Sheila Janet On Her Capsule Collaboration With Oceanus And How She Rolls A Spliff Every Once In A While

Image Courtesy Of Sheila Janet

"I am located in Amsterdam and born and raised in Tilburg, that's in the south of the Netherlands.  The best thing is that I moved out of Tilburg. Growing up there I always felt out of place. The people there were very closed minded.

I always wanted to create a women´'s brand. In my teens, I sew my own Destiny´s Child outfits for house parties I went to. In winters, I kept myself busy sketching a full spring/summer collection for myself.  Fashion is an underrated art form. I am not interested in the commercial side of fashion. I see fashion as a form to express myself.

I went to technical fashion school. After that, I did Interior design. Because these studies were too specific, I went to art school for lifestyle and design. Art school was a good place for me to develop myself as a person and creative.

I started Lait de Coco studio earlier this year. I'm the creative director. Creating content, building the collection and the branding. I wanted to create a summer brand with holiday essentials. I'm currently designing a capsule collection for a collaboration with Oceanus Swimwear.  Swimwear is my passion and always something I wanted to do. This spring, Butterscotsh Isle x Oceanus Swim is launching, and I'm very exited.

About inspiration: My best friends who are also super creative and have the most brilliant minds I know. The strong women that raised me. In my work I always porttray woman as supernatural. A woman's inner strength is life to me.

Because I'm an 80's baby, I am obsessed with the 80-90s. It's nostalgia at it's best. My home is decorated in lavish 80's style. My clothes are all authenic vintage finds from that time, and I love watching old movies to get new idea's for work, or myself.

Concerning beauty routines, I swear by coco butter. After an extremly hot shower, I apply it. It smells delicious and makes my skin glow all day. I love to smell like something you want to take a bite out of.

My spare time I spend with my guilty pleasure; "Real Housewives of Atlanta", "Basketball Wives" and "Love and Hip Hop".  I also love to go to fleamarkets and thriftstores. That's where I find my best pieces.

To unwind, I roll a spliff, and go for a walk in Amsterdam with Lana del Rey in my ears. I'm her biggest fan."

As told told to MBF
14 September, 2019

Vintage Vibes

Photo Courtesy Of Sheila Janet

By Lait de Coco.

Isabel Martínez

Photo Courtesy Of Isabel Martínez

WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW AND HAVE YOU ALWAYS LIVED THERE?
Right now I’m in Bangkok, but I’m based in Barcelona. I’ve lived in the South of Spain, Barcelona and Brooklyn.

WHERE WERE YOU BORN AND RAISED?
I was born in Barcelona and raised in a little village close to Andalucía.

WHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT YOUR PRESENT CITY OR HOMETOWN?
Hometown: Barcelona. The creative community, weather, great food, beach, friends and family.

WHAT WERE YOUR ASPIRATIONS GROWING UP?
I wanted to tell stories. I was good with words and bad with numbers. I’ve always felt more attracted to abstract thinking and intuition than rational thinking.

WHY ART? 
Should there be a reason? I think it was not something I chose, it just happened.

WHERE DID YOU RECEIVE YOUR TRAINING?
I studied advertising and psycho creativity. Then I started working in an agency as a copywriter where I learnt the value of the conceptual thinking.

WHAT'S YOUR PROCESS FROM CONCEPT TO CREATION?
I’m very focused on what I want to communicate but I try to maintain a silenct dialogue between myself and the viewer. Not to explain the whole story, instead giving the audience enough space to complete the meaning of what they are looking at.

WHAT'S YOUR PREFERRED MEDIUM?
It depends on the project. For me photography is a very intimate medium, The team is small and everything happens in a natural way. On the other hand, there are projects that require involving professionals from different fields  (3D designers, programmers, illustrators...) Then, the results are more unexpected and I learn a lot during the process. This is the case of installations, motion graphic videos, designing products and VR environments.

WHO OR WHAT HAS HAD THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOU?
Jerry Siegel and Joel Schuster.

HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR PERSONAL AESTHETIC?
Mystery and colour are very present in my work. There are some creators that always move me. From David Lynch to Guy Bourdin and James Turrell, to name just a few.

WHAT MOMENT ARE YOU HAVING?
I feel I’m always in the same moment in a different way, “In Transition”.

WHAT DO YOU GET UP TO WHEN YOU'RE NOT WORKING?
Swimming alone and chilling with friends.

HOW DO YOU UNWIND?
Being far from the Internet. 

Back To School Cool

Photo Courtesy Of Isabelita Virtual

How to max and relax according to Isabel Martínez.

Danny Wu

Photo Courtesy Of Danny Wu

WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW AND HAVE YOU ALWAYS LIVED THERE?
I'm currently in Vancouver BC, and I have periodically always lived here.

WHERE WERE YOU BORN AND RAISED?
I was born in Chengdu China, and raised in both Victoria, and Vancouver Canada.

WHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT YOUR PRESENT CITY OR HOMETOWN?
Vancouver is a beautiful city that is very diverse, it would make immigrants of any culture feel at home. It's also a city surrounded by the waters, and mountains. Sometimes you live here for so long that you take these things for granted.

WHAT WERE YOUR ASPIRATIONS GROWING UP?
My goal was to always be a professional basketball player.

WHAT'S YOUR EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND?
I recently graduated from the University of British Columbia with an arts degree.

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA AND INFLUENCER?
I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a social media influencer. But, I love spreading my creativity or research through videos.

HOW DID "SQUARE ONE" COME ABOUT?
"Square One" came to me in pieces. I would love to say it's an idea I had since day one. In reality, it's a series of events that has led it to where it is today.

WHY IS YOUR FOCUS ON THE 1993 ALLEGATIONS AS OPPOSED TO THE MOST RECENT OR THE TRIAL OF 2005?
My focus has been on the 1993 case because it's the case that have the most mystery that surrounds it. Unlike the other allegations, the 1993 case never saw the day in court. I realized when there have been any debates regarding Michael Jackson, the debate always leads back to why Michael Jackson would pay 20 million dollars if he was innocent. Originally, my documentary was going to focus on both the 93, and 2005 case equally. Later I made the decision to focus solely on the 1993 case, as I feel that is the foundation.

HOW DID YOU FIND SOURCES?
There are no one way of finding sources. Some I find myself, and others I have leads on. Finding sources isn't hard but it's the process afterwards that is interesting. First, the vetting of their information for accuracy and authenticity. I have over time formed a solid team that has helped me tremendously with that process, especially with my assistant Shania. From there, after their credibility is established, then, and only then, do you start making a decision about whether their stories should be inputted.

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN MAKING MORE DOCUMENTARIES?
I'm certainly interested in making more documentaries, I have a great team set in place and I don't see how this can't continue.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU GET UP TO?
I like to go for walks, sometimes play basketball, or just having long conversations with friends.

HOW DO YOU UNWIND?
I haven't gotten up to much this summer other than getting this documentary in place. And I can't wait for the world to see #SquareOneMJ. The documentary will be premiered at the Hollywood TCL Chinese Theatre Sept 28. Then worldwide, on YouTube, Oct 5.