Meet Ellen Ho

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellen Ho.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Ellen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in San Francisco in a very traditional Chinese household with immigrant parents and spent most of my formative years buried in school books, trying to do everything I was told to do. I am grateful to my parents for raising me well, but my upbringing was characterized by struggles with cultural differences and generational trauma. Some challenging experiences in my adolescent years led me to a really dark place, which resulted in me finding God and going somewhere far far away.

It wasn’t until I began traveling abroad solo every summer did I find myself and the courage to truly be me. I would buy a one way ticket, start at one end of the continent, and come out the other end. To this day, I have been to over 80 countries across six continents, with countless stories to tell. Some of my most memorable experiences include rafting the Nile, road tripping into the Rif Mountains of Morocco with Saharan nomads, bungee-jumping Victoria Falls, trekking to Everest Base Camp, yurt camping in the Mongolian wilderness, diving shipwrecks, jungle trekking among Mayan temples, glacier trekking in Patagonia, motorcycling through the Philippines, spending time with Rwandan genocide survivors, camel safari riding through the Great Thar Desert, and witnessing a Tibetan sky burial.

I intentionally practiced detaching myself from everything that defined me here – how much money I made, what I owned, my job title, how “successful” I was, what I was “supposed” to do. This is how I found the courage to start doing everything that I love to do without letting fear hold me back. So I put one foot in front of the other and all the small things I did every day eventually turned into something. It just takes practice.

After graduating from UCLA, I embarked on a lifestyle entrepreneurial career. I paid my way through college with my modeling and acting career [www.ellenho.net] but eventually got tired of auditioning. Although I booked increasingly more as I grew more confident in myself, it didn’t really allow me to be as creative or bold as I wanted. So I started my own craft service company [www.thevittlespoon.com], providing snacks and hors d’oeuvres to casts and crews of productions. Not too long after, the business expanded into production catering on occasion, snack delivery to growing companies, and food styling on set.

In between building my career in show business and planning trips, I began accumulating content through capturing moments of my travels abroad. I’ve done a number of weddings and lifestyle shoots, and still love to shoot when the right project comes along [www.ellenhophotography.com]. I began making art by experimenting with printing on different materials – wood, metal, glass. My travels also inspired me to start an international nonprofit named Trek Relief [www.trekrelief.org] that provides disaster relief and various types of aid to developing communities in need abroad, which I now sit on the Advisory Board of.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, I managed to start and lead an intentional (Burning Man) community through several Burns. We even have our own sound system and infrastructure. The community has provided kindling to many relationships, marriages, nonprofits, businesses and more. Last year, the Burning Man Org asked me to join Phase 2 of the Cultural Direction Committee. It’s been a real privilege to be involved in this whole process – especially as an Asian American woman – making Black Rock City more sustainable, equitable and accessible. Grateful that I get to contribute in such a meaningful, creative and alternative way, especially as Burn culture permeates more and more of our lives and society – through building community, influencing lifestyle and cultural values, inspiring leaders of some of the world’s most influential brands, changing the festival scene, pioneering art, and more.

And last but not least, I practice a number of eclectic hobbies to keep myself grounded and centered: fire spinning (hula hoops, dragon staff, levitation wand, fans, rope dart, palm torches), aerial hoop, pole dancing, bubbleology, contact dancing, meditation, backpacking, nurturing plants, and yoga. One passion led me to the next and all of these activities keep me healthy, happy and inspired. Some may even become vocational careers in the near future, depending on what my soul feels most attuned to at the time.

So when someone asks me… “What do you do?” I usually chuckle and make something funny up because I’m not quite sure if I can find a word to sum it all up, and then proceed to tell them that I am a lifestyle entrepreneur. I make sure that my work – whatever it is – revolves around my lifestyle instead of the other way around, and that whatever I do never compromises any of my core values.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
All the challenges that I have faced along the way helped me become more resilient. When everyone went to grad school or had a full-time job and a steady paycheck right out of college, I was figuring out how to invest, be my own boss, and build a career that allows me to be free. It’s easy for the self-doubt to creep in when you’re trying to do something different than everyone else. Managing relationships and expectations can also be challenging, but every road bump is just an opportunity for growth. On top of that, show business can be emotionally draining and auditioning got me accustomed to rejection. It was humbling and it got me used to “failing.” I began to see failures as learning opportunities and stepping stones to success. As I grew more comfortable with all this, I became less fearful and more in tune with what I wanted. I gave myself permission to make my dreams a reality, one step and one day at a time. Sometimes, I look back and surprise myself with how all the little things added up.

Please tell us about The Vittle Spoon + Ellen Ho Photography.
The Vittle Spoon is a craft services company that assists production crafts people in specific areas of expertise. We are part of the backbone of any shoot, assisting and servicing the craftsmen and women of productions. We particularly specialize in foodservice, food styling and more recently plant styling.

Primarily, we specialize in providing ingredient-conscious healthy and hearty snacks for productions and workspaces. I found myself on way too many sets that did not have enough good food options, so I decided to do something about it. Anyone that feels the same way and wants their crew to eat well too calls us. Sometimes, when production is too busy running the show and prefer that we take care of feeding the crew entirely, we offer breakfast and lunch catering as well. I have worked with brands such as Samsung, Yoplait, Lincoln, Huggies, Skittles, Barefoot Wines, and Amazon, and have fed culture icons such as Mindy Kaling, Steve Aoki, and even a picture sloth named Melon.

Providing top notch craft services naturally became an avenue into food styling. In addition to filling hungry bellies on location, I specialize in creating beautiful high-quality food shots to look as viscerally appealing as possible. That can range from plating and doing the actual cooking to selecting cutlery and arranging an entire table spread for production designers. My obsession with gastronomical aesthetics has led me to share food as a deep and meaningful experience that evokes an emotional response. I channel my love and passion for food and eating into my work for editorial and advertising print, film, television, and commercial spots. I have also recently begun to style plants and greens on set, and hope to expand more in that area.

​We also consistently deliver a variety of healthy and hearty snacks to workspaces. Great snacks make a great work environment and boost company morale, producing better overall results in the workplace. I work with budding startups, co-working spaces, mid-level corporations, and large companies to improve their snack culture.

All in all, I have several years of working in various types of kitchens, a decade of throwing badass dinner parties, planning food-centered gatherings, professionally photographing food and lifestyle subjects, and over 15 years of set experience that include providing full craft service spreads, breakfast and lunch catering, producing, coordinating, styling, and even on-camera as I had mentioned before.

In fact, I started my career on-camera as a model and actress but became wary of auditioning. I have been in my fair share of commercials, print campaigns, industrial, music videos, tv shows, and films over the past 15 years. Some brands I’ve worked with include McDonald’s, Oreos, Budweiser, Universal, Apple, Motorola, Sony, JCPenney, Converse, Facebook, Snapchat, Tivo, Underarmour, Google and AT&T. Theatrically, I am most well known for my roles in 13 Reasons Why and Taken 3.

In addition to my food business, I am building my personal brand, primarily by sharing bits of my world through the Instagram platform. Instead of trying to fit into a certain mold or an already-written character, I am creating space to be my true authentic dynamic self, especially as the commercial world merges with the social media one. Through photography and storytelling, I hope to inspire others to live freely, love boldly, travel more frequently, pursue their passions, and challenge the status quo. My intention is to use my brand as a platform to do what I love and make a living doing so while supporting others in doing the same. The work will vary depending on the season and my current mood – photography, creative direction, community building, culture building, food styling, plant styling, trip planning, experimental event planning, modeling, producing, hosting a show – any number of combinations of these loves. I’ll see where the wind takes me!

What role has luck (good luck or bad luck) played in your life and business?
After seeing poverty in so many parts of the world, I was only filled with gratitude every time I came home. It always felt like my mindset and mentality shifted more and more with every trip, but everything around me stayed more or less the same back home. Instead of craving things that I did not have, I just did the best I could with what I did have. I am lucky to have grown up in America, in a time where women and minorities have emerged with voices. I am lucky to have had the parents that I did, and gone through all the difficulties that I have, to become the woman that I am today. I am lucky to be surrounded by the amazing friends and family that I have. On the other hand, bad luck is occasionally brought about by a momentary lapse in self-care or awareness, which has led me to deep learning and growing opportunities that I am grateful for. Good luck happens when preparation meets opportunity. I’ve worked very very hard to make the life I want to live a reality, and it has paid off in many ways. It also requires thinking outside the box so I don’t end up where everyone else is, which increases my probability of encountering “luck.” Whether good or bad, everything and everyone that has been a part of my life at some point has made me who I am today, so I wouldn’t have wanted it to be any different.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.missellenho.com; www.ellenhophotography.com
• Email: ellenjho@gmail.com / thevittlespoon@gmail.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/missellenho
• Other: www.thevittlespoon.com

Image Credit:
Teisbe, Gregory Chu, Reid Godshaw of Harmonic Light, Alan Nguyen, Clarke Surrey, Lydia Kye, Ellen Ho Photography

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