Kai Brown
Musician
Kai, my friend from Venice, was in New York this weekend. We spent most of the day roaming Brooklyn and Soho, looking for places to shoot Kai playing some music with “cool” New York backdrops. I may have led him astray a few times, but by the end of the day I think we had some good videos. When I first started this blog I interviewed Kai(you can read the interview here), in all the things that have changed since that interview his message has remained the same “you must follow what you feel in your heart”.
I’ve been getting a lot of emails and comments on Instagram about the fact that I no longer live on Abbot Kinney and that I should change the name of my blog, but as evident by Kai’s arrival, Abbot Kinney is never far from me. The name never meant that I was only going to shoot Abbot Kinney, instead it was my way of honoring a street where I met so many friends and found inspiration. It was on Abbot Kinney that I discovered my interest in fashion and in shooting for this blog I met people like Kai that lived each day with a full and engaged heart. Abbot Kinney is still in my heart as are the people there that inspired me and taught me so much. It is easy to get caught up in the mechanics of what we do, get dressed, go to work, go home, go out, repeat, but if we don’t stop to listen to our hearts we are going to miss our purpose. I have not been doing enough listening lately and have been caught up in the mechanics of shooting, running the blog, and developing a new project. My time spent with Kai reminded me that I need to be leading from the heart, that unless I act with a full heart, my actions are lacking in conviction . As an early New Years resolution I am going to listen more to my heart and try live a more engaged life.
On Abbot Kinney will remain the same whether I am shooting here in New York or at Fashion Week in London. I miss Venice and my fantastic friends there, but this blog is a daily reminder that I am never far from them. Thanks Kai for being a good friend and making such great music.
-Michael C. Dumler.
