Harajuku…Alien?

Not so long ago, in a Canadian city quite a few miles north, La Carmina was a little girl clutching a Hello Kitty stuffed animal and sketching pictures of kitty cats holding hands on their way to school.  Fast forward to age 20 and she is graduating Columbia University (one year early!) and being admitted into Yale Law with dreams of somehow involving herself in the business of creativity (or at least entertainment law).  Her frequent travels to Hong Kong and other bustling cities in Asia made her head spin (in the best of ways) and she became intrigued and drawn into the alien Harajuku styles that danced all around her.  She was hooked.  She wasn’t in Vancouver anymore.

After completing her JD at Yale Law, the universe decided to pull her lace-draped arm in another direction.  Taking her passion for Harajuku culture and creation, La Carmina is developing a playful world complete with innovative fashion design, uber-yummy food, art, and a playfully descriptive blog about the life and times of her adorable Scottish Fold kitty, Basil Yuen Farrow.  She is a daily blogger on her website, www.lacarmina.com and has, miraculously, never experienced writer’s block.  She also will be contributing to CNNGo, a new website where her part will be spouting off about Asian lifestyle and pop culture.  She is the author of three books:  The Cosmos in a Carrot, Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo and (soon to be released) Cute Yummy Time.

The most recent of books, Cute Yummy Time: 70 Recipes for the Cutest Food You Will Ever Eat, is photographed, written and illustrated by La Carmina herself.  Think koala pancakes, bread rolls shaped like little piggies and grilled cheese in hippopotamus form.  Her concept of “thinking outside the bento box” is not only adorable, but also deeee-licious.

Her ideas are born from her environment as well as the, surely well-decorated, corners of her mind.  Fearless and controversial, her ability to integrate creativity with an intellect and know-how has constructed the world that is “La Carmina.”  There are endless creative layers beyond her Gothic Loli exterior.  Is there anything this woman can’t do?  She doesn’t think so.  Quite frankly, neither do we.

1. Name – La Carmina
2. Nationality – Harajuku Alien is about right.
3. Age – 24
4. Profession – I’m the author of 3 books on Japanese pop culture and cute food (Cute Yummy Time, Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants Tokyo). I blog about Harajuku fashion and J-pop oddities on www.lacarmina.com/blog I also contribute articles to an Asia travel/lifestyle website (CNNGo) and design Marie Antoinette fashion.
5. Dream – I am loving my rollercoaster journey with Japan’s glam spooks. May the adventures continue!
6. Where are you from/live currently/are right this moment? – I travel back and forth between Tokyo and other cities (Vancouver, NYC, LA). You’re most likely to find me on the net: http://www.lacarmina.com
7. In 5 words explain your career timeline up to this moment – Blogging led to Harajuku insanity.
8. Hero - My Scottish Fold cat, Basil Farrow. Come see his blog, www.basilfarrow.com
9. Favorite thing - Nightcrawling in Tokyo. The all-night cyber Goth parties are the best in the world.
10. What does the “Gothic Lolita Movement” signify to you and to cultural expression? - I think the fashion is hauntingly beautiful and harkens back to a more elegant era.
11. Tell me about your personal heaven. Cute Visual Kei boys hand-feeding me cute food in a room full of cute earless cats.
12. One word that Basil Yuen Farrow would use to describe you. Mommy!
13. Your preferred method of transportation? Piggyback.
14. Theme song for your life when you are the happiest? Something obscenely Italo Disco, like Hazell Dean.
15. The most pensive? Same thing… Italo Disco cheers me up!favorite tim burton film? I heart Jack Skellington.
16. Most fascinating texture? Too bad liquid mercury will poison you… I loved rolling it around in my hands as a child.
17. Most inspirational author/designer/food-maker? Martha Stewart is hardcore.
18. Favorite city in the world? I’m predictable: Rococo Tokyo.
19. One thing the world has too little of. Pale skin, dark lips and fangs.
20. What shape best represents you?  Your art? I drew hundreds of dumpling-shaped heads for the cute Japanese-style characters in my cookbook, Cute Yummy Time — so probably that
21. Your guilty pleasure? Absinthe and tiger tail ice cream.
22. Your favorite word. Wahh! (It’s the sound my Scottish Fold cat makes.)

To order books: http://astore.amazon.com/wasfaskul-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=4

La Carmina’s contact info:

URL – http://www.lacarmina.com

MySpace   http://www.myspace.com/la_carmina
Facebook   http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10225211197
Twitter       http://twitter.com/lacarmina
YouTube    http://www.youtube.com/lacarmina