What’s Inside San Jose

Issue 2.0Spring/Summer 2010

Gianfranco Paoloizzi

Chris Esparza

David Knight

Northern Son

Getting and staying clean and sober is kind of the same way. Though you initially “get clean,” and stop practicing whatever addictive behavior it is that has been controlling you, the process of staying clean is a daily (sometimes hourly) choice. There are not many people I respect more than those who have struggled with addiction and then chosen to pursue so-briety in the face of nearly insurmountable ob-stacles. I spent most of my childhood amongst an eclectic group of recovering alcoholics, attending Alcoholics Anonymous holiday celebrations and hearing the tale end of an occasional “meeting.” Some of my most vivid memories of those times was hearing stories of how the people of AA barely survived their dangerous struggles with addic-tion.

There is no ones story I respect and look up to more than that of my moms, who has been choosing sobriety for almost 20 years. At AA meetings, the format is for one person to share their story in three parts: what it was like, what happened, and what its like now. This is my mom’s story, told from her perspective, with little editorial help from me.

What it Was Like

I started feeling dirty at a very early age. I can pinpoint it to when my first grade teacher taught me about sin- basically the lesson was that if you did something wrong, it was a sin.

When you sinned, she told us, it left a “black mark” on your soul. The only way to get that “black mark” off was to go to confession. Because I suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder, I began to have the repetitive, unre-lenting thought that I was never doing confes-sion right and so I believed that the black marks were not being erased from my soul. Because I believed that I wasn’t doing this ritual perfectly, I believed that I wouldn’t make it to heaven un-til I burned in purgatory. I even had a notebook to keep track of my bad behavior, hoping that if I could keep a perfect record of it, I would finally somehow do confession right. With all the black marks I imagined on my soul, I never felt clean.

Because of these early beliefs in a legalistic form of religion, I spent most of my life strug-gling to be perfect. Everything changed when, at the age of 17, I discovered alcohol. From the first intoxication, I felt relief, I felt joy, and for a short while, the voices in my head that con-demned me stopped. Alcohol helped me self medicate and to dull the emotional pain- it even helped my shy personality to be more com-fortable in social situations. I drank through nursing school, my marriage and my career. I would console myself that I wasn’t an alcoholic because I didn’t drink everyday. I was able to manage my drinking with the help of my hus-band, who was a “normie” and didn’t drink to excess. For a long time, he had been okay with my drinking because he believed that it helped me to blow off steam. But then things started to change. Slowly, but surely, the alcohol that helped me deal with my life turned on me. I tried to moderate the drinking, which would only last a short while. I would get drunk to the point of blacking out, only adding to the dirti-ness I felt.

Clean & Sober, One Day at a Time

Being clean is a process. No mat-ter how well you do at keeping your house, your car or your body clean, it will always need to be cleaned again.

SECOND HARVESTFOOD BANK:DONATIONS MAKEA DIFFERENCE

Although a majority of food is received from processors, wholesalers and retailers, Second Harvest continues to rely on donations and assistance from growers, food drives, USDA allocations, and individuals such as your-self. Once food is donated, it is distributed to one of the many programs Second Harvest supports, including Family Harvest, Produce Mobile, Brown Bag, and Mobile Pantry

These donations reach 247,000 people each month.

Second Harvest Food Bank750 Curtner AveSan Jose, CA 95125Phone: (650) 610-0800www.thefoodbank.org

ProduceMobile

MobilePantry

Brown Bag

FamilyHarvest

ProducePMobile

MobilePantPantry

Brown Bag

FamilyHarvest

y

= 1000 households

= 1000 participants

= 1000 meals

= 1000 participants

Provides weekly food assistance to low-income seniors. he average Brown Bag participant's household income is $1,050 per month.

Delivers food to geographically-isolated communities and those with limited services. We estimate that nearly half of the individuals served are children.

Provides monthly food assistance to low-income families with children. The average Family Harvest recipient household’s income is $1,462 per month.

Delivers fresh fruits and vegetables to low-income households with limited access to community markets.

Black & Brownby MARC CARDENAS

There are two types of people in the world: One type that dream lofty dreams and do nothing with those dreams; the second type are the ones that chase down their dreams and make them happen. I recently sat down with two dream chasers, Irene Kim and Monisha Murray, the co-founders of a local buy-sell-trade clothing store, Black and Brown. Our conversation centered around their original motivation and future hopes for their store. Their story is as eclectic as their products.

Thank you for having us here in your boutique , we really appreciate the opportunity to meet you and to highlight your business, but also to highlight the different and unique things that both of you as co-founders/owners are doing here in the community.

CONTENT: I’d like to start by asking both of you to share the history of Black and Brown and what led you to start this business together?

BLACK AND BROWN IRENE: We have known each other for about ten years now, we met when I started working at CrossRoads--from there we became really good friends and have lived in different cities together. We moved to Santa Cruz together and then to San Francisco and that’s where the idea came to be. Monisha moved to New York, but before she moved she knew that she wanted to open a store.

BLACK AND BROWN MONISHA: I moved to New York and was conspiring to open a store in New York and just realized that for myself that I was more of a West Coast person-plus I didn’t have family in NY. I bought a bunch of stock from a great hook up in New York and brought everything back to San Jose. My original partner opened a store in San Francisco. I wanted to open up a store in San Jose. My friendship with Irene and our mutual feeling that SJ needed something like Black and Brown was the genesis of our partnership.

CONTENT: When you say you felt like San Jose needed something new, something different—what made you feel it was a new fashion venture that was needed?

BLACK AND BROWN MONISHA: I have always just had a knack for fashion and ownership/management. I worked for a company for a few years doing the same exact thing

and then straight away worked at an airport and then went to NY and found myself doing the same thing and moving up in management. It just showed me my potential of what I could do and then I just figured I needed to bring it here. Both of us were born and raised here so we’ve seen a lot of shops coming and going: there was Channel 1 on the Alameda and it was amazing, it was huge and had events and hosted bands, along with a coffee shop. We have a lot of heart and we have a lot of passion for what we do—we love what we do—it makes sense that we’d do it here.

BLACK AND BROWN IRENE: I think too that fashion can go so many different ways. I think that just being a buy-sell-trade company, we never get tired of seeing these pieces and when we see vintage pieces we go “oh my gosh”—we still get excited. I think that’s how you know you’re doing what you love.

CONTENT: What makes Black and Brown so unique?

BLACK AND BROWN MONISHA: Well, what we’ve created here is our skills that we’ve learned as well as brought ourselves to the table. I feel like that’s what makes us unique is adding that element of ourselves. For myself working for a corporate it was very structured and we could only buy certain things. And then working for an independent in NY it was a free for all. It was like the things I was told not to buy, it was like “buy this, its amazing and this is great”. So, it really shook me up and opened my eyes at the same time, and it opened myself up to so many amazing things. I feel like what we’re bringing is are experiences. We both lived in Santa Cruz, San Francisco, definitely San Jose, and then me going out to NY, its like we always say, “we collected from every city and we are bringing that here. So we’re feeding a lot of different types of styles. We just collected things we’ve seen that were missing in these other places and made it all cohesive into one.

CONTENT: You do take in garments and then trick them out?

BLACK AND BROWN MONISHA: Oh yeah, we’re crazy. We were laughing the other day because that evolved from being poor. We were laughing because we were going through our own little timeline and sketching through just saying “wow”. “Flipping” is one of our main focuses: reconstructive vintage, whether it is altering it or shortening it, it just gives it a whole new fresh look, it gives it a practical wear. Things back in the 70’s were really long or odd lengths so it makes it a bit easier for girls to function and work with if it’s a little bit shorter and more modern. We did it very minimally—just making a few pieces and our customers really liked our “flipped” stuff—they really caught onto it; now it’s the staple of our store. It’s a bit of a higher price point but nothing crazy because we are really about being practical, but we are investing a lot of our time along with running a business to give these special elements to our customers.

CONTENT: How have things changed and how have things stayed the same? What’s still true from day one?

BLACK AND BROWN IRENE: Well I definitely feel like the essence of the store, just our original idea of what we wanted has stayed the same. We still want to provide something unique and different to our customers along with mainstream options. Definitely the actual space has changed a bit. Since we opened we’ve doubled the size of our space. We acquired the backspace and we knocked down the walls ourselves. I think it was a blessing that it happened—it wasn’t something that we planned for but when the opportunity arose we definitely went for it.

CONTENT: It’s a beautiful store THAT OUR READERS SHOULD CHECK OUT. You are not only about fashion (clothing, shoes, and accessories); there is a very unique aspect at the back of the store: the art studio. What’s the reason behind having an art studio in the store?

BLACK AND BROWN MONISHA: When we opened, we added the elements of art. We’re around so many creative people that it was just something we wanted to add as an element. They are so intertwined, FASHION AND ART, you know, they are forms of expression and that expression is limitless. So, I think that’s part of why we added the gallery. When we didn’t the gallery space, we had a wall and we featured local artist’s work. And when we expanded it was like whoa now we have a 1000sq.ft. gallery. We’ve actually built a reputation now, a following for our gallery. Last year it was booked all year—which was a first. I feel like our studio is for up and coming artists, artists that maybe didn’t go to school but are amazing; it’s a place for them to put their work up and let it be shown, and we have had a lot of success with it.

BLACK AND BROWN IRENE: I think that when art-ists have art shows here, it feels like home. It is a very comfortable environment and I feel like as people we are very open to all different types of art and genres. I feel that is one reason the skating community has made us their outlet for art. We make it easy for them: put it up and then we’ll have an art reception—it’s organic and really comfortable and fun that way.

Visit Black and Brown Boutique at 1225 West San Carlos St. SJ, Ca.

make-up danielle randlemanproduction manager sarah halemodel theodora, halvorson modelsmodel ian, san jose residentlocation hotel de anzastyling monisha and irene from black and brown

Yellow American Apparel Tank Bodysuit - $8.00Black Fedora Brimmed Hat with Red Feather - $28.00

J.S.S.N. Couture Black and Gold Chain linked with owl pendant - $35.00 High-waisted black and white checked pants - $13.00

Red pumps - $18.00

Vintage Black Frame Clear Lens Glasses - $26.00Creme Long Sleeve Shirt - $10.00Grey Skinny Tie - $10.00Vintage Christian Dior V-Neck Pullover - $18.00DC Skinny Jeans - $16.00Black Wingtip Shoes - $26.00

Yellow American Apparel Tank Bodysuit - $8.00Black Fedora Brimmed Hat with Red Feather - $28.00

J.S.S.N. Couture Black and Gold Chain linked with owl pendant - $35.00 High-waisted black and white checked pants - $13.00

Red pumps - $18.00

Vintage Black Frame Clear Lens Glasses - $26.00Creme Long Sleeve Shirt - $10.00Grey Skinny Tie - $10.00Vintage Christian Dior V-Neck Pullover - $18.00DC Skinny Jeans - $16.00Black Wingtip Shoes - $26.00

Pulling up in front of the Cinequest offices in downtown San Jose, one wouldn’t know that inside are the brains and vision of one of the world’s leading film festivals. Only last year’s poster on the glass doors allude to the fact that inside contacts were made with Sir Ben Kings-ley, Kevin Spacey, Sir Ian McKellen, Minnie Driver, Spike Lee, and many others, all recipients of the Maverick Spirit Award. The bare walls don’t tell a visitor that last year over 80,000 people spent 12 days watching films representing over 44 countries and nearly 600 artists in downtown San Jose. It is only after a conversation with Cinequest co-founder and director Halfdan Hussey that you would realize the magnitude and impact that Cine-quest has on the film industry.

In 1990, after studying at NYU, filmmaker ¬¬ moved from New York to San Jose. He and fellow filmmaker Kathleen Powell had just finished running through a circuit of film festivals (including a premiere at Venice film festival) screening their independent film, “He’s Still There.” The film was received well by critics and audiences alike. As a 23-year old filmmaker, Hussey was astounded by the warmth and generosity that they received from their film. “Seeing people from all walks of life, gathering around this convergence point called film,” Hussey says, “that’s what inspired us to create Cinequest because we

wanted to give back what we had been given.” It was here in San Jose that Hussey and fellow filmmakers and entrepreneurs premiered the Cinequest film festival to roughly 3,000 people. With all 60 films shown in the Camera 3 theater over a four-day period many people thought that Silicon Valley did not have enough of a cul-tural base to drive a film festival. “We found that it was hard at first,” states Hussey, “but we had very loyal fol-lowers, and through the years built up a magnificent au-dience; and then began to find our real position around innovation.”

One of the greatest advantages to holding a film festival in San Jose was that they were at the epicenter of much of the cutting edge of technology. “We were able to lead the revolution in digital filmmaking in the 1990s,” Hussey says. “We knew about the technologies before they be-came popular.” Cinequest brought these new technolo-gies to filmmakers and were instrumental in the “de-mocratization of filmmaking.” This is where Cinequest truly began to succeed. In 2004, Cinequest launched a distribution division and has helped find new ways to distribute outside of the Hollywood system.

The word heard most often around Cinequest is Maver-ick. The idea of Maverick is derived from a cattle ranch-

MAVERICKChanging the World One Film At A TimeStory by Jon HavensPhotography by Daniel GarciaLayout by Brian Jensen

MAVERICK

in the 1800’s named Samuel L. Maverick, the only ranch-er in his area that refused to brand his cattle, allowing them to roam free. For Cinequest, a Maverick is some-one who stands above the crowd. “Cinequest is about empowering the Maverick,” Hussey continues, “people who do things from the heart, that step outside of a business plan and the norm and marketing plans to do something highly creative and original and really drive towards something that is going to change the world, be it in technology or the arts.”

Hussey believes that to be a filmmaker, your location no longer matters. “A decade ago if you wanted to be a film-maker you lived in Los Angeles or New York. That was it. And there were a few people working in San Francisco. It’s a virtual world now. There are filmmakers living ev-erywhere, every place in the country.” This is evidenced by the fact that several of the films premiering at Cine-quest are from the film department at San Jose State. “I see San Jose as a place that has really developed over the last 20 years, the level of film artistry is much stron-ger, by leaps and bounds.”

Cinequest is not only receiving recognition around the world but here in San Jose as well. “It’s truly a commu-nity here,” Hussey says. “It became part of the identity of the residents.” Hussey believes that San Jose can hold its place amongst the cities known to have more of an ar-tistic flare. “I have always preferred San Jose. It has a little bit more of a working-town energy but it is the capital of the Silicon Valley. When people look back on this lo-cation in terms of art and innovation, this is the Greece and the Rome of our day. We have a really spectacular city here. It’s a beautiful place.”

As for this year’s festival, Cinequest knows where it stands. “We are at 20,” Hussey says. “We’re not looking back, we’re looking forward. Where are we today in cin-ema? What are the issues and how can we make that better next year because that’s what our role has been.” A 13th day has been added to the festival to truly cel-ebrate all of the Cinequest films. No longer does the fes-tival take place in one theater. Cinequest will premiere movies at the Camera 12 theater and at the beautiful California theater as well. All locations are downtown and within a few blocks of each other. As for who the Maverick Spirit Award will be given to this year, we will have to wait and see.

This February, for their 20th anniversary, Cinequest will return to its roots for its theme: Maverick. “It’s about dis-covery, discovering the new and emerging maverick.” Hussey says. Hussey believes that doing art can change people’s lives. He believes that the purpose of Cinequest is to give back: to give back to the community of artists and viewers who have supported and given to film over the years. Cinequest has stood by this for 20 years now. We can only hope for the same in the next 20.