My friend Zeev did it again!

Zeev Dinzeo of Lollipopz just released a new line of hair, and when we met at Mimi's Choice, she wanted give me them!
As usual for Lollipopz, it's a stunning hair collection, coming in a lot of pretty and original colors.
Here i wear only the black (my color!), fitting better to my MEB outfit Pippi, but all colors are great :)
All styles are great too, but I couldn't hide my preference for the wonderful move of Sweet hair :))
Check them at Lollipopz or at Mimi's Choice, along with the older styles, not less worthy!
Thank you Zeev!

A very special fashion show!

Last Sunday LookElite Model Agency had had its Graduation Show. It has been the first task for the new Academy Director, Bety Dudek, who wanted to give the show a vintage theme. With the help of the expert LookElite's leading model Laura18 Streeter, she planned a show that wanted to make live again the 1930s atmosphere, asking for the dress one of the greatest vintage clothes designer of SL, Donna Flora (Squinternet Larnia) for female dresses and Glam Dammit for male ones.

Both Bety and Laura are my close friends, as well as Squinternet, so I've been honored to be asked for building the set, that Bety wished to be  inspired to the legendary Cotton Club at Harlem, as shown in the Francis F. Coppola's movie.

It was a very exciting task, since with my brand Melu Deco I try since more than 2 years to re-create Art Deco famous furniture and to offer to all of vintage lovers accurate reproductions of furniture and decors in that style.

I re-created some details, while some others come from original period images: on the walls are displayed some framed pictures taken from a 1930s movie made at the Cotton Club's shows and a collection of original posters of the Club's "Parades" (shows) in the 1930s. Furniture, lights and decor in Art Deco style come from Melu Deco's catalogue. 

After two days from the show, I'm still impressed by the result! I saw the set I'd built taking life, by the presence of a lot of glamorous people who interpretated those times wearing dresses, shoes, hair and jewelry coming from the Jazz Era.

It has been a great emotion seeing the pretty orchestra playing Mainland Music instruments while the streaming leaded by Runa McMillan diffonded the notes by Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Cab Calloway. It has been a great emotion seeing the models walking among the 1930s style street lamps set around the runway, wearing the magnificient outfits by Donna Flora. It has been a great emotion seeing barmans, welcome girls (Ona Waffle), host and public sitting or wandering around the black and gold chairs and tables, the long bar counters, the luxurious couches that I put into the venue to give that special luxury the feeling the 1930s Cotton Club should have had.

 

                                     

All has been perfect, thanks to the care of Bety and Laura, to the cleverness of the graduating models Dreamlove, Kellis Denimore, Humble Sugarplum and  Moz Vardes, of the host Briju Meriman and of the singer Leah Portland. People, who came in huge number, could enjoy living an evening of the past, drinking champagne and listening good music, while admiring the fabulous dresses worn by models who did seem much more than just graduating ones and who have shown how great will their future carrier be.

For me, it has been an evening of strong feelings: creating such an environment is a dream for every vintage stuff designer, but it's been much more worthy making it for so beloved friends as Bety, Laura and Squinternet are.

I think it has been the most difficult and the best successful decor I ever made, and deleting it after the show made to come out a tear from my eyes. But it has been just a moment: I will keep that evening's memory forever, along with the memory of the smile I could see on the faces of all my friends who took part in or came seeing the show.

Thank you Bety, thank you Laura, thank you Squinternet: you gave me the opportunity to make something unforgettable!

A more complete photo-story of the show, from the moment just before the start to its aftermaths, can be seen in my Flickr set: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/melusina_parkin/sets/72157629636635238/

My gallery!

I'm happy and proud to announce the opening of a little photo gallery at SL Chelsea, NYC, named E-mage gallery.

 
Close to the legendary Chelsea Hotel, among dozen of amazing art and photo gallery, my little space wants to offer a selection of pics coming from my exhibits and to update about new photo series.
At the moment you'll find there some previews of a forthcoming exhibit titled "Tales of Shadow and Light".
I'm glad to invite all of you to come seeing my new venue, in the hope it can offer to you the same love and passion for art that has brought me to set it.
Enjoy your visit!

Donna Flora is back!

A great day, today!
A friend and a great designer is back to SL, to give all of us the emotion of wearing her wonderful creations.
Donna Flora lived an hard moment, but her genius didn't stop working: April, the dress in the pic, that she wanted to give me, witnesses she's recovering fast and well.
Now, we are looking also for May, and June, and July, and August, and...!
Welcome back, Squinty!



Dress: Donna Flora, April
Hair: Donna Flora Hair for April, black
Shoes: Donna Flora, Sandra wine

Donna Flora A to Z - C is for Cherie

Yes, C is for Cherie, but also for Come back soon!
I've no words to say how I miss Donna Flora since she's sick. She gave me some of my most exciting moments in SL fashion game, allowing me wearing dresses i could only dream before.
But, first of all, she gave me her friendship, that's to meet and to deal with a unique person, full with passion, fantasy and irony.
So, i want to be among the many, many people who say now:
Come back soon, Squinty!

(Donna Flora A to Z is a project by Cajsa Lilliehook to make Donna's friends support her in a difficult moment: it's a wonderful witness of the love she can enjoy from her friends and it's also an overview of her great creations)

THE BATTERSEA POWER STATION, London. An Art Deco masterpiece which will disappear

Newspapers report that a long and sad story is coming to its end: the old coal power station of Battersea, London, after almost 30 years of attempts to plan its re-use, will be demolished to make room to a big luxury flat compound.
All of Art Deco architecture lovers and all of rock music ones know what it means: we'll lose forever the greatest industrial building in that style in Europe and we'll lose forever the subject of the Pink Floyd's "Animals" record cover.


Here below a short chronology of the Station's history, for further infos about Battersea Power Station look at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battersea_Power_Station
http://www.batterseapowerstation.org.uk/index.html


1929: Starts the building of Battersea Power Station in London.Last exterior's design is by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who designed also the other power station at bankside (more lucky, since it has been restored and now hosts the Tate Modern gallery). First projects and interiors' decor were made by a team of famous architects, including T.P. O'Sullivan.Building and interiors' decoration style is a masterpiece of Art Deco style: bricks, italian marbles, low-reliefs artpieces, decorated control panels make of the station a great example of the 1930s look and taste.

1935: Battersea starts producing energy (234 MW)

1955: Battersea B (509 MW) is built

1977: Pink Floyd put on their LP "Animals" cover an image of Battersea, with a flying pig between the chimneys.

1983: Pollution and obsolescence make the station being closed.Begins a quest for re-using area and buildings but costs look huge and plans not profitable.

2012: Announcement that the building will be demolished. The largest brick building in Europe will die.

Since i think that Second Life can be even an easy opportunity to preserve our memories in a very impressive way, and since a lot of my work is dedicated to Art Deco, i thought to make a model of that building, in the hope to find a place where it can be shown to public. The model is an homage to that great monument of past industry, design and culture.





I put also for sale a smaller (but resizable) copy of the model in my Melu Deco main store at Old Hollywood.

Proud winner of the photo contest Winter in Berlin!

When snow started falling on 1920 Berlin, a photo contest has been published for pics inspired to that magical scenery. I spent a great night wandering around the city and shooting beautiful corners covered by the white. But i never had thought that my pics would be appreciated so much to make me win the contest!

Now I received the notice of the winning I'm happy twice: first 'cause my pic has been judged well, second 'cause Berlin is one of my preferred places in SL since my beginning. I remember when I arrived by chance to Flashmans - another place I did learn loving so much! - and a lady, seating on the bar and wearing a wonderful dress (I was not aware of it, but i was discovering then the great clothes by Sonatta Morales), told me about 1920 Berlin.
Being a lover of history and art, and mostly of the style and art of the decades between the two WW, my curiosity arose up and i couldn't wait to visit that place.

I went there with a close friend, Maizon Rayna, and it has been a stunning visit! We were speechless seeing the historical atmosphere of the still unfinished city, the narrow streets and the broad Unter den Linden, the slums with walls covered by political propaganda and the luxury cafes and hotels...
Then, we saw a lady entering a door... despite she did seem very busy, Maizon has been bold and asked her about the place. So we met Jo Yardley, who wore yet her now famous barmaid apron :) She drove us for a while around the city, and finally showed us a brand new club: it was the Keller!

Months after, when i started my brand Melu Deco, I wished it would be appreciated there, since my furniture style is exactly that of the time in which Berlin lives. Frau Yardley gave me a shop on rent, but she was a bit worried I shouldn't like that it was beneath the "Gentleman's club".
On the other hand, I found that a nice thing, and i was right! I met there some wonderful friends, like Pola Solo, and i could have the joy to see sitting in my shop (what better than a furniture shop to sit down and chatting?) many Berliners.





The following story would be long to tell: i lived some great and dramatic moments of the Berlin life, from the Miss Berlin Contest, to the moving church service for the anniversary celebrated by Father Cuthbert Helendale, to the impressive self distruction of the old city made by Frau Yardley when she built the new SIM and moved Berlin there...



At that time, Frau Yardley has been so kind to drive me through a desert, still closed SIM: crazily driving her car - as usual ;) - she showed me the new city, and I was speechless again: without losing anything of its style and of its historical accuracy, the small city I knew was become a metropolis!
In the new SIM I could get two Melu Deco shops: one in the visitors' area, the other one at the no.6 of the awesome Alexanderplatz. I'm always delighted when i take the train to Berlin and, going out from the Station, I see my sign in that famous square :)







I regret missing a lot of events, and to have too few time to enjoy often the slightly surreal talks at the Keller at the daily Happy Hours, but nevertheless, the list of the amazing events i take part in there is endless: luxury Mask Balls, great Burlesque and Cabaret sessions, great art exhibits, pretty holiday markets and open air feasts... All that, thanks to the tireless work made by Jo Yardley and by some other great spirits, like the art lover and expert GStone Turas, whose friendship has become one of the great thing of my SL.
Recently, then, a new attraction has been set: the Eldorado club, managed by Sonatta Morales! If somebody want to live an authentic 1920s club's atmosphere, naughty and genial, anarchic and whimsical, just go there!



I have also had the honor to see my photo exhibit Future Past in the Schloss Museum last Summer. It has been exciting to see my pics on the walls of that austere and solemn columned building!



It's also exciting seeing my furniture in the homes of many Berliners: after 18 months I keep there my shops I can proudly say they are a point of reference for the decor of many tenants. They have been presented at their beginning on the Berlin magazine, edited then by Zeno McAuley, while my last photo exhibit has been published too on the stunning magazine Styl, edited by GStone Turas, whose kindness and friendship made her also sponsor the exhibit.

Now, I'm happy to see my portrait among the ones of the Berlin Long Term Tenants, close to those of many friends and city's life protagonists. This makes me remember all the great moments i lived in this unique place and I tried to summarize in this post.



Buildings and streets are awesome and full of interesting things, but a city is made by its residents: i couldn't name all of the other people who let me share a so amazing experience, but I didn't forget them. To all of them and to all of the ones I mentioned yet I due the proudness to be able saying... I'm a Berliner!