city. Sure there are the super-touristy areas boasting one souvenir shop after another, but if you quickly walk past reminding yourself that no one really needs a beanie cap with a glow-in-the-dark marijuana leaf on it you get to the true beauty of this Dutch capital. With over 60 miles of canals that wind through the city, world-renowned museums and an eclectic mix of cultures, Amsterdam is worth visiting even without the lure of the forbidden. This is a place where bikes far outnumber cars, and french fry stands can be found on every corner (I mean, seriously, can you think of anything better for when you have the munchies?). The biggest question people seem to have for me since my little adventure is whether or not I’ll be smoking pot on a regular basis. For now, the answer is still no, but only because it is currently still illegal in the state that I live in. But in Colorado and Washington, I’m game. SPRING 2014

Photography by NATHAN STOAN Styling by TIAN JUSTMAN Models: MOLLY P and RACHEL ZEHNER for Factor Atlanta. Hair Styling by JAIME TERLECKI for b. You Blowdry and Beauty Bar Makeup by NYSSA GREEN for Green Room Agency Set Design/Prop Styling by JORDAN WRIGHT for The Spin Style Agency Digital Tech Assistant: MICHELLE KAPPELER Stylist Assistants: CURTIS CARTER and HWAJIN SUNG Production Assistance by AVI GELFOND and TOVA GELFOND Shot on location at Big Studio King Plow.

GRAVITY

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Dress, $450, BCBGMAXAZRIA, at Tootsies. Earrings, $200, VINTAGE, Shoes, $1,500, MUGLER, both at Miz Scarlett’s.

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Blouse, $570, Pants, $760, both EUROPEAN COUTURE, both at Saks Fifth Avenue. Necklace, $1,800, VINTAGE, Shoes, $900, SILLA SPORT, both at Miz Scarlett’s. SPRING 2014

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A RT S & E N T E RTA I N M E N T

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gRowing UP wiTH

YOUNG the GIANT Story by E.J. OGLE Photography by JIMMY JOHNSTON Photography Assistant: MIKE COLLETTA Production Assistance by AVI GELFOND and TOVA GELFOND

SPRING 2014

“So many adults.” “Yeah, there are more older people here than I thought.” This is the exchange I overhear between two high schoolers (a couple standing in a bear-hug embrace, speaking in the unimpressed monotone favored by teenagers). I finally find a comfortable spot in the middle-back of the floor at the Tab78

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ernacle, a popular Atlanta concert venue, on a Saturday night before rock darlings Young the Giant (YTG) take the stage. I look around and question myself, “Are there lots of adults in attendance?” I’ll grant there are post-college 20-somethings

(including myself ) and folks that look like the hip parents of the high schoolers in the crowd, but the venue is practically dominated by the college-and-younger age group. The energy of the night feels young. No, it feels like youth.

YTG

burst into the mainstream in 2011 with the rousing singles “My Body” and “Cough Syrup,” and followed the next year with the equally popular “Apartment.” Their eponymous debut album is an energetic, earnest capsule of modern pop that melds the triumphant hooks of popular guitar rock with the questing introspection and tones of indie rock. But like most young bands — Sameer Gadhia (vocals/keyboards), Eric Cannata (guitar/keyboards), Jacob Tilley (guitar), François Comtois (drums) and Payam Doostzadeh (bass) (as pictured above) were all in their early 20s when they landed on the charts — there was a palpable sense of trying to do, trying to be, too many things at once. Maturity was now the task at hand. I wonder if YTG’s fans are ready to mature with them. Cannata spoke with me while on tour in North Carolina about making the new album and band life in general (“Touring isn’t too crazy or stressful,” he says with a chuckle. “We woke up in Charlotte [today] and went to the Discovery Center.”). After three years of playing to adoring crowds, YTG spent 2013 working on their second album: “We rented a house together and built a home studio,” Cannata explains about the band’s commit-

ment to work nonstop. Unfortunately, he says, a period of writer’s block set in as the band struggled with shaping and expanding the identity they had established with their debut. For a group that prides itself on having a “totally democratic” writing process, it took some time for everybody to figure out in which direction the new album was going to point. “We tried to get out of our comfort zone,” Cannata says. Even in a behind-thescenes YouTube video Tilley states: “(on the album) we take more risks as a unit — it’s not as safe.” Gadhia perceptively adds, “It’s good to feel uncomfortable for a bit.” Mind Over Matter’s title track was the first song written with this intention, and defines the album lyrically and sonically. The chorus declares:

And if the world don’t break I’ll be shakin’ it ’Cause I’m a young man after all And when the seasons change Will you stand by me? ’Cause I’m a young man built to fall The rest of the tracks explicate this inner struggle to make sense of it all from a wiser, more self-aware vantage point than YTG’s first album. “A lot

of songs on the album are really dark,” Gadhia says. “About being completely lost in your own head. And there are other more joyous songs.” The sounds/ textures throughout are clearer, more spacious and more rhythmic, owing to the band’s eclectic listening habits. Cannata told me the band is “really influenced by David Bowie, Talking Heads and [electronic producers] Flying Lotus and Bibio. But our collective favorite is Radiohead.” Those influences are apparent as the band launches into their live set, their growth as musicians evident in the tightness of their playing, the interplay between each member — they are locked-in, focused, moving efficiently through the show. Only experienced bands can play with such economy but still look like they’re actually having fun on stage. During “Eros” the band drops into a moody instrumental break that makes the Tabernacle feel like a small club; “Camera” builds up from a simple gospel organ to a swooning chorus as blinding light sweeps the crowd. The breathing room in the new songs allows Gadhia’s vocals to soar, whether he’s playing keyboards or twirling in place. I certainly can’t tell that they’re “still working out the kinks of the live show and the set list,” as Cannata put it.

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I am reminded of earlier that day, during an off-the-cuff photo shoot across from the Tabernacle, where the guys were mustering energy through a haze of sleepiness but remaining affable, even eager to pause for a picture with some teenage fans that crept onto the set; Doostzadeh insisted on taking multiples so the kids left with a perfect shot. The band is disarmingly nice in person, asking questions about the magazine, music writing, “The Walking Dead” — anything to deflect the spotlight. You’d never guess this unassuming bunch

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would be playing to a sold-out crowd of over 2,500 in a few hours. Hanging out with YTG felt like being at a graduation party for a group of very appreciative, but slightly embarrassed, college kids. Mind Over Matter is ultimately the story of a band coming into its own. Cannata sums up the band’s feeling of achievement this way: “We’ve stayed true to how we wrote songs on the first record (but) still experimented a bit … there’s more depth to the album, each song has its own sonic landscape.” More generally, the youthful

indeterminacy of the first album was overcome by a more mature mentality on the second. This is the struggle faced by any young person entering his or her mid-20s: truly accepting their adulthood. College is ending, the real world stands before you and it’s time to get serious, but you’re still young and free. Yeah, there are a lot of “adults” here. Fortunately YTG is writing the soundtrack for their struggle. When the high-school couple reaches that age, they’ll hear it for themselves.

Come Say Hi.

ARI GRAYNOR HOLLYWOOD IS CALLING

THE GENIUS ISSUE

IN SEARCH OF THE

SUITABLE MAN

SEPT/OCT 2012

w w w. e i d e m ag a z i n e . c o m

SOCIETY

V I R T U A L C U R R E N C Y I S T H E W AV E O F T H E F U T U R E , S O W E B R E A K I T D OW N , “ B I TCO I N FO R D U M M I E S ” ST Y L E .

Story by TOVA GELFOND

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YO U G I V E M E YO U R S A L A M I S A N DW I C H O N R Y E A N D I W I L L F O R K OV E R M Y L U N C H A B L E S .

Even at age 8 we understood the basics of trading. When it comes to homemade chocolate chip cookies? Well then you better have more than Go-Gurt to offer. Supply and demand, buddy. No one has cookies like these ... and now that your mom has gone on a no-sugar kick, they are worth your veggie chips for a week. This makes

you’re not abreast with digital currency, all of it sounds like a bunch of gobbledegook. It’s like Sega Genesis coins you get to collect and power up for Sonic the Hedgehog. But it’s not. Someone bought a Tesla car with bitcoin. There’s a house on the market that can be purchased with bitcoin. There are bitcoin ATMs and you could even pay your lawn guy with bitcoin. It’s as real or as fake as any other money you have these days. Really, how much of your money do you actually see in tangible formats? Newly minted cash resembles some hybrid form of Monopoly money, and it’s not like you’re making mortgage payments with stacks of green and purple hologram-stripped hundreds. No, we seem to know our money by the number stated on the bottom of a website or a ding of a mint.com app update. What we truly understand about dollars and cents is all summed up on a statement we get from using a piece of plastic. In a strange way, this makes the concept of bitcoin more palpable. “I know everything about Bitcoin, I’m obsessed,” I was told by a friend two months ago. I had read the word, “bitcoin,” in The Wall Street Journal, in The New York Times, on Reddit. I knew it was some hacker wet dream, digital money concept, but it’s Greek (or code) to me. “Oh

sense. Price fluctuations happen even on the playground. What’s harder to comprehend, however, is that I give you my home-baked goods and you give me a string of code that uploads to my digital space proving I have been paid. But these days even elementary kids have heard about bitcoin — digital money of the future.

really?” I asked with a surly tone. She contemplated how to respond. After muffled, pathetic attempts at sentences she rebuffed, “I don’t know. It’s cryptocurrency. It’s just bitcoin. You know.” I found similar responses from a steady stream of social inquiries. Bitcoin is the thing on everyone’s lips, but no one knows what they are talking about.

B I S F O R B I TC O I N So what is it exactly? That’s what we are all here to find out. According to our dear friend Wikipedia: Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment system and digital currency introduced as open source software in 2009. It is a cryptocurrency, so-called because it uses cryptography to control the creation and transfer of money. Thanks for nothing Wiki-nerds, that’s useless for us who are still in Economics 101. But have no fear, I’m here to make some sense out of this gibberish. First, let’s take a look at a currency we understand as a point of reference: The U.S. Dollar. The dollar is controlled by the United States, and it is the government who actually prints the cash that makes money clips look so impressive. The strength of the dollar is tied to the strength of the economy (and about a zillion other factors, but we’re trying to keep it simple here). In overly basic terms, when the U.S. isn’t do-

ing well, the dollar isn’t either. You can feel the significance of how strong the dollar measures up when you hop on a plane and fly to another country. If you decide to take your stack of dollars over to a currency exchange counter in say, Italy, they give you Euros back ... as many Euros as your dollars are worth at that moment in time. Bitcoin is the same deal, except bitcoin is not attached to a country ... any country. It belongs to the people (that’s what the whole peer-to-peer thing is all about). “With a bank, it’s centralized,” says Aaron Williams, CEO of Atlanta Bitcoin. “One authority. When it is decentralized, your connection is to the people.” It’s worth what the market will pay for it and increases or decreases based on how bad people want it. You get it from an exchange that trades your dollars or euros or pounds into bitcoins the same way you might after getting off that plane — it’s just online and not with a teller. Though you can retrieve country currencies through bitcoin ATMs; Williams purchased the first one ever made for Atlanta Bitcoin in August of 2013 and plans to place these digital currency teller machines in shopping destinations as this form of money gains momentum. Which it has. There are even Bitcoin conventions all over the world now, which Williams affectionately refers to as the “Bit Con” circuit.

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AND THE POINT IS... Why would someone start a new currency? For thousands of reasons, but for one, Bitcoin rolled out as response to the government bailout of big banks in 2008. Watching tax dollars get transferred over to large, private organizations that still doled out enormous bonus checks to talent certainly ruffled feathers. It made sense, especially in the wake of financial crisis, to have a currency less attached to politics. “It’s just perfect timing

for Bitcoin,” Williams explains. “Bitcoin was born in the wake of the bailouts — out of frustration for the way the dollar is being managed” The snowball effect of this sentiment has helped Bitcoin’s value jump from around $13 per BTC to about $900 per BTC in just one year. People speculate who the mastermind who launched Bitcoin might be, but no one knows for sure. A programmer going by alias Satoshi

Nakamoto published the first description and requirements for bitcoin in 2009, and it started as a hobby or pet-project for the coding underground. But in the scheme of this movement, it doesn’t matter who started it, but rather, who is continuing it. “What’s really cool about Bitcoin is that things are governed by a consensus,” Williams explains. “You have cryptography and open source. There is no central authority.”

etc. then guess what? I’ll give you 25 cookies for all of your hard work. Anyone could mine bitcoin. Could being the operative word — as not to reduce the process of mining to something simple. Years ago, an amateur techie could learn the basics necessary to run software that searched out unclaimed coins and key into the Bitcoin software. But the Bitcoin code self-adjusts its complexity based on usage and pretty much all of the easy bitcoins are taken. Now you need complex systems and a ton of computer power (i.e. multiple computers) to get your hands, err, digital wallet on them. In terms of time, electricity and technology, it’s expensive to be a modern miner. And the aforementioned self-adjustment of the code’s growth rate automatically counteracts inflation so miners don’t unleash too many coins on the market at one time. Essentially, the code determines how many blocks have been solved (aka bitcoins are created) or “mined” within a predefined window of time — say, one month. So if one million bitcoins are somehow mined relatively fast in that month, the code will “self adjust” and become more difficult so that it’s harder to “solve the blocks.” But the process has certainly made overnight millionaires — those who acquired bitcoin early on have reaped the benefits, if they were smart. I read an online thread where some regret-

ful consumer still has an unspent $10 Starbucks gift card that he paid 50 BTC for back when it was trading for $0.25 per BTC (worth over $30,000 today). But on the flip side, Theguardian.com reported a man purchased $27 worth of bitcoin in 2009 only to find out it’s worth some $886,000 today. But none of this mining process really matters to the layman bitcoin investor. Basically, when you purchase bitcoin, you are buying the coins from miners, or from others who purchased their coins from miners.

MINING THE GOLD Since there is no country minting these coins, bitcoins are “made” or enter the market through a process called “mining.” Which is misleading since there is clearly no mine, no mineral or anything tangible for that matter. Mining is an action that takes place when computers run a program to participate in the Bitcoin network by solving computationally difficult problems. You see, Bitcoin has securities in place, and if your computer runs programs that are able to compute the correct solution (which is just letters and numbers in a series) that matches up with the Bitcoin network, you “unlock” more coins into the market. When the solution is found the computer transmits the “proof of work” to the Bitcoin network which proves that the “Block” has been solved. Whoever does this first is rewarded with newly created bitcoins. As each block is solved, one after the other, they form a chain called simply the “blockchain.” For every blockchain completed, that person or miner gets 25 bitcoins and there is a new problem to solve every 10 minutes. The system of mining (when miners build a blockchain), in a way, is helping Bitcoin get stronger. People running the programs that aid in network security is kind of like having a helper in the kitchen. Think about it as our cookies. If you get the right measure out of flower, water, butter,

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SOME REGRETFUL CONSUMER STILL HAS AN UNSPENT $ 1 0 S TA R B U C K S G I F T C A R D T H AT H E PA I D 5 0 B TC F O R B AC K W H E N I T WA S T R A D ING FOR $0.25 PER B TC ( WO R T H OV E R $ 3 0 , 0 0 0 TO DAY )

W H AT I S I T R E A L LY ? So now that you have it (bought it, mined it or otherwise), what is it that you own? What really is a bitcoin? There’s nothing tangible to hold (although you’re welcome to print out little pieces of paper and draw coins all over them), but it most certainly exists. I was told to think about it like an MP3 instead of a CD. The music is there even if you can’t physically touch it ... so what is this kind of music you get? Now we get to say a really fun SAT word: cryptocurrency. Cryptography

is simply encrypting (or turning information into a cypher or code) to send online. In reality, Bitcoin is a public ledger contributed and maintained by a network of computers. Remember our “blockchain?” When you access the Bitcoin network, you basically have to download the entire blockchain or “ledger.” I like to think of an old man with a bookie notebook with an elastic band around it that tracks how much money everyone has. You have

bitcoin? He writes down your name and how many coins you have. Getting bitcoin is like meeting the man and getting a copy of his ledger. And in this way, Bitcoin is like a cash system. I have money in my wallet. I give it to you. Now you have the money in your wallet. There’s no delay of credit card processing or check routing, and there’s no digital statement assessing when you sent the money and to whom. It’s just cookies for veggie chips. No one has to know.

K I N G O F B I TC O I N Most people can’t wrap their heads around who is leading this organized virtual currency. It’s the consensus who is in charge (all Bitcoin users as a whole), and the core developers who make new things happen. But who are the “royal core?” A prestigious and anonymous group of talented people

writing code from separate computers at different places all over the world. They become the core simply by being those who have the best ideas on how to solve problems or enhance the capabilities of Bitcoin ... and they don’t know each other. Most of them are probably Google execs and Amazon

programmers who get their jollies off rocking out new lines of code and geeking out hardcore with shared Reddit posts. They are stewards, adding cool features, contributing to the ideas and changes that help the currency grow. As Williams explains, it is in this way that “the consensus controls the code.”

and New York City trying to regulate the currency in different ways. The New York Times says regulation is inevitable, and some recommend instating a bit Federal Deposit Insurance Fund (bitFDIC) to create some sort of protection for consumer funds. “Half of the people into Bitcoin believe it’s about anonymity and the other half really want mass adoption,” Williams says. “If you take out the pseudonymity [as a perk] there is still a lot to Bitcoin.” The value has been climbing steadily, it’s instantly updated (unlike bank processing, which takes time) and the realities of a decentralized money system opens up the possibilities of a true world economy. It’s key to understand that standardiza-

tion does not mean centralization. Applying measures to track what amounts of currencies are being converted into bitcoin can help it thrive in the long run because standards create stability, which brings more interest. Especially since businesses love how cost-effective Bitcoin is for them. As a payment network, it is so completely unlike credit card companies that charge up the wazoo for every transaction; bitcoin is incredibly cheap, efficient and expeditious. Which is why major companies like Overstock.com and Fancy.com are already onboard with excepting it as form of payment. The Black Keys even announced they want to accept bitcoin for their new album being released this May.

B I TC O I N P E R K S Other then the obvious bump in value, Bitcoin has attracted a mass of people because it’s difficult to trace. Bitcoin has been called anonymous which has been a red flag for many and gives the impression that it is inherently shady. In reality, it’s pseudonymous — once you connect someone’s identity to the public address, their coin movements can be tracked. Of course, government entities don’t like the fact that a more lenient structure currently makes the currency a target for money laundering, but that might change soon. If you have followed the trajectory of Bitcoin in the news, you’re probably reading about the Financial Services Department trying to make sense of this,

D O N ’ T G E T LO S T I N T H E H Y P E The most difficult thing about getting into Bitcoin is that it is complicated and easily misunderstood. What many people still don’t grasp is that Bitcoin is not a bank; many argue it’s not even a currency. It’s a completely new asset class that we’ve never seen before. Part payment network, part unit of value. So when one organization, like Flexcoin or Mt. Gox goes down, it’s due to internal company problems and doesn’t change the value of the coin itself — much like your local bank closing and its lack of impact on the dollar. What has been unleashed onto the marketplace can’t be undone. And why would we want it to be? Global currencies are here to stay

and our world might need them. Think about the prospect of depositing your American paycheck into a bitcoin ATM and your spouse withdrawing it in pesos from a Mexican bitcoin ATM almost instantaneously. This comprehensive understanding of the needs of a growing and vast global community might account for the new crop of cryptocurrencies like Litecoin or Dogecoin. Which is cool if you like muffins or scones. But bitcoins are the chocolate chip cookies of the financial world. Nay, they’re the Cronuts. And while the hype might be cooling off from these baked goods, they’re still getting the best exchange rate at the school-ground trading post. At least for a bit. SPRING 2014

SOCIETY

PRESERVING the

LANGUAGE OF MACHINES Story by LAUREN LADOV

Shhhh. Do you hear that? No? Exactly, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing to listen to in silence.

the digital era progresses, our machines become quieter and quieter. Less clicks of buttons pushed or rings of dial-up telecommunications, and even fewer churning sounds of gears and fans. The symphonic vibration of interacting materials is taking its final bows. But when the curtain closes, all hope is not lost. Like an archaeologistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s amber, the Museum of Endangered

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Sounds (MOES) website preserves those odd noises our now-obsolete machines make, or well, made. From the sterile hum of a film projector counting down the seconds before the movie starts, to that most obnoxious squeaking and almost shrieking dial-up tone of AOL connecting to the Internet, MOES offers shelter and honor to the sounds that have come before their contemporaries.

The idea for MOES came about while listening to “the click-clacks from Marybeth’s Blackberry,” remarks Gregory Elwood, co-creator of MOES. Elwood, along with Phil Hadad and Marybeth Ledesma, began this as a personal side project while at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Brandcenter. Establishing their advertising backgrounds, this website project not only became a secret among friends, but an impressive portfolio builder, to say the least. Now, with features on Wired, Al Jazeera America and The Huffington Post, high volumes of web traffic are being sent in MOES’ direction (it welcomed about four million visitors each day during Spring of 2012). And the first thing a visitor to MOES encounters is a greeting from Brendan Chilcott, MOES’ fictional creator, curator and gatekeeper. Chilcott is an archetypal computer dweeb. Equipped with eight gerbils and a passion for technology, he righteously asks visitors to “Imagine generations of children unacquainted with the chattering of angels lodged deep within the recesses of an old cathode ray tube TV.” “It was just fun to make up a half-crazy guy who loves sounds and is scared to lose them,” Elwood says. “The inspiration came from a lot of different people on the Internet, and a little from us.” At the end of the day, I think we all have a little Chilcott inside all of us. During my own interaction with MOES, I realized I have a tendency to collect objects that make these sorts of estranged sounds. I stole a rotary telephone from an abandoned children's insane asylum in Georgia a few years back. I snag manual cameras wherever I can, though I never use them because they are all busted. While at a flea market I purchased a music box (for just $1!). It had no box though, only the instrument contraption itself, which is about the size of a palm. By winding the ratchet lever, the spring motor activates the studded

“THERE WILL ALWAYS BE AWESOME SOUNDS, BUT THE NEW SOUNDS REPLACE THE ONES WE'VE LIVED WITH FOR SO LONG." cylinder. As the cylinder revolves, its teeny pins displace the teeth of a comb, and delicate rings resonate a frail lullaby. The petite musical moment transports me to my childhood, to Paris and to the 1920s, somehow simultaneously. It's not the languid melody that extracts this vivid nostalgia, but the essence embedded in the very tiny “tings” of the comb’s teeth slipping off the cylinder’s pins. Such a sound can only be created by this particular contraption. If you do not have access to such a mechanism, then, alas, your ears will never know. MOES offers comfort to us nostalgic types, providing that even as we lose the objects, their sounds will never be lost. It is a protection agency for the language of machines. And as our machines move more and more into the digital realm, the sound engineers have pretty much free range to design their products. But many of the sounds featured in MOES’ collection come precisely from the quirks of physical material interaction. Elwood assures me, however, that “There will always be awesome sounds, but the new sounds

replace the ones we’ve lived with for so long.” For example: the sound that happens when you join a Google Hangout is one of Elwood’s current sound-favorites. MOES provides not only an exercise in reminiscence, but also a chance to interact with these noises in a new way. You can play the tones individually, listening to a looping of a specific machine. Or you can play the sounds all together, creating an uncanny cacophony of old-fashioned melodies. By being able to pick and choose, MOES creates an interactive digital platform where you are a conductor, or DJ, if you will. The layered tracks can produce a peculiar synchronization that’s unexpectedly harmonious. But some sounds are so delicate, like that of a vinyl turntable, a VCR or a floppy disk, that you can only hear their voices when nothing else is speaking. It may not be long until there will be more sounds to add to MOES’ collection. Chilcott and the MOES team are always looking for suggestions and ideas. Personally, I hope the bleeps and bloops of Candy Crush Saga will leave us soon to join the ranks.

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SOCIETY

L i F e ,

L i B e R T Y

a n d

T H e

PURSUIT OF COOL

JOAN DIDION by Julian Wasser | © Julian Wasser

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Story by JAIME LIN WEINSTEIN Photography courtesy of THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

hether or not he won the arguments during the presidential debates preceding the 2008 election, there is no denying that President Barack Obama won the composure contest. While Senator McCain often appeared nervous and jumpy, and let his anger and agitation show through the television screen, Obama remained poised and self-assured. “He was the embodiment of cool in its original meaning: relaxed, detached, nonchalant. This is what jazz musicians meant when they first brought the phrase into the American vernacu-

lar in the mid-1940s,” explains Joel Dinerstein, a professor and jazz scholar at Tulane University who has been publishing, teaching and lecturing on the history of cool for almost 20 years. He’s also the co-curator of “American Cool,” a stimulating new exhibition at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery featuring 100 photographs of icons of cool in American culture. It was the 2008 presidential election and the public’s gravitation toward this new type of “cool” candidate that inspired, in part, the exhibit — though Obama didn’t make the final list.

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JAMES DEAN by Roy Schatt | © Roy Schatt

Who did make the cut? Musicians (Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Madonna), actors (Greta Garbo, James Dean, Johnny Depp), athletes (Muhammad Ali, Tony Hawk), writers (Walt Whitman, Joan Didion), comedians (Lenny Bruce, Jon Stewart), artists (Andy Warhol) and activists (Malcolm X): “Successful rebels of American culture,” in Dinerstein’s words.

r, more specifically, figures who meet at least three of the four criteria of the rubric he created: original artistic vision with a signature style; cultural rebellion; iconic power or high-profile recognition; cultural legacy. It’s a rather succinct prescript for a concept whose definition continues to evolve over time. While scholars have suggested that the origin of cool can be traced to a 15th century West African Yorobu expression, itutu, its American roots are in the postwar era (1945-1963) when African-American jazz musicians solidified the term itself in the American vocabulary (Legendary jazz saxophonist Lester Young is credited with coining the word along with a new style of “cool” jazz — a lyrical style of playing that encouraged being relaxed or laid back in performance, in contrast to the more

aggressive arrangements of the day.). Jazz was the dominant subculture in postwar American life, and the word and concept of cool were adopted by jazz fans such as Jack Kerouac. Kerouac and other Beat Generation writers of the ’60s helped shift the meaning to one of openness and authenticity with their spiritual liberation and rejection of imposed cultural and political values. The idea was then expropriated by mass media and advertising agencies in the ’80s and ’90s as a rising economy bred an era of excess, and cultural values equated cool with material wealth and societal status. And today, cool has sort of become the antithesis of past generations’ cool. Modern-day, so-called rebels hold personas that spur compassion, not composure (think Jennifer Lawrence and her nervous energy and off-color jokes, though she didn’t

make the list, either). So how can one term encompass all of these connotations? How has the word managed to endure across generations? And how can a character like Gene Krupa hold a place on the same list as Jay-Z? “My theory is that cool represents a certain mythos: like any myth, it carries unconscious or hidden meanings about its society,” Dinerstein suggests. “For any given generation, certain figures represent new strategies of individuality or attitudes.” Consider the story of Levi Strauss & Co. After patenting a design for men’s work pants made from riveted denim in 1873, it would grow to become one of the largest clothing brands in the world, only to later shut down half of its U.S. plants and lay off 6,000 workers in March of 1999. “What originally made Levi’s cool

FRANK SINATRA by Herman Leonard | © Herman Leonard Photography LLC

in the ’50s was that they were garments associated with the working classes — the term ‘blue-collar’ is a reference to denim work-shirts. In the ’50s and ’60s, for a middle-class kid to wear blue denim rather than gray flannel was an act of symbolic rebellion,” write Dick Pountain and David Robbins in their 2000 book “Cool Rules: Anatomy of an Attitude.” “But in the ’90s those sartorial rebels are parents and still wearing their Levi’s, so their own children must find something different to express their rebellion.” (It’s proba-

generation where the likes of Steve Jobs — whose trademark ensemble included Levi’s 501 jeans — epitomizes cool.) While cool is not inherent in objects but in people, objects — like jeans — can be granted “cool” status due to people's attitude toward them. And so what may appear to be a passing fad is sometimes actually a phenomenon — and one with wide influence over spheres from the sartorial, to the economic. Yes, its connotations may be malleable, but it still maintains such a

YES, ITS CONNOTATIONS MAY BE MALLEABLE, BUT IT STILL MAINTAINS SUCH A STRONG COMPONENT OF OUR CULTURE bly no coincidence that the company was profitable again for the first time in 2007 amidst a “revenge of the nerds”

strong component of our culture, and maybe that’s because cool, and the sense of resistance it represents, is re-

ally fundamental to America and the American concept of the self. “The United States was a rebellious colony literally born in revolution and lacking in traditional values; as a nation, we value rebellion as a quality of individuality,” Dinerstein says. “America is a land of self-invention and self-creation: historically, people come here to reinvent themselves and it requires a stage of rebellion … we are a nation of immigrants such that second-generation children must figure out for themselves how to be (and look) American. They often find exemplars in film or popular music, or in comedians or athletes.” And somewhere within the definition has always been a prerequisite of approval — an emotional desire that is one of the strongest motivating forces known to man. “Cool can only be conferred by others,” Dinerstein says, simply. “You’re not cool just because you think you are. In fact, if you think you’re cool, you’re probably thinking way too much about cool.”

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CONCRETE DISTORTION Photography by COLBY BLOUNT Styling by DANIEL MIDDLETON Model: MARCUS ZETTERBERG for Re:Quest Model Management

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Blazer, $180, TOPMAN, at Topman. Shirt, Pants, Shoes, Stylist’s Own.

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Trench, $89, TOPMAN, Shirt, $72, TOPMAN LUX, both at Topman. Pants, Shoes, Stylist’s Own.

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Blazer, $180, Shorts, $45, both TOPMAN LIMITED EDITION, both at Topman. Shirt, Tie, Stylist’s Own.

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Shirt, $72, TOPMAN LUX, at Topman. Pants, Shoes, Glasses, Stylist’s Own.

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magine tracking every aspect of your existence: where you go, how much you spend, who you hang out with, what’s going in (or coming out) of your body. While this may seem exhausting to some, more people are turning their lives into hard data through self-quantifying, and developers are maximizing ways to upload your life.

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Now you no longer have to Being aware of your budget or through numbers.’” Today, Wolf diet isn’t anything new, but creat- and Kelly have also established wonder how much of your cofing a community where users and Quantified Self Labs, a com- fee habit is a hindrance. With makers of self-tracking tools come pany with the purpose to serve websites such as Mint.com, you together to share and compare this unique community through can link your bank accounts and their experiences is. For most, this meetings, conferences and expo- credit cards to one site and see not only how much coffee you’ve data is being harnessed to modify sitions worldwide. Gone are the days of keeping ingested but where each cup was behaviors. The term “quantified self ” is a handwritten journal of your ac- purchased and how much was believed to have been introduced tivities. Now you can simply clip spent on said coffee. You can in 2007 by Wired Magazine ed- devices to your clothing to track also set goals to help curb your itors Gary Wolf and Kim Kel- movement, sync your credit cards spending. Say you only want to ly. In 2009, Wolf writes about to websites that break down your spend $50 a month on beverages; all you have to do is co-creating the movement Yo U n o L o n g e R H aV e T o set the goal and Mint. and introduces it to the com will keep you apworld: “With new trackw o n d e R H o w m U c H o F Yo U R prised of how much ing systems popping up almost daily, we decided c o F F e e H a B i T i S a H i n d R a n c e . your 2-pump Caramel Macchiato addiction is to create a website to track them. We called our project ‘The spending or scan food packages to hurting your summer vacation Quantified Self.’ We don’t have catalogue your eating habits. All fund. You can even be alerted a slogan, but if we did it would of your data can easily be deci- when you’re about to go over that coffee budget. probably be ‘Self-knowledge phered from your smartphone. 1 5 . 7 5 i n X 7. 6 2 9 5 i n

Want to get quantified? Read the rest of this story at eidemagazine.com

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Stories by BONNIE HERRING, CHRISTINA MONTFORD and ALEX TAYLOR Illustrations by LAUREN FOSTER and J.G. GINSBURG

O 22 LIFE HACKS AND KNOW-HOWS TO CURE THE CURIOSITY

The constant search for knowledge is what defines us as humans. We are always growing and evolving, never sitting still long enough to grow stagnant. Curiosity is what makes us who we are; it’s what gives us a pulse. It lets us know we are still here and there’s more to be done. Through our neverending quest for answers, we discover new ways to do things.

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From ridiculous musings of how to open a banana like a monkey to more serious inquiries about how to master the dreaded Da Vinci sleep cycle, these skills show that where there’s a will to learn, there’s a way to get shit done. So, here’s to the what ifs, the how comes and the whats, because it’s those questions that move us along.

HOW TO OPEN A BANANA LIKE A MONKEY: If you’re like most of the population you’ve been peeling bananas from the stem for the majority of your life, struggling to puncture the peel without it getting under your nails (or in your mouth if you’re a biter). Well this is about to make your life a whole lot easier while simultaneously making you feel a little bit like an idiot. If you simply turn the banana around and pinch the bottom end, it will split, allowing you to peel it like a monkey. You’re welcome.

HOW TO FIX A PHONE THAT FELL IN WATER: Whether you flushed your phone down the toilet or flung it in your vodka cran one night, a wet phone isn’t automatically a death sentence for your cell. Once you retrieve your phone, turn it off immediately. Take apart everything that you can and try to wipe off any excess water. Next comes the rice. Instead of dropping it in a bowl of rice, place your phone in a sandwich bag filled with uncooked rice or surrounded by those little silica gel packets (if you happen to have any left from your last Amazon order). Finally, leave your phone in a warm place for the next 24 hours. Best of luck.

HOW TO SHAVE WITHOUT SHAVING CREAM: Forgot to stock up on shaving cream before spring reared its head? Don’t worry, shampoo and conditioner are a sufficient substitute. Simply apply the conditioner to the area you want to shave when you’re in the shower, rub on some shampoo and you’ve got a shaving cream standin. If proper hygiene is just too much for you and you don’t have shampoo or conditioner, baby oil or dish soap will work. In the alarming case that you can’t get your hands on any of these, a peanut butter and water mixture will do the trick if you get desperate and don’t mind the smell.

HOW TO MAKE AN IPHONE SPEAKER OUT OF A BOWL:

HOW TO FULLY ICE A DRINK IN 3 MINUTES: This little life hack will ensure that you never serve your guests lukewarm beer at a party again. Place the cans in a steel pot and cover them completely with ice. Fill the pot with water and add in 2 cups of salt. Stir your mixture and leave it in the freezer for three minutes and voilà. Cold brews for the home team.

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HOW TO OPEN A BOTTLE OF WINE WITH A SHOE:

We’ve all been there. You bring a bottle of wine over to a friend’s house ready to throw back some glasses only to find that they don’t have a bottle opener. Don’t fret. You can still get your buzz. Just stick the bottom of the bottle in a shoe and knock the sole on a nearby wall until the cork pushes itself out. Then, immediately find a new friend.

HOW TO MASTER THE DA VINCI SLEEP CYCLE: The Da Vinci sleep schedule, also commonly called polyphasic sleep, is a method of sleeping that only lets its participants rest for around two hours a day. The idea is that you sleep for 20 minutes for every four hours you are awake. Supposedly Da Vinci lived on this cycle, which is how he managed to get all of his work done and remained alert and creative. There are clocks that will help train you to sleep in this way by setting an alarm to go off whenever its time for a “power nap” and again when it is time to wake up. This method is said to give you back 20 years (if done correctly) that you would have otherwise spent sleeping. We tried it, and if you can push through the first debilitating two weeks, you’ll feel great. Of note: It is really hard to find things to keep you busy and awake at 3 a.m. every day.

HOW TO BLOW OUT YOUR HAIR:

HOW TO MAKE A MOSS BATH MAT: Who wouldn’t want a cozy mat made of moss to hug their feet after they get out of the shower? It’s soft, and, bonus, it waters itself with the steam from your showers. All you have to do is get some plastazote foam. Stack two layers of the foam and cut out the shape you want to make your mat with an X-Acto knife. Cut out little shapes in one of the layers of foam. This is where the moss will fit. Spread some silicone on the back of the mat that you cut the shapes out of and stick the two pieces of foam together. Once the mat dries, rub water all over the mat to make it moist (Note I said moist, not soaked.). Finally, fill each hole with your choice of moss plugs.

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Though recent hair trends suggest that the blowout is back, I tend to believe that the effortless look is timeless. With the right amount of product, a round brush and a blow dryer, you can achieve silky, chic, no-fuss tresses. The blowout usually lasts for several days (especially with the application of dry shampoo when it starts to get a bit greasy), but the ritual itself is the real treat: sitting back and letting the stylist shampoo your hair, massage your scalp and blow out your locks, all while sipping on a flute of champagne. But you can’t always make it to a salon. In that case, Jaime Terlecki, blowdry guru at b. You Blowdry and Beauty Bar in Atlanta, has given us the tools to achieve professional results at home. 1. Apply a light volumizing or thickening product. 2. “Rough dry” hair till 80 to 90 percent dry by pulling on your roots to create volume. 3. Separate your hair into four sections — one on each side, top and back. 4. With a round brush, start blow drying the front sections. 5. Spend extra time focusing on the ends to create a polished look. 6. Set each section in rollers for extra volume and body. 7. When hair is cool, remove rollers, tousle and apply a light hair spray. 8. To make your blowdry last, add dry shampoo to your roots.

HOW TO TIE A BOW TIE: It’s damn near a sin in the South for a man not to know how to tie a decent bow tie. From cotillions to formals, a bow tie is a Southern gentleman’s best friend. If you missed the boat on how to construct a clean, crisp tie, here’s how to do it in a few, easy steps. 1.

1. Put the tie around your neck making sure that the left end is a little longer than the right. 2. Cross the left end over the right. Lets call the left end 1 and the right end 2. 3. Take 1 and tuck it into the space between your neck and the tie. 4. Fold 2 at the widest portion, making sure to hold it sideways. 5. Drop 1 over the folded 2 and fold 1 up through it. 6. Pass 1 under and behind 2 (which should now be on your left) and through the loop behind the right end. 7. Tighten the knot.

HOW TO HANG A POSTER WITH A MAGNET: If you want to add some life to your room without poking holes in your beloved posters, you can do so with magnets and push pins. Simply glue flat thumbtacks to small magnets. Push the thumbtacks into the wall where you want to hang the poster. Glue the same amount of magnets to the back of your poster and use the magnets’ attraction to the push pins as an alternate adhesive. If your walls can’t handle the microscopic holes that thumbtacks create then you can use a magnetic primer to coat the room.

HOW TO SHARPEN A KNIFE WITH A COFFEE MUG:

This one is ridiculously simple. Flip the coffee mug over and rub the knife against the mug in a sawing motion on both sides. The end. SPRING 2014

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HOW TO CLOSE A BAG OF CHIPS WITHOUT A CLIP:

Having to eat stale chips is a cruel and unusual punishment that no one should have to endure. Clips are rarely there when you need them and rubber bands don’t even attempt to keep your chips crisp. Luckily, you can preserve the crunch in your favorite snack with just your hands. 1.

Squeeze all of the air out of the bag, and then flatten the top of the bag. Fold the bag with about 1-inch folds until you almost meet the chips. Fold the two corners to the back of the bag, creating 1-2-inch tabs. While keeping the tabs tucked in, pull the front of the fold over the top. It’s a little tricky, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll never have to suffer through another stale bag of chips again.

HOW TO MAKE LIPSTICK OUT OF CRAYOLA CRAYONS: You will need: One Crayola crayon of your choice, coconut oil, a pot and a toothpick or skewer stick. 1. Cut crayon into equally sized 1-inch pieces. Remove paper. 2. Fill pot with 1 cup of water, and set heat to medium low. 3. Place a small, empty glass bowl in the middle of the pot. 4. Add 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil per inch of crayon into the small glass bowl. (For a more opaque finish, add 1/4 teaspoon.) 5. Add crayon piece(s) and stir. The crayon should melt in 30 seconds to a minute. 6. Immediately pour mixture into your desired container. An empty lipstick shell, lip balm container or contact lens case work well. 7. Once lipstick mixture has cooled, put container in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. *Don’t pour any extra lipstick mixture down the sink or it will clog.

HOW TO OPEN A POMEGRANATE: Scalp the top of the pomegranate with a knife without piercing its skin. Remove the top gently so as not to pop the seeds. You will see the six “chambers” or sections that contain the pomegranate seeds. Slice along the chamber lines to the bottom of the pomegranate, making sure not to pierce the skin. Press from the top of the pomegranate, pulling open each chamber. Gently pick off the seeds to enjoy.

HOW TO UPSIDE DOWN BRAID: Braids are the best hair accessory. One braiding trend that is catching on quickly is the upside down braid. To achieve this look, flip your head over and brush all of your hair over your head. (You can rub a little mousse in it to make your hair easier to work with.) Take your finger and separate a small piece of hair

at the nape of your neck. Split the section into three pieces and begin to braid upwards. As you braid, add sections of hair from the left and right sides of the braid. Continue this as far up as you want the braid to go, pin the end and scoop the rest of your hair into a bun. SPRING 2014

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Photo taken of a snowflake

HOW TO MAKE A MACRO LENS FOR YOUR CELL PHONE: You can take close-up pictures with your phone camera that capture incredible detail with your own attachable macro lens. Phone macro lenses can be a bit pricey, but they are easy and cheap to make with items you can probably find around your house — a laser pointer, a bobby pin and tape. Take the top off the laser pointer, and you will see a piece that protects the lens. Gently take out the lens so as not to scratch it (using pliers or scissors). Place it between the sides of the bobby pin, then situate the lens over the phone’s lens (make sure it is directly on top). Tape the bottom of the bobby pin to the phone, open the camera app and start shooting!

HOW TO REMOVE A SPLINTER WITH BAKING SODA: Sometimes tweezers alone won’t do the trick — especially if your splinter is tiny and has disappeared beneath the skin. Instead of digging, wash and dry the affected area, then apply a paste made from a little bit of water and about 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. Cover with a bandage. Over the next 24 hours, the baking soda paste will cause the skin to swell, helping to push the splinter out. A day later,

remove the bandage, and if the splinter is sticking out or visible, you should now be able to easily remove it with tweezers. Repeat the method with new paste and another bandage every 24 hours until the splinter is gone. (You may have to repeat the method a few times every 24 hours before the splinter becomes loose enough to remove or falls out.)

HOW TO USE YOGA TO SCULPT AND TONE FACIAL MUSCLES: If spending countless dollars on facial creams and surgical lifts doesn’t appeal to you, consider finding the fountain of youth in the ancient art of yoga. The solution may be as simple as dedicating five to eight minutes a couple of times a week to a facial routine of stretching and toning away the wrinkles. After age 30, skin and muscles begin to lose significant collagen and elasticity, muscles become longer and ropier, and skin begins to sag and wrinkle. Muscles in our body require targeted movements to improve circulation and increase oxygen flow. The principles of yoga that are effective for toning and shaping the body can also be applied to the intricate muscles of the face. Yoga instructor Annelise Hagen believes that just like the large muscles in the body can be trained, so can the facial muscles, which led her to author a book and new DVD called “The Yoga Face.” Hagen maintains that targeted muscle training for the face can actually create a lifting and minimizing effect on sagging skin and wrinkles. Realizing the benefits of those simple routines led her to refine her technique of facial yoga. Hagen teaches her students that, “it is important to not give up, you can sculpt and reshape your face naturally. We are ageless inside and out, we need to let go of the fear of growing older.” If this sounds like another workout that needs to be added to an already busy schedule, do not stress. These exercises can be done anytime, anywhere. That morning cup of coffee or afternoon commute may prove to be the perfect time to wage war against wrinkles.

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Popular Facial Exercises: If you want to attain fuller, firmer lips, just practice “The Marilyn,” à la icon Marilyn Monroe blowing kisses at her idolizing fans. Stick out your lips, press them against your palm and repeat. “The Lion” facial yoga pose helps tone the muscles in your neck. Inhale through your nose while squeezing all of your facial muscles. Then exhale through your mouth and stick out your tongue, stretching it toward your chin, while opening your eyes wide. Repeat.

HOW TO SELECT THE PERFECT PAIR OF GLASSES:

It’s time to accessorize the face. Selecting eyeglasses that speak to one’s individual personality is imperative, especially since glasses tend to stay with us for at least a year or more. Ever find yourself asking these kinds of questions: How do I know what looks good on me? What colors should I be looking at? How can I find frames that are suited for me but are also stylish and trendy? Just like every good shopping adventure, there are three important factors to consider when selecting this new accessory. The perfect frames should contrast the shape of your face, so the first step is to determine what your unique features are. Choosing the correct frame size and shape is similar to choosing the right style dress for your body type and just like clothes, frames can provide a slimming or plumping effect on the face. There are four face shapes that are considered to be the most common which are: round, oval, heart and square. While everyone may not have exactly all of the features described, choose the one (or possibly two) that seems to describe your face best.

The Most Common Face Shapes: Round – basically proportionate in width and length, prominent forehead and a rounded chin, with fuller cheeks and little to no distinguishable angles. Try: rectangle, square and cat eye style frames. Avoid: overly round (can make the face look even fuller), small frames (will be out of proportion) and completely rimless (will not provide any contrast to the face). Square – basically proportionate in width and length, broad cheeks and chin, boxy jawline and prominent forehead. Try: round, oval and cat eye style frames. Avoid: boxy, double bridges and heavy details around the brow line. Heart – prominent forehead, high cheekbones and narrow to pointed chin. Try: Rectangle, round and cat eye frames. Avoid: overly embellished, top heavy brow accents and decorative tips (all which may draw attention and exaggerate the width of the forehead). Oval – face is longer than it is wide, high cheekbones and chin is slightly narrower than the forehead. Try: rectangle, square, round, oval and cat eye. Avoid: frames that are too big or too small. Now that you have determined the shape of glasses you want, it is time to select a color. There are a few things to consider when selecting the color of your frames: hair color, eye color and skin tone. Designers break it down into two main categories: cool and warm. Try selecting frames that work best with your coloring by selecting frames with the same or similar tones.

Skin Complexion: Cool complexions have blue or pink undertones. Warm complexions have peachy tones. Olive complexions are usually considered cool with a mix of blue and yellow undertones. Hair Color: Cool colors: platinum blonde, blue/black, white, auburn, salt and pepper and ash brown. Warm colors: golden blonde, brownish black, brown, gold, carrot or dirty gray. Frame Colors That Complement Coloring: Cool Coloring: black, silver, rose brown, blue gray, plum, magenta, pink, jade, blue and dark tortoise. Warm Coloring: camel, khaki, gold, copper, peach, orange, coral, off white, fire engine red, warm blue and black tortoise.

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HOW TO REMEMBER THE NAMES OF PEOPLE YOU JUST MET: It’s a common problem: forgotting the name of the person you just met while still speaking with them. When this happens, eventually the dreaded question must come out, “I am sorry, what did you say your name was?” Remembering names has proven to be a very difficult skill to master, but the key may lie in our ability to fully focus on the situation at hand and really commit a name to memory. Next time you find yourself in an introduction try these simple steps: Focus completely on the conversation and be fully engaged in the introduction. Repeat their name for clarity and to ensure you heard it correctly. Try to remember something about them to associate with their name. At the end of the conversation, repeat their name again.

The caveat is that this theory works best on simple or more common names we hear. The more difficult the name is to pronounce, the more effort will be needed to remember the name.

The conversation would go something like this: “Hi, I am Mark. It is nice to meet you.” “Hi Mark, I am Bonnie. Nice to meet you as well.” With a more difficult name, try something like this: “Hi, my name is Avi.” “Avi? Did I pronounce that correctly? My name is Bonnie.” If the name is very difficult or you are having trouble hearing, you might try this: “I am not sure if I heard you correctly, would you mind spelling your name for me?” Of course sometimes it is possible to do everything correctly and still not be able to retain the name of the person standing in front of you. When that happens, it is completely acceptable and polite to ask them to repeat their name. Simply say, “I am sorry, I didn’t catch your name. Would you mind repeating it?” It is much less embarrassing than to not remember when you have to introduce them to your friend who just joined the conversation.

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BUSINESS LOCAL BOOKSTORES FIND A WAY TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE Story and photography by GINA YU

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Indie bookshop owners curate every book that enters their store, looking at who walks in and what is worthy of stacking a shelf.

hey maintain an art of service that has lost footing in a culture of convenience and efficiency. Customizing choices to every person and taking time to share stories, these are the hubs of community being revived by this generation. The height of local bookstores ranged from the ’70s to the early ’80s. Then chain booksellers like Barnes & Noble entered the picture. With the advent of Amazon in the ’90s, the decline was steep. The intimate search for the perfect book was altered to fit a pursuit for whatever's cheapest or shiniest. Contributing to the closing of many stores, the online shopping tycoon curbed prospective booksellers from opening new shops. Yet with the shuttering of Borders in 2011 and the determination of book-loving local communities, bookshops are taking part in a movement to uphold the sanctity of the physical book. Janet Geddis of Avid Bookshop in Athens, Ga. grew up a voracious reader and writer — “the kind of girl who would feel a mild panic if she didn’t have a book, paper and pen on hand at all times,” she says. For anyone with a favorite coffeehouse or eatery, they know the meaning of a third place. A place beyond the home or workplace, the third is an anchor of community life. Ray Oldenburg of “The Great Good Place” holds that these physical markers are essential for civil engagement. For Geddis, a great bookshop is a third place. She remembers when chain-store shopping seemed like the newest and greatest thing. “American shoppers were courted heavily by big box stores’ looming sizes and discounting,” she says. “A large number of independently owned bookshops saw a dramatic de-

crease in customer traffic.” But the times have changed, and disenchanted readers crave something a little more personal and a lot closer to home. Though some have likened the decline of bookshops to the fall of brick-and-mortar record or video stores, the product and experience is different. “Contrary to popular narrative, the outlook is not as bleak for bookstores,” says Joni Saxon-Giusti of The Book Lady Bookstore in Savannah, Ga. From picture books to collector’s editions of the classics, indie bookshops do something that the swallowing, fluorescent-lit stores and one-click online ordering services don’t. They breathe and flex. At the hands of the owners, the bookshops reflect preference and intent, considering what their communities want and actually need. “When people buy something, sometimes they like to have a connection to it; they like to feel it has some sort of story. It’s more fun to

books, a $7 copy of “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” a hardback of “Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk” by David Sedaris and a new copy of “An Illustrated Guide to Cocktails.” Despite personal taste, bookshop owners are first and foremost book-loving readers. Their purpose? To satiate their fellow book enthusiasts. And it’s working. Many bookstores are not only surviving but thriving thanks to creatively conscious owners and supportive community members. Since 2007, Blue Bicycle Books has grown every year with a 30 percent increase in revenues last year. Jill Hendrix of Fiction Addiction in Greenville, S.C. sees that communities with strong shop-local programs like Austin, Texas’ “Keep Austin Weird”message seem to have some of the strongest independent bookstores. “Conceivably, shopping could go completely electronic,” she says. “I think this would be a mistake though, because stores are a

“THE ADVANTAGE INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES AND OTHER SMALL BUSINESSES HAVE IS HOW FAST WE CAN INNOVATE,” buy something in a real place from real people than to have it just show up on your doorstep,” says Jonathan Sanchez, owner of Blue Bicycle Books in Charleston, S.C. “It’s sort of the difference between going to a nice restaurant and ordering through the drive-thru.” Sanchez has a signed Tom Robbins and a first edition “The Great Gatsby” behind him. Meanwhile, he watches someone check out with two children's

place where like-minded individuals can find each other.” Fiction Addiction recently held an author luncheon, and first-time attendees raved about the opportunity to be surrounded by other readers. “The advantage independent bookstores and other small businesses have is how fast we can innovate,” Hendrix says. “If something’s not working, we can adapt and try something else.” SPRING 2014

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vid Bookshop does multiple events with local Athens organizations and nonprofits, hosting a variety of book clubs and author meet and greets. “Communities of all sizes with a strong local business network see the value in preserving what keeps their areas unique and vibrant, and will deliberately spend their money locally in order to maintain that human connection (and its corresponding economic benefits),” Geddis says. The public is starting to realize that if they don’t choose to support local business, they simply will cease to exist. “Resurgent appreciation for local community businesses have given independents a much-needed, and deserved, boost,” Saxon-Giusti says. “I think that as long as independents give their customers excellent and knowledgeable personal service and continue to engage meaningfully with their

communities, that they will indeed survive, and thrive.” Amazon still looms in the background, however. By offering publishers highly competitive purchasing arrangements, it devalues books by pricing them below cost, and trains consumers to believe that a book is not worth its cover price. “I firmly believe there needs to be a big change in regards to the way publishers deal with Amazon if publishing is going to remain healthy and viable,” she says. But independents do something else that Amazon can’t. They engage. Investing in community organizations, these bookshops volunteer time and resources into the very organisms that keep them alive. “Local businesses support other local businesses by giving their patronage to them as well. Sales tax is directly invested in your own community,” Saxon-Giusti

says. It’s about mutually benefitting everyone. Whether flipping through a physical book, downloading a digital edition or scrolling through an e-book (though that trend seems to be tapering off), newer generations face the danger of putting down the journeys that take time and introspection, trading them with the temptation of instant gratification. Fostering imagination, manifesting gateways and honing possibilities, the necessity of the written word is motivation enough to keep books alive and valuable. “While reading appears on the surface to be a solitary act, it can often be just the opposite,” Geddis says. “Books connect us to people we will never meet in ‘real’ life; they expose us to places and situations and even emotions we may not have ever experienced before.”

Favorite Books from Bookshop Owners Janet Geddis, Avid Bookshop, Athens, Ga. “In the Time of the Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez, “Hyperbole and a Half ” by Allie Brosh, “Until We End” by Frankie Brown, “Dept. of Speculation” by Jenny Offill, “Seven Stories Up” by Laurel Snyder, anything by Ray Bradbury, the David Sedaris complete collection. Jill Hendrix , Fiction Addiction, Greenville, S.C. “The Signature of All Things” by Elizabeth Gilbert, “Dune” by Frank Herbert, “Someone Else’s Love Story” by Joshilyn Jackson, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, “The Martian” by Andy Weir. Jonathan Sanchez, Blue Bicycle Books, Charleston, S.C. “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Seinlanguage” by Jerry Seinfeld, “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy, “Tepper Isn’t Going Out” by Calvin Trillin.

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CHRISLEY Story by TOVA GELFOND Photography by JIMMY JOHNSTON Makeup by ERICA BOGART Hair Styling by JAIME TERLECKI for b. You Blowdry and Beauty Bar Photography Assistant: MIKE COLLETTA

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Todd Chrisley sits on his legs with the ease of a 6-year-old watching cartoons.

e’re sitting in the middle of one of his many living rooms — this one decorated with dozens of original dried-leaf prints from Coco Chanel’s apartment in Paris. I feel at home in his realm, though a third party would see us as stark opposites: him, with his finely manicured blonde coif, zip-up white sweater, shorts and bare feet; me, dressed in astute all black with overly pale skin and dark hair. Perhaps it’s a Southern thing to open your house with arms wide as he did for me, and

I wonder if America will be able to pick up on those intangibles through the TV screen. Julie, his wife, is getting her hair done in the next room, so for now it’s just me and Todd — a man known for his ferocious use of discipline as much as his keen fashion sense. I’m not scared, but I’m alert. The goal is to connect with the real man — not the millionaire real estate mogul or TV personality, but rather the human and marketing genius behind the Chrisley brand. I also can’t afford to

miss a Todd-ism — one of the many coined and vibrant phrases for which he’s known. But I’m already thrown off-guard. There are punchy one-liners he’s tossing about, and he’s innovating new sayings at such a pace he might have his very own dictionary one day. But he is being authentic. His conversations are even revealing. By the time I notice the clock, there are tears rolling down my cheeks, and Todd’s eyes are watering up. Yes, we are, in fact, crying in the Chrisley house.

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Say what you will about reality television. I have probably said the same. It’s staged. It’s trash. It’s a load of bull. There are acceptable guilty pleasures (“Top Chef,” “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”) and trashy wastes of airtime (“The New Atlanta,” “Bad Girls Club”), but the expectations don’t seem high to begin with. I’m wondering what type of show “Chrisley Knows Best” will be seen as when I drive up to the gate of the 30,000 square-foot Georgia mansion that I’ve already become cozy with on USA network trailers.

h look, there is the pool where Todd threw his son’s laptop. And how about the kitchen where he was fighting with his daughter? And even later I was bestowed with a peek of his drool-worthy closet where the magic happens. These dramatic moments are the stuff network executives dream about: follow around a brazen man and his feisty wife with their five precocious kids (and two grandkids) while they work on building their very own name-brand department store, and you’ve got a hit show. A hit worth fighting for. It was a sizzler-turned-series situation that started a bidding war between the networks to snag the rights to this family’s drama. “Chrisley Knows Best” didn’t even have a pilot. Preliminary footage of the Chrisleys was so exciting, nine networks bid for the show — the biggest offer coming from the Oprah Winfrey Network. But in the end, Todd chose USA as the show’s launchpad and home because, “It just has the most viewers of any network,” he says. “And they have never done a reality TV show before.” “What you see on TV is real,” he assures me, and by the chaos I’ve already presided over, I would say it’s true. His daughter, Savannah, pops in and out of the kitchen to grab things; Julie has already doled out bags of McDonald’s treats and Styrofoam cups of sweet tea for breakfast; the housekeeper is screwing in lightbulbs above while the house manager takes a tally of what needs to get done. The other kids are out doing a charity drive at a local school, and I can’t imagine what it would be like should they arrive home soon. But in this way, the show hasn’t changed their lives. “We have a controlled chaos,” Todd explains. “No matter what your family looks like, it’s your family. This works for us.” Just then, his granddaughter wobbles into the room, barely walking in pink-patterned jammies. Todd lights up, stops talking and immediately engages with the energetic infant, cooing, “Come to Papa!” He holds his hands out for her, and she smiles a wet, spattered smile and hobbles toward him. Todd is in the zone. He’s a dad at his very core. A family man. Perhaps it’s this characteristic that sets the Chrisleys apart from their spring-lineup counterparts: the way in which they approach the standards of family together. Both parents want the best for their children, however, Todd rules with an iron fist and Julie with an open palm. The greatest part is, unlike most, they are not afraid to discipline their children in front of millions of Americans. It’s a bold move — one that comes at a cost of negative social media comments and aggressive digi-

tally launched judgements — but one that exposes the challenges all parents face in this age. Later, Julie tells me, “It’s hard as parents because, of course, you want to shield your children from the hard stuff. And being on the show certainly hasn’t made it easier. As parents, we reassure our children what people say has nothing to do with who you are.” Todd agrees: “This has removed their blinders through life,” he says. “Overall, this show has given them a different perspective. We are still the same parents we always were, we just reinforce what we have already taught them.” Such lessons include how to dress like a lady, when to listen to your father (always) and family togetherness as the ultimate credo. For a man with serious Southern values, he’s pretty liberal. The colorful use of colloquialisms and tell-it-like-it-is no-nonsense is a Todd Chrisley calling card, while Julie is known for poignantly timed smiles and quippy responses. It’s a brilliant pairing. They are also progressive when it comes to gay marriage, women’s rights and racial equalities. “No one is going to tell me how to feel, who to love and what to do with my kids,” he explains. But this doesn’t detract from an overly generous moral compass. What sticky tabloids and adventurous TV clips won’t show you is the Chrisley’s commitment to charities — like the dozens of fundraisers they host and to which they devote time — or the empirical

“WE HAVE A CONTROLLED CHAOS,” TODD EXPLAINS. “NO MATTER WHAT YOUR FAMILY LOOKS LIKE, IT’S YOUR FAMILY. THIS WORKS FOR US.” outreach they take on — like Todd personally buying Christmas toys for hundreds of underprivileged kids during the holidays. Truth is, compassion isn’t a great storyline for primetime. Kindness is centered around a slow-moving progression of choices instead of the raging excitement of spousal fighting, mischievous children and luxurious overspending. As I ask Todd about these endeavors, I get the sense that he doesn’t really want people to know about all of those things. In a world of “gotcha” media and commitment to an open-book lifestyle, some things are meant to be personal, and he’s happy just to help people and stay quiet about it ... even if it means he’s misjudged. “I don’t care what people think,” he says. “We are who we are. This hasn’t changed us.” SPRING 2014

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odd grew up in a small town, taking a chapter from the quintessential rags-to-riches story. He’s used to being name-called and suppressed — it would take a massive force of hyperbolic proportions to alter this man. But something did. The past three years have beaten down on the Chrisley family in the form of embezzlement of funds from his former CEO followed by the death of Todd’s father from liver cancer, all while Julie was diagnosed with breast cancer. I watch as Todd describes the moment he found out his wife had a tumor: his eyes are heavy with sadness and his hands motion through the air with purpose. I can almost feel his heart pounding through his chest as he relives what was “the worst time of my life,” he says. “At least with the CEO, he didn’t steal what was important. It’s just money. With Julie, I remember praying more than I ever had.” He takes me deeper into his memory, recounting the moments of despair he whispered prayers to God, the force of action he took, flying to Johns Hopkins for tests and treatments, and the conviction of support when they decided, as a couple, for Julie to get a double mastectomy — all while being a rock to his father who lay dying in a different hospital bed. “If it weren’t for this woman, I wouldn’t have survived. And it has been so hard, this process, and letting go. And loving.” He stops ... takes in staggered sips of breath. “I think I have been afraid to love her that much, you know?” he asks, looking down at his hands. “Because I’ve just been so afraid that something could happen to her ... and ... that woman is my entire world, the mother of my children.” My throat is hot, choking on my own tears. I can hardly pose my next question: “How did you survive your dad dying while your wife was also fighting cancer?” I ask apprehensively. He looks at me and smiles a sad smile. “I think God put me on autopilot ... so I could focus on taking care of her. I learned, you have to let go and let God.” Julie comes into the room, hair done, makeup on. “How do I look?” she asks Todd. I wipe my eyes and try to compose myself. “Less makeup,” he says. He’s direct; the master stylist of everyone’s life. “What should

I wear?” she replies while rushing past us to dig into her gargantuan closet. “I told her what to wear,” Todd says to me, with a formidable Southern twang. “She just doesn’t listen to me!” He rolls his eyes. I laugh. Style is Todd’s world. Every angle of this house is a fashion moment. Southern in manner and timeless in execution, each detail of his existence seems to have a life and a sophistication — down to the built-in espresso machine in the master bedroom (that Todd

“IF IT WEREN’T FOR THIS WOMAN, I WOULDN’T HAVE SURVIVED. AND IT HAS BEEN SO HARD, THIS PROCESS, AND LETTING GO. AND LOVING.” has never actually used!). Chrisley & Co., the new department store with the family name (the first store set to open in Nashville next year), is certain to be filled with his trademark high-octane, opulent swagger. He’s even launching several products down the pipeline (think clothing, housewares, beauty) including an elite skin care line with renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Miles Graivier. I see why it’s hard for him not to micromanage everyone — he has such a powerful point of view, which comes off as demanding and unyielding. If you think that puts Todd in command, you’re wrong. Julie is strong, intense and full of passion — a woman who is also in charge. Their toying and playful juxtaposition is complex and even charming. It’s a respect that has been honed over the course of a rocky history filled with children, illness and disappointment. It is, however, equally full of love, optimism and, of course, sex. “I have marched to my own beat,” Julie says. “What works in our life works for us. We are not a brand that’s forcing you to be a certain way. You don’t have to agree with us, but perhaps you’ll find something that you have in common.”

Yes, there are collective similarities I see. Family is family, and they are no different on TV or in-person. It’s the usual suspects coming together to break bread and bicker. Something undefinable between the McDonald’s sweet tea and laughing spouses that’s just so normal. Well, almost; I certainly don’t have original Coco Chanel prints on my walls. Do you?

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FA S H I O N

SHOPPING

On a Diet ON THE HEELS OF THE SLOW FOOD MOVEMENT, SLOW FASHION HAS EMERGED AS THE LATEST SHOPPING TREND. Story by JAIME LIN WEINSTEIN Photography by MING HAN CHUNG

If fashion were food, retailers like Forever 21 would be fast-food chains (McDonald’s, Taco Bell and the like); Louis Vuitton, a fine, French restaurant with three Michelin stars. Shoppers have long become familiar with the so-called “fast fashion” retailers — Zara, Topshop and the aforementioned Forever 21 among them — that provide stylish clothing at cheap prices to the masses. And, much like the burger you buy for merely a buck, the low price tag is the result of a business model based on low quality, underpaid labor and mass production (capitalism, at its very best).

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Rag & Bone Spring 2014

t started in the 1990s. Some companies looked at the current retail model, which was providing clothes based on the season. They realized that if they started putting new and inexpensive clothes on the floor on a weekly basis, or even a daily basis, instead of seasonally (made possible by computer technology which enabled retailers to design, manufacture and ship products much faster), they could get their customers walking through the door much more regularly, and walking out with more products in their shopping bags. The declining cost of clothing ran parallel with an increase in buyers’ consumption, resulting in closets full with 50 of (almost) the exact same peplum tops (you’ll need some back-ups anyway when all their seams begin

to unravel after a single wash) and a growing sociological urge to always be “in style.” This impulse has only been exaggerated by the age of the Internet, which now brings knowledge of the latest trends to consumers literally the minute they appear on the runway. Then there’s the fact that few people actually know how to sew themselves these days. “(Consumers) can go their whole lives without ever seeing a piece of clothing being made,” explains Elizabeth Cline, journalist and author of “Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion.” “So in their minds, clothing just magically appears on a hanger at their favorite store; they don’t think about who made it, how it was made, if it was made well.” And so began a shift in the way we view and value clothes. Tadashi Shoji Spring 2014

“I see people wanting to shop for quality and craftsmanship and timeless design rather than going for that trendy piece”

ranted, it’s not hard to fall victim to the allure of cheap clothing. “It’s very human to want to keep up with what those around us are doing and to be in style,” Cline says. “I think that urge is very strong. And I think that fast fashion really feeds on our desire to belong.” But basically, someone is paying a high price — and if it’s not the consumer, it’s the environment, like the Pearl River in China that now runs black thanks to the deep indigo dye of denim dying facilities nearby. “You also have the issue of our landfills filling up due to increased textile waste,” Cline adds. “People are literally throwing all these clothes in the trash on a pretty astonishing basis. You would think people are donating them, but in fact, Americans throw almost 68 pounds of textiles in clothing into the garbage per person per year.” And it’s the factory workers, like in Bangladesh, where more than 1,100 workers died in the now infamous Rana Plaza garment-factory collapse of 2013. Plus, outsourcing production overseas where labor is cheaper contributes to our own country’s unemployment rate and dwindling garment industry. But things are changing, and fashion can be likened to food yet again. What is known as the “slow fashion” movement, “fashion which is more mindful,” as described by Dr. Hazel Clark, Professor of Design Studies and Fashion Studies and Research Chair of Fashion at Parsons The New School for

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Design, is growing steadily. “The term Manufacturing Initiative, an investstarted about 10 or so years ago and ment fund aiming to help revitalize came from the slow food movement,” New York City’s garment industry. Clark explains. “What it implicates is a Much like the CFDA/Vogue Fashion way of just thinking much more about Fund, it’s structured as a grant comwhat one’s buying, what one’s wearing petition offering assistance to top and how it’s produced.” Beyond simply fashion manufacturing production fagreen fashion (which is “just another cilities and provides support not only way of sort of proliferating another financially, but through professional form of consumerism or consump- development programming as well. tion,” Clark remarks) slow fashion is Retailers are being more ethical in really about changing consciousness their processes, too. Fashion brand Eiand challenging the relationship we leen Fisher has long held sustainability have with clothes as consumers. “We at a high importance and continues all have too much stuff. The closets to grow its social consciousness initiaare full of clothes. It’s not particularly tives from eco-friendly design (over 50 fulfilling. So there’s this shift in think- percent of the cotton used in its clothing about the way we shop,” Cline says. “I see WE ALL HAVE TOO MUCH people wanting to shop for quality and craftsSTUFF. THE CLOSETS ARE manship and timeless FULL OF CLOTHES. IT’S NOT design rather than goPARTICULARLY FULFILLING. ing for that trendy piece from H&M or Forever 21 that they’re only going to wear for a ing is organic) to political engagement season and throw out. And that’s a big (Eileen Fisher is a part of two public component of slow fashion. It’s not just policy groups dedicated to shaping about where you shop and what local legislation and regulations: the Busior sustainable brand you buy, but it’s ness for Innovative Climate & Energy about the way you shop: Buying things Policy and the American Sustainable that you’re actually going to wear and Business Council). They also implethen taking care of the things that you mented a Repair Program in 2005 already have in your closet.” — whether it be a missing button, a The industry is starting to sup- broken zipper or a small moth hole, port the movement, too. Another part customers can bring their items to a of the slow fashion ethos is keeping retail store and have it repaired, free things local. The Council of Fashion of cost (or get reimbursed if they have Designers of America (CFDA) recent- a garment mended by their own local ly started a new program, the Fashion tailor or seamstress).

Even fast fashion retailer H&M has joined the slow fashion bandwagon. Well, sort of. While there’s no plan to stop producing hordes of fashion-forward clothing about as quickly as you can get a meal at a drive-thru, the clothing company did launch their Conscious Collection, an eco-friendly line of clothing, in 2012. Another initiative called Garment Collecting encourages customers to bring in their old, used garments for recycling in exchange for an in-store discount. And, believe it or not, H&M has actually made the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list five years in a row now. In addition, while they don’t own any factories, they do require suppliers to sign a code of conduct outlining working conditions and environmental practices, and are working to create a wage policy for the suppliers in their production countries. Now we may not see the industry going back to a purely seasonal schedule. New York Fashion Week continues to get bigger and more frequent — it occurs five times a year now if you count the pre-fall shows in January, the resort shows in June and men’s fashion week, in addition to the original spring and fall fashion weeks. Then there’s the fashion weeks in capitals of style around the world from Paris and Milan to London and Rio. But is the current runway schedule perpetuating the principles of fast fashion? Not necessarily. Fashion, you see, is much more nuanced now. “The kind of whole runway phenomenon and celebrity culture is partly a form of entertainment today,” Dr. Clark explains. “People consume fashion like they consume other forms of visual entertainment.” “Fashion’s a really complex thing,” Clark continues. “And it’s very complex because it’s to do with global capitalism, but it’s also to do with human beings and how they show off their identities to one another.” After all, not everyone would start buying only Hermès and keep it forever if they could suddenly afford it. But most would take a Birkin in black with a side of Olga charms, hold the pickles. Tadashi Shoji Spring 2014

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BEAUTY

Glasses, $280, SERAPHIN, at OGI Eyewear.

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Photography by JAMIE HOPPER Styling by TIAN JUSTMAN Model: MEGHAN OTIS for CLICK Atlanta Makeup by ERICA BOGART for YSL Yves Saint Laurent Hair Styling by CHERYL NICKEL and EMILY OWEN for Dyer & Posta Salon Styling Assistant: DARICKA WALTON Production Assistance by AVI GELFOND, TOVA GELFOND and JAIME LIN WEINSTEIN

Everywhere you turn there are woven tresses or someone with 20/20 vision sporting oversized spectacles. Both trends have the power to instantly upgrade a look: braids can give your messy, unkempt locks purpose, and with the right lenses, you can transform from quiet librarian to fashionable hipster in a matter

of seconds. You can experiment with wide rims and basket braids or go the more traditional route and opt for a squared frame with a French braid. The opportunities are endless. So feel free to skip wash day and leave your contacts in the case.

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Glasses, $249, OGI EYEWEAR, at OGI Eyewear. Denim Shirt (worn throughout), $72, LOVE & AMBITION, at loveandambition.com. Necklace, $64, GIANTLION, at eidemagazine.com. SPRING 2014

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Glasses, $265, SERAPHIN, at OGI Eyewear. Necklace, $72, YOUNG FRANKK, at eidemagazine.com.

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Glasses, $265, SERAPHIN, at OGI Eyewear. SPRING 2014

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SUGAR SOLES

Eidé Magazine: What made you first want to design shoes instead of clothing? Sophia Webster: I have always liked shoes. But really I had a love for fine art — still life drawing and other forms of art. I used to draw a lot of shoes out, and eventually went for a degree in shoe design. That’s when I learned the patterns and cutting of the materials. You have to learn how to design a shoe, stitch them and understand the points of the foot. And … it all made sense then. EM: What’s your favorite pair of shoes? SW: Well … I don’t know. I have a lot of shoes. We just moved, and I have an entire room just for shoes. Yeah, it’s my shoe room (laughing). But I really loved this Georgina Goodman shoe design I remember — this one had one piece of leather that was

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S o P H i a w e B ST e R ’ S c a n dY- co LoRed FooTweaR BRingS PoP aRT To YoUR SHoe oBSeSSion.

Great shoes give you wings, which might be contrary to Red Bull's M.O., but it’s certainly on par with Sophia Webster’s celebrated new collection. Design darling and rising star of the shoe realm, Webster has taken on U.K. foot couture and made her mark on pumps, platforms, flats and boots with pop-art inspired eye-candy designs with as much innovation as experimentation. The London-based beauty has garnered quite a following on both sides of the pond — in fact, her butterfly heeled “Flutura” shoes are already legendary. The spirited collection of balance-needing sole art has industry insiders obsessed, projecting her ascension to the heights of Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo. The young designer has sparked collaborations with nail artists to J. Crew, which will be debuting their joint designs this spring. But we’re already obsessed with her premier pumps full of imaginative compositions and wild colors. Eidé caught up with the soft-spoken designer at Saks Fifth Avenue Atlanta, while launching her new collection and in-store shoe hotspot.

molded and stitched together in this way (motioning with her hands). You had to see it. It was incredible. EM: What has been your favorite collaboration? SW: The J. Crew one has been really fun. I was just in my second season when they approached me, and it was really flattering that they would even want to collaborate. They are really lovely people to work with, and it has been so enjoyable. EM: From where do you derive your inspiration for each collection? SW: It varies. Mostly from London — it’s a melting pot of inspiration. And it’s a very lovely place to live. I try not to look at other shoes or fashion … but I like getting ideas from art and nature. And films and books have so much inspiration for me.

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