Meet Cristina Gomez & Elissa Huang | Bloggers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cristina Gomez & Elissa Huang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cristina & Elissa, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
As we’ve progressed in our professional careers, which is completely separate from running our blog, we’ve gained more responsibilities within those roles. So for us, it’s been crucial to learn new ways of maintaining a good balance between work, running a blog and also having a personal life. We are now approaching our 5th year anniversary, and have sort of figured out the bread and butter of what’s important to us to continue running Public Display of Apparel (PDA). We’ve found new methods of collaborating with new partners, maintained constant communication to balance the workload, have kept our editorial calendar organized, and planned dedicated photoshoots in advance to meet deadlines.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
We both work in the marketing field, Elissa as a social media manager and I (Cristina) as a brand manager have been able to plan and execute marketing campaigns focused around our company’s products. Our experience in marketing and the digital space has definitely influenced how we work on PDA, and at the same time, working as influencers has helped us understand the level of effort from content creators when joining a brand campaign. The most obvious thing that sets us apart from other bloggers is that we are a fashion and lifestyle duo, which allows us the ability to provide different opinions and points of view to our followers. What often comes as a surprise to people is that we are both Latinas and we love to tap into our roots whenever possible. What excites us most about running a blog is the unlimited possibilities and opportunities that can come from collaborating with new brands and forming relationships. PDA is our creative outlet, and we love to express ourselves through our style. Elissa and I both met in college, and with time discovered that we both were passionate about fashion. Rather than pursuing careers in that field, we followed our dreams through our blog and social accounts (IG: @publicdisplayofapparel). We both were fortunate enough to find careers that we enjoy and give us the flexibility to have a side hustle. Standing out in a saturated market hasn’t come easy, but looking back we’re both really proud of the work and content we’ve created.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We love LA and are always telling our friends abroad to come visit us, or move here! There are so many places to check out, however we’ve rounded up some of our favorite spots.

To Eat: Dama: it’s impossible to go to LA and not have Latino food. Dama is a newish restaurant in the Fashion District. Not only is the food amazing (the pork shank is a must-have) but the decor is very chic.

For Drinks:  High Tide LA:this is a cute wine and beer bar in DTLA. It is super instagrammable but at the same time very chill! The decor is feminine with pink accents and neon lights. Another place we really enjoy is Malibu Wines – we love wine, picnics, and beautiful views. This place has all three! This is a great spot to hangout with a group of friends and have a relaxing evening. To Hangout: We recommend amusement parks; this is a typical tourist spot but we LOVE it. From Disneyland to Six Flags – it’s impossible not to have fun on rides or shows. We also love to hangout at the beach; a great way to enjoy it is by renting a duffy boat in Marina del Rey. You can take your own drinks and food too! They also have paddle boarding, or kayaking if you want to go a more sporty route. Lastly we love dancing…especially to Latino music! Our go-to events are Sudamericana or Al Tun Tun. Their location varies, so it’s best to follow them on Instagram to know where the next event will be hosted.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
As much as we hustle to create something we are both proud of, we cannot do it alone. We are very grateful and blessed to have a supportive family and group of friends that have helped us realize our dreams to keep running PDA. Some of these friends also happen to be super talented and have formed part of our creative team. Special shout out to Roger (@rogertookthese), Michelle (@fantasticorientalbeing), Matt (@mattboyhotrod), and our current photographer, Myriam (@dzmyriam) for the amazing work that you’ve helped us create.

Website: www.publicdisplayofapparel.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/publicdisplayofapparel/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/publicdisplayofapparel/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTq22EWAuWE8BIpRqIi0lOA
Other: Tik Tok: https://vm.tiktok.com/JjYyY35/