Sí Trends

California natives Jason Peskin and Heidi Luerra would rather buy Juan Doe's album than Linkin Park. With their company, Project Ethos, unknown artists are the ones in high demand. Ethos' concerts/fashion shows/art galleries showcase a multitude of up-and-coming fashion designers, painters and musicians. In the three years since Ethos was born, the combination of Peskin's marketing expertise and Luerra's creative sensibility has helped promote the careers of over 50 designers, 40 musicians and 200 models. Here the tastemaking pair tell Si Trends the importance of pushing originality to its limits.   

Si Trends: How was Project Ethos born?
Jason Peskin: Well, I knew I wanted to get back to producing my own events. I came across Heidi Luerra and she had her own clothing line, was working as a server, working at a showroom and going to [fashion school], all at 20 years old! So I sent her a message on MySpace saying that I liked what she had going on. We met and she basically wanted to do a fashion show. I had all the connections with the venues through Sean Healy and all the advertisers I've been bringing them. So I told her that we should do something bigger than a fashion show for her line. She had her friend, Daniel, who also had a clothing line and they wanted to collaborate on the show. I knew that we could get Sean Healy involved and book some bands. All of our ideas just snowballed into, "well let's get more clothing lines, more bands. I know a guy that paints." So we just decided to put the whole thing together under one roof. We had six clothing lines, six artists and a couple of bands. 750 people showed up and the vibe was special.
Heidi Luerra: I met Jason over MySpace in the summer of 2005. He owned his own marketing company and was looking to work with more young artistic creators. It seemed like a perfect fit and after much input and talk from friends Project Ethos was born. [It] was to promote my line, some local bands and some friends that created amazing art.
 
Si Trends: Why did you name it "Ethos"?
JP: Heidi thought of the name Ethos. It means the distinctive spirit of a culture or an era. What we're saying is that we're taking the Ethos out of Los Angeles through the creativity of this time. With our second event we knew this model works; you can invite buyers to this show for up-and-comers and for these young artists. We have artists tell us, "Man, I was painting in my garage and my parents told me I was good but I wasn't really sure. I just sold a painting for $700. You changed my life." We heard that a couple of times in the first couple of shows.

Si Trends: Who are some of the artists who've been a part of Project Ethos?
JP: We booked Colbie Caillat for our fourth show last March. She's gone on to be huge on the Billboard charts. We had OneRepublic also before they had that big hit with Timbaland. We started booking these acts before they hit. We're never going to book Linkin Park we're going with the band who's right at the cusp. This last show we booked Tyrone Wells and he is one of those guys. He's signed to Universal Republic so he's a little further along, but he's not really out there yet. Heidi's been following for a long time now. At this we want to launch a retail store on Melrose and we're trying to get the event televised.

Si Trends: How do you pick the talent who participate in your event?
HL: I'm very selective about Project Ethos talent. I only choose the best of the best in the Los Angeles and Orange County. Based on their potential to grow and already amazing talent I choose participants that I know are serious about achieving goals through our event.

Si Trends: Are there plans of expanding the event nationwide?
HL: Yes! There has always been the dream to grow Project Ethos to other markets and locales nationwide. We'd eventually like to take a Project Ethos tour.

Si Trends: What's the ultimate goal for Project Ethos?
HL: Our goal and mission is to expose young untapped talent in the genres of fashion, music and art. I personally believe that all artists of any type should share their craft with the world, regardless of age, career status or ability to finance exposure. This opportunity should be available to them.

Check out Project Ethos latest event, Stars Aligned, at Hollywood's The Avalon here.