IZZIE + SKY
issue 01 // 01•15
+ ART + PHOTOGRAPHY + MUSIC
meet izzie + sky becca
Who is Izzie? Izzie is who I aspire to be. I have huge goals in life and I hope Izzie pushes me to work towards those dreams. What inspires your work? Other creatives + photographers. I love searching the internet and gaining inspiration. Where do you most want to travel to? I’m dying to road trip up the Pacific Coast Highway (in a Volkswagen bus preferably). What is the most fun you’ve ever had a show? This is so difficult since I have so many awesome memories! One that stands out the most is that I recently had the opportunity to photograph for a Demi Lovato show. Photographing my favorite artist was a dream come true for me. Who is your dream izzie + sky collab? I would love to have a feature on VSCO (Visual Supply Company) - they’re a huge inspiration for my work. Be sure to check them out at vsco.co or download their mobile app VSCO Cam. Links: beccamathiasphoto.com t // @beccabaybeh ig // @beccamathiasphoto at-seas.tumblr.com
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kathryn
Who is Sky? Sky is someone who is creative, innovative, and inspired -- she’s always finding inspiration from her surroundings. She’s someone I look up to and want to be like. Who is your biggest fashion inspiration? I’m hugely inspired by the Haim sisters -- those girls know how to work the platforms. Then there’s Annie Hamilton of the group Little May who’s got me dying to cut my bangs back in. Where do you most want to travel to? I’ve been researching Iceland lately. I think it’s such a cool place that people really forget about when it comes time to choose a destination. I want to go there, despite the cold. I also dream of backpacking through Europe. What is the most fun you’ve ever had a show? I saw Lewis Watson this past November, and the intimate venue provided an up close and personal experience that I’ve never had a show. He performed a song unplugged less than a foot in front of me, and that’s a moment I’m going to remember for a very, very long time. Who is your dream izzie + sky collab? A feature on model Gigi Hadid would be an absolute dream. She’s a style icon of mine and I think she completely embodies girl power and femininity in a cool, “don’t mess with me” kind of way. Links: t // @kittyonthatbeat ig // @kittyonthatbeat kittyonthatbeat.tumblr.com
featuring PHOTOGRAPHY ghost town 4 forgotten 20 film isn’t dead 28 charlie’s travels 30 CREATIVES amanda harle 10 jacob karre 14 MUSIC ben kessler 24 winter playlist 26 FOOD half-baked peanut butter brownies 29 FASHION frigid 34 DIY paper topiary 38
calling all creatives! Interested in being featured in / contributing for izzie + sky? Shoot us an email - izzieandsky@gmail.com
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GHOST TOW N rehoboth beach // delaware
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jacob karre w // westninety.wordpress.com t // @jacob_karre
i. How long have you been interested in photography? I’ve been interested in photography only for a few short years. I started taking pictures with my iPhone 4 during my sophomore year of high school (4 years ago), capturing the delicate plant life in my backyard. ii. What type of photography do you most enjoy shooting? I honestly haven’t found my favorite genre of photography…yet. I feel as if I’m still exploring the vast world of picture taking. But I lean more towards candid shots of people and nature. I’m always fascinated by the realness (if that is a word) of the candid photo. It’s truly inspiring. And I find human expressions are always priceless – no matter what the emotion. I love capturing moments where the viewer feels as if they were in that moment or have seen that flower in person. iii. What (or who) inspires your photography and what aspect of it first drew you in? To be honest my inspiration sprouted from my interactions with Instagram. I was amazed that you could share a picture to a social feed and interact with others through photographs. Although my interest in Instagram has slowly declined, I’ve found a new space to put my work – VSCO. My interest in the creative field would not have solidified though without forming friendships through the app. To this
day I’m happy to say that I still have friendships that cross national and international boundaries. So really, it’s the people I’ve met along the way that have really inspired me. iv. How did you get the idea for West Ninety? The idea for W90 formed after returning home to Texas from my California trip this past summer. I’d been searching for a project that was more elaborate and in depth than my hundreds of previous ideas. I wanted to be able to combine all of my passions into one giant project, music, photography, people, and adventure. Ultimately, the idea has been forming since my first steps into the creative world. I’ve always been passionate about telling stories, so it makes sense that the main mission of West Ninety is to share real life stories. So after many months of creating and destroying, rebuilding and ripping apart, West Ninety, as it is today, was created. v. What do you have planned for West Ninety in the future? There are so many things planned for West Ninety, most of which have not been finalized. So I can’t really say much about them now. All I know for sure is that we will be producing an album with artists that we work with from now, until the end of 2015. No matter what, we will get that album done. So be on the lookout for that!
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amanda harle ig // @avstw
t // @manduhwhat
yt // ayyemanduh
i. How long have you been interested in photography? I have been into photography for as long as I can remember (as cliche as that sounds). When I was younger I always loved to use my parent’s point and shoot to take pictures of my family and the flowers in our backyard. It wasn’t until high school that I became more interested in it and began to take it seriously. ii. What aspect of it really drew you in and made you fall in love with it? I really love people! So the idea of shooting photos of lovely people got me completely hooked. It took me to going all the way to Haiti for a mission trip (in 2010), for me to realize how much I actually loved taking photos of people. Just seeing their smiling faces light up when they see the outcome of the the photo made my heart melt with joy. I look back and some of the photos from that trip are still on my list of some of my favorite pictures that I have ever taken! iii. What inspires you in your photography? I was told growing up that I sucked at a lot of things and photography was one of the things where I ignored people telling me that. I also had a lot of supporters with it, which helped me stay motivated. I want to be able to bring some sort of different view in the fashion and music world with my photography. I don’t know how yet, but I want to show exactly what I see, no photoshop or alterations. I want people to see what is real and I want the viewers to feel like they can relate or be able to somehow experience what I see rather than feel bad about themselves from what they see in magazine stands nowadays. iv. What type do you most enjoy shooting? I really enjoy any sort of lifestyle/fashion photography but I also love the total opposite side of the spectrum, such as live shows, shooting promotional material for bands, anything along those lines. v. You’re currently studying abroad in England! Tell me about that! Do you get to do lots of exploring? How have you been able to incorporate your passion into your travels? 16
Oh man, England is the bomb diggity. There are no words to describe my love for it, especially Brighton (which is where I currently live). Right now, I attend University of Brighton where I live with a whole bunch of international students; on my floor I get to live with 7 other roommates! Everyone in my building are year long students, including me (which is quite interesting to say the least)! I am studying communications with an emphasis in public relations and photography here, so I am glad to be able to continue my degree that I started at Northern Arizona University. I have yet to explore more of the UK and other parts of Europe, because I had to focus on adjusting my first few months overseas on school and learning to balance everything. But, I have been exploring Brighton a lot lately and its great because I feel like I find a new place right down a different alley, every time I go to explore. Like I think I finally found a small cafe and a really sweet book store that I will defiantly hope to visit more. I love how I get to incorporate my passions of adventure and photography during my trip overseas whether it is with posting a blog weekly, making vlogs that I post onto youtube, as well as taking photos of all of the lovely places I get to visit and beautiful people that I meet. I could seriously go on and on about my time here within just three months because it is just so dang wonderful. vi. What has been the most amazing place you visited while abroad? This is a tough one! I haven’t traveled much yet but I would have to say Barcelona. Instead of using public transportation such as taxis, buses, and tubes; my friends and I decided to rent bikes from our hostels and get around the city on them. We didn’t have any set plans and if we did, we never went with them! I met so many amazing people in our hostel from all over the world, including people from Washington and also as far as Australia. I saw so much in a matter of days on a bike, the weather was great, and our new friends made it legendary. It was also so strange that my three friends and I were sitting on the beach, enjoying the sun in November. Also, one last thing, our last night there my friend Katie and I spent time with two of our new friends exploring the streets of Barcelona until 4 AM until we both had to leave for our flight. I am still blown away from how that trip turned out.
Note from Amanda I am currently working on a small project where I want to incorporate stories and photos from other people’s adventures, and more details will be coming soon about that. I also have a lot lined up for my YouTube channel so if anyone wants to watch me embarrass myself, you’re more than welcome. Other than that, I leave on this note with advice you have probably heard a million times: follow your dreams, seriously! If you are scared of them, you’re doing something right! Good things don’t ever come easy and hard work always pays off, ALWAYS! So chase the crap out of your dreams and use this year to accomplish something about it. Take small steps to get there and you will accomplish anything. Don’t use tomorrow as an excuse, start right now. Forget the people who will bring you down in the process; use that as motivation to keep you going. You’ve got this. It starts with believing in yourself.
“Own 2015 and whatever it has to offer.”
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FOR GOT TEN wilmington // delaware
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ben kessler When you are 16 and in high school trying to figure out what you love and what you have a passion for, it can be hard to get people to take you seriously and trust that you know what you’re doing. Singer/songwriter Ben Kessler isn’t having much trouble convincing others of his strong suit. Even though he’s only sixteen, upon hearing him play, you would have absolutely no idea. He has been playing guitar for ten years, and on top of that, has been singing and writing for about half of that time. He knows what he is doing. We had the chance to get to know him a little bit better, and were thrilled to have the opportunity. When asked about where he finds his inspiration and ideas for writing, his answer really struck us as something we have never really heard from a musician. Sure, he finds inspiration in everything and can write about anything whether good or bad, but he said that the type of songs he writes are actually dependent on the time of year. “During the summer, I tend to find inspiration in other people’s experiences and ideas. In the winter, I find inspiration in my own thoughts and experiences. Spring and fall are the nature driven writing seasons.” As 2015 comes into full swing, Kessler is looking to expand his recognition further than Philadelphia, as well as “settle into a sound and a style of writing that I am content with,” noting inconsistencies he feels have come about in his previously released music. “Although this has all been good,” he says, releasing work that is timeless to his style and sound of writing is a goal for Ben for the upcoming year. When asked who his dream collaboration would be with, “without a doubt, John Mayer,” was his answer. That seems like a beautiful match our ears would really enjoy. This year, you can look out for new music from Kessler as well as some show dates. For right now, you can check out his debut EP “So It Goes,” available for streaming and downloading on his website. w // benkesslermusic.com t // @benkesslermusic 25
winter playlist uma // panama wedding pantomime // ben hammersley let it go // james bay all eyes on you // st. lucia queen of california // john mayer you know what i mean // cults gold // imagine dragons from eden // hozier once in a lifetime // one direction taro // alt-j benjamin twine // george ezra lightning bolt // jake bugg the great unknown // jukebox the ghost geronimo // sheppard work this body // walk the moon * special thanks to ben, jacob, + amanda for contributing *
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vellichor
n. the strange wistfulness of used bookstores, which are somehow infused with the passage of time—filled with thousands of old books you’ll never have time to read, each of which is itself locked in its own era, bound and dated and papered over like an old room the author abandoned years ago, a hidden annex littered with thoughts left just as they were on the day they were captured.
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FILM ISN’T DEAD
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Half-Baked Peanut Butter Brownies Ingredients: • brownie mix (any brand of regular chocolate mix is just fine) • vegetable oil - according to mix • water - according to mix (may not be necessary) • half the amount of eggs called for in mix • peanut butter
01. mix the brownie mix, vegetable oil, and water into a mixing bowl 02. separate batter in half, placing one half in a separate bowl 03. in one half, add egg(s) according to mix 04. once the batter is at the proper consistency, bake at the temperature called for on the box. because it is half of the batter, it will cook for less time - usually for me it is about 20-22 minutes 05. while that is baking, mix peanut butter with the remaining half of the batter. I normally use about 3/4 a cup, but you can use as little or as much as you want, depending on your love of the peanut butter and chocolate combo 06. when the baking brownies are finished, remove them from the oven and let them cool 07. once cooled, spread the second half of the batter that is mixed with the peanut butter onto the top. this half of the batter mixed with the peanut butter serves as a delicious icing 29
A LITTLE WARMTH... charlie’s travels - florida keys ig // @chahlay
FRIGID fashion photography // amanda harle
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diy paper topiary Supplies: • 25 paint chips at least 3” in diameter (you’ll use 20, but you should get some extra in case) • rubber cement • scissors • ruler
01. start by taking one of your spare paint chips and drawing a circle that is 3” in diameter. if you have something round to trace that makes it easier, or you can go the old fashioned route like i did and measure it out with a ruler. 02. once you’ve done that, cut it out to use as your tracing circle. trace this circle onto the back of 20 paint chips and cut each one out. 03. draw an equilateral triangle with each side meauring 2 5/8” inside each circle. fold the edges upward (so the colored side folds onto itself). 04. separate 5 for the top and connect them to each other, then do this again to form the bottom of the lantern. for the middle, connect the remaining 10 into a straight line. glue the first and last together to form a band. 05. once you have all three parts, glue the top, middle, and bottom together.
ta-da! you’re crafty. 38
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