Our Blog
Photo Journal: Aimee France
We have been followers (and fans!) of Aimee's for a long time! You might follow her too -- known as @yungkombucha420 on instagram, Aimee's account is a sweets enthusiast's dream! Full of the fantastical cakes she creates, as well as a sneak peek at her daily life as a baker.
Aimee currently bakes out of her Brooklyn kitchen, and sources all ingredients locally -- whether it's foraging some flowers and strawberries from a local community garden, or shopping at the Union Square farmer's market. We love not only Aimee's eye for design, but her commitment to sustainability and using what she has.
Aimee invited us over to spend an afternoon baking a cake with her. What kind of cake you ask? Well an olive oil rose cake with ricotta and fresh strawberries, and brown butter cardamom prosecco buttercream of course! OH - and a little chocolate ganache too. It was as delicious as it was beautiful. Scroll through to enjoy with us!Tell us about yourself and how you came to be a baker
My name is Aimee France and I am 23. I went to college and graduated with a degree in communications but deep down always knew I wanted to do something entrepreneurial. I was interested in food/cooking and wanted a good vegan dessert. I became interested in food science and decided to teach myself how to mimic traditional baking techniques to create a vegan version. I then started posting photos on social media and grew a following. After that I decided to sell my products and here I am now, I guess I got lucky!
Describe your work in three words
Seasonal, spontaneous, ethereal.
First baking memory?
Watching my mom bake my birthday cakes every year and the chocolate cake she would always make. My mom made some pretty cool and intricate cakes for me. I also have a vivid memory of having a bake sale at the bottom of my driveway with my childhood best friend. I think we sold Ghirardelli chocolate chip brownies and Whoopie pies (I think my mom made the whoopie pies lol).
What are your favorite flavors and ingredients?
In the summer I love chocolate cake, cardamom, mascarpone or chantilly cream with fresh berries and lemon thyme. Sprinkling maldon on top is necessary. I also love tiramisu or anything coffee.
And cake / frosting combination?
Chocolate cake with a big scoop of chantilly cream and fresh herbs. For buttercream I love the prosecco buttercream I make. Chantilly cream and any type of buttercream needs to be a bit salty in my opinion.
Describe a perfect day in NYC!
Having breakfast on my roof, going to the farmers market, walking around with friends, exploring a new area, trying a new restaurant for dinner or going to one that I love. After dinner I like to walk around and sit in a park during dusk, maybe go out after if I’m not too tired.
Favorite non-cake dessert?
Tiramisu or affogato!
How can one order a cake from you?
Send an email to yungkombucha@gmail.com ! (Please do not DM me about cake inquiries). I make anything from birthday cakes to extravagant cakes for events and weddings. I also sell mini cakes on my instagram story weekly on a first come first serve basis!
Shop Aimee's Edit!
Photo Journal: Evelynn Escobar
We were so happy to connect with Evelynn ahead of our visit to LA - we have long admired her work in founding Hike Clerb, an intersectional women's hiking group and nonprofit centering BIPOC. Joining any of Evelynn’s gatherings, the amount of joy and community Hike Clerb has created over the past five years is soon understood. Catbird organized a golden hour hike in partnership with Hike Clerb last week, read on to see views from our trail and learn more about Evelynn’s mission.
On Hike Clerb..
I created Hike Clerb as a solution to the blindspots I was seeing in the outdoors. Being a Black and indigenous woman out there and feeling isolated in how homogeneously white it was, I wanted to take action to ensure that Black, Indigenous, women of color felt that they had a space out there for them to heal and explore in whatever way they felt necessary. The community that has been built as a result has been incredible. From the tens of thousands that are involved digitally, to those who I get the honor of seeing the transformation take place in real-time of being a part of the clerb, the work in short is working! We have created the future we want to live in and it's been incredible to witness an idea that was seemingly planted in my mind take shape in this way.
What are your hiking essentials?
I always bring a fanny pack, water, my inhaler, sunglasses, comfortable bottoms (shorts or pants), and of course, trusty hiking boots or sneakers. The specifics change from hike to hike.
Who is your dream hiking companion?
Who wouldn't love to hike with Beyonce? It would be peak virgo of us.
What are your future plans for Hike Clerb?
Expansion to cities across the country is our biggest focus in the short term. There is so much to come in the long term from products to bigger activations and new adventures.
Describe a perfect day in LA..
My perfect day in LA ranges from going to the spa and indulging in much-needed self-care to enjoying time outside -- whether that's on the trail, at the beach, etc. with the people I love the most.
What is your jewelry uniform?
My jewelry uniform is a set of gold hoops, a pair of gold necklaces and bracelets, and my gold nose hoop that has become a permanent fixture at this point! In short, all gold everything!
Describe your style in three words.
Effortless. Gender fluid. Cozy.
We love sweet Isla! Has she changed how you think about adventure?
Being a mom to Isla hasn't necessarily shifted the way I think about adventure per se but it has made me way more thoughtful about the preparation that comes with it through trial and error. It's also so empowering to lead by example in the sense that babies can and should come along for the ride! Your life and the adventures you were accustomed to can and absolutely should continue with the baby in tow!
What are you most looking forward to this summer?
I'm most looking forward to all the traveling we'll be doing as a family this summer after two years of being in LA during the height of the pandemic. It feels like we're getting back into our flow!
Our Golden Hour Hike with Hike Clerb
Shop Evelynn's Edit
A Trip to Coney Island with Kristen & Karen
Kristen Bateman and Karen Resta are the embodiment of fashion freethinkers — their voluminous layers, labyrinthine love of patterns, and pastel and neon palette is both a shared love and distinct to each.
When we were planning this shoot, we asked them for a list of places around the city they love to go together, and at the top of the list was without hesitation Coney Island. And so a warm spring day was spent together, walking the boardwalk, savoring hotdogs and sweets, and people watching until the fog rolled in.
Read on for a dream day in Coney Island, and a conversation around tradition, individuality, motherhood, and love.
Karen: The first time we went to Coney Island together was when Kristen went to college at Parsons. I’d grown up in NYC but we had lived in other places, so I came to visit in her first year of college and we took the subway to Coney Island - and after that she shared it with her new friends who hadn’t been there yet, who loved it!
K & K's Coney Island Itinerary..
First we look at the souvenir stores before even leaving the subway station and usually decide not to buy anything, then we cross the street to Nathan’s and take some photos! It’s so iconic, I don’t think we’ve ever walked by it without taking a photo. Then we go into the park and look at the Art Walls to see what food trucks are there that day, maybe get a drink and go to the boardwalk.
On summer weekends there’s usually a freeform dance party happening on the boardwalk - sometimes it’s music from a big boombox, other times there’s a live band or a DJ. Anybody and everybody can join in, there are toddlers dancing and people in their 80’s - all New Yorkers and all loving it! It’s fun to watch or to join in!
Then it’s time for the rides: Deno’s Wonder Wheel and Luna Park. We usually do a few rides and have fun listening to people screaming and laughing on the fast rides then take more photos. The people, the rides, the food, everything is just asking to be photographed!
We might have a bite to eat at Nathan’s on the boardwalk (hot dogs, fries, clams) after that, or some ice cream from Coney’s Cones next door. Then it’s time to take off our shoes and go onto the beach! We’ll stroll along the water “getting our feet wet” and finding shells and rocks to take home. It’s fascinating to see NYC’s famous diversity at the beach - there are people wearing tiny bikinis and there are people covered literally from head to toe in their prescribed religious garments right next to each other swimming in the water.
The boardwalk and beach extend into Brighton Beach, so we might walk along it and into Brighton Beach to go shopping at a fabulous Russian grocery store where you can buy freshly made crepes to fill with caviar and sour cream - or we might stop for borscht and pelmeni at one of the neighborhood restaurants (where there’s a tradition of putting an entire bottle of vodka on the table to share! But I don’t think we’ve done that yet!)
That’s it - we’ll get in the subway there, unless we walk back along the boardwalk and stop to get a haul of candy at the big “It’s Sugar” store, along with cotton candy and candy apples at Williams’ Candy. Then it’s back on the subway and home.
What is your favorite thing about Coney Island?
Kristen: I love the fact that it transports you to a place that feels a little bit surreal. I especially love all the colors, the signage and the food. It’s one of my favorite places to go with my mom! It’s also amazing to go there during the off-season, it’s far less crowded and the scenery is even more surreal. We always take tons of photos there every time we go.
Karen: I love that it’s one of the few places in the city that has not changed over many years. It’s “old-school” in a good way. All New Yorkers are equal at Coney Island, and it’s one of the few places in the city that have that kind of mood. There generally aren’t a lot of tourists and there generally *are* a lot of colorful people there. It’s a place of joy, music, junk food, sun, sand, water, seagulls and New Yorkers in all their glory!
What other traditions do you have together?
Karen: We often color each other’s hair. Kristen’s color at the moment is peach, mine is bright yellow.
Kristen: We also get dressed up to make TikToks together. We love to go to Fashion weeks together - especially in Paris. Plus, we love trying new restaurants, traveling, shopping together and helping each other plan outfits.
Can you make a Coney Island Playlist for us?
Sure! Kristen will pick five songs and I'll pick five - and they'll probably be really different choices!
What do you most admire about one another?
Kristen: My mom is the strongest person I know. She’s fearless and has always encouraged me to do what I want and to express myself. She inspires me endlessly. I admire her determination and her ability to always be positive no matter what the situation is. Plus, I could listen to her talk about her life stories, from living in New York in the ‘70s to moving to Paris on a whim, forever.
Karen: Kristen is her own person - and she also *owns* that she’s her own person. As her mom, I’ve seen her grow from a very quiet, shy little girl into a woman who stands her own and makes her way in a world that’s not always friendly to women or to artists. She constantly surprises me as an artist, a writer, and a businesswoman, and the fearless way she expresses her personal style is so much fun to watch!
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Shop Karen's Edit
Photo Journal: Imdad Barbhuyan
Quiet, poetic, earnest.
We first came to know Imdad’s work when we discovered portraits of their mother and aunt, an often photographed muse, and wrote to them with our wishes to commission a project of our own. The photos Imdad created this past fall come fully from their world of color, light, and shape in nature.
On becoming an artist
The journey has been quite organic and cathartic; lots of turning points because I didn’t always know that I would be an artist one day. I didn’t have any artistic influences growing up, and so I ended up going through the conventional (Indian) path of choosing engineering. In just a year, i switched to architecture, which I did finish. I also tried product, set and garment design, a job with a skincare brand to then finally find my sweet balance with image making. I now make art through images and text; I am a self taught visual artist, my work being a mix of creative direction, photography, sculptures, set design, performance and writing. What I like most about being an artist working independently is the freedom it allows me to choose how I wish to spend my time. I just can’t imagine trading that for anything in the world. Freedom is an elusive thing, but I have some semblance of it and so I am quite happy with the life I have created for myself.
You practice an almost meditative approach to your photography, sometimes waiting hours for the moment you envision to capture. Tell us more about this.
I am actually not waiting for a precise moment or a particular image, I just can't seem to stop. I can spend hours making images of a single flower. To me it feels like a very personal portrait session where I am getting to know the subject, as it gains trust and reveals more and more with time. It does feel very meditative as I lose track of all sense of time and space. When I am shooting outdoors, on the other hand, a market for example where I have no control over my subject, I tend to function on a subconscious level. I am moving around, maneuvering the crowd, deciding what to capture, composing, etc but I am no longer tethered to the physicality of that space. It’s almost like having an out of body experience, guided by the colors, shapes and light.
Where do you most often find inspiration?
In unexpected and often fleeting moments of beauty. Just a certain light, a unique way a petal might have dried, two colors sitting together, in decay and in between moments of movement and intimacy. And always in the plentiful and magical wonders of nature.
How does your culture influence you and your creative process?
I like to think that I am mindful and grounded in my practice; I value the meaningfulness of (and ideas behind) the work and not as much the final work itself. Being here in India has taught me the true value of appreciating whatever I have, being content and managing with limited resources. I believe this has a lot to do with my upbringing and my culture’s inextricable connection with the natural world. My family isn’t very religious or spiritual but I have grown up seeing so many rituals and festivals around me, all based around the seasons and cycles of nature. Our culture is all about acknowledging, sharing and celebrating the true essence of things. This has definitely shaped me as a person and also the way I see the world around me today.
What is your favorite place in India for moments of restoration and calm?
I am most at peace staring into the gentle laps and ripples of water bodies. Udaipur is a really quiet and peaceful ancient city built around lakes, it is my favorite place in India. I have spent countless days contemplating and made many major life decisions sitting next to the lake Picchola, staring into the indelible sunsets there. Temple bells and bird songs, echoing in the valley created by the hills surrounding the lake city. I also love seeing the world from a moving car, i find it very relaxing and inspiring.
What is home for you?
‘Home’ for me is a feeling that I find in many places, people and dreams; I carry this feeling with me and it’s constantly evolving. I feel at home in Delhi for the culture, the city life, the public places but then I soon get homesick and I know it's time for me to come back to my family home, which is in Assam. To my mother, our garden, the slow life here, the river and the gorgeous vegetables.
What draws you towards jewelry? Do you have pieces you wear every day?
We humans love personalisation; we alter, decorate and leave our impression on any space that we occupy. We like to scribble and draw on walls and tables when we are younger, on tissue papers perhaps, as we grow older :) I like to think of jewellery as us doing the same, decorating our bodies with shapes and motifs that we think reflect a little bit of who we are inside.
I wear my pearl earring almost everyday and now the Catbird love letter charm, tinsel bracelet and rings have become my staples. Garnering compliments everywhere, so thank you!Do you have any young memories of someone wearing jewelry?
Yes, my mother. She loves gold jewellery, especially necklaces and bangles. I remember she had a lovely necklace which was made up of just hollow circles attached to each other, with a line and four dots in the middle. It’s been her all time favorite piece, mine too actually. It broke at some point and she couldn’t find any goldsmith who could repair it because the details were way too minute. It's been years now and she has forgotten about it but I plan to get one made in the same design and gift it to her.
Your photographs of your mother and aunt in a feeling of their girlhood is what first drew us to your work. What draws you towards the nostalgia of childhood?
That was a really special project, one that I will always cherish. As children, our motivations are so pure, we see everything with love and kindness. Our emotions and curiosities are genuine, and I crave that for myself and also in the world around me. So I try to revisit themes from childhood and share that spirit of innocence in my work. I think I am still very childlike in nature, I find delight in the simple pleasures of life. I loved playing with mud as a child, so I am planning to join pottery classes soon.
Photographed by Abhineet Dang
Desribe a perfect day in New Delhi.
Aww. So it's summer time, I woke up to the light today which is especially sweet and gold, streaming into my space through the sheer curtains. I am instantly in a good mood, I start my day with some french pop. I would water the plants and then have breakfast facing the sun as I plan the rest of the day. I would try to edit some pictures or write something before lunch so I can head out after. I would write to my friends to see if they can join me for a long walk in one of my favorite gardens. Delhi is lovely that way, it’s an amazing city if you like walking and exploring; there are gardens, markets, museums and ancient ruins. We would then head to one of the busy and crowded markets, pick a few things, walk about and end this perfect day with dinner and some nice conversation about our work, feelings and dreams.
Shop Imdad's Edit:
Photo Journal: Lina Sun Park
Lina Sun Park is a Brooklyn based artist who describes her work as "Edwardian Blythe doll" - and we couldn't agree more. We first met Lina on Instagram late last year, and were excited to see Catbird reimagined in her world.
Pearls and lace and tiny tea sets! Welcome to Lina's world.
"Jewelry to me feels like wearing a little piece of fantasy. It is so special to go about your day and have a glint of a sparkly gem, or an iridescent pearl catch your eye. There is a mystique to jewelry that I so very much love. Wearing a piece of jewelry with a gem that took billions of years to be created deep in the depths of the earth is quite precious. It makes you wonder what the stone has seen and knows!"
"I love how dainty and delicate these pieces are, yet they have a very strong presence. Every tiny detail feels so luxurious and elegant. I also appreciate the customizable aspect of the charms. As someone who loves to collect little tchotkes, it feels like collecting special little things that help create a world of your own. "
Lina's Edit:
Catbird Spotlight: Regina Yazdi
Regina Yazdi is a fashion illustrator based in Los Angeles, though we first crossed paths with her in New York in 2014. We first met Regina ahead of our 10 year anniversary and launch of our first engagement ring line, The Swans. Naturally for the launch, we wanted to commission a swan illustration, and her fluid, swooping swan is still an illustration we treasure today - so much so that we wanted to reinvent it for our 2021 Holiday bandana.
For this new design, Regina and our creative director Leigh talked about a closer look at our Catbird Swan, maybe crying some pearl tears or swimming through a pearl bubble, framed in black bows. The background Leigh felt should be a pale blue, and there would be an orange beak, she had been thinking a lot about bits of orange details!
Read on to learn more about Regina, her art, and the Swans of Catbird.
On becoming and being an artist..
The Art life started young. The first images burned into our minds as children are book illustrations and animations so I naturally became curious and obsessed with drawing. I'd bolt home from school and plop my belly on the floor to practice drawing off the screen during my favorite shows. I'd even invent side characters and daydream them into the storylines. I was drunk off the power of creation at 6...stationed in the eye of my paper tornado. You just come out that way I suppose.
As I grew, I dreamed about becoming a designer while poreing over the pages of Vogue, W, Mode Et Mode and streaming Tim Blanks interviews on Style.com nightly. I love the mechanics behind design- seeing what people can do with their hands and imagination is so moving. Fashion was a natural progression as I loved figure drawing so much.
Working commercially as a fashion illustrator over the past decade has brought many beautiful experiences and people into my life. Creating in collaboration allows for experimentation and travel, simultaneously expanding and refining my taste. I have a stronger sense of my artistic vision now.
I look up to cultural polymaths like Dali and Cecil Beaton whose styles permeated seamlessly across mediums. I see myself being rooted in fine art, occasionally taking on brand deals and design projects that spark my interest like they did. I'd be perfectly content doing this for the rest of my life.
On the Swans..
I fell in love with Catbird at our first meeting. Swans are steeped in fairytales and represent eternal love, beauty and overcoming awkward childhoods. I'm on board with all that so the idea for the logo came easy.
I saw it vividly in my mind as a fluid, swooping line and drafted it onto a piece of scrap tracing paper. I tried many versions after but never could recapture the spontaneity of the first draft so I went back and cleaned up the original. And that's how it was born...so happy and honored it's with you guys
On jewelry..
I love jewelry for its beauty and ability to recall memories. Jewelry is small yet potent in all that it symbolizes... time, wealth, beauty and love - everything we hold precious.
I keep all the jewelry I own in a ballet pink Aspinal box. I've really taken time during the pandemic to consolidate and edit down my belongings. I'm really into investment pieces and started wearing larger stone rings and necklaces alone or mixed with minimal stacks. So I'd say my style is very curated and piece driven.
On her culture and how it influences her creative process..
I come from two ancient cultures and I've always felt like an old soul in my body.
The Poets of Persia taught me how to grace my awareness onto the fleeting moments and intimate details of life. Bending and expanding your perception is what art is all about.
The Chinese calligraphers and painters gave me lessons on balance, restraint, and visual aesthetics. What you leave out of a piece is just as important as what you put in.
I feel really lucky to be mixed raced. I inherited an openness to different possibilities of living early on. It's in that field of mental openness that creativity can thrive.
Describe your work in three words.
I'd like it to feel genuine, beautiful and eternal.
Where do you look for inspiration in LA and NYC?
It changes all the time since LA is massive but right now I'm on a floral kick with Little Tokyo, Flower District, Descanso Gardens, and the Huntington Library.
In New York I love browsing through Neue Galerie, MOMA, the MET , Doverstreet Market, and of course Catbird!How will you be spending the holiday season?
My favorite way to celebrate is low-key in loose clothing , cooking, eating and being completely unfiltered with my loved ones.
And the bandana! How will you be styling it?
I am packing my lunches now since the studio is pretty secluded...I'm thinking a Furoshiki for my bentos - practical yet beautiful for everyday use. I hope everyone loves theirs!
Regina's Shopping Edit
Photo Journal: Natasha Pickowicz
Natasha Pickowicz is a pastry chef & writer based in Brooklyn. We spent the day with Natasha and her cat Tini in their fuzzy-lawned Greenpoint backyard, as she prepared dinner for dinner with friends. Read on, reader, for a delightful bursting-with-summer interview complete with Natasha's favorite spots for martinis and french fries, and her ice cream dreams.
Describe your perfect day in Brooklyn.
Every morning, before the sun is too direct and the air is still cool, I’ll make a cup of coffee (pour over, Parlor) and go out back with my mug and check in on my garden. It’s my favorite part of the day, to see how everything grew a little bit more while I was sleeping. I’m growing some familiar-to-me-plants like tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, kale, lettuces, arugula and herbs, and lots of more cheffy plants like Thai chiles, golden amaranth, tulsi, bronze fennel, and lemongrass. I take my time weeding and pruning and watching the bees and butterflies. If this is a perfect day we’re talking about, then I’ll have a book with me. I’ve been reading poetry by Li-Young Lee and Walt Whitman, poems about peaches and summer and “nature without check with original energy.”
I’ll cook something simple for myself for breakfast, like steamed rice and ponzu or buttered toast, wilted greens, braised beans and a big salad, and eat outside before the sun gets too strong. I always have a few quarts of iced mujicha (barley tea) ready to go. This to me is the flavor of summer. I eat and drink whatever I want at night, but for breakfast and lunch I try to keep things reasonable so I don’t get sluggish when I try to write. My weekly exception is the ipad-sized Darren Vito, this insane, crispy panino from Archestratus, my favorite bookstore in the world that is also an Italian cafe and market. This sandwich squishes together mortadella, roasted red peppers, caciocavallo, and a breadcrumb spread (what is a breadcrumb spread!). It’s divine. Half of one is a full meal for sure. On a perfect day in Brooklyn I am definitely eating that sandwich.
Then I am going for a walk, really taking my time, at least 6 or 7 miles but hopefully more like 9 or 11. Greenpoint to Roosevelt Island is only 3 miles, and I love walking up to Hunters Point, up the East river, cross over to Roosevelt Island, and then wind my way around the island, from the lighthouse to the Louis Kahn memorial, and then home. That’s a pretty perfect walk for a perfect day, the breezes and ocean spray coming off the river always feels so good. Then I’ll come home, or maybe stop first at Achilles Heel, Amber Steakhouse, or Chez Ma Tante for a few vodka martinis and french fries. Then, home, rub the soft grey belly of my kitty Tini, put on a few Simpsons episodes, catch up with my parents. That’s a perfect day for sure.
We chatted A LOT about ice cream while we were at your house - what is your favorite flavor to make?
Making ice cream is the number one pastry project that I miss the most from working in restaurants. I don’t have an ice cream machine at home so whenever I have a Never Ending Taste pop-up I look forward to writing the ice cream part of the menu the most.
In the summer, I’ll steep dairy with the fresh, bright flavors of herbs like lemon verbena, anise hyssop, and Thai basil. Lately, I’ve been playing around a lot with using the leaves from fruit trees, which have their own, subtle flavors and, depending on the time of the year, are easy to score in abundance. The fresh, new leaves from peach and fig trees impart a subtle tropical, coconutty, almondy essence to dairy, fat and sweets in general. I also love super rich ice cream flavors, like black sesame, Adzuki bean, and hazelnut, and very bright, tart sorbet flavors, like roasted plum, unstrained strawberry, and bracing citrus like Yuzu. And also nothing is really better than vanilla bean.
My “unicorn” ice cream flavors are coffee (I can never get it as intense or rich or as coffee as I want) and melon (fruit like cantaloupe and honeydew are often so subtle that adding sugar and serving them cold ruins their delicate notes). Someday I will figure these flavors out and be proud of them.
How has your approach to baking changed since you started Never Ending Taste?
Because it’s so ephemeral and comes together so quickly, with very little money, staffing, space, and any other resources, Never Ending Taste really makes me appreciate being in the moment with my work—I’m still learning to relax my own expectations for everything to be “perfect” and “dialed in,” which was something that was always drilled into me when I was working in fancy restaurants, and lean into the side of me that wants to be bigger and bolder and more messy and lush. The pop-ups allow me to be more playful with plating and presentation and to also take advantage of hyper-seasonal ingredients like red currants and donut peaches. In a restaurant setting, often the recipe testing process for developing a new dish can take so long, an ingredient will be available and then disappear before I have a chance to even sell the dish!
The customers who buy pastries from me are the sweetest, coolest, best people, and I think their positivity reinforces that I should keep going. It’s just a slice of cake, in a paper boat, maybe a little lopsided, but totally made from scratch and with love. In that sense, doing the pop-up helped me revisit why I love pastry so much. It’s a chance to connect with other people.
What is your first baking memory?
As my parents LOVE to remind me, when I was little I was obsessed with baking the cornbread from the Jiffy box (I think you just add milk and an egg!) for our Thanksgiving feast every year. I think it was my way of “contributing” to the meal so I always felt super proud. I love those box mixes—they still give you the sense of accomplishment that only baking can do! My boyfriend has a good brownie box mix hack—he adds mezcal and fernet to the batter, which adds smokiness and big flavor.
Many of your bake sales have a giving component! Can you tell us a little bit about the organizations you work with and how your partnerships came to be?
Organizing the bake sales really revealed a lot to me about the role pastry plays in my life and the kind of person I want to be. The bake sale is full of joy and connection and ease. They’re so FUN. It’s people coming together over sweets after all. There’s something very approachable about cookies on a paper plate. Everyone can participate. It felt really important to me to have a way to connect with people in a pastry context without relying on the fancy, old-school models of “fine dining” which I actually think can be really alienating and exclusive.
I have been building my relationships with local organizations for years. For me, that means getting to know the people that work there. Being a part of their programming in some way. Spending time on their property. Tying in their mission into my pop-ups. In this way, I’m on the Culinary Council at God’s Love We Deliver, and the Industry Advisory Board at the Food Education Fund. I also have a really special relationship with the amazing team at the Teaching Kitchen at the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, which I first encountered when I was working at the Met Breuer and was trying to see what was on the Upper East Side outside of fancy fashion boutiques and mansions. And of course, it was such an honor to fundraise over $125,000 for the Planned Parenthood of Greater New York via the bake sales I organized from 2017 to 2019. Allying with these organizations gives my work meaning and reaffirms my love of pastry. I don’t think I’d still be in pastry if it weren’t for these kind of relationships.
What is always in your fridge / kitchen?
Fizzy water, barley tea, oolong tea, Parlor coffee. Hummus, cheese, eggs, tortillas, cabbage, and about 10-12 jars of jam from different places at any given time (right now my favorites are from June Taylor and Camilla Wynne, probably the two best jam makers in North America if you ask me!). Natural wine from my boyfriend’s wine shop, Radicle Wine. Ketchup. Peas, Vodka, bread scraps, roti, butter in the freezer.
I also keep a lot of my baking staples in the freezer so they don’t spoil, like nuts, flours, leaveners, and yeast. I buy most of my “everyday” groceries from Archestratus, which is amazing because Archestratus is really a bookstore. I buy ground pork, whole chickens, Parmesan, ricotta, flawless vegetables (the cucumbers! The basil! If you know, you know) from Bodhitree Farm, the sesame sourdough from She Wolf. Archestratus also sells a great range of Gustiamo imports, so I stock up on Iasa hot peppers, dried beans, Italian rice and barley, and liter cans of olive oil. When I was working full-time in restaurants, I rarely ate any meals at home, let alone three meals a day. Building out my pantry and refrigerator to be full and ready to go at all times has been one of the more satisfying developments of my 2021 life.
Can you please tell us about your excellent eye makeup!
I have naturally very short, fine, and straight Chinese eyelashes, and I’ve probably been doing the same winged eyeliner shape for at least 15 years now, which is crazy. I should mix it up! I’ll do a few pumps with an eyelash curler, then black pencil, then I paint in the wing tip with liquid eyeliner so the point looks crisp, then a few coats of mascara. I think all the products I have right now are L’Oreal, but I love Chanel mascara too. And that’s it, no other makeup. Lots of moisturizer and sunscreen, of course.
Who would you love most to bake for (living or otherwise) and what would you bake for them?
I’ve already baked for Ina Garten, so I can cross that one off my list, haha. I love to bake a big, weird layer cake festooned with flowers and plants for Kate Bush.
Natasha's Guide to Brooklyn (& beyond)
Restaurants
Four Horseman
295 Grand Street
Chez Ma Tante
90 Calyer St
Casa Enrique
(Long Island City) 5-48 49th Ave
Superiority Burger
(Manhattan) 430 E. 9th St
Best Martini
Amber Steakhouse
119 Nassau Ave
Giando on the Water
400 Kent Ave
Le Crocodile
80 Wythe Ave
Twins Lounge
732 Manhattan Ave
Achilles Heel
180 West St
Markets & Grocery
Archestraus
160 Huron St
H Mart
Kalustyan’s
(Manhattan) 123 Lexington Ave
Sunrise Mart
Patel Brothers
SOS Chefs
(Manhattan) 104 Avenue B
Katagiri
Sweet Treats
Breads Bakery
Te Company
(Manhattan) 163 W. 10th St
Yellow Rose
(Manhattan) 102 3rd Ave
Shop Natasha's Edit
Photo Journal: Anthony + Austin
My son and I were checking out at our favorite bookstore, Books Are Magic, when I noticed Anthony's perfect Catbird stacks and they noticed my Catbird email! Learning that they and their partner, Austin, get each other Catbird jewelry for meaningful occassions is the best possible thing I could ever hear. We invited Anthony & Austin to spend the afternoon with us and chat about all things jewelry and love!
-- Rony, Founder & Co-Creative Director
Where are you both originally from?
Austin: We moved around a lot growing up, my mom had a restless heart. But, for me Sebastopol, California always felt like my home with vivid memories of misty mornings and ancient redwoods.
Anthony: I grew up on Long Island, we also moved around a lot, my parents are divorced and bouncing back and forth between them unfortunately nothing really felt like home. I do sometimes miss being able to just walk outside to lay in the grass and read.
How did you meet?
Anthony: We actually met on OkCupid. After talking for awhile we decided to set a date to get coffee in the East Village. The day of our date I rushed onto the subway platform and I thought I saw someone who looked familiar, so I turned to them and said “Austin?”. It turned out that we actually lived off the same subway stop in Bushwick, and our apartments were only 4 blocks away from each other. Our date started on the subway platform and fast forward 7 years, here we are. It does seem pretty unreal how much of a rom-com our first date was like, after coffee we started walking around and we happened to walk down a street where they were filming a movie and it was completely covered in fake snow in the middle of summer. We got ice cream at the end and when Austin forgot the word for bench (I guess because he was nervous, something he’ll never fully admit) he asked if we should sit down on the “long chair” which I’ve never let him forget.
What are your jewelry uniforms?
Austin: I always wear a stack of yellow and rose gold hammered rings with a Cosmic Witch Ring, mirrored on the other hand with a Twisted Stacker and an opal and diamond Sleeping Beauty Ring. I love a healthy flow of necklaces so I’ll wear a Sleeping Beauty, Unicorn Horseshoe, and a Tinsel Chain with a Fort Tilden Charm regularly. I love a good anklet so I always wear a Sweet Nothing with a Mermaid Treasure Charm even over my nursing compression socks, it gets a lot of attention on the unit. And as my grandma always said, "A lady always has a string of pearls!" So with that in mind I always wear a pearl bracelet, whether it’s a string of Catbird Sweet Sixteen pink pearls or a Serpentine Delilah Pearl Bracelet. Then there’s earrings I never leave home without at least four!
Anthony: The thing I wear every day, because I can’t actually take it off is my Forever Sweet Nothing Bracelet that matches Austin’s. It’s only ever come off once, after our cat Dorito clawed it off getting a little too rambunctious playing tag. My Gentle Spider Charm crawls to different spots everyday, sometimes I wear it on my 1976 Bracelet or on my Sweet Nothing Chain, or I’ll hook it onto the backing of an earring stud. I never actually take my rings off, I have a mix of different Catbird rings stacked with a Black Diamond Tiniest Ring, Naga Snake Ring, and Moon Guardian Ring from Sofia Zakia.
So you both have quite the Catbird collection!
Austin: It was actually Anthony that first introduced me to Catbird. For our first anniversary Anthony surprised me with a dinner date at Beauty & Essex - and I’d been living as a pretty broke nursing student then so it was pretty impressive! Anyway, towards the end of our dinner, Anthony presented me with my very first piece of my Catbird collection, a Classic Hammered Ring. Now it’s almost been seven years since that day and it’s still my most treasured piece of my collection.
Anthony: Later that year Austin completely surprised me with a Catbird Rose Thorn necklace for Yule. It’s been a tradition to get each other Catbird pieces ever since.
What does jewelry mean to you both?
Austin: For me jewelry is magic, from the inherent power lying in the natural stones to the dedication of the inspired artist that made them - pure magic! I also connect very deeply with jewelry and my grandmother - she had an impressive collection with some original Tiffany pieces to family heirlooms. I recall getting ready with her, trying on some of her necklaces and huge strings of pearls, and sorting through her collection with her to get her jewelry uniform on for the day.
Anthony: I have a deep fascination with medieval alchemy. Gold was one of seven metals they used to represent the heavenly bodies. Gold fittingly represented the sun, and jewelry makes me feel like I’m wearing rays of sunlight.
When did you know it was love?
Anthony: As gushy as it sounds, the first time we told each other we loved each other, I had been reading Austin short stories as the sun was setting and we were just laying in my bed and staring into each other’s eyes, and in that moment I knew it was love. He was able to ground me and know me unlike anyone ever had. That’s when we first told each other “I love you” though he always says that he said it first.
Describe your perfect New York day together!
Austin: Quite recently we had a pretty perfect New York day together this April. First, we have found that every perfect day has to start with brunch with a few mimosas. Anthony then took me to the Brooklyn botanical gardens for the very first time - it was simply incredible surrounded by newly flowering cherry blossoms, a beautiful Japanese garden, and flower petals gently blowing through the air. We then traveled into the Lower East Side, visited a pencil store owned by one of Anthony’s friends, picked up a bouquet of peonies, and a jar of pickles from a newly opened book store. Towards the end of the day I think we had walked close to 12 miles, so we made our way back to our Bushwick home and treated ourselves to some pretty amazing Chinese takeout.
A + A 's Shopping Edit
Catbird Spotlight: Chelsea Mak
"Like if Norma Kamali skipped cotillion to go to a punk show and then met her godfather for dim sum the next morning before reporting for work in her 80s power suit," is how LA based designer Chelsea Mak describes her eponymous clothing line. How does she wear her own work? "The more unexpected the combination the better...with good jewelry, like all my Catbird pieces!"
effortless dress is a balancing act inspired by Chelsea’s childhood
I was born and raised in LA but spent a large part of my childhood in Hong Kong and Taiwan where my parents are from, living in Hong Kong from ages 2 to 6 and then visiting every summer thereafter.
Being connected to both LA and Hong Kong definitely made such impressions on my style. From LA it was the laid-back casual way of dressing, I learned from early on that even if you spent hours putting an outfit together it should come across like it took you seconds. From Hong Kong it was the opposite — flip flops and jeans might be considered sloppy so it was a balancing act to exist in both worlds which has translated through my designs — a balancing act between old and new world, high and low brow, east and west.
dressing for this newest spring we’ve been waiting for
I’m really into the idea of using the Vienna Blouse as a light jacket over everything and the more unexpected the combination the better. I have a floor length muslin slip dress I’d like to wear over it as well as a vintage Norma Kamali piece that’s a white cotton onesie; over jeans and nude bodysuit would be cool too. All with good jewelry, like all my Catbird pieces!
what you can’t stop imagining is worth the pursuit.
Striking out on my own felt a lot like jumping off a cliff unplanned for. At the time I was working for a brand I believed in, a boss I looked up to and co-workers I loved also but I could not stop thinking about what the main label of the brand would look like if I started one. There were so many huge unknowns but I knew that I wouldn’t have been happy if I stayed where I was so I took the plunge. It was very scary for the first few months but also very exciting.
The Vienna, Amalia and Gallery blouses are the core pieces in the line so designing a new collection will always feel a bit like building out a wardrobe around those three pieces. Since they are all quite feminine and bold and in the classic silk white taffeta, I like the other pieces to be more masculine, unassuming and offbeat.
A large part of the collection is made from deadstock silks found at the fabric market in Shanghai so those qualities very much dictate how each collection will look. I also find a lot of inspiration in old movies, books, and bands so each of my collections will usually reflect how I was feeling during that moment in time.
How Our Team Wears Chelsea Mak & Catbird
"I want women wearing Chelsea Mak to command a type of attention that you wouldn’t get from other brands, it’s more about feeling smart and interesting than sexy and showy.Women who wear Chelsea Mak are creative, well-read and in the know and that’s a lot of us!"
Airina wears the Gallery Blouse with a Dollhouse Locket slung on a Tinsel Chain paired with a Sweet Nothing Choker and a Snow Queen Ear Climber.
Mariela wears the Amalia Blouse with the Baby Pearl Supreme Hoops.
Necklaces: Magic Moonstone Collar, Silver Sweet Nothing Choker and the Sleeping Beauty Necklace in White Gold.Tatiana wears the Jaffe Top with a slew of Catbird Classics.
Earrings: Snow Queen Hoop, Heart Stud, Little Secret
Necklaces: Gumball Pearl Charm, 18th Century Bow Charm, Anemone Charm on a Sweet Nothing Choker.
Chelsea's Shopping Edit
Photo Journal: Sabrina
Why are you dressed like that? A question posed to those who dress with creativity, vision, individuality - from those who just may not totally get it. For Pratt fashion student Sabrina Brokenborough, she’s adopted the phrase to create a visual diary of her looks, a mix of vintage petticoats and bonnets with heavy Japanese street fashion influence, self described as “very girly. I like big skirts with lots of ruffles and lace. I'm really into florals right now and dusty pinks too.”
On style evolution.
I've been playing with fashion since middle school, but high school was really when I was able to use the internet to buy clothes that weren't accessible to me otherwise. I think I saw a Fruits snapshot on Tumblr of some girls wearing Lolita and Gunne sax dresses and it just clicked. I wanted to dress just like them.
I've noticed a switch in my fashion style recently. I used to wear a lot of primary colors and short skirts, but now I mostly lean into softer pinks and florals. I wear a lot of long skirts now. I don’t know, I appreciate the way the fabric moves around my ankles when I walk.
Right now there’s a little bit of a divide between myself as a person and myself as a designer.
I think going into fashion design I like to explore a lot of unusual fabric combinations and textures while in my usual style is pretty predictable - peter pan collar, ruffle, florals, petticoat, big skirt, and plaids for the fall. Maybe in the future my designs will reflect more of my personal style, but for the moment I'm happy to play with fabrics and textures.
The fashion industry can be a little intimidating to break into, especially now since the world has been turned upside down. Best case is to get an assistant design position at a brand I love. I don't think I'd go head first into creating my own brand.
I think it's important to remember that life is really really short and you don't want to waste time being uncomfortable while trying to fit in.
I feel like especially in the age of the internet it's easy to find a group of people with similar interests experimenting with fashion. Before it was easy to think that no one dressed outside of the norm, but now the world is really your oyster. Basically, look up alternative fashion tags on instagram and connect with people online with fashion styles you admire. Really focus on buying clothes you feel drawn to. Don't buy anything that you don't 100% love.
Inspiration lives everywhere.
I have a collection of old fashion books that I like to flip through. I really liked how frivolous and over the top clothes used to be.I think we lost a bit of that to the practicality of modern life. I like to watch 1950s movies for the costumes especially if they were designed by Edith Head, but sometimes the racism and sexism from those movies make me cringe.
From the shows.
Gucci Fall/Winter 2020. So many dresses with lace and ruffles and beautiful collars. I like how they paired the ornate skirts with soft sweaters and I appreciate how the dressing room was clear so you could get an idea of the amount of work that goes into making a fashion show. I think it's important to highlight the work goes into making clothes and these presentations, it makes you appreciate the art.
The fashion decade.
The 1830s! Love the big sleeves and bonnets.
On icons.
From real life it’s Misako Aoki, from fiction literally any "girly girl" character in a movie or TV show.
Elements of an outfit.
A cohesive theme and matching colors and textures. There needs to be a good color balance throughout, really honing in on the core colors and working around that.
To jolt creativity in the city, a visit to the garment district will do.
Just walking around and looking at the different fabrics gets the gears going. I always just walk around and think "Oh wouldn't it be cool if that fabric was used for this or could be made into that?".
Always berets.
I have a stack of berets on the top shelf of my closet and I just pick whichever color goes best with the outfit. I love berets. I'm getting pretty close to owning one in every color.
Places to find vintage.
I like to lurk around on eBay and instagram for nice dresses. The best deals are from clueless sellers trying to get rid of their grandma's old clothes, that's where you can find gold. In New York I usually scout around the usual places like L Train, Buffalo Exchange, and Goodwill. However, my favorite thrift store is the Philly Aid's thrift store in Philadelphia. I've found the best stuff there and it's always worth the trip - t's a really nice place that benefits AIDS/HIV treatment and research programs.
The perfect day.
--Breakfast and tea at Ladurée, they have yummy french toast!
--Walk around the MET (especially if the fashion exhibit is up)
--Drink a bubble tea and walk around the Upper East Side window shopping
--Afternoon tea at Lady Mendl's
--Buy a bouquet of flowers to bring home :)
Shop Sabrina's Edit
Sabrina's Guide to Brooklyn
Petee's Pie
505 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205
Lot of yummy pies! Before COVID they had a cute little outdoor space in the back
and they would pour your tea in a nice teacup.
Prince Tea House
6122 7th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11220
Great decor and they light a candle underneath your tea pot to keep it warm. Very
beautiful interior and a great menu for lunch or dessert.
OJBK Bubble Tea
525 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn 11205
Their bubble tea is really good and sometimes they display student work in the shop,
which is always nice.
Fort Greene Park Farmers’ Market
I like to buy the pies and zucchini bread they have on weekends.
The Brooklyn Museum
Sometimes they have fashion centered exhibits and it's good for a walk.
Fulton Fabrics
402 Bridge St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Good for when you need fabric in a pinch and can't make it to the garment district.
