I came across these today and I thought I would share. These are feather extensions that clip into your hair and you can style them with a flat iron and curl them with a curling iron and everything! Just as if it was your hair! I like the concept of these feathers, but being that I have natural afro-textured hair, I don’t see how I can wear this without having a straight sew in weave. Either way, I decided to share because I thought this was pretty cool, and with the right styling it can be really unique and cute. Check out the feathers in action in the video below.
If you have his product or you have tried it let me know what you think of it. Maybe I’ll get these for my next photo shoot???!?!?!?! (Any Photogs in jersey, philly, maybe nyc wanna try for it? Im thinking beach scene but rugged…)
Started out my weekend catching up with friends I havent seen in a long time (a few years I think) at Friday’s. (at the bar of course, lol) We all got some food and some drinks and well… here’s what MY section looked like by the end of our time there lol:
We all had 2 glasses of Wine, 4 shots of Jeigermiester (don’t judge lol) and a beer for protection. (I’ll explain how a beer is protection at a later date lol) Some drank their beer, I let mine chill as we caught up on each other’s lives and shared a few laughs…Good times!
Then the following day, I headed to a friend’s bbq for one of her family members who had graduated from college. Tore some burgers, chicken, hotdogs, and pasta salad UP! Then being as my homie is a bartender as well she created a mango slushie that was perfect for the cook out. By the end, this is what my area looked like lol:
Yes you are correct, you are seeing a baby’s bottle next to the mike’s lol. We spent the cookout as aunties for our friend’s baby…you need a mikes after that! lol
Fun times! Hope you had a great start to the summer this weekend.
AND don’t forget to remember those who gave their lives for our country this Memorial Day!
In my search of music to share with you all that doesn’t compare to what the other blogs are sharing I finally found some NEW music. I had to reach across “the pond” to get it but none the less its here! I would like to introduce to you the music of Andrew Cunningham!
Photo Credit: James Kilcoin – www.northnorfolkphotography.co.uk
Andrew was gracious enough to do a brief interview with AleanElston.com and I am soo grateful! Check out what he had to say about his music:
Where are you from and what is your music background?
I was born in South Shields which is a small town in the north-east of England up near the border. I’ve moved around a lot though, so wherever I happen to be at that moment is my home I guess. At the moment it’s London. I started playing guitar when I was 12 though I had been singing and tapping on school desks from an early age. It often resulted in me getting sent out of the classroom, which I was happy with as it meant there were no distractions from the music in my head lol
What are your songs about?
My songs cover a variety of different themes. Some are the old classic themes such as love lost, love gained, feeling alone or whatever. Some are about life, some are political and some have other meanings. Over and Over’s instrumental intro is a dedication to two people who killed themselves a few years ago (they didn’t know each other, but the second happened not long after the first and it was pretty upsetting). Another of my songs is about me getting struck by lightning when I was 17 and as a result suffering from Epilepsy which has been the cause of many injuries (some quite severe) for me. So, lots of topics. I write about what I know.
Do you write your own songs?
I write all of my own songs. I don’t tend to write with others, but I have done so a couple of times in previous bands. Process? There is none. Sometimes I will write an entire song in my head and it will be just a case of working it out on guitar and finalising lyrics. Other times it might be me playing guitar and I have a melody but no words, so I’ll bumble some inane drivel down the mic until I come up with something better. Then there are the times when I get a plethora of lyrics bombarded from my brain to notepad and I have to try and make sense of them to sculpt a song. It depends on what I’m doing I guess! In bands I find that jamming is a good way to start the writing process though.
Who are your musical influences?
My musical influences are so broad that I could literally be here all day! I guess my earliest influences come from my parents. They listened to The Beatles, Motown, Bob Dylan, Smallfaces, Cat Stevens, Neil Young, Marmalade, Steeler’s Wheel, Bowie and that sort of thing. When I got to about the age of 8-9 I started to discover heavy metal and rock through my older brother. So I got into Iron Maiden (the first album I ever bought was ‘Live After Death’. I was also really into Marillion who were a local band back then for us. From there I’ve just tried to listen to everything I can. Some I will dismiss as tripe, but most I take on board in some form or another. Recently I’ve really been enjoying playing afrobeat!
What image do you think your music conveys?
I’d like to think that my music ignores image to a certain extent. Music is too deep to be easily portrayed as a fixed image. I guess there is a certain amount of independence and solidarity in it though. Call me pretentious, but it really doesn’t mean that much to me, though I do recognise it’s importance with certain styles of music and in certain walks of life.
Name 3 artists you’d like to be compared to.
I wouldn’t really want to be compared to anyone as I’m not them. I guess if there are three writers/bands that I would have loved to have been or been part of it would be The Beatles, Bowie and Bon Jovi (yes I know! – like I said… I got into rock when I was young lol)
What are your immediate music career goals?
Worldwide domination of the music market? Nah. I’d like to be touring the globe, and able to earn a decent enough living that I can buy a house and all that palava. So long as I’m doing what I love doing I will be happy!
Photo Credit: James Kilcoin – www.northnorfolkphotography.co.uk
How would you define the word “success”?
Doing what you want to do, and doing it well.
Are you looking for an independent label deal or a major label deal?
I’m self-releasing my first album because I don’t feel the need for any backing at this moment. If it does well enough I will license it out to the best bidder. I’ve had lots of offers coming through recently so we shall see what happens. I’m not ruling out anything, nor am I kidding myself that I will become an overnight star. Either way I’m prepared to work my arse off to achieve what I want to achieve.
Facebook is currently the best place to keep up tabs on what I’m upto. Once the main site goes live that will be the best source of information and snippets etc.
Thank you so much Andrew for your time, I wish you much success! ~Alean
West Hollywood Mayor John Duran, center, along with Modani employees, cuts the ribbon to officially open Modani Furniture’s Los Angeles showroom.
Well known across the country and especially by celebrities (Kimora Lee Simmons Hounsou, Kevin Hart, CeeLo, and 50 Cent to name a few) for chic and fashionable decor. Modani Furniture opened its doors in style with a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting on May 11 at its prime Sunset Blvd. location in West Hollywood, CA.
Modani has some really hot furniture and key statement pieces to interior decorate your home. A few of my favorite things are the leather couch, the pink vases, and just under that the patio set that turns into a ball for easy storage when not in use!
Only one of many stylish inspirations to be found in side Modani Furniture’s newest showroom in West Hollywood.Create a backyard oasis – then roll it up. This modern outdoor patio set can fit back into one ball for storage.
Started by three French entrepreneurs, Nathan Cohen, Steven Athea, and Yonel Fellous, the trio’s focus on making modern furniture different and ultra-contemporary has brought a unique and eclectic collection from around the world to major U.S. cities. Learn more about the company at www.modani.com
Well, its been a long week. A long LONG week for me. I don’t work Monday through Friday like most people and for me, Today my weekend begins. How am I spending today? In order to stop my whining about the long week, with some WINE of course!
There is nothing like a good glass of wine to sit down with and relax with my thoughts. I’m actually sipping as I write this post. The weather is nice, not hot, not cool, just right and my reisling is cool and crisp and sweet because I made it into my favorite drink – PEACH SANGRIA!
I figure I’d share the recipe, its pretty standard, but I added a few elements that I found online.
This recipe is enough for a serving size of 4.
2 (375 ml) bottles Riesling wine
1/2 cup peach schnapps
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 ripe peaches, cut into wedges or 1 1/2 use half a jar of preserved peach slices
1/2 orange, sliced
1/2 lemon, sliced
Combine all of the ingredients, be careful not to make a mess as the fruit may cause the pitcher to overflow.
Chill the sangria overnight for more flavor OR
Add ice just before you serve it
and get into your most relaxing chair or position on the couch and relax with a good book or the remote.
Throughout the start of my blog, one of my main missions is to share information about the business of business so that others may gain knowledge and insight on how I do things. Recently, I thought it would be interesting to gain the insight of other entrepreneurs like myself who would be willing to share their insight on business as well. Throughout my search I have found Lara Georgine through the popular networking site LinkedIN. I asked her if she could share how she obtains good clients and avoids the problem clients. Check out her response below and be sure to check out her blog, www.larageorgine.com/blog for even more insight on Lara and her business!
As an entrepreneur, I gain the most customers through LinkedIn. I have joined many different groups and I post my different websites as well as my blog (which I try to keep updated weekly). I also do artwork specifically to post on other blogs to receive ping backs and/or as trade for a listing on their site(s).
I also attend trade shows that are of interest to me and I place advertisements with Google ads, which can be great as I have received a good amount of free advertising dollars by searching the internet. I have joined some local groups which offer a link to my blog, and I respond to ads from different listing sites.
I have been very fortunate with my clients so far, and have had few problems (knock on wood!) but I make sure that all parties are comfortable with the contract I provide. I did have to learn the hard way to make sure to have the contract there in the first place, as I had sent art work without more than a vague email, which does not hold up as a contract. I lost both my art and my client on that one.
I have found that the most important thing is to be up front and to make sure that the client is aware of when I am available and when I am away. Not that I need to tweet them my working hours, but if there is a holiday or a long break, they must be aware as early as possible.
LaraGeorgine is a Philadelphia and New York City-based fine arts professional with more than a decade of experience in art direction, graphic and textile design, illustration, and corporate identity management. Her work has been lauded by major apparel and design firms around the country, and her creative, solutions-based approach has built LaraGeorgine’s reputation as a leading independent creative professional in a diverse scope of capabilities. In addition to her portfolio at www.larageorgine.com, and her fabric line at www.spoonflower/larageorgine.com, her designs have appeared on the sales floors of some of the world’s major retailers, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Target, Sears, Walmart, Kohl’s and others. (Taken from http://larageorgine.com)
Through out the majority of my adult life I have had my handy dandy cell phone. Made deals, had breakups, set meetings, cursed people out, and even comforted love ones all mainly using the simplicity of a text message. One of the things that I have noticed though, is that people tend to send text messages to have FULL conversations with me! To that I say, CALL ME! Do I have time to talk about something in depth with you via text, NO! Chances are, I’m busy working on 50 million other things and if you can pick up the phone and expedite the process, both of us can get on with what we have to take care of! (excuse my rant, but c’mon people!!! Text messages are 160 characters for a reason.)
With that, here are my rules for determining if you need to pick up the phone and call me or if we can get by with just a text, here it goes!
You should text me if:
You have a question you want to ask me that doesn’t require a detailed response. (Do not text me asking about the moon, sun, and the quasars and how they function in regards to the earth’s gravitational pull. #textsreadanddeleted)
You are running late by a few minutes and you just want to keep me posted.
You want to confirm our plans as still on.
You just saw some dumb, funny, or cuteness that you think i would like to see (please be sure to have a picture! lol)
Do not text me if:
You are promoting a party, photo/video shoot, or anything else unless its something that we have discussed prior and I asked you to send me that info, otherwise, get on facebook and bombard me with that stuff like the rest of the club promoters on facebook.
All you have to say is “HEY” and nothing EVER comes from you saying that (#textreadanddeleted #petpeeve #gokickyourself) if there is something you want to talk about specifically then thats fine, your “HEY” should accompany what you want to talk about. If it doesn’t, I’ve already formulated that you have nothing to talk about and you have officially annoyed me, please don’t waste digital energy on that bull.
“We need to talk” but you can’t talk right now…….Why the hell are you asking me to talk with you then?! Wait until you are available to tell me we need to talk and then lets talk about it if i’m not busy.
You have IMPORTANT NEWS: ie – you won the lottery, you are being robbed (-_-), you have to confess your undying love (chances are I don’t feel the same so save it), your car broke down and you need me to come get you, you are engaged, etc.
I think I’ve gotten my message across and as I come up with some more reasons to pick up the phone I’ll update this post with those additions.
What are some of your reasons for picking up the phone instead of texting, let me know in the comments section below.
For most people, Friday is the end of a work week and the beginning of a break from the 9 -5 grind. For me, its just a mini break in the evening that I can spend reflecting and having fun with friends either staying in or going out. Of course we like to do it with drinks and here’s one that I’m going to be mixing up this weekend for the crew. My drink of choice for this weekend is the GUMBALL MARTINI!
MODELEVILLE is a social media platform that caters creative professionals in the modeling, fashion, styling and photographic industry. It is an arena that showcases the imaginative works as well as a ground of meeting people with the same passion.
Since MODELEVILLE launched in October 2010, it has more than 30,000 sign ups (though not all profiles are approved), viewed in more than 150 countries.
MODELEVILLE is open to all kinds of photographers and models from glamour, lifestyle, nude, body part, swimsuit, portraiture and of course the tall and slender fashion models.
“Modeleville connected us with both, potential consumers and talent for our fashion shoots and shows.”
– Amanda Che, designer of A Che swimwear. from the USA
“I think Modeleville is the next big casting website for serious industry models, with a lot of great contacts to be made!”
– Caitlin O’connor, model and runner up for Miss Philadelphia 2011
“I met several top photographers through MODELEVILLE who, I ended up working with. It’s a very easy and direct way to connect with some of the best creatives in the industry.”
– Kristina Korsholm, Model/Actress, in new feature film “Madoff – made off with America”
“Drifting through the social networks for years… it is refreshing to finally find one which is equivalent stylish and state of the art too!”
“Modeleville is a great new site for all professionals in the modeling industry. It is easy to use and view profiles and I find it more useful than any of the other sites I have been on in the past.”
– Justine Price, FHM and Maxim Photographer from the USA
“MODELEVILLE is an amazing platform for all fashion business professionals and beyond! You can easily get in touch and collaborate with top notch agents, photographers, editors, publicists and models. I truly enjoy the Internet presentation, which is stylish and classy with very well composed portfolios. You can also link your page directly to all the major social networks. All in all, it’s great and outstanding website that I can highly recommend.”
ANTM Cycle 7 Models (no that is not me in the top of the picture, although I do get mistaken for her a lot)
I usually get a lot of questions about modeling and what it takes to get ahead in the industry. Every time I am asked I always make it a point that being a good model, means being a “model person.” What I mean by that is, be the model that you want to be. You have to model a model in order to be a good model! That means getting into the mindset of a model and executing those mannerisms in your daily life. For example, when you are starting out as a model, you might compare yourself to your favorite model. Not saying that you look like that person, but their successes and thier persona. Don’t mimic what they do, but research what it is about them that has gotten them to the point in their career that they have reached.
Aside from the physical things that one needs in order to be a good model there are a few things from within that a model must have if they want to get ahead. One of the main things is a personality.
Personality
As a model, you will meet a lot of people and the key to you getting more modeling work often lies within meeting these people. You will need to be able to talk to people and project to your potential client that you are a confident and capable person. How do you do that? You have to talk and let people have a feel for the way you are!
Strike up a conversation with someone you don’t really know at social functions. Doesn’t have to be anything deep, it could be about the weather or better yet, compliment them on something you like about their outfit. That is usually a small ice breaker that can usually get the conversation flowing, who knows where it may go.
Another thing that most models need to be a good model is a good head on their shoulders, you have to be SMART!
Be a smart model…
I can’t tell you how many models I have met that seem to be the stereotype of the “DUMB” model. Very pretty but can’t count to 10 worth a damn! lol. As a model you are in this business as a self-employed business, you are independent. Even if you get signed with an agency, you are on your own. The agency works for you, you don’t work for them, no matter what you may think. Whatever jobs they send you out for, it is your choice whether you go or not. You are on your own to take care of how you secure it, your transportation to get there, your hair, makeup, clothes, etc. you are responsible for it all. If you don’t know what you are doing, I strongly suggest that you do a lot of research about the business or start asking some questions. No client wants a model who doesn’t know what they are doing, and the ones that do, WILL exploit you for your ignorance. (MESSAGE!!! *in my spike lee voice*)
The last thing that I will mention for this article is:
You have to have “THICK SKIN”
What I mean by that is., you have to be able to take criticism, let downs, and whatever else this industry will throw your way. You can’t take everything personally and let it get you down in this business. Not everyone is going to book you, there will be times when people will tell you no and then IF they tell you why they said no and its a negative reason, you have to be able to take it as this is just the way the business is. If you cant handle someone telling you that you weren’t chosen because you have a look that they weren’t looking for, take it as you didn’t fit for this particular gig but there are plenty others where you would fit. When you find it, find out how you can exploit it and make your money to get in where you fit in! Don’t let one let down, let you down completely.
Part 2 will be up, pending the feed back from this post! 🙂
I came across these today and I thought I would share. These are feather extensions that clip into your hair and you can style them with a flat iron and curl them with a curling iron and everything! Just as if it was your hair! I like the concept of these feathers, but being that I have natural afro-textured hair, I don’t see how I can wear this without having a straight sew in weave. Either way, I decided to share because I thought this was pretty cool, and with the right styling it can be really unique and cute. Check out the feathers in action in the video below.
