all.dun.up in The Eyeopener

Photo from my Summer 2011 Lookbook: all.dun.up original vintage scarf dress

Hey everyone!

So as most of you know, I am a journalism student...and as a j-schooler, I have had tons of experiences with conducting interviews and writing articles, so I am definitely not used to being on the other end. But last week, I was interviewed by The Eyeopener newspaper (one of Ryerson's campus publications) to be featured in an article on student entrepreneurs.

In case you didn't already know, I run a small fashion line in my spare time (called all.dun.up). So I got to try my hand at being the interviewee rather than the one asking the questions.

Here's a glimpse at the article that was published last Wednesday!

You can read the full article posted online here: http://theeyeopener.com/2012/11/social-media-ups-sales-for-students/

If you are interested in all.dun.up, please check out my Facebook page & Tumblr!

- Christina

Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

Sneak Peek: The Jezabels

Photo: www.thejezabels.com

A couple weeks ago, I was able to sit down with Haley Mary, the awesome lead singer of The Jezabels. Coming all the way from Australia, this four-person indie-rock band was in town for a show at The Mod Club. Made up of Hayley, Heather, Sam and Nik, the group has been able to travel the world and share their unique sound on international stages, gaining a global fan base. The article will be published in the winter issue of Faze Magazine (and I'll be posting a Q&A blog post), but I just thought I'd do a little sneak peek.

If you haven't heard of their music, you should definitely check them out. Here's one of their most popular music videos, "Easy To Love"

I love how we make a perfect V haha.

Keep an eye out for the winter issue of Faze coming out in a couple months! For more from The Jezabels, check out http://www.thejezabels.com

- Christina

Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

Fave Dance Videos of the Week - November 5

Here's this week's round-up of my fave Canadian dance videos!

WOD Toronto 1st place winners: The Family (Quebec City)

WOD Vancouver 1st place winners: The Faculty (Vancouver)

Scott Forsyth - Vancouver

TwoFourSeven | Praise TEAM

Navid Charkhi - Vancouver

O'mighty

And just for the heck of it, check out one that I'm in - try to spot me! Ryerson University reppin at OUCH 2010:

ALSO, just a heads up, this year's OUCH (Ontario Universities Competition for Hip Hop) is Saturday, Nov. 17 at the John Bassett Theatre in Toronto - yes, it's on our turf this year! So come out and show your support :)

EVENT FACEBOOK PAGE

- Christina

Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

Ryerson Theatre School presents SUMMERFOLK

Photos by Joseph Hammond

Ryerson University is one talented school.

Known for having a phenomenal arts faculty (let's face it, we're not known for math...), Ryerson knows how to put on a show. I had the pleasure of attending Summerfolk, the Ryerson Theatre School's latest production, which ran from October 26 to November 2.

The RTS students took on Maxim Gorky's 1904 piece of work, which focuses on the relationships and struggles of a wide range of personalities.

Directed by Dean Gilmour and joined by other guest artists including Joanna Yu as Costume Designer and Ryerson alum Kevin Fraser as Lighting Designer, the production was in good hands.

Full of contrasting characters and strong, dense dialogue, it was different than the Broadway musicals I was used to - I enjoyed the realism though.

And the cast did a wonderful job at portraying each of the characters - from a hysterical housewife to a struggling writer. The story takes place in Russia at a garden party hosted by the play's protagonist Varya (played by Elysia White), where different conflicts surface. Scandals, infidelity and secrets, oh my.

Overall, I was impressed by the fourth-year Ryerson BFA students and the hard work they put into the production really showed. I definitely recommend checking out the rest of the RTS shows this season - if you're curious, here's what's coming up next:

RYERSON DANCES
Nov. 27 - Dec. 1, 2012

The Piper
Feb. 7-14, 2013

The Classics
Feb. 8-14, 2013

CHOREOGRAPHIC WORKS
Mar. 7-15, 2013

NEW VOICES
April 1-6, 2013

For more info, visit http://ryersontheatre.ca

- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

CollegeFashionista - NYC Meet Up

This post is a little late, but I got a bit caught up with school projects (sometimes I forget I'm a full-time student...). Anyways, as you may know, I am a style guru intern for CollegeFashionista, an online community that features campus street style and trends from all around the world. I got it started at Ryerson after attending the Teen Vogue Fashion University weekend last year - and since then, it's been amazing getting to work with its founder Amy Levin and interacting with style savvy students from around the globe.

So this year, on top of finding out I'd be attending TVFU once again, I also got the news that Amy Levin had invited us style gurus over for a visit to her office. Dream come true.

I got to meet eight other style gurus from all different places, ranging from Colombia to Los Angeles. It was so much fun getting to chat with each other. Amy also gave us great advice - thanks again for having us!

L-R: Hillary Puckett, Christina Dawes, Jose Alvarez, Madison Featherston, Christina Dun, Amy Levin, Amy Lee, Catherine Dugas, Lauren Peacher and Lindy Maddox.

Here are some links to a few of my latest CollegeFashionista articles:

 FASHIONISTA SPOTLIGHT: Violeta Martinez

 FASHIONISTO SPOTLIGHT: Weiming Yuan

FASHIONISTA SPOTLIGHT: Sabina Sohail

Keep updated with Ryerson campus street style through my posts every Wednesday! :) http://www.collegefashionista.com/school/ryerson_university_canada

- Christina

Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

NYC Store Spotlight: STORY

Another place that I stumbled upon on my adventure in Chelsea, NY, was a store called STORY. What makes this place unique is that it changes themes every four to eight weeks, with all new merchandise and decor. I happened to walk in during its final week of its 'Making Things' theme. It's such a cool store because it's so hands on and interactive and is home to so many unique products. There were demonstrations and tables throughout the store featuring different products, from a 3D printer to a bamboo bicycle. 

I love the store because it "has a point of view of a magazine," where each change-around of themes is like producing a new issue. It's such an innovative concept for a retail store. It debuted in February with a 'Love' theme, followed by a 'Color' theme. 'Making Things' is only the third issue and it has currently wrapped up and closed its doors - the store is preparing for another awesome theme. I asked one of the people working there if she could tell me what the next theme would be, but sadly she said it was a secret. She did however mention that it would have something to do with the holidays.

So until then, we'll just have to wait and see!

In the meantime, check out some of the photos from my visit:

My favourite part of the store though, was a table set up near the entrance, where Sable Yong was adding spikes to iPhone cases. As most of you in the fashion world know, spikes and studs have become a huge trend and can be seen on anything from denim vests and high top sneakers to blazers and headbands. Sable was doing an in-store demonstration on how she makes her products for RichandDamned, her Etsy store. She also makes cute studded collars btw! Definitely check out her shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/RichandDamned

AND side note, after taking a look at her Etsy, I stumbled upon her own website and discovered she's in two bands - who make awesome music. She is the lead singer in both Year of the Tiger and Chalk and Numbers. Take a listen!
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Anyways, I totally loved STORY - if you're in the area, you should definitely check it out! 

- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

Artists & Fleas ft. Brooklyn Bleu

As seen in my previous post, I featured some photos from my adventure in Chelsea, NY. Not only did I see some really cool buildings, but I also stumbled upon a great pop-up shop version of Artists & Fleas. I was drawn in by the racks of vintage clothing and tables full of antique jewelry, plus tons of other unique booths. This cool flea market features artists, designers and various vendors and its mothership location is in Williamsburg Brooklyn. This Chelsea Market Manhattan version that I found was the fall pop-up shop (at 10th ave & 15th St), which runs until December 31 (If interested, it is open daily from 10:30am-7pm)

When walking past the different vendors, one caught my eye. It was a table set up full of beautiful rustic jewelry. There I met the owner of Brooklyn Bleu, a private fashion boutique based out of, you guessed it, Brooklyn. Founded in April 2011 by Tenisha Light-Caba, her unique showroom focuses on the customer's experience and is "inspired by vintage."

Although I didn't get a chance to visit the actual location, it was great to see her pieces at the pop-up shop! Check out Brooklyn Bleu on Facebook, Twitter and Etsy. To book an appointment for the private boutique, just send Tenisha an email at info@brooklynbleu.com

Fierce, Fabulous & Fun!

Founder of Brooklyn Bleu: Tenisha Light-Caba (left)

Make sure to swing by the Chelsea Market & Brooklyn Bleu if you're in NY! :)

- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

Photography Post | New York in the Fall

At Ground Zero

During my most recent trip to NYC, I had some free time to explore some of the city and wander around, just enjoying how beautiful it really is, confirming the fact that I need to live there one day. Just thought I'd share some of my artsy photos that I took on those strolls... :)

SOHO, my love.

Walked by the water in the Chelsea area:

^I love this one!

 I'm a sucker for those NYC stairways

I also got to visit the famous Magnolia Bakery (as seen in Sex and the City) and Serendipity 3 (as seen in Serendipity) - such cute places!

Yum.

 I love Serendipity!!

Oh and side note (since this isn't big enough to be its own post) - just thought I'd share some celeb spottings from that weekend:

Big crowd gathered to see Ricky Martin, who is currently starring on Broadway in Evita

 And courtesy of my mom, who stayed in NY a little longer than I did - she caught a glimpse of Gerard Butler!

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I am already anxious to go back - although, my heart goes out to everyone in the city affected by Hurricane Sandy right now :( It's crazy to think I had taken these photos just more than one week before all the flooding...

- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

All photos taken by me | Please contact for use

TEEN VOGUE FASHION UNIVERSITY 2012 | Part 10: Last Day of TVFU

The final day of TVFU 2012 was made up of a session with Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Krauss (authors of The Nanny Diaries), a Fashion in the Digital Age panel, and a graduation photo.

Bright and early, the day started off with hearing Emma and Nicola talk about their humble beginnings at NYU leading up to becoming bestselling authors and what it was like to see The Nanny Diaries come to life when it was made into a movie starring Scarlett Johansson in 2007. Their hilarious book was inspired by their own experiences as nannies; they shared some great stories about the people they encountered and the situations they got into - it sounds like such an interesting job!

They also gave us insight into their brand new book Over You - and we all got to take home a copy (book review coming soon!) that they signed as well. They are so nice and eager to help us follow our dreams. I do hope to publish a book someday!

Next up was our final session of the weekend: Fashion in the Digital Age - a panel discussion moderated by Simone Oliver from The New York Times, featuring Nadia Hussain (Polyvore), Danica Lo (StyleBistro), Treena Lombardo (ShopBop), Rebecca Minkoff (designer) and Huan Nguyen (LOOKBOOK.nu). They discussed the importance of social media and making that online presence as strong and effective as possible.

I personally am such a fan of Rebecca Minkoff so I was super excited to see her on the panel!

After the session we all headed down to get our certificates and graduation photos - Woohoo!

Overall, it was another amazing weekend in New York City - I couldn't have asked for more. I love being surrounded by such passionate and motivated people and can't wait to keep in touch and see what everyone ends up doing!

Also, here's a look at the swag bags we all received...

I definitely went home a happy camper.

I definitely recommend anyone hoping to get into the fashion industry to apply for next year - it's worth every penny!

- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28