Pink Bow City Magazine - The Last Issue Part II

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A BIO OF GABBEY MUSIC 20 • THE MAKING OF SHANNON BROOKE'S BOOK GIRLS 26 • AN INTERVIEW WITH OUR COVER MODEL ANGELIQUE NOIRE 38 • FRANKIE F I CT I C I O U S - T H E S U GA R I N YO U R ST R I PT E A 5 4 • T H E C O M PA N I E S W E LOVE 70

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Ta m e r a Vo n Ta r t Photo: Photos by Ana J Wardrobe: OC Wonderland Studios Jewelry: Joseff of Hollywood

Young Photography: Lars Kommienezuspadt Location: Pink Horror Show, NYC Wardrobe: Agent Provocateur & Playful Promises

Sun Moon

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Miss

Photography: Lars Kommienezuspadt Wardrobe: Kiss Me Deadly Lingerie & Orchard Corset Location: Courtesy of DJ Maybelline, Las Vegas

Victory Violet

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Model: Yasi Nadershahi Photography: Lars Kommienezuspadt Hair: His Vintage Touch and Lizette Garza Make-up: Stephanie Weber Wardrobe Stylist: Michelle Terris

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Model: Ashleeta Beauchamp Photography: Lars Kommienezuspadt Hair and Make-up: Heads Will Roll Salon Location: Ralph's Speakeasy, Las Vegas

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Doris

Photography: Lars Kommienezuspadt Hair: His Vintage Touch & MUA Shanna Cistulli Set Design: Daniel Luna

Mayday

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Ga b b e y M u s i c Steven Jon Horner Photography 1 8

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Gabbey Music Gabbey Music is a pinup model with lots of colorful, traditional tattoos.

She’s obsessed with vintage fashion and getting dolled up. She spends her weekdays working full time at one of the top advertising agencies in the world and on the weekend is able to dive into her love of pinup.

Through the pinup lifestyle, she has found her passion and also met many other women who share her same interests. She supports body positivity and encourages other women to feel confident in their own skin. She also enjoys volunteering, whether it be for animals or veterans — if there is help needed, she loves to lend a hand. This modern pinup gal loves what she does and plans to keep collecting amazing tattoos from accomplished artists.

Pinup Page: www.facebook.com /gabbeymusicpinup Photography: Autumn Luciano of Decadence Dolls 2 1

Miss Jessica Louise Photography: All About Pout MUAH: Doll Face Deluxe

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The Making Of: Wr i t t e n b y D H Ro d r i g u e z

Make no mistake: Shannon Brooke is an artist. Not some stuffy, confusesprivilege-with-depth-ofcharacter artist, but your classically punk rock, mini skirt with combat boots, lives in a crazy bird nest, wild-eyed adventurer artist, who channels disregard for self-preservation into good times and amazing photographs.

I wasn’t fully aware of this fact when we arrived at her doorstep late last year, bag full of breakfast burritos in tow, to help her realize a long-standing dream of releasing a book of her

images onto the world.

My wife and I are the brains, workforce, and pocketbook of a little independent publishing house called Working Class Publishing. Long standing fans of her work, we were happy enough just to meet Shannon at Viva Las Vegas, never guessing that she would eventually entrust this project to us, leading us to her home on a gloomy November day in Northern California.

Shannon’s place is intrinsically cool – thick concrete walls of an old factory converted into apartments, overlooking the beauty and decay of downtown Sacramento.

There’s just enough room for Shannon and her elder pit bull Jezebel, hardly enough room for her collection of art, artifacts, records, and memorabilia, and only a laughable amount of space for a giant/ clumsy fellow to set up shop for a solid week of production work.

It’s just a book of pictures, 2 6

right? How hard can it be to make such a thing?

Here’s a list of why making a collection of Shannon’s work isn’t easy: The sheer volume of material: Shannon has been shooting for a long time, and has created thousands of beautiful fully finished and retouched images that have been circulated online and printed in the scene’s most notable publications.

On top of that, there are thousands more never-seen and unfinished works of art just yearning to break free, packed terabytes of disk space crammed into drawers and cabinets – an endless supply of gorgeous images at your disposal.

It’s not a matter of trying to fill a book, but struggling to find the perfect collection of photos that would become Girls by Shannon Brooke.

Shannon has crazy/ awesome ideas – lots of them. Gold-embossed fabric cover with a matte-finished

Shannon Brooke's Book, Girls picture down the middle?

Sure, no problem. Can we insert a semi-translucent title page at the start of each new section, creating a cool visual effect where the first picture teases us from behind the name of the model? Ummm… yeah, probably. Let me call the printer again…

Shannon will not, under any circumstances, put out unsatisfactory work. There are a lot of pin-up books on the market, all with varying degrees of quality.

This would not be a loose collection of questionablyplaced, watermarked images thrown together to make a buck.

Girls would be a testament to time spent: calibrating color across equipment, adjusting saturation, retouching, fixing, reimagining, scrapping everything and starting over. Going over paper samples, testing the translucency of special order sheets over pictures, and enough calls to the

printer rep that you hear an audible sigh instead of “hello.” This is what makes her book so special – attention to detail, a demand for quality that sometimes lacks in a forprofit business.

By the end of our week together, we had eaten a number of pizzas and burritos, blasted some great music out of open windows into the dreary Sacramento rain, and stared at picture options until our minds teetered on the edge of sanity. It would still be months of changes, alternate layouts, and fresh ideas before we were close to done. Then add another full-lockdown week of work while fighting sub-zero Wisconsin temperatures with fresh-baked cookies and small-batch beer. It’s then that you understand how lucky you are to even know Shannon, much less get to be part of such an amazing project.

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Girls by Shannon Brooke is available at: www. workingclasspublishing. com

Jennifer Humphrey • MUA Becky Joyce ¬ Grinkie Girls Photography

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SHANNON BROOKE

MODELS: KELLY EDEN, GIA GENEVIEVE, MOLLY MORRISON, KATHLEEN RAYE CLOTHING PRETTY ATTITUDE & MILLIE MOORE MAKEUP JENNIFER CORONA & MALICIOUS HAIR DANIELLE JUNE & TIFFANY RAELENE LOCATION TRAILER TOWN | CAR JEFE WRIGHT JEWELRY SPARKLE LUX 2 9

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Model: Miss Mae La Roux Photography: Shannon Brooke Makeup & Hair: Lindy Sue Location: Skipper World Headquarters 3 8

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ANGELIQUE-

NOIRE Photos by Vestige Photography Makeup by Jennifer Corona Hair by Angelique Noire Wardrobe by Unique Vintage, Ceil Chapman, Trina Turk, Pinup Revival, Shoshanna, & Elle Mcpherson

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WHAT GOT YOU INTO PINUP MODELING?

Though the 1940s/50s style is constantly borrowed from and revamped up until today, I decided to start my pinup persona in 2011 as a result of rarely seeing any images of Black women wearing the styles of that period. Times were different then, and Black women were rarely hailed as beautiful or glamorous but it doesn't mean they didn't exist. Being that this style is still repeated decades later, it continued to repeat the trend of omitting women of color. As a result, I had to show that Black women can be glamorous and the "Girl Next Door" in the 1940s/50s style too. I have always had a passion for this style.

I didn't even know pinup modeling even existed in this day and age when I began my journey. I just decided to share pics that I had taken in that style and post them online. As result, I got tremendous positive feedback.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE?

"Don't wait for the world to recognize your greatness. Live it and let the world catch up to you."- the source is unknown BEING "THE BLACK PINUP" YOU HAVE INSPIRED MANY GIRLS OF OTHER RACES TO FEEL COMFORTABLE IN THE PINUP STYLE. WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO GIRLS WHO LOOK TO YOU FOR INSPIRATION?

Often I hear women say how much they admire the style, but they don't think they can pull it off. I constantly say that people during that time dressed according to the styles and trends of that period...all races, body types, genders, etc. We are able to look back and revisit styles from decades before and learn how to achieve the look of that time too. All it takes is practice, the confidence to commit to the look, and putting one's own twist to the style to make it work.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PEOPLE YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM AS A MODEL?

Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Eartha Kitt, Dita Von Teese, and the many other images of woman during the 1940s/50s.

CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR HANDMADE JEWELRY LINE?

In the past, I handmade jewelry and briefly sold them through Pinup Girl Clothing, but it is not something I have continued to do. It took way more time to do than I could afford to take, so I only do it for myself or friends occasionally. I have too many things that I benefit more from, in which to invest my time. Now my focus is split between my family & two careers. I am hoping to make real estate my primary career in the near future. In business there's branding, now I can merge my passions for the pinup style & real estate together. Stay tuned, I will be sharing photos on my IG handles @TheBlackPinup and @ AngelArchRealty. You might spot some familiar faces from mainstream media or even see dream homes to attach to your Pinterest boards and desire to buy.

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HOW DID YOU AND DITA VON TEESE BECOME ACQUAINTED?

When I started getting more involved in attending social gatherings where people dressed in the 1940s/50s style, I would constantly hear about Dita, but I didn't know much about her when I started. It was suggested I go and see her perform. Though I was a bit weirded out by the thought of going to see another woman disrobe, I kept an open mind, and saw her perform. She made her craft seem like an art exhibition to admire. I also got called up during intermission to participate in a dance contest though I was extremely reluctant to do so. All in all, I had a great time. So wherever I was told about Dita having personal appearances throughout Los Angeles, I would show up. I guess being an over 6 ft tall, chocolate skin woman, dressed in the 1940s/50s style towering over everyone, made it easy to spot me. After going to a few of her personal appearances, she became familiar with me. During the launch of her lingerie line at Bloomingdales, we exchanged information. She then followed me on IG and later posted a photo of me on her IG wall and other social networks. As a result of that, I was asked to be a part of her beauty book called "Your Beauty Mark"! She is very sweet and at times has approached me to say hi before I would even see her, while out and about town. I think that's pretty cool ;) YOUR SKIN IS SO FLAWLESS, DO YOU HAVE ANY SKIN OR BEAUTY TIPS FOR YOUR FELLOW READERS?

Most of it has to do with genetics and the application of makeup. I maintain what I have by washing and moisturizing with inexpensive products. I make an effort to use natural/organic products nothing fancy. Black Soap, Castile soap, coconut oil or olive oil are the staple products in my household. Every now and then I use an organic moisturizer from a beauty product line, but it's not something on which I would give credit for my skin quality.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE NOT MODELING?

I'm a mom with many hobbies. Often times I am doing mommy stuff for my kids, but I also like dancing, doing arts and crafts, watching classic movies, traveling, and singing (though I shouldn't really qualify the noises I make as singing ;) ) I also started working in the field of my other passion of helping people find their new home as a real estate agent. My home base is at Keller Williams of Beverly Hills. So if anyone is interested in buying or selling a home in the Southern CA area, feel free to contact me ( AngeliqueJ2u@gmail.com for now). I am part of a great team of realtors.

HOW DO YOU GET YOUR PAID MODELING GIGS? ANY ADVICE FOR MODELS WHO ARE TRYING TO GO PROFESSIONAL?

I am represented by modeling agencies throughout the country, but they don't get me my pinup gigs. I had been modeling professionally for a long time before I started pinup modeling. My advice is to find out who to direct your email to submit your photos to your local modeling agency. A lot has changed since I started modeling, so I am not totally sure of the process. It's easy to find local agencies to call and ask what they need to consider taking on new models.

ASHLY COCO AVALO M O N E

N & N T

PHOTOGRAPHER/STYLIST: TAYVA MARTINEZ JEWELRY: SPARKLELUX HAIRSTYLIST: HIS VINTAGE TOUCH (PHOTO ON RIGHT)

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A D A

V I C E

Photographer: Autumn Luciano of Decadence Dolls Photography

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Model: Cherry Saint Photographer: Issue Colectivo Wardrobe: Orchard Corset, DoĂąa Elvira, Leg Avenue & Pivileged

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fictitious FRANKIE

Striptea

T H E S U GA R I N YO U R

Frankie Fictitious Is the definition of classic hollywood glamour with a spoonful of showgirl sparkle. Frankie is one of the Bay Areas up and coming starlets. First stepping foot onto the burlesque stage in 2013 Frankie became addicted.

"There is nothing like the exchange of energy between audience and performer, it's electric!" says Fictitious.

Her charming, flirtatious, vintage inspired striptease quickly began captivating audiences from all over the world. Frankie uses burlesque as an artistic outlet and a way to invite you into her imagination. She aims to push the boundaries of burlesque by putting an innovative twist on classic burlesque.

You can catch her performing with Fishnet Follies Classic Burlesque Revue from Oakland, CA and at San Francisco's biggest burlesque show, Hubba Hubba Revue.

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Jackie Photographer: Holly Jo Photo Hair: Tara Alexander Makeup: Susana Celaya

Wallace

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E B O N Y

INFERNO

P H OTO G R A P H Y MAKE UP

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BY ARTIST

V I VA VA N STO RY A LY N E H A LVA J I A N

C H A N E L L E

L A N AY

Photographer TheMiggs.com MUAH Blanca Martin Tattoos by Kelley Goodwin

a bright and zesty collection by devel

CUSTOM DESIGN

Made for you, Inspired by you.

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