photoshoot

My photographer friend, Deborah Atalig, asked me to help her realize her concept of shooting a designer surrounded by all of her random work paraphanalia for her portfolio. At some point I randomly picked up a piece of yellow tulle and put it on my head as a joke and D fell in love with the idea, as you can tell from some of the other photos. These are my favorites from the shoot. (This is not what my studio looks like normally.) Click for larger images. To see more of Deborah’s work, check out her website. She also took the photos for my website, zoehong.com.

happy birthday danielle!

Happy birthday, my dear. It has been almost 3 years since we’ve “met” through our blogs. Three years of good times and long talks and watching each other’s careers soar and falter and take off again and swapping anecdotes and advice and laughing till we cried and crying till we laughed.  You are so ridiculously talented and it has been a joy to watch more and more people recognize that ridiculous talent of yours over the years. I hope you have an amazing day and I hope lots of people come to your party to celebrate you in lieu of those like me who are far away.  Love you lots and I hope to see you soon!

not a lot to say

There are things in the works that I can’t really detail right now. Why? Because no one wants to read a post that long. Because I try not to count my chickens before they hatch.  However, I can report that I’m hopeful and excited and feeling better about my work than I have in a long time. (Special thanks to A!)

On another pleasant note, a couple of weeks ago, a fashion student emailed me, asking to interview me for a school project. I agreed, which I often do. Yesterday I received a very nice thank you card from her in the (snail) mail.  Combined with her approach, her manner during our lunch and her followup, she just jumped to the top of my list of people who have asked to be my intern.  This is the kind of person I want to speak on behalf of my company.  I only mention this because people are always asking me for tips on how to get hired/promoted/started/etc.

Thanks for all your well wishes–I am definitely feeling much better these days. The migraines stopped and then I got a headcold, which is in its last stages. I love being sick! It’s so sexy! Oy.

migraines. hate.

2 weeks, off and on. My sincerest apologies for emails and phones calls not returned in a timely manner.  I’m trying.

gah!

I LOST MY BLOCK!!! I’ve looked everywhere!!!! #*&^$@)(#(*&%^(_@()*@!(!(!!!!!

random notes

–What am I doing now? Trying to sell my current collection.  Designing my next collection.  Making a list of all the mistakes I made my first season.  Cursing 20/20 hindsight. Trying to not let my self-flagellation get too severe.

One of friends once said, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we believed the things our friends said to us?”  You know, when they tell you you’re awesome, that everything will work out, you look like you lost weight, it’s really not that big of a deal.

On the other hand, the husband once told me about this essay he read once, about depression actually being psychologically realistic, while optimism was the true mental delusion.

–I’ve received a little bit of positive response from my collection. It’s encouraging, as the response is mainly from people whose opinions I respect.  I tend to need an ego boost when starting a new collection.

–Trying to socialize a little, take a little breather.  Went to a wedding last Saturday, going camping for 1 night this weekend.

–On a personal note, my father found some long lost relatives in Korea.  They are my mom’s side of the family; my father had lost contact with them when my mother passed away. I haven’t seen them since I left Korea 24 years ago.  I’m going to Korea to see them! I don’t know when, but hopefully before my grandmother passes away (she’s in her 80s).  Yeehaw!  The first time I called my aunt, she freaked out because apparently my phone voice is just like my mom’s.

–Want some instant gratification? Grow a mint plant! My boss gave a cutting of wild mint and it took a little bit to take root and now it grows and grows so fast and it smells amazing.  I also got a chocolate mint cutting from a friend and she’s been growing pretty fast too.  You can really smell the chocolate with the mint.  I just set them by a north-facing window and water them once a week.  It’s really rewarding to see new sprouts and it’s fun that they grow so fast, since building a collection is such a slow process. (I also have a teeny weeny grafted cactus that grows very slowly but that’s good because she’s cute small.)

Not to say I’m giving up fashion to be a botanist or a gardener anytime soon.  Apparently I was born with fashion in my blood.  My aunt has had the same clothing store for 30 years, and when I was a tot in Korea, I’d go visit her store and pretend I was a customer, picking out stuff and asking her how much it was and then I’d pretend I was a stylist, telling the actual customers that something wouldn’t look good on them.  (I left Korea when I was 4, so I don’t think I really offended anyone…)

How are you?

i love danielle

I just got off the phone with Danielle, aka Final Fashion, and I just needed to yell from the rooftops that she’s amazing!  Long story short, I’ve been feeling incredibly beat down and low and generally filled with self-loathing lately and we had such an interesting, fun, funny roller coaster of a conversation on the phone and now I feel like I can conquer the world, including tackling the mess that is my house.  Woohoo!

happy holidays!

*

Dear

VC readers,

I’ll be heading

to L.A. to see family for

Christmas and

then heading back to the Bay

Area for the New Year’s parties. Yes, I’ll have

my laptop hooked

onto my belt for most of the time, working

on my spec packs, but I will be

taking a few days off too. Have a wonderful holiday

season!

Love, VC

emily!

I don’t know about you, but I totally want this one.  (You know, in case your kids are anything like me, which for your sake, I hope they’re not…you know what I mean…)

mad props, yo

You can spot an art school student a mile away, especially fashion students.  They have the drawing boards tucked under their arms, oversized tote bags with an assortment of rulers sticking out sagging under shoulders, artbins hanging from the arm that’s just a little longer than the other, and bags under their eyes from lack of sleep.  I see girls finish up illustrations on their laps on the train.  Man, I am so glad all of that is over for me.  Because you know, once you leave school, you never stay up all night to get work done or agonize over this and that until you get nosebleeds.

But seriously, I gotta give these students mad props for being able to deal with the hassle of school while commuting by train.  It was hard enough for me to go to school but it would have been a great deal harder if I didn’t have my car.  We all schlepped so much stuff back and forth, not to mention stuff we’d have in the car, on the off chance we might need it that day.  It would suck to have to carry your final projects to school in the mass of rude shuffling bumping bodies that is the morning train.  I did a summer in London, and I took the tube everywhere, but had no classes that required major schlepping.  Taking a full backpack everywhere was crazy enough.

So yeah, mad props, guys.  And good luck.