Culture and Community
Hi everyone, happy Wednesday!
I won’t lie; it’s been rough week. As an Asian-American woman, watching the Atlanta shooting and the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes play out across social media has been pretty taxing. If you’re so inclined, here are a variety of organizations that you can donate to to help support the AAPI community.
This week I wanted to highlight some Asian-owned brands that bring me joy. Don’t get me wrong — the road to racial justice does not lie with buying things — but I love these brands and think they’re super dope, so I just wanna give ‘em a shoutout. Sending love 💖
Food for Thought
PORCELAIN DUMPLING - STEPHANIE SHIH
If I went downstairs right now and rifled through our kitchen, I’d find a lot of the products that artist and ceramicist Stephanie Shih recreates: Lao Gan Ma chili crisp, Chinkiang vinegar, White Rabbit candy, Yakult shots. Through the lens of the Asian American pantry, Shih’s work explores how a shared nostalgia over food can bring together a scattered diaspora. She’s especially known for her porcelain dumpling sculptures, of which she’s delicately folded and pleated over 1,500 since 2018. She recently raffled off a special OOAK golden kintsugi one (all proceeds went to the ACQ Flour bank), but I’d be happy to settle for a plain dumpling, which still looks so plump and savory that I expect it to start emanating steam at any moment.
Sweeten the Pot
With trendy cannabis labels springing up left and right, it’s no mean feat that Sundae School has managed to cut through the noise. Founder Dae Kim combined his interest in fashion, mathematics, and THC to create a smokewear brand for “honor rollers.” Their apparel is sick, no doubt about it, but it was their recent offerings of the, uh, edible persuasion that really piqued my interest. The brand just unveiled their new tapioca gummies, which have the sticky, gelatinous texture of mochi and come in three mouthwatering flavors: Sour Yuzu, Lychee Dragonfruit, and Milk Tea Boba. Unfortunately these are only available in California for now, but hopefully a future expansion is in the works.
Spec Check
I started wearing glasses in second grade. I’m 22 now, so save for a brief flirtation with contacts (I got too squeamish about touching my eyeballs), it’s been about, oh, 15 straight years of specs that sit awkwardly on my face, slip down my nose, and bump up against my cheeks. I remember hitting puberty and wanting to upgrade from dorky wire frames to “cool” “hipster” plastic frames, but every option I picked out was simply not built for my poor flat protrusionless nose. Things are better now — Warby Parker came out with some “low bridge fit” frames that fit decently well — but when I stumbled across Covry, whose entire line is designed for faces like mine, I just had to give their home try-on a go. The difference was palpable: of the five pairs I received, every one sat squarely, didn’t slide around, and required minimal fussing and adjustment. If I had a time machine, I would bring back a box of Covry glasses for my 12-year-old self and spare her years of thinking something was wrong with her face.
Tried one of my recs and loved it (or hated it)? Wanna get something cool on my radar? Drop me a line at kittylguo@gmail.com or swing by my Twitter @kitguo!