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VENEZUELAN JEWELRY BRAND MGH

Sallida | 9. June 2015 | Designers

Venezuelan Jewelry

MGH is a Venezuelan jewelry brand inspired to create positive energy; each piece is hand made and has a unique meaning reminding us every day that the most important thing is to live fully and with the best attitude. I have been obsessed with MGH ever since I saw them a couple of weeks ago, and I cannot wait to receive my little MGH package soon, nevertheless, I prepared a little interview with Liliana M Barela to discover more about this Venezuelan brand.

How did you get into fashion?

Since we were in college we were passionate for women accessories, we used to make earrings and necklaces for our friends and for ourselves, and one day decided to make it a business and a way of living

How did you come to start your own line?

We decided to mix our love for yoga and our love for fashion and started a meaningful jewelry line named chakra bracelets, full of positive energy

Tell us about your collections, how would you describe your design aesthetic?

Our lines have designs made by our creativity mixed with ancient symbols like zodiac signs and chakras mandalas. They are meaningful jewelry full of positive energy. Our idea is that you can wear something that is beautiful but at the same time has a special meaning for you, something that makes you special and happy, and that happiness is contagious; you can spread your good vibes with the rest of the world, making it a better place.

How much does travel influence your designs?

Is there any place in the world you haven’t been to yet but would like to visit from a professional perspective? We would love to visit India one day, there is so much ancient knowledge that we just don't know about, they have all this special way to see life and energy that is just amazing.

Where do you find inspiration for your creations?

I think we are boho chic, we mixed ancient and fashion style.

Which phase is the most delicate in creating a piece of jewelry?

The most delicate phase is gold plating, we want our pieces to be as good and durable as they can consider is a copper plating piece. We want to sell accessible accessories but with the best quality possible

What piece of advice would you give a young designer who just graduated from college?

You need to be really patient with clients, dealing with people every day is complicated because everybody has their own issues, but as we stand with our designs, with a good attitude you can manage every situation in a positive way. My advice for every person that has a dream is to pursue it no matter what, ideas are fragile and can be destroyed by people saying to you that you won't make it, so fulfill yourself with only positive comments and dismiss the bad ones, surround yourself with positive people and work hard, new ideas are crazy only until someone makes it successfully!!

What is elegance according to you?

Elegance is whatever makes you feel comfortable and pretty, something that makes you feel in peace with yourself, as coco channel said: elegance is when the inside is as beautiful as the outside"

What’s next for you professionally?

We are launching our website this year hopefully, to continue to internationalize our brand.

To know more about this brand please visit: By MHG

ROSWITHA MOTI FASHION LIFESTYLE BLOGGER

Sallida | 7. June 2015 | Fashion

Fashion Blogger Roswitha Moti

Roswitha Moti is a young multitalented Fashion&Lifestyle blogger, who is also an Integrative Health Coach. Estilo Tendances is her fashion&lifestyle blog where you can find the latest Fashion Tips & Tricks, Style How-to's, Beauty Hacks and Lifestyle advice. Well, Fits You is the place where she teaches women to be Happy, Healthy, Wealthy and Fulfilled.

Today we talked to her to discover more about her projects, and what makes her so successful in both of her blogs.

How did estilo-tendances start?

Estilo Tendances started as a hobby. I was very passionate about fashion, style, and beauty and would literally spend 1-2h every day reading other people's blogs. I still remember how I would come home from school (I was in high school) and prepare dinner and then while eating, I was reading all the new blog posts - I had a list of 20-30 blogs that I would revisit daily to see what was new. You could say I was a bit obsessed (laughing).

After I graduated high school and was not very happy with the choice I had to make regarding my university (I enrolled to be a power engineer), I decided to start my own blog, with the help of my boyfriend. I wanted only to write about what inspired me and Mihai (my boyfriend and the owner of Male Extravaganza) would take care of the tech part. If you are curious about the name of the blog, "Estilo" means "Fashion" in Portuguese (I love this language) and "Tendances" means "Tendencies" in French - again, another language that I adore. And no, I do not know any of these languages, although I started learning a bit on my own last year.

This is how, on the 24th of July 2010, Estilo Tendances was born as a personal blog about Fashion.

What inspired you to start your blog?

I admired the girls that had their own blogs about fashion and I always wanted to be just like them. I thought it must be so empowering and cool to have your own blog, that people read and love. Besides sharing my view upon fashion and style, what I really wanted was to be "someone" and have a future career in this niche. (I am sure this is almost every girl's dream: have a career in fashion)

Of course, things have changed massively. After 2 years of blogging, I realized that if I want to build the empire that I dreamed about, I cannot do it alone. I started recruiting writers and create a team that was passionate about Estilo Tendances and what it could become. This is how in the last years, we ended up working with a few dozen writers. Since this happened, of course, we also expanded our categories and Estilo Tendances was not just about Fashion and Style, but also about Beauty, Lifestyle, and Health.

What was the biggest influence on your love of fashion?

I think my grandma. I was brought up in a family that was very religious and what I mean by 'very' is no jewelry, no makeup, no short skirts, etc. So, the only person in my family that was totally opposite, was my grandma. She was always in fashion, always wearing makeup and amazing jewelry. Every time she would go somewhere people would just stop and stare, because she was so different and so classy and elegant - most of the time wearing white and high heels (and she was in her 50's). I always saw her as my role model and wanted to become just like her - fashionable, beautiful and someone people would admire.

What is your favorite part of being a fashion blogger?

I do not consider myself a "fashion blogger" anymore since, in the last year, I barely had time to write any articles about Fashion. When you become the manager of your company, you do not get to have time to do the simple things you used to do - like writing. Plus, my love for fashion slightly decreased, because I became a Health Coach and my attention shifted to lifestyle and health. But, the best part of being a blogger is having the opportunity to create a dream job. I have been self-employed for the last 9 months (after graduating Power Engineering) and managed to pay my rent, my tuition, and all the other bills, without having to get 'a real job'. It is amazing to be able to create your job and work whenever you want to and from anywhere that has an internet connection. I get to wake up when I want to, to go out anytime I feel like it, and to be my own boss.

I think this is the most amazing thing ever!

Where do you get ideas for your post?

Every trimester we do keyword research and come up with a few dozen article ideas. The whole keyword research is not an easy process, we usually analyze to see which are the most popular topics on each category and then we think of titles. Plus, after we write each article, we look for the best keyword and then we optimize the article for SEO purposes. I am sure people expected me to say that we get inspired by abstract things, but the truth is, once the hobby becomes a business, you get more analytic about each task. But, of course, we only pick the subjects we have some input on or we are willing to experiment and research. It is highly important to write about things that you love - not just about things that are popular. We do both, this is why we managed to double Estilo Tendances traffic every 2-3 months.

Who are your fashion icons?

Tough question. I guess my 2 favorites would be Anna Dello Russo which is the editor-at-large and creative consultant for Vogue Japan and Coco Chanel - the one and only. Coco for the elegance and Anna for being bold.

How did wellfitsyou start?

After I started studying to become a Health Coach, it was inevitable for a new blog to be born. I had to have a new place where to teach people about Health, Wealth, Fulfilment, and Happiness. Well Fits You is my own project and not a platform, like Estilo Tendances, where we post a few times a week because we have a team of writers.

What do you want to reach with your second blog?

After years of self-development books, courses, events, therapists and mastermind groups I managed to get my life in order and figure out "the secret". Now, I want to teach it to people and make as many women happy, healthy, wealthy and fulfilled. We can all have it all and I want to make women aware of it and give them the tips and tricks that I used and still use to design my dream life.

Estilo Tendances and Well Fits You compliment each other because they both empower women and help them live the most fulfilling life there can be. Estilo Tendances is all about exterior things - beauty, style, fashion while Well Fits You hits the inner aspects Career, Self-love, Nutrition. If you read them both, you will actually have the whole picture when it comes to being a modern-day woman, who looks impeccable, feels happy, has an amazing career and is healthy.

What inspired you to write for well fits you?

I had to figure out which are my strongest points - the topics I have more knowledge about and passion for writing. After this, the process became very easy, because every article is a lesson I learned, plus ways to overcome it. It is like describing my life and how I manage to solve all the issues and find opportunities. I share a lot of self-development exercises and talk about all the things I have tried in the last years. I always speak from experience - because it is really important for me to make women realize that I am a real example and I am not just talking facts. You can find all the facts you want with a simple Google search, but if you want a true experience, then you will read Well Fits You.

What do you want to achieve in the future with well fits you?

Besides running Estilo Tendances and Well Fits You, I am also a Health Coach and work with people on a 1:1 basis. I realized that not everyone can afford to work with a coach and that I only have time, each month, to help 10 people - which is not a lot. This being said, I am now working on a few products to launch, which will give me the chance to help hundreds of people, each month. I really want to leave a mark when I am gone and help at least 1,000,000 women to be truly happy. The same thing applies to Estilo Tendances, which we are currently redesigning and working on products to offer to our community.

FASHION MODEL BELLA WHITE

Sallida | 4. June 2015 | Models

Fashion Model Bella White

Bella White is a professional fashion model in both the United Kingdom and United States. She has modelled in Los Angeles and Hollywood. We Talk to Bella, to learn more about her modelling career. She was born in Staffordshire, England. After High School she graduated from College and then University, gaining many qualifications including degrees in Art and Art History. Further study included Photography, Drama and the history of Ancient and Medieval weaponry and armour. She did some work as a military artist and fine artist.

How were you discovered?

After performing in contemporary dance for a number of world-famous DJs I became increasingly noticed by people in the modelling business. I was mainly a solo performer or sometimes with a partner, and my distinctive look got me noticed.

When did you decide to become a model?

I have always been interested in photography and the performing arts; dancing, acting etc…, and modelling seemed a perfectly natural progression from that. So my modelling career blossomed while I was performing. I’ve always seen modelling as a creative process like all the arts.

What has been one of your favorite career experiences in the past year?

For the past year, I’ve managed to find some time to put the finishing touches to a novel I’ve written and work hard on that. But I think my favorite recent shoot was with the wonderful UK photographer John Farrar and MUA Gemma Richmond. It was an amazingly creative shoot where I modeled costumes from the Royal Shakespeare Company. And I think my favorite image from that shoot is “The Queen of the Night”, a dramatic shot in black, gold and silver.

I have also been very thrilled to have been the subject of a recent art exhibition called “Muses” at Century Guild in California by my friend and amazing artist Bill Sienkiewicz. That was a very special moment for me.

Did you have an interest in fashion or modeling before starting as a model?

As an artist, I’ve always appreciated the design and history of clothes. I have a dramatic and fantasy-based sense of personal style and I’ve always been fascinated by theatrical clothing. I admire people who have their own sense of style, whether it is by drawing inspiration from the past or today’s cutting-edge trends.

At College one of the subjects I studied was Drama and I enjoyed designing costumes for various characters.

What do you like to do when you are not working?

When I’m not modeling I’m working on my other careers and projects. My novel currently takes up a great deal of my time. As a fine artist as well, I am frequently working on various art and sculptural projects.

My hobbies include mountain-biking, horse-riding, enjoying classical music concerts and operas, the theatre, going to airshows, collecting minerals, and as a scholar of weaponry and armor I attend weaponry seminars as often as I can.

Do you have other ambitions outside of modeling?

As I mentioned, I am writing a novel which I hope to get published, and I have sequels planned. I am a fine-artist and will always be busy creating new artwork and sculpture – those are ongoing projects. And if I had the opportunity to act in television or film I would enjoy that. I hope that in some way I can help to keep hunting in the UK banned and the testing of cosmetics on animals.

What advice would you pass along to those starting out in the business?

Modeling is hard work; it’s fun, but it’s hard work. Be prepared for this. A 6 – 7-hour shoot is not unusual. I’ve had 8-hour shoots. Be punctual, be courteous and be careful. Don’t take people’s comments to heart – it’s just one person’s opinion. Some people in the modeling industry can say some harsh and critical things. Modeling is a hard world and there are many other people out there who want the same thing – you need to be tough.

It’s important to not solely rely on modeling. Find something else that’s important to you as well.

When starting out, do your research – find out if people are legit, ask other models if they have heard of people who contact you, and to begin with, take someone you trust with you. If you tell a reputable person that you’re bringing a friend they’ll be perfectly fine about it.

You have become successful for many reasons – what do you think the top few are?

I have a distinctive look that makes me recognizable, which in certain areas is very sought after. And I think a lot of modeling involves acting which was part of my training, and this adds a special quality to my work.

I am punctual, professional and listen to what is required. On some occasions, my particular areas of knowledge are called upon to make a contribution to the project.

What is the ultimate goal of your career?

For my modeling career I think a magazine cover of quality is the main goal. Being in a magazine is great of course, but a cover would be special. I’d like to model in certain countries too, such as Japan where I think my look would be popular.

What has been your favorite modeling experience thus far?

They have been generally enjoyable and rewarding in so many different ways that I really haven’t got a favorite. Most of my modeling experiences have been wonderful collaborations with talented people – photographers, make-up artists, stylists, fashion designers, hairstylists, and fellow models.

Personally speaking as an artist as well as a model, I really enjoy modeling for artists and seeing the final artwork.

Who would you like to work with in the future?

The list is extensive! But at the top of my list would be

Richard De Chazal (photographer), Annie Leibovitz (photographer), Rankin (photographer), Zhang Jingna (photographer), Vivienne Westwood (fashion designer), Philip Treacy (milliner), Ugo Serrano (armorer, artist, and designer).

I would also like to inspire a character in a computer game.

Photo Credits:

Vijay Jethwa

John Farrar

Gary Price

STYLIST, MODEL & BLOGGER SONAM NAIDU

Sallida | 31. May 2015 | Models

Stylist and Model Sonam Naidu

The fashion industry has always enthralled her and inspired her creative intellect. Her post-secondary education consists of a diploma in fashion marketing and management at The Art Institutes of Vancouver, BC. After obtaining my diploma, she worked for Vancouver Fashion Week as a media relations coordinator, which presented and molded many opportunities: writing for various publications, an interest in print modeling, styling/coordinating my own photo-shoots, landing a reputable position with a south-Asian publication as the fashion editor and now developing her personal blog.

When did you know you wanted to be in the fashion world?

All thanks to my adoration for the glamorous Bollywood film industry I have been an avid follower and muse to fashion and phenomenal style since I was 5 years old. Through my high school years, I was absolutely bewildered as to what to pursue post-secondary and shortly after the completion of high school, I was certain that this is the industry I belong in.

What's it like being in the fashion industry?

Stating the obvious - it is an extremely cut-throat industry; you must be willing to work hard, believe in yourself and be persistent. Nonetheless, it is a remarkable industry. I am so grateful and blessed to be able to pursue whatever my heart willingly wants to do. I'm not only chasing my dreams but overtaking them. Could there be more of a comparable or wonderful feeling?

Describe what do you do for work?

I'm pretty much all over the map and dipping my toes into different genres of the industry. Currently, my greatest commitment is my personal blog which focuses on lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and Bollywood. Occasionally, I will coordinate and style a few of my personal shoots and just this year I have ventured more into other styling projects for clients/models. I also love writing and had countless opportunities in the past to write profiles, articles, reviews and style tips for numerous publications.

What do you like about your work?

Everything. I love being in the spotlight of the camera, as well as the person coordinating behind the scenes. Writing is a form of self-expression for me and its quite the amazing feeling to engage with others through a harmony of words. Personal style - its glamorous, bold and edgy with a hint of sex appeal. I could spend hours and hours in front of my mirror experimenting and playing with clothes, accessories, and shoes.

What advice would you pass along to those starting out in the fashion industry?

Believe in yourself. Respect yourself. Love yourself. Everything else will fall into place...

What inspires you?

That satisfying butterflies in my stomach feeling I experience whenever I accomplish something fulfilling. Different forms of art such as culture, music, Bollywood and of course fashion. Finally, my amazing team of well-wishers and supporters who push me towards greatness and encourage me to keep striving for that uttermost star.

If you want to know more about this amazing artist please visit: Sonam Naidu

TRAVEL DIARY MARRAKESH DAY 2

Sallida | 28. May 2015 | Lifestyle

Marrakesh Essaouira

Today we bring to you guys the Marrakesh Diary of Louis Mariette, as some of you already know, last week we brought you Day 1 and today we are delighted to bring you day 2 of Louis adventures…

We both love early starts and today began with quite a surprise. The wonderful charming staff invited us to the rooftop of the Riad. We sat under a canopy where we enjoyed the surroundings of immaculate furnishings, not to mention the Moroccan hospitality. Before us we see a beautiful clear blue sky and the city spread out before us and what I hadn’t seen before on any previous trips, a crystal clear view of the full glory of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains. I had never been to Morocco so early on in the year. In warmer months a heat haze causes the mountains to vanish so it was refreshing to experience the freshness and clarity of an early year visit to Morocco. I was later told in the trip by our host that they had a marvelous time taking out their work team for a thank you treat by skiing in the mountains. I laughed to myself thinking I’d been brought up as a child in Africa; I would have never associated snow with this continent!

After an over-indulgent breakfast of traditional Moroccan pancakes with honey washed down with the freshest of orange juice, we depart, walking via the souks, trying to resist shopping and locating our bus heading for our coastal destination of Essaouira. The journey from Marrakech to the coastal town region is a wonderful ride that gives us a visual treat of this remarkable country, from goat-herders to lush agriculture contrasted with desert rock moon-like landscapes. Traveling this route really gives you a small flavor of the many things this exciting country has to offer.

Our destination turns out to be a day of sibling bliss. If there is one thing that brings our family rushing to the table, it’s seafood. Squabbling over prawns and swiping the largest ones off each other’s plates we enjoy a fantastic meal together.

The harbor, when a fresh haul comes in has seagulls ducking and diving for food. It reminds me of such a scenario of the Hitchcock 1963 film ‘ The Birds.’ It’s rare to see such a healthy variety of fish species in such a small space. This is very much a working fishing harbor. Shark, moray eels, rays, sardines, lobsters... You name it, as well as indescribable looking creatures, it’s all here.

Locals squatting over their extra-terrestrial species, take the time to smile, chat and explain what they have to sell. Wendy soon realizes that as she points her camera at the ladies, they cover their faces with their shawls and put their hands up. It is important we observe etiquette and respect and we must adhere to this. Although it’s refreshing to see such variety, I get upset seeing top marine predators like sharks being caught as they play an essential role in keeping the ecosystem balance healthy. I bite my tongue and say nothing.

We quite eagerly settle for the usual seafood platter, omitting tuna as this still is becoming an overfished species. We settle first at a basic little BBQ shack where the locals and fishermen are eating. They look at us, smile and throw on a selection of sardines and calamari. Wendy and I look at each other in total bliss. This, however, was only our starters and as we saunter back through the harbor to find a more upmarket restaurant, we are touted by the most humorous and engaging host who takes the time to proudly display his variety of fish and explain in depth what they are.