We may have been suffering heat stroke in August, but are back with some great new featured members for September! Pumpkin spice everything is in the air, and we can't wait to see what the autumn ahead holds for fashion and our members. If you're interested in collaborating with any of this month's featured members, use your MWN messaging feature to reach out. Profiles for each are below!
MODEL OF THE MONTH: ELIJAH HAYES
Elijah is represented by CLICK Models ATL and currently lives in Brooklyn.
PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE MONTH: GEOFFREY BADNER
Geoffrey Badner learned to print negatives and process his own film when he was 10. In high school he bought his first Nikon SLR and three lenses. He shot rolls and rolls of film and spent hours in the darkroom his dad built in the family home. In college, he bailed on photography all together.
Geoffrey worked in photo labs processing and printing other people's work for three years to help pay for school but rarely picked up a camera to shoot. He studied graphic design and became an advertising creative director and digital designer.
Over the years, he returned to photography, starting with simple street and documentary-style work that captured what was going on around him. He is now moving on from that and working to actively capture original moments that he creates.
MAKEUP ARTIST OF THE MONTH: KARIN PRICE
Karin Price, born and raised in south Florida, learned at the young age of 12 that her true passion was makeup. When she was growing up, she collected dozens of fashion magazines and would look at them for inspiration. She took that inspiration and would practice her skills on anyone that would let her. After getting an Associates Degree, she pursued her esthetician license and the production makeup artistry program at Cosmix School of Makeup Artistry in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Once this passion was fueled by education and years of freelance work in editorial, fashion, runway, and special FX, Karin became determined to make her way out to Los Angeles. That dream came true this summer when she took her chances and moved to LA at the end of July.
Why makeup artistry?
I decided to become a makeup artist because I struggled with severe acne growing up. When I started to play around with makeup and experimenting with different products on myself and friends, it made me feel confident. The bullying I had endured no longer affected how I felt about myself. I felt empowered. Although makeup is only superficial, I know firsthand what it can do for other people who are internally struggling with the same issues.
Who is your favorite makeup artist of all time?
Ve Neill is my favorite makeup artist because she is such an inspiration to makeup artists everywhere and to women in general. Not only has she received the most Academy Awards by any woman in the past for makeup, she has also worked on some of my favorite movies such as Beetlejuice, The Hunger Games, and all of Tim Burton's movies. She has an amazing ability to combine the real with the surreal and make it seamless.
What inspires you?
My biggest inspiration is people in general. I love hearing people's stories about where they come from and what inspires them to keep going. This is one of the primary reasons why I love film. In my opinion, it is the most raw form of visual artistry where you are able to perceive the complete story of a character from beginning to end.
What is your favorite project you have worked on?
To this day, working as the Movie Makeup Director at a summer camp in San Bernadino has been my favorite project I've been involved with. I built the program from the bottom up and was able to provide the students with a mini makeup school that was themed depending on the day. We had Lady Gaga Thursday, Wound Wednesday, and foundation and color theory Mondays! The kids not only loved it, but have expressed to me their budding passion for makeup artistry and their desires to perhaps pursue it as their careers. Knowing that I somehow have influenced these kids' lives positively has meant the world to me.
What genre does your work focus on?
I have mostly worked in glam/beauty, which I love, but my dream is to get more into Special FX. It is so fascinating to me, the actual realism in Special FX, and the research involved in making that vision come to life!
HAIR STYLIST OF THE MONTH: LEANNE HARE
Leanne Hare has been a licensed cosmetologist in Arizona and California for more than 20 years. She has always had a passion for hair styling. Her first client was, of course, Barbie (until Leanne realized her would never grow back)! Then she started styling her friends.
After graduating high school, she went straight into the cosmetology profession of hair and began working in salons doing color, cuts, weaves, perms, and up-dos. She was able to build her skills and speed while learning to communicate with her clients in a professional way (to hear what they were saying and envisioning in her head). Leanne moved back to California and worked with the Disney Corp as a hair stylist and then worked for operas, photo shoots, runways, red carpet events, and music videos.
WARDROBE STYLIST OF THE MONTH: COUTUREZEN (MELYNDA)
Melynda is originally from the Bay Area and got her official start in fashion styling at the age of 15 while living in San Diego, CA. As a child, she would sit for hours sketching outfits and making cartoon drawings of women in different designs. In high school she joined a (now defunct) youth internship program called "The Retail Project" where she was able to dress fashion shows for Nikita, Doc Martens, Quicksilver, and many other early streetwear brands of the time.
Since then, Melynda has managed (and bought for) multiple resale retail stores, worked and traveled as a sales rep in fashion wholesale and even became a store owner/operator herself.
