Ooh La La

As some of you know, I'm a little nutty about Valentine's Day. And not in the 'I must receive a dozen cliche red roses and a heart-shaped box of chocolates from a significant other in a very public place so that everyone can envy me' kind of way. That said, I will eat myself silly with sweets for the approximate window of February 11-15 and no, I won't turn away flowers or sweet valentine notes.

I love Valentine's Day because in school, it meant an excuse to be hopped up on sugar, exchange gifts with friends, and all but shirk learning responsibilities (because honestly, who can focus when there's giant red mylar hearts everywhere?). As I've grown older, I've maintained a deep appreciation for the February culinary delights as well as the bombardment of pink and red kitsch.

The city of Austin has given me more reason to adore this holiday. Valentine's Day means a week filled with burlesque shows and movie buff events that will even leave the 'I hate Valentine's Day'-ers smiling (and yes, I sympathize with/encourage/celebrate the anti side of 2/14 too).


First on the list is Cirque de Flirt at Emo's on Saturday, February 12th at 9pm (Tix $8 in advance or $12 at the door). The show will consist of traditional burlesque, belly dancing, fire breathing and bed 'o nails acts, and a finale fire performance. The first 69 attendees will receive goodie bags, some of which will be packed with Diamonds and Guns goodies. Our friends at Kuhmillion Lingerie will also be there with a pop-up shop, including some DGAJ fascinators and earrings! To top it off, there's a few other giveaways and contests mixed in. For more details, check out the event or visit EmosAustin.com.
Cute Little Three Piece Set available through Kuhmillion Lingerie, $36.00

The second event is brought to you by Alamo Drafthouse. The Moulin Rouge Sing-Along is happening on Thursday, February 10th at 7pm. The wonderful Kuhmillion Lingerie will be there with Black Widow Burlesque showing off their wares. And did I mention rockin raffle prizes? They'll be available courtesy of Kuhmillion. A few DGAJ feather fascinators and bedazzled art deco earrings will be up for sale at the event too! So, if you're bored in line waiting for the show to start or need a last minute Valentine's gift. Never fear, Kuhmillion's here (or there, depending on how you look at it).

Hope to see lots of y'all out at these events!

Action Jackson out.

Bringing Out My Inner Goth

Am currently in recovery from the Fantasy Realized show last night. Doing shows immediately after a day of work really takes it out of you! I haven't sold at any events since Austin Fashion Week in mid July, so I've had enough time to forget how much prep work goes into them (which is both good and bad). Thanks to everyone who came out~Bethany, Alec, Alyssa, Madison, and Leslie. Special thanks to Bethany for making some beautiful paintings for DGAJ. I hope to post some pictures soon to give y'all eye candy; Bethany's work is awesome. On a side note, when I do post some pictures, if any loyal readers have suggestions for galleries Bethany could submit her work to, please let me know!

I haven't actually been to Elysium since I went on a whim a few years ago for their Halloween event, which was super fun by the way. After going there for the Fantasy Realized show last night, I'm starting to wonder why I haven't been going more often. The vibe of the place is really calm, and I can't remember ever feeling so relaxed at a show as I was last night. I'm sure it picks up on the busier nights when Elysium transforms into an 80s night club filled with dancing maniacs. All the same, the tunes for the night were great- I know for sure I heard some My Bloody Valentine, Smiths/Morrissey, and New Order/Joy Division somewhere in there. I had a chance to chat it up with some of the other gals who were selling there. Be sure to check out their shops; these girls have great stuff:

-KatinkaPinka
-RubyDollCreations
-LilliesAndLace
-IllustratedInk
-MiniMysteryWorlds
-JunkhouseDollyard
-OpticWaste

I also got to talk music with a few folks who came out for the night, which is (and was in the case of last night) all the better for me when I'm able to say Siamese Dream is one of my favorite albums and it doesn't invoke a rage blackout from the other person . :) All in all, I'd have to rate last night as one of my favorite shows that I've done. Good location, music, crowd, fellow vendors/artists. I'll definitely use my long weekend for making new stuff and practicing. No rest for the weary!

Action Jackson out.

Back to the Drawing Board

For the past few days, I've had mad scientist syndrome and have been obsessing over new jewelry ideas. Even though AFW's done and over, my adrenaline's still making my brain constantly tick and I've just got to get these brain waves to materialize somehow! With fall, my very favorite fashion season, coming up, I thought it would be really awesome to challenge myself to make a cohesive new "line" of about 10-15 pieces. I figure it'll kick the ole thinker into gear and will be a good challenge for me, and what Type-A doesn't love a good challenge? In my spare interspace web hunt time, I've been been browsing for new ideas and muses and have been stewing on everything I find.
A really great idea came to me the other day to use Bioshock, a seamlessly crafted art deco-style retro anachronistic post-apocaliptic first person shooter game (see above image), as my inspiration. The game is set in a dystopian underwater futuristically retro (hence the anachronistic aspect) city and many of the game's themes and storyline concepts are based on Ayn Rand books. *Enter brief tangent* Personally, I HATE first person shooter games (as a player) because they are way too fast paced and there are too many weapon & item options for my level of gaming experience and style. However, when my boyfriend was showing me some of the games he'd been playing and replaying (which he does on a regular basis since he's an avid a.d.d. gamer), Bioshock really stood out to me (the same can be said for Fallout 3). It's one of those games that I watch and wish I had the gamer skills for because it's got an enticing story, beautiful aesthetics, and an overall great feel to it. Anyway, since my hobbies take precedent over my improving my first person shooter game skills, I've had my boyfriend play the game for me. *End brief yet semi-relevant tangent*

So what does this mean for the new jewelry line? Definitely burlesque/flapper-inspired feather headbands with crystal accents. I can't tell you how long I've been wanting to make those. And that's about where the idea well runs dry. How anticlimatic is that? I did some extensive art deco supply and jewelry searches on Etsy yesterday and just wasn't really happy with what I found. The super angular pieces available would be tacky-kitschy vintage when paired with Swarovski crystals (and yes, I DO feel the need to put those on everything I make), and so many people already do that kinda thing. Plus, I'm not really into that style in the first place. All of that made me feel very torn and stumped because I really liked the idea of translating Bioshock into jewelry, but I hated the parts and pieces that were readily available to me. When I told my go-to roomie about my predicament, who I ask for advice on everything, she suggested I try putting my spin on art deco instead of the other way around.

Simple as that might seem, that seemed to resusitate my frustrated beaten down brain. Admittedly, I'm still kinda stumped. It may be one of those things I have to put on the shelf for a few days and come back to. I really want to do a lot of whites, creams and pastels, but since fall's coming up (even though the Texas weather won't admit that til November) I feel obligated to do emerald greens, cobalt blues, plums, and deep reds. Another point of feeling torn. Oh well. I guess my mutual inspiration and cold comfort in all of this is Tarina Tarantino's been able to make a few art deco pieces that really work (see above, side), so maybe I can too?

Action Jackson out.