A NIGHT IN LOS ANGELES

STRONG FACED, SOFT HEART

Today is the annual L.A Zine Fest. There will be hundreds of creatives hanging out and handing out their good work. I've never been able to attend but that doesn't lessen my appreciation for the zine culture.

A zine –in case you didn't know– is a self-published booklet that ranges from a variety of topics. They were really popular during the 70's in the punk rock scene and in the 90's for the riot grrrl movement. As of lately the zine movement has proven that it's still alive and thriving with more of them being spotted in bookstores and some  even included in art exhibits. There are bands, such as Skaters NYC, that still produce their own zines.

I was personally introduced to zines by my friend AJ Floresca. She first started by producing her own personal zines fall of 2014 and has since made a few of them public.

Strong-faced, Soft Heart is the title of the up and coming zine. It offers a collection of wonderfully curated doodles along with her own photographs and inspiring quotes. The zine ranges from music playlists, travel pictures, and stories with positive vibes.


On her website it states that SFSH is a zine with "no real purpose" which I don't believe. While reading her zines or going through her website I can't help but feel motivated by all the creativity it took to put it together and feel inspired by her words. AJ has a positive-mantra going in her work that mix well with her quirky drawings and words which I think can really resonate with people.

She also does a lot of calligraphy. You can take a look at that on her Instagram! We actually used her original design as our very first blog logo! She's also done other titles for our YouTube videos as well. She also happens to be very dedicated to journaling – otherwise known as the cooler way of scrapbooking– which can be quite inspiring since I can't even seem to finish an entire notebook. You can see a lot of that work here.

AJ is a creative that will continue to express herself through pen and paper so I suggest if you like being motivated and cheerful that you check her out.

Her zine is still a work in progress but you can read her first zine edition here!

Connect with AJ Floresca!  

AN INTERVIEW WITH JOSHUA FANNING

the original design by Joshua Fanning

Back in November we turned 2 years old and celebrated by revealing a new logo. This logo was designed by Joshua Fanning.

A couple of months ago I was casually browsing Tumblr when I stumbled upon Josh's work. His blog consists entirely of his original graphic design work which I became a little obsessed with. His eccentric, minimalist– Instagram friendly– style really appealed to me.

Throughout, our corresponding I learned little details about Josh such as the fact that he's based in Ireland. In other words, he's not even on the same continent as us. Honestly, that in itself made working with him so much more exciting because well, we've never even spoken to someone from Ireland let alone worked with someone.

Josh is a talented designer with a variety of notable works that range from album covers to creating tangible identities. So we thought it'd be fun to get to know a little more about him and his work so I present to you an exclusive interview with Josh!

                                                                                                                                                              

Paradise Demons - stickers

Since we couldn't meet up in person to conduct this interview I thought having him write out his answers would make this a little more personal. I couldn't interview an artist and not have him draw something, amiright?

I'd like to note that when I first examined his work I failed to notice that all of his work had a positive disposition. The simplicity of his work is charismatic. He seems to radiate good vibes in both his work and persona. As the interview continues we get to know more about his discipline as a graphic designer. 

One last thing, can we please take a moment to admire this dudes' penmanship!? I definitely wasn't expecting to receive that lovely handwriting or his charming self-portrait. 
(No offense intended Josh, you're just a lot cooler than I thought you'd be). 


1. Did you have a creative upbringing? 

I was a lego kid, which I would consider my start in making things, but I didn't have a particularly creative upbringing beyond the things I sought out myself.

2.  If you didn't, what influenced you towards expressing yourself creatively?
I used to draw constantly as a kid, and it kind of became what I was known for, so I embraced it pretty quickly.

3. What's the art scene like in Ireland?

Ireland has a really great creative community, primarily in Dublin. Its not really an important part of the culture in rural parts of the country like where I grew up.

4. Do you have an other artistic outlet other than graphic design?

I love loads of different design disciplines, from architecture to industrial design, and I'm starting to get into ceramics now too.

Personal Work  // On the right is work that was tattooed!

5. I saw on your Tumblr that someone had one of your original designs tattooed! How do you feel about that?
Its the best compliment, sometimes I get the chance to design tattoos for people too which is always a super nice job to get.

6. Your work is very minimalist, has it always been that way?
For as long as I can remember I've been doing pretty minimal work, I really like the idea of reducing things down to the simplest form at which they can work. 

7. Was it difficult for you to develop your style?

I think my style grew pretty naturally with time, it was kind of an instinctive development. Right now I'm trying to get away from the style I've developed. A style is a great thing for an illustrator who's trying to sell their abilities based on their personal style, but for a graphic designer it can be kind of limiting to making good work. 

8. Tell us about your favorite (graphic design) project you've worked on so far.
My favourite project so far was a small book that I produced as part of my graduate work called The Art of Sun Worship, which is a collection of different short works of literature about the pursuit of a good life in nature. (check that out here)

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Connect with Josh!  
Tumblr | Portfolio | Instagram

or send him an email at joshua-fanning@hotmail.com

REAL TALK: SOCIAL MEDIA

I'm a huge fan of social media. In the last few years it’s evolved into amazing platforms that have made so many positive contributions for the world. Regardless of that I can’t help thinking that it's more or less turned into a weapon in our hands that we are metaphorically– and perhaps unknowingly– pointing at each other.

Let me explain, a couple of months ago Essena O'Neill had an internet melt down, from what I understood her melt down was due to the fact that she felt she was a hoax on social media. Although I don't completely agree with everything she's doing or saying–that could quite possibly be an entirely different post because, well, I'm opinionated– she did remind me of something very important; Not everything on social media is real. 

I'm going to go ahead and say what very few people like to admit on social media–life can suck. Every single person on this Earth is going through something– whether their social media account shows it or not.  Very few people live the lives they post about on social media. Can you imagine if people actually posted about every aspect of their lives? It wouldn't be very interesting to look at, because let's face it, we aren't constantly doing something interesting.

As a struggling college student I can confirm that life isn’t always great. Most people I follow on social media are also college students and we all know how sad it is to be a college student in the U.S –aka expensive. If we were keeping it real on social media then those neatly centered, vibrantly filtered Instagram posts of food or elaborate shots of your latte last Tuesday would turn into pictures of cup of noodles for dinner or you crying next to a book which you have to write a 15-page essay on by 8 am the next day. It's real life.

I realize that we all lead different lives and there is definitely a handful of people on social media that maybe do live the life they post about but even your favorite blogger or fashion icon has to take time out of their glamorous lifestyle to do something very typical and boring. Life is just not always interesting or cool or aesthetically pleasing.

A couple months ago I found myself feeling a little down– when I say this I mean that life was not going well and I was sad– and I'd log into <insert any social media site here> and I'd log off feeling a little worse because I saw posts of people having a good time with friends or people on vacation or someone in their happy relationship. I don't think I'm alone when I say sometimes you go through sad phases and going online makes it worse.  When you're already feeling down seeing these posts on Instagram, or any social media site, from real people make it seem like you, in your sweatpants, on a Friday night is socially unacceptable. It makes you feel like everyone is doing better in life than you. Negativity fills your thoughts even if it’s temporarily.

                                                         

This is what I mean when I say social media is a weapon. It can destroy you. Social media should not be making you feel sad or anything negative as a matter of fact. If you feel miserable after scrolling through your feed you're forgetting that you don't have to be doing what everyone else is doing. Even if you do want to do what everyone else is doing but can't for whatever reasons remember that everyone is at different stages in life, everyone is experiencing different things! You will get where you want to be in life at your own pace.

It's so easy to use social media to compare ourselves to everyone else, I know that from firsthand experience. Social media can and should be used to create a wave of positivity into our lives. Grab inspiration from what others are posting and let it motivate you to improve you and your life. Don't let something as stupid as social media make you miserable. 

There's a phrase I once heard that I feel defines our generation, "If you don't post it online, did it really happen?". We as a generation feel that in order to live life to the fullest we have to document every aspect of it but let's be real, not every moment of life looks pretty on our feed and that's okay. No, but seriously, there is so much more to life than pictures of nights out and coffee. All the ups and downs of life can not be documented on an aesthetically pleasing feed. I’m not hating on social media at all. I love it. I support all the posts featuring coffee, nights out, selfies and hauls. I just think that we need to use social media with caution in order for it to not affect us negatively.

Ultimately, don't expect me to to start captioning my pictures with all the sad things that are actually happening or posting a video of me crying because life sucks. I most definitely don't expect that from anyone else either. I don't think that social media should be more authentic. Life is way too dynamic for our posts to be completely genuine. 

Just don’t get caught up in all the facades. 


Diana x

BREAK BREAD - AN ART INSTALLATION BY SCOTT HOVE & BAKER'S SON

"Break Bread is a 30 day art installation by artists Scott Hove and Baker’s Son. A whimsical candyland with a dark twist, Break Bread is filled with floor-to-ceiling cake sculptures, cake chambers, and a nostalgic watercolor ice cream truck. Special events will be held in this unique space throughout the month, ranging from immersive theater experience, supperclubs, to comedy shows." - Think Tank Gallery

Follow: Scott Hove , Baker's Son, Think Tank Gallery 

THE LOST TAPES | 2015

We are roughly a few hours away from the new year which means that this is our last post of the year. I thought long and hard about 2015 because I wanted to write a nice, deep and insightful post about this year but I couldn't think of anything. When thinking about it I actually just shrugged and sighed. It probably describes 2015 best for me; one huge sigh but Alex, being the ball of sunshine that she is, brought to my attention that 2015 was actually a pretty good year for us.

In 2015 we had our first road trip together, got our first real jobs, started our second year of university, celebrated our second blog anniversary, collaborated with other creative individuals, attended multiple concerts and were introduced to adulthood. So I guess 2015 deserves more than just a shrug and a sigh.

There was some ups and downs in 2015 because quite frankly we were forced into adulthood, we didn't just dip our toes we were pushed in and were fully submerged into it and had to face, like, all the responsibilities that come with growing up, ya know? But all those bad moments had quadruple of good moments to match. For the first time, I'm ending it on a good note, surrounded by good company and a healthy mindset that's ready to take on whatever 2016 throws at me. I hope you're ready too.

As our final salute to 2015 we made The Lost Tapes. These videos–or tapes, if you will– are random moments that were filmed at some point in 2015 but didn't make it onto anything we ever published. These moments at the time seemed normal and maybe even insignificant but while looking through them they reminded us of some good times that we almost forgot about.

Enjoy this selection of funny and memorable clips from our year. Perhaps it'll inspire you to make your own, please tag us if you do.
#TheLostTapes





thumbnail art by AJF

EST'13

 A MILESTONE
Two years ago on this day Carolina & Alex was born. That's right! It's our first milestone anniversary. I don't think either of us thought we would stick to this particular blog for this long but after two years, I think it's a keeper. We started it in hopes of turning it into a fashion/style blog but that's not really what we've concentrated on. We realized that it was more exciting to document our life experiences and encounters. It's allowed us to stay inspired, motivated, and creative which you know can be hard to do when you're two struggling college students. So far we are happy with the content we have been producing – but don't worry we know there's always room for improvement. That's actually what we are focusing on: improving what and how we post. The beginning of the year should bring a couple of improvements to our blog! Just wait!









 THAT NEW NEW
In celebration of turning two I reached out to Joshua Fanning, a graphic designer, to help come up with a new logo for our blog! When we were discussing symbols he could use, we were torn between skyscrapers and palm trees, two things we feel represent us well due to the fact that we reside in SoCal. He came up with a couple different designs for us and we decided on the one pictured above! The one with the black background is the one he originally sent, which we absolutely loved! It gives off a very summer vibe but it's okay because the cold doesn't last very long here in LA.

 Keep an eye out for a post all about the talented artist that designed our new logo!

THE VISION
This blog is still small but we've definitely grown, literally and creatively, since our first post.The idea is still to expand this platform to include other creative underdogs. The best part about the last two years is that we've done exactly that. We've met and worked with a couple other creative people – which has honestly been the best part– but we haven't focused on it as much as we'd like to. Posting about our personal projects and experiences is fun but we also think it's more fun to include the talents of others. We definitely hope to include more of that on this blog in the very near future.

These last two years have been fun! So here's to  a couple (or a lot) more!

*clinks a cup of coffee*

Thanks for reading!

p.s check out our updated FAQ and About pages!!