Kingston

What do Harlequin romance novels and music videos have in common??

Are you stumped?

They are both shot in beautiful Kingston, ON…as it were.

It was my honour to have to opportunity to work with a couple of talented teams on several shoots recently in the K-Towne area. Now, for those of you who are lucky enough not to know me personally, Kingston is the city that I always tell people who hail from larger cities (ie. Montreal, Toronto, Munich et. al.) I’m from when they first meet me. ***Full disclosure: I kind of am from the K-Dot but way, way, waaaaaay in the outskirts outside of (not even in) a small place that no one has ever heard of.***

Anyhow, back in late summer, I was selected as the “girl” for In the Guestroom‘s new music video “Dead Doves”. The footage was shot and edited by the very talented Daniel McCully. The official launch party was on the 25th of November; I got to roll up in my aunt’s slick 80′s Cadillac, which pretty much sealed the deal of awesomeness for me. You can view the full video here: http://vimeo.com/30772552.

The romantic shoots that I alluded to earlier were with the fantastic Nikki Ormerod of Toronto. They took place on one of my favourite places in Eastern Ontario, Wolfe Island. Yes, you actually have to take a ferry out to said area – it’s even free. I highly recommend it.

"The Captain's Forbidden Miss"

The shoots were both for the covers of two Harlequin novels that have recently hit the shelves of bookstores and assorted gas stations everywhere. I caught someone licking a copy at a Chapters in Montreal but I digress…

"Bespelling Jane Austin"

 

The Gemini Awards

I’m baaaaaack! Sorry about the delayed absence (to those of you who noticed). I have been busier than (insert clever euphemism here) lately and haven’t had much of a chance to update the ol’ blog, despite all of the incredible things that I have wanted to write about. After careful consideration, I have decided to dedicate this post to this year’s Gemini awards, 1.) Because it was ages ago and I don’t want to forget to write about them and 2.) Because it was awesome.

Now to those of you who don’t know me personally, I was very excited to have the opportunity to attend the Awards Gala on August 31 of this year. My date was Mikey McBryan of Ice Pilots NWT fame (www.icepilots.com). I was privileged enough to wear an absolutely incredible gown by Thien Le (www.thienle.com) and have my hair and make-up done by The Hair Spot’s Palma Anshilevich and Fatima Muniz (I will write much more about these two amazing ladies in my next post).

The dress

 

The look

 

The red carpet

 

The table

The company was great, the booze was free and the show ended up getting two awards! An amazing evening.

Hey Blondie…

I feel kind of guilty for doing this; I really, truly, honestly do. My professional life has been absolutely amazing lately – I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by amazing people and great new projects. However, there always seems to be some random ne’er do-well, cropping up out of the woodwork, who seems intent on further eroding my dwindling faith in humanity.

So I was approached by a gem of a gentleman the other day at work. Now I didn’t know this guy from a hole in the ground, but by all accounts, he seemed “professional” and of at least median intelligence. It turns out that he simply felt the need to point out that I was blonde. Yep, sure am; always have been. He then proceeded to tell several of the most offensive ”blonde jokes” that I have ever been subjected to and when I failed to guffaw graciously at his “humour”, huffily walked away. The other girl who was working with me on that particular day insinuated that I was “taking it the wrong way”. This is after we had both been reassured that another, equally charming and totally random gentleman was not “going to make us think”. Apparently he felt that doing so was beyond our realm of capabilities. Hm…

A kind-of random, kind-of funny picture to break up the kind-of angry undertones of this post.

So I ask this question: if one was to approach, say, a random Jewish person and proceed to regale them with anti-Semantic jokes, would it be permissible for them to take offense to this? Or would that just be “too sensitive” of them?

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not an unreasonable person. I can joke around with the best of them. I can put up with jibes from people I know in regards to my job, hair colour, etc. However, when random people start assuming that they are welcome to take jabs at some stranger just because it makes them feel a little bit better about themselves…well, that’s an issue. At least I reckon so.

What is even more troubling is the fact that the “other girl” was genuinely apathetic to these events. I’m not asking for her to be outraged or to chase these guys down and give them the beats - just reassurance that I’m not entirely insane for being mildly insulted. Ya know?

Where Do I Start?

Can’t believe it’s been so long since I last wrote here…time flies; you know how it goes…

So I went to Europe. It was a bit of a last-minute affair. Left on July 4 for three glorious weeks. What can I say? Drank a little (well…), walked A LOT and saw some amazing things. As usual, can’t wait to go back.

Lake Bled, Slovenia

So when I got home I eventually decided to make the way to the magazine racks to check for…ahem…*picture of myself*. It was a good month for hair, it seems. I have posted some findings below:

Celebrity Hairstyles, November 2011. Photo: Babak.

 

Celebrity Hairstyles, August 2011. Photo: Babak.

 

 

 

Hair Winners Magazine, Summer 2011. Photo: Babak.

     Haircut and Style, November 2011. Photo: Babak.

 

HairStyle Showcase Magazine, Fall 2011 & Haircut and Style Magazine, November 2011. Photo: Babak.

 

 

I apologize for the wonky captions and haphazard layout…after the twelfth time uploading those photos onto the post (yes, twelve) on DIAL-UP!!! I began to lose my marbles.

 

I will cap off this post with one last image: it is a banner that was unveiled at the NAHA’s this past July to celebrate the newly appointed Editorial Stylist of the Year, Amy Freudenberg. It is still one of my favourite photo shoots to date (with the fabulous Babak and Amy’s team). So congrats, all!!!

 

 

Next up: Poster/promo material shoot for Artex Clothing.

 

‘Til next time.

 

 

 

    

***RANT*** “If I Had Broken Legs I’d Strut Better Than You”

Greetings all! Happy friday I woke up today with the grand intention of generating a new blog post to address some common misconceptions that folks have regarding this CAR-AZZZY industry. I’m still gonna do that, but I do feel the need to rant/snicker about an e-mail that I just received. Hang on to your hats…it’s brimming with ignorance.

Backstory: I have been exchanging e-mails with a “director” for a couple of weeks now regarding auditioning for a film. Ultimately, he provided a date for said audition that worked for me, so I agreed to attend and requested an address for the casting session. Instead, this “professional director” chose to inform me that I sucked. Well, what he actually said (and I quote) is this:

“I checked out your link and frankly, I would have preferred comments like: “you suck”, “if I had broken legs I’d strut better than you” etc. All the — “you’re the cat’s meow” international-model-world stuff” is a bit of a put-off for me. You’re more at home in your world than on a gritty film set, slugging away in the jungle or creeping through a muddy copper mine.”

This “link” he speaks of is automatically attached to every one of my e-mails and could have easily been checked out in the ten or so prior messages I had sent him, but hey, that’s 100% beside the point. The point is…

the point is…

wow…

where do you even start with this one?

The kicker: the last movie I co-wrote, directed and starred in took place in a dirty old mine. Yessir. It was dirty and old and there was moonshine, marshwiggles and tomfoolery involved, to say the least (and I am going to say the least, lest I give away the plot too much before I get a chance to post the completed edit!)

What can I say? Haters gonna hate.

I am currently filming a movie that involves being covered head to toe in corn syrup, chocolate sauce and red food colo — erm, I mean blood. Yeah, blood. But you know what? I don’t need to defend myself or prove things to anyone. As any and all of my friends will readily admit: I’m kind of an oxymoron. People generally garner that information within thirty (30) seconds of meeting me. I thought that’s what castings were for?

Oh and the icing on this rather proverbial cake: last week I did have a “broken leg”. Ripped it open while out on my dirtbug. And yes, I can say with absolute certainty: “I would strut better than you, Mr. Awesome Director, even with blood pouring out of my knee at an alarming rate and the most oil-flecked, paint-covered clothes known to man adorning my beautiful, oft-photographed back”. Guess that confirms that I am just a snobby, holier-than-thou model after all.

Winning.

So I Legit Lost a Day…

Has this ever happened to you? Like you really, truly believe that it’s Tuesday, June 14 when it’s actually nothing of the sort and you would be willing to bet upwards of $1000 that the voices of reason around you (a.k.a. naysayers) were all incorrect in their assertions that you are a day behind? This happened to me on Wednesday and it threw me for a loop. I suppose working 12 – 14 hour days with 3.5 hour drives tacked onto each end may or may not have contributed. All I know is that my deductive reasoning (thanks, Professor Clarabut!) told me that it might be apt to take one (1) unadulterated day off. So I did.

How embarrassing.

I totally missed a casting that I had fully intended on attending too. Guess I didn’t get the job?

In other news, castor oil and fake tiger-fur seat covers do not mix.

Casino shoot with David Hou

I will be updating my blog with new work soon – so many recent great shoots as well as exciting projects coming up that I can’t wait to write about (insert very smily face here). In the meantime, I have a dirt bike to fix.

Happy friday!! (It is friday, right?)

 

Kinda Like Drunk Texting…

Happy Thursday! I apologize in advance, but this is going to be a bit of a rant. However, I shall start out with something positive…

Opening for DeMoyo

The above is a picture from DeMoyo’s FAT debut last month. Love, love, love that girl – and her talent is remarkable The rest does not apply to her and probably anyone else I have blogged about in the past.

I really don’t want to complain. I mean, I know that I am lucky to be able to make a living from this. I am pretty resilient; I put up with thousands of kilometers of driving every month, incessant nattering and drama, finicky clients and the like. I never ask for much, if anything - really, just the basic courtesy that (almost) every human being deserves. However, there are some things that just make me take a step back and evaluate just how disingenuous and whacky this industry can be. The following comments don’t pertain to any one particular individual; rather, they have evolved from a collection of similar experiences over the years. You have to get it out every now and then…even when you’re “just” a model. Insert winkey character here.

 

Things to consider:

 

*If I shoot trade with you (this usually only happens when I am guaranteed a good magazine spread and even then I am starting to reconsider) I do require at least one (two would be nice) copies of said magazine. I do have a book…and that is why I shoot this type of thing. You were able to e-mail me every second from your iPhone 4 in the months/weeks/days preceding the shoot. I know you are still getting my messages. Perhaps it doesn’t behoove you to answer them now that you have the images but guess what?? I don’t.

 

* When you agree to pay me, please pay me. There is nothing worse than hunting down clients for money.

 

 

* I am a human being. I get hungry sometimes and experience pain every now and then. Please respect this and do your best to acquiesce with my needs when they happen to arise (every year or so).

 

* Please, please don’t look at my images and say “wow…it’s amazing what Photoshop can do to [insert general attractive body part here - usually cheekbones]“. No, individual in question, mommy & daddy, the gym and healthy eating made that body part amazing. I am a full-time model. I do have some redeeming qualities.

 

* On that note, refrain from asking me if something has been “worked on”. Nothing has and asking me is ridiculous and insulting.

* Please don’t feel it necessary to “enlighten me” with the knowledge that it would be super easy to be thin if you had “my metabolism”. Seriously. I had to have it checked recently: it is on the border of requiring medication to help stimulate it. I run my ass off and don’t eat garbage.

 

* Don’t ask me to call you about setting up a shoot and then proceed to yak my ear off for two hours about how amazing you are and why all my work to date is baloney because you weren’t involved in the production of it. This happens more than I care to elaborate on.

 

* Please refrain from referring to me as “the model” to my face. I have a name and it is unpretentious and monosyllabic. If you can’t remember it please feel free to ask. I will not be insulted, I promise.

 

* Don’t ask me what I want to do “when I grow up”.

 

Phew…I feel better already. Thanks to those of you who got through all of that are currently still reading. Of course, not all of the above are deal breakers but ranting is therapeutic every now and then. Even for silly models like myself.

 

No one can hate on my pup

 

 

 

 

All I Wanna Do is Play Cards

It’s true…Corb Lund knows it all too well.

Clearly, the sis and I love us some cards. The others are just putting up.

In other news, I shot an ad for Bloor/Yorkville BIA (that’s Business Improvement Area) that involved me eating jewellery of a six-figure value with chopsticks. Now, I know that some of you have witnessed me eating with choppies in the past and suffice it to say I’m not exactly awesome. But I don’t completely suck (some food usually sometimes occasionally often makes it to my mouth) so the shoot was a success. And no, I didn’t actually eat it. The ads will be out soon on bus shelters, buses and billboards in Toronto. 

Last week I was given the amaaazzing opportunity to play the female lead in a…VODKA commercial! ***For those who don’t know me so well: there is little in life I love more than some delicious Russian firewater.*** It will be out on May 19th, so I will certainly post the results.

I also had the pleasure of working with Laura DiMarcantonio on her Fall 2011 lookbook for iclothingco. The shoot took place at Lavish & Squalor, which is a super cool space on Queen West. It was shot by Corey Goodyear and the images (from what I saw on the back of the camera) are incredible.

I was sort of thinking that I wanted to write more but I feel like this post is getting a little lengthy (plus I have some serious trim work to do in the downstairs bathroom) so I will leave it at that for now. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Lots to Say; Little Time

So…it’s been awhile – I know, that seems to be a trend nowadays. I have found myself stuck in a renovation tornado (yes, really…well, kinda) but the good news is that there is an end in sight. And frankly, I feel that being a carpenter/tiler/general contractor goes nicely with modeling. My hands might tell you otherwise, but hey, they kinda sucked even before all the recent manual labour anyway.

So I had the pleasure of representing Redken at the Allied Beauty Awards in Toronto this year. Had the opportunity to meet/work with many awesome individuals (you know who you are!) Got to sport a pretty mean crimp for three days, which always translates to goodtimes.

The Chris Baran workin’ on my head

Photo courtesy of Babak

Speaking of hair, I was lucky enough to be alerted to the fact that there is a giant poster of me somewhere out there, depicting my work with Farouk, that I haven’t managed to get my (decidedly painty) mitts on yet. I also found out that I have some new tearsheets in Estetica USA with said company. All was shot by Babak, one of the best photographers eveeeeerrr.

 

                                           

 

My work for DeMoyo that was published in Raine Magazine also came out in early April. Looks outstanding on the web – gotta get a print copy one of these years. Awesome job all!

Photo: Ian Compton; Hair/MUA: Janine Holmes

 I apologize that the photos got inserted looking all haphazard and such. If I knew how to fix it and cared one more iota than I currently do, I would ask for help. But I gotta go do some caulking now.

2011 Thus Far

Wow…haven’t written since January. I can’t even remember what January looked like anymore – suffice it to say that life has been a little insane. I don’t have a great deal of time at the moment but figured a quick update is in order, starting with yesterday when I had the pleasure of doing DeMOYO’s Fall 2011 line. Amazing doesn’t even begin to describe these clothes and I’m not just saying that, y’know, to say that. She is truly an inspiration and her clothes rock my (certainly unmatching) socks. I will post a few backstage pictures below; the lookbook will be coming out very soon. Next for us: shoot in Montreal and FAT 2011!

          

Other undertakings include a music video for Kardinal Offishall’s new track “Famous” filmed in an airport hangar, which was pretty cool. I was the “Scandanavian Girl” (as I tend to be sometimes) which translated to…not a lot really. But it was an experience.

  

Also had the opportunity to work with an amazing company called Long Legs. I am sure I don’t need to go into what they do and who their demographic is…anyhow, their clothes are absolutely incredible. Haven’t thrown on a pair of jeans within the past ten years that have actually been long enough to accomodate my seemingly giantess-esque stature.

  

So much more to say but this post is getting a little lenghty and I am terrified that my computer is going to somehow screw up (as it tends to do) and make me start all over again…

More soon!