interview with isa magazine:19
Posted In Blog,Entries
i’ll be blogging a series of posts recapping on the events of last week, but i’m here to start off with the interview and photoshoot i had with isa magazine on thursday!
a little re-wind, this opportunity opened up while vending at the luminance event last month. while asian-american artists were there to perform, isa magazine was there to launch their first issue. luckily, i got the chance of crossing paths with tiffany wong (fashion + style writer for isa), and she was sweet enough to ask if i’d be interested in having an article about me and my business in the next issue… shocked and flattered (but mainly shocked), i (of course) said yes!
fast forward to a month later, i was sitting at a cute cafe sipping hot tea with tiffany and kevin wu at the lab in costa mesa (yes, home of my last photoshoot). while we had some technical difficulties with the videography, the interview went smoothly and we got to touch base on a lot of interesting topics. they wanted to take a few photos of my clothing to add into the article spread, so i called good friends (and og models), jenny and rwang, to come for the mini-shoot. as always they were great.
then… the awkwardness:
they insisted the article wouldn’t be complete without a few photos of me, but the thought of awkwardly standing in front of a camera by myself was something i wasn’t looking forward to. ironically enough, jenny and rwang were there to witness me in front of (instead of behind) the camera… oh, how the tables have turned! awkwardness aside, it was fun, and i guess i now have new photos for my ‘about me’ section… but never again, please. neverrrr.
big thank you to tiffany for making this happen, kevin for taking all the amazing footage, jenny + rwang for stepping in last minute, and isa magazine for this opportunity!
the magazine doesn’t come out for another month or so, but i wanted to paste a little snippet of my interview (it’ll actually transition into my next post pretty nicely):
“Well, first off, there aren’t enough images of Asian-Americans in mainstream America, so our stereotypes are very much heightened and limited. However, I think our generation is finding new ways to be represented, even if we have to create these images ourself. The internet allows this. Not only will you find Asian American singers, dancers, film makers, personalities on venues like Youtube, for example, but you’ll find that they’re amazingly talented and have the potential to really make it big. I’ve had the pleasure to meet a few of them in the past couple of months, and it’s the most inspired I’ve felt in a really long time. The energy shared is really contagious, and I think it’s important to really take this opportunity to grow as a community. Asian-Americans aren’t just doctors and the nerds crunching numbers (though nothing’s wrong with being a little nerdy). We’re sprinkled with different talents and capable of many things, and until society accepts this, future generations will continue to have difficulty with breaking that mold. I’m hopeful though, because with the internet and how easy it is to represent ourselves the way we want to be seen, we’re reaching people… and it’s a start.”
“I’ve never really seen being Asian American as a disadvantage, and I still don’t. Sure, there’s stereotypes I had to work through to get people to take me seriously… especially being a female, being vertically challenged (hooray for shorties!), and being young… but I feel like there’s only barriers and obstacles if you make them be barriers and obstacles. It’s important to create the image you want people to see… act it, be it, and believe it… and soon, others will too.”
that was a mouthful! there will be more in the issue, which should be available by the end of april. i’ll post another update when it’s released, as there will be hard-copies (you can bet i’ll be saving a stack) and an online version available for viewing as well.
until then, asian american or not, i’m really interested to hear your thoughts on this topic… so leave a comment with your two cents!
![[recap] interview with isa magazine:](http://thesteppie.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/isa-interview-150x150.jpg)
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hi steppie!
congrats for getting the interview. YAY! I’m not an Asian-Americans, but I really do see that a lot of talented Asian-Americans involving in singing, filming, dancing, arts + etc, and I think they deserve to be recognize….Cause I’m such a YouTube addict, I found out that there are so many awesome individuals out there, I think you knew some of them too. ;) david choi, aj rafael, wongfu, gabebondoc, lydia paek, + etc. <3 <3 <3 ha ha. but anything is possible with the internet, yeah? :) ok, till next time.
Grats on the interview! I love the pictures of you! You look really happy. :)
I cannot really comment on the Asian-American thing since I am not Asian, but I can say that being young seems to be the biggest challenge I face. I feel sometimes that people think that just because I am young I have no idea what I am doing. Like, me wanting to run my own business is a fling. This is frustrating to me, because it’s hard to form something out of nothing especially when there isn’t much support! Younger people seem to get it, but it seems the older crowd doesn’t exactly understand. But like you said, you just have to create the image you want others to see and most importantly, stick with it!. :)
miranda:
i definitely feel you on the ‘being young’ bit – which is why i mentioned it as one of the obstacles i had to work through. and am continuing to work through.
it’s definitely hard to continue to take it to that next level when people aren’t taking you seriously, or aren’t believing in the longevity of what you’re doing. but i also find that it pushes me a lot more to be on point, study/research what i need to know, and want to prove them wrong.
I am so completely proud of you Steph! Your family has some crazy business skills running through your blood! LOL! Awesome site, awesome interview, awesome YOU!
paola:
aw lady, thanks so much! your words mean a lot, especially coming from someone just trying to do their own thing too… and from someone i look up to and remember following around when i was a little kid lol.
I am so happy for your interview. And I happy to see many young aspiring artist in various fields succeed, especially Asian-Americans! That I totally support a fellow UCI alum! :)
chelle:
thanks love! i still have a long way to go, but totally feel you on that one! thanks for all your support. :)
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Steppie, Steppie. Steppie said: http://bit.ly/bCUdm5 – for all you night owls, first peek at my recap of my interview with ISA magazine! [...]
Oh my, congrats Step ! I’m so happy you’re building your way up so quick !
Great interview, nothing compared to the one I did with you years ago (haha) and definitely a step forward !
You go girl, good luck ;D
<3 Mesh~
aw mesha, we go way back! thanks for all of your support! do you still frequent the etsy chatrooms?
Way to go Steppie! I’m excited for you. AND I’m happy you let them take your picture! :D The world needs to see more of your beautiful face!
steppie: this interview proves that you’re smart and articulate as well as creative — it’s a good thing we have someone like you talking to the press about us, presenting intelligence and energy and emotion all at once! thanks!
jessy
Amiable post and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you as your information.
no problem – what was your college assignment for?
[...] talked about this briefly in my q&a snippet in my isa interview post, but being around them for those two days… and seeing other young asian-american [...]
I have been looking around thesteppie.com and actually am impressed by the great content here. I work the nightshift at my job and it really gets boring. I’ve been coming here for the past couple nights and reading. I simply needed to let you know that I have been enjoying what I’ve seen and I look forward to reading more.
[...] The actual interview and photoshoot took place two months ago, and my blog post that followed it shortly covers the behind-the-scene experience and includes a few more photos that weren’t included in the magazine. You can view that blog post here. [...]
YOU, ma’am is pure awesomeness! go far & wide :D<3
Thank you sweetie! You are so awesome, thanks for all of your support! :)