CULTURE

Meet the Contributors Behind Volume 8, 2019


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Photograph by Colin Dodgson.

Colin Dodgson Photographer, “Prime Time”

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?

A surprise visit from my mom and dad on my 30th birthday. My dad doesn’t fly too often, and they just showed up at my apartment in New York. I was really floored.

What’s your favorite holiday tradition?

Surfing on Christmas morning. It doesn’t always happen, but when it does, it’s really special.

Are you traveling anywhere this season?

I’m going to Australia for a friend’s wedding, and I’m excited as I haven’t been since I was in photography school, which was a long time ago.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

Make more work, have more fun, and visit new places!

Courtesy of Eric Wilson.

Eric Wilson Writer, “Home at Last”

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?

A copy of Craig Claiborne’s original New York Times Cook Book, filled with recipes from the 1950s that frequently call for a bottle of vermouth.

Have you been naughty or nice this year?

Nice. I gave up thinking naughty was cool in my 30s.

Are you traveling anywhere this season?

Hokkaido, Japan. My husband and I recently moved to Hong Kong, so we’re spending the next few years exploring Asia.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

I’d like to figure out how to decorate an apartment, learn basic Cantonese, and say yes to every opportunity for adventure.

Photograph by Irène Becimol-Khann.

Alexandra Marshall Writer, “Block Party”

What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?

I live in Paris, so one year I gave everyone presents from Comptoir des Abbayes, a store that carries products made at monasteries all over France. There are artisanal chocolates and jams and massage balms and weird liqueurs and furniture polish, all blessed by God.

What’s your favorite holiday tradition?

Eating.

What do you dread the most about the holidays?

The 11-hour flight home from Paris to Los Angeles.

New Year’s Eve: love or hate?

Love to be at home with friends exploring whatever raw milk or forcemeat contraband I’ve brought back to the States. Hate the terror every time I go through customs at LAX, given the aforementioned.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

I don’t make them. Every day is a resolution to be a better human. On that (mostly vain) quest, there’s nothing special about January 1.

Courtesy of Pearmain.

Max Pearmain Stylist, “The Long and Short of It”

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?

Frankincense.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?

Myrrh.

Have you been naughty or nice this year?

Possibly tolerable.

What do you dread the most about the holidays?

Other people.

Are you traveling anywhere this season?

To bed.

New Year’s Eve: love or hate?

Hate. It’s New Year’s Eve.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

To stay positive.

Courtesy of Michelle Lee.

Michelle Lee Casting director, “The Long and Short of It”

What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?

I adopted a dog for my brother. Her name was Sweet Potato.

Have you been naughty or nice this year?

Depends on who you ask.

What’s your favorite holiday tradition?

Having a beautiful dinner and going to the opera with my mom and brothers when we are all in New York.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

Instead of making New Year’s resolutions, I try to be better all year.

Photograph by Clara Cullen.

Max Farago Photographer, “Mothers of Invention”

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?

An antique Persian ring that my wife bought for me in a shop we love in Venice.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?

Bringing my infant daughter to visit my elderly grandmother.

New Year’s Eve: love or hate?

I like the night before New Year’s Eve, when you end up partying with friends without any expectations for it to be the best night of the year.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

Being more present.