masConsumption » WEEKEND ROUNDUP

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: #VALLEYWEDESIGN

PR — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 23:43:10 +0000

Saturday morning the Valley community came together to envision ways to enhance the Valley Arts District, by using public space, and coming together exchanging ideas on how to make things better. I joined group 2 on the corner of Tompkins and Forest Streets. I was a little late to the conference. The larger group was split into 4 groups, and given a map of blocks to walk around and examine in the Valley. Groups were given a clip board for notes, stakes and signs to write messages about what we loved or wanted to improve about things we saw. The main attraction for the event was the use of social media addiction (ok, maybe only mine), instagram. Everyone was to log into the @ValleyWeDesign handle, and post things they saw and wrote about. It was great to see all of the ideas, and comments people had. It was very interesting for me, being that I am a Valley socialite (Molly’s words). I actually walked down blocks that I had never walked down before like down Nassau Street from Scotland Road. I noticed that residents decided to take matters into their own hands when it came to beautifying the Valley, they planted mulch and put out plants. It was beautiful. We had Pat Morrissy on our team who was able to give us an exclusive tour of the Berg Hat Factory, which happens to be right behind my house, pretty cool. The lofts in there will be amazing, and I can not wait to see them. Maybe I could live in one! Chalandrea, Oneil, and Kenrick, who I recruited at Hat City Kitchen the night before, really had great ideas. It was great to hear outsider’s views and perspectives from different types of professionals. Things I never think about like, safety matters.

Here are some of the ideas we came up with and scroll down more for some of the pictures! You can see more when you follow @valleywedesign on instagram!

PUBLIC ART

Train Station Underpasses can feature seasonal public art from local artists, or competitions for all over
Valley Maps or Directories can be designed by artists, and a great way to attract
Garbage Cans can be a way to engage the high school artists communities

SAFETY

Fences around the train station rails, this can also beautify the blocks, and Scotland Road
The sidewalks are horrible, and uneven. We should definitely get them fixed
More signs

DIRECTIONS TO THE VALLEY

In addition to the maps, we can have just arrows pointing the district from Scotland Road.

There were so many more ideas shared, you can come to the follow up meeting, Tuesday, September 24th. More details to follow. Visit http://www.handsinc.org for more information.

Weekend Roundup: World Fellowship Center

PR — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 00:33:54 +0000

Some of the emerging artists, were given the amazing opportunity to lead two art programs this past weekend at the World Fellowship Center in New Hampshire. Words, or pictures can not describe the experience I had this weekend in New Hampshire’s World Fellowship Center.

Naeema, Cesar, Tyree, Ray and I piled up in Naeema’s car for a life-changing trip. I honestly do not even know where to begin. Thursday morning we got on the road, and arrived at the center after about 8 long hours on the road.

As soon as we arrived, we were greeted with warm welcomes and Molly’s energetic spirit. We were joining Molly and her family: her younger sisters Sadie and Gahlia were on staff there, her nephew Javey, Michael Kaufman her dad and his wife. Gamal, an ORNG inker was also on staff. The adorable Malbroughs, Mike Mal, his wife Paige, and two children Bella and Abe. It has truly been a family affair. We all looked forward to volunteering around the camp.

Later that night after dinner the emerging artists, Mike and Molly led the first half our or art program. We presented how ORNG Ink came to be, and how each of us were brought to the studio. This was definitely a highlight because I learned a lot from everyone, and gained a new sense of pride for each artist, and what we bring to the table. And I also realized that it was truly fate, and hope that has brought all of us together.

We then went to our cabin, number 8 in the middle of the woods. It was super dark, and a little scary at first. Then it became funny because on the way there we had running joke that Molly was luring us to our death and this was the start of a horror movie. Gamal was the killer, and was going to finish all of us. We woke up the next day to the fresh air of nature, and the sound of crickets. It was beautiful. Breakfast was at 8:00am and we had to go the main building to take a shower. My wardrobe of choice for the entire weekend was basketball shorts, and my old Jordan’s. Comfort, and self discovery was my overall mission.

After breakfast I sat in front of Mount Chicoro and did some writing exercises. Ray and Naeema helped Cara gardening to pick for the day’s meals. Molly, Bella, Naeema, Ray, Tyree, Cesar, Javey and I went to the pond and decided to take a row boat to Blueberry Island. An island across the pond that grows delicious blueberries. We all got turned around on the water, and needed a lot of help. The scenery however was absolutely beautiful. The view of the mountains, and green trees. The way the sunlight reflected off of the water, and the sound of the ores hitting the water. The air was so

fresh.

After our swim, we got ready for fun night! Fun night is the weekly talent show. Anyone can perform, anything. Ray and Cesar performed and hosted the event! It was awesome. People performed songs, shared short stories, stand-up comedy and more. It was so entertaining. After fun night we played a cool game, Pictophone with the cool World Fellowship Staff which are all young like us. It was fun. It is a mixture between pictionary and telephone.

The night ended with a going away party It was amazing. The sky was beautiful. It was life changing. We rode bikes fast down the road. Ray and I talked in front of the moon on top of the hill. It was amazing.

The next day, the crew hiked a trail and Tyree discovered a path to a fire tower. Later that night, we hiked there and climbed the tower. This was the facebook status I posted that night:

Pictures or words can’t describe my view right now. I’m in a tower in the middle of the woods, in a fire tower looking over the valley of New Hampshire, with my love Ray Sykes, bestie Tyree Huey, and friends, drinking beer looking at the stars. Moments like these are special and unforgettable. Life changing. Thank you Molly Rose Kaufman for inviting me on this amazing trip. life is good. p.r.’s facebook status on 8/24/13

That night, Ray and I decided to sleep in a near by cabin. That was fun. The following day we led another art program but this was more about our actual craft and the purpose of creating. Ray and Ceasar shared new songs, Naeema talked about her photography journey, and I led a mini zine making workshop.

It was great. The circle then shared and donated their zines to ORNG Ink. Now we have a piece of World Fellowship Center here at the studio.

We filled days with basketball, naps, hikes, photography bike rides, volunteering at the dining hall, housekeeping with Sadie, musical jams, writing, talking and soul searching. We were all so sad when we had to leave Monday. I want to thank Molly for inviting us on this trip. Look out for more pictures from Naeema!

Thank You All For Making Portrait of a Lady a Huge Success!

PR — Sun, 11 Aug 2013 21:28:33 +0000

Last night was pretty amazing. I can not believe how awesome the show turned out. We had a great turn out, the fashion and the models looked great.

The Team: Portrait of a Lady was truly a group effort, and I want to thank the team who spent the summer producing this event. All of our hard work truly paid off. Briana, the lookbook was amazing, Crystal the make-up looks gorg! Amira the hair….perfect! I am so proud of my partner, Kat. We did it! We made our debut! Laura, your set really was the greatest finale. Molly & Mike, thank you for everything and all your support. We owe you the world! Marie, the LadiSav after party was CRAZY!

Marie was a bomb host,

DJ Drewski did his thing, wow. It was truly a magical night.

There are so many people I need to thank:

Our Fabulous Guests: Thank for coming out! You all stepped out and looked hot! I can not wait to release the pictures. And I hope you all have fun and come out to the next event.

The Models: You all KILLED IT! The clothes would not have been anything without you hot ladies. You all looked gorgeous! You truly strutted your stuff!

Tyree of 91 Films: You always come through for us… I can not thank you enough for all of your help. I could never pay you back all you have done for me. We started from the bottom…and we gonna ride it to the top! Love you!

The David Sisters, Bea modeled and Marie hosted and Essie stepped in to help out back stage and during the after-party!

Ja-Tay: The best fashion show interns a girl could ask for. Thanks girls!

STAY TUNED FOR MORE PICTURES AND POSTS ABOUT THE BIG EVENT!

Thanks Cus, for taking these amazing pictures! Photographs by Keith Rogers

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: LOTS: Jay-Z & Justin Timberlake at Yankee Stadium, “Models Must Rehearse” & The LookBook.

PR — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 15:00:08 +0000

Where do I begin? This weekend was so exciting and for me, a great preview into the future of what my career could be.

First, the amazing weekend began with my sister, LeTrice and I attending the Legends of the Summer tour at Yankee Stadium with non other than Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake. It was a great show. Even though the outdoor concert happened to fall in the middle of a heat wave. That, I can say was the only flaw of the night. The two shared the stage the entire night, with creative segways into each other’s songs. It was nice to hear JT sing some of the hooks on Jay’s classics like, ‘Excuse Me Miss’, “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)’, and ‘Forever Young’. Of course, I checked Beyonce’s tour schedule to see if she would be able to make a guest appearance, but she was doing a show in Detroit. Justin sang ALL of my favorites from his first two albums, ‘Senorita’, ‘My Love’, ‘SexyBack’, and ‘LoveStoned’. It was awesome! I’d see it again!

‘Models Must Rehearse!’ Saturday, Laura and I met with the runway models together for the first time. We did initial fittings, and a little rehearsal to time the show for music and show production. It was a huge success and all the girls pretty much killed it. I think we are so ready for Portrait of a Lady!

Shooting the LookBook. Sunday, the team and I came together to shoot the Portrait of a Lady lookbook. One word to describe it, magical. Kat, Laura and I styled three of the models in our set looks and created a scene. It was amazing and so much fun! We had the talented Crystal of Beauty Box doing make-up and Amira on hair styling. Briana, was the brilliant photographer, and Naeema on accessories. Needless to say, we had the power team on this one. Again, it was magical. I can not wait for you all to see! You can get the lookbook the day of the show!

Rewind Vintage’s Market Place Event (Montclair, NJ)

PR — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 23:11:01 +0000

Here are a list of the vendor I particularly liked, click the name for more information.

& MORE!

Weekend Roundup: Shoot Day at Eva’s, & Rewind Vintage Market Place Event

PR — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 20:01:07 +0000

You all probably remember p.r. declaring, “july was officially photo shoot month”. Wow, talk about a busy couple of weeks. First it was last week with shooting the ’86 Charlie’ short film with Marco Dorce, then going on to team up again for the zineTAKEOVER promo shoot and more surprises. Now, the Pat n Kat promo shoot. I wish I could tell you all the other amazing projects we have brewing here in the Valley. Look at some of the behind the scenes pictures, and follow our instagrams for more action! @masConsumption @patnkatstyle Don’t forget to get your tickets to the Portrait of a Lady Runway Show, seats are limited! Check out the facebook event here.

Then after the shoot Marie David met us in Montclair, NJ for the first annual Market Place event presented by Rewind Vintage & Kadet. I met some cool people. I have been wanting to reach out to the neighboring towns here in North Jersey. Not gonna lie, I was really scouting for the fashion show. I wore two of the pants suits from Rewind Vintage for the promo shoot. Read more about the dope stuff I found there, here.