The Roots Soul Spirit Issue '20

THE ROOTS SOUL SPIRIT ISSUE

The Art Of Wearing

Emerald Green Silk Deju Photographed by @theginstarp Styled by @isaintlu.co for @lucostudiong Model @officialglitzz @litmodelsng Makeup @jogis_artistry Accessories @zeriluxury

Emerald Green Silk Deju Photographed by @theginstarp Styled by @isaintlu.co for @lucostudiong Model @officialglitzz @litmodelsng Makeup @jogis_artistry Accessories @zeriluxury

The Art Of Wearing

The Art Of Wearing

Emerald Green Silk Deju Photographed by @theginstarp Styled by @isaintlu.co for @lucostudiong Model @officialglitzz @litmodelsng Makeup @jogis_artistry Accessories @zeriluxury

Transform To Transcend

Who Are You?

Dear Reader,

Welcome to our “Roots Soul Spirit” issue! When you think of “roots,” what comes to mind? Maybe you’re envisioning the strong, deep roots of your family tree. Or perhaps you’re imagining the small, tender roots of a fresh seedling as you plant yourself somewhere new. Whether your life is rooted in your culture and traditions or you’re creating new roots all your own, every person has a right to feed who they are deep down in their soul.

After all, the passions we carry inside are what fuel us to create, to make change, to follow our own paths—conventionality

be damned. Those who are not true to their soul or have yet to discover their soul’s identity often feel lost and unfulfilled. Socrates taught that self-examination can lead to self-fulfillment. Having purpose and self-actualization of that purpose is the top tier of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Even Stephen Covey says we must find our “yes,” that passion we follow above all others. Brilliant minds throughout history have continued to encourage people to find their true soul.

But that’s not enough. Now we must take what’s in our souls and show it to the world through our spirit. A spirit of joy can uplift others. A spirit of cooperation can fuel innovation. A spirit of generosity can inspire others to follow suit. Our spirit is the face we show to the world and it comes across in the actions we take.

In this issue, we are exploring the Roots, Soul, and Spirit of our Rare gems. In our featurette on Karlic Tartufi, we explore the figurative and literal roots of truffle hunting in Croatia. We put a spotlight on people like Frankie Tavares, a plus-size model and Instagram influencer who marches to the beat of her own drum and helps readers and followers embody her spirit in her line of Frankie’s Tees. We even look at how rituals in witchcraft lead to a reconnection with the roots of other traditions.

It’s times like these when we should reflect on our traditions, our beliefs, our actions in order to root ourselves in a place we feel at home, discover who we are in our true souls, and decide how we will share the spirit of our personality with the world. Enjoy!

Gilbert Asante is an Award winning Fashion & Commercial Photographer based in Ghana.

At the age of 19, a journey to the Japanese art centers became a source of inspiration for his creative drive.

Upon his return to Ghana, he developed skills in web & graphic designing. However, six years later a gradual transition into the glamorous world of fashion photography took place. Due to his high level of expertise in photography, Gilbert has managed to build a large clientele across Ghana and beyond.

A few of his collaborations include Nestle, Havas, Vodafone, Guiness, Max

Story Behind the Cover

@WENDYLARTISANE

international, New African Magazine, and several Celebrities.

Gilbert is highly involved in the creative direction of all aspects from planning to execution.

With his keen attention to detail and team of brilliant creatives, he is able to produce exceptional imagery with unexpected dramatic elements.

He is currently the Creative director of Laceup Media Ltd. a full force production house.

In this shoot he wanted to show woman as the true warriors they truly are.

Photographers Credit

Magazine

Rare Magazine is a digital and print publication curated around the undiscovered, rare talents of underrepresented creatives and entrepreneurs The magazine is available for download and print copies may be purchased on our website, The sister publications Rare Living and Rare Luxury Living (currently on special annual release) further support the important mission of Rare Magazine For more infor mation, visit us on the web: raremagazine com

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Roots Soul Spirit Issue

COME TOUVEY INTERVIEW MICHAEL DAKS Come Touvay 98 DANCING FAMILY INTERVIEW

MICHAEL DAKS

Michael Daks Interviews Tatiana de Ricard, cofounder of Dancing Family Records, marketing guru Ida Fevrier, and the label– first signing, Haroun Yamou. 110 TAYROC INTERVIEW

MICHAEL DAKS An Interview with Tayroc owner Gemma Noble

SARAH LOUISE COLE

MICHAEL DAKS

Eden Dancewear founder Sarah Louise Cole

JESUS WASN’T WHITE: HE WAS A BROWN-SKINNED, MIDDLE EASTERN JEW. HERE’S WHY THAT MATTERS ROBYN J. WHITAKER Why it matters that Jesus wasn’t white By Robyn J Withaker

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Creative Direction: Brian Esterle

Style Curation| Creative Direction: Trystanne Cunningham

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MANDY ALLEN

Home Design/ Decor Contributing Writer 05

DANIELLA SHCOEMAN Travel Editor/ Contributing Writer 06

SHERDELLAH ANUNCIADO Editorial Design Director 07 KARMA BENNETT Writer

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Photographer: Laura Tillinghast MUA: Celestine Pearl

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Style Curation| Creative Direction: Trystanne Cunningham

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Silent Night

Matt textures, layered tablescapes and whispers of earthy colour provided by nature make for a serene Christmas setting in Algria Ferreira-Watling’s Cape Town home

Ableached-out palette, raw finishes and an aesthetic that borders on the monastic are the hallmarks of this captivating home in Cape Town’s central and historic Tamboerksloof neighbourhood. What makes this sanctuary-like habitat even more remarkable – given the complete absence of bright colours or lustrous textures – is that its owner, Algria Ferreira-Watling, is one of South Africa’s most indemand make-up artists whose portfolio of clients includes Solange Knowles and Charlize Theron. It would be fair to assume that someone in the business of ‘painting faces’, as Algria refers to her artistry, would have a predilection for colour as well as materials and objects underpinned by a glamorous artifice. But Algria has always had a rebel spirit, manifesting not only in her professional signature typified by a look that is pared-down, fresh and innately edgy, but also her instinctive rejection of trends, mass consumerism and aspirational yearnings.

Various wine and cordial bottles have been filled with water and fynbos springs, then used to hold taper candles. Seen in several shots is a door garland made with fynbos and a dried protea flower that has been spray painted an antique gold. Black leather cord and gold craft wire holds the composition together while imparting shine and striking contrast to the natural shades and textures. Blue gum seed pods have been given the same treatment and are used throughout the Christmas scheme to add a bit of understated bling.

Bare walls in bone and grey hues, original wooden features that have been sanded down and left unvarnished, a limited but meaningful selection of personal effects and decorative objects displayed in thoughtful vignettes as well as low-key luxuries in the form of candles that perfume the air with notes of amber and gently worn pure linen throws culminate in a whole that is effortlessly layered and emotionally affecting. The source of Algria’s inspiration can be traced to her childhood, ‘I come from a poor background. We didn’t have material possessions,

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but there was always so much love,’ she explains. ‘I work in an industry founded largely on traditional notions of beauty and consumption, but I’ve never desired “things”. My dream was only ever to live with my family in a modest house that had a feeling of tranquillity. Why would I desire a palace when what I have is perfect?’

While Algria purposely keeps the house in a state of visual consistency throughout the year, Christmas brings with it the occasion to create a seasonal atmosphere for her husband Derek, son Dax and close friends and family – a mood that is festive while staying true to her serene aesthetic. No flashy store-bought trinkets or tinsel here, no pine or fir in the corner of the living room, and no table centrepieces composed of roses, poinsettias or hydrangeas. Instead, the

Wider view of living room. Loosely structured fynbos wreaths on the wall are made from black wire hoops (available from florist warehouses and craft shops).

Gold craft wire and hemp string have been used in their construction. A jug of flowering fynbos is displayed on an old milking stool and a string of fairy lights is left on the floor in the corner of the room.

customary tones and accoutrement are substituted by the muted greens and otherworldly forms of fynbos (indigenous shrub and heath) and woody herbs displayed as free-form wreaths, floating in repurposed clear glass bottles holding elegant taper candles, and as aromatic flourishes on gifts that have been wrapped simply

in white or brown Kraft paper and finished with twine. Traces of shimmer – this is Christmas, after all – serve to highlight rather than overwhelm and bring to mind the flash of a dragonfly wing: a fine dusting of edible copper glitter on a ‘naked’ cake; gold craft wire binding hand-made fynbos garlands left hanging from doorknobs;

dried Protea flowers and seed pods from the blue gum tree, spray-painted in antique gold; and vintage King’s Pattern cutlery, polished only slightly so as to retain the charm of its mottled patina. And instead of a tree, an agave plant with its sculptural form, given a single coating of gold spray paint and ‘planted’ in a clear glass vase filled with beach sand. ‘Things found in nature, objects that have had many lives already, the soft wrinkle in a piece of linen… this is a constant source of inspiration for me,’ says Algria. ‘Christmas calls for luxury, but there’s no right or wrong interpretation of what that means. Faded and evocative or full-on and festive, as long as what you see makes you happy’.

The monastic influence is seen throughout the space with its muted palette with an emphasis on greys and whites. The dining area, seen here, leads off a quite courtyard area.

The courtyard is the scene of the Christmas gathering. The tablescape is anchored by an oversized Russian linen tablecloth. There is no fixed centrepiece, rather clear glass wine and cordial bottles of varying sizes have been filled with water, some used to hold taper candles and others to display sprigs of fynbos. Black handmade ceramic crockery and recycled glass drinking glasses have a textural appeal, as do the rough-edged linen napkins tied with twine. Antique King’s Pattern cutlery has been lightly polished so as to retain its aged patina. Gifts are wrapped simply, in brown and white paper and finished with sprigs of fynbos and twine. Gold spray-painted seed pods do the job of adding a glamorous festive flair. The seating is a combination of monastic benches and vintage wire garden furniture, gently rusted by the elements. The whimsical garland on the wall is fynbos and found flora, lashed together with twine and gold craft wire. The entire scene is a study in serene, cool greens, greys and bone whites punctuated in dramatic fashion by roughly-textured black and barely there flashes of gold. Place a wrapped gift at each setting to emphasise the festive nature of the gathering.

My Christmas Style Tips

1. Fill clear white wine and cordial bottles with boiled or distilled water (to stop the water from clouding too soon) and place sprigs of fybos, heather or woody herbs inside. Use as holders for elegant taper candles on your tablescape or wherever you want atmospheric lighting.

2. Source fynbos and create whimsical free-form wreaths and garlands. Use gold and copper craft wire and black leather cord for contrast and a hint of shine.

This deconstructed ‘naked’ cake is made from two classic sponges (one large, one medium) that have been trimmed into circular shapes. Layer only the tops of each cake with buttercream frosting (hence the term ‘naked’) and sprinkle on a fine layer of edible glitter. Embellish with springs of fynbos or woody herbs.

The minimalist nature of the bedroom and the gentle, filtered light is a study in serenity. Gorgeous Russian bed linen and air perfumed by distinctive French home fragrance add layers of sensory luxury.

3. Spray paint is an easy way to indulge your creativity. Coat found objects from nature such as seed pods and dried flowers in antique gold and copper for an understated glow. Fynbos, spray painted black, is an edgy interpretation of the idea. Apply the same technique in creating the garlands using gold and copper craft wire.

4. Keep gift-wrapping simple and rustic. Crinkle brown Kraft paper and plain newsprint into tight balls and then spread out for use. You’ll be left with an organic, crushed linen look. Give each present its own unique treatment: experiment with white and brown twine and use fynbos – plain or spray painted – as well as spray painted seed pods as embellishment. Wrap the twine casually so as to have a more informal appearance.

5. Strings of fairy lights are a Christmas essential: left in vases, in the fireplace, draped over the mantle, around door frames or hanging from the ceiling in the corner of a room.

6. Approach a monochromatic table setting like a fashion designer focusing on layering and texture: think shades of chalk, grey, charcoal and bone; anchor the scheme with a beautiful linen tablecloth; set places with vintage silver-plated cutlery, rough-edged linen napkins tied with hemp string and handmade crockery (black adds drama); arrange a mixand-match assortment of upcycled glassware for sprigs of fynbos and candles; and add final flourish in the form of gold and copper spray painted seed pods.

7. Serve your guests a deconstructed ‘naked’ cake: make two classic sponges (one large, one medium) and trim them into circular shapes. Layer only the tops of each cake with buttercream frosting (hence the term ‘naked’) and sprinkle on a fine layer of edible glitter. Embellish with springs of fynbos or woody herbs.

8. Wrap thick pillar candles of varying sizes with gold or copper craft wire for a personalised style flourish.

The bathroom walls are made from a mix of beach sand and concrete and juxtapose with the modern stainless steel fittings. Algria’s pareddown aesthetic trickles down to the smallest details, such as toothbrushes, toiletries and body products.

Delightful Surprises and Cultivating Gratitude

PERSONALIZED GIFTING.

Delightful Surprises and Cultivating Gratitude

PERSONALIZED GIFTING.

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Art and ScienceChef Francisco Migoya and the amazing Modernist Cuisine series

Baking is definitely having a moment. It seems like everyone and their mother has taken to the oven during the pandemic. Just take a scroll through Instagram and pictures of breads and cakes infinitely fill one’s virtual screen. For amateurs and professionals alike, Chef Francisco Migoya has been one of the best innovators and teachers in this field.

From creating tasty treats at top restaurants, writing best-selling books, and teaching at The Culinary Institute of America, to his current role as the head chef at Modernist Cuisine, he has never stopped pushing the envelope. TrooRa Magazine is honored to be able to speak with the legend himself.

Wong: So Chef, we can start by talking a little bit about yourself?

Migoya: My name is Francisco Migoya. I am the head chef at Modernist Cuisine in Seattle, Washington and basically,

I’m in charge of developing all the recipes and content for the books that we publish. Our most recent published book was Modernist Bread, as you mentioned, and we have a book coming out next year, titled Modernist Pizza, which we’ve been working on for the last almost four years now. We’re winding that project down and we’re starting to work on one that I’m very excited about, which is pastry. We haven’t outlined it yet, but it’s going to take a few years.

Wong: Let’s start in the beginning, early on in your life. You have a very interesting background. How did that impact your culinary preference and approach?

Migoya: I was born in Mexico City. My father is from Spain and my mother is Italian American, and so at home, we

have many influences from all these diverse cultures. Basically, it was like a window into the world of food, where there was just a lot of it. It wasn’t like just one type of food that we ate every day. There was a lot of variety. That did have a tremendous influence just on that alone and it helps if you have parents who really love food.

Wong: And tell us about when you first started working with pastry.

Migoya: I moved to New York City in 1998. I moved there to work in restaurants because at that moment, New York City was very important gastronomically. When I moved there, I started a job working in the restaurant. It was an absolutely awful experience that made me start looking for options. There was a position open for pastry cook at a restaurant that still exists, called the River Cafe. And from day one, I’ve been doing pastry. So, that’s how I started with pastry.

Wong: And what came next?

Migoya: I was a pastry chef at the French Laundry in California. My daughter was born during that time. After she was born, I realized I hadn’t really seen her because I was working sixteen to eighteen hours a day and when I got home she was sleeping. That is what I think is very dysfunctional about the restaurant industry is that you have to pick between family and work.

For me, it was clear that I wanted to pick something where I was going to be able to be in my daughter’s life. So when the opportunity to teach at the Culinary Institute of America came to be, it was a bit of a godsend. And after eight years, I think I had reached the end of my desire to be a teacher, and so I opened a chocolate shop.

Basically, in the morning, I would go to work, I would leave at two o’clock, and I would go straight to my chocolate shop, it was called Hudson chocolates, for twenty-hour days. I was getting close to turning forty and it’s just not

the same anymore when you’re forty than when you’re twenty or thirty. You can’t work twenty-hour days.

Then, I got a phone call from a recruiter from Modernist cuisine and eventually, I started working here. Professionally, I think it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. Nathan Myhrvold is my boss. He’s an amazing, brilliant person and he provides everything that we need to write these books. We have a beautiful kitchen and we have all the equipment you can imagine. I almost feel guilty sometimes but it’s definitely been a fantastic opportunity and we’re gonna hopefully write many more books.

Wong: Yes, all the books are masterpieces. Regarding the Modernists series, each one takes a lot of care in terms of the rigorous and logical approach. Everything is investigated, measured, and documented. Do you find that very different from a normal kitchen, and does that create any challenges for you?

Migoya: No, you know, it was easier to transition into this type of kitchen than if you had to do it the other way around. Mostly because if you’re in a production environment, you

don’t have a lot of time to test stuff. There’s only so much food that can go to waste when you’re trying to develop something before it becomes too costprohibitive.

So moving here, you have the time, space, resources, and people to work on all those tests. I have two people that work in the kitchen and a food scientist. There are learning experiences and failures, but if we had to do what we do here in a restaurant environment, it just would be impossible.

That’s why a handful of restaurants have started R&D kitchens, which are separate from day-to-day operations. If you think of Noma, Fat Duck, or Mugaritz in Spain, they all have chefs that specifically work on developing new menu items and they’re given the resources to do them so that they can free up the chefs.

Wong: It certainly sounds like a very different environment. A thing I find interesting is that a lot of cooking and baking has a lot of tradition that goes with them. Everybody has their own little twist or little things that they do. The Modernist series often goes against these traditions scientifically. How do you decide which ones to investigate and to improve upon?

Migoya: When you have experience cooking, also if you have some experience with scientific knowledge; there are ways of discerning whether something is true or if it might be a myth. For example, there are a lot of mythologies around bread. Before we

understood what was happening, we thought it was almost like sorcery, right? You mix water and flour and it starts to bubble.

One of the things that we heard was people were passing down their sourdough starters from generation to generation. Or people saying, my sourdough starter is one hundred years old. That sets off an alarm to any scientist. Were the conditions the same for one hundred years that whatever micro-organisms were in there have been the same for a hundred years? Or more likely than not, the conditions have changed and that sourdough starter is not in the same spot where it was first created.

So it turns out that it doesn’t matter how old your sourdough starter is. It could be two weeks old, or it could be five hundred years old. They can both produce really good bread. And if your grandma held onto it from the old country and she came to the new country with it, it’s not the

same thing anymore. Why? Because micro-organisms adapt. If something sounds like it’s too mythical and too implausible, it really catches our attention. Then we perform a series of experiments to see whether we’re right or wrong.

Wong: That is very cool. And to you, what is a particular discovery at Modernist Kitchen that made you go “Wow, that’s really interesting, I didn’t know about it”?

Migoya: A very interesting thing that I’m still excited about is when you’re making bread, let’s say you forgot about it and you came back to an over-proofed balloon of a dough. What we discovered is that you can actually take that dough, reshape it, de-gas it, shape it again, and you can proof and ferment it again. By de-gassing it, you’re getting all that CO2 and ethanol out of the dough, making those bubbles strong again, because you

have provided new food for the yeast and lactic acid bacteria to consume. So, the dough will start to ferment again. You can do it up until ten times.

Wong: Sounds like they are very resilient!

Migoya: It’s such a resilient system, and it works better with commercial yeast. These yeast granules that you buy at the grocery store are basically a concentrated form of the same yeast that exists in sourdough. Just your sourdough starter is not as concentrated as the commercial one, but it’s the same thing. They are not poison or not as good. It’s just one is purified, concentrated, and the other one is less reliable because there’s less of it.

Wong: Are there any particular things that make you feel comforting or you know, just feel at home in general food-wise?

Migoya: For me, the perfect food is ice cream, it always has been ice cream. It’s sweet enough but it looks like more than what it is. It is just satisfying in so many ways and there’s just so many variations you can do. So I think for my ice cream and Mexican food will always be on my top list because there’s so much variety.

Wong: Just to close, tell us about a little bit what the new book is going to be planned to be about.

Migoya: We’re really thinking deeply about how we’re going to tackle this. We have to think about how we’re going to categorize everything because if we

give every important subject matter its due we’re talking about ten volumes. Frozen desserts or ice cream... that’s ten volumes in and of itself. Once we decide that, then we can get started.

I’m hoping before the end of the year we’ll be ready to start moving forward, or the beginning of the next year. Hopefully, we’ll have an outline or schematics of how to get started.

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Food during challenging timesChef

Justin Sutherland

In a tumultuous year, everyone is trying to find their bearings and move forward in the best way possible. Chef Justin Sutherland has been doing that better most, managing five restaurants and adding to his impressive TV resume while being a positive rolemodel in the community. He took time out of his insane schedule to chat with TrooRa Magazine about how he did all these things in the middle of a difficult year.

Wong : Let’s start with introducing yourself to our readers.

Sutherland : I’m Justin Sutherland, from St. Paul, Minnesota. Pre-COVID we were operating nine restaurants and unfortunately had to shut them all down and now have five back up and active. I also did a lot in the food TV space with Top Chef and Iron Chef. Just recently I got done shooting a new show that I can’t talk about yet. But there are some other fun projects on the horizon.

Wong : Great! There are a lot of changes this year, how do you handle them? For example, with COVID and Black Lives Matter going on, how do you cope with all these different challenges?

Sutherland : It’s difficult for sure. I think it’s trying to stay innovative, positive, being able to pivot as we can’t really predict the future. Everything we do right now is very much a risk, but just trying to stay ahead of it all. I think a lot of the restaurants that are kind of falling off were afraid to make changes when they needed to be made, you know? We’ll get through this pandemic but I think the dining scene has been forever changed. So, it’s really just trying to stay with that.

Wong : How did you change and how do you see that COVID impacted the restaurant industry?

Sutherland : It’s obviously affected the restaurant industry globally and locally. I think close to fifty-percent of the restaurants that are closed now will never reopen. A lot of the changes we made were on fine dining food. A lot of chefs have just been afraid of the takeout. You never know how it’s going to be delivered; you never know what the end product, when it arrives to that house, what that food is going to look like.

So, adapting to the takeout model and learning how to put as much effort as you would with somebody dining in your restaurant as you would for takeout because this is how a lot of people are eating now. Getting creative with packaging, testing to make sure that food travels well, making menus that are conducive to take out, and doing cook-at-home meals.

I’ve done a lot of box food, or box programs with raw products that can either have recipes or links to online videos where I can cook it alongside you. Other things include embracing outdoor dining, getting creative with outdoor dining spaces, and rearranging dining rooms so that

people feel comfortable in indoor spaces. Especially here in the Midwest, we dropped down to fifty-something degrees today and it’s going to continue to plummet. Soon we’ll be in the middle of winter, which is another sWong bridge that we’re gonna have to cross.

Wong : You were running nine restaurants before and now down to five. Are there any particular food directions that you are switching towards or is it a continuation of what you have done before?

Sutherland : It’s definitely changing with models and mindsets for restaurants. I’m doing a lot more with quick service and counter service. Still trying to do the same highquality food, just not necessarily in a fine dining setting. I think people are moving away from fine dining. They don’t want to sit in an enclosed space for three hours along with the personal contact or tableside touches that come along with it. We are getting to a point where there’s less human interaction, unfortunately.

Wong : Now you’re involved heavily in management. Obviously, there are a lot of hiring and personnel decisions you have to make. A lot of the line cooks and staff members are from the Black or Latino communities or minorities in general and they work in quite stressful conditions. What do you think that the industry as a whole can do to provide them with better healthcare, well-being, and salary? What can be done to elevate and empower them through promotions or other ways?

Sutherland : I think first it’s just awareness. Somebody has to be aware that it’s an issue then some sort of change needs to happen. Then from there, broadening the pool when you’re searching for employees. If you’re always fishing in the same pond, you’re always going to catch the same thing.

From a broader community standpoint, it’s letting other groups of people know that these jobs are out there and

available and welcoming to them. It’s very difficult to walk into any situation and see nobody that looks like you and then want to spend all of your time there. Our work is where we spend, probably fifty-percent or more of our life outside of home. So, if you’re going to go into a situation where nobody shares the same experiences with you, nobody looks like you, and nobody relates to you, why would you want to go do that job?

Wong : You volunteer for a lot in different organizations like the Boys and Girls Club. Is that something that’s important to you?

Sutherland : Absolutely. Community activism and volunteer work is something that’s always been huge for me, especially when it comes to kids and underserved youth from communities of color that are underserved. I’ve been fairly blessed in my career and been afforded some

opportunities. I just want to make sure that everybody knows that they are welcome and has the ability to better their lives and to do things.

I speak to a lot of kids in schools, especially with inner-city youth. I remember when I first started doing the speaking and I walked into the classrooms and did a cooking demo with fifth or sixth graders in the inner city. I had my chef coat on, I walked in the front of the classroom, and this little kid stands up and he’s like, “Are you a chef?” And I was like, “Yes. Yes, I am.” and he’s like, “No, you’re not, chefs are white.”

The thing was, this kid doesn’t even think that he could be a chef. He doesn’t think that everything in the world is available to him, just because of the things he’s presented with on a daily basis. It’s not his fault that he doesn’t think that. It’s not his fault that he thinks all chefs are white. But

when he turns on the TV or opens a magazine or goes into a restaurant, all he probably sees is old white guys. So, then as a kid, you’re like, ‘oh, that must be a job for them.’ That really inspired me just to constantly be out there and be an advocate for people that don’t have that.

Wong : Going back to the food. You have a very interesting culinary background. Tell us a bit about that.

Sutherland : I have a grandma from Japan and another grandma whose husband is from Mississippi and grew up in a lot of soul foods. Those two women are whom I hung out with in the kitchen. One was heavy soul food; one was heavy Japanese food.

Wong : How do you work with these very different influences?

Sutherland : I try to find a way to fuse those together sometimes, and sometimes I keep them completely separate. I love Southern food and soul food because it’s this food of struggle. It started with food that was gonna get thrown away that was given to slaves to figure out how to use. We make these collard greens that nobody wanted, turn them into something that tastes good. The scraps, different pieces of the pig, and all these undesirable foods, that was what those people were able to make very, very well.

I’m always just experimenting and figuring out how to marry the two cultures. I’ve got Southern ramen on one of our menus where we take smoked ham hocks and make this really bourbon-y and smoky soulful ramen broth. Topping it with pickled collard greens and different Southern flavors on a traditional ramen. And the first thing when making those fusions is to find the similarities and then figure out how to mimic each other. It’s fun.

Wong : Looking ahead, do you see any sort of change in trends?

Sutherland : Right now, people are very desperately looking for things to

grab on to, things that make them feel good. People just want that peace of comfort. They want that security. So a lot of us are moving towards that kind of comfort food model. Again, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s dumbed down or that it’s not as good you can make. Really, it’s creating food that people can have some sort of emotional connection to. There’re so many things happening in the world that are making people not happy. I think food is one of those things that everybody can hold on to, that everybody has a positive memory about.

Wong : That is very inspiring. Recently, your knife roll was stolen and then they got returned. What is in there that would be your most prized possession?

Sutherland : My grandfather recently passed away and he was really big on his knives and keeping them sharp. So when he passed, I got his knives handed down from him that I still use on a daily basis, especially his fillet knife. Then my grandmother’s brother was a chef in Japan. And when he sold his restaurant, he mailed me his knives. A couple of them were over a hundred and twenty years old, just irreplaceable, passed down from generations. So, it was a set of knives in there that no amount of money could have replaced. That’s pretty incredible to get those back.

Wong : That’s nice to hear! In closing, any new things for you coming up?

Sutherland : I got a few more restaurant projects on the way right now, nothing too much to talk about yet because they’re very much in developmental stages. Just excited to be back to work, have the restaurants back open, and trying to get through this year.

Wong : Everyone can’t wait until 2020 is over. One way or the other.

Sutherland : One way or another. We gotta get out of it.

Blazing a new path: Restaurant Triptyque and the New Dutch Cuisine

ikes. Canals. Clogs. Windmills. Total Football. Perhaps throw in Van Gogh and Heineken. We do not often associate culinary excellence with The Netherlands. But Chef Niven Kunz, his fiancé/business partner, Virginie van Bronckhorst, and their restaurant Triptyque are determined to change that.

Wong: Describe to us what typical Dutch food is like. What are the food traditions and culture?

Kunz: Unfortunately, we don’t have a food culture like in Spain, Italy, or France. Typical Dutch food is mashed potatoes with vegetables like sauerkraut or kale and meat on the side. We are also known for our licorice. The typical Dutch food that I really love is Dutch eel! It is all very nice, but Dutch people, most of the time, do not have the same passion for food culture as some other countries do. I think the love for food is growing though.

Wong: Are there specific Dutch culinary emphases at your restaurant? And what was your thinking behind it?

Kunz: We always try to buy as much local food as we can. We use Dutch products and create dishes with pure flavors. “Het Westland” is our backyard; there are so many fresh and good local products for us to buy. Not only vegetables, but also our yellowtail fish is from Zeeland here in the Netherlands. Even the Tomasu soy sauce we buy is local. It is from Rotterdam and is really good.

Wong: Being the youngest ever Dutch chef at twenty-four-years-old to receive a Michelin star at ‘t Raethuys, you started cooking professionally early. When and how did you know you want to be in this industry?

Kunz: I started working when I was young, after school or during vacations, on the beach. I liked that very much. When I was seventeen, I just decided that I wanted to work at de Librije, which is now one of the two three-starred Dutch Michelin restaurants. I applied for an internship and luckily the owners, Jonnie and Thèrese Boer, accepted me.

Working there motivated me a lot. So much so that I returned there to work even after leaving a year to work

at De Bokkedoorns, a Michelin twostarred restaurant. Both restaurants and the chefs taught me a lot and motivated me to work hard and eventually earn my own Michelin star.

Wong: Due to Coronavirus, your previous restaurant Restaurant Niven went bankrupt at the end of March. That must be a very difficult time. Was that the most challenging thing you’ve had to overcome professionally?

Kunz: It was a difficult time and decision, but it was for the best. We did not have a lot of other options. Luckily, we are blessed with very supportive family and friends who pulled us through. But I think this is a difficult time and it’s hard on everybody. We can’t complain despite the bankruptcy as everybody we love is still healthy during this pandemic. We’re very thankful for that.

Wong: Your fiancé Virginie is very supportive of your work. You also have a very strong team that moved with you to the new restaurant. Is that something that’s important to you and how did you build it?

Kunz: That is a very important thing to me. Virginie and I built this restaurant together along with our previous one and we are equal business partners. We have so much fun working together, we are a real team, in good and bad times, in work, and in private. We complement each other very much. I think that is very special and unique.

We are also very lucky with the team we have. We were so happy that they wanted to be a part of the new restaurant. They do such great work and are very important to us and the restaurant. We have fantastic chemistry with the whole team. Our guests are also very happy to see them in the new restaurant. We are very proud of them.

Wong: Having worked in the industry for such a long time, do you have a dream goal?

Kunz: I always have a dream to get better and have fun working. My dream is earning more than one Michelin star in the future—although one is already fantastic to have. Right now we have to wait until January to hear if we earned our Michelin star back. That would be fantastic.

Wong: In addition to your third cookbook, what else are you working on?

Kunz: My third cookbook is postponed to 2021 because of COVID-19. But we are very much looking forward to working further on that project. It is going to be a table book, full of beautiful pictures of the dishes. And of course, there will also be recipes in the book for the cooking fanatics. We also want to improve our quality and make it even more special for our guests. Our team and I are working hard on perfecting our menu and service.

Wong: What is the one food that’s the most comforting and you miss most often?

Kunz: I really love Indonesian food. You can wake me up in the middle of the night for some good Indonesian food. Virginie learned it from her mother, father, and grandfather. And I learned a little Indonesian cooking from them as well. I really enjoy it when Virginie or her family cook that for me.

Wong: What do you love most about being a chef?

Kunz: Creating. I love to create with our team, whether it is for a new dish or an experience for the guest. I can put my creativity in the dishes and I do that together with my kitchen chef, Maarten Westerhout.

Wong: Where do you draw your creative inspiration from?

Kunz: I get a lot of inspiration from the new products of our suppliers. It is very important for me to visit the greenhouses and be close to the source of our products. I also get a lot of inspiration from the seasons and seasonal products. Maarten and I like to work with products that are in-season. You automatically get a good variation throughout the year in dishes because of the changing products, but we also like to do this from a sustainable point of view.

Wong: Do you see any new food trends that are happening now?

Kunz: I think that replacing meat for a vegetarian or even vegan option is a big trend right now. I’ve worked with the eighty/twenty vegetables-meat rule for a long time already, but I am pleased to see that more chefs and people at home are using the same rule. It is better for the climate and eating less meat is also healthier. You can do so much with vegetables. It is a good thing that people are more conscious and aware about what they are eating and where the product comes from.

For her role, Virginie van Bronckhorst

is an equal partner and inspiration herself. A medical doctor, interior designer, stylist, and entrepreneur, it is impressive how she manages to juggle all these responsibilities. We get to give deeper as she shared more of her life with us.

Wong: When did you start working with Chef Kunz?

van Bronckhorst: Niven and I have been together for ten years. As the years passed by, I got more involved with the previous restaurant. I think that you can say we’ve been “working together” since 2013. When we had to let the previous restaurant go at the beginning of the Coronavirus crisis, we decided that we still wanted to continue our dream and business together. To make it better than it was. I believe it is good to have a goal and strive to be better. We got a fresh start in this strange and difficult time, and Triptyque was born.

Wong: What made you want to get involved in the venture?

van Bronckhorst: I always liked cooking. I grew up with fresh-cooked food. My parents and grandparents always cooked with fresh food and herbs. I liked cooking as a child and learned a lot from my parents. ‘Till this day, I like cooking with fresh ingredients a lot.

It also happens that I love going out for lunch or dinner and I really like to organize and manage. What better than combining the things I love in my work? Niven and I both love to work in and for the restaurant. We are a great team and have a clear division of roles.

He manages the kitchen and creates the dishes together with our kitchen chef, Maarten. I take care of the interior design and styling of the restaurant, as I did in our previous restaurant, as well as social media. Together we are both responsible for the overall organization and management of the restaurant.

Wong: You are a medical doctor. You do interior design as well as the styling of the restaurant. How do you combine your job as a doctor and as an entrepreneur?

van Bronckhorst: I think the key ingredient is having fun and loving what you do. I really love my work as a doctor and also love my work as an entrepreneur. The combination and variety are great and they give me a lot of energy. Interior designing and styling is a big hobby of mine; I feel relaxed when I am searching and looking for new things and styles.

Wong: What is a typical day like for you?

van Bronckhorst: A typical day for me is to start my consultations at eight-thirty AM until about five PM. I go home, cook dinner with fresh ingredients and then go back to work for our restaurant. During the week I do this from home on my laptop; during the weekends I am always in the restaurant.

The Purest Tasting Water on EarthTM

Karlic Tartufi

WHY IS ISTRIA IN CROATIA A GREAT AREA FOR TRUFFLES? WHEN ARE THE SEASONS?

Central Istria—if you want I can send you a map of the truffle zone in Istria—is a great region for truffles because we have amazing weather. Here, the Mediterranean climate has sun about half of the year and the other half has rain. It is a perfect mix for truffles to grow. In addition, we don’t have any big factories here, so the soil and natural environment are perfect for the best truffle quality. The black truffle season is year-round and white truffle season is from September to January.

HOW DOES TRUFFLE HUNTING WORK?

To hunt truffles, you take the trained dogs to the forest and let them sniff for about two to three hours. It is important to encourage them all the time so they keep their focus. When the dogs find a truffle, they start digging and you need to stop the dog before they eat it. You help them dig it out with a tool and they get a tasty treat as a reward for finding the treasure.

WHAT MADE YOU INTERESTED IN SELLING TRUFFLES? ALSO WHAT ARE SOME OTHER PRODUCTS THAT YOU MAKE?

My grandpa started selling truffles about forty years ago. After that, my parents did the same so we just continued the family tradition. We also expanded the business of selling fresh and frozen truffles as well as truffle products. We sell more than forty types of truffles products. Some of the most in-demand ones are olive oil with truffles, sliced truffles in

olive oil, truffles with mushrooms, and white truffle pesto. We also make gin with white truffles—we produced the very first gin with truffles in the world—different types of cheese with truffles, and Trufflla, like Nutella, but with truffles. I can go until forever!

WHAT ARE A FEW INTERESTING THINGS YOU CAN SHARE REGARDING TRUFFLES?

Female dogs are better hunters than male dogs because they are more focused only on hunting truffles while male dogs are hunting female dogs. Another fun fact, ninety percent of people think we search truffles with pigs, but in Croatia it was never a popular practice. I guess using pig sounds more exotic than dogs.

Finally, big white truffles above 100g are called Jokers and they fetch the highest prices. The auction in Alba, Italy is where a lot of these truffles end up at.

HOW TO PICK THE BEST TRUFFLES AND ALSO YOUR FAVOURITE WAY TO EAT THEM?

Truffle hunting involves lots of luck, so you don’t just pick the best ones, you take what you can find no matter the size. Every truffle will find its buyer. However, truffles only last for about 12 days from when they are unearthed, so you need to sell it or use it very quickly. My favourite way to enjoy them is in pasta, eggs, or on a good steak.

delight in the details of cooking

throckmortonjones.com

Artist Dameon Priestly focuses on times and events of social and cultural change

Côme Touvay

Daks: Can you tell me a bit about your art background and how you got into textiles?

CT: I originally studied etching for three years at the Hayter studio in Paris, which is an experimental studio dedicated to innovative work in the development of viscosity printing, a process that exploits varying viscosities of oil-based inks to lay three or more colours on a single intaglio plate. I focused on color and textured surfaces.

With my portfolio of prints I applied for Atelier National d’Art Textile in Paris, which is a national design school where I learned the art of weaving and textile design, based on hand weaving and industrial weaving.

Daks: Who are your biggest inspirations?

CT: One of my contemporary inspirations is the work of Gabriel Orozco. I can also mention artists like Giuseppe Penone, Piero Manzoni, Sol LeWitt, Beat Zoderrer, and Wolfgang Tillmans. I also have a strong interest in ethnic and archeological textiles.

Daks: You do commercial as well as art projects. How do you find your clients?

CT: I started to work for an important fashion trend studio in Paris run by Li Edelkoort, where I met a lot of designers who were interested by my skills in hand-weaving. The fact that I was working in that studio was important to attract the attention of new clients. Later, I was selected to participate in Maison d’Exception at PremiereVision Paris. It’s the high creativity experimental zone.

I had to work with dried herbs to produce manifesto pieces on the fashion trend of animism and natural colors for men’s fashion. With this project I received a lot of interest and collaborated on an experimental project with the French car company Renault.

Today I’m focused on the series WAKIMONKEY, which are mural hand woven pieces about 140cm by 320cm using an ancient Persian technique called Samit.

Daks: You have quite a few different techniques that you use while weaving. Can you tell me a bit about those? Some seem quite traditional but others very artistic or stylized.

Daks: Do you have a favorite piece of work or project you have worked on?

CT: An important work for my career was a collaboration with Nelson Sepulveda for the magazine BLOOM.

CT: All weaving techniques continue to impress me and stimulate my interest. Every time I have a project, I try to find the best technique or combinations of techniques, as if that technique

was a musical instrument with its own special possibilities and style.

For example, with the series DAEMONES, I combine tubular weaving and broche (brocade) creating a triple weaving structure with a light catching layer woven into a tubular structure. Dried herbs are brocaded in the tube and are kept in suspension by the open grid of the tubular weave. In terms of style, I crossover between minimalism, graphic, ethnic and a sense of nature.

Daks: You have won quite a lot of awards, can you tell me a bit about those?

CT: Grand prix de la Creation was a great recognition of my work because I was competing against fashion designers. I was an outsider in the competition. But the jury was

convinced by the fact that I was showing another view on textile creation, using unknown techniques and expressive weaves.

The Henry Van de Velde prize was awarded for the collection called Nuée, which was the result of a great and long collaboration with a Belgium manufacturer called Verilin. The work was based on an idea of light and color shades creating a poetic and new idea for home textiles.

Daks: And what of the future?

CT: After years dedicated to weaving for craft and for industry and also teaching weaving, I want to focus on the production of art pieces allowing me to reach a symbolic level of my practice, considering weaving technique as a primary language, a source of invention.

In Partnership with TrooRa Magazine, The House Of Throckmornton Jones is donating all proceeds of the mask sales from the: (Heart Beat and Hearts of a feather masks) to nami.org and prettybrowngirl.com

These masks were created in support to the BLM movement To bring awaress to these foundations and advocate for the affected communities throckmortonjones.com

Interview with Dancing Family Records

Daks : So, Tatiana, you started Dancing Family Records with your brother Yohan?

T. de Ricard : We started it in November 2019. Yohan and I both enjoy music, both making music and listening to it.

Daks : And Yohan is a DJ as well?

T. de Ricard : Yohan was doing radio at Brighton University, he had a show, and I was also making music. We had been going to a music festival in Croatia for a few years called Dimensions. It’s electronic music mostly.

We were volunteering there and these two lifeguards that we befriended kept calling us “The Dancing Family” because they thought it was funny that two siblings were going to a festival together. Yohan had the idea to use that name for the record label.

Daks : It’s a cool name, and it has a resonance to it. So Haroun was your first signing?

T. de Ricard : We thought of course that Haroun should be on the label because he was starting to make his own music at that time.

Daks : How long have you guys known each other?

T. de Ricard : Since we were 10.

Daks : And this was in Paris?

T. de Ricard : Yes, Paris. We met at the school Messiaen, Conservatory Olivier Messiaen. We slowly became friends.

H. Yamou : We were always being creative together!

Daks : So when did you meet Ida?

I. Fevrier : Haroun and I met at Primary school, and Tatiana and I did theatre together when we were 13 or 14. So, when I met Tatiana, I found that she knew Haroun who I hadn’t seen in three or four years, because we separated after primary school. Then I started hanging out with their group of friends. They always had a creative energy, so it was always nice to escape with them.

Daks : And you were performing with Haroun? I saw that video!

I. Fevrier : Yes! For Cartoon Network in 2008. We went to a very hippy primary school so we always had projects. I was writing a magazine. We would make short films with our dolls. And then I was signed up with a casting

agency when I was about seven or eight, and I got this casting for this show and it was like ‘bring a friend along’ to perform some Karaoke. So, I brought Haroun because we were both little divas! We wanted to strut around and dance. We went to London and shot the show.

Daks

: And you won!

I. Fevrier : Yes! A Sony Playstation, which I sold for €70!

Daks : You will have to give me the link to that video so I can put that on here too!

Everyone laughs! (The video is on Haroun and Ida’s Instagram.)

Daks : But you are not French originally?

I. Fevrier : No, I am French and Swedish. My mother moved to Paris from Sweden. But I learned English through movies.

Daks : So Tatiana, do you have other artists other than Haroun?

T. de Ricard : Yes, we have another artist called Charlie Is Ready, she is neo-soul, R&B. She mixes a lot of genres. She has an EP coming out as well. Charlie’s music is now available on streaming platforms with her new single “Bun The City”, which is about the gentrification of South-East London. The music video is coming out soon. We are releasing all the music initially on Spotify and Apple Music. We’d love to press vinyls of course, but we are at the beginning stages financially, so we can’t really afford to do that right now. But hopefully in the future.

Daks : It’s always cool to have your music on vinyl!

T. de Ricard : So we have her and another jazz, neo-soul group in Paris. They are just recording their music at the moment. But as yet, no name! And I am making music as well and that will be released later this year.

Daks : And that’s electronic music?

T. de Ricard : It’s Drum and Bass.

Daks : Excellent! So it sounds like you have a lot going on. Spinning the plates. I want to talk to Haroun a little about his music, his musical journey. Do you want to tell us a little bit about your background and where you are from?

H. Yamou : I was born in Chicago, but I was adopted by my mother who is from New York and my father is from Morocco, but they lived in Paris.

Daks : And your father is an artist?

H. Yamou : Yes, he’s a painter sculptor and my mother is a book editor, so it was already a pretty creative family that I was in. My parents always pushed me to be creative, and think they saw that I was not a very scholarly individual so they were never really against me just going for the whole creative thing.

Daks : So in terms of musical influences what were you listening to growing up?

H. Yamou : My dad likes a lot of Miles Davis and John Coltrane and my mom likes either classical music or a lot of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitgerald, and Louis Armstrong. I also used to watch a lot of the old musicals on TV: Funny Face, Singing in the Rain, Meet me in St Louis, Guys and Dolls.

Daks : The classics! And in terms of your musical tastes, what do you listen to now?

H. Yamou : Well there’s D’Angelo, Marvin Gaye, Eryka Badu, Kendrick Lamar.

Daks : So, quite a mellow vibe?

H. Yamou : Yes, but then I like a lot of rappers like Lil Kim and Megan thee Stallion.

Daks : That makes sense, because a lot of your music that I’ve heard, you have a rap going on with your mellow groove.

H. Yamou : People tell me my rap is really old school. Like, very nineties. Which is normal, because that’s what I am listening to.

I. Fevrier : One thing that I think is really interesting about the label itself, it’s not about a specific genre. They are releasing music that makes people happy and makes people dance. Also, I think that with our generation we have such an array of accessibility to all types of music. We’re not picky! We can listen to country or to rap; we can listen to classical music.

Daks : A lot of record labels try and channel artists into what they want them to be.

T. de Ricard : They want them to fit a mold.

H. Yamou : The artists that I like the most manage to blend everything and you can tell they just have a love for music.

Daks : Let’s talk a little about some of the songs that you have

written because obviously, I know “Chardonnay.” I saw the video and you with my guitar and my old telephone and in my bathtub. How did that song come about?

H. Yamou : That was pretty fun. I wrote it on a bus with a friend. I was practicing how to write bars in rap, and there are always a lot of double entendres, plays on words, and all those things. So, it was kind of a writing exercise, in a way.

Daks : And then when you came to make the video, you made some of it at your house and then some of it at my house when you came to stay with us during the lockdown.

H. Yamou : The video was pretty on the spot. I started filming myself on my bed one day and then I thought it kind of looked like the vibe of the song and then Ida and I moved in here with you and Anna-Karin (Ida’s mom) for lockdown and it was a good opportunity to finish the project. It was pretty fun.

Daks : And Ida helped you film it.

I. Fevrier : It’s a good memory looking back on it. It’s very homemade, just Haroun and an iPhone.

Daks : The thing that I really liked was the fact that you were here under lockdown and yet finding ways to be creative. I could hear you playing guitar or you were off filming together, which I thought was great because a lot of people did nothing except switch on Netflix. I also liked it because there seems to be a really great sense of humor to your lyrics. It seems to be part of your personality in your songwriting, which is great, and its storytelling.

H. Yamou : The reason why I started making music was because I was pretty angry, but then I also realized that in humor and comedy there is a lot of pain. So a nicer way to approach the pain was to laugh about it and make songs that people could relate to but also laugh with you.

Daks : So let’s talk a little about your EP. How many songs?

H. Yamou : There’s six. They’re all new songs and we’re making everything from scratch which is really fun.

Daks : Who are you working with?

H. Yamou : So there are different producers, people that I’ve met in the past year. I didn’t really know that much about music or know anyone who was willing to work with me, because I didn’t have anything to show, but now that I’ve started to put myself out there and with the label, people take us a bit more seriously. And during lockdown, because everyone was home, it was a lot easier to get in contact with people. One of the producers is the one that made the soundscape ‘breath is invisible.’

Daks : Brilliant! Because that’s something I really wanted to talk to you about.

H. Yamou : The producer is Charles Stooke but his artist name is “Me, Charles.”

Daks : Let’s talk a little bit about how you got involved with the whole ‘breath is invisible’ project.

H. Yamou : It was through Charles. We used to work together at a restaurant in Peckham called Coal Rooms. Actually, there were a bunch of people working there that were musicians.

Daks : It’s like going to LA. Except there, everyone is an actor.

H. Yamou : It was pretty nice because I am shy about my music and there were all these people and they were putting themselves out there and he was one of them and I kept begging him to make music with me. So, one day he called me and he said ‘could you please read these lyrics from a Curtis Mayfield song. I need a recording of someone reading it.’ I said ‘yes, of course, all right.’ I recorded it and sent it to him, and he called me and said everyone loved it. And I said, ‘who’s everyone?’

T. de Ricard : But he gave you a very limited time to record it.

H. Yamou : Yes, he sent me the lyrics and then 10 minutes later called me and said ‘can you send it now please?’ And then he called and said, “ oh are you down to get your face scanned in 3D?’ I was like, ‘yeah of course, who isn’t?’ And then I ended up in a studio with a bunch of cameras getting every angle of my face. And then I got to meet with Martyn Ware.

Daks : So let’s talk a little about Martyn Ware, because I grew up listening to The Human League and Heaven 17, but you probably didn’t know who he was?

H. Yamou : No. (Laughs)

Daks : When I was at University, The Human League was my girlfriend’s favourite band. But, it was before they were commercially successful, and of course, as soon as they had their first hit she put them aside. She only liked

them because nobody else knew who they were.

Those early Human League songs were what I grew up dancing to so I was really interested to see you were working with Martyn and with Zachary Eastwood Bloom who did the 3D imagery. It’s a really cool project and then it was shown at a gallery on Westbourne Grove in West London.

H. Yamou : Yes, it was there for a month.

Daks : And it was part of the Black Lives Matter movement.

H. Yamou : It was also to honor the victims of Grenfell Towers.

Daks : Which is quite close to there.

H. Yamou : It was cool because in the soundscape they put in a lot of police sirens and the sound was playing in the street. And it’s quite a nice street with shops and cafes and then you would hear the police sirens.

Daks : It’s a very privileged area now, but used to be very Jamaican. It’s where the Notting Hill Carnival is held, and there have been riots against the police in the past.

H. Yamou : It was about not being seen or heard. But, when you have a giant face like mine on the wall you can’t not see it!

Daks : Yes, it was huge like 20 feet by 10 feet or something like that.

T. de Ricard : Don’t forget to tell them the name of your EP!

H. Yamou : So, it’s called Sexcapades. I was going for something very ‘70s. It’s quite a kitsch name.

Daks : Awesome! Thanks, everyone!

Photographer: Elias Gurrola instagram.com/eliasgurrola twitter.com/Elias_Gurrola facebook.com/eliasgurroladesign pinterest.com/eliasgurrola/_created eliasgurrola.com

Collections for Men and Women

An Interview with Tayroc owner Gemma Noble

Irecently sat down with inspirational businesswoman Gemma Noble to talk about her career path, her business ethos, and the success of her new company, Tayroc.

Daks : Hi Gemma! I am really excited to do this interview even if it is socially distanced via a video link. Since I first came across your brand, and from looking at your website, social media output, and your blog, you really seem to represent the ethically forward-thinking and ecologically aware company that we are looking to promote at TrooRa Magazine. Plus, I really like your watches.

Noble : Thanks, Michael! It’s really nice to meet you, even though I am a little bit nervous. I don’t know why, because I could talk about Tayroc until the cows come home.

Daks : Well, why don’t we start at the beginning, because I am always curious about people’s career paths. You studied at Nottingham Trent University?

Noble : Yes, I did, but I didn’t stay long. I went off to do fashion marketing and visual communication at University, but I was very frustrated and felt that I wanted to get on and get into a head office and do the kind of things that we had been talking about at Uni. So, I packed up the

Peugeot 206, drove home, and emptied it on my parents’ drive. They knew nothing about me leaving until they came out and saw my clutter on their driveway. They were furious. So then, I was on a mission to prove everybody wrong.

Two weeks later I started working for the John Lewis website styling team based in Sloane Square in Chelsea. I was the website coordinator, so I was folding a hundred and fifty scarfs ready for them to be photographed, picking up props for shoots, etcetera. I skipped around a few different jobs until I settled at a Danish fashion company called Bestseller as a visual merchandiser.

Daks : I don’t know them, but my girlfriend is Swedish so she knows all the Scandinavian brands.

Noble : Yes, she will, they are an absolute beast. I was going back and forth to Denmark to do the buying and selling and then I moved to Superdry. I wanted to be a key account manager,

but there were already a lot of talented people at Bestseller who had been there for longer than me and I wasn’t getting the promotion that I wanted. I was getting a bit impatient. A headhunter got in touch and asked if I wanted to move to Superdry for a key account role, and the day I got the job I was told by the Danish company that I wasn’t ready for key accounts.

Daks : Ha-ha! I’ll show you!

Noble : Yes! Within three months I was international Sales Manager for Superdry, managing a £26 million budget. I was winging it to be honest, at the beginning, but I loved it. Then I moved to Juicy Couture after Superdry.

Daks : Excellent. And you’ve recently bought Tayroc, but before that, you had another company, which was your own business consultancy?

Noble : It’s called LID Project, which I still run, with my partner Danny. It’s a sales and business development agency. I met Dan back in 2014 when I was at Juicy and he was running the LID Project as an independent consultant and specializing in the events world. I joined him, except I was doing the same thing for fashion and retail. That’s how we came to

know Tayroc. They were one of our clients.

Daks : So what was it about Tayroc that made you think that this is the next step in your career?

Noble : Tayroc was set up by two sets of brothers with two different management styles.

Daks : I think I can see where this is going.

Noble : Two of the brothers left, and then the other brothers decided they wanted to do something else. So in January 2020, they asked us if we could help them find a buyer.

We had a bit of a soft spot for the brand, and after looking at the figures, we said, why don’t we have a go at this ourselves? So now LID Projects owns the majority shareholding in Tayroc.

Daks : So that brings us nicely on to talk about Tayroc the brand. You have only been working on the company for a short period of time, but it looks like there are already a lot of new things happening. It was a watch company originally, but you are already bringing a lot of new products onto the market.

Noble : Yes, they had predominantly sold watches, menswear styles, although women were buying them as well. We obviously established that there was an opportunity to expand in the women’s watch market, so we are bringing new designs out in Spring 2021. We are also keen to launch Tayroc as a lifestyle brand so we just brought out a range of fragrances in October and we are also launching a range of jewelry, facemasks, leather goods, and sunglasses.

Daks : Did you employ a professional nose for the fragrances?

Noble : Well, I have no experience at all with that, but again through LID Projects we had been in contact with someone who has connections with two different perfume companies, Quintessence and The Perfume Studio. I sent them a mood board. We wanted some Middle-Eastern inspiration, and we wanted them to be unisex, a rich woody earthy kind of feel. They sent us some samples and we whittled it down to our favourite six. Quintessence came up with the original oils and then those were sent off to The Perfume Studio to be blended with water and alcohol. Then we designed all the packaging ourselves.

Daks : I am always interested in the packaging of products and how they are designed and marketed. My favourite designer is Fabien Baron who I met when he was the Art Director on Italian Vogue in the late 1980s. He designed the first iconic unisex fragrance bottle and the advertising campaign for Calvin Klein’s CK One, which turned twentyfive last year. At its peak, it sold twenty bottles a minute, and even now it is still at fifteen.

Noble : I can’t take the credit for the design of my packaging, which was done by my brother Stuart. He went to Bournemouth Arts University and he did finish his degree.

Daks : I was really interested in reading on your blog about the company going plastic-free, donating to environmental charities, your student ambassador program, and you even gave away free sessions with councilors during mental health week, which fell right in the middle of lockdown.

Noble : Yes, in terms of the fragrance for instance we are now completely plastic-free. We are even trying to get the customs forms put into paper envelopes instead of the clear plastic sheaths. We spoke to all our suppliers when they sent us samples in plastic— what is your alternative to this?—Now we have everything wrapped in tissue paper and scrunched up paper to fill the voids.

Daks : I really applaud that! If everybody made a little bit of a difference, then it would add up to a big difference! I also really liked your summer initiative ‘DO GOOD AND DONATE’.

Noble : We set this up in August and asked our team to nominate charities

that meant something to them, and then we made a selection from those to donate to each quarter.

Daks : Which I applaud because a lot of charities are really struggling right now due to the pandemic and lack of contributions and the charity shops being closed and governments cutting back on donations. And you also have a student ambassador program?

Noble : This is a bit of a personal thing for me, given my background with leaving University early. I was super lucky to land in the right places, and I worked hard once I got those opportunities. But I am really grateful for people making introductions for me. But most universities don’t teach how to network. How can you not? Tayroc has such a massive audience and we know that that audience is quite young, eighteen to twentyfour-year olds internationally, so we are launching a program to give students real-life work experiences and support. Obviously, under normal circumstances, we could invite students to come to the office, but we can do this virtually on calls, and I put time aside to answer their questions.

Daks : That’s great Gemma. I am really looking forward to seeing your new ranges and how you develop and expand the company in 2021. I was talking to my brother earlier today and he said something that I completely agree with and I think is reflected in your brand—You need to have an emotional attachment with your customer for it to be successful. I think that really comes across when I look at your brand. There is a personality that comes across from you and from Danny. I can see that you really care about your customers, and they love the brand.

GEMMA NOBLE

OWNER: TAYROC WATCH AND ACCESSORIES COMPANY

HTTPS://WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/TAYROC/ @TAYROC

HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/OFFICIALTAYROC WWW.TAYROC.COM GEMMA@LIDPROJECT.COM

diarrablu.com

Diarrablu:

Baol Leer Palazzo jacquard printed Wrap Dress & high-waisted pants with elastic waist and side pockets

Accessories: Nikkie E. Designs

Strukk Earrings Large Gold

Model: Deja Peters

Photographer: Laura Tillinghast

MUA: Celestine Pearl

Stylist: Angelica Garde

Creative Direction: Brian Esterle

Style Curation | Creative Direction: Trystanne Cunningham

Produced by: TrooRa Magazine LLC A Fortunest Group

Structural Cuts, Bold Prints, Colorful Accents Sustainable Solids

diarrablu.com

Eden Dancewear

Daks : So, Sarah-Louise! I am really excited to do this interview. I came across your brand recently when I photographed one of your ambassadors, Jessie Williams. I went onto your website and I have to say, I was really pleasantly surprised to see such interesting designs and also the diversity of the models.

Cole : Yes, that’s what started it. My daughter Eden was dancing and she was so sick of the same stuff all the time and it was just when Dance Moms became big on TV and they started doing competitions, and there was just nothing to help you stand out. So I thought, right, if I can’t find it, I’ll make it.

Daks : Which is brilliant, because today everyone wants to be an individual. They don’t want to be dressed the same as everybody else. So you are “pandering to the demands of the public.”

Cole : I want each collection to stand out. I like to really theme it as I am designing it. I am already thinking about what the photos are going to look like. I am very specific about the poses. It’s got to show off the dancewear, but you also want to show the character as well.

When I started in 2017, there were only a couple of British dancewear brands and I think they both imported their clothing from America. So there were no UK-made dancewear brands at the time. They would both do photoshoots with stunning models, which showed how dancewear would look on a stick-thin girl.

My aim was to show everyone that even girls that were bigger want to dance, so why shouldn’t they have access to lovely dancewear as well? I really make a point of featuring slightly bigger girls, different shapes, all ethnicities and making it accessible to everyone.

Daks : Yes, that’s what I really noticed through looking through the pictures on your site and also talking to Jessie about your ethos of diversity.

Cole : I have people coming up to me at MOVE IT, the big dance convention, and saying “thank you for showing bigger girls what the dancewear can look like on them.”

They can actually be involved and they haven’t got to be this set size to wear the dancewear. My daughter was the inspiration. She’s had two open-heart surgeries, she’s got a big scar down the middle of her chest and we’ve always taught her to never cover it up, never to worry about it because it’s part of her, it’s what makes her special. That’s what I’m trying to give to other kids as well, that if you’re slightly bigger or have got a scar it doesn’t matter, it’s what makes you, you. Don’t hide it!

Daks : That’s really perfect for what we are doing at the magazine. We’re trying to find people that are doing something special and a bit different from ‘oh we’re making nice clothes.’ We’re looking for inspirational stories, for the unique and rare.

Cole : We’ve had a lot of new dancewear companies in the last year or so just pop up and I am all for competition. There is a big enough market out there for everyone to have their slice, but what really aggravates me is when they just copy. I feel like saying to them “What are you bringing to the table?” But, it pushes me to constantly come up with new ideas.

Daks : So, you are actually designing it all yourself. Do you have a design background or is it something that you really felt strongly that you wanted to do?

Cole : When I was at school I loved art, loved design, loved fashion, but got taken down a different route. My stepfather owns one of the biggest accountancy firms and he pushed me down the accountancy route because “You’ll always have a job!”

It was something that I had no passion for, but it’s earned me a very good living. I was saying to my husband, “I can’t find any decent dancewear for Eden and I’ve got so many good

ideas.” And he said, “why don’t you have a few bits made for her then?” So, that’s how it all started.

Then we made a little website to sell it because everyone kept commenting on how nice it was. It started off as a hobby and it just exploded. Then, before I knew it, I had a big website and it was taking up more and more of my time. But I just love it. The passion is still there; I love designing stuff.

Daks : SIs it an international brand now? Are you are selling worldwide?

Cole : Yes, we send internationally and I have got stockists in America, in Australia, and across Europe. Today we just launched the first collection that Eden designed herself.

Daks : That’s brilliant! How old is she now?

Cole : She’s 12. A month ago she came home from school and she showed me these drawings of leotards that she had designed, and they were so good I said, “I’m going to get samples of these made up.”

They came back and they looked amazing, so I said, “Right! It’s your collection, so you can arrange the location for the shoot. You deal with the photographer. I don’t want to take away from you. It’s your vision.” They shot it on the weekend and it launched today and already half of the stock has sold.

Daks : That’s so cool, an entrepreneur at 12. You’ll be able to retire soon.

Cole : That’s what I said. She’ll be able to take over now!

Daks : So moving along, where do you get your fabrics from? You design them and then have the fabrics made?

Cole : The first collections that I ever did were called the Paradise and Tropical collections. I designed the fabrics because I couldn’t find what I wanted. I wanted this Hibiscus flower, so we had that design printed, but it was very expensive. I realized it wasn’t the way forward. So, now I spend most of my life sourcing fabric.

I am always looking for inspiration. I saw this pair of Jimmy Choo shoes a few years ago and I just loved the design so much I used them as inspiration for a leotard.

Daks : It makes your work original because it has your personality put into it. Anything in life, you want to put your own stamp on it, so it feels like it’s your own.

Cole : Yes, I agree.

Daks : So, I am assuming you have to find stretchy fabrics like Lycra?

Cole : Yes, it has to be Lycra or a fabric with a four-way stretch. I have one company that produces it, but now a lot of the competitors have realized who they are. So I don’t like to use them too much. I went to Las Vegas to the fabric fair but it’s so expensive to bring it in. My factory is in the UK and I like the fact that everything is made here. But in terms of cost, it’s expensive.

Daks : I was interested in your marketing and brand strategy. How do you get your designs out there, how do you cut through the competition?

Cole : When I first started, we talked to Abby Lee Miller from Dance Moms. She’s a close friend of my husband and me, and she said, “You need to get some names wearing it to get your name out there.”

I had Jack Higgins who had been on Britain’s Got Talent, also some girls who had been on the UK Version of Dance Moms, which really helped to get my brand out there. I went to every convention possible, every dance event, for the first 18 months. I was exhausted! Every weekend I was at a different event.

Since then, it’s just naturally grown. We have a decent following on Instagram, about 30K. Then there’s Facebook. It’s pretty much social media now, getting people to wear it, and getting it out there.

Daks : Social media has changed the whole horizon of how things are marketed now.

Cole : The social media does so well. I started doing these monthly leotards. During Lockdown, you couldn’t get people together to do shoots. So I thought once a month I will launch something new, just to keep people going. Then in September, all of the leotards I had sold out in 54 minutes.

Daks : Wow!

Cole : Everyone put the leotards on their Instagram and all of a sudden everything sold.

Daks : So let’s talk about your brand ambassadors. Is that a competition?

Cole : Yes. Every year at midnight on New Year’s Eve we launch our ambassador search and that is the chance for someone to join the team. Then throughout that year, the winners come to conventions with us, they model the new collections, and we build it really like a family. We have a lot of fun together. Every year we get a new team.

Jessie was with us last year and that was the best team we’ve ever had. We had seven girls and one of them

was my daughter. From the first second, they all just bonded and were more like sisters. We even went on a shoot to Majorca.

Daks : Yes, Jessie told me—she was very excited about that! So my final question. What are your goals for the future?

Cole : I want to try and keep ahead of the trends. I brought out a neon collection last year and three other brands have just launched a neon collection. I feel good that we had already done that. I was first.

I also do events as well. My daughter had been going to some dance events and I noticed that she always stayed at the back and I asked her why and she said, “because all the good ones go to the front and they push you out of the way, and it makes me feel rubbish.”

And I thought, why am I paying for my child to feel rubbish? I pay the same price as the moms of the good kids, but my kid’s not dancing for half of it. So, I set up an event with a couple of guest teachers and it was all about nobody being better than anyone else. You’re as welcome as the kid that’s amazing and wins everything.

No one gets chosen, there no elite groups, everyone dances together, and we switch it around so everyone gets an opportunity to dance at the front. It’s been really successful and a lot of the moms message me: “My kid loved it. She actually feels like she can dance!”

We’ve done five or six of them now. We do it in age ability. We have a pop-up shop and usually launch a new collection at the same time and also do photos with all the kids. I really want to continue that once all this awful Covid stuff is over. I want kids to get out there and just have fun!

EDEN DANCEWEAR SENDS INTERNATIONALLY THROUGH THEIR WEBSITE WWW.EDENDANCEWEAR.COM INSTAGRAM @EDENDANCEWEAR FACEBOOK EDENDANCEWEAR

Jesus wasn’t white:

He was a brown-skinned, Middle Eastern Jew. Here’s why that matters

Igrew up in a Christian home, where a photo of Jesus hung on my bedroom wall. I still have it. It is schmaltzy and rather tacky in that 1970s kind of way, but as a little girl I loved it. In this picture, Jesus looks kind and gentle, he gazes down at me lovingly. He is also light-haired, blue-eyed, and very white.

The problem is, Jesus was not white. You’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise if you’ve ever entered a Western church or visited an art gallery. But while there is no physical description of him in the Bible, there is also no doubt that the historical Jesus, the man who was executed by the Roman State in the first century CE, was a brown-skinned, Middle Eastern Jew.

This is not controversial from a scholarly point of view, but somehow it is a forgotten detail for many of the millions of Christians who will gather to celebrate Easter this week.

On Good Friday, Christians attend churches to worship Jesus and, in particular, remember his death on a cross. In most of these churches, Jesus will be depicted as a white man, a guy that looks like AngloAustralians, a guy easy for other Anglo-Australians to identify with.

Think for a moment of the rather dashing Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ. He is an Irish-American actor. Or call to mind some of the most famous artworks of Jesus’ crucifixion – Ruben, Grunewald, Giotto – and again we see the European bias in depicting a white-skinned Jesus.

READ MORE: FRIDAY ESSAY: WHO WAS MARY MAGDALENE? DEBUNKING THE MYTH OF THE PENITENT PROSTITUTE

Does any of this matter? Yes, it really does. As a society, we are well aware of the power of representation and the importance of diverse role models.

After winning the 2013 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 12 Years a Slave, Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o shot to fame. In interviews since then, Nyong’o has repeatedly articulated her feelings of inferiority as a young woman because all the images of beauty she saw around her were of lighter-skinned women. It was only when she saw the fashion world embracing Sudanese model Alek Wek that she realised black could be beautiful too.

If we can recognise the importance of ethnically and physically diverse role models in our media, why can’t we do the same for faith? Why do we continue to allow images of a whitened Jesus to dominate?

JIM CAVIEZEL IN MEL GIBSON’S 2004 FILM THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. IMDB

Many churches and cultures do depict Jesus as a brown or black man. Orthodox Christians usually have a very different iconography to that of European art – if you enter a church in Africa, you’ll likely see an African Jesus on display.

But these are rarely the images we see in Australian, Uk & the United States Protestant and Catholic churches, and it is our loss. It allows the mainstream Christian community to separate their devotion to Jesus from compassionate regard for those who look different.

I would even go so far as to say it creates a cognitive disconnect, where one can feel deep affection for Jesus but little empathy for a Middle Eastern person. It likewise has implications for the theological claim that humans are made in God’s image. If God is always imaged as white, then the default human becomes white and such thinking undergirds racism.

Historically, the whitewashing of Jesus contributed to Christians being some of the worst perpetrators of antiSemitism and it continues to manifest in the “othering” of non-Anglo Saxon Australians.

READ MORE: WHAT HISTORY REALLY TELLS US ABOUT THE BIRTH OF JESUS

This Easter, I can’t help but wonder, what would our church and society look like if we just remembered that Jesus was brown? If we were confronted with the reality that the body hung on the cross was a brown body: one broken, tortured, and publicly executed by an oppressive regime.

How might it change our attitudes if we could see that the unjust imprisonment, abuse, and execution of the historical Jesus has more in common with the experience of Indigenous Australians or asylum seekers than it does with those who hold power in the church and usually represent Christ?

Perhaps most radical of all, I can’t help but wonder what might change if we were more mindful that the person Christians celebrate as God in the flesh and saviour of the entire world was not a white man, but a Middle Eastern Jew.

“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

— Warren Buffett

Rare Stays in Sintra-Cascaisthe Nature Park Region of Portugal

As winter sets in and you feel the cold weather bone deep, your thoughts may just turn to far off summer lands. One of those balmy countries that is never far from my mind is Portugal. Specifically the majestic region of the SintraCascais Nature Park in Central Portugal. Located only an hour from the capital of Lisbon, this is the area for nature and history lovers alike.

Sintra is a fairytale town in the mountains with its own microclimate. This forested green gem of an area is where the Portuguese constructed their numerous palaces and castles. At the base of these mountains, you’ll discover the coastal town of Cascais. Known as “the town of kings and fishes” because what started as a small fishing village became the summer retreat for Portuguese royalty.

With these ties to royalty, both these towns after incredibly luxurious accommodations that are fit for royalty, such as these two truly Rare Stays:

Penha Longa Resort

Penha Longa Resort is a Ritz Carlton hotel that offers world class accommodation that will have you feeling like royalty. The Penha Longa estate has been the luxurious getaway location for Portuguese royalty since the 14th century. An exclusive resort that is situated within the most stunning natural

landscape, surrounded by green hills, beautiful gardens and tranquil lakes.

Penha Longa Resort is situated within the protected Sintra-Cascais National Nature Reserve. The natural beauty of the area is steeped in a rich history which can be observed all throughout the estate. While quite secluded, the resort is close enough to the romantic town of Sintra and the hip coastal town ofCascais. This allows guests a central base from which to explore these popular locations. On the resort

and in the surrounding areas you will find numerous places for fine dining, nightlife and outdoor activities.

Penha Longa Resort consists of 194 luxury rooms and suites that all offer various views of the beautiful property. Regardless of which room you are in you will enjoy luxurious comfort and gorgeous views from the balcony. The beds are large, soft, with feather duvets and Egyptian cotton linen. The rooms are spacious, elegantly decorated and stocked with all the

necessary basics. The large en-suite marble bathrooms all have both a shower and separate bathtub and include toiletries.

The resort has everything a guest could possibly need all within a breathtakingly beautiful property. Including the luxurious hotel, you will find a 19th Century palace that was originally a monastery during the 14th Century. Also a golf course, pools, historic ruins, eight restaurants and a spa center.

The Oitavos

The Oitavos is one of Europe’s most intriguing contemporary grand hotels. An exclusive hotel set within the most beautiful environment, seemingly at one with the nature surrounding it. A stay here results in an unforgettable experience and the hospitality will ensure that you return. Both the hotel and its atmosphere is absolutely perfect for relaxation. The modern metal and glass design of the hotel allows guests to fully appreciate the beauty of the Atlantic ocean and

Sintra mountains.

The hotel is situated on the oceanfront and lies within one the top 100 golf courses in the world that overlooks the protected sand dunes. With the beautiful Atlantic coast’s great beaches, this is the ideal destination for travelers looking for an escape in nature. There is so much to do in the area such as outdoor activities, exploring attractions or just feasting on seafood.

A family owned hotel that caters to the needs of their guests by providing comfort and luxury throughout the 142 rooms. Their sanctuaries of space with the most stunning views are the best in the whole region. Each room is designed in such a way as to result in peace and relaxation for all guests. Flooded with natural light as the spacious rooms have full height glass doors that lead onto private balconies. All rooms are fully equipped with necessities such as TVs, working desks, lounge areas and en-suite bathrooms. However, the open plan design and

comfort of the rooms are what make them special and you may not want to leave.

Guests are treated to a number of wonderful amenities as expected from a 5-star establishment. Besides this you can enjoy the spa with its two heated seawater pools, sauna, Turkish bath, Jacuzzi and gorgeous views.

There are no better destinations than Sintra and Cascais in Portugal to live like royalty. Wander the paths followed nobility through manicured gardens and forests alike. Stroll along cobblestone streets and marvel at the grand architecture and historical significance of each building. Treat yourself in 2021 by heading to the land of kings and queens and booking a Rare stay to experience royal luxury.

saltresorts.com

beauty and brains smart jewelry bellabeat.com

Rethinking Ritual: Creative Ways to Celebrate Your Goals

No one was more surprised than me to find yours truly spending the evening with a coven of witches. Isn’t that what folks do in Berkeley— march in pride parades, practice witchcraft, and buy organic coffee? Well, yes, actually, that’s exactly what folks do around here. Though I didn’t become a pagan, that small house party forever changed the way I think of rituals.

Like many Americans, I was skeptical of the value of rituals. It was an equalopportunity skepticism, as too many of our holidays have come to represent consumer spending categories when they should represent the values that we hold most dear. How many of our

rituals have reached the point where the acts are no longer connected with the meaning they once intended? The rituals we perpetuate shape our culture. We become what we do.

Think of the Christmas/Yule tree, a ritual that honors the evergreen tree’s tenacity of life during the coldest days of winter. A plastic, glowing Christmas tree may be a thing of beauty but how many of us treat it as a symbol of hope and renewal? Outside of churches and temples, social gatherings can be lacking in meaning. More and more, our festive habits opt towards gathering to drink booze, watch television, or go shopping. I expected no different from a coven of witches.

That August evening, everyone left their eye of newt and their cauldron at home and got together to bake bread, a ritual similar to the Christian holiday of Loaf Mass Day. Priestess Tiger Willow explained that the beginning of the harvest was time to take stock of what we’ve produced. It was also the end of planting so we were celebrating the seeds that would grow in the next season. As we collectively

rolled and kneaded, Priestess Tiger Willow explained the symbolism of the various spices you might add to your bread. We each chose spices based on what we hoped to “plant” into our lives in the upcoming year.

Baking isn’t one of my strengths, so I enjoyed making it a social process. It is rewarding to start from a lot of nothing—a packet of yeast, some water, and flour—and turn it into a lovely loaf of bread more often seen on display than for eating. There must have been a bit of magic in the room because we left our bread in the bowl with just a towel over it, and low and behold, an hour later it rose up and doubled in size. I felt like a kid on Mr. Wizard.

While our hopes and dreams were in the oven, we made corn dollies (small figures made of a corn husk). As with the bread, you think of what you hope to accomplish in the next year while crafting and decorate your dolly accordingly. Last year’s doll is meant to be burned, and each year the new figure is to be kept for a year as a reminder of our objectives.

Both activities were pleasant ways for us to collectively confront our challenges and embrace our goals while fostering relationships. The experience got me thinking strategically about the rituals in our lives. I had always struggled with making yearly goals, an activity that held as much creativity and fun as doing taxes.

Those of us whose personalities are more creative than analytical don’t take naturally to putting checks in boxes next to goals completed. But on that day, I realized that humans have been planning their days through ritual long before the creation of the Day Planner. Before people organized their lives into tidy lists and boxes, they used seasonal rituals as spaces to recenter and refocus on what was most important.

I began a journey of exploring new productivity and planning rituals that are expressive, creative, and fun.

I began to ask myself: what is the purpose of this tradition? Does it do what it intends to do? Is the objective something I value in my life? How can I spend time with my values and ideas in ways that feel less like work and more like festivity?

Below are some of the planning rituals I’ve explored. It is important to treat these activities with a tone of ceremony. Don’t hurry through them; the time spent pondering is as important as the finished result. Treat them as sacred. Your time is your most valued resource, and these activities are about choosing the right path in life. But they are also playful. If possible, make it a party.

Nine Expressive and Fun Ways to Plan your Goals

Track With Visual Progress

Corn dollies are fun, but artistically I’m more drawn to typography and lettering. After I chose my goals for the year, I created a piece of handlettering for each one and hung them on the wall. I represented my yearly goals with a single word, beautifully written. Then I kept a stamp nearby to stamp on that paper for each day I made progress towards that goal. Much like giving yourself a gold star, this practice helps keep track of which goals are progressing.

Keep Two Jars of Marbles

One of the reasons I was able to lose forty pounds last year was that it was very easy to keep track of carbs visually with marbles. Rather than marking a notebook or pulling out an app, I kept twenty marbles in a lovely jar. As I used up carbs throughout the day, I would transfer a marble for each carb into an otherwise empty glass for the same purpose. At the beginning of the next day, I’d move them back to the first jar and the count began anew. This approach was simple enough to keep up with, and the visual representation helped me get a sense of proportions.

But this technique can be used for other tasks besides diet planning. For example, I have also used marble counters to keep track of which clients were getting the most attention throughout the week. Much like a swear jar, any goal can be tracked with counters, marbles, or other small beautiful ephemera. If you have a goal to exercise three days a week and to read every day, you could start with three red marbles for exercise and seven marbles for reading.

Hang Bucket List-Inspired Art

The tradition of feng shui suggests that if there is a place you want to travel to, you should frame an image

of that place in your house. It doesn’t take geomancy to see the value in this practice. Instead of a movie poster or a random bit of art, consider decor that serves as a daily reminder of the future you are working toward. If your goal is to wake up earlier, frame a beautiful sunrise in the room where you most frequently stay up past bedtime. Make an annual ritual of rethinking this artwork. If the goal is incomplete, the next year you may add an additional item or replace it with a new piece if the old goal no longer serves you.

Place Goals Next To Vices

Television and video games have their place, but sometimes we turn to these activities out of habit rather than intention. Craft or place an object near your favorite guilty pleasure that reminds you of a different habit you’d like to cultivate. You can keep the next book you intend to read mixed in with your Playstation games or gather sewing projects in a wicker basket by the TV.

Desktop Background Reminders

If you have daily habits you aim to achieve, use your favorite graphic design program to customize your desktop background with reminders. If you are looking to practice gratitude, you might add the text Today I am grateful in your favorite font, over an image you already use for your background. As with your wall art, you could also choose an image that is representative of your goals. If you want to grow a garden, a lush garden landscape image will remind you to check on your plants every time you use your computer.

Ring In A New Habit

If you are trying to establish a new habit, you’ll want frequent reminders. Why not use your ringtone as a subtle notification? If looking to improve your posture, hearing “Get Up, Stand Up” when your phone rings could act as a random reminder to snap out of a slouch.

Choose a Tarot Card

Tarot cards represent life’s milestones. Rather than using the cards for fortune telling, search the deck for the single card that will guide you forward. It’s not necessary to understand the meanings of the cards; instead, choose the card that best speaks to the next phase of your life. Are you going to be studious like the Hermit? Seek companionship like the Lovers? Find balance with the Chariot? There are 72 cards to choose from. This is an excellent ritual for your birthday or New Year’s Day.

Create Seasonal Rituals

The above activities are fun ways to plan your goals, but they only become rituals through repetition. New Year’s Day is an obvious choice to mark in our calendars, but one day a year is not enough to fully contemplate if we are on the right path in life. Consider yearly rituals that match the changing of the seasons. The summer equinox brings the longest day of the year, a perfect half-way point to recommit to your New Year’s resolutions. Rather than planning goals again, spend this full day practicing those goals.

The harvest (August 1st in the Northern hemisphere) is a great time to make a habit of letting go of that which you no longer need. On this date, you might plan an annual pink elephant party or clean out your cupboard for a donation to the local food bank. A

harvest ritual can work on a deeper level as well, creating a space to mourn and acknowledge endings.

The annual Burning Man festival includes a space called the temple, where participants bring objects and photos to honor loved ones, projects, and relationships that have left their lives. On the final day of the festival, the entire building is burnt in a massive bonfire. In contrast to the more famous ritual of Saturday’s burning of the man, Sunday’s temple burn is somber, silent, and respectful. Though Burning Man is a secular event, many find such a ritual of letting go to be spiritually rewarding and profound.

Rethink Existing Holiday Values

It can be tempting to spend holidays vegging on the couch. (I know I’ve done so more times than I’d like!)

If you think through the values you want to activate in your life, you may find some existing holidays are a good opportunity to set aside time for. For example, Martin Luther King Day might be a good day to do voter registration or to organize an annual film or reading that inspires a family conversation about racial justice. If getting out in nature is your thing, repurpose Columbus Day as a day to explore local parks and trails. Groundhog Day marks the tentative first day of Spring; this is a fine time to ritualize cleansing and reorganizing your home.

Cultivate Your Traditions

In the early 1900s, a woman named Elizabeth Krebs was fed up with pranksters that trampled her beloved garden every Halloween. I might have been tempted to camp out with a broom to run them off, but Krebs was smarter about rethinking ritual. She started an annual Halloween party with food and prizes for costumes. It took a few years to catch on, but not only did Krebs save her garden, she also created the Halloween frolic. Though she died in 1931, Halloween costume parades are now an annual tradition in many cities, including Kreb’s town of Hiawatha, Kansas.

I tell this tale to inspire you to think big about what such a yearly ritual can grow to be. Your ritual should first serve your own values. But these rituals, whether somber or celebratory, will often work best if done in community. Many are eager to do something on a day off but don’t have anything particular in mind. Make a day pursuing your values and you may inspire others to do the same!

While you may wish to implement exactly as I have, I encourage you to use this list as inspiration for creative rituals that suit the kinds of creative work you like to do. How can you create rituals that serve the life you dream of? What is the life you feel called to? Consider how you can rework your space and time to treat the seeking of that path as a sacred act. Wouldn’t it be great to take stock of what’s important to you—philosophically and spiritually—and create or continue rituals that promote that ideology? There is so much in life to rejoice in. Do it with intention.

In the Spirit of Wellness M

y ever-present goal of achieving wellness in the fast-paced modern world has guided me towards trying numerous different treatments. Some worked, some didn’t and many I’m still not sure about. However, what I have come to realize is that wellness - true wellness - requires a holistic approach. You see, we’re not just a

physical body as conventional Western medicine likes to make us out to be. We are made up of a mind, body and soul. Which is why my wellness journey has always had a more spiritual approach.

To me, real wellness incorporates me as a whole and not just a small part of me. By paying attention to your physical body, mental body, emotional body and spiritual body, you can

find the path to true health and wellness. That is why many of the spiritual and wellness practices I’ve added to my life have their roots in ancient cultures. These ancient people recognized the connection between mind, body and spirit. As a result, they created complementary medicines and integrative wellness practices to support all facets of the human being.

In the spirit of wellness, I’ll delve into some of my favorite spiritual wellness practices. I’ll share details of the experience and outcome so that you can make an informed decision about what practices to try.

Gaia

The pursuit of wellness through spiritual enlightenment requires education.Although my choice of educational resources is usually books, I have found great value in documentaries; especially those found on Gaia. Gaia is Netflix for spiritual content. Here you’ll find information you’d never find on anywhere else (except a really deep internet search). Discover a large and diverse library of consciousnessexpanding videos and documentaries. There is no greater resource for finding the truth about wellness, spirituality and more than this alternative media streaming service.

Yoga & Meditation

The foundations of my wellness & spirituality journey began in 2015 when I started a regular yoga and meditation practice. It took me embarrassingly long to try both practices but I do believe it happened as it needed to - divine timing.

There is much I can say about these practices, but let’s keep it simple: they changed my life. Once I started, they quickly became the best part of my day and as my physical practice deepened so did my connection to source. This spiritual link has only grown stronger over the years and it’s on my mat where I find answers to my most pressing questions. Sometimes you can’t find the answers externally (through educational resources) and you have to travel within to seek guidance. Personally, I turn to reputable brands to help enhance my practice wherever possible. For yoga my go-to item is my Yoga Design Lab Combo Mat which is a mat and towel beautifully combined into one for extra comfort during difficult asanas. Not only are these mats gorgeous, but they are environmentally friendly as well. Their mats are made from recycled plastic bottles and natural tree rubber. For meditation, I’ve employed the help of a deceivingly simple tool created by Komuso Design. These meditation breathing necklaces were inspired by the Japanese Komuso Monks. The necklace helps you achieve the perfect exhale to create a ‘shift’ that calms the nervous system, slows the heart rate and reduces cortisol levels to relax the mind and body.

Alternative Therapies

I am a big believer in alternative therapies and natural remedies of all kinds. This makes up a big portion of my wellness habits as there are many alternative healing techniques. Over the years I have turned to self-care practices such as detox baths using

certain salts, aromatherapy through incense as well a nifty little tool called MONQ and many more. Recently I have been focusing on my energy centers and meridian lines as well. This has led me to regularly practice EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) or Tapping using the Tapping Solution App. Tapping is a type of acupressure technique that you can do yourself by tapping on specific meridian points on your face and upper body. This practice helps to calm you while also bypassing any mental or emotional blocks. Another practice I’ve been loving is Cupping which also works on the meridian lines along the body. A cup is used to create a local suction on the body to facilitate blood flow and the life force energy Qi. This has been essential to my wellness as it helps for pain relief, muscle relaxation and to balance hormones.

Divination Tools

As a certified Numerologist, I believe in the divine and mystical connection between numbers, personality traits and external events. The study of numerology gives numerical value to letters in words, names, places and themes. By studying the numbers that occur in your life you can better understand the themes and patterns that pop up. I use numerology combined with astrology to get a better understanding of what to expect in my life each month or year. It is important to understand that these tools don’t predict the future but give you an idea of what energy will present itself to you at certain times.

If you are pursuing wellness or spirituality in your life, it’s imperative to realize that there is no one ‘right’ path to follow. These concepts are subjective and their attainment is fluid - ever changing as you evolve. Use these practices I described as a starting point to experiment with and find your own way to wellness and enlightenment. My path is not yours and these ideas I shared are simply here to guide and inspire you. In the spirit of wellness, I urge you to forge your own path that suits you own individual personality and purpose on this earth.

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ictor Adewale Anate, creative lead and designer of Vicnate fashion brand is a 17year old protégé, with a passion for accentuating the female form and for creating jaw dropping avant-garde,

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A lover of bold colours and strong women, Victor creates pieces that celebrate women and their strength. He speaks of his love for his mother, aunts and his sisters and credits them as the main inspiration for the garments he creates.

The Exordium collection in his words is the start of a new era for the Vicnate brand.

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A Very Nigerian Holiday— Nostalgia and Rituals

As someone who never celebrated the holidays and still does not, the concept of the holidays being a special time just never connected, it was just like any other day except for the opportunities it gave me to people watch.

Growing up in Nigeria, the holidays were not celebrated the same way the rest of the world did; gift giving and so on. There were some traditions that showed the intersectionality of the

world. For instance, the end of the year was sort of a ritual for families to leave the major cities and some come home from abroad to their villages, a family reunion of sorts. Those reunions soon grew beyond the scope of celebrating the holidays and even families that did not celebrate the holidays all made the trip back home to spend time with family at the end of the year. Another example was the fact that the holidays seemed like it was mainly for children.

A major feature of the holidays in Nigeria, however, was the concept of the ‘Christmas Cloth’ . From the beginning of the year, fiscally responsible parents had begun putting aside money or perhaps already bought new outfits for their children to wear during the holidays. For children, the best part of the holidays was walking down the street in their new clothes and showing them off to all their friends.

Beside clothes, were fresh hairdo’s, hair made specifically for the season. The holidays were the best time of year for salons and hair stylists whose prices shot up due to the high demand for their services.

One of my favourite things about the holiday season was the quiet, when everyone has travelled to their villages my neighbourhood was quiet, that is a lie, with the fireworks and crackers, there was always a noise fest, but it was genuinely quiet at home.

Even more so this year, with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and Nigerian youths mourning the loss of innocent lives at the Lekki Massacre, the holidays were a lot more quiet than usual.

However, one ritual still held sway, the ‘Christmas cloth’ . This time though it was not about the children, young adult women wanted in on the action as well and two brands catered to their needs. Nigerian owned brand KAI Collective’s Gaia print was the print of the year in all its variations and was one of the brands at the

top Christmas cloth list for a lot of Nigerian women. The Alexis dress from, Nigerian brand MELODIA was next on the list. With everyone wanting to show off their Alexis or Gaia , and sharing their Christmas rice virtually, even placing orders for friends and family, the holidays on TwitterNG were full of nostalgia.

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Holiday Gems Playlist

Iused to think I hated Christmas songs. I dreaded the moment when the manufactured atmosphere coming off the Wal-bucks speakers would all be playing songs from the same playlist of all that is snowy and ribbon-wrapped. But in my first December as an obsessed radiostreamer, I discovered many delightful Christmas songs I’d never heard before.

Now that ’tis the season once again I’m looking forward to it. I’ve come to realize that what I hated about Christmas music was the same thing I’ve come to hate about commercial radio—it’s all so overplayed. Based on the narrow selection of songs you hear every holiday, you’d think that a

new Christmas song only comes along every other decade. This is ridiculous, of course.

There are thousands of bands making music every year, and even if many don’t have the holiday spirit, still many others must be tempted to hop on the cash cow of Christmas shopping. The oft-praised Sufjan Stevens has released his third Christmas album, for Santa’s sake! And you don’t hear a single one of those on the radio. Even Cardiff’s hippest hipsters Los Campesinos! are getting in on the action with their Christmas album, A Los Campesinos! Christmas

But just as Weird ole’ uncle Al likes to harp on about walking to school buck naked in forty miles of snow, I’ll take

any opportunity to complain about the dismal state of radio. The moral to this story is that there are tons of great Christmas songs out there that, just like in every other season, aren’t getting any airplay.

Here are a few of my favorite Christmas gems you won’t hear on the Christmas classics station. Some are indie rock and others are pop acts famous enough you may wonder why their holiday songs haven’t made their way into the mainstream. There are a few classics on this list, but they are performed by up-and-coming artists in new arrangements. This is a very chilled out playlist, perfect for your next holiday party, whether in person or online. Hence it avoids songs that are rambunctious enough that they won’t work as background music.

If you want to explore those options, there are additional Christmas gems to be found in punk rock, soul music, golden oldies, and jazz. Also remember

that the big names in Jingle Bell jingles like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Brenda Lee who all released so much holiday material that they have original, lesser-known songs buried in their catalogs. But for this list, we’re sticking with contemporary artists who perfectly straddle the zone between winter chill and hipster cool.

Highlights from the Rare Christmas Gems Playlist

I’ve been hooked on crooner Molly Burch ’s “To the Boys,” so I was excited to discover her Christmas album. We open with her “What do the Lonely Do at Christmas.” Her Christmas album has twelve tracks and fewer than half are covers.

For years Sia was known as an Aussie indie-pop singer, or perhaps that singer from Zero 7. But since her huge hit “Chandelier,” she’s close to being a household name. Her Everyday is Christmas album is the best pop

album I discovered for this list. Track two is her sultry voice over piano on “Snowman” and I couldn’t resist including “Santa’s Coming for Us,” toward the bouncier end of the list.

Indie folk was all the rage a few years ago, and that has left us with some lovely indie folk arrangements of Christmas songs by the Head and the Heart , the Lumineers , and The Civil Wars

In my opinion, the most impressive arrangement on this list is the Filous cover of “Let It Snow.” This Austrian producer’s “Bicycle” has been one of my top jams lately, and here has once again exceeded expectations. Before you listen to this song, remind yourself of the old Bing Crosby “Let It Snow” and try to imagine the grooviest version of this song possible. I bet it will exceed your expectations too.

Currently, A Christmas Duel is my favorite Christmas song. Years ago, the United Kingdom voted “Fairytale of New York” as the best Christmas song of all time. And if you’re in that crowd, you’ll love this track. Like the couple trapped in the drunk tank on Christmas, this song highlights how Christmas brings together people who aren’t always happy to be in the same room. Hilarity

ensues. It would be a great song if it weren’t the Hives with Cyndi Lauper, but seeing as how it is, double the greatness.

Pas/Cal ’s “Little Red Radio” is an upbeat, indie rock song that’s as pure as A Christmas Story. Much like the kids of that old Christmas flick, the narrative of this song is all about that one coveted present. And like the young characters in A Christmas Story what the indie rockers covet is just sweet and naive enough to make the consumerism palatable. “Little Red Radio” is probably the most spirited use ever of an organ used in a Christmas song.

Perhaps that Pas/Cal track had you shaking your fist at the commercialism at Christmas. Of Montreal is right there with you. If you like your music weird and if you prefer Buy Nothing Day to Black Friday, “Christmas Isn’t Safe for Animals” is the song for you. Barely a Christmas song and more of an anti-consumer artistic statement, Of Montreal is a band that frequently ties shrewd societal analysis with fantastical notions. It’s quirks like this that make me love Of Montreal all the more; either you’ll love this or hate it.

Rare Christmas Gems: Songs

Perfect for Your Next Holiday Party Tracklist

Molly Burch - What Do the Lonely Do at Christmas?

Sia - Snowman

She & Him - The Man with the Bag

The Magnetic Fields - Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree

Darren Hanlon - Spend Christmas Day With Me

The Head and the Heart - What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?

filous - Let It Snow

The Civil Wars - I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day

The Lumineers - Blue Christmas

Lucky Soul - Lonely This Christmas

Rufus Wainwright, Sharon Van EttenBaby, It’s Cold Outside Slow Club - Christmas TV

Dar Williams - The Christians and the Pagans Ariana Grande - Winter Things Pretenders - 2000 Miles - 2007 Remaster

Train - Shake Up Christmas

The Vamps - Hoping For Snow

Sufjan Stevens - Hey Guys! It’s Christmas Time!

The Hives, Cyndi Lauper - A Christmas Duel

The Kinks - Father Christmas

Jonas Brothers - Like It’s Christmas

Ben Folds - Lonely Christmas EveFrom “Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas” Soundtrack

The Killers, Toni Halliday - A Great Big Sled

fun. - Sleigh Ride

Sia - Santa’s Coming for Us

Kylie Minogue - 100 Degrees (with Dannii Minogue)

Tyler, The Creator - You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch

I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND MEChristmas Drag

The Wombats - Is This Christmas?Radio Edit

Pas/Cal - Little Red Radio of Montreal - Christmas Isn’t Safe for Animals

Mêlée - (When Is) Hanukkah This Year?

Join Us for a Livestream Listening Party of this Playlist

THE SPOTIFY LINK: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4H0emP3qKFke7hpy5kwjw1?si=Dc57OohPQfeJNm1D5S1yQw

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