Holly suggested I should write about my experience of becoming a
catwalk model a couple of w/ends before Easter. [actually there were
6w/ends busy, busy, busy with either leisure, pleasure, crafts, or
walking challenges!]
I was invited by Sue Betts the local area delegate for Creative Fibre
to be a model at the Autumn Home Show in the Crafts/Stitches arena
http://www.autumnhomeshow.co.nz/
because she said I was tall and had a good body! That I took as a
great compliment as I have worked darn hard over the last 18mths on
that whole aspect. But as time neared to the whole caper and those
w/ends started filling up fast I tried to get out of it. Telling Sue
that getting there for 3days for an hour or so on the public
transport was going to be tooooooo much!
Sue of course found the answer to all that. She got the show
organisers to issue me with 2 free passes for me to find friends to
chauffuer me. And 2 friends indeed did do that. One a weaver and the
other an Embroiderer. The Sat I made my own way there.
So on the Friday we turned up and about 12ish and found that my time
for kickoff was 1pm. We were not really shown what to do other than
here is the catwalk a T-shape about 6 x 8' - our clothing had already
been organised as to which garments we would wear. There were 5
regulars every day and an extra person changed every day.
And to make life even more interesting I found out that we were to
all "star" in a movie [more on that later] And that one of the craft
retailers at the show was having a knitwear parade - showing how to
use the yarn they sell AND that they were short of models!!
I really had a lot of problems with our first show of the
day........I didn't know how difficult it would be to a/swan up and
down b/some of the clothes. But my chauffeur for the day was directly
at the end of the runway and she kept saying to smile. Remember we
are also being captured on film so there were lights and men and
stuff. The extra model for today was actually an actor and she was
trying to enthuse us/me.......
I wish in hindsight they had done their filming on another
day......because the knitwear people gave me sooooooo much help that
I was much more confident from there on in :-)
One of the garments was huge - it was a fabulous deep chocolate brown
handspun with cables cardigan. The arms dangled of the end of my arms
and I have very, very long arms and the dropped shoulders droooped
to. I came out and Elizabeth proceeded to say "this sweater is for a
man with a 44" chest; it's really tooooooooo big for Cathy but she is
soooooooooo tall we thought it would look OK" aha methinks. I grew in
the end to quite love that bulky garment. And tried all sorts of ways
to make it look good.
I had a lot of cardigan/type jackets - one had a problematic
buttons/hole where either the holes were tooo big or was it that the
buttons were tooo small!
On the 3rd day the extra model didn't turn up!!! And I got the job to
double dip except one item just wouldn't fit me!!! So we would be
cued up to leave the small cubby hole dressing room and everyone
would be saying "who's wearing #4.......ummmmmmm Cathy is doing that
but first she is #1!!" it was a mad scramble to have me out there.
Not helped along by the children - yep 3 under 5s and a tiny 8wk old
baby all models!!
And I went out in the finale wearing the most gorgeous frothy silk
and associated nice stuff dress wearing my big boots!!
Now about the movie - since that day they have had two "rap parties"
and neither I have been able to get toooooooo. I think they would
have been interesting just to be amongst these actor/producer types
and it's certainly added to my life experiences! I don't know when
the short film will be aired. I think it's going to a Canadian film
festival. But I hope to hear about it and maybe I will feature;
depends I suppose on the cutting floor bit.
and no I don't have an exaggerated walk - but I do know how to twirl
and smile and just feel good in front of JOe Bloggs public & friends.
Yes everyday I had my fans others who were there every day with the
CF demos and stuff. And Sue tells me she is in the process of
organising next years show!! I think that means I'm going to be a
model again :-)
cathy in NZ where it's now Wintertime but still I have very little
time for crafts/fibres because I'm involved more with administration
of both SETS and now the Editor of the Auckland Embroiderers Guild n/letter!
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