News | Hold the Glamour

May 1, 2012

Castings, campaigns and space shuttles

New York - Florentina and I with Alberto our hairstylist

New York - Florentina and I

New York - Space shuttle Enterprise does a flyby past our studio

Last week I went to a casting that was held over three days… I went on day one within the first 90 minutes of the casting starting and discovered approximately 150 models waiting to be seen. There were women and men, full-figured and straight-sized models… All shapes and sizes if you will. I had to see the client then and there as I couldn’t return later or at another time due to work commitments.

So, I asked this guy who was by the door if he knew who was next. He told me it was him. I asked him if I could go next and mentioned my reasons why (I jumped the entire queue in a matter of minutes and it was legitimate). I knew some people frowned upon such behaviour… So what! I’ve let people in before and certainly appreciate being let in. I saw the client, told them this very cute guy kindly let me in and off I went… Off to my next gig. It was a beautiful day in New York! So far so good.

My next gig was a fitting for a shoot the next day. I walked in to the Broadway building to another massive casting. It was my client looking for a straight-size model for another days shoot. Once I walked in to the conference room I took off my gear, tied my hair up in a ponytail, took off my jewelry and then I put their clothes, shoes and accessories on for my fitting. A tailor pinned the clothes where necessary and he was going to sew the samples later that day to fit my body perfectly for the shoot tomorrow.

The next day at the shoot, my fellow model Florentina Kuhl and I meet at the hair and make-up station at 8am, clean and clear as we call it (no make-up on, clean hair, nude or clear manicure and pedicure). This is how we are expected to show up to our shoots (although some do not). We shot for the clients fall print campaign. It was a great day and before I knew it we were done and it was time to go home and finalise my tax preparation… YUK!!! Where’s the down time? I was exhausted.

My last shoot for the week was also in New York with another straight-sized model. We meet at 8.30am at the hair and make-up station… It was the U .N. as we called it. The hairstylist was from Greece, the make-up artist was from Canada and the two blonde models (me being one of them) were from Russia and Australia. We saw space shuttle Enterprise fly fast our building TWICE in a matter of minutes. Everyone was going crazy at the sight… Me included (see the photo above). It was a long day in dresses and heels standing on cement however, we were all so happy that it was Friday afternoon and the weekend was here. My hair and make-up was done and I was ready for Mila’s pre-school art auction that started at 6.30pm.

Another good week of glam!

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April 24, 2012

The week that was

: Texas – On my way from the airport to the studio

: New York City – Studio being set-up for the print campaign

Last Monday morning I woke at 3.45am only to discover once I got to La Guardia airport that my flight to Texas had been delayed by TWO HOURS (the crew couldn’t get to our flight on time)… Great!

I slept for most of the journey to Texas with air plugs and eye mask ready, which was almost four hours long. Thankfully, I can sleep on airplanes. When we landed, I grabbed my Starbucks Grande Americano coffee and my driver Sam was waiting for me. He took me straight to the studio where the hair and make-up artist was ready to give me my ‘make-over’.

Lunch was served at 12.30pm. As soon as we ate, it was a quick five-minute touch-up before dressing in my first outfit to start shooting the clothes on the rack for the day. I dressed, was looked over by the stylist to ensure the clothes were looking fabulous for the camera and then when all was good to go, we shot about 50 frames on the front of the garment and approximately 50 frames on the back for all our shots. Most of the shots were head-to-toe whilst the others were thigh/waist-up or waist down (showing no face at all).

My work day ended about 5pm Texas time (6pm NY time). Sam drove me to Whole Foods for a quick shop (an organic/natural supermarket in the U.S. that I love) so I could buy my dinner, breakfast and snacks for the next few days. We also stopped by Walgreen’s so I could buy my many bottles of water for the duration of my stay… I have to stay hydrated and I love to drink water!

I checked-in to my hotel room which was quiet, clean and fitted-out with a small refrigerator and microwave. I basically bunkered down in my room after work. I make an effort to go to the gym or for a swim in the pool if the weather is warm enough, other than that, I stay in my room and make calls, return emails and take care of ‘business’. I don’t watch a lot of TV when at home so it’s a real novelty for me to be able to have it on when away on trips. I also try to get to bed early where possible. At home, I have many distractions to keep me from going to bed early, especially since I’m a night owl and I love the quiet and solitude of night.

The next day, I woke at 7am and had fruit and yoghurt in my room before being picked up at 8am. I bought my coffee on route to the studio every morning… It’s important to me to have a good cup of coffee at some stage of the morning or afternoon. At home, I make Turkish/Yugoslav/Greek coffee – whatever you want to call it. It’s all the same! When I’m away, I don’t have the luxury of making my own so it’s Starbucks.

This routine goes on for the next two days. I manage to catch an earlier flight home on the third day so I get a chance to see Mila & Levi for 45 minutes and read them a story before bedtime. It’s always a special treat for me to see my children after I’ve been away… I cannot wait to see their little faces filled with joy and excitement. My heart starts racing.

Job number two for the week is in New York – The fitting was scheduled for an hour and I was there for almost four. I sat around on a couch in the studio for most of it. I was shooting a print campaign with seven other models (all straight-sized) the following day and we came in at different times of the day to try on a bunch of clothes to see what was going to fit and look good on us individually and then in a group shot. The stylist didn’t bring enough options and choices for me in my size. The client wanted more than one solid option.

The day of the shoot, I was up at 6am as my call time was 8am. I was asked to bring some tops and jeans from home and the stylist brought a few more clothes from her second trip to Bloomingdale’s. We go with my own clothes which is not typical on a shoot. I ended up sitting around for most of the morning, chatting to the other girls and patiently waiting for my time to hop in the hair & make-up chair. Four of the girls were shot in the morning, the rest of us in the afternoon with group shots taken just before finishing. Our day ended at 6pm with my feet hurting and throbbing from wearing four-inch YSL black Barbie heels for most of the afternoon. Ouch!

It was a good week.

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April 15, 2012

Deliciously satisfied

Lunch at Cafe Habana in Nolita, New York

Spring is here! It’s a beautiful day in New York. This morning my family and I went in to SoHo for Mila’s haircut (only her second in her four precious years). She needed it! Her hair was way too long and with summer and swimming coming up, we needed to take care of that situation pronto.

We had lunch at Cafe Habana, one of Steve’s and my favourite eateries in Nolita. The kids loved the signature corn-on-the-cob dish and we all left feeling deliciously satisfied.

This week looked a little like this –

a couple more castings & work for me in the city
a gym workout or two (never enough time)
Mila returns to pre-school after spring break
a dentist appointment for Mila & her four-year-old well visit with her pediatrician
a hair appointment for me
I get waxed
Steve returns to work
Levi’s gym class
Mila’s ballet class
Friday night dinner with friends
another birthday party for a four-year-old princess
Mila stops wearing a nappy/diaper to bed (go Mila & no accidents… yet!)
tax preparation for last years return
payment of our quarterly taxes

It is late on this Sunday afternoon whilst Steve and the kids are doing some gardening in the courtyard, I’m sitting at our dining table writing my post and I can’t help but think I have to get moving fast as time is running out… I have clothes to fold, dinner, bath and the kid’s bedtime and finally I have to pack my back as I’m heading out-of-town for most of the week on a 6am flight tomorrow morning… TEXAS, here I come! I return towards the end of the week to shoot a print campaign in the city. I have a great week of work ahead and I love it.

There’s nothing glamourous about waking up at 3.45am in the morning, so I better get my glam on!

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April 10, 2012

All in a deep slumber

All in a days work - getting hair & make-up done

Since my last post, I’ve worked some more here in the city and was actually at work when Steve and Mila returned from their trip. I was basically sprinting home to see them… All three members of my family were in a deep slumber when I came bouncing in. The reunion was oh so sweet!!! We simply couldn’t get enough of one another. It really was… YUM!

We had another roofer come by and look at the repair needed before friends descended and the celebrations of the weekend began. Reality set in when we had to unpack, do loads and loads of laundry and the mundane of family life and the everyday kicked in on Saturday.

Sunday was Easter and the kids were SO excited to see that we had an Easter egg hunt on the agenda and that the Easter bunny had paid a visit. They went nuts! Our friends arrived in time for lunch, a bike ride for the older ladies-of-four whilst the gents-of-two slept. A BBQ had us all in delirium and the day slowly came to halt just before midnight.

Monday brought a reality check if ever there was one (all Monday’s do in my opinion). All the jobs and chores you avoid from Friday lunch if you can, hit at once and it’s all a priority.

Boring however, necessary stuff like a dentist appointment for Mila, tax preparation, invoicing, folding laundry, confirming our contractor for internal leak repairs, chasing the condo board for roof repair approval, banking etc., let alone taking care of our angels (when they want to be of course) every minute along the way, of our day.

Speaking of angels… What a re-entry for Mila and Levi. As much as they lovingly embrace each other and are affectionate, they equally want to lash out and hurt each other. It’s like night and day, hot and cold. What a see-saw of emotion.

Here’s to some glamourous moments in our week… We could all use some!

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April 4, 2012

So far this week

Self-portrait – off to a casting in the city

My week starts off on Sunday night after returning from another two fourth birthday parties with water dripping from our skylight in our dining room (it was raining in New York all afternoon and evening). Not impressed at all, since the external repairs we completed last September. Not again I scream silently!

Monday morning I am calling the Condo Board or Body Corporate if you will, trying to get a roofer out A.S.A.P. to take a look at what we are dealing with all the time, trying to get ready for a casting in the city. A casting is like a meeting or appointment where you meet with the client or person booking you for the upcoming modeling job. We have many we need to attend. It’s a great way to meet new clients and refresh the memory of existing ones.

So, our nanny Mollie comes in to take care of Levi for a couple of hours whilst I get ready (hair & natural make-up a must), dash in to see the client, have some pictures taken of me after they have looked at my portfolio book. They take a composite card for their records then I dash back home in time to relieve Mollie and feed Levi his lunch. The two of us build a Lego barn afterwards so he can drive his matchbox cars in and out of… Levi’s favourite pastime.

After lunch, I clean and tidy up, put Levi down for his two-hour nap then go to work in our home office (filing, opening mail, sorting through receipts etc.) and make calls without interruption. This is a great chance for me to get ‘office work’ stuff done and it’s much easier when a child is napping.

Today the roofer and our super came to inspect the damage and probable cause of the leak. The quote is expected in the next day or two. The Condo Board meeting is on Thursday night so I’ll make sure to attend that (in place of Steve who’s on the board and not back with Mila until Friday) and see what the quote reveals.

This afternoon, I had a manicure and pedicure in preparation for work tomorrow. I have my days or hours of ‘maintenance’ as I call it which includes hair colouring, hair cut every three months, waxing, manicures and pedicures. All the above has to be taken care of on a very regular basis. It’s my responsibility as a professional to take care of my business and believe me, it is work after a while.

It’s Tuesday night as I write my blog…. There’s never a dull moment in my world.

Stay tuned for the next glamourous post.

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March 27, 2012

Welcome to my world!

This is... Me!

‘Wow’ and ‘hi’… My first post on my blog ‘Hold the Glamour’. I’m rather nervous and super excited at the same time. Welcome to my world!

I hope to share with you moments and snippets of my world, life, family, career and the everyday… That my days really aren’t as glam as one might imagine and that there isn’t only glamour in my life. There are many times I’m feeling the glamour and in some kind of glamour somewhere however, mostly, I’m a daughter, sister, wife and mother who works and travels for her work… All over the place in fact, a global citizen if you will.

I will no doubt express an opinion about most things… Good health and lifestyle, the protection and care of our children and the helpless in this world, environmental issues that are close to my heart, the eye-opening and exciting world of travel, what’s hot in a New York minute and let’s not forget fashion dahlink! and sexy, womanly curves! It’s all here at some point of my day, week or month.

This week has been a rather difficult one for me personally and emotionally as my husband Steve and daughter Mila are in Hawaii (I KNOW). To be honest, I’m not used to being the one at home whilst members of my family are away. There is a definite shift that happens and our home is SO quiet and different. Levi (our two-year old son) & I miss them terribly however, they are having the times of their lives. Their photos and videos prove it.

Anyway, Steve is an artist & singer/songwriter and he has an art exhibition commencing on March 31 (our darling Mila’s fourth birthday). If you happen to be in Kailua, HI (Oahu) on the evening or during the month of April, feel free to stop by MU’UMU’U Heaven (a must see fashion retail experience) and check out Steve’s collection of contemporary pieces. Let’s not forget you’ll visit a dynamic fashion brand of fun-loving and vintage-loving clothes, home decor & accessories. I have many pieces in my wardrobe and home to talk about.

In the meantime, Levi and I are kicking back in the big apple, enjoying the freakishly warm spring-like weather in New York. We are partying with the best of the four-year old’s born in the spring of the Northeast as we go from one household to another on our weekends… It’s one, big, two-day event at a time.

Here’s to glamourous events in our lives!

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