Behind-the-scenes Linda Taylor
Behind-the-scenes Linda Taylor
TRAIN ‘Drive By’ music video feat. Linda Taylor
The making of music video ‘Drive By’ by Grammy winning band TRAIN. Director Alan Ferguson, known for other music videos such as Jay-Z, Katy Perry, Nelly Furtado, Tiesto, John Legend, The Isley Brothers etc.
It was so wonderful and an honor to work with these guys! Many many thanks to Alan Ferguson for choosing me out of 400 who auditioned for this and to everyone else from the amazing fans who showed up there out of their love, to make-up/hair Hannah Lux Davis, Brian Jensen, casting director Dustin Blackburn, production Luga Podesta & Brandon Bonfiglio, Shafer Vineyards in Napa Valley, and all friends who supported this video. Thank you. Sending everyone light and love!! – Linda
I’m not famous, but I am Aromanian
The first feature film in Aromanian language “I’m not famous, but I’m Aromanian”, starring Linda Croitoru aka Linda Taylor and Toma Enache. A film by Toma Enache.
A famous Oscar winner, film director Toni Caramusat ( performed by Toma Enache ), who just returned back home from Hollywood, is fascinated by the idea of increasing the number of Aromanians, and as he’s being set a different blind dates with different Aromanian girls from around the world, he only wants to search for his soul mate. There are beliefs that the last descendant of the Aromanian people, is still alive, hidden somewhere in a cave . That is Armânamea ( performed by Linda Croitoru ). Toni eventually finds her and falls in love with Armânamea, but soon he realizes he can’t possibly have her. Why is it impossible to keep Armânamea?
A profound Aromanian story which will use as set locations Romania, Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, USA.
The project involves young and creative Aromanians, working in various fields and with different social status, who want to bring their culture to another level through a film they can find themselves in, wherever they are. A film that can bring all Aromanians together. An ambitious project, that is likely to bring great satisfaction to all those who support it .
Find out how you too can join and support the film.
Click the above photo to view the video ( Behind the scenes with Linda -Access Direct A1 TV )
Click the above photo to view the video ( Interview with Linda – Prima TV )
According to Thomas Fuller, “An invincible determination can accomplish almost anything and in this lies the great distinction between great men and little men.” Well, today, Daily BR!NK is proud to feature two great women whose passion and relentlessness in fighting a disorder of the nervous system known as Rett Syndrome (something we, at Daily BR!NK, had never heard about prior to these interviews) are nothing short of extraordinary. When Monica Coenraads’ daughter Chelsea was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome, her passion and can-do attitude led to the foundation of the Rett Syndrome Research Foundation and the subsequent creation of the Rett Syndrome Research Trust (RSRT). Over the years, she has developed a strong network and witnessed groundbreaking advancements which catapulted Rett Syndrome to a high-profile disorder within the scientific community — all of it for the love of her daughter. Monica’s interview is followed by a discussion with Romanian top supermodel Linda Taylor and Professional Advisory Council at the RSRT, whose role in spreading the word is primordial for a disorder still relatively unknown to the public.
1. Monica Coenraads
What were your original career plans?
I originally got an MBA from the University of Connecticut in International Business. Shortly after graduating, I met my husband and ended up running the family restaurant that my father had bought but couldn’t run due to illness. After ten years, I knew that the restaurant business did not lend itself to family life, so I sold it and had my first daughter, Chelsea.
Tell me about Chelsea . How long after her birth in 1996 did you realize that there was something different about her?
Everything seemed fine at first, but we had a nagging feeling around her first birthday that things were stagnating rather than evolving in her development. The disease does not show up right away, much like autism. She was officially diagnosed in October 1998.
For our readers not familiar with it, what is Rett Syndrome?
It is a very debilitating childhood neurological disorder that affects girls almost exclusively. The child is typically normal during the first year of life, but somewhere around six to eighteen months, she will start to undergo a regression: lose motors skills she already has, like going up the stairs; the ability to walk; or language. Most children with Rett Syndrome do not speak at all; hallmark symptoms include a loss of hand use, which is replaced by repetitive movement. It’s like the child is washing her hands constantly, sometimes every waking moment. They need help with every basic aspect of daily living, including going to the bathroom and feeding..
Are all children hit the same way with Rett Syndrome?
No. It is a spectrum disorder, so some children are more highly functioning than others… but even those whose symptoms are less severe need help with every aspect of daily living. My daughter was hit hard: she’s fourteen and in a wheelchair, and she cannot use her hands. She has no language. She has a severe seizure disorder and has orthopedic issues– scoliosis, contractures. She has gastrointestinal problems and [is fed through] a feeding tube.
How many individuals have Rett Syndrome?
Statistically, it affects one in 10,000 girls. There are approximately 15,000 girls with Rett Syndrome in the United States and about 350,000 worldwide. To give you an idea, it’s pretty much the same prevalence as Huntington disease or ALS.
As a mother coming across this terrible syndrome, whom did you turn to and what resources were available?
Once Chelsea was diagnosed, I started to do my homework: what did scientists know about Rett Syndrome? More importantly, who was working on trying to find the cause? There was a parent support group that had been around for fifteen years at that point, but they were not focused on research. There was a clear need for an organization to fill that gap. From October 1999 to August 2007, I was the co-founder and research director of the Rett Syndrome Research Foundation, whose role is to raise funds and allocate those funds as efficiently and effectively as possible. We wanted to market Rett Syndrome to the scientific community, and we’ve come so far since 1999.
Was Rett Syndrome not a big deal in the scientific community at this point?
It really wasn’t. But it’s a different scenario now; it may surprise you, but Rett Syndrome is a high-profile disease in scientific circles. Part of the reason is the interesting nature of the gene that causes Rett when it’s mutated.
What is your role within the organization?
What I bring to the table is the ability to network. I bring scientists to the Rett field and facilitate collaborations. I’m able to do that because I am passionate about the science. When I started, I knew very little about science. Fast-forward twelve years and I’ve become very familiar with the neuroscience community.
How did you go about making a name for yourself?
It started with one phone call at a time. I learned from organizations for other diseases that were doing a good job, and I learned a great deal from them. I also learned from the scientists themselves, like Adrian Bird, who published a landmark scientific paper in February 2007 that demonstrated the first global reversal of symptoms in pre-clinical models of the disorder (read more about it here.) It catapulted our level of awareness and research. With the help of an animal model, Adrian and others have taught us an incredible amount about the disease.
What is the single most impressive fact you have come across over the past few years?
Rett Syndrome is a woman’s disorder. If you removed breast cancer and reproductive organ cancers, you would be left with a couple of disorders that only affect women, Rett Syndrome being the most prevalent.
What keeps you going?
I look into my daughter’s eyes, and I know she is trapped inside her body. She has feelings, wants, desires , and I’m trying to get her out of her prison. This passion for the research and the belief that I have in every fiber of my body– that a cure can be found– keeps me going. My philosophy has always been to turn lemons into lemonade and grab every opportunity that comes my way. I wasn’t planning on going into the restaurant business, nor was I expecting to spend the last fourteen years battling Rett Syndrome.
How can Daily BR!NK readers contribute to your success, or to that of the organization?
We’re always looking for donations. Look up an event you’d like to attend on our site and/or provide an auction item.
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2. Linda Taylor
First and foremost, you seem to be a sort of modern Wonder Woman. How would you define exactly who Linda Taylor is and what she does? Did you always want to become a model?
Oh, gosh– I take that ‘Wonder Woman’ as a compliment! Thank you, but first and foremost, I am simply another human being just like you and others here who try their best to do their part to contribute to a better world, safer environment, healthier or happier life. No, I never knew I would become a model until I became one. Nor that I wanted to, but probably because I was meant to. Mother Nature ‘wanted’ me to…the rest is just a whole wonderful journey that I’m still on.
When was the first time you heard about Rett Syndrome, and what struck a chord with you?
I knew nothing about this devastating syndrome until summer 2010, when my business partner, Jason Rem (director of the film Rett: There Is Hope), brought the issue to me as a ‘problem’ and also as a matter of ‘what can we do about it? How can we help?’ We started to work on finding a solution, first by making a documentary and spreading the word around. Then, I personally became more and more involved with RSRT (Rett Syndrome Research Trust), doing all that I could to reach out to a larger audience and working on a mission to reverse Rett Syndrome. Of course, the moment that really ‘struck’ me was the first time I met Heidi and Jonathan Epstein and their little girl Hannah, who was diagnosed with Rett when she was 15 months old. That was the moment that I knew…I just knew that there would be no peace in me until I put a stop to this syndrome.
Tell us about your involvement from a practical standpoint. What are your responsibilities?
Besides working with Rem Entertainment as a producer, I am the Professional Advisory Council at RSRT, working on the campaign to raise awareness about Rett by spreading the word around, reaching out to the media, and putting together fundraising events.
Here’s what I find remarkable about you: lots of international stars such as yourself join charities and causes for their image, but you are genuinely attached to your cause. How did your childhood in Romania influence your involvement in the nonprofit world?
I was raised in Romania in the Communist era, where I often saw lots of poor families and sickness, too. I grew up with a knowledge that there can be illness around us, but that at the same time, we can make a difference and see these situations solved– that is where my heart is, still. Each one of us can make a difference– in anything! Helping, supporting, and loving each other is all that it takes. You might be surprised, but miracles do occur when that happens. To this day, I haven’t yet encountered a situation I could not face and solve.
How do you foresee the Rett Syndrome Research Institute evolving in the next few years?
Our goal is to bring funds to the research table so that scientists can work on human Rett Syndrome reversal. In 2007, we actually found that a reversal on a male mouse model of Rett Syndrome was possible! (See the astonishing news made by Dr. Adrian Bird, in Science Magazine here). That is our hope. And that is what RSRT is working on right now.
Let’s talk about your career. What is the best part about being an internationally renowned supermodel and what is the most challenging aspect of the job?
A modeling career can only take you so far. I have accomplished that journey very well, for which I couldn’t be more grateful to the universe and everyone who made it possible for me over the years to remain grounded. However, nothing is too challenging when working with great people, great minds, and great souls, and above all, with beauty. Everything else becomes part of your world, and I know that my world is part of the people’s world, too, and that has been always a blessing.
How can our readers contribute to your success and that of the organization?
Please do visit our RSRT website page at www.rsrt.org and stay informed. Spread the word around. Call us. Take action. Take part. Get involved. Donate. Whatever you do, your contribution, your support, your love and care are going to change and save the lives of thousands and thousands of innocent little girls affected by this devastating syndrome.
More Than A Birthday Wish
Four years ago, 25.500 children died every day from preventable causes. Today that number is 22,000. Every year 8 million children are not reaching their fifth birthday. Majority of those deaths are concentrated among the poorest 20% of households in the developing world.
That is 2,000 fewer than just one year ago but I wont stop till this number is ZERO.
I opened a Fundraise page on Facebook for UNICEF’s mission ‘ Believe in Zero’ .
With your support and UNICEF’s resources and commitment, I know we can help reach this goal of ZERO deaths from preventable causes.
Please join me in this great cause and i’m asking of you to donate little as you can or whatever you can afford.
I believe that number SHOULD be Zero.
Click here to view my birthday wish.
Make a donation. Make a difference.
Living Love
”Love is the essence of all creation” John-Roger who also says that loving is the deepest truth about each person.
These are the actions of love: increase your Light, continue your development, be a joy to everyone you see, lift yourself continually. Do everything with your attention on getting a smile on your face and love in your eyes. Look at everything through love.
Let love be your guide, your breath, your life.
Life is awareness, awareness is life, and the degree of your awareness is the degree of your loving. The greater your awareness, the greater your loving; the more you open to Spirit, the more clearly you see and the more completely you love.
Live without hurting yourself or others, in ways that will nurture and care for yourself and others. Within those parameters, all the choices are yours.
And do yourself a favor. Live honestly, with integrity, with loving kindness and charity for your fellow beings. Your reward will be your ability to do better and the awakening of Spirit inside you to higher levels of expression.
If the key is to be loving, you’ll give up every consideration, every hesitation, and every reason not to be loving, and you’ll be loving in every situation in your life.
My wish is for you to be loving, to be open to all the blessings that are already yours.
Living love is loving yourself first, so that you can love others. It’s taking care of yourself, so that you can help take care of others. It’s doing those things that are good for you, so that you’ll be happy, healthy, and a joy to be with. Love is everywhere when there is loving in you.
If other people fit in with your plan for taking care of yourself, that can be fantastic. If they undermine the plan, let them go their own way. Let them go in love, with good thoughts and good feelings towards them— but let them go if they do not support you in those things that are good for you.
Experience the devotion to yourself that allows you to take care of yourself.
Going to a doctor is a form of love. It’s a way of saying that you are starting to take better care of yourself, and taking care of yourself is loving yourself. You release the downward flow of energy and circulate it back up again.
This physical body is truly a temple of the Spirit, for the Spirit resides in each one of us. And you can build your body so that it does not become a heavy body, but a light body, so the Spirit can work more closely with you.
Take care of yourself on all levels. Do those things that will be uplifting. Be with other people who are following the upward path. Be loving to yourself and to others. Chant the sacred names of God. Open your heart to God’s presence and walk joyfully in His loving embrace.
Love it all equally. Love it all, own it all—and you will be free.
Enough love will handle all things. If you are having difficulty handling something, you don’t have enough love for that thing. So your next step is laid out right in front of you: get some more love. If there are still areas of your life that cause you difficulty, bless them.
When things are going badly, sit down and say, “I love me anyway.”
Keep chanting your tone, keep loving yourself, and keep on keeping on. Even your negative experiences are gifts from Spirit to build your strength, your awareness, your empathy, and your loving, so thank God for them. When you are secure in your knowledge of God’s love for you, you know that everything that happens is to lift you and move you closer to your own divinity.
Love your karma, also. It is your opportunity to learn and to gain wisdom. By loving even your negative creations, you can shift their energy and release karma. You have the opportunity to change the karmic flow of your life through your ability to be loving. Through loving, you can complete your karma.
You are blessed and you are loved because you are divine. You never walk one step of your life path alone, for the Light of God is always with you.
And truly, nothing on this planet is more important than people, than the Soul that is each person. As you learn to recognize the Soul, the divinity in each person, you will be able to love all that you meet. So treat people as they deserve to be treated, as the extension of God that they are, and look for the divine in all things and in everyone.
As soon as you judge, as soon as you take someone else’s inventory, you strike against divine love. Loving is a very neutral state. It’s “I love you if you’re good, I love you if you’re bad, I love you if you’re not doing either one of those.”
As you go about your daily life, be kind and friendly to others. Kindness is authentic, heartfelt action towards somebody, being friendly is being loving.
It’s the love that says, “Whatever you do is fine. I’ll assist you, and I’ll lift you.” It’s a peaceful, easy-going, flowing love. And a statement of your maturing behavior is to love just because you’re going to love: “I love because of who I am.”
There is nothing quite as nice as sharing your loving heart. A little loving can awaken others to their own Light, and then they, in turn, can share it with more people. We can change the world this way. Then, wherever you go, people will thank God that you’re there.
When you use this approach as a method, it becomes a way of life. If you did that from now on, you could help to create a wind that would clean the planet.
Love is the only channel for clear communication, and the quality of loving communicates far more than words. What will truly communicate to others is your loving. The words won’t matter much. You can say, “Where’s a good place to eat?” or “What’s new with you?” or “Have you read any good books lately?”—and if you ask with a consciousness of loving support, people will get the loving behind the words.
People are much too valuable and much too precious to hurt or abuse or offend in any way at all. Always speak kind words and speak from loving.
Honesty can be a great expression of loving. When you share with a person in loving honesty, you do not hurt or push away the person. You assist the person to a new level inside himself or herself. Remember that “being honest” is not license to jam your opinion at someone or to hurt them in the name of “truth.”
Always be loving in your approach. And if you feel like you’d like to give someone a piece of your mind, give them, instead, a piece of your heart. Give them love.
If your spouse, a loved one, or a friend has the courage to be honest with you, let them know you appreciate it and give them loving support so they have the freedom to be more of who they are with you. It will be tremendously rewarding for you and others if you become a good listener.
Let people talk to you. Love them and let them know you care.
You don’t have to offer any solutions; they’ll come up with their own if you let them. All you have to do is lovingly be there with them.
Listening is one of the deepest, most profound signs of loving—listening to yourself and listening to others. Your heart goes out and wraps around them, and God’s spirit of loving embraces you both.
There is love and forgiveness for everything and everyone. So sacrifice your anger for your loving expression.
Sacrifice your self – righteousness (which is “wrongeousness”) for kindness and loving words. Sacrifice your point of view for the highest good.
Truth and love are cohesive. They erase separation and bring balance. When you start worrying about others and what they are going to do with their lives, you are in a process of separation. You have either separated yourself from them by judging what they are doing, or you have separated them from their own process of unfoldment by your concern that they have somehow gone astray. Let it go. Let the truth manifest in them however they are aligned with it. It doesn’t have to be your way.
Remember, that you can love everyone, but you can be very selective about those with whom you will share closely. And if you can’t love certain people, be neutral towards them. Don’t hate them. Just let them go.
No matter what anyone says or does, you can look at that person inside of you and feel loving for them and find upliftment. And if you want to see people perfectly, look at them through the eyes of love. When you do, strange as it may seem, everybody has a loving consciousness.
Loving is the most important quality you can nurture in yourself. In the midst of all the apparent conflict and stupidity in this world, you can still love. You can still have compassion. You can still reach out and say, “I’ll help anyway.”
It is a gift for both you and them. It’s what this world is all about.
Love will not stay stagnant within one individual; it is always in a state of motion. It is the way God shares His nature with the world, and it “sleeps” if it is not shared.
Be open to the opportunities to serve, wherever and however they may appear.
If you resist or serve from a place of resentment and irritation, it will come back on you. If you serve with loving concern and kindness, you will be rewarded more than you ever thought possible, and that reward may be the ability to do more.
Living love is not fearful. It can reach out and touch and share without abusing or corrupting. It brings a blessing simply by its presence.
So if you ever have the opportunity to help someone, do it. Those acts of kindness come back to you when you need them. Compassion is catching, and loving is contagious.
The larger your spiritual heart becomes and the more you live in the center of your spiritual heart, the more you’ll discover that you are awake in the heart of all the world.
God speaks to you through your heart. God brings peace to your life. You can know happiness, and you can know love. There is nothing else worth knowing.
When you look to the spiritual heart for your fulfillment, when you become pure of heart, when you let the spiritual heart speak, when you love—then the body, mind, and emotions follow, and you express total loving.
The heart knows the truth, and it is through the heart that we perceive Spirit. When the spiritual heart is open, then the spiritual eye is opened. Then love flows back and forth, and the Soul is awakened to its glory. You are in paradise even though you live in this physical world.
The physical body will still express emotional and mental qualities, but your energies, your direction, and your upliftment come from the Soul.
And that, Beloved, is a beautiful place to live.
Let your love be your guiding star. Let it be in your breath, your life.
‘Emena Thes’ with Sakis Rouvas & Linda Taylor
My Congratulations to the entire team who beautifully directed this: White Room, Greece
Hope you all enjoy it as much as we did. Thank you always for your continued love and support !
Cheers , Linda
The woman behind Beauty.Magic.Transformation: SUE WONG
Interview with Sue Wong : A Fashion Philosophy
1. Define fashion design in your own words? As poetic, artistic, and descriptive as possible..
Fashion is something that’s transitory, and a momentary statement of the times, reflecting that moment’s movement in taste and trend… Style is something that trandscends fashion and trend and has to do with individual, creative and artistic flair…one can be stylish without being trendy or au currant… Style is informed by the individual’s own creative expression…
2. Why are you a fashion designer? From the roots to where you see yourself in the future ?
My roots are not in fashion, but based in art… I am a visual artist who happens to express my art through fashion and style…it has become my art and my modality for creativity…I originally aspired to be an artist/painter, a pursuit frowned upon by my very traditional Chinese parents, who refused to support my education…therefore, I went into fashion as a secondary choice… Beauty and its pursuit has always been important to me, and something that is essential to my very being… I revel in it; I play in the field of beauty… I am surrounded by art and beauty in all my various environments, I am immersed in it… On an everyday basis, I am priviledged enough to create beauty and it courses through my being. It is one of the most important healing agents, and connects me to the Eternal Divine; It is my doorway to the Transcendent. Designing fashion connects me to the Goddess and the Eternal Feminine and the power of the Aphrodite Aspect… It honors the Goddess and therefore, my clothes honors the Goddess within every woman… I use the beauty and power of the Goddess and to honor and to heal my own inner feminine…
3. Where are you from? Where do you identify with? How has that affected your designs ?
I was born in rural China, and a child of Mao’s Prolitariat Revolution… My father had fled back to America before I was born, and I only met him for the first time when my mother and I escaped Communist China with nothing more than the clothes on our backs….Growing up in Communist Mainland China and being the daughter of struggling immigrants was a sensory deprivation, as beauty and anything that was rich nourishment for the soul was not essential, and as such, was discouraged or outright oppressed…In America, I turned to the iconic fantasy glamour of the classic goddesses of the Silver Screen, such as Harlow, Garbo, Dietrich for inspiration … Their glamour, beauty and magic absolutely left their impression…My creative work, therefore has the imprint of these iconic goddeses written all over it..Mine is a fantasy aesthetic that is informed by romance, beauty and the feminine power of the Goddess, who enchants and empowers…
4. Thoughts about fashion school and education? Where have you learned the most, etc. ?
I never had but a year of formal training or schooling…everything that I learned was from direct assimilation from being on the job, technically…the rest I brought to the picture through my own essence and energy… I believe talent to be an inborn, inherent attribute… One is born an artist… You cannot “learn” creativity…It is not something that can be learned, acquired or assimilated… The nucleus of art and creativity has to exist already from within…Again, it can only be refined, but not learned nor acquired…
5. What feeling did you have when you witnessed your first runway show / designs, etc. ?
A runway show for a designer is the final realized or actualized manifestation of the original vision or concept brought to life… It is the completion or the end result of an idea, or a cluster ( a collection) of ideas.The model or muse IS the finalized ideal vision of Aphrodite herself in three dimensional form .I like my runways to always be bigger than life…My runway presentations are part fashion showcase and part fashion theatre…They are always full of wit, charm and vitality… They are never just normal basic catwalks!
6. Do you want to say anything about your ethnic perspective in your art and fashion ?
Art precedes fashion…Art and beauty trandscends all boundaries of ethnicity…However, I am grateful that my ethnicity is Chinese and that I come from an ancient cultural lineage that dates back over five thousand years in terms of beauty, civilization and refinement… The Chinese aesthetics is about refinement, and delicate feminine beauty… The luster and sensuality of silk, the most beautiful textile in the history of civilization was realized in China thousands of years ago… The exquisite embroideries and hand-work techniques that were created by hand many centuries ago, are still employed and incorporated into new designs within my collection every season….
7. What do the following words mean to you: Beauty?… Magic?..Transformation ?
Beauty creates magic, and the alchemical agents of magic have the power to transform… Hopefully,when a woman puts on a Sue Wong creation, she is magically transformed into a goddess, because hopefully the power and beauty of the design makes her feel literally like a beautiful goddess incarnate… My own personal patron goddeses are Athena, goddess of the wisdom sphere; Artemis, the warrior goddess of the hunt; and of course, Aphrodite, the quintessential feminine goddess of love and beauty….In the Eastern tradition of Yin and Yang, I honor the Yang, male energy in my outer manifestation of being engaged in the world, where I am a very active warrior; and my Yin is very much expressed through the work that I do and the beauty which I create, and is most definate and very present in my inner world…They are both equally present forces in my life, and I honor their dual nature, yet both aspects are in check and balance within our own being… We are all both Yin and Yang.
8. Thoughts about stereotypes in the fashion world? In confronting opposition ?
I don’t care for hungry ghost fashionistas who take themselves or fashion seriously…such as label whores or attachment to status or terminal fashion victims… I find it all such a bore when fashion is taken to that level… Fashion is supposed to be fun and playful and should only be an enhancement to a woman’s beauty. I have no opposition… My biggest competitor is myself, as each time, I strive for a higher level of excellence…
9. Thoughts about language / culture / heritage / countries / diversity
I am inspired not only by the romanticism of certain eras, but by various ethnic cultures around the planet, depending on what I favor in that particular season…I love the culture from various tribes or ethnicities from around the planet… Not only am I fascinated by their different modes of dress, but by their tribal rituals and their mystical beliefs and their way of life…
10. Visceral, aural, and sensual characteristics about your art ?
All art has to have true emotion…it has to come from the heart…it can come from an intellectual plane, but it will be void of feeling or heart and might be lacking in soulful engagement… It will be strictly cerebral… I prefer not to be merely THINKING about life; I’d much rather be LIVING it!
11. Personal quote(s) of inspiration that you live by ?
The native American quote about beauty as being an essential essence and spiritual mantra in our lives: ” Beauty before me; beauty behind. Beauty to the left of me; Beauty to the right… Beauty above me; Beauty below … ”
12. Personal inspirations? Fashion and non-fashion.
Art, Beauty, Poetry, the glory of Nature, Love and Romance, Sex and Sensuality, The Goddess…all of these have a sacred order in the universe…
13. Reflections on love, lust, and romanticism ?
These elements are all reflected in my work…the work is informed by a lot of passion and intensity and much sensuality and sexuality; At my core, I am a sensualist and a romantic… I have an intensely dramatic aesthetic sensibility… I like everything strong and intense— there is nothing weak or insipid about my work or about the life that I have lived so far!
14. Any personal struggles in fashion career ?
Finally finding my métier…Designing eveningwear became my calling… I am glad that I heeded the challenge creatively. Eveningwear offers the opportunity for me to indulge my fantasy as I am able to unharnass my creative imagination and set it free— it is the most creative category in fashion to play with!
15. Views that mean the world to you…
Be true to oneself,,, have the courage to live in authenticity and be brave and truthful enough to follow one’s bliss…and courageous enough to take the appropriate risks to love, to create… To LIVE!!
16. Types of art you love / dislike ?
I like it all…from Baroque to Minamalism; from the Primitive to the Modern, as long as it’s all good…I have a huge Modern Art collection, mostly the work of many artist friends who are my own creative contemporaries and figurative art from Paris…Any art has to be the best of its genre…the best from any given genre inevitably becomes a classic, as it is the best representation of that era and classification.
17. Future ambitions, goals, etc. ?
I wish to build an International, global brand and to build a body of global licenses, as I aspire to complete what I have started in fashion to complete that idea and take it to the highest level of that I am capable of accomplishing.. I wish to see all the places of great beauty and marvel in the world, as I find indigenous cultures around the planet to be fascinating… Their origins and voices speak to the purpose our own life journey on this plane… I wish to carry out my creative vision to build my beautiful personal sanctuary on my enchanted oceanfront property in Kipahulu, Maui, where it is indeed, heaven on earth! Hopefully, I ‘d like to have someone wonderful and special to share love with and to travel the rest of the winding journey with one day, where with every twist and turn in the road , there awaits more magic and ever new adventures..it would be wonderful to pproach the oncoming years together with ever more light, wisdom and understanding…
18. Things you want to improve ?
My consciousness… How to be a more enlightened and compassionate human being…
19. What are you most proud of ?
I finally am confident in my creative work as an artist as I’ve become a master of my craft after so many years of practice in my chosen profession….
20. Lessons learned
I am still learning new life lessons every single day, as life is an ever unfolding collection of new lessons…It is a fascinating and most intriguing journey! I wouldn’t have missed this incredible ride for anything! I just wished that we were all given a lifespan of about 500 years, as there is so much to see, to do and to experience! There is not enough time given within this lifetime to do it all!
21. Personal values?
To walk in honor and in integrity… It is all that we really have and all that really matters…it is something that comes from the essence of the soul… When one loses one’s integrity, everything is lost, as we will have sold our souls to the Devil— the Devil being our own individual chief evil desires— usually governed by the falsity and illusion of Ego. Integrity and honor are non-negotiable truths…
22. Other interests?
Art, Architecture, Decor, Literature, Cinema, Theater, Philosophy, Travel, Fashion, Cuisine, everything that builds and creates civilization…
Watch Sue Wong video . A Fashion Philosophy.
View Sue Wong ”La Vie Parisiene” 2010 cocktail party . Photo gallery here
Credits and Interview belong to Sue Wong
The Inner Lover by Agapi Stassinopoulos
The Inner Lover
by Agapi Stassinopoulos
I could walk on water so you’ll know I love you
I could give you wings and you can come flying with me
And you will know I love you
I could do arabesque and pirouettes
Dance the polka or drop a million stars at your feet
And you will know I love you
Or I could have every blade of grass
Sing ”I loe you”, in harmony till
Every cell of your billion cell
Will hear it loud and clear
But your mind somehow still won’t believe it
So I wait in the corner for you to turn around
Letting you search for me
Going through your ups and downs
Take the million mile journey
Do sidda yoga postures until the cows come home
Wait and cry, ”Were are you !?”
Feel hurt, betrayed, rejected, alone and abandoned
I’ll let you do all that
Because when you find me
You’ll feel it’s worthwhile
So I’m not going to take the journey away from you
I won’t deny you the right to know
That you now deserve to know me
I, however, never put conditions in my love
You did
I threw a million daisy petals at your feet
So you can play the game
”He loves me, he loves me not”
But you somehow managed to always end it
In the Not
So I will let you be in your search for me
Till one moment you’ll exhale, let go, turn around
And you will fall in my embrace
And know the immensity of my Love
And that you and I are One.
Happy Birthday Agapi mou!
A True Goddess yourself! A garden full of Love and Inspiration and I couldn’t love you more!
“Agapi Stassinopoulos is an authentic, genuine and inspirational speaker who
knows how to connect with and move her audience. She brings out the beauty,
power and independence of the Greek Gods and Goddesses and the archetypes in
all of us.” – Deepak Chopra, author of Path to Love, The Chopra Center for Well Being
The Invitation ~ by ORIAH
It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon…
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.
I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.
It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.
I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.
WORDS & PRESS 