2013 IS SO THE FUTURE!

Has the thought ever occurred to you that we are totally living in the future? I mean, 2012, 2013; how sci-fi doesn't that sound? I think it's weird that a year like 2012 will soon even be the past. When I was a kid for example the 1950's were only thirty years away, now they are, well, you know, twice as long gone.

Even though the year 2013 may sound (or may not, perhaps you're all 2525, wahtever) futuristic and even though that future is only a couple of months away, it can be a rather nostalgic such - which would be if you keep the Fintage calendar on your wall.

Fintage is a Finnish community for vintage enthusiasts, for which I have made some work for. I also collaborated by making the layout for their calendar.

The vintge inspired calendar is called "Postcards From the Past", with photos shot and planned by member and photographer Jirina Alanko. The whole community has been working together, posing and participating.

The photos are coloured from black and white, inspired by how it was done back in the days.

The calendar is international so to say; in Finnish and English and without any national bank holidays or so marked in order not to confuse anyones schedule elsewhere.

I have one copy up for a giveaway, which I will send out anywhere in the world!

In order to enter you do the usual: leave me a comment on this post, and make sure you are reachable to me trough that comment in one way or another. Seriously, double check. The winner will be drawn randomly, so please make sure you also only leave me one comment in order not to mess things up.

If you however link and share the giveaway you can leave me a new comment (one per share) telling me where you've done so. You know the deal.

Time to enter is until Sunday, November 18. Good luck!

PS. this week's give away on my Facebook page is for a set of high end organic sulfate-and parabene free hair care. Go and grab it until Sunday evening!

RED IN VARIOUS FORMS

This is what I (along with Dag) have been doing pretty much every day; building costumes and rehearsing for our Christmas cabaret show that we do as The Ravishing Shangri-La Rubies  together with lady Laverna:

Our producer Jonatan took the pictures at our dress-rehearsal last Sunday.

Well this was only abotu half of the props and costumes... needless to say there's been a lot of time by the sewing machine and glue gun lately. Not to mention by the jars of red glitter.

SPECTACULAR SPECTACLES AND A WHOLE LOT OF GLITTER

Here are some pictures on-and-off stage from our first night of SPECTAC-O-RAMA.

The second nigt was last Saturday and even though I was still flush and with a voice that would have made even Tom Waits jealous I made it trough the night; we all did it with a bang and the house was full again!

 

 

Spectac-O-Rama is a two hour show with rockabilly music and burlesque inspired by cabaret and vaudeville. Those who have seen our shows in the early years, and our mutual shows with Sweet Jeena from those times, got a lot of old school stuff as we performed our classics like the Western Revue and The Bikini number but with new, live music twists. Birdwatching gentlemen, mescaline cacti, cardboard horses, thirsty cowboys in despair, angry monkeys and so on. The usual. We also had Mr drag n'roll Mia Li Moon and our student troupe the Shangri-La Showgirls on stage - it's rather impressive actually that we managed to fit so many people onto that small space!

Btw. You can see more of our Showgirls and what we've been up to with them and with the rest of our students as well when we organise this year's Under the Mistle Tease  - the Christmas show & party of our studio and burlesque school - next week! And here I have to mention that we also have an intern working for us (wooh, adulthood points!) who we so could not have managed without during these nights as she carried a lot of stuff around and did a lot of dressing us up and down during the two hours were we change clothes so many times that I don't even want to think about it now afterwards. We'll, this production is not totally over, new stages awaits later on!

Photos by Janne Porkka and Tuomas Lairila

SHOOTING

Our dance studio sometimes also doubles as an impromptu photography studio.

Some days ago I had a long shoot with Asko Rantanen (who shot in our three a few weeks back :) in some of my stage costumes, the results to be seen at some point later!

Nadja Mikkilä took the backstage shots.

CHLORIS

One of my pictures from the shoot in our studio I had with Asko Jonathan some time ago.

The headpiece is the one Fiona Timantti made for me, which you could see her working on earlier this year (in this post). It is part of my flower nymph costume for my Chloris act.

FOUR THINGS RIGHT NOW - FROM SUNDAY EVENING TO NIGHT

Came home to the city; we spent the end of last week on the farm. But now that summer will one over the city flat will be our base camp again. (And now I intend to organise things and tidy up so it will be nice again; the past year it has been an awful chaos.)
This is what Tapiola is like; lots of midcentury- and sixties houses embedded in lots of green, following the landscape; building low where the landscape is low and high on the hills. Or, what old Tapiola is like, as they are building lots of new and high for the moment. Our balcony is the one with the colourful hanging lateens ont he top floor.

Most of my weekend however was spent at a fitness education course. I took as support for the dance classes and courses I hold. See  how my work out bag has a neatly sewn (put two fingers up in the air and do a little double bend on them as you say "neatly") IBTC patch on it (we still have a handful left).



On my way home I popped by Anttila in Sello which is closing down and being emptied out. It's rather empty by now but I came over a hundred euros worth of shoes for only twelve; these everyday wedge sandals I still intend on using for the last warm days and a pair of girlie/granny autumn walking shoes. I got Dag a moomin scarf for a few pennies as well.



And then the sun set and we had virigin mary's on the balcony.

SPECTAC-O-RAMA in 3-2-1...

I've been fixing costumes and making arrangements the whole week and tonight it is time for the first set of our vaudeville-rockabilly burlesque spectacle Spectac-O-Rama!

The night is sold out so no use to get out in the cold and try your luck at the door! But if you missed out get your tickets for the next night which will be November 29!

FOUR THINGS RIGHT NOW: CAKE AND MUSCLES AND LIVING ROOM DANCING

Sunday. Humid and misty outside, warm and cosy inside. Inspite of that I made it out for a late morning run. Brrr.

Then I cleaned up a long-coveted family item of mine, and old chess-table that now found it's way to the farmhouse. A closer look on it some other time.

Did some work on a set of pictures I took for a sports team's calendar that they are making to raise money. It was quite hilarious to do.

Took a break from the abs and baked a mud cake with lingonberries to take along when popping by for afternoon coffee at Eddi's brother's at the other house on the farm.

But first Dag wanted to do some dancing to whatever was on the radio, and so we did.

AT WORK

Some of the things I've worked with the past week.
Some will always think this is "not a real job". But well, that's them.

Last weekend we performed at Pressa. Here we are all lined up in the back room.

 The next day we had a couple of workshops. We have a monthly coaching-class for upcoming performers. And then the occasional themed-ones. Here we are posing before class. We always do, take a photo. That we never use for anything afterwards. Well except for this time, here you go!

 And here our students of the posture & posing class are trying out switching from pose to pose.

(By the way. There have been many requests for a stage make up-workshop so keep your eyes on our the Shangri-La Rubies Facdebook page for that one, which we'll try and throw one in next winter!)

The day after that it was time to set up huge rehearsals for Spectac-O-Rama!, our rockabilly-burlesqe revue that takes places two nights in November (the 8th and the 29th).

Loading in a full band set-up in our studio, going trough heaps of coffee. And the usual stuff: some extra hair, various hats, random leather gear and your everyday sequinned cardboard horse...
It's quite the spectacle I tell you and a lot of fun to work with! Book your tickets directly from the venue, Allotria.

For those hungry for shows, next Saturday I will be at Lavaklubi, Ocober 31st at Kaapeli and November 1st at Horror & Tease in Tampere. And a little extra puff well in advance; if you didn't have plans for New Year's you can make them now - head over to beautiful Astoria for show & dinner and some good ol' dress to impress!

As for the not a real job-thing I can add that this also contains hours of paperwork, paying and sending bills and answering emails, scheduling and planning. But that does not make much for photos.

DESPERADOS AND OTHER CRAZYNESS IN TURKU

Packing my bags to head off west for Turku Burlesque Weekend!

Among a lot of fabulous tongue-in-cheek but also totally flipped out funny things we'll do there I'm also bringing my updated Desperado-act. So there's been a lot of sewing and glueing lately to get it done. To the point that I suddenly realised my old western movie bad guy is turning into something more like the Three Amigos...

Here's me in 2010 when I last did it.

And Turku hey! I will also throw my Vintage Hair 101-workshop, a "showgirl edition", on Saturday before the show! There are a couple of places left, more info behind this link.

For more info on Turku Burlesque Weekend, click the pic.