Cher Strauberry Fields Forever

March 06, 2020

When Cher Strauberry purchased her first skateboard in 10, 11 years, she and her friend Stevie hit a parking garage to skate around. Strauberry had taken an indefinite hiatus from skating after breaking her ankle several times from it in her early teenage years. In the years after she stowed away her boards, she had become a punk musician in her own band, Pookie and the Poodlez, touring and adapting to her new life as a rocker.

In 2017, pro-skater and office favorite Leo Baker had approached Strauberry to tell her that he was a fan of her band, inspiring her to pick up a board once more. Frequenting the parking garage with Stevie, Jeffrey Chueng ended up joining them for a session, and in that same year, Unity Skateboarding was founded. "We would all skate around together in this parking garage. And after like three times of doing it, Jeffrey just told us that he ordered 10 skateboards on eBay and that he's going to start a company called Unity Skateboarding and asked us if we would ride for it," recalls Strauberry. The years following marked a major turning point in Strauberry's life. In 2018, Strauberry announced that she was transitioning.

Black-freckled and stars emblazoned, Strauberry has become an icon in her own right. She has been featured by Thrasher, sponsored by Vans and Converse, and she wants you to know that she's just warming up.

office beauty sat down with Strauberry to chat about everything from morning routines and product recs to her Lost Boys' bedroom.

Interview by Vivian Cheng
Photos by Colin Matsui

Read the interview below.

You've said Cher was inspired by Clueless, which is one of your favorite movies, but why Strauberry?

It's Strauberry, because my last name has always been Straub, and kids at school would just call me Strawberry. So like, I just changed the spelling, or I've left the spelling depending on which way you look at it.

If your life was a movie, it would be called ________.

Ooh, um Maybe Later.

Your mother is a mortuary cosmetologist. Did that have any hand in sparking your interest in makeup?

Maybe? Oh my God, I've never even thought of it. She did do that, but it wasn't her only job. I never really thought about it like that. I think it was more my sisters, like in high school. One sister was a cheerleader, and I think it was her mostly.

Can you speak a little more to how your sister encouraged you to pursue makeup?

I'm trying to think about it. Sorry, I did just wake up. Um, okay. How did I get into makeup? I really don't fucking know. I guess it was more my sister, 'cause I would have all these cheerleaders at my house all the time.

You've spoken in the past about transitioning in front of the Internet. What's your current relationship with social media like? Has it evolved?

Ooh, that's a good question. I do love the Internet, and I love going live on Instagram and doing my makeup there. Tons of girls—when I first transitioned, I only knew one or two makeup lists. And when I would go live and do my makeup or whatever, all of these girls would chime in and give me tons of tips and tell me like, "Oh, you should use this color corrector instead of the one you're using, 'cause it's better for your skin tone and like what you're trying to like get rid of." And I'd be like, "What the fuck, really?" And it would totally work all the time. And then, I just kind of had a bump of girls chiming and helping me through Instagram Live.

But I do love Instagram a lot. It's weird to find like—I don't know. Sometimes it's really nice, 'cause I don't have a lot of like—I'm not really close with family or anything like that. So, sometimes it's really nice to be on Instagram and have people hit me up and say nice things. But they can also be the exact opposite of that too.

And now, it's more followers than I've ever had, but it's kind of just like a little blown out too. It was kind of fun when it was more tight-knit, and I knew a lot of my followers. Now when I can post something or go live, anything could happen, you know what I mean? People can be like super rude, mean or just out of pocket, or like just messaging me to try to buy Supreme clothes or like just like weird shit. It's love-hate basically.

Building off of that, do you get inspired by makeup looks that you see on Instagram or YouTube?

I like old riot girl books and zines and stuff. I pretty much like old punk books. That's where I find more of my inspo from. But I do save pictures on Instagram if I see someone's make-up that I like.

It sounds like you have a special relationship with Unity Skateboarding, which office actually featured in Issue 11. Can you speak a little bit to your role with the company?

Oh yeah, I met Jeffrey and Gabriel a long time ago through music. Then they made Unity and started it basically, but it pretty much started 'cause me and my friend Stevie were skating in this parking garage. And we all knew each other from music and art, but none of us knew that the other ones skateboarded at all. And then I got my first skateboard in like 10 years or 11 years or something. So we would skate in this parking garage together, just me and Stevie. Then, Jeffrey saw us doing it on Instagram, and he was like, "Oh my God, you guys skate? I used to skate all the time, and I want to come skate with you guys." Then we were like, "Oh, what?! Jeffrey skates!" And then we would all skate around together in this parking garage. And after like three times of doing it, Jeffrey just told us that he ordered 10 skateboards on eBay and that he's going to start a company called Unity Skateboarding and asked us if we would ride for it. Now it's just completely crazy, and it's like, I'm a pro skateboarder.

What's a phrase you find yourself saying often?

"I'm so sure" from the movie Valley Girl.

When did you first realize that people look up to you and the things you've accomplished?

Well, I still trip out on that a lot. I first realized mostly through Instagram probably like a year ago. My message requests are still at like 99 plus. They have been for over a year and a half or something. I would go through the message requests, and tons of it would be people being just super fucked up honestly, being like really mean and gnarly. I've even gotten death threats out there and shit. But there'd be so many kids who were like, "I live in this rural town, and like, you're the best. I love your music." So pretty much, I guess that's like the first time I noticed that. It's kind of overwhelming to think about, so I don't think about it too much. I try to tell kids to follow their hearts all the time. But yeah, I don't know if it's really like hit me.

You've already gone through so much in your life, and I won't get into details. But do you have any advice for your fans who are grieving or going through a difficult time?

Remember that it gets better for sure. It goes up and down. Like anytime I've been at my lowest, things have gotten way crazier and better than I ever thought it would be. And I think that's because I stuck it out, you know? So just remember that it gets better. And remember that you do have control over your own life a lot of the time. If you want something to change, you can change it most of the time if you really try.

What are you listening to while you get ready lately?

Ooh, such a good question. Wow. I love it. I always get really obsessive with records. I've been listening to like Jay Reatard and his girlfriend's band Angry Angles. I've been listening to that record from start to finish for the past month. I also like old girl groups and stuff, like The Supremes and The Ronettes. I have a girl groups of the '60s, '20s golden hits cassettes that I love getting ready to. Have you seen that movie Adventures in Babysitting? It's got this really good intro where, like, you're all getting ready in her room. Kind of like Lizzie McGuire maybe too. She's just like dancing in her room and getting ready. So I love to like dance around and be crazy like those movies when I'm getting ready. I really like Adventures in Babysitting though—I think it's the best intro to any movie ever.

Do you color your hair on your own?

I do a lot of the time. Sometimes I ask for help if I don't do it myself. I don't like tone by myself, 'cause I don't know anything about toning. So if I bleach it, I normally have help. But just hair colors, yeah, I do it all on my own. There's a beauty supply shop not far from my house. It's one of my favorite buildings. It's just a giant pink building with purple trim. I just go there and either get like Manic Panic or Arctic Fox; those are the main ones that I use.

Are there any other beauty products you live and die by? It can be more than one.

Oh yeah, the Milk Makeup star stamp is my absolute favorite. I love that stamp specifically. Like, I wear it almost every single day. And Wet n Wild liquid liner, it's like $3. That's what I do all the strawberry seeds and freckles with. That's definitely key. Red eyeshadow—always on hand. What else? I'm really into black lipstick, and I like the Smashbox one a lot. But I have to have the Milk Makeup star stamp. If I don't have that, I kind of freak out.

Do you have a morning or night beauty routine?

Not really, I keep makeup wipes, and I usually take it off at night. I actually slept with my makeup on last night, so that's not good. But my morning routine is pretty standard. If I'm working, I give myself around 30 minutes to do my makeup. But on days that I don't work, I love taking an hour and a half to get ready, and I love taking my time mostly 'cause I'm dancing in my bedroom or something.

Describe your bedroom and where you get ready.

It's cool. The easiest way to describe it is something like—have you seen the Peter Pan movie Hook? It's kind of like the Lost Boys' fort. I have a downstairs, so I have couch, a record player, and art supplies down there. There's a big craft table. It's lofted in, so it's like a fort. I have this like wooden staircase that goes up to where my bedroom is, and I have a queen bed that's covered in flowers. There's like strawberries and flower tapestries on the wall where my bed is.

Then I have two big mirrors—one that I get ready in front of with my record players and stuff behind it. But I made my own vanity by just taking like Christmas lights and wrapping it around the mirror. And I have a bunch of Kurt Cobain posters with kisses on them and stuff all over it and a bunch of punk girls like cut out on my mirror.

And this is in Kansas city?

No, my partner lives in Kansas city, so I come out here, but I live in Oakland, California. But yeah, it's really cute. My band mate who plays drums in my band is also my roommate, and he builds me cute little things. Like he built me a little makeup stand for underneath my mirror, so my makeup can sit on that. He even built me a little stand for my cell phone for when I go live. It's really cute. He's a very sweet boy. Before I moved in with him, he heard me talk about it on tour so much. I would be like, "Oh, if I just had like a tiny stand to put my phone on for when I go on Instagram Live." It's like right in front of my mirror. I used to just like stack my phone on a bunch of books and tapes and records, and shit was always falling during the videos, and it would be really funny.

What do you have planned for 2020, and do you have any resolutions?

I got so many plans. I've been skating for Vans shoes, you know. I just switched from Converse to Vans, so I'm going to be doing a lot of stuff with them. And I have like lots of big news that will come up this summer, but I can't say too much about it. I'm starting a project with two other queer skateboarders that I'm really excited about. I wish I could talk about it, but it's not going to be released until summer. I'm also filming a new video part right now that'll come out in June. I just did a little Spitfire part for Spitfire wheels. I have a new record that comes out on 4/20 this year, and I'm really excited about that. It's all like bedroom kinda girly pop songs that I wrote, but it's like 31 songs. But pretty much just those really, and I'm just trying to skate as much as I can and play as much music as I can.

What's the title of your new record coming out?

It's called chering is caring.

Beauty

Power in Glam at Kim Shui: FW24

For Shui, this collection is about claiming and standing in your power. Even the color palette — deep oxbloods, vibrant greens, and bright cherry reds — evokes intensity, inspired by Kazuo Shiraga Gutai’s paintings.

Signature Shui elements found their way into this collection, including lace detailing and printed mini dresses, but other intentional design choices are specific to the range, like corseted leather jackets and brazen shoulder pads. These symbolize structure and support, bracing the Kim Shui woman for whatever life throws her way — even though she doesn’t need clothing to reinforce that strength, it’s already inside of her.

Backstage offered a closer look into just how fierce every look was, amplified by sultry makeup. Siren eyes were complimented by candy-like shellacked lips and the final accessory touches — futuristic Poppy Lissiman and Akila sunglasses and fingerless gloves — were just the cherry on top of every look.

Beauty

Sonny Molina

February 03, 2024

More an architect of tresses than a groomer, Sonny Molina's work is as much about art as it is about hair. While many of us think of past hair experiments and shudder at memories of less-than-desirable uneven bangs and botched accidental chops, Molina's textured, unexpected, and trendsetting cuts defy convention and only get sexier as they grow out. A long way from the days of testing haircuts on friends, they now have an entire network of models and creatives eager and willing to go under their shears. Since finding a home in the beautiful chaos of Manhattan, Molina has cut and styled the stars of downtown, including fellow office person and New York star Ren G of Club Eat. Their editorial work has graced the covers of The Cut, Homme Girls, Perfect, and Re-Edition, and their styles have graced the runways of Anna Bolina and Vaquera alike, crowning it girls like Bella Hadid, Paloma Elsesser, and Hunter Schafer. While every look Molina crafts is wildly unique from the rest, they are all united by Molina's love for creative expression and impulse for adventure.

Interview OFFICE
Photography YAHSHEL MACAPAGAL

[Originally published in office magazine Issue 20, Fall-Winter 2023. Order your copy here.]

What is your ideal office?

Somewhere overlooking Manhattan … with plenty of space and light.

If you could switch lives with someone for a day, who would it be and what would you do?

Probably some gross billionaire and literally fund all my friends’ dreams immediately!

What era most inspires you?

There is truly something special about every era … but I do love the 70’s.

Who was the last person you hugged, and how did it feel?

My partner Coco, it felt tender.

For you, what is the most sacred place in New York?

As cliche as it sounds, anywhere my friends are!

What does play look like to you?

Blissful with no boundaries.

If you were a hair tool or product, what would you be?

I would be a classic mixed-bristle hairbrush.

What is your favorite texture at the moment?

I'm obsessed with patina … as a texture and color.

Who was the last person to make you laugh?

My dog Kiki. Yes, he’s more of a person than a dog.

How do you win in a fight?

Listen, process, reciprocate.

Beauty

Love for Our Mother

Throwing factory-produced recipes and excessive packaging to the wayside, the ethical beauty and scent brand collaborates with herbalists, farmers, and expert perfumers to create sustainable perfumes and cosmetics — while also marrying the worlds of art and beauty through their one-of-a-kind hand-blown glass vessels. Because beauty is truly an art, and we should decorate ourselves as worthy canvasses. office sat down with Kindred Black’s co-founders to discuss their unique process below.

What originally spurred you both to introduce a disruptive, apothecary-esque brand to the beauty scene?

Alice— I think it’s kind of age-old: I had this need in my own life and couldn’t figure out a way to fill that need in a way that aligned with my values. We’re both makeup and skincare lovers but with packaging being what it is, there was so much we didn’t feel right buying. We wanted an alternative where as much thought is put into the packaging as it is in the ingredients, where every single element of the line is considered.

Jen— We always said we’re not going to be the “please recycle this plastic bag” type of company — that’s such BS! Companies need to invest in alternatives so the public isn’t left guessing how to make their products more environmentally friendly. We spend a lot more money than we would have to if we just mass-produced bottles overseas and bottled up some pretty skincare. But we’re super anti-greenwashing — we want our behind-the-scenes to be 100% true to the ethics and values that we put out there to our community.

Your packaging — artisan-crafted glass bottles — really takes thoughtful production and consumption to the next level.

Alice— When we initially set out to design the collection, we envisioned a vanity with beautiful vessels, no branding, just pure oils and scents in colorful shapes and silhouettes. Life is already so cluttered; we think of the beauty routine as a quiet time, a private, sacred space. The entire line is plastic-free and every single item in the collection comes in an individually handblown glass vessel. Behind each bottle is an artist blowing out the glass, one by one. They’re not producing mass quantities; everything is designed to be treasured.

Tell me about the Kindred Black community. Not only do you work closely and travel to meet farmers and herbalists, but you also partner with artists and artisans for your one-of-a-kind glass bottles. What does this community mean to you?

Jen— They’re everything for us and we couldn’t have such a special line without them. We’ve met such extraordinary people doing this — a chemist turned perfumer who only creates using ancient methods of extraction with the flowers and plants that she grows. An herbalist that specializes in Sonoran Desert flora. Glass blowers from all over the country who show their work in museums and create our bottles one by one like unique sculptures. Even a collective in Mexico that creates bottles using glass from residents and restaurants because there is no municipal recycling. They all have different specialties, but our community shares a set of values when it comes to our planet.

You also mentioned that the brand is historically rooted. How does the past inform every scent, cosmetic, or rich skin serum?

Alice— We’re both hugely into history and just curious people. When you start to look into it, some botanicals have been used for thousands of years to heal and scent the skin and as primitive cosmetics and ‘medicine,’ dating back to the earliest civilizations. People have always used what’s around them for beauty. Our formulas all start with who used this plant, what for, and whether or not there is a good reason to still use it on the skin. For example, our Aker Fassi lip and cheek pigment is a recipe that makes use of a dried poppy flower that North African Berber women have used as makeup for centuries. It’s a beautiful, flattering shade of berry red and we were just so taken by its place in history.

What is your favorite scent you have created to date?

Jen— This is hard — I love Earthly because it’s just so different from anything I’ve ever smelled. It’s like grassy damp moss and violet leaves but also has a lot of lilac enfleurage in it. Not many people use real lilac because it’s incredibly difficult and time-consuming to make and has a more subtle scent than say a jasmine or a rose. But real lilac is incredible and complex.

Alice— Delta Dawn is my current favorite. It's a classic floral rose but has real depth to it — an underbelly. The star ingredient is a night-blooming Damask rose that’s harvested before the sun rises. You can smell the cool night air, but also the warmth and muskiness of the jasmine oil, known as the perfume of love.

How does art play a role in Kindred Black? Many of the handmade bottles sold are antique or vintage-inspired. Where did that shared interest spur from?

Alice— We’re both big collectors, verging on hoarders, and have shelves and boxes full of trinkets and treasures we’ve picked up over the years — everything from piles of shells and rocks to antique Lalique perfume vessels, antiquarian snuff bottles, folk art liquor jugs, and on and on. We often find ourselves using an old glass piece as a jumping-off point — or a piece that we’re lusting after in an auction or Museum catalog. The halls of The Met are filled with incredibly beautiful glass perfumes and cosmetic tinctures that have survived millennia. Pre-plastic everything, in the early 20th century, many cosmetics were refillable and came in the most exquisite packaging — lipsticks in sterling silver canisters, blush in bejeweled compacts. They were practically pieces of jewelry. We like to think of our bottles as precious objects that people will hold on to and cherish as the years go by.

You just launched your refill program. How do you hope this sways the wider beauty industry?

Jen— We were really excited to start doing refills for our skincare — like I said, our bottles are like little, individually made sculptures. We chose aluminum for the refills because the necks are wide enough to clean the bottle out and aluminum is the most easily recyclable material. We’re hoping that if a tiny company like ours can spend the money and do it, more of these million and billion-dollar brands will start paying attention to their footprint. They have such power to create real change, it’s heartbreaking so many of them choose to sidestep the opportunity.

Tell me about one of the strangest ingredients you have worked with.

Jen— We made a light summer perfume and skin treatment once to benefit the Ocean Conservancy and infused the ingredients with sea salt from the Sea of Cortez. Not a strange ingredient but it definitely gave the scent a unique profile. We once gathered large sacks of rose petals from the world’s largest rose bush that sits inside the courtyard of an old hotel in Tombstone, AZ. We had a lot of grand ideas for it but the petals couldn’t be cleaned well enough to be made into anything marketable, so we had to give up on it. Sometimes these experiments fail!

Alice— Maybe the strangest right now is quite widely used for cosmetics by everyone from Chanel on down because it’s a safe alternative to chemical dyes. The rich berry red of Night Venom is from a pigment that is made from the cochineal beetle, an insect native to parts of North and South America. It’s actually a stain that has been used for centuries – Cleopatra is said to have ground up the beetle in beeswax to achieve her renowned red lips. The Aztecs also used the pigment for dyeing and painting, and it was then brought back to Europe with their Spanish colonizers.

You just celebrated eight years. What do you hope is in store for the next few and how do you hope to continue revolutionizing the beauty space?

Jen— We’re always looking to make things less wasteful in everything we do. There’s always room to improve. We’d like for our line to be 100% refillable and are working on bottle design tweaks that would make that achievable. We’d also love to expand the glass operation down the road and begin recycling our own glass. Our mantra is “love for our mother” and it informs everything that we do.

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Cher Strauberry Fields Forever

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