Vol. I
Letter from the editor
Portrait : The Collective You
A few years ago I decided to host a dinner party in Los Angeles at a friend’s beautiful home in Nichols Canyon. That morning I had confirmed eight guests and was leisurely baking a key lime pie when the word got out. An actor friend (bless him) texted to let me know he was coming with four others. Three separate friends from New York were unexpectedly in town. The gracious homeowner had invited a few clients. Suddenly, the group was to be in the high twenties. I love a challenge. I’m also not Julia Child. If I was going to pull this off, I would have to make some sacrifices (the gnocchi would no longer be homemade), and accept anything short of losing the entrée (or the kitchen) in a ball of flames as a success.
As the guest list was an eclectic mix with few established connections, I made introductions as I stirred sauce, dressed salad, and bandaged a mandolin-assaulted index finger. My friend in PR was representing an emerging fashion designer who would be a great fit for a photographer friend’s upcoming shoot. Two DJs on the top of that year’s Forbes list were in the corner sabotaging my dinner playlist while discussing the enormity of space. A musician who had come to dinner directly from Joshua Tree was explaining the music video he wanted to shoot to a director he’d just met. I looked at this room of brilliant creatives who had accidentally been thrown together by an overambitious amateur cook and started grinning. It was turning into a beautiful night and we weren’t even running out of ice.
Being the child of artists can make you feel like an alien until you experience the heart bursting joy of finding your people, one by one, as you build your own creative life. As an adult I have failed miserably at buying furniture or putting down roots. What I have continued to develop instead is an international family, a tribe of culturists, who I am ceaselessly inspired by.
Artists help us make sense of the world. They challenge us to see life through fresher eyes, to reconnect with a sense of wonder, and to feel united, despite our differences, in our shared human experience. Throughout history the gathering of tribes has created culture, and culture has both informed how we are remembered and manifested our future.
I started TREC as a forum for creators and curators to share their perspectives as they navigate our magnificent world with the purpose of galvanizing our readers to walk their paths with fresher eyes and a more open perspective. Travel has always fueled my curiosity while reminding me that with some local knowledge from a few friends, “home” can be everywhere.
Welcome to The Remarkable Explorers Club. I hope you find inspiration here.
