Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York

nguyensamantha@gmail.com

Key Qualifications:

• Extensive writing experience in fields of Academics, Press and Media, Travel, Fashion, Socially Conscious features, and Lifestyle editorials.
• Media specialist, SEO, HTML, Social Media Networks, Community Development, and Online Marketing.
• Event and Production work– Photo Shoots, Look books, LA Fashion Week, Boutique/Gallery Openings, and Shiver Events.
• Represented  by Global Business Development Agency, Wardour and Oxford: http://www.wardourandoxford.com/

Educational History:

University of California, Irvine     Spring, 2005

Bachelor of Arts, English & Comparative Literature

Minor in Humanities & Art, GPA of 3.68

University of California, Irvine     Spring, 2007

Master’s in Comparative Literature, Emphasis in Literary Theory

Magna cum Laude, GPA of 3.89

Employment History:

Freelance – Writer and Editor          05.2005 – Present

• Edit, write, and produce content for  online outlets and print publications. [Please refer to site for list of published work].
• Copy for websites includes corporate company bios, CEO/designer bios, product descriptions, search engine optimization, blog posts, press releases, newsletters, etc.
• Expertise in developing fashion and beauty content, designer dossiers, runway pictorials, interviews with world political leaders and prominent figures, red-carpet coverage, travel guides, as well as editorial and lifestyle features.

P3R Public Relations – Media Specialist       11.01.2011 – Present

• Manage fashion and consumer goods clientele: Leigh and Luca, Sseko Designs, C.Z. Falconer, Watergeeks, The Bohemian Society, Max Rich, Karen Caldwell Design, Camelia Skikos, Nine in the Morning Denim, etc.
• Placed clients in numerous online and print publications including: Teen Vogue, People Style Watch, Shape, Zooey, Esquire, Maxim, Malibu Magazine, Redbook, Style.com, Howard Keating Radio, and many others.
• Celebrity placement including: Denise Richards, AnnaLynn McCord, Christina Applegate, Kristin Davis, Nicole Richie, Malin Akerman, etc.

Harvard University – Research Asst to William Mills Todd, III     09.2010 – Ongoing

• Assist professors and faculty in Department of Comparative Literature with development of Literary Theory workshops and daily curricula for undergraduate students.
• Unique emphasis on Literary Theory within Narrative, Cultural, and Semiotic dispositions.

Everywun.com – Vice President of Media & Entertainment      01.2009 – 06.2009

• Create and develop online content: encompasses all aspects from maintenance of blog, writing articles, to the creation of web pages and layout using HTML.
• Write and edit newsletter called, “Everywun’s Daily Good”, a socially conscious newsletter.
• Marketing and branding campaigns in social media networks.
• Online community management: problem-solving, mediation, utilization of analytics and metrics, as well as growth and retention.

Cool Hunt, Editorial Press Agency – Editor-in-Chief      07.2007 – 07.2009

• Oversee office and staff of 25 writers, editors, photographers, stylists, and interns – both domestic and international freelance staff members.
• Develop features for clients: fashion trend-spotting, luxury travel trends, bar, restaurant, hotel, store and venue reviews, brand stories, celebrity interviews, editorial lifestyle features, etc.
• Production work on photo shoots: concept development, location scouting, casting, permits, bookings, time management, and shoot budget.
• Business development: pitch stories to clients, develop marketing strategies, attain new clients, build partnerships, and syndicate content.

ABC News, Washington D.C. – Intern/ PA      01.2005 – 04.2005

• Inaugural Press for ABC News.
• Scouting, article development, Interviewing, script writing, and research

Freelance Work and Special Projects

Frame PR – Satellite-MagOnline.com – Senior Editor, Events Coordinator

• Fashion and political features on designers, eco-conscious topics, and runway reviews.
• Produce events on behalf of Frame & Satellite-Mag: store openings, trunk sales, cocktail parties, red-carpet events in Hollywood, showroom events, and LA Fashion Week

The Hollywood Weekly – Associate Editor & Contributing Writer

• Reoccurring column called, “Aesthetic Prose”.
• Online content: fashion, product, and venue reviews, interviews, and event coverage.

MTV News

• Freelance Fashion Writer, Event Coverage.
• http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1588460/20080601/story.jhtml

BCBG Max Azria – Freelance Writer

• Turning copy, as well as marketing and branding materials
• Fashion reviews, runway, catalogue, and online print.

Creative Circle – Freelance & Part-time Copywriter

• Specializing in content development and copywriting for Ad, Branding, and Fashion Agencies in both print and online mediums.

Examiner.com – Los Angeles, Fashion Contributor

• Develop articles, stories and news content on Fashion issues across Los Angeles.

SELF (China) – Fashion Editor

• Regularly provide content for “Celebrity Do’s & Don’ts”

Demand Studios Contributor: About.com, HowTo.com, etc.

• Contribute content for numerous websites on various topics ranging from “How To” articles to information on products, history, lifestyle, textiles, etc.

LA2DAY.com – Contributing Writer

• Published articles on various topics including: Fashion, Lifestyle, Culture, etc.

THE BOHEMIAN SOCIETY OPENS “THE BRUTIQUE”
DOWNTOWN ARTWALK OPENING EVENT ON THURSDAY, JULY 14TH, 2011

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – July 5, 2011. Victor Wilde and the Bohemian Society solidify themselves as a fixture in downtown LA’s ever-growing fashion and art scene with the opening of, The Brutique. The new showroom/gallery/ performance boutique will be located on the busy corner of 5th and Spring Street inside the massive new space of, The Last Bookstore. The Brutique features artwork, jewelry, films and clothing by Victor Wilde, better known as “the Bohemian Society.” Wilde plans on using The Brutique’s large windows and busy corner to execute monthly interactive window displays that Wilde describes as being “akin to the Fiorucci displays of 1980’s New York City”, where Wilde originally hails from.

The opening event will showcase the latest work of Victor Wilde and the Bohemian Society during Downtown LA’s Art Walk. To RSVP to the event, as well as media or press inquiries, please contact Samantha Nguyen.

THE BRUTIQUE OPENING EVENT
Date: Downtown Art Walk, Thursday July 14th, 2011
Time: 6 to 10PM
Location: Spring Arts Tower (inside The Last Bookstore)
453 S Spring St LA CA 90013
RSVP: nguyensamantha@gmail.com

Samantha Nguyen

nguyensamantha@gmail.com

949.533.3802

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[A letter to a friend, on why he should attend Coachella 2010]

There’s something to be said about going to a good show. Dammit, okay there’s nothing like it. And I’m not just talking about the joy you feel when someone puts their finger up your ass while you crowd surf, as you give the band on stage a vigorous, “fuck yah” with your fists up in the air. No, that is a whole different joy on its own. I’m talking about that moment in time when the flood lights come down and you take a look around you and you are so fucking stoked that you are young… and beautiful… and surrounded by young… and beautiful people… who are equally as fucked up as you are on the ultimate drug cocktail. That feeling of freedom and youth is unlike anything else in the world. It’s better than any delicious steak, better than getting an A on your midterm, almost better than sex.

The truth of the matter is; I’ve had a very rough year. Believe you me, I’ve had my heart ripped out of my rib cage and smashed around by the most amazing man in the entire world… who just happened to bounce on my ass and leave me for dead. I’ve had to face childhood traumas left upon me by a deadbeat dad and fears of abandonment that have been further reinforced by being left by another deadbeat man whom I thought I was going to marry. And that isn’t the end of it. I’ve faced sexual advancements from bosses, an economical downturn that has forced me to be unemployed, and an excess of disappointments because my “experience and qualifications” just isn’t what they are looking for. I’ve lost the love of my life, I’ve lost my box in the city, but I haven’t lost my cahonies. Because all you really need to get back up at the end of the day is – a good friend… and the soundtrack to the soul.

As grim as it may be, this year has also been the best fucking time of my fucking life. Because of this amazing man who left me for dead… he showed me that I’m alive. And that on my own, I can feel more alive than I have ever felt before (thanks, Babykins I love you, you bastard. And why the hell did you have to steal my dream and become “cool” now that we aren’t together anymore? Fuck, now I’m a single-dog-mom). And in finding my independence, I’ve been able to see the world through rose colored glasses – meeting incredible people from renowned world leaders like Pete Tong and Richard Branson, to the homeless guy on the block who takes my leftovers but never seems to recognize me. I’ve pushed myself to make my own dreams come true. No longer “our” dreams, but my own. And more importantly, I’m living my life on my terms. I don’t know where I’m going and I don’t know where I need to be. All I know is that I want to get there and I want to take the carpool lane.

In just about another month, Coachella is once again upon us. This three-day binge on sex, drugs, and dirty djs has always been the highlight of my entire year. But this one will be different. This Coachella is my baptism, a cleansing of all the negative passings by dancing it off into a bloody sweat under the sweltering dessert sun. I will once again surf the crowd with the anticipation of having my oil checked by a white dude dancing to techno with his shirt off. I will wearing my Sunday hipster best, watching people’s faces melt as the flood lights come down. I will be doing loads of cocaine and ecstacy and smoke my brains out silly, which will all be washed down with loads of beer. I will have multiple eargasms listening to the best indie rock bands and dirty bass-line djs drop the pressure. Coachella will be religious.

And it is with this, friend, that I invite you to come along for the ride. I want to look over my shoulder and watch you shuffle your feet and sway your hips in unison to the songs that fill the night’s sky. With you, friend, riding along shot-gun to my journey to Coachella, I won’t be alone in the carpool lane to finding myself.
Thanks, bro.

Most people want to be greeted each day with the sound of the ocean or a gentle breeze blowing through the woods. I, on the other hand, wake up to the sound of blaring sirens and garbage dump trucks. Sometimes I am woken by the clattering noise of glass beer bottles being thrown out by the bar downstairs or someone yelling obscenities like, “You Fat Old Hag”! There is something interestingly organic about living in a metropolitan city that can only be understood by its inhabitants. And for those living in downtown Los Angeles, it’s unlike any other place in the world. For better, or for worse.

I was talking to a friend of mine just the other day who was trying to convince me to move to San Francisco. Believe me when I say that I wouldn’t mind doing so at all. I would gladly pick up my things and park it somewhere among the hippies and techies of Northern Cali. Upon making his case for why I should make a move up there, his greatest claim to his substantial argument was that there was no culture in LA. My only response was, “Well, you have to find the culture”. He replied with, “Exactly”.

This statement of his sat uneasy with me. I suddenly felt defensive about my concrete jungle and I didn’t know why. Perhaps because ridiculous shows like ‘The Hills’ has given people the impression that Los Angeles is all Hollywood – but it’s not. Take a stroll around Venice Beach and tell me there is no culture – vagabond artists, home to skateboarding, and just an overall plethora of off-the-wall characters. A far cry from Spencer and Heidi.

I am not a Los Angeles native and I actually didn’t want to move here at all. But I somehow found my little plot and fell in love with a grimy, newly gentrified city. I sat around wondering why I felt this way and it suddenly became as clear as the bright sunny skies of La-La land.

Downtown Los Angeles used to be a wasteland. No one lived here aside from the seedy residents of skid row and raunchy, formidable streetwalkers. Gangs to the east, immigrants left and right. This was not a place anyone in their right mind would want to invest real estate into. Within the last decade or so, downtown LA has become a completely different place. Its skyline has changed with the development of incredible structures, as well as an extraordinary modernization of the original buildings. And I live in one of them. The building I live in is over a hundred years old and that may not seem like much to most of the world or this little country of ours. But for LA, that is ancient. Charlie Chaplin used to sit in the theatre that is 6 stories below me.

Its’ residents can almost seem to be a cliché: mid-twenty and early-thirty year-old, single artist types – writers and photographers and designers and actors. Most don’t work or work for themselves, hustling for the next paying gig. Everyone sleeps in till lunch because no one really has a regularly scheduled 9 to 5 job. They dream during the day and live at night. Perhaps these people are attracted to downtown because they are just like the city themselves – a little rough around the edges, but have the foundation for greatness.

I guess the entire point of this is that cities like New York, Paris, Rome, and even San Francisco GIVE it to you. These cities are established with its’ own distinctive culture and its populace is given everything the city has to offer. For the inhabitants of downtown Los Angeles, we live on a blank canvas. It is having its own coming of age story and we are in the midst of its most tender years. Instead of adapting to the city you move to, downtown LA conforms to you. This city is whatever you want it to be and whatever you make of it. It takes a certain soul to find your place in a city that gives you nothing but has everything to offer.

I’ve fallen in love with this canvas and have painted my own story, found MY bar, and etched my name on the sidewalk. I may not live here forever, or even for much longer… but I have had a real love affair with LA. And what makes this even better, she loves me back.

Photo Credits: an amazing Ex-Boyfriend, who showed me how to fall in love with a city – Miles Jason Casupanan.