Ted and Gena Are Close. Real Close.
How cute is the couple behind Symmetry Goods? I love that they were down to do this version of “The Newlyweds Game” with us. Also: the cotton candy wedding picture they served up for it is ridiculously good.
The husband-wife duo will make you want to start a line with the one you love.
Ted Byrnes and Gena Tuso know each other pretty well: They’ve been married for two and a half years. And though they never intended to go into business together, their appreciation of each other’s aesthetics has helped them to create a stand-out line of hardware-accented scarves that look equally cool on men and women. We asked them to play our take on The Newlywed Game. They laughed—then obliged.
“This is from right after we got married in Elysian Park—there are a lot of vendors that sell ice cream, balloons, and cotton candy,” Ted said.
On Ted’s look…
Gena’s answer: “Minimal, modern, specific, dark, and geometric”
Ted’s answer: “I like things that look rustic—I’ve never been good at being polished—dark colors, and things that last a very long time.
On Gena’s look…
Gena’s answer: “Dark, minimal, structured, quirky-chic”
Ted’s answer: “Eclectic and interesting.”
On the worst thing about working together…
Gena’s answer: “Making time to discuss all the boring details of running a business that neither of us likes to deal with.”
Ted’s answer: “I wouldn’t say that there’s anything bad about it per se. We both have pretty strong viewpoints, which can be frustrating sometimes, but ultimately I think that’s what makes the brand what it is (or what its becoming).”
On the best thing about working together…
Gena’s answer: “It’s fun discovering new inspirations and conceptualizing ideas together that relate to both our business and life in general.”
Ted’s answer: “Knowing that no matter what someone has my back.”
3Sixteen+ jeans
On Ted’s favorite piece of clothing…
Gena’s answer: “A French army jacket he got when we were in Paris”
Ted’s answer: “Probably my current jeans—I buy one pair a year and wear them every day. This year they are the 3Sixteen+ from Self Edge. They are aging very well and are developing interesting characteristics.”
On Gena’s favorite piece of clothing…
Gena’s answer: “It changes, but lately it’s been an eighties Missoni jacket that goes with pretty much everything.”
Ted’s answer: “She just acquired a vintage Missoni jacket not too long ago that I know she’s really into.”
On their first date…
Gena’s answer: “Dinner at Café Stella in Silverlake then to The Troubadour to see some metal bands—but I can’t remember who we saw!”
Ted’s answer: “We went to a French restaurant here in Los Angeles, Café Stella, and then went to see a metal show. I think we saw Big Business.”
On the most embarrassing music Ted owns…
Gena’s answer: “Stephanie Mills’s ‘Bit By Bit’ from Fletch”
Ted’s answer: “It’s hard to say as most of what I listen to is either free improvisation, contemporary classical, noise, or metal. But I will tell you that I know all the lyrics to ‘Wannabe’ by The Spice Girls.”
On the most embarrassing music Gena owns…
Gena’s answer: “Scorpions’s ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane’”
Ted’s answer: “I have heard Tears for Fears coming from her computer speakers on more than one occasion—although I would rather have it be that than, say, Lady Gaga.”
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(Source: ofakind)
