When it comes to being a fashionista, we all know that maintaining style and fabulousness involves money. We all seek unique pieces, and most of the time we convince ourselves that it’s well worth the money. One would say, “$200 rainboots? Yeah, it’ll rain for sure. I need this.” With the economy the way it is these days, we are all rationalizing our budgets and pinching our pennies. What if there was an alternative to all of this? What if you could buy yourself a high quality, one-of-a-kind piece of clothing piece that’s affordable? You must think I’m bluffing! But look no further, I just found the site. An up and coming business called Sketch Street, this online store is where you can submit fashion sketches and have them come to real life! Based in London and recognized worldwide, Sketch Street is a new kind of style that us fashionista’s would love. With the wonderful opportunity of chatting with the founders of Sketch Street, check out this profile feature on the company and the owners, Widelia Liu and Anthony Chan!
Elaine Truong (left) and Jenny Bui(right) | photo provided by Calvin Eusebio
Meet Jenny and Elaine: together they own Antoinette’s Boutique, an online and non-profit store of handmade, vintage jewelry. The Boutique that’s only about a year old is divided into three sections: “handmade,” “vintage,” and “global.” These jewelries are either handmade by Jenny and Elaine themselves, made and sold by other local boutiques or online stores, such as Etsy, or they come from third world countries, which are made by the women there. Despite the fact that the idea of the company was created a year ago, they have created: partnerships with non-profit organizations and other similar jewelry stores, an up-to-date website that channels their vision of French chic-ness, and have already been mention in established publications such as, Teen Vogue, Seventeen magazine, and Pasadena Star News. Oh, and did we mention that they’re only sixteen and eighteen-years-old?
Continue reading for the full interview and for more pictures!
I am personally honored to know so many movers and shakers in the Asian American community and I hope many of those stories of hope and encouragement can be shared with a bigger population. Now, the government is giving us just the chance to do that.
The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders launched a challenge asking participants to submit personal stories about people who have had an impact on the people around them. The effort, called “What’s Your Story?” aims to highlight community service by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders whose dedication to a cause has made a difference in their communities.
Yay for community event successes! The Asian Professional Exchange (APEX) held their second charity mixer and fashion show to fundraise for the 17th Annual APEX Youth Olympics – a sporting event that brings together at-risk youth from inner cities to promote leadership through team-building exercises.
Over 500 professionals in the greater Los Angeles area came together to witness the work of trail blazing Asian American designers and entrepreneurs, Stella & Jamie, Line and Dot, Ai for Ai and Carol Chen Couture.
