Posts tagged new

I’ve been doing burlesque and go-go shows for nearly seven years now. I make a lot of my own costumes, and it’s part of what I love so much about the gig: the creativity and glamour that goes into a look. I taught myself how to sew when I was just a wee one, long before I shook my first tailfeather on stage. I’ve been hooked ever since, and growing up half my wardrobe was homemade, like this dress:

It was only natural for me to take my sewing skillz and add in epic amounts of sequins to make my own shiz when I started performing.

The Bunny, who has an inner gay man named Jeffrey, has killer style and an eye for aesthetics. She has always commended me on my costume-making abilities, and recently, after spending way too much of our time perusing Etsy, asked me point-blank why I don’t have an Etsy store for burlesque and go-go getups. I honestly never thought I could do something that grand.

But really, what better person to make and sell burlesque costumes than someone who lives 50% of her life on a stage? Looking through different Etsy stores, I realized that a lot of the stuff I make for myself looks WAY more rad than what is currently being sold. I also realized that I could make pretty much anything: tutus, burlesque bustles, bras, shimmy skirts, bottoms, etc., in any color, with any embellishment. I’m like my own little sweat shop!

The Bunny convinced me [a.k.a. she pretty much had to throw down & fight me on it] that we should continue my creative expression and start an Etsy store. So we’ve been working our buns off to make enough complete looks to start a store (and we have a few more pieces that are nearly finished!), and here we are today! We couldn’t wait any longer….

So welcome to the Grand Opening of Le Vixen Designs on Etsy!

www.etsy.com/shop/LeVixenDesigns

Le Vixen Designs is the lovechild of a sparkle-obsessed burlesque princess and a London street stylist extraordinaire. Armed with an arsenal of pretty little things and wicked thoughts, this crafting & creating duo is determined to give glamour gals irresistible frocks, costumes, and accessories.

From high burlesque styles to gritty punk rock, Le Vixen Designs fulfill the needs of professional goddesses, rockabilly temptresses, sequin addicts, style queens and fearless, fierce girls obsessed with adventure & looking fabulous (naturally).

And this is just the beginning! We do custom orders, plus have several more costumes almost finished and ready to be photographed, and we’ll be including pasties, bra & bottom sets, shimmy skirts, accessories and more, more, more! I’ll be sure to keep you updated on all the goodies that we’ve been making. And trust me, it’s been A LOT of work. Especially with two cats who think we’re pulling out fabric, feathers, sequins, and hundreds of yards of tulle for their entertainment and tactical training!

meep! slo-mo Banksy haha

xx

p.s. HUGE THANKS to Jim Hobart & Charlotte Nash of Macbeth Photography for the amazing shots! And MUA Nicole Dupre for those perfect red lips. Mad love, yo!

If you asked me five years ago what I’d be doing in 2012, there’s no way in hell even my extraordinary, Dr. Seuss-indoctrinated  imagination could have come up with what my life is actually like. [sans Lorax]

It’s been a little quiet here on Tea & Glitter because I’ve had a hard time finding time to sit still long enough to write a post.

For example, several weeks ago I flew up to Pensacola in a badass little Cessna 172 I dubbed Marty with my pilot and travel companion slash partner-in-crime, Jim.

Me, Jim, and Marty the plane + some Starbucks, of course.

I felt so naughty using my phone while in flight. Rebel.

You guys…do not press the red button. Just trust me. Oops!

So this was my view out my window. A wheel and 2,500 ft. of air. Neat, huh??

Checking out the coastline while dodging banner flyers.

Oh, just a bunch of boats chilling on a sandbar that I took a picture of while I flew overhead. No big D.

Why was I flying in a teeny tiny plane with Jim up to Pensacola, you ask? Aside from “just because“… Jim and I are starting a business together. We’re combining his mad photography and videography skillz plus his incredible business acumen (word of the day! Look it up, kids!) with my writing addiction and our collective love of people and their stories. I’ve been kicking around this idea for more than a year now, and mentioned it to Jim. We realized that with our powers combined, this idea could actually come to life.

You see, I love writing. But I’m sick and tired of writing about things I don’t care about, or that are purely for advertising, or that only serve capitalism. I want to write about things that matter, or where there is a serious reciprocity (another great word! ding ding ding!) between me and my client. I want to make money doing something that has value and where both the client and I feel like we gain something that’s not just a meaningless transaction.

So when my mom discovered several years ago an article profiling a lovely lady using her writing for something really interesting, I was hooked. I mentioned the idea to Jim, but although we both thought there was a lot of potential, other work and bits of life decided they wanted to take center stage; unfortunately, the concept got put on the back burner.

But the idea wouldn’t die, and here we are, a few years later, taking on this new (ad)venture!

What we’re doing is writing personal histories. We are losing the incredible stories of peoples’ lives, and if someone doesn’t document them, they could be lost forever. It’s similar to ghostwriting someone’s memoirs, but more than likely the person who will hire us will be the adult child of the subject who wants to chronicle their parents’ lives.

What we will do is set up a series of interviews with the subject, garnering at least 10 to 12 hours of recorded story telling. I will be doing the interviewing, for the most part, and recording. Once we have all the interviews recorded, we transcribe them into a document. The interviews won’t necessarily be chronological, and there will be a multitude of tangents and half-finished stories. What I do next is take this raw transcript and start organizing and editing, to create one seamless story of the life of our client, told in the first person.

From the stories the family has heard a million times to recollections that have never been shared, I’ll be creating a clear narrative of the life and times of our subject. Prior to interviewing, we’ll do research on the time period to get a feel for what was happening in the world at that time, and work to capture as much as we can. We’ll even gather and scan old photos to help illustrate the life. 

After many drafts and revisions, our final product will be a beautiful leather-bound heirloom book that will become a family treasure.

Jim will handle the portraits of the subject, as well a video highlights reel where we’ll have the subject repeat some of the most poignant stories to include with the book as a DVD, so future generations will get to know the voice and cadence of their beloved relative. And then reading the actual book, they will be able to visualize the story teller, even if they’ve never met them.

There are also many supplemental products we want to offer, as well, from additional coffee table books to iPad versions to family trees and more.

And there you have it, folks! A general description of my newest (ad)venture! I hope that part didn’t bore you to tears, but this nerd is STOKED!

So welcome to Heirloom Personal Histories, and a new chapter in my writing career. [Burlesque & Brains…it’s how I roll.]

So back to Marty, Pensacola, Jim and me…

We were going to interview our first client, Mr. G, a Vietnam war vet. His adult children have never known any details of his time in Vietnam. It was pretty much, “I went to Vietnam. I got injured. I came home.” He was uncomfortable talking about his time there, especially to his kids. But they finally convinced him that his story is important to them and to their future kids, and they want to have a record of his stories and his life. He agreed to let me and Jim come interview him, and to share, in detail, his time in the war. TALK ABOUT PRESSURE for our very first client!

So I packed some relatively conservative clothes, my big girl bag, and did my research.

But the weekend was definitely not what I expected. The first thing we did after landing was go to a massive bar called Flora-bama, where there were bras hanging from the rafters and country rock n’ rollers drinking and carousing with beach bikers. Apparently this weekend was, in fact, the family 4th of July celebration, so I was in for lots of family good times, such as: hitting up massive bars on the beach, cook-outs, going out on the boat, and exploring Pensacola from the natives. Who knew?

Yeah. I definitely did not pack for this.

But the weekend was absolutely incredible. Jim and I were staying at the family’s beach condo, with views of the water right from the balcony. I could totally get used to this!

After Flora-Bama and dropping off our stuff at the beach condo, we went to the family home. They lived on the bayou and it was absolutely gorgeous!

There were also four dogs, and I fell in love with little Ollie.

The night was spent getting to know the family, eating shrimp skewers, playing with puppies, and enjoying the evening. Oh, and feeling like some weird random intruder on this family’s life. haha awkward!

The next day we started the interviews hit up Starbucks (naturally), and then spent about eight hours interviewing Mr. G, our war veteran. Within the first hour, he had already told me stuff that made him cry. CRAZY! I knew it would be intense but I wasn’t expecting that. He’s a big guy who totally reminds me of my dad [the way he speaks and his cadence and mannerisms] so it was really interesting interviewing him.

That night we had dinner with the family again, and then went back to the beach condo. You guys, I totally went to bed at a normal time every night we were there! It was neat. :)

The next day, after getting our Starbucks fix, we did another round of eight hours of interviews with Mr. G, and then took a break to go out on the water! We toured around on the boat with four doggies and it was one of my favorite parts of the trip!

The next morning, we packed up our gear, said adieu to the beach condo and the bayou, and flew back home!

So cheers to our new (ad)venture! It kicked off in an unexpectedly beautiful and whirlwind way, and I’m excited for all the next steps to making this thing happen.

Nerd reporting, over and out!

x x

p.s. Sorry again for the radio silence! [Even my mom was getting concerned!]  I’ll be on it like Sonic from here on out. ;)

M’lords, m’ladies, this princess has been busy. What, between handling my arsenal of wenches to training for the new show, it’s been a busy season here at the castle.

In this post, Nerdy Sexy Medieval Times + Kittens and Friends, [click it if you missed it!] I shared with you a little history of my reign as princess, and the royal variations I’ve been. I last left you with some details about the fact that we are putting in a new show at the castle, and I’ve been learning new lines and training for the new show.

I love putting in new shows. It always takes me back to when I first started working at Medieval. Coming in for rehearsals, in normal, non-Medieval clothes, hanging out with the boys, sitting up on the dais throne and playing around while waiting for the corporate show director to finish yelling at the knights, the empty arena with no guests to smile at for hours, and being able to play with my phone. ;)

King Dave! My diary, best friend, and one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met [even though he would disagree with me on that or tell me I need to get out more].

Kyle! He’s great. Read all about how great he is HERE. 

Tim! Castle lady killer and royal flirt. Also apparently the #1 hater of the fact that I’m gay. Muahahahaaa!

Kevin! KTL, as I like to call him from his ghetto days. He’s from the New Jersey castle, but we stole him and we’re never, ever giving him back because he’s one of the best [and has a smile that could (almost) make a die hard lesbian reconsider…almost. ;) ]

Horsies!

This is Lee, our corporate show director. He is the guy who auditioned me nine years ago for this gig! And yes, he is that tall. And most people find him intimidating, because he sure as hell can be. This guy can hire and fire at will. Luckily for me, he thinks I’m a cool cat and digs me as la princessa.

And oh, goodness! During our rehearsals, I’m just sitting back in the arena, waiting for the knights to finish up, and Lee comes up to me. He says, “Evey, you’re an interesting girl.” Uh, thanks? “Yeah, I was reading your blog…” OMG. hahaha I died. But then he gave me the link to HIS blog! Bloggers unite! [but he doesn’t wear a corset on his blog like I do….ohhhh lordy!]

ANYWAY!

I also love new shows because of the new princess swag! I get a new costume, plus I get to go find new princess bling. Check out Princess Catalina’s new threads!

Pretty, huh?

Bust it wide open, bust it wide, hey! [you know the song.]

I just love how that trim accents my VAGINA. Really, Medieval? AND you made it in a V shape? Shame. [But still, the dress is pretty!]

New shoes! So sparkly. So distracting.

Old tiara, because it’s pretty. Old necklace, because it’s gorgeous and my mom gave it to me a million years ago. But new earrings! I’ve been told they’re so sparkly you can see them from across the arena. Mission accomplished. ;)

And what’s really cool is that I was asked not only to do the very first performance of our new show for the soft opening, but also to be the princess for the grand opening of the new show, complete with tons of press, VIP, corporate people, and all the big head honchos. We even had a massive cake that was an exact replica of our castle! Cake Boss style!

Look at the wittle baby cake knights! So cute!

Obligatory princess pose with the cake. So gay. haha

side-note: You guys don’t know how hard it was to not take a finger-full of icing off the cake when no one was looking. Like, it was really hard. We didn’t end up cutting the cake until after the show and after some other ceremonious crap…I was pretty much eye-fucking that cake all evening.

Anyway! The new show is rad. I like this princess version way better than the last. [Leonore was whiny…Catalina is a slut. Upgrade!]

You guys should come see it! You get to eat with your hands, make a lot of noise, watch guys beat the crap out of each other, Medieval Fight Club style, watch pretty horsies prance about, Dave the King! [nuff said], have a real, live falcon fly over your head, and you get to watch meeeee say stuff like, “Good nobles!” and “Chivalry has been redeemed!” and other such nonsense. ;)

Fare thee well! [sorry…I couldn’t help myself!]

x x