Author: Confessions of a Jetsetter

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Rachna Hukmani

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“My younger self did not really believe in miracles. To her I would say just let go. Believe that opportunities have a way of presenting themselves and that I am somehow always protected. My first day in NYC and the U.S. was 9/11. It completely changed me (and everyone who experienced it for that matter!). I was scheduled to be at the World Trade Center that day and miraculously missed the train that would have situated me there right when the towers fell. My sister and I missed that train by 3 seconds. I still get goose bumps thinking about it. I am so grateful and in awe of how every opportunity since then has paved the path for me to find creative ways to travel to new places safely. Each trip reveals clues about what I am meant to be doing which is to create something of my very own that hopefully inspires. This is what my company Whiskey Stories is to me. A  form of self-expression that tends to evolve naturally on its …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Maurizio Zatachetto

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“Definitely New York has been significant with how I now perceive the world. There is no other city like it. I had this fascinating feeling that I would somehow find the missing portion I was always looking for to allow myself to freely be the real me. When I first arrived, it wasn’t easy like most people can imagine. But after a short period of time, everything changed, changed me both as a man and as a creative. There’s such an amazing alchemy in that city. A kind of environment that I’ve only ever experienced there.” – Maurizio Zatachetto    

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Erick Hercules

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“I’ve had the battle between stillness and chaos be primary subjects in my head – artistically speaking – even before I learned to distinguish them both apart in my photographs. Growing up, I was always drawn to images that depicted still backgrounds combined with a subject “on the move”. Stills with people running, looking back, jumping, or even walking were always more thrilling to me than a simple picture of someone standing still.  After attending music school, I realized I might have found a link between “action” in an image and why I was so interested in them.  In music, a “cadence” is the end of a musical phrase. It is the end of a sentence. Where the notes finally return home. Where everything is finally at peace. But before that cadence, music is always at unease. That’s what makes music so appealing. Your ear is waiting for music to return back “home”. An image with movement causes the same effect. There is an untold story told in one frame. What happened before? What will happen …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Laurs Kemp

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“I moved to Portland from Arkansas in 2012 to launch my clothing line and seek out more creative opportunities with like-minded people. There is such a rare atmosphere of collaboration and encouragement in the Portland arts and fashion community. My collaborations with all the amazing female artists and makers in Portland is truly one of my biggest inspirations and influences. I became the designer-in-residence at a Portland shop called Backtalk, where the owner Katie Freedle exclusively features the work of independent designers. In my year at Backtalk, I was able to develop my line and meet so many amazing collaborators. One of my favorite collaborations was a photo shoot I had at Backtalk using local photographer Hillary Boles for my most recent collection. This collection was inspired by the 1991 arthouse film, A Little Stiff, 1980s Japanese minimalism, and the song, Yama Yama, by the Yamasuki Singers. In fact, I titled the collection Yama Yama. For models, I reached out to the gorgeous Kassala Holdsclaw through Instagram, and I also used my all-time favorite muse, …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Alyse Liebovich

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“In 2009 I was offered an irresistible opportunity to spend a month in Tanzania photographing the grassroots beginnings of what has now evolved into Lake Tanganyika Floating Health Clinic/WAVE, an organization aiming to build a floating hospital ship to provide ongoing medical services for the people living in the four countries that border the lake: Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Zambia. I had done a decent amount of traveling both in the U.S. and abroad, but I knew when I boarded the frighteningly small plane to transport us from Dar es Salaam to the remote lakeside sustainable organic farm we called home, I was about to embark on a whole new adventure. During that month, I celebrated World Malaria Day in Korongwe, participated in a mosquito net delivery via boat to several villages, spontaneously boarded the famous Liemba in the middle of the night, and fulfilled a lifelong dream of going on safari in Katavi National Park, where I got choked up when I first spotted giraffes in the wild amidst the …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Lynn Kim Do

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“So there is actually a specific encounter with two strangers that I tell over and over again during formal dinners or drunken sloppy Happy Hours. It’s not my trip to Turks & Caicos or Paris or even Vietnam. It is actually an encounter in Baltimore. I tell it because it’s funny, dynamic, hopeful, involves a love story and someone dies. Okay, maybe not the last two. But all things considered, it could make a melodramatic scene in a movie. Haha. It was an underwhelming yet subconscious-changing event.  In the encounter, many things could have gone wrong. It was the trust between the parts — the individuals in this story — which made it utterly beautiful. This story began with a road trip I took last October when I turned 23. I wanted to travel but I didn’t have the funds, I wasn’t sure how long I could take off of work, and I was super superstitious about not making traveling plans during Mercury Retrograde. I decided to take my best friend’s advice – “If you …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Tanya M. Odom

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“For me, being a sola woman traveler means that I am often stepping outside my comfort zone. I am often the only woman seated in an area of the plane, in the airport lounge, or at breakfast in the hotel restaurant.  I do it anyway. I enjoyed hearing Gloria Steinem talk about eating out alone. After being in a country for several days, and especially if it is a new project – I often treat myself to a very nice restaurant.  After working on a global project, I remembered wanting to treat myself while in Paris. I remembered reading a review of a restaurant in Paris that talked about how people dining alone were not treated well, and that they did not get a “seat with a view.” I am glad that I went anyway… I was seated right next to the window at Le Jules Verne, and the service, view, food, and wine were all spectacular. I was given a tour of the restaurant, and took tons of photos.  I am glad that I …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Amy Zhao

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“North Korea is one of the most mysterious places on earth right now. The experience of going to North Korea has already been the best pick-up line of mine for months. Not only because it sounds intriguing in conversation, but also, it taught me a lot because I would never have believed there is still a country like this without actually getting into it. As a student who majors in politics, the concept of third wave democratization is deeply rooted in my mind. But, North Korea changed my idea and my whole concept of the world. The concept of political culture didn’t actually exist in North Korea because there is basically zero citizens’ participation in politics. Citizens accept the political facts and they are living under a relatively stable situation apart from the outside world. What they care about are their daily lives instead of political issues. As far as I could see, the life standards in North Korea are like those of the Chinese in the 1960s/1970s. But changes to their lifestyles and political systems …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Martin Brusewitz

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“I was walking down a dusty road in the town of Harar in eastern Ethiopia. It was one of the main roads and full of people and traffic. I’m really tall and most Ethiopians aren’t so I was drawing some attention. At this point I was used to it though. I had travelled for months through Ethiopia and everywhere my height drew attention. Understandably so. Even in my home country of Sweden, I sometimes feel like I’m from another planet. In Ethiopia people were staring, laughing and yelling jokes at me all the time. Anyway… All of a sudden further down the street, I see something. A head is floating way above the crowds, just like mine. Could it be? A few moments pass by and I realize it’s not my lonely mind playing a trick on me. It’s a brother. A tall Ethiopian. Our eyes meet. Everything goes quiet. We start smiling. We walk straight towards each other. Our smiles growing. Around us, the daily life of Harar goes on like it was just …