VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 1 | FALL 2021
ON THE COVER PHOTO BY CORRIE MCCROSKEY “AFTER HOURS” CALYPSO NEXT MISTAKE DRESS | 30
OUR MISSION The mission of KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion is to promote the individuality, creativity and uniqueness of storytelling by University of Kentucky’s students utilizing all of our publishing platforms. KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion strives to bring awareness to the stories that inspire us - through art, human interest, enterprise, investigative, health and well-being or recreation - on and around campus and throughout our community. Whether through words or pictures, our diverse staff invites, welcomes and embraces all perspectives, allowing us to bring to life a variety of stories that we want to tell. Produced and distributed in the fall and spring semesters on the campus and University of Kentucky and throughout the city of Lexington, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion aspires to be an important voice of our community.
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KRNL L+F ISSUE FALL 2021 4 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
PHOTO BY NITA KIEM “NONSENSE CHORES”
EDITORS’ NOTE As we are transitioning back to in-person classes here on campus, we are thankful for the opportunity to have our team back in the KRNL office in McVey Hall. After a few semesters of working fully virtual via Zoom, we have been so eager to get back to face-to-face interactions with each other in and out of the office. Fall is the season of many changes, and here at KRNL we are constantly changing in hopes to grow and expand our publication in the Lexington community. With each issue we always hope to inspire through our stories and photoshoots. Our magazine truly captures the beauty and diversity of our local campus community, the city of Lexington and the entire state of Kentucky. We were inspired by iconic pop culture moments that helped us connect all three of our photoshoots together. Be on the lookout for other interactive elements that we have placed throughout this issue.
At KRNL, we are so fortunate to have a 55-person staff full of so many talented people. We have been working on our fall issue throughout our summer break starting in May. Zooming in from all over the world, everywhere from Damascus, Syria, to New York, N.Y., to Louisville, Ky., to Nantucket, Mass., to Cincinnati, Ohio and Cleveland, Ohio. Despite being thousands of miles away, we shared the same passion and excitement to make this issue our best one yet. Here’s to a season full of positive changes and another fall issue in the books. We hope you enjoy this issue as much as we enjoyed creating it!
e& i ll A a n n A ALLIE DIGGS Editor-in-Chief
ANNA BYERLEY Lifestyle Editor
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT Page 66
INSPIRED BY: SLIM AARONS Page 24
NONSENSE Page 46
THE HEARTBEAT OF MAIN STREET Page 20
6 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
CONTENTS 08
56
14
58
Where Champions are Made
In With The Old, Out With The New
20
The Heartbeat of Main Street
24
Inspired By: Slim Aarons
32
KRNL L+F Slogan
33
Fall Playlist
34
The Cards Will Tell
42
Building Bonds at Iron Bridge
46
THE CITY’S RHYTHM Page 76
KRNL L+F Behind the Scenes
Need for Speed
66
Food for Thought
72
A Role for Everyone
76
The City’s Rhythm
82
After Hours
92
More Than Just a Manager
94
Sponsored Content
96
Contributors
Nonsense FALL 2021 | 7
WHERE CHAMPIONS ARE MADE UK WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL MAKES HISTORY
BY JUSTICE MCKINNEY
A
fter a nonstop 2020-21 season from fall to spring, the University of Kentucky’s Volleyball team won the NCAA Championship in the final game against Texas. The title was not only a first for UK, but for the entire Southeastern Conference. The hard-working women of the UK Volleyball team played each game with the performance of it being the championship. Their confidence and unwavering determination led the team to their 3-1 win against the Texas Longhorns in the final game in Omaha, Nebraska on April 22. The team had begun their practices in the late summer, going into a season of unknowns due to Covid-19. Games canceled at the last minute for the safety of the players was a hardship. “There was definitely disappointment when we would go hard at practice and then be told later that night our game the next day was canceled,” said sophomore Sophie Fischer, playing Outside Hitter. “We were taking it day by day,” senior Lauren Tharp said. “Positivity was our only mindset when
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Head coach Craig Skinner kisses the championship trophy during the ceremony to welcome home the volleyball team from their national championship victory on Sunday, April 25, 2021, at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky.
PHOTO BY JACK WEAVER FALL 2021 | 9
Senior Gabby Curry carries the championship trophy toward fans after landing on Sunday, April 25, 2021, at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Ky.
PHOTO BY JACK WEAVER
Playing a full season during Covid-19 restrictions redefined determination for the team. The positivity the team kept no doubt showed in the way they played, their victories occurring game after game. “The team culture is one of the best qualities of being a player for Kentucky,” said senior Alli Stumler, Outside Hitter. Confidence and support are two of the biggest characteristics of the UK Women’s Volleyball team, said sophomore Reagan Rutherford, playing Opposite position. “Everyone on the team genuinely wanted to see each girl succeed more than themselves,” Stumler said. “It’s really rare to find a team of 15 that is so absorbed with the team before self. That’s what made competing with them so fun.” Uplifting one another to become stronger and to play harder brought a sense of fulfillment, benefitting the team and each individual player, Tharp said. “The atmosphere of our team is incomparable,” Tharp said. “Being around people who want to be better makes me better.” The Kentucky Women’s Volleyball team has shown they’re more than just a group of players and coaches, they’re truly a family. “Our coach, Craig Skinner not only recruited some of the best players for Kentucky’s team but he recruited a family,” Fischer said. The friendship of the players on UK’s Volleyball team is clearly demonstrated whenever they’re seen playing on and off the court. A positive outlook became motivation for winning games and for the team to set new goals. “We feed off each others’ confidence,” Rutherford said. To keep their positive mindset, “we had to inflict the habit of saying ‘when’ we do this, instead of, ‘if’ we do this,” Rutherford said. Winning game after game, moving higher up in ranking, the team’s only priority was to focus on the next match. To keep the team grounded, a saying from Coach Skinner, “be where our feet are” led the team to focus on their goals to beat their upcoming opponents, Tharp said. After Texas called their final timeout from having the lead 23-21, players knew they had the game when senior Gabby Curry declared their win to happen in the next moment.
“Being around people who want to be better makes me better.” - LAUREN THARP 10 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
“Our team saying, ‘pressure’s a privilege’ only encouraged us to push harder to that ultimate goal,” Skinner said. The team began adjusting their plays to beat teams in better ways they previously had done and finding new strategies to score more. Each player had set new goals to help each other get better. “The game isn’t about whether you win or lose. It’s about using your role the best of your ability to benefit the team. It’s about the bond you share off the court and not just with your teammates, but with the staff as well. It’s about the impact we have on the community, it’s for all of those things that make our team and that’s what I think Kentucky Volleyball should be known as,” said Stumler. Not only were the players gaining their motivation from each other, but the staff as well. Reaching the championship, the team put a year’s worth of hard work into the final game of the season. The team had accomplished so much by becoming the first SEC school to reach as far as they did, let alone placing UK on the map of being NCAA finalists in volleyball. “It’s one of those moments you can’t even put into words. The moment being so surreal,” Skinner said. After Riah Walker’s serve gave UK the lead 23-21 and Texas called their fnal timeout, Fischer and Tharp said
they get chills every time they think of the amazing kill by Stumler that won their game. Even months after their success, the players are still reeling from the shock of the extraordinary season they experienced, now being recognized in public, and being stopped for pictures and autographs. Having young girls share their aspirations of becoming like the players was an unparalleled feeling for Fischer and Rutherford. Excited for their upcoming season, the players of Kentucky’s Volleyball team can’t wait to see what awaits them in their upcoming season. They are currently practicing and playing their pre-season games in hopes of another successful season. “I’m looking forward to having that target on our back of being National Champions just so that the pressure from other teams can push us to be better,” Fischer said. UK’s volleyball team has made history by winning the national championship, bringing new and exhilarating attention to the sport. More fans, more passion, and even more energy will be brought to the upcoming season that will be back to having full crowds. “I’m ready to prove who Kentucky Volleyball is and what we’re all about,” Stumler said.
UK celebrates the game winning point after the University of Kentucky vs. Texas NCAA women’s volleyball championship game on Saturday, April 24, 2021, at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb. UK won 3-1.
PHOTO BY MICHAEL CLUBB
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IN
OLD OUT NEW WITH THE
WITH THE
Co-owners Aaron Wills (left) and Scott Hatton (right) pose behind their storefront window at Vintage Therapy in Lexington, Ky on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. PHOTO BY KAITLYN KRAKE 12 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
BY CASEY SHELTON
S
cott Hatton and Aaron Wills, coowners of Vintage Therapy, a local second-hand clothing store, spend their Saturday mornings at garage sales or digging through attics to find inventory for their store. Sophie Ison, a junior at the University of Kentucky, drives to Goodwill after class to find UK gear that she can reinvent and sell to peers. Samantha Maclntyre, a 20-year-old medical coding student at Cape Cod Community College, spends her free time creating Tik Tok videos highlighting the process of re-imagining her closet through thrifted upcycling pieces. While these people are perfect strangers to each other and come from different walks of life, they have one thing in common: their love for thrifting and upcycling.
AARON WILLS & SCOTT HATTON “If you can see the opportunity that’s sitting in a cardboard box, it’s basically a drug,” said Hatton as he described the thrill of approaching any sort of sale with piles of vintage t-shirts and denim jeans. To him Co-owner Aaron Wills stands behind the register while customers shop at and Wills, thrifting is more than a hobby; Vintage Therapy in Lexington, Ky. on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. it’s something they’ve made a career out of after doing it for years. Wills explained that his thrifting journey started when he was a PHOTO BY KAITLYN KRAKE teenager. “I would go to the Salvation Army and try to find the most obscure shirt or whatever, something from the 60s or the 70s and put that together,” Wills said. “The idea was I wanted something that told a story, something that had history behind it, something that kinda set me apart from other people’s style and fashion. For me, I wanted to buy something that was already broken in and worn. I don’t like new stuff.” Hatton began thrifting to save money on jeans; it just didn’t make sense to buy a new pair from the department store every time they got holes from skating. The two are now gifted with an eye for finding unique pieces, which they are confident will sell at their shop.
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Vintage clothes and novelties for sale at Vintage Therapy in Lexington, Ky on Tuesday, Aug 17, 2021. PHOTO BY KAITLYN KRAKE 14 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
SAMANTHA MACINTYRE Someone else with that eye is Samantha Maclntyre, a 20-year-old medical coding student at Cape Cod Community College who has gained over 180 thousand followers on her TikTok page, @sageandmaize, due to her thrifting and upcycling skills. The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes upcycling as “creating an object of greater value from a discarded object of lesser value,” and that’s the world Maclntyre dove into a little while after she began thrifting. Similar to Wills, she started shopping second-hand at a young age as it was an opportunity to set herself apart. “I was really tired of having the same clothes as other people, so thrifting was kind of a way for me to have pieces that differed from other people’s,” MacIntyre said during a Zoom interview. “I really love the hunt, and the feeling of being rewarded when I find something cool.” “But for me, it’s also about the environmental impact. Nothing makes me more mad than fast fashion, and how it contributes to the mass amount of clothing going into landfillS,” MacIntyre said. I love that I can give pieces that someone didn’t want a new life, whether that be keeping it as is and wearing it as I bought it or turning it into something new.” Maclntyre began upcycling clothing when she noticed that most articles of clothing didn’t fit quite
“I really love the hunt, and the feeling of being rewarded when I find something cool.” - SAMANTHA MACINTYRE
Samantha MacIntyre (@sageandmaize on TikTok) upcycles for her TikTok page. Samantha MacIntyre is a medical coding student at Cape Cod Community College in Barnstable, Mass.
right when she brought them home from the store. Her mother taught her to sew at age five, so she had the skill to take in the waist of a pair of pants or hem a dress to fall just where she’d like. It all changed when she realized she could reinvent pieces into something brand new. Since then she has flipped leggings into a two-piece bikini, a large sweater into a dress and lots more. Due to the large amount of time each piece takes, Maclntyre explained her tendency to become very attached to her work, which is why she hasn’t yet begun to sell her pieces. She explained, however, that she can envision herself selling her pieces or doing alterations for clients one day down the line.
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SOPHIE ISON Sophie Ison, a UK Student, shares Maclntyre’s desire to have a positive environmental impact within the fashion industry through her small business. According to Business Insider, “The fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shopping combined.” And this is just one of the many environmental impacts of fast fashion, which is the term used to describe clothing produced rapidly and inexpensively following fashion trends. Beyond the sustainability aspect, for Ison, thrifting is an escape and a way to cheer up. “If I was having a bad day, I would go to Goodwill to just see what they had,” Ison said. “I’d wake up early, go get a latte, then go to Goodwill.” There, she finds men’s large tees and other UK articles that she breathes new life into, through bleaching and cropping them, cutting different pieces and stitching them together to form one, or executing any other innovative vision she may have. @ky__dripp is an Instagram page Ison created to sell her upcycled UK sweatshirts, tees, and vintage Kentucky apparel to students and Lexington locals. She often utilizes a bidding method, in which students have a friendly battle for her highly sought after pieces in the comments of her posts, paying anything from $10 - 40.
Vintage Therapy’s niche for curating, Maclntyre’s natural tendencies towards creativity and sewing and Ison’s vision of bringing it to her peers are prime examples of the different avenues the trend offers. All the while these hobbies reach others, whether by simply inspiring a broader customer base to shop second-hand, motivating individuals to fix up their clothing before buying new, or even motivating individuals to start a business of their own.
Sophie Ison models her upcycled/thrifted clothing taken on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021 at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky. PHOTO BY TY DUCKWYLER FALL 2021 | 17
THE
HEARTBEAT OF MAIN STREET BY GRAY GREENWELL | PHOTOS BY MARTHA MCHANEY
18 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
F
or decades, Lexingtonians used to crowd around the Kentucky Theatre’s box office, walk along the marble floors of the ornatelydecorated building and watch some of the many films it would show as an arthouse theater. Yet, despite the liveliness of East Main Street, the Kentucky Theatre has not seen new business for nearly a year. As the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on Lexington’s businesses in 2020, the Kentucky Theatre was hit hard. After abiding by the initial shutdown in March of last year, the theater was able to reopen in June 2020 and stayed open until October of the same year, but with no new films to screen and multiple waves of COVID-19 still to come, the theater had to close again. And since then, the Kentucky Theatre has remained closed. Nestled next to The Bar Complex and Barney Miller’s, the Kentucky Theatre has been a city-staple for almost a century. Passersby have likely seen the theater’s classic marquee hanging over the sidewalk, once shining bright to promote new films. Those visiting the Kentucky Theatre in present-day would likely be met with an empty outdoor box office area, locked front doors (even ringing the doorbell would prove fruitless) and probably a few strange glances from pedestrians. But behind those locked doors lies years of rich history. Who better to ask about this history than Fred Mills, aptly referred to as “Mr. Kentucky Theatre” by fans. Mills has been the manager of the Kentucky Theatre for more than 50 years, long enough to find himself intertwined with much of the building’s history. If asked about the theater, Mills will start at the very
“It’s not only my job, my career, but it’s always been my social life.” - FRED MILLS beginning even if it predates him. Opened in 1922, the Kentucky Theatre was built and initially operated by the Switow family, who Mills said owned about 30 theaters at the height of their business. “The Switow family operated the theater ‘til probably the 30s,” Mills said. After the family left, a chain called the Schine Corporation leased the Kentucky Theatre out and retained the business until about 1957. The Switow family returned to the theater in 1958 and did a complete renovation of the building, which Mills said was “probably the first time it had been renovated since it opened in 1922.” Several years later in 1963, a young Mills was offered a part-time job as an usher by his friend’s father who was the Kentucky Theatre’s assistant manager at that time. Mills graduated high school in 1965, deciding to attend college at Eastern Kentucky University. During his time at EKU, Mills would commute to Lexington on weekends to work at the theater. However, after graduating from EKU in 1970, Mills struggled to find work. Fortunately, there became a job opening at the Kentucky Theatre, and Mills soon started in management. “I guess the rest, in a sense, is sort of history. I’ve remained at the Kentucky for pretty much the rest of my life,” Mills said. Throughout his time at the Kentucky Theatre, Mills has borne witness to some of the location’s greatest highs and lows. One of those lows saw the Kentucky Theatre suffering from heavy smoke damage in 1987 after someone broke into a neighboring restaurant, stole money and set a fire to cover their tracks. The damage inflicted by the fire rendered the theater inoperable. FALL 2021 | 19
The co-chairs of Friends of the Kentucky Theatre, Hayward Wilkirson and Lisa Meek, pose under the marquee on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, in Lexington, Ky.
20 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
Ultimately, the Switow family did not open the theater back up, and the historic cinema saw itself in a situation very similar to the one it faces now — closed and without management. Mills credits Lexington’s former Mayor Scotty Baesler for helping to save the theater after the fire. “He was a visionary and he had always said that he had gotten more telephone calls, more letters, more visits from people wanting the theater back,” Mills said. “He had realized the importance of the theater to downtown Lexington and what it meant to generations of people who had been coming.” With Baesler’s support, the City of Lexington bought the land and the theater’s buildings, sold bonds and renovated the locale, completing the project in 1992. At this time, the Kentucky Theatre Group (which Mills was a part of) was awarded the new management contract. The Group managed the theatre for nearly 30 years, and during that time, the Kentucky Theatre was a go-to for first-run, independent and art films as well as repertory shows and live music. Once the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on the theater’s business, though, Mills and the rest of the Kentucky Theatre Group had no choice but close in October 2020, also opting not to return to manage it. “The reason the theater closed was just the lack of attendees. It just wasn’t sustaining itself,” Mills said. “The owners had to continually put in money for the Theatre to operate. Since that time it’s remained closed.” The Kentucky Theatre’s closure left Mills “totally lost.” “It’s not only my job, my career, but it’s always been my social life,” Mills said. “Sometimes time takes care of a lot of things, but being used to working quite a few hours a week and then not having a place to come to and just missing seeing everyone... it was very, very difficult.” If the Kentucky Theatre’s history proves anything, though, it’s that the cherished local landmark has always risen from the ashes — at times literally. After Mills and the Kentucky Theatre Group decided they wouldn’t return to manage the Kentucky Theatre, Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton put out what is called a “request for proposal” for a new management company to assume control of the theater. Hayward Wilkirson and Lisa Meek accepted the challenge and submitted their own management proposal in June 2021. Wilkirson and Meek are no strangers to the Kentucky Theatre. The two long-time friends are co-chairs of “The Friends of the Kentucky Theatre,” a nonprofit group dedicated to helping preserve and enhance the theatre. In 2012, when the Friends first began, they helped raise nearly $1 million to help the theater pay for the switch from 35mm film to digital projectors (a necessary change as most movies nowadays are filmed digitally) as well as new wiring and adjustments to the marquee. When discussing the Kentucky Theatre, Wilkirson and Meek finish each other’s sentences and light up at the mention of their fondness for the beloved cinema, unless they’re exchanging banter about Wilkirson’s ice-crunching habit during films or jesting over the ending of “Cinema Paradiso” (a shared favorite between the two).
“Lisa and I have been friends for many, many years,” Wilkirson said. “Half of our friendship has evolved at the Kentucky Theatre, and I just think that’s true for probably so many people in Lexington. People have had first dates at the theater, people have rented the whole theater for a birthday party or for a spouse because they just love the theater so much. There’s a really special place for the theater in the hearts of many, many people that live in Lexington, and it’s a spot that couldn’t be filled by any other experience or place.” “People always want to rent the marquee and put their engagement date on there and have their picture made under the marquee, like they’re starring in their own love story,” Meek said. Meek actually worked at the Kentucky Theatre in high school and college, even having worked the night the theater suffered smoke damage in 1987. Those who have looked at the theater’s marquee within the past year have probably noticed the trivia questions put there by the Friends. Film trivia is just one of the several ways the group has tried to keep fans of the theater engaged during the pandemic. They’ve also hosted online events and started a film-streaming club, though the latter will disband once the theater reopens and COVID-19 is no longer a threat to moviegoers. The city of Lexington might not have to wait much longer for the Kentucky Theatre to open its doors once again, though. In late September 2021, Mayor Gorton announced that she recommended the Friends of the Kentucky Theatre to assume management of the theater. Wilkirson and Meek already have some exciting new ideas to implement under their management of the Kentucky Theatre, including making the theater a non-profit and introducing a membership program. “We want to perhaps do something like a café, where
you could sit and have a coffee or wine before or after a film,” Meek said. “We’d like to start a third screen. Film festivals, thematic things.” Wilkirson and Meek spent four years studying the finest arthouse theaters in the country, gathering insight on how they can best improve the Kentucky Theatre. “Our philosophy with the theater is to make it more than you can get from watching just a film on Netflix, make it a real community event, that’s what’s informed our fundraisers and that’s what would inform our management of the theater,” Wilkirson said. Mills said he’d like to encourage the theater’s new management to do outreach and try to get more University of Kentucky students to visit the Kentucky Theatre. He recounted a time when the NCAA Championship basketball game was screened in the theater and UK won, saying, “That auditorium was full of people and everybody was cheering, it was quite something to see.” Of course, Wilkirson and Meek intend on keeping the best traditions of the Kentucky Theatre around, including but not limited to the legendary Fred Mills, the theater’s diverse film offerings and its famous interactive “Rocky Horror” showings. Mills plans on returning to work at the theater once it reopens. “This has been the love of my life, and I’ve spent more hours here than I have at my home so I’m really excited to see the theatre get opened again,” Mills said. “I’ve always said I thought the Kentucky Theatre was the heartbeat of Main Street.” Despite a strenuous year for the Kentucky Theatre, it’s clear that the heartbeat of Main Street will continue to beat on, kept alive by a devoted new management team, a loyal patronage and stories that — like the classic films from years past that the Kentucky Theatre will always show — stand the test of time.
COVID-inspired movie posters line the cases in the theatre entrance at the Kentucky Theatre on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
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inspired by
SLIM AARONS 22 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
CALYPSO CAROLOTTA NECKLACE | 14 DREAM GIRL EARRING | 18 DAY DREAMING BAG | 32 CALYPSO SWEETUMS EARRING | 14 THE LOVER BRACELET | 18 VINTAGE THERAPY BLAZER | 28 SLIP | 20 PHOTOS BY MARTHA MCHANEY
CALYPSO SUNGLASSES | 12 POPPLE EARRING | 12
l e a h c a R FALL 2021 | 23
CALYPSO SUNGLASSES | 12 PHOTO BY CORRIE MCCROSKEY
Laurie 24 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
VINTAGE THERAPY HEAD SCARF | 15 PHOTO BY CORRIE MCCROSKEY
VINTAGE THERAPY WHITE SWEATER | 30 CALYPSO CAROLOTTA NECKLACE | 14 OLYMPUS HOOP | 16 SUNGLASSES | 12 PHOTO BY TY DUCKWYLER
r e b m A FALL 2021 | 25
PHOTO BY TY DUCKWYLER 26 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
“‘What’ll we do with ourselves this afternoon,’ cried Daisy, ‘and the day after that, and the next thirty years?’ ‘Don’t be morbid,’ Jordan said. ‘Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.’” - THE GREAT GATSBY BY F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
BY CATIE ARCHAMBEAU Inspired by late photographer Slim Aarons, our Senior shoot came to life as they enjoyed a poolside party right outside of town in Lexington, Ky. Slim Aarons was well-known for his portraits of jet-setters, celebrities, and socialites during the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. In an interview done by The (London) Independent in 2002, Aarons said he made his career by what he called “photographing attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places.” These iconic portraits boast a bygone era, one of carefree lifestyles spent mostly on vacation. The idea behind this photoshoot was drawn from one of Aarons’ most famous photos, Desert House Party, shot in 1970. This image excited the KRNL L+F staff, and we knew we had to use it as inspiration for one of our photoshoots. Taking inspiration from the past and morphing it into our own creation opened
new doors for creativity and expressing what we love from an aesthetic and design perspective. It’s important to highlight that mostly everything in our current life has been inspired by someone or something and this shoot emphasizes how we as a staff utilize that creative intuition. To celebrate our KRNL L+F senior class, what better way than poolside drinks and mingling, just how Slim Aarons would picture it. This shoot was brought to life with help from our vendors, Calypso and Vintage Therapy, as an ode to past decades and enjoying a carefree evening. On behalf of the KRNL L+F staff, we are beyond grateful for our senior class and all of the hard work and inspiration they’ve brought to life throughout our past and current issues of KRNL.
CALYPSO MATERIAL GIRL SET | 60 FALL 2021 | 27
Peyto
Callie 28 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
n
CALYPSO LOOK PRETTY TOP | 38 LOOK PRETTY SHORT | 38 DREAM GIRL EARRING | 18 PHOTO BY CORRIE MCCROSKEY
t y e P VINTAGE THERAPY BAND VEST | 23 CALYPSO SUNGLASSES | 12 SWEETUMS EARRING | 14 THE LOVER BRACELET | 14 PHOTO BY MARTHA MCHANEY
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30 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
#
TITLE
1
BOTTLE ROCKET Briston Maroney
3:10
2
HOW DARE YOU WANT MORE Bleachers
4:00
3
ZOMBIE The Cranberries
5:06
4
PUT YOUR MONEY ON ME Arcade Fire
5:53
5
BEAUTY The Shivers
3:31
6
CHERRY Lana Del Rey
3:01
7
BACKSEAT LOVIN’ Sonny Alven
3:06
8
IT’S CALLED: FREEFALL Rainbow Kitten Surprise
2:32
9
LOVING MACHINE TV Girl
3:47
10
$10 Good Morning
1:30
11
HEY MOON John Maus
4:09
12
NEXT YEAR Sea of Lettuce
2:39
13
FOREVER//OVER Eden
5:43
14
OKOK (HIBACHI) Jordan Ward
2:13
15
SLEEPING LESSONS The Shins
3:58
16
POWDER JUNKIE Jealous of the Birds
2:09
17
STEEEAM Shelly
2:51 FALL 2021 | 31
THE
CARDS WILL TELL
BY RANA ALSOUFI
M
imi Bouakham shuffles and scatters a deck of pastel oracle cards on the table in front of her, drawing three and displaying them in an upside-down “A” formation. “Card one is your fated life; the call, the ego, the obvious life,” she says. The 19-year-old UK sophomore plucks one of the three cards: “Lifting the Veil: Questioning everything. Anything unaligned must go,” it reads. “During your life, your destiny was just to be curious and to question everything,” Bouakham says. “Maybe you have been noticing that there’s stuff going on in your life that you’ve been questioning, like ‘is what’s considered the norm actually the norm?’ Maybe it’s like that for you, maybe it’s going to become like that for you.” She picks the second card and lays it out. It reads, “To Wait: It’s not yet time. Things are being woven.” “This card is the call of the soul, so your destiny life,” says Boukham, touching the artwork on the card, which depicts a young girl sitting at the opening of a galaxy, about to fall in. “Your fated life will always connect with your destiny life, so even though you want to question everything, it’s best to also question them with patience… Those answers will come to you as you grow. The answers are already there… they’re 32 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
preparing to show themselves to you.” She picks the third and final card. “The change of action you’re being called to make,” Bouakham says as she reveals the “Star Brothers” card, decorated with the image of a celestial-looking man with two birds on either side of him, peering downwards. “You’re more protected than you can imagine. They’re waiting for you to trust yourself and to trust the people around you… to trust that those answers are going to come to you soon.” Bouakham was born into a Buddhist family and said she had grown up surrounded by spirituality all her life, looking towards her religion mostly for protection and guidance. She only began her journey through tarot and oracle reading, however, in 2019, when the medium started gaining more popularity through different social media platforms. She said that her start with tarot began shortly after a breakup with a guy that she had been dating at the time. “TikTok was already super popular, and that’s when all those tarot videos started popping up,” Bouakham said. “I didn’t really enjoy them as much because the tarot readings were kind of for entertainment purposes and a general audience… Like yeah, these TikToks seem a little accurate
PHOTO BY NITA KIEM
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Gemini Libra
Virgo
Alana Blackman, a sophomore at the University of Kentucky majoring in History, with crystal jewelry on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
PHOTOS BY NITA KIEM
to me, but I want to understand myself deeper, I want to understand what’s going on with me deeper, and I didn’t want someone else to tap into my energy like that.” As a Buddhist, Bouakham was already well-accustomed to spiritual practices, such as providing offerings to her ancestors and praying for protection. She keeps a collection of Buddhist statues in her dorm, which function as “protection items” and help her feel safe. “One belief that is so important to me is as simple as ‘choice.’ Buddhism is less of a ‘you praise God’ religion and is more of a teaching where you search for your life path on this Earth,” Bouakham said. “Buddha is not meant to save you, but is meant to guide you, as humans themselves have the power to live to their highest selves.” These core understandings about Buddhism are what motivate and inspire Bouakham with her oracle readings. “When I do my oracle readings, depending on the deck I use, I tend to ask for advice from the highest self, my ancestors, or probably the universe, the Earth or Sun, and I am sure to always apply the values of Buddhism into what I say in my readings,” Bouakham said. Kae Brandenburg, Bouakham’s roommate and another student who practices spirituality on campus, finds motivation for their tarot readings, birth chart readings and interest in crystals outside of religion. From Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Brandenburg did not grow up in a very religious household, and instead turns towards tarot to help them pass through moments where they feel stuck, or don’t know how to proceed in a situation. “I did a lot of [tarot readings] during school because sometimes I’d be like, ‘You know what? I’m a little anxious right now,’ and it would just comfort me in that way, and I got to know my decks,” said Brandenburg, 19. “Each deck has a personality that they like showing, so if I’m feeling sad, I’m not going to go to the deck that has more of a romantic side; I look for one that has more of an uplifting kind of vibe to it.”
“One belief that is so important to me is as simple as ‘choice.’” - MIMI BOUAKHAM
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Like Bouakham, Brandenburg also accepts and incorporates spirituality — which in this context is defined as spiritual practices which do not rely on religious affiliation as the primary method of enhancing one’s spiritual identity — in different aspects of their life. For example, Brandenburg always wears a fluorite crystal around their neck, which they said helps with “keeping focus and keeping negative energy away,” and will often carry around other crystals in their pockets for other benefits. Brandenburg and Bouakham both said that there isn’t exactly a community on campus for people who practice spirituality the way they do, but that most of the people they meet at UK usually share the same interests that they do. “You kind of gravitate towards people who like the same things as you do,” Brandenburg said. “A lot of my friends are into it, so we have our own little club. It’s not official, but we just hang out.” Bouakham also said that she has found more of a community of tarot and oracle readers online, where people advertise their reading services on social media platforms such as Twitter. “I don’t do services in real life because I started tarot for the sake of myself and my own well-being, and I want to be able to learn more about me,” Bouakham said. “Sure, I can do tarot readings for my friends for fun because I genuinely want to, but charging someone to tap into their energy… is also really draining.” Other students turn to forms of spiritual expression, like astrological birth chart readings and crystals. One student, Alana Blackman from Wilmington, North Carolina, has been involved in all things astrology — from astral charts to horoscopes — for about a year and a half. “For me, [astrology] is a little better than religion just because it’s more based on stars and personality… it’s a better way for me to get a grasp of my inner self,” Blackman said. “I like it because of how it relates to the stars and a little bit of astronomy at the same time, so it’s not just based on nothing.” Blackman also agreed that although there isn’t much of a community on campus, they would like to find one at some point. “I think it would be really cool to have a bunch of people get into it because it’s cool to see how other people relate and have their own views on things, different perspectives,” they said.
ILLUSTRATION BY CALLIE BROWN FALL 2021 | 35
Mimi Bouakham, a sophomore at the University of Kentucky majoring in International Studies, with tarot cards on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, in Lexington, Ky.
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Blackman uses astrological birth charts as a means of getting to know individuals and better understanding their personalities based on the alignments of the planets and stars, as well as how much their relationship can grow with that individual. “It’s kind of cool to see how we connect on an astrological level, besides just face to face,” Blackman said, “and I guess it kind of helps with further communication within the relationship because you can understand what more else there is to a person instead of just face value.” Lorena Powell-Apéstegui, a self-described empath, comes from a superstitious background and practices reiki, a form of energy healing. Powell-Apéstegui recalled her mother’s initial involvement with reiki and how she encouraged her and her sibling to participate in reiki practices alongside her as her origins with the form. “We discovered that I was very good at [reiki, manifestation and energy healing],” she said. “Like, whenever my mom had a headache or something like that, I would take my hands and not even touch but just make energetic contact, and she would feel better and I would have to take a nap, because I would exhaust myself through [that process].” Powell-Apéstegui’s experience with spirituality is different in how she says she is able to manipulate energy through reiki rather than just read it, mainly for healing reasons. At the same time, she also tries to prioritize her physical and mental health during the process. “It was the sort of thing when people in my life were going through something hard, or if my friends were depressed, I would get physically ill,” she said about being an empath. “I would absorb that from them, so a lot of my journey with my own spirituality was learning how to protect myself and how to still be an energetic being but not put myself at risk.” Each person who involves themselves with spiritual activities of any kind does so for their own reasons, but some share the common goal of wanting to do it to better themselves in different aspects, whether it’s skill-based or regarding their own mental health. PowellApéstegui said her biggest challenge for a long time was trying to accept her spiritual side as a significant part of her life, as well as being able to talk to others about it without feeling judged.
PHOTO BY TY DUCKWYLER
Sagittarius Capricorn
Sagittarius Lorena Powell-Apéstegui, a sophomore at the University of Kentucky, on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
“It’s cool to see how other people relate and have their own views on things, different perspectives.” - ALANA BLACKMAN FALL 2021 | 37
PHOTO BY NITA KIEM
Taurus Capricorn Gemini
Kae Brandenburg, a sophomore at the University of Kentucky majoring in Electrical Engineering, posing with tarot cards on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
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“Spirituality has always been kind of a point of contention for me because I know that it’s true and it’s real because I’m living it, but it doesn’t make sense,” said Powell-Apéstegui, a biosystems engineering major and music performance minor, who used to struggle with the fact that spirituality is a part of who she is despite her constant desire for things to always be logical. Brandenburg agreed, crediting their nonreligiousness as one of the reasons it was easier for them to accept tarot into their life. “A lot of people were raised Christian, and they think that tarot is a bunch of voodoo and that you’re going to let a bunch of demons inside of you, but it’s really just a tool to help you get to know yourself better,” they said. For Bouakham, her primary struggles include how difficult it is to practice Buddhism and spirituality in her hometown in Elizabethtown, where there were no Buddhist temples until her family helped build one when she was in elementary school. Spirituality has become a large part of these four individuals’ lives and has significantly participated in the shaping of their identities and is partly responsible for the people they are today; Powell-Apéstegui, for example, continues to work with mentors that help her with reiki, manifestation and meditation to help her process trauma and keep herself — and others — safe. Meditation and energy healing also has helped her with her anxiety, as well as getting through everything that happened in 2020 regarding COVID-19. The process of energy healing, Powell-Apéstegui said, is very draining. She said it requires asking for healing energy from a higher source — whether that was the universe, Mother Earth or God (in Powell-Apéstegui’s case, she said she obtains all her energy from the Earth) — and then sending the energy to the person in need of the healing, using her own body as the vehicle. “When I was little, I would visualize the energy as little construction workers, and that they were going to fix [the issue],” she said. She also repeats a mantra in her head to help guide her through this process: “If you are not me or mine, you are not welcome here. I cannot help you. I send you forward with love and light.” “It’s really meditative for me,” she said. These spiritual practices — tarot, astrology, reiki and more — can often serve as a medium that allows the practitioner to better understand others, and that is the direction that these four sometimes like to go in. Brandenburg often does readings multiple times a day, not just for their friends and family but also sometimes for people they’ve met that same day. “Some people just really need a little bit of guidance, and I do believe tarot cards pick the person,” said Brandenburg. “So if I can be there and tell them that it’s hard right now but it looks like it’s going to be worth it in two months or so, that’s great, and sometimes it doesn’t look great, but I’m not going to leave this person with a bad message.”
“If you are not me or mine, you are not welcome here. I cannot help you. I send you forward with love and light.” - LORENA POWELL-APÉSTEGUI
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BUILDING BONDS AT
IRON BRIDGE BY BROOKLYN KELLEY | PHOTOS BY MARTHA MCHANEY
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Owner Robert Littrell cuts wood for a cutting board on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021 in the Iron Bridge Woodshop in Lexington, Ky.
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ucked in the backstreets of Lexington off Winchester Road, the Iron Bridge Woodshop welcomes the homeless with warm coffee and smiles. The shop has seen its fair share of bonds formed over the hours of woodworking that take place there. The woodshop is an oasis of healing; Littrell said it is a positive and stable environment for the homeless. “The nicest thing you can do for a homeless person is look them in the eye and say, ‘Hello,’’’ said Robert Littrell over the loud buzzes of machinery in the woodshop. Littrell started the Iron Bridge Woodshop in conjunction with Six Treasures Ministry, a nonprofit that he and his wife, Leslie, established in 2008. Though homeless men (and a few women) enter the woodshop to craft handmade pieces, the goal is that they leave the woodshop with newly established relationships, said Littrell. Since Littrell opened the woodshop, many homeless people have been able to write a brighter chapter of their story as they walk through the doors of Iron Bridge. One of these individuals is Nathaniel Buck, a 62-year-old whose battle with depression and experience with being homeless changed the trajectory of his life. “I’ve had my bad years, and you know what? God did all that for me, to change me, to make me a better person. I’m not sorry that it happened,” Buck said. Inside Iron Bridge sits not only woodworking equipment but a washing machine and dryer, a shower and a common place is in the works. This will allow the homeless and volunteers to gather in fellowship. All these amenities are available for those who are without a place to call home. The Iron Bridge Woodshop partners volunteers with the homeless, giving them the opportunity to form bonds and be treated like equals. Littrell said he built many of his ideas for the woodshop around the premise that the homeless often get hand-medowns or second best; Littrell sought to make Iron Bridge a place where these individuals felt like they were the priority. He made this vision come to life through giving the men good meals, fresh coffee, a place to freshen up and the opportunity to create pieces that people love. The shop is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, allowing volunteers and homeless individuals to come in and craft a variety of items alongside one another, including cutting boards, ornaments, chess boards, charcuterie boards and more. Littrell and his wife came up with the name “Six Treasures Ministry” for their nonprofit because of two specific parts of the Bible that stood out to them: Matthew 6:21 and 1 Timothy 6. Matthew 6:21 says that your heart is where your treasure is, and 1 Timothy 6 discusses generosity and the rich giving to others. Littrell stressed the importance of these verses in making the lifestyle change that his family did whenever they started opening their doors to the homeless over a decade ago. “I always say if you want to know what’s important to somebody, look at their checkbook and their calendar,” Littrell said. These verses changed the Littrells’ mindset and way of living entirely, he said. Before starting the ministry, Robert was a College of Pharmacy professor at the University of Kentucky for 15 years, and he started a pharmaceutical analytics company called Artemetrx. FALL 2021 | 41
An empty shop waits for volunteers to come build on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021 in the Iron Bridge Woodshop in Lexington, Ky.
A volunteer works on the wood machinery in the Iron Bridge Woodshop on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
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Iron Bridge Woodshop was not the Littrells’ first method of serving the homeless population; before the woodshop came home gatherings. Littrell and his family host weekly Bible studies and Friday night gatherings every other week. Buck attributes a lot of his escape from depression and homelessness to Six Treasures, the work they have done and the relationships he has made through the ministry. Although the ministry itself does not have a routine of helping with job placement, they do occasionally help homeless individuals to build resumes and find jobs. Recently, Buck was employed by Littrell’s son at his Italian ice business, J&T’s Italian Ice. “This is my family,” Buck said. Although he went through more than most people have to endure, Buck is grateful for his journey, especially his time at the Iron Bridge Woodshop. Living a life of generosity has not only changed the lives of those in need who have benefitted from Robert and Leslie’s ministry work but the couple’s two kids as well, said Littrell. The couple’s 29-year-old son, Ben, was so inspired by his parents’ outlook on helping others that he and his wife decided to foster a child who was born prematurely and addicted to drugs. The child is now four. Robert said that their 22-year-old daughter, Bailey, travels to help those in need all over the world. The woodshop itself was a direct product of Robert’s daughter wanting a cutting board for Christmas. When his wife asked him to build one, Robert enlisted the help of a friend who was at his house at the time, John. After making the cutting board for his daughter, Robert and John made more cutting boards as Christmas gifts for others. The finished product and the process of making it was so successful that Robert said he began hosting weekly woodworking sessions in his basement, inviting homeless men and volunteers to participate. The woodworking sessions turned into bonding over a home-cooked meal and spending time handcrafting pieces and building relationships with one another.
In 2019, Littrell set up a fundraiser in order to have sufficient funds to buy machinery and expand their work area. This is when they became the Iron Bridge Woodshop. Since then, the shop has grown very popular, especially since they have had more news coverage. “Sometime right after Thanksgiving, one of the TV stations did a story, and we were overwhelmed with orders. We ended up selling over $18,000 of stuff literally all in like a 45 day period,” Littrell said. The woodshop makes chess boards, cutting boards, charcuterie boards, and more. He also said that the shop continued to gain popularity after the Queen’s Gambit themed room, “The Harmon Room,” opened at the 21c Museum Hotel in Lexington and used an Iron Bridge crafted chess board in the room. Although there are a steady stream of volunteers that come to the increasingly popular woodshop, none of them are paid for their time — including Littrell. Likewise, the homeless who spend time crafting pieces are not directly paid for their efforts. However, Six Treasures does help those men out in any way they can. The benefit of working in the woodshop pays off in the form of connections, friendly faces who truly care about you, having a place to freshen up and being taken care of in the instance that you need it. Buck said that when he was in need, Six Treasures came through for him. Buck was a restaurant manager in his mid-40’s with an increasingly stressful life. Within a short period, he said he lost his job, became the primary caregiver for his mother who had had a stroke and had to cope with a broken engagement For a while, Buck said he lived off a family inheritance, but he began to fall into a deep depression. Things spiraled downhill fast, and Buck ended up becoming homeless. A couple years ago, Buck had to have a serious abdominal procedure, and Six Treasures Ministry paid for him to stay in
a hotel for two weeks, then he returned to the Hope Center, a homeless shelter in Lexington. Within two days, he got a major infection that landed him in the hospital for another week. Following that hospital stay, the ministry paid for him to stay in a hotel for another six weeks to give him time to heal. This is one way that Six Treasures uses the money from the woodshop to give back to the homeless. Buck said that Littrell will drop everything to help another person. “His compassion comes through and he’ll help whoever needs to be helped no matter what the situation is,” Buck said. He still comes into Iron Bridge around three times a week, but he is no longer homeless. Buck said his life was changed for the better by the Littrell family, volunteers, other homeless individuals at Iron Bridge and the grace of God. “So they’ve got me. Whatever they need. The fellowship and the amount of concern of Robert Littrell — I’m not going to cry — he’s probably just about the best person that you could ever know,” Buck said.
“I’ve had my bad years, and you know what? God did all that for me, to change me, to make me a better person. ” - NATHANIEL BUCK
A volunteer works on sorting cutting boards in the Iron Bridge Woodshop on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
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“Dear, dear! How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual. I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I’m not the same, the next question is, Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle!” - ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND BY LEWIS CARROLL
BY AMBER RITSCHEL KRNL’s Nonsense fashion photoshoot is simply that — nonsense. If you don’t exactly understand what is going on in the images, we did our job. The main goal I had when crafting this photoshoot was to create an environment where we could push our creative boundaries and turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. After such a serious year, this magazine has been a welcome interruption of positivity, collaboration and plenty of laughs. I love incorporating everyday objects into my own work and wanted to do the same with this shoot. An idea I hadn’t quite gotten around to photographing kept bouncing around my head, and with the onset of a new semester, Nonsense was born. I wanted the models to seem as if they were driven mad by boredom (maybe stuck in the house during quarantine?) and needed some way to pass the time. This shoot incorporated a variety of elements such as props, jewelry and other
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accessories, and clothing. For the fashion, I took inspiration from the basic idea of the 60s housewife — overly dressed up only to sit at home. A variety of pastel pieces combined with our bright backdrops created a light and harmonious color palette. Our array of props to choose from varied greatly, from my roommate’s meat cleaver to a play kitchen set found on the side of the road. And of course, no photoshoot is complete without a rotary dial-up telephone à la Kermit the Frog. Even the location used for the shoot itself–a dimly lit classroom full of computers next door to the KRNL office — was rearranged to accommodate continuous inspiration and collaboration. We hope that the following images will transport you to a headspace of child-like creativity, where nothing is off-limits, and everything can be reimagined.
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VINTAGE THERAPY TIE | 10 PHOTO BY KAITLYN SKAGGS
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VINTAGE THERAPY DRESS | 30 PHOTO BY SYDNEY TURNER
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VINTAGE THERAPY SET | 35 BOLO TIE | 15 PHOTO BY TY DUCKWYLER
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VINTAGE THERAPY WHITE SWEATER | 30 ORANGE RARE WRANGLERS | 85 PHOTO BY AMBER RITSCHEL
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VINTAGE THERAPY SET | 30 PHOTO BY TY DUCKWYLER
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VINTAGE THERAPY HAT | 35 PANTS | 35 PHOTO BY AMBER RITSCHEL
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VINTAGE THERAPY RARE FRENCH KNIT SWEATER | 50 SLIP SKIRT | 15 BRACELET | 15 PHOTO BY MARTHA MCHANEY
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VINTAGE THERAPY BLAZER | 38 PHOTO BY CORRIE MCCROSKEY
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BY AMBER RITSCHEL Amidst the rolling hills and curving backroads of Lexington, Kentucky is a community with a passion for horsepower. Through modifications–whether for aesthetic or performance reasons, cars can become an extension of an individual’s identity. Whether arriving in strollers or New Balances, individuals of all ages gather at the Southland Christian Church on the first Saturday of each month to gape over the coolest cars in the 859, a reminder that even the most simple interests can bring out the child in us all. The instant connection that can be formed between strangers in passing is a wildly fascinating concept. For many car enthusiasts, a love for cars was born with the release of the “The Fast and the Furious” in 2001. From thrilling stunts to a lovable cast, the first installment was the start to a multi-billion dollar franchise. The passion for cars shared by so many in this Bluegrass town is a language of its own, inclusive to any and everyone. Next time you find yourself in Lexington on the first Saturday of the month, take a trip to a car meet and join a community packed with cool builds and cool people.
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PHOTOS BY AMBER RITSCHEL FALL 2021 | 55
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Andrew Jones, a junior at the University of Kentucky, poses against his Scion FRS at the Bob ‘o Link Parking Garage on Thursday, Jul 22, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
Andrew Jones’ Scion FRS sits freshly washed at the Bob ‘o Link Parking Garage on Thursday, Jul 22, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
Jones has customized a great deal of his car, adding heat treated exhaust tips, air suspension, new rims, and various stickers along the exterior.
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N O L A N
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Nolan Sanchez, a Sophomore at UK, stands next to his Porsche Cayenne GTS in the Distillery District on Wednesday, Aug 18, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
The striking white exterior combined with the high-contrast rims and red calipers give off an expensive, classy look.
PORSCHE CAYENNE GTS PORSCHE CAYENNE GTS PORSCHE CAYENNE GTS
Nolan Sanchez’s Porsche Cayenne GTS in the Distillery District on Wednesday, Aug 18, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
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MK6 JETTA MK6 JETTA MK6 JETTA
Camber refers to the angle measurement of the tire placement on the car, Luddeke’s rear tires sit at -12 degrees.
Playing Forza Motorsport 4 on his Xbox in middle school was Luddeke’s introduction to German engineering.
Luddeke’s modified Jetta includes a brand new wrap job in the color Chalk Grey, BC coilovers to close the wheel gap, new rims and tires, and so much more. 58 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
Shorter’s dream sponsor is aFe (Advanced Flow Engineering). Known for their high-quality intake and exhaust systems, Shorter “wouldn’t want any other brand making his engine scream down the road.”
Blake Shorter, a freshman at the University of Kentucky, leans on his BMW 328xi at Greyline Station on Tuesday, Aug 17, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
BMW 328xi BMW 328xi BMW 328xi B L A K E
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Blake Shorter’s 2007 BMW 328xi is a unique build, with the eye-catching yellow and black vinyl wrap. FALL 2021 | 59
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Simic’s passion for cars began at a young age but truly solidified when he sat behind the wheel of a neighbor’s Porsche 911 in high school.
UK Junior Alec Simic sits on his his Tesla Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor at the Distillery District on Wednesday, Aug 18, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
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UK sophomore Joshua Dunkelberger poses next to his Acura TLX at Norton Commons on Tuesday, Aug 10, 2021 in Prospect, Ky.
The A-Spec fender badge distinguishes this TLX as Acura’s performance sedan, with a more aggressive interior and exterior, designed to emulate the sportier, track-focused NSX supercar. FALL 2021 | 61
Top Chef runner-up and University of Kentucky alumna Sara Bradley owns and runs her restaurant, freight house, located in Paducah, Ky. on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021.
PHOTO BY MARTHA MCHANEY
FOOD FOR THOUGHT THE STORY OF SARA BRADLEY 62 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
BY MADISON DUNHAM
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ara Bradley believes that she’s a good storyteller, especially with her
food. “I noticed that when my dishes or I didn’t do well it was whenever I tried to come up with some story as opposed to having something that really did mean a lot to me,” Bradley said. It was her ability to put her story in her food and vocalize it to the other chefs, judges and audience that made her excel in the Bravo cooking competition show “Top Chef.” Bradley is the proprietor and chef of “freight house” in Paducah, Ky. that opened in 2015. Three short years later, Bradley left her general manager and team in charge to compete on the show. Bradley was runner up on Season 16 of “Top Chef,” which was set in Kentucky. She was the only chef from Kentucky chosen to compete. Towards the second half of the season, Bradley explained how she either won a lot of challenges or was in the top chefs of that challenge, but it took some time for her to be in that position of the competition. “In the beginning when there were a lot of people there, I was kind of trying to find my voice and trying to figure out what I need to do, what I need to say, but once I stopped worrying about all that stuff and how I would be portrayed and I just became myself,” Bradley said. “If you’re honest and truthful then you really don’t have much to worry about,” she said. Bradley was born and raised in Paducah but spent time with her family in the eastern and western parts of the state. On her dad’s side she learned about Appalachia, food preservation and growing fruits and vegetables. On her mother’s side, they were Jewish immigrants who owned an old hardware store.
“Both sides of my family had really strong work ethics, so I spent a lot of summers working. I had a pretty good solid upbringing I think because I got exposed to so many different cultures as a child,” Bradley said. In high school, Bradley did what she needed to do to graduate with good grades but didn’t grasp the concept of how important education was. “Once I moved off to UK and there were no longer any folks there pushing me to go to school and people telling me I have to do my homework, my first semester I think what happened, happens to a lot of kids, is they all of the sudden have this newfound independence and so my first semester was not that great,” Bradley said. “But with the threat of having to move home and pay back the money my folks have spent, I changed my ideals about education pretty quickly.” At UK, Bradley thought about going into education or even business, and at one point she was undeclared. Once she discovered the psychology major and enjoyed the required courses, that’s where her interest remained. “I think the best part about [UK] was getting to find out who you are as a person. So you have a little bit of time to switch around classes and have time to figure out who you are outside of the realm of your folks and everyone you have grown up with, so I think that it just really developed me into the person I am today.” In 2004 Bradley graduated with a degree in Psychology. Weeks after graduating, she realized she didn’t want to have to work in an office and do the same exact job every single day in that career field. Within the next year Bradley was able to go to culinary school at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, N.C.
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with the financial help of her Grandpa Julius. He supported her in North Carolina but remained a UK fan as he had season basketball tickets ever since Rupp Arena was built. This career choice was not out of the ordinary as Bradley had worked in restaurants since she was 15 years old and throughout her time at UK. Going to culinary school was the best thing for Bradley as she was able to apply the things she was actively learning while working at restaurants. “I had these two different styles of cooking; one was very technique driven. So, all of the cooking was super fine dining Michelin star, very follow-bythe-book, this is how it’s done. The other style was a little more cook-from-the-hip, so they were open to interpretation,” Bradley said. It was because of her experience at Johnson and Wales that led Bradley to start up a high school externship program at freight house, but not until she picked up and moved across the country first. “I was getting farther and farther away from Kentucky as I could.” Bradley went on to live and work in restaurants in Birmingham, Charlotte, New York and Chicago for extended periods. She moved without knowing anyone or having a set job and just figuring it out along the way. “Once I finally got to New York, it wasn’t Kentucky that I missed but it was my family. My siblings were starting to get married and it was hard for me to come back, so Chicago put me in a position that made it much easier to see my family,” she said. Bradley never thought she would move back to Paducah again as she had job offers and opportunities in various cities, but what she found interesting was that in larger cities. “You’re just one person. You’re just a needle in a haystack, you’re just another little person, but if I moved home to Paducah, I thought I could really make an impact on the culinary scene here, on my community, and I could be more involved with community projects,” she said. “There’s a really cool thing happening in small towns, not just in Paducah but all over the country. People are growing up in small areas, they’re leaving, they’re gaining all kinds of knowledge and then they’re coming back. There’s that boomerang,” Bradley said. “The standard of living here [Paducah] is pretty high and the cost of living is pretty low. So I can do some stuff in Paducah that would have cost significantly more in Lexington and Louisville. I just felt like the market was open for the style of food and style of restaurant that I wanted to have,” Bradley said. During a snowstorm in January of 2015, Bradley spent time writing mock menus, schedules and making lists of everything that she thought she needed to open a restaurant. That was what she focused on in terms of her business plan rather than writing a typical mission statement.
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Hostesses answer a phone call before opening in the freight house on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021 in Paducah, Ky.
PHOTO BY MARTHA MCHANEY
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PHOTO BY MARTHA MCHANEY
The bar awaits a busy Friday night in the freight house on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021 in Paducah, Ky.
Multiple freight house kitchen staff members cook food in the back of the restaurant on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, in Paducah, Ky.
PHOTO BY KAITLYN SKAGGS 66 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
“When you’re opening a restaurant, there are all kinds of different taxes; unemployment, sales tax, use tax, your quarterly taxes, and you have to pay off all of these taxes on your employees. That to me was the unknown. All of the little things that dealt with the government, secretary of state, getting an official name, filing for a DBA, all these little things. But I was really lucky I had a father who ran his own business for 40 years, and so he was able to guide me through that process,” Bradley said. Both of Bradley’s parents have been supportive, and with their help, she was able to secure a loan so that she could open freight house. “I didn’t have a job because I moved home to start this restaurant, I had never owned a home, bought a new car; I mean, I had good credit, but I just didn’t have a ton of it. I have worked diligently and really hard to pay that loan back — which has happened now — to make sure my parents are no longer financially liable. I borrowed the money from a bank, which is what you have to do, so I was all in. I didn’t have any investors, it’s a family-owned restaurant, and I like to keep it that way,” Bradley said. Bradley is all about being a team when it comes to her management style. One thing that she thinks affects the way that she manages is the fact that she is a woman, so she inherently has a maternal instinct. “I worked in restaurants that never had a first aid kit. We have the biggest first aid kit you could possibly have because if you have a belly ache or if you have a cut finger, you know we’re gonna take care of you,” Bradley said. She also wants to make sure she provides her 23-member staff the best benefits. At freight house, they have good wages, retirement plans and paid time off. They’re doing things differently than other restaurants, Bradley said.
“When I worked in New York City, I worked six days a week for four years and never took a vacation,” Bradley said. At freight house, when staff want time off to go on vacation or time with family, Bradley works with them to make that happen. “I think that the balance of family and work is something that gets forgotten a lot in this industry. I don’t even know if it’s just this industry or maybe it’s this whole entire country, but we don’t have a work-life balance. It’s something that I really want my staff to have,” Bradley said. Bradley was 37 years old when she had her first child. Five weeks after Bradley gave birth, she went on the road and traveled with her daughter and mother to concerts, festivals and food shows. “Leaving and going on Top Chef made me realize that I didn’t have to be here constantly and that there are things outside of the realm of just the restaurant,” Bradley said.
“I stopped worrying about how I would be portrayed and I just became myself.” - SARA BRADLEY
A griddled burger with a fried egg is served in the freight house on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021 in Paducah, Ky.
PHOTO BY MARTHA MCHANEY
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A ROLE FOR
EVERYONE BY RILEY HOSTUTLER
H
undreds of students at the University of Kentucky pass the Fine Arts Guignol building day after day, but a small percent enter. Many of those who do are styling colorful hair, elaborate makeup and expressive outfits,like walking artwork. There the “right brained” are: visual, colorful, and imaginative, even in appearance. A confident click of blackheeled boots strut up the sidewalk, paired with gingham pants and winged eyeliner to complete the look of student Baelynn Lindfors. Sitting on the stairs outside is classmate and friend Julia Koenig, whose bright and bold blue hair demands attention. In the arts building, these students are greeted, not just by their friends and classmates, but by their teachers and faculty directors as well. They are bantering with their teachers and calling them by their first name. Many are lounging on the couches in the hallway, well after their school day has ended, out of pure enjoyment to be there. This is the community of theatre students. Most theatre students’ post-graduation plans are not becoming movie stars, nor are they hell-bent on starring in the production. It is as if the play is their puzzle and each student has carved out their piece. There are so many complexities in ensuring a play runs fluidly, with many important jobs in each show. A community could not run with a mayor alone in the same way a production could not run with only leading actors. A show is made up of musicians, directors, producers, costume designers, makeup artists and lighting technicians. If one role is missing, the show could not go on. Each role brings different characteristics to the table. Stage managers are organized and time-oriented, while set designers are more visual and creative. Directors may be more prone to parts and detail, while producers can see the big picture. There is a role for almost every personality type, which makes the theatre department an umbrella for many people to fall under. 68 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
Julia Koenig in the shop in the University of Kentucky Fine Arts Building on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
PHOTO BY SYDNEY TURNER
The weight that each role carries is heavier due to most plays in UK’s theatre department being completely student- run. Students are writing the script, creating the backdrops, timing each lighting change and microphone adjustment, deciding each role and coordinating schedules to find time to rehearse. The teachers act more as mentors. Due to there being a small number of theatre students in the department in comparison to other colleges, it gives the faculty an opportunity to truly invest in their students. Senior theatre major Julia Koenig describes this dynamic: “The teachers really get the chance to know every single person in the department, what their personalities are like, their strengths and weaknesses, and what they want as a career. They are really good at guiding specific people into their place.” For Koenig, her professor Heather Brown was the guiding light in finding a place at UK. Koenig began as a business marketing major and quickly found out that was not for her. She then switched to Media Arts and Studies, which was fine but not necessarily the perfect fit. Going on a whim, Koenig took an elective lighting design course in the theatre department. Koenig thought high school was the end of her theatre classes; Brown thought differently. She saw potential in Koenig’s lighting design capabilities and asked her to come on board with her as the assistant lighting designer for the upcoming play. While this was a daunting task and something outside what Koenig thought was considered theatre, she agreed to the role. Brown explained and demonstrated how to do all the lighting, and then sat back and watched Koenig create; a prime example of the experiential learning the theatre program offers. Brown elaborates on mentoring Koenig: “One of the most challenging aspects to working in theatre is not the ability to make pretty art, a large portion of our job is collaboration with other designers to effectively tell stories. Julia is a hard-working and dedicated artist. She brings a unique perspective and collaborative spirit to
“The teachers really get the chance to know every single person in the department. ” - JULIA KOENIG
Baelynn Lindfors and Dan Sandfelder sitting on a couch talking in the Black Box in the University of Kentucky Fine Arts Building on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
PHOTO BY SYDNEY TURNER
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Theater major Baelynn Lindfors in the Black Box in the University of Kentucky Fine Arts Building on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
PHOTO BY SYDNEY TURNER
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all her work, and I am glad to have had the opportunity to work with her in many different artistic aspects. She has worked in lights, set, props, etc… and working in many areas really expanded her ability to make meaningful, effective and artistic designs on the productions she is involved with.” Koenig learned by doing. In doing so, she found the creative freedom she had been longing for and her home within the theatre community, all thanks to the attention Brown gave her. This bond between teacher and student not only assists in getting creatives in the doors of the program but also prepares the students for the unnerving world of professional theatre. Koenig describes another faculty member, Yoon Bae as “an incredible person, but she is really good at tough love. She knows all my weaknesses and she is not afraid to call me out, but she also knows my strengths and knows what I am capable of.” Koenig now has a mental toughness that is required in the world of professional theatre. The reality of auditioning for any professional role, whether that be backstage or onstage, is that the applicants will receive a lot of “no” answers. A lot of experience is often required to land the part, which makes it difficult to gain experience at all. Teachers like Bae push students out of their comfort zones and unleash their full potential. Koenig mentioned how Bae called her during the summer to get her thinking about assistantships and leading roles she could step into in the fall. Koenig is now the Assistant Scenic Designer and Props Master for The Thanksgiving Play and Scenic Designer for The Laramie Project, both produced by the Department of Theatre and Dance and opening Fall 2021. Thanks to Bae’s direction, Koenig now has professional experience. Bae speaks on this: “I want to prepare students to face the competitive and professional world. I support and mentor them in whatever way I can, and is appropriate to their needs. I believe early-career mentorship is immensely important, and Julia has shown talent and the ambition to take the next step.” This mentorship means so much to Koenig that she says, “After seeing people mentor me, I also want to mentor people into theatre because not many people know that other parts of it [like design] exist. So, I want to spread awareness to people who may be interested in it, because you don’t know that you love it until you do it.” Unlike Koenig, senior Lily Meekin has always known she loves theatre. At just nine years old, she participated in the UK Opera Theatre’s production of A Grand Night of Singing. Her first broadway audition was at 10 years old for Annie on Broadway. Theatre took her across the country as she performed in places from Atlanta to New York City, but that all came to a halt when she outgrew the 4’10’’ height requirement and aged out of children’s theatre at 13. Meekin notes that at this point she “definitely knew she wanted to stay involved in theatre, but it was not necessarily her career goal.” She declared herself as a Neuroscience major on the Pre-Med track, but her heart longed to participate in the
shows. In order to cater her passion for singing, she is now a Musical Performance Minor in the UK opera theatre. Meekin has now sung in UK Opera Theatre’s production of A Grand Night of Singing three times and the past two years she has gotten to do featured solos. While this summer’s performance crew was cut in half due to COVID-19 precautions, each member had more work on their hands. Fortunately, Meekin said, this gave her the ability to have more solo pieces and be dance captain. “I love to sing and anyone who lives with me will know that. It gives me a break from all my hard sciences, but the skills that you learn definitely do carry over to a future outside of it,” she said. “[A show] takes a ton of moving parts. There has to be respect for every member of the team. There is a saying ‘actors without the tech crew is just a person standing in the dark screaming.’ The more you know everyone on the team, the better everything works. The teamwork definitely carries over to Pre-Med.” Senior theatre-major Baelynn Lindfors said she is wellaware of the importance of teamwork to make a production run smoothly, as she has been the stage manager for six shows through the UK Department of Theatre and Dance. Two of the shows debut in the spring of 2022, titled Bright Star and the Dance Concert. She explains her role as stage manager: “It is probably one of the most complex and work-heavy positions. You help keep things organized and flowing at auditions. Once you have a cast, you have to get all of their conflicts and put them all on a calendar. Then, you go through the script and see what characters are in which scene and create a rehearsal calendar (because not every member is required at every rehearsal).” Lindfors is also responsible for ensuring every cast member, on and off the stage, is aware of lighting changes, props and sets being taken on and off stage, sound changes, and delegating who is doing each task. She oversees that every role is working together. This value of teamwork creates a community among the theatre program. Lindfors said that if you are in class with someone, more than likely you have worked on a show with them. Each show is a collaboration of many different ideas. These students give each other constructive criticism and respect what every member brings to the table. “Everyone has their own reason for enjoying theatre, but the root of all productions are the same: a cast grows to an audience and then grows into a community,” Lindfors said.
PHOTO BY CORRIE MCCROSKEY
University of Kentucky junior Lily Meekin outside the Otis A. Singletary Center for the Arts on Sept. 3, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
“I want to prepare students to face the competitive and professional world. I support and mentor them in whatever way I can, and is appropriate to their needs.”
- YOON BAE
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THE CITY’S
RHYTHM BEHIND THE SCENES WITH LOCAL MUSICIANS
BY ASHLEY FISHER
I
t’s a late Saturday night in Lexington, Ky. University of Kentucky student and local artist Nari performs live at The Green Lantern, a local bar downtown. On stage, musicians tune fiddles and guitars as laughter and chatter begins to fill the room. Nari, in a vintage babydoll dress and a pair of Dr. Martens, dances with her lead guitarist Charlie Overman. Overman, a Transylvania University student in a cowboy hat, boots and blue jeans, twirls and dips Nari across the bar. Every musician has their own story of how they got introduced to music, what they wanted to create with it, who gave them the drive to pursue it and where that road has taken them. At first glance, Lexington might not seem like the place musicians go to make it big. When taking a closer look, however, there are so many musicians that can be found in this city trying to get their big break. Charlie Overman is more than just a lead guitarist. When Overman first started playing guitar, his main focus was just learning how to play songs by his current favorite artists. “I was a huge fan of guitar-heavy music at the time, like Bruce Springsteen and ACDC, so my interest in that is what got me started playing the guitar,” Overman said. Soon after that, Overman searched through Craigslist looking for any metal band that needed a guitarist. Overman said that after becoming skilled in playing rock and metal music, he wanted to search for ways to expand his abilities, explaining that playing a guitar is like learning a language; a good guitarist can play a particular genre perfectly, but a great guitarist has experience in all genres. 72 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
Nari Khamvanthong, a student musician at the University of Kentucky majoring in Digital Media & Design, playing guitar on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021 in her home in Lexington, Ky.
PHOTOS BY CHRISTIANA NYARKO FALL 2021 | 73
With that mindset, Overman joined local metal band “Forrest.” He also joined local indie-pop band “People Planet” and began playing for Nari as well. He even had the opportunity to be mentored by the lead guitarist of thrash metal band “Havok,” Reece Scruggs. Overman recently released his first solo song titled “Linda Jean,” a country folk song he wrote about one of his best friends. After Overman started to get his foot in the door within the music industry, he learned a lot about what really mattered to him music-wise. “Even if I hadn’t written anything, joined any bands, or put any music out, it’s just the people you meet through music is what is most important; that’s what has kept me in it. For me, it’s all about the connections you make,” he said. While having such a big part of his life revolve around music, Overman said he balances the life of a college student. He said that he always tries to have school come first and that he’s never really struggled with balancing both his academics and his music life.
“It really depends on the circumstances; if I need to go out of town for a few days to play a big show and my friends need me there, then I’m missing a few days of class,” Overman said. Nari has had music in her life since she could remember. “Growing up, my aunt took care of me a lot, and around the time I was born she was singing at a lot of local clubs and bars, and she would take me with her,” Nari said. “I remember I was a toddler sitting at this bar watching my aunt perform. When my mom moved to the Dominican Republic to go to medical school, she called me every night. When she did, I would sing her a little song I had learned. That continued from then on, up until I was about 15 when I moved in with her again.” While music has always been a huge part of Nari’s life, it was still something she said she never considered as a career. “I always thought that only a certain type of person can write music, like Taylor Swift; she’s a person that’s allowed to write music,” Nari said.
Musician Charlie Overman, a student at Transylvania University, sits on a porch while being interviewed on Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
PHOTO BY MARTHA MCHANEY 74 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
“I’m just some regular person, regular people can’t write music. That’s just absurd.” With that initial mindset, Nari moved from San Pablo, Calif. to Lexington with the plan to study biology at UK. While studying there, she gained an interest in hand poke tattooing, and decided to start using this hobby as leverage to try and meet some of her favorite local bands. “I was about 18 or 19 when I started hand poke tattooing,” she said. “I would [message different bands], ‘If you can get me backstage tickets, I will give you tattoos.’ The first band I ever tattooed was ‘Hot Flash Heat Wave’… One of their singers told me I had a good voice and told me I should try singing. I guess I kind of internalized that because a few months later I was making beats on my MacBook and singing on them, and people seem to like it, so I just kept going.” Through tattooing, Nari had the chance to meet Nashville band “Okey Dokey.” When initially meeting them for tattooing, the band told Nari they were working on an album titled “Curio Cabinet I,” with the intent of every song being collaborations with different artists. The band asked Nari if she had any songs she wanted to share with them to add to their album, resulting in Nari releasing her indie pop song “I Really Want to Know” with them. “I think that was the thing that gave me a little bit of traction,” Nari said. “About a month or two after it was released, the music label ‘Park the Van’ contacted me and asked me if I had anything cool that I was working on. I showed them my song ‘Julia.’ Soon after, it was released in 2019 on ‘Park the Van’ and I’m still with them now.” Nari Khamvanthong’s name on the door of the performance venue at the Green Lantern on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
PHOTO BY CHRISTIANA NYARKO
“Even if I hadn’t written anything, joined any bands, or put any music out, it’s just the people you meet through music is what is most important.” - CHARLIE OVERMAN
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Charlie Overman, student at Transylvania University, before the performance at the Green Lantern on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
PHOTOS BY CHRISTIANA NYARKO
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Nari Khamvanthong, a student musician at the University of Kentucky majoring in Digital Media & Design, performing at the Green Lantern on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021 in Lexington, Ky.
Both “I Really Want to Know” and “Julia” have gained over 50,000 streams on Spotify and ended up on Spotify’s “Easy Indie & Alternative” playlist and Urban Outfitters’ “In-Store Music” playlist. While her music career started to take off quicker than she expected, she still had to keep up with her schoolwork. “My label usually leaves me alone during the school year because they know I’m a student,” Nari said. “It can be challenging at times trying to balance the two. I thought 2020 was going to be a great year for me career-wise, but when the pandemic hit it was honestly a blessing because it gave me time to focus on school and get my grades up.” After her major shift in career paths while at UK, Nari is set to graduate in the fall of 2021 with a degree in Digital Media and Design. Even though she only came to Lexington for academic reasons, she was able to find so much more than that. This is the city where she found her inspiration. After graduation, Nari said she hopes to make music her full-time career. “I honestly don’t think I would’ve even started music if I hadn’t moved to Kentucky,” she said. When Nari performs live alongside Overman and the rest of her band members, the connection she creates with her band and the crowd is distinct. Between songs, Nari tells everyone how much she loves them, explaining how she is so happy to have every single person there and making sure to give every band member a shout-out during her set, telling the crowd how special each member is. Those in the audience smile, cheer and dance along with her. Regardless if someone came into that bar not knowing who Nari was before, she tries to give them a show to remember her by. She said she spent this past summer in California recording her album and said that doing so was the first time she sat back and thought to herself, “Dang, I do music.”
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VINTAGE THERAPY RED SILK BLOUSE | 20
“Monsters are real, ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.”
CALYPSO DYNAMITE SKIRT | 44 WALK THIS WAY BOOT | 64 PHOTO BY OLIVIA FORD
- THE SHINING BY STEPHEN KING
BY DEVIN EVOLA
A
s the weather turns colder and the nights become longer, the warm summer colors fade into the richer earth tones of fall. Deep purples, golds, ambers and greens set the backdrop for this season of imagination. Creativity and expression move to the forefront as we start to move inside and dwell more within our mind and imagination. The inspiration for this photoshoot came from my personal love of the darker side of this season. While some of the photoshoots in the magazine have a lighter undertone, I wanted to take the opposite route and create something dark and passionate. Who says scary can’t also be fashionable? KRNL had yet to do a photoshoot like this and it allowed our staff the perfect opportunity to dive into an unseen creative side. We had the opportunity to shoot at the Henry Clay Estate and the space gave us the perfect place to experiment with historical architecture that helped us add to the story being built within the photos. With the publication launch date falling in the middle of autumn, it seemed fitting to create a photoshoot that embodied the season. The goal was to place importance on individuality and unlock the imagination of our viewers. We hope that this shoot catalyzes your initiative to dream, imagine and create this semester.
VINTAGE THERAPY BLACK BUTTON UP | 16 CONTEXT LEATHER JACKET | 40 PHOTO BY AMBER RITSCHEL
PHOTOS BY TY DUCKWYLER FALL 2021 | 79
VINTAGE THERAPY KASPER BLAZER | 30 CALYPSO DONE DEAL TOP | 38 PHOTO BY CORRIE MCCROSKEY 80 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
VENDORS CALYPSO & VINTAGE THERAPY PHOTO BY OLIVIA FORD
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VINTAGE THERAPY PANTS | 30 CALYPSO CHECK THE BOX SHRUG | 54 PHOTO BY TY DUCKWYLER
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CALYPSO NO DOUBT TOP | 38 PHOTO BY TY DUCKWYLER
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VINTAGE THERAPY KASPER BLAZER | 30 CALYPSO DONE DEAL TOP | 38 PHOTO BY CORRIE MCCROSKEY 84 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
VINTAGE THERAPY JACKET | 40 DRESS | 30 PHOTO BY CHRISTIANA NYARKO
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VINTAGE THERAPY PAINT SPLATTER RUSTLERS | 40 LEATHER JACKET | 40
VINTAGE THERAPY BLACK BUTTON UP | 16 CALYPSO SWEETNESS BLAZER | 70 PHOTO BY MARTHA MCHANEY
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CALYPSO ALL A DREAM DRESS | 48 DASH HEEL | 42 PHOTO BY OLIVIA FORD FALL 2021 | 87
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PHOTOS BY NITA KIEM
FALL 2021 | 89
MORE THAN
JUST A MANAGER BY BARKLEY TRUAX | PHOTOS BY MARTHA MCHANEY 90 | KRNL LIFESTYLE + FASHION
B
rotherhood: that’s the one word head basketball manager for the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team, Jonas Alger, used to describe the relationship in the Kentucky men’s basketball locker room. While helping out the players off the court isn’t in the job description, Alger, who is in his third year as a manager and first year in charge, said that if he does go out of his way to help them, they’ll really show their appreciation; it’s more than just a friendship. Something Alger would also consider a brotherhood is that of the managerial group as a whole. “There are so many hours that the managers are together,” he said. “We kind of have to enjoy each other.” Before Alger joined the program, there were 12 managers on staff. This season, there are only seven or eight managers compared to nine last season. “It just depends on the workload and how many we think we need,” he said. Alger’s boss, Mark Evans, who is in his seventh season as head equipment manager, is in charge of hiring new managers every year. Mark was with Kentucky head coach John Calipari as a manager during his tenure at Memphis. Once Evans finished school, Calipari brought him to Kentucky. Whenever a new manager comes to Kentucky, Alger thinks that easing them into, as they call it, The Greatest Tradition, would be the best option, right? Nope. “For me, the older guys just threw me right into the fire and tried to teach me as I went. I messed up and was scolded a lot because they hold you to a higher standard,” Alger said. “They really force you to get going as quickly as possible.” “It’s not typical for a freshman to be a manager,” he said. The way Alger joined the program was by working at Calipari’s camps over the summer after his senior year of high school. Alger said that Evans and Calipari appreciated his work ethic enough to bring him into the program. “For me,” he said. “I got hired freshman year. I sent in my resume and I was lucky to get the job.” Errors are expected under the pressure that comes with being a part of a program like Kentucky, especially when a manager is new to the job. “It’s overwhelming at first to be around all these D1 athletes and to be around Cal, but it only takes a few weeks for them to start slowing down and understanding their role a little,” he said. “The (team) are a great group of people,” Alger said. “They have a lot of funny personalities this year. They’ve all had time to finally become friends and become a family.” *Compared to Alger’s freshman year where everything seemed a lot more serious, this team is as laid back and close as any that he’s been around at UK. The opposite from his sophomore year where the pandemic and 9-16 record tainted the team’s spirits early. “I never expected to be friends with the players,” he said. FALL 2021 | 91
PHOTO BY MICHAEL CLUBB Kentucky Wildcats guard Riley Welch (13) is hugged by an assistant coach on the sideline during the University of Kentucky vs. Florida men’s basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.
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“Especially coming in as a freshman, they don’t really talk to you as much, but the more incorporated you get into the program, the more you (build those relationships).” Sophomore forward Jacob Toppin is someone who Alger has worked the most with since Toppin arrived last season from Rhode Island. “We’ve been around each other a lot, I help him with pretty much anything because I want the kid to succeed.” It’s not just the players that treat managers like they’re a part of the team, it’s the coaching staff too. “The coaches, they treat us like a part of the family (as well),” Alger said. “If we mess up, they yell at us, if we do good, they cheer us on.” Coaches treat the managers the same way they treat the players. If they’re not performing, the coaches get on them. “The coaches, they’re great,” he said. “The first day of practice, Orlando (Antigua) came up to me and another manager said (we) need to be loud when the coaches aren’t talking. You guys are just as important as they are out there.” Antigua left a good first impression with that interaction with Alger, the coach returned to Lexington over the summer for the first time since 2014. Being a manager isn’t just all fun and games being around these local celebrities; it’s a job and they are expected to get to work when the time comes. On a normal day during the semester, Alger, a junior marketing major will head to class in the morning to where he’s free after 2 p.m. “I’ll either be helping Mark (Evans) get practice-ready and doing laundry,” he said. “After that, we put on our basketball shoes and pretty much do anything the coaches ask.” That includes getting rebounds, passing the ball, and hitting players with the pad in the layup line. “Pretty much anything that helps practice run a little smoother.” For travel days, the managers are in charge of all the equipment including game bags, shoes, uniforms and just making sure everything is accounted for in general. “Anything that needs to be done and no one else has a job for it, they ask (the managers) to do it.” “It helps to have a lot of managers because if there’s barely any of us, it’s just a lot,” he said. “There’s just so much asked of us and there’s no way only two or three of us could get it all done.” Not every manager travels with the team. “It’s more of a merit thing,” Alger said. “The older you are, the more you’ll travel.” Alger’s freshman and sophomore year, he didn’t travel
unless it was a special occasion and now, as head manager, he expects to travel to almost every game over the next two seasons. “They ask us to do a lot, but at the end of the day, it’s for a good cause,” Alger said. “The coaches always ask if there’s anything they can do for us and they’re always there to do it.” In the off-season, daily duties can differ. In the summer, the basketball program is typically busy traveling around the state with their camps and when they are in town, they’re limited to how many hours they can practice a week (per NCAA rule), which results in mostly individual workouts where Alger and the other managers are put to work on the glass. During the season, a typical day consists of setting up the practice loops, setting out the players’ jerseys, cleaning the gym, and making sure the basketballs have enough air in them. “Pretty much just making sure everything is working.” “I’ve done everything from rebounding, to handling the ball in fake offense against the team,” he said. “We usually have one coach that is in charge of getting the opposing team’s plays together and (managers) put on jerseys and fake walkthrough for them.” Yes, that means sometimes it’s players versus managers. “There have been a few times that I’ve gotten some buckets,” he laughed. “It’s hard, though, these are D1 athletes. One reason I’m a manager is because I love the game, but I couldn’t play the game.” Alger, who is a marketing major, said his end goal is to be a manager. He turned down full rides from Eastern and Northern Kentucky universities just to have a chance to become a manager for the basketball team. “Everything has worked out so far,” Alger said. It’s just a privilege to come in here every day and to be able to learn from these great basketball minds and these great players that are so skilled.” Kentucky’s basketball program is famous for sending their athletes to the NBA and other pro leagues around the world, which means Alger has been around and learned from everyone from current New York Knicks star Immanuel Quickley, to the Indiana Pacers’ 2021 first round pick Isaiah Jackson and everyone in-between in his three years with the program. “Every day I go to my classes in the morning, but when I come in here and practice starts, it’s just like another class.” This extra class, as Alger sees it, allows him to take mental notes and get to know the in’s
and outs of the basketball team before fans do. “I’m looking forward to this season,” he said, “I think we’ll be really good this year.” Even with the 2020 season ending up the way it went, Kentucky still pumped three more Wildcats into the NBA over the summer. “Every year, we lose a lot (of players) and gain a lot,” he said. “That’s different from most programs, but it’s interesting to see how the locker room changes. This stuff is hard, the coaches really get into the players; they break them down and build them up, it’s a huge confidence thing.” Some days, players are in the locker room reeling from the rigors that come with Kentucky basketball, but Alger sees it as a maturity thing. With the most experienced team Calipari has ever coached in Lexington, Alger said he believes one of the biggest strengths of the current roster is being mentally tough, something he thinks was missing last year’s squad. Alger isn’t letting last year keep him down. Just like everyone else, he took it on the chin and continues to dedicate his time to his craft and this program. “This is one of the most important jobs that I never knew about,” Alger said. “It’s a position that’s really important, even if you’re not going into basketball. It really teaches you a lot of discipline and takes a lot of hard work.” Alger essentially has the schedule as a Kentucky basketball player, which isn’t something just anybody can handle, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything. “I love it and it’s very rewarding,” Alger said. “You’ve just got to be ready to put the work in.”
“This is one of the most important jobs that I never knew about...” - JONAS ALGER
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PLASMA DONATION:
GOOD FOR YOU AND FOR ME SPONSORED CONTENT CONTENT PROVIDED BY CSL PLASMA | WRITTEN BY OLIVIA SANDERSON Plasma donation has benefits for both donors and patients. Your plasma donation can save and improve lives, plain and simple. As college students, free gifts are all the rage and by donating plasma you can be rewarded for your contributions to help others live healthy lives. Plasma is a valuable part of treatment for a variety of health problems. The nutrients in plasma make it useful in treating people suffering from trauma, shock, burns, and other emergencies. Plasma is used to treat rare and inherited chronic conditions that can be life-threatening. Oftentimes, the plasma gives patients vital nutrients that their bodies cannot make themselves. One person that plasma donation has directly affected is Jordan Switzer. Jordan has been sick most of his life. He is only seven years old and for the past five years, he has been battling a condition known as CVID or hypogammaglobulinemia. This means that his body is unable to produce a certain type of antibody called immunoglobulin. Jordan’s condition is very rare and he relies heavily on plasma donation so that he can receive life-saving therapy. “When he was only two months old, we were headed to the grocery store and within 20 minutes of being in his car seat, Jordan’s face had bruises all over,” Jordan’s mother Jessica Switzer said. Concerned, his parents took him to the hospital where no one could explain what happened. “One month later, Jordan was rushed to the University of Maryland Hospital with pneumonia in both lungs. He was there for almost two weeks,” Switzer explained. Switzer continued, “During the next two years, we saw 27 different pediatricians to find out what was going on with Jordan and why he was so sick all the time. He had frequent ear infections which led to four ear surgeries in only two years… he had his adenoids and tonsils removed.” Yet there was light at the end of the tunnel thanks to plasma donations and his doctors.
PHOTO CREDIT | CSL PLASMA
“We saw 27 different pediatricians to find out what was going on with Jordan and why he was so sick all the time.”
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- JORDAN’S MOM, JESSICA SWITZER
Switzer also spoke highly of Jordan’s pediatrician Dr. Karen Vorsteg and the other medical professionals who helped Jordan through his illness. Some of which have even donated plasma in honor of Jordan. Plasma is an important element that performs a variety of functions for the human body. The biggest task of plasma is to serve as a transport system for our bodies carrying proteins, nutrients, hormones, waste products, and other elements throughout our bodies. Not only does plasma help clot blood when there has been a cut, but it also works to fight disease as well as carry electrolytes to our muscles. Plasma even helps our bodies maintain the correct pH balance. It is also important because cells put their waste into the plasma which then moves that waste through the body to get rid of it. Donations are now needed more than ever, so become a donor today. Help people like Jordan by visiting cslplasma.com or in person at one of Lexington’s locations at 817 Winchester Rd. or 1840 Oxford Circle. Help save lives this fall.
S P O N S O R E D
RESALE
POPS
C O N T E N T
WRITTEN BY OLIVIA SANDERSON
For the past 25 years, POPS Resale has welcomed the people of Lexington into their store and allowed them to feel at peace as they browse through music, clothes, games, and more. Daniel Shorr, known by locals as Pop, started his business by selling vintage furniture, pottery, and a few random vintage bits and pieces. After two months, they widened their inventory to include records, which soon became what drew in most of the customers. Since their start, POPS has transformed into selling mainly records, clothes, and a few quirky items. Shorr said they now have between 250,000 and 300,000 records at their store with a little less than one-third out on the floor. One employee named Tony is tasked with tracking down the new releases on vinyl and ordering them for the store, along with the Whether a die-hard Swiftie or a lifelong Pearl Jam fan, when someone walks into POPS they can find something incredible. In recent years, record stores have become a dime a dozen, but not POPS. Not only do they have a mass quantity of records, but they have vintage band tees, leather jackets, video games, and cassette tapes. Their range in products also is evident in their clientele. Any age, race, or gender can not only feel safe but find something they connect with. In the midst of COVID-19, our friends at POPS have taken precautions to ensure everyone feels safe. Keeping up plexiglass screens at the two most interactive parts of the store and requiring all employees to wear masks is just the tip of the iceberg for how they are handling the pandemic. One of the main goals at POPS is to make all their customers feel comfortable. Shorr described it as a “home away from home,” where someone can “walk in and feel like they belong”. This local business is focused not only on a safe shopping experience but also a fun one. The variety of inventory and large floor space makes for an exciting trip for new customers “When we get a new customer in for the first time, they only see the front part of the store (about 15%),” Shorr said. One of his favorite parts of the job is, “watching people’s
POPS Resale owner Dan Shorr being interviewed inside his vintage item resale store that opened in 1996 in Lexington, Ky. (Photos by Isaac Janssen).
expressions when they realize how big the store is.” When asked what his ideal reputation is for the store, Shorr said, “Our goal has always been to treat people like you would want to be treated.” By emphasizing treating their customers like family, POPS has cultivated a loyal fanbase that keeps coming back for more. No matter who you are, POPS Resale has something for you. To support this local Lexington business visit their website at popsresale.com or in-store at 1423 Leestown Road, Suite B just 10 minutes from UK’s campus.
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CONTRIBUTORS
ALLIE DIGGS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ANNA BYERLEY LIFESTYLE EDITOR
PEYTON FIKE CREATIVE DIRECTOR
CATIE ARCHAMBEAU FASHION EDITOR
ABBEY PURCELL DIGITAL EDITOR
RACHAEL COURTNEY MANAGING EDITOR
AMBER RITSCHEL LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER
DEVIN EVOLA PHOTOSHOOT COORDINATOR
BAILEY CISSELL LEAD STYLIST
RANA ALSOUFI ONLINE CONTENT EDITOR
ADDISON CAVE ASST. CREATIVE DIRECTOR
MARTHA MCHANEY ASST. LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER
CORRIE MCCROSKEY ASST. LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER
RILEY HOSTUTLER ASST. LIFESTYLE EDITOR
JAYA DURRAH ASST. FASHION EDITOR
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ABIGAIL BRANNON DIGITAL CONTENT TEAM
EMMY SCHUMACHER PR TEAM
ALANA BLACKMAN STYLIST
ASHLEY FISHER WRITER
JORDAN KNOX LIFESTYLE PODCAST TEAM
CALLIE BROWN DESIGNER
EMMA BLAZIS STYLIST
CHRISTIANA NYARKO PHOTOGRAPHER
CHLOE DAY IMPACT TEAM
BARKLEY TRUAX WRITER
FAITH ROBERTS DIGITAL CONTENT TEAM
REAGAN NEWMAN STYLIST
KARRINGTON GARLAND LIFESTYLE PODCAST TEAM
CASEY SHELTON WRITER
OLIVIA FORD PHOTOGRAPHER
MADYSEN CLARKE STYLIST
KAITLYN SKAGGS PHOTOGRAPHER
MARIA FOLIO DIGITAL CONTENT TEAM
NITA KIEM PHOTOGRAPHER
BROOKLYN KELLEY WRITER
DANI GUGINO DIGITAL CONTENT TEAM
GRAY GREENWELL WRITER
MICHA’LA HOOD IMPACT TEAM
SYDNEY TURNER PHOTOGRAPHER
OLIVIA SANDERSON WRITER
TY DUCKWYLER PHOTOGRAPHER
OLIVIA MORAN IMPACT TEAM
SYDNEY WAGNER STYLIST
JUSTICE MCKINNEY WRITER
KENNEDI BEAM DIGITAL CONTENT TEAM
NOT PICTURED DESIGNERS LAURIE JONHATAN LINDA KIM STYLIST SOPHIE ISON KAITLYN KRAKE PHOTOGRAPHER
LAUREN BURKEEN STYLIST
SAVANNAH CHAPMAN IMPACT TEAM
WRITER MADISON DUNHAM
PHOTOSHOOT COORDINATOR ASST. LEANNA MARJI PR TEAM GRACE STEINHER MAKEUP ARTISTS BROOKE WAGNER KELSEY HUTCHISON
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SPONSORS KRNL SPONSORS POPS RESALE 1423 LEESTOWN RD. LEXINGTON, KY 40511 (859)254-7677 POPSRESALE.COM
CSL PLASMA 817 WINCHESTER RD. #140 LEXINGTON, KY 40505 (859)233-9296 CSLPLASMA.COM
MODELS RACHAEL COURTNEY LAURIE JONHATAN AMBER RITSCHEL BAILEY CISSELL CALLIE BROWN PEYTON FIKE DEVYN EUBANK DAISUKE KIKUMOTO AVRIL DE LA LLANA PAUL GAYLE BOONE KINNEY JEAN ROBINSON CAROLINE BRUENING LEINA TUMBA SHANDIN MULDROW STORM BAYLESS EPH PAGE SCOTTIE GUSSLER WICK MCPHERSON CATIE ARCHAMBEAU
BEHIND THE SCENES MAY MAY BARTON RYAN CRAIG ANDREA GIUSTI DAVID STEPHENSON
PHOTOSHOOT SPONSORS SLIM AARONS LOCATION Hill Haven Farm
VENDORS
Calypso Boutique Vintage Therapy
NONSENSE LOCATION McVey Hall
VENDORS
Calypso Boutique Vintage Therapy
AFTER HOURS LOCATION
The Henry Clay Estate
VENDORS
Calypso Boutique Vintage Therapy All prices are subject to change without notice. While the KRNL staff makes every effort to provide the most accurate, up-to-date information, occasionally one or more items may be mispriced. In the event a product is listed at an incorrect price due to typographical, photographic or technical error in pricing information recieved from our suppliers, merchants
VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 1 | FALL 2021
A NATIONAL AWARD-WINNING DIVISION OF KERNEL MEDIA UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY 338 McVEY HALL LEXINGTON, KY 40506 WWW.KRNLMAGAZINE.COM FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @KRNL_LF LIKE US ON FACEBOOK @KRNLLF CONTACT US KRNLMAGAZINE@KYKERNEL.COM 859.257.6524