Raine 17 - Fall Fashion and Style Issue

MAGAZINE

RAINE INSPIRE CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURS [I.C.E] F A L L F A S H I O N & S T Y L E I S S U E

QUARTERLY

VOL 17

MEET FASHION RAINEMAKERS: MARIA VALENTINO, SHAWNE MERRIMAN & SAM SARPONG

THE COOL SIDE OF LUXURY

10 NEW ENTREPRENEURS TO WATCH!

FLIPPING OVER FLIPZ HEADPHONES CHARMED BY CHARLESTON PLACE

T H E

W O R L D ’ S

M O S T

F A S H I O N A B L E

B U S I N E S S

M A G A Z I N E

MA GA Z IN E

RAINE INSPIRE CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURS [I.C.E.]

entrepreneurs ESPOSITO COLLECTION

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12GLASS HANDBAGS NYOPOLY 13

CLICK WITH ME NOW 14

15 myFAB5 FANDEAVOR 16 NervEight 17

FLATIRON ROOM 18

19 ZISLIS

20 CHEEK’D

GIVE LIVE EXPLORE 21

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beauty 40 COLORS OF BEAUTY

fitness 44

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fashion & style JET SETTING 48 SUN UP TO SUN DOWN

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54 MARIA VALENTINO 57 Shawne Merriman 60 SAM SARPONG 63 FASHION & FILM

66 wayfair

technology

68 HGTVS FAVORITE DUO

FLIPS AUDIO 26

27 TECH TOYS > fresh faces 29 JERMAINE PAUL jaimie alexander 30

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32 AML AMEEN TIERRA BENTON 34

35 JAKE BOYD

STEFANIE SCOTT 36 DEVON BAGBY 38

business SHARPER IMAGE 70 74 GOOD READ 75 SILICON ALLEY 76 TIPS

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culture 77 FOOD 78 TRENDS

TRAVEL: CHARLESTON PLACE 80

bordeaux 86

PIEMONTE 89 92 international fashion 94 DRESS YOUR ATTITUDE 97 Africa Fashion Week

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FAS H I O N TO LIV E F O R

THE ESPOSITO COLLECTION C O O L

S I D E

O F

L U X U R Y

SKINNY HIGH-WAISTED BLACK PENCIL SKIRT BY ESPOSITO

T H E

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RAINE MAGAZINE - VOLUME 17

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GINGHAM & STRIPE NOVELTY BUTTON DOWN BY ESPOSITO

Photographed by VITAL AGIBALOW for HENSEL; MakeUp by KATE ROMANOFF for MAC; Hairstyle by Joseph DiMaggio for L’Oreal Professionnel ; Stylist / Designer Mandy Esposito; MODELS: GEORGIANA SARAEV (MAJOR-NYC); FERNANDO DINIZ (Q models-NYC); ORION HINKLEY (Q models-NYC); NIL HOPPENOT (Q models-NYC)

SIDE RUCHED DRESS AND LEATHER JACKET BY ESPOSITO

(LEFT TO RIGHT) NOVELTY STRIPE BUTTON DOWN AND DENIM BY ESPOSITO, AND ANTONIO BLAZER, BLACK SIGNATURE TEE, AND DENIM BY ESPOSITO, AVAILABLE AT WWW.ESPOSITOCOLLECTION.COM

(LEFT TO RIGHT) ZIP NOVELTY BUTTON DOWN AND DENIM BY ESPOSITO, ASYMMETRIC SIDE ZIP SWEATSHIRT BY ESPOSITO, BUTTON DOWN, TEE AND DENIM BY ESPOSITO

MA GA ZIN E

RAINE INSPIRE CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURS [I.C.E.]

VOL 17

ED ITORIA L TEA M Nova Lorraine - Founder and Creative Director Marilyn Wilson - Senior Editor Derron Forrest - Business Development Janet Igah - Style Editor

R E S E A R C H E D I TO R Carlotta Harrington CONTRIBUTING WRITERS David J. Freschman Mariessa Terrell, ESQ. Noelle Frieson Tina Chen Nadirah Jilaan Michelle Winters Liz Belilovskaya Christine Perez Yilla Chen C O P Y E D I TO R Yilla Chen

SPECIAL THANKS Frederique Porter Javier Hernandez Natasha Gabriel Tina Littlejohn Nekisha Slade COVER CREDITS Photographed by Lucy Helena Wearing Maria Eliza Collection MV by Maria Valentino cosmetics

INQUIRIES Press: media@rainemagazine.com Advertising: advertise@rainemagazine.com Submissions: submissions@rainemagazine.com

A RT D I R E C T I O N Martina Micko

RAINE MAGAZINE NEW YORK * LA * SAN FRANCISCO * MIAMI CORRESPONDENCE Raine Magazine PO BOX 3021 Windermere, FL 34786 Raine Magazine is a trademark of Raine Creative Holdings LLC and is published quarterly. All contents, logos, and articles are copyrighted materials and all right are reserved. Any reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of Raine Creative Holdings is prohibited. The publisher also reserves the right to refuse any advertising material for any reason deemed inappropriate by publisher. Raine Magazine’s subscription is $50.00. Please make checks payable to Raine Creative Holdings. To distribute Raine at your business, please email editor@rainemagazine.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE WELCOME TO RAINE MAGAZINE Hello Raine-ites!

We’re very excited about our newest Fashion and Style edition.

From HGTV to MTV - we have some great Rainemakers we want you to meet!

As usual, we’ve packed this issue with great fashion, cool tech toys and charming travel destinations.

Enjoy!

For those of you just getting to know Raine...this is what we are about: Raine is the world’s most fashionable business magazine!

We are the “go to resource” for Creative Entrepreneurs, Influencers and Executives! We started with a passion to inspire millions.

The rise of the creative class as well as creative entrepreneurs is a growing phenomenon. Four of the ten wealthiest people in the world are considered creative entrepreneurs: 2 being computer programmers (Bill Gates and Larry Ellison) and 2 being fashion moguls (Amancio Ortega and Bernard Arnault).

MAGAZINE

RAINE INSPIRE CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURS [I.C.E] F A L L F A S H I O N & S T Y L E I S S U E

VOL 17

QUARTERLY

MEET FASHION RAINEMAKERS: MARIA VALENTINO, SHAWNE MERRIMAN & SAM SARPONG

THE COOL SIDE OF LUXURY

10 NEW ENTREPRENEURS TO WATCH! FLIPPING OVER FLIPS HEADPHONES CHARMED BY CHARLESTON PLACE

T H E

W O R L D ’ S

M O S T

F A S H I O N A B L E

B U S I N E S S

M A G A Z I N E

Enter the world of affluent and aspiring entrepreneurs and the fashionable lifestyle they live.

Meet rising dot.comer’s, designers, photographers, film producers, actors, artists, musicians, inventors and more! Network, partner or invest with some of the most talented individuals in the world!

Inside Raine, you will find five content areas: FASHION (fashion, beauty, style). ENTERTAINMENT (music, film, television, and sports).

CULTURE (music, film, fine arts, design, cuisine). TRAVEL. & TECHNOLOGY (tech toys, tech companies). Digital editions are now available across all platforms.

Are you an entrepreneur? You’d be surprised! en·tre·pre·neur “Businessman or businesswoman, enterpriser, speculator, tycoon, magnate, mogul; dealer, trader; promoter, impresario; informal wheeler-dealer, whiz kid, mover and shaker, go-getter, high flyer, idea person” -Seadict.com

Yours Truly,

Nova Lorraine Founder and Editor

1 0 E N T R E P R E N E U R S TO WATC H !

FA S HI O N . T E C H N O L O G Y. E N T E R TA I N M E N T. C ULT UR E . T R AV E L

E NT R EP R E N E U R S TO WAT C H | FASHION & STYLE

ENTR EP R ENEUR I NT ERV IEWS RESEARCHED BY CHRISTINE PEREZ

M E E T TA M A R A L E U T Y, Designer of Glass Handbags

RAINE: What inspired you to create Glass Handbag?

LEUTY: My love for fashion and the need to see inside my handbag in the dark. Nobody else had any thing like it on the market that I liked or knew of.

RAINE: How did you fund your startup?

LEUTY: My fiancé and I have done all of the funding, little by little.

RAINE: Are you actively seeking funding now?

LEUTY: We are looking for the right fit – that’s important when looking for venture partners.

RAINE: What is your competitive edge?

LEUTY: The amazing function of the technology inside the bag. And they are really fashionable. The combination.

RAINE: Who is your target demo and market size?

LEUTY: Our target, upper to middle class fashionable women 18 to 55.

RAINE: Who are your competitors and how do you stand out from them?

LEUTY: As far as price points I would say Michael Kors, Coach. I stand out because I am the only designer involved in the process and I really try to be different. And I have the light built inside every handbag; I don’t make any kind of handbag without a light built-in.

RAINE: How would you forecast your growth over the next three years?

LEUTY: I believe Glass Handbag will have a 40% increase in presence in the market place.

RAINE: What challenges have you faced as an entrepreneur and how 12

RAINE MAGAZINE - VOLUME 17

have you overcome them?

LEUTY: The challenges are never ending, I have a tenacity and love for it, and I just stay calm and confident.

RAINE: What do you love most about working in the fashion accessory industry?

LEUTY: The design process and the visuals and the fantasy of it all, super fun.

RAINE: At what age did you discover your entrepreneurial spirit?

LEUTY: My father was an entrepreneur so I’ve thought that way my whole life. I have been self-employed for 20 years as a fashion photographer.

RAINE: Did you become an entrepreneur out of a need for innovation or out of necessity for a job?

LEUTY: Definitely the need for innovation and the creative outlet.

RAINE: Who would you love to see wearing one of your bags?

LEUTY: That is tough, there are so many women that I admire, I am happy to see any woman wearing my handbag. I have been lucky to get really amazing product placement. Glass Handbags will be present in the new Woody Allen movie “Blue Jasmine” RAINE: What is the item people most often lose in their bags?

LEUTY: I hear keys a lot, money, etc.

RAINE: Any funny stories from your customers?

LEUTY: Well you do feel like everyone in the movie theater can see inside your bag when you open it. You can’t have a messy handbag because you want to show it to all your friends. One customer said she get many compliments so she has to watch what she puts inside her Glass Handbag because she will show it to strangers all day. It is a conversation piece that is for sure.

RAINE: What styles are you most excited about in your current or upcoming collections?

LEUTY: The new collection is very lady like, lightweight with rich colors and textures.

RAINE: What can others learn from your success?

LEUTY: You have to love, love everything about it, and be focused and super tough along the way.

Photos credit Tamara Leuty

Tamara Leuty found an issue that affected millions, which also helped revolutionize the luxury handbag industry: digging through the clutter was becoming trouble.

In 2010, she set out to integrate a safe, petite and unobtrusive low-light system into handbags.

Her line, Glass Handbag, is both functional and high fashion.

In the past six months, the line has appeared in multiple television presentations, and is selling in higher volumes via the website and special sales. Glass Handbag is in the process of store distribution and has had an incredible response in its innovation and in its design.

E NT R EP R E N E U R S TO WAT C H | FASHION & STYLE

SHAWN HARRIS & JOE SHARTZER CO-FOUNDERS OF NYOPOLY Take a good look at what Shawn Harris & Joe Shartzer have done as cofounders of Nyopoly, an exclusive members-only shopping experience.

Every price is tailored to your budget and on your terms: you negotiate your price on upscale chic finds. This one of a kind e-commerce market launched in November 2012 and continued to expand. They will have some huge news to announce over the next several months in regards to adding other well-known brands, expanding product lines, and launching their own app. Check out how this duo is revolutionizing fashion.

RAINE: What inspired you to start Nyopoly?

Like style, price is personal. Shawn owned a fashion retail business prior to Nyopoly, and experienced the pain of the inefficiency of fixed prices. I was always trying different promotions and sales to fix the fact that I was trying to find a single price that would work for a large group of people. Nyopoly was born out of this frustration, allowing shoppers to pay their personal price in a unbiased and non-competitive approach was the solution.

RAINE: How did you fund Nyopoly?

Nyopoly has been essentially bootstrapped over the last two years.

Photos by Nyopoly

RAINE: What is your competitive edge in the online fashion industry?

We allow our shoppers to negotiate their personal price on current season and on trend designer brands, getting what you love, every day, at a price you want to pay. We are sourcing current season goods, getting products you’ll find at/on the most popular department stores. This makes us super competitive with larger department stores, and differentiates us from the likes of flash sale sites who do not carry current season goods.

Our personal pricing model, which is non-competitive and unbiased, is a key competitive edge from fixed-price retailers, and when coupled with our large cash-back this would require a complete business model shift for most retailers.

With Nyopoly, brands can sell to the most price-conscious shoppers without publicly advertising a discounted price, as we never tell a shopper what to pay, so we don’t show a price with a slash through it then a new price. We only present the list price, then allow the shopper to determine their personal price. This approach protects brand equity for brands and designers.

We filed a patent on the Nyopoly technology and approach.

RAINE: Who is your target demo and market size?

She has designer name aspirations, and will buy at the right price, including out of season and last years luxury, but frequently buys current season from smaller brands. She is technology savvy, and has grown up in a world of eBay, Amazon, and Facebook. (25 - 34). She has grown to rely on technology to get her shopping done. (35 - 55). She’s college educated and has an average household income of $70K. She loves the treasure hunt and discovery. She is used to finding new ways to shop, and enjoys learning more about those ways.

RAINE: Who are your competitors and how do you stand out from them?

While Nyopoly is unique in purchase process, we know that shoppers have

choices. We see our competitors for current season and on trend goods being both Nordstrom, and shopping experiences like Gilt. Offering current season and on trend fashion at her personal price and our large cash-back, we are positioning well to show her we are the best way to shop.

RAINE: How would you forecast your growth over the next three years?

We are heads-down focused on executing and listening to our shoppers to make Nyopoly better every day. We see Nyopoly being a major ecommerce player in three years, with a target of $20mm in revenue, and 200,000+ active shoppers..

RAINE: What challenges have you faced as entrepreneurs and how have you overcome them?

Executing as a bootstrapped startup is a great challenge. I have been able to bring on a very talented and committed team, and our collective skills and relentless resourcefulness, overcomes most financially constraints.

RAINE: What is it like working as a team as opposed to being a solo entrepreneur?

Our team is the single reason we’ve been able to bring Nyopoly this far.

We’re still a small team, so we have the advantages of mobility, flexibility and hustle that a solo entrepreneur has, with the bonus of different skill sets and ideas when problem solving.

RAINE: Did you build Nyopoly out of a need for innovation or out of necessity for a job?

Nyopoly was built from a person frustration with the inefficiency of flat, traditional pricing and markdown models. Shawn owned a luxury apparel business, as the economy started to take a dive it became increasingly difficult to determine what the best price was to excite shoppers, but not go out of business. Though unsuccessful in the latter [which is part of being an entrepreneur], the innovation of allowing shoppers to get their personal price in a non-competitive and unbiased way was built from that experience.

RAINE: What consumer insights have you gained from Nyopoly’s paywhat-you-want model?

The main insight that we have gained is that she does not need huge discounts to buy. When presented with fair options, she makes fair choices.

The ideal of the win-win lives, and we are seeing it every day on Nyopoly.

RAINE: What designers have been the most exciting to feature on Nyopoly?

We’ve been able to work with fabulous designers like Melie Bianco, Luis Steven, Big Buddha, Gucci, and more. We are constantly in talks with brands, adding great new brands every month. Honestly, brands get it.

Because we only show the brand supplied list price, and the negotiation happens discreetly between the shopper and Nyopoly, our platform protects brand equity, while being able to sell to the most price conscious consumers.

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E NT R EP R E N E U R S TO WAT C H | T ECHNOLOGY

MARK COMISO CO-FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, CLICK WITH ME NOW

This new, innovative technology helps web users share their screens with friends, family, and trusted advisors when making important decisions and purchases on the Internet. Raine gets the inside scoop from Mark Comiso on how to launch an exciting new technology.

RAINE: What inspired you to start Click With Me Now? COMISO: Click With Me Now was inspired and created out of a specific need in the marketplace - namely that there is not an easy, one-click, nodownload way for the every day web user to instantly share the webscreen they’re looking at. The real “aha moment” came for my co-founder, Brian Handrigan, and I when we were doing some user group testing with an health insurance company and their users kept saying “I wish I could share this screen with my family to get their input before making a decision.” We had worked with and could have incorporated older collaboration technology, but they require downloads, are clunky and costly. So we said “there has to be a better way.” We researched extensively and found there was not a free, easy and functional solution. Being the serial entrepreneurs that we are, we said “well then let’s build it!!”

RAINE: How did you fund your start-up?

COMISO: We’ve taken an incubator approach to funding and development. Namely we got a first round of “proof of concept” funding of $50,000 when we were selected to the St. Louis, MO incubator program at Capital Innovators. Following that successful development phase, we got a Seed Round of funding of $700,000 that allowed us to build first a Beta, then the first release version of the product.

RAINE: What is your competitive edge?

COMISO: Our competitive edge is that our tool was designed from the ground up to be simple to use, secure and free to the end user. We are the only solution to date that meets the following 4 very basic, but critical criteria - 1) Simplicity - no leaving the page your viewing to go to a screen sharing provider’s website to then be able to share the screen you were looking at before - our users simply share the screen they’re viewing, right from the screen they’re on with 1-click. 2) No downloads - not even a Java Applet - some solutions say they are ‘no download’, yet they require the host to download a Java Applet. 3) Security - our solution guarantees total security of information and the chain of custody for online e-commerce. We are the only screen sharing technology to meet the rigorous security criteria of the healthcare space. 4) Free - we are free to the end user.

RAINE: Who is your target demo and market size?

COMISO: Our targets are broken into two audiences - users of the tool and businesses that implement our tools on their website. Our target for users is literally everyone that is surfing the web, because everyone has the need and/or desire to at random times to share the screen their looking at with someone else. For our target businesses - who are the ones that pay us to put our Software As A Service (SaaS) technology on their websites - we are looking for businesses that have products or services that they sell online 14

that are ‘important, but infrequent’ purchases for their customers. Things like Healthcare Insurance, Financial Services, big ticket consumables such as TV’s, computers, cars, etc., Travel & Leisure, Real Estate and any sites that have configurable solutions. Additionally, we have been getting significant adoption from Customer Service centers of major brands.

The market size for Healthcare and Healthcare services is over to $200 Billion dollars and online e-commerce is targeted to go over $1 Trillion dollars annually by 2014.

RAINE: How would you forecast your growth over the next three years?

COMISO: Our growth over the next three years is going to be excitingly fast, going from $0 in revenue to over $20MM in annual revenue by 2015. And if we are able to impact some of the markets we’ve targeted, in the way we think, those growth numbers could be significantly conservative.

RAINE: What has the response been like to Click?

COMISO: The response to Click With Me Now has been amazing… from early believers like Capital Innovators who helped us be able to realize the dream, to business tradeshows who invited us to present even before we’d finish developing the tool - DEMO last Fall in Santa Clara, CA and South

By South West in February. And now we’re getting amazing early adoption from the Healthcare sector - Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island was our first multi-year contract and we have several very large Travel & Leisure and electronics companies doing pilots with us right now as well. And we only launched the product officially back on June 28th.

RAINE; How do you feel social media and the internet have changed people’s shopping experience?

COMISO: That’s a very interesting question because we say that Click With Me Now is one of the first technologies that will help glue Social Media and Ecommerce together. By allowing people to share the experiences they’re having online - with 1-click, no-downloads and at no cost - we think people will engage more and more people in helping them make their purchasing decisions. Sure, I can buy the music I like without help from my friends, but when I’m buying a new laptop I want to get input and affirmation from my friend who knows more about computers than I’ll ever know. Or when I want to go to a hockey game with my best friends and I’m looking at tickets online, I want to be able to have them all on with me and we can pick the seats in real time .. no e-mails back and forth, to then find out the seats are then gone.

Social + Ecommerce is in it’s infancy, but is going to be huge! It’s the way we act in the analog world and it will be the way we act online too - when the tools and technology catch up and let us do it seamlessly and easily. Click With Me Now is fortunate to be right in the mix of

RAINE MAGAZINE - VOLUME 17

Photos by Click With Me Now

Entrepreneurial duo Mark Comiso and Brian Handrigan set out to change the way we shop online. The pair launched Click With Me Now, a oneclick, no download web-sharing technology currently in its Beta launching phase.

E NT R EP R E N E U R S TO WAT C H | TECHNOLOGY

OMEID SEIRAFI-POUR MYFAB5, CO-FOUNDER/CEO RAINE: What inspired you to become an entrepreneur in the world of technology?

SEIRAFI-POUR: After college I worked for a growth strategies consulting firm in Chicago, and my first project was with a Fortune 500 company that wanted to utilize technology to drive growth. One thing we looked at was how consumers use review sites and social networks to make consumption related decisions. I learned that there are a lot of problems in the reviews industry that are being ignored by Web 1.0 companies like Yelp. My urge to fix those problems was uncontrollable, and at that moment I realized I am more passionate about technology than consulting.

Photos by MyFab5

RAINE: How did you fund your venture?

SEIRAFI-POUR: I knew that I would eventually quit my job to start myfab5; over the course of a year I saved every single penny I could get my hands on. Another thing I did was move back to Ann Arbor, MI, home to University of Michigan and some of the most talented and hard working people I’ve ever come across. Although my decision was influenced by the desire to put together a top-tier team, I quickly realized there are many non-dilutive sources of funding that could help make myfab5 successful. Organizations like the University of Michigan, TechTown in Detroit and Ann Arbor Spark have gone out of their way to provide our startup with support through non-dilutive funding and mentorship.

RAINE: What is your competitive edge?

SEIRAFI-POUR: Our competitive edge lies in our understanding of the market and the infrastructure we are building with that understanding. Our competitors think the way to win is by having the best reviews; this results in an effort to curate the longest and most detailed reviews possible.

However, what we have learned is that people do not actually demand star ratings and reviews; they demand information that will help them make a consumption related decision.

Reviews often contain unhelpful details that bury the information people are looking for.

myfab5 has created a new type of “review” that focuses on delivering the information people want in a concise and understandable way. myfab5 got rid of ratings and long reviews and replaced them with rankings!

On myfab5 people rank up to five of their favorite places in any food or drink related category (e.g. my top 3 places for deep dish pizza in Chicago). myfab5 aggregates all the individual rankings so that if you search for Pizza in Chicago, we will show you the most popular pizza places AND the other categories each place is ranked highly in. Currently in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the #4 place for pizza is also the #1 place for thin crust pizza. This type of information saves people time when they are trying to decide which restaurant to go to. Our ranking system makes it extremely simple for anyone to make a recommendation. myfab5 also lets people comment on businesses, but we limit comments to 260 characters to force people to get to the point.

This ranking system has made our platform extremely positive since people only talk about their favorite places. Small business owners are already asking us to let them create accounts, customize different aspects of their profile, and give them a way to communicate with their customers.

RAINE: Who is your target demo and market size?

SEIRAFI-POUR: myfab5 is currently focusing on the restaurant segment of the reviews industry. Within that segment we are serving individuals that value making decisions quickly and confidently and individuals that would

recommend businesses online if rating/reviewing didn’t take so long. These people tend to be young professionals in urban areas, young-mid aged parents and people that are traveling.

We estimate that around 50 million Americans use websites/apps that help them find/discover restaurants. We have received a lot of requests to expand into other categories, so that is probably on the way.

RAINE: What challenges have you faced as an entrepreneur and how have you overcome them?

SEIRAFI-POUR: I have faced more challenges than I can count, but here are three that stand out: 1. Parents not wanting me to do a startup and instead work for a corporation or go back to school to get an MD, JD, MBA or PhD. They wanted me to be making money or continuing my education. I overcame this obstacle by sharing my vision with them, reminding them of past successes and telling them I will re-evaluate my decision every so often to do a gut-check.

2. I moved from Chicago to Ann Arbor to start myfab5. I was homeless for the first couple of months. I overcame this challenge by living at the incubator my co-founder and I were participating in. Luckily they had a locker room with a shower. I slept on the floor in one of the meeting rooms.

3. I do not have any technical skills. I overcame this challenge by surrounding

myself with people that are smarter than me and have the skills I lack. I can only overcome so many challenges, but my team can overcome any challenge.

RAINE: Did you become an entrepreneur out of a need for innovation or out of necessity for a job?

SEIRAFI-POUR: Being a startup founder is not a job; it’s a lifestyle and a journey to fulfill a mission. I’m on a mission to solve problems and create value through innovation.

RAINE: What do you enjoy about working in an industry that is constantly changing?

SEIRAFI-POUR: My favorite part about an industry that is constantly changing is that myfab5 can lead the change. Entrepreneurs must be able to see flaws in the status quo and identify the changes that would fix those problems.

Furthermore, entrepreneurs must recognize changes in consumer preferences and behavior to ensure long-term success. Change gives me hope because it means that even the market leaders can be taken down.

RAINE MAGAZINE - VOLUME 17

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E NT R EP R E N E U R S TO WAT C H | ENTERTAINM ENT

TOM ELLINGSON FANDEAVOR

RAINE: What inspired you to start Fandeavor?

ELLINGSON: The idea for Fandeavor came out of various sponsorships that Zappos was involved with. As corporate sponsors, Dean and I saw first hand how VIP experiences can elevate gameday from fun to once-ina-lifetime. We took the experiences we had as sponsors at Zappos and created a marketplace for fans to purchase those same experiences.

RAINE: How did you fund your start-up?

ELLINGSON: We raised a round of seed funding in June 2012 from VegasTechFun (Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s fund), and angel investor Erik Moore, who was an early investor in Zappos.

RAINE: What is your competitive edge?

ELLINGSON: We feel our competitive advantages are the relationships we have with teams and leagues, as well as our e-commerce platform. Our technology team came from Zappos and have a great understanding on what it takes to get a customer through the purchase funnel.

RAINE: Who is your target demo and market size?

ELLINGSON: Our demo is different for each sport, but in general our typical customer is anywhere from 30-50 years old. 40% of our purchases come from women purchasing gifts for their husband, son, father, etc. Market size for the sports industry in general is $100B, we think the experience/sports travel side of things is $10 billion.

RAINE: Who are your competitors and how do you stand out from them?

ELLINGSON: There are folks like LivingSocial, Groupon, StubHub, Ticketmaster, etc. who are all competitors in one way or another in the sports space. Nobody is as focused on gameday experiences like we are though. There’s so much a fan can do on gameday they never knew existed and that’s the power of Fandeavor. While other sports travel companies

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focus on providing tickets and hotel rooms, Fandeavor is focused on providing so much more. Our experiences give fans everything from tours of the stadium/arena, access to pregame parties, meet & greets with athletes & coaches and once-in-a-lifetime bucket list experiences. Fandeavor elevates gameday from being fun to memorable.

RAINE: How would you forecast your growth over the next three years?

ELLINGSON: We’ll do low six figures in revenue this year, $1 million next year, and are projecting $10 million in 3 years.

RAINE: What do you love about working in the sports industry?

ELLINGSON: Our team is made up of people that are very passionate about their sports. When you get to work in an industry that you’re so passionate about, most days actually don’t feel like work.

RAINE: Did you become an entrepreneur out of a need for innovation or out of necessity for a job?

ELLINGSON: Definitely out of need for innovation. The more we started looking into the fan experience business, we realized there was huge demand from fans who wanted more than just a ticket to the game. We want fans to think of Fandeavor first when going to games.

RAINE: Why do you think sports fandom is such a huge part of our culture?

ELLINGSON: Going to games and rooting for your local team is something that most people grow up doing. I have great memories going to Mariner games with my family as a child. I think the memories shared with friends and family are a big part of what makes sports so important to us.

RAINE: Can you tell us about some of the unique experiences Fandeavor has offered?

ELLINGSON: We’ve had fans do everything from throw out the first pitch at a baseball game, to running out of the tunnel with their team right before the start of the game. We had a really unique partnership with the NFL Players Association where our customers got to pose for their very own football trading card!

RAINE MAGAZINE - VOLUME 17

Photo Credit Fandeavor

Serial Entrepreneur Tom Ellingson launched Fandeavor with coworkers from Zappos in an effort to give sports fans a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The company just celebrated their one year anniversary mark in August 2013.

Fandeavor brings Gameday immersion experiences to the everyday sports fan.

The behind-the-scenes access is offered to fans with packages ranging from affordable rates up to very high-end experiences. Fandeavor is quickly gaining traction and new teams and sports are added regularly. Join us as we discover how Ellingson scored a win with this flourishing start-up.

E NT R EP R E N E U R S TO WAT C H | ENTERTAINM ENT

STEVEN EASON: NervEight People love helping others find success and Stevem Eason is capitalizing on that idea with his latest venture, NervEight. NervEight takes the popular “America decides” platform from hit shows like America’s Got Talent and downsizes it for a smaller screen. This mobile app provides a simple platform for all genres of music to be heard, critiqued, and promoted. While Eason continues to discover the newest musical talent, let’s uncover the story behind his success.

RAINE: What inspired you to become an entrepreneur in the worlds of music and technology?

EASON: Growing up I have always looked at things and wondered how they worked, that usually led to me taking things apart and attempting to put them back together. I think that early curiosity fueled my creative passion, which then sparked my interest in technology. Music on the other hand came naturally. I was in school band through grade school, dabbled in music production throughout my life and even started a music promotion company while in college at Temple University. It wasn’t until recently that I’ve been able to marry two things I’ve loved so deeply and start building something I’m truly passionate about. I think it’s my obsession with music and technology that inspired me to create something for the world to see.

RAINE: How did you fund your venture? Are you actively seeking funding now?

EASON: Blood, sweat and sacrifice. We’re self-funded with zero debt. My business partner, Torian Johnson, and I, believed in building something and drawing attention to it organically and without major backing. Despite that, I believe we’re at the level now where a bit of funding could help catapult us to the next level and shake things up a bit.

RAINE: What is your competitive edge?

EASON: I’m able to play multiple angles, wear different hats and put myself in other people’s shoes quite easily. Plus, I’ve always been of the opinion that you should never show your hand, even if it’s a good one. If I’m not talking, it’s probably because I’m observing or learning. I’m a great listener and I’ve always been quick on my feet and fast to learn. I guess it’s my wolf in sheep’s clothing style business mind that gives me my competitive edge.

I’m hungry for success!

RAINE: Who is your target demo and market size?

EASON: I believe the music industry typically targets music to the younger crowd (13-25). They’re usually more receptive towards new trends and new music. As a platform that focuses on new music, the music industry model works for me. Although not completely true for everyone, there are a lot of older music buyers and listeners that are set in their ways and have already built a catalog of music they are satisfied with. That’s why so many people prefer the music they grew up listening to.

Photo Credit NervEight

RAINE: Who are your competitors and how do you stand out from them?

EASON: Outside of the popular big name music platforms, I don’t really see any true competitors. Our platform is so unique, niche and scalable I don’t really see anyone approaching the industry like we are. Besides, competition drives innovation, it’s the same reason why shows like, The Voice, American Idol and America’s Got Talent can all exist in the same space, have their audiences and be a success.

RAINE: How would you forecast NervEight’s growth over the next three years?

EASON: My vision is to have NervEight become a household name, or at least a name known throughout the music industry. I want NervEight to help artists leverage big deals. I’d like to be able to say NervEight was the reason why this artist got their break. Could that happen in three years? I believe so.

RAINE: What challenges have you faced as an entrepreneur and how have

you overcome them?

EASON: Lack of knowledge in a specific area of expertise is a problem I have faced and I feel that most entrepreneurs face. Whether it is graphic design or coding websites, I’ve always ran into things that I wasn’t familiar with or didn’t know how to do. Even from a business stand point, I’m constantly learning and growing. My best advise and how I overcome specific challenges is by researching things before I fully immerse myself into them, I’ve sought out mentorship and I’ve never been afraid to ask for help.

RAINE: Did you become an entrepreneur out of a need for innovation or out of necessity for a job?

EASON: It was the need for innovation, with the possibility of an added revenue stream. I saw a market that was being ignored and I thought of a new refreshing and engaging way to bring attention to it.

RAINE: What do you enjoy about working in an industry that is people and service-focused?

EASON: I feel like people generally are appreciative of what you are doing and can see the vision and end goal. The music industry has a bad reputation for being shady and cutthroat.

I’ve seen it personally and the stereotypes can be pretty accurate. However, I want to say that those same stereotypes aren’t home to the independent scene. A lot of musicians are genuine in their intentions and a lot of the times the artistry is the main focus, something the mainstream lacks at times. Helping people who genuinely have a love and passion for the art and what they do is rewarding in my eyes.

RAINE: Who are some of your favorite musicians or genres?

EASON: I’m big on Hip-Hop, Reggae and Soul. I recently started getting into Indie Rock and I’m a big fan of the Local Natives. Bob Marley and Barrington Levy are two of my favorite Reggae artists. Besides the obvious legends like Nas, Jay-Z and Biggie, J-Cole and Kendrick Lamar are two new artists that I check for in the Hip-Hop scene.

RAINE: Can you share an artist success story from NervEight?

EASON: Quite recently, Trace-O, one of the artists that we featured on the app, who has gotten a good general response from the NervEight community, has used his success on the app to leverage a deal under Universal Music Group’s umbrella.

RAINE: What can others learn from your success?

EASON: I believe that everything is possible and fear is the only obstacle.

Not everyone dreams big, and even fewer people plan accordingly.

Recently, I had a big discussion with a few friends about what success was and we concluded that like everything it’s driven by perception. I personally don’t feel like I’m successful, I feel like I’m just starting my journey. However, if I can inspire someone to be great, that in itself is a success.

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E NT R EP R E N E U R S TO WAT C H | T RAVEL

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RAINE: What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?

TARDIE: I imagine my story is not so dissimilar to other entrepreneur’s. I was working in my chosen career path (a Creative Director in New York City ad agencies) when I reached a plateau. I had been climbing the corporate latter but wasn’t sure I wanted to keep climbing. Instead of coming up with ideas and concepts to help another company, I wanted to put my energy behind my own company.

RAINE: What is your competitive edge?

TARDIE: I am just as strong in my knowledge of what the audience wants as I am with installing the processes and procedures necessary to deliver the product. I very much enjoy the entire process of initial concept to final execution. There is no greater satisfaction than seeing your vision launched and customers walking away happy.

RAINE: Who is your target demo and market size?

TARDIE: The Flatiron Room targets a “mature minded audience”. If we were to put an age on that demo I would say between 33 to 55 year olds, however there is spill over in either direction. Our demographic is really more about a mindset than an actual age. We appeal to those looking for an alternative to a crowded bar or nightclub. We appeal to people looking for an entertaining night out in an upscale environment without stuffiness or pretension.

RAINE: Who are your competitors and how do you stand out from them?

TARDIE: When I started doing my due-diligence I really couldn’t find another place that combined all the elements I envisioned having. I liked the feel of certain hotel lobby bars such as The Plaza. I liked the vintage theatre aspect of The Box and I loved the whiskey selection and staff knowledge at Brandy Library.

I was inspired by these great operations but wanted to create something completely unique and different. I wanted guests to have a very engaging, almost theatrical experience.

I told my design team I wanted a place that echoed of aristocratic wealth and old world charm. I also wanted it engaging. The lavish stage front

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and center is just one part of the experience. Everything from the vintage library ladder the wait staff climb to fetch bottles of whiskey to the 1930’s antique ice crusher the bartenders use to make cocktails is visual eye candy. I can’t tell you how many pictures are floating around cyber space that people took of staff on our catwalk or of bartenders turning the steampunk-esq handle on the ice crusher. It’s a fun experience.

But, a pretty space alone won’t survive. We›ve all been to places that are beautiful or have a great concept, but they don›t impress us. What makes us stand out isn›t just the way we look, or our vast selection of whiskey, or the great entertainment we provide ... that wouldn›t be enough. What makes us stand out is that our rollout is seamless. Our service is impeccable without being stuffy. Our decor is impressive because of the way it is maintained. Our staff is knowledgeable and pleasant because of their training and work environment.

It works on the back end and it works on the front end -- keeping everyone happy.

RAINE: How would you forecast your growth over the next three years?

TARDIE: The first year of a new business is the most crucial. This is when the personality of the business really takes shape. You want your guests to know what to expect when they come through your doors. Customer service and product quality needs to be unwavering.

After a full year we have a benchmark to work against. Personally we expect an 18-20% growth on year 2 and then a steady 3-5% grown from years 3 to 5.

RAINE: Do you have any upcoming projects?

TARDIE: Another Flatiron Room location has always been in my game plan.

That’s what my next project will be. We’ve been working hard to create a solid infrastructure that we can apply to the next location. I just need the right location.

RAINE: What do you enjoy about working in an industry that is people and service-focused?

TARDIE: I’m a whiskey fan so being surrounded by 700+ varieties is a pretty great perk. Whiskey has been a learning adventure. The last few years have been a whirlwind of education. I love passing on any knowledge I can to customers.

If they can walk away a little more enriched then I’m happy. It’s wonderful to interact with guests and be able to see in their eyes that they are truly happy with their experience. That’s priceless.

RAINE: What can others learn from your success?

TARDIE: Surround yourself with supportive and positive people. Being an entrepreneur is a roller coaster ride with extreme highs and extreme lows. You’ll need good people in your corner when times get tough (and they WILL get tough).

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Photo credits The Flatiron Room

Tommy Tardie noticed a hole in the New York City nightlife realm. There were plenty of stodgy places for a sophisticated whiskey, for live music, and for a good meal; however he was unable to find a place that would appeal to a more sophisticated person who was no longer interested in nightclubs or beerflooded sports bars. Tommy created “The Flatiron Room”, which boasts the largest whiskey selection on the East Coast, live jazz, bluegrass bands on stage every night, amazing food by an executive chef, and an atmosphere described as “a world from decades ago”. Raine dived in to find out what inspired this successful restaurateur.

EN TR EP R E N E U R S TO WAT C H | T RAVEL

M I C H A E L Visionary restaurateur and boutique hotelier Michael Zislis, of Manhattan Beach in the trendy South Bay of Los Angeles, has captivated consumers with a cavalcade of well-loved and highly successful establishments that reflect his values for highest quality foods and beverages, latest trends and IT. Michael brewed his first beer for a school science experiment when he was 13, and was a master brewer by the time he became a student at USC. Initially opening a brew pub, Manhattan Beach Brewing Company in the late 1980s, he has gone on to establish some of the hottest restaurants and boutique luxury hotels.

RAINE: What inspired you to become an entrepreneur in the world of hospitality?

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across my businesses, is consistency. Quality has to be high and service has to be great. As far as the hotels go, we’re so small, just 38 rooms at Shade, Manhattan Beach. People come to us for the service and the quality. It’s not about price; it’s about our service. We do whatever it takes. We make the restaurant reservations, find the Laker tickets. We have a guest, a specialized veterinarian, who flies in every two weeks to stay with us. One night he had to fly in to do an emergency surgery and we were booked solid. So, he stayed at our house!

With so many restaurants, you have a wonderful experience one night and next time the great manager is off, or the great chef is off, everything is different and it’s disappointing. There is no excuse for that. In my restaurants when you order something it will look and taste the same whether you order it on a weekday or a Sunday night.

RAINE: How would you forecast your growth over the next three years?

ZISLIS: Steady growth with thoughtful expansion. The economy has definitely made a big improvement in the past year but by no means is it easy to run a business. There are more regulations than ever. We all have to work twice as hard to make the same amount of money. That holds true for you, any reader… we always have too much work on the desk, so by no means is it an easy economy to do business in.

RAINE: What challenges have you faced as an entrepreneur and how have you overcome them?

ZISLIS: The biggest challenge was this last recession. The whole world, literally, stopped. I’ve never seen anything like it…. never seen such fear, and for consumers, hospitality industry spending was among the first cuts. The recession was the hardest thing I had to overcome, watching bank accounts every day and projecting income on a daily basis.

ZISLIS: My love for beer. I was home brewing since I was 13, and when brewpubs became legal in the late ’80s, I was in the first wave of the California brew pubs.

Photos by Amy Theilig

RAINE: How did you fund your ventures?

ZISLIS: I funded my first one around a Thanksgiving Dinner table, collecting $110,000, all from family and a couple of neighbors. Shade Hotel, Manhattan Beach was 52 investors, all friends and family. With my new Shade Hotel in Redondo Beach, it became more friends, and their friends, and this will also be the first time I actually also have a bank loan.

RAINE: What is your competitive edge?

ZISLIS: That I am a true hospitality guy and I love great food, great service and great drinks. A lot of people fall flat on these. How many times have you gone to a restaurant or hotel and gotten the proverbial rubber chicken? In all my establishments I go for the best quality and use the best purveyors.

RAINE: Who are your competitors and how do you stand out from them?

ZISLIS: My formula to success when it comes to any of our many competitors,

RAINE: Tell us about your upcoming projects - what are you most excited about?

ZISLIS: There are many and they are all exciting. Shade Hotel Manhattan Beach was a pre-approved project that I took over, although I designed the décor, while Shade Redondo Beach I am designing from the ground up. I love design. Rock & Brews is very exciting. I just got back from a site trip to Rock & Brews Paia, and any time I can open a project in Maui, it is really exciting, because my wife and I have always loved it and really want to live there.

RAINE: What do you enjoy about working in an industry that is people and service-focused?

ZISLIS: Definitely, the people. The only difference between the hotel and restaurant businesses is that a restaurant closes for ten hours and with a hotel it’s 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you don’t like people, don’t get into it!

RAINE: What can others learn from your success?

ZISLIS: Love what you do and if you don’t already know what you love, find out.

Last night, I was sitting on a return flight with a kid who spent $70,000 a year on a private school, graduated with over $300,000 in debt, and told me that he still doesn’t have any idea what he wants to do. If you don’t know what you want to do, take a few years off, travel, find a job, figure it out first.

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E NT R EP R E N E U R S TO WAT C H | CULTURE

LORI CHEEK, FOUNDER OF CHEEK’D

RAINE: What inspired you to start Cheek’d?

CHEEK: Over five years ago, I was out to dinner with a friend & architectural colleague and I had excused myself from the table. When I returned, my handsome dinner companion had scribbled on the back of his business card, “want to have dinner?” As we were leaving the restaurant, he slid that card to an attractive woman at a nearby table. He left with a date. I left with an idea. It had happened to me a thousand times during my NYC commute—spotting that intriguing stranger on a train, in a café, crossing the street, at baggage claim, etc. and nearly 999 of them got away. Handing a business card could have been one option, but I was entranced by the mysterious gesture of handing it to the object of your affection while removing the personal details included on a typical business card, which is simply too much information to hand to a total stranger. A person’s name on a card, alone, could potentially lead you to their front door.

My solution to the problem would apply a personal approach to online dating by moving the initial encounter offline with a smooth physical introduction. In May of 2010, I launched Cheekd.com—my solution to the 999 missed opportunities I’d personally experienced. Shortly after launch, the New York Times proclaimed, “Move over, Match.com” and coined Cheek’d as “the next generation of online dating.”

RAINE: How did you fund your start-up?

CHEEK: I’ve bootstrapped my business for over three years and have had to get extremely creative in personally funding my startup. After finishing off my savings from my 15-year career in architecture, I made nearly $75,000 by selling my designer clothes at consignment shops and on eBay, doing focus groups, secret shopping, guest bartending and by selling my electronics and other odds and ends around my apartment on Craigslist and Amazon.com. The biggest chunk of cash came from renting out my West Village Studio in NYC on AirBnB for over a year (until I nearly got evicted).

RAINE: What is your competitive edge?

CHEEK: Cheek’d bridges the gap between online dating and real-world romance by providing members with physical cards that they can use to entice people from the real world to flirt with them in the virtual world. It’s the 2.0 version of “Call Me.” The cards offer a real purpose and advantage to other online dating sites and expand a subscriber’s dating opportunities beyond the pool of people registered with an online dating service.

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RAINE: Who is your target demo and market size?

CHEEK: There are 96 million single adults in America above the age of 18.

Forty million of those are using online dating in their search for love. Match. com claims that one in five relationships begin online. Cheek’d is for the other four. Cheek’d works all over the world, for all ages and any sexual orientation. Our current members average in age range of 32- 35 and are 49% Male and 51% Female. We have customers in 47 states in America and 28 countries internationally.

RAINE: Who are your competitors and how do you stand out from them?

CHEEK: There are a range of potential substitutes in the market that tackle various aspects of the matching process, but none which marry all of the elements that Cheek’d provides or captures the spirit of the Cheek’d brand and sense of humor. Our closest competitor would most likely be Craigstlist “Missed Connections,” where there are nearly 30,000 posts listed in NYC each month alone. Cheek’d has created a tool to solve these “missed connections.”

RAINE: How would you forecast your growth over the next three years?

CHEEK: This fall, Cheek’d will launch a mobile app where users will be able to “flick” virtual Cheek’d cards with ice-breaking pickup lines to the objects of their affection nearby. We’re also building a more robust shopping cart where users can purchase clothing, pins, stickers, matches and even prepaid credit cards (to send someone a drink)-- all of which will have pickup lines and codes that will lead to the user’s privacy protected Cheek’d Dating Profile.

In addition, we are focusing on building strategic partnerships with brands with a similar Cheeky flavor—our targets are a few heavy hitters in the airline, hotel, apparel, and liquor industry. Ultimately, with these programs in place, the sky’s the limit. We hope to make Cheek’d “THE way to find a date.”

RAINE: What challenges have you faced as an entrepreneur and how have you overcome them?

CHEEK: Building Cheek’d has been an extremely lengthy and challenging marathon. There have definitely been many days where I just didn’t know what to do anymore or how to best focus my efforts. Upon starting out, I really had no idea what it took to build a business, but I’ve taken a crash course by building one. I couldn’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve failed over the past few years. I’ve learned to welcome mistakes and even joke that I’ve learned so much from them that I’m going to keep making more of them on purpose so I keep getting smarter.

RAINE: What is your best success story?

CHEEK: After decades on my own relentless pursuit for love, one day last summer, I was sitting solo at a Crab Shack in Montauk and with no AT&T signal, I decided to toss my best friend, “iPhone,” into my beach bag and when I looked up, a mysterious, gorgeous man in Ray Bans and a baseball cap sitting right next to me said, “Nice tattoos.” I handed him the Cheek’d card that reads, “let’s meet for a drink.” We met for that drink and got engaged almost 7 weeks later.

RAINE MAGAZINE - VOLUME 17

Middle photo: Ted Schafer Photography; Product image: Ted Schafer Photography

Dating has become even more complicated as we come up with more and more ways to keep in touch. Anyone who’s ventured into the world of online dating knows there are lots of interesting fish out in that sea. Enter Lori Cheek, a go-getter who is turning the dating world on its head. A friend’s simple gesture inspired Lori to create Cheek’d – a dating service which can best be described as reverse online dating. See someone you like at a restaurant? Slip them a sleek black Cheek’d card directing him to your online profile where the flirtation can continue. Lori Cheek is definitely putting the fun back into dating.

E NT R E P R E N E U R S TO WAT C H | C ULTURE

GIVELIVEEXPLORE M at t h e w Tr i n e tti , Fo u n d e r Meet Matthew Trinetti, the founder and owner of GiveLiveExplore, an independent publisher focused on a new genre dubbed ‘Conscious Travel’. Their anti-guide books are intended for the traveler who explores foreign lands to learn and engage with local cultures. The indie publisher’s first book, Tales of Iceland by Chicago author and journalist Stephen Markley, is a fast, fun, true story of three Americans traveling around Iceland. In addition to pioneering a new genre, Trinetti also operates under a unique partnership model with his authors, treating each new book as a miniature start-up with the author as the business partner.

Images by GiveLiveExplore

RAINE: What inspired you to start GiveLiveExplore?

TRINETTI: After working for 5 years in IBM’s consulting group, I reached a point where I felt like my potential was left mostly untapped, and I couldn’t quiet the fire burning inside me any longer -- I needed to go out and do something on my own. But I wasn’t quite sure what yet. Instead of quitting, I asked for a 7-month sabbatical to contemplate my next move and do something that always excited me: long-term, slow travel.

For those 7 months, I traveled slowly mostly around Northern and Eastern Europe.

As I traveled, I wrote about my experiences and introspective thoughts on GiveLiveExplore.com.

The first stop on my journey was Iceland, where I traveled with my friend and Chicago author Stephen Markley. Stephen is an excellent writer, but was frustrated by the publishing industry and the way his first memoir, Publish This Book, was handled by his traditional publisher. We had a feeling that the two of us could do something interesting together if we combined Stephen’s writing magic and my ridiculous enthusiasm for entrepreneurship and background in travel, marketing, and technology.

The result was Tales of Iceland, which I published under GiveLiveExplore. So while GiveLiveExplore began as a personal blog documenting my travels, it evolved into an independent publishing startup.

RAINE: What is your competitive edge?

TRINETTI: There are plenty of branded guidebooks out there (Lonely Planet, Frommer’s, Rough Guides, to name a few). There are also plenty of individual travelogues and memoirs that take places in various countries, cities, and regions around the world. But there’s not much in between.

Our flagship Tales Of travel series aims to fix that. By delivering a consistent brand of fast, fun, and informative anti-guidebooks, we don’t aim to tell you what to do or where to go -- plenty of guidebooks and websites do that.

Instead, we give you a fun story with useful cultural and historical context to accompany you on your travels. So our competitive edge is that we’re creating something that doesn’t currently exist: branded travel storybooks.

RAINE: Who is your target demo and market size?

TRINETTI: Because our books occasionally use crude language and typically involve the misadventures of twenty-somethings, our target demographic is 20-35 year old EnglishRAINE MAGAZINE - VOLUME 17

speaking travelers. This is an ever-growing market as world travel becomes increasingly more attainable, more students are studying abroad, and more young professionals look to international destinations for their holidays.

RAINE: How would you forecast your growth over the next three years?

TRINETTI: Our goal is to release 8-10 more books over the next 3 years. If we can execute that, we should grow 10-fold.

RAINE: What do you love most about working in the publishing and travel industries?

TRINETTI: I love the publishing industry because it feels like the Wild West right now -- the game has changed forever and I believe anyone with the time, desire, drive, and a little luck can make a dent in it.

I love the travel industry because there’s never been a better time in the history of the world to travel. The internet has enabled a global connection that’s unparalleled to anything we’ve seen before. Between AirBnb, Couchsurfing, Facebook, Twitter, and countless startups, the world certainly feels like a much smaller place.

Philosophically though, both books and travel represent something very important to me -- they both provide the opportunity for personal growth and a broader outlook on the world.

RAINE: Why do you think it’s important for travelers to immerse themselves in culture?

TRINETTI: Travel without immersing oneself in culture is just tourism. And tourism is just an act of consumption, similar to the way we consume TVs and hamburgers. I believe that travel, when approached in the right way, can be an unparalleled creative act. Each journey is like a piece of art, and no two journeys are the same.

True travel includes immersing oneself in culture, getting out of one’s comfort zone, and leaving assumptions at home. There’s a quote, by Daniel Boorstin I think, that sums up my thoughts on the subject: “The traveler was active, he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes ‹sight-seeing.›» RAINE: Can you tell us about the current and upcoming travel anti-guides?

TRINETTI: Stephen and I are actually at the tail end of a trip around Ecuador, which will be subject of the next book in the series: Tales of Ecuador. We’re targeting an early 2014 publish date.

We’re also talking with a few other funny up-andcoming writers to create more Tales Of books.

We’re actively looking for more writers too, so if you know anyone...

RAINE: What can others learn from your success?

TRINETTI: I think it’s important for people to listen carefully to the things that excite them. And then follow that excitement. If you’re excited by something, you’ll get the knowledge, you’ll find the right people, you’ll execute smarter, you’ll increase your chance for success. When you’re excited by something and want it badly enough, you’ll walk through walls to make it happen.

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FAS H I O N TO LIV E F O R

Jaсket by Kokon To Zai; Leggins by Agna Devi; Boots

by Alexander Wang; Earrings by Rock my Body RAINE MAGAZINE - VOLUME 17

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Blouses by Vintage Skirt by Gar-de; Leggins by Agna Devi; Shoes by Dior Necklace by Diva

Body by Agna Devi Pants by Kokon To Zai; Shoes by Dior; Earrings by Rock my Body

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Music is a very social experience, and at the same time, incredibly personal. Your upbringing may influence your Most Played list while your circle of friends may bond over the pop star you all love to hate. Until now, the majority of playlists have been trapped in one set of ears, just hoping to be shared through a tangled pair of ear buds. But what if a solo listening experience could quickly and easily become a shared event?

This seemingly simple idea is turning the music industry on its head thanks to the entrepreneurial foursome behind Flips Audio.

Flips are stunningly designed headphones that seamlessly translate the listening experience from solo to social. Sport them in the traditional fashion and you will enjoy the highest quality listening experience. Flip the ear cups out and turn your private party into a fête with amped-up speakers. Sharing great music and even greater experiences just got a whole lot better.

Music technology is a tough game with trends engineered by the biggest players. Flips Audio is bringing a fresh perspective to the space as a real brand innovator. They have created the only headphone-speaker hybrid on the planet that truly transforms the listening experience.

The HD headphones feature a patent-pending high definition technology

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that provides a crisp, clear sound. With a light and compact design, Flips fold neatly into a protective case, allowing you to take them anywhere. Custom vented ear cups and plush memory foam padding on every contact surface ensure a comfortable fit.

Flip the ear cups to transform your music from solo to social. The powerful speakers feature intense amplified, powerful sound delivered by proprietary technology. There’s no need to worry about volume – the safety flip ensures the speakers amplify only when pointed away from your ears. Supercharged sound provided by a powerful lithium ion USB rechargeable battery provides hours of extraordinary playtime.

Flips offer a sleek, stylish design with a high cool factor. The headphones come in satin black with electric lime or satin white with racing red and both models feature chrome accents. This must-have accessory is popping up on the ears of all the hottest celebs including Sean Kingston, Nina Dobrev, Jake T. Austin, and Matt Leinart. Flips Audio was a coveted fashion week essential at Designer Michael Kuluva’s Spring 2014 New York Fashion Week show featuring Perez Hilton as a model.

Keep an ear out as Flips Audio continues to take the world by storm.

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TEC H N O L O G Y | T E C H TOY S

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BY JAVIN FORREST

These days, when it comes to sudden climate changes, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared and that is exactly what you are when you’re outdoors with Sibling’s Walking Shelter. This crossbreed sneaker comes all the way from Australia. It is designed with a concept of an instant shelter in mind. Believe it or not, what you have here is a full human body shelter stowed away in the back of your shoes.

Once released, you literally become a human tent that is ready to take on nature’s watery elements. Sibling refers to this design as one of it’s “one-off” concepts to be used in a auction where all proceeds will be going to a charity Little Seeds Big Trees.

Priced: TBD http://siblingnation.net/

The company Acrylic Tank Manufactures is taking the term “waterbed” to a whole new level. This bed here will have you sleeping with the fishes! It’s an Aquarium bed that takes your boring headboard and turns it into an exciting aquatic wonderland. This design completely surrounds your head and is supposed to induce a feeling sleeping underwater. Actually in this case, I guess you can say that you will be sleeping underwater. This 650-gallon tank is custom made and tailored to the individual’s preferences. If this doesn’t earn you cool points for a bedroom setup… then nothing will. It just blows other beds…. Out the water?

Price: S11,500 http://www.acrylicaquariums.com/

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The arms race is on! …Literally. It seems that ever since the public caught wind of Apple possibly putting out a smart watch, that every Timex, Swiss and Google has been on the scene trying to out innovate each other. Well it appears that someone has done just that. The company Emopulse had designed a futuristic smartphone, social network access point, and digital assistance for your wrist. But wait, there more… it even tells the time. It has a flexible OLED screen that wraps around your wrist. The device is shock-resistance, water proof and has auto activation features based on arm movement. It’s been dubbed the “Smile SmartWatch” and it comes with many options. To high light a few, this device a packed with a camera, Wifi, LTE & NFC support, a choice 128GB or 256GB solid state hard drive, 2GB of system memory, USB 3.0 port and possible inclusion of a thunderbolt port as well. The company is now taking pre-orders for their SmartWatch.

Price: $300 (for pre-order); $380 (reg.)Emopulse.com

If you have never thought of technology as a fashion statement then you might want to reconsider after reading this. For just as bell bottoms made a comeback as a “wide leg” fit, LG is bringing back… the Television Dial? Indeed they sure are. South Korean company had re-added the television knobs as functioning volume and channels controls. The retro style brings back the avantgardism and simplicity that the television once had.

However they were kind enough to leave out the vintage cathode ray tube and instead, keeping with the times, replace it with a HD LED screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080. The TV comes with support for USB Media, a connection for an external USB drive and MHL (Mobile High-definition Link) for connecting a smartphone.

Price: $750; http://www.lgnewsroom.com/ (Model 32LN630R)

And along came an Orb… with stunning beauty, and an ingenious balance between design and innovation. The companies Hybra Advance Technology Inc and AbsolutelyNew Inc, have come together in a dedication to excellence and emerging technology to created a ring… no, it’s Bluetooth headset… no it’s digital ring…. Well actually it’s both. It’s a digital ring that transforms into a very fashionable Bluetooth headset with just a simple twist.

This digital ring has a built in Flexible Organic Light Emitting Device (FOLED). Wait… what does that mean? Well it’s a flexible screen that not only displays caller ID, voice-to-text messages, and calendar reminders. Then when call comes in… slide the ring off, twist it open and slide it on your ear. Afterwards, upon finishing your phone call you can either continue to wear it on your ear or slip it back on your finger as an accent to your hand.

When released the ring will be available in different rings sizes and even have an option for extra “bling” for those who opt for the limited edition upon release. It’s suggested retail price is S129 while the deluxe model has a suggested price of $175. http://hybratech.com/

FRE SH FAC E S | MU S IC

Jerma in e Pau l

RAINE: How did growing up in a musically inclined family affect you as an artist?

PAUL: I was singing/ humming melodies of music before I could talk, I cannot imaging growing up without a musically inclined family. My father always kept us singing, we had rehearsals that were professionally ran by him in our living room. My mother kept the spirit in it, everything I do, she made sure I put my whole heart in it, or don’t do it at all. I don’t think I would even consider being a singer if I weren’t for my family.

I would either be an athlete or a landscaper.

RAINE: What was it like transitioning from singing back up for star performers to becoming a sensation in your own right?

PAUL: It’s been a lifelong dream to be able to sing songs that come from my experiences. Singing back up has always paid the bills, and its been probably been one of the most, correction it HAS been the most enriching jobs as an artist. I have been able to watch the greats, as they are, do their thing and it’s helped me learn and create my own thing in so many ways.

RAINE: What did your experience on The Voice teach you?

PAUL: There’s a certain amount of professionalism that comes to play when you are doing a national televised competition like The Voice. Whether its your personal life or what’s going on the show with everyone else, there are so many distractions that can rise and if you are not focused you can crash and burn in front of 20 million people. So The Voice definitely helped me exercise a sincere focus on my craft.

RAINE: Who in the music world has inspired you?

PAUL: I have so many different inspirations.

Musically, I have to say, Alicia Keys, DeAngelo, John Mayer, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Michael Jackson, of course, Marvin Winans, Commission.

RAINE: How did you decide to pursue singing professionally?

PAUL: In High School, I decided not to play football my senior year because the group I was in at the time, 1 Accord, was gearing up to record our demo, so I couldn’t go to football camp. From then I kind of made up my mind that it was going to be music. The real test came was when I had just started college on a basketball scholarship and I got a call that we were going to premier on Jamie Fox’s The Booty Call soundtrack and I had to fly out to LA to record the song which secured our record deal.

RAINE: What has been your favorite on-stage moment?

PAUL: That’s hard to choose. Against all Odds on The Voice was pretty incredible and I Want You Back was a lot of fun. I always wanted to perform that song, I choreographed the whole routine, I had it mapped out in my head from beginning to finish.

RAINE: Who would you love to do a duet with?

PAUL: Jill Scott and Beyonce are my two goals at this moment. (hint, hint...)

RAINE: What was your biggest challenge breaking into the business and how did you overcome it?

PAUL: Getting a chance to write my own music and sing for the world.

I always had writers and producers and that can sometimes be overwhelming. As an artist it can take a while to figure out your own voice and what you want say to the world. Finally being able to believe in my own songs and music and have the nerve to sing it for the world has been my greatest challenge.

Everything that has happened up to this moment has prepped and prepared me for it.

I wrote and produced 90% of my album.

RAINE: What advice do you have for aspiring musicians?

PAUL: Aspiring Musicians... Do You. Play your heart’s song. Don’t give up, study your craft, and don’t be afraid to play the background a little and learn before you step out on your own. Don’t be in a rush to jump out there because the more you learn the better you are.

RAINE: What are three fun facts about you?

PAUL: 1. I could cut a mean fade.

2. I wrote on a piece of paper in a Hollywood Hotel the names of my children in order before they were born (in the exact order). I still have that paper.

3. My second passion is to coach basketball and football. This year I got to coach my two sons’ school team to win the championship. That’s huge to me.

Photo credit: Keith Major

True talent does not come along often and that’s why we’re so excited about Jermaine Paul. This rising sensation is an American R&B and soul artist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He caught the ears of the celebrity judges and the eyes of America as the winner of the second season of NBC’s The Voice. Prior to his successful stint on The Voice, he was co-nominated at the 48th Grammy Awards for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in a collaborative work with Alicia Keys as the featured artist. Paul got his start as a back up singer working with stars such as Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, and Joss Stone. Now Jermaine Paul is moving into the spotlight as an incredible talent to watch.

Jaimie Alexander 30

Meet our latest obsession. Jaimie Alexander is cool and collected with incredible talent to boot. This rising actress isn’t afraid to get physical: you can see her star alongside Chris Hemsworth as Lady Sif in the upcoming sequel to blockbuster superhero hit Thor. Follow along and discover why we’ve named Jaimie as a star to watch.

RAINE: How did you decide to pursue acting?

ALEXANDER: It kind of pursued me. I was in Texas (where I grew up) and a friend of mine needed my help. She wanted me to fill in for her at this talent show because she was sick. It kind of evolved from there and I eventually made my way to Los Angeles after graduating high school.

RAINE: Who would you love to work with?

ALEXANDER: I’d love to work with Darren Aronofsky, Ron Howard, and Sigourney Weaver.

RAINE: What has been your favorite on-screen moment?

RAINE MAGAZINE - VOLUME 17

First 3 Photos by Ben Watts; 4th Photo by Magnus Hastings

F RE SH FAC E S | F IL M

ALEXANDER: It’s hard to choose just one. I thoroughly enjoyed a scene I had in KYLE XY where I stopped a man’s heart from beating by manipulating the polarity of water. Kind of awesome.

RAINE: How do you prepare to take on a new role?

ALEXANDER: First, I go through the script to determine what needs to be done. From there, I find ways to sympathize with the character and really try to understand their situation. If it’s an action role, I always hit the gym and train heavily with the stunt team

RAINE: What is your dream project?

ALEXANDER: At the moment, I’m craving something with lots of depth. Something powerful and emotionally moving.

RAINE: What advice do you have for aspiring actors?

ALEXANDER: ALWAYS be yourself because NO ONE can be you. Work hard, but play hard too. You must live your own life to be able to play someone else’s.

RAINE: How did you get your big break?

ALEXANDER: I’m not quite sure I’ve had a “big break”- I’ve had a lot of “medium-sized” breaks. However, playing the role of “Lady Sif” in THOR was definitely a game changer.

RAINE: What was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?

ALEXANDER: Learning how to deal with rejection on a daily basis. For every “yes” there are a thousand “no’s” Acceptance is a great thing and learning how to just “let it all go” can be really freeing. I started doing that a few years ago and it’s made all the difference.

RAINE: Where can we see you next?

ALEXANDER: I have two films coming out.

“Savannah” and “THOR: The Dark World” RAINE: What are 3 fun facts about you that people might not know?

ALEXANDER: I’m terribly afraid of airplanes. I love to paint and draw. I just learned how to swim last year.

F RE SH FAC E S | F IL M

Aml Ameen

RAINE: How did you decide to pursue acting?

AMEEN: I went to Stage School from the age of 6 years old. Coming from an entertainment family, performance was always around me. Many nights in the Ameen household we’d put on showcases for my mum and dad. My brother Mikel Ameen who’s a music artist, would sing songs and compete for the attention. He won the musical side and I won the acting. In stage school we focused very much on dancing and singing, I became an extremely good tap dancer, playing the young Sammy Davis Jr in the West End Production of Jolson. So my entire childhood consisted of performing to large live audiences. When leaving school many would have thought I would have gone on to be a dancer, I kind of rebelled against that even though I loved dance, and went back to my first focus and love, acting. I guest starred alot in many British Soaps, Eastenders, and Holby City, but always with this ambition, this dream, to one day be taking the lead in Hollywood Movies.

RAINE: Who would you love to work with?

AMEEN: Wow! The list of people I have worked with has been incredible 32

so far from Kathy Bates, to Forest Whitaker and the Butler cast. Actors I’d say right now, Tom Hardy, Idris Elba a few of these young passionate guys coming up. Directors Woody Allen, Lee Daniel’s and Wes Ball again really. Great minds both men.

RAINE: What has been your favorite on-screen moment?

AMEEN: There’s many in my career, but if I had to choose one today, it’s the moment when Clarence Williams III and I sit on the stairs together in The Butler. There’s a picture circulating around with that image, but to me that’s my “I’ve arrived” in American Cinema History moment.

RAINE: How do you prepare to take on a new role?

AMEEN: A lot of imagination work, a lot of aligning my energy and spirit with the character. I’m the kind of actor thus far that works from the inside out, I find if I deal with intangibles first I can get to my desired place.

RAINE MAGAZINE - VOLUME 17

Photos by Anne Marie Fox

Aml Ameen is a breakout talent from the British indie “Kidulthood” who has since transitioned Stateside with the role of young Forest Whitaker in Lee Daniels’ highly-anticipated drama “The Butler” alongside Oprah Winfrey. This multitalented actor is a true storyteller with his eye on directing and writing in addition to his oncamera roles. Aml’s confidence and talent are striking and we can’t help but agree when he says he’s the next big thing.

RAINE: What is your dream project?

AMEEN: The story of The Nicholas Brothers, Tupac’s story, and a few feature films I’ve written.

RAINE: What advice do you have for aspiring actors?

AMEEN: Pursue your passion first, pursue your incredulous desire to tell story and that will serve as fuel in the tank to be resilient against all the rejections you will inevitably receive in this industry. And don’t wait around to be creative, acting is the profession many people are waiting for another to say yes, “ you got the part” yes “you can be creative”.

Don’t wait for that yes, especially in this day and age, that yes is not necessary to be artistic.

RAINE: How did you get your big break?

AMEEN: I think every time you get a chance to be in a project you’re passionate about, it feels like a break. A break from the pursuit of acting and a chance to breathe for a moment and be. I’ve had many in my career in the UK that would definitely be KIDUTLHOOD and The Bill.

In the US that would have been Harry’s Law which got my feet wet in Hollywood, and I guess now with The Butler and The Maze Runner, those are moments of “breaks” in my movie career. I look forward to seeing what’s next.

RAINE: What was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?

AMEEN: Every actor can probably relate to this, biggest challenge is

the waiting around for the next job, that time in between where you can be discouraged and feel pained by the knocks of getting so many no’s.

Or those moments where you’ve done great work as an actor and still nothing comes of it. It’s those moments when you realize and hopefully accept as I did that your only power as an actor is to just do “a great job”- the rest is up to a bunch of other people. For me how I’ve diluted that aspect of the career is by creating my own projects, I’ve started off with Short films years ago, and I started this while I was on Harry’s Law, while I was working and feeling good about my work, I used that fuel to create Shorts, and found that I have a transferable talent for storytelling and directing. I’ve written many feature films that will hopefully see the light of day one day. I’m using the attention I get from my acting to show those talents and skills in other areas. You can go on YouTube and see my different shorts from comedy to silent film. My creative partner and I, TJ Ramini have a production company and we’re ready when the industry gives us our shot.

RAINE: Where can we see you next?

AMEEN: The Butler premieres August 16th in theaters. Go see it! The Maze Runner comes out February 14th,2014, and I begin work on BlackBird, an indie feature film, next month.

RAINE: What are 3 fun facts about you that people might not know?

AMEEN: I’m an excellent cook. My favorite quote is “Kings will be Kings”. I love a spa massage.

F RE SH FAC E S | FA S H ION

TIERRA B ENTO N Name: Tierra Benton Hometown: Gainesville, Ga Agency: Seeking representation Height: 5'11 FUN FACTS: 1. Sushi is my all-time favorite food. I love all kinds of sushi.

2. I love to reading; however my favorite topics are about religion, history and different cultures.

3. I recently moved to NYC to push my modeling career higher and hopefully into international markets.

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F RE SH FAC E S | FA S H ION

JAKE BOYD

MEET MODEL & ACTOR

Hometown: Tuscaloosa, Alabama; currently resides in New York City Current and Past Roles: Rock of Ages on Broadway, Law and Order, All My Children, 30 Rock, and Blue Bloods Twitter Handle: @_NotJake_ Three Fun Facts: 1. Alabama Football Fan! Roll Tide!

2. Was born on Thanksgiving.

3. “Ice coffee is my vice and peanut butter is my greater vice.”

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F RE S H FAC E S | Y OU N G H O LLY WOOD

Young Actress Stefanie Scott

BY YILLA CHEN

Emerging starlet Stefanie Scott is already a hit sensation on Disney’s successful series A.N.T. Farm and she’s working hard to accomplish her dreams. This multi-talented young actress has the skills and smarts to make a lasting impression. Follow along as we learn more about this upand-comer and her passion for performing!

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RAINE: What’s it like working on a hit Disney sitcom?

SCOTT: It’s a blast; it’s a lot of work. It’s a whole week for a 22 minute show. It’s great. I love my character Lexi because over the past three years on this show, I’ve really gotten to expand her a bit as well as see a different side of her as we go on. Towards the end we see that she becomes an ANT. We also get to see a more vulnerable side of her and that was really cool for me because I got to change it up a lot. It’s really great working on the show and my favorite part is Fridays, when we do live audience day and get to shoot in front of an actual crowd. We get a real response and get to change the jokes on the spot.

Photo credit: Deidhra Fahey

RAINE: Are you similar to your character Lexi?

SCOTT: I’ve never really felt similar to Lexi at all. We both have drives and passion to reach our goals and dreams, but we go about it in very different ways.

She is not afraid of stepping on toes and I take the more cautious route. Even our style is completely different. She’s very preppy. She’s definitely the center of attention where I’m a little bit more … shy? Maybe, I’m not shy but I’m also not always front and center. I’ve played her for so long now that it’s almost like second nature.

RAINE: What was the inspiration for your hit single “FYI”?

SCOTT: What I love about FYI is that it encourages you to embrace yourself and not to worry about your flaws and what people think about you all the time. I personally don’t do that, but I know every teenage girl does. I think we just worry too much about what others think about us instead of living our lives for us and you know, having fun.

RAINE: That’s a wonderful message for your listeners and fans. Will we be seeing more music from you in the future?

SCOTT: Yes, I’m actually working a lot on that right now and I’m starting to do more writing sessions. I’ve been writing for a long time and now I’m really excited to get more into it. The past couple of years I’ve been more concentrated on filming, but I’m starting up with music again. It’s something I’ve had a passion for since I was really young, especially since I love musical theatre.

Hopefully, at the end of the year we’ll have something new out.

RAINE: You have a big Twitter following, do you enjoy being able to interact with your fans?

SCOTT: Yes, it’s pretty incredible – it’s a great experience to have fans and how you can get to be so personal with them and talk to them through the Internet. I think it’s really cool that you get to have that ongoing relationship and even reach people halfway around the world.

RAINE: Is there a particular director or actor who inspires you?

SCOTT: I’m really inspired by Natalie Portman. I’ve actually had a chance to work with her and she was awesome. I think she’s really inspiring because she really puts her life first: she went to college and she is still a fabulous actress. I’d love to work with her again and do more scene-work together. Since I played a younger her, I wasn’t in a scene with her, but when I did work with her it was amazing. She’s so lovely. Also Laura Osnes, she’s a Broadway star; she was in “Bonnie & Clyde” and “Cinderella”.

RAINE: What are some of your interests other than acting and singing?

SCOTT: Filmmaking. I want to go to NYU and study it there. As much as I would like to study the acting side and be in front of the camera creating characters, I also want to be involved with the creative side and learning the behind the scenes work. I think it’s really cool and I like making films of my own.

RAINE: What is your dream project?

SCOTT: I’d love to do a musical sometime so I can do the music and show together, but also American Horror Story is really cool and I’d love to do that. I love how it’s so haunting and you never know what’s going to happen next.

RAINE: What advice would you give a person who is trying to achieve their dream?

SCOTT: Honestly, people come up with all these obstacles that are in the way, but actually there are no obstacles in your life. It’s your life and you can do whatever you want. I started in the business around eleven, but when I was nine years old I lived in little Melbourne, Florida - on the other side of the country where everyone is into sports and that’s their thing but somehow I did it. It’s the little steps along the way. You should never lose faith - just really believe in yourself. It sounds like a cliché but it’s the most truthful cliché because if you believe you can do something, you can really do it.

RAINE: We hear that you have a charity organization that you participate in, can you tell us about that?

SCOTT: Yes, the Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. I got involved with them about a year ago. It’s a really cool organization because everybody likes bake sales. The money goes straight from the bake sale to the hospitals. It’s wonderful and it’s not that you only do a bake sale; but you can also do a 5K or organize a party. I’ve done bake sales before and it’s so easy to do. I know a lot of kids worry they don’t have money to donate to charity, but they still want to help. What’s really cool is that you go to your kitchen, bake some cookies, take them to school to sell, and you’ll have potentially helped cure a sickness or save a life.

F RE S H FAC E S | Y OU N G H O LLY WOOD

Ph oto s: R i ck y M id d le sw or th P ho tog ra p hy

Meet Devon Bagby

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Meet Devon Bagby: a San Diego native who plays Ray’s (Liev Schreiber) son, “Conor”, in the new Showtime hit series Ray Donovan. This is Devon’s first series regular role and we have the pleasure of seeing him grow up on camera just as we watched talented young stars like Hunter Parish and Amanda Seyfried progress. He admires his predecessors and hopes to follow in their footsteps.

It won’t be long before Devon is making big strides as a must-watch young star.

RAINE: What is your dream project?

BAGBY: An action adventure movie, definitely!

RAINE: What’s it like working on the set of a hit show?

BAGBY: It’s the most fun I’ve ever had, we’re one big goofy family. I am having the opportunity of a lifetime. I’ve learned so much from my co-stars who have been in the business for so long; stuff I’ll never be able to learn in acting class.

RAINE: Who would you love to work with?

BAGBY: Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and definitely Will Smith. But the list goes on and on.

RAINE: What has been your favorite on-screen moment?

BAGBY: We shot for 2 nights on episode 6 – Housewarming – where Liev and Jon had a fight on the lawn and almost everyone in the Donovan family was together shooting. Dash Mihok was spectacular.

RAINE: What are your interests besides acting?

BAGBY: I really like sports and camping. I like swimming, hiking, tennis and par kour.

5. What is your dream project?

An action adventure movie, definitely!

RAINE: What advice would you give someone trying to achieve their dream?

BAGBY: School is #1, hone your craft, learn from your opportunities and never give up RAINE: How did you get your big break?

BAGBY: Hard work, persistence and thanking my Mom for constantly driving me up to LA From San Diego RAINE: Who are your role models?

BAGBY: Will Smith, Robert Downey, Jr., Robert Deniro, Al Pacino and now and forever Jon Voight RAINE: Do you have any upcoming projects?

BAGBY: I’m doing a Guest Star on the New Ironside for NBC and continuing to look for the right film script.

RAINE: What are 3 fun facts about you that people might not know?

BAGBY: I’m goofy at heart, athletic competition is big in my family, and I’m a total car guy.

BE AU T Y | T R EN D S

Colors of Beauty

BY KIA RODRIGUEZ

Choose a feature and go for the bold.

As calmness invites itself once again to our lives, we can finally focus on ourselves and transform to flow with the ever-changing tides of society. As Pablo Picasso once said, “Colors are like features that follow the changes of emotion.” We are constantly in motion and renewal, which should be embraced: making bold statements with our beauty pallets is the perfect way to begin that revamp. Powerful eye shadow, daring lipstick and bright blushes all emphasize strong facial features. While those features are highlighted, the face should be softened to create a vibrancy that plays out well this season. Whether it is a subtle single stripe or a pair of contrasting shades, we cannot escape the luminescence of color that declares, “We are not going anywhere”.

EYES- CHROME YELLOW AND FIG 1 MASCARA - FALSE LASHES EXTREME BLACK; LIPS- CREMESHEEN GLASS IN RIGHT; IMAGE IMPRESS PRESS-ON MANICURE IN JOYRIDE

Green

is the choice of geniuses. Why it’s in your beauty bag: the bright color is a one-size-fits-all hue that can complement numerous outfits. Use this color when wearing the little black dress or a kaleidoscopic ensemble.

EYES- EYE SHADOW IN LUCKY GREEN LIPS- LIPSTICK ON MYTH

Pink

is the hit of this season seen on several runway shows and is in every beauty case across America. “It has a subtle richness to it that evokes tenderness when used on the face; yet it gives power to women when they are wearing it,” says Las Vegas based makeup artist, Kesha Dirkson.

LIPS- LIPSTICK IN PINK NOUVEAU IMPRESS PRESS-ON MANICURE IN ECSTATIC CLING

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Purple

pops with femininity in its wide variety of hues: plum, violet, and grape - all have a distinct flavor allowing features to shine.

This regal shade instantly adds glamour to any look.

EYES- PIGMENT IN VIOLET, EYE SHADOW IN CHROME YELLOW AND HUMID; LIPS - LIPSTICK IN PRETTY PLEASE; IMPRESS PRESS-ON MANICURE IN KISS&TELL AND NAIL LACQUER IN PISTACHIO CREME BY MAC

Blue

has a cheering effect that adds brightness to any face: think Pacific Ocean or the clear skies of Ibiza. The cerulean shade can be worn day or night and never be out of style. Switch from a dreamy navy tinted smoky eye to a dash of perky azure at the edge of the eye folds: in either usage the tint will surely turn heads.

EYES- EYE SHADOW IN ATLANTIC BLUE LIPS- LIPSTICK IN HONEYLOVE IMPRESS PRESS-ON MANICURE IN HOME WRECKER

PHOTOGRAPHED BY VITAL AGIBALOW FOR HENSEL; MAKEUP BY KATE ROMANOFF USING MAC; MANICURE BY KATE ROMANOFF USING IMPRESS PRESS-ON MANICURE BY BROADWAY NAILS; MODEL: IRINA SUMBAEVA MUSE MODES NY

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B EA UT Y | F I T N E S S 10 1

CARBS - LET’S END THE CONFUSION

BY FITNESS GURU MAIK WIEDENBACH

Since there seems to be a lot of confusion regarding carbohydrates and their proper use while dieting, I will shed light on this subject.

Disclaimer: while carb-restricted diets do work for people performing only aerobics, they work A LOT better for people who train with weights.

So what is do be done?

This article has five components: 1. What are carbs?

2. How many do you need?

3. “The Keto Diet” 4. The targeted Keto Diet 5. Carb cycling – how to do it properly

Cliff notes (for the Facebook generation) • carbs are the only non-essential macro nutrient, so they can and should be manipulated for fat loss and performance • the higher your body fat percentage, the fewer carbs you should eat • the more muscle mass you have, the more carbs you can eat • cycle them around when you need them, i e your workout • insulin efficiency tends to drop with age (sad) • insulin efficiency can be improved by losing body fat, cutting out carbs for a while and building muscle 2. How many carbs do I need and when?

Now that we have a basic understanding of carbohydrates, lets have a look at two issues a lot of athletes struggle with.

1. Insulin sensitivity 2. Glycogen replenishment post workout or do I need to slam back 100 grams of waxy maize post workout?

As we learned last week, insulin sensitivity measures the body's ability to handle insulin and therefore carbohydrates. Someone with poor insulin sensitivity will tend to gain more body fat when eating carbohydrates than someone whose insulin sensitivity is better.

Why should you bother?

Because insulin is a double edged sword. Used properly, it builds muscle and helps you lose body fat. Used improperly......let"s just say that's how the Pillsbury dough boy got his job. Constantly eating cookies messed up his insulin sensitivity to the point,where most of the calories he ingests are stored as fat.

What affects IS?

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First and foremost, you should access your body fat percentage. If you are over 20% as a male or 25% a female, cut out all carbs 2-3 weeks, then re- introduce them gradually.

If you are over 15% (or 20-25% for girls) I would still go without carbs for a week.

Leaner athletes should keep carbohydrates to 2-3 meals a day and have another 2 meals just consisting of protein and fats.

Certain supplements can help with IS: fish oil , cinnamon and chromium come to mind. However, nothing is strong enough to counteract you loading up at the pancake house, so your diet has to be spot on.

1. What are carbs?

Carbs are the main source of fuel in the human body, the body breaks down carbs into monosaccharides (simple sugars) and converts them into glucose. Glucose is either being used for energy or stored in the muscles and liver. The human brain uses about 100 grams of glucose a day.

Once the glycogen stores in the muscles have been filled, fat storage begins. From all three macronutrients ( fat, protein and carbohydrates) carbs are the only ones not needed for survival, since the body can derive glucose from free fatty acids (FFA) via ketosis. This is an important point to keep in mind, since ketosis is the basic concept for ketogenic diets a la Atkins etc.

That being said, carbs are not useless since they provide fuel for the workouts and put your body in an anabolic ( muscle building) state) via the upregulation of IGF-1 and T3.

Insulin is a peptide ( amino acid based ) storage hormone, which is responsible for shuttling glucose into tissue such as muscle or fat cells. As you might have guessed, this is a double edged sword. Insulin, if applied properly, can provide your muscles with the energy you need to train or make you look like a beached whale.

Insulin efficiency basically measures your ability to handle carbs in your diet. The acid test is rather simple: if a large plate of pasta makes you sleepy, your insulin efficiency is poor. If your body fat is over 20% for males or 25% for females, you most likely do not have great insulin efficiency.

This can be improved via.

1. drugs ( not to advisable) 2. cutting carbs out for a while (much smarter) 3. losing body fat ( great idea) 4. building muscle. ( insanely great idea). The more muscle mass you have, the more glycogen you can store. ( and no, women simply can not build a lot of muscle, so you do not have to be afraid to look like the hulk)

•

So what is do be done?

Amount of muscle mass you carry. More muscle mass means more places to store glycogen.

Amount of body fat. The higher your body fat percentage is the easier it is for insulin to store more body fat.

IS tends to drop with age.

OK, on to point 2. For years we have been told that we ABSOLUTELY NEED to drink a high carb shake post workout in order to :refuel and replenish". Is that true?

Depends. If your goal physique is that of a sumo wrestler, have 50 -100 grams of sugar post workout.

The above holds true if you are a performance athlete and have another workout coming up within the same day. In that case you want your glycogen stores refilled asap. What about us physique athletes or people who simply want to look fabulous?

This is where things get tricky.

The goal of post workout nutrition is to stop catabolism aka muscle loss. This is determined by nitrogen retention which is determined by mTOR. The amino acid leucine is the key to flipping the switch from muscle wasting to muscle building post workout, think 5 grams of BCAAs or 10 grams of whey.

Then within one hour, have a regular meal with protein and cars as well as little fat.

This way you can train hard and stay lean.

How can one implement carbs in to your daily eating?

Basically , there are three ways to go about this 1. Never eat carbs aka go Atkins or standard ketogenic diet 2. Eat carbs around the workout only, which would be a targeted ketogenic diet (TKD) 3. Cycle your carbs during the week or the cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD) 3. The Atkins diet aka no carbs ever.

This diet form gained immense popularity with the premise that you can eat anything you want as long as it is carb free.

This more or less rules out all starches, milk, dairy, fruit and non-leafy vegetables since you are only allowed 30 grams of carbs per day.

The laws of the universe still do apply, in order to lose weight you must go into a calorie deficit but it is just much harder to eat chicken breast as opposed to gummi bears so most dieters have an easier time achieving a caloric deficit while on Atkins.

The other reason it works so well is that carbs bind water. Each gram of carbs holds about 4 grams of water, we do store about 2 lbs of glycogen in our muscles and liver which in return bind about 8 lbs of water.

This explains the classic " I ate only bacon and eggs and lost 10 lbs " success stories of Atkins dieters.

Basically, you lost 10 lbs of water which will then return as soon as the carbs are re-introduced.

However, the Atkins diet has its benefits. For once, people almost automatically reduce their calories when not eating carbs, since protein works as a hunger retardant.

After, 72 hours of not eating any carbs, the body will switch into ketosis and use fats to produce glucose. This is when the cravings and headaches will stop.

Secondly, people enjoy the simplicity of not having to worry about one macro nutrient and lastly, it is easy to follow the diet plan even when eating out.

So what are the downsides of Atkins?

Due to the low intake of veggies and starches, you might become deficient in regards to certain vitamins and fiber so that supplements are needed.

In short, it inhibits performance when training with weights. Resistance training requires glucose, once blood glucose levels drop below 25 mmol/kg, exhaustion kicks in. To reverse that process glycogen synthesis is needed aka you have to eat some carbs.

Athletes, who seek to maintain a high performance level for their workouts should not go without carbohydrates for more than 4 days in my personal opinion. Therefore, we will now look at ways to use carbs in a smart manner in order to lose body fat and maintain performance.

4. The targeted keto diet.

A smart way to use carbs in a diet which is around the workout as in before and after.

The question is: when and how much?

A good rule of thumb is about 5 grams of carbs for every two sets of lifting.

If we were to assume a typical workout of about 20 work sets, you are looking at 50 grams of carbs or about one cup of oats. This should be eaten about 90 minutes before training.

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If your carb count surpasses 80 grams, I would recommend to split it before and after the workout.

Won't that kick me out of ketosis?

Most likely, yes but only of the duration of the workout.

5. Carb cycling My favorite way of using carbs is to cycle. them.

This basically means that you divide the week into low and high carb days.

Doing this has several advantages: • It will keep you sane. It is simply much easier to follow a very strict diet fro 4-5 days then 16 weeks.

• It gives you the best of both worlds: fat loss and strength gains.

• The refeed will enable you to keep or rebuild muscle lost during the diet • You get to tell your friends that Capt'n Crunch is part of your diet.

Before we get started, here are some general premises I feel apply to the carb cycling approach • It is not for beginners. If you haven't trained for at least a year, it is not for you.

• Carb cycling works best for people who are already rather lean, (males under 10 % or females below 16% bodyfat.) If you are not at that level, a traditional diet will serve you just fine.

• Your appearance and body weight will both fluctuate greatly during the week.

This can throw some athletes off, especially around Thursday when they look and feel their worst.

But why bother with a refeed at all? Can't I just stick to my regular diet?

You can, but unfortunately, your body hates you. Actually it loves you so much that it wants to keep you alive and prevent death by starvation. So it makes some adjustments, which were great for the hunters and gatherers but bad for a physique athlete.

What are those adjustments?

After a couple days of dieting, the metabolism slows down, hunger increases, and more and more muscle mass is sacrificed by the body for energy. Sadly, the human body is very efficient at adapting to new conditions.

In short, thyroid hormone T3 levels drop by 30%; conversion from T4 to T3 in the liver is being slowed down, the half-life of cortisol increases and the production of Insulin like growth factor (IGF-1) is down.

Your muscles are so low on glycogen that they become resistant to growth despite training, in fact you are probably losing muscle. At this point, we need to talk about leptin for a second since it is also an important player in the diet scenario.

Normally, it is a messenger hormone that inhibits your appetite to prevent you from overeating and gaining weight.

Now when you are dieting, the opposite holds true. With the reduced calories, leptin levels drop and appetite goes up. This means that a person who lowers his body fat is at an immediate disadvantage: His metabolism is automatically slowed down by as much as 30% within days, while suffering from hunger pangs.

So during a diet, all of a dieters nightmares come together: higher protein turnover combined with a lower levels of T3, IGF-1 ( insulin like growth factor, one of the strongest muscle building hormones), leptin, and testosterone. Why is that a nightmare? Because not only will you not lose any more fat, you will actually look worse than before.

The loss of muscle will create a skinny fat version of yourself, the type you can see on most treadmills in the country.

• All this happens despite training and after only several days, not months, of dieting. Very soon you’ll reach a plateau; no fat is lost and instead lean body mass is sacrificed.

About 5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight, keep the protein at about 1 grams per lbs and fats as low as possible Please note: The term "low fat" rules out junk food such as donuts, pizza etc.

Why should I eat carbohydrates? Won’t I get fat by eating so much?

You will not. Adding carbohydrates to a diet at this particular point, as opposed to protein or fats, has several advantages.

Leptin, insulin and blood sugar levels are being up-regulated, but due to the temporary lack of enzymes, the body is unable to store body fat.

The body’s first order of business is to refill glycogen storage, which takes about 24 hours; after that fat storage starts. Imagine owing $10,000 to some shady characters in Brooklyn. Now, by some good fortune somebody gives you 10,000$.

What will you do? Open a savings account or pay the mob back?

Thought so.

The Mob is your muscle and liver glycogen; the savings account your fat cells.

Despite eating more carbs, you will still burn more fat. Too bad this awesome eating window is only open 24-36 hours.

A cheat day or refeed can be made more effective if the dieter does a heavy workout after his carbohydrate day. This ensures the glycogen gets taken into the muscle. The refeed day would be an ideal time to work on a weaker muscle group and use the insulin response for new growth.

So, let me sum up how I would structure a diet and training program for an already lean athlete.

Monday: very low carbohydrates (50 grams or less) high fat/medium protein, train lower body Tuesday: Same diet, train upper body Wednesday: same diet, 20-30 minutes of medium intensity cardio if needed, no weights Thursday: whole body workout with low volume , start consuming carbs right after the workout Friday: no training, refeed. The rule of thumb would be 10 grams of carbohydrates for every kilogram of lean body mass (or 5 grams of carbs for every pound of lean body mass) within a 24-hour period. Hmmm..pasta...

Saturday: eat a regular zone diet, no calorie deficit Train the whole body or weak aka lagging body parts. You should be able to train heavy, since your energy levels are up. You should also look awesome. If you do not, you either did not enough carbs or aren't lean enough yet.

Sunday: back to Monday’s diet, cardio if needed Personally, I feel that a 10 day cycle would be better but the above outline makes it easier for most athletes to live their life and attend social events on the weekend.

That concludes my thoughts on carbs, I hope you ll find it helpful.

What??? All this work and I look worse while feeling awful?

Yes, this is one reason why most diets fail. But the madness can be stopped.

We just need to find a way to manipulate the body’s hormones for a short time.

This can be achieved with a carbodydrate refeed.

Increasing the calories for a short period of time reverses the process described above. Testosterone, IGF-1, and leptin levels are brought up; the production of cortisol is slowed down; muscle loss is stopped, even reversed.

As a result, the rate of metabolism increases, which then sets the stage for further fat loss.

In short, the universe similes upon you again.

How many carbs should I eat?

ABOUT MAIK: Maik (pronounced Mike) Wiedenbach is a fitness coach and physique architect based in New York City and East Hampton. He is an NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) certified personal trainer and AFPA (American Fitness Professionals Association), certified nutrition and wellness consultant and weight management consultant.

A two-time World Cup and Olympic trial swimmer in his native Germany, Maik founded his company Adler Training in 2006 and quickly became one of the most sought after trainers in Manhattan. As a medalist athlete and scholar, he uniquely combines professional dedication, empathy, and intellectual rigor in keeping up with the latest fitness and health study findings in medical journals. http://www.facebook.com/Maik.Wiedenbach http://www.adlertraining.com

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FAS H I O N TO LIV E F O R

J ET S E T TI NG I N ST YLE Neon Chiffon Crop Top-A.N.A; SeaShell Printed Chiffon Palazzo Pants-Allen B; Gold Plate Necklace-Streets of NYC; Green Stone Metal Cuff-Natasha Accessories; Gold Chain BraceletAldo; Brass & teal Cuff-BEBE Photography: Daryna; Barykina; Model: Rebecca Thompson; MUA: Lilia B; Hair: Leah Jones; Style: Style by Yvonne 48

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Utility Military Jacket-Arizona Printed Smock Dress-INC Teal Stone Necklace-Africa

Gold and White Beaded Jacket-Vintage; Flower Silk Peplum- Worthington; Blue Skinny Belt-Vintage; Black & White Printed Crops-Worthington; Gold Clutch-Vintage

Photographer: Whalen Bryce; Wardrobe Stylist: Donald Hicks; Makeup Artist: Victor Noble using M.A.C. Cosmetics; Hair Stylist: Dalessa Weary; Photo Assistant: Maria Maltseva; Stylist Assistant: Apneet Kaurgrewal; Models: Viviane Orth @ IMG, Aysche Tiefenbr @ DNA, Jessica Russ @ Elite, Nana Kieta & Jing Ma @ Muse; Studio Location: M.A.C. Pro Studios NY

FAS H I O N TO LIV E F O R

SUN

U P TO SUN D OW N

Sweater- jumpsuit Katie Ermilio, Earrings- Isaac Mizrahi

Jacket- Karolina Zmarlak, Jewelry- Lie Sang Bong RIGHT: Dress- A.F. Vandervorst, Necklace- Pamela Love, Belt- Lie Sang Bong, Shoes- Walter Steiger

Blouse- Kevork Kiledjian, Blazer- 10 Crosby Derek Lam RIGHT: Jumpsuit- Mandy Coon, Earrings- Top shop, Necklace- Pamela Love, Bangle- Max Mara, Shoes- Gio Diev

Dress- Derek Lam LEFT: Jacket- Rad Hourani, Shoes- Walter Stiger

Top and Shirt- Karolina Zmarlak, Necklace- Ben Amun, Bracelet- Pamela Love, Shoes- Christian Dior RIGHT: Blazer- Pakchoonmoo, Leather Blouse- Mandy Cool, Earrings- Pamela Love

RA I N E M A K E R S | FA S H ION & S T Y LE

VIVACIOUS, CONFIDENT AND HARDWORKING:

MARIA VALENTINO ON BEAUTY’S BIG BUSINESS

Photographed by Lucy Helena; Wearing Maria Eliza Collection; MV by Maria Valentino cosmetics

BY MIMI HAYDEN

“That has always been my goal-- to build an empire by the time I was 30,”

Maria Valentino said as she cautioned me to forgive her for her hoarse voice. “I come from a family of strong-willed Italians, as you can imagine: very hard-working, and a huge influence in my life.” Maria does indeed come from a strongwilled family. Both of her parents are very successful in the business world: her father is an entrepreneur in sales and her mother was in her early twenties when she owned a clothing company. In fact, Maria had just flown back to New York from a red carpet event in Los Angeles, where she had also been at quite a few speaking engagements (thus her earlier warning).

“There were no video games or anything like that growing up.

It was always ‘Oh here, let’s draw patterns today.’ You could always find me playing on my first little sewing machine. As I got older, I was constantly in New York. I was working with different designers and pattern makers. I learned quite a bit within the industry and through that, fell in love with swimwear,” she affirms.

The “Maria Eliza Collection” is the swimwear line that she is speaking of where Maria (or “MV” as she is affectionately called by those closest to her) is hands-on everything from the sketches, pattern making, fabric selection, trying the samples on, to the choice of hardware that is incorporated into each piece.

“I make very high-end exclusive swimwear pieces. All of the fabrics are from Milan and all of the hardware is 18k gold plated. It’s very exclusive and it’s not something that I plan to mass-produce,” she says.

It’s obvious while listening to Maria that she pays very fine attention to detail, especially with products that carry her name and she is even more concerned with the exclusivity of her items. “I produce them in limited quantity so I can say, ‘only 100 of this particular bathing suit are available.’ You know you’re getting an exclusive piece of fashion, which adds a lot of value to it.” However, Maria coupled her love of fashion with another passion– beauty.

Considering the current scene of the economy, it’s difficult to start a business and ensure its success. Imagine the task it becomes when you decide to create a second business as Maria has decided to do. After growing a very large fan base and therefore becoming an Internet sensation, her following began to crave her beauty secrets as well. However, it was also around this time that she realized that she just couldn’t use your typical run-of-the-mill beauty products. They just didn’t agree with her. Out of this a need, an idea and product was created. Maria says enthusiastically, “I’ve always had custom makeup made for me. There is a woman who I am very close to who has formulated for a lot of the major beauty brands, making products that are great for your skin. She is a good friend of mine and she created a line for me that has all natural anti-aging additives, while firming your skin.

I also worked with other top dermatologists to create a complimenting rejuvenating skincare collection so that my customers can literally achieve a flawless complexion and all day coverage without the worry of touchups. It’s great for the woman on the go.” When it came time to design packaging, she kept it sleek, elegant with a matte black and gold logo that reads “MV by Maria Valentino”, which of course aligns with her carefully curated brand.

Maria, an incredibly beautiful woman with the drive and zeal to match, has used her expertise in marketing herself in the process of developing her bourgeoning beauty brand. She has an avidly loyal base of Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook followers (topping out around 500k and increasing by the thousands, daily) that she adamantly connects to

in the conception and completion of much of her cosmetic line. After receiving inquires about how they could achieve her flawless look (she really is perfect, seriously) she modestly said, “I started offering it to my followers, I took their opinions very seriously and I asked them what is the one thing that you are looking for in the beauty market that you’re not able to find? At first I thought I just want other women to be able to have this beautiful look without paying a fortune, something that women and girls could afford and not compromise product quality. I did not anticipate that it was going to be so huge this quickly. As I’m making product, shipments are going out of the door.” If you were to ask her what is contributing to her success, she will tell you that it boils down to marketing.

While most companies have only recently recognized the impact social media can have on a business, it’s something that Maria Valentino has known for a while. With her social media following (did we mention 500k followers combined?), Maria takes the time to clue them in on the latest product developments and asks for customer feedback in real time. She says, “I think it is vitally important to get involved with your target market. Just engage your followers. When I have a new product, I like to use a lot of media. It gets people excited!

I give them imagery to check out, so I take pictures of my products and tweet them, I’ll post it on Facebook and Instagram and ask my followers for their opinions and really get them involved in the process.”

This can be attested via our conversation because at one point I even ask Maria what to do about concealing my freckles and ever so fine under-eye lines. In the brevity of this side step she tells me “These are the things I love hearing about,“ and proceeds to inform me of her latest creation involving an “under-eye firming highlighter that would be perfect, coupled with a nighttime wrinkle-diminishing serum” for my complaint. Just like that, I became part of the MV process.

Fashion & Beauty are synonymous. The relationship they share is evident by the modern concoction of “glam squads” (which typically include wardrobe stylist, hair and lastly, beauty) that big A-Lister’s enlist and rarely debut without. Which is why it wasn’t so vast of a leap that Maria would develop her own fashion and beauty brands.

“I am a business woman and entrepreneur at heart. I saw it as a huge opportunity. There were things missing in the marketplace and I wanted to fill the void. I’ve always had my hand in both beauty and fashion, especially starting off in fashion. As a creative person, I’ve always had an eye for both. I just decided to go into business with beauty later,” she says. By owning two successful businesses at such a young age you have to wonder if some of those 20-hour workdays get to her. “I don’t ever want to slack off in one or the other. I absolutely love what I do, but I take my businesses very seriously,” she continues.

Maria defies the odds by showing that youth doesn’t always equate to ignorance. When asking her about struggles an entrepreneur may face she says, “There are going to be a million road blocks and a million and one people saying that you can’t do it. If you are confident in what you want, if you handle funds and time wisely and you really believe in what you are doing, it can be a great success. There are still going to be times where you hit roadblocks and if you want it badly enough, you push through them. I’ve found that a lot of people under 30 feel entitled [to success], but what they don’t seem to realize is that no one is going to hand you anything in the real world. You’re going to have to work for it.” In a world where mostly everything is set up to be instant gratification and a generation that doesn’t necessarily value hard work, Maria’s advice is invaluable. She continues, “You have to be very careful of how you execute your plans and how you handle your funding. From the day you decide that you want to start the business to the day that you want to sell it and every single day in between, make sure that you have goals set for your business and make sure that you are properly allocating your time and your funds. Set benchmarks.” It’s been said before but planning is crucial to success and Maria’s method definitely incorporates that.

Success is never a straight line and those that are courageous enough to forge their own path will always be the first to tell you this. But it can’t always be about work, can it? In those rare moments that Maria does take a break, she manages to oil paint. “I will pull out a huge canvas and paint. But somehow I’ll mix the colors and say ‘you know, that would make a great shade for an eye shadow’,” she says.

Work and play always blends seamlessly for her. Maria Valentino has achieved so much to be 23 years old, an age where most people are still trying to figure it all out. Her undeniable style and beauty has lead to the creation of two successful businesses (a swimwear line and now, the launch of a cosmetics line).“Fashion and Beauty Empire by 25?”

She laughs, “Sure. No pressure.” **You can follow Maria Valentino on Instagram (@MariaValentino) and Twitter (@MariaEValentino).

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Photos by EAG Sports Management

RA I N E M A K E R S | FA S H IO N & S T Y LE

NF L S TA R TO FASHI O N M OG U L

MEET SHAWNE MERRIMAN

BY NOVA LORRAINE

Dubbed “Lights Out” by his teammates for his wicked tackles, former NFL player Shawne Merriman was amongst the top linebackers in the NFL. From 2005 to 2012, he scored a place in the All-Pro selection three times, all the while developing to create a clothing line graced with his nickname. From throwing pigskins to filling clothing racks, Merriman has pushed his line from active wear to casual chic. The fresh Lights Out website is relaunching this Fall and we can’t wait to see what this multi-talented sports star has in store.

RAINE: How did you make the transition from NFL player to designer?

MERRIMAN: I’ve always been into it. I had a very tough upbringing. I couldn’t afford the nicest things and that inspired me to make affordable quality clothing.

RAINE: What should “Lights Out” fans expect to see?

MERRIMAN: A lifestyle brand, casual sportswear, a lot of active wear.

It is what I enjoy doing, my niche: the casual sportswear. I love wearing Nike but certain places won’t allow you to wear athletic wear because it’s too casual. This is clothing to wear during the day and through the evening.

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RAINE: What skills have you carried over from the field to design studio?

MERRIMAN: I’m always trying to my best. There are so many great designers out here. I am always trying to find the best designs and best product, but I’m also not afraid to admit when I don’t know something.

RAINE: What are your goals in terms of fashion?

MERRIMAN: To keep providing great product and never getting too out of reach. There will be seven to ten divisions in which there are fragrances, skin/bath products, accessories, and even kids.

RAINE: Wal-Mart is a very difficult fish to catch for designers. How did the Wal-Mart deal happen?

MERRIMAN: They looked at my fame on the field to help bring in sales.

However, the product worked because it was at the right price point and it was well made. We’re currently re-launching in MGM stores in Las Vegas. We started in Wal-Mart and expanded nationally very quickly.

RAINE: Your line appears to be mainly of tees and caps. How do you see it expanding?

MERRIMAN: I have twelve different designs in mind. The website represents pieces for athletic shops and the new line will be more for Nordstrom’s and Macy’s: that has tops, bottoms, sportier sweat suits, Henley’s. I’ve seen a lot of brands fail because they try to come out with too much stuff too soon. I believe in growing small and growing smart – creating pieces that people like.

RAINE: How have your challenges affected you as an entrepreneur?

MERRIMAN: Having such a big name on the field, sometimes people think that is all that you can do. It’s a stereotype. People were surprised to hear that I was going back to get my MBA. You can be a great businessman and a great athlete. When you walk off the field I do different things such as charity work, I own three restaurants and a nightclub. I’m constantly on the run. I just shot a movie which should out in December or shortly after. I do many things outside of football: television, film, charity.

RAINE: You’ll be completing your MBA next spring; what inspired you to pursue a Master’s in Business?

MERRIMAN: It was something that was very important to me; always working on perfecting my craft. I’ve always wanted to be the best and that’s how I felt about pursing my MBA. I wanted to be sharper in my business side and being better-rounded.

RAINE: How would you describe your fashion sense?

MERRIMAN: I’m the guy who wants to be comfortable and look great.

I definitely know the best product for men and women that are both comfortable and versatile.

RAINE: How have you grown from your past personal battles and how have you dealt with them being highlighted in the media?

MERRIMAN: When you reach a certain status, you have to understand that these things will happen and just be open and honest. People see through the phoniness all the time. Any issues that come up, just tell people how it is and don’t harp on things. Those things aren’t important. What’s important is “Lights Out”. I acquired it in 2005 when I was 20 years old and I had this vision however people were taking me in a completely direction. It’s bigger than the person, it’s a brand. If you have something in your head and you want to go after it, then you should. Go after your dreams - anything is possible!

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R AI N E M A K E R S | FA S H ION & S T Y LE

S A M SARPONG

BY MIMI HAYDEN

Sam sarpong is a major player in everything from fashion to film - from television to music. You might see him in a movie like Anchor Baby or you may catch him hosting BET’s Behind The Scenes: All Access. Perhaps, you might have even seen him walking the runways for Tommy Hilfiger (with whom he’s worked with for over eight years). Now, he’s embarking on a journey to bring all of his ventures together under his multi-faceted brand, to become a household name of sorts. We sat down with this International talent to discuss merging his ventures into a brand, his inspiration and what it really means to be a “Chosen One.” RAINE: You are a man of many talents with a ton of exciting upcoming projects. What are you most excited for?

SARPONG: I am most excited for my films that are coming out. I feel that as an actor I am going to the next level. I can see the growth in my work. I feel that earlier in my career, I was always cast as the boyfriend or a street thug, but now the roles are more diversified. “No Weapons,” a gospel movie, stars Tommy “Tiny” Lister (Deebo via Next Friday) and myself. In that film, I play a detective that’s taking care of his seven year old daughter and my parents are helping me out with raising her. My wife and her mother, dies of a drug overdose. In “Trigger,” I play more of a street thug, co-starring Matt Cohen. In summary, his mother passes away, he links up with a mentor and trains to become a boxer. As the new resident drug boss, I try to keep him away from the things that I am involved with in street life by paying for anything he needs to further his boxing career. And it’s a crazy twist at the end as far as who’s responsible for his mother’s death. Then I have a TV show coming out called Average Dad, which is a comedy that stars Jamie Presley and Brent Goldberg. It’s about young adults that have kids and the different experiences that they go through. I play the single dad on the show who’s daughter has blond hair blue eyes, she’s adopted.

My character is a stunt man on the show, and the parents always crowd around me to ask questions due to my career and the ethnicity of my daughter. I’m also shooting a move called “Crossed The Line” starring Ice-T, Vanessa Williams and a host of other all-stars.

In addition, I’m currently the host for BET’s “Madd Swag” and “Behind the Scenes: All Access.” As far as fashion goes, I am a spokesperson for KD Luxe Jewelry, which is really big with celebrities (Christina Milian, Mark Walberg, Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry). We just wrapped the fall campaign and will be shooting the spring/ summer 2014 campaign soon. The 4double664 fashion line is Nelson Mandela’s line and I just signed a 3-year deal with them, as the brand ambassador. They are about to launch in the states, so it’s exciting to watch that happen. “Lose My Mind” is my forthcoming album that I have been working on for the past two years. It’s really a combination of the top 40, pop-dance albums. It’s very pop and upbeat. My lead single “Lose My Mind” was featured on VH1’s “Hit The Floor.” Future stars collection has been around for 12 years and I am doing my official launch for the United states.

My “Chosen One” clothing line - “Many are called, few are chosen” - is something else that I am very excited about. No matter what you want to be, you’re “chosen”.

That’s my word that I try to tell everybody.

RAINE: You’re the face of a number of brands right now - how does each one fit into your personality?

SARPONG: The way that it is now, everything goes with the other. You look at everyone in Hollywood; everyone is a brand. Gone are the days where everyone would focus on one thing. Nowadays you have to be able to do multiple things, IF you want to become one brand. You can’t be one-dimensional anymore. People want to wear your clothes, go see you in a movie. I’ve been doing this for a while now. I’m known for doing all of these various elements but they aren’t able to piece it together. In the fashion world, the thing I’m most accomplished in, they see me and say “wow, he’s a huge model,” but they don’t know that I’ve done over 60 movies and 55 television shows. Then they see me as a host and they don’t know that I am a model. The number one thing that I am missing as an entertainer is branding all of that. I feel like everything is coming together now, to the point where things will break out over the next few months. I will become that household name and brand. When it’s your time nothing can stop it. Success is really on your own. It’s all relative.

RAINE: Has fashion always played an important role in your life?

SARPONG: The funny thing about it is, this was my destiny. When I was in 3rd grade

RAINE: How would you define your style?

SARPONG: My style hasn’t changed much over the years. I am from London, so I have always worn things a little more tightly fitted. I would define my style as “UK/Rock Star Vintage” which means it’s more tailored and I will take an old style vintage shirt, say Aerosmith, and I’ll mix that with a Gucci jacket or something. I love to mix expensive and inexpensive.

I’m not really into name brands but I will pay the high-end price if I like the quality. So everything that I wear is a mix of “high-low.”

RAINE: When did you know you wanted to be an entertainer?

SARPONG: My dad said when I was around the age of 3, he remembers coming into my room and saw me with a pencil in my hand, practicing interviewing people. He said when he saw me doing that he knew it was my destiny and he never looked back. It’s very taboo by being African; you never encourage your kids to be in entertainment, you always want them to be doctors, lawyers. I thank God for them [my parents] everyday for encouraging my sister and myself. Now I am on this high school tour entitled, “Best Me I Can Be” sponsored by KD Luxe. We’re going to over 100 schools and we are talking to students about pursuing your dreams and we’re telling teachers and adults to encourage them. That’s one of the advantages to being on MTV and BET children look to you as a peer, so they tell me things they wouldn’t normally tell their parents. Parents and Teachers please encourage these kids. If you’re positive to them and encourage them, it sticks with them.

RAINE: Tell us more about your upcoming album.

SARPONG: Do It All Again, Lose My Mind, Fresh Kids are a few of the singles off of the album. It’s very dance-electro-pop. I have a singer on the album named Inessa Alex; she’s big in Europe. Young Nice, who’s worked with The Game and Tyga, he did most of the album. I have some European producers like Deany Boy and Brit Boy on there as well. My album is about the life of an entertainer. From start to finish, It’s about my experiences in my career as a model and a TV host. Rough times that I’ve gone through.

There’s a song on the album called “Thank You,” and on that song I talk about people that have been around me for ten years plus. I talk about when I almost lost my house. It’s just real. It’s Sam’s life. It talks about the struggle and no one believing in you. I feel that a lot of people will be able to relate.

RAINE: What has been your most memorable acting moment?

SARPONG: Anchor Baby definitely. We shot it in 2011; It’s a movie about immigration. I play a Nigerian man. In the film, my wife and I move to the United States. She gets pregnant and I want my baby to be born in the United States but my visa runs out. So the immigration people start to come after me. That movie did incredible. It screened at Cannes and was nominated for a BEFFTA award. I gained 20lbs for this role. I aged myself, grew a mini-Afro and a beard. I worked with a dialect coach and ever since doing that film it has help push my career to the next level.

RAINE: What challenges have you faced that have made you stronger as an entrepreneur?

SARPONG: I’m very spiritual. I’ve hit rock bottom at certain times and 62

almost lost it all. But my faith has allowed me to get back up. I almost lost it all about 7 or 8 years ago when I wasn’t working and I almost lost my house. The number one thing it taught me is that you can’t take it for granted. I went straight out of high school to being cast in Tommy Hilfiger, making six figures and traveling all over the world; having my face plastered everywhere and being an international model. I really didn’t know struggle.

I didn’t realize how much of a blessing it was and I just lived my life that way. I had a lot of money, we we’re going to the best parties and hanging out on yacht. Then, when people stopped calling and you couldn’t get them free stuff anymore, you saw who your real friends were. And that made me appreciate it. When it’s happening, enjoy it and that’s the number one thing it’s taught me. So now, I don’t care what it is, I don’t care if it’s a commercial or an appearance at school, I thank God for it. It took me having to go through a few years of struggle, from having that amount of money to not being able to buy gas. In project that I am working on entitled “Life Of An Entertainer” you get to see me actually go through these things. You get to see me successful but you also get to see me almost lose it all.

RAINE: How do you feel your basketball training has benefitted you in your acting and modeling roles?

SARPONG: I decided that I wasn’t going to keep spending all of this time playing basketball if I knew that I wasn’t going to be the best of the best. I switched everything up and got into acting. It helped me out a lot because when I first started I was being cast as an athlete.

RAINE: Who has been your favorite artist to work with?

SARPONG: Beyonce is one of them; we worked on Carmen together.

Natalie Raitano is another one. We’re still very close and we talk all of the time. I’ve worked with so many cool people in my career but those two resonate the most to me because they had a profound impact on my life.

Keith Robinson, Amber Tamblyn, Megan and La’Miya Good are all very close to me.

RAINE: Aside from modeling and acting, what do you love to do?

SARPONG: Shopping. That’s the one thing that makes me happy. I love walking out with new bags. Creating new outfits. I love playing basketball.

I love spending time with my nieces and nephews. I love to be around kids and hearing their stories. I’m really into collecting things as far as furniture too.

RAINE: What advice do you have for someone trying to accomplish his or her dreams?

SARPONG: Be yourself. People look at me and say, “Damn, you’re so successful in fashion.” Even now, I’m the only black person in the show. I know who I am as a person and that’s the number one reason I’m booked so much. I know what I have to offer and if that’s not good enough, I’m ok with that. When I was growing up, I loved Will Smith; I loved Diddy but my parents were my role models. I’m going to take a little bit from each but I can’t be them. I am myself. You have to find the core of who you are and once you find the core of who you are then everyone else is sold on the core of who you are and that shines like a light. People want you and they don’t even know why they want you. Being human, we go in and out of that at times and it happens to every single one of us. But when it happens, know what you’re feeling, get centered and realign yourself. **You can follow Sam Sarpong on Twitter and Instagram (@mrsamsarpong).

Future Stars Collection officially launched Stateside at the MAGIC Market Week in Las Vegas.

RAINE MAGAZINE - VOLUME 17

Photos by Curtis Sabir; Make up by Joanne Adolfo; Clothes by Gsus, Bustle,Prince Couture and Puma, Shoes by Radii Footwear.

I used to design jackets. I would get a denim jacket and my friend Jerron (who was an incredible artist) and I would spray paint and bejewel the jackets. We would make jackets with my rap name on it, which just so happened to be Future at the time. One jacket even has me drawn on it as a cartoon. So this has been something that I always wanted to do. My dad told me he found the box with our old creations in them.

RA I N E M A K E R S | FA S H ION & S T YLE

FAS H I O N A N D F I L M C O L L I D E H o w

Visu a l

S to ry te l l i ng

i s

C hangi ng

the

Industry

BY CHRISTINE PEREZ

Fashion has always been a fundamental part of film. Who can forget Holly Golightly’s iconic little black Givenchy dress or the eccentric, menswear-inspired outfits in Annie Hall? Now an emerging platform, fashion film is turning this time-honored relationship on its head. Film has become a medium to channel fashion’s story through art instead of through commercials.

These short films encompass the lifestyle with clothing as a starring character.

Intoxicating imagery, exquisite acting, and seamless cinematography are just some of the elements you’ll find in fashion film. Star-crossed lovers and mythical beings are among the imaginative characters brought to life to tell the stories behind design. These short film styled fictional pieces bring you inside the inspiration and into a world built around today’s fashion brands.

Raine Magazine travelled to the La Jolla Fashion Film Festival featuring the International Fashion Film Awards to uncover the rising stars behind this medium.

Designers are continuing their art off the runway and outside the showrooms. Together with teams of top film professionals, fashion brands are adding life to their stories in new and unexpected ways in an effort to pull consumers in.

To tell the story behind their Spring 2013 catalogue, Free People developed a short film entitled ROSHAMBO and shared it with their consumers across digital and social platforms. ROSHAMBO tells the story of a pair of distanced lovers whose chance reencounter takes us on the enchanting journey of their blossoming romance. As the inevitable moment of separation approaches, the couple challenge each other with games of roshambo (rock paper scissors) to determine their fate.

The response to ROSHAMBO has been so immense, Free People has continued the piece as a series of short films and is building upon the use of engaging visual media as part of its brand. ROSHAMBO was honored with a number of awards at the International Fashion Film Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Guy Aroch and Jonathan Doe, and Best Actress for Sheila Marquez.

Consumers are drawn into the world of a brand through its story, and fashion film provides an engaging medium to bring these stories to life.

Fashion film also presents an opportunity for collaboration among artists from a variety of media. By integrating the arts of design and film, visually exquisite stories are born. One piece in particular is standing out for its exquisite teamwork.

LOVERS GAME is a collaboration between multimedia RAINE MAGAZINE - VOLUME 17

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BEST MUSIC - “Moving” - Julian Acosta BEST ART DIRECTION - “Steam 1886” - Adrian Lazarus BEST FASHION - “Lovers Game” - Miguel Gauthier & Viktorija Pashuta BEST HAIRSTYLING - “Chimera” - Raul Rosillo BEST MAKEUP - “Mia” - Aviv Kosloff BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - “Urban Hippie” - Damien Krisl BEST CREATIVE CONCEPT - “Lilith” - Eric Chang BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - “Pasos de Sirena” - Pablo Clemente BEST ACTRESS - “Roshambo” - Sheila Marquez BEST ACTOR - “The Reinvention” - Michael Kenneth Williams BEST DIRECTOR - “Roshambo” - Guy Aroch & Jonathan Doe BEST PICTURE - “Roshambo” - Free People

First two photos: Photos by Manuel Portillo; Last 3 photos: Photos by Fashion Film Network

creative visionary Miguel Gauthier and internationally published fashion photographer Viktorija Pashuta. The pair joined forces to create an intoxicating portrayal that blends a stunningly choreographed dance battle with a flirtatious game of chess. The film took home the award for Best Fashion and has peaked interest in artistic collision.

The short format of fashion film is quick to captivate audiences with an appetite for imagery. The fashion becomes a character all on its own, enhancing the aesthetics of the brand through cinema.

Spanish brand Hispanitas drew inspiration from their Mediterranean-inspired Spring/Summer 2013 Collection for the film PASOS DE SIRENA. The sea serves as the backdrop of a mysterious love story in this fashion film. The coastal colors of the line paid perfect tribute to the age-old myth of the siren and sailor. This visually stunning piece earned the award for Best Cinematogrophy for Pablo Clemente.

In an ever-changing media landscape, fashion film is becoming a standout artistic platform for storytelling, brand engagement, and artistic collaboration. We can’t wait to see what this exciting genre has in store for us.

Raine Magazine is pleased to announce the rising stars of fashion film from this year’s International Fashion Film Awards.

La Jolla Fashion Film Festival 2013 International Fashion Film Award Winners

RA I N E M A K E R S | FA S H ION & S T Y LE

How Wayfair is Making Billions Meet Niraj Shah, CEO and Co-Founder of Wayfair.com, the site for all things home décor. Wayfair.com is a consumer facing company based in Niraj’s expertise in technology and innovation from previous ventures he started. The company expects revenue topping $1 billion this year and is one of the fastest growing players in the industry.

RAINE: What’s the meaning behind Wayfair? How you decide on this name for the unification of the brand?

SHAH: When Steve and I started the company, the name was CSN Stores – it was actually just our initials mixed, but we knew that wasn’t a very good consumer name, so when we were re-branding we knew we needed a better name that consumers would respond to. We also knew we needed it to be a good internet name-- short and easy to spell. We had about 35 contenders, so then we went through the trademark process where you have to make sure the domain names are available. We wanted a name that made sense as a mass retailer, like a Target. Wayfair felt like the right name for a home goods retailer.

RAINE: What was the catalyst behind creating an e-commerce site for interiors?

SHAH: When we started in 2002, we recognized home goods was an underserved category online. While the retail business is such a basic business, it is fairly complex. Not everyone does a good job at it because it is so competitive.

Everyone wants something that makes their home special and part of making it special is having the perfect furniture or décor items. We had the selection to offer customers those items; no one else was doing it.

RAINE: Regarding naysayers - What are some things when starting your business that people told you couldn’t do that you did anyway?

SHAH: People told us that furniture wasn’t something to be bought online and that the logistics of shipping large, bulky items was too difficult. Over time we built up the right infrastructure to do it. As far as customer service goes, people told us because furniture wasn’t something to be bought

online and shipped, we wouldn’t be able to have a strong customer service department. Customer service is one of our top priorities, along with offering the best selection and price.

RAINE: Bootstrapping a business to multi-million dollar success is usually unheard of. How did you balance your costs and your growth?

SHAH: The way we thought about it was that we needed to be profitable to stay in business. We needed to be as cost efficient as we could be to remain profitable. When you are profitable, you can put back into the business for future growth on new initiatives.

RAINE: Many sites are built but go unfound. How did you successfully attract consumers to your site when it was first launched?

SHAH: We had online marketing expertise early on and continued to develop that expertise as time passed. We relied heavily on GoogleAdWords when we were starting out, but over time we built more expertise. Once we knew we had a way to successfully attract customers through online marketing, we dipped our toes in TV advertising as another way to attract a wider demographic. We began investing in TV advertisement towards the end of 2012 and have had much success and have continued to ramp that up.

RAINE: What were your biggest challenges in the first 12 months of running your company?

SHAH: For the first ten months of the company being up and running, we had two employees, Steve, my co-founder, and I. Steve did most of the engineering work and I’d talk to the suppliers to get them on board.

I’d add products and when the phone would ring for customer service, I’d stop adding products and answer the phone to deal with a customer question. If the second phone rang, Steve would stop what he was doing and jump on the second line.

We had our hands in everything.

RAINE: At what age or event did you discover your entrepreneurial spirit?

SHAH: Early on as a kid. I had a lawn

mowing business, a paper route, I would buy and sell baseball cards when I was younger.

RAINE: What was the hardest decision you had to make as a Founder / CEO? SHAH: I think the hardest decision anyone has to make, whether you are a manager, founder, or CEO, is the decision to fire someone.

RAINE: Most entrepreneurs dream of making a million dollar business. What is the road map for building a billion dollar business?

SHAH: The most important thing is to have an idea that is big enough. Once you have your idea, you need to work hard at executing that idea and making it successful. Once you are successful, you have to keep working at it. It really takes a lot of patience. People often find success then coast with their idea, but if you are patient enough and keep working hard, the original ideal will keep growing.

RAINE: When looking for an employee, what qualities would you rank as the most important?

SHAH: At Wayfair.com, we prioritize traits over skills.

You can teach skills, but you can’t teach traits. We look for individuals that are intelligent, driven, and collaborative. You can try to differentiate people around experience and past successes, but I try to differentiate them more around whether I would want them on the team if things were really tough. A big thing at our company is that you really want people who are going to roll up their sleeves. We look at, is this a person who will do that because they have to? Or is this a person who, left to their own devices, would that that because they want to.

Photos by Wayfair

RAINE: How do you discern which opportunities to take advantage of and which ones to wait on?

SHAH: You look at your business like an engine; you want to keep it going. You always want to be doing more, reinvesting, and continue to do as much as possible. You don’t want to stay in the red zone too much. There will be times when you can take on more to grow the business, and times when you are maxed out and don’t have the bandwidth for more and that’s when you know that some opportunities need to be passed on.

RAINE: Have you passed on any opportunities or offers that you regret? Please explain.

SHAH: There are always going to be things along the way that you are going to say in hindsight I would have done this differently or that differently, but in that moment in time you make the best decision you can. Looking back, re-branding to Wayfair.com from CSN Stores could have been something we did two years earlier than we did, but we made the decision at the time not to.

RAINE: When did your business cross the tipping point between failure and success?

SHAH: Steve and I have been relatively lucky in that we were able to see the business succeed almost immediately.

After four months of going live with selling TV stands and mounts – the category we started the business in - we did $250,000 in sales, after the first year, we saw $7M in sales.

This goes back to that we recognized there was a need for the business and we knew there was even more opportunity moving forward.

RAINE: What was the single most beneficial advice that has carried you through your journey of success?

SHAH: 99% of success is execution. There is value in hard work and no-one can do the hard work for you.

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RA I N E M A K E R S | FA S H ION & S T Y LE

HGTV’S FAVORITE DUO

BY NOVA LORRAINE

For Anthony Carrino and John Colaneri, it’s all in the family. These cousins are not only close; they work together every day as the stars of the hit HGTV series Cousins on Call and Kitchen Cousins.

In the midst of their growing popularity, the duo has remained true to their design vision while striving to help the less fortunate with celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres. Anthony and John are definitely Rainemakers in the world of home design.

RAINE: As kids, what did you want to be when you grew up?

ANTHONY: Neither one of us strived for television. It was a complete surprise and a change in direction. As a kid, I was always very business minded and my father was an entrepreneur and had his own business. He was always able to be at my games and was always around. I noticed the freedom having your business meant. Eventually I had a desire to have my own business and I started my own construction company with my dad.

JOHN: I never thought I would be on TV today and the fifth grade play didn’t count as practice for being on television. I went to college for business and worked in the construction world for our uncles. I learned a lot by being hands-on. When Anthony approached me to work for his company, it was very appealing and rest is history.

RAINE: What is it like working together?

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JOHN: We always went on camping trips together as kids and spent holidays together. Anthony was 2 years older than me and would pick me up to go to high school together. We grew up 5 minutes from each other and were together when we were young. It’s a ton of work, time, and commitment. We’re super passionate about what we do. You need to have someone to depend on without fail. We know we have each other’s backs. Anthony and I definitely lean on each other and to have a partner that you can trust gives you a better product in end.

RAINE: What was your most challenging project?

ANTHONY: The Ellen House. We had to build a house in 6 days for The Ellen Show.

RAINE: Most rewarding project?

JOHN: The same one. We’ve done a couple episodes, for families in need or cancer survivors. They are the best because those people are so grateful and on top of it they have their own home. That’s the premise of our new show - giving back to those that give so much and don’t always get so much in return. If we can make you laugh and cry, we’ve accomplished a good thing.

RAINE: What advice were you given when you started the show?

ANTHONY: Treat the homeowners like your regular clients. We’ve done that and have been ourselves and it’s worked.

RAINE MAGAZINE - VOLUME 17

PHOTOS BY HGTV

RAINE: How did the opportunity of having your own show come to pass?

JOHN: A friend of ours thought we should have our own TV show.

She cold called a production company and sent our tape. It sat for 10 months. It finally came across the right person’s desk and hear we are today.

ANTHONY: We did an episode with the Kardashians, Vanessa Williams, the Ellen Show. It’s a great opportunity for ourselves and our business.

RAINE: Has the show changed you?

JOHN: Absolutely not. I still have all my same friends. The only thing that has changed is life itself. We fly to Toronto and back tomorrow and then New Orleans and then to LA and then back to Boston and then back to LA. RAINE: How do you balance family life?

ANTHONY: It’s a juggling act. There are plenty of people that have jobs that take you around the country and world. It’s not easy but you have to have that balance of work and home.

RAINE: Would you call yourselves entrepreneurs?

JOHN: Definitely. We push the envelope in design every day. We take pride in restoring these architecturally significant buildings and have won two landmark awards RAINE: Words of Wisdom to someone following your footsteps?

JOHN: Anybody that is trying to follow us, first and foremost: be yourself and be unique, don’t try to copy what someone else does.

We try to be different. We don’t want our show to be cookie cutter or like other shows and we do the same in our design. We’d rather be a little on edge than exactly like any one else.It’s about hard work. To be successful we put in a lot of long hours and try to make ourselves better and our company better. We constantly push ourselves and strive to learn what’s new in our industry.

ANTHONY: My dad would always say “the measure of a man is when the camera of life is not looking”. Do the right thing whether someone is looking or not. Do not do the minimum to get by. We focus on putting out a quality product, being socially conscious, and doing unique designs.

FAS H I O N TO LIV E F O R

G U E SS B L A C K S H I MME R DR ESS LEXIBEC S H AR K TO OT H E A R R INGS AND R INGS

USE Accessories to Make a Sharper Image Photographer: Janine Joffe Model: Sara Cummings Makeup Artist: Jacqueline Fernandez Hair Stylist: Dannan Patrick Wardrobe Stylist: Grizelda Garza Wardrobe Stylist's Assistant: Luis Rodriguez Retoucher: James McDonald 70

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G U E SS B L A C K S H I MMER DR ESS LEXIBEC S H AR K TO OT H E AR R INGS A ND R INGS

C A LV I N K L E I N B L A C K MI N I C O C K TAI L DR E SS LE XI B E C E A R R I N G S FR AN C O P I A N E G O N DA R I N G

B US I N E S S | A C C E S S OR IE S

UBER LUXE ACCESSORIES BY ROLLS ROYCE RESEARCHED BY JAVIN FORREST

Bespoke Luggage (Pricing Varies by Piece): Perfect for any jetsetter, this six piece luggage set makes for a timeless accessory that fits any global style. With it’s subtle yet eloquent functionality, Bespoke Luggage offers precision stitch work. Almost as important as what is in your bag, is the bag itself. These investment pieces will see you through years of travel.

Sterling Silver “Spirit of Ecstasy” Cuff Links ($217): These beautifully crafted cufflinks are modeled on the iconic “Spirit of Ecstasy” Rolls-Royce hood ornament. Made from sterling silver, they carry the 925 hallmark and are also rhodium plated to avert tarnishing. These cufflinks are indeed the perfect gift for luxury lovers and car enthusiasts.

iPad Case ($171): Rolls Royce continues to created an elegant world in which things were just made for each other. Made from black leather and complemented by a black suede lining, we have a case that been fashioned for the iPad. With it’s distinct seashell interior, this sleek case is suitable for the iPad 2 and iPad 3. This case takes a ubiquitous item and makes transforms it into a luxury piece.

5X7 Leather Photo Frame ($149): House your holiday photos in this high-quality black leather and seashell inlay paneled photo frame. Crafted of the same leather used in Rolls-Royce interiors, this frame will be beautifully displayed in an office or at home, and serve as a handsome reminder of the holidays throughout the year.

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Collect things with a simple touch Experience digital media in the real world Build a social timeline with the things that interest you Engage with the world in real-time Setup a consultation for your upcoming event or tradeshow!

Ariana Speirs

Sales & Event Specialist O: 855-299-4395 M: 801-556-2063 E: ariana@poken.com

www.poken.com

Tony Juniper brings to our attention many examples of how the subtle changes in nature can affect the financial health of our economy. He opens our eyes to the power of nature and the power nature has on our pocket books.

From tale after tale and fact upon fact, Juniper draws in everyone from the business executive to the policy maker to simply the people who care about the world around us and enlightens them on the true cost of our precious resources. He stresses the hard cost of our decisions and actions and how they will only escalate unless we act now.

About the Author Juniper is one of the top ten environmental figures of the last thirty years; a campaigner, author, and sustainability adviser to the Prince of Wales and other national governing bodies; and former director of Friends of the Earth. The Prince of Wales believes so much in the work Tony Juniper is doing, he wrote the forward to the book.

Photo Courtesy of Conscious Media Relations

BUS I N E S S | A GOOD R E A D

B US I N E S S | T R E N D S

S I L I C O N A L L E Y I S N E W Y O R K T H E W O R L D ’ S N E W T E C H C A P I TA L ?

BY CHRISTINE PEREZ

“What do Buzzfeed, Foursquare, Etsy, Fab, Gilt, Kickstarter, Makerbot, PaperlessPost, Songza and Tumblr have in common? Like the world’s best pizza pies, they were all made in New York City.”

– Mayor Michael Bloomberg

You may expect to find the majority of fast-growing tech communities in the legendary Silicon Valley, but its Eastern neighbor is hot on its heels as the up-and-coming hub for innovation. More and more entrepreneurs are choosing to locate their start-ups in New York City. The city is number one in job growth in the multi-billion dollar mobile application industry and since 2007 has seen an 80% increase in the number of its residents employed by digital media.

Some say the growth in New York’s tech industry is a natural result of the incredible amounts of creativity and capital found in this bustling city.

The city itself has taken huge steps to ensure that technology flourishes on the East Coast. From establishing a network of business incubators to help entrepreneurs kickstart their plans to providing affordable office space, NYC is determined to become the biggest player on the tech scene. Recently, Mayor Bloomberg extended the well-known Made In New York program that has grown the city’s television and film industry greatly to tech companies as well, encouraging tech start-ups to plant their roots in exchange for incentives such as promotion and business resources.

After the dotcom bubble burst, New York lost much of its street cred in the tech world, but this unstoppable city is quickly regaining its place at the helm of entrepreneurship. New York has become the startup leader in advertising, new media, financial technologies, and a slew of web 2.0 companies. According to the National Venture Capital Association, 247 venture capital deals worth $1.4 billion closed in New York in 2009, despite the recession and rocky market. Huge technology leaders like Google and Facebook opened New York offices with sizeable staffs and resources – more than just satellite branches for their main Silicon Valley digs.

Entrepreneurs and investors alike are putting their faith and their dollars into the New York tech scene. Looks like there’s a new leader in town.

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BU SI N E S S | T IP S

NEVER USE THESE 10 WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF

BY CHRISTINE PEREZ

How often have you been advised to perfect your elevator pitch?

Summing up all your achievements and goals into a 30 second rehearsed speech may seem like a good idea, but is it really genuine?

When it comes to resumes, we’re encouraged to use action-packed buzzwords. Even our Twitter bios hail us as gurus and mavens.

The thing is, people don’t normally introduce themselves as “highly innovative serial entrepreneurs” when meeting someone new. When asked what you do, your answer is typically simple and straightforward with embellishments provided upon request. Enough is enough. It’s time to throw out the buzzwords and stop trying so hard.

INNOVATIVE Few people or products are truly innovative. Show how you are innovative by describing your achievements.

SELF-STARTER Congratulations, you’re successfully able to motivate yourself.

Independence is no longer a standout trait in the information age.

Detail successful projects you initiated instead.

AUTHORITY Anyone can claim to be an authority on anything. Don’t just say it, prove it. Were you the keynote speaker at a conference or perhaps a sought-after commentator for fashion week? As Margaret Thatcher says, “Power is like being a lady; if you have to say you are, you aren't."

TEAM PLAYER This is one of the ultimate clichés. Working well with others is pretty much a requirement in work and in life.

CREATIVE Everyone is creative from the time they pick up their first crayon. We all have unique perspectives and ideas – the difference is how results driven your ideas are. Not to mention how uncreative it is to use this incredibly common adjective.

OPTIMIZER This new addition to overused career buzzwords is quickly gaining popularity, and therefore will not help you standout from the crowd.

MOTIVATED It’s one thing to say you’re motivated. It’s another, more appealing thing to say what motivates you and why.

SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR There are very few successful serial entrepreneurs. Unless you have several multimillion-dollar ventures, stay away from this one.

EFFECTIVE Yet another term that needs to be proven and not just stated. Facts and figures are your friends!

GURU/MAVEN/NINJA/ROCKSTAR Unless you have a black belt in social media, stay far away from these.

If you come across as bragging, potential customers and clients can be turned off.

The bottom line: sometimes it’s best to let your work speak for itself.

CU LT U R E | F OO D

THE “SKINNY” ON GOURMET FOOD RESEARCHED BY NOAH PERLIS

Brenda Laredo is an entrepreneur, mother, and wife who has always been passionate about health, good food, traveling and design. She has a natural sense for problem solving which lead her to fill a need in the weight loss food market. Skinny Gourmet Creations was a venture formed in 2011 by Brenda and her two partners, Mike and Chloe to develop manufacture, market and distribute new weight loss products based on her and her family’s personal food intolerances and needs. With over ten years of experience in the weight loss industry, Brenda had a unique perspective and vision when it came to bringing healthy food to the weight conscious consumer. Entrepreneurial spirit

helped her recognize that there was an industry gap for those needing Vegan/Vegetarian, Kosher, Halal, Dairy, Nut and Gluten-Free products, and she worked relentlessly to fill it. Her attention to detail lead her to oversee every step of the production process for all of the Skinny Gourmet Creations products. Creating the SKINNY line of products was never about making money, but about realizing the inherent value and promise of developing incredible, good tasting and healthy products that she would feel good serving to her family. Now, Brenda and her partners are on a mission to make the SKINNY food line more easily available to anyone and everyone.

Brenda needed to take a lot of risks and overcome a lot of obstacles with the development of her SKINNY weight loss product line with no guarantee for a positive reaction to her products from the health conscious consumer. However, being a risk taker, Brenda leapt at the opportunity to live her dream! The packaging concept makes Skinny Gourmet Creations a pioneer in the food industry. Instead of choosing to have

food images prominently displayed on the packaging, Brenda took a more high tech approach and used QR codes to lead the consumer to the Skinny Gourmet Creations website. This will allow the consumer to see images of the food. Taking risks and making innovative business choices comes easily to this Montreal native with Moroccan roots. Brenda believes that one of the best rewards about being an entrepreneur is being responsible for your own decisions, whether they are good or bad. In the end she has learned that when it comes to creativity and design, it’s best to just trust your instincts or else you are just wasting your time.

Brenda’s new high tech packaging concept has been met with glowing reviews at trade shows and in the media, while having distributors clamoring to put Skinny Gourmet Creations products on store shelves.

Products currently available are low calorie Skinny Veggie Burgers, three delicious flavors of energy bars, as well as a low calorie SKINNY dessert line. Meanwhile, a low calorie wine as well as shelf-stable, Mediterranean inspired meals are in the works. Skinny Gourmet Creations products are great for those who are Vegetarian/ Vegan or require a Kosher/Halal, dairy, gluten and nut free diet.

Throughout this business venture, Brenda’s family has been her greatest support and inspiration.

Her parents’ Moroccan background lead Brenda to recognize and appreciate the growing trend for Mediterranean inspired foods. This is most evident in her developing shelf stable line; which has dishes such as Moroccan Meatballs and Mediterranean Rotini.

Hers and her husband’s struggles with a low tolerance for gluten inspired the creation of many healthy gluten free options for her SKINNY weight loss line as well.

Brenda wakes up every morning with the passion and the inspiration to educate as many people as possible about how they can eat healthy delicious food, while losing weight at the same time. She understands that the goal of every brand is to create consumer commitment to the company’s vision. She feels confident that the brand’s mission is already established but realizes that it’s a continual process of making Skinny Gourmet Creations a household name that defines our current direction. Brenda knows that she still has some difficult challenges to come but as long as she continues to think outside of the box and work along side other amazing people she will continue to add products to her SKINNY weight loss product line while making people healthier and happier at the same time.

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CU LT U R E | T RE N D S

10

Subscription Boxes You Can’t Live Without

BY YILLA CHEN

What could be better than trying out the most exclusive new trends without even leaving your house? Convenience has been taken to the next level with the rise of the subscription box phenomenon. It’s such an ingenious idea being quickly adapted by a great number of industries. What most box notions revolve around is the ease of having products delivered right to your home with insider reviews and a new concept every month. Not only do they drastically cut prices down for the consumer, they also open doors for those who are more inclined to try before they buy. With your options on the rise, Raine has done the digging for you: check out the ten must-have subscription boxes for all aspects of your trendy life!

IPSY Co-founded by makeup guru Michelle Phan, Ipsy is a community that offers women the chance to test sample-size beauty products from cult brands like Urban Decay, Benefit, and Nyx. Take a short customized quiz with questions about your skin type and style and let the Ipsy stylists (all YouTube-made-famous specialists) work their magic! The team will create a personalized GlamBag stuffed with the month’s most coveted theme pieces, like July’s ‘Beach Beauty’ bag, in addition to samples of must-have products designed to meet your specific needs and style. ($10/month + free shipping) NATUREBOX An alternative to unhealthy snacks, Naturebox offers carefully sourced healthy foods for $19.95. Goodies inside this month’s box include their “Tuscan Summer Mix” of Italian-spiced seed, nut and dried fruit or their delicious mango almond crispy rice squares. Teamed up with WhyHunger, Naturebox donates a portion of its proceeds to offer healthier alternative to the impoverished and hungry as well as being emergency food providers and summer meal program contributors.

Each month a new “Discovery Box” arrives at your door, but feel free to pause your subscription if need be. ($19.95/month + free shipping) FAIR IVY An artisanal dream, Fair Ivy sensibly selects handmade gifts for women every month. With the support of small local businesses, each box is packed with two to four crafted goods fit for personal relaxation or for gifting. Gifts range from scrubs, bath salts, sterling silver jewelry, accessories and even gourmet foods. Some past surprises enclosed were freshwater pearl necklaces, ocean salt soaps and lavender bath salts. Definitely a must-have for those who seek excellent workmanship and organic products. (starts at $25/month + shipping fee)

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BESPOKE POST A truly hard-hitting success, Bespoke Post is a men’s lifestyle subscription that features hand-picked innovative themed boxes urging men to dabble in new interests. Unlike the previous two boxes, Bespoke’s boxes are uniformed for every client. If that month’s box does not appeal, then skip the subscription and wait for the next month; if there are past boxes available then by all means, make them yours. One of their earlier packages “Agave” presented a Japaneseinspired cocktail mixology set: a Boston shaker, a round ice ball tray, a cocktail juicer, a julep strainer, a jigger and two classic Don Julio cocktails glasses. Join the club fellas, or miss your chance at suave boxes like “Shaved” which offered a Fine Badger shaving brush, chrome brush stands and the works. ($45/month + $3.99 tax + free shipping)

IPSY PAWALLA Treats aren’t only for people; Pawalla is a box made for your furry friends! The Pawalla boxes come in mini and deluxe boxes handpicked by a pet nutritionist and filled with organic treats and toys.

Every Pawalla customer fills out a pet profile which then matches goods that are fit for your pet’s age and size. Deluxe boxes come with wet foods, vitamins and pet essentials like towelettes or puppy wipes from premium and boutique manufacturers like Bellrock Growers and Wigzi. Their health and happiness will thank you tenfold. (starts at $20/month + free shipping) GLOSSYBOX A beauty box, Glossybox showcases five to six luxury samplesized beauty supplies in each package. Also a concept box, it has a theme within each months especially selected items like July’s “homage to the deep blue” cerulean themed box. Up to a $75 value per box, clients have received intensive-action serums, BB matte

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creams and hair masques in the past. Clients are also able to rate the products that were given either as a must-have or a dud. A beauty profile is asked and customer service is always available. ($21/month + tax + free shipping) STITCHFIX StitchFix is like a team of portable stylists sending clothing and accessories straight to your closet. Using an extensive and detailed questionnaire that pinpoints your current go-to, measurements and price ranges, StitchFix stylists choose five cut-to-order clothes and accessories for you to try. Each comes with a little card suggesting outfit ideas, but if it’s not to your liking returns are always accepted. You pay for the noteworthy pieces which are charged separately from their styling fee, and keep a professional-approved beauty. Also note that when filling out your profile be accurate in your measurements for some pieces are limited edition which means exchanges aren’t always possible. ($20/month stylist fee + variable apparel prices + free shipping)

BESPOKE POST

CRAFT COFFEE Bombarded by the craziness of work, social life and perhaps school, everyone needs a little escape from the blare of smart phone screens and laptops. Something as simple as a fantastic cup of coffee can perk someone’s day: maybe it’s the caffeine talking. But don’t be mistaken this isn’t just a luxury cup of Joe to enjoy in weekends on your days off; these are coffee beans that you’ll have to have every day. The beans come from artisanal roasters with varieties like Bourbon or Typica. Each month three new varieties of coffee arrive on your doorstep from notable roasters like Toby’s Estate, The Art of Joe or Four Barrell. Grab a mug, you’ll love the roast. ($19.99/month + free shipping) TURNTABLE KITCHEN For the music and food connoisseurs, Turntable Kitchen boxes open up ideas and inspiration for everyone’s inner cook. Each box comes with a 7-inch vinyl single, a downloadable mix tape, one to two premium dried ingredients, a collection of seasoned recipes, notes on pairing, tastings and occasionally a treat from sponsors and giveaways. Work with your hands and create original recipes while enjoying one of Turntable Kitchen’s favorite bands and artists. Eventually you’d build a pretty vast mini vinyl collection. ($25/month + tax) SEASONS BOX Environmentally-conscious is the bee’s knees if this package comes to your door monthly. With the highest standards in quality control Seasons Box compiles three to five full-sized, seasonal products for your “home, body and spirit”. Indulge in luxuriousness like the past produces hand-woven Kitira Boutique scarves, organic eucalyptus and rosemary bath bombs in the winter or earth sugar scrubs and rose water during the summer. It’s a spa month, so delight yourself. ($34.90/month + free shipping)

STITCH FIX

TURNABLE KITCHEN

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Charleston Place

evokes the feeling of a grand, 17th century residence: from its lush personal suites to the Italian marble lobby, signature Georgian Open Arm staircase and 12-feet crystal chandelier. The staff of Charleston Place is dedicated to indulging its guests with the finest in Southern hospitality. Guests can enjoy the hotel’s full service European-style spa and horizon-edge swimming pool with retractable glass roof. Charleston Place is in the center, surrounded by historic homes and buildings, and within strolling distance of the city’s delightful shops, galleries and restaurants.

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Statue of horses located at the entrance of Charleston Place hotel.

Pan Seared Foie Gras with Candied Kumquats at the Charleston Grill

Indoor/Outdoor horizon-edged swimming pool at the Spa at Charleston Place.; Dinner at the Charleston Grill

Bedroom of a One Bedroom Suite.

This Suite is generously allocated with approximately 800 square feet.

Charleston Place lobby and grand staircase.

All photos by Joe Vaughn

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Bordeaux Bargains for the Wine Tourist

BY BARNEY LEHRER AND JESSE NASH PHOTOS BY J.NASH

When wine lovers think about Bordeaux the first thought is often “the best wine in the world.” The second thought is “too bad that I can’t afford them.” But there is no need to skip the Bordeaux region because of cost: not all good Bordeaux wines have crazy prices. Sure, a bottle of vintage Lafitte-Rothschild or Château Assuone can cost you a few months’ pay, but keep in mind that there are more than 6000 wineries in the Bordeaux region. And many of these chateaus make excellent wines that can cost as little as $15 or $20.

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LA TUPINA

BAR A VIN

Where to Stay

Where to CHILL

Naturally there are some superb luxury-resorts throughout the region that are satisfactory. As we speak there are some Chinese tycoons who are building upscale wine resorts with golf courses and other amenities particularly for their wealthy clientele. Nonetheless, there are many moderatepriced hotels with prices ranging from about €80 to €150 per night. A particularly wonderful place is Château Beau Jardin (www.chateaubeaujardin. com): a beautiful boutique hotel and gourmet restaurant in the northern Médoc run by English/ South African Michelle and her husband, Jean, a French award–winning chef who trained in Lyon. Additionally, Many winemakers are renting out rooms in their homes or châteaux at very reasonable prices.

As for the wine, the first stop on any wine lover’s pilgrimage to Bordeaux should be at Bar à Vin (baravin.bordeaux.com) run by Le Conseil interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB), or the Bordeaux Wine Council. It is a beautiful place in the center of the city with an extensive wine-bythe-glass wine list from all parts of the Bordeaux region. The list of 30+ wines changes frequently, as it’s the obligation of the Council to benefit all 6000 winemakers! There is a good selection of wines: sparkling, whites, rosés and reds primarily from Bordeaux. And the prices! From €2.50 to €8 per glass! I drank a refreshing crément (€3), and two more than impressive Médoc reds – Château de la Pez (€6) and St. Hilaire (€3).

Or you can do what I did on a recent trip and use AirBNB (www.airbnb.com), which is a way of staying in people’s houses (often with a family). I stayed in a clean and cozy room in David’s home. A former banker, David gave up the secure corporate lifestyle to open a wine bar, Le verre Ô vin (www. bar-a-vin-bordeaux.com) in the heart of the “Place Bordeaux,” the historical neighborhood where most of the famous wine brokers (negociants) have had their offices. Unfortunately I was there on a Monday night, when the bar was closed. Maybe next time!

If you really do want a taste of the “big boys” without paying for a whole bottle, it is a 5 minute walk from the Bar à Vin to Max Bordeaux (maxbordeaux.com), nicknamed a “super wine bar” in the center of Bordeaux city. Here for a relatively low price you can sample all of the top wines from Bordeaux. As their website states, “MAX BORDEAUX is more than just another wine boutique, it is the only place in the world you can taste the 48 best Bordeaux grands crus by glass!”

AMAT

Where to Eat Bordeaux offers a impressive number of wonderful restaurants. If you’re looking for great Michelin stars at reasonable rates, go to Le Pavillon des Boulevards (lepavillondesboulevards.fr), or Jean-Marie Amat, an ornate converted château right next to the ring road highway at the Aquitaine bridge in Lormont (jm-amat.com). Both these restaurants serve extraordinary food for a relatively low price of €30 to €40 for lunch.

Slightly lower on the price scale, but an important and unique culinary destination is La Tupina (latupina.com), the most famous provider

LA TUPINA FIREPLACE

of hearty “Southwest Cooking,” whose staples are “fatty duck” (La Tupina’s motto: “Tout se mange dans le canard” or “All can be eaten in a duck”), fish from the Gironde estuary, and game (“Le Sud-Ouest est le pays de la chasse” or The Southwest is the land of hunting”).

In addition to the pizza and kebab joints that grace almost every corner, there are wonderful native cuisine restaurants at sensible prices. If you are looking for a satisfying and cheap meal, take a stroll on Rue Saint- Rémi (cityvox.fr/restaurants_bordeaux/rue-saint-remi/ Rue), where there are various moderately-price bistros as well as Asian, kebab and pizza places.

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PASSIONE IN PIEMONTE

BY BARNEY LEHRER AND JESSE NASH PHOTOS BY J.NASH

BAROLO

Passione is a word constantly used in the chateaus and restaurants of Italy: it is passion to produce the best wines and meals imaginable, and sparing no effort in achieving this lofty goal. The wine and food of Piedmont, northern Italy are products of a very long tradition.

We heard the word everywhere on our recent food and wine visit of discovery in Piemonte (Piedmont), for the people we met were eager to share that passione with us.

On our recent visit we were honored to be guests of some of the regions top winemakers and restaurateurs. Piedmont’s Langhe district, a two hour trip from Milan’s Malpensa airport, is famous for its complex Nebbiolo-based Barolo and Barbaresco wines, and its fruity Barbera and Dolcetto wines. The Langhe hills also have some of the most stunning landscape anywhere, with sweeping hills topped by medieval castles and villages as well as some of the most avid enologi and chefs on the planet.

We arrived at La Cascina del Monastero (www. cascinadelmonastero.it) a winery and “agriturismo” (farm B&B) owned by Giuseppe and Velda Grasso in the small picturesque wine village of La Morra. Indeed, Pope Pius VII, (who crowned Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor in 1803) declared after a stop at the Cascina Luciani (now La Cascina del Monastero), “Oh La Morra! A place with a beautiful sky and good wine.” Giuseppe and Velda have transformed the property into a small contemporary rustic hotel with what is probably the best breakfast in Italy. Velda spares no effort in her desire to make each guest feel at home with her passione for baking and finding the best cheeses and meats to serve her guests.

And, of course, Giuseppe’s wines are made with passione (4 stars in Decanter for the 2005 Barolo and 90 points from Robert Parker for the 2003 Barolo).

The town of Barolo itself is a beautiful medieval village crowned by a spectacular castle, which is now the Barolo Wine Museum (aka WIMU - www.wimubarolo.it). The Museum is also a work of passione, created by architect François Confino (www. confino.com), whose life passions are wine, food, art, movies, fast

cars and religion. The subsequent museum presents an engaging panorama on the impact of wine on Confino’s passions, including a projection of Bela Lugosi’s famous scene in Dracula when he pours his guest a glass of wine and says, “I don’t drrrrink... wine”. A “Divine Room” is nearby where the visitor walks in to bartend for Indian and Chinese guests as well as ancient Greek gods and Jesus, who stands by the bar near a half- finished glass of wine and a dice game.

Closer is a “talking kitchen,” where a traditional and a modern chef have a fervent dialogue about their diverse approaches to cooking.

WIMU’s building used to be the home of Juliette Colbert (aka La Marchesa di Barolo), a French aristocrat (great grand-daughter of Louis XIV’s finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert), whose family managed to escape the French Revolution by migrating to Italy when she was an infant. She married Marquis Carlo Tancredi Falletti di Barolo, whose family had lived in the palace since the 13th century.

Among her passions was the wine of the Barolo region. When she first lived in Barolo the wines were not up to the standard that she considered their potential. She learned that a neighboring castle owner, Camillo Benso di Cavour, hired a French oenologist, Louis Oudart, to modernize the production of wine so it would age long in the bottle and develop tremendous depth of flavor. The Marchesa adopted Oudart’s techniques and became the first large producer of Barolo wines. Indeed, it is said that the name for the wine did not come from the village but rather from the Marchesa. Because of this and the Marchesa’s network of royal friends, Barolo became the favorite wine of Italian royalty, earning the nickname “King of wine, wine of Kings.”

Wine tasting in the Langhe Hills is one of the area’s main attractions. You can indulge your passione for wine for hours in the cellars of the region. Each winemaker insists their passione is reflected in their winemaking. It echoes their passion about the region, passion about the Nebbiolo grape, passion about the traditions of winemakers in Langhe. The star (and most expensive) wine of Piedmont (and some would say in all of Italy) is Barolo. Made

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exclusively from the region’s Nebbiolo grapes, a classic Barolo is a rich, highly structured wine that is also a bit difficult to appreciate at first. The Nebbiolo grape is sweet, tannic and rich. One has to wait at least three or four hours after opening a bottle so that the tannins recede and the richness fully appears.

We had the privilege of visiting five wineries, set up by the Strada del Barolo, each of whom makes fantastic wines. This gave us a way of contrasting the larger producers (Ceretto www. ceretto.com/ Salvano www.salvano.com) with the smaller ones (Borgogno Francesco www.cantinaborgogno.com/ Le Strette www. lestrette.com/ Anselma Giacomo www.anselmaitalia. com/ Castello di Verduno www.castellodiverduno.com/ Dosio www.dosiovigneti. com). Our impressions were that the smaller houses produce more personal and subtle wines. The larger ones produce sturdy and still magnificent wines. We were very aware that the smaller winemakers consider themselves to be simple farmers. Many also raise olives, hazelnuts and other crops and make olive oils and foods, oils and drinks using hazelnuts and fruits.

After wine the most sought-after product of this region is the white truffle. Claudio Borgogno, the winemaker at Borgogno Francesco, is also a truffle hunter along with his two white dogs. We were lucky to taste his wonderful wine the morning after he and his dogs brought back a haul of white truffles from the nearby woods.

And what an amazing aroma they had!!

Since we were in Piedmont during mushroom season many of the restaurants we visited offered an amazing display of a mushroom varieties supplied by local mushroom hunters. We ate in four outstanding restaurants in the region: CERETTO TASTING ROOM

La Cantinetta in Barolo (Via Roma, 33, Barolo, Italy – www.bit.ly/ y5Belv) has been serving the same formula since 1995. A series of antipasti followed by their signature pasta, raviolone wrapped around an egg yolk and topped with a few truffle flakes. Meat dishes such as beef and rabbit in a Barolo sauce follow the pasta. Everything is fresh and tasty. As for the wines (from the website Barolo di Barolo www.bit.ly/y5Belv), it’s obvious as soon as one enters that La Cantinetta is a temple to Bacchus& Co., with shelves filled with a magnificent array of large bottles of Barolo, Barbera and Dolcetto d’Alba. Osteria La Libera (Via Elvio Pertinace, 24/A, Alba, Italy www. lalibera.com) is a modern, stylish restaurant in the center of Alba, the “White Truffle Capital of the World!” Owned by the charming Flavia Boffa, a prize-winning sommelier who is also the first woman to be appointed as a truffle judge in the annual White Truffle Competition in Alba, the restaurant has become a centerpiece for anybody visiting Alba, especially in Truffle season! Chef Massimo Corso (whose waitress wife is the only English speaker in the place) is passionate about his menu of traditional and delicious Piemonte dishes in a sleek, modern style that complements the restaurant’s décor. Don’t miss the Carne cruda battuta al coltello (veal tatare –a local staple of the freshest veal meat served raw), the handmade raviolis, and the pigeon and white truffles if you want to treat yourself.

Italian families are renowned for clannishly sticking together and conquering their worlds. In 1998 the three brothers, Alessandro, Massimo and Tiziano Della Ferrera, fulfilled their (and their mothers) dream of working together in a restaurant close to their birthplace. After restaurant careers overseas, they returned to their home in Barolo wine country to open Trattorria La Coccinella

SALVANO WINES

RISOTTO ANND FOI GRAS CHOCOLATE (Via Provinciale 5, Serravalle Langhe, Italy www.trattoriacoccinella. com). They wanted to devote themselves to their passions, the wines and dishes of their native Langhe region. The three brothers are a remarkable team. Alessandro and Tiziano work the front of the house, warmly welcoming guests and taking orders. Massimo is the genius of the family. He has mastered and then added his unique innovations to traditional recipes from the Langhe area. Every season there is a new menu created around the best local products. During the mushroom season, of course, most dishes have some kind of mushroom component. But what mushrooms! Massimo is in love with his mushrooms. At lunch he served us (among other things) Giardiniera with Chicken and Black Truffles, Carne Cru with Ovuli Mushrooms, Mille-Feuille with porcini mushrooms, Onions stuffed with Capocollo, Butter Pumpkin Ravioli and many more surprises.

La Ciau del Tornavento (Piazza Baracco, Treiso, Italy – www.laciaudeltornavento.it) is one of the culinary wonders of the world. Located in Treiso, a mountaintop village in the midst of Barolo Nebbiolo vineyards, the dining room offers spectacular views of the scenery from every table in addition to a large terrace.

The chef, Maurillo Garola participates in all parts of service, from cooking (rare in many Michelin star restaurants such as this!) to

greeting each guest and even serving the dishes and the cheeses.

There is an ongoing dialogue throughout the meal with him and the waiters about the preparation and ingredients on each dish. One sees the love and passione that goes into creating dishes based on local traditional Piemonte recipes but amplified by a vivid imagination and elegant presentation. The dining room was dominated by a spectacular display of the local mushrooms. Among other delicious items, our mushroom dishes included porcini mushroom soup with the blanc de blanc wine and sweetbreads with marsala wine porcini mushrooms and peaches. Other dishes included Risotto and fois gras chocolate and cow cheeks braised in Barolo wine cooked for 5 hours with vegetables and grilled semolina and sugar. Since it was the start of the famous white truffle season, the chef was offering a special truffle dish served in a wooden box (to preserve the aromas).

And the wine cellar! More than 60,000 bottles from more than 450 producers are displayed in racks on tables and even in “wine arches” on the ceiling. The selection includes the best Barolos and other Piemonte wines, as well as some of the top French labels.

Our time in Piedmont confirmed beyond any doubt that this is truly a region of wonderful wine, delicious food and spectacular surroundings, indeed, filled with passione.

I N TER N AT I O NA L | FA S H ION TO L IVE FOR

BOOTS SAY IT ALL THIS FALL! Styling by Anthony Bermudez Hair & Makeup by Taryll Atkins Model Olivia Guan (mega Models Miami) Photography by Bryan Benoit Black shirt available at Pokovich.com Leather pants available @ Lilac And Lilies.com Black leather boots by BCBG 92

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Silky blouse with gold pockets and leather skirt with studs available @ Boca Leche.com Black booties available @ Aldo

Sparkly shorts and lace top available @ Boca Leche.com Black dot stockings available @ H&M

Black dress by Ark & Co. available @ Lilac And Lilies. com Black lace booties available @ Aldo

I N TER N AT I O NA L | FA S H ION TO L IVE FOR

DRESS YOUR

ATTITUDE, NOT YOUR AGE

BY MARILYN R. WILSON

Fashion is hands-down a tough industry and there is no greater measure of success than longevity. With 28 years in the business, a proposal to design for the overseas market currently under consideration and two unique collections offering a wide range of looks, designer RozeMerie Cuevas is definitely one of the elite. From her younger, edgier JAC line which has been garnering international attention to the Jacqueline Conoir label offering European panache, this designer makes dressing stylish, effortless and oh so desirable.

Fashion Design was something Cuevas fell into. Dad was old-fashioned and wanted his daughter to have a “real career,” so after high school it was off to study Economics and Commerce. A self-taught sewer, she enjoyed creating looks for herself and friends in spare moments. When a cousin suggested participating in a mini-fashion show with a few established designers, it took a bit of persuading. Serious doubt didn’t set in until she arrived at the venue.

“Everyone came in with their rolling racks and nice garment bags. I came with my clothes in garbage bags.” The nerves didn’t calm until after the show when she overheard positive comments. That moment was life-changing.

Cuevas soon found herself ensconced in the fashion design program at ESMODE in Paris. She made a point to immerse herself in the French language and slowly became comfortable conversing with locals. At school the environment was extremely competitive and stressful. Of the 376 students who entered that year, only 75 graduated. Cuevas not only met the challenge, but completed the three year program in two. Paris also lived up to it’s reputation as “The City of Love.” When the designer returned to Vancouver, it was with the man who was to become her husband and business partner by her side.

The couple had just enough money to open the door on their first shop. The store front offered a small boutique space and the back held a little Atelier. It was 1985 and the Canadian view on designers was that anyone of merit was from Europe. Local designers were considered nothing more than home sewers. The media offered little support. Days began at seven in the morning and didn’t end until midnight. “It was very difficult. We struggled and struggled and ate

pasta with butter for five years. At the time I didn’t think it was that tough, though, because it was my passion. Passion, focus, determination and loving what I was doing were basically what kept us going.”

Slowly the tide turned. Cuevas’ take on women’s suiting in particular set her apart. She dared to offer women options other than copies of traditional mens business wear. Unique feminine detailing and more interesting palette choices were right on the mark for the strong, independent women entering the corporate work force ready to defy industry stereotypes. As the brand’s client base expanded, the company worked hard to create an intimate experience that built a family-like bond with customers through the addition of personal stylists and small, in-store events.

The company now has its headquarters in a two story building with a classy, white-on-white boutique on the ground level and workspace on the second. You can wander in to browse or book private time with a stylist. They are there not only to help you select the best looks but to also challenge you. “We try to push our client’s comfort level so that they don’t go five seasons without getting into the trends. They are encouraged to try at least one new trend each season.

That’s how we help keep their wardrobes up to date.”

Most develop a personal relationship with one stylist who they trust to steer them in the right direction.

Each season a pre-book evening is held in the boutique offering a fashion show presenting next season’s looks and a chance to pre-book garments of interest. Many of the most popular looks sell out before they ever arrive in store. Regular opportunities are offered to come into the boutique and network with other women such as Saturday and Thursday night style sessions. The designer also makes time in her busy schedule to give back to the community through charity events and mentoring upcoming talent.

Cuevas heads overseas regularly to absorb diverse cultural influences and locate the perfect European fabrics. Travels this year also provided the inspiration for both collections. Casual Meets Cool defines the JAC collection for Fall/Winter 2013.

Inspired by travels to Florence, Paris and Asia, this collection offers international flair for the woman of the world. “The concept is to layer as you need it and the entire collection works together to create a multitude of urban, casual looks. The palette is muted and soft, reflecting a ‘go anywhere attitude.’” Must haves from JAC include the denim shirt dress, the “go anywhere” poncho shawl and the geometric leggings.

Jacqueline Conoir Fall/Winter 2013 – called Forward With Elegance – “...is based on the runways of Paris, Florence and Shanghai. There is a strong statement of power in its simplicity that reflects the success and power of the woman who wears it.” Silks and crepes are layered with blended stiffer fabrics to create volume and the palette is “black is back” with a splash of sophisticated accent colors including pewter, gold, mushroom, indigo and more.

Must haves from this collection include an over-sized, voluminous coat and the basic transparent turtleneck for layering.

RozeMerie Cuevas offers her diverse clientèle simple and straight forward advice. Try at least one new trend each season outside your comfort zone and work closely with a stylist as they know your needs and your budget. But perhaps what her client’s love most is her advice to, “Dress for your attitude, not your age!” To learn more or shop the current season online, go to www.jcstudios.ca RAINE MAGAZINE - VOLUME 17

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Creative Director | Production Design: Vladimir Markovich Campaign Photography: Pongsakorn YananissornHair Make up: Marc Riese, La Biosthetique Canada Artistic Team Models: Ania (Key Model Management), Chloe (Charles Stuart Int’l Models), Julia (Next Models) Wardrobe Coordinator: Gian Carlo Umahon

I N T ER N AT I ON A L | FA S H ION TO LIVE FOR

ERIC EADEN MYLES AMPONG, founder and president of the Eaden Myles Company, is on a mission to develop a global brand in men’s fashion that radiates quality and enhances the male structure exhibiting the best fit, feel, and look. He lists his country, Ghana, as one of his main inspirations, especially when he contemplates different means of infusing colors into his designs.

Established in Toronto, Canada on March 2012, Eaden Myles has expanded to Ghana and will be launching in the USA by the end of 2013.

Eaden Myles Menswear, known for avant-garde menswear, flawlessly combines European tailoring with African patterns: manufacturing prêt-à-porter suits and customized suits, shirts, blazers and trousers. This spring, the line has added African-inspired textiles to its blazers and tuxedos. Eaden Myles aims to produce a generation of stylish, confident men: one gent at a time.

The line prides itself in the usage of upscale fabrics and fixtures in every piece produced. Luxury is always on the forefront of Eric Eaden Myles’ mind when branding and designing his unique collections.

Eaden Myles Company prides itself in offering the highest level of customer service to its customer by presenting high fashion quality designs for men. The designer is invested in providing clients with a product that they will be proud to wear, and command others to notice.

Liz Ogumbo by Sean Jackman

Africa Fashion Week, created by Adirée, celebrated its summer showcase in New York City’s Financial District. Hosting three press conference days and runway shows, Adiree was able to showcase 16 international designers from the African Diaspora. With this years theme of “The Pattern of Sustainable Luxury”, AFWNY introduced New York to luxurious designers with lines that were profitable, sustainable, and eco-friendly.

This communications and branding firm is focused on fashion, home decor and beauty. With the motto “Luxury Brands Focused Globally”, Africa Fashion Week introduces New Yorkers to talented experimental designers. After receiving an official proclamation from Mayor Bloomberg in its first year (2010) in producing Africa Fashion Week in New York City, this event has blossomed into a platform for artists from Africa to be featured in internationally acclaimed publications.

Africa Fashion Week New York focuses on re-branding Africa as a destination for luxury brands, and has taken exclusive brands and placed them on nationally esteemed and recognizable stages. Sixteen handpicked designers are showcased at the event representing African countries such as Morocco, Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, and the diaspora. Some lines include Eaden Myles, Liz Ogumbo, Farai Simoyi, Sana Redwani, Anthonia Raymond, and Reuben Reuel. This event provides a platform for talented designers from the African diaspora to display their designs, promote their brands, and raise their visibility on a global fashion stage.

Demestiks by Sean Jackman

-Eaden Myles

Liz Ogumbo by Sean Jackman

“My passion & excitement comes to life every time I get to work with one of my clients, by assisting them with their custom designs.”

Sana Redwari by Robert Cooper

A F R I C A BRINGS HAUTE TO NEW YORK

LIZ OGUMBO

Eaden Myles by Robert Cooper

Liz Ogumbos designs exemplify modern, fashion-savvy women.

Her bold, elegant and timeless pieces embrace feminine physiques with sleek cuts, simplistic provocative style and rich fabric interior. Liz mixes edgy silhouettes with bright colors, metallic with rich, stunning fabrics topped with full coquettish mini skirts that bring a whimsical touch to these sophisticated pieces.

Her line incorporates an eclectic variety of traditional garb like the mélange of the sari or the wise sayings of the Leso amongst other African prints. As a result, she delivers beautiful fabrics, prints, colors and textures ready to grace high fashion global runways. All the proceeds from her collection, showcased at Africa Fashion Week New York 2013, are being used to support women in Africa to start their own small businesses and to help to lower the level of poverty around Africa.

FARAI SIMOYI Akin to Zimbabwean parents, Farai Simoyi was born in London and lived in Harare, Zimbabwe. She got her first taste of textiles and fashion when she was five years old from her aunt’s lingerie company. Farai Simoyi is a designer label that caters to the trend setting and sophisticated woman. The clientele it aims to reach are young fashion-forward women who are worldly thinkers and are aware of global issues that are changing the fashion, music, and film industries among many others. No stranger to the eclectic style of the New York City fashion scene, Farai encompasses fresh, edgy looks that contains trend-setting diversity for every season. Farai’s line contains color-blocked dresses, watercolor floral prints, and asymmetrical lines. Her brand is defined by the spirit of Woman, Warrior, Wayward Traveler.

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Eaden Myles by Sean Jackman

Sana Redwari by Robert Cooper

Eaden Myles by Sean Jackman

DE VELASCO GALLERY BY SANA REDWANI Having studied in Casablanca and Montreal, Sana Redwani emerges in a neo-Moroccan generation. Sana explores the juxtaposing ideas of contemporary design with Moroccan tradition in her creations. Inspired by her spiritual grandfather, Adolfo de Velasco, Sana Redwani is the owner and designer of the “De Velasco Gallery”, a progressive brand that dares to make traditions new like modernizing the Moroccan “Caftan”.

Participating in a number of national shows, such as Mode Made in Morocco and Fashion Days in Marrakech, Sana has tasted success within the fashion industry. Her line fuses dusty violets and creams with sleek blacks. The lively colors are her favorite as well as impeccable detail and layering, which add intriguing volume.

MS. RAY COUTURE BY ANTHONIA RAYMOND 23-year old daughter of the late Mr. Raymond, Anthonia Raymond founded Ms. Ray Couture a year ago. After being crowned as Miss Africa Netherlands 2012, she devoted her energy towards designing. Inspired by her birth country Africa and her European lifestyle, intricate African prints interweaved with European style became the focal point of her designs. This mesmerizing line is full of pristine whites with regal gold accents. Long, flowing silhouettes are complimented by billowing sleeves and sheer skirts. These pieces are truly worthy of an African queen. Ms. Ray Couture is all about allowing women to appreciate their body by making simple, classy and memorable outfits for women.

DE-MES’TIKS NYC BY REUBEN REUEL Launched in 2010, De-Mes’Tiks NYC by Reuben Reuel was a New York-based womens wear label sold exclusively on edressme.com. Creative director and founder Reuben Reuel is dedicated to providing contemporary, classic designs with a hint of vintage flair. Reuel got his stylish start as a samples maker and design assistant for several design companies. He established his own line inspired by Africas sartorial history. The full skirts and sleeves are bright earthy toned patterns with plenty of sass.

The aesthetic of the label is its creative fabrics. Adhering to this year’s AFWNY theme “The Pattern of Sustainable Luxury”, DeMes’Tiks’ initiative is to support domestic commerce, and local sourcing in an effort to help preserve the Garment District. A large percentage of fabrics, trims, and notions used for his designs are found right in New York City.

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