Monday 2 June 2014

I'm Bringing Puffy Back!

Yes, that's right.  In the words of JT (aka Justin Timberlake), "I'm Bringing Puffy Back!". 

12 months have passed since my car accident that brought Powderpuff to a holt and I'm chuffed to be slowly returning to work.  It's still a daily struggle, so a lil inspiration from the easy-on-the-eye JT is not going astray....

When I started planning the 'Powderpuff Comeback', I decided to try and come back with a BANG!  A big part of this plan was to organise a new photo shoot for Powderpuff and I wanted to do it right.  I wanted beautiful photos that capture the style and story of Powderpuff and also some lovely product photos for the webstore.  So I started rounding up some very talented people to make my vision for this photo shoot, it's not an easy task co-ordinating so many busy people....




Finally a date for the shoot was set.  And what a coincidence??!! It ends up being on the anniversary of my car accident!!! That's gotta help Bring Puffy Back with some more oomph, right?!  For me personally, it was really great to have the shoot to slowly slowly work towards, especially since it was making something positive on an awful date in the calender year for me. 25th of May.

Melbourne Photographer, Brooke Orchard was the first person I cemented in for the shoot.  I had met Brooke at a Vintage Fair and after randomly starting to talk to her (I do that a lot), she gave me her business card.  I was really impressed with her work.  Especially her Vintage Style Photography or PinUp Photography.  Brooke shoots beautiful candid style pictures, where it looks like a snapshot in someone's day, is right up my alley.  Personally I am not into cheesecake pinup style photography and neither is Brooke.  Her use of natural light is beautiful.  I am yet to see the results from Brooke, but I am confident they will be wonderful.



Location Location Location!!! Yes, it's all about the best location in real estate, but this theory applies too on a photo shoot.  Thankfully my bestie, Joey has a gorgeous home and he allowed us to shoot there.  Joey and I have built a solid friendship over the last 14 years over good food and junk shopping.  And Boy! Does he have a great collection of mid-century modern furniture, nicnacs, lamps, art and a stupid amount of Barsony lamps and statues.  A great home for capturing the era from when Powderpuff's clothes are inspired.  Joey is also the man behind all the photos in this blog post, capturing the behind the scenes moments for us.  My best friend is better than your best friend.  Thanks, Joey xx




We also had two outdoor locations on the west-side of Melbourne.  We took advantage of the beautiful art deco building built in 1932 that was originally the Olympic Tyre and Rubber Co. and a quaint lil cobbled laneway nearby.  Big ups to the models and hair and make-up artists for changing the looks on the road.  It's no easy effort.

Babes! Next it's all about the babes.  Powderpuff likes to use models that are not only gorgeous, but help women imagine themselves in the clothing.  Once again the models were a size 10-12, somewhere in the middle of our size range, hopefully more likely to show the fabulous fit of Powderpuff's clothing.  Sydney pinup model, Elixir Black was the first model I approached to take part in the shoot.  I first saw her approx. 4 years ago in a Deadbeat magazine and have wanted to shoot with her ever since then.  Thankfully this gorgeous doll said, Yes!  Elixir was so great to work with.  She goes from giggling and bubbling about silly things to, bam, posing like a sex kitten in seconds.




 


The second babe was Jacqui.  Whom has been a Powderpuff customer for years.  When I say I had the pleasure of meeting her several times in the past, I mean it.  Jacqui is a sweetie pie.  Totally cute and a delight to be around.  And Jacqui has a 'butt that just don't quit', bonus!  I really thought Jacqui's personality would shine through in the photos, so even though she doesn't have any modelling experience I asked her to also join us.  Maybe not the smartest idea on such a big shoot, but she did so great.  Everyone on the shoot thought so, good work Jacqui! Now she just needs a cheesy pinup name....


 




If you are a reader of the fabulous Frankie Magazine, chances are you are familiar with the work of our Make-Up Artist from the shoot, Dana Leviston.  She's the girl that creates the , "Get Fancy" Frankie tutorials.  Apart from doing weddings, your special events and celebs, Dana and her business, Lady Day specialise in vintage makeup styles.  Dana also bought her lovely make-up assistant Jemma along for the day to help beautify and splash some colour.  Unfortuantely we ran out of time to have Dana work some of her magic with her amazing 60s styled eye make-up, so we'll definitely have to have her along to our next shoot, or if you're in Melbourne, book Lady Day for your big night out.






It's a pretty fabulous excuse when one of your best lady friends is the BEST at vintage styled hair and you can fly them over from Adelaide to make the models hair look amazing and hang out at the same time.  Enter, Miss Molly Doll.  Most of our customers know Molly's (and butt) from our webstore where she fills out our clothes quite nicely.  Or maybe you were lucky enough to come along to one of her Vintage Hair Turtorials we used to host in our old Powderpuff Boutique store in Adelaide.  Molly didn't disappoint, she created beautiful hair, worked fast and brought the goss from Adelaide to me and made me smile.  Thanks Mole Dawg, Love P Jizz, (yes, we have stupid nicknames for each other).



When you're after a custom car or a hot rod for your photo shoot, it's pretty handy when your main squeeze owns a hot rod business.  Rancho Deluxe is the Melbourne based business where Benjamin builds traditional hot rods and is highly regarded for his amazing craftsmanship.  Benjamin owns one of the most beautiful 1932 Ford Roadsters in Australia that he built several years ago, (along with a small tribe of other vintage vehicles).  The '32 is the show stopper though, so we were lucky that he bought it along for the day; or was it Ben whom was lucky with all the beautiful ladies...?  And then he was awesome and helped Brooke by holding the reflector thingamajig and got sore arms and only complained once.  What a guy!




Excited to receive some of the photos from the shoot.  There was a lot though!  It'll be a big job for Brooke, so we'll just have to be patient.  And then even more patient as Powderpuff slowly starts to roll out our new styles and  new colourways of past styles.  Most of you have probably seen some sneak peeks of what's coming soon from our Facebook Page or Instagram (@powderpuffboutique), there's been some great positive feedback and excitement.  There seems to be quite a lot of anticipation for our new Wing Bust Dresses and Bad Girl Catsuits, meow.

Lots and lots to do, but now I've written the 'Bringing Puffy Back' blog post, I'd best go put JT on the stereo and get to it....

But first, I'll just end this post with a photo of myself, showing the models how it's done, ha!



Paula-Jane xo

2 comments:

  1. Well done ladies, looks like a massive day! I know everybody is all about the jumpsuits, but the pink floral prints really stand out too. Can't wait to see all the pics!

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    1. Thank You Forbidden Charm!!! Loving your new blog and a big THANKS for accessorising Powderpuff's shoot with your fab earings!! Hope to have some great photos to share with you soon x

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