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What an Opening Party! (by the elephant, who sometimes thinks it is aged 6) Nine months in the fit-out and the set-up for the party, and suddenly people were showing up. The garments arrive in the post. They get hung. Some designeers come with their own garments. Jean Carbon comes from New Zealand, India Flint from near Adelaide, Cathy Moon from Queensland. The girls who are modelling arrive. They're introduced to the make-up artist. They meet the designers. I've spent about three hours making the dips. I hope that people will enjoy eating my dips. I'm hustled off to work in a cafe as the warehouse becomes a sea of young women running around in stage make-up and underwear. Four hours left, three, two. The final rehearsal. Ninety minutes, constant knocking at the door from last minute helpers. Sixty, we test the microphones and lighting. Thirty, we put the food and drink out. The doors open. People arrive. The show commences. Now mere words can't do justice to what was there, so I've loaded a heap of photos, on the news page and on this page.
And there are hundreds of people at our party. And lots of fashion and colour and the soft rustle of silk. And a band. And yummy pastries. And people eat the dips and talk to the designers and everyone has a great time, even me, and I'd been up since 4 that morning. Thanks to Gus the baker who also came to the party, to the wonderful team who helped set up of Rosie and Gill, to Natalie the make-up artist, the food crew of Amal, Ben, Sasha and Katherine, the models Georgina, Sharon, Amal, Saskia; the incredibly helpful sound crew from WWave, Amy Wright (our keynote speaker), our partner Peter Lucena and wife Janet who came from New Zealand to see the fruits of their patient mentoring, India Flint on sound, lights and video, Jean Carbon and Renate Baur-Schmid at back of house, my wonderful wife Marion whose vision this business was, and my tireless parents - my mother who MCd and my father for his technical support with the building program, and both of them for being there to help with the food and cleaning. "We have been preserved and sustained and enabled to reach this day."
Click here to download the movie of Saskia's garment being modelled - by Saskia. 35 seconds. 6.4 MB. If you want the whole movie on DVD, just click on the envelope to email and I'll post it, $25 including postage.
Wanna come to our next party? Invitation only. Phone your nearest branch or
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