It was pretty stressful working day and night. I also eventually moved to Hamburg part-time and went back-and-forth from Berlin on a weekly basis. After a few years I wanted to be in a bigger fashion metropolis and for me that was either London or New York. I was invited to visit a friend of a friend who lived in Queens, New York. I fell in love with New York after a few days and it was clear to me that I had to live there.
Getting a visa took a while. Agencies didn’t want to represent me because they didn’t want to work through the hassle of getting a visa for me. But since I knew this was the only way for me to live in New York, I went back and forth between Europe and New York multiple times until I found an agent; then I flew back to Germany, gave away my things, sold my car, and moved to my dream city.
The first year had its challenges. I didn’t speak English very well so getting jobs was difficult. It’s New York City, a hard city to live in, there’s not much else to say about that. I was still going back and forth from Europe and New York to survive, and, slowly, I was able to get more American clients. This came with all the other difficulties for a foreigner in a new country, such as getting an apartment and a cell phone – not an easy task. I pretty much worked day and night, whenever I had the chance.
Challenges never defined me, but I got to define my challenges. In the midst of my busy schedule I got very lucky and met Kevyn Aucoin, one of the most legendary make-up artists. I started working with him and we worked up to twenty-four hours a day on music videos and on any celebrity you can imagine. So this became more work but also more excitement. I kept working like this for years and traveled around the world. Yes, it is stressful to work in fashion and always staying on top of the latest trend. But yes, it was worth it.
After the seven month diet, I couldn’t go back to the food I ate before. My taste and view of food turned around. But the only thing I could never stop loving is chocolate.
When I realized that most store-bought chocolate has sugar, soy, lecithin, or dairy, I started experimenting with making my own chocolate. I discovered how healthy raw cacao compares to tempered chocolate. So I made a lavender bite….more to follow!
Konstanze Zeller
Founder
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