NEW YORK, NEW YORK....MA’AM!

 by Rose_Blossom

“If I can make it There, I’ll make it anywhere!”  That’s what everybody was singing at the QE4 Summer Choice Award Gala, held this last Saturday night at the QE4 Frontierzone.  The champagne was bubbling, the Stetson’s were tilted, the chaps were chappin’, and Lady Liberty did not let us down!  Complete the evening with a fireworks extravaganza, and you’ve got yourself the makin’s of a real celebration!  Approximately 90 of There’s citizens were there to honor, not only the recipients of the coveted Summer Choice Designer Awards, but also to pay tribute to a few of the designers who have been working so hard on the upcoming Wild West Event (October).

The QE4 zone made an absolutely beautiful Central Park.  There were trees everywhere, and the Metropolitan museum, which was showcasing the magnificent Wild West artwork of Ms. Savory, was positioned majestically in the center.   

In the bay by QE4, the Statue of Liberty stood tall and regal, in all her glory!  This reporter can’t honestly remember when I beheld such a splendid display of art and design!  The builder, Merit, attended the awards with Fazzerelli, who also helped build the statue.  There was an emotional moment, during the presentation, in which the Master of Ceremonies, JoeyG, was slightly overcome when describing the first time his eyes beheld the Lovely Lady!  It truly touched us all to see this great symbol of liberty made manifest in the world of There. 

I spoke to JoeyG briefly about the award ceremony and the history of the awards.  “QE4 has a Central Core Club that does the preliminary voting,” he said.  “We start out with 10 names in each category suggested by the nominating committee, We then narrow it down to five names in each category and have the entire Central vote to choose 3 finalists. The 3 finalists are then voted on by the entire membership of Queer Eye 4.” 

I asked Joey when the awards began.  “We started the awards with a bang honoring Jinx_tv as 2003's Designer of the Year. It was the prelude to the Choice Awards which started officially in the spring of 2004.”   

He then added, “We plan to honor Therian designers three times a year. Spring Summer and Fall. The nine recipients of the Choice awards will then be offered to all of There to help chose the QE4 Choice Designer of the Year.” 

The recipients of this season’s awards were ZachC (a very impressive 2^nd consecutive presentation!) for vehicle design, Geea for fashion design, and Ashy for home décor design.  I had honor of the exclusive interview all of the award winners.  

Fabulous Fashion, Fast Buggies, and… A Refridgerator/Freezer?

 

I must admit, there is a special place in my heart for this lady.  What do you say about someone who contributes so much to the style of There, while at the same time, keeping one finger on the pulse of the community?  As if that weren’t enough, just a few months ago, Geea picked up the pieces of a dissolved newspaper, gathered up some recently unemployed writers (myself, included), brought in a few sponsors, and then added “Publisher/Editor-in-Chief” of The Voice of There to her profile.

When you hear Therians describe Geea’s designs, the words “innovative,” “fluid,” “trendy,” “stunning,” “imaginative,” …. The list could go on and on.  But, I know that she’s blushing now, so nobody look at her!

And then, Zach, who takes a blank buggy and uses it like a fine artist would an empty canvas.  Almost anything that you envision can be made an image on one of Zach’s buggies!  Including the New York Skyline with the two glowing spotlights reminding us of those we honor so highly.

In fact, Zach was debuting such a buggy tonight, as well as two others, honoring New York City.  The 3 buggies were to be made available in a silent auction to for the benefit of QE4 Events.  In addition, JoeyG surprised Merit and Fazzerelli with a buggy, each, to show appreciation for their work on the Statue of Liberty. 

For any of you who are not familiar with Ashy, take a look in your house, particularly your kitchen or dining room.  I personally own several of her pieces, my favorites being my dining room set, my kitchen counters, refrigerator and, let us not forget, the kitchen sink! 

Care for a Manhattan or a pitcher of martinis?  She’s made it possible.  You want a hookah?  She can sell it to you.  What about a slot machine, a lawn gazing ball, or even a pink flamingo!  All of them have been offered on our auctions, or still are!  In fact, if you do a search for the name of “Ashy,” you will come up with no less than 16 pages of every kind of object you can think of to add to your home comfort, including a fluorescent lava lamp! 

Gather ‘round while Geea and Zach both tell me a little about their designs, their awards, and their lives in There. 

Rose: When and how did you find out that you won the award?  What was your reaction?

Geea:  I didn't even know I was nominated then Joey im'd me and told me I was in the top three.  I figured well at least I made the top three.  When the final voting took place I kept peeking to see how the voting was going. Except Joey would always catch me.  Dam those notices when someone enters your zone.  When I won I was pretty shocked because I didn't think anyone really knew my designs except for my friends.

Zach:  I was stunned. I assumed that having already won one this year that I wouldn't even be nominated again, much less win it.

Rose: When you are working on your designs, how do you begin the design process?

Geea: I get an idea in my head then look around the internet for the textures or styles usually it never is what I start it out to be but I'm always happy with it.

Zach:  Sometimes I just wake up in the middle of the night with an idea. I try to write it down, and go back to sleep, but if there isn't a pen and paper right there, it can go poof 'cause I don't get up easily. LOL This also is an indicator that I have no life. 

Rose: Do you look at magazines, TV or movies for design ideas?

Geea:  The bridal sites have great textures.  It's weird I go shopping in real life and look at clothes and think wonder how that would look on my avie.

 Rose:  Did you always want to be a designer in There?

Geea: I started there in June of 2003.  By July I started designing.  My first design took me about 5 minutes and I just submitted it I didn't know what I was doing funny thing is that jacket still sells.

Zach:  Yeah, pretty much. I fell in love with the buggies when I first arrived. When I discovered there was a way to create your own, I was hooked. That took me all of an hour.. LOL

Rose:  Have any other designers (in or out of There) ever been an inspiration to you? 

Geea:  Of course when I started there Mercuia and Kittenkat were larger then life to me.  I remember meeting Mercuia once you would have thought I met Julia Roberts or something.  She had on a pair of pants I made and I took that as a great compliment.

Zach:  Absolutely: Grimm, Spyderbytez, Onus, were not only inspirations, but also helpful and they became friends. A new designer.. Jinxed_Karma keeps me on my toes! 

Rose:  Do you ever ask other designers for feedback before you submit anything?

Geea:  I do ask JoeyG what he thinks because he is a pro shopper :)  He only nixed one jacket I made.  I think the way I designed really changed when I did his club jackets.  That took me a week to do and he requested a lot of changes I learned a lot about photoshop that week.  Also detail and textures.

Rose:  Tell me a little bit about your non-design activities?  What do you enjoy doing in There? 

Geea:  Hmmm well let’s see, I have this little project call The Voice of There, perhaps you have heard of it.  That's my second love. Designing and publishing the amazing things members do and create in There.  I'm lucky to be with such a great crew of writers.  I also enjoy hanging out on Nacho Bay it's my second home in There and I am there more then my house in Ootay.  If people like my stuff I think that's cool if people read the paper well that's even better.  I always get a kick out of seeing someone wearing something I made.  There is a tremendous amount of talent in There I'm just happy to be a part of it. It may sound corny but it's the truth. 

Zach:   I love working with others on themed events. The next big one will be the Wild Wild West. Two others  I was involved with were the Wizard of Nene, and of course the Fantasy Fair

Unfortunately, Ashy could not attend the award ceremony.  We would like to wish her the very best of luck, and I’m sure that I speak for everyone reading this when I say how much we enjoy her designs, and we are looking forward to more great things from her.  We would also like to thank her for giving us so much talent and imagination in our world.  If you would like to visit her auctions, you may do so at Ashy’s Auctions in There.

We wish to extend our congratulations to the winners of the 2004 QE4 Summer Choice Awards, and also our deep appreciation to the organizers, artists and hosts who made the evening possible!