Isobella Visits the NY BIKE SHOW

Here are some photos from the NYC Bike Show at the Javits Center in NYC, this took place over the weekend of December 30th.

Internet Castings for Models are High

Don't have an agent? No worries, a lot of modeling careers are launching right from the computer screen. Especially for petite models with personality, they can click into online talent casting websites for even film, music videos and commercials. Many of my modeling jobs and acting jobs I have booked right from the Internet. Of course I think working with the Internet does come with risks, but in Business Week I read recently that the movie Enchanted cast many of their lead players and roles off of the Internet. From seeing their photos online. I used the Internet to get my resume rolling from 2001, and before I had agents it was a way to research jobs, post my photos and get seen. Now I don't think you can rely on only one source but the Internet is becoming a trend to get a resume rolling!

Double Take, Dior by John Galliano

I wonder if Elle magazine and Vogue know they have the same demographics. When styling Victoria Beckham in Vogue and Kate Hudson in Vogue, inside both January issues each wore beautifully the white pants and tank with black sexy suspenders, I can't decide who wore it better because both women rocked it so well. It was the first time I ever saw the same outfit wore in the same month, in different magazines on two beautiful women so well. I also hope Victoria Beckham puts some petite sizes into her dVb clothing line.

Do you know Janice Dickinson

In a Metro newspaper interview I once said I would rather Watch Janice Dickinson's show The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency than watch America's Next Top Model, this is still true but I hate both shows! While watchign Janice Dickinson for a few minutes I can't believe how much she needs to make fun of others on set, at the shoot, the models, etc, just to make herself shine...then watching for a few minutes more I get really upset and have to turn it off, her attitude is so mean, her personality isn't with "a girl next door smile," -she is from the swamps of Florida and you would think with her acomplishments and status she would at least smile. On the show recently there was a girl who was told by Janice loudly to lose weight, and this girl had really beautiful hair, and really great skin, and she wouldn't ever be considered over weight, she would be great for a fitness magazine even. I can still hear Janice's voice yell " LOSE IT!"
I couldn't help but wonder " did Janice ever get told to lose weight," I recall in her first book called: No Lifeguard on Duty that she did, and I remember her thinking it was messed up, but now here she is telling a girl to lose weight? I respect she has worked hard and lived through a lot but I wonder if she will bring that to the screen. I don't find her that show inspiring, and I don't find it helpful. The show is more about her sass and rude personality, and yelling, than really helping a girl figure out her way in modeling, and since modeling is going more towards commercial it seems her spin on a modeling agency isn't really an up to date approach. Is that as creative as she can get? Only yelling at a girl to lose weight?

Being 25 and being a model, author, blogger, and podcaster and finding me

Because I look young I sometimes I don't know what age I am deep down. My experience with relationships and friendships makes me feel like I am 40 or 50 years old, but if you cut my head off I would be about 15 and my face fully put on makes me at most 20. In modeling it has come in handy because I can portray an older teenager or a college student, or a young professional, but being 25 means my days of not knowing my worth are over, I will never make the mistake of not running all the way through the finish line on or off the track. Being 25 is a good feeling because I am sure of myself, lived enough to give honest advice, and I can be counted on, but still I am not totally ready to define myself, and give myself one motto, title, opinion, or place in the world.

Inside Apple Store, Isobella Jade article feature by Katie Hafner

Inside Apple stores, a certain aura enchants the faithful
Katie Hafner in New York
December 28, 2007

IT WAS 2am but in the subterranean retailing mecca in midtown Manhattan, otherwise known as the Apple store, it might as well have been mid-afternoon.

Late one night shortly before Christmas, parents pushed strollers and tourists straight off the plane mingled with New Yorkers clicking through iPod playlists, cruising the internet on MacBooks, and touch-padding their way around iPhones.

And through the night, cheerful salespeople remained busy, ringing up customers at the main checkout counter and on handheld devices in an uninterrupted stream of brick-and-mortar commerce.

The party inside that store and in 203 other Apple stores around the world is one reason the company's stock is up more than 135 per cent for the year. By contrast, high-flying Google is up about 52 per cent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index is up 12 per cent.

The popularity of the iPhone and iPod and the intended halo-effect those products have had on sales of Apple computers are behind Apple's strength. But the company's success in retailing, as other competitors struggle to eke out sales growth, has been a bonus.

Apple now derives 20 per cent of its revenues from its physical stores, and that percentage is growing. In the fourth quarter this year, which ended on September 30, Apple reported that retail stores accounted for $US1.25 billion ($1.42 billion) of Apple's $US6.2 billion in revenues, a 42 per cent increase over the fourth quarter in 2006.

As other electronics makers like Dell, Nokia and Sony struggle to find the right retail formula, Apple seems to have perfected it.

Not only has the company made many of its stores feel like gathering places, but the bright lights and equally bright acoustics create a buzz that makes customers feel more like they are at an event than a retail store.

The close attention paid to detail in the stores' designs, such as the maple veneer tables used for product displays, gives the impression that Steve Jobs, the company's co-founder and chief executive, himself approved every aesthetic metre of every store.

"Apple's retail offering is very compelling," said Andrew Neff, a senior managing director at Bear Stearns. "But the other key is the product. The retail concept ties in very much to the product."

But the secret formula may be the personal attention paid to customers by salespeople. Relentlessly smiling employees roam the floor, carrying hand-held terminals for instant credit-card swiping. Technicians work behind the so-called "genius bar" ministering to customers' ailing iPods, MacBooks and iPhones.

Others, designated "personal trainers", give one-on-one instruction and lead workshops.

Personal shoppers are available by appointment, and in November the company took the concept of personalised service to new levels, with concierge teams stationed throughout each store.

"They've become the Nordstrom of technology," said Michael Gartenberg, vice-president and research director at Jupiter Research, referring to the department store that is known for its service.

Ron Johnson, Apple's senior vice-president of retail business, said he believed the high level of service played a large role in the success of the stores.

"The idea is that while people love to come to retail stores and they do it all the time, what they really appreciate the most is that undivided personal attention," Mr Johnson said.

The result is far fewer qualms among consumers about paying premium prices: $US30 for an iPhone case, $US200 for an iPod Nano, or $US1200 for a computer.

In December, Apple opened its third Manhattan store, in a three-storey renovated building in the meatpacking district on West 14th Street. With one entire floor dedicated to personal service, Mr Johnson's goal is to make the 14th Street store "the most personal store ever created".

Mr Gartenberg said people often first went to an Apple store out of curiosity. "Apparently a lot of them like what they're seeing in the stores, they like the experience and they go back to buy the products," he said.

The stores' architecture also makes consumers feel good about spending money there.

In nearly a dozen high-profile urban centres - including New York, San Francisco, London and Glasgow - the signature feature is a glass staircase. Some of the staircases go straight up and others ascend in a spiral skein that appears to be held in place by nothing more than Apple hype. A customer entered the 14th Street store last week with his two whippets. Their reaction to the impressive stairs was more fear than awe. When the dogs refused to climb the steps, their owner scooped both of them into his arms and carried them up.

Apple stores encourage a lot of purchasing, to be sure. But they also encourage lingering, with dozens of fully functioning computers, iPods and iPhones for visitors to try - for hours on end.

The policy has given some stores, especially those in urban neighbourhoods, the feel of a community centre.

Two years ago, Isobella Jade was down on her luck, living on a friend's couch and struggling to make it as a fashion model when she had the idea of writing a book about her experience as a short woman trying to break into the modelling business.

Unable to afford a computer, Jade, 25, began cadging time on a laptop at the Apple store in SoHo. Jade spent hours at a stretch standing in a discreet corner of the store, typing. Within a few months, she had written nearly 300 pages.

Not only did store employees not mind, but at closing time they often made certain to shut Jade's computer down last, to give her a little extra time. A few months later, the store invited her to give an in-store reading from her manuscript."Everyone is free to use the internet and do anything they want - within reason," said Paul Fradin, the general manager of the SoHo and 14th Street stores. Visitors spotted surfing pornographic websites are quietly asked to leave, and escorted out.

Visitors can bring almost anything they like. Jade showed up nearly every day with her full set of notes, and enough food to see her through a few hours of writing.
Meanwhile, Sony's flagship store on West 56th Street, a few blocks from Apple's Fifth Avenue store, has the hush of a mausoleum. And being inside the long and narrow blue-toned Nokia store on 57th Street it feels a bit like being inside an aquarium.

The high-end Samsung Experience showroom, its nuevo tech music on full blast one recent morning, was nearly empty.

And although that store professes to encourage hands-on exploration of its products, the showroom has a clinical, forbidding feel. Nothing is actually sold there. It's just for display.

"Whenever we ask consumers to cite a great retail experience, the Apple store is the first store they mention," said Jane Buckingham, president of the Intelligence Group, a market research firm in Los Angeles. "Basically, everything about it works. The people who work there are cool and knowledgeable. They have the answers you want, and can sell you what you need. Customers appreciate that. Even the fact that they'll email you a receipt makes you feel like you're in a store just a little bit further ahead of everyone else."

This could be part of the reason that Jack Graham, 16, visiting for the holidays from Worcester, England, spent at least an hour each day of his visit at one of the three New York Apple stores, his parents sitting by patiently, happy to watch the crowd.

"These stores are going to become iconic places that people go to see when they come to New York," said Mr Gartenberg. "Rockefeller Centre, Radio City Music Hall and Apple's great glass cube on Fifth Avenue."

As for Jade, whose modelling career is gaining traction, she has yet to buy a computer from the Apple store. But she is still welcome to check her email - and stay as long as she likes.
The New York Times

Inside Apple Store, Isobella Jade in the New York Times

After some time researching and noticing an article by Katie Hafner in the NYTIMES this past fall about Steve Jobs, and then I contacted her by email and let her know of my own Apple Store experience, and today in the Business section of the New York Times today a piece of my story was featured in an article she wrote called Inside Apple Stores, a Certain Aura Enchants the Faithful. Published: December 27, 2007: Here is the link to read the article that features my personal "inside the Apple Store" experience.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/business/27apple.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&hp

Self Publishing Tips by Isobella Jade

This is a great website and tool for self publishing a book, sometimes the first step is honestly just getting your words on paper and then self publishing, and self promoting, it can lead to gaining your own press and also a larger publisher wanting to work with you. It might sound backwards but self publishing can get you in the door, similar to how a tear sheet in a magazine can get you in to an agents office and board.


Click the link to see an article I wrote that was published today!

http://www.writeandpublishyourbook.com/

The Modeling Truths of Being Marketing Savvy

There is this girl on Myspace who contacted me and she is ambitious to make it despite being only 5’1” and despite that clothing is made for taller woman on the runway, and that is the attitude more girls need. It isn’t only about modeling it is about doing something you want to do and chasing it. No matter what it is.

Sometimes you have to create your own dream. Make it happen for yourself and there is nothing wrong with it.

In my book called Almost 5'4", I am very blunt and honest about how my roots had everything to do with doing it myself...and how the Internet helped to make me a model, how it made me think beyond the box and think about how I could get ahead with out an agent until I got one….and about how the Internet has changed the modeling business to be more about self serving, ...and if a small town girl like me can get modeling work then honestly anyone can. You just have to be open minded and understand the truths of where you can honestly get modeling work.

I have a nice body even though I haven’t run competitive track in like 4 years, and I am starting to realize that I should get some fitness shots of myself and submit them to Self Magazine, and Running magazines and fitness magazines, because running was my life for so long, and there is no reason why I can’t intertwine my running into my modeling.

Beauty isn't Everything for a Model

A lot of girls think modeling is about three things, beauty, and height and if they have an agent or not. Not to mention weight, and sexiness and how much skin they show.

It is all wrong in my opinion.

I think the modeling business has changed a lot in the past 5 years. When I was a freshman in college in 2001 the word model was just becoming a popular word among friends. American Online was hot and Myspace wasn’t even in our language yet. But now it seems everyone, and anyone is trying to be a model, is calling themselves one, if not seriously, then for at least a few minutes a day while they download photos of themselves on their Myspace account, or beg for comments on their cuteness on their modeling pages on their Internet Modeling websites.

When someone asks me “what do you do?” I still feel a little dumb if I say I am a model, even though I have worked with national brands,

… mainly it is because the word model is something that on one hand isn’t taken seriously because a lot of people assume it is because you are pretty or cute, or lucky or you slept with someone,…or the Internet makes it seem like anyone can be a model or a wanna be model these days.

……………and then sometimes kinda of like someone is saying to you “ yeah right, get a real job. Your not a model,” like it isn’t reality to talk about it.

Like it is still a dreamworld.

When I started modeling I wouldn’t tell many people about it, mainly because I wasn’t confident in my choices but still I was ambitious and after working with some wrong people it seemed like modeling wasn’t something I was suppose to talk about since not many people I knew did it.


Although over time I have made modeling my reality and on my own, by my own way, and because I wanted too. I have created my modeling self.

I do think of modeling like something I created. I created it for myself and each day I work at it. The only person telling me to go on, is me. And I think like a business and I strive to get work.

I have done it by being realistic with myself. I am not the most beautiful girl. I am not the tallest. I am not your typical model, but that wont stop me because I know what I DO have that will get me in the door.

modeling misconceptions by Isobella Jade

There are so many Modeling Misconceptions. Most of them have to do with things you need to be, and things you aren’t. There is that need to get an agent, to have a manager, to have someone else controlling or telling you what to do, and apart of me feels it just leaves you half the time sitting on your butt and wasting time and waiting for the phone to ring. Tonight on my modeling podcast I talk about my opinion on the modeling misconceptions and the future of the modeling business

www.blogtalkradio.com/isobellajade

It's free to listen, and I am glad you do!

Hand Modeling & Voice over work

These two things can get you into the modeling door! Modeling and the commercial worlds are coming together so there is work for you if you have a great voice, and you can make a lot of money as a voice actor, and you can also make good money as a hand model. Don't forget these are great ways to also promote yourself and get your self in the modeling door. Use what others don't have,flaunt what you got,...you can use what you have and get ahead!

Modeling and the Holidays

...it can be slow. Although use this time to get ambitious and plan for the next steps of your modeling pursuits. It is a perfect time to get a new compcard, plan a photo shoot, and prepare to submit to a modeling agency or magazine!

Submitting to a Modeling Agency

Tonight I speak about Submitting to a Modeling Agency on my modeling podcast called Model Talk. If you have any doubts about getting with a modeling agency and how to find one, then listen in. It is free and easy listening and you will get some great modeling advice and tips!
www.blogtalkradio.com/isobellajade

Submitting to a Modeling Agency

Need some advice on how to Submit yourself to a Modeling Agency? Check out my modeling podcast tomorrow for true advice and tips on how you can get an agent, no matter your height. To hear this, and other segments, listen up and click here:

www.blogtalkradio.com/isobellajade

Feeling Shorter than Ever

She lowers the lens, and all the Giraffes stare at me. One is so tall I have to arch my neck and head to look up at her eyes. This time the casting director/ photographer taking the images at the casting is a woman. It seems more men than women have this job so it is interesting to me. I sit on the stool. I wait for the photographer to adjust the lens. Lowering it, like I am cripple or something, a flaw, having to mess up her organized shooting space. I feel shorter than ever when she does finally click the camera. My turn will be over soon.

Sort of Posing in Times Square,NYC in my Snorg Tees

So I got some really fun and sassy tees from Snorg tees and I pranced around in Times Square this weekend, sort of posing, but really anxious for the steak I ate after these photos were taken. http://www.snorgtees.com/

modeling advice: The Elle editor you never met

I stopped by McNally Robinson independent booksellers on Prince Street, and after a coffee my boyfriend bought me the book called The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. I only had read a few pages of it and already got really interested in Jean Dominique Bauby's story. The french Elle editor who came out of a coma, and wanted to write a book even though he could not write or speak, over came the odds by blinking page by page, letter by letter into a whole book, what a passionate editor as well, and he died even before the book was made available. The story blows my mind. What was really ironic as well, was that after purchasing the book, we went over to the Angelika Film Center, and no joke the motion picture of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was playing! It was so weird. The movie made me even more excited to read the book and overwhelmed with respect and honor for Mr.Bauby.
http://angelikafilmcenter.com/

http://www.mcnallyrobinsonnyc.com/

becoming a model

The Internet has made it possible to easily become a model or call yourself one. It is easy to post your image and then in a matter of clicks have a new title as model. But getting ahead is a whole other story. I think being a model takes smarts. Maybe the television show America's Smartest Model really ruins that idea, but I do think modeling is like starting a small business. It takes a marketing mindset, knowing yourself, being perceptive and driven. More than anything it takes the will to strive for your self. To wake up each day with a goal, with a plan and the effort to simply try and take a chance...so becoming a model is really based on your own focus and the work you put in. Especially as a petite model. It is about not being narrow minded, about being open to the world of modeling beyond fashion and find that there is actually ALOT out there for models of all heights. But you must seek the opportunity, it wont always find you.

Finding the Headshot?

Are you having a hell of a time finding the headshot. An agent wants to see both of your eyes and wants to see something striking. So far the images I have picked have been turned down by the agents I work with,- not head-shot-y enough.
I am focusing on my eyes and finding a shot that shows them speaking.

When it comes to picking a headshot that is best to represent you, or a shot for the front of your card, it can be a process. seriously it should be because you want to make a statement.

1. focus on your eyes- that is what the casting directors, agents and clients will see first.

2. Even if you have to crop your hair out a little because it is wild, you could still use the shot, if your face is making an expression that is energetic or looks alluring like a makeup ad campaign.

3. Curious, calm, and collected should be the image you are expressing for the front of a compcard. Or use a tearsheet or a really nice smiling shot like you are saying hello to good friends.

Using your Eyes to Model

He said "you look good baby don't worry!" I stared at my eyes in my hand held mirror, walking down Lafayette street back towards Canal Street. I said " lets hope!" Even though Verbal Gawkers piss me off I held back from flicking him my finger, because I had just had my eyes photographed for a casting, and I am dreaming about getting that job! It would pay more than a few thousand, and it would be for a global name, and it would be of my best feature my eyes. It was the first casting I had ever had for my eyes and it felt like I had waiting 5 years for it! Lets hope!

Model Turned US Army, hero.

Jessica Clements, was a model in Akron, Ohio, and decided to join the Army afer high school. Her story was featured on Oprah today. Cried my eyes out again!

Modeling Mindset

I read on MSN today the penguins are in trouble. I love penguins, and this video on MSN shares some trouble they are facing that is life changing and shares the concept of human's not living only for today but for tomorrow and the future. Petite Models can also apply this to our goals and lifestyle. Do we really need to let the water run when we brush our teeth, and do we really need to use THAT much toliet paper when we blot our lips?

Getting Your First Tearsheet in a Magazine

Petite models deserve tear sheets! Here is a link to my podcast I did tonight on how to get a tear sheet, it might give you some ideas.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/isobellajade/blog/2007/12/12/Modeling-in-a-Magazine

goodluck~

Petite Modeling Aquatonic Cream is Gone!

Kinda upset that Bath and Body Works stopped selling Aquatonic, I wanted to tell the models and girls how good of a product it is and it is gone! Damn, it was such a good product, it felt so fresh and you could physically feel it working and refreshing your face and body. Even if I had a zit, I would put it on, and the creamy liquid would absorb in like five seconds, it was the best cream ever and I am very upset it is gone. If Bath and Body Works have any left in some closet somewhere, please let me know!

Modeling Advice. At the Castings

Sometimes we have to fake it until we make it. Grab our bootstraps and just dive in and take the opportunity, even if we have never done it before. When it comes to castings, sometimes we are asked to do things, pose a certain way or put effort into focusing on one part of our body we never really considered. Especially for a casting based on our bodies and parts. If you are suppose to just give a smile, you can prepare even for that by relaxing your face and even taking notice to how your mouth, lips and face changes depending on the smile you give. As a model you should be aware of your body, and how it changes when you move. Or posing our shoulders, watchng our posture, for a body part casting or our fingers. It might sound nuts but there is even a certain way you can arch your finger to make it appear longer. Go ahead and look at it, and start bending it, at a hand modeling casting you will have to sometimes position your hand, fingers and even arch a pinky or two!

Marketing Yourself and Images

If you can put together a compcard. It will help your promotion. The Internet is great for research but not really great for posting images and getting work. It is better if you get a compcard or selection of images printed and these are some cheap options for models on a budget:

http://www.compcard.com/ Compcards

http://www.adoramapix.com/ Prints

Hints and tips for submitting Photos to a Magazine

So you want to submit your photo to a magazine? You don't know where to start?
Well start by picking up the magazine you like or want to be in. All of the answers are inside the magazine. In the first 5 pages of a magazine you will find a ton of ads, so keep flipping and soon you will find the magazine Masthead, the magazine title and the editors credits and names are what follows.

Keep that page handy. Now you can do these three things:

1: Flip through the magazine until you find an article or photo series that intrigues you and you start thinking " That could be me!" and then notice who the editor of the piece was, and look in the front of the magazine, on the Masthead page and find out the title of the editor. Usually down below there is the magazine's address. So now you have the magazine editors name, and you know what they previously worked on and you know the magazines address. Now all you need is a stamp!

Next you need to show your not just another model or wanna be. Write a letter and say " I liked the piece you did on ____ recently, please consider me for your up coming editorials and photo shoots where you might need a model with a lot of energy and a diverse look." Include of course your phone number, not just your email.

Or there is #2: That involves just looking in the front of the magazine and submitting your images to the photo edior or editorial director. The names are right there, waiting for your mail!

Now for # 3: For email submission, I would go to the website, find the email of one editor and you know the name of them all usually. Research the public relations section of the magazine, and sometimes inside of press releases you can find emails, so if you know how the format is for one person at the magazine you can figure out how to send the editor you really want to submit through email.
Take control of your dreams. Keep trying. And Go for it!

A Message for Kellie Pickler

I have a message for Kellie Pickler and her amazing touching song " I wonder." She is a strong vibrant woman, I look in her eyes and really see that Kellie has a story to tell. Not just about her own music and mother but I really think she will always be known to not hold back and to be comfortable to reveal her honest feelings and as a singer I really respect her. My father was an alcoholic, today he is recovering and over all my striving to model I haven't had a role model or father figure in the typical American Dad way, and when I wrote and published a book I detailed my relationship with my father and it was a very emotional experience to write with such honesty. I think you are an example that a person's struggles can turn into their huge success, and you are extremely driven and focused and able to sing with your heart. I admire your lyrics and voice. I now really love Country music because of words like yours.

Managing Goals and Rent- Freelancers

The toughest thing is managing rent, bills and having a dream and goal. Really making the plans you have happen can mean putting into perspective the daily choices you make. Survival should be first, ( although for me sometimes it was last) it should be first. I know it might seem like life passes by fast and it does, even if you have to take a month off to get organized it is worth it....It might take some time to get good images, a comp card, and afford to put together a book, but after you do even 6 months of hard work and submitting to agents and to magazines could get you work and tearsheets. Within a year you could have some good work in your portfolio. Sometimes to get the bigger jobs and to get the agent you need a tear sheet to get you going. So if you don't have agency I would focus on trying to get tearsheets, and this can only take a few minutes of your day but you have to have your marketing tools. For printing try www.adorama.com/

But even with the modeling agent and modeling agency you have to always work for yourself, market yourself and be aware that nothing happens if you wait!

goodluck!

Print Agencies Like Petite Models

I love Google, I do it to promote my self and when you are modeling you can use basic words to find out a lot of informtion such as by Googling:

print modeling agencies + NYC
Or
Modeling agencies + NYC

Usually if the agency has print as a focus you can send pictures no matter your size.
Make a compcard, or put together some images and mail them to print agencies in NYC. Just google Print Modeling Agencies. These agencies might be a good choice to mail, or call or email them.

http://www.fftmodels.com/

http://www.r-lmodels.com/

http://www.modelserviceagency.com/

The Tiniest Model poses in front of the Largest Apple Store

Well this week I posed in front of the New sparkling Apple Store. I can't wait to try out the new atmosphere and iMacs at the new store on 14th Street. Here I am posing infront of the store and to see more pics please see the Media Bistro link.

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/

Homelessness To me, Modeling vs. a Home

Homelessness to me doesn't mean I have lived on the streets. Homelessness is a feeling inside and being comfortable with the main home of you being inside of your heart and mind. Physically having no place to call home and being ok because it is a choice.

I have a college degree in Advertising. But I made a choice in Oct 2005 that I could manage to live without a home or stability. I had some wonderful friends who I bounced around to and from, but also I ended up desperate at times using anyone as a potential place to stay. Striving directors, photographers, and gym workers, friends, a guy I was seeing at the time. It was a rough moment but I knew I was striving for my dream and worth it. I don't think many models would give up their roof, for the chance, but I did. We all know paying rent is a stability that is needed, but for me, I couldn't manage at the time. And I made a choice to still model, or get a 9-5 job and survive but not have my modeling.
It was always my choice, -to throw out my clothing and furniture and live out of 5 bags and soon a suitcase, and try and try again to manage stability but it was always a choice and I remember some days wondering "where am I sleeping tonight," and I don't regret those times, but now I am with more stability. It is the last chapter of my book.

Today on The View, actor Ernie Hudson spoke about a movie he is in about homelessness. I plan on seeing it and taking in the emotion. Check out Ernie's history too here.

Dave Matthews sings for the Petite Models- well I think so...

In Dave Matthews words for the song Little Thing...
So, um, so weve been doing this, uh, this tour, what I guess this is our
Fifth show weve done, tim and i, and, uh... (applause) and, uh, so this little
Song has been growing out, uh, while weve been playing, sort of a little
Story. and the little story I was in new york city and, uh, I was walking down
The street. trying to find the place I was going (I cant remember where I was
Going now). cause I met this girl and I asked her directions, you know. and
She was, she was tiny, you know. she, she wasnt young,she was just tiny and,
Uh, so I asked her directions and she said, oh thats the way down there, walk
Over there, go down there, you walk over there, and you go down there and then
You're there. something like that, anyway. so, uh, but I walked about ten
Paces away and I was thinking... daaamn, that girl was fine. and, oh, I turned
Around to tell her so, and ask her maybe her name, or maybe if we should go and
Get a cup of, who knows, coffee or something. and Im sure if I turned around
And find Her there I would have found out something...

Hand Modeling with Animals

I am so impressive with Guido Danele's work, and I wanted to share how he makes the hand a Masterpiece.

These shots might inspire some ideas for putting together a hand modeling portfolio, or at least one idea.
http://www.guidodaniele.com/

Mmmm.
isobella

P.Diddy fragrance on My Chest Tonight

Well the day ended with pouring Champaign for P.Diddy and the Sean John crew, it was maybe my last time ever pouring Champaign. ( only one glass broke tonight) For some extra holiday cash I was a drink mixer sporting an Unforgivable Woman tee shirt representing Puffy’s new fragrance which is a major hit globally. I didn’t expect to see P.Diddy tonight but he sure has put a lot of heart into his line and Perfume Company and image. I like the passion inside his company, the message of doing your dream, and being an independent and striving individual. When I put the orange juice into the flute and then adding the Champaign the drink was originally for a girl who wanted a blini CHAMPAIGN COCTAIL, then right when I am almost done pouring a hand is coming towards me and it is P.Diddy's hand, well of course Sean Combs gets the drink first and the timing was so perfect. www.diddy.com/

I just hoped he didn't mind the Blini part.
Cheers to his hustle and ironically in my book Almost 5'4" my quote is by his fav: The Notorious B.I.G. and from the song Juicy " You know very well who you are, don't let them hold you down, reach for the stars." That song gets me excited, pumped and ready to rock. It defines where I was at when I wrote the book. I listen to that song on the subway and seriously lip it daily.

www.seanjohnfragrances.com/

Before this event tonight, I did a shoot at the Apple Store. I almost froze in my sexy Nina shoes but it was worth it. No matter the weather, the bank account highs and lows, the pressure, or the chance and odds, I will be always trying to keep striving and dreaming. I hope you tune into my podcast at www.blogtalkradio.com/isobellajade where I shared some insight to how Publishing a Book and also Modeling have a lot to do with Marketing.

NYC Handbag Designer Jacquelyn LaCroix

I admire Jacquelyn LaCroix on and her leather handbag company, LaCroix handbag Co. full of leather, lambskin, detail, and goat leather is something to fall in love with, and she is a woman that any aspiring model, or dreamer could look up too.

Recently Mandy Moore ( wearing a LaCroix clutch on her arm,)and Fantastia have her bags. Jacquelyn LaCroix is a handbag designer that will soon be seen in a national retailer.

http://www.lacroixdesigns.com/

Rachel Ray and Jen, scrapping a yummy Dinner

I enjoyed watching Jen on Rachel Ray this morning. I like how she wasted none of her
ingredients and I can relate. I do use the whole lemon when I cook. I love making my pasta with throwing in lemon and seasonings, and the chicken have lemon on it too. I use the ends too. Nothing is wasted when you are working, and cooking on a budget. You can even make Roman Noodles taste even better with adding some lemon, or veggies to it, or chicken or pork.

www.rachaelray.com/

Sometimes even after finally getting the paycheck I waited weeks or months for, I still eat on a budget because you can! It is easy to enjoy a meal with the ones you love without getting a headache. I do love the feeling of making a meal and having the ones I love enjoy it, it does touch my heart, -even for a raga-muffin model like me!

Victoria Secret Show and Silver Belles

Well, since many girls admire the Victoria Secret girls, I tuned in tonight to CBS. Wow an hour went by. Honest opinion: I only sort of liked the show. I liked the Star at the end that Heidi wore, and how it popped open. I really liked the artistic, artist lingerie, but I think it could have been a bit more creative, edgy and off the hook. The girl walking with the belle on her neck was a little scary, it looked painful. I miss the lace and wish there was more fur lingerie, fake fur, but soft looking lingerie would be cool. Something extra special for Xmas. I think Sports Illustrated is hot hot hot, but the Spice Girls did good and Victoria Beckham rocked it in her cute little hat and gear very well. As for the show: It would have been cute if little elfs walked the ladies dow nthe runway, something with more personality than shaking the butt with angel wings, seen it, done it already.

Petite Modeling castings and no calls for Vaseline

It is frustrating over and over to go to castings and get no call backs. Or when you do get a call back, you show up on time, even early, this is for your second meeting, which should mean your chances are high, and sign in, and watch the other girls come in to limit your chances, and then you get seen and give not only your hands, but your whole body, click, click, arch your back, jump on the table, turn, the other way, lean forward, back, show your hands, flip, side, front, back, thank you. And then no call. Mmmm. But when you do get a call back and get booked or get a direct booking it like Yes, Yes, screaming to the stars and moon. Yess!!!!

Comp card hustling and designing

Picking images can sometimes be a process for me. Today it took way too long, I debated over making my comp card show my body and also show my personality. I want to be able to market myself to brands like Sally Beauty and also to lingerie companies and jobs for body part modeling. I really need more than one card. One that shows my personality and commercial appeal, some fashion looks, (meaning modeling clothing, shoes, or bags) and also a card that shows my parts. A parts card will allow me to model my hands, legs, stomach, behind, and curves, along with my hair and eyes, and my commercial card is needed for jobs for editorials and where personality counts!

I recently took a really great butt shot which will be used on both cards because it does show my curves but also it is shot in a commercial way. It is in a thong lingerie set from H&M which I love, but my image is shot very catalog like, so it works with a commercial card. If you want to show your body and you want to also model commercial products, beauty products, etc, you need to shoot your body in a commercial way.

Crossing fingers on this card. I think it will be good!
I did a Google search of the word model and found www.compcard.com, which is a very decent source, and if you want advice they can give it too!

The Apple's model, Meets Store number 3, (her lucky number)

My favorite number is three, my favorite subway is the 3 train and the third Apple Store opens this week!
The Apple Store is a peaceful place, a creative place, a busy place, a place I like to call my second home, the Apple Store is an inventive place, a dreamers escape, a makers make. I saw a sticker poster thing on 25th Street advertising the launch of the store. And http://www.tuaw.com reported that:Apple Store in NYC is due to open this Friday, and official Apple e-vites went out earlier today. New York City's fourth Apple retail outlet (three in Manhattan, one on Staten Island -- no love for Brooklyn, Apple? What's up with that?) will be opening to the public at 6 pm on Friday 12/7. The store will be open 9 am to midnight Mon-Sat and 9-7pm on Sundays.!!!! Very exciting!

Following a handbag designer around town.

I recently wrote a story about following around the handbag designer Jacquelyn LaCroix in New York City, and watching her design routine and it was a very insightful experience. The day in the life that I experienced with Jacquelyn LaCroix is featured here on www.citychickmag.com. Ever wonder where your handbag comes from? Or what it takes to be a designer?

http://www.citychickmag.com/beautyfashion/0043.html

Steve Jobs Licks a Good Design.

In the December issue of In Store magazine, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, is quoted with his thoughts of design. "You know a design is good when you want to lick it." Oh racy! Well, serious, I could see that impluse. If it is smooth and shines a new and original feeling,then it might inspire to be touched and licked. I have never licked an iMac, I have posed nude with one recently for a shoot for Mac Directory Magazine though. Over-all, I think Steve would like my book!

The Hits and Clicks of Modeling and Shoes

I think to get ahead as a model, it takes persistance, order, a plan, and goals. It takes also understanding what you are really doing. Modeling is about a product and I think the Internet has meant that modeling has become more about the hits and clicks these days since anyone can be apart of a modeling website. It is easy to lose focus on whether it is about tearsheets or hits and clicks on your website. I still and always will judge a model by " what work have you done?" Not by "who is your agent?" or " how many clicks does your website have?" Modeling is about " what products have your worked with?" Or " what tearsheets do you have?" To me anyways. Make your heels click, and get up and start hustling and working hard to get the work. I don't think being a model is about being pretty, it is about being persistant.

Amy Grant brings back my childhood

On Oprah today I saw Amy Grant, it was a memorable experience because I grew up listening to her " baby, baby" and "Good For me" with a childhood friend, it was 1993-ish, my parents had divorced and I would enjoy dancing and being silly with Amy's songs, my friend and I would make up our own music videos and dance around her living room and hold up fake micro-phones. ( she was alot better at it than I was). When it comes to Amy's story, I am glad she followed her heart and has always done what she has wanted to do with her music and life. I am also admiring her relationship with Vince. I had tears when Oprah read from her book words Vince had said to Amy, "I welcome you, I welcome you and whatever you bring to the table is enough!"

http://music.aol.com/video/baby-baby/amy-grant/1903656

And when they mentioned the South African Greeting " I see you "
http://www2.oprah.com/index.jhtml
I plan on reading her book.
Time Does Matter, good quote Amy.

Advice and Tips from my Past- Almost 5'4"

In my modeling memoir I mention my gritty self discovering past of striving to be a petite model in NYC between 2001-2006. Although today I am working with national brands, names and networks, I have decided to share my roots, my naive moments, my growth and the road I have seen as a petite model. I declare to make it known that I am not perfect, I have made mistakes, and accept them. I like giving advice, and using my unconventional modeling story to give hope to those who dream. Who are the underdogs, who want to stand for something. Even if that something is themselves.
I have learned to self serve, take a chance, and to take risks, to engage in my pursuits, to try, to not give up. Fighting for the chance has lead to my book and my podcast and my blogs about being a petite model and no matter your pursuit sometimes you have to bluntly make it happen, pick up the phone, mail, pitch, and promote yourself, and it doesn't end through one source,-because trying something that is a challenge, only means it is something worth capturing time and time again.

Sincerely,
isobella jade

Isobella Jade video of Book Marketing Tips through Bookspoke.com on Media Bistro

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/video/isobella_jades_book_marketing_tips_71878.asp?c=rss

Isobella Jade Video of Reading on Media Bistro

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/video/isobella_jade_speaks_71705.asp?c=rss

Weekend Photo Shoot

Over the weekend I am shooting against some artist paintings and also shooting hopefully while iceskating at Bryant Park or at Rockefeller Center while where some tee-shirts. I will have the photos posted soon if I get away with the shoot.
I also have an idea for promoting my book that will involve shots around NYC, so that is in production as well. I just got some really hot Nina Shoes, which I am anxious to wear and flaunt and pose in for my shoots.
http://www.rockefellercenter.com/home.html

Putting the wig on!

and then adding some personality at a local lounge in San Francisco. Pretty hot and it made the fun have a spice of funk which I wouldn't have gotten from my original hair, infact THE HAIR is the focus and story in the shot.

Wiggin it! The View shares advice on Wigs and Hair Weaves

Hair Wigs and weaves are also for white girls. Don't be narrow minded, you might be able to plump up your hair instead of shooting again your thin dry blond locks at your next shoot. Or change your look quickly from short hair to long! On The View today they mentioned unique weaves and hair wings, I have worn both at my shoots, for example see the photo enclosed! I loved how Joy Behar got in with the wig style and showed off her locks on The View today! She always has something sassy to say and she is my favorite and she looked very good. So girls, petite models, ladies, don't be afraid to use a weave or wig or extentions at your shoot. A few months ago, when I body doubled for a movie poster I had to use extentions, they clipped in and at the time I had short hair but within minutes I had long curly hair. The photo enclosed is from a shoot I did in San Francisco, by Christopher Jensen. I wore a wig.


http://abc.go.com/daytime/theview/index

Isobella speaks about her Book and Modeling

I spoke last night with Marion Maneker from Harper Collins about marketing books and the publishing industry. I hope you like my sass, and NYC underdog of publishing experience.

Here is the video:

http://www.viddler.com/explore/jonsurfs/videos/1/

Sincerely,
isobella jade

Act of Kindness on way to the MTA

After the Bookspoke event on Bowery Street, I went to the downtown 6 train. I like the subway, well, I have a love/hate relationship with it actually. I looked forward to a easing quiet ride home. And I dug for my metro card and first swiped an empty one,Inefficient funds damning me. So I dug again. As I dig a hispanic man, an older graying man, with a cap says " need a swipe?" I say " no it's ok.." and he says " it's ok!" and he swipes me through. I say thanks like a New Yorker expecting to get robbed or hit on, and later on the train I wondered about his random act of kindness while reading my own book.

Isobella Jade at the Bowery Poetry Club today!

I am speaking about my book at 6:30 today, and discussing writing it at the Apple store, publishing it and the process of marketing myself!

This is a free event for anyone who wants to learn more about marketing their books and themselves at the Bowery Poetry Club, hosted by Bookspoke, www.bookspoke.com

Speakers: Isobella Jade and Marion Maneker
When: Wednesday, November 28, 2007, 6:30 PM
Where: Bowery Poetry Club
308 Bowery (@ Bleecker)
New York, NY 10003

Sincerely,
isobella jade

Modeling Workshops could be a Waste

Life is already expensive so don't pay for someone to tell you what you are good at with modeling, or the areas you should consider. Workshops and modeling events are either too pricey usually or right down scams! So I would instead consider your body, your personality, your look, and start pursuing the options you have. The first thing you will need is photos. They say so much more than any old workshop director. Don't pay for talent searches, or anything that involves someone else telling you what you are good at! Unless they are a friend or someone who believes in you and is giving you honest advice then do not pay to hear about what you are good at or not good for. Alot of models don't focus on themselves and instead worry too much about whatever anyone else says. I met a model once who had a mole on the side of her nose and debated getting it removed before she started modeling, I wanted to shake her and tell her "Noooo!" You don't have to change yourself, your natural self to be a model, and what might have happened to this model was that someone said" well your mole might turn off an agent!" And she listened instead of seeing the uniqueness in it, and it could be a personality trait or become her trademark! I think models obsess over perfectness. Which is really a wrong perception to have. Uniqueness is more of a selling point than being prime and perfect and flawless! Of course you might not want to sell your scars and blemishes, but your unique nose, or curly q hair is a selling point! Don't get sucked into losing yourself and your opportunities. You don't have to pay to hear it, and you don't have to change you! Modeling is about personality, bringing energy to a product, representing a brand. Or for handmodeling sometimes it is just about having the nail size and hand shape they are looking for. Does this mean I am getting fake nails to make my nails longer?? NO way, I am me. I am a model.

Isobella Posed in SF with some Wild Rocker Hair

Christopher Jensen began his photography career when he was seven with his Grandfather's camera and hand-held light meter. At the age of seventeen he started photographing pro- am skateboarders and hardcore music groups. While attending Parsons School of Design in New York he photographed Hip Hop groups in the early nineties. He became part of the Hip Hop music scene in New York and Los Angeles as Hip Hop was moving off the city streets and into America's living rooms. His unique and cutting-edge images captured a rare time in American music that now has become an everyday part of life. Since then he has photographed actors, models, musicians and everyday people all over the world. With years of experience and a knack for seeing the edgier side of things, he moved to San Francisco to form Jensen Photography.

In San Francisco I worked with a great photographer named Christopher Jensen. That hair was so much fun! Styling can truely transform you into a model with reddish rock and roll hair and the skyline to give even more personality.

Modeling hair style tips and advice from Bill Schrlau

As a freelance model sometimes I have had to style my own hair at my photo shoots when there wasn't a hair stylist, and without knowing any unique tricks the results really did effect the shoot and it was bad! I wished I had a hair professional helping me but I didn't know where to turn. I have learned over the years that modeling isn't about one thing, it takes the whole package to create an amazing shot and hair is so very important. Bill Schrlau, an award winning hairstylist and professional,shares advice for petite models and models who need some tips at their shoots for making their hair have personality. I met and worked with Bill during a hair modeling job I did at Wella and it is nice to hear advice from someone whose forte is hairstyling and hair fashion trends. (www.schrlau.com).

Okay keep in mind I would always recomend that you use a professional,they can see your hair unlike you can on your own. However we all understand that their are moments when you need to do the work yourself. These are the looks I would recomend and you should be able to replicate on your own. Also if you are paying for a haircut, eventually, your hairstylist should be willing to spend the time to help you learn these looks. It only looks good for the hairstylist if you can recreate the look on yourself.


1. Slicked backProduct & tools; comb, gel or light gel, water bottle
How to; A.Prep hair with water, B.apply product, C.comb through and smooth. Longer hair use ponytail fastener to hold back. Short hair comb toward center back, use bobby pins to fasten if needed. Keep in mind the angle of the photographer. The hair does not have to be perfect in the back if the back is not seen, stop wasting time making it perfect, LOL.

2. Ponytail
Product & tools; comb, gel, best product I have worked with for the wet pony is "Styling lotion, by Bumble & Bumble", "Does it all" hairspray by Bumble & Bumble, comb, cushion brush (maison Peirson $125- is the best quality, or you can get by with a denman $under $20-the quality is good, just not as good as M.P.), another product that will help with a smooth finish is, Bumble & Bumble "Defrizz". Use it at finish lightly though, to smooth any fly aways around the hairline, follow with hairspray. How to;A.Prep by brushing first. B. dirty the hair- with either hairspray (does it all) or styling lotion. Then make sure
the hair is dry. On days that static is an issue use cooler air and keep the air flowing downward. C.In front of mirror comb into back center into a ponytail, keeping in mind that there are three definate positionings for a ponytail and each says something different about your look. High is more youthful and sometimes juveniela(sp). Medium crown- gives you a lift in the face but not as youthful or too young. Low- nape area-screams class. It is a bit more elegant so for those shoots that you need a classy look this is the way to go, keep it low. D.once in place- fasten with a fastener (keep it soft,so that it is not too tight on the hair, this can eventually cause breakage.)

3. Upwork Product & tools, brush, comb, hair fasteners, bobby pins, hairspray, defrizz. How to; Prep hair get it dirty (not too dirty, but with texture so that it is easier to fasten with bobby pins), then brush into ponytail. Then back comb the pony tail (tease it), then twist a few bobby pins into the teased hair and fasten along the edge of the ponytail. You will have hair sticking up all over the place,or you can smooth the teased hair before fastening with bobby pins,this will give a more put together look. This one is a much more difficult look but be simple and if you need to push and prod the hair then go ahead, make it work for you, rough it up a bit to get that once over slept in look.

I hope this helps.

The best part of this advice is to have them get help from their hairstylist. Set a price on it. If you pay $80 or more for a cut your hair stylist should be giving you this help without being asked- at least two different looks on each visit. If they are not it may be time to seek another hairstylist out.

Thank you,
Bill



Bill's services and eye has been used for national brands and is a nationa leader published in American Salon, Modern Salon, Salon Today Magazines. He even offers his services to you and you can visit his website at
(www.schrlau.com).

Focusing on More than ONE Thing

I meet models all the time, who only are focusing on ONE thing, and they miss out on other things, for example at a hand modeling casting a girl had really great curly hair, funky and pretty but she had never considered hair modeling? I was shocked! Then she asked me how she would get involved with that….I told her to go to Barnes and Noble and to research hair magazines and submit the editors her photo. Simple, costs only a few stamps!

What About the Petite Girl? She has to get Dressed in the Morning too!

While Googling petite designers I ran into an article in the New York Times about the lack of Petite sizes in Department stores. MICHAEL BARBARO reports:

"It's not like American women suddenly got tall," said the designer Dana Buchman, who has supplied petite-size tweed jackets and chiffon skirts to Saks and Neiman Marcus for years. "I think it's a mistake."

Last year I got a Dana Buchman coat on sale, a very very good sale and I enjoyed that it was an Xsmall, a size that many designers forget about.

Fashion magazines and shows make it all about legs legs and length but the average woman is still 5'3"!!! I understand for presentation sometimes a certain style of clothing can look better on a tall woman, but honestly it is really getting crazy when we have to alter everything we buy! I guess the tailor is making out pretty good!

As a petite woman myself and petite model finding a great fit, a great designer to lean on is an issue but it is a good feeling to hear it from a fashion designer like Dana Buchman that someone is thinking of the petite woman fashion silluette.

http://www.danabuchman.com/

Petite Fashion Problems

For more issues about petite fashion problems click the link below, it is very interesting and true but I don't think it says enough for the petite girls who ARE a size zero or who are skinny but have a shorter hem line. The whole range of petite needs to be covered, the short and wide, the short and skinny, the short!


http://www.fashion-era.com/image_planning/petite_fashion_problems.htm

Petite Clothing and Suits or Lack of

Something I find upsetting is shopping or considering shopping for a suit. I remember when I was around 20 my mother bought me my first suit. There weren't alot of choices and we ended up going to Petite Sophisticate. http://www.petitesophisticate.com- It was a nice suit but I felt a little too young to be in the store, now about 5 years later I still feel weird when it comes to finding a suit because I can't find one anywhere! It makes me sad to know that for the petite girl, or woman there is not enough petite lines. Not enough diversity out there. If you are between the ages of 20-25 or even 30, it is hard to find something that fits the fashion trends and which fits and makes you feel good. And without spending an arm and a leg. I am hunting for petite suits. Designers, and I am striving to interview a few. I don't wear suits alot but blazers and jackets, button down shirts are my favorites and I have a very hard time when it comes to spending under 100 bucks. It is like we get punished by the fashion world for being so petite.

Let's Hear it for the Underdogs. Holiday Glamour Special

I talk about petite models being jewelry models and I recently heard from a designer who uses a petite model in her advertising and also offers a discount to petite models. Her words are very inspiring and I wanted to share them with you.


At Corazon Latino, we believe that every woman is unique, that our differences should be celebrated, and that you do not have to be 5'10 & a size zero to be beautiful. Beauty is about passion, a love of life & living your dreams... That is the spirit behind Corazon Latino.

Isobella really has that Corazon Latino. Not only does she work hard to make her dreams a reality, she also helps other women to achieve their dreams with her down-to-earth advice & real insights into the world of modelling.

To support Isobella and to thank her for her support of Corazon Latino, I would like to offer you, her "readers" a special 10% off introductory discount on our entire range. Just visit our site www.corazonlatino.com, and take a look at the range. If you see something you like, just head to the checkout & when you register enter coupon code INTRO307 into the coupon code box for a 10% discount off your order. You can check out the prices in US & Can as well Aus (just click the flag & choose your currency). You can pay by all major credit cards safely & securely & we will ship worldwide within a week.

Enjoy! Catherine D'Arcy - Founder - Corazon Latino.

www.carazonlatino.com

Curves are a Good Thing

I go into the casting as a hand model today and end up being a full body parts model. Good thing I shaved. This is because my comp card shares not just Hand Shots, but photos of my body and other parts too. This is a good thing to consider when it comes to making a comp card. Show your diversity, even if it is for body parts, show your hands, feet, stomach, legs, curves. Curves are a good thing, don’t be afraid to get some shots taken of your body parts because there is a whole industry for these kinds of models and as a petite model it is a way to get your foot, and body into the door.

Say No to America's Next Top Model and Yes to Marketing You to Brands and Magazines

Even after Megg Morales, was recruited on Myspace for the show and then later voted off Top Model, before the show she had a contract with Elite and her answers in a 2006 interview for the Village Voice shared that after the show she really wasn't heading anywhere exciting with modeling and she was noticed because of the show when she tried to drink underage at bars but being the show didn't really bring her anything but a few segments of exposure on TV. After the show she was trying to get with an agency again since Elite dropped her I guess, and she was considering other options for herself, and passions,goals and careers,- even as a lifeguard.

It makes one wonder if sometimes too much exposure can be bad, and how careful we have to be when it comes to exposing ourselves,- even on America's Next Top Model. Especially since many of these girls are full of themselves and not really willing to work hard. The opportunity and chance and jobs wont just come to you because you have been on America's Next Top Model or any reality show for that matter, you have to seek for yourself the next step in your life and the show is just a stepping stone or a different stage of your pursuits but not the end all.

I guess what upsets me is that: The show invites you on and gives you un realistic ideas of the modeling world and then kicks you off and leaves the models with no further advice. It seems the girls show up, do the process and then get nothing to advance them into the real world modeling industry. Which takes places off camera and infront of real clients, castings, agents and photoshoots. It just boggles me. I think reality shows can be really lame, unrealistic and really pathetic and unhonest. It gives average girls and people a perception of an industry that is narrow minded on the TV screen and presented in a way that is not typical, normal, or the truth.

Say Something with Innovative Tee-shirts

I love wearing my
I'm a N3rd shirt from Snorg Tees on a cozy Sunday.
I like how these shirts cover my butt just enough to keep my tights and tee look classy and not trashy. The length of the shirts is perfect and it is hard to find a teeshirt like this. They are worth checking out if you are looking for something cute to wear but not same old'. They can even bring some flair to your photo shoots.

http://www.snorgtees.com/

They are fun to wear especially since I love a unique expression, and these tee's bring back the cool in making a statement on your chest!

isobella

Petite Models and Being a persistent, go-getter.

Girls, women, females of all ages are obsessed with being discovered. Except they don’t put in the effort to be found. For hundreds of years women have been the muses for artists, painters, sculptures, photographers, designers, writers, but yet in today’s world you have to fight harder to be a muse or a model, or seen or desired or the inspiration of anything artistic or related to art. When a girl asks herself or myself “How can I start modeling?” My answer is marketing. It shocks me when girls want to be models but they don’t know anything about it. It makes me wonder where the “want to be a model” comes from? When I started modeling I had a need to feel admired and wanted and seen and I grew obsessed with it, ( counting the hits and clicks on my modeling page on the Internet) but the industry hasn’t changed all that much and now even with the Internet the same old ( the client calls the agent, they don’t hunt on the Internet for models and talent, never have and most likely never will)… still takes place when it comes to getting discovered and getting work, and most of the time it means making it happen for yourself. Since the access to the modeling world is found through the Internet and it is so easy to feel like a model or the only option for the shorter models. But it’s not. Being discovered is a word for those who are tall, and expected in modeling. Making it happen for yourself, is a statement for those who can’t be limited to one source as their only promotional tool, if you want to do something and it is difficult or it makes you the underdog by trying it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try . It just means the BEING Discovered, is really Being a persistent, go-getter.

Marilyn Monoe got in the Car as a Nude Model

I have been thinking a lot about models now and then. Marilyn Monroe is titled bimbo perhaps, but I see her as a rare breed. Perceptive, able to handle her dreams, and chased them. Andre De Dienes worked with Marilyn for many years but their first encounter could have been just as risky as some girls who pursue modeling today. Although the difference is Andre called up the usual modeling agency called The Blue Book Modeling agency, which he used often,asking for any new models for nudes, what he got was Norma Jean Baker, a new model, who would become Marilyn Monroe, and their first photoshoot together was Norma Jean's first or one of the very first shoots she ever did.

Even asking for a nude model then must have been a shock to mothers' around America. First Norma and Andre shot at the beach and then a ritual of shooting would begin with Norma and Andre. He offered to pay her 100 dollars a week, and he would provide the clothing and accessories for the shoot and they would drive off in his Buick Roadmaster to the desert, the mountains, from California to Nevada, to Arizona. Maybe she said yes because he was a photographer she worked with through an agency and felt safe, assured and protected since they met through the agency. In the book called " Andre de Dienes," the photos show a Norma Jean with chipped red nail polish and a very raw and beautifully flawed Norma Jean. The book is a diary of the experience Andre had with her and the love, laughter and enchanting photography that followed.

Although I find the difference here between what happens over the web with aspiring models today is that they met through an Agency. Even though after the first shoot at the beach it lead to an exclusive road trip, and later was to be a nude shoot and taking places in other States, it still was with a photographer who had amazing taste, a great eye, and who captures Norma as a natural model and at ease. The photographer had credits, experience and a passion for photography, not just women, and he loved to create a story and this book shares the thoughts of a photographer so detailed and artistic. I find many times that models work with photographers they know nothing about, they only judge them from their photoshopped images and rush to their apartments and throw their panties on the floor and start shooting before they even can pronounce the photographers' name. If you want quality, ask questions, and if you don't feel the photographer is going to enhance your career with photos that you can really use to either get more work or submit yourself to magazines, or help you manage your career then don't bother. Andre treated Norma Jean with beautiful photos and she was paid for her time. Don't settle for working with people who are just GWC, ( guys with cameras).

If you follow the poses from the 1950's, you also will see how the models "aren't trying" so hard, they are just being themselves and even in a pin up shot they are the girl next door which is what many of us models really are!

The sad Prada Girls

In the latest issue of Vanity Fair there is a feature on Young Ladies of NYC Private Schools, it kinda makes me sick when one of the girls says of growing up in NYC, " We are so much more cultured," and then defines her culture advancement by saying, "In college you meet people who don't even know how to pronounce 'Prada'"
If she is saying that NOT knowing how to pronounce Prada is a bad thing, I beg to differ. I myself remember when I first heard the name Kate Spade during my freshman year of college at New York Institute of Technology, style wasn't even a word in my vocab and I turned to the Alloy Catalog, and before the Myspace.com popularity contest and AOL being free as long as you a connection, there wasn't the feeling of being behind in fashion by not knowing how to spell some fashion designers name or wear his name on the back of your sweater. Being from Syracuse, NY, although I am a model, I step back into reality when I visit, my mother now lives in Oswego and the latest fashion is a Coach bag, but most are in Flannel and jeans, and sneakers, heels for that matter are still not around, not seen at all, and even in my Sassy Payless boots that costs only 15 bucks, with a 3 inch heel,- I feel the stares around the Mall, -the average American girl doesn't really define and design themselves by fashion yet. I bet these girls in Vanity Fair don't even know the history of Prada, or anything about the launch and struggles and passion that went into the name???? Have they ever put passion into anything? Sorry, this article really pissed me off. Yet they wear it? I would never wear a luxury label without really knowing and understanding all the worth behind the name. The work, the image, the story. Chanel has a good story. I'd like to tell these girls to take a trip 4 hours into Upstate NY and they might actually feel pathetic carrying all their labels and logos...I don't admire people who judge others based on such a narrow minded viewpoint.Don't get me wrong, I love fashion, bags, shoes, shoes!!!... but the difference is I love the art of it, the creation process, the production, the work that goes into creating a fashion line. I have a handbag designer friend and I have watched her build her company from scratch and seeing her do it from her heart first hand makes her price of 300-400 wholesale worth it, yet these girls who think not knowing how to pronounce a name of a label degrates their position in society is seriously wacko!
I am glad I don't have the type of culture these girls have, it is very shallow and really it distances them from really making their circle wider by judging people for not knowing the latest trend.
www.vanityfair.com

Remembering those who have Helped Along theway

Visiting my hometown of Syracuse, NY for the holidays, I am thankful for a lot in my life. a good bus ride will make you think of it all. My thoughts and thanks go to my friends and family who have supported my goals and I have enjoyed also watching my family and friends grow as people and dreamers themselves and aspiring even further than they even imagined, that alone is a gift to see and experience and be apart of.

Modeling Minus Wasting Time

If you focus on quality all around you will get ahead as a model.
From your images to the goals you have, make it about benefits and don't waste your time waiting for things to happen. Sometimes you have to make it happen.

Ask yourself " How is this experience,shoot, person, photographer, going to get my ahead." Usually the answer can explain if something is a scam or waste of time. If you are freelancing, managing yourself and acting as your own agent sometimes, you are a business, and treat your self and your goals like one.

When starting out modeling, or trying to get more work, we do make mistakes sometimes and it stems from taking a chance, not every clothing company gets sales when the store opens on the first day and the first hour, it can take time, thought, and conceptualizing to know how you fit into your market. The market of modeling.

This means making sure you stay organized and being hands on with your career, so if you want to start this coming new year off right, make some goals, write them down, stick to them, it is only 6 weeks away and you can start by preparing today. If you want something you fight for it. The effort is worth it.

Focus on getting better photos, quality, images that sell you and then take these images and do what is best...start marketing yourself to make yourself a model worth hiring.

You shoot with Film?

I love a crisp shot, when the photography catches even the fuss on my shirt. I love how it sees everything! Robert Caldarone gives his thoughts on film

Robert Caldarone's words: With all the advances in digital cameras and backs over the years, I'm still amazed at how huge the visual information gap is when digital is compared to modern-day film. Today's professional films from both Kodak and Fuji deliver more visual information than any other capture medium. And what really blows my clients' eyes away is the finished product. I enjoy the fact that today's professional films continue to keep offering a level of depth, color, texture, sharpness, and resolution that a digital back or camera (due to the flat-chip design of the medium itself) can never achieve. When you think about all the three-dimensionality which lies in the chemistry of film, and the way it can capture slightly different records of the same image within the ever-changing mosaic of its silver halide crystals there's not a man-made chip now or in the future that could ever come close to what film offers today, yesterday, or in the future! Film is not going away, no matter how hard a digital camera sales person tries to make their weekly quota.

I'm Not Perfect By Isobella Jade

I'm not perfect and my website doesn't flaunt my perfectness. Instead I am going to tell you about all of my mistakes, flaws, and scars straight up. I will tell you the raw, real honest truths of my experiences and my life, pursuits, and daily grind of self serving, self managing and striving, and history, is based on taking a chance and it is not glossy, an airbrushed, and powdered with perfection.

It isn't only the success it is also about the road.

The Hustle of A Model

The hustle of a model is something most people would never consider real life. Real life is reading Us Magazine and watching VH1 and America's Next Top Model, not being on it. Or pursuing anything that involves risk. Most people wont take the chance, the chance of failure.
I live for the chance. I am inspired by the fear of failure and the hustle of a model is bringing forward the artist in myself.
Not many people may understand the dedication it entitles to have the title of model.
Every day throwing ourselves, our appearance, and letting us be judged.
Most people run from being judged, or put down, instead daily, we get the diss, from not getting a call back, booking the job, from being scammed, or making a mistake, and when we do succeed, win a tear sheet or ad campaign, it seems like a simple thing to those who don't understand the pure work it takes to be in a league of our own, to run every day for the chance, to wake up for it, it is too hard to give up, to even think for a moment life could be anything else. We live to strive, to try, and it might just be modeling, or a floosy thing to those who have never felt the lens or in another style of pursuit even achieved their goals, or even ever had one beyond the typical thing, but for us, typical isn't our way, it is the artistic hunter in us that wakes up each day curious for the unknown. It excites us, we are the dreaming hustlers of modeling, we are a unique breed and it might seem vain, and unstable...and it is,every day is different, sometimes the jobs pay shit and it takes forever to get paid,-we chase our work, and we sell our face, our bodies, the curves, the smile, the teeth, the hair, for the sake of feeling a purpose and leaving a mark. It is the hustle of a model.

Putting more of Purpose Behind your Shoots

Shooting just to shoot wont get you anywhere. Showing up at some photographers apartment without a plan and only shoes, thigh highs and some makeup wont do you any good. Being the tease for the afternoon, making some cash, really isn't going to get you in a magazine or help you reach your higher goals.

Make your modeling shoots have more of a purpose besides just feeling admired for a few hours.

Ask yourself. What is your Story? Why do you want to Model? What are you bringing to your own pursuits? How are you letting and making your goals come true?

Petite Modeling Ideas for Shooting

This is a nice shot idea for the next time you shoot Jewelry.

www.corazonlatino.com

When height Doesn't matter

As a petite model, I focus on shooting for products where height doesn't matter.
Like focusing on Jewelry and Hair and beauty products, and I love decorating my photo shoots with accessories.

A great item is silver jewelry or a simple necklace that can bring some shine, bling and allure to your shoot.

I discovered a great jewelry company called Corazon Latino. You can check them out at
http://www.corazonlatino.com/

Jewelry like this brings some flair to your simple headshot or fashion story. Modeling is about telling a story, saying something without words, and relying on the expression in the eyes, and letting the colors and textures in your shoot speak.
So what! Maybe you aren't 5'10, and it wont be easy to get a modeling agent, maybe it will take some work to get the right shots to market yourself, even the taller girls have struggles, modeling involves persistance and regardless of height sometimes selling yourself, means having the right accessories, to back you up, to prove, Yes I Can Model, handbags, jewelry, shoes, and beauty products,...sometimes you need to show in your images that you can.

Petite Modeling Advice

Since so many people who get ahead are untalented, it means just because you have a website, a compcard, an agent, doesn't mean you will get ahead.

Sometimes you got to use your own stamp!

Isobella Jade, petite model, Not just shaking her Ass

There are lots of models who shake it to make it, and if that feels go to them then, go them! but for me, I need more in my portfolio, and more of a purpose beyond being just the hot girl sometimes. At least I need a product involved, something that says, I am actually modeling more than just my great ass.

Any petite freelance model who tells you the jobs just came to me, is lieing, or at least lucky. For me The Internet has helped my pursuits and straight up and honest, no joke, Craigslist has helped to build my book, regardless of agents I am always fending for myself, but when I was growing my resume, and building my reel, I used Craigslist to get ahead, here are some gigs I gained from being careful who I worked with and from taking a chance:

Coheed and Cambria,- lead in the music video - MTV
Wella hair modeling
Distraction Jewelry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyXy_IGSEA0
Elvis Martinez- Univision
Fuji TV
International Beauty Show
Shoreline America- catalog
Urge Commercial- Commercial- MTV
My American Heart- lead in music video
Fitness book for Mind Over Muscle
White Mountain Shoes- Shoe modeling

These are just a few gigs I have booked on my own and since the Internet also makes the industry more competive as well, you need to plan, create goals, and chase them.

Another Hand Casting Today

I had another hand modeling casting today way in the Meat Packing district, neat 10th Avenue. I had to pretend I cupping water, maybe from a faucet. Slowly, and showing the front and back of my hands.

Funny how detailed some castings can be. Zooming on your hands. The portfolio and compcard doesn't matter, at the casting they use a video camera to capture your fingers, nails and hands. Thats all that matters, I was told when I handed the lady the latest issue of Bon Appetit, which is a tearsheet of my hands which is yet on my compcard.

Yesterday I had another one, I got a manicure first for ten bucks on 23rd street then zipped over to 25th Street and 10th Ave for the casting.

True Confessions

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
TRUE SEX CONFESSIONS NIGHT
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15th at 8 PM
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET, NYC
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey,
http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://inthefleshreadingseries.blogspot.com

True Sex Confessions are back, with a wild mix of memoirists, sex
bloggers, and comedy. Audience members will have the chance to
anonymously share their own confessions as well. With Anna David
(Party Girl), Kimberlee Auerbach (The Devil, The Lovers & Me: My Life
in Tarot), Selina Fire (author of the blog The Real Sex in the City),
nude model and memoirist Isobella Jade (Almost 5'4"), altporn pioneer
Lux Nightmare (Boinkology.com), and comedian Rachael Parenta (Chicks
and Giggles). Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Best Sex Writing 2008,
He's on Top, She's on Top). Free candy and cupcakes will be served.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately
named Happy Ending Lounge, and features the city's best erotic writers
sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by
acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. From erotic
poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and
will make you lust after them and their words.

Reading Series

http://inthefleshreadingseries.blogspot.com

Petite Modeling- Sexual Moments

During my experiences as a petite model, I have met some real jerks, but in all honestly really it comes down to making the wrong choices. As a petite model, as a freelance model, you have to be careful, focusing on who to work with, how to market yourself, how to be true to yourself, but tonight I let it all out. At Rachel Kramer Bussel's Sex Confessions. At "Happy Ending" Lounge. It was so much fun to speak about some shoot I had encountered over the years at the Erotic reading.

inthefleshreadingseries.blogspot.com

modeling is now a business to me, and I am doing it to make a statement, for the ad campaign, or the editorial, and using my body and voice in a way that really does share a side of the modeling industry that isn't spoken about enough. Modeling isn't just Vogue and Playboy, there is so much more.

And also today I spilled, on my podcast I spoke about the good, and the bad of Craigslist.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/isobellajade/blog/2007/11/15/Craigslist-The-Good-and-The-Bad-of-Modeling-on-Craigslist-1

Craigslist Brings Tearsheets

About a year ago, when my hair was short, I worked on a fitness book. A Job from Craigslist.

Craigslist as My Agent

Even though I have worked with brands like Marshalls, I still jump on Craigslist.com every now and then- ok, I check it every day. In the past it was my salvation, it was apart of my routine, I relied on it, staring at the posts, and usually lasting up to 4 hours during various moments in my day. I used the website as part of my survival, as a place to find work and hopefully get paid and get a tearsheet or get a gig for my resume. It was a flowing, active place of jobs and the chance.

The jobs weren't always classy but the ones that were really boosted my resume. I think without them I wouldn't have the resume I have today.

This week on my podcast called Model Talk, I will be discussing the ins and outs, the good, the bad and ugly of Craigslist. And how it has upset me, and helped me to continue to do what I want to do. Model.

Petite Models are Makeup artists too!

Sometimes when your co-model, has a razor burn, you suddenly become a makeup artist. Or if the girl you are working with, doesn't have shoes, you are suddently her stylist.

You wear many hats as a model...model is a small word, for makeup artist, hair, production assistant, stylist, prop specialist, and actor.


Do it all!