Joomi Lim and Xavier Ricolfi at their New York City showroom.

Statement Jewels

Joomi Lim employs skulls, spikes and titanium for an edgy, high-end jewelry line.

story by DAVID YI
photographs by VICTOR CHU

It’s an early Friday afternoon, and jewelry designer Joomi Lim and her partner in business and life, Xavier Ricolfi, are running out of time. They’re conducting a meeting in their New York City showroom with a potential distributor, while simultaneously directing contractors on how to set up the lighting in the new space. They take time to speak with this reporter, before dashing off to an event at Saks Fifth Avenue to promote their line, Joomi Lim.

“It’s always this busy,” Lim says, chuckling.

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Kara’s Park Gyuri looking quite sexy in an editorial for Esquire, unlike her character in the currently airing Korean drama Nail Shop Paris. Click on for more images!

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Although Mother’s Day has passed, we feel like everyday is appropriate to celebrate all the loving mother’s out there. Michael Luangrath certainly felt that he needed to show his mother how grateful he was for all her hard work. Raising the bar for all Mother’s Day surprises, Luangrath decided to give his mother what she always dreamed of: a house to call her own.

Documenting his Mother’s Day surprise, Luangrath’s video tells us the story of his mother’s battle with cancer. Although she beat that struggle, the family was left with an unbearable amount of medical bills and Mrs.Luangrath resorted to working seven days a week at her small business to try and support her family. It broke Luangrath’s heart to see his mother living in the tiny space she called her home, so he decided put all his efforts into giving her a house.

Prepare your tissues and watch Luangrath give his mother one of the most touching gifts we’ve ever seen:

There is no doubt that women still face challenges in the workspace. In some situations, we still have to fight for equal pay, equal opportunity, and even equal respect. Although I’d like to think we’ve come a long way, the struggle is clearly not over. It seems that we not only have to battle men’s negative perceptions of us, but also our perception of ourselves.

Recently, studies have shown that women will sell themselves short when working with men. A series of experiments was published in  Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin where men and women were asked to work with one another. When given positive feedback, the women would tend to give more credit to the male and took less credit for themselves. While we may be quick to defend the female and point out that she is merely being modest, studies show that women react differently when working with other women. When their teammate is female, the woman in question does not undervalue her contribution like she did with the male teammate.

Upon discovering this disparity, the woman responsible for these studies, Michelle Haynes , commented “It underscores how the expectations women hold of themselves, and those they work with, influence how they process group feedback. Furthermore, it reveals that gender continues to play a role in how individuals derive these performance expectations.”

In the midst of fighting for higher ranking positions, why do we view our own contributions less favorably than then contributions of our male co-workers? Haynes adds that this mentality is “likely to impact how women view their efficacy at work and the degree to which they are likely to vie for competitive projects and promotions.” While fighting for equality must we also face our own negativity? Tell us what you think.

Read the original article here. 
Photo source

Just when we thought he couldn’t get any cuter, Kai gives us his rendition of Bruno Mars’ “When  I Was Your Man”. The four-year-old fedora wearing cutie made his first appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show in March and it seems like fans couldn’t get enough of  him. Get ready to squeal your heart out with Kai’s passionate singing, cute pronunciation, and hand-holding.

ABC announced on May 10th that they’ve picked up the pilot for the Marvel television series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Wasting no time to promote the show, a teaser trailer was also released. While it’s only 32 seconds, we catch a glimpse of actress Ming-na Wen (as character Melinda May) punching a guy in the face at the :18 mark.

Other cast members include: Clark Gregg (who reprises his role from the Marvel films as Phil Coulson), Elizabeth Henstridge (“Agent Jemma Simmons”), Iain De Caestecker (“Agent Leo Fitz”), Brett Dalton (“AgentGrant Ward”), Chloe Bennet (“Skye”) and J. August Richards.

DEPT POP-arazzi
ISSUE Spring 2013

story Hilal Nakiboglu
photo Russ Elloway

TEHMINA SUNNY

After a small role in the award-winning film ARGO, the London-born Indian actress appears next in a film with Josh hartnett and in NBC’s highly anticipated series MISTRESSES.

Audrey Magazine: First of all, congratulations on your involvement with Argo [Sunny played the Swissair ticketing agent].
Tehmina Sunny: Thank you! It was such a wonderful experience. I’ve always admired Ben Affleck as an actor, so to be actually working with him was incredible. He’s an amazing director, very respectful and down-to- earth. He had a great team around him, too.

AM: You have a film coming out later this year, with Josh Hartnett, called Singularity. Tell us about your character.
TS: I play the antagonist, Sonubai. She’s quite ruthless and not shy about getting what she wants, even if she hurts people in the process.

AM: Was she fun to play?
TS: Very. It’s only now that I’m playing the more ruthless characters. It’s fun. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting tougher, but I’m being seen more for these roles, and I love it.

AM: And Josh Harnett?
TS: His process was fascinating for me to watch. He’s opened me up to new ways of thinking about how to play a character and work with material. I’m so excited about that project. It just looks so stunning: the cinematography, the costumes, and the storyline. I believe it’ll be premiering at Cannes this year.

AM: How do you get ready for an event like Cannes?
TS: I stick to what works for me. I try to do yoga three or four times a week. Sometimes Pilates. A little bit of weights, but not too much. I love my cardio. I love spinning. I like running, because it puts me back in my own world, which I need sometimes.

AM: In her book, Mindy Kaling says that as she runs, her mind generates these detailed revenge fantasies. Does yours do that, too?
TS: [Laughs] Not quite. Running clears my mind. If I’m feeling anxious or even afraid of something, I’ll run, and it makes me better.

AM: What are you watching on TV right now?
TS: Everything. Homeland. I’m an avid Good Wife fan. I enjoy How I Met your Mother and Modern Family. I have eclectic taste.

AM: The Good Wife stars fellow British Asian actress, Archie Panjabi. Do you two hang out?
TS: She’s based in New York, so not really. But I did meet her at an Emmy party. When I was younger, I saw her in a film called East is East, and since then, I’ve followed her career. It was really nice touching base with her. She was very friendly and asked me, “How are you finding it here? How do you find the process?” And I was saying that four years ago, when I started, there was nothing. The calls that went out were very, very specific. Now, there seems to be more diversity and different roles within projects that I can be seen for. It’s great that the doors are opening.

AM: And what role would you like to see open up for you next?
TS: I’m not going to lie: I’d love to be the next Bond girl.

It’s all about Gatsby, Gatsby, Gatsby these days and who better to take the fashion lead than Fashion Designer Sue Wong with the launch of her Fall Collection titled none other than, “The Great Gatsby”.  At her recent birthday party/fashion preview, the Hollywood crowd amazed donning flapper girl dresses, beads and crystals galore with men dappered out in their suit and ties.  The red carpet was rolled out for celebrities in attendance such as Kelsey Grammer and his wife, actor Thomas Jane to the pop band Blush.

Wong is a fashion legacy known to create her collections centered around films such as “Eat, Pray, Love” and “Oz: The Great and Powerful” in the past.  For her Gatsby Collection, Wong wanted to “…bring to life the spirit of an era that Fitzgerald flawless depicted in his novel…” which is delicately designed in her flapper dresses that are decorated with rich beading and fringed skirts.  Audrey caught up with Wong as she describes who the Sue Wong woman is, the soulfulness of style and her hard knocks advice on getting into the fashion biz.

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Some Soo Joo Park to brighten up your Monday.

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Author: Eugene Sung

Raise your hand if you were under the impression that the majority of the products sold at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s is good for you.  *Raises hand* Yes, I’ll admit it…I’m a Whole Foods whore. While there are a lot of healthy and nutritious items at these stores, don’t be so quick to believe that everything you’re buying is good for you. A perfect example of this is a common food additive called carrageenan, which can be found in items sold at ‘organic’ supermarkets.

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