Creative Humans - Olivia Rae James

Olivia Rae James. A name that has been constantly on my stalking radar since first being introduced to the creative talent of this country just over a year ago. It was this time last year at the Charleston Kinfolk Dinner that I first got to meet Olivia and be completely swallowed up by her work. Her photographs were hanging on the verandah of the house where the dinner was being held and I remember standing there, for probably far too long, jumping into each one of her images and breathing them in, as though they were the finest breath of fresh air I had felt in a long time. I had just made the decision to become a photographer and I must admit that Olivia’s photographs made me all the more inspired. To take photos like that. Well, I could only dream. Her images provoke a sense of freshness and calm, full of natural colour explosion, playfulness and light. Olivia has the ability to capture seemingly ephemeral moments, preserving them in such a way to show effortless, timeless and real.     

We met South of Broad in downtown Charleston on an early weekday evening. I followed as Olivia and her adorable little pup, Frankie, led the way. I am always in a dreamlike state as I wander the streets of Charleston. If there was one place that I could spend all of my time, it would be there. As I walked with Olivia through the cobble stone streets and out to the Battery, I felt so happy to be in Olivia’s company. Like her work, Olivia is inspired and light. We enjoyed the view by the water, the grand homes lit by afternoon sun and then, hurried back before the storm. We parked up in one of Olivia’s favourite wine bars, Bin 152, enjoying the cozy atmosphere and the sprinkling of rain outside. We spent time chatting over bubbles and rosé, eating stinky cheese and laughing with Olivia’s main man, Blake. It was a special afternoon. One that I feel so lucky to have had. Olivia, you are lovely. And I’m not at all embarrassed to say, that you will be staying, quite unwaveringly, quite rightfully, on the top of my stalking radar. 

What projects are you currently working on? 

Lots of weddings this time of year and a couple personal projects.

Where do you draw your creative inspiration from? 

Light, shadows, food, flowers, people, places. Everything!

Why a Photographer?

I love observing and documenting. Preserving moments feels satisfying and important to me.

Do you listen to music while you work? If so, would you be so kind to share some of your favourite artists? 

I either listen to music, podcasts, or embarrassing TV while I edit photos (hellooo Married at First Sight). My go-to's for music are movie soundtracks (Beginners, Amelie, Marie Antoinette) and oldies (Roy Orbison, Everly Brothers, Beach Boys). I also love both Grace Bonney and Julia Turshen's podcasts and of course This American Life. Although today I'm listening to Jay-Z.

Do you have a morning ritual? 

I go to spin class a few mornings a week, so on those days I wake up and immediately head out the door half asleep. If it's a non-spin morning, my boyfriend and I usually take our pup Frankie for a walk and end up at a coffee shop. When he goes to work at nine is when I start editing photos and answering emails.

What's your idea of a perfect Friday night? 

A homemade meal and a glass of wine in a clean candlelit house. Maybe some Netflix catch-up while snuggling Frankie. That or a long, drawn-out dinner with friends.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? 

Always Paris! Greece in the summertime. And somewhere I've never been -- Bali.

Best piece of advice you've ever given or been given? 

Trust your gut and don't take yourself too seriously.

What's for dinner? 

Take out from Dellz Uptown! We are obsessed and look forward to it every week (because we have to limit ourselves to once a week). Their Mexican pizza is the BEST.

The best part about being a creative? 

Freedom and flexibility. I hate being tied down.

The worst part? 

There's not really a worst part. I'm so happy to be able to do this as "work." Although staying organized and on top of emails/accounting is a constant struggle for me.

Day or night? Sunrise and sunset
Old or new? Old with new
City or Country? Coast
Coffee or Tea? Iced coffee with cream

What do you enjoy most about living in Charleston, SC? 

Being surrounded by water, living three blocks from my sister, walking and biking everywhere, amazing food, wonderful people.

Thoughts for the future:

I’m not much of a planner, I usually just go with the flow and trust that things will work out. But I hope my future includes more of the same -- travels, QT with friends and family, long dinners, maybe a house with a garden and ultimately, health, balance, contentment, and the ability to find joy in the daily grind.

Creative Humans - Brooks Reitz | Jack Rudy Cocktail Co.

Brooks Reitz is a fine man. A man that I completely underestimated at the time of setting up our creative humans interivew. A clever chap, I thought. I was impressed at his gig of being the curator of Jack Rudy Cocktail Co. - makers of small batch, American made and very delicious cocktail syrups. However, what I soon realised upon setting foot into the charming community that is Charleston, was that Brooks was far more than a syrup maker. Brooks, it seemed, was a household Charleston name. People wanted to talk about him, spoke very highly of him, and seemed to be overly excited and supportive of his role in the current local food scene. I very quickly learnt that not only does this guy own a cocktail syrup company, but he has also just opened a new chicken and oyster joint by the name of Leon's in downtown Charleston, plus he's got another cafe and many more brilliant ideas on the way.  

Chatting with Brooks over breakfast at The Park Cafe and then on a stroll through Hampton Park was an absolute pleasure. Such a lovely guy. Friendly, interested, and happy to chat. Brooks told me that he was a drama and english major and a once hopeful playwright. There was a moment right then that I wondered if Brooks was still able to continue his creative interests in his found profession of owning restaurants and embarking on entrepreneurship. "It's the theatrics of a restaurant that I love the most" he said. "The lights, the music, the set design the atmosphere. Restaurants are like theater, like stepping onto a stage. And I get to create that". Clearly still a creative and clearly a much more clever chap than I ever gave him credit for. This man is unstoppable. And very nice company at breakfast, to boot. 

What projects are you currently working on?

We are in the final stages of construction on our all-day cafe/coffeeshop called St. Alban, which should open late October/November. I'm in the midst of launching all of our new Jack Rudy Cocktail Co. products before the holiday season, which includes our Elderflower Tonic and Bourbon Cocktail Cherries, as well as some of our bar tools: muddler, jigger, copper cocktail cup, and bar tool roll-up.Finally, I am working on a new packaged food project, and considering a small design job with a restaurant in Maryland.

Where do you draw your creative inspiration from?

It comes from so many sources: travels, magazines, newspapers, friends, hotels, music, art, restaurants - the list is endless. The world offers up so many opportunities for inspiration and ideas, all you have to do is open your eyes.

Why a cocktail crafter/mixologist and restaurant owner/entrepreneur?

There was a time when my major focus was on drinks/spirits and cocktails. I was drawn to it because it was new to me, provided a huge opportunity to learn, and there was room for innovation. Over time, I've found that I don't drink as much, mostly because I feel like hell in the morning, so I've made a natural transition away from that and on to other focuses. My interests now are in restaurants, design and entrepreneurship. 

Do you listen to music while you work? If so, would you be so kind to share some of your favourite artists?

Typically I find that music pulls me from what I'm working on - I end up focusing more on the lyrics than on what's in front of me. If I am playing something, I favor slower, quieter music: Bahamas, Jus Post Bellum, or Phosphorescent, for example.

Do you have a morning ritual?

Always coffee, and always breakfast. A little stretch is nice, and typically checking and returning emails once I'm fully caffeinated.

What's your idea of a perfect Friday night?

Cleaning the house, setting a soundtrack and having a glass of wine with my girlfriend before welcoming friends over for a long, leisurely dinner where we sit around the table telling stories, hatching plans and getting buzzed. Evening winds down with a pour of Bourbon as we clean up and move to the living room to unwind and digest.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I'm looking forward to going to Tokyo for the activity, the energy and the pace, and then exploring the surrounding cities and towns for the serenity that I understand exists in the quieter places.

Best piece of advice you've ever given or been given?

Never explain, never complain.

What's for dinner?

Tonight will probably be a big salad - we refer to it as garbage salad because we put so much stuff in it - accompanied by the leftover takeout from Leyla, a Lebanese restaurant in town. The place is always quiet and not necessarily the most comfortable, but it's always so tasty.

The best part about being a creative?

Not having to follow a script that dictates what you do for a living, or how you do it.

The worst part?

When you are self employed, there is always the nagging feeling that it will all fall out from under you at any given moment.

Day or night?

Day

Old or new?

Old

City or Country?

An equal mix of both - best illustrated by a recent trip to NY - we spent three days in the city, and then travelled upstate to the Hudson Valley for the weekend. The most inspiring, relaxing, wonderful trip.

Coffee or Tea?

Coffee

 Jack Rudy Cocktail Co. 

Leon's. (above and below)

What do you enjoy most about living in Charleston, SC?

The size and proximity to the places I spend my time. You can ride your bike across the city in minutes, and my home is close to my work, my office, friends houses, etc. It feels like a town at times, rather than a city.

Thoughts for the future:

Balance, health, friends, family, and continued pursuit of rewarding creative endeavors.

Creative Humans - Dez'Mon Omega Fair

Dez'Mon Omega Fair, like his water colour painting, is vibrant. He tends to effortlessly blend into the surrounds of the Williamsburg streets - the graffitied walls, the east river parks and the sidewalk strings of cafes. It all suits him. Bright, vast, alluring. 

It didn't take long before Dez'Mon was rolling out his parchment, lining up his paints and dropping splats of colour - right there in the park. Watching his method of working was like watching a street artist perform a detailed juggling feat. With no hesitation and complete focus, Dez began to create. It was intentional yet experimental. Detailed yet spontaneous. Paint droppers were held in his teeth, water was poured from a glass, paint splattered from blowing air through his mouth - and it was captivating.  

We walked around Brooklyn together, taking in the prolific street vibe while getting hit by rays of welcome summer sun. Dez'Mon told me he would soon be moving to L.A. Like the direction of his paint, Dez seems happy and inspired to just go with the flow. All I could think was lucky L.A. We stopped at Cafe Collette - a favourite place of Dez's and a new favourite of mine - to enjoy lunch. Dez was open. His journal was too. The conversation was engaging, but scattered as I drifted around with my camera and he splattered paint on the words of his note book.  It was lovely. Vibrant. Exactly the way I had imagined a creative midday in Williamsburg to be. 

What projects are you currently working on?

There's a few projects and 'processes' in progress right now. I like to work on different pieces simultaneously. They all seem to build from each other. However, my favorite and most exhausting is “Hand and Breath.” The world nowadays and strangely, even art, is so over-produced, artificial, and automatic. I enjoy seeing an artist's movement, his pace, his hand in his creations. It's very important that my work reeks of my "energy" so to speak. Further, when reckoning with the concept of breathing; it's funny how breath both keeps you alive and ages you, obviously leading to your death. What we do with our hands (body) and our breath (life) is paramount.When approaching ideologies behind works of art, I typically begin searching for the humanity in a piece, bringing me to a moment in the very beginning of my becoming an artist consciously. I was asked if I had made an article of clothing I was wearing by artist, Jeff Elrod. I explained to him that I hadn't the “skills” to make clothes. He went on to agree, then compared the talents of a seamstress to the artist’s hand. In that brief exchange, I realized that my hand as an artist may be under-developed. This body of work focuses on the development of what makes my touch distinct and serves as a reminder to how art even began. Cave paintings, ritual jewelry, and hunting tools all fashioned from pure creativity without reference. These original pieces of art were created out of necessity, out of a calling for more, ‘a more’ that still expands today. I’m all for the pervasion of technology, however the idea of word processing over handwriting makes me uneasy. To add, one of my best friends, fellow artist Rebecca Richard mentioned somewhat starkly as I finished a yawn that breathing kills you. We looked at one another as if the other was crazy and laughed, however her statement stuck with me. In building Hand and Breath, I am forced to look at my body’s immortality. I draw every line feeling as if these lines, my lines, have the potential to be forever. I blow each puddle of pigmented water feeling that I’m giving precious seconds of my life; seconds of my life for the visual thrill of seeing my breath merge with my hand because, art by hand truly says, I was here. 

Where do you draw your creative inspiration from?

Inspiration can be hard to pinpoint sometimes. I have various sources, but people are my most valuable source. Although I am seen as extroverted person, much of myself is extremely inward. I assume that to be true for most. My inspiration comes for the endless well of the diverse, yet similar, the interconnected, and varying and sometimes contradicting threads of the human experience and the interpretation of each individual experience. 

Why a visual artist?

Why not? Artists whose work provides visual and cerebral stimuli is a success. Approaching a blank sheet of paper and leaving it filled with a piece of my brain, my life, my existence makes me feel 'some typa way' :)  

Do you listen to music while you work? If so, would you be so kind to share some of your favourite artists?

I stick to classic composers when working, Bach, Brahms, Chopin etc. I find when I listen to music from eras closer to my own I get distracted. The melodies, beats, and lyrics are too familiar. I end up thinking about that particular musician and his or her art making, their time, their feeling and view of their world. I'm making work of and for my time. Romantic classics allow my consciousness to reckon with its presence, our present. From there, art that is truly me can be brought to fruition.

Do you have a morning ritual?

No, my days are too sporadic for ritual. Maybe the chaos is a form of ritual.

What's your idea of a perfect Friday night?

There's too much pressure in New York to have an 'amazing Friday night' The best nights in general I've had include two or three of my best and/or most dramatic friends, too much wine, maybe we're around a questionable swinger situation, maybe there's a mushroom about, maybe Jon takes a cab for a short joyride, but that only happened once,and I think it was a Tuesday.  

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Antarctica. Aren't scientist only allowed there? I'm not a scientist :(

Best piece of advice you've ever given or been given?

I've been very fortunate to have much encouragement throughout my life, but most recently I've had to deal with feeling not as talented as other artists. My friend Rahsaan told me, "...it's good know what's out there, but you can't be afraid of it." That advice can be applied to many human situations. I use it all the time.

What's for dinner?

Um, a salad. I'm moving to Los Angeles.

The best part about being a creative?

I do what I want. 

The worst part?

No one ever expects me to be on time.

Day or night?

Night when it’s cool. Day when it’s hot.

Old or new?

Both

City or Country?

Both

Coffee or Tea?

Water

What did you enjoy most about living in Brooklyn, NY?

Seeing it change so fast and seeing a similar change in myself.

Thoughts for the future:

My small scale thoughts are really excited about moving west. My larger ones are excited and curious about what I feel is the start of 'Cerebral Intergration'. People are becoming less and less rigid, re-establishing and really evaluating what they've been taught compared to what they actually believe, i.e. becoming self aware and assured. With this comes all sort of benefits. We're able to communicate and share with less bias and more understanding. Being equally self aware and self-accepting is the starting point for a life of tangible happiness or even understanding what happiness is to you personally versus what you've been taught is happiness. Much of "first world life" (for lack of a better term) is figuring out the right things to want. Most people have no clue who they are, but I'm watching more and more figure it out. 

Creative Humans - Ariel Dearie

It has been an absolute pleasure of mine as I've been travelling around the States, to meet some of the most talented people in this countries current creative scene. I imagined that I would meet some pretty amazing people and become inspired by their work, but never did I imagine how incredibly nice, welcoming and genuinely lovely they could be. Ariel Dearie made me ever so grateful for this. She is indeed one talented, incredibly nice, welcoming and genuinely lovely lady.  

Despite having only met her this one time, Ariel has managed to have left the most sweetest impression on me and my insight into the florist world. Her floral design is beautiful (take a peek at her instagram feed!) and her success as a creative business woman is an inspiring feat on its own. Stepping into her Brooklyn studio was dreamy. There were plants and vines draping from the roof and across the shelves, vases, earns and pots were stacked, waiting to be made beautiful by Ariel's delicious flower creations. We sat on a floral antique chaise and chatted over iced tea (her chai version was much nicer than mine, so she kindly swapped), watered the studio plants and then, as if the tea and her time wasn't generous enough, Ariel poured me some of her hand made bath salts from her Royal Botanical line, to take home with me on the plane.

The studio, the chat, the plants, Ariel's generosity - it was all scented with reasons as to why I began this little project in the first place. Meeting creatives like Ariel, and being able to share their talents and story is important to me. Not only is it inspiring and insightful to photograph and then share the creative space of a talented persons life, but it is also an absolute pleasure. And it's just an extra special part when those talented creatives turn out to be as sweet and welcoming as Ariel. 

What projects are you currently working on?
We have lots of exciting things in the works!  Currently, we are working on a new Royal Botanicals perfume. We did flowers for some really special weddings this summer including one that was inspired by the Mountain Dreams Tarot Deck. Also, for the past couple of weeks we've been doing flowers for a new batman show called Gotham.

Where do you draw your creative inspiration from?
A lot of my inspiration comes from New Orleans, where I'm from. I also find that flowers are so incredibly perfect already, so I usually just try to emphasize their most exquisite traits.

Why a florist?
When I started, it was a way to work with nature while still living in NYC. Also, while I know it's not changing the world, I wanted to do something that would bring joy to other people.

Do you listen to music while you work? If so, would you be so kind to share some of your favourite artists?
Yes. In the morning usually Donovan or Penny & the Quarters radio on Pandora. In the afternoon, usually Jimmy Cliff radio.

Do you have a morning ritual?
I usually listen to NPR in the morning. If I don't have to rush off to the flower market at 6am, then I try to go for a swim or a bike ride before starting work.

What's your idea of a perfect Friday night?
Dinner on our rooftop.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Bali.

Best piece of advice you've ever given or been given?
Stay positive. Even if you are feeling grumpy or pessimistic, try to think positively and your brain will go along with you.

What's for dinner?
Seafood, hopefully.

The best part about being a creative?
I feel really lucky to call this a job. It's really great to live in a city that can support so many creative fields.

The worst part?
Can't really think of a bad thing about it.

Day or night?  Day
Old or new?  Old
City or Country?  Both
Coffee or Tea?  Both

What do you enjoy most about living in Brooklyn, NY?
Bike rides, outdoor activities, amazing restaurants, amazing people.


Thoughts for the future:
Really excited to develop the perfume. Also, my boyfriend and I have been looking to buy a house upstate. I'd love a garden and maybe even a green house or orangerie. Who knows!