CURIO(US)

CURIO(US) CURATED, VOLUME 10

Bienvenue Novembre! 

Before we dive into our feature for this month, we wanted to take a brief moment to send our thoughts and love to Paris. France holds a special place in hearts; it was, for a moment in time, a place we each called home. It is a place full of love, levity, charm, and pure magic. We were fortunate enough to live there and revel in all the joys of the city. It deeply saddens us to see something so ugly happen in a place with so much beauty. It breaks our hearts to see the hatred and anger, not only in the events that occurred in Paris, but also in the events taking place all over the world. We know this is a dark moment in history, but we must advance with love and move forward working together, living, sharing, and evolving as one. Paris, we love you.

This month allow us to introduce you to Rachel Lafranconi. Enchanté.

Rachel and Sofie met in Aix-en-Provence, France as roommates in a quaint country house and instantly bonded over music, whiskey, True Blood and all things French. Together they shared many adventures, late nights, delicious meals, and decoding the dinner table conversation with their host family. Over the course of the five months spent in France, Sofie realized the fun loving, compassionate person that is Rachel. She is endlessly curious, filled with whimsy and a sponge for knowledge. Her energy is contagious, leaving every person and place she encounters a little bit brighter than before. 

It is also must go without mention that Rachel is a tried and true friend through and through. Her warmhearted nature quietly exudes, making those in her presence feel at ease. She can always be counted on for a helping hand, a shoulder and a good laugh. Her magnetic presence coupled with her inherent curiosity and carefree mentality always ensures a good time whenever we see her.

Not only is Rachel a compassionate friend, but she is also an aficionado in music and art. An avid art history lover, she volunteers at the Met museum and acted as a personal tour guide throughout all our travels (lucky me!) Following this love of art is also a love of music. For Rachel, there has always been a draw to music, constantly weaving throughout all aspects of her life. Whether it be coordinating music festivals, working merch tables, discovering underground bands, Rachel is always ahead of the curve. She has manifested this passion into reality and now works for RCA Records doing licensing for films and TV. 

Needless to say our friendship with Rachel knows no bounds (metaphorically and physically) from meeting in France to reconnecting in Chicago and then to NYC. Near or far we always relish in her company.

Listen to her playlist, read her interview, and view her photos below.

CURIO(US): CURATED, VOLUME 9

Six degrees of separation. We all know the phrase, we all understand the concept, but it's awesome when you have a personal experience where the dots, or in this case, people all connect. And this month's feature proves that it is indeed a small world after all. We met Drew Ligget, a fellow Arizonan, in high school (Go firebirds!) but soon lost contact after graduation. Jump forward eight years and insert: craigslist, couch, and a common connection later, we reconnected in LA.

As our friendship budded, we discovered that Drew's passion and enthusiasm for his job and life is contagious. Always up for the next adventure, he doesn't settle for the mundane, but instead creates the extraordinary out of the ordinary. Whether it's traveling, surfing, or visiting a local taco joint, Drew treats each event as an occasion, celebrating with all who come along. His wicked wit and sharp tongue ensures there will never be a dull moment. A recap of all that is “Drew” wouldn't be complete without mentioning his refreshing ability to genuinely connect with everyone he meets. Let's just say he makes friends wherever he goes.

Candor and friendships aside, Drew's hard work and dedication to his craft knows no bounds. With a wide range of industry experience, Drew finally decided to branch out on his own to start Indian Summer Agency, a full service brand-building agency. ISA is a company that epitomizes the endless summer lifestyle, with a roster of truly original brands that come together to actualize this vision. As Drew explains, “We exist to tell the stories of our brands to the world and help them grow in a responsible way, allowing them to focus on creating better products.”

ISA does just that. With Drew’s keen eye, he has the ability not only to understand each brand’s vision, but also to relate to each brand on a unique and personal level; thus creating an organic and uncontrived story that is conveyed to the world. The five brands: The Critical Slide Society, REVISIT Products, Welcome Stranger, Solé Bicycles, and Crap Eyewear are distinctively individual components to the umbrella that is Indian Summer Agency.

When Drew is not focusing on building his growing company, you can find him surfing, concert going and adventuring. Be sure to check out his visual and audio inspiration below. 

CURIO(US): CURATED, VOLUME 8

Always a nice mantra to stay attuned to: Never fear “the freedom to create, [the] freedom to be successful, [the] freedom to not be successful, [the] freedom to be who you are. [That’s] freedom.” Although that tweaked quote specifically references punk rock as a source of freedom, I believe it can be applied to everyday living. And it would only be apropos for me to begin an introduction for Ms. Emily Wright using the Godmother of Punk’s idyllic words.

Emily Wright is our September Issue’s featured creative. A free spirit who entrusts herself with the ever changing direction of the winds and effortlessly rolls with the punches – a resilient quality that keeps stressed situations buoyant and no minutiae too amplified. We were lucky to have fatefully been housed in the same dorm our freshman year of college, where the journey of finding ourselves began and the adventures of youth awaited us. Fast forward seven years later and you find us 1,300 miles apart forging our own paths. And Emily’s path sure is one to note.

For the past 3.5 years, Emily has been part of the PR team at Whole Foods Market. There she has reached audiences on a national level, sharing her knowledge on all things Whole Beauty and 365 Everyday Value. She understands the importance of sourcing coupled with simplified, unaltered ingredients – and to better fuel individuals’ lives while preserving Mother Earth… What’s better than that?! But it is through this process where the true beauty unfolds. Emily gets to connect with her department’s leaders’ stories and now those experiences can be expressed through her platform to hopefully inspire others in some way.

But guess what? Her work does not stop there. Emily is not only a true humanitarian at heart, but also a lover of all things nature and a music aficionado. To further explore her creative side, Emily and her boo decided to open an Etsy store as a side project where they can post up their rare vintage T finds and items they have collected as lifetime thrifters. A year later and it’s still kickin’ strong.

Emily Wright 

Shop up a storm on her Etsy store

I guess you could say we took a break these past summer months... But now we are dedicated more than ever, bringing those who inspire us to you, in hopes they can do the same and, just maybe, spark that creative seed within or further flourish what was already started. 

CURIO(US): CURATED, VOLUME 7

Meet Max. A recent New York (re)transplant who has just released his first EP after a spontaneous 5-month stint in Lyon. Although our time spent in NYC overlapped, our paths first crossed while studying abroad in Paris. A magic moment in time it was, but moreover, a space where tête-à-têtes with groups of friends felt raw and façades were nonexistent. But Max is someone who never lets conformity override him, even in every day life. He always honors his truth, yet easily melds with others in a happy-go-lucky kind of way. The way he approaches music mirrors that mentality. He connects with the movement of it, its rhythm, the visual motion of it all-- the core to its entirety. When speaking about his creative process in regards to music, atmosphere and consistency are the first things that come to mind. Being able to have a connective thread to weave each individual song together is a necessity. Otherwise, they will all just be in discord when coupled collectively.

New York was on the forefront of the brain when Sol, his recently finished EP, was in the beginning stages of development. Wanting it to "feel like New York City" provided an anchor and theme to return to anytime that anchor was uprooted. But everyday adaptability was key too. He would ask himself, "Would I listen to this biking in Central Park or along the Hudson? No? It's no good. Would someone have played this on my roof last summer? Would it have fit my morning commute?" Thinking of music in terms of a space helped provide specific colors to shape his listening ear. 

Max understands the importance of battling the headstrong tango between discipline and spontaneity. It will never get done if order and discipline are not forcibly introduced to those strike-at-any-moment ideas because as Max wisely stated, "Good ideas don't really get you that far, unfortunately. You've got to get up every day and try to turn them into something real, you know? Otherwise nobody really cares." Preach that. Couldn't have said it better ourselves. 

In a day and age where social media overstimulates and magnifies our obsession with perceived value, a common form of escapism, or relaxation in other words, is music. For Max, house and dance music is that welcoming place: "The repetition allows you to go somewhere else entirely, lets you feel something without your mind getting in the way. [. . .] That's the beauty of rhythmic music." And we agree; we all need a little dose of that from time to time. So sit back. Relax. And enjoy his entrancing tunes.