mahalo club.

Oakland Bound.

2011-11-18T13:43:00.000-08:00

I'm so sorry I haven't posted anything as of late, folks.

My life is all sorts of loco right now, and I’ve been on a bit of hiatus as of late.

Why? Because my husband and I are moving half way across the country to Oakland, CA next Saturday......!!!

What’s the plan? A road trip, an adventure, a new beginning. What’s happening right now? TOTAL STRESS INDUCED FREAK OUT.

There’s not enough weed in this world…..

But the outcome will be grand. I PROMISE.

P.s. I'll try and throw a few goodies on here before we hit the road, perhaps even a few on the road adventure updates. Ooooooooooo!

xoxo

Wardrobe Wonders #11: Calender Girl Edition

2011-10-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

I'd like to share a quick recap of what I wore out this past Saturday evening to the Garter Girls calender release party at Orbit Room in Chicago. I felt it was a very special occasion, so getting extra gussied up in my new dress was a must!

Break down:

Hair: Side pinned blow out w/ a hair flower from my secret wig shop
Dress: 1940s crepe swing dress with detailed leaf beading & ruched sleeves
Fishnets: standard fishnets with Cuban seam from my secret wig shop
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell sheerling lined leather wood stacked boots

xoxo

A Belated Outfit Post: Wardrobe Wonders #10

2011-10-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday folks!

I have tons to do today, prepping for my move to California at the end of next month (oops, I don't think I've mentioned that yet!!), cleaning my house as well as prepping for next week's vintage show at the Randolph Street Market Modern Vintage Show in Chicago, but I thought I'd share a couple of quick outfit posts.

This post is a quick glimpse of what I wore out not this past Saturday, but Saturday of last week, to my ladies day/night out. It was one of the last warm days we had here in Chicago, so I was quite pleased to be able to mosey around the city in lighter attire.

Details and all that jazz:

Hair: High bun and a simple tucked under roll in the front
Top: American Apparel haltered bodysuit (shhh, don't tell anyone I own some of their basic solids)
Pants: 1940s inspired 1980s white & black polka dot cropped swing pants w/ matching belt
Shoes: 1930s inspired mint green mini pumps by Chie Mahara (these are my babies, though they've seen better days)

xoxo!

Garter Girls: Holding up The Scene Pin Up Calender Release

2011-10-16T15:55:00.000-07:00

I am so pleased to finally be able to share some crude photos from the pin up calender I was featured in, Garter Girls: Holding Up The Scene. Yesterday, Kim Koin & Emily Mariscal (the producers and creative directors of the calender) held a release party for this amazing project (that I had the honor of being a part of) at the Orbit Room in Chicago. The turn out was fantastic and those hard working gals hustled tons of calenders to guests and other featured models.

I'm elated to be able to finally share some of the images from my shoot for the project. We've all been waiting for months to be able to share the final product until the release date, and phew, it finally came! These aren't the original jpegs, as I'm still patiently awaiting those from the photgrapher from my set, but I had my trusty lil' power shot camera with me to snap some crude shots at the party last night.

Enjoy!

Picture #1 is my print from the series of outtakes of each model/group of models for each month that went to raffle last night. Turns out my awesome fellow artist buddy, Jourdon, won mine. So glad it's it's going to a good home!

Picture #2 is a quick shot of my spread as Miss January. I was featured as a model, burlesque performer and internet vintage clothing dealer, hence my styling consisting of a mish-mosh of burlesque costuming, bubble wraps & various packing a merchandising supplies.

I will have more photos of all of the other fabulous women who participated in this project very soon......xoxo!

Little Egypt. Revamped!

2011-10-07T11:45:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite acts to perform of all time is by far, Little Egypt. Because Lindsey (dolly Dagger of my duo, Honey B. Combe) moved away some time ago, I haven't been able to dance to it in ages. However, I recently received her blessing to perform a revamped solo version of the act for my new troope's tribute show to Sun Studios at Late Bar, so I tweaked the choreography and gussied up my costume and.......bam!

Here's a glimpse of my revitalized costume. And my tushy, too.

More fringe, more collars, more color, less clothes...

(Loraine Rose & myself)

(The ladies of Scarlett & The Deville-ettes....[minus one of our female performers, Redrum and our male side show performer, Sanjula Vamana])

xoxo!

Wardrobe Wonders #9: Sugar Cane Jane & Loraine Rose

2011-10-07T11:11:00.001-07:00

Before my most recent burlesque show with my troope, Scarlett & The Deville-ettes (which I don't if I mentioned that I recently joined, after almost two years of dancing independently & as well as with Lindsey as Honey B. Combe), Katy (Loraine Rose) and I got all dolled up at my apartment, and we had a little wardrobe shoot. Here's a few snap shots of what we wore to our Sun Studios Tribute show at Late Bar in Chicago.

Myself:

Hair: braided updo with victory rolls, accompanied by a sequined charcoal grey hair flower.
Top: 1950s black cotton & nylon scalloped bustier.
Skirt: vintage reproduction cheetah print pencil skirt.
Shoes: vintage inspired brown leather woven pumps by Naughty Monkey.

On Katy:

Hair: Victory rolls, accompanied with loose dropped curls
Outfit: vintage inspired cigarette pants & a simple black sexy tank.
Accessories: studded belt, chrome plated wrist cuff.
Shoes: I have no idea where she got them, but hot damn, they're killer!

Rarrrrrrrrrr.

2011-10-07T10:58:00.001-07:00

Here's a few unedited snapshots from a recent pin up shoot I worked on with Nicole Hughes, owner of BombshellShocked Vintage.

I love these two sets mainly because I want both this swimsuit and the three piece burlesque set. Perhaps it's time to bust open the piggy bank, because heaven knows I've been on a bit of a shopping bender as of lately....

Hair porn.

2011-10-07T10:30:00.001-07:00

Jeez, it's been forever since my last update, so I thought I'd start a series of new posts with some hair porn, considering I've been experimenting so much more lately.

Enjoy.

1. Pin curls & a high bun.

2. Braided updo with victory rolls.

(Goodness, I look pretty stoned in that picture, no?

3. Fro-hive.

4. The pomp. Or Snooki bump, depending on how you look at it.

A Belated Outfit Post: Wardrobe Wonders #8

2011-09-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't had the opportunity to update Mahaloclub in several days, but with waking up extra early this morning, I thought I'd take a few minutes to write up a quick outfit post that should have rightfully been up when the weather dropped from 90 degress to 60 last week. The perfect time to bust out my new 1950s dark denim cigarette pants! Of course, now that I'm finally adding this to the wardrobe wonders roster, it's back up into the 80s again here. Ahhhhh, so it goes.

Blouse: 1950s checkered smocked blouse (as seen in past posts...I love this top!)
Pants: 1950s dark denim high waisted cigarette pants (the PERFECT fit)
Shoes: leather woven mary jane flats by Frye (contemporary, thrifted for a steal)
Jacket: Buffalo plaid 1950s young men's wool overcoat (a little small, but hey)

xoxo

Ladies Night at The Big C!

2011-09-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

Usually Thursday evenings are date night at home for my husband and myself, in which we cook each other dinner, pour a bottle or two of wine and settle in on the couch to catch the newest episode of Jersey Shore (hahaha, yes I know how ridiculous it is, but we're suckers for there "reality" drama). It's one of the rare nights during the week that I don't have to be stuck at work until well past midnight or 1am, so we declared it home date night ages ago, and it just so happens that it's also Shore night, which is a bonus...

However, yesterday I decided to skip date night (just this once, with the hubby's blessing, of course) to enjoy an evening out with some of my girls. Here in Chicago, every first Thursday of the month Martyr's holds The Big C Jamboree, a 20 year old tradition, which is essentially an open mic night for bands & musicians that cater to the likes of the Rockabilly roots culture. I barely go out dancing or to live shows these days, but every once in a while I get the urge to treat myself to a few whiskey/ginger's and sweat it out on the dance floor for hours on end. My girl Katy and I decided it was well worth it to get all gussied up (which, I have to say was a pleasure to be able to do NOT just for the sake of a burlesque show or work), and hit the road over to the Big C to size up the night and get some healthy dancing and socializing in. Needless to say, as Katy's my partner in crime, we had a blast! I should mention, we also ran into our other partner in crime, Scarlett, the executive producer of our burlesque troupe Scarlett & The Deville-ettes, and with her marriage coming up in just over a week, we had libations to no end!

Katy wore a great white & black polka dot reproduction halter dress, a glamourous rhinestone cuff and a simple flower in her hair. She topped off her outfit with a sleek and sexy pair of black satin peep toe pumps, that I'm pretty sure she debuted at my wedding a few months back.

I wore my new favorite two piece 1940s cotton sun suit, comprised of tropical print swing shorts & a matching halter top, along with my favorite dancing shoes - black peep toe Brazilian leather dance wedges with studded grommets along the instep, with a bright red & pink flower pinned into my extraordinarily big hair (which I sported pinned up on one side).

Scarlett had on a lovely atomic print haltered swing dress, which she jived to no end in, along with sleek and simple patent leather ballet flats. Her fiance, Michael, and she set the dance floor on fire!

Everyone was dressed to the 9's, and it's always a great feeling to be around other folks who share the same love and admiration for the vintage lifestyle.

Here's a few photo from the evenings adevntures, though I should say, the more cocktails I had in me, the less the camera came out of my purse....

(The bass pictured above was quite a beauty, covered in velvet cheetah print & air brushed sugar skulls)

(We took this one again, because my damn hair blocked out most of Katy's face)

(Pictured above is Adam Lee & The Dead Horse Sound getting ready to take the stage.....his voice is soooo dreamy)

It's inevitable.....every time I have a few cocktails, my glasses come off. Insert blind destructive behavior here.

Jeez, I can be so awkward at times...)

Above is my attempt at capturing a photo of Scarlett & Michael jiving, but there too damn fast to keep up with on camera!

And I leave you with pictures of legs, shoes and feet.

Which are all a bit worn out today....

xoxo,
erin

Where the heart is.

2011-08-23T08:25:00.000-07:00

This post is a small glimpse at our quaint little coach house apartment in Chicago, and the random decor and knick knacks that my husband and I have acquired over time.

Take a vintage clothing dealer/collector, who doubles as a burlesque performer and a skateboarder with 20+ years of bruises and bone breaking under his belt, both of home are avid collectors (glorified hoarders, indeed) of all sorts of goodies, and it makes for a very intersting home.

Welcome.

(Not even half of my husband's skateboards)

(We have enough Chicago flags that we decided to turn a couple of them into curtains)

(This made it home in my purse one day, mainly because it was a three foot unicorn tapestry that cost me 75 cents.)

I have an affinity for old maps and velvet paintings.

Things that need to be framed.

I salvaged that painted swatch of burlap off the back of a piece of canvas board that was about to be tossed into the garbage at a friend's art studio.

Three of my favorite things in my tiny art studio (which also doubles as my boudoir, because there aren't in enough closets in the world i tell ya!):

1. An African warrior queen doll that was my bubbe's ages and ages ago.

2. My damn near four foot jellyfish limited edition print.

3. An original print from the Afro-Latino segment of the original pro-solidarity (not race segregation) era of the Black Panther Party.

I would include my books, but this isn't even half of them. They'll have to wait for another post.

And I'll leave you with this, because we FINALLY got a ton of wedding photos back! But that's a whole day's worth of posts in itself....

Wardrobe Wonders: Outfit Post #7

2011-08-15T10:22:00.000-07:00

Here's a glimpse of what I wore out yesterday. It finally cooled down here a bit in the Windy City, and yesterday was the first time I wore a pair of jeans since.....probably about May or so. I've also been experimenting with different blow out styles for my hair recently, and I was able to concoct a new variation of pin curls and rolls by way of a happy accident. I was pleased with how they came out, so I thought I'd share.

Here's a close up of my hair.....and some random things and thangs in house.

Blouse: Late 50s smocked checkered picnic blouse
Jeans: contemporary, purchased at my favorite secredt denim discount shop
Shoes: Late 50s white leather oxfords with mocassin stitched toes
Belt: 70s tooled leather, with woven scorpion designs
Handbag: Mid 60s multi-color carpet bag with patent vinyl handles.
Hair: happy accident

Sun suits, sun suits, sun suits!

2011-08-09T13:11:00.001-07:00

Over the course of this past week I had some amazing luck in the vintage clothing world and was able to obtain not one, but TWO fabulous late 40s sun suits, both in excellent condition! Cha-ching! (Perfect for this Midwestern heat wave, no less...)

Here's a few shots of my new mini-collection.

#1: Linen look haltered set, featuring a vibrant jungle print, courtesy of BombshellShocked Vintage.

#2:Two tone yellow & chocolate rayon blend knotted bikini top set, courtesy of Store B Vintage.

Yay! Now all I need is a day off to hit the beach, or at least the pool.

xoxo

Wardrobe Wonders: Outfit Post #6

2011-08-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick wardrobe post of what I wore for the day......our grill and some delicious steaks are awaiting me.

Hair flower: purchased at the Logan Square Mega Mall (I love you mega mall!)
Top: Early 1960s embroidered peasant blouse, courtesy of BombshellShocked Vintage
Skirt: Vintage reproduction pencil skirt...thrifted and altered
Shoes: Cork and brown leather platforms by Blowfish

xoxo

Hair Daze: A Heat Wave, Curls and a Blowdryer

2011-08-01T13:26:00.000-07:00

So.......I think I'm going to attempt to start documenting my hair, just because it's so damn big and whacky, and in such said attempt, here's a little photo post documenting two days of hair "looks". My afro has definitely been around the block, but I will toot my own horn and say that yesterday it had some exceptional height and bounce (in spite of the 100 degree heat wave). Today, I was inspired to recreate a late 40s look that I had recently been adorned with at my featured photo shoot for "Garter Girls: Holding up the Scene", which is a pin up calender set to debut in October 2011 and is dedicated to the rock 'n' roll women of the Chicago vintage lifestyle scene. I don't think I was able to perfect today's "do" with as much finesse and height as the stylist did at last week's shoot, but hey, I'm happy with the outcome and the fact that my hair isn't soaking up this damn heat like a sponge today is awesome!

(Pardon the mess in the background, my studio is a clusterfuck of treasures right now)
#1:

#2:

xoxo

Sunday Music Rotation: The Great Lady Day

2011-07-31T10:41:00.000-07:00

Everything about this woman makes me incredibly happy, and the beauty in her voice brings a smile to my face.

So today, I'll share my favorite Billie Holiday song, Speak Low.

Cheers to a wonderful Sunday.

Jeezy's Juke Joint: A Black Burly-Q Revue

2011-07-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, I was asked to perform at the inaugural Jeezy's Joint: A Black Burly-Q Revue, hosted here in Chicago by the one and only, Jeez Loueez. It was such a pleasure and honor to perform in an all African American Burlesque Revue and to be able to share the stage with such an amazing cast of women and men was absolutely wonderful. The show featured sensational local and national brown skin burlesque artists and the energy cultivated by both the featured performers as well as the audience was astounding to say the least.

I hope to have more pictures up soon, but for now I'll share a photo of the entire cast of the show and some footage of my act for the revue. I love the Coasters, so of course I chose the original version of Down in Mexico as my song of choice.

xoxo,
Sugar Cane Jane

Jeezy's Juke Joint (7.16.11) - "Down in Mexico" by Sugar Cane Jane from Vaudezilla Productions on Vimeo.

Omahyra Mota...babe of babes!

2011-07-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

what a fox!

I like to do the splits

2011-07-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

I think this is pretty self explanatory.

Sugar Cane Jane sure likes to end the show in the splits.

#1: The Gong Gong Song at EXIT Chicago, June 2011

#2: The Lincoln Fair at the Lincoln Tap Room, April 2011

#3: Sugar Cane Jane solo performance at the Windy City Burlesque Fest 2011

xoxo

Toots!

2011-07-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

I am sooooooooooooooo excited for this evening! My husband and I are fortunate enough to have snagged a couple of tickets to see Toots & The Maytals play at the Congress Theater in Chicago, which just so happens to be one block away from our home, double yay!

I have never seen Toots play in person, but I suspect that tonight's show will be nothing short of phenomenal.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

xoxo.

Monday Music Rotation

2011-07-11T10:06:00.000-07:00

Ear candy.

"Perfidia" - Phyllis Dillon

"Dixie Women" - The Newports

"Your Thing is a Drag" - Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings

Happy Monday!

xoxo

Wardrobe Wonders: Outfit Post #5

2011-07-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Chicago was sizzling hot, with temperatures reaching damn near 90 degrees! For a good portion of the afternoon I tried to stay inside as much as possible, first spending two and half hours at the thrift store hunting for new merch for my etsy shop and then working on some things and thangs from home (etsy shop and non-etsy related) in the good ol' a.c.

I had several AMAZING finds while out vintage hunting yesterday, one of which being this incredible late 50s Mexican themed wicker picnic bag that I had to keep for myself. I spiffed it up and took it out on the town to work last night and then out with my some of my girlfriends after that.

Halter top: 1980s swimsuit top
Skirt: 1950s cotton cherry blossom print full skirt
Handbag: 1950s Mexican themed wicker picnic bag
Shoes: thrifted deadstock italian dance shoes with peep toes (these are my go-to's!)
Earrings: vintage (70s?) native beaded drop earrings

The Gong Gong Song: An Ikettes Burlesque Tribute

2011-06-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

I've realized that I haven't posted anything about burlesque or my alter ego Sugar Cane Jane in quite some time, so I thought after having performed this past Friday, that I'd share my most recent routine. Though this act is my newest solo feature, I've already had the pleasure of performing it three times in the last month and a half, twice with the Vaudezilla team and once with the lovely Scarlett Deville & the Devillettes. The footage below is from my show with Vaudezilla at EXIT Chicago this past Friday, and is my first show back from my three week wedding hiatus.

The act is entitled the Gong Gong Song and was originally released by the Ikettes, Ike & Tina Turner's famous back up dancers. If you're a John Waters fan, you might remember this track from the HAIRSPRAY soundtrack. I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE this song, I love soul, I love dancing, I love John Waters, I love the 60s, and I certainly love shakin' my tail feather, so I feel that everything just sort of fell into place with this act.

Enjoy!

BROADZILLA! (6.24.11) - "The Gong Gong Song" by Sugar Cane Jane from Vaudezilla Productions on Vimeo.

Wardrobe Wonders: Outfit Post #4

2011-06-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

This is the first in a series of new posts I'd like to attempt to tackle today. The photo shown below is just a quick snap shot of what I wore to work at the lounge I cocktail at for our Soul/Psychedelic/Funk/Garage Rock night a few days back. I got that early 70s mini skirt from my fabulous friend Niki over at BombshellShocked Vintage months ago, and I've been dying to wear it out for the perfect occasion. And with the weather in Chicago being so unusually rainy for this time of year, it's been a rarity to be able to wear my afro out as large and in charge as I was able to that night.

The evening's ensemble was completely inspired by one of my favorite songs ever, Funky Nassau by the rare funk band The Beginning of the End. Most particularly the following lyric, "mini skirts, maxi skirts and afro haired dudes...people doin' their own thing, they don't care about me or you...Nassau's gone funky, Nassau's gone soul". If you've never heard of them or this track before, listen and enlighten yourself below.

xoxo

Wardrobe details:
Mini skirt: early 1970s rayon & polyester blend mini skirt w/ word print
Top: 1950s smocked picnic blouse
Thigh highs: purchased at the most amazing secret dollar store in the world
Shoes: 1960s Bass wooden heeled loafers w/ tassels
Hair: ALL MINE.

...and then I got married!

2011-06-07T06:50:00.001-07:00

....and because I'm leaving for my honeymoon in a few hours, I'm leaving you with a few photo teasers of my husband and myself at our insanely fucking awesome 300 person wedding! (Which was held at both Johalla Projects & The UPRISE Loft in Chicago, thanks to our dear, dear friends)

I think the theme of the entire weekend leading up until our spectacular day was GO BIG OR GO HOME. So, everybody went HUGE.

When I get back, and we round up all the photos from our guests and photographers, I promise I'll have a very detailed description and visual play by play of all the insanity. And even a picture or two of Stu's dad in his kilt...

Wardrobe Wonders: Outfit Post #3

2011-05-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

So today, before the temperature dropped about twenty degrees (as it did this past hour), I had to run some errands out and about, one of which included picking out an incredibly badass pair of shoes for my wedding next week (!!!!!!!!!). Before I headed out for the day, I snapped a quick photo of the dress I wore (which, unfortunately because of the whacky weather here, doesn't get out of my closet as much as I'd like it to)....

Dress: 1950s cotton day dress
Shoes: Vintage inspired Italian leather dancing shoes
Bra: early 1950s Hollywood Vasserette Black Lace scalloped bullet bra
Earrings: Mexican coiled silver drops

Oh, and don't you worry, I'll have pictures of my whole wedding ensemble soon enough!

The Vintage Bazaar Part Two

2011-05-17T12:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was able to snap a few more photos of the lovely finds I scored at this past weekend's Vintage Bazaar held in Chicago's Pilsen Arts District.

I was especially pleased with my fabric finds this time around, as I was able to get some new wardrobe wonders for a steal!

Pictured below, I purchased lime green sequined bloomers solely so I could base my next burlesque act on them! My hope is to be squeezing limes in these bad boys sooner than later...

And next up, was this super adorable 1970s mini sailor-ette swing dress I bought from pop up dealer, Bummertwon Vintage. Loveeeeee this! (And it fits like a gem!)

After that, at the end of the event, I scoured Milwaukee's Pineapple Mint Vintage's racks and came across this amazing late 50s, early 60s two piece sailor skirt suit. The jacket is ideal and the skirt fits perfectly on my tush, yay!

Here's a back side view of the jacket:

(This set still needs a good steaming)

There are still some more goodies to share, with more pictures to come. I came across a heaping pile of decorative border trim and supplies, perfect for motivating me to revamp and create some new insane costumes for this summer's burlesque adventures. And perhaps I can even turn out my own garter for my wedding, which is just 18 short days away by the by! But more on that later....

;)

The Vintage Bazaar: Why yes, I WILL go on a shopping spree!

2011-05-15T08:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a big day for vintage lovers in Chicago, as a great deal of us migrated down to Pilsen for this season's Vintage Bazaar, which is a lovely culmination of vintage clothing, jewelry, antique and kitsch dealers held as a single day event. Although I do sell vintage as well, I was not a dealer at this event and for once, had the day off, so I decided to head down to see some dealer friends and get a little healthy dose of shopping in before I start two new jobs this upcoming week.

Usually when I go to vintage expos and fairs I shack up in my dear friend Niki's booth, owner of BombshellShocked Vintage, who I work and model for weekly and who's selection I not only drool over, but am fortunate enough to get first pick of, but this time around, I made sure to hunt around the booths of some other local dealers I know for some new spring and summer additions to my wardrobe and household collections. (P.S. Both Niki and her booth were stunning, as per usual!)

And though I kept telling myself I would only be looking and buying for the sake of neccessity, needless to say I treated myself to things that were super cute and I just flat out wanted! Hopefully my fiance won't be too frusturated with me coming home with yet another bag of vintage marvels....

Here are the new black glazed ceramics I got from Kokorokoko Vintage to add to my collection at home:

(Note, I could NOT pass this unicorn up.)

(And I loveeeeeee black cats, especially with green eyes, though it's kind of hard to tell in this photo)

And I treated myself to a new pulp book for my bus & train reading time:

(the illustrated babe on the cover totally sold me)

I have to spiff up my new wardrobe finds, so consider this post a part one, and I'll shoot a few sneak peaks of all the clothes I scored in just a bit.

Yay! Now if this damn weather here would just balance out, I could take the spring/summer wardrobe out for another spin....

xoxo

Wardrobe Wonders: Outfit Post #2

2011-05-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

With yet another day of miraculously wonderful hot and sweaty weather in Chicago, as it appears as though we've just missed spring completely and gone straight for summer, I figured I'd attempt to keep up with the wardrobe "Joneses" thus far. Today, it's been so damn hot, my closet picks don't seem to make a whole lot of sense, but the idea was to pretty much wear as little clothing as humanly possibly, as it's about 90 degrees outside right now.

After fiddling around with this and that, here's what I ended up walking out in:

Top/mini-dress: 1960s Fuschia Hawaiian Tiki Print beach mini-dress
Shorts: an old & overwashed pair of Sass&Bide cut off shorts
Belt: vintage Southwestern Woven Scorpion belt
Shoes: 70s inspired chocolate suede and wicker wedges by MIA
Earrings: from Crossroads Trading Co.

xoxo

Wardrobe Wonders: Outfit Post Numero Uno

2011-05-10T08:06:00.001-07:00

Now that it's finally getting warm enough in Chicago to blow the dust off of my spring/summer wardrobe, I thought I'd give this whole outfit post thing a whirl.

The photo in this post was shot by a patron at my most recent burlesque show with Scarlett Deville & The Devillettes at Debonair this past Wednesday for the Wild Women Review Rockabilly Night. I had such a blast with those fine ladies, and have to say it was one of my most stress-free and totally wild and improvised performances to date.

Here's a flyer of the show:

And here's what I wore after my set:

Dress: 50s inspired 80s tropical wrap dress, courtesy of BombshellShocked Vintage
Fishnets with Cuban seam: 40s inspired, from Silver Moon Vintage
Shoes: Chocolate Leather 40s inspired pumps by Naughty Monkey
Hair Flower: by Original Cenz, purchased on Etsy

xoxo

The Crystal Jones Thesis Collection

2011-04-27T20:15:00.001-07:00

Recently I was hired to model for the thesis collection of designer Crystal Jones. She has a beautiful ensemble of garments and the shoot was really fun to be part of. The team I worked with was small, friendly and extremely open to various concepts. I was just emailed a link to our tears sheets, so I thought I'd share some completely unedited versions of a few of the photos we captured that day.

It's also an EXTREME rarity to see me with any sort of fake or store bought hair, so let's indulge, shall we?

Wardrobe & Styling: Crystal Jones.
Photographer: Maureen Peabody.

My love for Lavern Baker

2011-04-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

To quote the Ramones, "oh, oh, I love her so."

I love Lavern Baker, and whenever I'm feeling a little down and out, or the day went from fantastic to shit in the flick of an eye, I just turn on some Lavern Baker and everything's all right.

Rockabilly 50's.Lavern Baker-Jim Dandy by pascals2

In 38 days, he'll have made an honest woman out of me

2011-04-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

In just 38 short days the love of my life and I are gettin' hitched, jumping the broom and breaking tons and tons of glass, as June 4th is the day I officially become Mrs. Jacobs! And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a)elated, b) totally freaked out, and c)positively smitten with my full length vintage estevez big cat leopard print backless dress (my version of the perfect wedding dress).

This day has been fast approaching since my fiance Stu and I got engaged this past October, and almost every day after that has involved checking some sort of wedding-ish task off the list of things to tackle when planning and orchestrating your own big day. My nerves as well as my sanity have most certainly been challenged in these recent weeks, as everything is becoming more and more of a reality. But despite my panic attacks and pre-marital jitters, in addition to the anxiety that comes along with simultaneously quitting one job (to start a MONUMENTALLY better one) and slowly but surely making a reality my itsy bitsy vintage business, my heart of hearts still melts every single morning that I wake up next to the man I am so fucking insanely in love with.

Because in the end, we're it. He's it. My (soon to be) stepson's it. Our family's it. We're essentially Team Jacobs. And we kick ass. And pretty soon, my awesome friend Corryn will marry us, and then we get to kick ass til death. Boom.

Non-Talking Heads.

2011-04-06T20:04:00.000-07:00

This spring has thus far been full of new art exhibitions, which I am pleased to say I've recently co-produced and shown new work in. The following images are of two new paintings that I've completed and exhibited amongst the work of many other talented artists within the month of March.

I was stuck in an illustrative rut for many months, so it feels great to have some new work produced under my hand as of late, and I'm eager to share the outcomes.

Piece number one, entitled "Tribute to Marie Laveau", created for the Fat Tuesday Voodoo Group Show at the Flat Iron in Chicago. This piece sold the same night, yay!

Piece number two, entitled "Femme Excentrique", created for the group exhibition I recently curated, Signed. Sealed. Delivered: Presence of the Unknown, held at the Revolution Tattoo Gallery in Chicago. On a personal note, this was one of the best and most elegantly completed shows I've curated to date.

As the spring and summer slowly creep upon Chicago, I am feeling more motivated and inclined to be productive again, and it feels jusssssssst fine.

xoxo

tunes/day.

2011-03-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

possibly one of my favorite songs. ever. al barry & the cimarons. unfortunately, i haven't been able to find this on vinyl.

i can't wait to hear this song at my wedding in june. ruby & the romantics are sooooo great.

there's nothing like the voice of maxine sullivan. so beautious.

i'm getting so wishy washy as my wedding day approaches, so sappiness is slowly but surely coming into full effect. through everything!

Signed. Sealed. Delivered.

2011-03-17T07:17:00.000-07:00

Next week, I'm very pleased to be curating a new group art exhibition with my dear friends Corryn and Lindsey (my co-curators from the large skateboard exhibition I produced last year, and Lindsey of course being my burlesque partner) along with our buddies over at Revolution Tattoo in Chicago. The show is entiteled Signed. Sealed. Delivered: Presence of the Unknown, and emphasizes the unique exploration of parcel post via images of the unknown, uncharted, mythical and mystical through the eyes of over 20 different artists. Initially, we had approximately over 30 artists contributing, but this month thus far, has been a little bananas for everybody, so we've had our selection of exhibitors trimmed down a smidge. None the less, I am incredibly excited to be in charge of this large production, and completely ecstatic to be working with Revolution Tattoo on this project, especially considering that this is the first large scale art show that I've put together in over a year!

If you are in the Chicago area, won't you join us for an evening of the unknown? With beer and snacks provided, of course...

Signed. Sealed. Delivered: Presence of the Unknown
Saturday, March 26th, 2011
opening reception: 8pm-11pm
@Revolution Tattoo
2221 N. Western Avenue
Chicgao, Il 60647
A MahaloClub Arts & Revolution Tattoo Collaboration
Sponsored by our buddies at Old Style Beer

xoxo

Voyeurism.

2011-03-11T09:29:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks back, after my 25th birthday, one of my gal pals, professional stylist Xza Louise Higgins came over by my house for a little intimate photoshoot. She's working on a new project for her portfolio, intriguingly entitled "does this bra make my boobs look fat?", paying homage to the concept of women and their busts throughout the decades ranging from the 1920s through the 1980s. Xza, who I've had the pleasure of both modeling for and working together with as vintage clothing dealers in Chicago, chose me to be her 1970s muse.

As she is familiar with me both behind the lens, as a commissioned artist as well as a burlesque dancer, she chose me to be her wild 70s personality. With that and the fact that bi-weekly, I shimmy out of my clothes and shake my boobs and pasties in front of large audiences in mind, we decided my theme would be more inclined toward the concepts of 70s voyeurism and bra burning.

I have to say, it was great to be shot in my home, while painting and running around in my various vintage garments, as the 50s and 70s are what my closet's wardrobe specialize in. We worked for about an hour or so, both in my studio/boudoir as well as in my living room manipulating my randomly placed eclectic mid century and modern furniture, utilizing as much of my "intimate" setting as possible.

As the photos are still be editing, and the project is still ongoing, I was given a teaser image from the tear sheet, and I'm quite pleased. So I though I'd share it with you fine folks.

Enjoy.

xoxo,
erin

Step right up, folks!

2011-03-08T15:37:00.000-08:00

...and see loooooong awaited footage of Honey B. Combe's "Little Egypt". You can even see the amazing vintage cleopatra collar I recently gained ownership off!

BROADZILLA! (2.25.11) - "Little Egypt" by Honey B Combe from Vaudezilla Productions on Vimeo.

the boogieman! and my gold sequined granny panties.

2011-02-04T11:49:00.000-08:00

This post is rather short, as I'm trying to get a million things done at work. I just received new footage from our buddies over at Vaudezilla of Honey B. Combe's newest act, the Boogieman, as performed at Broadzilla, the Burlesque Beast.

We made some sweet new costumes for this act, including my ridiculously gold hand sequined & lamee granny panties, had the track personally remixed by our dj buddies over in Ann Arbor, and Lindsey even got to bust her mustache out again.

Enjoy!

xoxo

BROADZILLA! (1.28.11) - "Boogieman" by Honey B Combe from Vaudezilla Productions on Vimeo.

Way Down in Mexico. Oh how I love the Coasters..

2011-01-31T12:17:00.000-08:00

So, as I'm trying to get my vintage business Psychosurplus in order, my wedding planned (oh, p.s., I'm getting married in June!), a new art show under way for March, reboot everything I lost when my my computer crashed two weeks ago, as well as get my ducks in a row for the Windy City Burlesque Fest (which I just found out I would be performing in as a solo performer as well as in a duo with my darling Lindsey, for Honey B. Combe!), I managed to squeeze some time in to perform with my pals over at Vaudezilla for theire Lincoln Fair monthly burlesque exhibition.

And as I LOVEEEEEE the Coasters and have already performed to their musical stylings as Honey B. Combe once before, I decided to step my Sugar Cane Jane game up with one of my favorite songs by them, "Down in Mexico", as rendered in the Deathproof soundtrack.

Once I scored the footage and saw my set, I was extremely proud of myself, considering how disappointed I was with my last solo act, despite the fact that that particular act is what got me into the Windy City Burlesque Fest in the first place. So of course, I thought I'd share it and perhaps get a little feedback.

xoxo

New Vintage Goodies on Etsy!

2011-01-05T11:05:00.000-08:00

Hello, hello! Since my soon to be hubby bought me a fun new camera for Christmas, I've spent the last couple of weeks revamping my etsy shop, Psychosurplus Vintage. Our previous camera was stolen at the end of the summer, so I've struggled quite a bit with adding new merch here and there for months now. I'm extremely excited to start this year off right, with new vintage goodies being added to my shop frequently. This is the year of taking charge, and what better way to start than with getting my shop back in the groove of things.

Here are some new items available for purchase for all you vintage loving cats:

Vintage late 40s, early 50s Peach Pin Up Tap Pants:

here's the listing:
Peachy Keen Pin Up Tap Pants

Super Stretch Betsey Johnson Mini Skirt

Here's the listing:
Betsey Johnson Totally Clueless Mini

Late 50s, early 60s Atomic Metal Burst Clip On Earrings:

Listed:
Late 50s, early 60s Atomic Clip Ons

Golden Delicious Flinstone Mad Men Clip On Disc Earrings:

Listed:
60s Gold Flinstone Clip Ons

Super Sweet Grey Seersucker late 40s, early 50s Golfing Blouse:

Listed here:
Adorable Rockabilly Grey Seersucker Golfing Blouse

Take a gander, and enjoy as new merchandise wiggles on into Psychosurplus!

xoxo,
erin

A Milio's Hair Affair

2010-12-29T08:43:00.000-08:00

In October, some of my burlesque girlfriends and I were asked to walk the runway for a very special pin up hair show for Milio's Hair Salon. Milio's Hair Salon has been around for ages, and is located in the heart of Chicago's forever notorious Belmont & Clark area, which was once home to all sorts of vagrants, punk rockers, ravers, drag queens, leather boys, and the likes. When I got the call asking to be one of the featured models for their hair and pin up runway show at Chicago's Sound Bar, I jumped on the opportunity immeidately. I was elated to find out that two of my close girlfriends, Loraine Rose and Siren Jinx were involved as well. Of course, we [and some other folks] snapped some photos of the hairs and wares we rocked for the event.

the lovely Loraine Rose on the left, and the equally as lovely Siren Jinx on the right.

stretch it out!

Cheers!

xoxo

happy holi-daze! (even though i'm a touch early)

2010-12-21T17:59:00.000-08:00

and with all the chaos leading into the next few days, Happy New Year to all you wild cats!

xoxo

Gimme Some Skin.

2010-12-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving, I was flying solo so to speak, as Lindsey was back home visiting family and enjoying turkey and sides galore for the holiday. It was time for our monthly romp with our buddies over at Vaudezilla for "Broadzilla! The Burlesque Beast", and I decided to do the show this time around solo. There are many times when I do acts and events on my own, as solely Sugar Cane Jane, but it is very rare to have any of those occasions captured in pictures or video. I feel like a lucky gal to finally have some videography of a brand new act I unveiled at the post-Thanksgiving show. Though, I can tell from watching this video that there's some crude areas that I need to tweak and work on in this act(including syncing my clapping with the sounds of the Andrews Sisters), I think considering that at this particular venue I ALWAYS dance with my partner, I did quite alright shakin' it all by my lonesome.

In the end, practice makes perfect, right?

BROADZILLA! (11.26.10) - "Gimme Some Skin, My Friend" by Sugar Cane Jane from Vaudezilla Productions on Vimeo.

xoxo.

Not once, but twice.

2010-11-29T17:08:00.000-08:00

Well, yeeehaaaaaw! Our buddies over at Vaudezilla Productions were kind enough to send some sweet, sweet footage over our way of two recent Honey B. Combe performances, both being different renditions of our act, "All aboard the Chattanooga Choo Choo". I'm elated to share them both, as I feel Dolly Dagger(Lindsey) and I have come quite a longggg way since first voyaging into the complex world of burlesque and all that it encompasses.

The first video reel is from our Halloween show at Exit on October 29th. For this show, we decided to channel our inner zombied-out, awakened-from-the-dead Andrews Sisters. Mission accomplished.

And here's the reel for you to enjoy:

BROADZILLA! (10.29.10) - "All Aboard the Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Honey B Combe from Vaudezilla Productions on Vimeo.

And just a short time later, we were invited to perform at the Lincoln Fair, monthly Burlesque Expostion, hosted by Vaudezilla at the Lincoln Tap Room for Lincoln Tap Room's 20th Anniversary par-tayyyyyyyyy.

Here's the reel from that expostion:

Lincoln Fair (11.20.10) - "All Aboard the Chattanooga Choo-Choo" by Honey B Combe from Vaudezilla Productions on Vimeo.

this fall/winter will have far many more things to come, but for now, I leave you with these goodies.

xoxo,
erin
and my slightly altered ego, Sugar Cane Jane

Get down on the B.T. Express

2010-11-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

Here's some footage I just scored from the producers over at Vaudezilla Productions, of Honey B. Combe performing "Peace Pipe" by B.T. Express at the Exit this past August in Chicago. yay!

BROADZILLA! (8.27.10) - "Peace Pipe" by Honey B. Combe from Vaudezilla Productions on Vimeo.

and as always, thanks to the awesome Vaudezilla team for providing footage! (so at least we can see how goofy we are on stage)

all aboard the chattanooga choo choo.

2010-10-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

It has been quite a while since I've posted anything, as I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to gather my bearings with work, shows, freelancing and all that jazz. So I thought I'd take a moment to sit down and sort through photos of the new Honey B. Combe act that Lindsey and I worked so diligently on. Our new performance, the Chattanooga Choo Choo, as rendered by the Andrews Sisters accompanied by the Glenn Miller orchestra, debuted on Saturday, October 16th at Chicago's Viaduct Theater for the Rock Via Vaudeville expedition. We were elated to debut this act as one of the featured performers for the event, and were even more thrilled at the crowd's feedback. It's always a little nerve-racking counting down the moments until call time, especially when unleashing a new act to a theater full of nameless faces. But it went super well, and as usual, we had a fabulous time.

This was the production:

And here are some photos of Honey B. Combe backstage sporting our new handmade costumes for the performance, as photographed by Isa Giallorenzo of Chicago Looks. Additionally, we performed the Chattanooga Choo Choo again last night, in a more awake-from-the-dead, blood and gore fashion for a Halloween Burlesque show at Exit Chicago with a gaggle of smokin' gals for the monthly event, Broadzilla, and will have footage in the coming month, which I can't wait to see.

For Rock Via Vaudeville, we were given two time slots, and of course, we had to bust out our Little Egypt act, so Isa had us do a little costume change in the dark, so she could snag a couple more photos of us and our banner...

with love and tassels,
Honey B. Combe!

oh, p.s. look forward to some of the following random excursions to come:

-"Plastic is Fantastic" Barbies from around the world photoshoot

-Excavated Memories Jewelry lookbook photoshoot

-Milio's Hair Salon pin-up hair show featuring Chicago burlesque babes

-new vintage treasures and inventory for Psychosurplus Vintage

-and yes, new concepts for a new art show,(because it's been wayyyy too long since I've curated) yayyyyyyyyyy!

xoxo,
erin.

Holy moly, I'm in Time Out Chicago...!

2010-09-18T12:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay, so a few weeks ago, I was stopped on the street and asked if I could be photographed and interviewed briefly. I was hestitant at first, as I didn't know what the hell these two random guys were trying to get at, until they told me they were from Time Out Magazine(the Chicago edition), to which I replied surely, as long as the interview wasn't too ridiculous and they didn't mind the fact that I was carrying three bags of groceries along with me. They basically summarized the interview as being more or less fashion based, but as we got to talking (while the interviewer, Jake, recorded everything on his dictaphone), the conversation branched out to all sorts of silly things. I told them I would agree to letting them include me in this week's issues if I could receive a jpeg of the photo they decided to use for the blurb, via my business email. To my pleasant surprise, when Andrew, the photgrapher, emailed me the image, he also noted that Time Out would be running my interview and image on the first page as the feature for the public eye section.

!!!!!Whoaaaaaaaa, man, awesome!!!!!

I really don't want to toot my own horn, but when I saw the new copy of Time Out the other day, I couldn't deny being a little delighted. Plus, it's one of the first times that I've been interviewed and accurately quoted in a public editorial, as a few botches have happened with other blurbs and such in the past, so that was super exciting, too. Plus, they noted my friend Niki's vintage business, BombshellShocked, that I work/model for, which is grand, because she and her business were featured just a couple months back in Time Out for the Vintage issue. Plus, I just plain ol' love that gal.

Yay!

This is the image they decided upon, photo credit goes to Andrew Nawrocki of Time Out Chicago.

(Here's the the full article)

xoxo,
erin

Indian Delights, Indonesian garage rock, Incense & a little piece of mind.

2010-09-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had a lovely afternoon with my long time friend, Kara, traveling to the far north side of Chicago, visiting a street in a neighborhood I lived in for a time as a child. The street we spent the day romping aorund on was Devon Ave, in West Roger's Park, home to one of the largest Indo-Pakistani communities in the U.S. We went to countless fabric stores, jewelry shops and home goods businesses, absorbing all of the amazingly vibrant jewels, fabrics and garments, while Kara searched diligently for a new nose ring. We ventured into a few of the markets, inhaling scents of spices, incense and fresh pastries. It was such an incredible day. We also managed to take ina few snacks while we were up there, first diving into oven fired dough pastries filled with cheeses and potato from a Georgian (provincial region of Russia) bakery, in the more Russian inhabited portion of the street at the western end of the stretch, as well as naan breads and lamb patties, accompanied by highly refreshing rose water yogurt drinks at the Indian Garden, a restaurant dedicated solely to delicious Indian cuisine. Needless to say, we spent the bus ride back to Logan Square in totally delightful food comas.

Though I don't have any photos from yesterday's adventure quite yet, here's a photo of Kara and me from her first day after moving back to Chicago. Together, we make quite the brightly colored adevnturous duo.

When we got back to my apartment, we vegged out on the couch for a bit, burning our new incense finds and listened to the sounds of Dara Puspita, this super amazing surf/garage girl band from the 60s & 70s that originated in Indonesia, but was later exiled to China. They rule.

After Kara left that evening, and my boyfriend went out skating with his friend, I decided to curl up on the couch with a glass of wine and work on a new illustration. It's been a while since I've had such a relaxing day and had the opprtunity to work on some new art without the pressure of work or commissions or deadlines, so I was thrilled to have a little piece of mind. I didn't really have anything particular in mind to draw out, but I was also pondering different ways to promote my burlesque endeavors and where the fall will take me in terms of my career as an artist and a relative newbie in the Burlesque field in Chicago, so I decided to combine the two work/extra-cirrculars I love and came up with this new piece. Of course, as with most of my artwork, it's not really finished, but for now, I'm pretty happy with the direction it's going in.

Take a gander.

xoxo,
erin

Where's my whistle? Where's my luggage? And some tap shoes??

2010-09-05T12:57:00.000-07:00

The proceeding video is footage of Dorothy Dandridge and the Nicholas Brothers performing with the Glenn Miller Orchestra to the classic, Chattanooga Choo Choo. This is one of my favorite musical selections, and though I love The Andrews Sisters version of this song, I just absolutely adore Dorothy Danridge's performance. As we gradually make our way into fall this year, Honey B. Combe has been on the prowl for new act inspiration, and boy, oh boy, have we found it in this segment! Lindsey and I are doing a wardrobe and performance overhaul for the upcoming season, and we're completely stoked to include Honey B. Combe's very special version of Chattanooga Choo Choo to our spankin' new repetoire.

We also recently had another fantastic show with our friends over at Vaudezilla this past month, winding down August with a totally revised "Peace Pipe" performance in Broadzilla! the Burlesque Beast at Exit Chicago. That show was filmed and photographed, and though I'm still awaiting footage and such, which are all soon to come, I can't wait to visually share the experience!

I have much more catching up to do, but we'll have to save other goodies for later.

xoxo,
erin

acrylics and cheetah print. yes!!

2010-08-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

On September 3rd, 2010, I will be displaying new work in a group show entitled Nature Vs. Machine. The show will be curated by my good friend Corryn Jackson of Three Birds Gallery, who you may remember having seen in older posts, as her and I co-curated a show together earlier this year along with Lindsey, and it was most definitely bananas! Nature vs. Machine will feature the work of ten artists hailing from both Chicago, Il and Ann Arbor, MI, and challenges the artists to question the duality of "nature" and the artificial creation of the "machine." The artists have been divided into two groups to emulate one experience versus the other. I have taken on the machine.

With my favorite acrylic color palette, a giant slab of masonite & a huge roll of late 60s Cheetah print wall paper (not to mention, a month of brainstorming, trying to figure out what the hell I was going to visually contribute), I channeled my thoughts and got to work.

Here are some (crude) photos documenting the progression of my piece, as the deadline approaches...

round one.

round two.

and, tada! (it's still not 100% completed, but it's soooo close)

xoxo,
erin.

dear cuba, i love you.

2010-08-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

So, aside from working for two fantastic vintage lifestyle businesses in Chicago for quite some time now, this summer I've also started working for this extra yummy Cuban restaurant near my apartment called 90 Miles Cuban Cafe. Though it's only been open for just a smidge over one year now, it's popularity has increased and location has expanded at such a rapid rate that it's staff, myself most certainly included, never has a chance to really sit down and absorb it all... However, on the few occasions that I get to come in early enough so that it isn't total pandamonium throughout out the multiple dining floors/patios and what not, I love to sneak around and look at all of the old cuban memorabilia and amazing and beautiful imagery from the island dating from the early 1930s through the mid 1960s, which have been tastefully lacquered and decoupaged to the interior of the entire indoor area of the restaurant, all hand applied by a local artist. Of course, I took a natural liking to all of the details being an art enthusiast myself, and most specifically a lover of all things old and historically relevant, and over my time there I have fallen in love with these beautifully covered walls. The images that have most specifically stuck in my head are those gracing the covers of the old Cuban magazine, Carteles. There is an exceedingly wonderful art deco influence in a great deal of the older painted and/or illustrated covers, as well as quite a few exotic pin-ups on some of the mid-century painted and illustrated issues, and they are EVERYWHERE throughout the restaurant! I'd like to share a few of the ones I have come across since embarking on my new obssession with Carteles:

there will be more to come in the future, as I am definitely looking forward to doing more research on the artists who originally created these gorgeous works and such.

xoxo,
erin

will this stoner smile make do?

2010-08-04T15:54:00.001-07:00

...to hide or accentuate the fact that Lindsey and I have a brand spankin' new act for a rather large show tonight, and I'm truly nervous-anxious-jumpin'jivin'-excited? Well, let's hope it does SOMETHING for someone!

The show tonight is a tribute performance honoring this year's lollapalooza. Every performance in both sets of this show will pay tribute to musicians either playing in this year's lollapalooza line up, or musicians who have headlined in the past. We had initally intended on reworking a Jimmy Cliff (who is playing this year) song for this act, but the producer from the troupe we're working with for this event requested that we make a rather wild act to Chromeo's song Tenderoni. We've spent the last two and half weeks creating a rather brightly colored number drawing part of our concept from the music video released for their song. Here's the Tenderoni video:

I'll say this much: we've managed to incorporate a giant ruffled pizza box, a bell boy cap, a rotary telephone, matching red ruffled bloomers and a boombox into the performance we have in store for viewers tonight....mama mia!

xoxo,
erin

photographic jumbalaya.

2010-08-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

sharing is caring, no??

club delisa, chicago circa early 1940s.

Performing Eartha Kitt, circa early 1950s.

the one and only. date unkown, but I would assume very early 1930s.

Soul Sylvia Robinson, and her wonderfully impressive genie braid.

a rarity to see.

xoxo,
erin

new drool worthy goodies from the amazing niki!

2010-08-01T09:29:00.001-07:00

I recently had the pleasure of working with my dear friend niki from BombshellShocked.blogspot.com, modeling for a couple of new photoshoots for her fabulous vintage shop on ebay BombShellShocked. Here are some of the delicious new finds we added to her available selection.

this lovely 30s/40s two piece nylon knit lounging set!

you can find that listing here

This smokin' hot red rockabilly 50s lace party dress!

You can find this listing here

This beautiful late 60s, early 70s goddess gown!

Which you can find here

This adorable 60s red and white scooter romper with metal zipper!

available here

And this stellar parisian novelty print 50s cotton rockabilly skirt!

available for you love right here

I can't wait for all of these new goodies to find loving new homes!

xoxo,
erin

pussycats galore

2010-07-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

I finally found full length footage of Honey B. Combe! yay! This video is our performance to the Pussycat Song, by Connie Vannett, at Exit, Chicago, this past June. We're still pretty new to the burlesque world, so we have a few minor tweaks to work out with all of our acts, but i hope you enjoy!

BROADZILLA! (6.25.10) - "Pussycat Song" by Honey B Combe from Vaudezilla Productions on Vimeo.

It's been such a pleasure to work with the Red Hot Annie & the Vaudezilla team, and I can't wait to share more of our adventures with them!

xoxo,
erin

ohhhh, the things that make me happy!

2010-07-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

are the following, for today, at least:

the dead milkmen. (yesssssssssss!)

dinah washington. (oh, that voice!)

bea arthur (r.i.p., my queen!) on the pamela anderson roast (sooooo good!)

planning two new burlesque shows with my partner in fringed and sequined crime, lindsey. we'll be revamping our Peace Pipe act for the lovely ladies over at Vaudezilla for Broadzilla at the Exit, in Chicago, at the end of this August. And we're additionally working on a brand spankin' new act to Jimmy Cliff's "You can get it if you really want" off of the "The Harder They Come album", for Eve's Parlor's Burlesque-a-palooza, in honor of this year's upcoming Lollapalooza, also in August. Each performer for that show has to create an act based on a song by one of the musical artists performing at this year's lollapalooza, and Jimmy was our pick, so this should be quite fun. phewwww, i feel a workout coming...

and this lovely late 1940s/early 50s cable knit cropped sweater i had the pleasure of modeling for my lovely friend niki @ bombshellshocked vintage. fab!u!lous!

(don't mind the fuzz on my bum, the angora sweater she photographed me in previous to this totally shed all over my hot pants, wah wah.)

ahhhh, yes.

commission me this, commission me that.

2010-07-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

so a little while back, my friend Linda approached me asked me if I would do two commissioned works for her, after seeing a new series of illustrations I had been working on over the winter/spring. She requested very specific pieces, unlike the normal illustrative work I do, and I was certainly down for the count. She's a pretty mystical gal, into all sorts of cultures and iconic imagery. Here are the pieces, I did for her office at home, the first of which being the Celtic Triquestra, in my illustrative style, the other of which being the Eyes of Horus, also in my personal style.

Here's how they turned out:

I was stoked to do pieces that were out of the norm for me, though the eyes of horus fit somewhat in with my previous fascination with ancient egyptian iconic symbolism, and it's a pleasure knowing that the pieces went to a loving and inspired home. Cheers, Linda!

xoxo,
erin

saturday.music.rotation.

2010-07-17T12:32:00.000-07:00

consists of the following:
rekindling my endless love for Betty Davis..

and Sarah Vaughn's fucking sensational version of Black Coffee..

..and add the Seeds, pushing too hard..

..and possibly my favorite (possibly,because there a quite a few) Gloria Jones song, Heartbeat

shimmy on..

one random night in chicago...

2010-07-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

... i, along with a few of my girlfriends and my cousin, were in an unconventional "beauty" pageant, of sorts. The pageant was entitled Miss Wicker Park, the neighborhood in Chicago where I once resided and currently work in, and was more or less a free for all consisting of boobs, beer, whiskey, a ton of glitter, sequins, big hair, big shoes, a headress and the most tambourines i've seen in one concentrated area in quite some time. Needless to say, the nine other girls and i had a freakin' blast.

A friend of mine who writes for the Chicago-Pipeline, was kind enough to snag a few photos and a short video clip of my burlesque act (Lindsey and I chose to perform our Little Egypt act, because it featured my performance a bit more in this case) for the "talent" portion, which you can view right here

applying our "game faces", while Lindsey acted as my stage mom for the night..the cute girl to my right ended up winning second runner up (woot woot!)

oh, hayyyyyyyyyyy!

and here was the 50s inspired gown I wore for the evening gown portion, with a little teaser.

this is my cousin, Penny, pastry chef extraordinaire..

and this is Jill, she's uh-mazinggg. And she took the crown with grace, style and PBR in hand! A-freakin'-men, Jill!

here's all ten of us at the end of the evening, after first runner up, Buffy in the teal gown, and second runner up, Brienna in the right hand corner, were announced, and Jill was given the official title...

oh ladies, what a fabulously bizarre evening!

xoxo

cha cha cha!

2010-07-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

delightful!

fringe and tassels never fail.

R.

2010-07-07T10:38:00.000-07:00

ride.

release.

rude girls, get DOWN.

viva summer.

Costume Catch up and what not!

2010-07-02T19:06:00.000-07:00

Yay! So I finally got a chance to snag and upload some photos of our Honey b. Combe costumes from two different acts we've recently performed. I'm particularly fond of our Peace Pipe costumes from our show last night, as I spent all of Monday morning fringing and beading the hell out of three separate pieces. Here are some fun photos. Though unfortunately we were unable to photograph during our show last night, we were able to snag some silly ones before and after. Here's a little glimpse...

Dolly Dagger & Sugar Cane Jane's....Peace Pipe!

And off comes the first layer! (and only layer, might I mention, because rules are a bit more particular at this venue..)

yay, fringe!

....a cheery end to the evening with our friends Natalie and Corryn!

And here's a glipmse at our second time around, performing Little Egypt by the Coasters, once again, after our set, and at the same venue..

good times. as usual!

xoxo,
erin.

So, I was stitchin' in my kitchen....

2010-07-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

So yesterday, before I hit the pool with twenty other rad-tastic ladies, I spent my morning finishing up my new costume for Honey B. Combe's next and newest ridiculous act. Our inspiration for the newest performance comes from our shared love for channeling early 70s psychedelic freak outs, fringe and a whole lotta shaking. When I finally finished hand stitching and hand beading the last few essential layers on to my bikini pieces, I managed to snag a couple of (crappy) camera phone photos of parts of my masterpiece. Unfortunately, the images aren't the best quality, but you get the gist. Once Lindsey and I unveil our new dance, we'll have some sweet and vibrant photos, from a real camera, no less.

For now, here's a little peak at my rekindled love for ruffles and fringe,accompanied by one my favorite Soul Train performance clips to end with a fun spoiler of what track we're working with for these schnazzy costumes..

(and I haven't even uploaded a picture of the technicolor psychedelic piece that goes on top of these skivvies..)

Put this on, and put it in your piece pipe! ;)

..and this is where we'll be debuting this new number of all numbers..

xoxo, with a little fringe on top!
-erin

Broadzilla attacks!

2010-06-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Honey B. Combe will have a very magical performance for all patrons attending Broadzilla Burlesque at Exit (in Chicago, of course)! We've combined our vintage seller forces to pull together one hell of a wardrobe for this special act, because as far as we're concerned, there is NEVER too much cheetah and/or leopard print! And that fits rightttttt into our pussycat performance.

There's over twenty performers gracing the stage of this very special evening of tassles, fringe and glitter (among other things), so we've all been split into two sets.

Honey B. Combe plans to stand and DELIVER during the first set tonight, so make sure to get there by 10:30pm sharp, to catch an eyeful, hee hee.

xoxo.

Inspiration's in the air, or more like, in the hair!

2010-06-19T08:19:00.001-07:00

I recently joined forces with one of my favorite blog-turned-websites, Black Girl with Long Hair, as their art director and event coordinator, after being interviewed and featured on the site about my hair and as a style icon. You can find the interview here. It was a pleasure to become a part of their hair, culture and style community, and then, furthermore, an HONOR to become a part of their design and planning team! Leila, the head mama & mastermind behind the scenes, and I just completed our first project together. Here's the first graphic design piece I completed for her and the site. It's for our upcoming natural-flufftastic-hair event coming up in Chicago, our homebase, where we will be showcasing tons of great vintage accessory & natural hair product vendors, along with loads of other fabulous goodies! This event is open to ALL walks of life, and does not exclude any color, creed, gender or hair styling preference! I'm stoked!

perhaps, if you're in the city, i'll see you there...xoxoxo

-erin.

a few new fab finds. and then some!

2010-06-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

Exhibit A: I recently scored a few new lovely head wraps, which came in handy as this warm weather is making it damn near impossible to control my mane. Here's a sweet new little silk houndstooth number from the new stash.

Exhibit B. New etsy listings! Woot woot! Here's a few images of my awesome model, little cuban Peggysue, sporting a couple new goodies, now available in my etsy shop.

The first item is a fab little satin pencil skirt, with peplum.

Secondly, I just scored this sweet pair of purple swing sailor shorts, that are to die for!

You can find these items and more here, on my etsy shop, psychosurplus vintage.

Exhibit C. new illustrative work! yay! motivation is slowly but surely back in action, thank goodness! This piece is one of three illustrations I recently had featured in a group show in Chicago entitled, Bad Motherfucker Day. hahahaha, amen!

okidoki, i'm off to make lists, do some freelance work for a bit, and perhaps if I'm lucky, catch some sun for a few.

xoxo

oh wait, before i forget, i'd like to leave you folks with a new song i have in mind for Honey B. Combe's next burlesque performance!

(uhm, yes!?!?!?!)

Honey B. Combe Burlesque presents.....Little Egypt!

2010-06-05T13:03:00.000-07:00

Finally! Honey B. Combe came to life last night at our premier show, and holy moly was it a blast! Dolly Dagger and Sugar Cane Jane entered into existence at about 11:00pm, opening for the fabulous Loraine Rose and Miss Pussycat of Eve's Parlor Burlesque, which was quite a delight. We were also accompanied throughout the night by a cast of beautiful cigarette girls, dress in fantstic 40s reproduction pieces, complimented by matching hand-crafted cigarette trays and caps. All the gals were smokin', and immaculately done up!!! I had the privileged opportunity, as I was portraying Little Egypt, to wear an authentic fully tassled and beaded burlesque two piece set from the estate of twin sister burlesque dancers from the 1940s! And Lindsey, portraying the circus master, had on a fabulous vintage coat-tail tuxedo with vintage black sequined bloomers, accentuated by cuban seamed hosiery! We also, threw on some Carmen Miranda inspired lashes to top the whole thing off, woot woot!

I thought I'd share some pictures of the crazy costumes we concocted and share the song we performed to, "Little Egypt", by the Coasters. (this song has also been performed by the late Elvis Presley, among others, I recommend looking up the video of him and his showgirls shaking it to the same song, it's pretty fab!)

The beginning of the night, anxiously awaiting to be announced...

Hanging out with Lisa, one of the lovely cigarette girls, getting ready for call time...

Step right up, folks...

...and see Little Egypt do her famous dance of the pyramids...

And right before we enetered, we got to sneak a photo on this bad ass car.

And then it was time to shake!!!!!

Victory! (what a night..once i put my glasses back on after our set, it was impossible to see properly with those whacky lashes glued on)

The Coasters - Little Egypt

And here's Elvis's version; I think this act is the tops!

Can't wait for the next one!!!

xoxo,
erin.

let's channel some babes, shall we??

2010-06-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

So, tomorrow is Honey B. Combe's big bad-ass debut! I'm so excited, and simultaneously nervous as all hell about shaking a tail feather in front of who knows how many friendly and/or unfamiliar faces. But in the end I think it will be a fantastic debut for Lindsey and me, and we plan on bringing nothing but our best vaudville-meets-chorus line-meets-ridiculous skit/shimmy-shimmy-shake down, seeing as we're part of a fund-raising event for a dear friend of mine, in hopes of reopening her co-op salon.

I figure the appropriate way to get my game face on for tomorrow night is to call upon some fabulously fine ladies of the past, channel some fluffy haired and calypso loving energy, in hopes of not wiggin' out on stage, leaving Miss Dolly Dagger(Lindsey), hanging out in her amazing costume with nothing but the dust my panic struck heels have kicked up and our ridiculous props. (tambourine action, anyone?!)

Alright ladies, I"m prepping my alter ego, miss Sugar Cane Jane, so put it on me..

The great and amazingly curvacious, Chaka Khan!

Lovely ladies of the Cotton Club Chorus Line (date unknown, but i presume the early 1940s..)

The Brown Sugar babe we know as Marsha Hunt!

And how could I not include one of my true idols, who I almost always pay homage to.........the Funktastic Betty Davis!

xoxo,
Sugar Cane Jane

Bonanza-a-rama!

2010-05-27T14:22:00.001-07:00

So, in honor of this lovely weather and upcoming Memorial Day Weekend, we're having another AWESOME Vintage Bonanza at Berlin Club in Chicago, this Sunday, May 30th. I'll be sipping mimosas and slinging tons of new vintage inventory along with some of my favorite Chicago-based vintage vendors from 1-7pm. So hopefully, if you're in the Chicagoland area, you can swing on by in between bbqs and day time cocktails with your gal or guy pals, and wrangle yourself some sweet new vintage digs from $5 to $20! Holy moly!(I know I fully intend on doing that, myself..)

Anyway, stop by the Psychosurplus booth and say hi or give me wink or a big ol' kiss or something special!

xoxo,
erin

shazaam!

2010-05-24T17:41:00.000-07:00

...so because i'm getting ready to head out for a daytime hang out with my pops at the DuSable Museum to check out the Black Panther Party Exhibit & the Chicago Blues Museum installation, AGAIN (because when Niki and I went with Jen and little William two weeks ago, I just couldn't get enough!!), I have to make this update quick and to the point. wah, wah! But it's okay, because I'll have loads of fun new stuff to share later this evening and over the next few days!

Anyway, here's a new piece I just finished for an art & music event I was featured in last night, along with a few awesome friends...

and because good ol' dad called with perfect timing to tell me my chariot awaits to the south side, I'll levae you with this inspirational song..

Fuck yeah, Bo Diddley, your music lifts me on the sudden summer days!

Honey B. Comb presents, something particularly special..

2010-05-13T15:47:00.000-07:00

Well, guys and gals, amidst the many open-ended projects currently buzzing behind the scenes of Mahaloclub, it looks like Lindsey (my awesome gal-pal from Lenny&Me Vintage) and I will have an official debut for our go-go burlesque act, Honey B. Comb. whoaaaaa mama, i'm excited!!! You can see Honey B. Comb at Cobra Lounge in Chicago, Friday, June 4th, performing with a stellar list of artisans, musicians, etc.

Now here's my problem-o, I need a new stage name. One that will suit me accordingly..hmmmmmm...

Any thoughts, suggestions?? Hilarious? Random??

Here are a couple of the songs we'll be batting our lashes to..just so you get an idea of where we may or may not be taking our new endeavour

Mickey & Sylvia's - No Good Lover (my personal favorite)

Bill Forbes - Once More (this is one of those immediate hip shakers)

Barbara Lynn - I'm a Good Woman ( I was originally supposed to sing this song with my new band, but we're saving that for another date)

Ahhhhh!! Decisions, decisions!

Any thoughts on musical tracks and stage names will be gladly accepted and/or reviewed with love.

Alright, i'm off to make costumes and shake a tail feather in front of the mirror at my shop.

xoxo,
erin

rest in paradise, the great Lena Horne

2010-05-10T10:53:00.000-07:00

It was so unfortunate to wake up today, to find that the ever so beautious and amazing Lena horne has passed on at the incredible age of 92.

In 1942, after gaining attention in Hollywood, Lena was the first African-American woman to sign a long-term contract with a major studio, in which the Washington Post claims, "a contract that said she would never have to play a maid."

In her earlier years, Horne had beloinged to the chorus line of the famous Cotton Club in New York City, which to this day, if you have ever walked past, the energy that presides over that club is still magnificently strong and present.

Her major motion picture movie debut was in MGM's "Panama Hattie", in 1942. After this many people became familiarized with her beauty and incredible voice from the primarily African-American casted film and musical Stormy Weather, released by 20th Century Fox productions, in which she performed the title song in 1943.

From there, Lena's musical, acting and activist career went on to span over 6 decades, filling her biography with numerous acclaimed performances to her name.

She will be greatly missed.

I'd like to share two of my favorite songs performed by Lena Horne, just for the sake of greatness, nostalgia and great classic music. (please note, these clips were found on youtube, for reference)

Lena Horne, Stormy Weather:

Lena Horne, My Heart Belongs to Daddy:

xoxo,
erin

can we bring back the halter?? please?! 40s, 50s & 70s!!

2010-05-07T10:25:00.000-07:00

so, i'm really starting to feel like i'm the ONLY gal who wants to keep the classic halter and cropped beach tops alive! i think they look smoking hot on ANY gal, curvy, skinny, busty, petite, etc. and sadly, i don't feel like enough classic vintage collectors and/or lovers want or know how to sport these bad boys in any every day atmosphere.

well, damnit, it's finally getting warm, so let the girls come out and play!!

70s mania!

the first halter top is available for sale on etsy @ my shop, psychosurplus vintage.(check the link on the right)

this second awesome halter is available in niki's awesome vintage shop BombShellShocked Vintage on ebay. (for some reason my links aren't working properly, but you can get to her through the main BombShellShocked link at the top of my page)

and here's some summer inspiration for all you ladies who are getting antsy for summer time fun, like me...

and the best part is these styles LOVE your hair whether it's locked, twisted, big and fluffy, pinned-up, whatever the hell your flavor is!

halters, swimsuits, cropped tops and curvy, curvy waist lines!!!

(the following three photos are scanned in copies of vintage JET fashion spreads, found on flickr)

(the last swimsuit looks almost identical to this completely drool worthy late 50s leopard print swimsuit i just scored last week. hello bullet bra!)

and let's pay homage to the great and ever so foxy, Betty Davis! meowwwwwwwww!

right-o, i'm off for now!

xoxo,
erin

spring has sprung!now get ready for summer!

2010-05-04T21:43:00.000-07:00

here's a little preview of what's new to come to the psychosurplus vintage etsy site. get ready for fab finds this summer, as spring has already brought out some pieces that will make you hot to trot!

xoxo

Hot purple Foxy Hourglass Stretch Dress-woot woot!

Sweetie Pie Striped Sailor Pants

Blue Linen-look 40s Wiggle Dress

here's a link to psychosurplus on etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/psychosurplus

xoxo,
erin

**photos compiments of Niki from http://bombshellshocked.blogspot.com/

Nighties all day!

2010-04-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

So yesterday, I got to hang out with my awesome friend Niki who runs this amazing vintage business, BombShell Shocked. She is stocked full of fabulous garments from the 1930s-80s, with emphasis on items from the 30s-50s, believe me, I know, I'm her assistant/consultant/other insane half. She recently scored these TOTALLY drool worthy 30s and 50s nighties and lounging gowns, and when I saw them yesterday, I was in heaven! As it turned out, one of our normal models couldn't make it to the photoshoot we had scheduled for yesterday afternoon to post these new finds online. Bummer! So Niki asked if I could or would fill in, and after seeing the new frocks in store for the shoot, I was like, hell to the yes!

Here's a little peak at some of the new pieces BombShell will have to offer in her spring/summer inventory. (meow!)

(the gown above actually belongs to this stunning two-piece pegnoir set, with fully ruffled trim on both the gown and the over coat, she-bang! also, those little high waisted leopard shorts underneath belong to my brand new late 50s bullet bra bikini!double she-bang!)

(and this little gem pictured above was so soft and flattering, i struggled to make myself take it off)

(The late 30s lounging gown above is a phenomenal piece of history. Look at those sleeves! and that fabric, sheesh!)

Check out other delicious pieces of history, compliments of Niki & BombShellShocked at: http://stores.ebay.com/BombshellShocked

xoxo,
erin

saddle up!

2010-04-22T12:25:00.001-07:00

So unfortunately, this has to be a quick update, but more awesome goodies and such are on the way. Stay tuned!

This Sunday, April 25th, 2010, I will be a vendor at the Bonanza!Vintage Sale and Extravaganza in Chicago at Berlin, from 1pm-7pm. All goodies at this Sunday's Bazaar are $5, $10 and $20 bucks a pop! Keep an eye open for Psychosurplus Vintage, saddle up and hit the atm, because a fabulous new wardrobe awaits!

I will be featuring items from the 40s through 90s, covering a little something from every decade in between. Additionally, two of my favorite vintage sellers/friends/employers will be showing off their vintage delights. So make sure to check out Niki from BombshellShocked Vintage for fab 50s party gear and Carlos from Knee Deep Vintage for some of the most amazing collectible tees you'll find this side of the midwest! You can also say hey to Sasha from Kokorokoko, and she might just set you up with some deliciously funky and colorful treats from her shop!

See you kiddies there!

xoxo

wranglin' fool.

2010-04-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

so, it has been far too long, yet again, since i've updated this little life blurb. since the last episode of mahalo club, there have been two rager style weddings, one of which was in the depths of brooklyn and involved a six person/three couple road trip to east coast, with the help of some of the best damn pot brownies i've ever had, woot woot! the other of which occured in possibly one of the most naturally beautiful landscapes in north america, the shenandoah valley of the appalachian mountains in virginia, in which we were surrounded by acres of plush green earth, grazed by the cutest fucking baby calves, llamas and lambs i've ever had the privilege of hanging out with. (yeah, there was some heavy chilling with nature involved, and it was the closest thing to heaven i've experienced in maybe ever.)

let's see, there was also the best art show i've ever curated in chicago, this past march, and might i say, with 19 of 24 of the skateboards we exhibited SOLD, and a general head count reaching over 150 people, i think the girls and i did a spankin' good job. (p.fuckin'.s. the women i showed are absolutely amazing and talented individuals!)

aside from that, hmmmm, there's just been tons and tons of this and that. i've been collecting tons of new goodies for my vintage site, there's a huge arts festival in chicago's own humboldt park that i recently found out i will be showcasing my work in, and today, i i actually just came back from a pretty sweet photoshoot modeling for a pretty gigantor company,that as nervous as i was all morning because of, am actually pretty stoked about. (baby girl needs to get paidddddddd, hahahaha)

well, i guess so that this episode of mahalo club doesn't become too seemingly self-geared,(mainly because i have had some many things going on lately, this is the only way i can really sort everything out) i'll just wrangle up some photographic snippets of early spring's adventures.

exhibit bracket a:
(deckadent dutchess, and all that razz-ma-tazz)

here was my completed piece for the show. untitled, 2010.

here are the lovely ladies i co-curated with. corryn and lindsey represent three birds gallery in chicago. i <3 them.

this is my girl ife, pronounced ee-fay. she is a very close friend, and i have tons of love for her. i bought her board at the show, because it had this sassy little brown skinned pin up gal on that made me so happy.

this is oscar. he's also one of my favorite people, although it seems as if i have many favorites. but, that's not a never a bad thing. he is a well known photographer in chicago who documents many of the art happenings in and around the city and has done so for many years now. this is him standing next to the board he bought, painted by vintage garment badass/riot & soul girl singer, Gigi Lira. (love her, too.)

this is dominick, he's my boyfriend's son. and he is just the BEST! his father and i love him very, very much. this is him next to his favorite deck at the show. (he loves knives and such, probably because he's an eleven year old boy. ormaybe because he's a badass in training)

and here's a glimpse at how packed the gallery was within the first hour. just so you can get an idea of how the rest of the night panned out.

there will be many more photos of the event, but i'm a smidge behind schedule with all of this internet hooplah, so for now, you get the gist.

enter exhibit bracket b:
(three guys, three gals and a conversion van take on the road for the most ridiculously awesome new york wedding. brooklyn style.)

this is stu and justen.

and this is max.

their super awesome buddy from childhood, mark, decided to get hitched to his beautiful wife, pem. so the first weekend of march, these three guys wrangled up their ladies, myself, rebekah and janira, and hit the road to take part in the festivities.

here's a teeny glimpse of how that went.

this would be the infamous sweet crew. minus a couple of dudes, but with their ladies in addition. the super awesome smiley guy in the middle holding the wine glass and wearing a hat is mark, he was the groom. i don't know where his bride wandered off to while this was being taken, though. too bad, she was smokin' hot that night. go pem!!

this was my partner in crime most of the time, rebekah. we got to do fancy lady stuff. some of the time. when i wasn't wandering off with my friend's from chicago, who comepletely unrelated to the wedding party, also live and play in new york. a lot of wine and whiskey was consumed with this lovely lady.

(i really like my hair in this picture,it's definitely not as blond as it looks, but hey.)

we also got to hang out at the bride to be's bachelorette party and drink martini's and sangria and get our nails done, which was fan-cayyyy, while the guys were getting sweet crew lap dances at the strip club. mmmhmmmm.

then the random debauchery started. in no particular order. but mind you, none of these pictures have been in chronological order yet, anyway.

(the girl in the photo above is one of my favorite relocated homegirls, her name is ty, she is beautious, and whether it's back here in chicago or out in the burrows of new york, we rep our old crew, team h.u.n.nies forever and ever.)

my friend brian from high school also lives in new york now. after the wedding festivities, he took me and stu out on the town for drinks and dranks. rebekah and max met us and the evening continued with wine. and more whiskey.
and then we ended up in the hotel room with a phony pony and another bottle of wine, and somehow the phony pony boner came into play. talk about your making your last night worth while.

ahhhhhh, yes. good times were had by all.

anyway, i have to scoot for work now, but i'll have more to come in the next day or soooooo.

but before i leave, i'd also like to give a little visual hair update.

my afro has gotten so big and long, i can finally get it up into this weet carmen mranda influenced poof. which is great, because i'm a vintage gal through and through, and i generally bounce back and for from the late 60s/early 70s look to a more classic 50s rockabilly meets the current, and i've finally figured out a way to make my hair work for everything, without caving and going back to evil relaxers and all that jazz. i dunno, i guess it's exciting for me...

until next time.

xoxo

deckadent dutchess!

2010-02-25T12:24:00.000-08:00

so, after several months of insanity and preparation, the main event draws near! phew! my brain's been burning from all of the work we've put into this upcoming show. and i'll be damned if this isn't going to be one of the best shows to be on exhibition in chicago this year. (fuck yeah, self-indulgence, but only just a smidge of course)

anywho, as i prepare to make my voyage to new york next week for a weekend of wedding debauchery with my sweatheart and our clan of road trippers, i've finally had some time to sit down and get the last pieces of the puzzle together for the show, with the help of course of my amazing co-curaters, corryn and lindsey. and, woot woot, we have a flyer! (and a press release in progress, we're going big for this shit)

if you're in chicago, have an affinity for skateboards, skateboarding, deck graphics and the artwork of the most badass mid-western women i know, then you are surely invited to Deckadent Dutchess, a magial night of booze, boobs, beers and boards! Friday, March 12th, 2010 @ the 54B Gallery, 2128 S. Halsted, Chicago, IL. from 7-11pm, with a sweet donation wetbar, sponsord by Mahaloclub, ThreeBirds Gallery & Old Style. scha-wing!

peekaboo.

2010-02-16T23:14:00.000-08:00

so a couple of days ago, i scored this sweet new vintage tiger print lounging onesy. and i'm loving every freakin' minute of it. so earlier this evening, i threw that shit on, camped out in my studio, and got a ton of work done while my boo is off skating in wisconsin for the night. it's been me, piles of clothes, a half painted skateboard and a once cold now, luke warmish plastic cup full of old style. yummz.

i spent quite a bit of the night posting some of my vintage goodies on etsy, but after staring at the computer for such a long time, my brain and eyeballs started to hurt, so i took off my glasses, took a break and camped out on the floor for a bit, got myself a little stoned, exhaled. rinse and repeat. oh, and i took a few pictures along the way.

note: i will never turn down a delicious animal print. and also, i look like a droopy eyed dork without my glasses on.

here's one of the progressive stages of my deck for the deck-a-dent dutchess women's skateboard show i'm curating march 12th...there's still quite a ways to go, believe me.

and here's another work station, from an extremely comfortable ground view, which is better for you, because you can't see how much of a fuckin' mess my desk and sewing table is right now. but you CAN check out my sick new two-tone brown suede vintage wedges! woot woot!

ahhhhhh, like i said before. there are good, no, make that GREAT things to come in march.

ta-da!

2010-02-16T17:51:00.000-08:00

so after a five year hiatus from etsy, i've rekindled the magic. among all of the other projects i've been losing my mind working on, i finally have a new updated account, pardon the crudeness of how it currently appears, and reloaded with some super cute new inventory. though, i will admit, my stock is still a bit on the lighter side.

take a gander, and enjoy!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/psychosurplus

p.s. there are many more adorable new goodies to come.

p.p.s. i'll also have some upcoming art show updates on this bad boy pretty soon. just keep batting those lashes, kids!

new.

2010-01-25T16:08:00.000-08:00

here are a few new characters/flash designs i've started working on for the new yearrrrrr. perhaps you'll enjoy.

i'd like to start designing some wicked head dresses, we'll see how that goes...

and eventually, i'd like to have hundred of these new heads, portraits and characters created by this summer for a new edition of work.

(oops! i spilled some coffee on that one)

(she's my new favorite of the moment.)

things and thangs.

2010-01-09T17:44:00.001-08:00

it has been wayyyyy too long since i've posted. the end of this past year flew by, packed with a healthy dose of stress, drama, work, moving, planning and some pretty sweet awakenings. and suddenly, we're all trying to figure out how to write the new decade down on paper without it looking, well, just weird i suppose.

this year, though it's only nine days old, my heart feels whole. my mind is zen and focused. my home is full of freshly cooked meals and a&e dog the bounty hunter marathons. and instead of recapping the whole previous 4 month round-up and all of the last minute negativities it delivered, i figured i'd just share a few nifty things and thangs that are some what of an inspiration going forth into the next calender cycle.

because of how much i enjoy them (even though they all have various personal significance, i hope that you enjoy them,too.

sing it to me, ruth brown.

so we can have a funky, good time. we're gonna get highhhhhhhhhhhher.

(this is up there on my list of awesome soul train reels.)

and after finding a box of old fliers from virtually all the ska shows i went to in my teens, i had to toss in a classic.

and a little snap. crackle. pop!

"do young people ever just trip on living?"

2009-09-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

the title of this entry comes from a book i recently finished enititled Soul On Bikes, written by Tobie Gene Levingston, president and founder of the East Bay Dragons Motorcycle Club. If you haven't read this book, nor are you familiar with the Black Biker Set across america, i highly suggest you find a copy and holler back. this quote in particular struck a chord with me because it had me reflect upon how so many young men and women in my generation have yet to experience the awesomeness of life in it's rawest state. so many of us, myself included, get caught up in the bullshit of being young, while dealing with the reality of adulthood, and wanting to be creatively successful, but facing external and monetary blah, blah, blah...

anyway, what makes you trip on life? can you even identify what that is? or what it means for that matter?? i spent my sunday with kesh for a kitty & congo meeting and mini-photoshoot, and though i had a pretty gnarly head cold, and we only had two hours of free time (well, business time is what we initially had in mind), we ended up just really "lifing" out, if you will. we were both a bit stressed from this past week's personal business and extraneous adventures, and we started with a very constructed plan.

and then out came the craft bag.....

and from the craft bag came leather chord, gold, purple, and ivory colored beads, and copper coil.....

and then came kesh's newly thrifted, amazingly printed sheets......

add a heat lamp, kesh's self timer skills, and my affinity for jumping around.....

and what started as work, work, work, turned into play, play, play.

and quite a lovely way to spend my day off, i will say. (depsite my stuffy nose)

quick cut for break time. and acting like jerks....

and then fun with shadows!

(and then kesh had to learn the hard way how fidgity i am in front of a camera...)

sometimes all it takes is the little things to remind you that your business can be pleasure. perhaps keep that in mind.

paz.

love,
erin.

reboot part deux.

2009-09-19T12:07:00.001-07:00

so, i unexpectedly had to cut the last entry short, just as i was getting to the peak of my previous brain explosion. so now, it's a matter of picking up where i left off, or just skipping all the bullshit and getting to the good stuff......

well, hmmmmm, the good stuff it is!

every year or so, i've tried to make it a habit to have a new project of some sort going on. for a very long time, it was making clothing. i was never into the bourgeois (spelling??) fashionista thing. i was always about just making stuff i love, making what feels great on the body available and accessible to the public, and sharing what i was doing with whomever seemed fit. see squirrelygee vintage for reference @ myspace.com/squirrelygeevintage. and on and off for as long as however long it has been, i've exhibited work as a painter and illustrator with some extremely sick and amazingly talented artists (for which i am soooooo grateful). fuck, i mean, for real, visual art has alwaysssssss been my thang (definitely not just my thing). here's a little bit of this and that.

ca.2008/2009

ca.2006/2007

here's some older pieces:

and then there was the hilarious, yet surprisingly awesome run with my best friend kara, and a little something we called yellow cakes. which was around the time i met my homegirl, kesh. (side note, kara has the voice of a fucking angel. find her!!) anyway, this was us then,

and then again..

and we had a blast!! 2007 was quite a year.

though we've all been on our own shit, we've remained friends ever since. sadly (for me), kara moved back to the bay, and then on to atlanta, kesh went back to england, and then bounced right back to america (woohoo!), and i joined an art collective, the upset, started helping out at this sick local arts organiztaion (check out rumble arts and/or UPSET magazine) and separately started curating a couple of art shows here and there in chicago.

flash forward to 2009. with some stuff put on the back burner, i spent a litle bit of time doing some much needed traveling across the country, trying to figure out what the hell needed to change. and kesh, to my surprise moved to chicago. yayyyyy! and after confiding with each other about what paths we were both taking, we decided it was time to do something. and despite or solo agendas, it would be prime to do something together. and this time around, have it benefit others. so booyah!

enter kitty & congo!

...where 20% of everything we receive from our new music-yyy project will be donated to funds in africa as well as domestic areas where essential learning and living and creative supplies are needed, and completely laking. we intend to travel and see everything we can posibly take in and put our energy toward the fortune of others. and hope that somehow people will feel the impact, no matter how realistically great or how slight it is, and that perhaps others can be inspired to do the same. who knows how it will turn out, but we're pretty fucking stoked to know that this is our joint focus and the main goal.

**breath**
**exhale**

love.

:)

reboot!

2009-09-16T16:48:00.000-07:00

it's been too long since my last entry, and for that i apologize. life has been a whirlwind this summer, leaving me feeling slightly dazed and confused on the regular. it's incredibly easy to get sucked into the daily grind of work, work, work, pay bills, work, work, work. square up. work. rinse. repeat. and unfortunately, for a while there, i felt as if i lost my creative insight. no, no, more like my creative motivation. it's easy to lose sight of alternative visions when your brain is swelling with millions of ideas and projects, without a sense of direction or an outlet t express them through. and it's much easier to have all of those electric sensations get lost under the hubbub of bills and obligations and basic means of survival.

it took a long time for me to realize how badly the stress was totally stunting my growth. it's much easier to see when someone else is getting sucked into a vortex of blah versus yourself. but then comes the mind altering moment, when you go what the fuck?!?!?! why have i not been truly thinking of myself for this long?? why have i only been functioning in autopilot?? where did my capability and motivation go??? and even more so, how the fuck do i get that shit back?????

here is where i temporarily have to cut this edition short, but i'll be back tomorrow with and explosion of awesome! and all the wonderful things to come......

scha-wing!

2009-07-01T09:02:00.000-07:00

it is in the very nature of the pisces to strive for success, but when it actually comes and slaps you in the face like it did to me this past weekend, you stand stunned and slightly unsure of what to do (also, very much a part of the pisces nature). but then, when every day gets better and better after that, you slap the shit out of yourself, and say, hey sista, get the fuck with it. so i did. woohoo!

the show was absolutely uh-mazing! it was executed basically flawlessly, and i was lucky enough to have my girls by my side helping me through every step from hanging and drop off, to beer runs in the rain, to selling/regulating the work. ah, to have the most exceptional lifeline of homegirls reminds me how fucking lucky i truly am.

meow part deux.

2009-06-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

finally! a flyer. and perhaps a method to the madness.

(click on the flyer to access the whole image, as well as my flickr photostream)

amen.

*also added to the show: printer, alexandrea pataky watson.

whooty whoo!

meow.

2009-06-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

in exactly one week as of today, i would love to formally welcome you all to pussytown. this project has been my baby for the past three months now, and with one week left until the show's opening reception, my brain is most definitely starting to buzz. welcome to pussytown: an all girl review is the premier show at my space, mahalo club, and will feature the new works of twelve of the most badass women i know and exhibit with in the city of chicago. it's been quite the challenge putting this bad boy, or should i say bad girl together; it's never easy successfully executing any show, and most certainly a women's show (sometimes people get that whole down with men, up with fem vibe..). but i'm.... for a lack of better words, totally stoked! the work, the women, the sexy, the fucking wonderful weather, it's all in place.

plus, really, when have you ever known me to throw a bogus show?? come on, now.

an online flyer will be available after this weekend, or you could always stop into store b (1472 n. milwaukee), pick up some flyers and give me a little sugar while you're at it.

woot woot!

welcome to pussytown:
an all girl review

credits/contents:

alina vongsamart
anna maria cerniglia
carol guerra
caitlin arnold
erin johanna rembert
ife williams
jacquelyn trezzo
katy o'day
kim malkowski
laura pawson
lizzy louise garnett
tiffany dean

**featuring new works from team hunnies & johalla projects

saturday, june 27th
@ the mahalo club
1517 n. california #3
7pm-11pm

* drinks, women, and music will be provided.

the 5th dimension.

2009-06-12T10:55:00.000-07:00

Dear Chicago,

I hate your grey soggy skies, i hate your gloomy october-like days in the second week of june, i hate your all around lethargic weather spells. but when i wake up on a beautiful day like today, i remember how much i love you, and my love affair with your summer. i remember stoop chilling, barbeques, joints in the park, i remember blues fest, beaches, rooftops, and road trips. i remember sunlight and most certainly shaking a tail feather all up in that shit. (thank god my mouth healed after the death tooth debacle last week) whooty whooo!

and now for some summertime fun.

droolie ghoulie.

2009-06-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

say what?? well, i can't physically say a whole lot of anything today, considering i went in for an x-ray before work this morning, and then the dentist decided he was just going to rip that little fucker clean out of my mouth. yikes. damn you, wisdom tooth! somehow i wandered back into the vintage shop, slightly over-novecained and slightly under medicated, with a said excuse for a cotton gauze-stuffed smile, and have oddly enough still managed to be at work. though i know duty calls, shouldn't trips to the dentist be like national holidays or something? you go and fulfill the obligation, and then a few hours later you go back home and do some intensely heavy veggin' on the couch, or something equally fulfilling of that nature. bleh, i guess. and so it goes.

at least what i DO have to accompany me at the shop today is a pretty badass new mix i made (yes, i totally still make mixtapes, why not when the radio absolutely blows, that is to say, with the exception of v103's friday night throwbacks) along with my sketchbook full of notes, lists, and drafts of psycho nefertiti images (my new obssession) that desperately need to be organized for the upcoming apartment show. the apartment show is my new endeavour of 2009. it's been a rather low key year thus far, in terms of my contributions to the Chicago art scene, sans the two incredible shows put together by the Upset & Making Deals, and a few small shows here and there, so my roommates and i decided on throwing a show at our place. i mean, why not, we have the space, right? and i have the experience. combine that and an amazing line up of extremely badass female artists and...shazam! WELCOME TO PUSSYTOWN, bicthes. (that's right, that's the title AND theme of the show)

and this mixtape, let's take a minute and give props to this mixtape......it's completely perfect for how i feel today. it starts off with a little isley brothers, then randomly progresses into some Electric Wizard, followed by the Animals. Somewhere in between i threw in some B.T. Express (just to satisfy the funk), Chic, and then ever so "naturally" it ventures into some Misfits (Danzig era only, suckas!), Naked Raygun (true Chicago classic), and the Nerves. and with just the right amount of inspiration for the show, it ends with my favorite Nikki & the Corvette tracks (anyone else feel like getting rowdy and/or girlie?)

i think this is where i should excuse myself for a bit, and kick my own ass into gear.

zapped.

2009-06-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

so it's theoretically getting warmer out, the only way chicago's weather knows how to of course, three days warm, one week freezing. the anticipation of classic chicago summer nights (heat and humidity and the whole shebang-a-bang) is starting to drive everyone, my self included, just a bit bananas. i'm a born and raised chicagoan to the bone (east roger's park stand up!!), but this weather still kicks my ass just as much as it does all of the transplants in this city. in my personal forecast i see a shitload of bbqs, road trips, some extra phenomenal art shows, an immense amount of stoop and/or park chilling. and of course, the beach. (despite the e-coli outbreak at certain beaches...iguess the real question is, how the hell does that work? it's all the same lake, everyone's dropping mercury and diapers and shit into the same body of water, so what makes some of the beaches okay to open versus others?? especially when you think about the fact that the beaches closer to downtown open first, where every yuppy, parent, puppy, diaper shitting, lake polluting whatever has stepped foot and/or peed in. i do not exclude myself from that list, though i'm none of the above, for the most part) eh, i guess only mildly gross.

and upon daydreaming about the upcoming season, and how i'd like for my summer to ideally go, i began to do what i do best. make ridiculous lists for things, i.e., places i'd like to travel to this year, things i'd like to try out, new endeavours i'd like to experience and experiment with. of course what started as a fully constructed process got incredibly over-powered by my no longer medicated a.d.d., and what started as a series of lists inevitably turned into a bunch of weird, jumbled charts and shit in my sketch book. this weather drives home the fact that there is so much stimulai right now, in this semi-warm transitional period, and far to much frusturation to do anything about it without a minor, yet standard flip out, first.

what i've been able to extract as being the most important bases to cover thus far are expanding my art career (or what i like to call, the never ending story of stepping my game up) by way of two new art collectives, one of which already exists (thank you Upset magazine for being the shit and the some), and another which is a major work in progress, which will also be the shit and then some. and then there's traveling. an absolute must for summer 2009. perhaps it's the pisces in me that needs to explore, or the fact that i work two jobs pulling 6 days a week, aside from being a painter/illustrator/designer/blah blah blah, and baby girl just NEEDS to do some heavy veggin' every so many months.(productivity is key, right?) regardless of whatever the case may be, this is the summer of road trips and seeing the coasts and exploring the south! viva the ocean! (especially the atlantic, because i've never been) viva surf towns and fresh seafood! viva waterfront skate parks and flea markets. fuck a lake front effect. i'm ready for fresh, oceanic waves. i'm ready for sunlight and cocoa butter and my afro to be huge and sun-bleached (that's right, i said it).

like a virgin.

2009-06-03T15:18:00.000-07:00

i'm a little wet behind the ears when it comes to this whole blogging phenomenon. though i do appreciate some good ol' fashioned internet lurking, just like any other man or woman, i've yet to be sucked into creating my own. that is to say, until now. the question is, what the fuck am i doing? and where do i begin?

Well, i suppose to start, this is me.

and i suppose this will be a light exploration of.......my daily travels, circumstance, and occurences of the every day. with that said, welcome to mahalo club.