2017 LAFC Fall/Winter Issue

LA FASHIONISTA COMPASSIONISTA FALL/WINTER 2017

Issue No. 10

#fashcompash

Restaurateur Joy Pierson tells us how to live JOYfully in our business

FAUX FABULOUS! Proof that you never have to give up your personal style to live cruelty free!

WHAT TO WEAR THIS WINTER IN ANY CLIMATE.

ON THE COVER Chloé Jo Davis, the OG of Eco Blogging!

An in depth interview: Her world and the future of “GirlieGirl Army”

NEW DESIGNERS, ADVICE, RECIPES, TIPS & TRICKS AND MORE!

FROM THE DESK OF ADRIENNE BORGERSEN Almost a decade ago, shortly after first embracing the vegan lifestyle, I started dating someone, who had been vegan for many years. On an evening out, he said to me, “You know, you look scrumptious, but one day you’ll realize that wearing leather boots is uncool.” Man, I just bought those boots and they were hot. But, how could I not have made that connection? I was embarrassed and realized I hadn’t thought about being vegan, beyond what I ate. So, I started googling around about vegan boots and one of the first pages I landed on was GirlieGirl Army. And so began my education and inspiration into cruelty-free fashion. As one of my first vegan style icons, I’ve followed Chloé Jo Davis (then Chloé Jo Berman) and her journey from Glamazon to Mamazon and beyond. I’d even seen her at various fundraising events, but for whatever reason, we’d never met. Recently, our mutual friend, the amazing Latham Thomas (who was on the cover of our last issue) introduced us and I am still a bit star struck, that Chloé is our cover story for this issue!

I’m very excited to also feature two of her closest friends and vegan superwomen, Karliin Brooks, founder of The Squeeze and Medea Juhasz, founder of Herbalore herbal supplements. All of these women are in their 40’s and are not only rocking their lives and advocating for animals but are rocking the glamorous outfits in our Fashion Editorial.

In addition, I’m beyond thrilled to publish our interview with Joy Pierson, owner of the NYC Candle restaurants. She and her husband Bart Potenza run three of the best restaurants in the city, hands down, vegan or not. I’ll never forget one of my first visits to Candle 79 and seeing Paul McCartney with his then fiancé Nancy Shevell, 2 tables away! During another visit, Clive Davis strolled into the dining room with his entourage. It just proves that vegan food can be gourmet, delicious and fabulous! Joy and Bart, with their incredible chefs, have it all down to a science, wrapped in love and spirituality, affording them more than twenty years running successful businesses.

This issue is packed with some of the many new, ethical designers, who really make it their mission to address the many issues with the fashion business supply chain and how it affects not only animals but our people and our world. Please check them out and support their great work.

Vegan/eco-friendly fashion & beauty haven’t come along nearly as quickly as we would like, but our everyday choices outside of food are still so important to the welfare of animals. Helping raise this awareness is, of course, the mission of LAFC. It’s all so easy, easier than ever before and we are here to help!

Have a wonderful, joyful and safe holiday season with everyone you love!

Peace, Love, Fashion and Compassion,

Editor in Chief LA Fashionista Compassionista Magazine www.lafcnyc.com

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Vegan

Clothing & Accessories

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Table of Contents

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2 FROM THE DESK… 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 CREDITS

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6 CONTRIBUTORS PAGE 9 WINTER STYLE IN THE NORTH: Colorado Style 14 WINTER STYLE IN THE SOUTH: Stylin’ on the Island

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22 ON THE COVER GirlieGirl Army’s Chloé Jo Davis, tells us her story 36 FASHION EDITORIAL Super Luxe Glam! Faux fur and faux leather make a statement on eco conscious style.

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47 BEAUTY FROM THE INSIDE OUT: Eating well with the seasons 50 THE A LIST Our Editor’s favorite fashion & beauty picks! New designs from Faeth, Sonya Varjibidian, Bead & Reel and Cykochik 53 ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT: Joy Pierson of NYC’s Candle Restaurants.

Her Joyful story, plus bonus recipes!

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65 THE RELATIONAL VEGAN Perceptions of, and as vegans, and how to handle it.

70 SHRUTI JAIN, from Address Chic Styles Season of “Plant Based by Nafsika” 74 FREEZE FRAME Interview with Photographer, Artist and Activist Fernanda Maria Hubeaut

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CREDITS Editor in Chief: Adrienne Borgersen

Content & Art Direction: Adrienne Borgersen Graphic Design & Art Direction: James Lucas Contributors: Katrina Fox, Sunny Gandara, April Lang, Shruti Jain, Sarah Eastin, Cyd Lou, Emily Landaira, Adrienne Borgersen Cover Story Photography: Jeremy Davis Fashion Editorial Photography: Jeremy Davis Cover Story Beauty Team: Makeup: Roberto Alvarado, Jr. Hair: Alicia Trani Wardrobe Styling: Chloé Jo Davis & Adrienne Borgersen Fashion Editorial Beauty Team: Makeup: Roberto Alvarado, Jr. Hair: Alicia Trani, Tomomi Iwata Wardrobe Styling: Chloé Jo Davis, Medea Juhasz, Karliin Brooks and Adrienne Borgersen Fashion Editorial Models: Medea Juhasz, Karliin Brooks Graphic Design Intern: Dania Gonzalez Website Design: Linda Albertini Publisher: InJeanious Publishing Jeanne Williams, injeanious1@mac.com Interested in contributing an article?

Collaborating with your vegan, cruelty free product?

Advertising? We’d love to!

Contact us at info@lafcnyc.com

THANK YOU! Connect with us!

We’re real people and we want to hear from you!

LAFC was co-founded by Adrienne Borgersen & Lois Eastlund

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CONTRIBUTORS Please take some time to read about our contributors. Many, many thanks to the people who offered their time and talent with this issue and/or every issue. My gratitude is unending to this community of entrepreneurs who believe in collaboration and support. Connect with them and tell them LAFC sent you!

Adrienne Borgersen Editor in Chief, Co-Founder In addition to being Editor-in-Chief of LAFC, Adrienne is a year veteran of the music industry, an FIT certified Image Consultant and Vegan Lifestyle Coach & Educator (VLCE). She founded It Factor Image Consulting, where she works with a wide variety of people to develop their personal style and personal brand. She specializes in educating on the use and abuse of animals in the fashion industry, with the goal of encouraging people to make compassionate choices. Adrienne also enjoys volunteering her time and talents to human and animal rights causes.

Previously a long-time vegetarian, Adrienne became % vegan in after reading Skinny Bitch. She is committed to promoting cruelty-free fashion, beauty and every day products as her way of saving animals and support a cruelty free lifestyle. LA Fashionista Compassionista magazine is a perfect extension of how she works with her clients, guiding them to look their best and feel their best, so they can take on the world!

Website * Facebook * Twitter Instagram * Pinterest

April Lang LCSW, SEP The Relational Vegan April Lang LCSW, SEP is a vegan psychotherapist, activist, and writer. She is in private practice in New York City.

Katrina Fox Entrepreneur Spotlight Katrina Fox is an award-winning journalist, PR consultant and editor of the vegan business blog VeganBusinessMedia.com. She is the author of Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business and has written extensively for niche and mainstream media for years on animal advocacy, social justice and ethical business issues. She’s the host of the Vegan Business Talk podcast and a regular contributor to Forbes writing about vegan and plant-based business. Originally from the UK, she lives with her wife Tracie in Sydney, Australia. She loves glitter, disco and internet cat videos.

Katrina Fox Website Vegan Business Media Website

Sarah Eastin Colorado Style Sarah is an Environmental Health Specialist, Vegan Lifestyle Coach, Vegan Chef and animal lover. She uses her knowledge of the physical world to help people make the connection between a healthy mind and body, compassionate lifestyle and healthy planet. She currently resides in Denver, Colorado with a house full of dog and cat hair, lots of love, delicious food and some of the cutest rescued animals you will ever meet. She has a blog where she writes about all things good for the planet, people and animals.

Website

Sunny Gandara Beauty from the Inside Out Sunny is a vegan chef and transformational lifestyle coach for women with demanding jobs and lives and who are striving to find balance between being healthy and happy. She is a certified health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, holds a certificate in Plant Based Nutrition from eCornell, and a professional Culinary Certificate from the Institute of Culinary Education. Sunny is also is a Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Nutrition Specialist through NASM as well as being a Certified Wine Educator and Specialist of Spirits through the Society of Wine Educators, and a holder of the DWS Diploma through the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET).

Website * Email * Blog * Facebook Instagram * Instagram * Twitter

Emily Landaira Whispering Tulips Emily is years old, and is the Artisan and Founder of Whispering Tulips. When she isn’t busy running her business she loves to bake, write take photographs and travel. Her family, friends, boyfriend and travels always keep her inspired. Making Whispering Tulips a household name is one of her goals, as well as, owning a bakery.

Website * Instagram * Facebook

Website

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CONTRIBUTORS Cindy Lou Negrón-Matos (Cyd Lou) Stylin’ on the Island Cyd is a graduate of the Main Street Vegan Academy. A Vegan Lifestyle Coach and Educator, cooking instructor and owner of Veganízalo, a pop-up vegan eatery at local markets in her area, she shares recipes on her YouTube channel and website. She loves educating about living a vegan lifestyle. She is a coffee lover, veganizer of local, comfort recipes and is very active among her local vegan community.

Website * YouTube * Facebook Instagram * Twitter

Shruti Jain Styling “Plant Based

by Nafsika” Shruti Jain is the co-founder of online vegan fashion store AddressChic.com and is a firm believer of cruelty-free living spanning across all areas of life from food to fashion to beauty. A MA in Finance and Investments, wealth manager for over years and winner of Women Leadership Award, Shruti conceived the idea of starting Address Chic after failing to find a single quality vegan fashion platform for her fashion and beauty needs. Obsessed with finding luxury vegan and natural beauty products and hunting down the finest quality vegan handbags, Shruti’s passion for ethical luxury lifestyle can be easily spotted in every aspect of Address Chic - from minimalist design to curated product range to well-researched articles on everything from sunscreens to vegan lipsticks.

James Lucas

Linda Albertini

Graphic Design

Web Designer & Developer

James owns GrapeCat. com. Grape Cat sells high-quality vegan and eco-friendly clothing and accessories made without cruelty. James was a graphic designer for over years and has an MBA in Marketing. He finds inspiration in his love of animals and his passion for delicious vegan recipes. James is proud to share his vegan lifestyle stories on his podcast “Vegan Styled Life.”

Website * Instagram * Facebook

Jeremy Davis Photographer

Linda is a freelance web designer hailing from sunny San Diego, CA. Her credentials include a Bachelor’s Degree in Management Science and a Specialized Certificate in Web Publishing from UC San Diego, and she continues to learn and expand her repertoire.

Making us look pretty online, Linda uses her creative and technical skills to help vegan and ethical businesses define their brand, develop their web presence, and reach more customers.

Website * Food Blog Pinterest * Twitter * LinkedIn

Website * Instagram

Dania Gonzalez Graphic Design Intern Dania began her college career pursuing a degree in veterinary medicine. Soon into it, she decided that her real passion was art design. She is now in her happy place as a graphic design student at York College in Queens, NY. She loves contributing to a magazine that supports animal welfare. Dania is also very interested in astrology and Adrienne tells her she may be the most chilled out, laid back Scorpio, ever.

Website

Website * Facebook * Instagram LAFCNYC.COM

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WINTER STYLIN’ IN THE COLORADO MOUNTAINS Written by Sarah Eastin

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hen you think of Colorado or mountain towns, fashion may not be the first thing that comes to mind. Recently, however, some super fun vegan businesses have sprouted, rooted in the mountains, doing great things in our community and beyond. It’s exciting, to be part of a community that has an up and coming vegan scene, inspiring people to think not just about their food choices but also the impact of what they wear on animals and the environment.

I’ve lived in the mountains all my life. In the past, clothing options have been limited and we’ve had to get creative with our shopping choices. Mountain lifestyles are very active so comfy clothes like yoga pants, sandals, and t-shirts are some of the most common things you’ll find on the streets and trails in the summer. But, in the winter, we need a little extra planning and warmth. As some readers know, finding ethical products to keep you warm in the winter can be a bit challenging. We’re used to findLAFCNYC.COM

ing boots made with leather, jackets made with down and hats and socks made with wool. It’s taken me a long time to find products that work for the weather and align with my values. Fortunately, it’s much easier to find these days! My hope is that the brands I’m sharing will help make the transition easier for you!

First, my tips for preparing for the cold winter months: •

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Layers, layers, layers! Long underwear has been a lifesaver for me many times.

Always be prepared for a variety of conditions with fun, warm accessories like hats, gloves, warm hats, a nice scarf and warm socks.

Wear bright colors to help counteract the winter blues.

Don’t forget sunglasses!

Try your hand at shopping at some of our great Colorado local retailers!

Some of my favorite places to grab vegan winter clothing, if you are in Denver, include, True Love Shoes 9

Compassionate Closet BONUS DISCOUNT!

2 0% O ff Coupon Code: FASHIONISTA20

Photos courtesy of Compassionate Closet,

by Stephanie Boyd

and Accessories and Hoodlab (see my interview with Hoodlab’s creator on the next pages!)

good, budget-friendly, good-looking, vegan accessories, clothes and shoes at Target!

For online shopping from anywhere, you can find some great eco-friendly, Colorado vegan finds and beyond at The Compassionate Closet and The Vickerey

In the cold weather, it’s also important to change up your beauty routine. Be sure to wash your face with natural products and use a nontoxic, vegan moisturizer, preferably with a sunscreen for areas exposed to the sun. You may not think that’s important when it’s not summer, but the sun reflects off the snow and we still need to be careful about those UV rays! My favorite places to find the best, vegan and cruelty-free products include natural grocery stores. I prefer this to online shopping, so I can test out which products are the best fit.

More mainstream brands like The North Face and Patagonia are also great sources for jackets for skiing, snowboarding or other adventures.

Look for products that contain Primaloft®, which a synthetic insulator, ThermoBall™ or other products made with synthetic fibers.

Hiking boots and outdoor recreation gear using compassionate materials can be a bit tough to find. A good online source is Vegan Outdoor Adventures as they have all sorts of great product information and reviews for those of us who love to adventure. I’ve even found some 10

Many of the retailers and designers I’ve listed carry alternatives to products with animal textiles, ingredients, and animal testing as well as provide sustainable and environmentally conscious clothing. Many

jackets, shoes and other accessories are made from hemp, recycled and sustainable fibers, and even bamboo. Purchasing these products is also such a great way we can close the loop on recycling and love our environment too!

In your search to find compassionate winter clothing or skin care, always be sure to read the labels before purchasing and ask the retailer about how and with what the products are made. This also sends a signal that customers are paying attention and the demand is there for high quality, cruelty-free products!

Finally, for a comprehensive list of cruelty-free products, check out Peta’s Shopping Guide to Compassionate Clothing. And don’t forget to keep reading LAFC for the latest info!

Have a wonderful winter!

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A CHAT WITH CICI DUNN FOUNDER/OWNER OF HOODLAMB CO

Interviewed by Sarah Eastin Mountain Photo: Courtesy of HoodLamb CO. Photos courtesy of HoodLamb, by Kim Sidwell

Hoodlab Shopping Tip! The key to applying the promo code (see our ad on p13) to get the discount is to create an account before applying the code. If you see no white box to fill in code, then click ‘edit’ in the right top corner of ‘Your Order’ box and it will pop up.

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SE: What is HoodLAB is and what is your mission?

CD: HoodLamb CO aka HoodLAB is a family owned and operated HoodLamb Concept Store & World Agent for Amsterdam clothing label HoodLamb Hemp Tailors.

We operate a HoodLamb Boutique, wholesale showroom and e-store Hoodlabstore.com. We also work with companies that want to create branded, sustainable merchandise for their crew and following.

SE: Tell us about your designs.

CD: Our signature clothing line, HoodLamb Hemp Tailors, contains design t-shirts, hoodies, furry hoodies, heavy-duty winter coats, knitwear and accessories, all made from hemp, organic cotton and other recycled materials. Wonderful news for the conscious shopper is that HoodLamb since this season officially is PETA-approved!

Next, to the HoodLamb line, we also carry THTC (The Hemp Trading Company). THTC is multiple awardwinning ethical and fair brand from 12

London/UK with a broad range of organic t-shirts designs that will make you think.

SE: Where are you located? Do you sell online?

CD: We operate a Colorado-based e-store (www.hoodlabstore.com) but we also have a brick-n-mortar ecofashion Pop-Up Boutique. We just opened up the pop-up boutique for the season every Monday – Thursday : AM - : PM. All other times by appointment, but don’t hesitate to give us a call on outside the store hours if you’d like to visit the Boutique or Showroom.

SE: Do you have any tips for preparing for a winter in the mountains?

CD: Colorado has many microclimates and we have days of sun here. It can be deceptively beautiful and [the weather] can change rapidly due to the mountain landscape.

Make sure you have good gear to help you stay warm and comfortable. Dressing in layers is always a good idea.

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SE: What products does HoodLab offer that is good for winter wear?

CD: The full winter line - hemp is warm! Developed in Amsterdam for the harsh winters, HoodLamb has always focused on functional utilitarian wear to protect against rain and cold. Since we also dress the Sea Shepherd crew on their campaigns around Antarctica and worldwide in the most extreme weather conditions.

The Men’s and Ladies’ jacket lines contain key features such as % recycled insulation, thumbholes and oversized hoods for extra warmth, vegan faux-fur and handwarmer pockets to name a few design details.

Connect with HoodLab at: HoodLabstore.com | Instagram | Facebook LAFCNYC.COM

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Written by Cyd Lou Photos, Cyd’s own

STYLIN’ ON THE ISLAND! FALL & WINTER IN PUERTO RICO

Editor’s note: This article was written shortly before Hurricane Maria devastated the beautiful Island of Puerto Rico this past September. We are happy to report that our contributor Cyd Lou and her family, who live there, are all OK. Our hearts and prayers are with all of the people and animals who are struggling to get their lives back together.

We’re very proud of the resilience of the people and all who dropped their regular lives to help! While we know it will take a long time for the people and the land to recover, I still wanted to include this article as a reminder of all that will be wonderful again! Viva Puerto Rico! ing the Holidays elsewhere, I could wear cotton dresses all year long.

Don’t get me wrong, I love wearing scarves, but mine must be less cozy than yours. You’re trying on your new vegan leather jacket while I’m still wearing my cotton dress. You’re ordering new winter boots while I still have my light sneakers on.

I

t’s pumpkin everything season, scarf season, getting cozy waiting for the holiday season to arrive…in the north of the “States” that is. Meanwhile I live in the Caribbean, dreaming of scarves and snow while drinking a Piña Colada!

While friends in the North are saying goodbye to summer I’m still holding on until November or December when it gets cooler.

My wardrobe here in Puerto Rico doesn’t change much with the season. Unless I’m traveling and spend-

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If we want to talk about ethical fashion trends on The Island then we should talk about clothing swap and thrifting. We have a big community that enjoys this way to add to their wardrobe style. From babies (I also thrift for my tiny vegan) to adults, it is a great way to help our Mother Earth, save money and look for more ethical and environmentally friendly pieces. While I love fall trends in terms of colors, this vegan girl is more into Gothic style so I always favor black. But, my fellow islanders do wear brighter colors all year.

When you go thrifting or swapping around here you might see a lot of loose, flowy gypsy or boho dresses, shirts and skirts. It is the most comfortable type of fashion to wear in the island heat. However, you can also find great deals on coats, jackets or boots for the colder weather in our thrift stores.

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A normal OOTD in the fall for me would be a cotton t-shirt (with a printed vegan or Halloween message), cotton pants or jeans, my vegan sneakers and compassionate make up. That’s all. I could add a thin cotton scarf if I want to add to the cute factor, or if the weather isn’t as hot. Sometimes I wear some good ol’ faux leather boots, if it’s raining.

Of course, we have our beauty routine. There are two vegan makeup brands now, here in Puerto Rico that are gaining popularity! Kleur Cosmetics & Necromancy Cosmetica.

But, since we have beautiful, tropical fruit everywhere and all year, sometimes free falling from the sky, I’m blessed to have all these resources available right here That means that I can have fun with them and easily make my own skin care.

I tend to obsess on avocado season and sometimes I get more than I can 16

actually eat. They are a tricky fruit!

We joke, “I’m not ripe, but five minutes later, I’m passed ripe” (haha), so I need to get creative. That’s when I make some yummy hair guacamole and let my hair eat it instead. Just smash the hell out of an avocado, apply it and your hair will shine like the vegan star you are. You could also go for the Loch Ness monster look and add it to your face. After a good rinse, your skin will be soft and glowing, too!

You could also use it as a hydrator for your hair – apply and rinse thoroughly!

Is the coconut oil trend over? I hope not because I love this oil for my skin! Coconut oil is a great make up remover, especially if you wear those water proof eye liners that never seem to come off. It’s also a great, inexpensive moisturizer for the budget conscious and can replace your lip balm and creams. I divide coconut oil in jars and I’ll have some in the fridge, where it solidifies and others I keep outside, where it remains liquid in the warm weather.

What about a tropical face mask??

Mix and blend any of our native fruits - papaya, mango, pineapple and passion fruit. These are great to revitalize, add vitamin C and make you look younger. Mix ¼ of a cup and leave it on your face for minutes, maximum. It is true that veganism is taking over the world.

We are a small island and the vegan community is slowly growing. We’ve evolved a lot, just in the past few years. Veganism is here to stay!

Another fun thing we harvest here are pumpkins. We actually have a variety of them! If you have a bit of hair loss pumpkin can help. Make a puree with both the seeds and the raw pulp for another yummy hair mask. I must admit sometimes these things are hard not to eat instead of putting them on your hair.

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Bonus Recipe!

Spicy Hot Chocolate

Enjoy this recipe that I’m sharing for those chilly days coming up, to get cozy. On The Island that means cool, rainy days and hurricane season. Since hot beverages are one of the things that satisfy our souls - yes, I do believe hot beverages take us places that are beyond - I hope you enjoy this thick and spicy hot chocolate.

• • • • • • • • •

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cup milk of your choice (divide into ¾ and ¼) tsp of cinnamon tsp of ginger powder tsp of nutmeg tsp of cloves - cardamom seeds / cup of cacao powder Tbs Maple syrup (or more if you like it sweeter) Tbsp of corn starch

In a sauce pan add the ¾ cup of milk and all the spices. Set your stove for medium heat and let the milk simmer for minutes (after minutes you can take out the cardamom seeds if you wish). Add the cacao powder and maple syrup. Stir so that everything gets incorporated and the cacao dissolves completely.

In a cup add the remaining ¼ cup of milk with the corn starch. After the cornstarch dissolves in the milk add this milk to the chocolate mixture that you have in the sauce pan.

Stir it for a while, letting it simmer - more minutes. You will have a thick and spicy hot chocolate that will leave you wanting more!!

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Coach & Educator (VLCE) in a magical 6-day intensive in New York City.

Learn from founder Victoria Moran and a roster of vegan luminaries including MDs, RDs, animal rights attorneys, publishers, professors, podcasters, fashion designers, and entrepreneurial experts. Plus fabulous field trips!

Our grads are coaching, writing books, and opening businesses including Riverdel Cheese (Brooklyn), Kat Mendenhall Boots (Dallas), and Pleasantville Creamery (Toronto).

And our post-course support and networking opportunities are unparalleled.

Visit mainstreetvegan.net/academy or call 212-289-1808 for info & to apply

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Interviewed by Adrienne Borgersen Photography Jeremy Davis Makeup Roberto Alvarado, Jr. Hair Alicia Trani for HairQueen NYC Manicure Valley Nails, NYC

CHLOÉ JO DAVIS AND HER WORLD OF MAGIC Y

ou recognize that “Native New Yorker” vibe instantly upon meeting Chloé. Impossibly beautiful and chic, with no makeup while barefoot in an embroidered khaki jumpsuit, is something only a New Yorker can pull off. We New Yorkers are never standoffish, just busy, always moving and Chloé is no exception.

You’ll get a big smile, an even bigger hug and she gladly offers more opinions, insights into her life and experiences than you might expect. Although born into an Orthodox Jewish family in Liverpool, England, she was Yeshiva educated at a young age on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Chloé was raised steeped in that religion and tradition. But she has that untamed spirit from early on in her life, the feeling that God must be about love, rather than the judgment and punishment, for questioning or breaking that tradition. After transferring to

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a more diverse Prep School, her bubble was burst forever, launching her evolution. She’s a true entrepreneurial spirit, blessed with that Liverpudlian working class ethos which she says is “tattooed into my soul”. With the open mind and open heart of an activist, she followed her own instincts to blaze a most original trail from a ’s “It Girl” in the club scene to leading the charge for a Sisterhood of “Glamazons”, “Mamazons” and Warriors for Animals.

CJD: I believe in magic. And one of the reasons I believe in it is because of the way I met my husband Jeremy - it was a fortuitous crazy meeting. I just believe that wonderful things are coming to me, because they so frequently do. I smile and laugh a lot, and it took me a long time to get here. But now I pretty much go to sleep every night and I wake up every morning with a smile on my face. A lot of that is because I have these three, delicious, adorable, chocolate eclair human beings. They are children, so obviously we have days where they aren’t easy, and we haven’t slept much in seven and a half years, and sometimes we have a rough day, but at the end of the day, we laugh and I’m madly in love with my family. I never thought I’d ever get here, coming from a really dysfunctional family. It was a lot of chaos. I was struggling in my twenties, I tried everything to find the right fit, to try to find myself. I have many different parallel universes to traverse. But I feel like I’m on the right train this time.

AB: Well, you are because you believe you are.

CJD: That’s right. And you know your spirit tells you to get out. You have so many warning signs. I always feel like there have been so many warning signs for me in every situation that I shouldn’t have been in.

AB: I think that happens to everybody but not everybody wants to be tuned into it.

CJD: You don’t want to listen. And it’s so obvious. It’s rare that I meet someone I don’t like. I like everybody I talk to. Jeremy laughs because every stranger on the street tells me their entire life story. I’ll walk an elderly lady to her hair salon and a few blocks in I’ll know her grandkids favorite subject in school. I’m a real New Yorker in that way. I love talking to everyone. And when I meet someone I don’t like, it’s rare. I always trust my instincts and I’m always right at the end of the day, because I’m so tuned in. It’s just a vibe.. is someone a kind person? Yes or no? It’s my radar. It’s very clear.

“Lola” Faux fur coat by Pelush

Shoes: Steve Madden

There’s a comfort to believing in magic and faith. My husband doesn’t because he’s a real pragmatic scientist, he likes rhyme and reason while I’m sitting on the floor picking goddess cards. But I’m also a suspicious New Yorker who doesn’t believe anybody’s story until I’ve LAFCNYC.COM

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got a background check on them.

I like to be able to believe in unicorns sometimes, but also not to be too idealistic to the point where I’m bordering on naïve.

I feel like after years [Jeremy has] started to listen to my instincts a little bit more, because they’ve literally never steered us wrong. We have been creating our own cocoon for years, we’re each other’s everything, we’re each other’s best friends. I always say this whole experience of raising our children ourselves has been really powerful because we don’t have the “peanut gallery”, we don’t have any toxic behavior or personalities to manage because we don’t tolerate negative vibes. We just focus on the people we’re raising, these little spirits who need a lot of nurturing, coddling, and conversation.

AB: Tell me how you and Jeremy met.

CJD: It’s such a crazy story. I was about a week out of a relationship and I was set up on a double date with a guy who was so not my type, it was laughable. We went out to a few different places and by the fifth place – a dive bar on the Lower East Side - I noticed I really hadn’t seen anyone that I was remotely attracted to. All of a sudden this guy walks over to start talking to my friend, because they knew each other and I said that’s him, he’s so my type.

And so, my friend introduced me to Jeremy. But he didn’t ask for my number, barely paid me any mind.

He was super interested, but that’s just him, that’s how he is. I moved on, and went home. The next day he found me on MySpace (which shows how long ago this was) and we started seeing each other. That is the part of the story that doesn’t matter, this is the part that matters: We start to go out and a few months in, we’re pretty serious, I’m in bed with him with my hair in a bun, my 24

glasses on, we’re talking about travel and I asked if he’d ever been to Israel. He said, “Yeah, I went to Israel once.” And a lightning bolt hit me, I swear it was from the Universe, and I said, “Holy shit, I met you by a pool in Israel when I was seven years old, I know I did.” I remembered this letter that I wrote to my childhood best friend, and for some reason never sent it. I saved it in a box and I’d never forgotten this letter. I take out this letter on King David Hotel letterhead. I wrote this letter that said “I met the most gorgeous boy. He’s eleven, his hair sticks up in the front and is long in the back. He wore a Motley Crue hat. His name is Jeremy. He’s from Great Neck. He has red hair.” There were too many specifics in the letter. It was weird, he’d only been there once. I went every year for Passover. So, we scanned the letter and sent it to our whole family. His dad said, “Wait a second, Chloé Jo Berman? I know her father.” Turns out, that our fathers sat next to each other at this very small synagogue, this very elite, tiny synagogue on Fifth Avenue, and they have known each other for years.

Then, my mother said she vaguely remembered it. I was one of two girls at the time, there were no other kids there, she saw these two little boys by the pool and she brought me over. I met him once for a few minutes when I was a little girl and it stuck with me precisely because it was bashert – meant to be. We both knew it and said; “OK, so we’re basically getting married, right?” And that was it.

So, when you [believe in] fate, and listen to your instincts, you can find your happy ending. I have a lot of friends who are still single and looking for someone because they think that all the stars have to align and that’s just not true. There is no % perfect match. I have a lot of friends who are beautiful and have it all.

They haven’t met anyone yet, and it’s

not by choice. I think a lot of them are waiting for the Jewish George Clooney who is vegan, whose never been married before, who doesn’t have a bald spot who blah, blah, blah. They have this crazy list. I mean you always have to be realistic. One of the many things that I could have done, is, I could have been a matchmaker, because I loved doing it. I’ve made many matches. I have a real handle on it, because I enjoyed dating and enjoying it is key. I could have gone out with a new person every night because I love to talk to people, I love hearing people’s stories. I love getting dressed up. I love the excitement of it. I loved the glamour of it in those days. I was really into my hair and my makeup and my heels and every night was an opportunity to put on the costume. It’s sort of a performance, sort of a dance.

I think that’s why I enjoyed the nightlife so much in my teens growing up in New York City because it was an escape from the chaos of my childhood for sure, but it was also a way to sort of be a star. In New York, in the ’s, if you were a nightlife star you sort of were a celebrity in your own little scene. It was a community, it was a place to belong. I didn’t feel like I belonged in the Orthodox religious world and certainly didn’t feel like I belonged in my own family. So, I found this very inclusive place. New York City nightlife raised me. I have beliefs that my own family doesn’t necessarily share. I feel very proud to have come up in the ’s. I [used to] feel like I wasted a lot of time partying and promoting things that didn’t necessarily matter. I could’ve been working hard for social justice or civil rights or taking on other endeavors. But now, I love that I have so many stories. For example, I feel like half of my friends are just learning about trans issues.

Half of my friends when I was eighteen were transfolks. That’s the core of being raised in New York City.

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Creativity, diversity, and acceptance is always yours for the taking.

AB: I was a “Cat Club”, “Limelight” rock chick back then, myself. Where were you hanging out?

CJD: I hung out at Spy Bar, Club USA, The Tunnel, Bowery Bar, etc etc. I did the door at lots of clubs, and began promoting in my teens.

In my s I started a party called “Gloss” at Meow Mix, which was one of the longest running girl parties in New York. Then, I slowly moved away from partying and into wellness, but by then the club scene was dead. I’m sure it’s revived in another incarnation, now. But of course, I have nothing to do with that. I have no idea, and I don’t care.

It’s so funny, though, that we still live in New York and we have no interest in going anywhere. I think a lot of parents in NYC say the same thing. When our kids grow older, we will go to all the great new restaurants and go to the theater again and see concerts again. Right now, our life is our kids. Of course, even just living in New York is a theater in itself. It’s really a gift to be able to live here.

where it’s safe. I can’t imagine moving to even a swing state. I know a lot of people are saying there’s too much dichotomization in politics and people are too separated. But I’ve found, overall I have a lot of amazing people in my life who believe in social justice issues and have the same philosophies as me. I don’t need to open up my circle to people who I see as having hateful beliefs. I just don’t need to.

It’s horrifying, it’s changed everybody, it’s changed everything. We were here with our brilliant, articulate, African-American President feeling like the world was getting more progressive and more of a rainbow of diversity, a nation of true understanding and compassion. And we literally took a short stop and dove to hell. That’s what

it feels like. Everybody’s boots have been knocked off in the last year. It’s all about fear. It’s all a backlash from having a black president when we get down to it. And misogyny.

AB: Does this ruin any aspirations to possibly live anywhere else?

Or do you still have hope?

CJD: I definitely would love to eventually have a country house, and that’s on our life plan list, but I’ll never move to the middle of nowhere.

Not as a Jew with three Jewish sons.

I’m not taking that risk. Nazis, ten years ago on Phil Donahue, were laughed at and joked about as a few crazy people. Now they’re legitimate and supported by our President.

So, when you’re a Jew and there’s a chance of Nazis becoming a political party, you stay with your progressive brethren.

AB: I still do that, but I don’t have kids. I have no interest in the clubs either, but going to the theater and museums and experiencing all that is still here in NYC that you can’t find anywhere else, is pretty much why I still live here.

CJD: Yeah totally. But we don’t do that stuff enough. Especially when you have kids, it changes things. But I also love that I can walk everywhere and I can find my niche of community anywhere I go. Listen, after the Trump thing, when I when I saw all these white supremacists screaming and chanting “Jews will not replace us”, I’m never taking my kids out of New York City. Now I want to stay LAFCNYC.COM

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AB: Let’s move on to nicer things, speaking of your kids. I would love to know how you named them, Panther, Freedom, and Kingsley, the coolest names, ever!

CJD: Oh, thank you! When I was growing up, “Chloé” was a very unusual name, especially in an Orthodox Jewish world. Now it’s the most common name in the world which is why I never leave home without my “Jo”! My sister’s name was Jade, so we had the unusual names in our circle then, and I always loved it. I think people who are intimidated by unusual names don’t know the amazingness of being the only kid in the room with a creative name. Nobody forgets you if you have a unique name. Names are such a powerful entity, a forever encirculating space that you can co-exist with and you can work towards a goal within the confines of your name. Jeremy came up with “Panther”. He was reading a book about the Black Panthers and I think they are pretty righteous. I know they were semi anti-Semitic but that’s another conversation. But the point is, we have to just stand up.

Who are these people that are coming for me and my family? I’m going to organize, I’m going to protect my family. The Black Panthers mission was really righteous. So, we think that Panther is a strong, powerful name in the ethos of civil rights.

His middle name is Britain because I’m British. And then “Freedom” just came to me. When your name is “Freedom”, you know that you are in charge of your own freedom and hopefully ensuring freedom for others who have less than you…less stuff, less rights, less of a place in society…and hopefully it ensures an activist ethos. You have to be a little like a social rights activist if you’re name is Freedom. [His middle name] “Midnight” just came to me.

And then Kingsley’s name came to 26

me. His middle name is Rhodes, for Randy Rhoads, mega genius guitarist of Black Sabbath who went long before his time. I enjoy an unusual name with meaning. I’m a writer, so for me to come up with an unusual name is like someone in finance doing their own taxes. It’s what I do.

AB: You’ve been interviewed many times about attachment parenting. So, just overall, tell us what it means, how did you come to embrace that and how do you balance your life doing that?

CJD: People in the media tout attachment parenting like it’s some new-fangled, shocking, extreme style of parenting that people are practicing now. But it’s really not.

It’s basically knowing that your child needs you and needs to be close to you and just keeping them close to you so that they’re not afraid of the world. The world can be really scary and we want them to feel safe enough in their parental attachment that they’re going to feel safe enough to go out to the world. Attachment Parenting kids have a different sense of secure attachment when they disconnect and have to go into the world, as opposed to a kid who’s been stuck with Nannies their whole lives. I have memories of being a newborn and crying it out my crib and it being a deeply painful experience for me. I remembered it and carried it with me my whole life. When my parents had my little sister, who is eleven years younger than me, they used to leave her crying in the crib. I immediately knew to bring her into bed with me. I just followed my instinct.

I believe that if my baby cries I should pick my baby up. I believe that if there’s a nipple attached to my chest I should give them the milk out of that nipple and not chemicals created in a factory by a plastic nipple. I believe that if my baby cries

every time I put them in a stroller that I should throw the wrap around me and keep them on top of me because they like that, they’re quiet, happy and feel safe that way. It’s just it’s completely instinct parenting. It’s not like I’m following some rulebook. And I’m not into parent shaming and mommy shaming, just whatever works for you. I get why some people get so exasperated that they have to choose different routes for themselves and for their family. I’m always asked the most common attachment parenting question, “what about women who can’t breastfeed?”. I get that there are women who can’t breastfeed. Me personally, I was not one of those women who came on the wings of fairies with patchouli floating out of my underarm hair spurting breastmilk all over the land. For me, it was not that easy. It was very difficult, my milk did not just flow. I had bloody nipples and I was in agony. I worked so hard. I’ve never gone after anything as tenaciously as I have with breastfeeding. And you know what, it worked eventually. It took a long time and I got it. And with the second one it was easy and with the third one, it was cake. For me, it was a really hard-won journey.

This neighborhood (the Upper East Side of Manhattan) is all nannies.

When they see me breastfeeding in the park especially because I’m breastfeeding a two and a half-yearold at this point, they say to me, “Oh, you’re still breastfeeding.” Especially the women from the Islands. I say, “I’m old school, I breastfeed and I sleep with my babies.” And they say, “That’s what we do in the Islands.”

So, fuck you rich white women coming up with “Attachment Parenting”, it’s called parenting. OK? Not everybody can afford a baby nurse who gives your baby formula every single night, so you can get your beauty rest and a tummy tuck after you have a baby. There’s a lot of LAFCNYC.COM

that here. I see all these parallels because I’m so deep into this community of compassionate parenting and sustainable living and this really interesting dichotomy.

Listen, we all do the best we can. I don’t live in a hut by the side a river and live off the grid. I live in a high rise in New York City with doormen. I do the best I can and probably could do a lot better and will continue to strive to do better.

AB: That’s life isn’t it? Striving to do better?

CJD: That’s right. And another thing about vegans having kids. I get the nastiest comments sometimes on my parenting stuff from vegans who followed me from back in the day, telling me I’m a terrible person because I’m a breeder. You have to look at things from the other perspective. You know the “bad guys” are breeding like animals, the people who do not believe in things that in any way are remotely compassionate. And the “good guys”, the people that are fighting for justice in the world are making environmental decisions to not bring more people into the world. But there need to be some warriors who are going to keep fighting for goodness in the world. I think that there’s really a place for vegan, kind kids who want to make the world a better place. I mean I’m not saying we should all go out and have eighteen babies, but there’s a place for good people doing good things.

AB: Tell us your vegan journey and what it’s like raising vegan kids.

CJD: I dated someone who was vegan and didn’t know anything about it. I got a pamphlet on our first date and for me, it clicked right away.

This was long before we had any of the amazing videos and movies we have now. I now have Upper East Side moms asking me for nutritionLAFCNYC.COM

ist recommendations from [watching the movie] “What the Health”. I really have to thank that movie and give major props, because that movie seems to be turning more people vegan, than any other movie in a long, long time.

So, I got this brochure and I went what I called, “pesco vegan,” because fish for me was very cultural being British and Jewish, and hard to let go of. When Jeremy and I [got together], he was a meat eater. He said on our first date, “Just don’t try

“Come on, sisters, let’s make everybody be better parents better people, be kinder to animals, better each other, better ourselves.

Let’s make our focus being on uplifting and not plateauing.” to turn me into some namby-pamby vegetarian.” I said, “Well, let’s just watch this movie together” [and we watched] the original “Peaceable Kingdom”. I actually still think [that movie] can be a very powerful tool because it’s not all about the horrors of factory farming, [there are] beautiful parts of how intelligent these animals can be and how fucked up it is to eat them. We watched, he cried, and that day we went all the way vegan together. My husband and I really went all the way in together.

Soon after, I started working for Farm Sanctuary and I started doing PETA demos. I had already been knee deep in dog rescue, that had been my thing for a very long time.

But [going vegan] was a natural evolution and it changed everything.

It changes your whole lens of the

world and changes who you are as a person, it changes what you think.

You think, “God, if everybody has been lying to me about that what else have they been lying to me about?” I’m the kind of person who can change people’s minds because I won’t stop debating ‘til they see my point of view. I knew I already had this audience. So, when I started doing more press and media, and when GirlieGirl Army became partially about veganism, I began to veganize so many people. I’m not giving props to myself. I felt like, what the hell am I still doing GirlieGirl Army for after all these years, when there are [now so many others] doing exactly what I do. But, I feel I owe it to those old-school readers. I want to continue to present the information with my voice because nobody has my voice, just like nobody has your voice. No one’s ever going to have our unique voices. Each of our voices speaks to different demographics of people. GirlieGirl Army is a place for all of us. In fact, someone asked me today, if I get pissed off that there are so many people knocking me off, and have been for so many years. I said not at all. If you want to knock off being a good person go for it. Come on, sisters, let’s make everybody be better parents, better people, be kinder to animals, better each other, better ourselves. Let’s make our focus being on uplifting and not plateauing. I feel really positive about the movement growing as big as it has. It’s also really fun to see where all the people that I came up in the movement with, where they are now and how much they’ve done. And I love that there’s a totally new wave. If there wasn’t a new wave that would be a problem.

AB: You’re such an inspiration to your readers and you know the impact that you’ve made. So, who have been your greatest teachers?

Who are your inspirations or your heroes and why?

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CJD: That’s a wonderful question.

Of course, poets and musicians.

I was always a huge fan of Laura Nyro. She was a singer-songwriter in the ’s, an extraordinary storyteller, she really moved people and pushed people towards action. She was really an activist musician. She definitely started my journey with activism.

Susie Coston, in terms of the vegan movement to me is like the unsung hero. She’s the heart of the movement, as far as I’m concerned, and she always will be. To me, no one comes close to Susie Coston. She’s magic to animals, she’s magic to people. She’s one of those people where kindness oozes out of her pores, and she’s just pure goodness.

Samantha Pachirat has also been a tremendous influence on me and the kindness she shows everybody who does even the smallest things for Farm Sanctuary. She taught me how to treat people, really. She just oozes sweetness and intelligence.

Also, [wellness guru] Sark. When I was in my twenties, I was really lost and she spoke to me in a simple, heart opening way like nobody had ever spoken to me, before. Her work was just magic. Josh Katcher and I, when we were both first coming up in the scene, started a “YouTubelike” channel together. We interviewed her and she was magic. We lay in bed with her for hours, asking ten billion questions. She was unbelievable. She was just as magical as you could imagine that she would be, and she deserves all her success.

You know, it’s difficult to say one thing very simply and stab someone through the heart in a way that they truly hear you. And it’s very easy to give someone a dissertation and do nothing for them. I think her work has always been really simple, and moved me to change almost every time.

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I feel like those are the people who honestly pushed me towards the most change. And of course, I’m lucky enough to have the most inspirational, fascinating friends who do incredible things for the world.

People in the forefront of this movement who have been pushing for legislation for years and who don’t give up and who care so much. It’s just the most extraordinary thing.

“I think if you don’t look to re-find the purpose of your business once a year, you might be getting too comfortable.”

I try to - at least once a week - meet with a woman that I don’t know well, who is doing something extraordinary because I come home motivated ready to rock and roll.

It really pisses me off when people say they don’t have enough time to do things because I have three children, I have no child care help, I have something that I do that I care about. And I also do a ton of philanthropic side note projects, because we all have something we can do.

Yes, I can’t right now muck a barn at Farm Sanctuary or Woodstock, but I can one hundred percent do an online auction and make forty or fifty grand for a public school. We can take our skill set, find out the one thing that is easy for us to do, that’s not putting us out extraordinarily and then use that for whatever it is we care about. In my case, animal rights. But I’m also passionate about a lot of other things. Some people say vegans don’t care about people they only care about animals. I’ve never seen people who care more about people in my life than people in the vegan community. There’s so much compassion.

AB: Absolutely. OK, so let’s talk about GirlieGirl Army. How did it happen, how did it grow, where is it now?

CJD: When I was a party promoter as a teenager I started a mailing list.

My aunt was a well known designer for mainstream, high-end brands.

She asked me if I would use my mailing list and shoot something out so she could get rid of extra product.

This was back in the day when sample sales were still a thing. This was before there were websites, apps like Poshmark, and before everyone sold their clothes on E-bay. I sent it out and we had lines just waiting to get in. It was a huge deal and they made great money.

Then I began to use that mailing list for other business purposes. As my mailing list grew, I was able to sneak in things that I cared about. There was nightlife and fashion stuff but in between, there would be “This dog on the East Coast needs a home” or, “Here is a recipe for kale salad”.

This was twenty-five years ago, the “zine” mentality, at the beginning of the internet being what it is today.

And this was before blogs, it was just an email list that I hand kept.

The list grew as I grew and eventually became a website. It became everything I’ve come into. All the amazing people that have come into my life became a contributor or I’ve done events with or interviewed and the site has grown exponentially.

There have been copycats or should I say, sisters in the movement, and I think it’s a great thing. Now we’re in a different place. At the beginning, there were really not that many people doing it and there was a decent amount of ad sales coming in. Now it’s really truly an activism space at this point.

I keep it going because I’m really passionate about it. The next level is definitely going to be doing some video content again. I enjoyed do29

ing the About.com Green Living series. But, it wasn’t a free space to say whatever I wanted. It was, “How to have a green period”, “How to green your fridge”, quick second bites. That wasn’t really a place to get my personality out. GirlieGirl Army is really evolving, but still has a “throwback” vibe. A lot of people appreciate that because they think, “How many girls on Instagram am I supposed to follow that are wearing a bikini that says ‘kale’ on it and giving me a new recipe?”

GirlieGirl Army readers loved that we were funny, very raw, and dirty.

The contributors, writers and I used to make fun of ourselves, we were taking the piss out of ourselves. We were bawdy, s, East Village girls, who didn’t give a fuck. We were all rock n roll chicks, with tattoos and different color hair. We weren’t hippies, we were an interesting mixture of the hippie movement coming to the rock and roll movement. And I think we’re seeing it again, there’s that throwback happening. But, GirlieGirl Army was the first website to do green fashion in a really bawdy, “gives no fucks” kind of way.

I’m revamping GirlieGirl Army for a facelift, but I would never have let it go. I’m glad I have years of archives. I’ve watched a lot of people around me take angel investment rounds. They’d get bought by huge companies and then the company would ditch the website pretty instantaneously. They’d lose their heart and soul, it dissipated into dust. I think that’s a part of why spiritually I knew I wasn’t supposed to take funding and keep it going the way I did because it really managed to maintain its integrity. We said no to advertisers constantly that sold fur or leather or meat so there were setbacks in that way. But, I don’t have any regrets about it. I always managed to make it work and I supplemented it like many do. I did all these things simultaneously, 30

and now I have the great privilege of being able to be a stay/work at home mom. I think it’s important to constantly re-find your purpose. I think if you don’t look to reexamine the purpose of your business once a year, you might be getting too comfortable.

I don’t think that any vegan website is making real money right now. I think everybody big is just taking money from investors, basically.

And I don’t think that anything having to do with vegan lifestyle, unless it’s food right now is making a lot of money. I’m lucky enough to know all of these people from the beginning.

I know money is being thrown into the food. But the other stuff, not too

“Some people say vegans don’t care about people they only care about animals. I’ve never seen people who care more about people in my life than people in the vegan community. There’s so much compassion.”

much because it’s really oversaturated. Although you can never be oversaturated with voices promoting goodness.

I’ve learned it’s important to be realistic. I don’t want -year-old girls looking at me and my story in the magazines and photo shoots I’ve done and say, “I could have this lifestyle expert life and make a ton of money” because you can’t go into it for that. You can help animals more by becoming a lawyer and volunteering for an animal rights nonprofit, once a week, at night and donate an exponential amount of money. There are a lot of voices

right now in the pot and that’s wonderful but I think we have to be realistic about supporting ourselves and self-care. This (in the animal activism space) and burn out are huge issues. Sometimes you can be traumatized by looking at too many factory farming images and become numb.

That’s happened to me at different points. You have to be able to take steps back. It’s easy when you first get into the movement and you see what you’ve been missing to think, “I’m dropping it all! I’m going to just do this for a living!” and that’s a wonderful intention but there needs to also be thought about what our movement needs. Definitely, help and love, but it needs money. We need money to make it go bigger because there’s so much power in our dollar. There’s a reason why a big dairy company is now selling more almond milk than selling their dairy.

People often ask me if a big company has a vegan company should I buy that or from the small mom and pop shop brands. I always say to them you need to support both. We need to show big corporations that we are a voice and have a big financial mouth. And we also need to support the small burgeoning companies.

We’re going to become the behemoth that we need to become when we act with our dollars.

AB: Exactly. I have that conversation all the time just about beauty companies.

Every time a favorite make up brand is bought out by a major corporation, people freak out, but I think it’s a good thing.

CJD: But the purists are going to find a problem with everything. The purists are not my demographic. I’m not a perfectionist, because life isn’t perfect and life isn’t ensured.

AB: And it’s never going to be!

CJD: Right. Never! We have to be realists about the movement, where it’s going, where we’re failing, where LAFCNYC.COM

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we’re winning. Right now, we’re winning at food. I feel like the promotion of vegan beauty is more by default. It just happens to be vegan, other than for vegan women. But for the vast majority of the companies that are supported by vegan purchases, people that seek out specific vegan food, like vegan cheese or vegan meat, tend to be vegan for the most part.

I don’t think vegan fashion is where it’s supposed to be. For the most part, all the vegan fashion brands are basically struggling. This is no secret because there’s not as much of a demand. It’s the ethical, moral conundrum of what’s the most vegan & eco-conscious thing to do. It’s all hand in hand - do I buy the new, [high quality] vegan leather jacket or do I buy a vintage vegan leather jacket or do I buy a cheap polyurethane vegan leather jacket? There are so many layers of decision making that go into everything. Of course, at the end of the day, the cleanest things to do are clothing swaps and vintage stores. Adding more carbon emissions from bringing things back from China is definitely not an ecoconscious choice. Buying less is really the most vegan and eco-conscious choice. No one needs one hundred and fifty H&M shirts.

AB: Or one hundred pairs of shoes – I know, I used to have one hundred pairs of shoes and boots.

CJD: And by the way so did I. And I have to tell you, in the advent how of easy it is to donate and all of these niche places, my house is so organized now and I keep a box of things to donate. I give a lot of stuff to Give Back Box which is a really good program through Amazon, and Schoola.com where they donate to the Malala Fund, or a school of your choice.

It’s fantastic and they make it so easy. With Give Back Box, you just put it in a box and they give you a la32

bel to print out. It can be anything, old forks & knives or baby clothes or whatever. Anything you would donate to Goodwill basically, and leave it for your mailman. It’s a way to keep your mind and your house clean but a conscious, sustainable choice. Doing constant clearing is a really positive action for the entire circle of sustainability.

“Personal image is a poem that jumps into your head, when you feel most alive. It’s like the song you’re always singing in your head.

It’s the voice that you knew that you heard inside when you were a child but you were too afraid to let out.”

AB: I love it. I agree. Let’s wrap it up with some fun questions. How do you define “image”? What does personal image mean to you?

CJD: Personal image is a poem that jumps into your head, when you feel most alive. It’s like the song you’re always singing in your head. It’s the voice that you knew that you heard inside when you were a child but you were too afraid to let out. I remember when I was a little girl, maybe nine years old, I had this friend who lived on Long Island. She took me to this crystal store - you know they used to have those “goddessy-witchy” stores.

I don’t remember what it was called but I went in there and I felt this special feeling. I felt, this is what my life is going to be! I knew then who I really was. It wasn’t about the crystals or the store, it was like an energy that flooded through me. I knew I would be totally unafraid of how I wanted to express myself.

Being a girl that used to go to nightclubs in a towel with a towel in her hair or wearing pasties, I’ve been through all these different incarnations. I can say I’ve tried every walk, so I’m really happy with where I am now. I’m not constantly searching, it’s not a constant question. I think that’s the glory of being forty. I totally love to change up my look and I still think if you wear beige - it will kill you. But I think the older I get the less afraid I get. But also, I’m OK to be a little plainer. I used to always have to be like the most done up, the most glammed, like the most “drag-queened-out”. And now I’ve spent a few years walking around my neighborhood with no makeup and sweatpants and it’s allowed me to get to know myself on a totally different level. Style shouldn’t be anything that’s set in a block of stone.

I think it needs to be ever-shifting.

Sometimes you have to do dramatic things to shake it up and sometimes you need to stay still and be quiet, be your own mommy and allow yourself to be in a cocoon, in comfort. Not put on war paint and walk into the world with costumes. I just truly believe that it’s ever-evolving.

I definitely want to be a woman in her s with flame red hair and crazy jewelry. I have this vision that I want to be that eccentric Yenta with strange bracelets, but if I end up being a gray-haired, hippie, shoeless crone - that works for me too.

AB: I think you will have flaming red hair and giant sunglasses, in a green pantsuit and it will be fabulous!

CJD: I’m so into it! I think you can get away with so much more when you’re older, right? It’s also fearlessness, you don’t give a shit. And wearing fun things does make people happier! I was one of those kids from the s that shopped at Patricia Fields when it was still a tiny store on th street. I’m sure you did too. The crazier and weirder the betLAFCNYC.COM

ter! Like the fake fur covered bras and the lips shaped purses. All the things that Miley Cyrus and Tweens wear now were wild, crazy things in the ’s. I had a long, floor length, purple, fake fur coat that and huge platforms that I had specially made, that I wore when I did the door at nightclubs. All these fun things made me so happy, it was like playing dress up all the time. Sometimes I miss it but right now I’m too busy to play dress up all the time. My kids play dress up for me! But, I think that there should be a lot more fun in fashion. We should all be taking the piss out of ourselves a little bit more with our wardrobe.

AB: Who are your favorite designers right now?

CJD: I think that brand Amur is doing really beautiful and conscious stuff. I still wear a lot of Hatch maternity because it’s comfortable and I think they do really cool things. I love Temperley, which is not at all eco. Mara Hoffman is phenomenal.

She’s so my vision of how I could dress all the time if I could afford it.

She’s gone all eco, which is incredible, it’s huge. Of course, Stella [McCartney] is my fave. I love Stella. I love Olga Kapustina, I love stuff that she does. I can’t wait to see what she’s going to do with her new green collection. I love Beyond Skin, Cri de Couer, and Olsenhaus. I adore Adina Mills jewelry. There are so many, I could go on & on. I still love to vintage shop. As a Mom, it’s great to have all these apps that you can shop on for vintage clothes with really good prices. Although you have things shipped, and that’s certainly not the greenest move. If you can go local, obviously, that’s ideal.

But, in terms of the sustainability pay-out for having something made from new, versus having something shipped, you’re still better off buying vintage on apps. I find out about a lot about a lot of designers that I wouldn’t necessarily have known LAFCNYC.COM

about but I’m really into now because I’m buying stuff in a resale capacity.

AB: How about favorite beauty brands?

CJD: I really love Andalou. I’ve tried every vegan beauty brand and they’re the best bang for the buck.

The products smell incredible, they work so well and they give you a lot of product for the amount of money. I’m not someone who’s going to spend $ on a cream. I’m economical minded. I’d rather give that money or help people with that money. I’ve been using Zuzu vegan mascara forever, to me it’s the best by far. I’m really into this body oil

by Mun, it’s really unbelievable. It smells like heaven! I’ve been using Phlur vegan perfume. I like it and I love the packaging. I missed having my beautifully packaged perfume. I like the Pacifica ones, too, they’re really light. And I like some of the EO products, they’re well priced and work really well. For hair products, I love Alba. I love the new Kat Von D matte lipsticks, the super staying ones. With the vegan beauty stuff, you just have to try everything and see what works best for you, because there are so many brands now. I get a billion boxes a week to review and what I end up buying again is the final say.

AB: Tell me your best and worst fashion moments.

CJD: I think they are all my best.

Because they were all my worst, lol!

Do you know what I mean? I think it’s so cool when you look like a mess for a few years. I think it’s so awesome when I look at the pictures of when I had short hair. I had the ovaries and the chutzpah to do it, and so I just give myself props. I give a big hug to all of my former selves and I say yeah, it wasn’t the best look - but it was also awesome! I don’t think I had any style fails -- because they were all fails and they were all

“People often ask me if a big company has a vegan company should I buy that or from the small mom and pop shop brands. I always say to them you need to support both.

We need to show big corporations that we are a voice and have a big financial mouth. And we also need to support the small burgeoning companies. We’re going to become the behemoth that we need to become when we act with our dollars.” wins. Most of them are embarrassing moments. You know, it’s all sort of embarrassing. But, I’m not embarrassed at all, now.

AB: Fashion tips and tricks?

CJD: A mix of high and low is crucial. You can search a designer you really love, and find them on the cheap by googling, using coupon codes and due diligence. Mix your wardrobe with maybe an organic piece at H&M and with something vintage. Scour sales on your favorite eco-conscious and vegan designers, sign up to their mailing lists so you know when they have sales, and search for them at consignment stores and resale websites.

I love having clothing swaps with my girlfriends. I love my friends’ pre-loved clothes. Also swap in other ways with friends like, a friend who is great with hair and you’re great with nails. Just thinking economically and in terms of your com33

evated consciousness to levels of joy I never thought imaginable. To love an animal is to be forever changed.

Watch “Peaceable Kingdom” and let me know how you feel about continuing to eat them.

AB: My life’s work is...

CJD: My children’s bliss, fighting for animal equality, continuing to be brave, loving my beautiful husband, and putting words to paper. I came into this world a storyteller, singer, yenta with bravado, and that’s how I’ll go out. I plan to be the lady with the loudest pair of eyeglass frames, purple nails, and a paisley mumu at the old age home. The world is full of quiet mice afraid to speak out or be seen - I’m not of that ilk. I will speak out for injustice for the rest of my life. LGBTQ equality, animal rights, and public education are my current cri de coeurs. I’ve been actively involved in social justice activism for two decades, and I’m just getting started.

munity. If you have a never-ending budget it’s all very easy, right? There are eight hundred vegan hair salons and spas, you can go to Stella tomorrow and buy yourself ten bags. But, if you’re trying to live on a budget and more so live mindfully- you can do things smaller and more thoughtfully. That’s just better off for everybody including the animals.

AB: I like to end with my “Oprah” questions. Fill in the blanks: AB: The world needs...

CJD: Belief in magic, deep/uncomfortable levels of radical kindness, more impromptu dance parties, strong matcha, DNA tests (so we can all see how interconnected we truly are), fearless progressive democratic leaders who fight back, and more quiet.

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I know I need more nature, and we are all dramatically deficient in dirt on foot. Perhaps if we all got closer to the trees, there wouldn’t be a question as to why we need to preserve the basics of humanity - air, nature, wildlife.

AB: Animals are...

CDJ: Equal to me, if not superior.

Animals are my version of heaven whether kissing a cow at Farm Sanctuary or fostering litters of puppies for NYC rescue group Waggytail or petting our own menagerie of rescued pets, there is never a moment I’m not awed by their majestic beauty and perfection. The way humans treat animals keeps me up at night.

This is why I do this work - this living activism work - for them. Connecting to my animal loving self-el-

AB: What’s next for you?

CJD: I’m currently launching a podcast with my best friend Matthew Boren: writing a children’s book called “Why Can’t Mommy Sing?”; planning a series of women’s parenting consortiums, and (for fun) uploading all my music on to Soundcloud and writing again - under my name! Going deep back into the core of who I am - and - age be damned - letting her out.

And, of course, growing GirlieGirlArmy.com on all channels. Our weekly newsletter has been a safe space for glamorous good girls for decades, we will never let our longtime readers down - we will evolve alongside them.

Follow Chloé at www.girliegirlarmy. com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Patreon (no longer on MySpace) ;-) LAFCNYC.COM

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Written by Adrienne Borgersen Photograph by Jeremy Davis

BRAINY...

BEAUTIFUL… VEGANS

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t is my pleasure to introduce you to these two powerhouses!

Friends of Chloé Jo Davis (our cover story) Karliin Brooks and Medea Juhasz truly embody a compassionate lifestyle in every way.

These women, driven by their hard work ethics and quest for a healthier life, developed their own, transformational formulas. Now they work to share their secrets with the world.

Here is a bit about their health inspired professional journeys. They were also kind enough to take the time to model for our Fashion Editorial, on the pages that follow. Believe it or not, both of these women are in their ’s and look pretty friggin’ fabulous, if you ask me!

Juice-maven Karliin Brooks had solidified her ranking as New York City’s Vegan Queen. Her ever-recognizable brand of juice bars, The Squeeze™, has expanded to include four shops in Brooklyn and Manhattan, a food truck, and a full line of packaged goods with nationwide distribution. Brooks brought her irreverent, no-holds-barred approach to her new book SQUEEZE LIFE: Your Guide to the Best Bare Body.

She introduces readers to the effects of truly mindful eating by falling back in love with produce and celebrating the joy of real, good natural food and juice. Karliin strongly believes that “diets” (ewww) don’t work, so instead she will teach you how to adopt new habits to help you live happy and healthy. (available at Barnes and Noble nationwide and wherever books are sold) Since selling her business in August , Karliin has dedicated her time to her holistic health consulting, nutritional therapy and detoxification for private and corporate wellness clients.

She has trained with world-renowned health leaders over the years and has worked with ’s of LAFCNYC.COM

clients. She uses both modern and ancient healing modalities including Chinese elements, Ayurveda, a modern approach to naturopathic medicine, energy medicine/balancing, weight loss, nutritional therapy, detoxification, cooking consultation, meal planning, and an organic home meal delivery service.

Karliin graduated from New York University with degrees in broadcast journalism and nutrition and received her culinary arts training at the Natural Gourmet Institute.

Karliin lives in NYC and is a dedicated lifetime vegan. She also runs a distressed animal rescue operation. She committed to a juicing and cleansing lifestyle when she was diagnosed with Graves’ disease, noticed physical and emotional improvements almost immediately and has been dedicating her life to improving herself and others ever since.

Find Karliin’s book at Barnes & Noble.

Medea Juhasz is a luxury fashion industry executive and certified Holistic Health Coach. Her product “Herbalore” is inspired by both her studies of nutrition and her personal journey. Witnessing her own total health transformation put Medea on the path to formulate Catalyst Cold, an all-natural superfood supplement, with a fashion forward, prestige appeal.

“I subconsciously started developing my first formula, Catalyst Gold almost a decade ago. Although I recovered from addiction issues, I couldn’t get rid of my extreme sugar and fatty food cravings. I had liver damage, digestive issues, ulcers, a weak immune system, allergies and

recurring sinus infections. I was a lifelong binge eater and overweight.

Desperate to find the “magic pill” to curb my cravings, heal my liver and fix my digestion, I began studying nutrition and herbalism along with different dietary theories in search of curing myself through natural medicine. I started experimenting with adding herbs, minerals and back then barely known superfoods to my daily routine. A few months later without diets or self-deprivation, my cravings vanished; I felt energized and was able to switch to a plant-based diet. I started losing weight, my liver and digestion improved and my acute seasonal allergies disappeared. I perfected the doses of the + supplements, teas, and powders I consumed every day, being motivated by the incredible longevity and anti-aging “side effects” of my routine. The two comments I hear the most, ‘I would like to live a healthier lifestyle, just don’t know how to start’ and ‘I wish I could have the willpower to eat healthier’.

I have zero willpower, and I was completely clueless at the time I started my health journey. My mission is to change the way people eat and think about a healthy lifestyle being ‘hippie’ and/or difficult to maintain. I believe if people are given a vehicle to make a health resolution into a permanent lifestyle, they will.

I partnered up with a state of the art NY la b-ma nufact urer to create Catalyst Gold, a kick-starter supplement for those who are new to the wellness party.

Find Herbalore at Herbalorenyc.com 37

FASHION EDITORIAL THE LUXURY OF COMPASSION! Written by Adrienne Borgersen Photographed by Jeremy Davis Styled by Adrienne Borgersen, Medea Jehusz, Karliin Brooks and Chloé Jo Davis Hair by Tomomi Iwata and Alicia Trani Makeup by Roberto Alvarado, Jr.

Karliin is wearing the “Jumper”

by Pelush, Cri de Coeur shoes and necklace by Adina Mills.

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nimal fur and leather are cruel and toxic commodities.

We all know how miserably the animals are treated – captured or bred, tortured and slaughtered, for our clothing. This is not a “by product” of the food industry. Fashion is a multi-trillion-dollar industry. Animal hides are often more valuable for fashion, than their meat, for food.

Did you know that to create animal fur and leather, the hides are treated with more than toxic chemicals?

These materials are often created in third world countries, unregulated.

Factory workers, sometimes children, are submerged in the chemicals daily and the chemicals are also dumped into the local water supply, contaminating it and spreading who knows how far and wide.

These toxins, including high levels of formaldehyde and ethoxylates can cause allergies, cancer and hormonal imbalances by being absorbed through air or skin and can remain in the body for over twenty years, causing chronic health effects. So, it’s not just the workers that are in danger. We endanger ourselves by wearing these garments, saturated in invisible poisons. Is this worth a pair of shoes, a jacket or a handbag?

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We simply no longer live in a world where any of this is necessary.

Some people feel the best way to challenge and take down the leather and fur industries is not only to avoid buying and wearing these textiles, but to also not buy or wear “faux” versions. Some may feel that by wearing the alternative versions, we encourage others to keep wearing animal leather and fur. Or, they’re just icked out by the idea of wearing anything that resembles an animal skin. These are respectable opinions and there are many other choices of textiles and great designs, from which to choose.

I, on the other hand, am excited and encouraged by the many “vegan leather” and “vegan fur” options available today, made from either plant based or synthetic materials.

I don’t believe it’s realistic to think that everyone is going to stop wearing their favorite styles. In the advent of designers like Stella McCartney in the luxury space, many of her customers don’t even realize or at least they don’t care that the brand’s handbags and shoes aren’t animal leather. The fashion industry isn’t going away and it’s our responsibility as compassionate and educated consumers to tell them what we want, with our dollars. We do have that power. If Stella can do it, so can every designer.

While there is always the argument about over consuming and increasing landfills, more and more designers, vegan or not, are beginning to paying attention to the supply chain, demanding and creating necessary, healthier, kinder choices.

Luxury brands like Gucci are phasing out real fur. Mainstream brands like Free People have a whole line made with vegan leather. Fashionista Compassionistas like you and I are rejecting “fast fashion” and investing more money in fewer, higher LAFCNYC.COM

Medea is wearing the “Jackie” dress

by Pelush and Cri de Coeur shoes

quality items, that truly reflect who we are, rather than the weekly trend.

vegan leather. The shoes are by one of my favorite brands, Cri de Couer.

On these pages are some of my favorite, fabulous, luxury designers.

We are here to show you that you never, ever have to give up your personal style to live a compassionate life. You can find vegan pieces pretty much anywhere. Read the labels and discover what’s out there!

The faux fur apparel of Pelush is % synthetic fur. But you would never know the difference with these gorgeous, modern, chic coats, dresses and more.

The vegan leather pieces include dresses by Sheri Bodell. Popular with celebrities for her party dresses, shes is not a vegan designer, but has embraced the “trend” to use

Indulge in your luxury taste. The future of fashion is cruelty free!! *** Read more about Pelush in this Forbes.com article written by our very own Katrina Fox here! *** 39

Karliin is wearing a faux fur jumpsuit and the “Regina” coat by Pelush, Cri de Coeur shoes and necklace by Adina Mills

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Medea is wearing the “Nur” coat by Pelush 41

Karliin and Medea are wearing the “Kate” and “Nur” coats by Pelush

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Medea is wearing a faux leather dress

by Sheri Bodell, Cri de Coeur shoes and necklace by Adina Mills

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Medea is wearing a faux leather skirt and black crystal embellished bodysuit by Sheri Bodell and shoes by Cri de Coeur

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BFFs Karlin, Chloé & Medea are wearing faux fur coats

by Pelush LAFCNYC.COM

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THE MANY BENEFITS OF EATING WITH THE SEASONS

By Sunny Hjorthol Gandara

While so many people feel stress around the holidays, it has always been my favorite time of year. Everything from Halloween and scary movies, to the food-centric Thanksgiving and the month of December with its many celebrations (and happens to be my birth month), I love it all.

After months of lighter eating in the spring and summer, my body longs for hot, richer and soothing meals.

It’s when we give ourselves ‘permission’ to eat a little more, seek out extra treats and experiment with more decadent dishes. No wonder it’s a favorite time for foodies like myself!

In the world of plants, decadent does not have to be equivalent to fattening or unhealthy, however! During the colder winter months, it’s natural to crave heavier foods that provide comfort, warmth, and coziness to the plate. This does not necessarily mean unhealthy or high-calorie LAFCNYC.COM

or foods that weigh us down. Ever since I became vegan and learn to re-do animal-based dishes into plant-based versions, I’m always in awe of how these new creations are not only equally tasty, but they are actually healthy in many ways as well.

When I think of making a dish, I always consider what is in season. Not only is produce more flavorful in its rightful time of year, but it’s also more nutritious and least expensive.

To me, that’s a win-win and the most natural way to cook.

For me, fall and winter are all about the root vegetable and the heartier cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli. These are also some of the most versatile vegetables out there, that can be steamed, roasted, sautéed and pureed and used as a side dish, in soups, stews, dips, sauces and even desserts.

Creamy soups for me is something that I find is a crowd pleaser during the holidays. Not only are they easy to like, but they are really simple to make. For the busy cook, it’s a great choice, because it is something you can make once in a big batch, to provide a number of meals you can freeze and have on hand during the busy weekdays.

The beauty of cooking with whole, plant-based foods, is that not only can you create incredibly exciting and flavorful meals, but they provide nutrient-rich ingredients that are good for your internal health, which in turn will also show up on the exterior.

For this article I decided to make a creamy soup from kabocha squash, often referred to as pumpkin’s sweeter cousin. To me, I love the flavor and texture of this winter squash, and it’s a bit more interesting than the traditional butternut squash we 47

p! e Ti Win is rich ve th p w ith Ser ou my s ied crea ll-bod a fu v ray.

Vou

see everywhere. I chose to add in a sweet potato for extra sweetness, color, and depth, with some aromatics like ginger, fennel and cumin seeds to brighten up the flavor.

Why should you eat winter squash and sweet potatoes?

Biotin, a part of the complex B vitamins, is a nutrient that prevalent in both foods, and has been linked to strengthened hair and nails and maintaining proper function of the nervous system. B vitamins affect hormone function, and can, in turn, play a significant role in skin health. If the skin isn’t nourished from the inside out, toxicities will form throughout the nervous system and manifest itself on the skin’s surface. This is one of the biggest signs 48

that suggest a deficiency in biotin or vitamin B. Although a deficiency in biotin isn’t very common, it can show up in those that rely heavily on a processed food diets, in alcoholics, those with Crohn’s disease or liver diseases. Symptoms will show up in the form of cracked skin around the mouth, flaky skin, hair loss and depression.

If you are struggling with which nutrient-dense foods to eat during the winter, sweet potatoes and winter squash are fantastic choices. In addition to the above-mentioned health benefits, they contain high amounts of Vitamin A which support your nails, hair, and skin. Additionally, these vegetables are rich in Vitamin C, an antioxidant that helps lower stress which can weaken

collagen, elastin, and keratin in the body. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that aids in combating free radical production that can lead to aging.

For optimal health benefits, it’s best to steam, bake, or cook them low and slow. This will enhance their antioxidant content and prevent overcooking.

When I serve a creamy soup, I like to provide some texture or crunch with it, and toasted pepita seeds (pumpkin seeds) is a perfect, seasonally appropriate and nutritious addition.

Raw pumpkin seeds are some of the most nutritious and alkaline seeds you can eat. They’re rich in protein, iron, magnesium, potassium, biotin, and omega fatty acids. Like almonds, they are alkaline formLAFCNYC.COM

ing, which means they help build the body up instead of breaking it down. Great for strengthening nails, pumpkin seeds also contribute to shiny hair and glowing skin. Adding just a couple of tablespoons a day will provide you with these health benefits sooner than you think!

If you don’t have pepita seeds handy, any other seeds like sesame seeds, flaxseed or sunflower seeds will provide you with healthy fats and the welcoming texture against the creamy soup. I opted for black sesame seeds in the picture, which also added a rich, deep flavor reminiscent of dark chocolate or coffee.

Drizzle on a little cashew cream or coconut cream to provide additional creaminess and “design” on your plate, and you’ve now officially gone over the top!

Enjoy this soup, because while it will taste rich and “naughty”, you can know that it will do your body good while impressing your guest at

the same time. Now how many traditional holiday dishes can you say do that?!

CROWD-PLEASING HOLIDAY KABOCHA SQUASH SOUP • large or medium kabocha squash, cut in half, core removed of seeds • large or medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in half • - sprigs of fresh thyme • large leek, white and lighter green parts sliced • garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped • -inch knob fennel, peeled and roughly chopped • tbsp fresh oregano (or tsp dried) • ½ tsp fennel seeds • tsp cumin seeds • tsp coriander seeds • bay leaf • tbsp olive oil • cups vegetable stock • salt and pepper to taste • ½ cup cashew cream to drizzle on top for garnish (recipe below)

5 TIPS TO CREATE YOUR OWN SIGNATURE STYLE IN THE KITCHEN: . Decide what you want the essence of your cooking to be. Seasonal?

Raw? Locally sourced? Baking or desserts only? Your choice should be based on something you truly enjoy eating or cooking. . Now, what is your style? Is it quick and easy? Italian? Greek? Farm to table? Healthy or low calorie? Think about what you mostly gravitate to and what you think you’d be most successful with. . Keep it simple. To me, that means using quality products. Simple food tastes best and will shine on its own without the need for fancy ingredients. It will also showcase your personality because you will not have the ability to hind behind a lot of “fluff ”. . Pick something you already love, and come up with a twist on it.

If you are already familiar with making a pasta dish, try changing up how you present it or substitute an ingredient or two. This will make it unique to you, hence your own signature dish! . Have fun! When you connect with your joy and cook from a place of love, the results will show!

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toasted pepita seeds as a topping (or other seeds – optional)

Preheat the oven to degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle a little salt on the cleaned squash and sweet potato halves. Stuff the squash cavities with a thyme spring, and place cut side down on the prepared baking sheet. Season sweet potato halves with oil and salt and place on sheet with the squash. Bake in the oven - minutes until soft.

Remove from oven and let cool.

Scoop out the flesh of the squash, discard peel.

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot, add in the leeks, ginger, and garlic with the oregano and a pinch of salt and saute for about minutes. Add in the bay leaf fennel, cumin, and coriander seeds and saute for another - minutes until fragrant.

Pour in the vegetable stock and the cooked squash and sweet potatoes and simmer for about minutes.

Puree the soup with a hand-held blender directly in the soup pot or in batches in a high-powered blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot, with a drizzle of the cashew cream and the toasted pepita seeds.

Cashew Cream Makes about / cups • • • • •

cup raw cashews soaked for several hours ½ cup water heaping tbsp. nutritional yeast a squeeze of fresh lemon from ½ lemon salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a highpowered blender and puree a couple of minutes until completely smooth and thick.

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THE A LIST Our editor’s fave pics in fashion & beauty!

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’m really excited about the influx of new designers coming up in the cruelty free fashion space.

Here are a few of my favorites that you should know: Take a look at Sonja Vajifdar and Faeth, by Address Chic. All of these pieces are created with not just creativity and style, but with completely sustainable materials.

Photos courtesy of the designers

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If you don’t know Bead & Reel, they are an online marketplace, home to some of the coolest and most comfortable designs in ethical fashion.

I’m basically in love these pieces.

Must haves for easy, chic style.

And to add the finishing touch to your vegan warrior style, Cykochik has come out with their “Vegan Flag” crossbody handbag. Brightly and proudly wear your message and look great doing it!

Buy it here LAFCNYC.COM

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ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT

PROVIDENCE PROVIDES Joy Pierson Co-owner of Candle Café, Candle 79 and Candle Café West, NYC WRITTEN AND INTERVIEWED BY KATRINA FOX Joy photo by Rogerio Voltan

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ccording to the old (and somewhat sexist) proverb, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. In the case of Joy Pierson and Bart Potenza, however, the roles were reversed – it was his cooking that won her over. It was at Bart’s fruit juice bar in New York City, on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Three years later Joy, a nutritional counselor, joined the Healthy Candle as a business partner. During its -year history, the business morphed into a vitamin store and fullservice juice bar, before becoming Candle Café in , serving an array of delicious vegan, organic dishes.

Since then the pair have opened two more restaurants: Candle , an elegant fine-dining eatery, also on the Upper East Side, and Candle Café West on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. These mission-driven entrepreneurs are all about shining a positive light into the world. In addition to serving delicious, healthy, plant-based, seasonal meals, they regularly support non-profit organizations that help people, animals and the planet, including the “Healthy School Food Coalition”, of which Joy was a director.

Joy shares why they use shamans and other alternative practitioners in all aspects of the business, how they coped with losing all their customers in the early days, and the challenges of running several restaurants.

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Candle Cafe Cocktails

Joy, you were a nutritional counselor and a customer of Bart’s juice bar in 1984. How did it come about that you teamed up with him to open the first “Candle Cafe”?

He made me a sandwich and my life was never the same! When I ate Bart’s plant-based cuisine, I felt so good. My skin, hair and mental clarity all improved—and like a good movie, I wanted to tell everyone.

The food energized me and for the first time in my life, losing weight was effortless.

How did you come up with the name? What is its significance?

Bart bought the original restaurant from women who blessed it daily by lighting candles in hopes of lighting the way for a kinder world. He loved 54

the message and “Healthy Candle” was born, which eventually became “Candle Cafe”.

In the beginning, you were working 18-hour days under a lot of pressure. How did you make your relationship work?

We had a soul connection with a common mission which helped to overcome the challenges we faced.

We did not always agree, but we always respected each other.

Back in the day, a vegetarian cafe and health food store was opening across the street from what was to be Candle Cafe. The prospective owners had investors with far more money and expertise than we had at the time. Bart questioned whether we should move forward with our

cafe, but I felt that we should just do it. We would be risking it all, only to have the competition potentially leave us in the dust.

But after much back-and-forth, we finally agreed that our mission to share delicious plant-based food with the world was more important than the fear of failing. The funny thing is that the competition lost the deposit on the space and the owners disputed, which led to their disbanding, and their cafe never opened.

So our faith in the unknown and our fear of competition was overcome. The lesson was to not concern ourselves with that which is beyond our control...and that lesson holds true for everything in life.

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“The lesson was to not concern ourselves with that which is beyond our control…”

What advice would you offer other couples who are either thinking about opening or already running a business together?

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Keep an open communication with lots of laughter mixed in. Remember, do not make important decisions when you are exhausted.

Did the business suffer during this time?

It’s a challenging business but we always kept the “Candle-light” burning. Despite any personal hardships, the work was too important.

Were you ever afraid the business would fail? If so, how did you cope?

When we initially moved from st to th St, we lost all of our customers. It was really disheartening because we had only moved four city blocks to a bigger and better space and we thought our clientele would LAFCNYC.COM

be excited to follow us there. But we were empty, while the diner up the block, which served typical breakfast fare – eggs, bacon, cheese – had lines around the corner. Their success made us question and re-consider our healthy menu. We began to question whether we should include dairy on our menu.

So, I called a potential dairy purveyor and had him explain the dairy production process to me. He said that cows are, “...raped in rape racks, and the babies are taken away from their moms after one day of being birthed.” I was in tears! He asked, “Do you want the dairy, or do you want the calf to get the milk?”

I said that I wanted the calf to get the milk, and that was the end of the discussion to add dairy to our menu.

The impact that conversation had on me was devastating and stays with me to this day. It made us that much more resolute in remaining true to

our plant-based mission, although that in itself was not enough to get people through the doors.

Then three things happened that would change the trajectory of the business.

[First], At the recommendation of [radio host] Robin Quivers, Howard Stern called “Candle” live on the air to order lunch and talk about his new health kick. After that, we fed Howard every day and loved doing so. He couldn’t believe how food that tasted so good could also be good for you.

Then a frequent customer landed us a free radio spot for a major credit card company. The tagline read, “No bones to pick at the Candle Café”, and it asked customers to come dine with us.

A third lucky coup: Eric Asimov of The New York Times reviewed 55

Newly Renovated Candle Cafe

“We act with purity of intention and that echoes through all three locations. We truly believe that once you commit, providence provides.”

“Candle Cafe”. His glowing review exposed the culinary significance of vegan dining. The reviews exposed our cuisine to bigger than the TriState area, and the buzz grew from there.

While these three marketing miracles helped us survive, we still take it one day at a time, moment to moment and we never rest on our laurels. We continually look to build our customer base and, along the way, make genuine connections within our community and beyond.

How did you know it was time to expand and open the next two restaurants?

It actually happened organically, but customer demand, coupled with our 56

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dedication to making a difference, definitely gave us the impetus to see them both through to fruition.

Why did you decide to keep them under the “Candle” brand?

We were proud of what we had built and what the name meant within our community.

What are the challenges involved in owning more than one restaurant and how do you handle them?

The challenges definitely multiply with more restaurants, but we face them head on with strong organization leading the way. In running three businesses simultaneously, we’ve learned not to let things fester or wait out any concern. In order to avoid being overwhelmed or having issues compound at a later point, it’s important to be proactive and solution-oriented.

A few years back, in an effort to be environmentally conscious, instead of using plastic utensils, we invested a lot of money in to-go spoons made of corn. Customers called reporting that their soup tasted funny, kind of like corn – it was from the melted spoon! So something that was seemingly so great for the environment backfired on us. This was an example of the best of intentions gone awry. Needless to say, we called the spoon manufacturer and pulled the spoons out of service. We took a financial loss but we didn’t let our dreams melt with the spoons.

The bottom line is, there will always be issues, but our passion for vegan cuisine has always sustained us.

You’ve used healers, shamans and feng shui in the restaurants. At what stage did you do this? Was it before each eatery was built, incorporated into the design, or after you were ready to open?

We have always been attracted to alternative empowerment and how to use it in both our personal and professional lives. It’s also been an important component in all of our restaurants, at various stages of development.

What did these processes involve and what are their advantages?

They involved all aspects of the business. We used them in the décor and design of the restaurants. We’ve worked with shamans and feng shui masters to remove old energy from previous inhabitants to allow our healthy intentions to vibrate at the highest frequency. It’s cleansing, it’s powerful, and it resonates in feeling.

Bart Potenza LAFCNYC.COM

What do you attribute the success of the restaurants?

Everyone and everything! Our passionate, creative chefs, Jorge Pineda and Angel Ramos, continue to dis57

cover ways to entice our diners’ palates. We partner with local, organic farmers who help us select the highest quality ingredients. We also value input from our dedicated, loyal staff, and from our devoted, supportive patrons. We act with purity of intention and that echoes through all three locations. We truly believe that once you commit, providence provides.

You recently renovated the original “Candle Cafe”. What was the reasoning behind this?

We’re now feeding our fourth generation of customers. So, after years, we wanted to modernize and freshen things up to attract an even wider audience.

What has changed at the newly renovated Candle Cafe and what was the process?

We closed last summer for about six weeks to renovate. We brightened up the space, giving it a modern vibe with clean lines and sleek, eco-friendly decor, including new furniture, seating, and new kitchen equipment. This allowed us to update our mouth-watering menu.

And we included an eco bar serving a variety of sustainable spirits that shared our commitment. It was an exciting period for our hard-working team.

“We make healthy, nutrient-dense, missiondriven comfort food and we always will.”

What does ‘image’ mean to you?

It means always putting our best

What has changed at the newly renovated Candle Cafe and what was the process?

We closed last summer for about six weeks to renovate. We brightened up the space, giving it a modern vibe with clean lines and sleek, eco-friendly decor, including new furniture, seating, and new kitchen equipment. This allowed us to update our mouth-watering menu.

And we included an eco bar serving a variety of sustainable spirits that shared our commitment. It was an exciting period for our hard-working team.

What does ‘image’ mean to you?

It means always putting our best food forward. We want to personify what health is and what true wellbeing feels and tastes like.

You recently renovated the original “Candle Cafe”. What was the reasoning behind this?

We’re now feeding our fourth generation of customers. So, after years, we wanted to modernize and freshen things up to attract an even wider audience.

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food forward. We want to personify what health is and what true wellbeing feels and tastes like.

What about on a business level?

We’ve always wanted to be an ambassador for health and good-quality food. Ninety percent of our customers are not vegan. We attribute this to the fact that we serve quality products that are undeniably tasty.

How do you and Bart create the image or the concept of the restaurants? Is there a theme?

Food Fresh from Farm to Table is our mantra. Organic, local and seasonal fare is the core of all three menus. Our mission is to serve our guests the freshest products possible in a compassionate environment.

Is what the establishments look like important to the overall concept right from the beginning, or does that come later?

In order to attract new customers, it is imperative to have an attractive aesthetic that’s in sync with the overall concept. We use a lot of natural materials and recyclables to reinforce our brand and mission.

Joy, when I interviewed you for my book and podcast and then met you in person at my book launch at “Candle Cafe West”, one of the things that came across every time was that you are Joy by name and joy by nature! How do you continue to maintain such a positive attitude and vibe, especially in the face of the high pressure and challenges in-

“(Image to us)…means always putting our best food forward” What image does the Candle brand convey and does each restaurant have its own individual image?

We are a vegan brand, with no compromises, that our customers can count on. It is our goal to provide our guests with healthful, nourishing, peaceful plates. While all three of our restaurants echo that sentiment, the vibe of each restaurant is unique.

“Candle Cafe” is a bit more relaxed; the mecca for vegan comfort food.

We consider “Candle ” to be our sexier sister, fine-dining location.

And “Candle Cafe West” is a hip hybrid of the two, and the only one that is kosher. So, no matter what the occasion, there is a Candle restaurant for everyone.

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volved in being an entrepreneur and running restaurants?

Thank you for your kind words! I strive to live up to them. I love being inspired and inspiring others with JOY in my heart and vegan food on the table.

You’re big on collaboration.

How do you decide to partner with other entrepreneurs or companies?

In any collaboration, we’ve always been mindful of maintaining the integrity of our brand and product.

Partnerships mean compromise and it’s important to go into any relationship realizing that. As such, we choose to work with individuals and brands that are also mission-driven and that promote similar core ide-

als, such as healthful living, organic practices, sustainability and so on.

Ultimately, what usually makes it a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ is what we think will have the most positive impact. Kindness matters to the Candle family.

We continue to react to national disasters, raising money for animal protection, rescue organizations, and other charitable organizations that align with our values.

We currently have several cocktail programs that support reforestation.

“Candle ” planted , trees in India in partnership with a liquor company’s program. In such instances, we’re able to promote quality product while also giving back.

It’s a win-win.

In my previous interview with you both, you said you never had a marketing plan. But things have changed in the world and you are starting to do this. So what’s different now?

Marketing has changed so much over the years. Everything seems to move so much faster and information is so accessible. When we started, most people knew of us only by word of mouth. Now we’ve optimized our online presence, made social media engagement a priority, and we’ve recently revamped our website to make it more functional and user-friendly.

How do you go about ensuring that your veteran brand stays relevant, particularly in the midst of the explosion in popularity of vegan and plant-based restaurants and food businesses?

While we keep a pulse on trends, we are always authentic to the “Candle” way. We make healthy, nutrientdense, mission-driven comfort food and we always will. But finding creative ways to build on that is always fun. All three of our restaurants now have full eco-bars. So we’ve 59

Joy with Chefs Angel Ramos and Jorge Pineda

Joy teaching kids at the Market photo by Mimi Giboin

gone beyond just food and now our guests can sip sustainably too!

You’re both all about making the world a kinder place for all and giving back. Joy, you were the Director of the “Healthy School Food Coalition”. Why did you get involved in this?

I believe it is everyone’s birthright to be taught about good food and to have it available to them.

Through education, we’re helping to provide these children and their families with tools that are invaluable to their long-term health.

Joy and Bart with the Healthy School Food Coalition 60

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How has being involved in this affected your life, and the business?

It’s empowering. We believe finding new ways to be inspired is integral to success. We are changing the world one bite at a time. What is more inspiring than feeding the next generation?

What other causes have you been involved in and why?

Bart has been a proud member of Green America, Social Ventures Network, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, The Presidents Club at F.A.R.M., P.E.T.A. and Farm Sanctuary. We’ve done great work with The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), and we will always be active participants in projects and causes that align with our mission.

What are the business benefits of collaborating with nonprofits and campaign groups?

Building a community. It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to help

people and to gain knowledge simultaneously. In unity, there is power to facilitate real change. There are, of course, the clear benefits of networking, increased brand visibility and the potential of garnering new customers.

But the direct benefit to us as individuals we find in the work itself: helping kids in a New York City public school in Harlem where percent of them live in shelters, and being able to nourish their bodies and spirits, nourishes us in return. Our participation in people’s healthcare with a plant-based diet is a true added benefit. A healthier you makes for a healthier world.

Why is giving back so important to you?

It’s a natural process that builds from our commitment. The more generous we are, the more abundant we become in body, mind, and spirit. As I said earlier, we truly believe that once you commit, providence provides.

Foxy Business Tip: AUTHENTICITY

For those who can’t get to your fabulous eateries, you’ve generously written three cookbooks. What are they?

“Candle Cafe Cookbook”, with recipes from the original vegan eatery; “Candle ”, with recipes from our elegant upper east side establishment; and “Vegan Holiday Cooking”, from which we are sharing two recipes with you, so you can make all of your holidays delicious and compassionate!

Visit the “Candle Café” website for full details of all three locations: http://www.candlecafe.com/ Listen to another interview with Joy Pierson and Bart Potenza on the Vegan Business Talk podcast: http://veganbusinessmedia.com / vbt-interview-with-joy-piersonand-bart-potenza-of-candle-cafe/

als. Many new business owners believe they have to be and look conservative, but that may not be right for your brand.

by Katrina Fox

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It’s more important than ever for businesses and brands to be authentic – in other words, customers are done with being duped or ripped off by companies that purport to be one thing but in reality, turn out to be the opposite.

Decide on who your main customers are and what they respond to, and then combine that with the values of your brand to deliver a strong and memorable image of your business.

So, decide what image you want to convey to your clients.

Are you going for luxury? If so, make sure the imagery and photos you use don’t make your brand look cheap. If you’re all about fun, reflect that color and quirkiness in your marketing materi-

With the internet and social media putting brands under the spotlight like never before, consumers can detect incongruency in a heartbeat, so choose your image wisely.

Remember that if you’re the public face of your business, your personal brand is equally as important. So if you’re selling fitness, for example, you’d better walk your talk and be fit yourself.

Check out the Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business book and the weekly Vegan Business Talk podcast for more business success tips and interviews with entrepreneurs from across the globe.

Find out more at www.veganbusinessmedia.com 61

ROASTED SQUASH SOUP WITH ALMOND CREAM AND SPICED PUMPKIN SEEDS

Enjoy 2 Bonus Recipes from C a n d l e C a f é ’ s “ Ve g a n H o l i d a y C oo k i ng ”

Reprinted with permission from Vegan Holiday Cooking from Candle Cafe, copyright

by Joy Pierson, Angel Ramos, and Jorge Pineda. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Photography copyright

by Jim Franco.

ALMOND CREAM INGREDIENTS . cups sliced almonds . tablespoons safflower oil . tablespoons fresh lemon juice . - / teaspoons sea salt . / cup water . tablespoon chopped fresh chives ROASTED SQUASH SOUP INGREDIENTS . pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into -inch pieces . tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil . cup diced white onion . cup chopped apple . / teaspoon ground cinnamon . / teaspoon chipotle chile powder . / teaspoon chopped fresh sage . / teaspoon fresh rosemary . / lemongrass stalk, split . - / teaspoons sea salt . cups vegetable stock . spiced pumpkin seeds . cup pumpkin seeds, hulled . tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil . - / teaspoons fresh lemon juice . Pinch of ground cinnamon . Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

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INSTRUCTIONS . To make the cream, the day before serving, put the almonds in a bowl and add enough water to cover them. Cover and let soak overnight in the refrigerator. . Drain the nuts and transfer to a blender. Add the oil, lemon juice, salt, and water and blend until smooth, about minutes. Transfer to a bowl, stir in the chives, and set aside. The cream will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to days. . Preheat the oven to °F. Oil a rimmed baking sheet. . Spread out the squash on the prepared baking sheet and roast for minutes, stirring occasionally. . To make the soup, heat the oil and buttery spread in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, apple, cinnamon, chipotle powder, sage, rosemary, lemongrass, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for minutes. Add the squash to the pot and stir to coat, about minutes. Add the stock, bring to a boil, decrease the heat, and simmer, covered, until the squash is tender, about minutes. Remove the lemongrass stalk and let the soup cool. . Transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Or blend the soup with an immersion blender until smooth. This will have to be done in batches. The soup can be made ahead of time up to this point. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to days or frozen up to months.

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PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE with APPLE CIDER REDUCTION Reprinted with permission from Vegan Holiday Cooking from Candle Cafe, copyright

by Joy Pierson, Angel Ramos, and Jorge Pineda. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Photography copyright

by Jim Franco.

Be sure to save room for this fantastic cheesecake, a creative dessert that uses classic Thanksgiving ingredients—pumpkin, apple cider, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

The pie and frosting can be made up to days ahead of time. serves

to

. cups vegan cream cheese . cups agave nectar or maple syrup . cups plain unsweetened soy milk . cup pumpkin puree . ½ cups ( ounces) silken tofu . cup arrowroot powder . tablespoon agar powder . teaspoon ground cinnamon . ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg Apple Cider Reduction . cups apple cider . cup unrefined sugar . ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg . ½ recipe Vanilla–Cream Cheese Frosting (page ), (optional) Directions . Preheat the oven to °F. Wrap aluminum foil around the bottom and halfway up the sides of a -inch springform pan to prevent any leaking. . Combine the cream cheese, agave, soy milk, pumpkin, tofu, arrowroot, agar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl and stir together. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth and ingredients are fully integrated.

This may have to be done in batches. Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan. . Put the cheesecake in a large baking pan and fill the pan halfway with hot water. Bake for about hours, until lightly browned. Remove, let cool, cover, and refrigerate. The cheesecake LAFCNYC.COM

can be made up to days ahead of time. . To make the cider reduction, combine the cider, sugar, and nutmeg in a pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is reduced by half and is syrupy, to ½ hours. The reduction can be made and refrigerated up to hours ahead of time. Bring to room temperature before serving. . To serve, remove the foil from the pan. Run a knife around the outer edge of the cheesecake and release the springform pan clamp. Put the cake on a plate or cake stand. Pipe or spread the top of the cheesecake with the frosting. Drizzle the reduction over the cheesecake. Cut into wedges and serve.

Vanilla–Cream Cheese Frosting . cups confectioners’ sugar . cup Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread, softened . ½ cup baby Thai coconut meat or creamed coconut . teaspoon vanilla extract cup vegan cream cheese Directions . To make the frosting, mix together the confectioners’ sugar and buttery spread in a large bowl. Set aside. . Combine the coconut meat and vanilla extract in a blender and blend for minutes. Transfer to a stand mixer or to a bowl and use a hand mixer. Add the confectioners’ sugar mixture and cream cheese and mix thoroughly until a smooth frosting is formed.

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THE RELATIONAL VEGAN

By April Lang

ASSUMPTIONS, PERCEPTIONS AND LIVING VEGAN IN TODAY’S SOCIETY Dear April,

Hello Saori!

I can’t be the only vegan that is frustrated and disheartened by the many negative assumptions and stereotypes held by non-vegans about us.

This year, I changed jobs and moved from Austin, TX – a pretty progressive, artsy city, to a small town in Kentucky. Most of the people I’ve met so far are lovely, but when they find out I’m vegan, I get responses that run the gamut from incredulous to downright nasty. Where are these people getting their information and how do we change their perceptions? Curious to hear your take on this and maybe other readers would want to weigh in too?

I know lots of people are interested in this topic, so thanks so much for bringing the discussion to LAFC!!

Saori, Danville, KY LAFCNYC.COM

An assumption is a belief we have about someone or something but with scant or no evidence to back it up. If we then take this assumption and apply it to all members of a particular “group” the person belongs to, such as vegans, we’ve created a stereotype. This stereotype will likely influence our future interactions with that person, as well as with other members of that person’s group. And if the stereotype created is a negative one, it’s easy to see how the result can be disengagement or divisiveness: people kept apart or

torn apart. Fortunately, each and every one of us has the power to dispel the assumptions, myths, and yes, stereotypes that vegans…

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Have a boring diet – we eat only vegetables, mostly Iceberg lettuce.

Have no sense of style – we wear only ugly plastic shoes.

Are protein deficient – because after all, only animals contain protein.

Are weak – maybe enough energy to be a weekend bowler, but never a toptier professional athlete.

Can’t stop proselytizing – Our first and last words to everyone we meet are, “Go Vegan!”

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Are know-it-alls - we know EVERYTHING about diet, fitness, animals, the planet, health, etc. and we’ll make sure we let everyone else know we have ALL the answers to all the questions.

Aren’t any fun to be around – because all we ever do is preach or protest.

Don’t care about people, just animals – because we’re incapable of inclusiveness.

Both our inner circle (family, friends, co-workers) and our outer circle (society, including media such as film, T.V., the press, and advertising agencies) can give birth to and perpetuate stereotypes. One or two unpleasant experiences with people who are vegan and all vegans are to be avoided. Your family sanctions eating animals, wearing leather, and hunting, so those that are opposed to these activities are odd or judgmental. Advertising agencies employed by industries which use and abuse animals have always been quite adept at creating campaigns that try to shape our views of animals while encouraging us to buy their animalderived products. Sometimes this is done overtly, when we hear a milk or meat producer extolling the health or fitness benefits of their products.

If we’re not eating meat or drinking milk, non-vegans might then construe we’re not healthy or strong.

Other times, the approach is more subliminal, such as when we see a model or celebrity flaunting a mink coat or alligator shoes. The message: unless you buy these products, you will not be as chic and desirable as the models. Unfortunately, many people buy into these falsehoods and perpetuate them.

Altering people’s assumptions and stereotypes about ethical vegans can be accomplished by using a threeprong approach. First, we need to remind ourselves that people don’t come out of the womb misunder66

how educated and worldly, have a few missing links in our knowledge when it comes to the lifestyles and motivations of our fellow human animals. When we judge others, we preclude an open and positive exchange. We must remember this.

And that leads us to the second prong, modeling. Basically, modeling is just being yourself and letting your great energy, strength, compassion, and zest for life show through. Of course along the way, be sure you’re not shaming people for not yet being open to adopting a vegan lifestyle. No one is receptive to hearing someone’s argument for change if they feel reproached.

The third prong, education, is obvious. People who speak poorly of the vegan path may just be misinformed.

So, for example, take them to some great vegan restaurants and let them experience first hand some scrumptious vegan fare. Offer them links to books, videos, blog posts, articles, magazines (LAFC!) and podcasts, so they can learn how healthy, stylish, athletic, and fun, vegans can be!

standing or disliking vegans. Being mindful of this fact can help us be less judgmental and more tolerant towards non-vegans. Second, modeling a healthy and joyous vegan life is one of the best ways to eradicate misperceptions about vegans. And finally, by educating people about the different aspects of the vegan lifestyle, we can correct any erroneous beliefs they may have about how we live and why we chose this path.

The first prong, demonstrating tolerance, is something we have to actively cultivate. All of us, no matter

Take heart, Saori. It is possible to change people’s assumptions/stereotypes about vegans and it starts with you! Let your new hometown get to know the cool, friendly vegan gal that has moved into the hood! If you succeed in changing people’s assumptions about you, you’ve got a head start in preventing the development of a stereotype. And as per your request, I’m giving a shout out to other readers who would like to respond to your letter and share their success stories of turning vegan loathers into vegan lovers!

We’ll post this article on the website www.lafcnyc.com so you can comment. Or write to April at info@ lafcnyc.com and we may post your thoughts on our blog, or in the next issue.

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WHISPERING TULIPS

By Emily Landaira Photos, Emily’s own

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V

egan body care was never something that I was passionate about. I used to pick the product with the prettiest bottles or nicest scent and put them in my basket. I was never aware of what the ingredients were, or what steps it took to make the product. It wasn’t until I became more aware of what I was eating that I realized that I should pay just as much attention to what was going on the outside of my body as well…after all, your skin is your largest organ! The next time I went shopping to buy shampoo or face wash, I looked at the label and was shocked with what I found! The label was filled with words I couldn’t pronounce and ingredients, that after a lot of research, I learned were

bad for you on the inside and outside. Some of these ingredients were linked to eczema, rashes and even cancer.

I learned about the steps it took to make the product. I learned that the ingredients were tested on animals. I knew this was unnecessary and cruel. Animals shouldn’t be harmed so we can use body care products. This is when I knew I had to make a change and I threw out all of my products that didn’t say cruelty-free! It became harder and harder to find products that didn’t have a novel-sized ingredient list, that didn’t irritate my skin and that were cruelty-free and vegan. I knew that something had to be done. This 67

is where my journey began. This is when Whispering Tulips was born.

I came up with the name Whispering Tulips randomly one day while I was driving. I pulled over and put the name in the notes section of my phone. I knew in my gut it was something I needed to use at some point in my life. My family is full of entrepreneurs; my father owns a construction company and my mother owns a vegan education business. I have always had many interests, but not many passions; little did I know that the entrepreneur bug would bite me and I would start my own business.

My mother always makes scrubs for our bathroom and puts them right by the sink. Every time she would make a scrub, she would pull out her essential oil bible (which is as 68

big as a college textbook) and added oil that would help fix an ailment, relax or rejuvenate. She used peppermint if we were sick, lavender if we were stressed, and grapefruit to put a little pep in our step. The more I thought about the scrubs and did my own research on essential oils, I knew that I could help people fix their ailments naturally rather than taking a pill or rubbing some heavily scented cream on their chest. I started playing around with ingredients on my dining room table to try and make the best formulation. To this day, every product I sell is made on my dining room table with help of my family and friends. By making the products by hand, I know that all of the ingredients are up to my standards.

My main goal with Whispering Tulips is to make my product a staple in people homes and to make people more aware about the products and ingredients they are putting on their body. As of today, we offer body scrubs in many scents, including unscented and our “Grease Monkey� product for men. We also make bug spray, deodorant, sunscreen, yoga mat spray, candles, lotions, and spritz to invigorate, energize and relax!

Connect with Emily and Whispering Tulips: Etsy.com | Instagram | Facebook

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STYLING THE WORLD’S FIRST VEGAN TV SHOW! Address Chic on the fyi Channel’s “Plant Based by Nafsika”

BY SHRUTI JAIN

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Editor’s note: You may recall on the first season of Plant Based

by Nafsika”, I appeared on the fashion segment, showing off some cute and casual styles that showed all the trends with all vegan designs. (watch here: https:// youtu.be/uG4xZWglpHk)

You are aware of the environmental and ethical impact of the fashion industry but don’t know what to do about it. You want to switch your wardrobe to ethical but don’t know where to start. You want stylish ethical fashion but ethical brands are either too expensive or too boring.

On the 2nd season, our contributor Shruti Jain curated a brand new collection of vegan designs that shows how elevated and elegant compassionate style can be!

You’re not alone, many of us want to upgrade to ethical fashion but we lack access.

Fortunately, the second season of world’s first vegan TV show, Plant Based By Nafsika, understood the need and presented a vegan fashion segment, where they not only talk about vegan and ethical fashion but also present ethical fashion looks showcased by vegan models. Isn’t that cool?

I had the honor of styling this season’s fashion segment with Address Chic, the world’s first curated online vegan fashion store. We showed four glamorous and stylish vegan looks on the show. I totally believe that for ethical fashion to appeal to the consumers, it has to be fashionable first and ethical second. Ethical fashion is often either stereotyped as drab or “hippyish” or desirable

OLook One: Sexy Summer Chic Presented by Nzinga, Vegan Model, and Activist at Vegan Outreach Colors and botanical prints not only look stylish but they have also become wardrobe must-haves. This gorgeous dress is cut from vegan fabric, is ethically made paying fair wages, is teamed with an ombre cover up made from organic cotton satin fabric. The stunning orchid print shoes are made from recycled ocean waste and the statement gold

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brands like Stella McCartney are beyond reach. So, we decided to created looks that not only look stylish but are also more affordable.

There are remarkable sustainable brands that are transforming the fashion industry. With “Plant Based

by Nafsika”, we wanted to bring those brands together in four stylish looks. It took us months to curate some of the most stylish handbags, shoes, clothing and jewelry from ethical brands across the world that don’t harm the planet, its people or the animals.

From luxury handcrafted Italian boots and exotic faux leather handbags to clothing made from soy, recycled plastic bottles and organic cotton there was everything; and you wouldn’t even realize those products are “eco” if we didn’t tell you first.

Here’s the video of the full fashion segment followed by complete detail of all the looks.

Watch the segment here: h t t p s : // w w w.y o u t u b e . c o m / watch?v=YGt CNgr Kc&t

lace cuff is from the Brooklyn based ethical jewelry brand Vanessa Lianne. This print clash with the shoes is so clever and stylish. Nzinga looks stunning. Now who could say ethical fashion is boring or that you need animal materials for style or quality?

Faeth by Address Chic Dress & Cover Up, Veerah Orchid Vegan Heels, Matt and Nat Vegan Handbag, Faeth V Earrings, Vanessa Lianne Lace Cuff.

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OLook Two: Desk to Dinner Presented by Ashley Morganic, New York Based Vegan Blogger It’s all about a stylish jacket to elevate a simple look. Taking off the jacket, and adding a bold, red hue on the lips is a great way to take it from desk to dinner. Ashley’s tartan jacket is crafted from vegetable dyed organic cotton, her top is from vegan fashion brand “Jan n June” and is made from a fabric that’s created using recycled ocean waste. Her handbag is made from exotic vegan leather, embellished with crystals.

Her V-choker (V for vegan) is handcrafted from recycled silver and her earrings are from a sustainable brand that uses the metal of luxury automobiles that have been in minor accidents. Next time you long for a Ferrari but don’t have the bank balance you can get a piece of it with stunning “Crash” jewelry!

Faeth by Address Chic Organic Sleeveless Vest, Jan N June Top, Good Society Denim, FruitenVeg Luxury Vegan Handbag, Crash Mercedes Earrings, Votch Vegan Watch, Faeth Sterling Silver V Choker, Opificio V Boots.

Look Three: Demure Sexy B Presented by Tamara Barbakova, Vegan Model & Student Tamara’s outfit shows that ethical luxury is a sure thing. Tamara looks gorgeous and sexy, yet demure in her color-blocked dress with a high neckline and a thigh slit. We paired it with a luxury vegan handbag from Stella McCartney and Chanel-inspired vegan heels. Believe it or not, her dress is made from soy fabric blended with cotton!

Many people don’t know that Stella McCartney uses no leather or fur in any of her collections. They may think the bag they are buying is made from leather and with this quality, they can’t tell the difference.

Fortunately, for those who want luxury without cruelty, Stella McCartney is their best bet.

Faeth by Address Chic Color Blocked Slit Dress, Opificio V Heels, Vanessa Lianne Earrings.

OLook Four: Flirty Feminine Presented by Joan, New York Based Vegan Blogger This flirty dress with a slinky wrap silhouette, a ruffled neckline and hem, and an adjustable waist tieclosure ranks high on the style quotient! This dress is made from soy and banana fabrics – how is that for sustainable luxury? It’s teamed with super high vegan heels from LA based vegan shoes brand Susi Studio and a vegan handbag from Angela Roi. Faeth by Address Chic Red Ruffle Dress, Vanessa Lianne Collar Necklace, Angela Roi Vegan Handbag, Susi Studio Vegan Shoes.

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Interviewed by Adrienne Borgersen

FREEZE FRAME

An Interview with Photographer, Artist and Activist Maria Fernanda Hubeaut.

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fter the profoundly moving Animal Rights March in NYC, this past summer, we caught up with photographer Maria Fernanda Hubeaut, who documented the glorious day. We’re honored to share some of her photos, as well as her experience at the march, her inspiration for her art, and her journey to become vegan.

AB: You are a performance artist and photographer. How did these channels of creativity come into your life?

MFH: When I was a teenager I fell in love with photography. The language of photography, the idea to stop time in a click; winning over death in an instant, and making it an eternal frame was captivating to me. It opened a new way to commu74

nicate with my environment and my peers. Then, I continued to study Journalism and became a documentary photographer.

Meanwhile, I was working in that field and I started to explore art photography. Through my art series, I discovered a powerful tool, conceptual performance art in terms of narrative actions. The visual language that I use in photography becomes alive, and I become a Storyteller in my performances. I find the freedom to create actions where I use my own poetry and movement to tell a story or a concept.

AB: Is there an essential theme to your work? How does the Animal Rights movement play a role in your work and your life?

MFH: In my work and teaching, I am very connected to a deep humanist commitment as someone who studies and practices Eastern philosophies. I study Buddhism, Kabbalah, and Hinduism as well as use my training in Yoga, Meditation, Sufi and Butoh dances. I explore identity issues, femininity images, Immigration and Cultural transformations, and belief patterns in modern societies. My artistic practices have become deep journeys where advocacy for human and animal life rights become clear and natural.

AB: How long have you been vegan and how did you come to that decision?

MFH: I was connecting the dots linking the reality and creative experience.

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I was always in love with nature and animals and I was vegetarian for seven years. A year ago I decided it was time to become vegan and the transition was natural.

Definitely, this was the best decision. It was a completion of all my meditation and spiritual searching.

Being a vegan keeps me in the present moment. I feel awake, alive, a real connection with life, and every living being in a state of beautiful harmony. I am an art life activist.

AB: Tell us about your experience at the Animal Rights March in NYC this year. What inspired your photos?

MFH: This year the Official Animal Rights March in NYC was extremely, overwhelmingly peaceful and beautiful. Almost , people of different ages and backgrounds marched together in kindness and unity. I was feeling a sense of deep love and a huge hope that more and more people become vegan and transform

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our planet into a magnificent land of justice and peace, where there is no abuse of any kind to any living being. My hope and mission are to capture all these moments with my photography and my art, to help create consciousness because, in the end, it’s all about consciousness.

we live in that harmony we become the best version of ourselves and this is so powerful and sexy.

More information about her work and classes at: http://www.mariafernandahubeaut.com/

AB: How do fashion and beauty inspire you?

MFH: I love fashion and beauty, but like the name of your magazine, I want a compassionate use of this in our environment. Nobody should have to pay with their life, the price for you to be beautiful. It’s selfish, ignorant and an artificial state of mind to utilize animals in the beauty, pharmaceutical, and food industry. All are connected.

AB: How do you see beauty, in your art and in life?

MFH: My own idea of beauty is going back to that innocence of our soul where creativity and simplicity is the natural state of mind. When

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