I wish I could bring my mother to this.

So this is a party my friends and I are throwing next Saturday (October 8), and it benefits AIDS Services of Austin.  It was loosely inspired by Party Monster, Macaulay Culkin's / Seth Green's oh-so-delightful and dark cult classic.

BUT.  Before I get into that, may I please tell you about the sweetest birthday wish you ever did hear?

My mother, who is in her 60s, has a birthday on September 11.  Last month, she wrote me an email that said:

"For my birthday I have a hankering to go see a drag queen show! I think I've wanted to my whole life since I first learned that there were drag queens, but I've never considered the idea that I could go to one if I wanted to… I'm grown up. I can do what I want!"

I love my mother.

We weren't able to find a drag queen show here in town on her birthday, though, so I want to make it up to her somehow!  I think the obvious solution here is a Rebecca Havemeyer show.  Unless you know of any other fabulous drag queens, Austinites?

Now back to Dreaming in Color.

This is a party next Saturday at The ND, and will be kind of like a fabulous three-ring circus.  There will be a fashion show, where the models dance down the runway.  There will be a variety hour with break dancing and a drag show (of course there will be a drag show).  AND a dance party.  AND it goes to charity.  AND it's $5 if you wear a drag-esque costume.  Did I mention drag?

I am a very big fan of costume parties, but this one will be a most stimulating challenge.  Have you ever seen Party Monster? 

I mean ... those are wings!

Watching Party Monster is like watching an instructional video for Lady Gaga's wardrobe department.  It's art, it's camp, it's fashion, it's trash-ion, it's Halloween on steroids.  I have no idea what I'm wearing!  Maybe a tail?

The fashion show component of the evening will be orchestrated by Coco Coquette, and judged by Michael Barnes (Austin American-Statesman), Lauren Smith Ford (TRIBEZA Magazine), and Happy Mercado (Tito's Vodka).  All of the looks are being constructed and styled by local Austin fashion designers, and winner gets $1000!

Afterward is the variety show / cocktail hour / dance party presented by Mouthfeel, which includes the afore-mentioned drag show, from Feonix Firestone.

You can RSVP here!

Sponsor Spotlight: SassMouth Apparrel.

Second only to the movie Human Centipede or the prospect of real life land sharks, I think one of the scariest things in the whole world is starting your own business.

So much responsibility!

I mean, I'm just a blogger, right?  It's a micro-business, as my friend Lauren calls it.  My blog is mostly a one-woman show.  I don't have "quarters" or "fiscal year reviews" or anything nearly as grown-up as that behind-the-scenes at Austin Eavesdropper, and yet, every task besides the actual writing part is EXHAUSTING.  I don't know how these little 14 year-old entrepreneurs do it.  How do they go to school and do their homework, while running an online hand-crafted tie-dyed beret hat business from their bedroom or whatever?

Whenever I meet someone my age (i.e., 14 times 2) who is an entrepreneur, I find them fascinating.  How did you do it?  Were you scared?  How are you so fabulous?  Can we be friends?

I had the opportunity to do that this month with Karli Isiyel, the very-fabulous-indeed founder of SassMouth Apparrel, an online vintage shop.

 Karli is an Ausinite, and I was so thrilled to have her presence here on Austin Eavesdropper!  If you are hopelessly in love with vintage like I am, go 'like' SassMouth's Facebook page and follow their Twitter feed, where they post deals on their wares.

1. Hi Karli! You are the founder and owner of Sassmouth Apparel. How did you start this business? 

I started to love thrifting as a college student. Money was tight and it just made sense. But then I sort of made it my thing, I would find great things and people would be envious of my style. So finally after years of just finding the great deals for myself, I decided that it might be a good business venture.

2. You started Sassmouth for girls who like to get their thrift + vintage on, but may not have all the time in the world to sift through all those stores. Where do you go for all those fab finds? 

Oh, now I could never divulge my secrets!  I go to numerous thrift stores around town. Not to sound pompous, but it's not always about the greatest thrift stores, you have to have an eye for a pattern or fabric that may be stuck in some dark corner and take it out to find the beauty!

3. How would you describe your own style? 

I would say I am a bit rockabilly, I love 50s and 60s styles. Vintage clothing is so amazing, but I have a hard time finding my size. Usually I will take a modern piece of clothing with some vintage lines and dress it up for my liking. Maybe one day I can have my own line of vintage inspired clothes, that are AFFORDABLE and fit all sizes of women.

4. I love that you did your photoshoot for this site at the Cathedral of Junk. AND that all your models are beautiful, real-looking women who SMILE!  

Both of which seem to underly the ethos of Sassmouth. How would you describe the "personality" of your business? 

The personality of my business is simple, it's just a young gal, enlisting the help of her beautiful friends as models and promoting the fact that you can look fabulous with little money and a lot of style-no matter what size you are.

5. I am in awe of entrepreneurs. Was it scary to strike out on your own, and create this business from scratch? 

There wasn't too much risk involved in this one, since I have an online store front. But it is a bit scary to spend more money on things as I get more popular.  Everything has been trial and error, from how I do inventory and keep track of clothes to what I buy; and learning what sells best. It has been a huge learning experience. One day I hope to have a real store front in Austin.

6. Favorite children's book? 

Wow. I was super stumped by this question, and could not remember the name of this book for the life of me! A phone call to mom was in order ... Roger's Upside-Down Day.

7. What's the secret to living a creative life, Karli? 

Hmmm. I don't know if I can put it into words. I think it is something that comes from inside you. It's funny, I have a degree in graphic design and very frequently get stumped when designing. But when it comes to clothes and thrifting and vintage my mind never stops being creative!  I think it just might be my passion. I guess the secret would just to never stop seeking out ways to be unique in everything you do.

* thanks for stopping by austin eavesdropper, karli! *

Pictured: Models Corey Gusnowski, Hollie Baker, and Melissa Johnson, at Peter Pan Mini Golf and the Cathedral of Junk.  Photos courtesy Allison Bright.

Generous Art.

Instead of starting off today's post with a breezy little story, I've decided to first blow your mind with some art.

Isn't this stuff kinda rad?

Back in college, I was a studio art minor, and it was always something I wish I had kept up with.  I have very little natural artistic talent.  Enthusiasm, yes; native ability ... no.

The most treasured piece of art I ever made is a dinosaur.  Or, more accurately, a Tyrannosaurus Rex.  If you saw it at my parents' house, you might mistake it for a paper weight, or possibly a shiny, dried piece of vomit.  That's because it's not "dinosaur color," like green or brown, but Every Color, i.e. maroon and blue and vague tans and a vain attempt to mix purple and yellow together.  I made it when I was six, and my mother proudly displays it in the living room, on the shelf next to my dad's CD's. Tyrannosaurus Rex is currently guarding his friends Bonnie Raitt, Al Jarreau and Randy Newman.   

To compensate for my lack of personal work, I add art to my home.  I love mixed media.  And some photography.  Screen printing, paintings; last year I went through a huge wall decal phase.  I hung up seven pieces of art on the wall catty-corner to my home office desk a few weeks ago.  So when an adorable little publicist got in touch with me about Generous Art, an online art gallery that gives a large portion of your art purchase to a charity of your choosing, I was like ... "ooooh."  Tell me more, little publicist!

Generous Art was founded by local artist Jennifer Chenoweth, and launches this month.  It hosts work by established artists here in town, and after you make a purchase, you are then directed to a page where you select a charity to donate 40% of your art purchase.  Isn't that a wonderful idea?  There is a free, lavish launch party for it tomorrow night at The W, 3rd Floor, from 5:30-8:30pm (here are more details).  If you're an Austinite, are you going?

Thanks to L. Renee Nunez (top) and Virginia Fleck (bottom) - both featured artists on Generous Art - for the gorgeous images above.

And the winner for the La Sardina camera is ...

We got a whopping 403 entries for the La Sardina camera giveaway!  So I reached into my little magician's hat this morning, and pulled out a number ...

The 82nd entry!  Which means ...

* helen clark *

Congratulations, Helen!  We've got a La Sardina camera from Lomography on the way to you now, so you can take gorgeous photos like these:

So ridiculously pretty.

Thanks to the La Sardina Flickr pool for images, and THANK YOU to everyone who entered.  I am thrilled there is so much interest around here for film and toy cameras!

UPDATED 9/30/2011: 

Next Thursday, October 6, Lomography Austin is having a party at Peter Pan Mini Golf, to drink + carouse + take badass pictures.  Entry is $6, but if you email shopaustin [a] lomography.com there are a few spaces left to get in free.

And if you create an account on Lomography, you get 10 "piggie points" (i.e. dollars) to spend in their online store.  Ba-bam.

Queso-rah, so-rah

Heh.  

This weekend, I had made two big commitments: One to the advancement of style, the other to the advancement of cheese.

Texans, have you ever heard of the Hot Sauce Festival?  I'm willing to bet there's an individual one for each Texas metropolis.  Well the Mohawk adapted that idea this past Saturday for their first ever Quesoff, for which I was a tasting judge.  Let me tell you, it was a pretty tough job. 

And oh my God.  Did the queso contestants bring it, as you can see by the cone of cheese above.  

The challenge pitted regular folk against local restaurants, and of the three winners we selected, two were Everyday Joes and Janes.  One group made their queso using white cheddar and beer; others got all crazy with the cilantro and avocado.  My hands-down favorite was an entry from Frank, which was essentially Seven Layer Dip Queso: Avocado, beans, Rotel, brisket!  And other ingredients!  That I am genuinely forgetting.  Probably because I was in a mental fog due to the fact that I tasted 19 quesos before I got to that one.

I'm going on a macrobiotic / vegan / air-atarian diet for the rest of the week.  

This was my favorite part of the day: The cheese piñata!  My fellow queso judge, Addie Broyles (food writer at the Statesman) took a swing at it, too.

Below, we judges grin happily in a queso-induced euphoria ... me, Rose Reyes from ACVB, Hilah from HilahCooking, Tom Thornton from Austinist, and Addie.

Less than 24 hours later, I woke up and co-hosted the Tribeza Style Brunch, which was totally lovely.  But I really did get no shortage of pleasure out of this combination of events, and insisted on inserting it into conversation: 

"And good morning to you, Tolly!"

"Hello, [name of really pretty Tribeza Style Brunch person]!"

"My weekend has been a whirlwind!  What with Tribeza Style Week, so-and-so's trunk show, a boutique crawl ... !  What did you do this weekend?"

"I ate 25 quesos last night."

" ... oh!"

There's really no way to follow that.  Except to hand me an Alka-Seltzer.  

Tonight, let's get crafty!

Hello, reader!  Wanna get yer craft on?

Well then I have excellent news for you.  Tonight, my friends Cory Ryan, Candace Carlisle and I are co-hosting the ...

++ Austinite Craft Night ++

At Aviary Lounge & Décor!
 2110 S. Lamar
6-9pm

Aviary and its neighbor, Legendary Beads, are teaming up tonight for a little crafty happy hour with drink specials.  That's right, crafts AND drinking.  I agree with you.  That's genius.

Admission is $10 per person, and each will receive a drink along with beads/supplies from Legendary.  Which is good, because, that means you don't have to watch me make a macaroni portrait of my mom.  OR a Thanksgiving turkey traced from my hand ... although that prospect is still tempting.  (Not to mention seasonal!)

hope to see you tonight!

Lomography Giveaway: Win a La Sardina Camera!

So basically, I am freaking excited to be holding a Lomography giveaway here on Austin Eavesdropper.  Imagine me, bursting into your home or office with a jazz-hand shuffle, a double-pirouette that ends in a six-foot-high toe touch, and then you will have a pretty accurate picture of my degree of excitement.

"Wow, why is she so excited?" you ask.  Very reasonable.  See, I have long been a fan of film and toy cameras, and currently own a Holga, a Diana F+ (with an Instaback), and my newest, La Sardina.  In lieu of a guest book at our wedding, we strung a clothesline in between some branches, had each guest take their picture with a Polaroid, and hang up their Polaroid plus a little note in the tree.  My affection for film runs deep.

But ... I'm actually not a great photographer.  With film.

However.  That is all changing, because Lomography is opening up shop here in Austin!  On Congress Ave!  Their grand opening is in late October, and there will also be a grand opening party around that time.  Guess who will be there.  ME.

Here are some pictures Ross and I took recently, around town and on our trip to Fredericksburg:

Hopefully you're saying to yourself: "Why, those pictures aren't that bad.  In fact they're kind of nice!"  

Well ... I agree.  But I can't take credit for them, really.  I owe my marked improvement in toy camera photography to this man:

Meet Cameron Russell, the Austin rep for Lomography.  He manages the store coming to Austin, and teaches photography classes there, too.  I sat down with Cameron, and he showed me how to properly use my Diana.  I told him, "Each photography is a completely white square."  Which is, as you might surmise, incorrect.  Seeing as how I wasn't taking pictures of blank pieces of paper.

But Cameron made a few little adjustments, showed me how to do the same.  I took it with me to Wimberley, et voila!  Lovely, soft photographs.  He also taught me how to shoot with a La Sardina, which produced all the photos you see above.

Here it is in my hand, for scale.

Would you like to win a La Sardina?  So you can create something magical, like this?

(See La Sardina's Flickr pool for more).

Then you are in luck!  Just:

1. "Like" Austin Eavesdropper on Facebook.

 2. Then enter your name and email in the form below.

And you are done!

This contest will run now through next Tuesday (9/27), and on Wednesday (9/28) I will announce a winner from those who have liked and entered. 

Good luck!  And thank you so much for giving me / Austin Eavesdropper this opportunity, Lomography!

Favorite ACL photo AND something exciting happening tomorrow.

                                                        

There's Waldo!

I caught this clever man 50 yards away on Saturday, as we were both apparently heading to the J. Roddy Walston show (see the post below).

Oh music festival novelty dressers.  Your wit never goes unappreciated! (By me).

If you get tickled by neat photos as much as I do, be sure to check back in with the blog tomorrow morning.  There may or may not be a super-awesome camera-related giveaway, wink wink.  I just got back my roll of film that I used with this camera, and it is absolutely glorious!