We had the good fortune of connecting with Alice Hong and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alice, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I’ve had a few small businesses crop up over the years, most of which came out of hobbies I wanted to take a little further. Each one has and continues to bring lots of joy and fulfillment to my life!

My first real small business was Alice H Photography, through which I get to meet some incredible people and had the pleasure of taking their portraits or documenting their special events. Then there was Edgewood String Quartet, a string quartet that performs over 700+ songs ranging from classical to pop, rock, jazz, anime, film music and more. We’ve done some really cool immersive concerts and also do private events such as corporate events and weddings.

Most recently, I started two businesses I’m really excited about: Flora & Fold, which is a craft business that celebrates the art of origami as well as everlasting preserved flowers. While this business mostly exists online, I’ve been doing Holiday Markets this season and have had so much fun meeting customers and seeing the joy on their faces when they see my products! You can find Flora & Fold at the Atlantic Station Holiday Market Dec 21 – 22.

The other is Luxardo Entertainment Group, which is a collective of musicians essentially trying to make cool musical things happen in Atlanta. We recently entered into a fiscal sponsorship with the amazing ensemble vim, a 501(c)3 organization. With this status, we are now in the process of organizing Classical Remix Music Festival, an annual chamber music festival featuring music from Taylor Swift to Tchaikovsky. Hopefully, our first festival in operation will be June 2025 – so stay tuned!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Following a creative path as a profession has never been the easy path forward, but making a creative difference and seeing the joy or inspiration in others and building a community because of our work makes it so worth it.

I really hope that people who come to our Classical Remix concerts will feel like they experienced something they’ve never experienced before. Each of these concerts will feature a visually stunning feature, perfect for photo and video opportunities. The musical selections will be totally unique – did you ever think you’d hear Frank Sinatra and Arnold Schoenberg in one concert?

Not only that, but the music will be played at an extremely high level by some of the nation’s best musicians – many of which live locally in Atlanta!

These concerts will be inspiring, emotional, personal, and even a little bit educational. I really hope that the audience not only feels like they experienced something incredible special, but that they’ve joined a community of music lovers and musicians alike.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Little Tart Bakeshop is so good! I especially love going there for their After Dark menu with some girlfriends. For an intimate dinner out, Lyla Lila is hard to beat. But my daily go-to is Urban Hai; their food is delicious, authentic, and feels like home cooking. If you’re vegan, I highly recommend Calaveritas Tacos! I am always thinking about those vegan tacos because they’re just that good!

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?
There are too many people I need to shout out to! I’ve learned that any big endeavor takes a village, and lucky for me, I happen to be surrounded by people who are not only brilliant but generous. Classical Remix Music Festival has been my biggest undertaking yet. Here are just a few of the many names that should be included on here:

– ensemble vim, an all women-run contemporary chamber music collective. These awesome musicians are not only very talented and enriching the Atlanta community, but they’re also personable and experts at navigating the nonprofit world. I have learned so much from them by their example and all of the advice they have to offer.

– musicians of the Atlanta Symphony, many of which you will hear perform at Classical Remix this coming June! They have so many ideas that will make this festival incredibly special, memorable, and FUN.

– all of our supporters, from people who will be going to these concerts to those who have given generous donations to help us make this festival happen.

– my family, of course! Always supportive and helping me every step of the way!

Website: https://www.experienceluxardo.com/classical-remix, https://www.aliceyhong.com/flora-fold

Instagram: @flora.and.fold, @experienceluxardo

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@experience.luxardo

Image Credits
Ümit Yüksel, Alice H Photography

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