Amanda Abrahamson

20 year-old university student and model Amanda Abrahamson was brought to my attention by Ryan Hurd, who sent me a compliment on the feature I did on his friend, actress Nicole Kruex. Ryan is the driving force behind the Minnesota-based clothing company "Bōbiam Artistic Streetwear." The company designs clothing that features the works of young artists. For every item Bōbiam sells, the artist gets $1 and the company donates $1 to a local charity called "Free Arts of Minnesota," a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing healing through artistic expression into the lives of abused, neglected and at-risk children and their families.

Since Ryan told me what a great job I did on Nicole's article, and flattery often works with me (and of course, because it's a great cause), I wanted to do something to help promote his company. I suggested I do a feature on one of the adult ladies that models the clothing on Bōbiam's website and in turn, give the company a nice plug. Knowing a great idea when he hears one, Ryan said he had one particular girl in mind who'd be interested in my offer, which brings me to Amanda.

After receiving a message from Amanda stating she'd love to be interviewed for a feature here, I checked out her Facebook page to learn a little more about her, in order to come up with some relevant questions to ask. (I don't have a list of "generic" questions that I use for interviews, like some do.) When I noticed under "employers" at Amanda's Facebook profile, she listed she was a "Princess at All About Fun," I was put off because writing about a spoiled rich girl who lives to party, was something I didn't care to do. However, I mistakenly jumped to conclusions there. After delving a little further into Amanda's profile page, I learned that wasn't a flippant comment at all. You see; Amanda portrays a Disney princess for a company she works for called "All About Fun," who cater children's birthday parties! So, after having a laugh over that, I came up with some questions that would give a little insight into the Bōbiam clothing model. I just wish I could have asked Amanda them in person so that I could have found out if she was as verbally enthusiastic as she was in her e-mails, where she ended almost all of her answers with an exclamation mark.

April Syrup

I recently caught up with April Syrup while she was visiting her hometown of San Francisco. However, as this posts, the graphic artist, fashion designer, and model is currently back in Tokyo, the city she's called home for the last few years. A Temple University of Japan alumna, April chose to remain in Japan for a few years after graduating in 2010, to begin her art and design career. She often holds her own events in and around Tokyo, where she (who better?) models many of her own creations, a sample of which is at left.

After catching the Facebook wall post of April's that revealed she was back in the States, I decided to shoot her a message to ask if she'd like to be featured here. She said she would just to see if her entry would get more hits than her twin (yes, twin) sister Aby's did when I featured her here last year. Just kidding about that last part. The girls are very supportive of each other and April was happy to answer a few questions for me, including why she chose the moniker "Syrup." Assuming that's not her real name is just as much of a no-brainer as figuring out what her real name is, since her sister goes by her real surname.

Whatever Happened to Morning?

Korean girl group Morning was a unique foursome of very beautiful ladies who, in 2003, scored a hit single with a dynamic ballad entitled "I'll Make You Happy," off of their one and only album; Return to the Innocence. Above is the official music video for the song. Exemplifying the group's uniqueness here is violinist Jang Min-kyung, whose solo adds an excellent embellishment to a part that would ordinarily feature a guitar or keyboard.

The other members of the group were Shim Seong-hee (Lead vocal), Kim Bu-yeon (Second vocal), and Baek Bo-ram (Rap, narration, and vocals). They couldn't be considered a band since only Min-kyung played an instrument besides sang, but they definitely weren't the typical K-pop female vocal group, either. Perhaps that's why they didn't seem to find their niche and disbanded after just the one album.

Kate Cloutier

A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Kate Cloutier studied drama at the University of Minnesota but didn't start acting full-time until last year, when she decided to leave her career as an emergency medical technician. Besides knowing how to save lives, she also sings, plays guitar, substitute teaches, is a trained firefighter, and as you can see at left, is very serious about her workouts.

Kate jokingly said giving very detailed answers was part of her obsessive-compulsive disorder, but for anyone wanting to know what it takes to get in the shape you see she's in, you'll definitely appreciate the detailed rundown she gives on her workout routine. Oh, I should add the photo at left is from 2009 and Kate's appearance has changed since. Her hair's longer now.