PRAY FOR JAPAN ART FUNDRAISER: JAPANLA, SWEET STREETS, BUBBLEPUNCH. CUTE JAPANESE STORE, SANRIO LOS ANGELES.
Thanks for your sweet comments about our newly red hair!
Ready for photos from the Pray for Japan art fundraiser? (Sebastiano and I were one of the sponsors – the turnout was fantastic, and we loved meeting you.) Here I am with Caro of Sweet Streets, who put her heart into organizing the event.
The benefit took place at the JapanLA store on Melrose. The shop is filled with cute Japanese goods, such as plush toys, t-shirts and Hello Kitty cookware.
The delightful artist Onch Movement donated works to the show. Reader Rochelle brought a copy of my book, Cute Yummy Time, for me to sign!
Stefania of Miyu Decay outfitted me with one of her decadent headpieces.
She makes beautiful feather fascinators, necklaces, cufflinks and more jewelry.
The artists who donated works included Camilla d’Errico and Tokidoki. We were impressed by the sweet, bubbly art.
Doe Deere of Lime Crime makeup wears Betsey Johnson. (There are more photos of us at M Cafe, and at Sweetiepie in New York.)
Naughty Seba pulls on La Carmina’s spring dress. Thank you to Gloomth for the Rococo-inspired Marie dress! The limited edition piece is available on Gloomth’s website, along with other spooky-beautiful designs.
White jacket: h.NAOTO, from Closet Child
Silver skull ring and headband: gifted from Soho Hearts (close-up photo coming up soon)
Crucifix shoes: h.NAOTO, from Closet Child
Sebastiano’s black and white top: Super Lovers, from Closet Child (borrowed from me)
So many colorful characters came to support Japan.
Organizers Bubblepunch announce the raffle.
I gave Melissa this corset, which was gifted by Limebarb. Seba signs it for Japan (and looks like he’s having a good time in the process!)
Let’s keep our energy on helping Japan! Seba and I have donated all the funds we collected in LA to Doctors Without Borders. We have more charity announcements soon, including a t-shirt collaboration with a Japanese fashion brand.
How are you feeling about the situation in Japan? Has your life/work/plans been affected by the earthquake, as ours were?
Japanese Word of the Day: Jizen = Charity
Song of the Day: Christina Aguilera – Burlesque (Seba and I watched this in our hotel room, and I fell asleep… twice)
SHARE & COMMENT
LA CARMINA
45 Comments
loving the new blog :D kawaii <3 And i also love your new hair =^__^=
loving the new blog :D kawaii <3 And i also love your new hair =^__^=
Kiss!
I really wanted to go. Sounds like everyone had way too much fun without me! :*(
I really wanted to go. Sounds like everyone had way too much fun without me! :*(
Yay! Great post. So many pretty people were there. It was awesome to meet you! =)
[tlr]
There was a great atmosphere at the event, and lots of art got sold — happy~
Oh! It looks awesome! I’m so glad it was useful!
Yess and you will be in LA Weekly on Monday! I’ll send you the link :)
Great post! From the start I am watching the news and I follow a Japanese *Katz-san* using Ustream. He keeps the watchers up-to-date by the daily updates. He translated everything from Japanese to English.
He’s doing a great job!! It’s hard to keep up with everything >_<
Great post; I would’ve loved to go. I hoping that the study abroad program at my college isn’t affected right now.
I heard that several study abroad programs were, at various schools… :(
ya! it was so much fun. thanks for rockin’ my fascinator and it was great to see you! xoxo
I felt like an evil queen in it! :)
I’m gonna finish my MA in January, and I wanted to try and apply for a Ph.D with a scolarship in Japan (there’s no way I could go without them giving me money XD). At this rate, I’m afraid they won’t have much money to spend in scolarships… which would make sense, I would prefer money to be used to really help someone in need. At the same time, maybe a lot of people will be too scared to go to Japan and there will be more place… who knows! I guess I’ll just wait, and in the meantime I’ll just keep donating and praying for the people there.
It’s so hard to predict how things will unfold in the next months, which is causing a lot of stress for me and friends.. .but definitely, we want Japan to be part of our lives.
i have stopped following the news…because everytime i did i would cry and then feel like throwing up and end up sleeping badly and early-because i was in the mood for nothing…so i guess it’s obvious how i’m feeling… as for my plans and life… i ended up wanting to study my japanese as crazy,more than ever..because i kept thinking that now i am not capable of doing nothing from where i am for the people in Japan…but if i study hard,maybe it will be the first step to be of some help in the future… i would say all this kind of had a huge impact on the inside… unfortunately the case of Libya is affecting me even more at this moment… both situations made me face the most devastating feelings and fears…this definitely has an impact on me. i already have become a lot different…
Japan is all i’ve ever dreamt of my country to be..my country will never be like that though…we are far more different from japan than black is from white. The Japanese make me feel proud. Such people…admirable,hard-working,decent…capable of working miracles!…Japan is like the home I never thought I’d find. I feel like I most likely belong to the world rather than a particular place,but maybe Japan is a place that can embrace the whole world,or at least,my world…
Big hug… I understand how you’re feeling. I think a lot of us have been changed by it… I hope everyone keeps the momentum going and takes action – it’s the best we can do!
Big hug to you too La Carmina…and bravo for all this you are doing. Any contribution is important. I hope everything goes well and that you and Seba will be back in a safe place from now on..
<3 <3 Thank you so much.
Where is Qpop?
This shop is JapanLA on Melrose. Tomorrow, I’ll post pics from Q Pop, which is located at 128 Astronaut E S Onizuka St, Los Angeles.
I like the feather accessory they put in you hair ;D
Yes, I’ve been very affected by the events in Japan. It’s so upsetting in so many ways. Not only was 1/3 of a country nearly wiped off the planet, it’s hard to be so “helpless” on the other side of it. And then after staying up for hours and hours watching Katz/Yokoso (who deserves a medal of honor!!) I find that I HAVE to stop watching because it’s literally ruining my life. I can’t sleep, I’m cranky and on the verge of tears all day long, I don’t do my job as well, I mope around the house and neglect important things… but since there is so little (comparatively) that I can do it feels like I had BETTER KEEP watching, learning, staying on top of it all. And when I do pry myself away and try to readjust, I then feel like the lowest of human beings because SO MANY people CAN’T just look away, can’t just turn off ustream, can’t just “get on with life” – they lost everything! One man lost his entire family, house, job place, and is starving and cold! How can I be so careless to think, “this news is bugging me out, I gotta get on with my life!”… So I try to tell myself, if I stick to following the rescue stories and people doing charity work, and remember the amazing resilience of the Japanese people, it makes it easier to also think, “so many people lost so much, so I owe it to them to work hard to keep what I have and to keep the ‘big machine’ going for them!” … What a mess :-
Thank you for taking action! And for letting people (like myself) know that we’re not alone in feeling like our lives are entirely changed by this even if we don’t live in Japan. I remember one thing you said about 5 or 6 days after the quake/tsunami hit, right around the time that people were starting to “forget/not care” anymore (you know what I mean… CNN stops reporting non-stop, friends aren’t posting “my prayers are with the people in Japan..” anymore..) you said, “how can we think of anything else?!!!!” It was a great comfort to know that I’m not the only who couldn’t possibly even think about anything else! As much as that obsessive thinking almost ruined a lot of things for me, I was able to pull up my bootstraps and get back to work, just like the amazing Japanese people and rescue workers who are so dedicated to helping and overcoming!
Another bit of solace was seeing my favorite musician, T.M.Revolution (@TMR15 on twitter) aggressively working to spread helpful info like shelter locations and train routes and much more, staying up through the night and spreading encouragement and truly caring about everyone affected. So much so was he moved by this that he started organizing a charity event and auction of massive scale, dedicating every moment to getting it together for as little cost and to raise as much money for charity as possible. It’s heartwarming to see so many people from all across the board doing so much to help!
It’s heartening to read about your experiences, as they are quite similar to mine. I’m glad you’re finding way to take action, and pull up your bootstraps as you put it. :)
Thanks for sharing — we’re in it together :)
You look amazing as always and the other girls looked great but the guy in black was straight from Final Fantasy, fantastic fund raiser.
Thank you so much!! <3 I will post photos from another LA J-pop fundraiser tomorrow – really appreciate your comment :)
Me and Chris are obviously very upset.. We love japan and are planning to move there so it does truly feel like we had to watch our own home being destroyed. On the other hand, we believe that the wonderful Japanese people will pull through this and work together to rebuild japan, no where else on earth would you find such kindness, respect, tolerance and fighting spirit! We are still hoping to make our trip, after speaking with friends they have stated that a visit from us would be very welcome, unless situations change we are hoping to still go! I hope all of your friends are well and it’s great to see all the fundraising you’re doing! X
Hug… <3
As a long time lover of Japanese culture and art it is devastating. As a human being and inhabitant of earth it is devastating. As a person that has yet to visit in person it is devastating. This catastrophe is one of global concern and will affect more than Japan. I think the only thing that gives hope, other than the very important donations and promoting of awareness has to be the people of Japan themselves. I have every confidence that they will rebuild and come back once the situation is stabilized and the survivors are taken care of.
I also feel personally affected as well. A former flat-mate of two-years that is like a little brother to me just recently left our flat after graduating from university here in the states. He is from Okinawa, and just recently returned home after doing some traveling abroad after graduation before coming home. Even though I know people were trying to go to Okinawa during the wake, we still have not been able to contact him and see if he is ok. So we just keep trying to send emails and hope for a response.
I am also 100% certain Japan will rebuild. The people have proven themselves to be so strong, over and over, in devastating times.
My thoughts are with you… I hope you hear from your friend soon. V__V
Awww hope everything in japan is ok =).
seems like we got the same hair color now. :)
Next tuesday Miyavi will give a concert in Amsterdam. I was so looking forward to it. I think the ambiance would be quite different if the quake never happened. But that is something I would never know untill tuesday…
We’ve been in touch with Miyavi’s sister, and it’s such a tumultuous time for everyone… : It’s great that Miyavi has been doing so much for the victims, and continuing to tour.
I lived in the Miyagi Prefecture for a year so for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been glued to the computer, waiting to hear from friends and blogging about my feelings and ways people can help. It’s been difficult going about life because most of the people around me don’t really get how close I am to the earthquake and tsunami victims, and I find it hard to really connect with people besides fellow JETs and friends in Japan. It’s weird seeing my friends from JET show up on the news. Canon Purdy, Jessica Besecker, Taylor Anderson… I know all of them; and with Taylor, it was such a shock. All my friends had checked in saying they were fine (or they had at least passed the message to family members). Taylor was the last person I was waiting to hear from, and then her family got word that they had found her body. Even though I wasn’t as close to her as some of the other JETs, it was heartbreaking to hear the news.
This whole experience brought me back in touch with a lot of my friends from Japan. Lately I’ve been so wrapped up in my life in America and my trouble, which are but trifles compared to what people in Miyagi have to go through. Seeing the photos my friends took and hearing about how they had to deal with the bitter Miyagi winter with no gas, electricity, or running water makes me appreciate the comfy life I have now. I really appreciate the different things you and Sebastiano are doing to help remind people that they’re still suffering out there. It’s going to be a long and hard road to recovery, and Japan needs all the support it can get.
I just read about Taylor, and my heart goes out to her family… And to you — I can only imagine how personally devastating the crisis must be. It’s true, “setbacks” are put into perspective after everything that happened in Miyagi. Big hug and keep me posted on everything…
Thank you for your kind words and thoughts. I really admire Taylor’s family for their desire to help out Japan (they’ve worked with her high school to set up a fund to help rebuild the city she lived in: http://www.st.catherines.org/tayloranderson). There are still many people missing, and I can only pray that at least a few people can get some good news.
I hope so too… I check the news constantly :(
I hope so too… I check the news constantly :(
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What’s more important now is how you guys work together to fix things up. I’m so proud of you. Good luck!
I’m so glad that the turnout was great. I hope this will continue until everything is alright. Thanks for sharing!
Wow! Congratulations guys! I’m so glad that the turnout was great. That was really an awesome move and a great help for Japan. Just keep up the good job! cell phone accessories