La Carmina Interview
Tokyo Catwalk Magazine is in awe of the popular Harajuku fashion blogger and T.V host named La Carmina. After this interview we hope you’ll see why.
A bit about La Carmina: She is a professional Harajuku fashion blogger, travel TV host, author of 3 books (Penguin USA and Random House), and journalist (CNN, Huffington Post). Her popular blog on Tokyo fashion and subcultures - www.lacarmina.com/blog - has been featured in major publications-The New Yorker, Washington Post, WWD, Village Voice, Time Out New York, LA Times). She's appeared on The Today Show and co-hosted an episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern for Travel Channel, which airs in 75 countries. NHK Japan filmed a documentary about her work; recent TV hosting and arranging credits include Dutch Pepsi, Sony Australia, Canal Plus France,Belgium TV, Norway TV and CNN International in Tokyo. She's active in charity work, currently working with the NOH8 campaign, and raising money for relief efforts in Japan through art fundraisers and design collaborations.TC: You are now a triple threat, writer, T.V host, Clothing designer,wait and fashionista! (Can I say quadruple threat?) What I'm sure
everyone wants to know is, how did you get started? LC:Ever since I was one year old, I travelled yearly to Hong Kong and Asia with my family. In my early teens, I visited Tokyo and my mind was blown open by the stunning Visual Kei, Gothic Lolita and Harajuku Punk styles I saw. When I began my blog in September 2007, I was Yale Law student atcrossroads -- I needed to be in a more creative field. Blogging wasthe perfect way to share my love of Harajuku fashion and subcultures. Upon graduation, I had books and other projects in the works, so I decided to pursue this road instead. And never turned back. I grew up in Vancouver with no media/entertainment connections whatsoever, so my blog let me break into tight-knit industries such as TV hosting. Everyday, I’m amazed at the opportunities that arrive in my inbox; my adventures keep getting weirder , and I love it! TC:Did you hit any road-blocks along the way that you had to push your way through? LC:In 2008, I was working on both books -- Cute Yummy Time (http://www.lacarmina.com/cookingcute.php) and Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo (http://www.lacarmina.com/tokyorestaurants.php) -- simultaneously. Double the stress. I had to live/work in Japan, visit almost every theme restaurant in Tokyo, then create and photograph cute recipes, and make drawings for every page… it was a Herculean feat to finish everything by the deadline. Somehow, I made it. TC:You have written 3 books pertaining to Japanese culture .(1. Cute Yummy Time, 2. Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants : Tokyo, 3. The Cosmos in a Carrot: (A Zen Guide to Eating Well) Was it difficult to get them published? Could you explain the process for young authors who may want to give it a shot? and what gave you the idea to write about Japanese food? (Cute Yummy Time Book) LC:The process of getting a book published is a long and complicated one.I had a lucky start: on a whim, I wrote a short proposal and submitted it to an indie publisher. And they responded by offering me a contract. Later, I had built up a readership for my La Carmina blog (http://www.lacarmina.com/blog), which helped me sign with a New York literary agent. She pitched my Jpop book ideas to major publishers,resulting in deals with Penguin USA and Random House. I am fascinated with the intersection of pop culture and food. My cookbook Cute Yummy Time (http://www.lacarmina.com/cookingcute.php) was inspired by the adorable bento-decoration trend I saw in Japan.Think rice balls and sushi, made to look like smiling penguins and Hello Kitty. My book contains 70 recipes that transform everyday healthy foods into kawaii characters. Almost everything takes 10 minutes or less to decorate, and doesn’t require special equipment --so anyone can do it. All my books are available on my site. (http://www.lacarmina.com/books.php).*** *** *** *** *** *** TC:
Where is your favorite place to shop in Tokyo? and do you ever buy Japanese Fashion online? (if so, where?) LC:I am batty for the second hand store Closet Child, which has locations in Harajuku, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro. Here, you can buy Gothic LolitaPunk brand clothing -- designers such as h.NAOTO, Putumayo, Angelic Pretty, Baby the Stars Shine Bright -- at half price or less. Since I’m in Tokyo at least several times a year, I never buy Japanese fashion online.*** *** *** *** *** *** *** TC: Do you have a favorite brand? A fashion idol? LC:
I love Japanese Gothic Lolita and Punk underground brands; I have along list of favorites on the right sidebar of my blog(http://www.lacarmina.com/blog). My favorites include h.NAOTO, Moi-meme-moitie, Atelier Pierrot, Alice and the Pirates. I’m inspired by the Visual Kei glam of bands like GPKISM, Malice Mizer, Versailles, Candy Spooky Theater, Aural Vampire. TC:What are you most proud of in your career up to this point? LC:I never imagined that La Carmina blog - http://www.lacarmina.com/blog - would take off and lead to life-changing opportunities in travel TV,design and journalism. I hadn’t even considered this career path before, since it’s a hard one to break into. But I’m loving the wild ride, and everything grows bigger by the moment. TC:What is the best advice you ever got? LC:Once, when I was in a life/work rut, my friend told me: “It’s ok if you’re not doing something cool right now.” And she’s right: not every moment in life will be exhilarating. TC:What advice would you give to others? LC:Be adventurous. Take the biggest possible bite of life. Don’t wait, do it now. And try pumpkin pizza -- it’s delicious. TC:What is the last thing you bought? LC:Almond milk chai latte from Whole Foods. TC:What is the best and worst thing about living in Japan? and what would you tell others wanting to move there? LC:I think foreigners have to accept that they’ll never be 100% accepted by all members of Japanese society. No matter how well they speak the language and excel at their jobs, foreigners will tell you they never quite fit in. It can be frustrating. On the positive side, Westerners can use their outsider status as an advantage: they can act as bridges between cultures, and create their own fulfilling work. In any case, learning the language and being respectful of the culture will always help.Special Thanks to La Carmina. We hope to hear much more about you and your adventures in the future. Website http://www.lacarmina.com Twitter http://twitter.com/lacarmina YouTube http://youtube.com/lacarmina MySpace http://myspace.com/la_carmina Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/La-Carmina/7168818462
