Nil Darling
Musician and designer.
We are like high school friends.
Wears her sunglasses always.
We were going to walk and talk but it started raining a bit so we went to a nearby café.
I suggested EspressoLab and she said no because they’re associated with the government so we don’t go there.
Now I know why someone else said no to meeting there too.
She grew up in this neighborhood.
She got into a nice school where they learned English then she learned Japanese on her own to get into Japanese design school.
Applied to three design schools, chose one, and lived in Tokyo from 2009-2011.
Dating in Japan was hard because foreign men want Japanese women and Japanese men also want Japanese women.
She got a job at a music club that was amazing where she met legendary musicians.
Later met those musician contacts when visiting Los Angeles, which instantly felt like home.
Came back to Istanbul after Japan for some limbo which was hard, but then got the freelancer visa to go to UK so moved to central London.
It was hard to get enough freelance work to support the visa, but she made it work, and now it’s home for many years.
She visits Istanbul and wonders if she could set up a café or coffee shop here because she has a strong idea of how she’d do it differently.
Friends with the cofounder of Wagamama who thinks it could be a good idea.