INTERVIEWS
Conducting compelling interviews with prominent industry notables, celebrities, and inspiring people including, Bobby Berk, Geena Rocero, Sarah Jessica Parker, Bobbi Brown, Jonathan Adler, Joe Zee, Laura Mercier, Rachel Zoe, and more.
We recently partnered with Bobby Berk—the multi-award-winning designer and member of the 'Fab Five' on the Netflix series Queer Eye—to help launch our aircraft-grade aluminum Aileron collection. We love his unique, modern approach to design with a spirited touch of urban luxury.
We couldn’t resist a chat with this talented world traveler to ask about easy ways to give any room a fresh look, his favorite hidden gems in New York City, and what he binge-watches on Netflix.
Ricardo: You grew up in the Midwest and moved with little more than a few dollars and a vision. Tell us a little about the road to huge Netflix success with the Queer Eye reboot.
Berk: Growing up in Missouri I always dreamt of moving to a big city like New York City or Los Angeles to become a designer. I’ve been lucky enough in my career now to have lived in both and love the inspiration that both cities have given me.
My favorite thing about working on Queer Eye is that we get to help people in a real way. Transforming someone’s home has a really big effect on their lives both in and out of their homes. Seeing the look on their face when they see their new space is such an amazing feeling, because you can literally see all the thoughts going through their minds about stresses and negativities about their old spaces that have now been lifted off their shoulders.
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Beauty Pageants, Becoming Bianca Jagger and the American Dream: IRL with Geena Rocero
We’re highlighting the women behind the faces in our fall beauty campaign and trend event video; it’s beauty in real life. First up: Geena Rocero, who sat down with us to chat about growing up in the Philippines, her beauty secrets (including the best mud bath location) and how to turn an airplane into a spa.
What comes to mind when you think of your first makeup memory?
My mom. She was a schoolteacher. And one thing I’ve always loved was the way my mom carried herself—she always was put together. I remember she had this collection of shoulder bags, and her suits were bright and beautiful. I always loved watching her getting ready. She adored this very magenta Estée Lauder lipstick. She just loved it.
What’s your favorite way to splurge?
A three-hour package at a spa with a full facial, body mask and scrub. I love a good body mask wrap too. My sister lives in California close to Napa Valley, so every time I go there, I go to the mud baths. They’re really, really intense, and it’s really, really nice. My boyfriend’s weird. He won’t do it because he’s like, “It’s disgusting. There are so many people.” But no! They clean that stuff. [Laughs.] And you can have wine while you’re there. It’s the best!
What’s your favorite feature?
My nose. People sometimes ask me, “Did you have your nose done?” No. I like my profile too. I mean, I can talk about it now, but years ago, I was made to feel ashamed about my profile and long neck too. When I turn to the side, I have this very protruding mouth, and when I was growing up, people used to tease me that I looked like a horse or a giraffe. Now I love it, because I’ve learned about myself and I actually think there’s something really elegant about it.
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Gifted Giver: Chef and CCO, Grant Crilly of chefsteps
For the second season in a row, we’re counting down the crucial pre-Christmas shopping days with a series called Gifted Givers, in which friends old and new share their thoughts on stylishly spirited giving and receiving.
Meet Grant Crilly: magician in the kitchen, diver, wool sock lover. After collaborating with photographer Ryan Matthew Smith to come up with the gorgeous visual brand that defines the Modernist Cuisine series (the cookbook to end all cookbooks), Grant went on to cofound and become chief creative officer at ChefSteps. Another Seattle-based company, ChefSteps is serious about helping people cook smarter—while having fun doing it (as evidenced by their Instagram).
It’s been a big year for Grant—described by his coworkers as having a “hipster mustache and whistling a lot.” Last spring, his company brought home two James Beard Awards (NBD) and recently launched Joule, a super-sleek sous vide immersion circulator designed and engineered completely in house. We’re Grant Crilly fans—for his high-quality contributions to the culinary space, for inspiring us to try new things in the kitchen (liquid nitrogen, anyone?) and for that hipster mustache—which is why we asked him to be today’s Gifted Giver.