Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Life in Parallel Universes

How do I even begin to summarize all that's happened to me in the past 8 or 9 weeks or so since I last posted? It's interesting to think of the Universe as having many many parallel versions going on all at the same time, as some Astrophysicists hypothesize is the case. At any given crossroads we come to, when we choose to go one way, there is potentially a version of the world somewhere outside of our plane of perception where we made the opposite choice, and the consequences of that play out. God and the Universe at his command have handed me some major life changes in the past couple of months, and my life is now so different from what it was then that it seems almost like I've been transported from one reality into a parallel version where I'm happier and more motivated and headed in the direction that other old me should have been headed in years ago but wasn't awake enough to turn her butt around.

My last entry was dated 11.10.11, I was stuck in a job that I hated and looking for an avenue to gain experience in the fashion idustry so I could move toward a career change in that direction. The differences between the cold corporate world I trudged to every day and the exciting colorful inspiring world I'd had recent tastes of and now knew I belonged in, were so drastic that it made the every day at work much much worse. How could I be expected to focus on the task at hand when the task was crushing my soul? The very next day, as luck would have it, I got fired.

I knew I shouldn't be doing backflips over losing my job, but I was overcome with a sense of peace and relief almost instantly. I shed a few tears, I worried about my clients for a minute or two. Then I realized that I would forever look back on that event as one of the best things that's ever happened to me. Within a week, I had told my friend Kellie who had recently become a partner in the Sugar Art and Fashion Show company, that I had free time on my hands and would be happy to help them with preparations for their upcoming nationwide tour. Next thing I knew, I was an intern and an official member of the Sugar team. I became their Seattle based Designer Mentor, scouting fresh new Designers in cities across the country where the tour will be stopping, and supporting them along the way as they prepare their collections for the shows – and I found myself once again creating a collection for a Sugar show. Sugar does Portland is set for February 10th and I will be showing an 8 look collection which is rapidly coming together now, inspired as I mentioned in my last entry, by Venetian Carnival . . . imagined as a twisted, promiscuous, Studio 54-esque society party in black and white. It's pretty frikin hot.
It hasn't been that long that I've been living my life at this relaxed, artistic pace - staying up til 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning on creative binges then sleeping til 10:00 - but I already look back on my life as a Community Manager like it was another lifetime. It feels so far away now, and the thought of ever going back is just not even conceivable. I know I won't have to though, because I've determined to make my way in the world as a Business Owner. My little web store is up and running, but still not yet widely advertised or trafficked, so its really the perfect time to consider a re-brand and a new direction, a brick and mortar store! I'm enrolled in a business course that will help me put together a business plan and seek financing, and in the coming weeks I'll be doing all I can to save and raise capital for start up to make my vision of a warehouse fashion superstore girls playland come to life.
My store – which I've decided to call Lime Light – will be a true destination shopping experience. We'll carry Angelique Ashton Designs of course, as well as pageant and stage jewelry, corsets, hats, tu-tus, feather boas, heels, maybe even evening gowns . . . but the main attraction will be that the store has a runway and a full stage for live shows. It will be a boutique by day where ladies can pick up anything their heart desires for a costume or performance, and will be encouraged to step out of the dressing room onto the runway to work it – then by night the place will transform into the city's premier fashion venue, hosting fashion shows, bachelorette parties, and musical acts.



It will be a world unto itself, a parallel universe where a girl can still play dress up, no matter her age. It will be a safe place, where people are free to express who they are and have fun with it. Our multifaceted mission will be to spread glitter all over the community, promote self-esteem in teens and young women, promote safe and natural cosmetics and support the local Artist community. It will be the shimmery ethereal magical princess wonderland from inside my head, on the outside of my head. We will have champagne and cupcakes and live unicorns. I thought about cotton candy, but honestly, I'm not sure I want people with sticky fingers handling everything and petting my unicorns. I mean, they aren't self-bathing like cats, I have to wash them.

I was hesitant for a while to write about my baby in the making (that sounded weird . . .) Lime Light, as fragile a dream as it still is - for fear of failure once it was out there, for fear someone might steal my idea before I'm able to raise the money to do it, for fear of laughter or sideways looks, but now that its written, I realize there wasn't really anything to be afraid of. It will happen, and those reading this are only supporters, not – dare I say it – haters . . . or unicorn rights activists.

Next, partly as a result of having time on my hands, and partly because I was harboring a little residual disappointment that the Mrs. Earth pageant was postponed and I was unable to compete in it as planned this summer, and partly because my business caters to the pageant world and I know it would be good advertising . . . I've decided to participate in the Mrs. Washington America pageant this year, as Mrs. Snohomish County once again.

The pageant world is another of those parallel universes, different from regular life, and with its own set of rules. Not that anyone is going back and re-reading all my old blog entries, but I went through them and edited a little, for adult humor and language. While I like to add a little “punch” for comedic effect from time to time, I wanted to make it appropriate to be able to extend the invitation to my current year pageant sisters and anyone else following the pageant, to learn all about me through my random rambling musings.

So now you're up to date, my dream and vision is out of the bag, and there it all is. 2012 is going to be a year of fun, a year of glamour, a year of ambition, a year of making dreams reality, making new friends, and making magic! *Cloud of glitter flies at your face.*

(If I could make the computer blow glitter at you through the monitor right now I would - you'll just have to imagine that part).

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