MARCH MADNESS!!

This is my first attempt at catching up because once again I am very late posting and I somehow got the order of my posts all out of wack...
March 2013, was the longest, most continuously interesting month I have ever had in my entire 30 years (so far!).  It started off very relaxing and built up to an incredible climax and here it is the end of April and I am just now recovering smdh lol.

My 30th birthday was on March 5, and I knew in February that I was going to use March as a springboard to launch the branding of my company, The House of Fly by Lady Silk (yes you have to say it all at once like A Pimp Named Slickback and A Tribe Called Quest lol) and I had planned a series of events, occurrences and happenings to make that possible. I had two stories scheduled to run in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, I started and ended my modeling career in one day, my YouTube web series, The Art of Style was going to make its debut, and last but not least- I was finally ready to produce my first fashion show since I graduated from design school in 2010.

I was going to make March all about me, me, me (hey Mya girl) and I needed to get ready for it by relaxing my mind, reflecting on all the rights, wrongs and mistakes I made in my twenties and what I needed to do in order to move forward in my thirties and I could not figure out how to do that when everybody expected me to #turnup lol

I had plans to get a hotel room downtown, live like a hermit for three days and just drink and eat fat girl snacks and be at peace (aka, a regular day in my world, minus the hotel lol). Well, when I told my girls they straight clowned me, so I started planning a birthday party at a club downtown when my style partner suggested a fashion show. Hmm... now that sounded good to me but at this point it was like the end of February and my b-day was on the 5th of March. I knew I didn't want my first show in years to be rushed so I talked the club owner into having a show at the end of March and he agreed. Which still left me with nothing to do for my actual day...

Cabin In the Woods
In comes my Special Friend, *2001 who invited me to his home three hours away to chill with him. He stays in what I consider to be the boondocks and on my way there I joked and told friends that I was on my way to retreat in a "little cabin in the woods", little did I know how true that would be.

2001 and I met at college almost twelve years ago. We had a very "different for me" type of relationship back then that I was no where near ready for (I was so used to messing with hood boogers smdh lol) and we ended up amicably going our separate ways that same year, but Facebook brought us back together months ago and we resumed our friendship like all those missing years were merely days ago. He had already came to Cleveland a few times to visit me and now it was my turn...

I traveled pretty light if you ask Betsey (Johnson that is lol)

He asked me what I wanted to do for the weekend and I told him "Nothing, absolutely nothing." and I was dead serious, even though I bought clothes for going out, I knew when I returned home my life would be wholly involved in planning the show, so I just wanted to chill. Sidenote: yes I did bring 3 bags filled to the brim with clothes, shoes and accessories. I wanted to be prepared in case it rained, snowed, was hot (I live in Ohio lol), or if we went hiking, rock climbing or bar hopping and I bought two fancy dresses in case we got invited to a high fashion ball or won tickets to the opera or something like that. And yes one bag was dedicated to shoes only. Hey, I was taught to stay ready lol.

We watched movies, played chess, talked and ate the whole weekend. 2001 is a vegetarian who LOVES to cook. While I was washing breakfast dishes he's in the process of making lunch and asking me what I want for dinner type shit lol. He is a great ssssssicknen cook and got me to try all sorts of things that I usually turn my nose and lip up at like: almond milk, tofu, and soy burgers, caramelized pears on my waffles and various mixed items (I'm a very "picky" eater and don't believe in wet and dry- i.e peanut butter and jelly- and I like to eat my foods in certain ways). He has some type of lemony fried fish recipe that if I was a serious cook I would kill him for lol.

I can say that after visiting with 2001 I came back home wanting to try new things and use more fresh ingredients in my food.  Only thing is with fresh food you literally spend all day cooking and there is no quick 30 minute dinners to be made, but it is worth it. I felt cleaner and lighter when I left and yes I did go back to eating fat girl snacks but I can say my meals are a lot healthier and I rarely eat fast food any more.

I left the cabin in the woods feeling extremely refreshed and energized- ready to face the chaotic month ahead of me. I left a day before my big day and sat in complete silence in my living room plotting my future on my actual birthday. Now get into this colorful fresh breakfast montage:

I learned that tofu takes on the flavor of whatever you use and 2001 used everything lol: peppers, all the seasonings, tomatoes and even a cut up veggie burger...

I didn't even know I liked pears!

Carmelized pears with maple syrup and waffles baked in the oven...

Organic fruit cut up and put into the juicer- which the process was fascinating!

And voila! I ate like I was fresh out the county lol. My plate is the one on the left , with the pears on the side, but I did try a piece of waffle with a bite of pear and it was ok, but I drew the line at mixing the tofu and the waffle. No sir.

Fashion Stories... 

I wrote two fashion articles for the Plain Dealer, one highlighting area consignment shops and the other discussing spring runway trends for plus size women and they were both set to run in March.  My editor asked me if I wanted to model to illustrate the plus size story and I agreed after begging stylish blogger Erin T to do it with me. Erin is the brand manager of Re/Dress Online an awesome online plus size retailer that has the cutest mix of retro and modern clothes and accessories for girls with curves. The owner Rachel Kacenjar is one of the coolest people that I have met in awhile and offered to let me borrow clothes for the shoot in exchange for clothing credit in the story.

I finally got a chance to meet my fashion editor and the shoot went so fast that I did not have time to be nervous. If you were to look through my phone you will discover that I have enough selfies and bathroom pics (both at home and public- hey if the lighting is good- I have no shame lol) to rival Amanda Bynes on a good day, but that is way different from having someone take photos of you TO BE SEEN BY THOUSANDS OF CLEVELANDERS (or at least those who read the CPD).

I need to be able to check my fresh and look back at the outtakes to see if my right or left side is about it today, fix my weave or remove an occasional eye crusty, but it wasn't like that at the Plain Dealer shoot (no mirrors in the photography room, not one!) so I was very worried about how the pics would turn out, but everything ended up coming together nicely and I actually liked the pics they ran with the article.... Spring Trends:

Photo by Plain Dealer photographer

Photo by Plain Dealer Photographer

Unfortunately, my Consignment story got "bumped", meaning it did not appear at the time it was slated to run and got moved for a story that was more important time wise. Eventually they ran it two months later and I didn't even know until I received an email from the guest editor later that day- here it is: Consignment. That's the life of a freelancer- sometimes you never know what is a sure thing, and what isn't things until it happens or doesn't.  That's why I wait for certain things to be guaranteed or actually pass before I speak on them and I never count freelance money until it's in my bank account (learned that the hard way lol).

 Anyway, I was glad  I did the consignment story because the research was so fun! I had never stepped foot inside of a consignment shop (different from a resale shop or a thrift store) and was thrilled at what they had to offer. Nice work wear, shoes, accessories and designer pieces for "next to nothing" as my grandma would say. They all had a variety of merchandise and I was especially pleased with a consignment boutique called "Cici's Re-New Beginnings", a family run business on Larchmere.

It was nice  and clean, had a men's side and a women's side and the cutest, most unique thing of all is that they offered robes for the fitting rooms! I thought that was genius! How annoying is it to get dressed all over again just to go out and get another size? Cause you know the damn sales lady is never around when you truly need her, but magically pops up like a broken Jack in the Box when you repeatedly told her that you were just browsing lol. Anyway one of the owners- Gillian, was super cool. I used a few of her quotes for the article and she allowed me to film her for a short vid:

They carry a nice mix of designer, contemporary and vintage items.

That is a reversible Missoni coat you are looking at!
 I loved the beaded detail on that white gown and the tooled leather purse at the bottom is a rare find.

Recently I was headed to a shopping excursion at Target when I passed by Curve Appeal, a little gem in Lakewood that caters to women size 12 and up! Needless to say the move to Target never happened and I got lost in my emotions as I perused rack after rack of cute summer clothes ALL IN MY SIZE!

Curve Appeal consignment shop- a plus size woman's dream!

One very, extremely satisfied customer!

Dinner with Jesse...
My lunch companion, Jesse and I are still going strong! This time we decided to dine at Massimo da Milano, an Italian bakery and restaurant on W.25th that I have passed literally everyday since I moved to the west side.  It is always so beautifully decorated and I see lots of events and weddings being celebrated there so I went to the website and decided to check out the menu.  I got excited and called Jesse immediately to run him down the details! For $7 you got an all you can eat buffet consisting of pasta, soup, bread, fish, all types of chicken and desserts galore!

But then we got there...  First of all, the beautifully decorated part that attracted me to the place is off limits unless it's an event- ok fine I get that. But we were lead into what felt like the downstairs basement of a hood school cafeteria in a sparse ballroom like space. Dwell on that for a minute. Ok, so ambiance isn't everything lol, on to the food right?

Chiiiiile that buffet was LATE! I've had better food at the free lunch programs back in the day smdh. The food was cold, it looked old, the chicken was bland, the salad was wet and soggy, the fish was nasty- we stood over one dish for a full 10 minutes trying to figure out what it was, and who was going to be the first to try it. We both passed as it looked like cod dipped in Alfredo sauce? Dessert was practically none existent; there were dry ass pieces of wedding cake set off to the side that looked like it had been served on a silver platter from the party last night (or last week according to Jesse) and the waitress served us little itty bitty pieces of cheesecake that was gone before you could taste it.

We both left hungry and bitter- but at least we had fun catting it up with each other as always.

It was as dry and tasteless as it looked and I just shook cheese on everything cause they had no other sauce smdh.

Small cheese cake nibblet lol.

The Art of Style web series...
I have been wanting to host my own fashion/style show for years every since I got hooked on the television show "What Not to Wear", but have always been too busy, too shy, too unequipped to to try it.. until this year.  Thank goodness for my homegirl and videographer extraordinary Jasmine Golphin who came in and took over to make things happen for me! The show debuted on March 1, and I was happy that it had finally dropped although honestly I wasn't feeling myself in it. I am just not comfortable in front of cameras right now lol. Jasmine worked with what she had, but I was just terrible and sounded fake and phony, my weave was a mess, my outfit could have been a lot better, and obviously I can't read from a script lol. Buuuut I liked the overall look, production and content, it's just that I felt like the guy from the dry eyes commercial lol. I'm happy I did the first one and the second one is on it's way. I will probably start producing my own little mini videos as well.  Tell me what you think in the comments below please!

Re/Dress Online
When Rachel K, owner of Re/Dress Online, asked me to model for their website I didn't hesitate (ok well I did, but only briefly) and agreed to do it although I am clearly uncomfortable as hell in front of the camera, and that photo shoot for the Plain Dealer was so quick and sterile like, that I just did not have time to dwell on being nervous. This was different though. This was for an online retailer and would be seen by my social media friends everywhere (and we all know how important that is lol.) But I got all that out of my head and showed up at the photo studio ready to "model".... Yep, I'm no good lmao.  I was stiff and uncomfortable and I just don't like all eyes on me in certain situations.  And I kept switching into stylist mode trying to piece the looks and accessories together like it was my own shoot lol.

I absolutely loved the leather circle skirt and the purple peplum!
All these pieces are available at Re/Dress. Except for the acid yellow shoes. Those are mine!

It was a great opportunity and I was so happy I had a chance to do it. I love every aspect of this fashion industry and I am willing to play all the roles so I can get a deeper understanding of what it is that I do. It's all relative. Sometimes you have to try something once or twice before completely dismissing it but basically to keep it trill- I need total and complete control when it comes to my image and beyond, and when you are a model, you have none of that unless you're Naomi, Linda or (insert your favorite 90's supermodel here).   I learned a lot and have so much more respect for the models that I work with, but I doubt I will be in front of the camera modeling anything else anytime soon lol.

The Hautest of the Haute Spring Style Show
Thirty days is not nearly enough time to plan and have any type of event, but somehow I pulled it off without my weave falling out lol (barely).  I can't lie, it was hard- I knew I wanted at least 20 or 30 models and I wanted to use my designer friends to show their collections and I knew I wanted it to be focused on style, not fashion.  I held two sets of auditions and got a very diverse group of models to participate, some who had never even walked before which was cool to me because it was more about personality and dare I say "swag" than actually modeling.

I used  Martika, one of my most fave models to illustrate my flyer for the casting call. I try to  use my work as much as possible. I hate generic flyers with celebs who won't be in attendance on them lol.

I had 2 auditions so I could get as many models as possible, and this attention grabbing photo of Martika  helped me reach my goal.

I loved this one! Bright and colorful, I just used text over the image from the Light Years to Mars photoshoot.

I decided to do everything by myself, by choice because I mostly end up doing shit by myself anyway, but I will definitely ask for help next time.  It's a headache planning for things like this. The auditions went well, so did the meet and greet/and the practices, it was just everything in between that was killing me softly.  Making sure the designers collections were going to be ready, helping pair the models with the designers, compiling the scenes and trying not reuse too many models, but making sure that everybody walked out as least three times, making sure the in between size models (8-12) had something to wear, because they could not fit the designer collections (usually 0-4) but could not get into the plus size collections either (12 and up).

Me at the first practice for my show.

My very diverse group of models after practice...

I wanted to celebrate the new season and have a show based on the spring runway trends. The scenes were by collection: Re/Dress, the plus size online retailer opened the show with a cool black and white graphic collection. I styled the models in bold bright jewelry also available from the website. Next up was ImTK, who put me under brief cardiac arrest by arriving literally minutes before the show, but her candy colored customized pieces were so haute and sexy, I immediately forgot about it lol.  Fuchsia Monkey, a dope t-shirt and hoody line representing the tattoo culture came all the way from Detroit to be in my show and the crowd loved their tees! Anton Z. showed his exotic and draped dresses and beach cover ups, followed by a jewelry scene styled by me. D. Hayes sent his showstopping space age fantasy pieces down the runway and then my scene, The House of Fly by Lady Silk, closed the show with the models dressed in their own wardrobe styled by me. There was lots of black and white, graphics, tribal brights, ruffles, lace, peplums, florals, etc... with the help of the designers and models we touched almost every trend of the season!

On the outside things turned out well. The inside was a whole 'nother story! There were problems with the hairstylists (it was Easter weekend) only one makeup artist showed up and she did a great job, but I know I wore her thinner than a Girl Scout thin mint for doing EVERY BODIES makeup... the photographer called text-ed me two hours before the show saying that she would not make it to the event (oh, ok) and I previously received a late ass email at two in the morning from the host saying that she was not going to be able to make it

I ended up hosting the damn thing myself and I was sweaty and terrified lol! But I had to do it and after a few drinks, or three, I was cool. I didn't say I was any good- but I got through it without throwing up all over my acid yellow shoes or running out the door.

Flyer for the show, I also used for the front cover of my programs.

Before and during the show I was bitchy, rude and a yeller but I had forewarned my models that things would not be pretty, gave me no excuse I know, but I think they kinda (hopefully) understood my stress.  The show started off well until the DJ Such and Such messed up the songs (which he had two CDs, the YouTube links and mp3's to the song sent via email and still fucked up. I could have slit his damn throat with the backup CD but I didn't lol).  He ended up playing shit that had nothing to do with the clothes, the atmosphere or the mood, but luckily my models went along with it and played it off and Jasmine's genius self was able to edit the video to perfection.  I also was smart enough to have a backup photog because something was telling me the other one would probably not be there.  I was glad when it was all over and slept the whole day that Sunday and turned my phone off for the next 5 days. I stayed away from social media and everything else. I just needed a break! I was drained of my energy and creativity and did not want any human contact with anyone other than my son, my parents and 2001.

Description of the designers collections and the names of all the models in the program.

Quick little shopping guide and trend sheet for the fellas inside he program.

It was a great experience and I will do it again (hell I'm having another one on June 29th lol) but things will be different, way different! Here is a preview video Jasmine took and there were so many photos that it will have to be a post by itself. Thanks Megan Cline photography. Maybe I will put the actual video of the show up in a few months...

*Code name for my Special Friend...

THE FLY GIRL DRINK&SWAP

Shop and swaps (where people come bring and trade clothes) have been popping up all over the country and I have even heard of a few here in Cleveland, but had been to none. The idea excited me and I decided to research and find out what I needed to do in order to host one of my own. There is a wealth of info on the web of course and the one thing I noticed is that there very few specifically for plus size women and when I read comments on blogs and boards the number one complaint was the lack of items at these events for big girls. DING DING DING! I would host one strictly for plus size women!

It took me about a month of planning and I still did not know what to expect, how many ladies would show up, what would we do, how would I handle and organize the clothes, what if there was an argument if someone wanted the same thing? I started from the very beginning and put the feelers out there by questioning my friends and social media associates, then I planned a plus sized photo shoot around it where I got behind the camera for the first time and shot my girl Porche, an actress from the Maternal Pride movie, and Jasmine, the director of same film.  I used the edits as advertisements and flyers for the swap and started a Facebook group with all the details and information.  There was a great response and I moved forward with the execution.

Porche

Jasmine 

The swap would consist of drinks and appetizers, fashion and styling tips,I was to include hair and makeup tips from experts, we would play fashion trivia games, shop and then have a mini runway show, which I had asked Jasmine to film. I had even found a photographer to take extra photos for me throughout the event.

The day before I got a cancellation from the hairstylist and it was too late for me to find someone else. Then the morning of I received messages from both Jasmine and the photographer saying they weren't gonna be able to make it.  Luckily, or unfortunately I'm used to these sorts of things happening and was already prepared with alternatives (do it all myself lol) so it really didn't even bother me and thank goodness my angel of a friend Jesse came through and helped me out TREMENDOUSLY!! He was craft services, dishwasher, labeler, he taped things, folded and hung clothes, merchandised, built things, assembled beautiful bags and even took on the role as both photographer and videographer! He certainly held it down  and (he snapped most of the photos too) I am so appreciative of him and hope I did not wear him thin so he will help at my other events lol.

The day of the Drink&Swap was a beautiful Sunday and it was held inside the new Design Lab Studio in the Art Craft building on Superior.  Although I had a great response on Facebook, only four ladies showed up which actually worked out for the best because to be real- I was pretty much winging it and did not know what should happen and it looks better if you play it by ear to a small crowd than a larger one lol. But it all worked out...

I started by offering the ladies appetizers which included, bite sized chicken taquitos, a veggie platter, cheese and grapes (which I cut up my dang on self because fruit and cheese trays are expensive!) small bites made of tortilla chips stuffed with ground turkey, cheese and salsa, and homemade Oreo cookie bark.  My drinks were a special white wine spritzer I made purple by adding just a splash of grape Kool-Aid (they had no purple food dye anywhere in the city of Cleveland). I somehow at the last minute found grape Twizzlers and Mike and Ikes which I put into the gift bags.

Small munchies and crunchies...

Pour it up!

Everyone brought in great clothes and accessories...

We then moved on to play a fashion trivia game which led to a discussion on spring/summer trends, silhouettes of the season and shopping and styling tricks. Then we had a very open and honest discussion about wardrobe dilemmas plus size women face while shopping, body shaming issues and fashion industry bias that we are tired of dealing with. We spoke about everything, nothing was off limits (like where to find the best strapless bra if you are bigger than a DDD) and it was very personal and intimate and fun to be involved in.

Fashion trivia and group discussion...

The ladies all participated and everyone had something to add to the group.

Then it was time to shop! The ladies had all brought a nice assortment of clothing, jewelry and shoes so we had a nice amount to pick from.  I offered styling suggestions as everyone shopped and showed them new ways to wear something they liked but could not quite justify- arms too big for the jacket sleeves? Cut it off and make a custom vest... Dress one size too big, but you like the color and shape? Cinch it with a belt or better yet take it to a tailor to have it altered- it was free!

The accessories table was the first to get ravaged...

Swapper Chrissy debating on a brand new with the tag still on pair of pants.

Erin brought her hilarious mom Teresa

Checking the size, but not the price lol!

Chloe taking full advantage of the necklace section...

Teresa scored a mint green lace peplum top that fit her perfectly...

There were brief pockets of silence and background music as the ladies sipped and swapped...

Chloe utilizing the shopping bag for her swag while Chrissy debates on which accessory will leave with her.

Everyone left with something, they received gift bags with a small token of my appreciation and complimentary shopping bags.  We then took photos and after me giving a very brief runway lesson (which no one else will ever see lol) we had a mini style show.  I had a blast and the ladies all said they had fun too and were happy they came. I am definitely planning to have another one sometime in the very near future!

I had so much fun with these stylish ladies!

Tired, but very happy!

And here is the video footage from the event!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year!! 2013 is starting off right! I styled a fabulous photoshoot, I consulted wardrobe for a local short film, aaaand I finally shot the pilot episode for my fashion web series!! I have been busy trying to keep up with everything and manage my son, family and my new special Friend : )

Photoshoot: Light Years to Mars

I knew I wanted to shoot with a model named Martika, who had walked runway in my student show three years ago, but I wanted to tailor a shoot around her specifically. She's a brown skin chick who rocks her candy apple red hair as faithfully as I bump with my purple and she is fierce! I had been planning this sort of sci-fi/rock inspired shoot in my head for the longest and I knew I wanted Stephanie of Kiss of Death Xclusives (Kiss of Death Xclusives) to shoot it because her style is so dark and edgy. One day I randomly ran into Jade, another one of my models who had walked in the same show and everything just clicked.

I used a makeup artist named Keishla for the very first time and was very impressed with her work and professionalism! The inspiration behind the shoot really came from an insanely crazy John Waters (whom I stan for) movie called Pink Flamingos. Please don't watch that movie. Ever.. I watched cartoons and cute kitten videos for almost a month straight afterwards, trying to erase the often filthy, obscene and absolutely disgusting images from my brain due to several scenes in this "campy" film. Yeah it ain't for the weak stomached at all, but the costumes (as in most of Waters's films) were awesome, so I lifted a few dramatic color and shape ideas directly from the risque movie.

Scene from Pink Flamingos: say Hi to Mrs. Marbles and her manservant.

Yaaasss!! for the diamond studded cat eye glasses!

Babs and Cotton giving all sorts of trashy glam...

Martika @ the fitting with her flame red hair.

Keishla painting Jade's face

Jade looking very angelic.

Makeup inspiration.

Some of the accessories used in the shoot.

Me adding the finishing touches to Jade's hair.

Martika just had so much attitude!

One of my fave photos of the night.

Martika and Jade worked really well together.

I mixed and matched pieces from D.Hayes and Anton Z's previous spring and fall collections and they worked well on both of the models. I used some of their own pieces as well as my jewelry and a few of my shoes and other accessories.  The models played off each other and I was sooo pleased with the results! To see all the edited photos from the shoot go here: Light Years to Mars.

Costume Design
A costume designer is responsible for creating the look of a character, in movies or t.v. They start at the pre-production stage and help develop the look and style the entire cast including extras. There are so many clothes to order (sometimes multiples of the same item) lots of shopping, fittings, corrections and things to be done before filming begins and it's a very long process. And even then everything can be vetoed if the fit or look isn't right for the leads, or if the director hates just one thing, or if the script changes-(which it does-alot).  A few summers ago when Cleveland was the fabulous Nouveau Hollywood, I snagged a position as a costume intern on a film called Boot Tracks starring Stephen Dorff (Tomorrow You're Gone they changed the name and the film is still not out yet) and Michelle Monaghan. It was the coolest experience! I worked directly under Carol Beadle, who designed the costumes for the movie The Runaways and had recently styled Katy Perry and Kanye West for Perry's E.T video.

I found out about the job while working at the vintage store Suite Lorain. I helped the producer's assistant find a few outfits and she told me about the film coming to town and that I should send in my resume. Hell yeah I did! Days later I remember dropping off my very first article as a freelancer at the Cleveland Plain Dealer building on Superior Ave. when I got the phone call from Carol asking if I could meet her for a quick interview.

It was the hottest day ever and I had on short shorts, a transparent tribal print tank with a purple leopard bra peeking through, long thick, purple and black Janet Jackson box braids and a pair of killer wedges that made me look every bit of the 6 feet tall fashion monster that I was. Definitely not the type of interview outfit they approved of in fashion school, but I told her I could be at her hotel in thirty minutes.

I knocked on the door and it swung open to reveal a woman with dark hair wearing only a tank and underwear (and to think I was worried about my attire lol). She greeted me with, "I can't find my fuckin pants" and I knew we were going to hit it off just fine. When she did manage to find her trousers (which ahem- were by Proenza Schouler) we talked about EVERYTHING: vintage fashion, 90's boy bands and groups like the Kills and the Raconteurs, Moschino's fall line, trade and international fashion magazines, Kate Moss and all her greatness, old movies and books, photographers, Degrassi, (she's from Canada) the commercialism of fashion and of course personal style. I was in her room for hours before I realized I had to go pick my son up and had not actually interviewed for the job at hand until she asked me if I could come back tomorrow morning at 9 am with Starbucks and a notebook.

 Does a bear shit in the woods and wipe his ass with a fluffy white rabbit? Hell yeah I could and I figured that was how the rest of the internship would go- me fetching coffee and taking notes for the next three weeks and believe it or not, I was ok with that, just for the experience alone. Boy was I wrong! Carol literally took me under her wing- I went from being an unpaid intern to a paid personal assistant  for the whole the rest of the time filming went on and learned everything under the sun about costume designing.

I am forever grateful to Carol, because not only did she allow me to do the fun things like shop, stay on set and put together boards, she also took the time to explain things like research and organization, orders, invoices, contracts and receipts, cash outs and other things I'd never heard of. My love of shopping everywhere around my city and knowing layouts of all the major malls, boutiques and vintage stores across my area finally paid off and I shopped til I literally dropped, I crunched numbers and had lots of input. I had a few garments that I chose appear on screen for the main characters and I now even have an IMDB credit. It was something that I would never forget...

I appeared as an extra in the movie with a few other "colorful" characters.

In the wardrobe trailer... those pants-don't judge lol.

"A Gracious Tip"
I met director Stephon J a few years ago when I answered an ad he had on NEOhiopal,  looking for actors to star in a music video he was directing for a local singer. I convinced him that he needed a wardrobe person to make his video look "stylistically fresh" even though I had no idea what I was doing lol. I definitely made things up as I went a long, but since then I've done a few more things in the costume department and was excited when I discovered an ad for his film, "A Gracious Tip"- a short film about a sophisticated black couple dining in an upscale restaurant when they encounter a rude waiter

On a film with a smaller budget actors are usually responsible for their own wardrobe/costume and as a consultant I tell them what to bring as far as clothing, shoes and accessories and we take it from there. You have to read the script to get a feel for the characters and settings to figure out what to tell everyone and know what looks right on camera. This setting took place in a nice, swanky restaurant and Stephon wanted a black and white color scheme for the costumes. Since it was a small crew I was also able to fill in different positions like prop stylist where I arranged the food and set the tables, and I filmed a little behind the scenes footage with a big heavy fancy camera which was really cool.

When I walked on set, I found that I had worked with a few people on different projects already. The assistant director's wife and I work together (same department!) at my non glam 9-5 and one of his former partners had attended my student show years ago. The lead actor I happened to recognize from a few summers back when he starred alongside my son in a commercial for the Lebron James' foundation (fun times lol) and one of the actresses and I both got used last summer on the ill fated 1940s movie that never even existed (read about that here: Retro Movie and here: The Shade!). It just proved to me how small the fashion, film and art industry is here in Cleveland and you never know who you will eventually work with so be nice to everybody!

I'm excited to see the final product but in the meantime- please like our Facebook page:A Gracious Tip.

We used frozen T.V. dinners as food props.

Ughh everything was so cold and wet do you see the lettuce!?

On location at the Glidden House Restaurant.

The look of the evening was black and white.

Ya girl, holding the heavy ass camera lol.

Me guarding craft services with my life!

The Art of Style
I have been wanting to shoot a fashion web series for the longest time, but then remembered how camera shy I was and put the idea on hold indefinitely. But one day I was searching for something on YouTube for plus size women and found nothing worth devoting my six minutes to. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and began developing my show. I began research by first learning how to shoot video with my cute little digital camera, I went out and purchased a fancy tripod and I watched tons of clips on fashion and style videos and then I set out to film my own damn show.

Yeah, I had no idea what I was doing. Apparently you can't write, direct, film, edit, style and host a show using a cute digital camera and a tripod. I mean you can but... it looked crazy when I did it. So I went back to the drawing board and talked to every one I knew trying to see who could at least edit my project for me for um- free.99 and there were absolutely no takers.

 I met with different videographers who all mainly spent me and I was beside myself with frustration when my good friend and videographer Jasmine, (director of Maternal Pride) stepped in. Why didn't I ask her at first? Because you don't ask Stephen Spielburg to shoot your YouTube webseries. Unless you have like a million dollars and a few packs of M&Ms to offer (which sadly I have access to neither).

But Jasmine graciously decided to help me out and after a few production meetings we filmed the pilot episode of the show which I titled "The Art of Style: Real Women Wear Real Things" with blogger Erin Thomas, of Zero-Style. The show will cater to real size women, (8 and up) and their style issues, along with interviews, news, tips and other things related to the average size woman. I will be the first to admit that I am horrible! Thank goodness I can laugh at myself now, but sheesh I kept messing up and saying the wrong things over and over again and my voice is super annoying smdh. But I got through it and I learned what not to do and wear for the next time (no reading off a script, no low cut dresses!) and can't wait to see the final product for that as well.

Jasmine and I at our production meeting @Starbucks. #Like a boss.

On set of "The Art of Style" with Erin T.

To promote the show I came up with the idea to have this epic shoot using random ladies that I scouted via Facebook and some that I met randomly around the city.  It was going to be great! I had the talented photographer Natasha Herbert (check her work out here: Natasha Herbert Photography) behind the camera, the H.T.Z. Styling team and makeup artist Keishla A doing hair and makeup, a jewelry sponsor, eight of the most diverse group of women you ever wanted to see, and the location was going to be at the downtown library- aka my second office. Well the morning of the shoot it snowed here in Cleveland and did not stop until late in the afternoon so I had no choice but to call off the shoot. I was pissed but could not pout. I rescheduled it for this another weekend but of course it was difficult getting so many people on the same schedule again so I lost a lot of participants.  It worked out lovely though and I ended up using the homegirl Antinieic, a high school friend, Candra, and blogger, Erin.  The ladies brought their own wardrobes and I mixed and matched their pieces and was very pleased with the results.  I captured some behind the scenes images and shot a little video:

My son snapped this pic of me before the shoot. Thanks Slim!

Jewelry selection for the day.

Erin T looking hot to trot! I love her retro vibes...

Lleauh styling Antineic into a Fefe Dobson/ fro punk look.

Candra B hamming it up for the camera!

Werk out ladies!!

Group photo! Falisha, Lleauh, Erin, Candra, Antineic, Me, Natasha, Bella.

Yaasss Mz. Falisha! Candra said she made Antiniec's lips look like the nightlife lol.

For the professional photos from this shoot go here: The Art of Style Promo shot by Natasha Herbert.