A couple of months back, and I was asked by A Day magazine in Bangkok if they could come around to my place to shoot for a story. Usually I get just as much information as that, and it’s up to me to interrogate, investigate, and ask some proper questions. I suppose this is an important lesson in censorship and selective-ism that I’ve had to learn, which I will now attempt to pass on to you. This is hopefully a positive impression that I can leave with you, because I don’t want anyone reading this and having suicidal thoughts, that’s just not the point.

As you probably recognise thanks to the internet, the minute someone has a pretty easy-to-recognise brand, others will pounce on it to make a buck where they can. That’s life, and that’s why our feeds are being spammed with day-to-day bull-crap whether it be an Instagrammer trying to push some kind of beauty product that they’ve only used once, or brands who are trying to make their monthly target. I’m sure you’ve read about the Aussie chick who had an online meltdown over it, but to be honest I didn’t spare an extra moment to read about it or give any fudge-brownies about it. I steer clear of “monetising” my Instagram, just because I think y’all are too smart for that nonsense any who, and I spent over 10 years modelling for useless things to have formed my own opinion about it all. If I like something, I’ll publish it. I don’t push things I don’t think are right for Ponytail Journal.

But that’s my job as an editor, full stop.

So when I’m asked to do magazine or tv interviews, podcasts, youtube things-majigs, you name it, I am excited and apprehensive at the same time. Why? Because real life ‘me’ and brand ‘me’ are very similar, yet very different people. The real me gets exhausted after too much socialising, needing to recluse in my little hermit land to recharge. Brand ‘me’ is the person who I want and aspire to be, the person who pushes real me forward, and the person who can be relatable on a wider scale. Brand ‘me’ is the person who doesn’t get super cranky after 20 hours straight shooting on 2 hours’ sleep.

So when A Day magazine made an appointment to come shoot in my very own home, real ‘me’ had a little melt down. You might see my breakfasts every morning, or see glimpses of my kitchen counter on snapchat, but this was the first time a chunk of my home was to be published to the public. It’s my pleasure to show people vintage that I’ve picked up on my travels or tell you the stories behind each piece, but a scary thought to know that about 30k+ people will be able to see what my bedroom looks like.

Perhaps a magazine crew don’t think about me having a panic attack when they go through my things, or snap away, directing me to act like I would naturally, but at the same time wear a sheep skin B-7 jacket in my living room when it’s 30 Celsius outside. The A Day team of rad ladies were super quiet, respectful, and easy going, but rest assure that you will never find me wearing that vintage kimono jacket (that hangs on my wall as decoration), nor would you find me sitting on my bed with my 7ft lovebird (my favourite surfboard) pretending to be on the beach. Either I am too easy going, or a part of me realised that this team of professionals understood the local market much better than I did, so I went along with just a moderate level of resistance, like sitting on my bed with a board was alright, but there was no way I was putting the spring suit on lying next to me. Compromises must always be made to keep everyone happy, and the best form of ‘you’ can be portrayed.

So if you had already worked that out, you’re doing pretty well in life.

So, I present you brand ‘me’, running a muck in my Bangkok apartment. Featuring some of my favourite vintage pieces like my French La Fuma pack, or the set of copper saucepans, or the varsity jacket that I like to call Rick. A digestible flavour of ‘me’ for Thailand, pretty fun still!

Spread from A Day magazine’s current issue.