Little bit of this, little bit of that (And my final time mentioning Junk Kouture)

The St. Patricks Day weekend has always been a busy one, and this year nothing changed. On Friday, my class took a trip to Deansgrange Graveyard for a history trip. I don't really know what to say about this - except that it was led by my Physics teacher, in the lashing rain, freezing cold, and was, let's be honest, just the teeniest bit boring. There was one umbrella, and 18 students, tanned and showered, ready to go out for Paddy's Day, you can imagine they were not very thrilled to be getting frizzy hair and a cold.
On Saturday morning I got up bright and early to head into town for the day. All the girls got ready in my friend Aoife's house, using an excessive amount of face paint, fake tattoos and green and orange hairspray. We were extremely festive to say the least. We walked around Dublin City Centre for a few hours, visiting the amusements and Merrion Park etc. Twas a nice day indeed.

And most importantly: Sunday. Once again I was up early to gather absolutely everything I could possibly need, from Celotape to Panadol to hairspray, for the Junk Kouture Eastern Regional Finals. I picked up Rachel and Maria and off we went to Blanchardstown for the show. The day was an amazing experience, and though I didn't make it through to the All-Ireland Final, I realised that there were so many people who were a lot more talented than I am in Fashion Design, and it's probably a good thing that I'm veering more towards Industrial Design!
20 teams were picked to go through out of the 78 Leinster finalists, and clearly almost every one of them deserved it. I did however, question the judges over a couple of them, and seeing all the other designs back stage, would definitely disagree with the results. For example in our dressing room, next to us were a team from Wexford with an amazing dress called Princess of China. We spent the whole day oo-ing and ah-ing at it, and it didn't get through. Obviously I am disappointed that I didn't get in but I'm really shocked that they didn't.

On the topic of Art and Design, I have confirmed that this Easter holiday, I am starting a portfolio for Industrial Design in NCAD. My friend, Rachel, who did the make up for the show yesterday, is also doing a portfolio for her Make-Up Design for Stage and Screen, so we're going to do a course together over the summer. I'm excited but I've realised -What the hell goes into that sort of portfolio? Not paintings or posters anyway I'll tell ya that much. My Guidance Counsellor will be getting a few visits from me over the next few weeks.

I'd also like to say a wee congratulations to my Daddy, who's in the process of writing his second book, about learning on YouTube, for getting an interest from an American publisher. He's running around the house like a 6 year old on Christmas eve (Before they've been slipped a sleeping pill - or is that just what my mother did?). Well done Dad!

Junk Kouture 2012 - Part 4

So over the past couple of days I've been campaigning like crazy to get people to vote for my outfit on the Junk Kouture website. You can vote here and I need all the help I can get! Share it on Facebook, Tweet it, text your friends, get creative! I really need a hand!
Of course I have my whole family put to work, asking colleagues, friends and classmates to vote, but no matter how many people promise to, it seems like about 5 other contestants are getting triple!
I brought Maria, my model, down to my old primary school, Guardian Angels National School, on Tuesday morning for "Prayers and Assembly" in the junior classes. I got a great response, cheers and claps and promises go leor, but my guess is five minutes after the left the assembly hall, they forgot what happened and didn't vote. God damn the short attention spans of children under the age of 7.
Every day in school, an announcement is made over the intercom to vote for me and support the school blah blah blah, but apart from some of the girls in my year, a lot don't seem to be bothering. Myself and a friend, Tara, plan to spam it all over Facebook tonight, creating a sort of school spirit/Loreto sisterhood and get everyone in on it.
Anyway the show is on this Sunday, I'm ridiculously excited but also so scared. It's going to be awkward if I don't get through after making so many people share the link everywhere and take the time to vote for me! I'll have a post up about that, possibly on the Monday if it goes well and I'm not too ashamed to spread the word.
Pip, pip.

Junk Kouture 2012 - Part 3

As I've posted about twice already, I entered the competition Junk Kouture this year, and designed a "Candy Man" inspired outfit out of plastic bags and the likes. Entry closed in mid February and the results came out on the 27th. The lists of students who got through was posted on the Junk Kouture Facebook, by the name of the outfit and the school they go to. Of course the name of my school was mixed up, and I thought I hadn't gotten through because Loreto Foxrock was not on the list. For some reason they had me down on the list as a student of Blackrock, a pretentious boys school. How pleasant.
Anyway the reason for this post is I qualified for the Leinster finals! I'll be showcasing my dress at the Junk Kouture Fashion Show on the 18th March (The day after Paddy's, GREAT) in the Crown Plaza Hotel in Blanchardstown, Dublin. A friend, Rachel Cody will be coming with myself and my model, Maria Browne, to do her make-up, and a friend of my Mother's will be doing her nails on the 16th! I'm so excited, tickets are €12.50 and it should be a great night!
Public voting begins on Monday 12th on the website, a link which I shall be spamming absolutely everywhere. My art teacher, lovely Ms Norton, is getting some of her younger students to make posters encouraging students to vote, and I'll be taking a trip down to my old primary school, Guardian Angels, later on in the week to try get the little ones to vote for me!
For now,
Adieu