Impulse Magazine | Fall/Winter 2016 Issue 10

FALL / WINTER 2016 ISSUE 10

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THE STAFF

EDITOR IN CHEIF

Emily Kaler CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Juliany Nakazato FASHION DIRECTOR

Elise Kozal 2

PUBLIC RELATIONS

John Wong Rachel Pickus MANGAING EDITOR

Dixie Limbachia PHOTOGRAPHY

Monica Wilner Quentin Harvell

Amie Baumeister Bailey Wort Cailtin Elliott Chantal Vaca Cienna Martinez Davi Stuart Elizabeth Dye Emily Jacobs Enrique Hernandez Erika Loret De Mola Helen Youn Jess Glasson Julia Levin Julia Schreiner Kate Woodruff Leah Pearlman Lindsey Sofolo Mollee Nagle Molly Schorsch Monika Wrobel Veronica Severini MODELS

Colette Hamann Erik Rothlind Erika Loret De Mola Hannah Boncosky Josh Luka Paul Priester

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29 Kodi.

31 Varsity.

59 Building the House.

69 Seoul ‘Splorin.

BEAUTY

Rachel Pickus

CULTURE

Monica Wilner

FASHION

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Emily Kaler & Juliany Nakazato

MUSIC

TRAVEL

Helen Youn

Bailey Wort

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EMILY KALER MODEL MONICA WILNER PHOTOGRAPHER

A LETTER. Dear Impulse Readers, If you had to describe your personal style in one word what would it be? Classic? Hip hop? Fearless? Simple?

And what does that description say about you?

Your personal style is nothing more than a collection of your lifestyle choices.

At Impulse we choose grit over polish, vintage over designer, edgy over safe, and we have an allegiance to change and diversity. In our winter 2016 issue, we have completely redesigned our look to curate a more cultured opinion about current topics and issues.

In this edition you’ll find a feature on two underground house djs who come from diverse backgrounds, from classical music training mixed with a more self-taught approach. We’ll also take you to Seoul, South Korea to see an option piece that contrasts the standard European or Australia study abroad choices.

We’ll share unorthodox beauty looks and interview a young but talented tattoo artist. Our main feature is an homage to high school rebels, living life moment to moment without fear of the future.

As a staff made up entirely of college students, we are all still on our own lifestyle journeys. We hope that Impulse will help our readers open your eyes to the differences in society in order to create a more well-rounded view of the world around us.

Enjoy!

Emily Kaler EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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BEAU

UTY

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EMILY KALER MODEL MONICA WILNER PHOTOGRAPHER JULIANY NAKAZATO MAKEUP

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JULIANY NAKAZATO MAKEUP

EDGE. RACHEL PICKUS

Although makeup is relatively fickle, beauty routines seem to remain static. Once we find a trustworthy product, we seldom stray from its eminent quality that caught our attention. But as the months go on, routines become mundane, and we often find ourselves searching for a little something extra. If you’re in need of an excuse to change things up, proclaim 2017 your year of experimentation. Line your eyes with electric blue or apply a touch of glitter to your glossed lips. The possibilities are endless.

So don’t shy away from your inner creative, and instead explore your possibilities. Cheers to the New Year, and a new beauty routine!

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JULIANY NAKAZATO MAKEUP

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JULIANY NAKAZATO MAKEUP

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MONICA WILNER MAKEUP

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CULT 18

TURE 19

KODI ELLI MODEL MONICA WILNER PHOTOGRAPHER

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KODI. MONICA WILNER

Photographer, Monica Wilner, sat down with tattoo artist Kodi Ellis to learn more about the art of tattooing and what it is that drove this individual into the profession.

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When did you start your career as a tattoo artist? (include how) M.W.

I started my career about 2 years ago, I had always been an artist ever since I can remember. I always loved to draw.

After I graduated high school, I went to college for graphic design and fine arts.

I dropped out when I realized college wasn’t for me. When I came home, through some mutual friends, I got the opportunity to help out with a local tattoo shop during one of their specials.

That made me realize how cool it would be to do this for a living, then before I knew it I was at the shop hanging out and helping until eventually I was offered an apprenticeship by the shop’s owners. I apprenticed for a full year before I became a full time artist and I’ve loved it ever since.

K.E.

What were you doing before you decided to be a tattoo artist?

M.W.

I was going to college but after I dropped out I was basically a bum on my mom’s couch for a couple of months.

K.E.

Since you didn’t finish college and started your career so young, did your family have a hard time with this career decision, or were they supportive?

M.W.

My mom is very supportive no matter what I do. As long as I’m doing what I love that’s all that counts.

K.E.

M.W.

Who taught you?

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I apprenticed under Jason Shanks at Iron Tide Tattoo Gallery which is the shop I still work at to this day.

K.E.

What did you do to practice tattooing before working on other people's skin?

M.W.

I basically sat and watched the tattooing process, I drew constantly, and I eventually started tattooing fake skin, it’s kind of like a rubbery material and it feels nothing like real skin but it gave me the opportunity to get the feel for my machine.

K.E.

Did you get most of your tattoos before or after you started your career as a tattoo artist?

M.W.

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I had a couple of decent sized pieces before I started, but once I started traveling and seeing and meeting all these other artists I’ve been tattooed by people from all over the world.

K.E.

What have you learned since your apprenticeship?

M.W.

A. I learn new stuff everyday. Every artist is still learning, and there’s always new techniques and ways to learn from other people.

people do around where I live. It’s a mix between blackwork and dotwork.

What does a typical day in the life of a tattoo artist look like?

M.W.

Well, where I work we are open from 11am-9pm. I get there around 10:30 to get all the cleaning done in the morning and get all my appointments sorted and drawn out for the day. Depending on the day, I could have 1 big tattoo or 5 or six smaller pieces, so my day varies quite often.

K.E.

What is your process like? (all the way from creating and completing the piece) M.W.

First I draw out multiple versions of the design the person wants, then I talk with the client about what they like and dislike in the rough drawing. That way I can make it the piece they want. Then I size it out on whatever body part it’s going on and then make it into a stencil.

After the stencil is on, I let it dry usually for about 10-15 minutes. That’s the time I usually take to set up my station and get all the supplies I’ll need out. Then we just start the tattoo through finish, then we wrap it up and I’ll explain aftercare for the tattoo. That’s about it!

K.E.

What do you like most about being a tattoo artist? What do you like least?

How has your style evolved as an artist?

M.W.

My style has evolved drastically from when I first started. I do a more unique style of tattooing that not a whole lot of

K.E.

M.W.

K.E.

I love the atmosphere, I love being able to do what I love all day everyday.

I get to chill, listen to music, and tattoo cool people all day.

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M.W.

on?

What is your dream tattoo to work

I love any tattoo that the client gives me freedom on. People need to start trusting their artist more and give them a little bit of freedom. That’s when you’ll get the best tattoo possible.

K.E.

What is your favorite tattoo on your body?

M.W.

I love all my tattoos equally. I don’t necessarily have a favorite.

K.E.

Not many people get face tattoos, why did you choose to get one and what does it mean to you?

M.W.

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Haha, this is the most asked question I get. I love my face tattoo. It says “family.” So it’s pretty obvious what it means. But as for placement it all roots down to why not? I mean, I’m a tattoo artist so it’s not like I need to cover my tattoos up.

K.E.

Where do you draw inspiration from? (artists, life, etc…)

M.W.

I’m constantly studying other artist’s work and how they do things. My favorite tattoo artists at the moment are Anrijs Straume, Dan Molloy and Fredao Oliviara. There’s so many awesome people and styles to pull inspiration from the ideas are endless.

K.E.

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FASH

HION

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JOSH LUKA MODEL MONICA WILNER PHOTOGRAPHER JULIANY NAKAZATO CREATIVE DIRECTOR EMILY KALER EDITOR IN CHEIF ELISE KOZAL FASHION DIRECTOR JULIA LEVIN, RACHEL PICKUS, QUENTIN HARVELL STYLISTS

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VARSITY. EMILY KALER & JULIANY NAKAZATO

Style is timeless. As we see trends from past eras come back, we are given more freedom to show that style. This shoot features vintage accents mixed with modern pieces to create a combination of the best trends from throughout the decades. Just as important as the physical pieces are, we put the main focus on the way the patterns, textures and colors of the pieces complement each other and the environments they are in.Â

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MU

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SHEI DISTRICT MODEL QUENTIN HARVELL PHOTOGRAPHER

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BUILDING THE HOUSE. SHAE DISTRICT BAILEY WORT

For up and coming DJs Andrew Parpart and Debjit Das, formally known as Shae District, the music they create is not only a reflection of what they like but also who they are. This is what makes them different.

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When initially asked to define their music, Debjit reluctantly categorized it in the electronic genre with an indie approach. This hesitancy stems from the limitless nature of the genre, which allows a cross-pollination of approaches within itself, making it hard to define.

Shae District prides itself on its wide range of sounds. In any given show, one could get a taste of various styles. Andrew explains, “we try to never stick to one genre for more than a song or two in a row. We like to move around.”

The ability to fuse several different

styles and influences was a key factor in Andrew’s and Debjit’s decision to pursue electronic music. Debjit illuminates, “it’s not electronic music itself that attracted us, but rather the freedom electronics

allow. With the software you can create just about any sound out there. Now the key is to use those unique sounds but in an organic way, so it sounds natural.” Andrew expands on the allure of the genre, “it’s a very malleable field in the sense that you’re not restricted to a certain instrument that you play and just the notes and style that you have.

When it comes to electronic music, you really have an infinite set of possibilities of sounds that you can make. We’re both really attracted to the openness of it and how if you have an idea you can make it.

You’re not really limited in any way, you just have to figure out how to do it.”

Physically creating the music seems to come intuitively to both Andrew and Debjit. Constantly surrounded by the

arts from a young age, Debjit’s pursuit of music was only natural, “I come from a really cultural background. My aunt is a singer. My parents do plays and whatnot, so I’ve always been exposed to the arts in general. I started playing trumpet in the fourth grade, did musicals in middle school, taught myself guitar in high school, you know, the whole works.

I always just had some type of influence around.” With this foundation, Debjit was able to translate his knowledge into creating music. His classic training allows him to understand the way a song should be produced, which shows in the way he describes the process of constructing the music, “the way I like to think about [making music] is like, let’s say with a symphonic band, all of your percussion, that would be all on one track, then

you’re just constantly layering all the time. When a band is playing, you have your low ends filling up the space which is your trombones, your tubas, stuff like that, but that’s not enough. Yeah that fills in the lower ends, but you have to have your high ends where your flutes, triangles, and so on comes in.”

On the contrary, Andrew’s musical

pursuits were more experimental, “I definitely had less traditional music exposure than Debjit. I was never in school band or anything. I actually took guitar lessons when I was 12, couldn’t stand it. My fingers hurt so badly after the first lesson. My mom had come and found me, ready to take me to my second guitar lesson and I had Scotch tape taped around the tips of my fingers, hoping

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that I was going to be able to play guitar like that and not be as sore. I think I took three or four lessons and then I quit, I couldn’t stand it. I didn’t want to sit there and play Ode to Joy, that’s not why I bought a guitar.” Thankfully, later on Andrew picked up the guitar again and taught himself. Besides a bit of exposure to piano from his brother, it was Andrew’s appreciation of music that kept him pre-occupied until college, when he decided to start pursuing the creation of music.

As if passion and experience weren’t

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enough, Andrew’s and Debjit’s majors also play a role their music. Andrew is double majoring in physics and mathematics, which he says, surprisingly, have a huge influence on their music, “having a little bit of a circuit background is actually incredibly helpful, so you can go in and already have your feet wet a little bit with how the actual electronics of it works.” Along with the electronics side of the music, majoring in physics has been helpful from the acoustics side as well. Andrew explains, “I’ve done some acoustics in a couple of my classes actually, and it is really helpful having, not that I understand it on a real deep level, but just having an idea of physically what’s going on is nice. It gives you really good intuition so you’re not second guessing yourself as much.” To feed off of Andrew’s knowledge of sound, Debjit’s major in computer engineering allows him to bring an understanding of sound production to the table. Debjit adds, “[with these majors] you know the math that’s happening behind it. I’m in a class

that’s literally how you make speakers and radios and things like that.”

With such time consuming majors,

there is a price to pay. Debjit reveals, “[making music] is an ongoing process.

Especially with our majors that require so much time from us, it’s hard to really commit to it, hence why most of our work [on the music] is done at 3 a.m.”

Working this late at night, however, does have its perks. One is said to be more creative during this vulnerable time, which Andrew attests to, “it actually helps the creative process a whole lot, at least for me. I’ll do stuff at three or four in the morning a lot of times and go to bed kind of mad because I’m not really happy with it, then I’ll wake up the next day and re-listen to it and actually really like what I put together. It’s something about being in that half asleep state that I think people are naturally more creative.”

Sharing the mindset, Debjit describes this state as euphoric.

Not only does Shae District have the

talent to take their music where it needs to be, but also they have the soul to fuel the fire. Andrew and Debjit’s passion is tangible to anyone who talks to them and contagious to anyone who listens to their tracks.

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JULIANY NAKAZATO PHOTOGRAPHER

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TRA

AVEL ALEXANDRE CHAMBON PHOTOGRAPHER

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HELEN YOUN PHOTOGRAPHER

SEOUL 'SPLORIN. HELEN YOUN

It’s been about five months since I’ve moved to Seoul, South Korea. Studying abroad in one of the most highly technological advanced cities in the world has been an incredible experience.

They say that New York City is the city that never sleeps, but Seoul has stepped it up to another level.

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It’s been about five months since I moved to Seoul, South Korea.

Studying abroad in one of the most highly technologically advanced cities in the world has been an incredible experience. They say that New York City is the city that never sleeps, but Seoul has stepped it up to another level.

When people think Seoul, they prob-

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ably think Samsung or even the fashion district. Well the fashion scene is definitely unique and very “out there.”

I was surprised to see that nobody dressed like a bum on the streets of Seoul. Since physical appearance is so vital in Korean culture, you will always see local Koreans dressing in the latest trends. I’ve also noticed that there are many pop-up shops in the streets of Seoul, which is very different from Chicago. The price range is also immensely cheaper than America, which truly opened my eyes. Not only can you dress trendy, but you can also dress chic within a low price range, which is what everybody dreams of right?!

One of my favorite shops in Seoul

is called StyleNanda. They recently opened a new store that is “pink hotel” themed, and opening day I couldn’t help but go splurge on some unique pieces. StyleNana has the latest streetstyle trends, and they also have a very popular makeup company called 3CE. Many are not aware that the drinking age in Korea is 19. Yes, 19! That’s right, you don’t have to wait till you’re 21 like America. Which in my case

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EMILE-VICTOR PORTENART PHOTOGRAPHER

was incredibly exciting. The drinking culture in Korea is huge! And by huge, I mean pretty much everyone here could be considered an alcoholic.

Although the difference is that many Koreans seems in control with their drinking.

muffin) as well as the beautiful cafe aesthetic, so I had no choice but to go check it out. Fortunately, the cruffins were not sold out per usual, and yes it was actually worth the $6 I paid. This is definitely a hot place to check out!

Seoul is a beautiful city with beautiful

Bakehouse photo zone which is their infamous quote “I got baked in Seoul.”

I decided to go for the second option.

You can choose your flavors and they hand craft the ice cream shape into a flower, which actually looked like it took a LOT of effort. If you’re ever in Seoul, please check out the flower ice cream from Milky Bee! It tastes just as beautiful as if looks.

food as well. Seoul is known for their famous flower ice cream which I was fortunate enough to try without waiting in a 2 hour line!

I took advantage and experienced

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much of the night life. From bar hopping to clubbing, I saw that many clubs were open until 6 or 7am. YES, 7 AM. Not a typo. I usually went clubbing with my friends in the Gangnam district, if you guys are familiar with the song “Gangnam Style,” by PSY, then you would know that Gangnam is one of the most attractive places in Seoul and have many clubs and bars. Definitely a city to check out if you’re ever in Seoul. Although, clubbing is always fun I also enjoyed casually drinking and going to many hole in the wall bars. Many of these bars are located in hidden side streets that have more of a chill, quiet vibe. The best part is many of them have their own house brewed beer which I tend to enjoy often.

Lastly, Seoul is known for their fancy,

unique cafes. I decided to go to one famous cafe called Mr. Holmes Bakehouse in Gangnam, Seoul. The original location is in San Francisco but they opened up a location in Seoul. They are famous for their cruffins, (croissant

I snapped a pic by the Mr. Holmes

Living in Asia has many culture differ-

ences compared to America. However, the new differences are very exciting and unique to me. My life here has truly made me realize how beautiful of a city Seoul really is. If you’re thinking about traveling Asia, why not check out Seoul first?

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