Filming in Astoria

New york has been the subject of many a famous movie and TV program. There are entire blogs dedicated to the spotting of film crews and stars in the process. It's not often that the film crew comes to you. Although my museum is set in the historical Astoria area (with the building next door still a fully functioning film studio), I was really excited to turn up to work and see an entire film crew outside.

It then dawned on me that not only were they outside, but they were actually using our museum. The show (and I really can't remember what it was as it's a program that I've never heard of before), took the decision to turn our museum into a fake gallery. Even bringing in art work to place inside. My museum has taken inspiration from the film '2001 a space odyssey' with white walls everywhere, this meant they could turn it into anything they wanted. So we became the mythical Gershon Museum, complete with bronze coloured Greek statues.

Sweet Soul

On Thursday I got the opportunity to go and see the wonderful Jose James performing at a venue called The Slipper Room. This one time burlesque joint has been closed since 2010 and has undergone major refurbishment to bring it up to date. I was particularly impressed by the use of William Morris wallpaper which really added to the victorian style of the venue. This revamp is also to allow for more diverse programming. Indeed I was informed that thursday was the first time the venue was testing it's audio equipment. Who better than Jose then, an extremely talented singer with enough confidence to try it out? The show went without a glitch (at least from the audience's perspective) and I felt the sound quality at this little venue was immense. The space is quite small that so I can imagine in the future getting tickets will be difficult, but the benefit is everyone can clearly see the stage and you feel as though you have front row tickets. It's a real intimate vibe. If you want to see the finished product look here. And check out Jose's new material below, follow the YouTube link too. Immerse yourself why don't you.

New York FNO

As if I'm not acutely aware that all my girlies are not with me Fashion Night Out comes round to remind me. And I'm in new York y'know! There are so many events to go to and I want to see them all, but I decide that without and famale companion there just isn't any point. Then Hipster Dufus gets offered two free tickets to the Ben Sherman store where Jamie Woon will be performing as part of FNO. He is unable to make it having committed already to a game of football with his new found friends. So what do I do? Do I sit at home and wait around for him. Or do I swallow my fear for one night and enjoy Jamie before he inevitably explodes onto the music scene?

I opted for the latter. I thought it would be a simple acoustic session/no fuss scenario, but after waiting two hours I relalised that this was going to be a full gig. I almost regretted my choice until Jamie started crooning away. And by the time he was onto Lady luck I'd forgotten about my anger and how I wished I hadn't bothered trying to be brave. The icing on the cake was a lovely Jamie happily posing for a picture with me.

Instant gratification

After the end of Polaroid I was so upset. I totally missed the boat with Polaroid and got into them rather late, by the time I wanted to invest in one I found out that the Polaroid company had gone bust. Was this genius art form really gone? The man at the specialist camera store laughed at me when I went in inquiring about film. However I had seen rumblings on the internet suggesting that a wealthy Austrian had bought the factory and was planning on bringing back the format. I quickly invested in my SX-70 just in case and was right to do so as my £55 camera soon rose to £300 when the announcement was made that it had been saved. It shows that people's love of vintage can at times be so strong that we can stop the charging train of technology to enjoy the simplest of pleasures. Just like the battle between the vinyl and CD (in which it looks as though vinyl is about to win by the way). Polaroid too is clinging on and refuses to make way to digital photography. With the start of the Impossible Project "polaroid" cameras are making a comeback. They're going to be huge too. I've noticed high street shops selling camera's instore and online for £135, when you can find the same camera in full working order for just £35 on ebay!

The proof? Here's my beautiful limited edition Polaroid 636 Close Up. It came in this great collector's silver tin, inside a silver mini backpack, in full working order for £35. It's truly a one of a kind and doubles up as a little fashion accessory. I can't wait to do a fashion post with it.

SnapShots

Brunchfest:
Sometimes the best things in life are so simple. Yesterday I enjoyed Brunchfest at a friend's house. The concept was simple, everyone had to bring an ingredient for brunch. I took flour, cream and fruit for pancakes. Others brought eggs and bacon. Yum.

Fallas!

This year I have many trips planned abroad. My Instagram account went into crazy overdrive as I tried to keep up to date and in control of posting the many things I was seeing/photographing. On most holidays this can be a challenge especially with digital photography making capturing every last detail so easy. It means you don't think about the pictures you're taking you just shoot continuously. This trip, however, was unique and even more difficult to control the use of the camera.

I went for the Fallas festival in Valencia, Spain. The festival is held in commemoration of Saint Joseph. It's history seems to be linked to the spring equinox when artisans disposed of the broken artifacts and pieces of wood they saved during the winter by burning them to celebrate a new beginning. It has come a long way from this very traditional beginning, in a nutshell the city has groups of people who pay to make a Falla monument made of papier-mache on a wooden carcass. On the last day of the festival these vast monuments are burnt on the spot! The festival gives you just three days to run around Valencia seeing as many monuments as possible before they meet their inevitable fate.

There were so many pictures from this trip the only way to fit them into this post was by creating a issuu flip book to fit them all in. But I have posted pictures of a burning and a video for you to see it in action too. If you can, go and see it for yourself next year.

Counter Culture

I'm not really sure how I feel about the Olympics. Especially when it appears that it will impact heavily on my life, being advised to expect up to one hour wait to get to work doesn't really install much British pride in me. One of the things I do like about it is the regeneration of the land around the stadium and the little gems that are starting to crop up all over. Directly across the canal in Hackney is The Counter Cafe a beautifully rustic looking place that's a little bit rough round the edges. It's all exposed brick work, reclaimed furniture (one of the seating options is a row of cinema seats) and the divider between the kitchen and the counter is simply a hole that's has been smashed in the wall.

This in no way extends to the food or the service, the staff being extremely friendly and the food absolutely delicious. This little cafe happens to be housed in the same building as a gallery which means you can pick up a bit of culture before or after your feast too. It also benefits from fantastic views of the Olympics stadium. And so it was on the cinema seats that I sat to have blueberry and banana pancakes topped with maple syrup and flaked almonds, pondering my opinions of the whole ceremony. What a great way to start the day. 

Shake it like a polaroid picture

When I decided to start this journey I wanted it to encompass different forms of photography. Mainly because while I love the fashion (and the excuse to buy new things so that I have material to write about...), photographing things is probably what I love the most. A passion that stems from a deep regret that I have no photographic evidence of my life as a young teen having always entrusted others with the task of documenting my significant moments. I can't possibly tell you what happened on my 18th not because of drunkenness but because I no longer speak to the best friend who photographed the whole night, and just like a messy divorce she got to keep the memories.

In an attempt to use different forms of photography I am now faced with the issue that Polaroid/Impossible film is just so expensive. Even getting film developed is a tad more than you'd normally expect to pay. However, I live a (relatively) vice-free life and, of all the things to spend far too much money on, photos doesn't seem to be a bad one. I've already been using my Canon AE-1 to take some of the photos on this blog, so here is a selection of my favourite Impossible images taken with the delicious Polaroid SX-70. Enjoy!

A Sound Choice in Fashion

I have already proclaimed my love of museums and my current delight is the British Music Experience. Yesterday they proved how amazing their public events are in both quality and educational value with the launch of the new student series, Sound Choice. Their very clued up/well connected public programmer Rebecca Ellis managed to get big names in the fashion world - including Wayne Hemingway and stylist Miss Jacqueline White - to talk to aspiring fashionistas. It didn't stop there, with a panel consisting of fashion creative Siobhan Lyons, fashion journalist Adam Welch, MTV music director Virginia Monaghan and creative producer Pigalle Tavakkoli.

This event proved two things. First, how amazing this museum is (if I haven't already said it enough). Second, how amazing museums are in general. This venue is working beyond the constraints of the stuffy institution with dead, irrelevant objects. It's bringing its collection to life by looking at a contemporary subject and using the collection as a platform to inform where inspiration comes from. For the BME it's important to explain the ideal behind the punk aesthetic, and what was happening in the UK at the time to influence it. The influence of culture in art is everywhere at the moment. It's no secret that these last two seasons in particular have taken inspiration from the amazing art around the world with collections like Rodarte, Jil Sander and Donna Karen to name a few... and where is all this art and culture held? Where is it stored? Why, museums and galleries of course.