All posts tagged: inspiration

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Jules Julien

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“The first thing impacting me when I arrive in a new country are people…how they look, how they speak, how they are dressed, how they live together. I go generally to cities. The countryside bores me. I can still be moved by a landscape, but one day is enough for me. About a city and its livings, when I like it, I can stay watching it as long as possible… Tokyo is my favorite place. After my first visit I have returned 6 times the following years and I will go back again. I love its places, its people, its fashion and lifestyles. The first time in Tokyo, I was shooting everything. I wanted to bring back with me to Paris as many memories as possible…people in streets, subways, bars, parks… During my second trip in Tokyo, I was contacted by email by a Japanese guy, just a coincidence, he didn’t know I was in Tokyo. He was the director of the Diesel Art Gallery and he proposed I have a solo show at his space. The …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Cesarin Mateo

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“Music and old classic films have a major influence on how I shoot and edit. It is what made me love photography to begin with. The two coexist within each other, one cannot live without the other… When I decided to travel to Rome on my own, all I had was my music and the classic films I have watched to visually guide me through the city, as well as a map. What made it more of an epic trip was waking up one early morning right when the sun was rising to explore the empty streets of Rome. Nothing is more beautiful and incredibly inspiring than to be in a place where there is so much history and having that all to yourself. Moments like these, that are the most simple and mundane, are what I typically find to be the most gratifying.” – Cesarin Mateo   022/100 of #100DaysofConfessions Instagram Project

#The100DayProject-Khadijat Oseni

#The100DayProject w/ The Great Discontent & Elle Luna

Published by Khadijat Oseni

One of my greatest joys as a travel blogger and cultural curator is connecting on the road with others and sharing stories from perspectives that often go unrecognized. When I stumbled across #The100DayProject Instagram initiative rekindled by artist/designer, Elle Luna and The Great Discontent Magazine, I knew there was no doubt but to submerge myself into this intensive, creative pool of possibilities. This action proves to be a timely Spring reminder of working towards purging unproductive procrastination (not all procrastination is created equally :)) and further combining my love of travel, community and story-telling via developing more glimpses into my “Confessions of a Jetsetter” series. I’ll be interviewing fellow explorers across various creative disciplines and sharing 100 different travel confessions starting today April 6th and ending July 14th! If you’d like to be featured as one of the 100 people I’m attempting to profile, feel free to contact me and I’ll send over a random question for us to collaborate on! Shy?! No worries! Come along for the ride anyway as well as take up …

Confessions Of A Jetsetter w/ Tim Okamura

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I think being a painter does facilitate seeing the world through a different lens than normal. I often find aesthetic appeal in places others might consider dilapidated, unremarkable, or even ugly. In the urban environment in particular, I’ve always been attracted to aging buildings, cracked walls, and empty lots. I love the effects of rust, faded paint, layers of graffiti, signage, posters, and patchwork attempts to repair broken façades. All of these things combine to create what I consider a kind of poignant organic beauty that I think is both viscerally appealing and a pure visual record of the conflicting forces of man-made constructions and nature. This viewpoint often leads me to stumbling across inspiring motifs when I least expect it, and incorporating them into my paintings by direct, detailed documentation, or more suggestively in abstract form. I hope that through my painting I can point to ways for others to see the world differently, to view their environment in a positive way, and perhaps discover a sense of previously unacknowledged beauty in their own …

Life As Travel

Published by Khadijat Oseni

What is Life? Is it living infinity free of expectations? Or is it roll in, roll out of bed, day in and day out, a repetition split between reluctant deadlines and enthusiastic snooze buttons with the occasional party mixed in to remind you of your existence? If this certainty were guaranteed, would you opt to have a case of the mundane everyday? Or would you gamble against the odds and dare to be different? It’s easy to ask the questions, but more difficult to provide answers, because we all desire a degree of control in some form or another. What would life be if we couldn’t create the memories we desired to collect and retell at a later time to display our glory? The problem is that with all this desire for control, there is little room left for interpretation in our stories, because for the sake of comfort, we’re willing to give up our maps to the guides of family, friends, lovers, school, and career to determine where we end up. How about picking …

Confessions Of A Jetsetter w/ Niclaos Almonor

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“Style is the intersection of your personality and your mission on this earth. When those are in line, your clothing and buying philosophies follow suit. I tell people “always choose the smooth life“. The “Smooth Life” is my approach to refine myself and my situations to always be smooth even when life is rough. Being a gentleman in 2015 is all about equality, understanding and love. If you love yourself then the way you treat the world and its inhabitants will always be your best look.” – Niclaos Almonor   

Travel Style Inspiration: The Photography of Louise Dahl-Wolfe

Published by Khadijat Oseni

Louise Dahl-Wolfe was a wildly popular and talented American fashion photographer that was most notably recognized for her work as a staff photographer for Harper’s Bazaar during the late ’30s up until the 1950s. Her signature was shooting exquisite, environmental portraits using natural light. Being a huge fan of vintage fashion, photography as well as collecting old magazines for travel inspiration, I’ve always felt a great wealth of wanderlust and solace in her imagery. Here are a few of my favorite jet set moments from Louise Dagl-Wolfe’s archive: xo Khadijat  

More Than A Single Story…

Published by Khadijat Oseni

“Stories matter, many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and malign. But stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people but can also repair that broken dignity.” ~ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Danger of a Single Story I had the honor of meeting a lovely little girl named Fatima and her beautiful family during my travels through the Middle Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Their grace and generosity despite whatever life circumstances they faced was the very first time I truly understood the danger of a single story as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie brilliantly discussed in her moving TED Talk. I began to see the world and the value of travel differently after this encounter and am forever blessed for it. I find it very important to experience and portray the balanced dynamics of life – both luxury and struggle; joy and pain; laughter and depth; love and loss and any other manifestations of emotion one can think of. As a result, I try my …

Time Travel: 1920s & The Jazz Age Lawn Party

Published by Khadijat Oseni

A week ago, I had the opportunity to travel back in time to the 1920s via the annual Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governor’s Island in New York City. It’s always a fun affair that perfectly captures the decadence, elegance and vivacious energy surrounding this era. New York fashionistas show up in droves and dress to the nines to escape to an alternate steamy world filled with big band sounds, high-stepping foxtrotting dancers, and fancy St. Germain cocktails outside of the sweltering heat of the summer. When nostalgically reflecting on this delightfully chic summer activity that has now become a bit of a tradition for me, I also particularly love looking back at old photographs of New York City for vintage style inspiration. So, I’ve decided to integrate some of my favorite atmospheric shots of New York during this decade with images from my past weekend playing dress-up on the lawn. Enjoy! xo Khadijat

O’ Captain, My Captain: Life & Travel Lessons from Dead Poets Society

Published by Khadijat Oseni

As a millennial obsessed with pop culture and digging up old movies from a young age, I stumbled upon my first entry into the wanderlust worlds of Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau and Robert Frost via sneaking a view of Peter Weir’s Dead Poets Society past my bedtime. Far too young to fully understand the depth of the various themes outlined throughout the film until I later encountered the original texts, I nonetheless was emotionally inspired by the overarching message of living life to the fullest without seeking the permission of others to explore self-expression through the arts. It was then that I fell in love with one of my favorite movie characters of all-time, Professor John Keating portrayed by the genius Robin Williams. With Williams’ untimely passing on Monday, it is here that I share five pre-mature life lessons I learned and still carry along my journeys from dear O’ Captain, my Captain John Keating, through quotes and travel images, in honor of one of my favorite actors, comedians, and creative inspirations of all-time. Rest in peace Robin Williams, you will …