gemsounds: your new favorite BFFs

Women’s History Month is coming to an end, but let’s be honest–every month is ours. In the past, I’ve highlighted some of my favorite woman bloggers from Quirky Brown Love’s “Awesome Bloggers” list. This time I want you to get know (and more than likely fall in love with) 2 of my hometown sheroes.

Camela Guevara (artist and seamstress) and Dalia Dalili (freelance stylist and set costumer) are fashion + music bloggers based in Charleston, South Carolina. You should know that I’ve known Dalia since the 6th grade. We’ve gone from AOL Instant Messenger to MySpace Top 8 to Facebook together. That’s a pretty big deal, however, I love us both enough to not show you what we looked like at ages 10 and 11. While home for the summer after my first year of college, Dalia, also known to me as D2 or D$, introduced me to Camela at an 80’s house party. It’s been pure dopeness ever since.

Just like The Palmetto Peaches, gemsounds are 2 BFFs sharing their 20-something passions with the world.

Meet the ladies of gemsounds

Tell us a little bit about gemsounds: What helped you decide to create it? How did you come up with the name?

We decided to start blogging after our first Art Basel Miami experience in 2012. Prior to this, we were constantly sharing things back & forth that we thought each other would love, whether it was music, art, or fashion related. After the trip, and being totally submerged in creative energy from all directions, we realized we could just as easily have a platform to share our experiences with fellow women (and men) who might find them just as inspiring. We also really enjoy going to music & art festivals year-round, so having access to media credentials to cover such events is an added bonus.

The name came from the game Bejeweled, and describing the noise when the gemstones make contact with each other. We saved the name, initially thinking we’d use it for the band or DJ duo we’d eventually start, but the blog came first.

What’s your favorite thing about working with your best friend?

We’ve been BFFs for 10+ years now so we really have established a language that only we understand. We are fully supportive of each other in all aspects of our lives (almost to a fault – but that’s what friends are for, right?) so it’s always a fun & positive experience when we collaborate. We each have our own point of views, so we can contribute to whichever project we’re working on different ways. It’s a nice balance.

How do you stay creatively inspired?

We’re constantly inspired by our surroundings – Not so much locally, but as you know, much of life these days is lived on the internet. It’s a great way to stay connected to artists all over the world who express themselves in ways we admire whether it’s musically, visually, literary, etc. This keeps us motivated to keep working to expose a modest town like Charleston (and beyond) to the milieu of wonder the universe holds.

If you had to create a soundtrack for gemsounds, what are 3 songs that would definitely make the cut?

Kate Bush – “Running Up That Hill”
Chromatics – “In the City”
M.I.A. – “Y.A.L.A.”

What can readers expect from gemsounds in the future?

We hope to eventually develop a product or have gemsounds-specific merchandise, such as pins or patches, or even nail wraps! The possibilities are endless. We will also continue to cover festivals and resultantly discover new artists to share with our readers, so stay tuned!

gemsounds’ secrets:

Since we’re celebrating Women’s History Month, tell us what woman you would spend love to spend a day with?

Erykah Badu

If you could be a Disney villain, without judgement, which one would you be?

The White Witch in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe because 1. Tilda Swinton and 2. icicle crowns. Wait is that a Disney movie? (Ace: I checked and it is not, but I will let it slide!?)

The Palmetto Peaches are music festival lovers just like you. Which music festival is on your 2016 to-do list?

We’ll be attending Phuzz Phest in Winston-Salem, NC in April, Moogfest in Durham, NC in May, Hopscotch in Raleigh, NC in September, & Art Basel in Miami in December – and whatever we stumble upon in between! (Ace: Meanwhile, the only music related thing on my list is Beyoncé.)

What advice would you give to your 19-year-old self?

So many things! Mainly to give less f*cks, and live life for yourself. Boys really don’t matter as much as you’re letting them, and relish in this time because you will never be able to drink and eat as much as you are now without consequence. Also, don’t get that tattoo! (Ace: Major keys!)

There’s nothing like a pair of creative, blogging besties to help us end this well-deserved month. Get more from these gems at www.gemsounds.com, and if that’s not enough, connect with them on Facebook and Instagram!