CHRISTINE CHIU: ONE IN A MILLION

Christine Chiu One in a

MILLION

Over the summer, philanthropists and owners of Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery Inc., Gabriel and Christine Chiu celebrated their son, Gabriel Chiu III’s 1st birthday by donating a million dollars to the Cayton Children’s Museum in Santa Monica and throwing a sensational birthday bash in Baby G’s honor.

The million dollar gift donation on the occasion of Baby G’s first birthday helped dedicate a wing of the Museum. The generous donation also supports ShareWell, the nonprofit behind the Cayton, which is dedicated to nurturing children to become confident, compassionate human beings with the design to make the world a better place. Originally privatizing the iconic Santa Monica Pier for Baby G’s birthday, the Chiu’s decided instead to give the money to the Museum so as to set an example of philanthropy their son can appreciate for a lifetime. Resulting from this occasion was also the Chiu Fun-For-All fund which provides free museum admission for L.A.-area children living in underserved communities.

PHOTOS BY DINA DOUGLASS

Party for a Good Cause

By Vero Navarro Photos by Dina Douglass

The adorable little Gabriel Chiu III, known by his parents as Baby G, had his first birthday party at the Cayton Children’s Museum in Santa Monica.

But Baby G’s birthday party wasn’t just any party.

Baby G happens to be the son of Dr. Gabriel Chiu of Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery, Inc. and Christine Chiu, a philanthropist and noted couture fashion collector and investor. The couple has avidly supported local organizations, including the American Red Cross, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, among others. For Baby G’s birthday, the couple donated one million dollars on behalf of their son for a dedicated museum wing to support the Chiu Fun-For-All fund which will provide free museum admission to children in underserved communities.

“Baby G, we loved you before you were born and we love you into the future,” said Christine. And as any parent who loves their child, we want a better future for you… and that starts with investing in today. It starts with investing in the children of today and giving all children equal access to education and creative arts.”

“Baby G, we loved you before you were born and we love you into the future,” said Christine.

Besides the generous museum donation, the actual birthday party for Baby G was pretty incredible. Christine basically took the Santa Monica Pier to the Cayton Museum with an over-the-top celebration. The party brought together personalities such as Teddi Mellencamp, Joyce Bonelli, and Alexa Dell.

Guests enjoyed a custom-built roller coaster, an elaborate floral Ferris wheel, indoor carnival games including a claw grabber machine with a large selection of luxury Gucci gifts, plenty of entertainers, a custom Baby G Surf Shop, a state-of-the-art arcade, live musical performances, a private showing of Bob Baker’s Marionettes, virtual reality experiences, and a 10-course catering menu that featured caviar served over tater tots. This, of course, in addition to the museum’s existing exhibitions. The Cayton museum, (formerly the Zimmer Children’s Museum) was overhauled and moved to its new location in Santa Monica during summer 2019. It offers hands-on play exhibits and cultural programming for children and families.

In her touching speech dedicated to Baby G, Christine Chiu said, “We feel very blessed to be able to have this opportunity, to hopefully teach Baby G, at a very young age, the importance of giving back and the importance of sharing and the importance of equality.”

Rebecca Rueth

An Artful Journey From Indiana to L.A. Interview & Photos By Nancy Lozano-Stecyk

In high school, Rebecca Rueth loved art, creative writing and she had a special affinity for animated Disney movies so she wrote a letter to the The Walt Disney Company letting them know she wanted to become an animator.

Disney replied with a packet of information, including a list of recommended colleges and areas of study so that she could explore an art career.

Rueth, who was living in Northwest Indiana, about 45 minutes away from downtown Chicago at that time, wasted no time.

“My dad and I visited different schools on the list and I sent out applications,” she recalls. “I was so excited when I got my acceptance letter back from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) because it felt like the perfect mix of art school and…a traditional college campus.”

At RISD she chose the Illustration Department as recommended by Disney but quickly learned that her strength was not in drawing people and characters.

Still, she decided to stay in the program.

“It allowed me to take a wide variety of classes …to help me figure out what other career paths I might want to pursue in the field of art and design,” says Rueth. “One of my favorite classes was my Watercolor class with (renowned illustrator) Tom Sgouros. He was losing his eyesight and had started painting these wonderful abstract landscapes. I think that class had a lot of influence on my current Alcohol ink pieces.”

Rueth eventually landed an internship at New York & Co. where she became fascinated by the textile and trend department and realized that was the career path she wanted to pursue.

She applied and was accepted to FIDM’s Surface Design Professional Designation program. out to L.A.,” she shares. “The 9 month program was a perfect opportunity for me to test out and learn all that I could about The Textile Design Industry,” she adds.

After completing the program, she landed a full-time job as a Graphic Designer at Guess working on Textile patterns and tee shirt graphics in the Young Contemporary Women’s department.

Rebecca did not end up pursuing a Disney career in the animation industry. Instead, she fell in love with an animator, got married and became a mom.

“I often help him with developing his ideas for show pitches and give him constructive criticism on his character designs and ask him for feedback on my own projects,” she says.

Today, you can find Rebecca completing incredible freelance projects in many different types of mediums.

What’s been the most challenging aspect of running your business?

I would say the most challenging aspect of my business is definitely life/ work balance. When you really love what you do, you can really get lost in your work. I used to be a total workaholic, with freelance work it can be feast or famine. After the birth of my daughter it was harder to cater to all

of needs of my clients while prioritizing my daughter’s needs, so I cut down on my workload and have been trying to have more balance in my life.

Share a little bit about the experience of being both a mom and an active artist... what are your biggest challenges?

I think what I wrote as my artist statement for the Mommy in L.A. Magazine launch party, nicely answers this question. For me (and I think this is the case for most moms), Motherhood has been a journey of the familiar and foreign all at the same time. There are days that I feel comfortable treading the well-worn road before me, but every so often I find myself somewhere strange and unfamiliar forced to continue off the beaten path. The joys that I have felt have lifted me up higher than the tallest mountains, and likewise the lows have plunged me into the depths of the deepest oceans.

My “Journey of a Thousand Lands” collection is composed of a series of imagined landscapes that have evolved during my experiments with alcohol inks this year. In addition to being representational of my journey through Motherhood, I chose this collection for this exhibit because there are a lot of similarities between my parenting style and working with this medium.

After struggling with a bit of a speech delay, my daughter was diagnosed on the autism spectrum in the fall of 2017. This whole experience has led me to truly learn to let go of expectations and to understand that not everything in life is going to go according to your plan. It has pushed me to try different approaches to work through our daily struggles and has helped me celebrate those moments of accomplishment. Ultimately, it has opened my eyes to seeing the world from a new perspective each day and reminds me to embrace the beauty of what makes us each unique individuals. These principles hold true with this medium, as well. Alcohol inks almost have a mind of their own and more often than not you just have to embrace that you may not achieve the exact results you imagined, but when you learn to let go of your expectations and just embrace the process you can still end up with beautiful results.

“I quit my job, and moved out to L.A. “

Your advice to moms who want to create/launch/do something but feel overwhelmed about the prospect of being able to balance it all— Make time in your schedule. Come up with a plan and just jump in, but don’t be afraid to fail! Most of successful products or businesses are here because their creators kept pushing on.

A proud sponsor of women-led empowerment events

Mommy In Los Angeles Magazine was honored to serve as an event sponsor for Positive Visions L.A.’s inaugural News Year’s Winter Fashion Show and Vision Board Party in Downey on December 29, 2018. Positive Visions L.A. is a women’s support and empowerment platform created by Mariela Figueroa (IG @ positive_mermade). Mariela is an entrepreneur and public speaker with a contagiously optimistic spirit. She launched her event business as a way to motivate fellow women to live the best version of themselves. During the event, guests enjoyed a shopping experience with local female-owned businesses, a panel discussion, a fashion show and vision board activities to welcome the new year. We look forward to working with Positive Visions L.A. and joining Mariela on her future endeavors!

Bibs and Bellies is an annual pregnancy and parenting expo organized by local mom duo, Deanna Nalbandian and Monica Yeranosian. Their elegant and neatly organized yearly gathering offers a glimpse into new brands and services for millennial moms, featuring excellent networking opportunities along with trend-setting panelist moms who offer candid chats about motherhood in our times. Mommy In Los Angeles Magazine was proud to debut its WOWMOM® brand at the Bibs and Bellies event on September 29, 2019 with gifted lip pens for all VIP ticket holders. We look forward to supporting the next Bibs and Bellies event!

THEY DID SOMETHING

A woman’s determination to serve as a voice for her community empowers everyone. These ladies have taken the lead in standing up for causes near and dear to their hearts. From teaching us to be more conscious consumers; working to make underserved communities safer; organizing blanket drives and bringing moms together in Los Angeles, these six local women make us proud because when they felt there was a need to act, they did something about it!

Kristiana Azzur

The Cause Bar

She relocated from the East Coast to support her husband’s career in Los Angeles but Kristiana had already begun her journey. She was on a mission to teach people about the power we possess to make a difference in the world, one thought, purchase and act, at a time. Her platform, The Cause Bar, supports an “organically grown community in feeling inspired and educated on how to lead a more cause-focused lifestyle.” According to The Cause Bar website, in 2020, Kristiana is merging her brand expertise with her deep relationships and experience within the philanthropic space, to galvanize leaders ready to go deeper and more personalized in their impact. www.TheCauseBar.com

Elisa Beach

The Moms Forum

When we think about a mom who keeps it real, Elisa Beach comes to mind. The San Fernando Valley mom of four (and stepmom of four) once posted a candid photo of herself in the restroom, sitting on the toilet, while her daughter Nolan stood upright, nursing. The photo went viral and media around the world wanted to know more about Elisha with many praising her honesty while others criticized her choice of photo. Elisha kept her classy composure through all the attention she received then turned the attention on the need to normalize everyday motherhood experiences. She launched The Mom Forum Media, LLC— a media company featuring a podcast and event platform to support other women in their motherhood journeys. www.themom-forum.com

Christy Anne Gomez

Proyecto Happy Hearts

She started out in 2013 with a grassroots charity to provide winter blankets to families at Boyle Heights’ Comunidad Cesar Chavez transitional living complex. Then her generous actions evolved into an annual movement. Christy Anne organizes frequent deliveries of goods and supplies to help families at this low-income community. From Easter Baskets and sock drives to meals during the COVID-19 Pandemic, her efforts are helping families sleep better at night by knowing help and support are always on the way. When she’s not organizing donors and resources to help others, she’s busy raising her own kids and working full-time. Instagram: @ProyectoHappyHearts

SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Luana Klittich

Teacher & Activist

If she’s not speaking out in defense of teachers’ salaries during school board meetings, she’s promoting measures to live a more sustainable way of life. From offering tips on recycling and composting at home, to minimalist living, Luana stands for causes and products that will make the world a better place for her three children and the next generations. Luana once wrote to Panda Express asking why they wouldn’t allow customers to use their own containers for pick-up orders and pointed out that their use of Styrofoam plates is detrimental to the environment (a company representative responded citing health and safety regulations and promised to raise her concerns to management). She is a vocal activist who uses social media to speak out against injustice and encourages her students do the same. Instagram: @SoLittleToDo

Shirley Rempe

L.A. Housing Authority

We first met Shirley when she was leading a series of workshops in South Central L.A. where she would moderate discussions with local residents about ways to make their communities healthier, safer and more connected. At the time, she was working for the Kounkuey Design Initiative which partners with people in under-resourced neighborhoods. Shirley’s passion to help people feel safe in their own communities was evident. She worked tirelessly to ensure people’s feedback was well documented so that their requests for better parks and safer streets could help influence funding and grants from the state. This fierce boss lady is still working to help allocate resources for communities who need them but now she’s a project manager for transformative climate communities at Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles.

Yadi Lemus

Proyecto Happy Hearts

Originally from Brooklyn, New York where she used to coordinate events like Summer Concerts in the Park, Yadi knows how to bring people together. She moved to Los Angeles, met the love of her life and gave birth to three healthy kids. But motherhood came with a few challenges for Yadi. First, she went through a difficult time with her first child who was born with a lung cyst and had to endure surgery as an infant. Then she became pregnant a year later and suffered through several post-partum diagnoses after delivering twins. But Yadi’s go-getter mind-set helped her turn those dark moments into an opportunity to become an advocate for maternal mental health. She’s currently the cohost of Not your Madre’s Podcast and the founder of “Madres Who Brunch” a community organization where she bring moms together in support of one another. Instagram: @MadresWhoBrunch