We refer to “Team EK” quite a lot and to clarify what we mean by that we thought to introduce our team to our readers! We work with different people on specific things but we would like to present to you the team we’ve been working with on the forefront, what you see on our website and blog, these are the people that help make us look so good! There is much more that happens behind the scenes than you realize and we couldn’t possibly do it without the help of many people. These individuals are among the most talented and creative people we have worked with. It’s like magic when you work with other creative individuals that see the same vision as you and can match your level. It’s very rare when the people behind the scenes get credit for the hard work they put into something that makes up a beautiful picture, so here is our tribute to our team!
Packaging EK and Delivering it to You…
Aziz Hasan is the Marketing and Brand Director of Eva Khurshid. He came on board late last year and has been a driving force to the changes in the brand and look of Eva Khurshid. He has helped with the vision behind the latest website design as well as the consistency of the brand image. In addition to Eva Khurshid, Aziz consults in visual branding and graphic design, helping emerging companies’ buildtheir initial brand concept, visual identity and marketing collateral. Aziz holds a Bachelor’s in Science in Business Management with a concentration in entrepreneurship from Case Western ReserveUniversity. He also has an extensive background in marketing working for marketing firms like Mindshare and Videoegg who’s biggest accounts are household names. A fun fact about Aziz- he LOVES to dance and takes up learning different styles to perfect his skill, his latest venture: salsa.
From Left to Right: Natalia, Mischa, Bianca, Aziz
Behind the Lens…
Bianca Alexis is a native New Yorker who currently resides in downtown Manhattan. After receiving a B.F.A. in Photography from New York City’s Pratt Institute, Bianca worked full-time for fashion and beauty photographer Jesse Shadoan, editorial photographer David Harry Stewart, and wedding photographer Sarah Merians. Bianca’s professional experience spans a variety of specialties: Fashion, Beauty, Editorial, Wedding, Maternity, and Product Photography. Over the years she has experimented extensively with lighting and composition and has worked hard to develop her own distinctive style. Bianca’s work has been featured in Black Book, Jacob & Co. latest campaign, Wall Street Journal, and Women’s Wear Daily to name a few.
Mischa, Natalia, and Bianca ready to get to work!
Hair and Makeup…
Mischa Golebiewski is originally from a “fancy” town called Buffalo, NY, but mentally she lived in New York City since she was five years old. She started college majoring in fashion design and hated it, switched to a biology major, then art history, then costume design, and finally ended up in beauty school– it was her BEST choice ever!! She was hired at Bumble and bumble and moved from “B-Lo” to NYC right away. She has a passion for styling hair, cutting hair, playing with hair. She has worked for shows during New York Fashion Week and dreams Paris will be her next stop! A fun fact about Mischa: she attended clown school for 5 years- following in the footsteps of her grandfather and aunt, and her balloon making skills come in handy during nights out!!
Natalia Lopez de Quintana is a professional make-up artist and native of South Florida living in New York City. Born in Miami to a boisterous and creative family, Natalia was encouraged from a young age to pursue her dreams and cultivate her art. Natalia’s work has been featured in an art exhibit at a nightclub called The Vagabond in Miami and has also graced the pages of Tattoo Society, Disfunkshion, Wasabi Fashion Kult, and Tattoo Energy magazines. Natalia works with MAC products and has a real ability to enhance a women’s natural beauty. She has worked with other top designers on their latest campaigns as well as with EK on photoshoots and fashion shows.
Reclaiming Derogatory Language: Is It Empowering?
I find myself asking this question every time I hear people use derogatory language in offensive ways. Ways that merely perpetuate the stereotypes that marginalized groups are attempting to escape when they reclaim those words. How is it so empowering to call yourself what your oppressor has been calling you forever? Does it heal wounds? And can those very wounds be reopened when people who have nothing to do with your identity use those very words haphazardly? In daily conversation, in jest, in their music, on the news, and in frustration. We need to stop looking at individuals as the culprits when we live in cultures that encourage racist, sexist, homophobic, and xenophobic ideas.
I have chosen to not use those words that victimize people. I don’t really see anything empowering or funny about it. Over the years, I’ve realized that language affects the way human beings think of things. It reflects and influences our biases and our feelings about the world and the people in it. So why don’t we start making the world a better place by omitting such language from our speech?
Cultures change when ideological shift occurs. That means we need to start thinking about diversity in new ways. Do you know any LGBT people, feminists, Muslims, Jews, Christian minorities, or any one who comes from a different ethnic, cultural, or religious background from your own? Think about the one group of people you know nothing about. Now go out and explore. Learn about them and form your own opinion. Too often we stay within our own comfort zones and passively accept the information that is fed to us on a daily basis. We are not getting the full story when we do this. Ask individuals how they feel about the words that oppress them. Ask them what they would like to be called. I believe that this is how we empower our fellow human beings.