TALK DANA BOULOS

TALK’s Season 1 Finale comes to a close with artist, Lina Sun Park.

On this episode Dana and Lina sit down to TALK about how Lina has stayed busy with her ephemeral creations throughout the pandemic.

Based in Brooklyn, Lina, who used to make paintings and interactive installations found herself on more of a craft trajectory during the COVID-19 quarantine. She began taking her everyday surroundings - things like fabric and food and using them to create art. She enjoys that her creations are ephemeral -- that they don't last, specifically she loves that art pieces can be fleeting, which is a quality she finds to be especially beautiful. An added benefit to Lina’s creations is that because they are so carefully crafted with fabrics and materials she usually already has lying around is that they don’t contribute to even more waste.

Dana and Lina discuss what the future of art might look like, the benefits and downsides of social media, how she tends to find inspiration for her art pieces from poetry, movies and music as well as what her creative process is like when she gets started on a project. She also shares her grad school experience which we found super interesting.

Why TALK loves Lina -- We love that Lina’s work spans across so many different mediums and she’s found new ways to stay inspired and create art using just everyday items in her home,

We also love that she’s so thoughtful when working on her projects and enjoys creating pieces that don’t contribute added waste to the world. We look forward to seeing all her ephemeral creations and whatever else she may later have up her sleeve.

FOLLOW LINA: INSTAGRAM

Welcome to Episode 9 of TALK with Photographer and Creative, Prod Antzoulis.

Prod and Dana talk about their mutual love for analog photography. We also learn how Prod's creative journey began, his intricate thought process when planning a concept for a shoot, his source(s) of inspiration and so much more.

Prod is a Cypriot born photographer, videographer and creative director raised in Dubai. Based in the Middle East - Antzoulis shoots professionally, as well as for the heart, capturing daily sparks of attraction and fashion set-ups. Prod has worked with brands such as Gucci, Saint Laurent, Red Valentino, Okhtein and Amina Muaddi. Most recently, he shot GQ Middle East covers, including Latin pop-star Maluma, Mustafa the poet as well as the ‘Self Isolation’ issue chronicling tales that documented interactions between himself and eight Arab talents scattered across the globe, shot over Zoom during quarantine. He has also shot covers for Elle Arabia, Jamalouki, and Emirates Woman.

Prod and Dana discuss some of the challenges they’ve both faced when they’ve chosen to shoot analog vs. digital and how they’ve overcome those challenges as well as how they’ve proven their worth to doubtful clients. They also discuss projects they’ve worked on together, Prod’s love-hate relationship with Instagram and we get a deeper look at the GQ cover project he took on during the pandemic.

Why TALK loves Prod -- We love that Prod has always stayed true to his chosen creative method - analog photography. While it’s sometimes been an uphill battle, occasionally consisting of clients needing to observe bigger publications publishing his work to see that he is indeed very good at what he does, it’s paid off for him. We also love that at the heart of Prod’s projects lies a true desire to connect with other people and nurture the energy he shares with his subjects. Lastly, we love that he took a difficult time during the pandemic and turned it into a beautiful and thoughtful creative project.

Prod’s work has been featured in Vogue Italia, GQ, Schon! and Oyster Magazine, as well as regional publications such as Vogue Arabia, CNN Arabic, Mille World, GQ Middle East, and Emirates Woman - and he’s just getting started.

FOLLOW PROD: INSTAGRAM | WEBSITE

Welcome to Episode 8 of TALK with artist Amanda Wall.

On this episode Dana and Amanda sit down and discuss all things art. From Amanda’s  first artistic inspiration to when she picked up a paintbrush about 3 years ago and started to explore painting as an emotional outlet - only to find out that she was actually really good at it.

Amanda, always having been drawn to art has consistently found herself in creative roles, whether they had to do with brand identity and packaging, fashion, photography - in her own words she puts it perfectly, “It’s all about creating emotional response to basically an inanimate thing, and it’s something I’m really drawn to doing.”

Dana and Amanda also discuss Amanda’s previous roles including modeling, and how that role has made her reflect on her value versus now being in a more creative role. The conversation addresses some very valuable topics, specifically navigating public perceptions, imposter syndrome and insecurities, and how self-doubt seems to stem from what we think we are “supposed” to do. They also discuss the best way to deal with a creative block and how hard it is to actually take a relaxing vacation.

Why TALK loves Amanda -- We love that Amanda jumped into this creative outlet and is now a self-taught painter participating in numerous curated group shows. We also love her perspective on using art as an outlet, she makes a great point about periods of great art and breakthroughs in art following especially hard times and we couldn’t agree more.

FOLLOW AMANDA: INSTAGRAM | WEBSITE

On episode 7, TALK podcast welcomes Mikka.

Dana and Mikka discuss Mikka’s career as a model and digital creator in Australia making audio-reactive and interactive art, working with objects in fictitious landscapes as well as different mechanisms to display art in a real-world environment. Mikka also shares how he gathers inspiration, deals with self-doubt, and how he uses high-pressure situations to his advantage.

More About Mikka.

Mikka tells us how he got into creating Snapchat and Instagram filters and shares his thoughts on them currently. Working with brands in so many different tangential ways Mikka understands what companies should be doing and how they should be doing it. He also explains his process in working with clients, which is really relationship-focused and sounds like such a pleasant experience. He recently completed a print design for Chanel and was featured in i-D magazine’s article, “Meet the digital artists bending our minds and futures.” When asked how he made it into the industry he answered, “Faked it till I made it.”

Why TALK loves Mikka -- It’s hard not to love such a multi-faceted individual! He models! He creates! He believes it’s more important to be clear in what you want to be doing when speaking with people, and sees having different jobs to be advantageous. He’s passionate about learning about other forms of currencies and the future of art going digital. Perhaps our favorite part was his perspective on the benefit of continuously putting out creative work. Mikka believes that it’s key in tackling self-doubt as well as to have work you can actually look back on to gauge how much you’ve improved. Expect to see more amazing digital creations from mikkapedia.

FOLLOW MIKKA: INSTAGRAM

TALK’s sixth episode with Artist, Musician, Model & Muse - Zumi Roscow.

On episode 6 Dana sits down with Zumi to discuss Zumi’s artistic path, they cover how she became involved in The Black Lips, recording an album with Sean Lennon (in John and Yoko’s studio!!), walking a runway show for Balenciaga, and balancing an incredible personal loss whilst becoming the Gucci muse to Alessandro. Sit back and take this interview in, we have no doubt you’ll understand why Zumi Roscow is an inspiration.

Zumi tells us about her experience post-college when she found herself back in Los Angeles with no desire to partake in the world of acting and constant rejection that comes with the territory. She reached for her saxophone having not played it in over a decade and soon after found herself playing in bands. Fast-forward to the present day and in non-pandemic times you could find Zumi touring and performing with The Black Lips.

A self-described “late-bloomer,” Zumi also discusses how she went through years of self-doubt and how important it is to work with the right people, people who can keep you confident and elevated. She also points out how important it is to really go through all the experiences you can, that there is no skipping out on life experiences and moments. Ultimately going through life’s hardships make us all more empathetic and human connection can help overcome self-doubt -- a philosophy that checks out in our opinion.

The themes that come up throughout the episode are empathy, confidence, and fighting the idea of “perfection.”

Why TALK loves Zumi -- Zumi’s humanity shows through when she speaks. Clearly an artistic soul, you very quickly understand that you are in the presence of a sensitive and empathetic person -- important qualities for any creative person to have. We also love that she has consistently found herself in situations where she has been able to challenge the status quo (walking a Balenciaga show at 35 years old) and fully thrives in doing so.

FOLLOW ZUMI: INSTAGRAM

TALK’s fifth episode with Anthropologie’s Creative Director, Bobby Whigham.

We learn the trajectory of Bobby’s career on this episode, and we started to sense somewhat of a theme with our creative guests -- this world of creatives that shape so much of fashion, culture, and style often somewhat fall into their path or find that it finds them in some unpredicted way. Essentially, you can’t always plan these things. Bobby discusses some of the work he’s doing now, how he kept busy during quarantine, and offers some great advice for fellow freelancers and creatives.

Our episode begins with a look at Bobby’s initial career interests and how he ended up working retail and fully moving and growing through the ranks at Urban Outfitters from Buyer, Stylist Manager, Trend and Concept Design to lead Editorial Photographer all the way to Creative Director of Men’s and Women’s Brand Imagery.

After initially being rejected by the store associates at his local Urban Outfitters, he had a chance encounter with one of those same associates which ended up taking a chance on him and making him a dressing room attendant. Having always had the need to create, Bobby took it upon himself to shoot his friends and capture trending looks in New York City proving his passion and innate talent getting him promoted. For the next decade, Bobby grew with Urban Outfitters which we all know has always been right on the pulse of trends and culture amongst teens and young adults in North America. Currently, Bobby serves as Creative Director for Anthropologie continuing to expand on his vision for the company.

Bobby has consistently dipped his toes in other creative roles and mediums such as photography, making his own t-shirts for birthday parties, and collaborating with his long-time friend @rxmance on @Cowboy.Surf (inspired by what he could creatively take away from Orange County). Keeping busy with different projects probably has a lot to do with how he’s continued to stay fresh and imaginative for other companies aside from Urban, such as Pacific Sunwear and Ralph Lauren. He’s also been able to leverage his talent for spotting upcoming trends into a wardrobe role where he was able to bring a certain aesthetic that he understands so well to characters on Teen Nick and Netflix shows.

Why TALK loves Bobby -- Bobby is willing to try so many mediums and really keeps his creativity alive almost 24/7, it’s part of his ethos. We loved hearing how he acted as a multi-faceted asset to a brand so many of us are familiar with. Knowing that he has played a big part in this company also shows us that he understands his consumers and their desire for that cool and effortless look and feel so many of us strive for. Lastly, we love that he’s been able to expand on this talent and dive into his own passion projects with fashion, and even bringing his work onto the screen. We can’t wait to see what other projects come from this brilliant mind.

FOLLOW BOBBY: INSTAGRAM