My first book, What We Keep will be published on May 14 (available now for preorder). I can hardly wait for you all to see it. In the meantime, I'm so thrilled to share some behind the scenes content with you here. Excerpts, b-roll images, video clips from my interviews with contributors, will hopefully give you a sense of what went into writing, styling and photographing this book, as well as a little peek into its pages.
My professional path has always been informed closely by my personal passions, so I called upon my Taiwanese heritage to structure the book in five sections, each named after one of the Traditional Chinese elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Much like the elements, the sections of the book are distinct in style and sentiment, yet deepened by their kinship to one another. Here is a preview and behind the scenes look at Section 3: Earth.
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Photographing Hiroko Takeda
I've known Hiroko Takeda for more than ten years and I've always loved visiting her studio. Chock full of inspiration, her looms themselves are works of art. I loved the chance, after all these years, to capture her at work.
From Section 3: Earth
For a designer with a knack for collecting, Maya has a house that is refreshingly clear of clutter. Nicknamed the 6ft Up House, it manages to delight without overwhelming. No art hangs on the walls, she points out, because that feels so permanent, and her family likes to change and move and shuffle their favorite objects often. The cutting boards could one day be stacked tall and aslant as a centerpiece on the dining table, the next day leaned against a wall of the kitchen to dry. The quilt collection is stacked tall, a living barometer of how fast her kids are growing.
Each collection started with one item and eventually grew to “critical mass,” she says of her cutting boards and quilts and blankets. Each piece has a meaning, a story behind it, and a use. Creating a new tradition of heirlooms for her family may seem like a tall order, but the kids get it. “They understand that someday these things will be theirs.”
Those Author Portraits!
As I was crafting the sections of the book, I had a somewhat unorthodox idea: author portraits themed to each chapter. My editor, Shawna hated it immediately.
Still I persisted, hanging onto the fact that I was doing a terrible job explaining the concept. I really believed that artful, fashion forward images would anchor readers to my personal voice, as well as provide a visual starting point for the pages to follow.
I knew that to pull this off, and convince Shawna, I would have to call in the dream team. I asked a long time favorite, Winnie Au to shoot the portraits and a true fashion star, Diana Tsui to style me. Flora Kamimoto did my make up and Mayumi Maeda did my hair. Each element of the shoot: the set, the props, the makeup and the hair, all pulled aesthetic inspiration from the chapter that follows.
Shawna came around.
