MANIFESTO

#61

ART NOW

DEVON LEE CARLSON

2021.10.07

Interview MADDALENA IODICE

“I’ve finally learned how to take a break and put my phone down. Whenever I feel myself getting anxious, I’ll delete the app off my phone for days and wait til I’m re-centered to redownload and scroll through.”

[MI]  Ciao Devon, it’s so great to connect with you on the occasion of MUSE September Issue! I know you guys had such a great time shooting with Lindsay and Amy and playing with looks around LA… But let’s get straight into this as I would love to know more about you! Entrepreneur, influencer, it girl, trendsetter… these are some of the definitions from articles and interviews… but how would you describe yourself and what you do?

 

Look Loewe, shoes Camper.

[DC] Whenever I’m asked what I do, I usually reply with “I make phone cases” and then giggle at the confusion on most peoples’ faces. I dabble in quite a few fields of work and constantly find new ways to get creative. I’m just having fun!! Taking any opportunity that works for me.

[MI]  Are you originally from LA? How has the city influenced your aesthetic vision?

 

[DC]  I’m originally from Newbury Park, which is in the suburbs outside of L.A. I love how you can get away with wearing funky things, verses in the suburbs and getting stares if you wore something out of the ordinary. I do believe I’ve grown out of the phase of caring what people think about what I wear though.

 

[MI]  Tell me more about your brand Wildflower Cases and how it came about. It started as sort of a family experience right? Which also involved Miley Cyrus…

 

[DC]  Wildflower Cases was born in 2012. I was 17 years old, my sister was 14 and all we wanted was a new cute phone case that no one had. We looked everywhere, but nothing stood out to us. Our mom (Michelle) has always been super creative so she took it upon her talented self to make us a phone case herself. She got some clear cases, put fabric inside, added studs and put them in our Easter baskets. We LOVED them. And so did everyone else! We would get stopped in public asking where we got them… it was crazy. One day our family went out shopping and stopped for dinner on the way home. My sister and I got up to use the restroom and as we were waiting for a stall, Miley Cyrus walked out. I, naturally being the biggest Miley fan for years, asked for a photo. My sister took our photo on her phone, which had our phone case on it. Miley freaked out at the case and immediately asked where we got it. After explaining to her that our mom had made it, she asked if she could meet her. We walked back to our table with Miley behind us. She tapped our mom on the shoulder, told her how much she loved the cases and told us to start a business. Our dad has a background in graphic design and product marketing for years, so he looked at Miley and said “We’ll have a website up in the morning.” We gave Miley all the cases we had off our phones. She went back to her table and tweeted a photo of them, thanking us. We had no company, no inventory and people wanted our cases! Our dad (Dave) stayed up all night making a website and by the morning we were replying to people with wildflowercases.com. It still amazes me 9 years later to think about that day and how everything fell into place. Don’t know what I’d be doing if it weren’t for that exact day, but very thankful for it!

 

 

 

Read the full interview on Muse September Issue 58.

Full look Prada.

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GARANCE MARILLIER

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I love fashion, it is a way for me to express my universe, my sensibility. I love the Fendi collection because it is both modern and iconic, in colors and cuts.

MUSE TALK

STACY MARTIN

2023.02.22

There’s also an element of daring to do something that scares me. And when I start to feel scared, It’s a sign I should do it. The adrenaline can be a very productive incentive.

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I donʼt want to be too repetitive. I donʼt want to play a type. When I read Azriel, I was not expecting that I would be dying to play a mute psychopath. I was so excited because it was so scary.

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Michael Kagan

2022.04.04

In conversation with New York-based artist Michael Kagan, who shares an eclectic artistic activity.

His dramatic paintings depict humans pushing the limits of nature through physical stamina and technology.

 

 

MUSE TALK

EMMA STERN

2022.03.31

In conversation with New York-based artist Emma Stern who skillfully combines oil painting with 3D software creating futuristic large-scale works.