Meet our featured members for the month of December! We hope 2013 was a successful year for everyone, and that 2014 is even better! If you would like to be considered as a future featured member, please email us at featured@modelwirenetwork.com. If you are interested in working with any of our featured members, you can contact them through their ModelWire Network profiles.
MODEL OF THE MONTH: NICK SABATALO
Nick Sabatalo is a 21 year old American model born in St. Simons Island, Georgia. He attended Ohio State University studying Business Marketing.
Nick moved to Los Angeles last March to pursue his dream of modeling. A few weeks later, he was signed by his first LA agency and was walking in LA Fashion Week.
In May, Nick went international and modeled in Seoul, Korea for two months. Following that, he traveled to Italy and spent two months modeling in Milan.
Modeling has helped Nick discover a love of fashion and design, and he is currently working on his men's designer jean line,
Forever Young (inspired by his first tattoo "Forever Young"). He plans to continue to pursue modeling and, with the help of his new manager, White Cross Productions, he will begin working on his craft as an actor in Los Angeles.
Nick also has a modeling blog at
www.MyModelMentor.com that is meant to serve as a resource for young models and offers advice in the areas of modeling, fitness, nutrition, and fashion.
Who is your favorite model of all time?
My favorite model of all time is my good friend from high school, Taylor Kraemer. She's the reason I decided to model in the first place. I love her!
What inspires you?
I'm inspired by the desire to do what I love every day; I love being in front of the camera and I especially love getting back the final pics from a shoot. It's like being "immortalized" in that moment and those photos will be there forever. For me, it's the closest thing to immortality, but I'm still holding out hope that vampires are real!
What do you look for when selecting a photographer to work with?
Chemistry is everything between a photographer and a model. It's the only way to get a great shot! I could shoot with the best photographer in the world and if we aren't "vibing" and on the same page with each other's visions, then the best we can do is "good" and good just doesn't cut it in this industry. That's why I swear my best photos come from photographers who are my friends.
What is your favorite project that you have worked on?
My favorite project I've worked on was my shoot for Chronos Magazine in Korea. I love watches, and my favorite brand is Patek Philippe, but you could by a BMW for the price of their cheapest watch, so being able to wear one for the shoot was pretty cool. The team was also great and I actually became great friends with the editor of the magazine and the stylist. We still keep in touch. That's what I love about this industry - meeting new people and building relationships.
What is your personal style?
My style is pretty chill since I've moved to LA. Skinny-straight fit jeans and a v-neck with my brown leather bomber jacket is pretty typical, but I like to stand out with a pair of fashion-forward shoes. Right now my purple Cole Haans are getting a lot of compliments. Here's the think about fashion that I live by - less is more, but have one item that you want to shine!
What is your favorite band or song of all time?
My favorite song is Forever Young, and I like the version from Alphaville the best. Great quotes from the song: "Youth is like diamonds in the sun, and diamonds are forever," and "Let us die young or let us live forever."
PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE MONTH: JHONNATAN
Born in 1988, and after living in Mexico, Kentucky, and Texas,
Jhonnatan and his family finally settled in Chicago. During grade school, he found that his biggest passions in life were music and art. He began college at 16, and during that time, started to get a better understanding of himself and his own work. Jhonnatan does not like having anything between his emotions and his work. He's been painting under his own techniques in abstract expressionism and has been working on perfecting it. Going into his third year of college, he decided to fully pursue photography and design on his won. He has started his own creative consulting company and is founder and editor of his own publication. Jhonnatan would like to admit that he's one of the coolest editors out there, but does confess that he has such complex grammar, that it automatically disqualifies him as cool. He always has a sense of nostalgia in his work. He also feels an almost obsessive need to juxtapose and contrast. Black and white over color any day!
Why photography?
We're the real life time travelers. We have these awesome little time machines that allow us to stop time and capture it. Sometimes I feel like a superhero when I do a good job.
Who is your favorite photographer of all time?
It's almost impossible to select just one photographer. There have been so many that have influenced me on so many levels. I do remember 3 photographers in specific that have had a major impact. The first is Ansel Adams - my dad loves him. Another is Herb Ritts. Although I didn't know until years later who he was, it was his True Blue series of Madonna that I felt so enamored by. (My mom loves Madonna.) Last but not least, Annie Liebovitz. It was during college that I discovered her work. I was struck by it. The impact was such that I felt I really understood the level of intimacy she created between us, her work, and her subject. It's so personal and intimate but doesn't leave anyone exposed. I also obsess with movement in photography and Margie Gillis by Annie Leibovitz in "Torn Roots, Broken Branches" hits the spot.
What inspires you?
Anything and everything, sometimes even nothing. I'm pretty observant and my mind is always running at a million miles per hour, so I'm always getting inspired. I think in this case, what motivates me is my purpose as an artist, which is having something to say and inspiring others to do the same. As to what I have to say? Many things.
What do you look for when selecting a model to work with?
A good model is always pretty versatile and you can almost never guess who or how he/she really is, they're that good. The best models though, are pretty versatile but you can always tell who and how they really are. They're very transparent and they use their personality to connect with the photographer. I always try to achieve a level of intimacy between my work and the model. Usually, I try to determine who I can do that with by the expression in their eyes. That's why the first thing I look at is a model's eyes. Depending on the client and the project, poise and elegance will never be out of style.
What is your favorite project you have worked on?
Aside from leading FRAMED Magazine, recently I shot for The Weeks, who opened up for Kings of Leon at an almost private concert at the House of Blues this past October. Just think about it - awesome music, shooting photography, and hanging out with the band!
What is your personal style?
I have to wear black all the time, mostly black. I'm in love with the darker and edgier clothes, like Rick Owens and Ann Demeulemeester and Kris Van Assche. And no, not that I'm of the punk culture or because I'm gothic, it's more of a uniform type of thing. I would say my style is edgy/tailored/casual/minimalist? I'm usually wearing dark jeans and a black button-up shirt with a decent number of rings and bracelets. I used to wear ankle boots most of the time, but they can be hard to work in, so you'll sometimes see me in Vans or combat boots. I dress up from time to time, but since I can't find the right jacket for me, I'm designing my own!
What genre does your work focus on?
Although I see the need to be versatile, my work is definitely not commercial. I feel commercial work restricts me. I'm aiming more towards high fashion and live/concert photography at the moment. I also like to consider that my portraiture work is strictly artistic.
What is your favorite band or song of all time?
I don't think I have just one. I usually use music to get into character for a particular project. Being classically trained in music and having experience writing and arranging, I have been able to really focus more on generating playlists that speak to me. My all-time favorite genres are Southern rock, trip hop and French house.
What is your most embarrassing moment professionally?
Kind of ironic, being the one responsible for all the fashion direction and production, and I had a failed wardrobe. I was interning for a professional business network, during which I was responsible for the fashion production of a corporate event. After the show was done, we were at the step and repeat for photographs and I was wearing a smaller sized blazer that one of the photographers decided to come closer to 'style' us out and tried to button my blazer... It wouldn't close.
MAKEUP ARTIST OF THE MONTH: QRIYSTYL (MS. BROWN)
Qriystyl (Ms. Brown) is a professional Makeup and Hair Artist from Harlem, New York. She approaches each project with the meticulous eye of a true stylist, who's inspiration and creativity arose from watching her incredible parents.
She is available for Print, Runway, Commercials, Editorial, Weddings, Special Events, Makeup Parties, and more.
"When you leave my chair, you leave not only looking incredible, but you leave with a smile on your face, a memory of my infectious laugh, and the positivity from my spirit." - Qriystyl
HAIR STYLIST OF THE MONTH: SYLVIA J. STANKOWSKI
Sylvia J. Stankowski started her career in the Upper Mid-West. She graduated Costmetology School in May 2011, and though her career is fresh, she has had the passion, drive, and skill to take her places beyond where others have gone within the same amount of time in the industry. Her love of art has cast her on a journey beginning as a small girl, always with a pencil and a pad of paper at her side, to where she has landed today, freelancing as a Hair Designer in Las Vegas. She has traveled a road of fashion shows in Minneapolis, events and photoshoots all over Wisconsin and into Chicago, lookbook shoots, photo and filming projects in Vegas and more. Her two most notable achievements in Las Vegas, since her arrival in June, have been Hair Designer for all 12 ladies featured in the internationally distributed Coyote Ugly 2014 Calendar, and hair desginer for celebrity rap artist, Charli Baltimore. Sylvia's work has been featured in many fashion and beauty magazines, her newest accolade beign a featured hair expert for Seek.Me Magazine, developing hair tutorials for their readers.
With a true love for shape and form, Sylvia's focus is in the Beauty and Fashion Industry, where she meticulously creates her signature design styles for models and performers, as well as creating the perfect hairstyles for special events. She specializes in classic Hollywood glam styles, as well as stylized editorial and high fashion looks. Her utter joy in her work is apparent in the experience you have with her, not only because she is creating, but because of her love of meeting and working with new people.
WARDROBE STYLIST OF THE MONTH: ANDREA IGREJA
Andrea Igreja is a freelance fashion/wardrobe stylist in San Francisco. She has experience fitting and styling models for photo shoots, agency portfolios and producing fashion shows.
