OMG Top-Earning Models comments

I recently read this article at Yahoo's OMG about the top earning models, inside the article it mentioned,

"The modeling industry was hard-hit by the economic crisis. Prominent fashion labels canceled or downgraded their runway shows, leaving models hoping for a break with fewer opportunities. Declining revenues at major beauty and retail companies left agents with less leverage to bargain for their clients."

I do also feel the economy hit the commercial print modeling business as brands decide where to spend their ad dollars. My phone still rings, but I will admit it has been a bit slower.

As for aspiring models, and girls who are curious about modeling: The web is a growing place to promote however I do not think it is the best place to promote yourself nor look for work. Only if you have a very selective and perceptive eye.
It is not easy to market yourself and know the scams from the legit sometimes, so I suggest mailing your photos to agencies and working with professionals to get professional work.

I still strongly feel as a modeling portfolio builder there is still more of a feeling of crediblity seeing yourself in print. Will I do a web ad, yes. Getting the opportunity to be shot for something for print, or a TV commercial to me sounds mor credible than an online video. So be picky about what you choose and ask questions ahead of time.

I will be featured a pedicure model in the June 15th issue of Women's World magazine. Look for the cute flower imprint on my toe!

At BEA

Here is a video featuring myself at the Blogger's studio with Ron Hogan at BEA today.

Yes that freeze frame is making me laugh right now too.

Modeling is a business of rejection

Modeling is a business of rejection and there are many know it alls who are looking forward to rejecting you. The desire to fight on comes into play when rejection is found in not getting a phone call, not hearing back, and waiting.

I can not tell you how many No’s I have gotten, or how many times I thought I booked a job for sure, only to not hear back. But you could say I am addicted to trying. I actually love the fight. The chase and it delights me to try again. It is work, it is time, energy, re-shooting, making another compcard, mailing again, trying over and over, over time. But it has worked. I have booked great work with great brands and been paid pretty damn well as the model booked for the job, but it did not come without the hard way.

Reaching higher to get what you want

I reach high all the time, even unsure if it will even work, but the chance is what I am after.

When I want to contact a brand, person, company I don't contact the assistant, I go higher up, I go to the person who makes the decisions that will ultimately bring me to where I want to be. I don't want my story to be told from the bottom up, I want it to be known from the top down.

Fashion news that caught my eye in WWD recently

More than 200 industry executives attended a media party Thursday hosted by Maidenform Inc. to celebrate the retail launch of the Total Solution bra at The Box, a burlesque club in lower Manhattan.

I think Levi has gotten more stylish for women in recent years. Beyond all the niche brands: The top women's jeans featured in the May 21st issue was Levi!

I suggest signing up for WWD if you can afford it right now because it is a good source for news and aspiring brands and growing companies new and old.

http://www.wwd.com/markets-news/intimate-notes-maidenforms-story-2138202?gnewsid=e67b50b4da91e33adde9e0ba27fb5daf

Essie nail polish is putting together a special jewelry inspired collecting, laughing this summer. A diamond, saphire and emerald in a select 3 bottles of Essie polish. You could get the golden ticket! aka polish. The concept was inspired by the founder Essie Weingarten who plans to launch this special collection inspired by Judith Ripka. You can find out more at Essie, and Ripka's websites.

Essie was founded in 1981 with 12 nail colors, today there are more than 300 fabulous colors.

http://www.wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/#/article/beauty-industry-news/essie-reinterprets-message-in-a-bottle-2143046?navSection=beauty-industry-news

Visiting the Apple Store-not writing a book

Well today I am visiting the Apple Store. It is easy to adjust and ignore the sounds, the movement, and the passing people and grab a computer and check my email.

The photo booth is awesome.

Leibovitz Urges FIT Grads to Take Chances-WWD

There was a cool article in WWD today featuring the words of Annie Leibovitz, I think anyone striving, (whether in photography or not) will like this:

http://www.wwd.com/media-news/leibovitz-urges-fit-grads-to-take-chances-2141201?src=rss/media/20090520


“When I am asked about my work, I try to explain there is no mystery involved. It is work. Things happen all the time that are unexpected, uncontrolled, unexplainable, even magical. The work prepares you for that moment — suddenly the clouds roll in and the soft light you longed for appears,” she said.

Leibovitz recalled how a young photographer recently mentioned she was struggling with reality in her work — that reality was not enough. “It was always enough for me. I wanted to tell her that things are pretty simple if you just keep at it. I did think that you will find that reality is plenty — that’s life, you make of it what it is,” she said.

“As a member of the graduating class of FIT today, you are at a turning point in your life. Graduation is a turning point in everyone’s life. But what is unusual about your position is that everyone else who works in the worlds of magazines and advertising and fashion is also at a turning point, not just the new graduates in the field. We’re all in this together. It’s an extraordinary moment, liberating, and I can’t but help feel that you have the advantage here. The future has to be invented and the future is almost always invented by the young — you. I wish you luck. We’re counting on you.”

Would you wait an hour to show your hand?

I did today. It seemed like every hand model on the face of the planet came out today for the casting for a phone company.

Climb every mountain or at least a couple

This weekend I climbed a mountain near Bear Mountain and I wanted to share the pics. This is only 45 minutes from NYC.

“WHAT NOT TO WEAR” RETURNS WITH ALL NEW EPISODES ON TLC

VETERAN HIT SERIES “WHAT NOT TO WEAR” RETURNS WITH ALL NEW EPISODES ON TLC
Season Seven Premieres on Friday, May 29 Featuring “Blossom” Star Mayim Bialik

(Believe it or not I actually went in the full nude on the show a few seasons back!)

(New York, NY) – On Friday, May 29 at 9pm ET/PT, TLC fan-favorite WHAT NOT TO WEAR returns with a brand new season and a very special season opener. In the series’ first episode to feature a celebrity and after numerous “Blossom” references over the course of several seasons, Stacy and Clinton finally take matters into their own hands and nominate actress Mayim Bialik.
Mayim, now a mother of two, admits she is in desperate need of a makeover and welcomes Stacy and Clinton’s expertise as they try and help transform her style from quirky/hippy and uber casual to chic mom-on-the-go. Viewers will take part in Mayim’s journey as she is thrown into an emotional and physical transformation and learns she can still be true to herself with a new, more mature look after ditching her Blossom-reminiscent rags.

Ever wonder what you could actually buy with $5,000? Season seven includes a new portion of the show that breaks down exactly what each contributor was able to purchase with their shopping card. Additionally, Stacy and Clinton will visit brand new cities including Detroit and Denver, and will conduct some of their infamous “ambushes” like never before as they surprise their fashionably challenged nominees during live TV and radio hits.

And in true TLC fashion, viewers will see the highs and lows of these experiences as Season seven proves that there isn’t always a happy ending when one of the contributors has an emotional breakdown over her new haircut. The series will also reach a major milestone during this season, marking its 250th episode.

Short Model Support-mailing modeling agencies

A girl of 5'3" sent me a message on Myspace about wanting to model and being 5'3", she mentioned how she is submitting to Ford, Elite, etc...this was my reply:


When it comes to modeling, remember it is best to market yourself to the right agencies, the right agencies for a short girl are not Elite, Ford, etc, it is best to submit to a print modeling agency, casting director, talent agency. It is best NOT to do this through the internet and it is best to focus on getting a headshot and commercial shots and work with a professional photographer and it is best to make a compcard (I use www.compcard.com tell them I refered you) and it is best to then mail the print agencies by postal mail. That is how I have found success.

Do not get sucked into showing off your photos on modeling websites, That is NOT modeling, modeling involves modeling a product, working with legit agencies, and the internet is NOT the place to start calling yourself a model. You are not a model until you model for something and to get these opportunities you do have to be professional about it and do things in the professional way. So focus on a headshot, make a compcard and over time you might be able to find opportunities within print. Modeling is ALOT of work for a shorter girl, it is about working your butt off! It is about knowing how to market yourself...not just messing around with the word model but really trying, really striving and working hard!

Not too far away

I have been working on my writing the past few days my blog posts have been a bit slow. Things will pick up soon. I am working on a how-to-modeling book and a graphic novel right now, and massive marketing.

V Magazine's Swimsuit issue is hot!

I picked up a copy yesterday and I love it! Very well done, and it has an edge I adore.

Leonard Nimoy Full Body Project Book

I thought this was interesting and cool.

Now I am not a Star Trek die-hard fan but I saw Leonard Nimoy from Star Trek, on The View today and did you know he has a photography book out? Yup!

The book is called Full Body Project, you can pick it up on Amazon.

From Amazon:
"In his provocative new book, photographer and actor Leonard Nimoy captures images of full-bodied women, some of whom are involved in what is known as the "fat acceptance" movement. "The average American woman," Nimoy writes, "weighs 25 percent more than the models selling the clothes. There is a huge industry built up around selling women ways to get their bodies closer to the fantasy ideal. Pills, diets, surgery, workout programs. . . . The message is 'You don't look right. If you buy our product, you can get there.'"

Leonard Nimoy, best known to the public from his role as Spock on Star Trek, has been a lifelong photographer. His work has been widely exhibited and is in numerous private and public collections. A previous book of his photographs, Shekhina, was published in 2002."

Dye a dress black - home made fashion

This summer to save money I do not plan to buy that much actually. Only if I really like it and instead I plan to fix the stuff I already own.

Any thing made out of cotton that has lost its color can be dyed and brought to life again. So before you buy a new black dress for warm nights out, look in your closet and see what you could dye right at home in your bathroom and make fresh again.

Here is an article about dying your clothing black, I think it is resourceful, thank for writing it:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2083227_dye-black-clothing.html

Who invented toothpaste. I am Googling!

I was wondering this morning as I brushed my teeth, "how nasty it must have been before toothpaste." I have seen many period films, and I love them, but I always notice the little things (if the film shows them) like in Shakespeare in Love, Gwyneth Paltrow, brushes her teeth with what-looks-like- a stick!

I think much of what we have today are luxuries, I mean there are million accessories to go with every thing. From shaving to making coffee. There is so much stuff out there!

I think about the early day a lot. The simplier life. Don't get me wrong I do love hot water and I am thankful for all the conveniences.

I am off to Google who invented Toothpaste.

Emma Watson and wishbones

Ok this is random, but I just read an article in Interview Magazine that involved Emma Watson- Harry Potter chick. The article mentioned how before she got the role her father did a roast and gave her the wishbone to wish on and break, and how she made the wish and kept the wishbone in her jewelry box. I had a flashback of myself breaking the wishbone as a kid and the joy of getting the bigger side of the two bones, smirking at my sister and loving that stuff, I wonder "do kids still wish on wishbones?"


The internet, gadgets and such have taken over the world and children play for better and worse, but I plan to keep the wishbone thing alive.

The Barbizon Hotel for Women, Ace Hotel, Hotel QT and others

About a week ago I watched Grey Garden's with Drew Barrymore as Edith Bouvier Beale and Jessica Lange as 'Big' Edith Bouvier Beale. The film was very well done, I liked it but with my modeling lifestyle what stood out was when I heard of Edith Bouvier Beale living in the Barbizon Hotel. Of course today I think Barbizon is full of crap- a waste of money for girls who seriously want to find work as a model- however when I researched Edith in Wikipedia I found: "From 1947 until 1952, she lived in the Barbizon Hotel for Women, hoping to find fame and possibly a husband in Manhattan/"

So Naturally I researched this hotel curious about it. This is what I found:

The Barbizon Hotel for Women, built in 1927, was symbolic of the cultural change as women began to come to New York City for professional opportunities, but still wanted a "safe retreat" that felt like the family home[2]. It is located at 140 East 63rd Street, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City, New York State, USA. It recently switched from hotel operations and has been renovated for condominium use.

For most of its existence, no men were allowed above the ground floor and strict dress and conduct rules were enforced. The hotel became a more standard hotel when it began admitting men as guests in 1981. In 2002, a $40 million renovation was completed and the name was changed to the Melrose Hotel.

Even after the condo renovation, there are still 13 women living under the old arrangements at the hotel.

The building includes a large indoor pool, and air rights to adjacent properties were purchased when the building was constructed, ensuring plenty of light and unimpeded views for the upper floors.

I love the history of NYC so I found this very Interesting.

My original hunt for interesting hotels started with a post I saw on StyleHive.com
about The Library Hotel, that stated "Each of the ten guestroom floors at the Library Hotel in New York City is dedicated to one of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System*: Social Sciences, Literature, Languages, History, Math & Science, General Knowledge, Technology, Philosophy, The Arts and Religion."

Then while in Philly this weekend with my family, my mom handed me a tear sheet from Budget Travel Magazine that featured New York City budget traveling and the Ace Hotel, where "guest are encouraged to color the rooms with paint ball and chalk.

Then there was a modeling job I did for Fuji TV, featuring in the Hotel QT on 45th Street, right off Times Square there is a wet bar, where you can take a dip in their pool and get a cocktail. That was my job for the feature, I showed off the pool with a cocktail in hand. The pool was able to be seem from the lobby. The hotel is now called Room-mate Grace, but the pool is still there.