MANASSEH SPRING '19
VOLUME 01
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ISSUE 01
MANASSEH A fashion magazine dedicated to giving young creatives around the world a platform to showcase their art & style, promote their businesses, and tell their stories.
SPRING 19
ISSUE 01 FORGET
INDEX A Word from the Editor - 06 Off the Walls - 07 Vintage Vibes - 13 Feature: Shot & Styled - 19 Beauty and Nature - 23 Shea Butter - 29 Feature: Meet the Creators - 33 Rose in the Forest - 37 Leaps and Bounds to You - 43 Ewa Dudu - 53 Feature: Directed By Gabe - 63 Flower Child - 69 Fall Thirty-Five - 75 Youth - 77 Feature: Shneeze New York - 83
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contributors A special thanks to the following individuals and their generous contributions to Manasseh Magazine
Aviskar Ghansam Serafina Smith Kyle Williams Matthew Larose Sean Castillo Solomon Adedoyin Johnathan Christie Ty-lynn Johnson Farid Razzak Sarah Dos Santos
Steven Arias Gilberto Pereirinha Suzanne Poole Janee Simpler Clifford Smith Sabrinah Dos Santos Gabriela Vicuna Victoria Alvarenga Jayton Mangrum Brendi Canario
Brandon Ramdayal Thomas Sylvester Serafina Smith Jbenise M.J McMillan Richard Gonzalez Jr Alejandro Lijo Enrique Domenech Claudette McFarlane Ricardo Garcia Gabe Hernรกndez Shaan Ahuja
A Message from the Editor
MANASSEH
"God has made me forget all my trouble and hardship" (Genesis 41:51) I am truly excited to introduce Manasseh Magazine, which in Hebrew translates to "God has made me forget all my trouble and hardship." In the book of Genesis, a young man by the name of Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers, accused of rape, thrown in prison, and forgotten for years. He has every reason to be mad at the world and feel bitter. But instead he chose to stay positive. In the end. God blessed him so much that he forgot all he'd been through. That's why the very first issue of this magazine is focusing on forgetting the past.
For many of us, life has not been all that great. Struggling to survive, encountering endless roadblocks, and fighting with frustration. This issue is dedicated to those creatives that pushed through -- those who forgot their past or, in other words, the individuals who did not let past problems, predicaments, nor challenges prevent them from progressing. As you view their work and read through interviews I challenge you to forget your past mistakes. Your best days are ahead of you. Despite what you've been through in the past, like Joseph, you too can be great. Joshua Christie, Editor-In-Chief Forget | 06
o f the walls PHOTOGRAPHER Gabe Hernandez MODEL Jonabelle T.
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vintage vibes
PHOTOGRAPHER Joshua Christie MODEL Samantha Martinez
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FEATURE
shot&styled Photographer & Videographer
For readers who may have never come across your work before, tell us about yourself? 22 year old photographer/ videographer from London. Have you always been a creative person? I’d say I’ve always been more creative than academic. I studied art in college then went on to do creative direction and styling at Uni. When did you first get interested in photography/videography? I actually hated the thought of using a camera at Uni. I always thought it looked too technical… That was until my final year of Uni, when I tried shooting my own shoots and enjoyed it. Eventually I created a website
(shotandstyled.co.uk) and have carried it on an expanded it since. I moved back to London after Uni and started DMing (direct messaging) models and it just went on from there. Who/what inspires you? Seeing people doing the same thing as me inspires me. Whenever I can’t be bothered to go out or have a little creative meltdown, I see other people shooting on Instagram and it motivates me to do the same… kind of like healthy competition. I don’t really have a person in mind who inspires me, but there’s a French magazine called ‘Bad to the Bone’ and their work always inspires me. It never disappoints.
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What do you shoot with? I always shot on my Nikon D3300 up until a couple months ago when I started a video editing job. Now I borrow their equipment and shoot on their canon 5d mark IV. What advice would you give to upcoming videographers/ photographers? I would tell people who want to get into photography/videography to take your camera out everywhere with you because you never know who you might bump into or what you might see. Document everything. And personally, Uni didn’t teach me anything. YouTube is the way forward! NETWORK! Where can our readers keep up to date with you and your work? Instagram: @shotandstyled Website: www.shotandstyled.co.uk I also just started up a little business with my partner @slimescloset on Instagram
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Beauty & Nature PHOTOGRAPHER Junot Pierre-Louis MODEL Blanca Gomez
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shea butter
PHOTOGRAPHER Jon Bain MODELS Malik & Oluwa
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FEATURE
meet the creators Content Creator
I’d like to introduce to you Janaya J, founder of Meet the Creators, a web series that seeks to give creators a platform to share and create art in todays society.
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What sparked Meet the Creators? I have been heavily involved in the art of videography for about 3 years now. I started MEET THE CREATORS not only to give gifted people a platform to create, and share their art, but to work on my craft as well. Shooting documentaries is my passion, so I thought why not shoot documentaries on local artists that deserve more recognition from the art community? Instead of making MEET THE CREATORS a series of documentaries about artists, I decided to add a twist by creating a challenge aspect for every season of the show where the work submitted is judged, and a winner is chosen. Before 2018 ended, I told myself that I wanted to do something groundbreaking in 2019, and MEET THE CREATORS is what that something was. You’re also a photographer. What’s the story behind that? I started getting into photography my freshman year of high school. At my
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high school, we had something called project week where we did not have classes for a week straight, but instead we indulged in activities that we were most interested in. I decided to do photography due to Instagram becoming a very popular platform, and I ended up loving it. My friends, and peers that I worked with loved the photos that I took of them, and always encouraged me to start taking it serious. I always thought about it, but I did not start taking it serious until my freshman year of college. My freshman year of college is when I started my official photography business, and I have been doing it ever since. What does it mean to be a creative in this day and age? To me, to be a creative means to pour your heart and soul into something that you are very passionate about. Being a creative means to work hard, stay consistent, and be original. Being a creative means to never give up on yourself. Being a creative means
pushing other artists that are around you to keep going. Being a creative is a lifestyle, and it requires hard work, passion, and dedication. I think in this day and age, a lot of people think that to be a creative means that you always need to be competitive, and be better than everyone else but to me, that is not the case. Being a creative is not about being the best, it is about trying your best and staying consistent with your work. What is the most rewarding part of creating this web series? The most rewarding part about creating this web series is that everyone benefits from this platform. The creators that are featured benefit, the viewers benefit, and even the cast and crew benefit. It feels good to see that everyone benefits off of a platform that I have created. The creators gain exposure by having their work featured on the show. They also benefit by participating in challenges that allow them to create their art. The viewers benefit because they are introduced to different artists and cool artwork
every season. The cast and crew benefit because they are constantly recognized for the work that they do behind the scenes. Everyone benefits from this platform, and it is a beautiful thing. It makes me feel so good to know that everyone has the opportunity to gain something from watching, or being featured on my show. What are some goals you have? I have many many goals. One of my top goals is for MEET THE CREATORS to break the internet. I cannot wait until more people find out about this platform, and start keeping up with episodes and seasons. It is a great community that I would encourage anyone to be apart of. I would also love for MEET THE CREATORS to include creatives from all over the world one day. Another goal that I have is to start traveling more and filming more documentaries in other countries about things that are important in this world. I will accomplish my goals no matter how long it may take. You can stay in touch with with Janaya and MTC on instagram: follow @meetthecreators19, and Janaya's personal page @byjanayaj
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rose in the forest PHOTOGRAPHER Janaya J MODEL Destiny Miles
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Leaps & Bounds to You PHOTOGRAPHER Isabel M. Williams MODELS Bella Albright & Chaz Clark
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"you are the only one I want to know"
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Ewa Dudu (Yoruba) Translation: "Black Beauty" PHOTOGRAPHER Sarah Elizabeth MODELS Madina Kora & Danielle Hardy
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FEATURE
Directed by Gabe Director & Cinematographer
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For those who may not be familiar with your work and who you are, tell us about yourself. I am Gabe, a full time director, part time student, and occasional hooper. I love to make videos. Music videos, short films, commercials, documentaries, EVERYTHING. I just love telling stories and producing beautiful visuals. One day I will make feature films but music videos are what I’m best at right now. I also love to travel, and will work anyone in ping pong. So what got you into videography? In 4th grade my brother taught me how to edit on iMovie 07. We would make nerf gun action movies in the
backyard and basketball mixtapes, most likely with background music from Lupe Fiasco or the Black Eyed Peas LOL Were you always a creative person? I think every person is creative in their own capacity but I definitely have been very creative my whole life. Even when I wasn’t making videos, I was taking pictures, making music or even building a fortress out of sticks. Late in middle school I got really serious about basketball so I wasn’t making as many videos but my sophomore year of high school is when decided I wanted to be a filmmaker for a living.
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Gabe (right) on set of "Follow" documentary with Ski Mask the Slump God
You’re not just an ordinary videographer but you’re a director. How did you start directing? Since I started making films, I always saw myself as a director, but it wasn’t until last year that I became fully equipment with the tools to be a real DIRECTOR. There’s a huge difference between shooting a video and directing a video. When you direct a video, you have to fully understand what the project means and why its being made. This past summer I directed a documentary about Ski Mask the Slump God with a full crew
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and that’s when I realized I need to be focus on being a director more than anything else. Don’t get me wrong though, I’ll still shoot your cousins wedding for 2 G’s and some food haha. Many have people who inspire them. Who inspired you? My brother is my biggest inspiration. He didn’t start dancing until high school but through hard work and his crazy creative mind he has become one of the best dance choreographers in the game and also an amazing director. You can check out his work at johnmarkcreative.com. Other
Gabe (left) on set of a new music video he directed for Nechie and Gunna
inspirations are Hiro Murai, Tyler the creator, Christopher Nolan, my parents, my girlfriend, my friends. Everyone inspires me in some way. What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on or created? That’s hard to answer because I’ve enjoyed so many projects but I love all my music videos with Drelli. They are always fun to make and turn out so colorful. Look up “Drelli Chiquita” on YouTube and you will see what i’m talking about. How do you continue to improve your work as a videographer? What do you do to educate yourself? Never stop being teachable. Even though I direct, I still PA on some bigger sets for FREE just to get the
experience and learn from professionals first hand. I think experience is the best way of improving. Anyone can talk about making a film, but you won’t get good until you start making them. I’ve made over 200 videos to get where I am right now so I will be even better after I make 300. Also, I have a degree from YouTube university when it comes to editing haha. What are some goals you have? A couple goals I have for this year are...direct music videos for bigger artist, get a short film into a top film festival, and manage and save my money well. I am dropping out of college after this semester so I have no choice on that last one.
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Gabe on set of a new music video he directed for Nechie and Gunna
On set of a music video he directed for Drelli
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How does social media and the internet impact your career? Social media is definitely an amazing tool for showing your work to the world and gaining support. In the creative industry it has kinda become the new resume but it also isn’t necessary. Some of the best directors, cinematographers I know have Instagrams with like 850 followers. It has its positive and negative effects. I am actually gonna drop a lil documentary about Instagram this summer. What does it mean to be a creative in this day and age? It’s such a broad term. Its kinda annoying that some people will take an iphone photo on portrait mode and call themselves a creative but if you think about it... they are. There’s no limits on what we should consider creativity but some people are just better at articulating their creativity. Where can our readers keep up to date with you and your work? My Instagram is @directedbygabe and my website is www.directedbygabe.com Lot’s of cool projects in the works :)
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lower child PHOTOGRAPHER Brandon Leigh MODEL Allison Pecore
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fall thirty-ďŹ ve PHOTOGRAPHER Coleton Matics MODEL Clayton Soto
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youth
PHOTOGRAPHER Ariana Morales MODEL Inaara Castro
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FEATURE
shneeze new york Clothing Brand
Made In Queens, New York. SHNEEZE NY is an outlet of creative expression for all. Mixing design with aesthetic allows us and everyone to express and support local creativity. Our product is designed to best fit all styles and embrace uniqueness. We hope it gives you the confidence to fully express yourself. The sole purpose of the brand is to trust and love who you really are, and to not take anything negative from anyone. Do your thing. Photos courtesy of Justin Sepulveda
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Chaser's Hoodie in Black and Purple
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Classic Logo Hoodie in White & Baby Blue
The following is an exclusive interview with Dimitri Hatzikontos, Creator of Shneeze New York: What drives/motivates you to create? Personally, creativity flows when I least expect it. I’ve noticed that the people I surround myself with play a role in what motivates me to get going. My friends are all creatives in their own right, in the way they dress, their mannerisms, what interests them, etc. which is what helps me see things from different perspectives. My surroundings influence my creations, whether I’m walking down the street and looking at how pleasing to the eye certain things are, or sitting in my room listening to music and thinking of 87 | Manasseh Magazine
how feelings can spark creativity. What were some of the challenges you faced when you first started? Sometimes I get into creative ruts, and my brain just stops working and I have to put things on pause for quite some time which slows down my process and progress as a designer and person all together. My problem is that I have so many ideas and want to execute them all at once, but things take time. Time management is something I’ve been working on since the moment I started. Another challenge that I think affects me and people around me is “competition”.
It’s not a crazy challenge,but it’s still there and people think too much about it. Nowadays, everybody wants a “brand” and everybody is worrying about what everyone else is doing. Social media allows people to do whatever they want,whenever they want. I think that’s dope because it allows people to show their full potential. I notice a lot of people are always trying to be “next up” but they don’t understand that what they have is a project that takes time and effort. Everyone’s out to get everyone else, for what? You don’t get anything out of it so just focus on yourself. How did you overcome these challenges? Sometimes I tell myself to just go for it. Its okay to not be certain of how something will turn out but the point is to be able to push yourself to take
risks. Takings risks is what helps me make new things and get them out there. You have to keep a positive attitude, even when everything seems to be going wrong. There will always be setbacks, but you have to be persistent. I’ve noticed that no matter how down or how stuck I am, all I can do is keep going and try. That’s what helps me overcome challenges. I can’t be worried about what everyone around me is doing, I just need to stay true to what I’m about and what my project stands for. I’m all about supporting locals and embracing positivity in my community. For some (like me) it’s very hard to just “trust the process” and let time do its thing. However, I’ve noticed that sometimes all you really need is time, and the process unravels as you go. (Cont'd).
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What is the most rewarding part of creating this brand? The most rewarding part is after all the hecticness that comes my way during the process, I take a step back and go “DAMN, I did that.” It feels good to create something, when I see all the positive feedback and support I get from those around me, it’s a great feeling. Some people would say the money is rewarding, but honestly, I don’t even care if everyone buys my stuff because I know that the support is there regardless. It’s much more than just the money. To me, the reward is being able to express myself and accomplish things. Another rewarding part of this is networking. Without skating and making art, I wouldn’t know 95% of the people that I do now. These people have opened doors and
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created opportunities for me in life, which has pushed me to do better and do the same for others. What advice would you give to upand-coming designers? DO NOT STOP - trust me, it’s much easier said than done. Hardships will come to you on the daily, but that’s the beauty of life, getting through them. You have to embrace everything difficult that's happening around you and use it to your advantage, to create something powerful and meaningful. Just do YOU. Also, DO NOT RUSH. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t push it. Take a step back and analyze, get back to it when you feel your head is cleared. It’ll always come to you when you least expect it.
HOODIE Chaser's Hoodie - Purple Trousers - Brandy Melville MODEL Margaux Dahlia Flum
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Chaser's Track Pants
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Astoria Tee in Black
Astoria Tee in Black
Astoria Tee in White Credo's L/S Tee in White
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What kind of impact do you want to have on the fashion industry? The fashion industry is constantly moving, whether we like it or not, it moves with or without us, I’d like to introduce a new outlook on things that hopefully helps people create in a nontraditional way. Personally, although it would be good to make an impact on the fashion industry, those weren’t my intentions when I started this. When I started this project, my main goal was to create something that artists like me can wear without second thought. You can keep up with Dimitri on instagram (@shneeze), and follow his brand (@shneeze.ny)
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Stay in Touch With the Creatives Featured Photographers
Gabe Hernandez Instagram: @_gabehernandez_ Junot Pierre-Louis Instagram: @junotpl Jon Bain Instagram: @bainvision Isabel M. Williams Instagram: @isabelwmsphoto Website: imarkman.wixsite.com/mysite Sarah Elizabeth Instagram: @sarah.lizphotos Website: www.saralizphotos.com Brandon Leigh Instagram: @photolifeztylee Website: www.photolifeztylee.com/ Coleton Matics Instagram: @coletonmatics.us Ariana Morales Instagram: @brujariana
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Justin Sepulveda Instagram: @justinsvision
Videographers
Janaya Burke-Smith Instagram: @byjanayaj , @meetthecreators19 Website: www.janayajphotos.com Abbey Louise Kenny Instagram: @shotandstyled , @slimescloset www.shotandstyled.co.uk Gabe Hostetler Instagram: @directedbygabe Website: www.directedbygabe.com
Clothing Brands
Shneeze New York Instagram: @shneeze.ny Website: shneeze.bigcartel.com
Models
Jonabelle T. Instagram: @tijonabelle Samantha M. Instagram: @wooahsaam
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Models (cont'd)
Malik M. Instagram: @itsdifferab Oluwa K. Instagram: @_oluwa.k Destiny M. Instagram: Chaz C. Instagram: @chazanova_ Bella A. Instagram: @bellamariealbright Madina K. Instagram: @anidam_k Danielle H. Instagram: @danii_banggz23 Allison P. Instagram: @alziegirl Clayton S. Instagram: @clayton_sato Inaara C. Instagram: @inacstro
Jordan Cappello Instagram: @jordan_cappello Margaux F. instagram: @margauxdahlia Bianca G. Instagram: @iamblanca_g Madison Whittaker Instagram: @madisonwhittaker Darius Avila Instagram: @uhoh.deenero Credo DelaCruz Instagram: @cr3do Justin Liu Instagram: @yung_liu Orlando Campell Instagram: @1_lando Camila Palacios Instagram: @babygirlcamilaa
THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF THIS PROJECT!
Manasseh Magazine 2019 Issue 01 - FORGET www.joshuachristie.com Founded by Joshua Christie