8 September 21 - 27, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER contents | shopping & services | Arts & entertAinment | Food & drink | sports & recreAtion EDITORIAL EDITOR Patrick Williams ART DIRECTOR Sarah Schumacher PRODUCTION MANAGER Michael Wilson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Simone Carter, Kayla Daniels, Kelly Dearmore, Lauren Drewes Daniels, David Fletcher, Danny Gallagher, Alex Gonzalez, Anisha Holla, Mollie Jamison, Carly May, Eric Mayne, Kendall Morgan, Jonathan Patrick, Boom Paul, Nick Reynolds, Angie Quebedeaux, Eva Raggio, Andrew Sherman, Jeff Siegel, Ava Thompson, Hank Vaughn, Jacob Vaughn, Valerie White, Chris Wolfgang, Poppy Xander ADVERTISING ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Brett Robertson DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Charlie Dondlinger SENIOR MULTIMEDIA ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Holli Perry SALES MANAGER Michelle Kimbrell MULTIMEDIA ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Tori Begg, Tom Bergstrand, Christian Brown, Sarah Warner Coward, Jacob Estrello, Rhett Gambrell DIGITAL COORDINATOR Kamry Brown ACCOUNT MANAGERS Shelby Holloway, Fatima Syed NATIONAL MARKETING DIRECTOR Jennifer Robinson EVENT OPERATIONS MANAGER Ashley Morgan EVENT MARKETING MANAGER Eric Adejuwon V DIGITAL SERVICES VMG SALES DIRECTOR Ryan Daughtry SALES ENABLEMENT MANAGER Allisen Picos DIGITAL STRATEGIST/TEAM BOOST Michelle Graves BUSINESS BUSINESS GROUP PUBLISHER Stuart Folb DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS Kelly Foster FINANCIAL ACCOUNTANT Kimberly Holleyhead CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Carlos Garcia BUSINESS COORDINATOR Amber Friend VOICE MEDIA GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Chelsey Dequaine- Jerabek CORPORATE CONTROLLER Beth Cook LEGAL COUNSEL Steve Suskin CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Jeff Mars CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Scott Tobias FRONT COVER CREATIVE DIRECTION/PHOTOGRAPHER Kathy Tran @kathytran.creatives POST PRODUCTION Daniel Rockey @danielrockeyx LOCATION Kessler Lounge @kesslerstudioco FURNITURE 7space8 @7space8, Jackson Robertson @made.sic, Lexee LaRue @lexeelarue EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Rachael Rawlins @rachaelraych PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Elesé Arias @elese.gab.arias, Johnson Tran @johnsontrantv LIMEWASH BACKGROUND Niti Dattani @nitidattani TABLE OF CONTENTS Kathy Tran @kathytranx SECOND SHOOTER Ashley Gongora @ ashgphoto and Thanin Viriyaki @severus_ snapshot STYLIST Michael Phelps @mike_p_helps MAKEUP Miguel of Dallas @miguelofdallas ATTIRE Ganni @ganni ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Dallasites101 @dallasites101 Kara Shannon @kscecala Lily KT Smith @lilyktsmith HAIR & MAKEUP Lily Mendoza @lilys_blooming_chair FOOD & DRINK Brian Brown @beerinbigd SPORTS & RECREATION Darryl Williams @bullyjuice BEHIND THE SCENES Jordan Williams @ babysheq SHOPPING & SERVICES Daryoush Austin Zamhariri @the.texas.dude NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION @txcannabiscollective PRODUCTS @thriveapothecary_ ON LOCATION BEST OF PHOTOGRAPHY Taylor Adams, Elesé Arias, Soroya Colli, Lauren Drewes Daniels, Kelly Dearmore, Noah Ferche, Alex Gonzalez, Anisha Holla, Jason Janik, Brian Maschino, Eric Mayne, Alison McLean, Angie Quebedeaux, Nick Rallo, Daniel Rodrigue, Carter Rose, Andrew Sherman, Kathy Tran, Hank Vaughn, Patrick Williams CONTRIBUTORS Under the Influence Kathy Tran Worth 1,000 Words PhotograPher Kathy Tran and her creative team have their eyes on dallas’ influences. I t’s only natural that we’d put out this special is- sue highlighting social media influencers. Best of Dallas® is the OG of local influencers, after all. We’ve been giving readers our opinions on where to find the best of everything in Dallas for decades, so we know and respect the immense amount of creativity and hard work that goes into to tracking what’s new, popular or happening under the radar in Big D and delivering that information to followers in new and entertaining ways. That’s why we often rely on influencers, readers and our cast of contributors to help us keep tabs on our town. For the past several Best of Dallas issues, one of the people we’ve relied on the most to help keep things lively and lovely to look at is creative director and pho- tographer Kathy Tran (@kathytranx). What does that job entail? It’s pretty simple, re- ally … for us, anyway. Every year, the Observer staff picks a theme for our Best of Dallas issue and passes it on to our art director Sarah Schumacher and, for the past several years, to Tran and her team (@ kathytran.creatives). Make us look good, we tell them. Somehow, they do. In 2021, the theme was “Roaring ’20s,” and it was Tran and company who arranged the costumes, models and locations to create a speakeasy vibe. In 2022 it was “Space Cowboy” (we never said the themes were all good), and the team found the cre- ative juice to create a sci-fi/Western vibe. In 2019, for “Party With Pegasus,” her partner/writer Daniel Rockey donned a full-body red Pegasus costume and posed for photos in August heat. (We’re really glad we didn’t kill you with that one, Daniel.) Tran began shooting food photos for the Observer and other publications about 10 years ago, and her work has captured the eye of other outlets and busi- nesses in need of good, creative content. Food pho- tography is still her “bread and butter,” she says, no pun intended, but her businesses has blossomed far beyond that. Operating under the rubric Kathy Tran Creatives (kathytran.com), she has expanded her brand and now employs a half-dozen staff members. In recent months, she and Rockey purchased a com- bination home and studio space in Kessler Park (@ kesslerstudioco). Some of their work includes creat- ing content for influencers, though soon she might be her own biggest client on that score. She is expanding her personal brand with an eye to becoming an influ- encer focusing on her lifestyle and all that entails: home decor, entrepreneurship, wellness and food . Keep an eye out for her coming YouTube channel. “I’m like a hybrid,” Tran says. “I’m still a photog- rapher, but I want to build my brand.” She’s happy with her success in Dallas, but has plans to expand her reach into the wider world. Still, photography and photojournalism are her passion, she says, and she conducts three to five shoots a day. And Best of Dallas will always hold a special place in her heart she says, words we have written down in our notes and plan to have notarized in hopes that makes them a binding contract. - PATRICK WILLIAMS
