Meet Julie Off Duty: Travel Entrepreneur
Shaping Cultural Experiences
Travel has been an integral part of my life since I was a young child. I grew up in a multicultural, bilingual home in the Netherlands with a Polish mother and a Dutch father. My
Update & BBC News Link
A brief update: One interview video will be uploaded tomorrow evening. I believe the BBC News One-Minute World News provides well-balanced reporting of news, hence why I wanted to share it. Top stories on May
From Nigeria to Boston
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VNkCazT_T4&feature=youtu.be
When you first meet Oluwagbeminiyi Osidipe, you encounter a very vibrant, friendly, and unique personality. Oluwagbeminiyi or Niyi – as she shortened her name for simplicity – was named by her mother, who had a “very personal experience” when she had her, Niyi explained. Niyi is a Yoruba Nigerian transplant who arrived in the U.S. in 2006. As one of the most densely populated (West) African countries, Nigeria derives its name from the river that spans its land. To the South, it borders the Gulf of Guinea to the Atlantic Ocean. Originally colonized by the British, Nigeria gained independence in 1960. Its main ethnic groups are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, who speak English and their own respective languages, while major religions include Islam, Christianity and indigenous beliefs. Niyi shares her story, her views on politics, cultural differences she’s embraced with humor, and what we can learn from each other by expressing curiosity. Her message is simple: travel enriches us through its exposure to new cultures, and enables us to grow.
Mark Twain on Travel
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” (American author Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad).
Have you had the opportunity to travel (extensively, within your country, or even once abroad)? Can you relate to Twain’s sentiments? How does travel enrich us?
Pleasing The Taste Palate
Food has the wonderful quality of uniting us no matter where we are. There is nothing partisan or narrow-minded about food. It simply invites us to indulge, create recipes, and share with others. Two of my favorite Polish dishes (included in collage) are pierogies and barszcz czerwony – a beetroot soup – served on Christmas Eve in Poland. How does food bring us together? What are some of your favorite dishes and why? Can food trigger memories?
Stereotypes: Truth or Fiction?
DEFINING STEREOTYPES: “An idea or statement about all of the members of a group or all the instances of a situation.” (Merriam-Webster). Stereotypes enable bias and preconceived notions to perpetuate, but can also reveal valid
Annual Human Rights Report
“The world changed immeasurably over the course of 2011. Across the Middle East, North Africa, and far beyond, citizens stood up to demand respect for human dignity, more promising economic opportunities, greater political liberties, and
Euro Crisis & Emerging Stereotypes
Brief Crisis Breakdown Since the onset of the global financial crisis, or Great Recession, in 2007, the Eurozone has feared impending growing global debt levels, as well as sovereign debt within European countries themselves. In
Remembering Tiananmen
Today marks the 23rd anniversary of Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in Beijing, China. Inflation, a lack of career prospects, the fall of Eastern European communism, and political corruption, are all said to have fueled anger
Coffee's Uniting Power
A cup of coffee can bridge cultural gaps. At least, that’s what Gizem Salgicil White, founder of Turkayfe.org, believes. Her organization aims to create awareness of Turkish culture, particularly within America. Gizem is a Turkish native,
Today’s Culture with Travel interview is with Julie Kandalec from JulieOffDuty.
What started your journey around the world, but also your career in beauty?
Around 2000, I was watching a game show on MTV, and the grand prize was an 80-day trip around the world. I was instantly fascinated with the trip – the company boasted about visiting majestic sites such as the Great Wall, floating in the Dead Sea, and climbing Machu Picchu. But, at $40k, it was not even an option for teenage me to go on.
So, I set out to find a way to combine my two greatest loves: travel and the beauty industry. About 2 years later, I was reading a trade magazine that talked about working in the spa on a cruise ship: I knew I had found the perfect combo of beauty and travel. I ultimately ended up working in the gift shops instead of in the spa (way more time off to spend in port!). After my contract on the ship ended, I came back into the salon and began building my portfolio to be able to move to NYC to do nails for photo shoots and celebrities, which I did in 2010.
What does your day-to-day look like?
These things I do every single day: Hit snooze at least twice, read The Skimm in bed, and check emails – I have about 5 email addresses to keep things streamlined with each of my companies, plus one just for travel, and one for shopping and other “fun” things!
Also, I’m just obsessed with looking at interior decorating! I’m moving from Manhattan to Brooklyn this week and cannot wait to do a full re-haul on my decor. I’m also on Instagram for a few hours a day, working on my story and next post. Being in the photo shoot industry, it’s natural for me to create and produce a story and having Instagram as a platform is really fun!
Also every day I am planning some sort of trip, or researching for one I’ve already booked. In the spring, I went away for the longest stretch ever – two weeks in India followed by a week in the Maldives. Also, I just planned next family vacation (Rome, a cruise to the Amalfi Coast and 3 nights in Croatia!), so I am constantly emailing with my dad and brother with options of what to do.
I talk to my best friend every day, all day long about everything – my crazy work ideas, personal thoughts, future business plans. What’s better than having someone you trust in your corner? It’s priceless.
A few times a week I go to SoulCycle. I always swore I would never, ever go because I thought it was too hard. But, I got hooked back in the fall when my Paintbox CEO, Jane invited a bunch of us to go, and now I go about 3-4 times a week. If you want to see a fast change in your body – Soul is the way to do it. Plus, I love the “team” mentality there!
In addition, I’m creating nail art looks for Paintbox or looking at inspiration for color combos. During fashion week, I’m the lead backstage manicurist for Essie – part of my job is to create the nail art looks that go down the runway on models at shows like Oscar de la Renta. Those nail color trends are written about by dozens of beauty editors and influencers, so it’s really an honor to do that every fashion week for about 10 seasons (5 years) now.
I recently learned Lightroom and love editing my photos with it, so I’ll spend some time each week to edit my (new and old) photos with it. The before and afters are truly incredible! For example, I only have ONE photo of me in a suite at the Burj al Arab – thanks to bad interior lighting (and no professional camera), I thought it was useless. But, after Lightroom, its one of my favorite photos now. Here’s another before and after photo I edited in Lightroom:
These are things that can happen at any time, any of 7 days a week:
– A couple of weeks ago I got an email to come to set and do nails for a major beauty company… right then.
– Some days, one of the artists from Paintbox, where I am the Creative Director, is sick and I go in to cover their clients.
– My favorite actress, Viola Davis requested me to do her nails… in Los Angeles.
What advice would you give others who wonder how to make a living from travel?
Be genuine! Everyone that knows me knows that I love to travel. Don’t do it for free trips, free clothes, or just for the money. Brands can sense that a mile away.
Also, have a niche and stick to it – there are a million travel bloggers out there – find something that makes you different and memorable.
Where and when was your favorite work experience abroad? Why?
Anything directly combining travel and beauty I get super excited about. When I was in the Maldives last year, I was chatting with the spa manager after my massage and mentioned that I did nails in NYC. He said that they don’t get a lot of manicure requests, so I offered to teach his staff on tips to do a flawless manicure and cross-promoting (I’m also an educator). The staff loved it and feel much more confident with their nail services now!
Why do you personally love to travel? Share a story (or two) about trips that have made a big impact on you.
I love to travel because I’ve always loved international cuisine and taking photos in cool places – long before ANY social media was a thing. I also love little markets and picking up unique things there to bring home for gifts. The coolest thing I brought back was a hand-painted miniature tea set (okay, I actually brought three sets!).
My trip that made the biggest impact on me was my first trip to Asia, specifically Hong Kong in 2008. It was my first big international trip, we went for CosmoProf Hong Kong, a huge beauty trade show. But coincidentally, it wasn’t at the show that I learned how to sculpt gel nails – it was at a salon where I stopped to get my nails done. I’ve been working with sculpting gel ever since.
As a travel entrepreneur, what mark are you hoping to leave in the world?
I just want people to know that it’s safe to leave their comfort zones and see different cities and countries!
It opens your eyes to so many beautiful things that you cannot experience in any other way. It truly changes how you view the world, opens your eyes, and your mind.
Hi! I'm the founder of Culture With Travel and #CultureTrav. Please chat with us on social media and contribute in the comments! Follow @Nicolette_O
