HOARD: What inspired the "Asian flavored" theme of your tote bags?
ANJALI: Once I finally decided to put law on the back burner and give myself a chance to do work I wanted, ideas made their way out of my head. Making that decision was the hardest, like destroying a huge dam.
The "Asian flavored" totes came about because I never intended to take myself too seriously and it's really hard not to smile when you see a tote that says "I Love Wasabi." As for the future, I am working on make-up bags and a tank/undies combo set for the spring. I am going to see where this food theme will take me for a while. I have been pleasantly surprised by people I interact with when carrying one of my totes. They get people talking and I love that.
HOARD: Your specialty tote bags and tee-shirts can be ordered on-line at HappyLuckyMe.com. How long have you been running the site?
ANJALI: I started really thinking about it the first day of October when I was on a trip to London. I was having a crepe and latte at a street café in Soho and I had this image of my grandma wearing leather chaps and a big ten-gallon hat. I can't shake it to this day. It's like "Cowboys and Indians" but with Asian Indians. I think I will do something with that idea at some point. When I got back to the states, I just hit the ground running and haven't stopped since. I have been more satisfied in the last few months than I have in years with my other career.
HOARD:
Just how happy and lucky are you? Do you have any advice for those destitute souls
who might not be so happy and lucky?
ANJALI:
The mere prospect of someday actually
making a decent living doing creative work makes me so happy and feeling plenty
lucky. My advice to people would be to discover what makes you happy (if you don't
already know), do it and commit to it. Just getting up in the morning knowing
your day is filled with work you love is sufficiently joyous and its own reward.
Oh, and give yourself a chance to be great; you know you have it in you. That's
my advice too. I know it sounds so ridiculously presumptuous, but I stick by it.
HOARD:
Define "style".
ANJALI: Style conveys a message about the wearer. It can be any message. If you can do that, that's style.
HOARD:
Define your personal style.
ANJALI: It's all about being different characters. I can be "80's glamour girl" for a holiday party and "military chic" when out at a bar with friends. What I wear affects how people treat me. It's also a reflection of who I am, but usually only for that moment. There are of course those days when I just don't want any attention at all, although few and far between, but they do come around. My "go unnoticed" style is a grey sweatshirt and khakis. Nothing says "ignore me" more effectively and I appreciate that too.
HOARD:
Okay, so you love, love , love, yummy Asian food. Now, describe what you think
would be the most perfect full-course Asian meal.
ANJALI:
Tom Kha Gai because it's so perfect in its rich creaminess and richer complexity.
Sashimi when it's so fresh that it melts in your mouth. Oh! Gulab Jamun and Mochi
Ice Cream. Eating the cold balls right after the piping hot ones. Yum yum.
HOARD: What's your
astrological sign mama?
ANJALI: Pisces. The introvert and moody sign. I am no introvert. I am moody though, but in a subversive way, so most people think I am not characteristic of a Pisces at all and are often surprised to hear it.
HOARD:
What would we find inside your own personal tote bag right now?
ANJALI:
About a dozen deliver confirmation post office stubs, Stila lip-gloss,
AmEx, my state bar card and candy. I always have candy. Those individually
wrapped Japanese gummys are my favorite (kiwi and muscat flavors) and Haw
Flakes (hard flat disks made of Haw?) are YUM. The foster kid across
the street always asks me for candy and I, of course, have it. It can be embarrassing
when it happens around other adults. People think you should "grow out"
of candy after a certain age. No one sent my taste buds the memo!
HOARD:
Asahi, Sapporo or Suntory?
ANJALI: Kirin.
HOARD: I
bet you collect the fortunes from fortune cookies.
ANJALI: No, I don't collect them. I wish I did though so people would have something interesting to look at on my refrigerator rather than my current collection of charity run bibs, magnets from local realtors and, of course, menus, menus and more menus.
HOARD: Did you
know that fortune cookies were invented in San Francisco?
ANJALI: I learned that in Ron Takaki's class, "Introduction to Asian American History" my first year at Cal. It was unofficially called "Asian Am Scam" because everyone spent as much time checking each other out as they did learning history. I do remember that stuff about the cookies though.
HOARD:
Do you have any recipes you would like to share with us?
ANJALI: I love to eat Asian food. I save the cooking for the pros. I do know that traditionally Kimchee was buried in the yard for months before it was eaten. Some people still do that today. Enjoy! [END]
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for more information about Anjali and her "Asian Flavored" styled totes and tees, please visit www.happyluckyme.com
read HOARD'S interview with Vanessa Jean, creator of Duct Tape Design
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