I know I have neglected my blog for quite some time due to a massive increase in work, luckily. Some changes recently....a LOT less modeling gigs, probably mostly due to my weight gain and now being more of a size 6 than a size 4 but I am ok with that. Just recently dyed my hair to a darker blonde hoping it will be me more "normal" in my look so I can book more commercial work since that's where the money is, especially at my age.
I have to admit, though, that I do miss the high fashion modeling days. I was going through my stuff in storage at my dad's place and came across a mini-album I made a few years ago of all my old modeling photos ranging from my first photoshoot at 16 to my pictures from NY and Europe and it made me a bit nostalgic and long for the old days. Granted I was WAY too skinny and not healthy during these years but the traveling and great clothes and designers I got a chance to work with is something I definitely miss. You get a small taste of fashion in LA but its really a joke when compared to NYC and especially Paris, Milan and London. Part of me would love to live overseas again in London or Paris but the other part of me wouldnt know what to do with myself over there. My idea of those countries was living and working there as a model so to go back there not in that same profession sounds and feels "weird." Its like when I moved back to NYC to live as a "normal" person with a normal job....I felt kinda lost in the city. Yes it was the same great city I remember with a hodge-podge of people, cultures and great food but it just wasnt the same.
I guess its just a part of growing up and getting older that I am still adjusting to. There is not a change in hell I could ever do high fashion modeling again, even if I lost a bunch of weight and was a size 0 again. Realizing that has been tough but I have tried to focus my energy on developing a commercial modeling career, especially since I live close to LA/Hollywood where most of that type of work is. It definitely pays more per job than most of the high fashion stuff I did when I was younger but its still a transition that I need to get used to.
I also restarted my wedding planning and production business last January so I have been having a fun time building that business again. Lately my time has been pretty much divided evenly between commercial/acting jobs and the wedding thing and so far it has been mostly fulfillling, hopefully I can get it to a point where one or the other OR both makes me happy with my career choice(s).
To be continued...
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Monday, February 8, 2010
Education
Ok, I have to reveal my "real age" in order to get my point across with this blog.
The beginning for me:
I am 29 yrs old and started modeling when I was 15 yrs old in LA. I was "discovered" at Bloomingdale's at the Beverly Center when Seventeen magazine was holding a casting call for models to walk in a back-to-school fashion show featuring designs by Ralph Lauren. I opened and closed that show and a scout by the name of Scott Lipps (at the time with United in LA but now owns and runs 1 model management in NYC) spotted me and convinced me to give modeling a shot. I did have to lose some weight before an agency would look at me so over the next 4 months I diet and exercised my butt off and signed with Elite in LA when I was 16. I couldnt book a job in LA to save my life so I decided on a whim to head to NYC on my own, go to all of the top agency open calls and see what happens! I saved as much money as I could and spent a week in NYC going to all the open calls and had offers for representation from 9 of the top 10 agencies, including Ford, Next and Women. I decided to go with Women and that was the beginning of my "career".
The Education part:
If one market doesnt seem to be working for you, another might be a perfect fit for you. When I was younger I couldnt book a single job in LA but I was booking major jobs in NY and Europe within my first 2 weeks in those cities. Modeling is just like any other job in that you have to put forth the effort to get ahead or you will be left behind. Take initiative if this is what you truly want. If you have what it takes, you will work. Know your look and know your marketable assets. If you have a gorgeous face but your body isnt quite up to par then you would be best suited for markets like LA and Chicago where the clientele is more commercial/beauty oriented. If you are tall, slim, young and know how to move in front of a camera then chances are you could do pretty well in Europe or other "fashion" markets. If LA is where you are and you have a more edgy, high fashion look...GO TO NYC or LONDON/PARIS/MILAN! You are wasting your time in LA. With the economy being as bad as it is right now, no agency will pay for you to go to these other markets to try them out, YOU will have to save up the money and go to these cities to visit the agencies to see if you are right for that area. This is the nature of the industry at these times....sucks but that's how it is. If you really want to be a model you won't sit on your butt and bitch about how you're not working in LA or how you want to be in NY but your agent isnt doing anything for you, go out and do it yourself!
To be continued....
The beginning for me:
I am 29 yrs old and started modeling when I was 15 yrs old in LA. I was "discovered" at Bloomingdale's at the Beverly Center when Seventeen magazine was holding a casting call for models to walk in a back-to-school fashion show featuring designs by Ralph Lauren. I opened and closed that show and a scout by the name of Scott Lipps (at the time with United in LA but now owns and runs 1 model management in NYC) spotted me and convinced me to give modeling a shot. I did have to lose some weight before an agency would look at me so over the next 4 months I diet and exercised my butt off and signed with Elite in LA when I was 16. I couldnt book a job in LA to save my life so I decided on a whim to head to NYC on my own, go to all of the top agency open calls and see what happens! I saved as much money as I could and spent a week in NYC going to all the open calls and had offers for representation from 9 of the top 10 agencies, including Ford, Next and Women. I decided to go with Women and that was the beginning of my "career".
The Education part:
If one market doesnt seem to be working for you, another might be a perfect fit for you. When I was younger I couldnt book a single job in LA but I was booking major jobs in NY and Europe within my first 2 weeks in those cities. Modeling is just like any other job in that you have to put forth the effort to get ahead or you will be left behind. Take initiative if this is what you truly want. If you have what it takes, you will work. Know your look and know your marketable assets. If you have a gorgeous face but your body isnt quite up to par then you would be best suited for markets like LA and Chicago where the clientele is more commercial/beauty oriented. If you are tall, slim, young and know how to move in front of a camera then chances are you could do pretty well in Europe or other "fashion" markets. If LA is where you are and you have a more edgy, high fashion look...GO TO NYC or LONDON/PARIS/MILAN! You are wasting your time in LA. With the economy being as bad as it is right now, no agency will pay for you to go to these other markets to try them out, YOU will have to save up the money and go to these cities to visit the agencies to see if you are right for that area. This is the nature of the industry at these times....sucks but that's how it is. If you really want to be a model you won't sit on your butt and bitch about how you're not working in LA or how you want to be in NY but your agent isnt doing anything for you, go out and do it yourself!
To be continued....
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Back to Life
I don't want to sound morbid but I thought it would be good to get out what I have been feeling over the last few days. My family and friends have been telling and showing me how much they love me and all I have been able to think about is how much I love all of them and how close I came to being taken away from everyone too soon.
Everything started Friday morning (7/10) with a slight pain on my upper right side around the bottom of my breast that hurt with each breath I took. I had a photoshoot the night before where I was stuffed into tight couture gowns so I just thought that maybe I irritated a rib muscle so I didnt think much of the pain and just took a few advil hoping it would go away. By the time I was done with all my castings that day (which was about 4pm in Sherman Oaks) the pain had gotten worse. I suffered through the 2.5 hour drive home to Long Beach and took half a Vicodin to see if that would help subside the pain. I passed out for about 3-4 hours and woke up in even worse pain. I took the other half of the pill and tried to go back to sleep but there wasnt a single position I could lay in without being in EXTREME pain with every breath I took. The paid had also started to radiate into my right shoulder/shoulder blade area and was simultaneously hurting with every breath I took.
So at about 2am I decided to get on my computer to look up my symptoms to try to figure out what was going on with my body. I also wanted to give the other half of the Vicodin I had taken some time to take effect. After some research I thought that, at worst, I was having a gallbladder attack. I just thought "great! all the eating disorder BS of my younger years had finally come back to bite me in the behind!" I was hoping for a strained intercostal muscle (muscle between the ribs) but was preparing for what I was thinking was worst case scenario, having my gallbladder removed. For a VERY brief moment I did contemplate a possible blood clot because of the radiating pain in my shoulder, but I couldnt figure out any risk factors I had to explain it so I dismissed it rather quickly. By 330am the pain had worsened even more and I couldnt wait til Urgent Care opened at 7am so I woke up my dad and sister and had them take me to the ER.
When I walked in, I was about half way through explaining my symptoms to the nurse at check-in when they brought me back and started taking my vital signs. They quickly moved me to a bed back in the ER and I was seen shortly after that by the Head of the Emergency Dept. After answering a few more questions about meds I am on, my current activity levels, etc and doing an examination of my abdomen and pain areas he ordered a bunch of blood tests, one in particular he was interested in was the test that showed whether there were blood clots present in my body since being on birth control pills puts me at a higher risk for developing clots in my body. The doctor came back about 20 minutes after the blood was drawn and told me that the test came back positive for there being a blood clot in my body so they ordered a CT Scan with contrast of my chest to pinpoint its exact location.
It took about 30 minutes to get the CT scan and for my doctor to come back with the bad news. He said that the CT scan showed extensive blood clots in both my pulmonary arteries with the biggest one being in the lower lobe of my right lung. It was explained to me that I had an "infarction" of some lung tissue because of the blockage, which is basically medical speak for dead lung tissue due to loss of blood flow/oxygen because of the blocked arteries. So they admitted me to the hospital right away and started me on a Heparin drip to thin out my blood to prevent the clots from getting bigger and breaking off and traveling to other areas of my body. Since I didn't belong to any other risk groups for blood clots, hadn't traveled long distances or long flight, nor had I had any sort of surgery lately, the only thing they could tie the clots to was my use of birth control pills.
So to sum it up, the clots had somehow managed to form in my body and travel through my heart and lodged in my pulmonary arteries/lungs without killing me. I am basically a walking/talking miracle! They showed me the CT scan and while my experience in my bio classes with them is limited I did see the cloudy white area of dead lung tissue as well as the clots in my right lung, the clot(s) in my left lung weren't so easily identifiable because they were blocked by my heart...which is even scarier to know how close in proximity they were to my heart. Good thing I had been feeling tired and lazy the last week and hadn't been working out as much as normal, I could have dropped dead at the gym!
Now, 4 days after being admitted, I am home and glad to be in my normal surroundings. I feel and look like a pin cushion as they had to take my blood every 6 hours to test my INR levels to make sure they were at the correct levels before letting me go (normal is around 1.0 and I needed to be between 2.0-3.0). The point of keeping them at a higher level is to prevent the clots from getting bigger and causing more damage. At this point, I have to give myself an injection of Arixtra into the fat of my stomach everyday through Friday (its a boost to the oral blood thinner meds) and take Warfarin daily for the next few months. I also need to get my INR levels tested every few days until they levels stabilze so I get to be a pin cushion for a little while longer, YAY!
I am so grateful to be alive. Sometimes I wish I didn't know as much as I do medically when I am personally involved in situations like these. To know how close I came to death or stroke, and a sudden onset of either, really sank in while I was in the ER and I couldn't help by cry and think about how much I hadn't done yet in my life. I try to live a healthy life and take care of myself. I dont smoke, drink rarely, exercise 4-6 days a week and eat a very healthy diet. I would have never thought something like this would happen to me, but it did. I definitely have come away from this experience with a new view on life, one that is more positive and focused on living life to the fullest! I will be ready to hit the ground running with my career so I can set myself up financially to get through school starting next fall. Ultimately I would like to become a doctor, it has been my calling for almost my entire life but I somehow always put it on the backburner or settle for something else. Not anymore.
Life is precious and time is limited so do all that you can today because you never know if you have tomorrow.
Everything started Friday morning (7/10) with a slight pain on my upper right side around the bottom of my breast that hurt with each breath I took. I had a photoshoot the night before where I was stuffed into tight couture gowns so I just thought that maybe I irritated a rib muscle so I didnt think much of the pain and just took a few advil hoping it would go away. By the time I was done with all my castings that day (which was about 4pm in Sherman Oaks) the pain had gotten worse. I suffered through the 2.5 hour drive home to Long Beach and took half a Vicodin to see if that would help subside the pain. I passed out for about 3-4 hours and woke up in even worse pain. I took the other half of the pill and tried to go back to sleep but there wasnt a single position I could lay in without being in EXTREME pain with every breath I took. The paid had also started to radiate into my right shoulder/shoulder blade area and was simultaneously hurting with every breath I took.
So at about 2am I decided to get on my computer to look up my symptoms to try to figure out what was going on with my body. I also wanted to give the other half of the Vicodin I had taken some time to take effect. After some research I thought that, at worst, I was having a gallbladder attack. I just thought "great! all the eating disorder BS of my younger years had finally come back to bite me in the behind!" I was hoping for a strained intercostal muscle (muscle between the ribs) but was preparing for what I was thinking was worst case scenario, having my gallbladder removed. For a VERY brief moment I did contemplate a possible blood clot because of the radiating pain in my shoulder, but I couldnt figure out any risk factors I had to explain it so I dismissed it rather quickly. By 330am the pain had worsened even more and I couldnt wait til Urgent Care opened at 7am so I woke up my dad and sister and had them take me to the ER.
When I walked in, I was about half way through explaining my symptoms to the nurse at check-in when they brought me back and started taking my vital signs. They quickly moved me to a bed back in the ER and I was seen shortly after that by the Head of the Emergency Dept. After answering a few more questions about meds I am on, my current activity levels, etc and doing an examination of my abdomen and pain areas he ordered a bunch of blood tests, one in particular he was interested in was the test that showed whether there were blood clots present in my body since being on birth control pills puts me at a higher risk for developing clots in my body. The doctor came back about 20 minutes after the blood was drawn and told me that the test came back positive for there being a blood clot in my body so they ordered a CT Scan with contrast of my chest to pinpoint its exact location.
It took about 30 minutes to get the CT scan and for my doctor to come back with the bad news. He said that the CT scan showed extensive blood clots in both my pulmonary arteries with the biggest one being in the lower lobe of my right lung. It was explained to me that I had an "infarction" of some lung tissue because of the blockage, which is basically medical speak for dead lung tissue due to loss of blood flow/oxygen because of the blocked arteries. So they admitted me to the hospital right away and started me on a Heparin drip to thin out my blood to prevent the clots from getting bigger and breaking off and traveling to other areas of my body. Since I didn't belong to any other risk groups for blood clots, hadn't traveled long distances or long flight, nor had I had any sort of surgery lately, the only thing they could tie the clots to was my use of birth control pills.
So to sum it up, the clots had somehow managed to form in my body and travel through my heart and lodged in my pulmonary arteries/lungs without killing me. I am basically a walking/talking miracle! They showed me the CT scan and while my experience in my bio classes with them is limited I did see the cloudy white area of dead lung tissue as well as the clots in my right lung, the clot(s) in my left lung weren't so easily identifiable because they were blocked by my heart...which is even scarier to know how close in proximity they were to my heart. Good thing I had been feeling tired and lazy the last week and hadn't been working out as much as normal, I could have dropped dead at the gym!
Now, 4 days after being admitted, I am home and glad to be in my normal surroundings. I feel and look like a pin cushion as they had to take my blood every 6 hours to test my INR levels to make sure they were at the correct levels before letting me go (normal is around 1.0 and I needed to be between 2.0-3.0). The point of keeping them at a higher level is to prevent the clots from getting bigger and causing more damage. At this point, I have to give myself an injection of Arixtra into the fat of my stomach everyday through Friday (its a boost to the oral blood thinner meds) and take Warfarin daily for the next few months. I also need to get my INR levels tested every few days until they levels stabilze so I get to be a pin cushion for a little while longer, YAY!
I am so grateful to be alive. Sometimes I wish I didn't know as much as I do medically when I am personally involved in situations like these. To know how close I came to death or stroke, and a sudden onset of either, really sank in while I was in the ER and I couldn't help by cry and think about how much I hadn't done yet in my life. I try to live a healthy life and take care of myself. I dont smoke, drink rarely, exercise 4-6 days a week and eat a very healthy diet. I would have never thought something like this would happen to me, but it did. I definitely have come away from this experience with a new view on life, one that is more positive and focused on living life to the fullest! I will be ready to hit the ground running with my career so I can set myself up financially to get through school starting next fall. Ultimately I would like to become a doctor, it has been my calling for almost my entire life but I somehow always put it on the backburner or settle for something else. Not anymore.
Life is precious and time is limited so do all that you can today because you never know if you have tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Update, FINALLY!
I know I haven't written on here in a while but there has been quite a bit going on in both my professional and personal life. Professionally things have been going well with booking work but not so well with getting paid for the work I have done. I was fortunate to book a 2 week background job on Iron Man 2 shortly after I returned from New York City and that was a lot of fun. I was able to get the last 2 SAG vouchers I needed to be eligible to join (I got my first one working on Bruno earlier this year) but they put me in 5" heels and standing/walking/running in those things 15-16 hours per day was NOT fun! I also mis-stepped on set last Monday and rolled my ankle and have been having issues with it ever since but am slowly healing. Unfortunately I do not have the luxury of being able to stay thin without working out so I have had to wrap my ankle every time I hit the gym so that's a little bit of a pain in the butt but I'm dealing.
Payments have been a major headache of mine lately. As of today I am owed $2550 for work I have done, some of it dating back to the end of January! Its really frustrating to have to track people down to get them to pay me what I am owed. I have bills that I need to pay and find it irresponsible for companies to book someone for a job and delay paying them for BS reasons. The only people I have had no problems with paying on time are the production companies. I have been paid weekly for the work I did on Iron Man 2 and am thankful that they were such a pleasure to work with and I haven't had to track anyone down over the course of a few months to get paid.
Personally things took a turn for the better then reversed course a week ago, which I have to admit wasn't a total surprise. Its just difficult to stay focused on my career and moving forward with my life when a certain someone that is very important to me and who I thought supported me does a 180 AGAIN. I love them dearly but they are starting to become more of a hindrance with their drama than a source of encouragement and support. Looks like I have a decision to make rather soon....stay tuned for updates....
Payments have been a major headache of mine lately. As of today I am owed $2550 for work I have done, some of it dating back to the end of January! Its really frustrating to have to track people down to get them to pay me what I am owed. I have bills that I need to pay and find it irresponsible for companies to book someone for a job and delay paying them for BS reasons. The only people I have had no problems with paying on time are the production companies. I have been paid weekly for the work I did on Iron Man 2 and am thankful that they were such a pleasure to work with and I haven't had to track anyone down over the course of a few months to get paid.
Personally things took a turn for the better then reversed course a week ago, which I have to admit wasn't a total surprise. Its just difficult to stay focused on my career and moving forward with my life when a certain someone that is very important to me and who I thought supported me does a 180 AGAIN. I love them dearly but they are starting to become more of a hindrance with their drama than a source of encouragement and support. Looks like I have a decision to make rather soon....stay tuned for updates....
Sunday, April 12, 2009
LA it is
A photographer friend of mine has encouraged me to continue my blog and detail my continuing adventures in the modeling business. So what started simply as a way to let friends and family know about my trip to NY will now progress into something more and maybe a useful tool for all the newbies checking this out.
To summarize the trip to NY, there really isn't much work in NYC right now for the standard working model. The economy has hit that city so hard that it isn't the ideal place for someone like me at this stage in my career. But Manhattan will always be fashion mecca for the US, 2nd only to Paris, so when things do get better it will definitely be the place to work. But for right now the best place for me is LA.
I have only been back home for 4 days and I already have 3 jobs lined up and 2 big ones in the pipeline. I have a job at Smashbox on the 15th, a job for a bridal gown company in SD the week of the 20th and a shoot for a clothing boutique in Laguna Beach on the 20th. The 2 big jobs are Axe Body Spray and Smiffy's, a UK costume and lingerie company. The Axe job shoots next Thursday and Friday and pays VERY well and the Smiffy's job shoots on the 21st and pays almost as good for 1 day as the Axe job does for 2 so I am keeping my fingers crossed for that one!
I also signed with a new agency the day after I returned from my trip. I am now represented by Jet Set Models, based in La Jolla, and I have a really good feeling about this agency. Everyone I met with was really cool and passionate about their job and my potential and those are all very important ingredients to a successful career. I know they will be working for me and with me to develop my career to the level I want it at. I will be sending them bikini snapshots tomorrow to be submitted to their contacts at quite a few magazines in LA and NY (Glamour, Shape and Self to name a few) so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens there. Would be nice to be in a magazine again after about 8 yrs :)
My goals:
Jet Set asked me to send them a list of clients I have worked with and a list of clients I would like to work with, which I think is a great tool for them and for me. Here is what I came up with, let's see how I do over the next 6 months...
1. Beauty Story in magazines such as Allure, Cosmo, Self, Shape, Glamour
2. Any Cosmetics Company
3. Target/Wal-mart/Kohl's - major commercial/commercial print job
4. Bridal Gown designers (i.e. Vera Wang, Monique Luillier)
This was all I could come up with on the spot. I think, and so does my agency, these are all realistic and attainable goals so wish me luck! :)
To summarize the trip to NY, there really isn't much work in NYC right now for the standard working model. The economy has hit that city so hard that it isn't the ideal place for someone like me at this stage in my career. But Manhattan will always be fashion mecca for the US, 2nd only to Paris, so when things do get better it will definitely be the place to work. But for right now the best place for me is LA.
I have only been back home for 4 days and I already have 3 jobs lined up and 2 big ones in the pipeline. I have a job at Smashbox on the 15th, a job for a bridal gown company in SD the week of the 20th and a shoot for a clothing boutique in Laguna Beach on the 20th. The 2 big jobs are Axe Body Spray and Smiffy's, a UK costume and lingerie company. The Axe job shoots next Thursday and Friday and pays VERY well and the Smiffy's job shoots on the 21st and pays almost as good for 1 day as the Axe job does for 2 so I am keeping my fingers crossed for that one!
I also signed with a new agency the day after I returned from my trip. I am now represented by Jet Set Models, based in La Jolla, and I have a really good feeling about this agency. Everyone I met with was really cool and passionate about their job and my potential and those are all very important ingredients to a successful career. I know they will be working for me and with me to develop my career to the level I want it at. I will be sending them bikini snapshots tomorrow to be submitted to their contacts at quite a few magazines in LA and NY (Glamour, Shape and Self to name a few) so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens there. Would be nice to be in a magazine again after about 8 yrs :)
My goals:
Jet Set asked me to send them a list of clients I have worked with and a list of clients I would like to work with, which I think is a great tool for them and for me. Here is what I came up with, let's see how I do over the next 6 months...
1. Beauty Story in magazines such as Allure, Cosmo, Self, Shape, Glamour
2. Any Cosmetics Company
3. Target/Wal-mart/Kohl's - major commercial/commercial print job
4. Bridal Gown designers (i.e. Vera Wang, Monique Luillier)
This was all I could come up with on the spot. I think, and so does my agency, these are all realistic and attainable goals so wish me luck! :)
Monday, April 6, 2009
Decisions, Decisions...
It's been an interesting few days. After talking with old friends in the business and doing a bit more research online it seems NYC isn't what it used to be. While my old contacts agree that having ANY agency interested in taking me on is a major breakthrough, they all argue that right now is not the time to be in NY. One friend of mine who has been in the business about as long as I have (continuously though, I took years off) just relocated to London where everyone turned her down but 1 agency, where she had a contact. The economy is really bringing down the fashion/modeling industry hard and I am in no position to make a financial gamble on a market that is showing obvious favoritism to supermodels/celebrities and not much love to the normal working model. The friend in London is coming back to NY the beginning of June because work does pick up here then and has convinced me that would be the best time for me to come back as well.
I still plan on talking with Major and Ford tomorrow to see what they say but I think that ultimately I will head back to LA on Wednesday, sign up with a different, stronger LA agency within the next week and focus on working there, making as much money as I can and test a bit more with better photographers so that come June I am better prepared to hit the NYC market. I will also try to lose a bit more weight so that I am more competitive with the walking stick figures out here :) Even though at the moment I don't plan on staying in NYC, this has been a great learning experience and has re-acclimated me to the 2009 modeling industry in NYC.
I still plan on talking with Major and Ford tomorrow to see what they say but I think that ultimately I will head back to LA on Wednesday, sign up with a different, stronger LA agency within the next week and focus on working there, making as much money as I can and test a bit more with better photographers so that come June I am better prepared to hit the NYC market. I will also try to lose a bit more weight so that I am more competitive with the walking stick figures out here :) Even though at the moment I don't plan on staying in NYC, this has been a great learning experience and has re-acclimated me to the 2009 modeling industry in NYC.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
The hard part is done
I have finally finished meeting with or dropping off my pictures/info to all the agencies out here! My feet are so unhappy with me right now but I'll live :)
I met with an old friend of mine, Scott, who runs 1 model management (one of the top agencies here right now) and we discussed the whole economic situation in the NY fashion industry, the strength of my book as is and how the jobs are right now out here. He has been in the business for 15+yrs so I trust his judgement and value his opinions. His take on the situation in NY is that where there used to be 100 jobs in NY per month, there are now around 50 jobs per month. He also said that companies and magazines are not as willing as they used to be to gamble with their money on a new face and are sticking with the supermodels and celebrities for their advertisements and jobs. But he did say that work around here tends to pick up some around May/June when the weather gets better and that would be a better time for a newer model to be here to work. He also said that I needed 1-2 more tests in my book with stronger styling and better photography. He did like 3-4 pictures in my book and said that it was almost better out here to show 3-4 strong pictures than 3-4 strong ones mixed with 4-5 commercial/beauty shots so depending on what I decide to do, if I head back to LA that will be my focus over the next month/6 weeks.
This seemed to be the general consensus amongst the agencies out here. I struck up conversations with a few on Thursday as that was my "walk-in" day so the people at the agencies were easier to talk to since they weren't inundated with busy open calls and other wannabe models. Aside from CESD, which mainly does commercial/commercial print work, all the fashion agencies I spoke with said that work here is almost non-existent and generally going to the supermodels/well established models with tearsheets in their book. They all acknowledged that work picks up around May/June and that would be a better time to come out here and see everyone again if I didnt find someone to take me on now. And a few stressed that I shouldnt get discouraged if I dont get picked up by an agency right now. The economy is causing designers/magazines/etc to either close their doors entirely or go into Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection leaving the agencies with debts to the models for work done but no one to get those payments from. And on top of that, they have models who have been with them for a while that have charged up debt with the agency and havent been able to work at all or enough to pay that back. So its one big mess out here right now with agencies being indebted to models, agencies not being able to get payment from vendors and there just not being enough work to justify taking on any new girls.
The recommendations I received, aside from just coming back here next month, was to go abroad if I can or stay in LA if I am working consistently until things pick up here. The agencies seem to be sending their girls to Asia and Australia to get experience and tearsheets so that when things do start picking up here they are better prepared and more valuable than before they left. If after talking with the guys at Ford on Monday or Tuesday the amount of work here isnt enough to warrant me staying I will head back to LA, work my butt off, look into the Asia thing a bit further and aim to be back here in June. Summer in NYC SUCKS royally but I'll deal with it if the work is here. Europe doesnt seem like the place to send girls anymore, which is surprising but shows how bad the global economy is right now. It seems like its best to stay where you are from and try to work there so you incur less debt to the agency and they are more likely to work with you if they don't have to front many, if any, costs to take you on. The less risk up front, the better your chances.
So the rest of the weekend I will concentrate on spending time catching up with my friends and enjoying one of my favorite cities :) Monday and Tuesday will be spent contemplating choices and making a decision.
I met with an old friend of mine, Scott, who runs 1 model management (one of the top agencies here right now) and we discussed the whole economic situation in the NY fashion industry, the strength of my book as is and how the jobs are right now out here. He has been in the business for 15+yrs so I trust his judgement and value his opinions. His take on the situation in NY is that where there used to be 100 jobs in NY per month, there are now around 50 jobs per month. He also said that companies and magazines are not as willing as they used to be to gamble with their money on a new face and are sticking with the supermodels and celebrities for their advertisements and jobs. But he did say that work around here tends to pick up some around May/June when the weather gets better and that would be a better time for a newer model to be here to work. He also said that I needed 1-2 more tests in my book with stronger styling and better photography. He did like 3-4 pictures in my book and said that it was almost better out here to show 3-4 strong pictures than 3-4 strong ones mixed with 4-5 commercial/beauty shots so depending on what I decide to do, if I head back to LA that will be my focus over the next month/6 weeks.
This seemed to be the general consensus amongst the agencies out here. I struck up conversations with a few on Thursday as that was my "walk-in" day so the people at the agencies were easier to talk to since they weren't inundated with busy open calls and other wannabe models. Aside from CESD, which mainly does commercial/commercial print work, all the fashion agencies I spoke with said that work here is almost non-existent and generally going to the supermodels/well established models with tearsheets in their book. They all acknowledged that work picks up around May/June and that would be a better time to come out here and see everyone again if I didnt find someone to take me on now. And a few stressed that I shouldnt get discouraged if I dont get picked up by an agency right now. The economy is causing designers/magazines/etc to either close their doors entirely or go into Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection leaving the agencies with debts to the models for work done but no one to get those payments from. And on top of that, they have models who have been with them for a while that have charged up debt with the agency and havent been able to work at all or enough to pay that back. So its one big mess out here right now with agencies being indebted to models, agencies not being able to get payment from vendors and there just not being enough work to justify taking on any new girls.
The recommendations I received, aside from just coming back here next month, was to go abroad if I can or stay in LA if I am working consistently until things pick up here. The agencies seem to be sending their girls to Asia and Australia to get experience and tearsheets so that when things do start picking up here they are better prepared and more valuable than before they left. If after talking with the guys at Ford on Monday or Tuesday the amount of work here isnt enough to warrant me staying I will head back to LA, work my butt off, look into the Asia thing a bit further and aim to be back here in June. Summer in NYC SUCKS royally but I'll deal with it if the work is here. Europe doesnt seem like the place to send girls anymore, which is surprising but shows how bad the global economy is right now. It seems like its best to stay where you are from and try to work there so you incur less debt to the agency and they are more likely to work with you if they don't have to front many, if any, costs to take you on. The less risk up front, the better your chances.
So the rest of the weekend I will concentrate on spending time catching up with my friends and enjoying one of my favorite cities :) Monday and Tuesday will be spent contemplating choices and making a decision.
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