Daily Loaf

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. It’s hard enough to wrangle a hip group of artists/musicians/designers/models together at the same place and time, but it’s even harder to convince anyone to come see the spectacle. The visionaries at Square One do just that with scenester-crowded, can’t-miss-‘em shindigs — like this Saturday’s eco-themed Magnum Opus — that draw party people in droves.

More than 75 visual artists display their work (among them CL faves like Blue Lucy, Kat Wilson, KLAAREN and Robert Wegmann), Jeremy Gloff hosts his album release party, and dance and fashion shows by Bella Danza, Enigma Dance Kru, Kinetic Dance Group and Wear To The Tear Fashion mean that there’s always something shiny and new to look at onstage. The cherry on top is that this nightlong art extravaganza is completely gratis. Sat., Nov. 14, 7-10 p.m. , The Ritz Ybor, 1503 E. Seventh Ave., Ybor City, free, squareoneflorida.com. – Franki Weddington

Accessories are a big part of any girl’s life. They help to dress up and enhance any outfit while giving you a chance to show off a little of your personality. What better way to do so than with unique eco friendly bracelets and cuffs? In the past, it was difficult to find accessories for the person that was trying to incorporate green living into their life but that is no longer the case.  GoGreenItems.com now offers many products that are both stylish and eco-friendly. Unique bracelets and cuffs made from old vinyl records are a great example of trendy eco-fashion.

Recycled record cuffs and bracelets are designed from using part of a recycled vinyl record. You’ll find a variety of styles available to choose from. Some of them are hand painted using acrylics that are sealed with a clear coat. Others are black, which match any outfit. They’re a great way to enhance your favorite outfit while showing your love for music and the environment all at the same time.
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Do you remember the old VHS cassette tapes that have long been replaced by DVDs? Do you ever wonder what became of all those outdated tapes? Many of them, no doubt, ended up in landfills but some of them have actually been put to good use. Many of them are being used to design beautiful cosmetic bags and handbags for your fashion pleasure. You’ll be amazed at just how lovely these items look especially when matched up with one of your favorite outfits.

Recycled VHS cassette tape handbags and cosmetic bags are a real piece of art. They’ll go with anything and they can be used for any occasion regardless of whether its business or social. They make great gifts for the holidays or as a gift for yourself when you feel like you deserve something special. The handbags are designed in several different sizes and shapes to suit most any taste or need. You’ll find they have enough room to carry all of your necessities.
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Stryker Vawn, the XXX fetish tag-team from Austin, Texas, will perform for an intimate crowd at the VIP Dungeon Show, Saturday Sept. 26. The leather clad Stryker and perpetually topless Vawn, took a break from whipping and prodding each other on stage to bare it all to CL.

-How would you describe a Stryker Vawn performance?

2 parts burlesque, finely chopped

1 part Vaudeville, peeled and pressed

6 parts perversion, stewed in sex butter

3 parts fantasy, drizzled with honey

1 part fury, ground coarsely

Mix contents vigorously in your mind until creamy thick.

-Do relatives know about your alter egos?

YES. When we first started, there was always a family member in the audience. They think we are weird but accept us for doing what we enjoy.

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The Loafies — our annual celebration in honor of the Best of the Bay issue — are your chance to meet the winners and mingle with the tastemakers of Tampa Bay at our homecoming/house party/awards show (no word on whether Kanye’s gonna ruin my award presentation). Come out for food, fashion, drink, dancing and more, with live music by Best of the Bay winners Nervous Turkey (pictured) and Shunda K, 500 Wolves and more. Rumor has it that The Senator will be making a guest appearance, though how he could possibly top last year’s show is anybody’s guess.

What awaits at the end of of a two hour-long, cushy Jet Blue flight north; a 10-minute AirTrain ride west, a 55-minute subway ride uptown; and a climb up a particularly steep and stained flight of stairs?  New York City! (In my best Pace Picante Sauce voice), and a bottle of Poland Spring water, of course.  I just returned from the Big Apple last night, and in between shameless gawks at all the pretty buildings, I managed to survey the fashions of the hip and uninhibited.

See what they’re wearing right now, or at least yesterday, in NYC — below the jump.

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What’s the buzz on the latest issues in the Green Community? Check out what you may have missed this last week:

Living with the land: Florida’s first Earthship (video) – Eric Stewart gives a firsthand look at Florida’s first Earthship in Manatee County, and gets his hands dirty while helping out.

Not getting a million-dollar bonus this year? Think local stimulus- Scott Milinder shows us a real stimulus package that will work for us: we all commit to “Buying Local First.” According to recent economic studies, shifting your buying habits to locally owned businesses creates more circulation of money, more economic activity and more jobs in the local economy.

Eco-friendly summertime fashion accessories- Are you searching for a unique and beautiful purse to enhance your summer wardrobe? Then why not consider one of these recycled handbags that are made from recycled items that help to promote a cleaner and healthier world, reports Jen Meier.
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Sat. July 25. Skin Two of London. An erotic art and fashion party. Three medical fashion shows by Baby Love’s Latex, Maggie Delena, and Ceres Moon Latex. Performances by Gia Nova and Jade Vixen. DJs Jade Vixen, DJ Sean, DJ Neiva, DJ Nemesis. Models: Angelica Syn, Betty Jaded, Carissa, Evelyn Rose, Jade Malice, Kamila, Lagata Negra, Lena, Maus, Secra, Silent K, Steevie Synthetic, Tararyze, and more. Vending by Angelica Syn and Orlando TNG. Fetish wear encouraged: fantasy, goth, glam, cyber, leather, lingerie, uniforms, vinyl etc. $10-15. 18+. The Castle 2004 N. 16th St. Ybor 33605. Read the rest of this entry »

There are many exciting and fun outfits available for summer wear and if you’re like most women, you can’t wait to start wearing yours. Along with these summer fashions, accessories are a must and there is nothing better than accessorizing with handbags and clutches.

Are you searching for a unique and beautiful purse to enhance your summer wardrobe? How about a stunning clutch to dress up your “night on the town” outfit? Then why not consider one of the recycled handbags that help to promote a cleaner and healthier world offered here at www.GoGreenItems.com.

These are some of the most gorgeous purses and clutches found anywhere and they’re made from recycled items that are used everyday. It’s amazing how ordinary items that would have normally been discarded can be transformed into such exciting and attractive handbags.   

The names of a few of your options are listed below:

• Recycled Juice Box Purse (pictured at right)
• Recycled Juice Box Sling Bag
• Recycled Rubber Purses – Cruiser (made from recycled rubber inner tubes)
• Poppy Hobo Handbag (made from recycled vinyl billboards, pictured above)
• Recycled Teardrop Juice Box
• Recycled Juice Box Small, Medium and Large Clutches
• Recycled Golden Phonebook Bag (made from, you guessed it, recycled phonebooks)

If you’re a careful shopper with a genuine desire to reduce your carbon footprint, you’ll fall in love with these handbags as soon as you see them. You can make a bold statement and look great while doing it. Everyone will ask you where you got such a unique accessory item.

Once you take a closer look at some of the options available, ordinary handbags just won’t have the same appeal as before. Be the first on your block to sport one of these designer recycled handbags around and you’ll be the envy of the neighborhood. Everyone will want to know where you shop.

These purses are fun, inexpensive and they’ll add beauty and flare to your summer wardrobe. When you purchase one or more of these amazing eco-friendly handbags, you’re helping to save the environment with style.

For more infomation visit www.GoGreenItems.com

Saving the earth one item at a time!

What’s the buzz on the latest issues in the Green Community? Check out what you may have missed this last week:

Steps to becoming greener: Reducing your waste, reusing and recycling: Joshua Poll gives some useful tips for ways to start reducing, reusing, and recycling things you thought you could just throw away.

Genetically engineering cows that will produce less methane, reducing greenhouse gases: Geneticists in Canada are trying to engineer a cow that produces less methane, resulting in less greenhouse gases, reports Brian Roberts.
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Kreative Key sits down with photographer and gallery owner Marina Williams to discuss TRA’shion Fashion, coming to ARTPool Gallery July 11th…

KK – So Marina, ARTPool gallery is gearing up for another TRA’shion Fashion Show.  If you’ve never been to TRA’shion Fashion, what is it and what’s it like?

MW – TRA’shion Fashion is one of the Tampa Bay’s best creative couture fashion shows. It combines ingenuity with recycling and challenges designers to think outside of the box.  Highlighting high-fashion runway attire and the top models in Florida, TRA’shion Fashion took St. Pete by storm last year and is going to top itself with an even more extreme show on July 11th.  A definite event to pencil in and experience if you love fashion, wearable art & support local art, as this show features designers from ages 18 to 80.

KK – That sounds amazing!  I’m sure anyone into Project Runway would really enjoy this event.  If you came last year and saw TRA’shion Fashion, do you have any new surprises for those party people? Read the rest of this entry »

This article started out as a way to explore pollution caused by the fashion and textile industry, but quickly became focused um, er…elsewhere…

TheDailyGreen is (gratuitously, fortunately) rounding up a list of designers and companies that are using sustainable business models and practices to help reduce the very large impact the textile industry has on the environment.

More natural materials such as chiffon, hemp, and organic cotton are being used, along with unexpected items such as bamboo and recycled materials like rubber from tennis shoes are all being made into hot, hot, sexy lingerie by designers all over the world.  All in the name of saving the planet, of course.
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models wait to go onstage at IADT's annual fashion show

I hadn’t seen daylight since about 1 p.m., yesterday. From then on I was the backstage photographer for the International Academy of Design and Technology’s annual student fashion show.

This year’s fashion show was titled Imagine, at the A La Carte Pavilion in Tampa.  I hardly saw the runway, instead I was in the back hallway, lined with rows of costumes, ranging from sea creatures, to bikini brides, and goth couture.  At any moment, depending on which way I turned the atmosphere could be chill, frantic or anywhere in between.

See more photos after the jump: Read the rest of this entry »

Being tired of all the down economy talk, I have decided to really go full steam with Go Green Items: eco friendly clothing, recycled handbags, recycled jewelry, green home environmental products including natural organic products, solar powered gadgets and much more. We are starting to get alot of notoriety in the Tampa Bay area.

On March 21st, I was fortunate enough to be involved in a event put on by The Tampa Bay Business Committee for the Arts called the Chalk Walk, which was a free event to support and link area artists with local businesses and the community. The local artists were amazing. The event also had a silent auction in which I donated a recycled juice box purse. I featured my recycled eco friendly purses in a 10 x 10 tent in beautiful Hyde Park, Tampa, and had a wonderful day.

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Summer is coming up, and what better way to start it off than with a sneak peak at some new fashions? In addition to a killer photo shoot by Athena Torri, I have some exciting news about a new store opening in Tampa! Designer Raven Reda of Suspicious Package has wrangled in some great independent designers, artists and Tattoo..ers(?) to unite in a hip store on Howard Ave., called F.A.T. ink.

F.A.T. ink will have its soft opening May 1. We’ll get Raven in the studio later this month for a podcast to chat more about the specs and future of the store. Did I mention that Aleka Phoenix is finally going to have a steady place for people to buy clothing and accessories?

So to get you excited for all this news and the highly anticipated summer line from Aleka Phoenix check out the some shots from photoshoot”Electric” by Athena Torri with models Jojo & Jonathan Rosa, hair by our own Fusionista Tara at Salon 54 and makeup by Abra Molinari: Read the rest of this entry »

Did you know the coral reefs are being suffocated by tourists’ sunscreen? Going to the tanning bed sets up a controlled environment so you can regulate your light absorption and then have a base tan that will help you avoid sunburn and use less sunscreen, therefore preserving the coral reefs and other oceanic life affected by multitudes of tourist sunscreen!

Raydiance Tanning and Spa (and Wellness Gardens and Tea house) offers a multitude of services to keep your lifestyle “green”, healthy and inexpensive. In light of our new proposals for a universal health care system as well as the one already in place it has become all too obvious we need new ways to stay healthy that integrate into our everyday life, because the health care is way too expensive and only used in dire need. There is now a resource to end this cycle of frustration, and it located so conveniently there is no excuse to make a step to integrating preventive health care into your world.

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In episode 5 of ArtsSpeak, Creative Loafing editor David Warner talks with Marissa-Alma Nick and Tera Greene, the creative team behind the multi-disciplinary Peace Piece project and the dance opera “Take A Walk In My Shoes” which premieres February 24 at USF. This episode also introduces Brianna Kole and Lennox of The Fusionistas, CL’s new arts-and-fashion bloggers, who brought the Peace Piece to our attention.

Download

See pictures below the jump:

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Say “Hello!” to your newest resource for all things fashionable, entertaining, and eye-opening in the great Bay area!

The Fusionistas are made up of three local girls who call themselves the Fusionistas because together they combine the elements of art, fashion, hair,performance, and local life. They have avid appetites for all things interesting, underground and not yet public. they seek out what is not offered and make it their job to create a scene for it, and to give the people a purpose and something different!

It won’t be definable what we will bring you, but know that it will be something you’ve been waiting for. if you’ve ever questioned your surroundings of people and places wanting something more, we are what you’ve been asking for… here is just a sampling of the things in the works… Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not always easy to find cutting-edge men’s fashion in the Tampa Bay area. One of your best bets is Urban Body, tucked conveniently behind the Starbucks in South Tampa. The airy shop stocks a variety of hip brands — Ben Sherman, 1921 Denim, 4 You, Z Brand, 191 Unlimited — most of which can’t be found in local department stores. Looking for tight low-slung jeans, tapered-fit shirts, unique sweaters or some, uh, interesting underwear? Point your chiseled bod toward Urban Body.

Gift this: T-Shirt by Division E (pictured), $64.50; jeans by Silver Denim, $86.50. 715 S. Howard Ave. #130, Tampa, 813-251-5522, urbanbody.com.
Photo by Eric Snider
See other stops on CL’s Indie Holiday Shopping Spree here.