https://teamepiphanytimes.com Team Epiphany Times Tue, 28 Apr 2020 03:20:54 +0000 https://teamepiphanytimes.com en https://teamepiphanytimes.com/Table-of-Contents-Issue-01 Mon, 27 Apr 2020 21:30:21 +0000 Team Epiphany Times https://teamepiphanytimes.com/Table-of-Contents-Issue-01 Letter From the Editor Words by Coltrane Curtis&nbsp; I Know This Song it Ain't Never Gonna EndWords by Courtney Preiss Our Cozy Quarantine Is the Death of Sweats Words by Greg Bruce Cozy Is as Cozy Does During QuarantineWords by Frankie Caracciolo Quarantine Is Lit: Time Enough at Last Words by Courtney Preiss Staying Social with Quarantine Cocktails Words by Heidi Chung Looking Back to Move Forward: Archiving &amp; Collecting from Elders Words by Janelle Wallace The Redux of the American Mall Words by Frankie Caracciolo The Quarantine Generation: Baptized by the internet&nbsp; Words by Miles DeSouza The Olds Are Fully Online Now Words by James Novick-Smith Toosie Slide if You Want: Homes As Sanctuaries Words by Christa Tarnoviski Masthead Editor-in-Chief Coltrane Curtis Managing Editor Frankie Caracciolo Creative Director Jeffrey Weber Art Direction &amp; Design Beau Murphy ContributorsWriters: Christa Tarnoviski, Coltrane Curtis, Courtney Preiss, Frankie Caracciolo, Greg Bruce, Heidi Chung, James Novick-Smith, Janelle Wallace &amp; Miles DeSouza Illustrators: Anthony Ikediubal, Bernard Rollins, Danielle Vogl, David Park, Doug Aldrich, Dustin O. Canalin, Emily Edson, Hebru Brantley, Jeremy Davis Smith, Joshua Vides, Liza Hale Doyle, Naturel PEL, Sam Rodriguez, Sidney Howard &amp; Tiffany Alfonseca Special ThanksLisa Chu (for greenlighting this project), Shawn Francis &amp; Jarrett Cobbs Contact info@teamepiphany.com HQ2 Wall St. 9th Floor, New York, NY 10005 Websiteteamepiphany.com <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/32aad023c6fd6ac99aff3e9d8e41405081d4604d3366af3896ad5606bebffd45/Artboard-2.png" data-mid="81547254" border="0" data-no-zoom="true" data-draggable data-rotation="10" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/32aad023c6fd6ac99aff3e9d8e41405081d4604d3366af3896ad5606bebffd45/Artboard-2.png" /> <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/62dea8c0e3f1dae9c390dad4328155dcce07dfc0d718282ca1221d395eb51684/Artboard-1.png" data-mid="81547253" border="0" data-no-zoom="true" data-draggable data-rotation="-12.5" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/62dea8c0e3f1dae9c390dad4328155dcce07dfc0d718282ca1221d395eb51684/Artboard-1.png" /> https://teamepiphanytimes.com/Information Wed, 15 Apr 2020 18:54:06 +0000 Team Epiphany Times https://teamepiphanytimes.com/Information <img width="612" height="792" width_o="612" height_o="792" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a9fdfacd6df89d3be39694738d45cbb9da0425b2fd6e0270f151bc8580e0fbbb/TE-ZINE-Naturel-01.jpg" data-mid="69258550" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/612/i/a9fdfacd6df89d3be39694738d45cbb9da0425b2fd6e0270f151bc8580e0fbbb/TE-ZINE-Naturel-01.jpg" /> <img width="1200" height="1500" width_o="1200" height_o="1500" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ee647d6ce77a159dcf454e2d6f1654a35d9a08315348a37fbb5145d746c3c567/Information-Image.jpg" data-mid="68852347" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ee647d6ce77a159dcf454e2d6f1654a35d9a08315348a37fbb5145d746c3c567/Information-Image.jpg" /> Hey Fam! Team Epiphany is a family business and togetherness is what inspires us to produce our best-in-class work. The last few weeks have asked of us to take our poly-disciplined and influencer-fueled full-service capabilities and pivot to a new landscape that prioritizes differentiation. Which is why we’re hyped and proud to publish The Team Epiphany Times—a truly creative expression of just how unique our staff and community are. Knowing that we’ll need to traverse this new landscape together, we partnered with friends and fam to bring the visuals and design of The Team Epiphany Times to life. All the work you’ll find within these pages was done in-kind. There’s something special in knowing that in times of trouble you can count on a community—a community built over the last 15+ years—to support you. This zine is a product of that support and we hope you enjoy it. Contact us at info@teamepiphany.com for any further inquiries. https://teamepiphanytimes.com/Letter-From-the-Editor Wed, 22 Apr 2020 18:02:36 +0000 Team Epiphany Times https://teamepiphanytimes.com/Letter-From-the-Editor LEtter from the editor By Coltrane Curtis Illustration by&nbsp;Hebru Brantley They say: Pressure bursts pipes. But pressure also makes diamonds. I’ve never succumbed to pressure. I’m actually at my best when others yield to the duress. This is different.&nbsp;COVID-19 has&nbsp;me scared. Frightened for the health of my family and friends. Concerned about its silent impact on the future development of our boys—Ellington and Count. Worried about the future of my life’s work—our company, Team Epiphany. After innumerable sleepless nights and countless tearful solo conversations with my father, who passed away almost eight years ago, I pulled it together. I had to. He prepared me for these moments and his legacy demands emphatic resiliency. You see, my dad was and still is my PERSONAL SUPERHERO. Now is the time for me to summon my inner superhero. I need to support my family with an unspeakable passion like never before. I need to lead our company with compassion and pivot to allow our unique agency’s skillsets to light a path forward. Team Epiphany Times is an internally-penned and community-illustrated commentary on culture. It is our response to the pressures of the new world we are now forced to navigate. Thank you to our influencer communities. We move as one. Thank you to all of our brand partners. We are here for you. Thank you Team Epiphany family. No agency is more capable. Thank you Dad. Your superpowers just went public. I hope you enjoy Team Epiphany Times,&nbsp;Volume 1. Coltrane CurtisFounder / EIC https://teamepiphanytimes.com/I-Know-This-Song-it-Ain-t-ever-Gonna-End Wed, 22 Apr 2020 18:26:32 +0000 Team Epiphany Times https://teamepiphanytimes.com/I-Know-This-Song-it-Ain-t-ever-Gonna-End I Know This Song it Ain’t Never Gonna End By&nbsp;Courtney Preiss Illustration by Jeremy Davis Smith Here’s a unique phenomenon: Even if you’re not a Deadhead, you likely know something about the Grateful Dead. The prolific Bay Area band that defined America’s 1960s counterculture with unbridled vibrancy has enjoyed a resurgence among a generation so young, they likely weren’t even alive when the group’s leader, Jerry Garcia, died—effectively ending the band’s thirty-year run. It may surprise Baby Boomer parents to bear witness as their offspring covet overpriced indigo-dyed garments bearing the Stealie logos and lightning bolts that adorned ephemera of their youth. It may surprise younger Millennials or Gen Z kids that Jerry is more than an ice cream flavor namesake or the dancing bear on their $80 Online Ceramics sweatshirt is an homage to Owsley Stanley, the genre-defining audio engineer and LSD virtuoso. I came into the Dead the way most people used to: someone a little older and a little cooler than me—in this case, my high school boyfriend—put me onto Jerry and the gang by way of a well-worn American Beauty cassette. I fell in technicolor flower-eyed love while “Box of Rain” played ad infinitum on the tape deck of a dying ‘95 Saturn SL1. For a new generation, becoming aware of the Dead happens seemingly through osmosis, as the band’s playful iconography and bootleg spirit has so thoroughly permeated pop culture and lends itself effortlessly to streetwear. Spring was made for the Grateful Dead. Or, perhaps, just the inverse is true. It’s an association I’ve been making for half my life: the days boldly growing longer and warmer signals a tie-dye clad season of driving with the windows down and “Sugaree” blaring at 90% volume. Springtime means whatever post-mortem version of the Dead is touring this year will soon grace a nearby stage. Despite the fact that we will forfeit our psychedelic swaying on amphitheatre lawns to remain indoors for Spring 2020, I maintain this season still belongs to the Dead. In the time spent sequestered so far, I’ve only become increasingly convinced this moment in history is, in fact, the exact right time for everyone—Deadheads, casual fans, culture vultures, and hypebeasts alike—to embrace the Grateful Dead like never before. You won’t soon tire of their body of work. Surely you’re familiar with the mild bereavement that follows a streaming series marathon or the last page of an unexpectedly engrossing novel. You want more of what you just consumed, but maybe the pursuit of a similar Netflix addiction or the rest of that author’s repertoire doesn’t quite scratch the itch. This will never be the case with the Grateful Dead. They possess such a prolific archive, you could exhaust yourself exploring a new piece of it every day and still have plenty left to discover at the end of Quarantine. In thirty years, the Dead played 2,314 concerts—amassing not only the most ubiquitous live music presence in modern history, but a seemingly endless well of material to revisit and revamp. The band’s record label continues to retroactively release live albums of beloved shows every year, not to mention their thirteen studio albums, and hundreds of live selects meticulously curated by tape archivists. These albums are available to stream in all their glory on Spotify. Classic concerts are available to stream through a newly-minted weekly series on the band’s YouTube channel, too. The Scorcese-sanctioned Dead doc Long Strange Trip is an immersive and satisfying four-hour-long romp and free to stream on Amazon Prime Video. They provide the essential sonic respite we need right now. For me, the Grateful Dead’s music is reliably charming, calming, fortifying, and enchanting. It’s become an essential part of my work from home routine to hook up to the JBL Charge (a personal homage to the Dead’s iconic Wall of Sound, the behemoth 1970s-era PA system comprised of nearly 600 JBL speakers) and let their music become the pulse in my day. Their seemingly infinite live archives were made for a period of being trapped indoors and working in solitude. The improvisations and warm sound of the crowd are humanizing, filling the apartment with the joy of a bygone era and assuring us there is still joy left to be had. Even in moments of great pandemic-induced despair, not in the mood for anyone or anything, I can still summon the gumption to put on the Grateful Dead and let the music melt over me. It’s a sonic smudge stick. It’s deep, serene, and hopeful—just what we need in a moment that has been governed by fear and uncertainty. Their community is expansive, entrancing, and eclectic. Care to guess what Jonah Hill, George R. R. Martin, and Nancy Pelosi all have in common? The Dead’s fanbase is notoriously inclusive (perhaps even too inclusive—Ann Coulter is, sadly, among us) extolling Jerry’s “WE ARE EVERYWHERE” bumper sticker virtue on Cadillacs and VW Buses from Albany to Mountain View. There is a robust array of subcultures and communities among the Deadheads you may find refuge in. If you are both a friend of the devil and a Member of the Tribe, you are not alone. Far from it. If you work on Wall Street and like to sport tie-dyed undergarments beneath your suit, there’s a Deadhead sector for you. Lest you think recreational drug use is a prerequisite to fandom (an easy assumption—the Dead’s origin story is inextricably linked to the Acid Tests immortalized by Ken Kesey and Tom Wolfe), there’s a faction of sober Deadheads called The Wharf Rats—providing substance-free support to anyone who needs it at shows. In an era of solace and remote communication, we are redefining our concepts of community: how we build and maintain them, and how essential they are to the ecosystems of our lives. Joining the ranks of the Deadheads—albeit, digitally for now—is the antidote to this unique, extended isolation. We are literally everywhere, dreaming of the day we can reunite. They are the ultimate balm for troubled times. I recently revisited the song “Touch of Grey”—the 1988 hit that famously galvanized a new generation of MTV-literate Deadheads—on my once-a-day state-sanctioned walk. While listening to the plucky track with its equal parts bleak and optimistic lyrics, I was struck not only by the music’s ability to pull me out of the tar pit of COVID-fueled anxiety I’d fallen into, but how familiar this all was. Even though we are in an era defined by a new and unknowable challenge, the Dead has soundtracked decades of troubled times on a global and intimate level. For the thirty years they were on the road between 1965 and 1995, the band played on through every collective atrocity from the Vietnam War to the AIDS crisis. I can handily recall the instances when the music ferried me from one side of personal grief—my parents’ decision to divorce, the death of a friend—and gently placed me on a distant shore of serenity and relief. “Even though we are in an era defined by a new and unknowable challenge, the Dead has soundtracked decades of troubled times on a global and intimate level.” In an unanticipated age of adversity that has inspired my peers to explore classic schools of thought—from stoicism to altruism—for guidance, I turn to the Grateful Dead. I rise to meet the anguish of the pandemic with the refrain that buoys their lone Billboard hit, insisting: WE WILL GET BY / WE WILL SURVIVE. For Absolute Beginners:&nbsp; 6 episodes of Long Strange Trip is the cultural indoctrination you want and need. Europe ‘72 is a quintessential distillation of the Dead’s live sound and a perfect sonic entry point (although you might want to skip “Morning Dew” until quarantine is over). The 1970 studio album diptych, Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty, exemplify why the Grateful Dead is more than a band—it’s an American artform. Coco’s Picks: The 7/7/89 show was the last in a long history of iconic rock concerts ever to happen at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia before its demolition. This piece of history was later released as the Crimson, White, &amp; Indigo live album, making for great listening and compelling viewing (young Bobby Weir’s legs!) The show occupies a sentimental corner of my heart as it was recorded on the day I was born.For a little big sound at home (with a built-in light show), the JBL Pulse 4. For big, big sound at home (with another light show!), the JBL Party Box. If you’re working from home with a partner who isn’t yet into the Dead (or maybe they’re still fixated on Nassau 1980 when you’ve moved onto Cornell ‘77) JBL True Wireless headphones are an answered prayer.I love Online Ceramics’ wares just like anyone else whose natural reaction to Saturn Return is throwing money at dyed cotton, but I also never miss a drop from LOTMART, Jeremy Dean, East Coast Dead Shop, Dale Dreiling, Old City Dead, or Swamp Goods. ︎ <img width="970" height="414" width_o="970" height_o="414" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7619a481fdeb88e6ff147a9ff512c53385c10cf5be7e0442820cb19686609a1e/I-KNOW-THIS-SONG--IT-AINT-NEVER-GONNA-END.png" data-mid="69275492" border="0" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/970/i/7619a481fdeb88e6ff147a9ff512c53385c10cf5be7e0442820cb19686609a1e/I-KNOW-THIS-SONG--IT-AINT-NEVER-GONNA-END.png" /> https://teamepiphanytimes.com/Cozy-Quarantine-Pt1 Wed, 15 Apr 2020 18:54:04 +0000 Team Epiphany Times https://teamepiphanytimes.com/Cozy-Quarantine-Pt1 Opinion:Our Cozy Quarantine Is the Death of Sweats By Greg Scott Bruce&nbsp; Illustration by&nbsp;David Park Once real pants are on, the workday begins. That’s the thought, at least, dating back to a less-lax work culture, where one would rarely see colleagues outside of their quintessentially “corp” fits (except on, say, Casual Fridays). Today, that’s not remotely the case—the pants you work in could be a variety of things other than stiff, starchy, and all-around uninspired slacks. For the workforce inhabiting an open-office floor plan—a clear identifier of contemporary industries and startups—employees waltzing into their 10-to-6 (9-to-5 has no chill) in borderline pants-like-things, is fairly standard now that workplace slouches unequivocally toward “chill.” And it is pretty chill here. Especially for those currently with the privilege of working from home—the pinnacle of privileges, at the moment if only because we aren’t necessarily wearing real pants right now. We’re wearing cozy, restful sweatpants. And that exact fact of “cozy over everything” is the serious affair I’ll unfold. <img width="914" height="1142" width_o="914" height_o="1142" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8cb89c1688cb4be87def95518f7fab2f3fd5ebfa6af18a152a9630c8262d1c2a/Cozy-Pt-1-Image-1.png" data-mid="68336758" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/914/i/8cb89c1688cb4be87def95518f7fab2f3fd5ebfa6af18a152a9630c8262d1c2a/Cozy-Pt-1-Image-1.png" /> Image Courtesy of Stüssy Office culture has changed: Instead of, or along with, 401K matching, health-and-dental insurance, you could be granted 24-hour access to an array of ping-pong tables and dad beers. It depends, of course. In these types of modern offices, you’re most likely to see workers tucked into their wildly tapered athleticwear, swathed with techy side-zippers. Or, on the off-chance, you might spot someone wearing cropped sweatpants or capris (maybe they’re European?). But at Team Epiphany—whose offices are on the middle of Wall Street, by the way—you wouldn’t see any of that nonsense. Rather, you’d see Coltrane rocking a head-to-toe Coke Energy x Camp High Collective sweatsuit—that includes a kimono robe made of heavy, ring-spun cotton—which is quite possibly what the shaman wears at the peak of Mount Cozy-Olympus. Around the corner is another sovereign of the cozy movement strutting the TE premises, KP, the self-proclaimed “Prince of Nightlife.” He’ll be, of course, sporting sweatsuits like they’re his second skin. Even the agency’s brand of merchandise consists of various sweatsuit sets (ox grey, black, electric-yellow tie-dye, and more), on 24 oz. heavy-duty fleece from Standard Issue by Jimmy Gorecki—the streetwear designer whose nickname is JIMMY SWEATPANTS. Clearly, tech fleece is bottom shelf stuff at our workplace. <img width="1176" height="840" width_o="1176" height_o="840" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/064a7235a2fe88c8ae7e5b6ee2818f0e83b48acc765d1ba325f838e697c50c2c/Cozy-Pt-1-Image-4.png" data-mid="68336763" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/064a7235a2fe88c8ae7e5b6ee2818f0e83b48acc765d1ba325f838e697c50c2c/Cozy-Pt-1-Image-4.png" />For today’s knoweldge worker, stuck at home, wearing sweats is more of an universal truth, however unspoken. It’s a premiocre joke for this age of Zoom calls: Making note that someone else on your team or client call isn’t wearing the “proper” pair or pants, or even that they’re not wearing pants at all. It really doesn’t matter. And, frankly, I’m writing this wearing some canary yellow Stussy reverse fleece sweatpants myself. See, I’m all about cozy, I relish in it. The only clothing-related purchase I’ve made so far was a pair of Hoka Recovery Slides—designed for marathon runners when they’re fully tuckered out—because I won’t be slipping shoes on for the foreseeable workdays. Utilitarian coziness has been my strategy. It does, however, make me look like a dad or a janitor, sometimes both, and I’m worried that not just that I’ll change sartorially for the slouchier, but, post-Quarantine, we’ll all dress differently after our overkill of loungewear. When it’s time to head back to a physical work environment, do our sweats come with us? As Quarantine continues to be extended, we’ll become unreasonably molded to our sweatpants, too attached to our cozy counterparts (literally at the hip), and our real pants will seem way beside the point. With the advent of anti-anxiety products, sweats could be labeled as a new coddling object—like fidget spinners, weighted blankets, CBD-anything—to help us mollify back into our former workaday routine. While sweats being described as “anxiety armor” isn’t necessarily that far-fetched, neither is the thought of wearers ceasing demand. Athleisure, loungewear, and leisurewear businesses could face the recockning coronavirus has imparted on the fashion world at large—ripping apart retailers, halting fast fashion, and restricting domestic wholesale—once the smoke clears. Right now, ecommerce and Instagram marketplaces are trying to sell their audiences kits of WFH “essentials”: sweatsuits being the most common item. Some sites, like Need Supply, even have a dedicated tab for working from home that they’ve prominently situated on their homepage as their financial focal point. Others have aggressive email strategies that try a little too hard to relate to current times. (Expect to see email subject lines with “Stimulus Check Shopping Szn” if you havent already.)&nbsp; The recurring targeted ads for “Netflix and Chill” fits, coercing us to stay equipped with cozy and warm things, will make us grow tired; tired of sweats. America already boasts an “always-on” work culture, and if we’re led to believe that workers are always drudging in their sweats, rarely switching out of them, then we’re defeating the purpose of what they first symbolized: a safe haven away from our responsibilities. If coziness is a state of mind and our sweats are our conduits for reaching this happy place, then our pursuit of pleasure is in need of some detours. The wardrobes of those for whom sweatpants are a way of life might find their closet taking on less cozy connotations. In a meta-reversal of work culture, sweats become our new uniform. Eat, sleep, sweats, repeat. It’s not actually that dystopian, but it could be. Regardless, we will get tired of cycling through our comfy attire like we’re living in the reruns we’re bingeing. Luckily, for sweats, we might not want to wear pants right away because it could take us some time to correctly style (and fit!) our dust-covered chinos and fatigues. As stated previously: Being ready for work and having pants on are mutually exclusive; a tale about trousers, as old as the time streetwear became workwear. The same cannot be said for the hoodie—the Voltron-head completing the sweatpants—that will never cease to be a styling staple. You can really do anything in them and look good and feel good about doing those things. As much as streetwear brands and jawnz enthusiasts obsessed with “high-low,” (wearing high-fashion with Crocs, or something to that degree) styling loafers and dress shirts with sweatpants, the hoodie’s been on that wave before their mood board of Instagram-saved photos ever was. Hoodies can dress up easily: paired with double-breasted blazers, ruffled under trench coats, worn with corduroy slacks, the list goes on. Sweats don’t even have more than, what, four materials? And they can barely hold daily essentials; you’re lucky if the pockets have functioning zippers. Our notion to wear soft, subtler textures on our legs will subside. People will gravitate toward bottoms made from water-repellent canvas, tartan wool, a tweed houndstooth hybrid—materials that sweats cannot replicate, nor replace—and will accompany a hoodie wondrously. <img width="914" height="1142" width_o="914" height_o="1142" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/114887c43c0268f48f54be48cd5d2d001aad10b6f04a368ca7dcf6fd969f039d/Cozy-Pt-1-Image-2.png" data-mid="68336761" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/914/i/114887c43c0268f48f54be48cd5d2d001aad10b6f04a368ca7dcf6fd969f039d/Cozy-Pt-1-Image-2.png" /> <img width="991" height="1239" width_o="991" height_o="1239" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/137a9ffd166565de6a4dbddbeb6d990767a18d23f98084ce67afd6be0154e9be/Cozy-Pt-1-Image-3.png" data-mid="69016667" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/991/i/137a9ffd166565de6a4dbddbeb6d990767a18d23f98084ce67afd6be0154e9be/Cozy-Pt-1-Image-3.png" /> Images Courtesy of Noah NY Still, I wonder: When we transition back to a more pant-inclined world, will we (more so, me) feel too accustomed to our loungewear? Will we want to wear our sweatpants during the day, outside, in the real world again? Will we want to have dinner parties with close friends in, dare I say, casual leisurewear? Because at some point, we’ll feel like we’ve done enough in our sweats. Hell, they could become cursed after this. Just like how runners discard their tattered track shoes after 400 miles, we’ll start to feel odd, deep down, about how much use—all of sitting, laying, stretching, nothing-ing—our sweats have tracked. Our collective reasoning for disavowing our sweatpants will trickle slowly. We’ll recall how much we liked the stacks and creases from our Levi’s 501s and Acne Studios; or how Noah’s Single Pleat Trousers are the puzzle-piece silhouette to a beloved pair of Chuck Taylors; or how cargo pants really should only be made of ripstop cotton and cargosweats (see: abomination) shouldn’t have ever been masterminded. These notions will arise because we won’t reminisce about the times we wore sweats—scavenging old emails for free trials on Hulu, making Bon Appétit recipes without bougie ingredients, or how we did heaps of work in the confines of our sweatpants. They’ll be slowly absorbing the negative energy of 2020, and we’ll subconsciously want to separate ourselves from them. After all, they could become our new symbol of malaise, a fleece reminder of these dark times.&nbsp; So, am I going to stop wearing sweats on Zoom calls or during my office-less workdays? No, I’m not a masochist. Once it’s summer, I’ll adapt to sweatshorts and Patagonia baggies. But much later down the line, I’m going to broach our unquarantined future with nervousness—that when I put my sweatpants back on it will trigger me into a state of “bad vibes, bro.” And that’s enough for me to speculate that the sweats I’m wearing right now might be on their last legs.︎ <img width="970" height="250" width_o="970" height_o="250" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7cd3860ed7ac91bfc45c82ea5a22bbd4169f66d51ebe6b3fb0fdc06098669b59/COZY-IS-AS-COZY-DOES-DURING-QUARANTINE-1.png" data-mid="69276042" border="0" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/970/i/7cd3860ed7ac91bfc45c82ea5a22bbd4169f66d51ebe6b3fb0fdc06098669b59/COZY-IS-AS-COZY-DOES-DURING-QUARANTINE-1.png" /> https://teamepiphanytimes.com/Cozy-Quarantine-Pt2 Wed, 22 Apr 2020 19:16:09 +0000 Team Epiphany Times https://teamepiphanytimes.com/Cozy-Quarantine-Pt2 Rebuttal: Cozy Is as Cozy Does During Quarantine By Frankie Caracciolo Illustration by Dustin Canalin Rote lessons in populism would lead us to believe in such declarative axioms as “Blame the rich, not the workers.” It’s the suits, “the adults in the room,” who got us in another fine mess. Our current quagmire, this generational trauma without a horizon line (yet). It’s dizzying to countenance yet unavoidable to reckon with. It’s enough to turn what remains of my bleached-blond hair ghostly white, really. Still, I’ll tactfully broach the dormouse in the room: Have we gained anything? Yes. Yes, we have. And definitively so: the apotheosis of casualwear. Even before Compulsory Quarantine, streetwear had taken a hard turn toward favoring cozy fits. And cozy couture, our designer sweatsuits and tracksuits, are at an absolute peak right now, signaling that, much like washing our hands, this is not a trend but a practice. Our new lifestyle, as it is, favors the frictionless and the sorts of experiences that endear us to a swaddled and sanitized peace of mind. Clothes, intrinsically, are both barrier for the body and projection of the self. They construe how we relate to one another and to the city and, of course, how we conceive of ourselves. Within our own industry, it is truly the mantra my brand, myself. The body politic has an appearance and an aesthetic just as much as the body electric. This isn’t even merely symptomatic of my workplace and network. You’ve heard it before, Americans work more than ever, #1 in Being Busy and Stressed. It’s the crucible through which productivity is forged, inspiration distilled. As a Leo, it’s rhetorical but worth asking: When are we not at our best if when we like the way we’re dressed? Coziness reigns today and makes sense of our indefinite status as WFH because it has an antecedent in how we brought cozy to the workplace: a uniform for when we needed to get the job done and armor ourselves in fits historically made for sweating it out. Team Epiphany is far and beyond a leader in promoting the sweatsuit as office attire. If that seems like a contradiction in terms, then you haven’t seen the merch. <img width="1239" height="1239" width_o="1239" height_o="1239" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0125f88dc536a9f2fdd6f3f9e29cf09cd17556b8f1a4dd87e92ddf1518f77c7b/Cozy-Part-2-Image-1.png" data-mid="68782563" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0125f88dc536a9f2fdd6f3f9e29cf09cd17556b8f1a4dd87e92ddf1518f77c7b/Cozy-Part-2-Image-1.png" /> <img width="1239" height="1239" width_o="1239" height_o="1239" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fd4fbf7dbcc51d933180d41aeaacef0f8cbfeec4c7aff85dc740aa41da33be1a/Cozy-Part-2-Image-2.png" data-mid="68782564" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fd4fbf7dbcc51d933180d41aeaacef0f8cbfeec4c7aff85dc740aa41da33be1a/Cozy-Part-2-Image-2.png" /> <img width="1239" height="1239" width_o="1239" height_o="1239" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/cad3df3c8aee31f9b3405133480ed97bc8624d85541830c8dcc3441392ce1aa1/Cozy-Part-2-Image-3.png" data-mid="68782565" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/cad3df3c8aee31f9b3405133480ed97bc8624d85541830c8dcc3441392ce1aa1/Cozy-Part-2-Image-3.png" /> <img width="1239" height="1239" width_o="1239" height_o="1239" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1e123212dd7c3ec23042f6dc08f62b3512532bf8589f337340825628a6e5ed98/Cozy-Part-2-Image-4.png" data-mid="68782566" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1e123212dd7c3ec23042f6dc08f62b3512532bf8589f337340825628a6e5ed98/Cozy-Part-2-Image-4.png" /> <img width="1239" height="1239" width_o="1239" height_o="1239" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0fc4a318ec86f90551e081e1e314efcf5ee0ee26eb4668c73d5ae87787bafb1a/Cozy-Part-2-Image-6.png" data-mid="68782568" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0fc4a318ec86f90551e081e1e314efcf5ee0ee26eb4668c73d5ae87787bafb1a/Cozy-Part-2-Image-6.png" /> <img width="1239" height="1239" width_o="1239" height_o="1239" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/69a3873cf1212e7ab43f49a32dc1227e79d9a1f099be6b27720ecc9e46d7a8c0/Cozy-Part-2-Image-5.png" data-mid="68832994" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/69a3873cf1212e7ab43f49a32dc1227e79d9a1f099be6b27720ecc9e46d7a8c0/Cozy-Part-2-Image-5.png" /> Images Courtesy of:&nbsp; ALLCAPSTUDIOS, Cherry, and END. This posits me squarely as an erstwhile streetwear pariah with stuff to do, but, today, when it seems like so many forces beyond our control continue to shift the planet’s already crooked axis even further askew, undermining the hard work so many of us are doing; or, yesterday, when I got food delivered from the bar that taught me to drink Bloody Marys from a courier literally named Messiah; or every day, when the anxiety or cold sweats (choose your fighter, etc.) begins to hit, I take refuge in the thought that I and my loved ones have a much-beloved, however humble, ensemble of sweatsuits to turn to. They’re a gift, a godsend, and a good look. America has a curious relationship with uniforms. We’re both drawn to them and opposed to any supposed limits to individual choice. It’s meme-like, almost. I’m in a definite minority to suggest that there’re more colors than Benetton knew of within sweatsuit choices; still, I likewise believe that there’s space and reason to get dressed in other garms, of course. Corresponding workwear outfits, Canadian tuxedos, and the occasional suit still hold plenty of appeal. Warmer months will call for shorts and so on and so forth. But, really, when I think of all of the pants, shirts with collars, zippers and buttons more generally that I’m neglecting in favor of my sweats and trackies, be rest assured that I save my best fits for my Animal Crossing avatar.︎ <img width="971" height="597" width_o="971" height_o="597" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3fca5863c080c11272e91e3f26b0f0347f09790442fbc2c24d52d6adbb39f6c1/COZY-IS-AS-COZY-DOES-DURING-QUARANTINE-2.png" data-mid="69276166" border="0" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/971/i/3fca5863c080c11272e91e3f26b0f0347f09790442fbc2c24d52d6adbb39f6c1/COZY-IS-AS-COZY-DOES-DURING-QUARANTINE-2.png" /> https://teamepiphanytimes.com/Quarantine-Is-Lit Tue, 28 Apr 2020 03:20:54 +0000 Team Epiphany Times https://teamepiphanytimes.com/Quarantine-Is-Lit Quarantine Is Lit:Time Enough at Last By Courtney Preiss Illustration by Tiffany AlfonsecaThe last trip I made before the world shut down was to buy books from an independent bookstore I frequent. This was an outing fueled by both my panic and my delusion. Panic, as the grim portrait of Italy’s coronavirus-induced lockdown and the astronomical death toll was about to hit the United States. Delusion, because I was not about to save a bookstore by merely purchasing a hardback copy of Jenny Offill’s latest. I found out shortly upon returning to my home that my sister and my father—gearing up for quarantining in their respective abodes on the Upper East Side and in suburban New Jersey, respectively—had anticipated the shutdown with similar impulses and purchases. We shared a common pop-culture vision: An early episode of The Twilight Zone where Burgess Meredith plays a bookworm who survives a nuclear holocaust, but just as he’s settling in to tear through a stack of classics uninterrupted, he cracks his reading glasses. The looming prospect of tragedy on a global scale mixed with the thought of being sequestered at home surrounded by my books made that The Twilight Zone episode, “Time Enough at Last,” an analog that felt all too eerie and apt. Although the reality is that I am not able to consume all the books I desire in my seemingly infinite bedside queue (making the metaphor even more accurate—with unprecedented professional demands and periods of abject terror serving as my own personal broken spectacles of sorts), I maintain an optimistic and somewhat romantic hope for the book industry in the current climate. “I believe this moment marks a silver lining amidst grave strife: The reignition of the American love affair with literature.” Despite the impossibility of courting foot traffic, independent bookstores across the country have offered shipping, curbside pickup, and delivery options to their communities. Despite the uncertainty in sales, books remain an essential companion and distraction in this era of the Great Indoors where readers of all ages need a cure for what ails them—whether it be boredom, anxiety, or somewhere in between. I believe this moment marks a silver lining amidst grave strife: The reignition of the American love affair with literature. Here are some of the industry’s most heartening endeavors and bright spots so far: <img width="956" height="473" width_o="956" height_o="473" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c3cbed416c17806bd256d3e2c681dbc0f9411166555fa55205bd5e4eeb395a62/TIME-ENOUGH-AT-LAST.png" data-mid="69276261" border="0" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/956/i/c3cbed416c17806bd256d3e2c681dbc0f9411166555fa55205bd5e4eeb395a62/TIME-ENOUGH-AT-LAST.png" /> Penguin Random House’s Read to Sleep Campaign: Kicked off before the official start of the pandemic, but ramped up just as we were entering the high-anxiety throes of the unknown, PRH offers soothing reminders about the benefits of curling up with a book before bed, rather than turning to our overused devices. We are collectively experiencing a sharp increase in screen time exposure rate during isolation—whether it’s due to working remotely, being glued to news alerts on our phones, or the escape hatch of Netflix. #readtosleep promotes sleep hygiene, cognitive health, and stress reduction. The campaign encourages us to hold space for a pastime edged out by our busy lifestyles and it gives our eyes the rest they desperately need. (FWIW, I’m still waiting for my blue light blocker glasses to arrive.) Sewanee Review’s Corona Correspondences: Adam Ross, the literary magazine’s editor, launched the correspondence series within the first week of social distancing measures—courting some of the biggest names in contemporary publishing to write in and document the pandemic in real-time as it unfolds. The archive boasts writers like Lorrie Moore and figures like the National Book Foundation’s Lisa Lucas, granting readers intimate access to the most bookish among us. Great literary minds—they fret just like us! Sugar Calling: Having been bereft since Cheryl Strayed’s Dear Sugars advice podcast ended at the peak of my Saturn Return, this moment of revival with her new New York Times-sanctioned podcast Sugar Calling has been among the small joys I’ve experienced since being in Quarantine. On the new show, Strayed conducts (remote) conversations with legendary writers over the age of sixty—like Amy Tan and George Saunders—exploring how they’re spending their time in isolation, how their communities have been affected, and how they’ve alchemized adversity throughout the course of their lives and turned it into memorable literature. Bookshop dot org vs. Amazon: The latest iteration of the online literary retail David and Goliath narrative, cast just in time for a pandemic. Bookshop.org launched about a month before American business-as-usual grinded to a halt, introducing a model aimed at benefiting independent bookstores and literary affiliates across the country. Sales through the website go toward a local bookstore of the consumer’s choosing or toward an earnings pool that is evenly divided and sent to indies twice a year. This comes during a time when small booksellers need even more help than usual and Amazon is scaling operations to focus on shipping essential products, delaying shipments on book orders out a month or more in some (many) cases. Welcome to Adaptation Nation: Television is not the natural enemy to literature. Adaptations of popular literary titles are ushering in a new season, albeit, one destined to be spent indoors. Mainstays of the bestseller list in recent years are coming to life in new ways for bigger audiences, like Reese Witherspoon’s adaptation of Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere, which made its debut on Hulu just as we started hunkering down. The hotly anticipated debut of Normal People (also on Hulu) marks the first foray onto the small screen for the darling of the literati, Sally Rooney—thrilling her legions of prose-hungry fans across the globe. ︎ https://teamepiphanytimes.com/Quarantine-Cocktails Wed, 22 Apr 2020 20:17:02 +0000 Team Epiphany Times https://teamepiphanytimes.com/Quarantine-Cocktails Staying Social with Quarantine Cocktails By Heidi Chung Illustration by&nbsp;Danielle Vogl I spent six hours on three happy hour Zooms last Friday. I’m sure this would warrant a wince from anyone at this time, as we’re exhausted from the seemingly non-stop digital interactions, but this was more than just a consensual decision for myself. It really ended up filling a void I didn’t know I had! (Bar hopping from home, anyone?) If you’re feeling spirited, here’s why you too should give the online happy hour a shot, no pun intended, along with some of my favorite cocktail recipes to pair with inspired by some of the best pours served at Team Epiphany events. Disclaimer: If alcohol isn’t your thing, replace “cocktail” with “exotic beverage” and you’ll come away with the same message and effect. An enhanced beverage of any sort will energize your palette and make the most of ordinary ingredients while helping you connect with friends and fam. This way, we’ll hit the same feeling, this ethosI want to share with you all in these strange times. As an event producer, my life pre-Quarantine, without exaggeration, was more than 80% social. That meant everything from catching up with friends to creating experiences where invited guests congregated to enjoy a product, a show, or just a vibe. No matter how hard I try in NYC to live a wannabe hermit lifestyle, one way or another, I end up at a bar or an event happily sipping on a Scotch on the rocks and connecting with others. <img width="478" height="603" width_o="478" height_o="603" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d46c117bdb7c0bfc9d745af6ca9722ccf389154d1c5174489aa9e8a41b7af6e8/STAYING-SOCIAL-WITH-QUARANTINE-COCKTAILS-1.png" data-mid="69277428" border="0" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/478/i/d46c117bdb7c0bfc9d745af6ca9722ccf389154d1c5174489aa9e8a41b7af6e8/STAYING-SOCIAL-WITH-QUARANTINE-COCKTAILS-1.png" />At our Team Epiphany events, it’s ritualistic for guests to go straight to the bar. It has less to do with actual alcohol consumption, but rather, it’s a familiar place where guests can grab a cocktail while waiting for friends, or have a moment to catch up, or do a solid for someone in need of a drink. It’s habit, practice, and ritual all in one.&nbsp; And we don’t take that ritual lightly what with our light-up bars, cued Champagne towers, incredible floral arrangements, syrups, and garnishes galore. Handsome waiters prepped with brand knowledge shake or stir custom drinks fit for the occasion. With so many drinks poured and glasses raised and toasts made, my team and I have learned more than a few ways to elevate common drinks to the next level. The first tip is to pick your finest spirit. For us, Glenfiddich single malt Scotch whisky, 1800 Tequila, and Wray &amp; Nephew rum are some of our current favorites. Next tip: Make the most of fresh ingredients such as lemons, limes, grapefruit, mint, and fresh-squeezed juices. Cut your citrus into half moons or wedges and muddle them with sugar for extra ~flavor~. Finally, bubbles: For maximum customization, seek those fizzy friends that range anywhere from seltzer water, Ting soda, Coca-Cola, ginger beer, flavored tonic water, and even, dare I say... Champagne? Now, let’s fast forward to the present, where all of our communication happens through screens and smart devices. It will be more important than ever to keep connecting through our virtual “bars” at home. Making cocktails and sharing moments with friends will help bring a sense of normalcy. Having access to quality food and drink is a gift, too, of course. And we’ve got resources on how to get fresh and local produce at cost and are happy to share! Drop Team Epiphany a line or a DM sometime. Take a minute to grab a virtual drink with a friend to catch up, feel the benefits of taking yourself out of your own space, and put your basic ingredients to use. Below are examples of three cocktails that utilize fresh, simple ingredients and activities to pair with. To keeping spirits high. Cheers! BeverageSlay &amp; Chaseé&nbsp; You’ve been at the bar for two hours. It's been kind of dead, but all of a sudden, your crew and favorite DJ come through, and you’re starting to feel the night turn the corner toward something truly fascinating. She puts on your favorite song and you just go for it. Straight up. Dance like no one else is there. Activity Tune in to your favorite artist’s latest livestream with friends. Recipe&nbsp;[1 serving] Wray &amp; Nephew Rum (1.5 oz.) Lime Juice (0.75 oz.) Simple Syrup (0.75 oz.) Pineapple Juice (0.75 oz.) Angostura Bitters (2 dashes) Mint Sprig/Grated Nutmeg Combine Wray &amp; Nephew, lime juice, simple syrup, pineapple juice, and angostura bitters in a rocks glass with ice. Shake if you have a cocktail shaker or stir rapidly. Garnish with a mint sprig or grated nutmeg. <img width="970" height="250" width_o="970" height_o="250" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4e2ec71020a99236d53ad65137917c2b4b5fc940bc15f2924508e790c50676fe/STAYING-SOCIAL-WITH-QUARANTINE-COCKTAILS.png" data-mid="69282549" border="0" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/970/i/4e2ec71020a99236d53ad65137917c2b4b5fc940bc15f2924508e790c50676fe/STAYING-SOCIAL-WITH-QUARANTINE-COCKTAILS.png" /> Beverage It Was A Good Day Warm rays hitting your face and arms, a light wind blowing, feet pedaling. Riding your bike through the park. Bike basket heavy with cheese and charcuterie. A perfect summer day. Activity Virtual park picnic; blankets, snacks, friends strolling (Zooming) in and out over the course of the day. Recipe&nbsp;[2-3 servings] 1800 Tequila (2.5 oz) Fresh-Squeezed Lemon Juice (1 lemon) Fresh-Squeezed Lime Juice (2 limes) Sugar (2 tablespoons) Soda Water Handful of Mint Combine lemon juice, lime juice, and sugar in a carafe. Add mint and use a wooden spoon to smash down the leaves and dissolve the sugar. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 min. Pour limeade mixture into a glass full of ice, tequila, and soda water and top with mint leaves! <img width="482" height="606" width_o="482" height_o="606" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3ff5060fca8037f060103890acc0ba479e30e22bec4892542c6a3f0be9cd5bf7/STAYING-SOCIAL-WITH-QUARANTINE-COCKTAILS-2.png" data-mid="69277461" border="0" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/482/i/3ff5060fca8037f060103890acc0ba479e30e22bec4892542c6a3f0be9cd5bf7/STAYING-SOCIAL-WITH-QUARANTINE-COCKTAILS-2.png" /> Beverage You Rich, Rich It’s payday! Robe and slippers on in the spa, waterfalls-and-waves soundtracks replace city noise. Indulging on a day off. Activity Drink and draw; one person models or offers their apartment as the subject, take turns drawing or painting. Recipe&nbsp;[2 servings] Hendrick’s Gin (2 oz.) Superfine Sugar (1 tsp.) Fresh Lemon Juice (1/2 oz.) Brut Champagne (5 oz.) Shake gin, lemon juice, and sugar with cracked ice in a chilled cocktail shaker. Strain into a glass and top off with Champagne. Add a lemon twist to the glass, if you please!︎ Bonus:&nbsp;Team Epiphany Cocktail Menus From Past Events! <img width="881" height="1101" width_o="881" height_o="1101" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/33ef81af26be2d2f44d90479dba8d08c5f0e05cd3b3bdb831cb85c916080a557/CocktailMenu-CokeEnergy.png" data-mid="68860235" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/881/i/33ef81af26be2d2f44d90479dba8d08c5f0e05cd3b3bdb831cb85c916080a557/CocktailMenu-CokeEnergy.png" /> <img width="879" height="1099" width_o="879" height_o="1099" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9c12bd834fd3ab9e62ef3bd1c0e6ae179a3f6c2c2a583d7d8afa0e31ef730d69/CocktailMenu-Insecure.png" data-mid="68860238" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/879/i/9c12bd834fd3ab9e62ef3bd1c0e6ae179a3f6c2c2a583d7d8afa0e31ef730d69/CocktailMenu-Insecure.png" /> <img width="881" height="1101" width_o="881" height_o="1101" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/921e846d13777efdc41f1912c0b15061b723d855b9f4c92c3cb63fe37483f87a/CocktailMenu-Wray-Nephew.png" data-mid="68860239" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/881/i/921e846d13777efdc41f1912c0b15061b723d855b9f4c92c3cb63fe37483f87a/CocktailMenu-Wray-Nephew.png" /> <img width="881" height="1101" width_o="881" height_o="1101" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3729a602bb4cf74de1541db1e6968bd020c7242a04dac6a244576e5ac1fa6606/CocktailMenu-Billboard.png" data-mid="68860234" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/881/i/3729a602bb4cf74de1541db1e6968bd020c7242a04dac6a244576e5ac1fa6606/CocktailMenu-Billboard.png" /> Coke Energy Launch Event NYC 2020,&nbsp;Insecure Block Party LA 2017,&nbsp;Wray &amp; Nephew Pull Up! Series 2019,&nbsp;Billboard Hip-Hop Summit 2019 https://teamepiphanytimes.com/Looking-Back-to-Move-Forward Wed, 22 Apr 2020 19:34:05 +0000 Team Epiphany Times https://teamepiphanytimes.com/Looking-Back-to-Move-Forward Looking Back to Move Forward:Archiving &amp; Collecting from Elders By Janelle Wallace Illustration by&nbsp;Bernard Rollins My father has an old black and white picture of a man sitting in a wooden chair dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, and porkpie hat in front of a small, wooden house. If I had to guess, I’d say the photo was taken in the early 1920s. The picture was found among my grandfather’s belongings long after he passed. We believe the man in the photo is my great-grandfather, but we’ll never know for sure. We have no more living relatives who would know. My recent interest in who and what is remembered was sparked by friend and photographer Daniela Spector’s project I Forbid You to Forget Me—a cataloguing of her mother’s belongings after her passing. It’s an examination of the solace found in the uncovering of stories, relics, and rituals of someone so close. <img width="1239" height="1239" width_o="1239" height_o="1239" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/aa2feaf4a7df2183b7461ba85b6057f885eb8ddafe657ff0637a638a58c37c56/11-Archiving-TE-Times.png" data-mid="68858704" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/aa2feaf4a7df2183b7461ba85b6057f885eb8ddafe657ff0637a638a58c37c56/11-Archiving-TE-Times.png" /> Ma’s Tchotchkes; Daniela Spector — I Forbid You to Forget Me Keeping and maintaining these family relics and the context to go along with them, is imperative, especially for the Black community—a community with a long history of having their stories discounted and dismissed. By creating, selecting, and preserving our own records, it becomes possible to form a more complete and accurate history of our family members’ lives and experiences. Thus, capturing this history from our elders before it disappears with them. Faces in old photo albums will go unrecognized without context from forebearers. Thanksgiving Dinner recipes passed down from earlier generations will become a mere memory. All of these keepsakes come with a backstory that deserves to be remembered. <img width="1239" height="827" width_o="1239" height_o="827" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/402451fd71e3b91bd4690f7bed823cffaa8a96617ae75ac410ca5bd377c0ddd6/7-Archiving-TE-Times.png" data-mid="68858951" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/402451fd71e3b91bd4690f7bed823cffaa8a96617ae75ac410ca5bd377c0ddd6/7-Archiving-TE-Times.png" /> Rosa Parks’ Pancake Recipe We must have conversations with our elders and record their accounts and memories for future generations. In times like these, we must safeguard our family narratives. Battling a pandemic that finds the elderly the most vulnerable and with African-Americans dying at an alarmingly higher rate than others, we must consider the ramifications of these compounded losses in mass. What recourse exists when the person who held the family’s history is gone? Outlets such as Blvck Vrchives, featuring archival histories and modern-day stories from across the African diaspora, offers a glimpse into the rich stories of everyday Black life and underscores the importance of preserving our imagery. They even allow follower submissions of family photos and stories to archive and share on their platforms to better illustrate the importance of the everyday story. Archives even have the potential to inspire art as is the case with renowned photographer Micaiah Carter’s work—directly motivated by his father’s photography archive.&nbsp; <img width="911" height="1139" width_o="911" height_o="1139" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4c1354ba49b73fc2d7d5352cb2d53ecf8ad71b949721d61eb102b3eb13f1215c/4-Archiving-TE-Times.png" data-mid="68858948" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/911/i/4c1354ba49b73fc2d7d5352cb2d53ecf8ad71b949721d61eb102b3eb13f1215c/4-Archiving-TE-Times.png" /> Image Courtesy of:&nbsp;Blvck Vrchives One of my favorite platforms devoted to the retelling of unsung history is The New York Times’ Overlooked initiative, a history project recalling the lives of those who were left out of The Times’ obituary pages since 1851. Beginning in March of 2018, the Times has made a concerted effort to diversify those they honor in the obits since the vast majority chronicled the lives of white men. Prior to Overlooked, important stories were going untold with figures such as Ida B. Wells and Nella Larsen only having their stories told by the paper of record decades after their passing. <img width="970" height="441" width_o="970" height_o="441" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e92523a47e9ac723f33bc5499de0ced8da863731c02a988450fa47709f60abbe/ARCHIVING---COLLECTING-FROM-ELDERS.png" data-mid="69278318" border="0" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/970/i/e92523a47e9ac723f33bc5499de0ced8da863731c02a988450fa47709f60abbe/ARCHIVING---COLLECTING-FROM-ELDERS.png" /> The National Museum of African-American History and Culture also has a program devoted to archiving the everyday Black experience. The Community Curation Program’s goal is to bridge the generational divide in African-American communities by enabling participants to preserve and share their stories via audio, video, photography, and other mediums into a central repository. Selections from the CCP are then featured in the Museum’s Robert Frederick Smith Explore Your Family History Center which allows on-site visitors to discover diverse family stories while enabling off-site participants to visit the Center remotely. The program offers an opportunity to celebrate African-American history at the community level. In archivist Dominique Luster’s Tedx Talk, she asks, “If your history isn’t recorded and preserved, did you exist?” And while the answer is yes, it does make you consider how you ensure your history lives on. Modern photographers and portrait-painters add to the conversation around being remembered and capturing our history in the now, all for future preservation. Paper Monday describes itself as a producer of timeless portraits and in-depth visual stories, while painter Jas Knight creates intricate portraits resulting in future relics rooted in 16th- and 17th-Century realism. <img width="1239" height="1239" width_o="1239" height_o="1239" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/31e29f1cedf2d7169481f80f9131d08187a72502ab33f954a7e17e69ce6c6962/5-Archiving-TE-Times.png" data-mid="68858596" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/31e29f1cedf2d7169481f80f9131d08187a72502ab33f954a7e17e69ce6c6962/5-Archiving-TE-Times.png" /> Image Courtesy of: Paper Monday So, how would you like to be remembered? What measures are you currently taking to ensure that history is unshakable? I’d argue that the age of social media has lessened the burden of archiving on future generations. What is there to uncover and retell when every highlight of our existence lives across some combination of Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook? As much criticism as our online behaviors receive, perhaps the archive it holds of our lives is enough to offset the negative.︎ <img width="1239" height="1239" width_o="1239" height_o="1239" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5e1fad73401c0262ed0dd27072683f9eb8a8e6dc738e90740da4801056d2504c/1-Archiving-TE-Times.png" data-mid="68858555" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5e1fad73401c0262ed0dd27072683f9eb8a8e6dc738e90740da4801056d2504c/1-Archiving-TE-Times.png" /> <img width="1239" height="1239" width_o="1239" height_o="1239" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6b92b59af8480c0fa7e6bbead6b8a2333e54814be71106e68c970ee52f676a73/2-Archiving-TE-Times.png" data-mid="68858557" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6b92b59af8480c0fa7e6bbead6b8a2333e54814be71106e68c970ee52f676a73/2-Archiving-TE-Times.png" /> <img width="1239" height="1239" width_o="1239" height_o="1239" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/82c846adefd24a2a05d84c39c799b51e92e0a3ad67a9cde9706dfa8394699604/3-Archiving-TE-Times.png" data-mid="68858585" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/82c846adefd24a2a05d84c39c799b51e92e0a3ad67a9cde9706dfa8394699604/3-Archiving-TE-Times.png" /> <img width="1239" height="1239" width_o="1239" height_o="1239" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d368f98a5a6ed308afc878bc3156fef2d2f94a4cbaf997a518f223beeece0bfd/6-Archiving-TE-Times.png" data-mid="68858605" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d368f98a5a6ed308afc878bc3156fef2d2f94a4cbaf997a518f223beeece0bfd/6-Archiving-TE-Times.png" /> <img width="1239" height="1239" width_o="1239" height_o="1239" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1abf388d632a9207d81cb7600e3eb5a9db4e4c5649f49f6078e45f442cb935cd/9-Archiving-TE-Times.png" data-mid="68858652" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1abf388d632a9207d81cb7600e3eb5a9db4e4c5649f49f6078e45f442cb935cd/9-Archiving-TE-Times.png" /> <img width="1239" height="1239" width_o="1239" height_o="1239" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3a6b28a81362317a9c130d98f77b24e8dbe9454f366f74b5ec74561c78c838b6/10-Archiving-TE-Times.png" data-mid="68858702" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3a6b28a81362317a9c130d98f77b24e8dbe9454f366f74b5ec74561c78c838b6/10-Archiving-TE-Times.png" /> Images Courtesy of: &nbsp;Paper Monday,&nbsp; Blvck Vrchives &amp;&nbsp;blkmktvintage https://teamepiphanytimes.com/The-Redux-of-the-American-Mall Wed, 22 Apr 2020 19:14:16 +0000 Team Epiphany Times https://teamepiphanytimes.com/The-Redux-of-the-American-Mall The Redux of the American Mall By Frankie Caracciolo Illustration by&nbsp;Sidney Howard Consider that, until a certain age, every day is another opportunity to unwittingly fall in love with a marketing campaign. Consider also that, for metaphor’s sake, you could be a proactive consumer, keen to grow up already, selling your Beanie Baby collection to chase brands and a lifestyle to match. Consider, finally, that you could be a youth, consuming massive amounts of media, impressionable on all fronts, using 50 Cent and Pac Sun as the twin north stars to guide your search for an identity that would take you from miasmic pre-teen awkwardness straight to “Can I be in your MySpace Top 5?” cool. Or it could be that you’re caught in the Bermuda Triangle between the three like I was for summers on end, aspiring to be a suburban teen, humorously telling classmates wearing Baby Phat and Sean John sweatsuits that I like girls that wear Abercrombie &amp; Fitch. I loved the American Mall then, or at least the cultural version I’d been sold. But, a couple of things: I was from New York and had only ever been to the mall with my parents which, I assume we all know, is not cool. Since around roughly when the so-called Greatest Generation were kids, America pursued suburbia with such expediency that it isn’t even hyperbolic to say that shopping locally meant… at the mall. As many rhinestones as Juicy Couture could fit on a sweatsuit there were malls, grand complexes of commerce that defined the retail experiences for the nation for decades and gave aimless purpose to generations of teens—at least those for whom in loco parentis was a foreign concept best kept as a plot point in the Series of Unfortunate Events saga. Still, the imprint of mall culture is deep; a facsimile with a long enough tail to become the end event in retail expression and growth in even the densest urban environment. <img width="1200" height="800" width_o="1200" height_o="800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f9edad00f205ea05a266a2ecff00bf08dc51366828b65c413a0f37e3173bd962/Redux-of-American-Mall-Image-1.png" data-mid="68313236" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f9edad00f205ea05a266a2ecff00bf08dc51366828b65c413a0f37e3173bd962/Redux-of-American-Mall-Image-1.png" /> Images Courtesy of the Author And then around the time my interest in becoming the first member of G-Unit to wear a puka shell necklace peaked, my dad’s boss’, boss’, something quit his day job and started a company called Amazon. You know what happened next and now we have Instagram accounts dedicated to cataloging vacant and defunct shopping centers, their crumbling infrastructure a porous metaphor for what? Who we are? How we shop? That money isn’t real, only appetite and consumption? Raise of hands here, it’s fair to say that America never got over the mall, right? What changed was the landscape, sure, but more so the mentality: how we shop and how we prefer to be courted by brands. How we want to experience consumer capitalism now is if it looks good on Instagram. Today, when you visit the shopping mall Santa (if that’s your thing), you need a selfie with old Saint Nick or those Christmas gifts will never happen. A lot’s changed but the concept remains. The Mall of America opened in Minnesota in 1992. The grandiosity abounds, I hear: a mall in the style of an airport terminal that a carnival got lost in and never left. (Maybe Minnesotans needed something, um, wild to fill the void what with the North Stars leaving around then, but it’s unclear.) More locally, however, within the last couple of years, we've witnessed the unveiling of variations on the mold the Mall of America filled that I’m calling The Redux. <img width="1200" height="800" width_o="1200" height_o="800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f27fd12fd85d5cff73525763292b93330d5db94d6e8977483d6dacec1ed77179/Redux-of-American-Mall-Image-2.png" data-mid="68313237" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f27fd12fd85d5cff73525763292b93330d5db94d6e8977483d6dacec1ed77179/Redux-of-American-Mall-Image-2.png" /> Images Courtesy of the Author The Oculus. Hudson Yards. American Dream.* Each is something, well, special. Each came with much hullabaloo and haters and, it’s generally agreed from both sides, cost too much money. Each was a prized real-estate venture, complete with a checklist of guaranteed press coverage, namely, a bluechip architect with a funky vision, completely incongruous with the old guard and avant-garde; and each went about as well as massive infrastructural projects can go in the 21st Century: 🆗. Each opened behind schedule and New Jersey’s American Dream only made it through half of its four-part unveiling process before it closed for Quarantine. But such criticisms aren’t quite the point here. It’s like Disney taught us: it’s what’s on the inside (and outside, to be honest) that counts. The next stage in American malls is more ambitious, slicker, sleeker, experience-and-aspiration laden. They’re appointed with just the right amount of amenities and shops to appeal to tourists be they Iowan or Korean. White-collar, blue-collar, or tie-dye hoodie? They’re all invited, too. If you’re imagining me pitching you what sounds like a pastiche of an Apple store it’s because that’s exactly what the new mall is (+/- echoes of Milan’s Galleria Vittoria Emanuele II and Paris’ Galeries Lafayette Haussmann are inevitable, too). <img width="969" height="251" width_o="969" height_o="251" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/619ff8ce08a20d38c8b4107a9b28fcfd1c0d5bfd08c24daa61f0446d28748125/THE-REDUX-OF-THE-AMERICAN-MALL.png" data-mid="69278479" border="0" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/969/i/619ff8ce08a20d38c8b4107a9b28fcfd1c0d5bfd08c24daa61f0446d28748125/THE-REDUX-OF-THE-AMERICAN-MALL.png" /> The conglomeratization of contemporary life is a cultural convention that never ends. ComplexCon and Comic-Con are, really, only niche by proxy nowadays. Our current love of mixed-use retail, of entertainment and business and business as entertainment, is the expectation for today’s consumer and for tomorrow’s money. The mall remains where we’ll want to go when we want to be social, or more accurately, to be seen. It’s where we’ll want to shop because we want something tactile, enticed away from Amazon because of the in-store only deals and discounts. It’s where we’ll go because the food court is reputable and so close to the office or on the way home from work. It’ll have the best movie theater, bowling alley, amusement park, and bathroom lighting. If the best part of shopping online is clicking “purchase,” then the best part of the new mall is to walk the floors bag(s) in hand. For however much we want to socialize in person again, we’re daily becoming more cautious about where we go and who we’re in contact with. Once the American Dream opens, it’s unlikely a crowd of thousands will show up, faces pressed against the glass, waiting to get in. Likely, many will watch someone else’s feed on social media or read some stranger’s take on what it was like. For our part, the folks at Team Epiphany have long been discussing an outing since around when there was outrage against Lana Del Rey’s lack of nominations for Norman Fucking Rockwell! and people still cared about things like award shows. Still, it’s been built and so the people will come. Experiential and retail will need a revival and novel ways to court consumers out of their homes and into social spaces following this pandemic, and The Redux of the American Mall will be our proving ground. ︎ *Honorable mentions for Williamsburg and Soho, neighborhoods-as-malls that have become a template for global cities the world over to mimic. <img width="1200" height="800" width_o="1200" height_o="800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/99be787cb63ebfe59c37437ed8b5948dca1b9c77451c4837e88a2d67727d398b/Redux-of-American-Mall-Image-3.png" data-mid="68313238" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/99be787cb63ebfe59c37437ed8b5948dca1b9c77451c4837e88a2d67727d398b/Redux-of-American-Mall-Image-3.png" /> Images Courtesy of the Author