Our e-shop was launched on March 4th and over the course of the following months we slowly released two designs every few weeks. Each new “drop” highlighted one of our four main collaborators wearing the designs styled by themselves in an environment of their choosing, along with a self-written bio. 

These releases led up to a four day pop-up event, which featured a group exhibition including our four main collaborators listed below:

(en español)

quién:

• Lucy Cruz

qué / por qué:

• El haber sido bailarina me permitió presentarme en escenarios Europeos y Latinoamericanos incluyendo en Colombia donde nací y crecí. Me llamaban Lucero pero a los 7 supe que mi nombre legal es Lucy Cruz. En los 80’s viví en París y cuando planeaba regresar, Nueva York me atrapo. Sí, porque vine a presentarme al Madison Square Garden y me reencontré con Enrique (músico que conocía desde París); nos casamos y tuvimos a Luz. Ya han pasado casi 30 años y aún sigo fascinada por la diversidad cultural que vibra en esta ciudad. Ingrese a City College queriendo continuar estudios en “performing arts” pero termine graduada en Estudios Internacionales.

• Necesitaba trabajar y estoy muy agradecida al costume shop de Julliard School el cual me aceptó como costurera al mostrarle mi portafolio con fotos de trajes que yo misma había confeccionado cuando bailaba. Mi interés por la costura había comenzado desde muy niña observando a mi abuela remendando y cosiendo a mano cubrecamas de retazos, y ver a mi madre hacerme los vestidos que yo diseñaba cuando era adolescente.

cómo:

• Sigo aprendiendo sobre el arte del diseño, corte y confección en lo cual HECHA / 做 ha sido un reto con sus diseños unisexos. Estoy muy motivada a seguir creando accesorios incorporando el crochet, “beading”, bordado, y el “patchwork”... que a veces van surgiendo espontáneamente en el proceso de creación de una pieza. También trabajo actualmente como tailor independiente en las muestras de temporada para Polo Ralph Lauren.

• La transición de “performer” al arte de la costura fue confuso al comienzo, pero encontré la conexión al haber trabajado como tailor para celebrities como: Beyoncé, Robert De Niro, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Naomi Campbell, y muchos otros.

dónde:

• El trabajo de Lucy será presentado en el evento HECHA / 做 Pop Up

(in english)

who:

• Lucy Cruz

what / why:

• Having been a dancer allowed me to perform at European and Latin American stages including in Colombia where I was born and raised. I was called Lucero but at age 7 I realized that my legal name was Lucy Cruz. In the 80’s I lived in Paris and when I had planned to return, New York trapped me. Yes, because I came here to perform at Madison Square Garden and reconnected with Enrique (a musician that I knew from Paris); we got married and had Luz. Now almost 30 years have already gone by and I’m still fascinated by the vibrant cultural diversity in this city. I enrolled in City College wanting to continue studying performing arts but I ended up graduating in International Studies.

• I needed to work and I’m very thankful to the costume shop at the Juilliard School which accepted me as a seamstress after showing them my portfolio of photos of costumes that I had made when I danced. My interest in sewing had begun as a young child observing my grandmother mending and hand sewing bedspreads out of scraps, and watching my mother make me the dresses that I designed when I was a teenager.

how:

• I continue learning about the art of design, cut, and construction in which HECHA / 做 has been a challenge with its unisex designs. I am very motivated to continue creating accessories incorporating crochet, beading, embroidery, and patchwork… which sometimes arise spontaneously during the process of creating a piece. I also currently work as a freelance tailor on seasonal samples for Polo Ralph Lauren.

• The transition from "performer" to the art of sewing was confusing at the beginning, but I found the connection having worked as a tailor for celebrities such as: Beyoncé, Robert De Niro, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Naomi Campbell, and many others.

where:

• Lucy's work will be on view at the HECHA / 做 Pop Up

who:

• Felton aka Xiorro (FB) <3

what & why:

• I’m originally from Boston (from the heart of it, Roxbury!), but I’m a Brooklyn based techno artist. My parents are both Puerto Rican and I identify as Afro-Latino. Some people don’t know this, but this is where my artist name stems from. Marcos Xiorro was the slave name of an enslaved African in Spanish Puerto Rico who attempted a slave revolt against the Spanish colonial government and sugarcane plantation owners in 1821. In an industry where the majority of the people are white, I can imagine it being tough to swallow how in touch I am with my identity and why I’m so passionate about it. However, this is what drives me to help make a difference for not only myself, but for others that will come after me. I’ve always wanted to somehow help make a difference in the world for other POC, especially those that come from an unfortunate background like myself, and I believe that art is a great way to come about making this impact.

how:

• Back in 2016, Christina Hernandez (Adrestia) and I started the techno collective and rave, ALKHEMY & The Black Hole, without any idea of what we were getting ourselves into. As we grew and took steps to further develop the collective, we came to learn about the lack of racial diversity that existed within a genre that was created by the Black people of Detroit. Not only was there a lack of diversity, but we also noticed that there was a different treatment towards artists of color that came from a complete different background than the kids who moved into the city from nice suburbs within a space that prides itself on being open and accepting towards all people, so from this came the next stage of ALKHEMY/The Black Hole, where we started to focus on highlighting diversity within the techno realm.

• With this focus we’ve showcased local POC techno artists, as well as out of state and international. I guess you can say that we’ve put our money where our mouth <3 Not only have we showcased the most POC artists in Brooklyn’s underground, but we’ve also given back to the community both in Puerto Rico and Brooklyn. In 2017, we cancelled our Black Hole party and instead put together a “Fundraver”, where we were able to raise $2400 as a donation to Friends of Puerto Rico, a non-profit organization aiding victims of Hurricane Maria. In 2018, during Hispanic Heritage Month, we put together “Fundraver 2” in collaboration with Bossa Nova Civic Club, where we raised $1100 for El Puente Presente, which is a Latinx local non-profit organization which focuses on youth community outreach.

where:

• Catch Felton at a special HECHA / 做 X ALKHEMY Night at our Pop Up on Saturday, June 22nd

who:

• i’m benedict. if we’re familiar, you can call me benny.

• when I grow up or down or evolve into my next/recent being, i wanna be a sturdy plant (lotsa water and air in my chart) or a cat, extra fluffy.

what / why :

• in this iteration, i love the time I get to spend dancing and moving and discovering what my body can do, wants to do, can’t do. expansive

• i think about these worlds and possibilities in my writing. words on a page. typing and handwriting

• i’m curating a platform ‘soft bodies in hard places’ at ISSUE Project Room (Brooklyn, NY) in 2019. The next iteration ‘very peak summer solstice’ comes to the world June 18 + 21

• i publish a quarter moon newsletter / gif+tweet compilation first quarter moon slush because i’m very fun/ny

• my website is benedict-nguyen.com socials @xbennyboo

how:

• floating in an ocean, far away

• listening up close

• trying to find roots and grow

• this is a lite ‘about me’ in HECHA / 做

• aspirational, individual glam

• that only came from finding shine in community

where:

• Benedict’s work will be on view at the HECHA / 做 Pop Up

who:

• Wassup? I'm Tyler xD aka dime

what/why:

• I’m a photographer and dj here in nyc. My images examine themes of black culture, community, sexuality, flawed aesthetics, and social practices. The subject matter executes a sense of rawness and confrontation while celebrating the idea of normalizing individuality and diversity. My website is tylerkjones.com. Apart from that, I am one of the social media managers and booking assistants over at Discwoman.

how:

• Music is lyf3. I started working with Discwoman in 2017. A year later I started djing. Which then lead to the start of my party, HARDCORSET. A monthly at Bossa Nova Civic club in Brooklyn.

where:

• Tyler’s photography will be on view at the HECHA / 做 Pop Up