Thanh Nguyen of VENUE Fragrances

Vietnam is often reduced to familiar digestible tropes, but fragrance house VENUE Fragrances seeks to reveal its deeper stories. Founded by Thanh Nguyen, Daphne Pham, and Wayne, the brand translates Vietnam’s forgotten histories into scent-driven storytelling.

Fashion, Product

Nue-punk Jewelry with SLJ

20/10/2025

Fashion

Welcome to LANG, the Heart of Asian Fashion in LA

12/08/2025

3D, Art, Illustration, Sculpture

A Little Help From My Friends with Andrew and Tate Mok aka Offgod:Tate

08/02/2025

Creativity, Media, Publication

Blurring The Lines of Narrative

12/08/2024

Collaboration, Food & Beverage, Publication

SAAM1 MAN4 ZINE

27/06/2024

Community, Sports

The Shelter Athletics “One For One”

19/03/2024

Design, Fashion

Tal Siberstein’s Colbo: Sight and Feeling

29/11/2023

Graphic Design, Sports

Bringing It To The Table: The Story of Spin & Smash

Behind the scenes of our first table tennis tournament.

02/11/2023

All Stories

Selected Stories

Industry, Society

Carmen Chan

Photographer

07/05/2023

Industry, Society

Daniel Wu

Actor, Producer and Entrepreneur

02/05/2023

Industry, Society

Eileen Sho Ji

Singer-Songwriter & Producer

01/05/2023

All Stories

Making It Up

Lifestyle, Retail

Making It Up 199

Pierogis and buy nothing

Eugene and Charis discuss Buy Nothing groups/movement and what a change in platform means for their participants. They also talk about Kevin LaBuz’s article “Grandma’s Pierogis” about how corporate culture is created and knowledge passed on.

Fashion, Society

Making It Up 198

Brunello Cucinelli slow growth and the Theranos trial

The team behind the Italian luxury fashion brand Brunello Cucinelli on growth and family business. Also, the conviction of Elizabeth Holmes, former founder and CEO of the health tech company Theranos, in a trial that ended in January.

Culture, Society, The Internet

Making It Up 197

Attention and tribalism

Eugene and Charis discuss what it means to pay close attention to anything. They also talk about the benefits of tribalism.

Culture

Making It Up 196

2021 Wrap Up

Charis and Eugene talk about key moments in culture in 2021 and reflect on significant changes that will carry forwards.

Publication, The Internet

Making It Up 195

The Story Club with George Saunders and the possibly corporate web3

All Episodes

Building

The Brand

Brands, Business

Building the Brand — Adam Studios

After a long hiatus, we’re back with another episode of Building The Brand. Most crucially, this episode is hosted by MAEKAN founders Eugene Kan

See All Building the Brand

Brands, Business

Building the Brand — Focusing on Tangible Design

From the beginning, MAEKAN was not just about great stories. It was just as much about things you could touch and feel. This is

See All Building the Brand

Brands, Business

Building the Brand — Learning When to Bob and When to Weave

MAEKAN’s approach to documenting stories has been highly methodical, structured and organized. We achieved great editorial results over the past few months by sticking

See All Building the Brand

Brands, Business

Building the Brand — Why Hong Kong?

A lot of people are surprised when we tell them we’re based in Hong Kong. For a publication and brand looking to influence creative

See All Building the Brand

Education, Industry

Building the Brand — The Apprentice

If you’re a creative that’s still in school or just on the way out, you might wonder what your next steps are. For Willie,

See All Building the Brand

Maekan

Market

memobottle™ “Defrag the Mind” A6 Bottle

The memobottle™ “Defrag the Mind” memobottle™ is a thin and convenient water bottle.

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Kinto “Seeking Intellectual Connection” Tumbler

The “Seeking Intellectual Connection” Tumbler is a vacuum-insulated tumbler for hot or cold drinks, made for everyday use both in and outdoors.

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#48 “Hung Baak Lam” Bookmark

The All-Black “Hung Baak Lam” Bookmark pulls inspiration from the iconic “Hung Baak Lam,” or “Red-White-Blue Laundry” bags synonymous with Asia—most notably, Hong Kong.

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#48 “Hung Baak Lam” Tote

The All-Black “Hung Baak Lam” Tote pulls inspiration from the iconic “Hung Baak Lam,” or “Red-White-Blue Laundry” bags synonymous with Asia—most notably, Hong Kong.

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“Defrag the Mind” Tee

The idea of indulging and absorbing large amounts of irrelevant, low-quality information… is thought to be associated with deteriorating functioning and a loss of intelligence.