Freelance Book Designer

What a weekend.
I took the day off on Friday so I could do one final rehearsal with Pia and sew the last few sequins in place. Friday night was the Harlequin Valentines day Ball. Harlequin are one of the publishers I design books for, they’re actually one of my favourite clients as they let me be very free creatively. This years ball was in the Australian Museum (natural history museum) canapés were served in the Skeleton Gallery and dinner in the artium. For the Aust. Museum, which has been daggy and badly updated since I was a little girl, this event was really well put together and decorated. Plus the food was yummy – not that I ate much, I had so many nerves about Saturday night!

This is what I wore:

I wore 2 huge petticoats under the dress to get it puffed up mushroom style, but i forgot that I would be sitting down! So I was consumed by puff as soon I sat down for dinner! whoops ^_^

Saturday, Pia and I set our hair (there were tears of frustration on my part in the morning and on hers in the evening – DAMN YOU HAIR!) went to the bump rehearsal in for a few hours then raced home to get changed.

Saturday night was the Absinth Club, burlesque ball at the Gaelic Club. Pia and I performed as our duet, Coco de Mer, which is a siamese twin act. So we ended up getting half dressed in the backlane behind stage door mintues before we went on because there was NO WAY we could have navigated down 3 flights of narrow stairs from the performers dressing room, strapped together and as siamese twins! So it was pretty funny!

The crowd was HUGE – 100s of people (i heard whisperings of 800)! It sold out 1.5 weeks ago, and Sugartime have just added a second night this Monday. We were on 5th in the first half, it took a little while for the crowd to get the joke (we’re joined and stripping each other) but once they got it they responded amazingly! Just shimmying sent them wild – I was so excited!

Thank goodness we were on early, I got to see a lot of the other acts, and let me tell you how honored I felt to be on the same bill as some of those performers – Imogen Kelly, the Town Bikes, Ms Fat Booty, Bonedaddy and of course the Belladonnas de Lux.

YAY. Now I have day of rest, then I gotta do it all again tomorrow!