A Rainy Day with Jojo Corväiá

There is something wonderfully strange about Jojo Corväiá, the owner/chef/Feng Shui master of Capitol Hill's Arabica Lounge. How else would you describe someone who keeps mostly inedible objects in his fridge?

"My fridge is filled with toys. I'm not kidding. I have a cow, a turtle, a naked guy taking a shower, a scratchboard, legos, and some film. My little figurines with multiple eyes go next to the vegetables." 

The concept of Arabica Lounge has grown from Jojo's zen personality, holistic approach to life, and insatiable desire to uphold a sense of community in Seattle. It is where one can go to experience "food, music, nice ambiance, nice people. All the senses must be involved at Arabica." 

These must be the reasons he is so revered by his patrons:

"Customers write me postcards when they travel…It's amazing. They give me gifts too! Everything from homemade sausages to a grand piano."

Jojo and I met up last week to get dressed up and discuss family, travel, and the future of Arabica. Check out our interview and photos from the shoot below:

"My first culture shock coming to the USA was going to the supermarket. I stood frozen in the cereal aisle and I asked myself, "why do we need an aisle for cereal?"

 "My favorite place to hike? The Himalayas."

"There are things I put in the shop that cannot be found anywhere else. I try to bring culture."

*to see more photos of Jojo, go to Cairo's Tumblr!

The Interview:

Where are you from?

I was born in Caracas, Venezuela. My family is Sicilian and French. My father is Baron Corvaia, called "The Baron of the West".  

What made you stay in Seattle? 

When I visited here I liked it the best out of all the cities in the US. I wanted to change careers. I decided to do something that included all the things I like to do in my life. So I hired a...couch? No, a coach. I always get those words confused. He guided me through my ideas and thats how I created Arabica. 

You're a dog person? 

I'm a dog person. Kahla is a Scottish Terrier. She's my first ever dog. She is 14 years old. She is the longest relationship I have ever had besides my parents. I gave her a bath this morning. Domenico is my second dog. He's a 7 year old Wire Fox Terrier. They are just my dogs. That's it. 

What is one rule you always try to live by? 

Be yourself.

You are a cook, no? What is your best dish?

In my own life, I make my own yogurt, and eat it with olive oil, salt and paprika and homemade flatbread. It's almost healing. It makes me feel so good. I think it has to do with the fact that it awakens memories of my grandmother. 

What do you miss most about home? 

I don't go there very often. I miss a couple of friends. Or maybe the simplicity of food there: the food of my grandmother and aunts. Food here is complicated and has so many unknown ingredients. I also miss my farm. 

What is something no one knows about you? 

Even though I see hundreds of people a day, I am a very lonely person. I go home and I feel very lonely. It doesn't make me sad though; I am kind of a loner. Also, have a learning disability. I am dyslexic and I have a very hard time differentiating left from right. Sometimes I even get lost getting from Arabica to my house. 

How would you describe your personal style? 

I am very eclectic but very particular in my sense of taste. I don't wear or have things because they are iconic or trendy. Like, I have never owned any Bob Dylan music, for example. 

Where is somewhere you have always wanted to travel to? 

Every year I travel somewhere far and challenging and interesting. There are so many places I want to go. Ethiopia. The Sahara. 

What do you expect for your upcoming trip to Cairo?

I will go there to see the pyramids, to understand the different culture. I travel in order to expand my horizons and remind myself that there is no single way to live your life. I go to learn how to feel comfortable with people that are different to me, and appreciate those differences. There are so many cultural differences that you get to experience when you travel. It changes how you see your own life. 

How did you get the name Arabica? 

That is the type of coffee bean we serve at the shop. It is from Ethiopia. 

What is one thing your grandparents taught you that you will never forget? 

I don't know how to translate this. [Goes over to the faucet and turns the tap on slightly] Small stream. Always wash dishes, have a shower, anything, with a small stream. There is no reason to waste water on this planet. 

What’s the next step for Arabica?

We have a new dinner menu opening on March 22nd. It is a huge endeavor--platters, pickles, vegetables, pasta. Everything will be handmade, everything is unique. A lot of the food comes from ideas given by friends throughout my life. One of the recipes is based on a conversation I had with a friend about what his grandmother use to make him when he was little. The recipe was in my head for 20 years, and after looking at so many books for recipes, that is what we are going with. Rachel Ravitch will be cooking the dinners. I believe it is very important that we do it. I want to try to make people understand that we are far from a coffee shop. There are so many things going on at Arabica. I want to do so much there.  

Want to come to Arabica's opening dinner night? Get more info here.

**Jojo is wearing MuchoDesign jewelry, a Stacey Rozich for Cairo silkscreened tee, and vintage, all found at Cairo!

Folktales in the Snow: Stacey Rozich.

I first met local illustrator Stacey Rozich three years ago when she shared a tiny, cramped studio space in Pioneer Square’s 619 Western Ave building. Although she was only 21 at the time, her talent and motivation were clear, even to an onlooker like me. Since then, Stacey has been kicking ass: working for herself, showing numerous solo exhibits around the city, and even making her 3D debut in a Fleet Foxes music video.

Stacey has been a member of the Cairo family for a long time now: she designed a shirt pattern for Cairo moons and moons ago. [“Its very gratifying seeing someone wearing your work, as opposed seeing them put it in their bathroom.”]

Stacey and I spent one snowy afternoon drinking tea and talking about successful women we would trade lives with for a week (she picked Tina Fey), the best solo wintertime meal (“papardelle pasta with marinara sauce from scratch”), and our biggest splurges (“Shoes! I. Love. Shoes.”). 

Stacey's current inspiration: Doughnuts. 

With so much already under her belt, it’s hard to imagine what’s next for this unstoppable woman. Read our interview to find out her plans! (Hint: Something involving teatowels…)

Some photos from our shoot: 

(All vintage and jewelry sold AT CAIRO!)

 

Want more photos of Stacey? Click here!

Our interview: 

What is your approach to what you wear every day?

            My approach is to never be too comfortable. I don’t have a rain jacket or hiking boots or anything like that. I like to keep an element of professionalism when I dress. Seattle is obsessively casual, but I’m not like that, really. Sometimes I just want to wear a jean jacket and an old t-shirt, but I like to always keep it classy.

Do you have any favorite current style trends?

            I’m a big fan of classic cuts but with a twist—like neon with camel or something. I like to dress in things that are somewhat classic, so that I don’t look back in a few years and think, “what the hell was I thinking??” I try not to dip into too many trends. I guess that’s kind of safe, but I still like to play with cool things.

What was your worst job?

            Oh man. I worked at a pasta bar at Pike Place, and the boss was a total asshole. It really helped me learn how to deal with assholes, haha. Working with such an extremely masculine personality really helped me grow a thicker skin, learn how to throw someone else’s bullshit back at them. I also learned how to talk to anyone—a grandma, or a homeless person, or a bunch of college students.

What artists are inspiring you right now?

            I get a lot of my inspiration from past art styles. I check out BibliOdyssey a lot—it’s this giant digital image collection of artwork—everything form Japanese woodblock prints to Greek Orthodox iconography. Also artists like Marcel Dzama, Mark Warren-Jaques, and my friend Matthew Craven in New York. He’s always so innovative that he really drives me to keep my work fresh.

It looks like traditional art has really inspired your work.

            Yeah, I got started with Yugoslav folklore. The Federation of Yugoslavia has so many different cultures and different folklore, which is what really got me started. Then I started researching Russian and Bulgarian folklore, which spread to Scandanavian, and then all over the globe. I got into West African stories, then Native American cultures.  My art is sort of a hodgepodge of traditional folklore, but through my own lense, creating my own narrative.

When did you first get into illustration? When and where did it start? 

            I’ve been drawing forever. It’s such a cliché but its just one of those things. When you’re a kid you draw all the time, and dad recognized something more than a childhood pastime. He always told me to draw every day, and I did until high school. In high school I was a theater nerd, and did all the posters for plays, so I learned to create an image through communication. Also, I’ve wanted to be an animator my whole life. I loved cartoons my whole life. It was in high school that I decided I wanted something a little more streamlined, so I went into illustration.

How does your current environment inspire your work?

            I have such a strong support system, being from Seattle, that it’s easy to work and feel like I have a good support net behind me. I’m such a collector of things like masks and reference books, so I have a good collection of imagery to look into, which is a good cushion. That support can be nebulous at times, but very freeing.

             

What puts you in the zone to create?  What does that zone look like?

            Doughnuts! Haha, only joking. The time when all my pistons are firing is when I’m prepping for a show and I have a deadline looming. The first piece of the collection and the last piece are very different. My work has such minute detail, and in the first few pieces, I can see that my lines aren’t as straight, or the detailing isn’t as precise. The more I work on a collection, the more I can see in my art that I really get back into the swing of things. I get this amazing high—I know it sounds like an after-school special—but it’s this pride and satisfaction in my work, and having that moment where you know that you’re on the right track. That’s when I feel the most productive, and the most happy.

           

 What are you the most proud of?

           I am really proud of having as many shows under my belt as I do. Especially looking at where I was four years ago—a 20 year old art school drop out living in my parents basement—to working for myself and progressively doing bigger shows each year. Ultimately I know I’m doing the right thing and that I’m really lucky in opportunities that I’m getting. Oh, and doing the Fleet Foxes video was pretty cool, too.

What is next? Any other mediums you want to explore?

            Yes! Very much so. I have a good foundation in 2D world, and now I want to get more into the 3D. Seeing my work in Fleet Foxes video was so gratifying. I abandoned dreams of being an animator long ago, but it was so exciting to see my art come to life that I really think I would like to get more into video. The gals at Free Time Industries and I have a couple things that are in the pressure cooker, so I’m really excited to see how my work will translate into different mediums. Ultimately I would like to work with textiles for home, porcelain collections, and weaving would be really exciting.

What do you ultimately hope to achieve with your art?

           I would like to create a pretty cohesive brand with my work. To publish books is definitely a goal. I love to do gallery showings, so doing that would be cool, backed up with a more robust brand.

Is there someone or some company that you would want to work with?

          I would love to collaborate with a fashion brand. For starters, doing a capsule collection of clothes or a small house ware line. I think someone like Anthropologie would be pretty cool to work with. They know their audience really well and know what sells, and I think I could bring something to the table. I know my audience. I’m constantly receiving emails requesting things like bathing suits and tea towels.

What are some of your favorite trends in the art scene in Seattle right now?
         Being more of a part of the design community, I think I’m always excited to see what’s going on with Free Time Industries, The Adventure School, and Iacoli and McAllister. I like self-propelled small businesses. I feel more excited about that kind of thing, since I’m trying to create my own brand.

What is it like to be a woman artist?

          I really like it, actually. It’s interesting, I’ve been told that people can’t determine my gender from my work, which is a compliment to me. When they do find out I’m a young woman, sometimes it’s a shock at first, but I take it as kudos to me. I know there are a lot of women artists out there, but unfortunately it’s usually the men that get recognized.

I like getting to know a lot more women artists in the city—it lets us create a community—not that we have to be bound by our gender, but I think it unites us in a way. I know that I do anticipate discrimination in the future. I have shown at a few galleries in which I am the first ever woman to do a solo show. That is cool for me, but it definitely speaks to what can happen in the future.

Most exciting place work has let you travel to?

            I haven’t been able to travel that much yet. I’ve only gone to Portland for the Fleet Foxes video. Hopefully this year I will be showing in Chicago and New York. I have an insatiable need to travel right now. I’ve been telling galleries that I want to do an instillation—which is like catnip for curators—and that I will fly out for the show. It’s a way for me to travel and see the rest of the country… but soon it will be THE WORLD. Ha!

Can't wait to see what's next. Thanks Stacey!