These Past Months

Oh god, again I've managed not to update for ages. But I do have very good reason this time! 

Our wonderfully greedy landlady decided that after 4 years of being good tenants, requesting no maintenance and thus saving her lots of money, she would raise the rent by a ridiculous amount. Long story short, we had a stressful month to find a new place to move our copious amounts of belongings into (all during the busiest time of the year for me at work!). Luckily we found a lovely flat that doesn't have screaming neighbours and has been given a lick of paint since the 1970s, which also happens to be directly behind my office. 

I don't think you realise how bad a place was for you until you leave it, and the amount of stress that has exited my life since leaving the dingy old place behind is phenomenal. Plus, without the hour commute on public transport each day, I have much more time on my hands to spend doing what I want to do! Which should hopefully mean I spend more time writing this blog ;)

In the meantime, here's what I've been up to the past 2 months (sorry, it's a long one), via my instagram @swiczeniuk!

 

 Top Left - Yesterday Mark and I were booked to DJ at a beautiful wedding in Oxford. The only problem is that travelling in this current heat is killer! I went for a Summer look, and the colour theme for the wedding was purple/pink :)

Top Right - Testing out some new lipgloss I got from Etsy seller FierceMagenta. I tried a gold sample, but it didn't really shine until I covered it with Sugarpill's Goldilux pigment!

Bottom Left - A teal lipstick by FierceMagenta. I love this colour, and I blended the bottom with Goldilux too.

Bottom Right - Room Service is not only a fun night, but they have an awesome photographer too!

Top 2, Bottom Left - Getting messy at Room Service with Mark Charade, Le Pustra and Amelia Arsenic. Classy bitches ;)

Bottom Right - One of my FAVOURITE queen's from Ru Paul's Drag Race, Bianca del Rio, was performing in London at The Meth Lab. Of course we had to go, and had meet and greet tickets! If you know her, you'll know how witty and rude she is (the show was hilarious), but it was so refreshing to meet her in person and see how down to earth she is!

Top Left - Miss Miranda and I with Bianca del Rio; couldn't control my face at this point.

Top Right - What I wore! Finally busting out my gold hood which I bought months ago - I wanted to wear it for Bianca because she wears a similar one in the Sissy That Walk video (she got the reference ;) )

Bottom Left - Spider bling!

Bottom Right - Possibly crazy silly purchase but I'm totally in love with my new shoes from DollsKill

Top Left - Paris! My boss Emma and I went to Paris to exhibit our lingerie and clothing at the Who's Next tradeshow. When we got to Paris on the thursday it was a sweltering hot 37C! I can't actually remember if we went to the Eiffel Tower on this day or the day after, either way, it was still hot as the sun was setting. 

Top Right, Bottom Left - On the Saturday I had the afternoon off to go exploring, so I decided to go and see La Basilique du Sacré Cœur de Montmartre and the surrounding area. You aren't actually allowed to take photos inside the church, but um... I sinned. Oh, but to redeem yourself you can also put a euro in one of these hideously tacky machines! ;)

Bottom Right - Just before heading out to dinner. I cannot even begin to say how amazing French food is (they already know it anyway).

Top Left - I also managed to see this cute/creepy Museum of Magic and Museum of Automata. Unfortunately all the signs were in french :(

Top Right - Ridiculously beautiful art nouveau restaurant we went to on the last night. So, so stunning, and the food was amazing too.

Bottom Left - Obligatory Moulin Rouge photo.

Bottom Right - The trade show had a champagne sponsor, and allowed the exhibitors unlimited free champagne. I think it's safe to say I drank more champagne in those few days than I did all year. They must have gone through thousands of bottles (not just us!). It certainly made the 4 hour delayed Eurostar a little easier to deal with ;)

Top Left - Claw bling!

Top Right/Bottom Left - Mark and I (The Roustabouts) DJed at Soho House's Pride event, so I needed suitably big hair. Geisha Wigs had just sent me this fluffy blonde wig, which I cut a fringe into, and sprayed the top gold.

Bottom Right - Mark and I at The Meth Lab: Tammie Brown & Milk. I made a mistake wearing my moustache, because it's impossible to smile or laugh with it on! This totally didn't bode well when Tammie came out...

I had the awesome chance to work at IMATS on the Sugarpill booth! My lovely friend Amelia Arsenic was recently back in London and asked if I would like to work on the friday. I didn't realise that Irene would be there too, which was crazy awesome because I've known her online for something like 10 years! It was also really lovely to meet the Sugarpill creator, Shrinkle - she's so sweet!! 

Bottom Right - I don't think I've mentioned it on my blog yet, but you would have guessed from my social media elsewhere that I'm obsessed with the TV show Hannibal. I should probably make a separate post about it, but if you haven't watched it, DO IT. Well, my lovely boyfriend bought me the Red Dragon novel; it's actually completely different to the TV show, but they've taken bits and pieces and nods to the book. The show is more like a prequel to the book, as Lecter is already locked up when you meet him in Red Dragon.

Top Right - Adventures with gold leaf makeup!

Top Left - I always seem to pose the same way ;) This time I'm wearing some of Face Lace's new stick-on eyebrows. 

Bottom Row - My look for DJing the afterparty for The Black Cat Cabaret at the Wonderground. My corset and neckpiece are by Boom Boom Baby, who I highly recommend!

Top Row - My look for DJing at Torture Garden. I received this ridiculously amazing new lace front from Geisha Wigs, it makes me feel like a Jewish princess ;) I wanted to do something really different with my makeup, without just throwing shit all over my face! The gold bodysuit and fringed harness thing are both from Playful Promises circus collection.

Bottom Left - Packing to move, I was looking through my books. I love these old editions that belonged to my parents, and were the first copies I read of these books (which are among my favourites).

Bottom Right - Green and blue for DJing at Rumpus!

Club etiquette: How not to piss off the DJ*

*This post requires a pinch of salt and a sense of humor. 

You may or may not know that I'm part of a DJ duo called The Roustabouts. We currently host and co-curate our own club, and have played many awesome places. I love it, and I love people telling me they also love what we do. Unfortunately not everyone, usually after 3 or 4 drinks, seems to care much.

Now, I'd like to assume that the majority of these people aren't rude and careless in their day-to-day lives. In fact, dear reader, you may have also succumbed to the perils of alcohol and found yourself being a bit of a prat. I know I have. I remember, when I was a university student and clubs were a NEW THING [to me], all I wanted to hear was Prince. Not "Kiss", but something a bit less obvious. I imagine there are a few djs that can recall being heckled by a drunk girl. Now I know their pain.

So here's a little list of things to memorize just in case you happen to get drunk and feel that the DJ really needs to acknowledge your existence.




1. If you want to request a song from the DJ, think about it before-hand.
Here's a checklist: 
Is the club themed, say, a cabaret club? 
If yes, do not request Rihanna. 
Is the club currently playing a certain type of music that doesn't work with your request?
If yes, do not request it. 
Is the club currently just winding up/just winding down?
If yes, do not request that dancefloor tune.
Do you want to come across as a knuckle-dragging primate?
If yes, request Rihanna*

*I have no issue with Rihanna, we even play some Rihanna occasionally, but she is not the be-all and end-all of music. We get Rihanna requests multiple times a night (previously it was Beyonce, but I guess she's out of vogue). Requesting Rihanna at a cabaret club (or some other themed event such as a speakeasy) is like traveling to Rome, Paris or Barcelona and only eating fish and chips. The fish and chips will still be there when you get back to England.  

2. If the DJ doesn't take requests or doesn't have the song you'd like, do not say any of the below:

• But you HAVE to have it.
• You aren't a proper DJ then.
• You've got a computer, right (if they are using a laptop in their set-up), so can't you download it?
• I've got it on my phone, can I plug it in?
• But I've paid £XXXX amount here tonight!

Any of the above makes you sound like a vile human being. Harsh, but true.

3. Never, unless you happen to be particularly knowledgeable about the subject, assume you understand what the DJ is doing at all times. Sneaking a quick look at sticking your nose in the way of a laptop, seeing something spinning and assuming the computer is doing all the work is extremely naive. 

4. Never tell the DJ how to do their job. 

How would you enjoy us hovering over your shoulder while at your work, probably as a data analyst, pointing out everything you've done wrong? Sorry middle-aged gawky white guy, but we dropped our beat in perfect time, but I'm so glad that you and your friends feel the need to sit and critique the music we've been playing for the past 7 hours straight.

5. We like seeing you enjoy yourself, but waving your arms around (with a glass of drink loosely in your clutches) near our equipment is incredibly unnerving. Please wave the drink over your friend's head instead. Buying them a new shirt will be far less expensive than the £1000+ it would cost to replace a piece of our gear. 

6. Leaning your back against the DJ booth is just fucking rude. If the venue has walls, which is likely, this will suit your needs just as well. Would you turn your back against a live band? Probably not, so don't do it to us. There are plenty of other places, such as NOT DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE BOOTH, that you can look bored or try to have a phone call (I shit you not, I shit. you. not.)

7. The DJ booth is not, and will never be, space that you are able to enter uninvited. Especially if you are naked (Again, I shit you not, this has happened to me - it was a fetish club, but still).

8. Those headphones I have clapped to my head? Yeah, those are actually working and I am actually doing something. Interrupting me to ask menial questions such as "Where is the bathroom?" is about as irritating as an irritable bowel (which I assume you have, due to the desperation of your question).

9. The DJ booth is not a cloakroom. The incredibly limited space behind us and under our feet is reserved for FRIENDS or people that ask especially politely and have small items. Handing us a huge bunch of flowers and expecting us to pull a fucking vase out of our collective arse is obviously going to result in a facial expression that reads "are you fucking serious?" 

(via No Breasts No Requests)

10. If you stand in front of the booth and mouth something, I CANNOT hear you. When I gesture for you to come around to my ear hole, it might be because I CANNOT hear you. Moving one step to the left and mouthing again will not make it any clearer. Sometimes I can't hear people even if they are shouting into my ear hole, but that may just be an automatic defense I've built up against stupid requests. 

11. And finally.... When the DJ has been playing for a long time, long past the stated closing time of the night in order to keep you entertained, some appreciation wouldn't go amiss. Cheering and clapping is AWESOME. Booing, demanding they play for longer and sneering at them when they don't rebel against the very large bouncer (who you can clearly see is telling them to stop) is NOT AWESOME.

Remember, politeness goes a long way. 

2012 in style through Instagram

Better late than never, right? A rundown of some of my favourite looks this year!

I wanted to do this via instagram (although I only started using Instagram in April) as most of the time I only manage to snap my outfits on there rather than set up a full photoshoot! I'll also do a run-down of my photography during 2012... at some point soon!

April - May

Clockwise L-R: Wearing Lady Lucie Latex for Torture Garden, a french revolution inspired outfit for White Mischief, can't remember what this was for but wearing the Tuxedo Playsuit from Playful Promises, Boom Boom Club at Old Vic Tunnels.

June - July

Clockwise L-R: Shiny and stripey for Boom Boom Club's Prosperos Tavern at Southbank, culture clash for Rumpus, before shooting in my kokoshnik, wearing Kaori's Latex Dreams for Torture Garden.

August - September

Clockwise L-R: I think my boyfriend and I were going out for our 3rd anniversary, performing at the V&A's LoliPop event, outfit for attending the Lingerie Awards, gold and red for Torture Garden

October - November

Clockwise L-R: fez and feathers for The Burning Beat, my half bride half groom halloween costume worn for The Burning Beat, another outfit for TBB, a light outfit for having dinner at Micca Club in Rome.

November - December

All outfits for The Burning Beat, excluding the bottom right, which I wore to work's Christmas party!

 I've dressed up a lot more in the past few months, mainly due to working at The Burning Beat each Saturday. I think I may have honed my style to be more detailed (and more GOLD), and purchased clothing that works in my "fancy" wardrobe (I have two wardobes!).

This year I hope to add even more detail to my outfits, and work on some headpieces and more extreme makeup!

Which of these looks is your favourite?

The Burning Beat: Every Saturday at House of Wolf

I've been quite busy recently, but not with photography work, which I'm afraid may start to take a back seat until I get into the swing of my new routine!

As you may know, I am also part of a DJ duo known as The Roustabouts. For some time we have mused on the wish of starting our own club, something different from the cabaret we all know and love. And funnily enough, we got a call from David of the infamous Boom Boom Club, and The Burning Beat was born!

 I obviously didn't think I had enough strings to my bow!

The venue, House of Wolf, is a three floor Victorian pleasure palace, located in one of my favourite places, Upper Street in Angel. Each month the house plays host to a new resident chef, bringing their own brand of experimental cuisine to the venue. Not to mention the exciting looking experimental cocktails to be found in the Apothecary Bar upstairs (I haven't tried them yet, but you can BET I will do).

The interior of House of Wolf harkens back to it's historic beginnings (the front porch of the building is still the same from it's music hall days as "The Hare and Hounds" in the 1830s) with exposed brickwork, drooping steampunk-esque chandeliers, and embellished stag skulls. 

House of Wolf still shares the same location and porch as The Hare and Hounds, a music hall from the 1830s

We are lucky enough to take to the floor each Saturday, bringing a new brand of AUDIO, CURIO and CABARET. Last week we kicked off with the likes of Felipe Reyes, Roxy Velvet, Lisa Lottie and AMAZING band Tankus the Henge. Not to mention music galore from ourselves and David Harris!

 

To keep up to date with who will be performing each week, and what else will be going down at The Burning Beat, make sure you follow our Facebook page!

This Month in Pictures

For more follow me on instagram - @Swiczeniuk!

My outfit for attending the UK Lingerie Awards last night! Wearing a frame bra by Karolina Laskowska.

Top Left - I went to the Lingerie Awards on behalf of Playful Promises, as Emma, the designer, couldn't make it. We didn't win in the categories we were nominated in, but feel proud of Kiss Me Deadly for their award! They happened to leave it with me while I was guarding my skull vodka (which is now happily in my own home!). 

Top Right - The venue for the awards was beautiful!

Bottom Left - Last week The Roustabouts were honoured to DJ the closing night of Marisa Carnesky's Tarot Drome. We also watched the show, which was fantastic and creepy. At the start of the after party a few of the performers took to the stage to show off their own acts. I absolutely loved H. Plewis, and managed to take this surreal shot of Vicky Butterfly's Moth act (which I had previously taken studio shots of).

Bottom Right - Suri Sumatra also took to the stage - she is so stunning, and I love her style. She also used a piece of music that I recognised from The Fall - instantly winning my heart.

Top Left - Last week we also DJed a wedding, which was absolutely beautiful. Such a sweet couple, and the bride had BUILT a booth for us!

Top Right - Mark and I and Miss Miranda and her boyfriend Anthony all went to go and see Cantina. I'm so glad I grabbed tickets to go, as it was the best piece of cabaret I have ever seen. I loved every minute, and I'll have to write a post about it.

Bottom Left - Dressed up ready to DJ Torture Garden - taking my kokoshnik for it's first outing.

Bottom Right - On the 31st of August we DJed a lolita themed late night event at the V&A museum, called Loli POP! Rather than play typical Jrock or a sweet set we opted for a video-game electro set, which seemed to go down a treat. To celebrate, we put out a special mix of just part of the set we played, which has almost reached 1000 plays (as I'm writing this)!

In August we were also honoured to play a Time Out Paris event at La Bellevilloise in Paris! I haven't been to Paris for a very long time so this was a new experience for me. Unfortunately, despite learning French at an early age, my ability to speak any other language is terrible, but we did eventually manage to find the hotel! 

As we were only there for one night, we wanted to squeeze in as much as possible, but I just cannot wait to go back. It was so beautiful, and so art nouveau everywhere. When we first got there we walked down to the Notre Dame and sat at a brasserie listening to an accordion player (so typical but so lovely!). 

The night itself was incredibly fun, and sponsored by Monkey Shoulder whiskey, which sure does create some yummy cocktails (bottom image). 

The next day I just had to go to see the Palais Garnier, the famous Opera house! We went on a tour, and seeing the beautiful golden hallway (top right image) brought tears to my eyes. The inside of the auditorium was equally beautiful, with an exquisitely painted stage curtain (top left image) - which was an illusion!