what happened last year - thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is primarily a very American holiday, but having been raised in a city in the Philippines where American Baptist missionaries took good roots, we have been celebrating it all our lives. And besides, thanksgiving is such a universal celebration these days...


So it's only natural that we prepped up our Cambodian home for this holiday. I had an event organized for Guerlain Paris the month before so, I ended up with tons of scrap metal that I turned into two outdoor lounges.



We made and screen printed special throw pillows for the dinner with the names of our guests and guests-to-be (Obama and Hillary were too busy that evening)


We set our table with sculptures from Bill Bensley's Fantastical Creatures Exhibit and some bounty from the harvest (harvest at the supermarket, that is). We also made special placemats and coasters which stated things we were thankful for...



By dusk, the al fresco corner of the house was ready and so was dinner!


Me, my wife Faith, Don, Sheree (fresh from Newcastle, flown in especially for the Wanderlust fashion shoot) American authors Shannon and Jason and of course, Liz!

Our menu included stuffed chicken (turkey was too darn hard to find in Cambodia!), roast potatoes, buttered peas and veggies, battered fish, prawn cakes, pasta, stuffed pumpkin dessert, cream cheese cake, etc... Jason and Shannon brought a super cool drink that they concocted themselves!


Inside, we had our tree set up too for the holidays...


Guests got to bring their pillows as souvenirs!


A few days later, we had dinner with some new friends... Max, who's Vietnamese-French, Rachel, from the US, who's opening a boutique next door to us at the Alley West and Ruben from Mexico.


We definitely love welcoming friends to our home!

wanderlust

Another highly creative designer has recently made a big move from the bright lights of Paris, London and New York and made the dusty old town of Siem Reap her new home. Now our lives will never be the same again...


Her name is Elizabeth Kiester - former creative director of LeSportSac and Abercrombie & Fitch where she has elevated the brands through her youthful designs and innovative collaborations with artists and designers such as Stella McCartney and Toki Doki's Simone Legno. She has also been a stylist for brands like BCBG Max Azria, Cynthia Rowley, GAP, Banana Republic, and was also fashion director for glossies like YM, Marie Claire, Seventeen, Mademoiselle and JANE.

With an impressive portfolio like that, moving to a third world country to spread fashion would probably the last thing on anyone's sane mind.


But she did, and in a span of weeks, she has transformed Siem Reap into an exciting new destination for alternative fashion through her bright new store by the alley at the old market area- wanderlust. A fitting name for a fashion nomad.


I did a photo shoot for her for an article for my friend Don and for use in an international inflight magazine.


Modeled by Sheree, her clothes and accessories are bold, fun and awash with color. She also has a sombre and edgy line of avant garde pieces.


Being interviewed by Don, Elizabeth told us that she originally went to Cambodia for a holiday and to do volunteer work for an NGO, but ended up falling in love with the place. So she packed up all her stuff in New York and changed our lives for the better.


Cool, vibrant and always fun, her designs and her shop are a big source of inspiration for us!


Her shop also has a cool lounge on the far end littered with fluffy graphic pillows.


Her bedroom on the second floor is a play of black and white and a burst of luscious red here and there. A true homage to New York loft living.




Winding down after the shoot... we had fun!

Elizabeth and Don are cooking up a fashion show soon by the alley... so this is just the start of something big!