 This
has been one of the coldest and dampest Springs in New York
in a really long time. The streets are always wet and winds
whip the cold around building corners in a way that makes your
face bury deep in your scarf. For models, the harsh outside
is a condition of the trade. While they scurry through the day
at castings and go-sees, from uptown to downtown, they all,
I'm sure, are coming to the question: "Why the hell am I in
New York?"
Today is an especially harsh day, even
though its early April. What you would expect to be a brightly
sunny morning is not. Sabrina Randall sits tightly bundled
in a rainbow colored scarf and thick leather jacket. Her smile,
which never leaves her lips, is a refreshing ray of sunshine
in a dreary dismal day.
The 22 year old model, came to Q Management
via Seattle and admitted it was not a simple road. When she
was 15, ABC Teens came to her high school and chose her to
be a host for one of their shows. Her boyfriend at the time
thought that acting and modeling was for "sluts" and Sabrina
cast the idea of the profession out of her head. After she
dumped him, a friend convinced her to give it a try. She did
some small things in Seattle, but nothing came of it and she
moved on.
"So I met this guy," says Sabrina real
candidly. "And he was like, I'm moving to New York, do you
want to come? And I was like sure, why not." So she moved
to the Big Apple. Upon arriving here, she took a job at the
Diesel Jeans store on 59th Street and Lexington, where a friend
who was a hairstylist at Bumble & Bumble, saw her there
and convinced her to do a test with a photographer friend.
The pictures landed in the hands of Q Director, Jeffrey Kolsrud,
and soon she became part of the women's division. "I feel
lucky to be at Q," declares Sabrina. "Its definitely one of
the best agencies in the world. You get your money jobs, you
get your editorial, you get it all."
Sabrina's exotic looks have gotten her
far, her fun mixture of Korean and Irish, have caught the attention
of clients worldwide and her boyfriend, photographer Roderick
Angle. "We are very alike. Almost like brother and sister. Very
laid back and very easy going." Together they live in the East
Village. She and Roderick love living here and Sabrina has long
term goals of opening a photo studio in the city that makes
really good food. "In London", Sabrina tells me, "there is this
photo studio. It's nothing special, its like a plain loft, but
there are 2 chefs, and the place is always rented out because
the food is so good." She debates with me whether or not it
should be in Chelsea, the East Village or the Lower East Side.
Together we can't decide. "I love the buildings in New York,
its hard to choose."
This draws me to ask Sabrina: Why New
York?? to which she answers sharply, "I love the weird people
and the craziness." Her biggest compliment of the industry
in New York is that modeling is easy here. "The streets are
gridded so its easy to get around and all the people you work
with are nice and professional. It's not sleazy like Milan.
People are on time here, not like Paris. In Japan, its harder,
because you have 2 or 3 jobs a day and it's so hard to get
around. New York is just fun for models. Its an easy, brainless
job. Its well paid and you get to see the world."
I ask Sabrina to give me some advice
for models who are coming to New York for the first time.
She stops and thinks for a second.
"Find a place with good rent....
Be on time, relax and have fun....
Be confident with yourself....
Take a good polaroid (that's what clients
make decisions with at the end of the day)...
and smile at your castings."
With a big smile on her face, Sabrina
spends the rest of her time talking about good bars and restaurants
in East Village and of having lunch with fellow Q model and
friend Meghan Lowther. I notice while its still dreary outside,
here its a little bit brighter because of Sabrina. She has
the bubbly and positive attitude that you would never expect
from your typical New Yorker. But unlike your typical New
Yorker, Sabrina Randall loves it here.
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