- chichai
Glowin' Good Vibes at GROWTH 2019
We strive to inspire others to stick their heads at cloud-level & turn dreams into reality.
GROWTH felt like a testament to our mission.
In collaboration with SJMade, we created a platform for local vendors, musicians and artists to share their work with the community. This was our biggest event yet!-- it was the most demanding, energy-consuming... but, oh-so-sweetly, the most awarding.
Hosted at Forager, vendor tables lined up in the center while pop-up booths drew-in attention by posting at the front windows. The rear of this tasting room & eatery served as an art hangout; it included a gallery wall, a full display set-up by OpenDaily and a massive art installation by Bryant Sina. Whilst the vendors and artists had designated areas, an array of performers shared the stage alongside the DJs Ansel & Warren aka TwoTons.
It was a full & fulfilling day.
What made the roster of vendors a special one was that we've been friends with a lot of them and, others, we clicked with instantly. For example, did you know I met Vee of littlehoneyvee 8 years ago at one of my first times vending? Yup! We been looking out for each other since! Another thing that made the vendor roster special was that it was the first vending experience for some of these entrepreneurs. Extra shout-out to you guys!
Check out our line-up of vendors here:
VST Customs
Urbano Closet
The artist line-up was larger than what we've had in the past as well, making the gallery more exciting! The art pieces varied from typography to illustration, photography to graphic design.
The artists included: @b.bb.mrgo @blacksheepmade@chichai.empire @dontcareray @hozei@jesse_lol2 @lolaxkenneth@jazzyphizzzle @kellymasumiya@kuyageorge @opendaily_@peppermintpatt_ @roijethrosworld@sup.rox @xstephyyx @talidem@travelingcalligrapher
A few closeups of the artwork:
Next to the gallery wall was a set-up by Open Daily that reflected their brand which includes "projects designed with the intention of providing the same satisfaction of indulging in your favorite snacks."
Shout-out to their baby Chibi
And next to Open Daily -- and seen from every corner of Forager! -- was the massive installation by Bryant Sina of Haus of Godspeed titled "Be Happy."
Photos by Forager
When planning GROWTH, Sam@Empire and I knew instantly who'd be able to take advantage of this two-story high wall with a hella dope art installation. When we hit Bryant up, he was down right away and went to work 🏁 What we extra appreciated about this installation was how interactive it was; Bryant welcomed all the guests to take photos with it and even had extra cut-outs to use as props.
Now for the performers...
First-up, shout-out to our homies Ansel and Warren aka Two Tons for DJ'ing and holding it down with good vibes all day.
A lil' reflection from Kat@Empire who organized the performances:
I feel like the performers all had their own unique style. They really hyped up the audience with their presence and some people were even singing along which was super fun
The performers definitely brought up the energy for Growth and lured guests in. The performers included:
@shaneladolfomusic@lyshiameganmusic
@mrnonamerod - who was at our first Growth back in 2016 and our first open mic in 2014!
who even brought up Aljhecia@Empire on stage to freestyle as she sang
As I said in the beginning... It was a full and fulfilling day.
On the Empire in the Air side of things...
We got a new pop-up shop set-up! Brand new-new!
As written on Instagram, the set-up is a work in progress because... Well this was our week leading up to Growth:
Tuesday @chichai.empire & @chrissnguyencome back from their honeymoon. Nap. Then meet with @smankeyy to plan
Wednesday-Thursday Prep material Friday-Saturday Chris @smankeyy and our friend @nickw888 BUILD! ... but Chris and ChiChai have to take an Empire in the Air break to go to ChiChai's 10yr high school reunion (weird!)
It was a crazy week! And although we couldn't finish the pop-up frame in time, we're pretty damn proud of it! #respecttheprocess Here's a series of the Empire Team the regular ol' Empire Team.
Empire in the Air is all about helping others build their empires -- that's why we throw events like these! But this is only possible when community comes together. And it did!
Thank you to all of the participating artists who made Growth what it was, @sjmade for collaborating with us and @sjforager for hosting us, @nickw888 for building our brand new pop-up, the volunteers @jsphcdms @banaganaga@giancanonizado @ajvietvu @roijethrosworld and...
YOU!
Everyone who came out to support all of the above artists! Because of you, each and every one of the artists is a step closer to reaching their head in the clouds. Thank you ✨
Who's down for more events like this from us in the future?
If you miss us already... check the events page to see where we'll be vending next. We miss y'all too.