Alice Hage

the eyes are the window to your soul


Alice Hage has a pair of the most beautiful I've seen

One glance and she had me hooked

Yu-na Kim (김연아 or 金姸兒)

“Kim Yuna is a champion for all time” - Philip Hersh, Los Angeles Times

She is the girl who has captured the hearts of the world and reenergized her home country. “Queen” Yu-na Kim (김연아 or 金姸兒) broke world records and skated two flawless programs to win Olympic gold at the 2010 games. She is the first female skater to win all the ISU international championships (ISU World Championships, ISU Grand Prix Final, and ISU Four Continents Championships).

“When you’re with [Kim] in Korea, it’s like you’re traveling with Princess Diana; Yu-na’s that famous there.” – Kim’s coach Brian Orser

Already extraordinarily popular in South Korea, with endorsement deals from companies such as Nike, Hyundai Motor Company and Kookmin Bank cashing in at $8 million in 2009, Kim is the sweetheart of the nation. Now, with the Olympic win, financial analysts and large corporations are attributing their projected economic revival on her.

"South Korea’s strong performance in the Olympics may cause people to view the economy’s performance in a more favorable light. Korea, the country, has the ability to outperform the world economy.” - Timothy Condon, ING Bank, Singapore, Chief Asia economist

Not just South Korea’s sweetheart, she has spurred the imagination and optimism of the world—all through the power of beauty. She is a rare combination of raw talent and ethereal grace. Elegant gestures, fluid transitions, there was no sign of struggle with her program. Kim singularly embodied the emotions and movements of the choreography. It is this perfection that memorizes then charms.

“She’s the whole package. Her jumps are soaring and they’re equal. You don’t have one big one followed by a little tiny jump. I think she’s grown choreographically. She’s very musical. The whole thing is very beautiful and athletic, but not too athletic. I don’t feel like I’m missing anything when I watch her.” – Dorothy Hamill, 1976 Olympic figure skating gold medalist

“One of the greatest women’s figure skaters of any era.” - Jeré Longman, New York Times

“Technically, she’s the greatest of all time. If she skates a little longer and does this over the next three or four years, she will be the greatest skater of all time.” - Ted Barton, someone who helped to devise the new points-based scoring system

"This is the best routine I've ever seen in an Olympic competition." - Sandra Bezic, NBC

“Stella Kim touched and gave happiness to all Koreans by … overcoming various difficulties and doing her best…. [I hope] lots of young people will gain confidence and hope through Kim’s achievement.” - Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk

"[Kim’s] passion and strong spirit brought great excitement and pleasure to the people." - South Korea President Lee Myung-Bak

“I think the whole nation is in front of the television. Kim Yu-na is the country’s special sister. Every athlete is important, but her medal is more important than the others. She is beautiful. She’s our pride. I think Koreans will have a lot of drinks.”- John Moon, Chief of Staff of the South Korean Olympic Committee

Hard working, modest, talented in figure skating and singing, I look forward to seeing how Yu-na Kim's story evolves.

"My dream doesn't end with the Olympics. I have a bigger future ahead of me. I'm not done yet."

Official Site

Yu-na Kim, a Singer and Figure Skater


Yu-na Kim's Free Skate Program for the Olympic Season
(not her actual Olympic performance)

Sources: popseoul.com, Korean Beacon, Korea Insider, Gabriel Bouys/Agence France-Presse

Nathalie Croix

"I continue to discover this amazing world we live in and I vow to never stop being curious and fascinated."

There are those rare occasions when you meet someone so captivating, no amount of divine prose can rightfully capture the moment. I was in awe when I first met Nathalie Croix. She was gorgeous, no doubt -- it was one of those statements of fact, taken for granted -- but there was more: her joie de vivre, her spirit, her energy -- it was mesmerizing just to watch. Nathalie had an ethereal quality. She did not behave in the way the people I am used to behaved; she was unfettered, free. And she was nice, unbelievably sweet. A free spirit in the purest form.

"I consider myself a citizen of the world."

Nathalie was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to a Brazilian mother and French father. Her stepfather is from Argentina and stepmother from Portugal. She moved a lot as a child, living in Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, France and the US. She is fluent in four languages: French, Portuguese, Spanish and English.

"No matter where I was living in the world, every year I spent 2 to 3 months in Rio and often visited France. Obviously all the globe trotting at such a young age was due to my family's work. It wasn't an option for me. This was the only reality I knew and it wasn't something I ever thought to be glamorous or chic because for me it meant leaving my friends behind with every new move and for a child or a teenager this is hard. But I learned a lot and I grew up fast. I counted how many schools I attended and it was something like eight or nine.

I had to learn survival skills for each time I started a new school and met new kids. I had to learn that there are many different cultures and ways of life at a very young age. I learned diversity but also that no matter from what part of the Globe you are ultimately we are all the same. The schools I attended had children literally from all parts of the world and they spoke all languages. People from Africa, Asia, Europe, South, Central, North America, Russia, New Zealand, Australia you name it. Growing up in this manner is what shaped the core of who I am today. When I look at things I see the whole and beyond."

At eleven years old, Nathalie discovered her passion. Her family had moved to Mexico, and she had just shifted her focus from modeling to ballet.

"It was while in Mexico that I got introduced to yoga, I will never forget. My best girl friend was also from Brazil and her mother was a devotee of Gurumayi from Siddha Yoga. She took me to an Ashram and I fell in love with India. I began studying meditation and doing seva (voluntary work) at the Ashram. This is also when I started thinking about becoming a vegetarian. I was eleven years old. I begged my aunt to take me with her to the Ashram and my mom let me go. I can't explain why I was so mesmerized by this entire philosophy. But from there and on yoga was always a big part of my life."

But yoga was not the only thing that Nathalie concentrated on. Not only was she was an accomplished dancer, but when she moved back to Brazil at age fourteen, she was immediately re-signed to her old modeling agency, Bamboo (later bought by Elite models). It upset her agent that she also continued to surf, as too much sun was bad for photos. As a Gia Carangi-lookalike, Nathalie lived a wild and glamorous life from 15-22. As a model in Rio, New York and Paris, she partied with celebrities such as Prince. After graduating from high school at 17, she moved to Paris to enroll in dance school.

"My agency (Elite) helped me get some gigs in Paris and it was a very wild time in my life. I was very young 17/18 years old living in Paris in my very own apartment and attending dance school. I had family in Paris so I wasn't entirely alone. I lived with my boyfriend who was also a fashion model, we shared an apartment in the fifth arrondissement, right by Saint Michel, Quartier Latin. What an amazing time. Together, we discovered rave parties, many long weekend trips to London and Amsterdam. I stayed with [my boyfriend] for many years, later on he suicide and this was very tough on me."

At 18, she became disenchanted from modeling and decided to focus on her dance career. She became a dancer for Euro Disney, performing as Pluto, Snow White and the Little Mermaid. Later she joined Michael Jackson on his Dangerous tour.

"All I really wanted to do was help people through yoga."

After a few years, she decided on another life change. Nathalie won a scholarship in Performing Arts to the University of New Orleans. She was 22. She double majored in Kinesiology and Print Journalism. But yoga draw her in, once again.

"During my first year in the US I began practicing ashtanga yoga, it was amazing for me. It allowed me to be very physical, I was accustomed to as a dancer and it also integrated my love for Indian philosophy and culture. Soon I left for India with my ashtanga teacher and spent some time there learning yoga.

In four and a half years I graduated from College, danced for my school's company, rarely went out, did very little partying unlike most kids in College. I had to be very disciplined because I had to maintain my grades and my scholarship. I participated in the American College Dance Festival four years and I practiced ashtanga six days a week. During this time the yoga really helped me stay centered. My last couple of years in College I was teaching yoga on campus and helping my ashtanga teacher with her yoga classes. I was apprenticing yoga from her.

I was teaching yoga to the dancers in my company and often we used the primary series of ashtanga as our dance company warm up before concerts. During College vacations I flew to California to attend several yoga teacher trainings and get certified to teach."

After a short stint as a reporter in New Orleans, she relocated to Los Angeles to "learn from the best of the best."

"I wanted to be in the most cutting edge environment for yoga and that was/is California.

I took yoga classes almost every day while in Los Angeles from some of the best teachers in the world. I also completed a very intensive teacher training program for six months. I found a yoga mentor who helped me so much. This woman still helps me and guides me to this day her name is Annie Carpenter. It was perfect, because like me she had also been a serious dancer."

Nathalie joined a large yoga studio in LA, Yoga Works. It was where she honed her skills as a business woman, learning the behind-the-scenes operations of running a yoga studio. Also during this time, she traveled to India regularly to study with yoga masters. She is currently faculty at Santa Monica College, teaching yoga and dance.

Despite loving Los Angeles, where she describes it as having "a high state of consciousness," Nathalie was wooed away to New Orleans.

"I never forgot New Orleans. Katrina hit New Orleans while I was in L.A.. A few months later I was invited to come teach yoga for 2 months in New Orleans and help Katrina victims recover. I came down and lived in the French Quarter for a couple of months and taught yoga in public schools for children. It was truly amazing...."

Recently, my first yoga teacher invited me to help jump start a new yoga school in New Orleans and help train some local teachers. It was a tough decision for me to move away from Los Angeles, but I realized after much thought that the value would be greater at this moment in my life if I took the job in New Orleans. I am now the program director for Life Yoga Studio and the export adviser for the Yoga Works Teacher Training in New Orleans. I also teach classes at Tulane University."

Although still quite young, Nathalie Croix has lived a very full and adventurous life. She is worldly, but unjaded. She is blessed, but she shares her gifts with others. Her generosity has lent itself to volunteering at a children's orphanage in Mysore, South India; and for animal shelters and organizations like PETA, the Humane Society and SPCA. Her current project is helping some friends develop an English language school to girls in Pakistan.

I find it wholly touching that when Nathalie describes herself -- despite her breadth of experiences, and her many successes -- that she still maintains sincere desire in self- and world-discovery.

"I have learned that life is full of mysteries and that sometimes we don't get answers to our questions. There are times which is best to leave some things unanswered. Life moves forward. It always has and it always will. I try to be as content as possible in the present moment. There are sad moments and happy one and they are all equally valuable."

She is still searching for insight, knowledge, shared experiences--not to achieve some sort of ends, not to give credence to her beliefs, but to learn for the sake of learning and understanding.

"I am an avid reader. I have an all girls book club and this is a passion for me - it is incredible to learn so many different view points on life through these amazing girls in my book club."

Nathalie's story is constantly evolving. She takes those large risks we want to take for ourselves, but hold back because we are afraid.

I know now, in retrospect, I was drawn to Nathalie when I first met her, not because of her instant glamor or even her vivaciousness--it was because I felt a sort of kindred spirit. By example, she teaches that there are no rules, just follow your heart when opportunities come, be true to yourself, and when you achieve inner success, outer success will follow. I applaud her curious and courageous spirit, and am honored to be her friend.

Winners of Girl Crush of the Day Fashion Week Contest

I am truly inspired by all the girl crush entries, from fashionistas to actresses to activists to just plain cool girls -- it was great to hear everyone's suggestions. Thank you for entering Girl Crush of the Day's Fashion Week Contest. Thank you so much for opening my eyes!


The winners are:
Naomi P., USA (Leighton Meester)
Charlene D., Japan (Kiko Mizuhara, Editor of Vivi Magazine)
Adrian J., USA (Whitney Port, Agyness Deyn)
Phyllis J., USA (Christine Caine, creator of A21 Campaign)
Ilknur N., Turkey (Milla Jojovich)
Nixon P., USA (Nixon Powell, blogger of www.nixonpowell.com)
Kathleen D., Philippines (Diane Kruger)

Grand Prize:
Mary Peters, USA (Erin Peters)

Congratulations winners!



Mary's entry touched my heart. I am also very close to my sisters. It is obvious her sister, Erin, is an inspiration to her. Erin gives the people around her the joy of beauty and optimism, despite her condition. What made this entry even sweeter is that Mary wanted me to send her sister the prize, because she knew it would make her day, as Erin misses attending fashion week.

Both Mary and Erin Peters are my girl crushes for the day.


THE WINNING ENTRY:

My name is Mary Peters and I would like to vote for my sister, Erin Peters for the girl crush contest. She is 35 and lives in the Pocono's (PA) located about 90 minutes from NYC. We grew up in the NYC area and she attended college and worked in the fashion industry up until 6 years ago.

Not only is she the most phenomenally fashion savvy and chic woman, she does so as she fights a rare and terminal brain disease. When she goes in for treatments, has major brain surgery or when she has a horrible day she ALWAYS looks great! She makes a pair of pajamas look amazing! She pairs basics with a splash of color and goes by the mantra "if you look bad, you will feel bad". She loves high-end designer clothing and has rows of neatly folded jeans, racks of beautiful basics and TONS of shoes -- much of which she can no longer wear due to her illness and despite the many she has given away. However, every chance she gets she will put on one piece and dress it down. I am no fashionista by any means. All I can give you is an example. Two days ago I went to visit her and she opened the door in an Alexander McQueen dress with a long sleeve T underneath and a pair of Uggs. She was upset that this designer had died since she worked with him during New York Fashion Week prior to becoming to ill, as part of her career. Last week I brought her to her treatment and she had on the most adorable halter style floral dress with a long t underneath. She paired it with a super soft cashmere cardigan and knee high brown boots (ones that are worn just right) and tights. She took three different seasons of clothing and re-purposed them into one ultra chic outfit! She is stopped EVERY time we go out by at least one person who compliments her on her choice of outfit. She is amazing inside and out! She designs jewelry for with all proceeds to benefit the Foundation for her disease, even though she can barely walk some days. She gives her all to everyone except herself. I think part of her still getting dressed and looking chic is to show her family that she is OK. Fashion is her comfort zone and she is fantastic at spotting trends, new designers and sales like nobody else!

She has dedicated her life to fashion and beauty. We grew up in a very poor area and she would hook me up with the latest trends by making something old into something that was unique and fashion forward. She always has her hand on the pulse of fashion and everything associated with it. She would take thrift store and hand me down finds and created a phenomenal look for me growing up.

She is my style icon, my girl crush and my hero!

Anyone who ever meets her loves her and she just loves everyone! I hate to see her suffer but she does so with so much grace and courage. She is an inspiration!

- Mary Peters

Fiona Bollag

"Das Mädchen, das aus der Stille kam"

"The Girl who came from a world of silence"

Fiona Bollag is one of those girls, vibrant and pretty, with a wide smile and bubbly personality. Even if she wasn't a bestselling author, she would be famous. She has about a million friends, all over the world - friends who champion for her success. Her charisma captivates, her youthful optimism brightens your day. It is hard to imagine that she spent the first sixteen years of her life in silence, never hearing her twinkle of laughter that has charmed so many.

"100 most important Swiss people" - Schweizer Illustrierte

Deafness could not contain Fiona's desire to be heard. At 23, Fiona Bollag became an author. Within two months, her first hardcover run became a bestseller in Germany. Dutch, Polish and Estonian editions followed. Europe had fallen in love with Fiona and her inspirational story.

"At 16 I got Cochlear Implants on right side. Since then my life has completely changed. I could hear much better than before, which I did not expect. For example, I had never heard bird singing in my life! One spring day on our balcony, I asked my mom if those were bird songs. She started to cry..... I just learned to not give up, what I wanted, I got it. I wanted to hear better, that's why I chose the surgery. Five years later, I got my second surgery on my right ear. You need both ears to hear! I may struggle more than other people who are healthy, but I never give up. There are always up and downs, my handicap bothers me at times. Sometimes I wish I could contact people more easily--thank goodness for Blackberry!"

Fiona's love for fashion has solidly - and surprisingly - granted her the opportunities to express herself. She never planned to be an author. She is proof that if you are passionate enough about something, your dreams will come true. Fashion - in the form of a Hermes Birkin - changed her life.

"Les magazines de mode s’entassaient dans l’appartement. Un jour, mon oeil exercé détecta une erreur dans l’édition allemande de Glamour: on avait confondu le sac Birkin d’Hermès avec un sac Kelly! «Je n’en crois pas mes yeux», me disais-je à moi-même, «un magazine de mode qui commet une méprise aussi grossière!» J’envoyai ma critique par courrier électronique à Peter Hummel, reporter en chef de Glamour à Munich. Je terminai par ces mots: «Prière de ne pas téléphoner, je n’entends pas bien.»"

"The fashion magazines were piled in the apartment. One day, my trained eye detected an error in the German edition of Glamour: they had confused the Hermes Birkin bag with a Kelly bag! 'I cannot believe my eyes, I thought to myself , 'a fashion magazine who makes such a large mistake!' I sent my complaint via email to Peter Hummel, chief reporter of Glamour in Munich. I concluded with: 'Please do not call, I cannot hear well.'"

Peter Hummel contacted Fiona, curious of her statement. After hearing her story, he featured her in the magazine. The fervor the article created came to the attention of a German publisher, Ehrenwirth, who suggested Fiona draft her story.

"Le livre est sorti début octobre 2006 pour la Foire du Livre de Francfort. Sur la page de garde, on pouvait lire: copyright by Fiona Bollag. Mon rêve s’était réalisé et si mon nom ne figurait pas comme label sur une robe de soirée, il ornait tout de même un livre que j’avais écrit."

"The book was released in early October 2006 at the Book Fair in Frankfurt. On the cover page, it read: copyright by Fiona Bollag. My dream had come true. Even if my name does not appear on a label of an evening gown, it adorns a book I wrote."

Her book, Das Mädchen, das aus der Stille kam, is only Fiona's first step in self-expression. Although she is looking for an American publisher, fashion remains her passion.

"My paternal grandparents had a boutique in Lugano over 40 years. French celebrities would shop there. My grandmother would go to Paris and Milan fashion weeks as a buyer.

I am inspired by classic style like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Jackie O. My mother told me who those people were instead of bedtime stories of fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm. I also grew up with French and Italian Vogue. My aunt sold one of the oldest French Vogues to Dior designer John Galliano! Her wedding gown was by Karl Lagerfeld from the 60s, before he became famous. I am also inspired by my mother, she has good taste. She knows what will be in style before it becomes popular! I learn a lot from her."

Fiona is currently a fashion marketing student at Parsons. Her goal is to become a stylist. Fiona is often praised as a fashionista. Reporters often assume she is wearing designer clothes, but she dresses on a budget. She wants to help people learn how to mix and match their clothes and stay away from trendiness so they can be stylish without sacrifice. "Classic chic" is her mantra. Fashion has a transformative power: it helped Fiona change her life. She wants to use it to help people change their lives, either by helping them have a more positive self image, or by giving them the flight of fantasy to make their lives more colorful.

Fiona will graduate in December 2010. She is a firm believer in positive thinking. Her advice is: "Don't give up, be an optimist, you always can get something what you want, either with handicap or without. Being friendly, charming and helpful!"

"My favorite quotation is from Walt Disney: "If you can dream it, you can do it". And I will not give up. My book, published three years ago, is about my life, the perseverance to not give up."

From the girl who came from a world of silence to authoring the book Das Mädchen, das aus der Stille kam to being on the cover of Reader's Digest in Europe, Fiona's journey is an inspiration, full of promises and surprise. Fiona is embarking on a new phase in her life, trying to make it big in the fashion industry - Birkin in hand - and you cannot help but to be drawn into to her new venture, cheering her on.

Desirée Rogers

"[Desiree] Rogers is bright, creative, and has an extraordinary flair for style."
- Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President

Some women have style. White House Social Secretay Desirée Rogers is one of those very few women who not only have innate style, but uses it to her advantage. By style, I mean, front row holding her own next to Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour AND joie de vivre when it comes to everything she does.

"The life of the party." - William Norwich, Vogue

Who else but Desirée could pull off an avant garde evening gown by Comme des Garcon to a White House State Dinner? Regardless of whether you like the dress, with her elegance and big personality, she wore the dress (not the other way around).

What makes Desirée convincing are her strong credentials and her desire to make a positive impact. No one likes a social butterfly who just sits there looking pretty. She graduated from Wellesley College and Harvard Business School, ran organizations and companies such as the Illinois State Lottery, Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas, and Allstate Financial's social networking site. She understands business and branding. She describes the Obama Presidency as a brand. “You have to think of the social office as a conduit by which we bring to life the ideals of the Obama Presidency,” Desirée says. Her goal os "to create an environment of inclusiveness so that all Americans feel like the White House is their home.... "This campaign engaged a lot of people in ways they had not engaged before. This is about continuing to capture that excitement."

"This is a woman who never sees a wilted bloom. The 49-year-old turns on just enough Southern charm to camouflage an aura of self-assuredness typically reserved for runway models or first ladies."
- Amy Chozick, Wall Street Journal Magazine

"She is fabulous in every direction, very stylish without being overdone, very sophisticated without being overbearing. Approachable."
- Ron Clemente, DC hair stylist

Desirée captures our attention with her refined style (often mentioned on Chicago best dressed lists), our minds with her business savvy, and our hearts with her natural talent in socializing. As the Social Secretary for the Obama administration, she represents and acts upon goals to strengthen the American spirit. "The common thread ... [is to be] able to do something wonderful—like adding a room to the house for an elderly mother, or paying for the grandkids' tuition. If I can re-create that kind of enthusiasm at the White House, then I'm doing my job," says Desirée.

"Desirée Rogers, the glamorous Chicago businesswoman, social figure, and friend of the Obamas’, is a change agent."
- Maureen Orth, Vanity Fair

She can make a difference, she will make a difference, and we can feel good about it when it happens.

Aimee Mullins

"Hottest Muse" - Rolling Stone Hot List "10 Gutsiest Women" - Jane Magazine "Women We Love" - Esquire "Coolest Girls in Sport" - Sports Illustrated "50 Most Beautiful People" - People Magazine

What does it take for an amputee to become a world record breaking track star and an Alexander McQueen runway model?

Confidence.

Aimee Mullins has it in spades. She needs to. At age one, both of her legs were amputated below the knee due to missing fibula bones. But that did not stop her. At first she impressed through academics. She was chosen by the Department of Defense for a full academic scholarship to Georgetown. At 17, she was the youngest person to hold top-secret security clearance at the Pentagon.

"Confidence is the sexiest thing a woman can have. It's much sexier than any body part."

Then in August 1995, Aimee, a natural athlete despite being paralytic, decided to become a runner. Georgetown track and field coach Frank Gagliano, who had trained five Olympians, saw Aimee's determination and skill, and agreed to coach her. One year later at the 1996 Paralympics, she set world records in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and long jump.

In 1998, TED, a nonprofit that brings inspirational and innovative people together in its yearly conferences, invited Aimee Mullins to speak. The audience was captivated by her youth and go-getter attitude. She even charmed the fashion crowd, who saw her prosthetic legs as art, displaying her on the front covers of Dazed and Confused and i-D magazines. Avant garde London designer Alexander McQueen was touched by her story, and made a pair of carved wooden legs for her debut at his show as a runway model. Currently, she balances her speaking engagements with acting roles in films ("Quid Pro Quo," "Marvelous, " "September").

"Poetry matters. Poetry is what elevates a banal and neglected object to a form of art. It can transform the thing that may make some people fearful to something they can look and look a little longer and maybe understand."

Aimee's lesson is positive body image. She could have been a shrinking violet hiding behind prosthetic legs, but she stands tall, adjusting her height from 5'8" to 6'1" at whim to commend attention. She is not afraid of her disability. She embraces it, and uses it to the best of her advantage.

"I want to do projects that challenge people's ideas of beauty and the myth that disabled people are less capable, less interesting. I want to expose people to disability as something that they can't pity or fear or closet, but something that they accept and maybe want to emulate. To me, beauty is when people radiate that they like themselves."

Words to live by, by an inspiration.

Credits: CaptainU, Curtis Eberhardt, David Skankbone, i-D, Dazed and Confused

Katrina Markoff

"I was a vanilla girl forever ... [until] I realized the power of chocolate."


I harbor a secret dream of running away to Paris, attending Le Cordon Bleu, and becoming a chocolatier.

That is exactly why I admire Katrina Markoff. She does things her way, and is celebrated for it. After college, most of us uncomfortably shift into a corporate job. Not Katrina. After graduating from Vanderbilt, she hopped onto a plane to Paris, spending her days training as a pâtisserie chef, and nights exploring Michelin-rated restaurants. It was at 3 star restaurant L’Ambrosie in Le Place des Vosges that she had an epiphany. "[A]t the end of the meal, Chef Pacaud brought out these very particular beignet bonbons on toothpicks. He had frozen ganache truffles, dipped them in beignet batter and deep-fried them to curvaceous golden perfections. One bite and the experience began – a sweet crunchy l’attack en bouche followed by a burst of molten liquid chocolate, time stood still as it was nothing less than life-altering for me. That was my first chocolate moment and it’s why I decided to name my company Vosges Haut-Chocolat."

"It's about telling a story of a different culture, artist, movement or religion through the medium of chocolate."

"We use chocolate as a tool to get people to slow down and be present and, when they are, any experience is amplified."

She then spent nine months traveling through Southeast Asia and Australia on a street food journey. Inspiration from her first truffle came from a necklace from the Nagaland tribes, an ethnic minority group in India. Vosges' concept was born.

"Chocolate is an incredibly versatile ingredient that comes in many shades, textures, states of matter and forms. I find it a perfect medium for story-telling. Of course, the product has to be delicious and the packaging beautiful, but there’s intention in everything I create from the spice to the story. For me, the objective is to give people an experience that opens their mind to new ideas. I always want to touch on an element of surprise and leave them to ponder."

“I like the idea of yin and yang.”

Katrina is a natural storyteller, but what makes her chocolate stories compelling are the unexpected elements taken from all around the world: Tuscan fennel pollen, Japanese wasabi, Mexican ancho chili. Who knew applewood smoked bacon would taste so sinful with chocolate? Inspiration comes from everywhere. For "Chocolate and the Nose," a box filled with vials of different aromas, to be mixed with chocolate bars from 15 countries, former Gucci fashion designer Tom Ford was her inspiration. For Vosges' new "Sweet Coquette" Valentine's offering, it was Bonnie Raitt's song, "The Road's My Middle Name." “If I get into yoga, I’ll do a yoga chocolate collection. If I get into tarot cards, I’ll do a tarot collection. If I get into fermentation, I’ll do a whole study on fermentation.” Katrinia's open mind and thirst for knowledge drives her and her chocolates in unexpected directions. “I’m always trying to stay out of my box.”

"I came from my heart and made it about the things that are important to me and that’s what resonates. Be genuine and true to yourself at all costs because people are attracted to passion, and passion speaks louder than anything.”

"My mother always told me there are no limits. I think that’s a good rule for life and business."

Within three years, Vosges had $3 million in annual sales. From a small outpost in Chicago, it now has an international presence in London and Toronto. Katrina Markoff has been named "Food Artisan of the Year" by Bon Appetit magazine (2004) and "Woman of the Year" by American Express and Entrepreneur magazine (2007). Not only is she an innovator, she is an inspiration. As a company, Vosges uses 100 percent renewable energies. It also sponsors many chariatable activities, including V-Day (to end violence against women) and Little Kids Rock (to bring musicial instruments for children).

"Where the heart leads you, the money and success will follow."

Find out about Vosges Haut-Chocolat Here



Katrina speaks at TASTE³ about her inspirations.




"[Katrina] has a natural beauty and warmth that seem to captivate everyone she meets, from journalists to celebrities to the young, hip staffers." - Vanderbilt Magazine