My name is Maia Leandra, and here’s an elevator pitch for my life story: I’m a Miamian currently bundled up at Harvard to study the intersection of Computer Science and Art History. Funky combo, huh? I get that a lot. But, to me, it makes perfect sense. It’s a testament to the jumble in my brain that makes my heart beat with constant inspiration and insatiable curiosity. In an attempt to materialize some of the scribbles of consciousness pulsating in my mind, Mod & Bean is here for me, and for you.

On February 13th, 2016, I met with my friend Katherine over Crema Cafe coffee and toasted pastries and decided that we should share our Harvard experience — the people, the pictures, the parlance — with others.  On February 22nd, 2016, Mod & Bean was born.

Simply, Mod & Bean was the brainchild of two girls mixing mod fashion with Harvard wit. Since its inception in 2016, Mod & Bean has grown and changed, much like me and my original co-founder. In this new chapter, my focus is to establish Mod & Bean as an outlet for collaborative creativity from a myriad of contributors. Especially set in an atmosphere plagued with the pretense that competition outweighs collaboration, it is important to me to exhibit otherwise: Mod & Bean provides a platform for pensive exploration, deposits of picturesque moments, & impromptu talks with “cool beans”.

So what does Mod & Bean mean, etymology wise?

Originally founded as a tribute to fashion as much as people, this blog seeks to immortalize an air of modern elegance with unique underpinnings of personal style. In a place like Cambridge, Massachusetts, a cobblestoned crossroad of American history and innovation, what would be a better mission than to discover this twist of classicism and modernity? Mod.

Now, perhaps, for the less intuitive part: Bean. Given the blog’s birthplace of Boston, informally known as Beantown, it makes sense to pay homage to the coffee shop talks, caffeinated liquid life-blood of its inhabitants, and the penchant for endearingly calling people “human beans” (in lieu of human beings). So what if cool people with cool fashion were interviewed over a cup of coffee (cool or hot!) and thus learn a little bit more about what motivates them, stylistically and generally?  With that threefold rationale, Bean soon followed Mod.

At the end of the day, I strive to stay true to Mod & Bean’s core mantra of “people, pictures, and parlance.” To do that, I strap my camera over my shoulder, keep my notebook in my pocket, and seek to strike up conversations to appreciate the modern human bean. I want this blog to become a forum for clear streams of consciousness; a clink of mugs for the coffee shop chats becoming new ideas. I hope you follow along on this journey.

Xx, Maia Leandra

(human bean extraordinaire)