intellectual properties

miss velvet cream/metamorphica in NOVO Mag

photos from a Metamorphica figure drawing workshop i did almost a year ago with miss velvet cream as the stylist just turned up in print in NOVO magazine’s current fashion issue:

(that’s me on the right)

the next Metamorphica is on Feb 26th with BadUnklSista as the stylist, which never disappoints.  if you or someone you know enjoys figure drawing, check it out.

get your love on: “LovingYou” and “LoveSick3″ this weekend in SF

wo hand-crafted, heartfelt and artfelt events this valentine’s weekend in SF that i will be at and if you’re looking to ignore the traditional Vday hoopla and get out – coupled or alone – for some beauty, art and love, you should too:

SATURDAY 2/13

Missing Piece Presents:

LOVING YOU: a gallery art party

LOVING YOU is a gallery art party featuring love-inspired artists, designers, and performers celebrating that crazy thing called love.

While it is true that our photo booth has been known to cause makeout sessions with attractive strangers, that’s not the only reason you should come to LOVING YOU. We also have the best last-minute valentine’s shopping for you or your boo, including locally made gifts like lingerie, jewelry, hats, belt buckles, stuffed animals, mini flower vases, and even white lace MC hammer pants!

Come for the original artwork valentine you will get at the door, stay for the super cute performers, drink ’till your bold, get your tarot cards read and hey, while your at it, get your hair done! Then go home happy at midnight with someone on your arm and VOILA! it’s a wonderful start to your Valentine’s Day.

LOVING YOU features love-inspired artists and designers:

BeesandBears http://www.beesandbears.com
Breality Designs http://www.brealityrox.com
Danielle Deroberts http://www.onerary.com
Heather G. Arcega http://www.gingerbreadclothing.com
Ivana Ristic http://www.missingpieceproductions.com/ivana
Jeremy S. Eaton http://www.germsspread.com
Kristen Holden http://www.missingpieceproductions.com/holden
Liz Mamorsky http://www.lizland.com
MonTree http://www.montreedesigns.com
Native Intelligence http://www.rockitscienceSF.com
O’Lover Hats http://www.oloverhats.com
Roland Blandy http://www.rolandblandy.co.uk
Ron Goldin http://moonlid.com
Sea Pony
Sid Gabriel
Sugarpuss http://www.sugarpussclothing.com
Tamo Design http://www.tamodesign.com
Tidal Ware http://www.tidalwarejewelry.com
WilloToons http://www.willotoons.com

PLUS:
Glamarama Instant Makeovers http://www.glamarama.com
Magnolia Photo Booth http://www.magbooth.com
Mary Kay’s Tarot Readings http://www.marykaymitchell.com
Mobile Libations Bar http://www.mobilelibations.com
Ploom Tasting Lounge http://www.ploom.com

Special Guest Performance by Ricochet http://www.ricochet.name

MUSIC PROVIDED BY:
8-9pm Michael Musika http://www.myspace.com/michaelmusika
“Valentines Day is love linked to commerce and some sort of catholic innuendo. I sing lots of songs about whores and ghosts.”

9-10pm Model Student http://www.modelstudent.us/
Performing an all-acoustic set of “Songs of Love & Lust”, a repertoire of songs spanning several continents and languages.

10-11pm DJ Benchun http://benchun.net
“When you’re the dj you have one job. Your job is to make everyone go home and f*ck.”

$7 admission .::. 8-11pm

@ Glamarama, Van Ness Avenue, 417 S Van Ness @ 15th, SF

<3.:.:.::.:.::.:.:::.::…:::..:::…:::…::::…:::::…::::….:::::…::::::<3

SUNDAY, 2/14

The third annual LoveSick fashion show

(you should click there and watch the video…)

If you can’t cure the sickness, treat the symptoms this February 14th at Mighty.  You won’t find a cure for your broken heart, however, if you drag yourself over to 119 Utah Street at 7p.m. you will find a plethora of palliative pleasantries.

LoveSick 3 will have a live musical performance by The Goldenhearts, DJs Irene Hernandez & Martin Collins, special performance by Bad Unkl Sista, trunk show, art exhibition, kissing/photobooth, and a raffle – all supporting the main event:

A smoldering fashion show of the latest in lingerie and fashion from amazing SF designers such as Alexandria von Bromssen, Miss Velvet Cream, My Dirty Dishes, Medium Reality, Richard Hallmarq, Miranda Caroligne, Kayo, Invisible Hero,  Ghetto Goldilocks, Tamo Design, Gelareh Designs, Jasmin Zorlu & more. There will be a special performance by Bad Unkl Sista & Collaboration Project with Alexandria von Bromssen.

come get your love on.

ARTumnal

Miss Velvet Cream Designs (Scatha), originally uploaded by Kyle H Hailey.

Tamara, Antje & I in Miss Velvet Cream designs @ the Black Rock Arts Foundation annual benefit fundraiser, 11.20.09

stellar: full of stars

especially now that this thing publishes to facebook i’m finding it extremely difficult to say anything more personal about the SF Fashion Awards.  part of the problem with proliferating your blog is that people read it.

i do not want to detract from the fact that i fully appreciate and respect what Del Geronimo is doing with this now-annual event: giving props and recognition to designers who create amazing things and get little in return in the way of media or coverage.  and let’s face it:  fashion is a business, and getting public recognition is IMPORTANT — if you want to run it as a business. anyway, please consider everything here constructive criticism. i have a whole mind full of other caveats but i’ll just get on with it:

my personal conflicts around the event, and the award i was nominated for (which i somewhat discussed here), were more or less two-fold:  1. the name of the event implies that all of SF fashion is represented, and 2. because it is done by popular vote, it feels like somewhat of a popularity contest amongst those who do end up represented, instead of some sort of independent panel giving awards based on merit.

the first thing:  to call it “THE SAN FRANCISCO FASHION AWARDS” suggests that the event producer has gone to some length to create an inclusive event that pulls from all the fashion scenes in SF.  it is true that during the nomination phase, ANYONE can be nominated (i think). the problem is that the circles in which the nomination forms and such are distributed are overlapping and insular – i don’t think this is by design, just by lack of coordination and effort. for this event to REALLY encompass all of SF fashion, there would need to be a huge push and a team dedicated to reaching out as far as possible, spreading the word, getting people “on board”. i honestly have no idea how hard Del tries to do this – maybe he does as much as he can, but i’m sorry to say that if that’s true it’s not getting very far.

so what emerges is a list of people nominated of which i pretty much personally know almost everyone (except the models, although i’ve been in shows with most of them too).   even if this were called the “The San Francisco INDEPENDENT Fashion Awards”, this wouldn’t be representative. i read SFINDIEFASHION.COM daily (which is awesome and you should too if you love SF indie fashion), and there are tons and tons of independent fashion designers in SF.  most of designers in the events and fashion shows listed on that site i’ve never heard of.  so the question is are people just not interested, or are they not getting reached? i have no idea. (btw, remember last year? i was in the running for things that made no sense, and said pretty much these same things then.)

on a more personal level:  i am deeply honored and humbled by receiving the award for Best Blogger (especially since i STUDIED WRITING in college and have never had a job as a writer so getting an award for writing somehow makes me feel like that degree in English wasn’t a complete waste of 4 years), but honestly: this blog isn’t about fashion. this is a lifestyle blog. this blog is about my life. fashion has, in recent years, played a larger role in my life, MANY THANKS to all of the people who’ve encouraged me to develop my participation and roles in the fashion scene. if it weren’t for the likes of Danielle@Missing Piece and Miranda Caroligne and Scatha@Miss Velvet Cream and Staz@BadUnklSista encouraging me to push my love of dressing up into something more, a huge part of my life would be so much different than it is, and i am extremely and eternally grateful for that. and while i could argue, if i wanted to, that “fashion” IS a lifestyle, and therefore it makes sense for a lifestyle blog to win a fashion award, still: there are bloggers/writers out there who focus all of their content on fashion, and even some who focus specifically on SF fashion, like sfindiefashion.COM or Fashion Smashion, a snarky blog who thinks they should’ve been nominated for best blog.

so while i am totally humbled and fully appreciate the recognition, i find it a little uncomfortable to stand up proud and say “YES! ME! I’M THE BEST FASHION BLOGGER IN SAN FRANCISCO!” because i honestly don’t believe it’s true. (reagan insists that the award i REALLY won was “most fashionable blogger”, and that i would gladly accept an award for. :=)

on the second point, during the voting period, one of the nominees wrote that she wasn’t going to participate because she felt it was all just a popularity contest. she is an ARTIST (in the truest sense i have ever met in human form) and was not into the idea of “winners” and “losers” in art, or having to “promote yourself” in order to win, instead of just winning on merit. still, she was nominated, and so many of us voted for her because if anyone was going to “WIN” she deserved to win.

i empathized with her feeling, but at the same time – it is what it is and so why not run with it? and so i decided to try to shelve these conflicts and just promote and support what the INTENTION of the event is, despite all the caveats and misgivings. but then when we were there, the day of, i did not see her and felt some guilt/shame that she was standing her ground as an artist and not a player in the scene and to be honest i felt a lot of weirdness around her not being there because i agreed with her, but there i was all dressed up in my fancy dress participating like i didn’t have any conflict. (it turns out, she was there too, i just didn’t see her).

i am not a huge fan of competition myself – it brings out the worst, not the best in me – and i can totally see how as an artist to get into the realm of “winning” – who can “win” art? – feels like a violation of principles. but fine line here was at what point are you being too much of an art snob to accept an award from people who love you as an artist? at what point are you “too cool” to promote yourself, say thank you, open up and accept appreciation, and instead snub those trying to lift you up? i felt like it would be totally and utterly disrespectful to not show up to receive an award given to you out of love, no matter how many issues the implementation might have had.  the intention is about RESPECT, and getting the nominations and votes of your peers is a sign of respect, a sign of love, a sign of recognition, and i think respect is deserved going both directions.

hopefully, as the SF Fashion Awards evolves, the net will be wider cast, the participants will be representative, and maybe the voting system won’t be as janky (or non-existent) and people will respect it more and more cred will be given to the event and the scene and the artists, which is the whole point to begin with. SF fashion gets put down a lot and there’s not a lot of attention for designers who are brilliant and hard working in this city, so i think the event should continue because i think it’s important. it just needs to grow, and there needs to be a diligent effort on the part of the producers and organizers to make it grow in a direction that reaches further than it currently does.

as for the actual fashion SHOW at the fashion awards, the only thing i have to say is: KITTINHAWK: i want you in my closet.

2009 SF Fashion Awards: the winners are:

BEST FASHION DESIGNER: Alexandria Von Bromssen – maker of things sexy and chic

BEST COSTUME DESIGNER: Bad Unkl Sista – you cannot get better costumes than this, and she will also push your buttons and make you laugh.

BEST ACCESSORY / JEWELRY DESIGNER: Jasmin Zorlu Millinery. if you need a fantastic hat (wedding-church-fashion show-stage-costume), contact this woman.

BEST PHOTOGRAPHER: Kyle Hailey – has taken more amazing photos of us and them and he deserves a million awards for all the capturing of beauty he has done. everything and everyone in the world looks so wonderful through his lens.

.::.SEE HIS FASHION AWARDS flickr photos HERE.::.

VISIONARY AWARD: FASHION DESIGNER: Miss Velvet Cream, who dresses you up in her love

HONORARY AWARD: Bad Unkl Sista. honorary for what? everything.

BEST HAIR OR MAKEUP ARTIST: San Francisco Institute Of Esthetics And Cosmotology

Best RUNWAY MALE MODEL: Tyler Wood Birestrand

BEST RUNWAY FEMALE MODEL: Lauren Fletcher

BEST MODEL: Kara Krauss

BEST FASHION SHOW EVENT: Lovesick 2

BEST SYLIST: Owen Buenaventura

BEST EVENT PRODUCER: Irene Hernandez Feiks @ Chillin’ Productions – supporting and promoting Bay Area fashion for the last 7 years

BEST STORE FRONT: Upper Playground

BEST FASHIONABLE DJ: Commodore 69

and yes: BEST BLOGGER / AUTHOR: Amy Leblanc / Intellectual Properties

photo by Kyle H Hailey

SEE ALSO: excellent “photobooth” photos of winners and models and guests by Moja Ma’at HERE!

i don’t think i need to repeat that i love the SF fashion scene, and am constantly inspired by all of these people, but i will. repeat.

fashion is expression, of us and our world.

fashion art, and should be treated as such.

models are performers and artists.  if you think it doesn’t take work and talent, you’re wrong.

designers are artists who create and fulfill and reflect and inspire.

san francisco has mad talent, expressed in a san francisco way.  it is not new york or milan.  it is independent, it is san francisco, and deserves this recognition that Del Geronimo has poured his heart into creating for us.  if you know a talented SF fashion designer/model/MUA/producer and wonder why they weren’t represented here, next year: NOMINATE. support. show us what you got.

more personal thoughts/words sold separately in the future.

unique but thematic

me & mz tamara ja in miss velvet cream (from our own collections) @ the SF Fashion Awards 7.26.09

photos by Moja Ma’at

one more of me below: Continue reading »

shameless plug: vote for me : SF fashion awards

i know i’ve been slacking on the blog posts lately, but please forgive me long enough to VOTE FOR ME in the SF Fashion Awards for Best Blogger. note that when you fill out the poll, you have to hit EACH ORANGE BUTTON. then it shows you the current results!

i also want to plug my dear friends Miranda Caroligne (fashion), Miss Velvet Cream (fashion), Bad Unkl Sista (costumes), Kyle Hailey (photog), Sequoia&Gita (fashion/photog), Missing Piece (fashion show/event producer), Jodie Adele (jewelry), K.Holden (blogger@sflovestory) and most especially, DEL GERONIMO (event producer/photog), who produces this event and i can only assume added my name to the list.

SF Fashion Awards, originally uploaded by wetribe.

further metamorphosed

the finale.

metamorphica, a drawing/art/fashion/music event, hosted by Bad Unkl Sista, 3.27.09
clothing/styling: miss velvet cream
make-up: monica fine
jewelry: fluidance
photos: jay oberhelman

@metamorphica 3.27.09

clothing: miss velvet cream
mask: estar
jewelry: fluidance
photo: faernworks

Filed in bay area gems, fashion, photos | Tagged with badunklsista, metamorphica, missvelvetcream | Comments (3)

kodoma

KODOMA was:
Madrone Lounge and Friends of the Urban Forest present:
A celebration of the trees with recycled fashions and organically grown beats…
with remake + reuse clothing presented from san franciso designers

Friends of the Urban Forest filled the bar with trees (and the bar is named after a tree (Madrone)). the theme for the show was from the japanese anime movie Princess Mononoke (which i’ve never seen), in which the princess (who was raised by wolves?) and forest creatures and “spirits who live in the trees” called Kodoma fight some evil developer guy to save the forest.

anyway, to try to keep with the theme, the make-up artist did a kabuki style thing, and the clothes were either recycled fabric or forest themed. we ( 6 models + 5 designers + 2 hair and makeup guys) had to get ready in the “back office” of the bar without mirrors, and it was about 98 degrees in there and very, very chaotic.

in my opinion, we looked very scary. and sweaty. and weird. but no one fell off the bar, which was good.

jay’s photos can be viewed on Flickr here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60945213@N00/tags/kodomaatmadronelounge060106/

or here:
http://www.jayober.com/photos/20060601-KodomaAtMadrone/index.html

i’m going to just say: you had to be there.

many apologies to Anastazia/Bad.Unkl.Sista and the models for not having photos of the first set of clothes (which were SO.SO. HOT!!!!) ; the photographer (jay) was not prepared for the first walk. :/

in order of runway (bartop?) appearance:

(not shown:) http://www.badunklsista.com
http:// www.sandyreyes.com
http://www.mirandacaroligne.com
http://www.missvelvetcream.com

all hats/headpieces were by ESTAR.

crazy-ass hair and make-up by Guille Rayala: http://www.de-sidhu.com

thank you beautiful people!
(for those of you who might wonder how in the world this might be considered fashion, i think you should check out Christian Dior’s Spring 2006 Couture runway look as comparison) .