2016 LAFC Winter Holiday Issue

LA FASHIONISTA COMPASSIONISTA

Issue No. 8

WINTER 2016

#fashcompash

WHEN DO YOU TELL A NEW GUY THAT YOU’RE VEGAN? COVER STORY: We chat with the stars of VH1’s “Twinning” Annamarie & Ginamarie Russo and show off the new collection by Vaute!

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ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT ON: Fanciful Fox…and your Foxy Business tip!

HOLIDAY COCKTAIL, WARDROBE ESSENTIALS AND MORE! Click to shop for your favorite pieces!

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Where can you buy vegan clothing and accessories?

Grape Cat, meeting the need of the ecologically conscious consumer with clothing and accessories for the whole family.

More and more vegans are looking for earth friendly clothing and accessories. At Grape Cat, we make it easier for you to find what you need all in one place.

We do extensive research that our products are vegan, eco-friendly, and/or made in the USA.

For products that make a difference visit GrapeCat.com today.

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#GrapeCat

Change the World by Dressing Compassionately GrapeCatShop

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FROM THE DESK OF ADRIENNE BORGERSEN Another year has passed, as I close the book on our second year and eighth issue, I truly, sincerely and most gratefully thank everyone who participated, contributed, advertised, read, talked about, shared, inspired or touched us in any way.

Please read through the credits and contributors pages and support everyone who gave their time and enormous talent. I love being surrounded by such incredibly creative, intelligent and insightful people. I could not do it without you. Special thanks to James, Tiffany, Katrina, April and Sunny, who stuck with me this year, shaping each issue to make it as beautiful and informative as it is. A special shout out to Steve, Nick & Sam whose photos have graced the past 5 issues.

I have lots of new plans in store for 2017 and I hope you will keep reading and keep sending your much appreciated feedback. We’ll get better and better, bringing you a fun and reliable platform for information, choices and questions, as we navigate a compassionate and fabulous lifestyle!

All the Best for a very Merry Christmas, Happy Boxing Day, Happy Channukah, Happy Kwaanza, Good Yule and a Happy New Year!

Peace, Love, Fashion and Compassion,

Editor in Chief LA Fashionista Compassionista Magazine www.lafcnyc.com

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Table of Contents 5 FROM THE DESK… 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS 7 CREDITS 8 CONTRIBUTORS PAGE 10 BEAUTY FROM THE INSIDE OUT

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Sunny says, “Yes, Red Wine is Good for You!” 13 THE RELATIONAL VEGAN Dr. Lang gives advice on the challenges of finding your vegan soulmate.

15 COVER STORY The Russo Twins are the Twinniest and wouldn’t have it any other way!

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22 FASHION EDITORIAL The latest from superstar design house Vaute 30 UNICORN GOODS Our Top 20 Holiday Gift picks for everyone on your list!

35 THE A LIST 36 ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT Fox on Fox - Katrina discovers the secrets behind Fanciful Fox’s creators, Kathie and Amanda Fox.

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Plus, your Foxy Business Tip! 44 HOLIDAY MAKEUP Looks made easy with pro artists Samantha & Andrea McLeod 47 WARDROBE ESSENTIALS AND HOW TO WEAR THEM, THE COMPASSIONATE WAY 52 UP FOR DISCUSSION How can we navigate through such a tumultuous year?

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CREDITS Editor in Chief: Adrienne Borgersen Content & Art Direction: Adrienne Borgersen Graphic Design & Art Direction: James Lucas Copy Editor and Proofreader: Linda Arcuri Contributors: Katrina Fox, Sunny Gandara, Shruti Jain, April Lang, Cayla Mackey, Andrea McLeod, Samantha McLeod Cover Story Photography: Steve Zak Fashion Editorial Photography: Steve Zak Fashion Editorial Hair, Makeup and Wardrobe Styling Adrienne Borgersen for It Factor Image Consulting Fashion Editorial Models: Annamarie Russo, Ginamarie Russo Marketing and Social Media Interns: Tiffany Negrea Graphic Design Intern: Dania Gonzalez Website Design: Linda Albertini Publisher: InJeanious Publishing Jeanne Williams, injeanious1@mac.com Interested in contributing an article?

Collaborating with your vegan, cruelty free product?

Advertising? We’d love to!

Contact us at info@lafcnyc.com

THANK YOU! Connect with us!

We’re real people and we want to hear from you!

LAFC was co-founded by Adrienne Borgersen & Lois Eastlund

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CONTRIBUTORS Please take some time to read about our contributors. Many, many thanks to the people who offered their time and talent with this issue and/or every issue. My gratitude is unending to this community of entrepreneurs who believe in collaboration and support. Connect with them and tell them LAFC sent you!

Adrienne Borgersen Editor in Chief, Co-Founder In addition to being Editor-in-Chief of LAFC, Adrienne is a 25 year veteran of the music industry, an FIT certified Image Consultant and Vegan Lifestyle Coach & Educator (VLCE). She founded It Factor Image Consulting, where she works with a wide variety of people to develop their personal style and personal brand. She specializes in educating on the use and abuse of animals in the fashion industry, with the goal of encouraging people to make compassionate choices. Adrienne also enjoys volunteering her time and talents to human and animal rights causes.

Previously a long-time vegetarian, Adrienne became 100% vegan in 2008 after reading Skinny Bitch. She is committed to promoting cruelty-free fashion, beauty and every day products as her way of saving animals and support a cruelty free lifestyle. LA Fashionista Compassionista magazine is a perfect extension of how she works with her clients, guiding them to look their best and feel their best, so they can take on the world!

Website * Facebook * Twitter Instagram * Pinterest

Katrina Fox Entrepreneur Spotlight Katrina Fox is an award-winning journalist, media coach, content marketer and editor of the vegan business blog VeganBusinessMedia.com. She is the author of Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business and has written extensively for niche and mainstream media for 17 years on animal advocacy and ethical business issues. Originally from the UK, she lives with her wife Tracie in Sydney, Australia. She loves glitter, disco and internet cat videos.

Katrina Fox Website Vegan Business Media Website

April Lang The Relational Vegan April Lang LCSW, SEP is a vegan psychotherapist, activist, and writer. She is in private practice in New York City.

Website

Samantha & Andrea McLeod Holiday Makeup Samantha and Andrea McLeod are Vegan Makeup Artists who teach makeup both at their Academy, Paramita Ottawa and online with their course, Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Class. They’ve been in the industry for over 6 years and love educating people on the ingredients and safety of products and how to choose vegan and Cruelty-free options.

Website 1 * Website 2 Twitter * Instagram

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Sunny Gandara Beauty from the Inside Out Sunny is a vegan chef and transformational lifestyle coach for women with demanding jobs and lives and who are striving to find balance between being healthy and happy. She is a certified health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, holds a certificate in Plant Based Nutrition from eCornell, and a professional Culinary Certificate from the Institute of Culinary Education. Sunny is also is a Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Nutrition Specialist through NASM as well as being a Certified Wine Educator and Specialist of Spirits through the Society of Wine Educators, and a holder of the DWS Diploma through the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET).

Website * Email * Blog * Facebook Instagram * Instagram * Twitter

Shruti Jain Essentials for a Compassionate Wardrboe Shruti Jain is the cofounder of online vegan fashion store AddressChic.com and is a firm believer of cruelty-free living spanning across all areas of life from food to fashion to beauty. A MA in Finance and Investments, wealth manager for over 9 years and winner of Women Leadership Award, Shruti conceived the idea of starting Address Chic after failing to find a single quality vegan fashion platform for her fashion and beauty needs.

Obsessed with finding luxury vegan and natural beauty products and hunting down the finest quality vegan handbags, Shruti’s passion for ethical luxury LAFCNYC.COM

CONTRIBUTORS lifestyle can be easily spotted in every aspect of Address Chic - from minimalist design to curated product range to well-researched articles on everything from sunscreens to vegan lipsticks.

Website * Facebook * Instagram

Steve Zak Photographer Steve is a Brooklyn, NY based photographer. When not shooting in the studio, you can find him on the red carpet on behalf of Getty Images.

Website * Facebook * Instagram

Linda Arcuri Copy Editor & Proofreader Linda is a yoga and meditation teacher who has been practicing alignmentbased yoga and Buddhist meditation since 1997. She is also a Drug Information Specialist (with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Texas at Austin), Vegan Lifestyle Coach and Educator, writer, proofreader, and copy editor. Linda is a long-time contributor to American Hospital Formulary Service: Drug Information, a highly respected reference published by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. In addition, she is a contributing blogger for the website Chic Vegan on topics related to veganism and spirituality.

James Lucas Graphic Design James has been a graphic designer for over 20 years and owns Grape Cat, the online vegan clothing and accessories store. James started Doylestown Movie Fans, who meet once a month to see movies at the County Theater in Doylestown, PA. He and his wife, Chris, started Bucks County Vegan Supper Club in 2009, whose members meet once a month to have a vegan potluck dinner. They are currently working through the Veganomicon cookbook, which inspires experienced and recent vegans to try new recipes. James is proud to support The Humane League and Brother Wolf Animal Sanctuary.

Website

Tiffany Negrea Marketing and Social Media Intern Tiffany is a student at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business studying marketing and global business. Her biggest passions are traveling, linguistics, and improving animal welfare. She is a dedicated vegan and a fervent advocate for animal rights. She adds, “It’s a great joy and honor to contribute to the movement that maximizes empathy and shows others that clothes can be fashionable and cruelty-free at the same time.”

Dania Gonzalez Graphic Design Intern Dania began her college career pursuing a degree in veterinary medicine. Soon into it, she decided that her real passion was art design. She is now in her happy place as a graphic design student at York College in Queens, NY. She loves contributing to a magazine that supports animal welfare. Dania is also very interested in astrology and Adrienne tells her she may be the most chilled out, laid back Scorpio, ever.

Website

Linda Albertini Web Designer & Developer Linda is a freelance web designer hailing from sunny San Diego, CA. Her credentials include a Bachelor’s Degree in Management Science and a Specialized Certificate in Web Publishing from UC San Diego, and she continues to learn and expand her repertoire.

Making us look pretty online, Linda uses her creative and technical skills to help vegan and ethical businesses define their brand, develop their web presence, and reach more customers.

Website * Food Blog Pinterest * Twitter * LinkedIn

Website

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BEAUTY FROM THE INSIDE OUT

DRESSED IN RED

Andrea Gomez Photography

3 Reasons to Incorporate Red Wine into your Daily Routine

by Sunny Gandara

1. Yes, red wine is great with veggies!

For years, we’ve been told that red wine, or wine in general, is at best a tricky partner to vegetables. As a professional chef, wine specialist and plant-based health coach, I’ve done a lot of experimentation and I can happily tell you this is not so – wine and vegetable pairing is not as difficult as you may have been led to think.

Vegetables are amazingly versatile and have a huge range of flavors, textures and depths, and can therefore be matched with an equally big variety of wines. When coming up with dishes for the holidays, they can range from simple and relatively healthy, to rich and decadent – your creativity is the only thing that will stand in your way!

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The cooking method employed will make a big difference in how vegetables taste and what texture they take on. The lightest and softest ways of preparing vegetables include steaming and poaching, while roasting and grilling will inject a lot of flavor, often with some crunch.

Vegetables get much sweeter when roasted, while developing more complex flavors which can stand up to heavier reds such as Syrah, Malbec and Montepulciano.

I always tend to lean towards juicier, softer, less tannic examples such as Merlot, Pinot Noir and Zinfandels. But as with everything, there are always exceptions to the ‘rule’. For earthy dishes with mushrooms and roasted root vegetables, try a Pinot Noir, Syrah or a Sangiovese.

Pasta and pizza with tomato sauces go great with a Chianti or a higher acid red like Nebbiolo. And if you’re into Mexican food, Zinfandel is your friend.

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So now that we’ve got your taste buds doing a happy dance, and your meal is all set up, it’s time to see how red wine not only can improve your dinner, but also can improve your well-being.

2. Wine for your health!

Does this mean if you drink a bottle a day you will have a crazy mane? I wish it were so, but as with everything, just because something is healthy for you, doesn’t mean more is better. Practice moderation, and please drink responsibly!

Red wine is considered one of the healthiest drinks in the world and was used for medicinal purposes in ancient times. While many of us have read that modest consumption of wine can help prevent cancer and heart disease due to its levels of antioxidants and fermentation, the jury is still out on more than anecdotal evidence of those benefits. That said, people around the world, particularly in Mediterranean countries, believe that drinking wine daily keeps you healthy. Even if wine simply makes you happy, happiness is key to good health.

That’s good enough for me!

3. Wine for beauty!

Good for your Skin: Organic red wines are filled with antioxidants like flavonoids, resveratrol and tannins that help give you healthy, glowing skin. Red wine can restore collagen and elastic fibers in the skin, filling out the wrinkles and giving a boost to sagging skin. This is why you see a lot of spas and beauty parlors include red wine facials as part of their treatment. Applying red wine to your face can help reduce wrinkles, prevent acne, and clear pores to prevent further breakouts, as well as treat oily skin. Conversely, if you suffer from dry skin, massage your face with red wine to keep it nourished and moisturized. Talk about being versatile!

If you’d rather enjoy your red wine by drinking it, I’ve got good news: drinking red wine stimulates the development of new cells in the skin’s outer layers and improves the hydration of the skin to make it look younger, supple and glowing.

Good for your hair: Who doesn’t want long, silky and shiny hair? Many of us resist going to the length of making our own hair mask, but it doesn’t have to be difficult.

Simply shampoo and condition your hair as normal, then use red wine as a final rinse. This will give you thick and lustrous hair in no time.

Resveratrol is also widely known to prevent hair loss.

It inhibits inflammation and cell death to prevent hair from falling out, and also aids in hair growth. Drinking half a glass of red wine daily increases the blood circulation in the scalp and strengthens the blood vessels to reduce flakiness, dandruff and itchiness of the scalp.

BONUS COCKTAIL: If you’re not already convinced that red wine is a fabulous drink, it happens to also pair beautifully with bourbon, another one of my favorite libations during the holidays and winter months! This unique pairing is really tasty… but don’t take my word for it, try this easy to make cocktail garnished with seasonally appropriate pomegranate seeds, and impress your friends at your next party!

DRESSED IN RED • • • • • •

3 oz full-bodied red wine 1 oz bourbon ½ oz simple syrup Orange peel for garnish Thyme or rosemary twig 1 cocktail spoon of pomegranate seeds

Add the red wine, bourbon and simple syrup into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well for 20 seconds.

Rub the orange peel around a rocks glass filled with fresh ice and pour ingredients into glass. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and thyme sprig. Festive, fun and delicious!

For more information on wine, including plant-based food and wine pairing education, check out my online wine course here: bit.ly/onlinewinecourse.

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Coach & Educator (VLCE) in a magical 6-day intensive in New York City.

Learn from founder Victoria Moran and a roster of vegan luminaries including MDs, RDs, animal rights attorneys, publishers, professors, podcasters, fashion designers, and entrepreneurial experts. Plus fabulous field trips!

Our grads are coaching, writing books, and opening businesses including Riverdel Cheese (Brooklyn), Kat Mendenhall Boots (Dallas), and Pleasantville Creamery (Toronto).

And our post-course support and networking opportunities are unparalleled.

Visit mainstreetvegan.net/academy or call 212-289-1808 for info & to apply

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THE RELATIONAL VEGAN

By April Lang Hi April, I’m 29 years old and still single. A lot of my friends are coupled up, some married with kids. I’ve dated lots of people throughout my 20’s, mostly people I met on-line, but I haven’t yet found “the one.” I just became vegan and I really, really want to date a vegan guy. Some friends have told me that telling guys I’m vegan too soon is a bad idea and might turn them off to me. I’m starting to feel desperate because I don’t want to turn 30 and not be in a relationship. Do you think my friends are right?

Tanisha, Chicago, IL ANSWER: Hi Tanisha, Before I answer your question, I want to address a few of your comments, because they’re all relevant

to my response. First of all, being 29 and single is not an anomaly in this day and age. Many people are just beginning to get a sense of who they are and what they want from life during this decade. While it is true some people may be settled into their lives while still in their 20’s, many others are still exploring. Each of us has a unique life journey and there’s no one specific time that we should, nor will, arrive at our destination. There are various factors at play that will influence the path we take, and these include our upbringing, life experiences, interests, and societal conditions. Moreover, it’s likely that what we envision for our lives will change multiple times throughout the years.

You also mention the “D” word – desperate. I can tell you that desperate people often radiate an energy which can be quite off-putting. So if you’re looking to find that special “one” in your life, you definitely

don’t want to be broadcasting even a tinge of desperation. When you meet someone, really try to be in the moment by being curious about the person across from you. And don’t for a moment lose sight of all the wonderful things you can and will bring to any relationship. It’s also very important to cultivate both patience and an acceptance that you might have to wait a bit longer than your friends to find a person you really click with. Being single can actually be a very empowering time, as you have lots more flexibility to engage in all the activities you love.

This is also a period where you will likely be experiencing much personal growth, which will make all your relationships much richer and more fulfilling.

Now to your question. First, let me say congratulations on becoming vegan! This is a huge and awesome transition you’ve gone through! By the way, this is one of those areas of

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growth I was just referring to. The reality, of course, is that not everyone has expanded his/her consciousness in the way you have, manifesting in the adoption of a vegan lifestyle. You can, however, be a great role model for others who might be contemplating veganism, and this entails being honest about who you are, what you believe, and why. Honesty is also an essential component of all healthy relationships.

We all have the right to decide what we wish to disclose about ourselves, and when. If a dating app/website or potential suitor doesn’t initially ask for your personal information, of course you’re under no obligation to divulge anything about yourself until you feel the time is right. But if you are asked a direct question about yourself and you’re not truthful, you’re setting yourself up for potential problems down the road. But why are some people reluctant to be truthful early on? Sometimes it’s because they have something to hide, such as being married or in a relationship. Other times people lie out of a belief or fear that if they let others see and know whom they really are, they will be rejected outright. But if you knew early on that someone was not at all open to dating you because you either weren’t their “type” or the “right” age, was not on board with your life goals, or was turned off by your beliefs, would you even want a first date, let alone a third date with them? In this scenario, it would be 14

best to just move on and keep looking for someone more compatible.

With that said, I do understand the temptation to initially stay clear of topics that might be perceived as controversial. However, by not being truthful about yourself, you’re sending the message that you’re ashamed of who and what you are. Perhaps, most importantly, the first impression you’re giving to someone is that you’re a dishonest person. That’s not to say that the very first words out of your mouth should be, “I’m vegan,” anymore than they should be, “I’m a feminist,” “I’m an atheist,” or “I’m a communist.” Allow the essence of you to unfold organically, so the other person has time to understand, and hopefully appreciate and respect, your decision to be an ethical vegan.

In order for a romantic relationship to thrive, it’s important that its foundation be strong. And the bedrock of all relationships is trust. It’s hard to be vulnerable and relaxed with someone when you doubt you partner’s sincerity. Dishonesty at any point in a relationship can be damaging and hard to recover from, but it’s especially problematic when it happens at the onset. When we begin a relationship on a false premise or an outright lie, trust will be hard to come by later on. And without trust, there is no relationship.

Tanisha, I do understand why you might be hesitant to bring up your

veganism early on. Many people still don’t understand or appreciate why veganism is important, and there are many more non-vegans than vegans on dating sites. This can certainly be frustrating when you’re trying to meet someone. But as you can see from the above, being less than truthful is just not a good move. So what to do? First off, don’t give up on meeting someone on a conventional dating site/app. While these sites won’t be inundated with vegetarians/vegans, there will be some.

Do consider other avenues to meet a great vegan guy. Sign up for dating sites that cater to ethical vegans/ vegetarians. Meetups for vegans and vegetarians are also a popular way to meet like-minded people, as are groups and organizations that represent the hobbies/activities you most enjoy. Also, don’t rule out groups interested in environmental issues, or whose members enjoy engaging in outdoor activities like camping, hiking, bird watching, etc. You may find some vegans amongst those members. Finally, while you should never enter into any type of relationship expecting someone to change, there is always the possibility that you could unwittingly influence that non-vegan friend and crush to embrace both veganism, and you! .

Ask your most pressing questions about being vegan in the world today, on our website www.lafcnyc. com or directly to April at info@lafcnyc.com LAFCNYC.COM

TWO VEGANS ARE BETTER THAN ONE! Annamaria and Ginamarie Russo, use their “Twingenuity” to give back and live a creative life.

Interviewed by Adrienne Borgersen Photography: Steve Zak Wardrobe by Vaute

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Watch the Twins modeling on “Plant Based by Nafsika” here!

ne of the things I love most about New York City, is being met with a big hug and a, “How are ya? How you doin’? Great to see ya!” If you’re lucky, you get it with that awesome, drawn out accent where “r”s don’t exist (butter = butta) and an “o” has it’s own special inflection (coffee = cawfee)

When you first meet Annamarie & Ginamarie Russo, it’s almost like an assault of positive energy wrapped an overwhelming blanket of happiness, drenched in their native Long Island accents.

I first hired them as models a few months ago, for the Summer 2016 issue of LAFC. And if you watched “Plant Based by Nafkisa”, they both

modeled in the fashion show episode I was on. But more likely you’ve seen them on VH1’s reality competition show “Twinning” or modeling on The Today Show.

They were so great to work with for the last issue and for “Plant Based…”

I decided they’d be a great cover story. I just love them, with their cute, raspy voices and how their bright eyes take in all that’s around them.

But, don’t be fooled, this is no whimsical, false sense of idealism. They are sharply focused on what’s truly important to them - their charity projects, their veganism and using their skills and talents to get their message heard.

The identical twins completely embrace their “twin-ness” and wouldn’t change a thing. They tend to complete each other’s sentences and sometimes talk over each other, but it’s always full of love and gratitude for what they have and what they can give. Self proclaimed “built in best friends”, they are the twinniest of twins and as you saw on TV, it’s a bond like no other.

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“ How fortunate we are to live in a country where we don’t have to kill to be nourished? It could be this peaceful for everyone.”

AB: Where are you from, originally and where do you live now?

G&A: We are city girls now, born and raised on Long Island.

AB: Who is older and by how much?

G&A: Ginamarie is older by 1 minute! But Annamarie is very much her lioness.

AB: Where did you go to school and what did you study?

AR: We both attended Hofstra University.

GR: I studied psychology and Annamarie studied speech communications of rhetorical studies and public advocacy.

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AR: We also had the wonderful opportunity to study abroad in Venice, Italy. We were roommates…obviously! What a dream to live with your best friend, wake up and walk over bridges and see gondolas and colorful story book houses. Oh, and the red wine at dinner!

AB: What is a typical day like for each of you?

G&A: We usually need a cup of coffee in the morning, and then we like to take our dogs for a walk and enjoy the fresh air! We both do yoga.

AR: I recently started Pilates and I love it! Then we get ready and groomed and go about our business to plan an event. We’re usually busy trying out a new vegan spot or plan-

ning a benefit event. We also escape to Malibu beach every chance we get!

AB: Tell us about your dogs!

GR: Sissy Pie is a Brussel Briffon mix rescue. She’s our little angel.

We love her like a baby.

AR: Parker (my dog with my boyfriend) is a rescue as well, from Animal Care and Control in Brooklyn.

He’s a Schnauzer/Terrier mix, and he’s such a sweet, good boy. My angel. He really helps me if I’m missing Gi! I highly recommend adopting, the love our fur babies give is one that is grateful.

AB: What is your relationship like with each other?

GR: We are built in best friends LAFCNYC.COM

“ Persevere. Don’t listen to naysayers. Go after your heart. Remember, the people who usually tell you it won’t come true is usually because they didn’t try for themselves.”

with the luxury of being separated.

We trust each other 100,000,000%, and always have each other’s best interest at heart.

AB: How much time do you spend together?

GR: We spend as much time as we can together. It’s seamless. It’s as if we are one whole person when we’re together. We are a balancing act, too.

AB: What aspects of your personality are very similar and what are very different?

AR: Ginamarie is more analytical, and an extremely patient listener.

She is also a bit more sugary than I am. It’s always nice to sprinkle some on me - I’m bit bolder, but just as kind!”

GR: Annamarie will tell it like it is.

I tend to lead my life based on intuition.

AB: What is your relationship like with your family? Do you have any other siblings?

GR: We are very close to our family.

Our Mom is our best friend!

AR: Our parents have been married for 31 years! We love celebrating holidays and go on vacations together frequently. We also have a younger brother.

AB: What inspired you to become vegan? What does it mean for you and how has it impacted your life?

AM: We were born vegetarians (no meat, eggs, fish or poultry) inspired by the Hare Krsna Movement.

GR: It’s impacted our life to really live life and walk on this earth having respect for the living creatures.

You have to understand how animals have heart. Maybe not like you and I, but it’s there and we do not

have the right to take their life away simply to eat. Especially in a country with abundant food. How fortunate we are to live in a country where we don’t have to kill to be nourished? It could be this peaceful for everyone.

AB: What thoughts advice would you give someone who is curious about veganism?

GR: Don’t get overwhelmed. Give up something a little each week or month. As long as you are in the proper direction, there is no rush to educate and enlighten yourself on the path to a non-violent way of life.

Dead animals are negative energy.

AR: Also force yourself to see where the meat comes from. It’s 100% your responsibility to see where the food in your plate comes from. Ask yourself if the food in your plate had to suffer to be there. It’s actually really sad, even for a vegan to think about.

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I’m baffled by how designers are that behind in times to really think a model looks beautiful in a dead piece of skin.

AB: Have you ever inspired someone to become vegan?

GR: So far, I’ve had some friends give up red meat and chicken.

Annamarie is wearing a skirt by GingerHouse in vegan latex.

AR: My boyfriend Zak grew up eating meat. He’s from Manhattan and then moved to Louisiana as a kid and ate everything you could think of. Needless to say, I was completely and utterly repulsed. I actually thought one day, “What if I kiss him after he’s eaten meat?” I wouldn’t!

Lol! But surprisingly to me, without my request, he never ate meat in front of me. He said it was a “respect thing”. And one day at dinner he told me he’s decided to give up all meat and eggs. He said slowly he’s been watching videos on how meat is produced and he thought it was cruel and awful. I’m happy to say that was two years ago and he hasn’t eaten them, since!

AB Do you have other interests or jobs besides acting & modeling?

GR: In addition to acting, modeling and television, we are Event Planners for philanthropic foundations, corporate events, social, creative and fashion.

AR: But, acting is our passion. To put all of your emotions, and combine both imaginary and the genuine, into one character and is so thrilling and exciting for us. It’s an expression of a dream.

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AB: How did you come to be on VH1’s show “Twinning”?

AR: Since we were pretty much in the entertainment industry (child modeling, on-air NBC Today Show fashion segments) someone decided we’d rock at it!

GR: The only way we ever said we would do reality television is if it’s based on our twin ship.

AB: Did you like living in California while shooting?

GR:Yes we’ve been bicoastal for several years before then, so it’s always lovely to be back in California any chance we get.

AB: Why did you move back to NY? GR: We wanted to re-direct our energy after being on a TV series with an anticipated magnitude of viewers.

I realize I am not a machine and love being involved in Arthritis Foundation. For me, that chapter of my life began here in New York when I was diagnosed at 12 years old with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

AR: I got involved with he Coalition for healthy school food in New York.

I started volunteering in classrooms in Crown Heights and the Bronx.

We introduce plant based foods to elementary school students.

AB: Tell us more about the foundations you support!

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AB: Who would play you in a movie about your life?

GR: Annamarie!

AR: Ginamarie!

AB: Who or what inspires you?

GR: I’m inspired every day, when I wake up. I try to take life on as an adventure.

GR: I am on the board of Arthritis Foundation Young Adult Leaders. I help plan benefit cocktail parties, silent auctions and fundraising events. I travel to Washington D.C. to meet with Congress to discuss new laws and help get grants for more research.

AR: Before I react to a situation I think about if it could be worse. Then, I appreciate what ever it is I am facing.

I’m definitely a silver linings person. I truly believe in being positive which is not always easy. And being positive and looking at the good in every situation and person. It doesn’t mean everything is perfect, it just means that you choose to look at life. Let your smile change the world, don’t let the world change your smile. I’m inspired by the day before. What could I have done better?

Could I have reacted more favorably? Life is short. And what we do in the present moment counts. Life happens wherever your sad or happy. Choose happy. Look on the brighter side of everything. Let me tell you, how marvelous and powerful, that can be.

AR: I got involved with The Coalition for Healthy School Food in New York. I became a Junior Board Member for the Coalition and I started volunteering in classrooms in Crown Heights and the Bronx. I also taught once a week at the Sephardic Academy in Manhattan. We introduce plant based foods to elementary school students. They go crazy over it! It’s amazing to educate children about fruits and vegetable in a fun and creative way. They really love it and really take notice. I believe children need to develop healthy eating habits while they’re young, to carry into adulthood. That’s what the Coalition does.

It’s such an incredible cause and I’m so appreciative to be a part of it. I recently served as the volunteer food and beverage Director for our annual New York City Gala and oh my goddess, how delicious that night was!

AB: What advice would you give someone who wanted to have a career like yours?

AR: Persevere. Don’t listen to naysayers. Go after your heart. Remember, the people who usually tell you it won’t come true is usually because they didn’t try for themselves.

GR: Believe in yourself. Hard work pays off. Don’t be bitter and don’t ever, ever give up.

We are lucky we have each other to share our experiences and dreams. We recognize that is it very special for us.

Ginamarie is wearing Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstic in Limited Edition color supporting Project Chimp

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AB: How would you describe your personal style?

AR: Italian chic meets sunny Malibu Beach.

GR: And a little glam rock here and there.

AB: Who are your favorite designers?

GR: WildFox, Stella McCartney, and various from Nordstrom. If I like it I buy it.

AR: I also love and have quite a few pairs of authentic vintage Levi’s shorts.

AB: Do you have a “go to” outfit?

GR: Black Velvet cold shoulder shirt and black ripped jeans.

AR: black Bardot-neckline sweater with pleather skinny jeans.

AB: Where do you like to shop?

AR: Twist ( inSouthampton), Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack, Neiman Marcus, little boutiques wherever we see them.

AB: How would you define “Image” and what does it mean for you?

GR: Image is what everyone else is thinking about me, and that’s none of my business ;). It’s an interesting word. Everyone naturally forms an opinion, or first impression.

AB: Is how you dress important for your life and career?

GR: Yes. Its an introduction to your element. But I find it can be limiting. Sometimes I’m feeling a million emotions and you would never know because i wear all black 90% of the time.

AR: Image to me is what someone represents and it’s different for everyone. My image to Ginamarie is very different than let’s say someone who sees me on television. Sure I’m a twin and vegan, but people form their own opinion sometimes simply based on what you’re wearing. It varies person to person. But Gina said it best, it’s none of my business what people think…in the nicest way!

AR: The way I choose to dress has always been important to me. Its an expression of oneself. The more I understood veganism, the more conscious I became of the materials I wear. I stopped buying leather and wool. All of the leather and wool I have now is “pregan” (pre-vegan, before I changed my clothes to vegan).

It’s a process and I’m always learning. I love it. I love always trying to do better than before.

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AB: What are your best beauty tips?

GR: Don’t hide your freckles, they are your face’s natural foundation.

Moisturize lips before bed. Have good thoughts!

AR: Drink enough water, use a natural serum, I’ve been using Ester-C

by Jason for years. It’s a beauty tip my gorgeous mother passed down to me. She has wonderful skin. Moisturize those lips and laugh when you can. I love laugh lines. They mean something good.

AB: Do you read fashion magazines?

AR: Italian Vogue. But it has been difficult to support a magazine that glorifies the blood shed of innocent animals. I hope they will be enlightened. I started reading La FashionisLAFCNYC.COM

ta Compassionista after doing “Plant Based by Nafkisa” and I love it! I I think part of living a vegan lifestyle is also to having those choices accessible to you, and knowing where to get clothes that are cruelty free.

GR: I haven’t bought a magazine in quite some time. I’m baffled by how designers are that behind in times to really think a model looks beautiful in a dead piece of skin. Fur coats date you too. They make you look old. It’s time to give it up. Spend the money on the luxury faux furs, like Pelush. You’ll be happy and so will the animals you saved.

AB: What do you do on your time off?

GR: Travel!! We love running off to LA whenever we can. And of course, volunteering our time to The Arthritis Foundation and Coalition for Healthy School Food.

Every December 24, we go to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx with our Dad to get the most incredible fresh Italian bread in the world! It’s been a tradition since we were 6 years old.

We look forward to the week during the whole year!

AB: What is your very favorite thing to do?

AR: We may sound like broken record but, it’s laying on a beach in Malibu with each other. The waves crashing, warm sun, sunbathing (with sunscreen of course). The views of the endless sky and sea are magical!

AR: Our other favorite thing is the holiday fashion! White and gold sequins, black velvet dresses, winter white, red wine, and frosty makeup!

I love when you look like you just came off the slopes! I recently discovered “Wet and Wild” lip gloss in the color “Sun Glaze” for $1.99 and it has a cute little bunny on that says cruelty free.... what a steal!

AB: What kind of music do you listen to? Is music important in your life?

GR: Rock. Contemp. Sixties. Oh how we wish we lived in the sixties! We dream about our past life in Woodstock 1969 ha,ha! We were definitely flower children.

AB What’s your favorite food?

GR: Prasadam. Potatoes.

AR: Music is emotion out loud - the melodies and lyrics and beats. They are a wonderful and constructive way to share your felt emotion with millions of people who feel it too.

AR: You can tell us when to stop!

Lol!

AR: Italian. Pad Thai. Faux Gras.

GR: Corn Schnitzel. Pistachio cream sauce with gluten free penne.

Carrot cake.

AB: What is your favorite thing about the holidays? How do you celebrate?

GR: Spirit of Christmas is magical!

AB: What are you planning next?

GR: We are launching our own event planning company December!

AR: We are excited to be working together and bringing nothing but good vibes and love to each one of our events! We are also both currently in the process of having our Children’s Book illustrated. We hope to launch it by the summer!

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MIX IT UP WITH THE LATEST AND GREATEST FROM VAUTE! Hair, Makeup & Wardrobe Styling: Adrienne Borgersen Photography: Steve Zak Stylist Assistant: Dania Gonzalez

W

e had a ball showing off this season’s designs from Vaute! Ginamarie and Annamarie are so much alike, yet they each have their own sense of style. Here, they model various ideas on the same theme. With these versatile pieces, you can have a set of basics, mix them up and accessorize them differently, so you don’t feel like you’re wearing the same thing all the time. Vaute has really evolved to design looks for every shape & size. The curtain on the fashion industry has been lifted. We are learning more about the excess, the waste, the cruelty to animals and often humans. We can use this knowledge to make conscious, compassionate choices and still continue to express ourselves though our personal style. Everything at Vaute is 100% vegan made from organic, sustainable or recycled materials and all sewn in NYC. Click the links to shop directly

Annamarie is wearing Vaute Felicity Cocoon in ivory, The Cozy Vaute leggings in charcoal and vegan fur & leather boots by Olsenhaus.

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Ginamarie is wearing the Vaute Vegan Sweater Dress in Apricot and lace up waxed canvas boots by Cri de Couer.

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Ginamarie is wearing Vaute Felicity Cocoon in Black, The Cozy Vaute leggings in navy and the Editor 2-in-1 boot

by Bhava

Annamarie is wearing Vaute Felicity Cocoon in ivory, The Cozy Vaute leggings in charcoal and vegan fur boots by Olsenhaus

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Annamarie is wearing Vaute Reversible Crop Sweater and The Cozy Vaute leggings in charcoal and faux leather ankle boots by Guess. Too Faced Melted Long Wearing Lipstick in Violet

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Annamarie is wearing Vaute James waxed motorcycle in black, The Cozy Vaute leggings in charcoal and faux leather ankle boots by Guess.

Ginamarie is wearing the Vaute Wings heavy waxed moto with combo sleeve in navy, the Liz Backless Organic Bodysuit in ivory, The Cozy Vaute leggings in navy, and BBK9 vegan patent leather boots by Bourgeoise Boheme, raising funds for dog rescue.

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Ginamarie is wearing the Vaute Liz Backless Organic Bodysuit in ivory, the Vegan Chiffon Reading Skirt in black and peep toe canvas & vegan patent booties by Cri de Couer.

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Annamarie is wearing the Vaute Oliver Gown in gold satin. OCC Lip Tar in Black Dahlia.

The materials for these dresses are made from recycled bottles!

Ginamarie is wearing the Vaute Pema Party Dress in eggplant satin. Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Ayesha.

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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Enviable Gifts For Do-Gooders Sourced by Unicorn Goods & curated by our Editor, here are LAFC’s Top 20 gifts & stocking stuffers for everyone you know.

Picky people are no longer hard to shop for. Whether you’re buying for environmentalists, vegetarians, vegans, activists, or know-it-alls, Unicorn Goods has you covered with ethical gifts for everyone on your list. This locally-based Public Benefit Corporation donates 1% to pro-animal organizations and has a mission to reduce animal suffering by selling and promoting animal-free products. Every one of the 3000+ things on the site, from clothing to books to electronics, is 100% cruelty-free and 100% free of animal products and byproducts. Discounts are advertised on their newsletter.

Cayla Mackey, Co-Founder & CEO of Unicorn Goods

Click the links to shop directly

Eve Trofa Necklace in White $39.00 This flirtatious white Trofa cork necklace features gold tone zamak metal, premium natural cork and a magnetic fastening. Eve is a PETAApproved line of sustainable, ecofriendly cork handbags and fashion accessories that are ethically handmade with care in Portugal.

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Bhava Editor 2-in-1 Boot $299.00 An ankle boot wrapped in a knee-high. Two styles in one!

Great quality vegan leather, sophisticated style and super comfortable.

Bhava is a vegan shoe company.

Editor’s Fave Gunas Pelican Bag in Orange $145.00 We love this warm yet chic color.

Designer Sugandh Agrawal creates all-vegan handbags and won the 2014 PETA fashion award.

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Editor’s Fave

Gunas Farm Charm $49.00

Harper+Lange Frequency Fringe Pullover $89.00

Latch this adorbs charm onto your favorite handbag, briefcase, suitcase or anywhere you like, to show off your love of animals and chic style.

Missguided Pink Faux Fur Pom Pom Beanie $18.00 We’d love this cute pom pom hat by Missguided, tucked in our Christmas stocking.

Love this cozy sweater with on-trend fringe. Harper+Lange is a crueltyfree vegan clothing brand.

Farm Sanctuary Pig Yoga Mat $50.00 This Farm Sanctuary shirt is made in the USA from 70% bamboo and 30% organic cotton. It’s naturally anti-microbial and biodegradable. The Farm Sanctuary store sells items that directly benefit Farm Sanctuary, the farm animal rescue and animal sanctuary in New York and California. All of their items are vegan.

Ellison Faux Suede Shearling Jacket $84.99 The Ellison faux suede jacket features a vegan sherpa lining and an asymmetrical front zipper. It has two front pockets and collared sleeves.

Red Panda’s Closet Cruelty Free Keychain $10.00 Red Panda’s Closet is a vegan owned and operated small business based in Austin, Texas that makes jewelry for a compassionate lifestyle.

Reformation Laura Dress $278.00 The soft & pretty Laura dress is made of a lightweight georgette fabric, with a dry handfeel consisting of 100% vicose. Reformation creates small batches of items using reclaimed, biodegradable, and surplus fabrics.

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Editor’s Fave

Antonio Verde Sunglasses $54.00 Antonio Verde makes eco friendly sunglasses from renewable and reclaimed materials. The temples are handcrafted using bamboo, with the frame made from recycled parts from Samsung computers. So cool!

Animal Behavior Nocturnal Dress $98.00 This sexy LBD is made by Animal Behavior.

They create garments from surplus materials in LA using components made within a 10 mile radius of their workshop. They carbon offset their shipping and donate 5% to Panthera.org in benefit of the Amur Leopard’s restoration.

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Aromi Eau de Parfum $45.00 This perfume by Aromi is a blend of apple blossom, bergamot, jasmine, ylang ylang, musk, and vanilla. Aromi, Finnish for “aroma,” is certified vegan and cruelty free by PETA and Leaping Bunny, formulated from scratch, hand-blended, and poured by hand in their own laboratory.

Herbivore Botanicals Calm Dead Sea Bath Salts $18.00 This bath salt by Herbivore Botanicals contains the highest quality of sea salts from the Dead Sea. This calming blend includes floral ylang ylang and natural vanilla to relax the mind and body, along with lightly detoxifying himalayan pink salt crystals. Herbivore Botanicals makes cruelty-free body products from natural, non-GMO and organic ingredients, and uses sustainable packaging.

Buck Naked Soap Company Rose with Moroccan Red Clay Bath Bombs $4.60 This bath bomb is the ultimate luxury. It is designed to create a mood and set the tone for an amazing bathing experience. Buck Naked Soap Company makes all-natural vegan soap and donates 1% of sales to the World Wildlife Fund, they have also received a PETA Beauty without Bunnies cruelty-free certification.

Stella McCartney POP Eau De Parfum 100ML $92.00 Sustainably made, this floral woody fragrance has notes of tomato leaves, violet leaves, and green mandarin.

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Editor’s Fave

Pure Fix Charity: Water Bike $325.00 This Uniform fixed gear bike is made by Pure Fix for Charity: Water. For every bike sold, $100 goes to support charity: water’s operating costs to enable them to continue to fund clean water projects around the world.

It ships 90% assembled and has a frame size of 54cm. An awesome investment for the athlete in your life.

Hipsters For Sisters Fringe Bag $165.00 This on trend fringe belt bag in soft, durable, ultra suede features glimmering gold accents, convenient zipper top, and an exterior pocket large enough to store your phone, cash, or keys. Fully adjustable strap enables the bag to be worn as both a fanny pack and/ or cross body bag.

Matching wallet and dust bag included. Hipsters for Sisters makes all-vegan small handbags.

Conscious Company Magazine $37.95 Conscious Company Magazine, founded in 2014 by Maren Keeley and Meghan French Dunbar, is the first print and digital, nationally distributed publication in the US to focus solely on sustainable business. This is an annual subscription. Individual back issues, and digital subscriptions are also available. A great gift for your favorite entrepreneur.

How to Not Die $16.79 From Dr. Michael Greger, the physician behind the wildly popular website NutritionFacts.org, How Not to Die reveals the groundbreaking scientific evidence behind the only diet that can prevent and reverse many of the causes of disease-related death. A thoughtful gift for someone you love.

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THE A LIST

I

(Adrienne’s Favorite New Stuff)

don’t know about you, but I do not enjoy cleaning.

Some people find it therapeutic, but I don’t, to put it nicely. So, anything that might make it easier and more efficient, makes me happy.

Many of you don’t like to use sponges. They can harbor germs & bacteria. They don’t last very long and that creates excess waste.

Enter Bump It Off! It’s a durable, non toxic, heat resistant, silicone sleeve that you slip on your hand and scrub away your cleaning challenges.

A single product works on lots of different things, like cleaning pots and pans or to gently scrubs off laundry stains. You can use it to scrub yourself in the shower as well as brush and massage your animals. My favorite thing is using the soft bristle side to thoroughly clean my makeup brushes. And my second favorite thing about it

is that I can throw it in the dishwasher to clean it.

The inventor, Lisa Ximinez, known as the “Goddess of Gadgets”, kindly sent me a few to try. She is committed to creating better, faster solutions to every day home, health and family challenges. I think she’s on to something!

I now keep one in my bathroom, one in the kitchen and one in the living room. It comes in pretty, bright colors, so leaving it out is not an eyesore. But, it’s compact and can be tucked away in a drawer, too.

Lisa also utilizes her business to encourage women to discover their unique purpose.

Check out “Your Goddess Domain.” on the website.

Get your Bump It Off at www.bumpitoff.com

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INTERVIEW BY KATRINA FOX

Photos are Kathie & Amanda’s own.

ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT

KATHIE AND AMANDA FOX FROM FANCIFUL FOX

A

fter working together at a candle-making facility that also sold soap-making ingredients, mom and daughter team Kathie and Amanda Fox discovered

a mutual delight in creating bath products. So they turned it into a business. Originally starting out in Scranton, Pennsylvania more than six years ago, the pair moved to a studio in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 2014. More recently, they opened a flagship store in the Bushwick area. Lovingly nicknamed the ‘Foxden’, the street-level premises provides a space for Amanda and Kathie to manufacture and sell their hand-crafted products.

trade, palm oil-free and organic.

Ingredients are carefully chosen by Kathie and Amanda, and the resulting concoctions are given whimsical names such as Sweet Sweet Love and Oats I Did It Again.

The pair talk about why they moved the successful business to Brooklyn, reasons for taking an intersectional approach to their operations by considering people, animals and planet, and how they avoid having products on the shelf for long periods.

All their creations – which include soap bars, lip balms, scrubs and liquid body washes – are vegan, fair Fanciful Fox 204 Irving Ave Brooklyn, New York 36

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What motivated you to start Fanciful Fox and how did it come about?

(K) We didn’t really start out looking for a new business. Actually, we started because we were wandering around a craft store on a rainy day looking for something to do. We both liked the idea of learning to make candles. We liked doing that so much, we soon had many more candles than we or our family needed, so we decided to go to a local craft fair and try to sell them. Two years later, we had our first storefront.

Why did you choose soaps and bath products?

(K) We loved looking at the fancy soaps at the craft fairs and at the soap store in town. The company who we bought our candle supplies from also sold soap-making ingredients, so we decided to give it a try!

It became a passion, and [now] we are always thinking of new ideas for soaps and bath products.

Obviously as a fellow ‘Fox’, I love the name! Why did you decide to call the business Fanciful Fox? (K) Thank you! We also love our name, and wanted to incorporate it into the name of the store. Since we are so much more than “soap,” we decided to call ourselves “fanciful” to convey the idea that we make our products with whimsy in mind.

What’s your professional background and what skills have you found most useful from your previous career(s)?

(K) I have no previous business ownership background. A long, long time ago, I worked in retail stores, but more recently, I was a mom who worked part time as a teaching assistant at my daughter’s school. What drives me is a passion to create new, fun, vegan products and really be a part of the vegan community. In the 38

beginning, we flew by the seat of our pants and learned as we went about the business aspect of having a store.

We’re fortunate to have professional people who help us with things like paying taxes and filing forms.

What new skills did you have to acquire to run your business successfully?

(K) We really had to work on time management. Since we manufacture and work the retail store, we needed to be able to make time to do every-

thing. We have taught ourselves to do absolutely everything. I wanted to learn to make soap. I bought a book and started playing with different oils. Lotion or any other of our products was made with many hours of trial and error.

You’ve been in business since 2008, starting out in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and recently opened your flagship store in Brooklyn. What were some of your main challenges when starting out?

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(K) We closed the Scranton store in 2014 and moved to East Williamsburg. We had an adorable secondfloor artist studio that we were in for two years. We didn’t plan on staying there forever, but we didn’t know exactly where we wanted to open our store. Brooklyn is a pretty big place. We were still maintaining our online presence but wanted a strong local customer base. Also, we missed the human interaction we had at our store in Scranton. It was very difficult for us to work alone.

We like people! We hate paperwork!

Transferring the business to a new state was something we didn’t know how to do.

How did you work it out?

(K) We spent a lot of time walking around the neighborhoods. We talked to a lot of people in the vegan community about what [would be] a convenient location for us to have a storefront. We met a lot of people at a local event called Vegan Shop-Up – a monthly popup for vegan businesses at a vegan bar. We exhibited at VegFests and made friends and built a local customer base. Also, we learned how to delegate business paperwork to professionals that know how to do it correctly.

Kathie with our Editor Adrienne Borgersen, at the Grand Opening of Fanciful Fox

How have these challenges changed as you’ve grown as a business?

(A) Now that we’re in a storefront, our challenges have evolved. Our biggest problem right now is keeping up with everything, and everyone, which is definitely a wonderful problem to have. We’ve had such a positive response from both the local community, and our customer base online, that it’s been tricky to handle the influx of inquiries.

mercial soap has slaughterhouse byproducts and vegans just don’t want to use it. Also, never synthetic detergents like sodium laurel sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate.

Never parabens. Never synthetic fragrances.

(A) We select our ingredients very carefully. We try our best to use organic, fair trade plant butters and oils. Though they may be more expensive, these high-quality ingredients truly make a difference in our final product.

(A) Even though we’re from Pennsylvania, Brooklyn has always felt like home, so we just decided to go home.

I love that you take an intersectional approach to your business by ensuring your products are also fair trade – they’re good for people, animals and planet. Tell us about your decision to do this.

(K) Being vegan means living a compassionate life and trying to be responsible for more good than harm in the world. It makes sense to us to avoid human exploitation as much as animal exploitation. And it follows that if we want to keep humans and animals safe and healthy, we should also take good care of our Earth home.

Tell us about the ingredients you use and don’t use and why.

(K) We are vegan, so most importantly we never, ever, ever, use ingredients from animals! Most com-

What are the benefits and the challenges of taking this approach?

(K) We know that our ingredients and products are good for people,

Why did you choose Brooklyn to open your new store?

(K) We love Brooklyn. We had a major life change in 2014 and decided it was as good a time as any to make the move. We miss our Scranton customers, but [we] adore our new home.

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about by doing research on properties of certain oils and finding out what other things they are good for.

Cocoa butter is great in bar soaps and body wash, but generally not good for faces. Jojoba oil is fantastic for hair, as well as soap, for example.

(A) As you know, we don’t use harsh preservatives, so we’ve had to get a little creative. For instance, our solid facial exfoliators are such, because if we added liquid we’d have to use a crazy preservative. All of that, just to charge people for water. So, we leave the water part up to our customers.

animals, and planet, and it feels really good emotionally to be a part of something “good.” The only downside is that the ingredients we use are more expensive than conventional ingredients. It’s ok. We would rather have high-quality products than use low-cost ingredients.

Because you don’t use fillers or the typical chemicals and preservatives found in big-brand soaps, how does this affect the shelf-life and how do you avoid having stock that goes past its sell-by date?

(K) Our soap and other products are made in small batches. We make 40

them as needed rather than storing them endlessly in a warehouse waiting for someone to purchase them.

Certain products require a preservative, and we use a mild preservative that is globally accepted and considered safe, or a food-grade preservative. We never use parabens, methylparabens or harsh preservatives of any kind.

You’ve got some cool and original formulations. How do you decide on product creation and what ingredients to mix together?

(K) Years of practice. The products we make other than soap came

You’re proudly palm oil-free.

Since palm oil is prolific in many products, how easy or tricky was it to replace it with a more ethical alternative?

(K) Oh my goodness. That was really tough. Palm oil is a very cheap oil and is used in many soaps. It’s really easy to use other oils in soaps. It just takes a little math. Also, palm oil is the main ingredient in emulsifiers in virtually every lotion label I have ever read. I was really on my own to come up with a formula for a palm oil-free emulsifier that would make a really good lotion that didn’t separate. It took quite a while, but after many tears and many more failed batches, I finally came up with my own emulsifier formula using coconut, corn, and olive oils.

(A) I’ve never hear Kath swear more in my life.

Ha-ha! I can imagine! There are now more vegan personal care products than ever, and all are operating in a global marketplace. How do you continue to stand out, not only in the general personal care products space, but also in the ethical/cruelty-free/eco space?

(K) I’m thrilled that there are so many vegan personal care products!

The way I see it, I think everyone LAFCNYC.COM

should be using products like the ones we make at The Fanciful Fox. We can’t possibly make them all. I look at other vegan makers as colleagues, not as competition. The competition is the big commercial brands who use

able to buy personal care products.

Whenever we need something, we figure out a recipe rather than hitting the drug store. For instance, Kath once accidentally bought some serious waterproof mascara, and instead of buying something commercial, she walked around with black all over her face for three days until she perfected the makeup remover recipe. This mentality has widely expanded our product line, which means we finally have something for absolutely everyone.

cheap slaughterhouse by-products in their soaps, animal ingredients in their cosmetics and lotions, and participate in animal testing. We are just fine doing our thing our way, and the other vegan makers do their thing their way.

There are enough customers for all of us.

What kind of people tend to buy your products and why?

(K) We actually have a wide market.

Vegans for sure. And people who understand the ingredients and wish to purchase vegan and environmentally-friendly products. We make such a wide variety of products that we have everyone from women like me looking for anti-aging face moisturizer to moms buying baby products because we don’t have chemicals in our products, to hipster men looking for beard oil. And everyone in between.

(A) Kath and I are completely un-

I love that you test everything on yourselves! Great stuff. So, you’re a mother and daughter team. What tips and advice can you offer people considering going into business with a family member?

(K) Manda and I work together beautifully. We both have different strengths that help our store succeed. For example, she does all our incredible graphic design and label creation, not to mention keeping up

with the website. I do most of the soap making and production. Together we create new formulas and work with customers. When working with family members, it’s important that family status doesn’t matter. I’m not the boss because I’m the mom. We are equal partners at Fanciful Fox, and business is business.

Amanda, you’re also involved in a vegan café in Brooklyn. Tell us about this and how you manage to juggle the two businesses.

(A) It’s not easy, but I love it. I’m the kitchen manager for a restaurant called Clementine Bakery. I spend my mornings there preparing specials for the day, and head to the Fox in the early afternoon. Lucky for me, I have Kath. My kitchen job can be very unpredictable, so I rely heavily on Kath to open the store and get things running for the day until I can get there to help out.

What are the key lessons you’ve learned since running Fanciful Fox? (K) 1.) People are wonderful. I have made many friends from customers, and I have never had someone upset with me for being out of stock on a product. They always congratulate me on selling out.

I enjoy every minute I get to spend with customers.

2.) It’s very important to know what time to leave the house to arrive in the neighborhood to park on the correct side of the street for Alternate Side Parking.

(A) Accountants are very, very important.

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What is a typical day like for you both?

(K) The store opens at noon, so I arrive early depending on what needs [to be] done for the day. I work on production in the workshop until it’s time to open, then I work in the store until Amanda arrives later.

During the time we overlap, I will either go back into the workshop to finish production, or work with her in the store. The store closes at 8:00 pm.

(A) I get to my kitchen job around 7:00 am, make a bunch of food, and then go straight from there to the Fox. Once I get there I get to play around with many different tasks from graphic design and labelling, to web designing and bath fizzie making. There’s typically wine or tequila involved. At the very end of my day, there are two pit bulls awaiting snuggles at home.

What is your personal style?

(K) I don’t really know. Manda says I’m chic and modern.

(A) I wear a lot of black, and flannel.

You know, Brooklyn hipster shit.

What does ‘image’ mean to you?

(K) I’d like to see people look at us as “that great vegan bath and body company.” It’s important that our name is associated with veganism and ethically produced products. I would also love it if they associate us with a fun experience.

What personal qualities are required, whether innate or learned, to be a successful, ethical entrepreneur?

(K) Honesty, dependability, transparency, leadership, and enthusiasm, to name a few. Also, it doesn’t hurt to have a sense of humor.

(A) A thick skin, and perseverance.

Not everyone is nice, and not everyone wants you to succeed.

What advice would you give to aspiring and to existing ethical business owners and entrepreneurs?

(K) If it’s something you truly want

Foxy Business Tip: PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!!

by Katrina Fox

Get a calendar and mark out important days of the year, including holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, plus special days such as World Animal Day or longer periods such as World Vegan Month. Make a PR plan for the year, based on these dates. Put together ideas for stories to pitch to media. Be sure to do this well in advance, particularly for mainstream print media, which often plan 42

to do, please persevere. We see a lot of businesses come and go because it really is a lot more difficult than it looks. Know up front that it’s hard but keep going anyway. It’s worth it.

What are your plans for the future for Fanciful Fox? (A) Soap domination. We have dreams of stores in different cities across the country. We’re working on it – slowly, but surely. We never want to get to a corporate level.

We’ll never lose our small-mind punk rock vibe. We will always have small-batch product lines, but it would be fun to have small workshops running all over the place.

Any other comments you’d like to add?

(A) You deserve better than massproduced soap. People are led to believe that soap is soap. It’s not. Personal care is so important. No one can be expected to kick some ass if their skin feels tight, or itchy.

Visit Fancifulfox.bigcartel.com

their coverage weeks or months ahead. Journalists and bloggers are always looking for gift guides for certain holidays, such as Mother’s or Father’s Day. Make sure you maximize your chances of getting featured. By preparing your PR plan in advance (whether you’re hiring a publicist or doing your own PR), this gives you time to come up with new angles. Media outlets love originality and a new spin on an old theme.

Check out the Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business book and the weekly Vegan Business Talk podcast for more business success tips and interviews with entrepreneurs from across the globe.

Find out more at www.veganbusinessmedia.com LAFCNYC.COM

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Editor’s Recommendations: Check out Urban Decay and Johnny Concert for glam eyeshadows with all of the sparkle and none of the yucks.

HOLIDAY MAKEUP TIPS & TRICKS! Cruelty-Free Kisses & Golden Glam Samantha and Andrea McLeod Professional Makeup Artists and Teachers

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want to give you the tools to create that sparkle and shine while avoiding animal-derived ingredients and animal testing!

It’s time to turn over those products and check your ingredients for the nasties you may want to avoid!

There are a few key ingredients to look out for when choosing your cruelty-free and vegan cosmetics. We

The glam glitter look is all the rage this season, but fish scales on your eyes aren’t so glamorous. Guanine is an ingredient essentially made up of ground fish scales, and it can be found in all sorts of products from mascara and eye shadow to blush and nail polish. The scales diffuse light, creating an opalescent glow and that shimmery, glittery effect.

s we prepare for the holidays with various family gatherings, photos and fun, we want to know we can confidently rock that red lip and leave a little sparkle wherever we go. Who says you can’t do that the vegan and cruelty-free way? We’ve got you covered!

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That rocking red mistletoe kiss maybe isn’t so sweet when its color is created by thousands of ground up…bugs? Carmine – sounds innocent, right? Well, this ingredient is found in all sorts of red and pink shaded products as a colorant, and it is made up of ground Cochineal Beetles. Not only is it found in cosmetics but also in food products as a dye. It takes about 70,000 bugs to produce one pound of the dye! Let’s slay that red without slaying any critters!

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Editor’s Recommendations: Get your lip on with Kat Von D or Tarte’s spectacular ranges of bold lip colors from matte to glossy.

Let’s get that look. For the red lips, we recommend covering the entire lip with a red lip liner. That will help your color stay. We love Arbonne’s Pomegranate shade.

Not sure what red will look best? As a rule of thumb: For cool toned skin, look for shades with a blueish tint.

For warm toned skin, look for a yellowish tint. Sheer or bold is up to you! Add a gloss on top for shine, or keep it matte and smooth!

Add some golden tones to warm up the eyes. We recommend using a gold on the eye lid and a deeper bronze in the crease. Make sure to blend, blend, blend; this is the key to great makeup application!

Need some extra help to rock these looks and more? You can sign up for one-on-one training with us right now! Check out our online CrueltyFree Cosmetics Class on Udemy. com! BONUS DISCOUNT: Use coupon code CFCC50 for 50% off!

In the course, you’ll learn how to create the perfect base, brows, and lip, as well as a day look and night look! Along with teaching you multiple looks, we’ll talk about more ingredients to watch for and why cruelty-free and vegan makeup is awesome! We even have a bonus video

SIGN UP HERE! Wishing you the happiest of holidays, Cruelty-Free Kisses to you!

Sources: • HuffingtonPost.com • Livescience.com

for mature makeup and how to take care of your skin! We also donate $10 from each course to PETA to help save more animals.

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ESSENTIALS FOR AN ETHICAL WARDROBE Written and curated by Shruti Jain, the Curator of Online Vegan Store Address Chic Illustrations by Dania Gonzalez

Guilty of amassing piles of clothes, shoes and bags, 70% of which you don’t even use?

We’ve all been there – getting swayed by the latest trends and sweet offers thrown to us by retailers, and swiping our cards to buy things we don’t need.

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ow any of us think about the environmental impact of our seemingly innocuous purchases?

While a few years back we could get away with oblivion, the havoc created by the cycle of consumption and waste generated by the fashion industry on our planet is a hot topic, and something we can’t turn a blind eye to. From fashion magazines to blogs, industry events to newspapers, everyone is talking about “sustainability,” “eco fashion” and “slow fashion.” After all, it is the need of the hour. You can’t be leading an ethical life-

style if you’re eating vegan but contributing to waste and human exploitation. You need to take a more holistic approach that incorporates ethics in all aspects of your lifestyle – from the food you eat, to the clothes you wear, to the beauty products you use, to the car you drive. Simply buying non-leather or no-fur fashion will not suffice.

You will need to consider the entire life cycle of a piece of clothing or accessory – from its carbon footprint to the livelihood of workers who made it.

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It’s time to quit shopping from the fast fashion behemoths that not only contribute to the landfills but also exploit humans and animals. Switch to sustainable brands and invest in quality pieces that last beyond the season. Building a ‘sustainable’ wardrobe will not only make your life easier every morning, since you will have more wearable pieces, but it will also ensure that you can adhere to the motto “buy less, wear more.”

The big question is how to start?

The next time you go shopping, skip your fast fashion destination of choice and pay a visit to an ethical store (we recommend online). Look for brands that use certified organic clothing, promote handmade goods, believe in a fair-trade production process and, of course, are working on reducing their carbon footprint in whatever way they can. Be aware of the brand you are buying from – you need to cultivate interest in knowing where your clothing comes from, what is it made of, who makes it and how long it will last.

The next step is to plan your purchases before you swipe. A classic high-quality white shirt will be a better buy than a quirky print top that’s hot this season, or the extremely ripped jeans that will linger untouched in your wardrobe forever.

Invest in quality, well-made staples rather than hoarding trendy pieces that you will barely wear. That is not to say we ask you to forego statement buys or taking risks in your fashion choices. But it means making a calculated investment that would include the right mix of more versatile and wearable pieces and a few statement pieces that will add the oomph factor to your everyday look.

Our stylists have picked up the best in eco-friendly and vegan for every budget (pocket-friendly to luxury) that will have your ethical naysayer counterparts go green with envy.

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1. White Shirt Investing in the perfect white shirt will be your best wardrobe decision ever, plus it will yield the best return too.

We’ve picked the perfect ethical shirt from P.i.C’s capsule collection. This timeless, seasonless staple can be worn with everything from your denim minis to sleeveless dresses to your 70s flared jeans and will ensure you always look stylish.

Shop it from Gather & See, and you get free worldwide delivery!

P.i.C Hoxton Shirt for $105

denim brand Monkee Genes. Wear yours with a sweater and pumps when it starts to get chilly.

Monkee Genes Vegan Denim Skinny Jeans for $70 3. Basic tees and tanks Basic black, white and grey tank and t-shirts are staples in every wardrobe. You can wear them on their own with your denims and skirts or layer them under dresses or jackets.

Make sure you get organic cotton t-shirts to ensure they are not only made from the finest quality cotton, but are also eco-friendly.

Farm Fresh Clothing and The White Shirt Co (ships worldwide) 4. Little Black Dress The LBD, as popularly known in the fashion circle, is a no brainer wardrobe staple that can be worn everywhere and in every season. A wellchosen LBD is a good investment and can be part of your wardrobe for years to come. Wear it during the day with a jewel-toned cardigan and flats for shopping, or layer with a blazer and pumps for work. Dress it up for an evening look by pairing it with a statement necklace, a clutch bag and strappy heels. The options are endless!

2. Dark Blue Skinny Jeans Finding stylish denim without leather patch can be hard, but when you find a denim producer which also promotes fair trade and donates a portion of sales to education of disadvantaged children, it sounds too good to be true.

We love these mid-rise dark blue denim pants from UK based ethical

The Cotton Poplin Sleeveless V-Neck Flare Dress for $70 LAFCNYC.COM

5. Black Peep-Toe Shoes

7. Slinky Blouse

It’s just so hard to find the right pair of sustainable leather-free heels.

Worry not, we’ve found the perfect pair in these classic peep-toes from NAE that are super stylish, chic and, of course, vegan! This timeless style will get you attention wherever your strut.

A slinky blouse looks feminine and rich worn with everything from trousers to denims to skirts. They’re perfect for days when you feel bloated but still want to look put-together. This faux silk shirt with leather collar and cuffs from vegan fashion label Delikate Rayne is just the guilt-free luxury that you deserve.

NAE Alexia Black Pumps for $118 (or Black Court Shoes for $99)

Delikate Rayne Slit Back Blouse for $320 8. Trench Coat Once worn for its utility, a trench coat has made the switch to the chic side of fashion. A classic statement piece, a trench is lightweight yet waterproof, structured yet comfortable, and works everywhere and with everything.

10. Black Tote Every woman needs a stylish black tote that’s large enough to stow all her essentials and sturdy enough for everyday wear and tear. Angela and Roi’s vegan tote bag checks all the boxes and comes in a perfect size and shape, so it can be paired with everything from your summer dresses to tailored workwear to airport style to your Fall coats.

6. Vegan Leather Jacket

Angela Roi Sunday Tote II for $195

Inject your wardrobe with a dose of cool with a leather biker jacket. This absolute versatile piece pairs well with pretty much everything from the everyday jeans to the maxi skirt to the midi-dress. If you’re wondering, the leather jacket is no more for only the tough biker chicks as its new incarnations can be worn by everyone from the uber stylish to the uptown girls to the very feminine to the babe on a budget, and all the stylish ladies in between.

Best part? With so many quality eco vegan leather jackets now available, you don’t need to harm an animal for this stylish wardrobe staple.

11. Stylish Rough & Tough Wallet

Dauntless Moto I Quilted Biker Jacket for $315

Mod Trench Coat for $198 9. Trousers A well-fitted pair of trousers People Tree Alba Trousers in Navy for $99

Upgrade yourself to a stylish wallet that not only scores in the looks department, but meets function and longevity too! With cork and pineapple leather becoming the new age most coveted materials, there’s no need to use your old leather piece that not only comes from cruelty, but has contributed its share to planetary toxicity too. We love the color-blocked cork wallets from ethical brand Arture. With ample pockets for receipts and currency, card slots and even a smart sim card slot, you’ll realize what you have been missing all these years.

Kim Clutch Wallet for $75

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UP FOR DISCUSSION Questioning and Acquiescence

by Adrienne Borgersen

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here is a story I heard at a very young age that greatly influenced me. Please excuse the traditional female roles and the reference to meat, it’s just how I heard the story 100 years ago…

A child asked their Mother, why they cut the ends off of a roast. The Mother responds, “Because that’s how my mother made it”. No one never thought to question it, but the Mother became curious and asked the Grandmother. The Grandmother responded, “Because I didn’t have a pot big enough to fit the roast.” Obviously, the point is, that now there is no reason to do it that way and there is a better way. The moral of the story is to always ask questions.

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I have always questioned everything. I asked “why” and when I got that answer, I asked “why” again. Likely, to the point of annoyance (sorry Mom & Dad). And if I didn’t like the answer, I looked for another one. It’s a perpetual cycle. To this day, I believe it’s the most important trait anyone can have.

This year has been one of the most tumultuous, crazy, upside down turning years I can remember. We’ve lost heroes, some celebrity, some personal, one after the other. I can’t remember an election cycle that caused people to be so mean spirited and that created such divisiveness. Wars and natural disasters have escalated chaos everywhere. It would be easy to say that I can’t wait for this year to be over, but what’s happening around us is far from over.

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All I can be sure of is that time marches on. The only constant in this life is that things will change.

And change isn’t always for the better. All we can do is move forward.

To some things, we must acquiesce.

But that doesn’t mean we fold. That doesn’t mean we stop asking questions. That doesn’t mean we don’t continue to challenge ourselves as well as others. We need to make sure we are not stuck so far into our ideology that we don’t see things about ourselves that could be better or happier, with a change. We all must continue to evolve.

Even those of us who feel we are on the “right side” of history, need to be open to constantly learn. Nothing is black & white. We must think critically and cognitively and be open to alternate views. Not listening, not having conversation, not engaging in intelligent debate will just strengthen the divide.

We have to find a way to come together. We seem to have lost trust, the foundation of any relationship.

We are all jaded and angry and scared. We have to wipe our tears, breathe away our rage and march forward towards a solution. We need clear heads and open minds.

The animals need us. The children need us. We all need each other.

That is what creates the resilience I know we all have. I don’t want to live in a world where it’s every person for themselves. We are meant to be connected to each other. That doesn’t mean we all have to agree, but we all deserve to live peacefully and together.

How do you connect with someone when they vehemently disagree with you? How do we bridge the divide?

Let’s talk about it. I will post this article on www.lafcnyc.com so you can comment.

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