Creative

MISSION My goal for every project I work on is simply to be inspired, and to project that inspiration as broadly as possible during the creative process. Whether it be styling a photo shoot, writing a press release, designing an ad, merchandising a storefront, writing a poem, painting a canvas, creating a playlist, getting dressed for the day, or laughing with friends, implementing the creativity soaked up through daily musings is essential. I am inspired by my two-year-old niece, by a song, by an outfit, by a piece of art, by the sunset, by falling leaves. I believe creativity must be nurtured, explored and used. It is my mission to never fail to do so.

Style

all photos by laura rockett. styling and creative direction by lana hunt.

hair by jessi white, the shag salon. makeup by hope chandler, lokka salon.

Editorial

60 | April 2010

FASHION |

After venturing into a place I rarely go, a place I avoid at all costs and try to convince others to do like-wise, I discovered an unlikely muse. The mall. Any

mall will do. With exception to a few specialty stores, noth-ing in your average shopping mall has any appeal to me, save limitless amusement from kiosks selling everything from fla-vored oxygen to five-minute massages to the “best flat iron in the world!”

There’s a classic scene in Never Been Kissed when Drew Barrymore’s character begins to be friends with the popular girls and they go to the mall together, all wearing matching cardigans of different colors. The smart, beautiful and classic coming-of-age film ‘nerd’ character (Leelee Sobieski) curtly comments to them, “Oh, look, another lemming.”

Here lies my problem with trend shopping and shop-ping in huge retail outlets in general. There’s extremely limited opportunity for individuality. Fashion is not about doing whatever you can to look exactly like everybody else. It’s about taking a dress, adding a belt, scarf, sweater, tights, or any other accessory to make it your own. It is the most easily accessible form of self-expression. After recently mak-ing a comment about my mom’s polyester zebra print top, she looked at me and said, “Well you wear a lot of stuff that people look at strangely.” A huge grin spread across my face and I could only reply, “Good! Isn’t that what fashion is all about?!” She agreed.

Back to the mall, what I saw there, and what you should purge your closets of immediately. Denim cut off skirts. Un-less you are under the age of eighteen, continue reading. These skirts are not for you. They aren’t even for this decade. The most prolific time for the yearly resurgence of this cut off faux pas is at our doorstep. Spring. Girls love their denim skirts in spring. This is my favorite season for fashion. With all the beautiful dresses, skirts and shorts out there I cannot fathom why anyone would chose to wear something so nor-mal, boring, unflattering and out of date.

The last few years have been all about the jumper. While they have taken a few years to catch on here, I’m glad they’ve stuck around and designers are still reinventing them for the latest runway shows. Available in every color, print and fabric, a jumper is the perfect thing to trade for that denim disaster. Unfortunately the jumper won’t work for everyone. I’ve found it extremely difficult to find a flattering jumper for a small frame. So, my spring must have is a short, slightly ex-aggerated a-line skirt that sits higher on the waist. You can tuck anything into it from a sweater to a silk, barely-there tank. Pair either of these with a flirty, medium height heel, a chunky necklace, an oversized bag and even a floppy straw hat and you’ve got a perfectly fresh look for spring. As you minimize your skin coverage for spring and summer, think oversized accessories to balance it out.

While it is possible to find these items at a large retail outlet, they will be available in massive quantities. For some-thing fresh and unique, try some of the many beautiful lo-cal boutiques in your city. Typically operated by the owners themselves, you will receive hands on, personal help from someone who cares about your style and will help you find something that works for you, and just you! S

1 Oh how do I love this Elizabeth & James romper, let me count the ways! Everything about it from the color to the fabric to the long sleeves makes it the perfect piece for spring. You can accessorize it a million different ways and wear it over and over. Available at Angelique Boutique, Baton Rouge.

2 Think Frye only made fabulous boots? Think again! I LOVE this wedge and how the navy color brings out the truly rich undertones in our beige romper. Available at www.frye.com.

3 This quilting bag by Marc Jacobs is a gorgeous spring and summer statement bag. The eye-popping color is sure to make you stand out in the crowd. Available at Kiki stores, Baton Rouge and Lafayette.

4 This head wrap screams convertible! Throw it on for a Sunday drive, trip to the beach or to top off any spring outfit. Available at Anthropologie.

5 I love all of the Kabbalah inspired wrap bracelets available these days. This one by Vita Fede is casual and edgy at once. Pair it with just about anything from t-shirt and jeans to a fun party dress. Available at www.shopbop.com.

6 This DANNIJO necklace made me stop in my tracks. While being a huge standout piece, it somehow manages not to be overwhelming. It’s a beautifully crafted, playful piece you can easily take from day to night. Available at www.shopbop.com.

Please send questions, comments or something you’ve overScene tofashion@scenelouisiana.com.

CUT OFFby Lana Hunt

2

53

16

4

60 | May 2010

FASHION |

“When I was your age none of the girls wore blue jeans, but I wanted to wear them so I bought boy’s jeans. I started a trend! I always thought it was silly that some

designer in Paris could tell us what to wear…I still do.” Ha, take that Yves Saint Laurent! I had this conversation with my grandmother re-cently and was immediately aware of the source of my rebellion to anything mainstream, and I’m grateful that I inherited her spirit.

It doesn’t take a fashion degree from FIT to know what looks good on your own body and to know what style you like and feel comfortable with. Granted, designers are incredibly talented and creative and continue to revolutionize clothing, but we don’t always have to hang on their every hem and stitch. I remember a few years back taking a long sleeve fitted tee and cutting about half of it off, sewing a ribbon to it and tying it in the back. A few people eyed me at first, but not long after that the “half shirt” craze hit. Sometimes going with our own intuition is better than waiting around for someone else to tell us our ideas are okay.

The same goes for following an idea when we might not love it, just because everyone else is wearing it. While designers do get recognition and distribution for a reason, their designs might not always be what are best for you. If you’re uncomfortable in something, you probably look that way too. Because summer is inching in (FINALLY!), the inches of layers are coming off in heaps. While I’m a big advocate of being comfortable in your own skin, and sometimes showing some skin, I have to admit that I’ve already started seeing too much of it. I can’t think of anything more uncomfortable and unflattering as shorts with half-inch inseams (OUCH!). Nonetheless, these little Daisy’s have, with flying colors, become overScene.

The too-tiny shorts come in every color and fabric and never fail to be an assault on my eyes, no matter how saucy the girl wearing them is. There’s just something about having a little discretion that makes a woman infinitely more attractive and sexy than someone who shows all. Aside from the picking and pulling and grabbing that comes with those shorts, it’s just too much skin. It’s not attractive. It’s not stylish. It’s not flattering. And it does not make you hot.

How about trying on a little comfort this summer. Find some shorts that fit you, shorts that don’t ride up because they are too short or tight. When trying on different styles, if you have to pull or grab to make them fit, move on. While I do like a good dark denim trouser short, try a different fabric. There are beautiful cotton blends in all colors and prints. Try a linen short with a three to four inch inseam. I am by no means suggesting Capri pants either: that’s a whole different column! Just go for something you wouldn’t be embarrassed to wear in front of someone you looked up to as a kid.

Pair your new shorts with something else comfortable, too. Tight shorts usually go hand in hand with tight tops. Throw the idea that you have to reveal all to be sexy out the window! Find a tank that you can move in, that doesn’t show every curve. Or get a threadbare tee shirt. While its super comfortable, it still gives the allusion of showing skin, without showing skin. Sexy! Throw on a fitted blazer (I’m loving these right now) and a mixed fabric gladiator sandal and you’ve got a winning combination to be confident, beautiful and stylish this summer. S

DAISY, DON’TLANA’S PICKS

This spring and summer are all about simplicity, color and comfort! This gorgeous DONNA KARAN BLAZER is perfect for throwing on over any simple tank, wearing with dark denim ankle jeans, or dressing up a pair of perfect summer shorts. I love this CORAL ONE-SHOULDER TOP. Going off shoulder is a super sexy alternative to showing lots of other skin, and this color is unbeatable for showing off that sun kissed complexion. Every woman should own a closet full of SIMPLE TANKS like this beautiful blue silk one from 7 FOR ALL MANKIND. It’s comfortable, lightweight, sexy and can be worn with just about anything. Can we say GORGEOUS? That’s just what these WHITE LINEN/SILK BLEND SHORTS from PLENTY BY TRACY REESE are. They are form-fitting and beautifully detailed, perfect for any summer outing. I love this ‘green’ bag by local designer URBAN:KITTY. It’s functional, beautiful and made locally, what more could you want? This MULTI-STRAND NECKLACE from STELLA MCCARTNEY is just perfect. It’ll go with any of those fun summer colors you better be purchasing! “Stunning” is the only word I can think of for this KARA BY KARA ROSS GOLD AND HEMATITE BRACELET. If it were mine I’d wear it every day with everything. I’m loving these WEDGES by TWELFTH ST. BY CYNTHIA VINCENT. With every summer color in them you can throw them on with anything. These DIANE VON FURSTENBERG SANDALS are the perfect alternative to a summer heel or wedge. The color is great and the gold adds just enough pizzaz to pump any outfit up!

Availability: Stella Boutique, Baton Rouge; Alexandra’s Boutique, Zachary; netaporter.com and shopbop.com.

PLEASE SEND QUESTIONS, COMMENTS OR SOMETHING YOU’VE OVERSCENE TO FASHION@SCENELOUISIANA.COM.

Amber Lehman may verifiably have ev-ery woman’s dream job. The scientist turned Nashville styling heavyweight

is essentially a professional shopper. Sounds fun right? While she wouldn’t disagree, being a professional stylist is about much more than perusing the mall. Though she now has a drool-inducing re-sume, including styling videos for the likes of Kenny Chesney, Boys Like Girls, Matt Kearney and a slew of other Christian and Country artists, becoming a professional styl-ist was not something Amber ever had on her radar. After graduating from Louisiana State University with a degree in microbiology, Amber essentially fell into styling after mov-ing to Nashville to pursue a Ph.D. “I had been on the path to go to medical school and, sort of 90 percent through my degree, realized this wasn’t the right fit for me. So not really know-ing what to do with a bachelor’s degree in mi-crobiology I decided to go to grad school and maybe pursue teaching.” After Seeking out schools around the coun-try that were cities known for creativity, she settled on Vanderbilt University in Nashville. “ I wanted to move to a city where there were fields that had opportunities for creative people, so I ultimately chose this city and moved here.” It didn’t take long for Amber to realize thata career in microbiology, which is very research intensive, was not the direction she wanted to go. After a few years in the program, she started doing wardrobe styling on the side for an up and coming photographer. “I had never even heard of a stylist, I didn’t know that was a viable ca-reer option at all, but I had a friend, Jeremey Cowart, who was getting into photography. He was taking pictures of mostly singer/songwriters because that’s the work that up and coming photographers get in Nash-ville.” Amber would take breaks from experiments at the lab to go shop-ping or help with wardrobe for the photoshoot. “It was a very crazy time in my life, so when I started getting more jobs and my business started taking off, I took a sabbatical from School to do this more full time.” Straight from graduate school, she began helping with a friend’s bou-tique in town and within two months was managing other employees and buying for the shop. “This was such a great way for me to learn the wholesale end of the business and really see how clothing gets from a designer to a factory overseas to the doorstep of a store.” Working in the

boutique also granted her the opportunity to work with other stylists in town. “I got to work with other stylists who were working for peo-ple like Martina McBride and some big country artists would come in and borrow clothes from us.” Not knowing how the process worked and having a fair amount of discretion with the store, Amber was able to set up parameters with local stylists in which they could work. These experiences showed her the underbelly of styling and enlightened Amber to the fact that styling is a professional career. “I really learned the ins and outs of it while I was work-ing for Emmaline [the clothing boutique].” Styling, which started as a whim, quickly be-came full time. “Soon after [leaving the store] I was working for commercials, videos, day to day wardrobe. There’s no limit to the things that I would be styling for. There’s always a cer-tain look that a director may be going for, or a look that a manager may want for an artist. I’ll buy for all of someone’s appearances, red car-pet events, radio tour stuff, band members in a tour. I’m constantly shopping.” Knowing nothing about the business she was throwing herself into was never an impediment to Amber’s ability to get the job done with con-fidence. “That’s a skill that I’d say is beneficial to anything. Just have confidence in what you do and people will trust you. There were days I was definitely stressed, but I knew I could do it.

People around you respond to confidence.” While the bulk of her business is buying wardrobe, Amber has also spent an extensive amount of time building relationships with design-ers, who essentially have a roster of stylists, and the artists they work for. These designers will send gifts and items to her clients. “We buy a lot of stuff, but we borrow a lot of things too. Designers want their items to be seen, so they’ll let us borrow it for a red carpet. You never know when your dress will end up on People.com or in print somewhere.” Working as a stylist in one of America’s hotbeds for country music is ultimately fun and rewarding, but, like every job, it is still a job. “There are lots of things about the job that aren’t fun and take a lot of work. There’s accounting, there’s lots of shopping, of lugging things around. I spend a majority of the time returning items to salespeople who aren’t always kind. And one of the most stressful parts of it is that there are lots of other people who have opinions. You’re not just dealing with the opinion of the artist, but maybe the head of the label has an opinion,

by Lana Hunt

maybe the head of A/R [the talent scout] at the label has an opinion, maybe the marketing person at the label has an opinion. The director, the producer, the art-ist’s manager, all have opinions. Sometimes artists’ family members have opinions. To make everyone happy is one of the most challenging parts and most important skills for this job. You have to have a lot of patience and a lot of people skills to keep a lot of people happy at one time.” One of only a handful of full time stylists in Nashville, she has clearly mastered the art of keeping all parties happy and the bookings keep rolling in. Some notches on her styling belt include videos for Julianne Hough, Kenny Chesney, Steel Magno-lia, Jessica Harp, 3 Doors Down, Matt Kearney and Boys Like Girls. She’s also styled for an impressive list of Christian artists including Stephen Curtis Chapman, Mercy Me, and Chris Thomlin as well as indie musician Brandi Carlisle for her latest video. Can You Duet, CMT’s version of American Idol, also called on her expertise to style the show last year. Getting to meet and work with amazing musicians is incredibly rewarding, but seeing a vision come alive and helping everyone do their job better is Amber’s fa-vorite part of the job. “The most fulfilling part of it is to make an artist feel really good in what they’re wearing. To make them feel confident enables them to do their job better. So for me to be able to achieve that is always really fulfilling.” Amber is also creatively and artistically fulfilled by being able to take a director or producer’s vision and make it a reality for them. “When I get to do that, and bring that to frui-tion, it’s just the best.”

Amber also lends her styling hand to the masses with her blog, viewable at amberlehmanstyl-ing.blogspot.com. For more information or to view samples of her work, visit amberlehman.com.

62 | March 2010

FASHION | fashion profile

Opening a new business in post-Ka-trina New Orleans doesn’t seem like an ideal business move, but for

Seema Sudan, the talent and driving force be-hind knitwear line Liamolly, “It was a crazy fantastic idea! The best idea we’ve ever had.”

After graduating with her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Parsons School of Design in New York, Sudan worked for several well-known fashion houses and even owned her own boutique in Brooklyn before be-ing scooped up by Anthropologie, where she was the lead knitwear designer. “I’ve always wanted to design and I’ve been knitting since I was my daughter’s age,”

she says, “ I love it.” Sudan spent six years at Anthropologie before starting to slowly ease back in to design-ing her own things. And then the storm that changed Louisiana hit.

“I never knew how much New Orleans meant to me before Katrina,” Sudan says. While not from New Orleans, her husband is from Louisiana and the two traveled to the city often. “My husband owned rental prop-erty here and all of the sudden [after the storm] we needed to come more and more.” Finally they decided to risk it all by taking their savings and launching Liamolly, named after their children, Liam and Molly. Liamol-ly’s Fall 2008 collection, its first, was immediately picked up by Anthro-pologie and boutiques from all around the country soon followed suit.

“New Orleans is a great place to open a business,” Sudan says. “They roll out the red carpet for entrepreneurs. There’s a business commu-nity here that truly wants you to succeed. Artists are truly valued here, there’s no other city that has such a foundation for [artists].” Sudan, who used to travel for inspiration, now finds her muse in the city itself. “I’ve found that I don’t need to go and travel as much,” she says. “New Orleans is the perfect place for fashion. People dress with a fearlessness. They aren’t afraid to dress individually. I can just go out on the street and be in-spired. From the Bywater to Uptown, there’s such a mix, it’s eyecandy!”

The sultry Louisiana weather also proved to work to the knitwear de-signer’s advantage. “In New York I only thought in wool. Wool is a four let-ter word in Louisiana,” she says. Though some would think designing knits in a predominately semitropical state would be limiting, Sudan says it has

by Lana HuntSeema Sudan

“New Orleans is a great place to open a business. They roll out the red carpet for entrepreneurs. Artists are truly valued here, there’s no other city that has such a foundation.” – Seema Sudan

Seema Sudan

Scene0310_58-74.indd 62 4/21/10 4:11 PM

by Lana Hunt

expand her range and allowed her to find her voice. “Now I am able to design for all of the other states. I’m able to do so much with my yarn recipes instead of just using wool. Now I’m designing the air conditioner sweater. That one thing you take with you everywhere.” In the fall of 2009, Liamolly released its children’s line, available exclusively at Anthropologie. Always quick to notice the newest and hottest styles, celebrities are quickly taking note of Liamolly. “When I launched my web site, www.liamolly.com, my very first email was from Stella McCartney. She needed a hat, so I made her one. Now we keep trading things with each other, it’s great. I also saw a photo recently with Suri Cruise wearing one of our children’s dresses,” she says. “That’s cool!” Sudan also recently had a fitting with Mad Men star January Jones in her New Orleans studio for The Hungry Rabbit Jumps, a film currently shooting in New Or-leans starring Nicolas Cage. “Those things are fun,” she says. “They pulled a couple of sweaters for the film’s cover image. I really hope they use one of them!” “Our line right now is still sort of underground,” Sudan says. “I think [celebrities] like that aspect of it.” But at the rate Liamolly has gained recognition, after launch-ing just two years ago, it’s not likely Sudan’s funky little knits will be a secret for long.

How many bands did you say are playing at the same time at SXSW? And films are screening in those time slots too? And there are panels and conferences? All in downtown

Austin? How is that possible?” Looking at the logistics of South by Southwest on paper can be overwhelming to a first-timer. Held each year over a two-week period in Austin, TX, the South by Southwest film, music and interactive festival, known as SXSW or just “South by,” attracts filmmakers, musicians and computer nerds from all over the country, over 100,000 visitors to the city in all. At this year’s South by, Louisiana entertainment saturated the festival, boasting showcases of local music and screenings of sev-eral Louisiana-shot films. Hugely pro-Austin SXSW patrons showed some disdain for filmmakers who chose Louisiana back lots to dou-ble as other locations. Worst of all, locations in Texas. But when it comes down to it, the logic of filmmakers is always the same: find the best location for the project, one that makes both financial and aesthetic sense. For films screening at SXSW 2010, these included Leaves of Grass and Skateland, which both chose Shreveport as their shooting location. SXSW 2010 also included performances by Loui-siana musicians, including a showcase entitled “Only in Louisiana.”

by Lana Hunt

The first Louisiana-shot project to show in the festival, Leaves of Grass stars Edward Norton in dual roles as identical twin brothers. One, an Ivy League philosophy professor, is brought back to his hometown by his underachieving brother for an ill-fated scheme against a local drug kingpin, played by Richard Dreyfus. Written and directed by Tim Blake Nelson, the “dramedy” also stars Keri Russell, Susan Sarandon and singer/songwriter-turned actor Steve Earle. Leaves of Grass was well received by audiences and has received positive reviews from some prominent critics, including Roger Ebert, who called it a “sweet, wacky masterpiece.”

When best friends grow up in a small southern town, there will al-ways be bullies, weekends will be spent partying at that rich guy’s house, the perfect parents are never perfect, ant it’s inevitable that one will fall in love and eventually make a play for the other’s heart.

Coasting through the film festival circuit, Skateland tells this age-old tale with just enough twists and beautiful faces to indulge the viewer. A nostalgic portrayal of the South in the 1980s, reminiscent of Rich-ard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused, the story of Richie Wheeler (Shiloh Fernandez) unfolds as everything he knows turns to dust. His place of work, the iconic local roller rink Skateland, is closing and his family life is eroding. These and other plot twists force Wheeler to evaluate his life. With the help of best friend Michelle Burkham (Twilight Saga’s Ashley Greene), Wheeler must figure out what he really wants out of life, a dif-ficult feat for any nineteen year-old. Received with a standing ovation and cheers from the crowd, the largely Austin-based audience was pleased by all but one tiny detail: the film’s shooting location. “Why’d you shoot East Texas in Shreveport?” The question was shouted by one audience member at Texan-born di-rector Anthony Burns was clearly on many minds. “Shreveport looks like East Texas. But East Texas didn’t have the tax incentives, it just made sense financially for us to shoot there.” Honest enough. In addition to Fernandez and Greene, Skateland features Heath Free-man, all but stealing the show as Brent Burkham, Taylor Handley of Battle: Los Angeles, CSI:NY’s AJ Buckley as Skateland’s owner Teddy and several homegrown Louisiana actors, including James Hebert as mania-cal bully Tommy Dillday.

Some other standout films of the festival were Get Low and The Runaways. Get Low, directed by first time director Aaron Schneider, boasted an incredible cast that includes Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek and Lucas Black. Loosely based on the legend of a 1930s hermit who threw himself a funeral party while still alive, Get Low was deeply moving and hilarious at once. “Humor kept you bouncing until the last scene,” Bill Murray said. “By laughing along the way, you are available for that scene [which is emotionally heavy]. Murray also

commended the editing, credited to director Aaron Schneider. “You can be funny in a take, but it was really his work that sort of chose the root of the performance. He did a really nice job with it.” “There was only once choice for the main character in Robert Du-vall,” said Schneider. “And Bill was always this elusive pipe dream, but he actually called me. He read the synopsis and a few phone calls later we have three of America’s greatest iconic actors together.” With Oscar buzz already in the air, the film is set to be released later this year. One of the most hyped films of the festival, The Runaways did not disappoint. Starring Dakota Fanning as the band’s rebellious lead, Cherie Currie, and Kristen Stewart as rhythm guitarist Joan Jett, the film exposed the oft disturbing behind the scenes dynamic of the short-lived all female rock band that took the music scene by storm in the late 1970s. Fanning delivered a convincing performance in her first role post childhood, making the difficult and often ill-fated transition from child star to serious actress. “A lot of people have this certain idea of me because I’ve been acting for a long time,” said Fanning. “When I first got the script I immediately looked up the video of Cherie per-forming “Cherry Bomb” in Tokyo... I knew I wanted to [perform the song.] So I studied it and worked with her and hopefully I was able to do it [well]. Kristen Stewart’s embodiment of Joan Jett is a far cry from Bella Swan. Her portrayal of the young, rebellious, confused and strong rocker was raw and simply honest. Cherie Curry, who, along with Jett, worked very closely with the women during production said, “This is the best I have ever seen you [Kristen].” Few would disagree. The young actors make for a powerful duo. The Runaways, directed by Flo-ria Sigismondi, had a limited North American release on March 19, followed by wide release on April 9.

As films continued screening throughout the week, bands from all over the country began streaming in to the city, taking over downtown Austin. Heavily saturating the influx were acts from in and around the Big Easy and sounds unmistakably of Louisiana could be heard waft-ing through the streets during the five-day music showcase. Presented by Louisianaentertainment.gov, the “Only in Louisiana” showcase took over Brush Square Park in downtown Austin. Guests were treated to Louisiana Cuisine, complete with Tobasco, Hurricanes and Abita brews, which didn’t last as long as the first song. Escorted into the park by The Stooges Brass Band, patrons got an afternoon of music found “Only in Louisiana.” Anders Osborne, a staple to the New Orleans music Scene kicked off the tented showcase with crowd favor-ites and samples from his upcoming album, American Patchwork. He was followed by move-inducing grooves from Big Sam’s Funky Nation, then Big Rock Candy Mountain, DJ Jubilee and Partners N’ Crime. Sounds hailing from the Pelican State poured onto the streets of Austin. SXSW music showcases opened thousands of new ears to Louisiana bands including The Revivalists, Flow Tribe, Generationals, The Givers, Glasgow, Smitey with a Knife, DJ Pasta, Blair, Big Freedia, Magnolia Shorty and an extensively longer list that truly exemplifies the raw talent, culture and soul that is uniquely Louisiana.

The Austin Convention Center hummed with music professionals of a different kind. South by Southwest is also a huge entertainment industry conference, attract-ing thousands of professionals. As with showcase aspects of the festival, Louisiana showed up to the conference side in a big way. Sherri McConnell, executive director of the Louisiana Office of Entertainment Industry Devel-opment, said, “It is not only an educational opportunity for us as we try to stay abreast of industry trends and new technologies, but more importantly, it is a business development and marketing opportunity.” The State of Louisiana’s staff, represented as Loui-sianaentertainment.gov, were on hand to promote the highly competitive and ground breaking film, music and live entertainment tax incentive programs. “Our goal is always business development and we do that by inform-ing businesses and entrepreneurs about the opportuni-ties in Louisiana,” McConnell said. “It is important to understand that SXSW is not only a music festival, but a conference and tradeshow as well.” Patrick Mulhearn, director of studio operations at Raleigh Studios Baton Rouge, recognized the huge pres-ence Louisiana film and music had at the festival, but stated that “the real difference in 2010 was an increased marketing presence from Louisiana’s OEID and LED. A snazzy new tradeshow booth, new brochures, new spon-sored events and more state staff working the show and preaching the gospel of Louisiana’s tax incentives made all the difference.” A final aspect of the hugely comprehensive festival was the SXSW tech Scene. “For the second year in a row, New Orleans showcased authenticity, passion and community that has been brewing in the tech scene in Louisiana,” said Chris Schultz of Net2NO and Launch-pad New Orleans. “The panel about ‘The Future of Work’ focused on the trend of co-working and highlighted Launchpad which we are expanding to Baton Rouge and Lafayette this year. And the panel on ‘Seed Accelerators’ gave us the tools we need to fill the seed capital gap in Louisiana and start competing on the national start-up Scene.” From film to music to the industry side of enter-tainment, the Louisiana immersion at the 2010 South by Southwest was huge. Patrick Mulhearn added, “Throw in the large contingent from the New Orleans Net2NO crowd pushing their digital utopia, and you get the im-pression that Louisiana is an entertainment industry gi-ant.” Sooner than the rest of the country would like to believe, this impression will be reality. Logistically hard to swallow for a first time visitor, the chaos works for SXSW. It’s hard to imagine a more comprehensive entertainment festival. With music and film to suit any taste and an enormously wide array of informational panels, just about anyone can find their niche at South by. Just remember to get a badge, make a schedule and don’t forget your skinny jeans, plaid shirt and Ray-Bans.

In a rare moment in modern music, obsessed with gimmicks, lights and auto tune microphones, Glen Hansard of The Swell Season stepped away from his mic and belted a hair raising

melody completely unplugged at the House of Blues in New Or-leans. It was a moment straight from the streets of Dublin, where he no doubt spent countless hours singing in the streets. That sincerity and pure passion for the music carried the entire show, awing the crowd and bringing tears of raw emotion to many faces. The Swell Season’s Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova gained international recognition after their song “Falling Slowly” won a

2008 Academy Award for Best Original Song from the 2007 film Once, in which they also starred. Recognition and fame may be new to the artists, but producing achingly moving music is in their bones. Glen, who gave up school at 13 to pursue music, had success early on, signing with Island Records at 17 and appearing in the 1991 cult hit The Commitments. He formed the influential Dublin rock group The Frames in 1990, which has released 6 albums, the most recent in 2006. The significantly younger Marketa, affection-ately Mar, is a classically trained pianist and vocalist who met Glen and began working with him at 13 years old. At just 17, she was the

by Lana Hunt

youngest woman to win an Academy Award in any music category. Their history of collaboration, and perhaps more importantly their widely publicized story of falling in - and out - of love oozes off the stage with an inescapable emotional impact on everyone for-tunate enough to witness it live. Glen and Mar’s voices harmonize so beautifully it’s sometimes impossible to tell if there are two voices filling the room or just one. Lyrics like “This time I’ve lost all hope, I cannot take it no more, I’m stuck here killing myself and you’re out there laughing somewhere” make every patron feel like the duo has stepped in to their lives and stolen their most coveted thoughts. It is surreal and intimate at once. They sing of heartbreak, of struggling to fight heartache, of passion, of joy, of life and living, of figuring it all out and the way it feels when you can’t. Glen also made the show fun, flirting with the crowd and teach-ing them to sing his melodies, reaping laughter and a room full of voices trying to stay in tune. Their humility and slight inability to understand their growing fame is endearing. Leaving the venue many people were just shaking their heads, ranking The Swell Sea-son show in their top five or better. The Swell Season is currently on tour in the US and Internation-ally promoting the release of their second album, Strict Joy.

by Lana Hunt

With the release of The Princess and the Frog, Disney’s well re-ceived return to 2-D hand drawn animation, Scene Magazine took a few minutes to talk with Keith David, the memorable

voice of the menacingly charming, Voodoo conjuring villain Dr. Facilier. Well respected for his voice work in films such as Coraline and Hercules, David said doing a film for Disney was like “playing on Broadway, [with Disney] being the premiere house. “It was wonderful,” he said. David drew on his long time fascination with magic to personify Dr. Facilier. “I love New Orleans and have always been fascinated with that aspect of magic. I did a documentary on the religion of Voodoo, so it was great to have that knowledge, but [it wasn’t] deep. It wasn’t meant to be,” he said. He noted that a funny thing that Dr. Facilier says is that he couldn’t conjure a thing for himself. “It’s true,” he said. David said that, while portraying an animated character is similar to live action, it may also be more fun and imaginative. “Acting is acting. But it’s fun doing an animated character because I get to use my imagi-nation in a whole new way,” he said. The voices for The Princess and the Frog were recorded before it was animated, giving the animators extra inspiration for body language and movement. David used sly hand ges-tures and overexaggerated facial expressions for Dr. Facilier’s character,

truly breathing life into the “shadow man.” “I always act with my whole body,” he said. “Even if it’s just voice, I use my hands [and gestures] to bring the character to life. Bruce Smith, supervising animator for Dr. Facilier, noted that he captured certain aspects of David’s performance that attributed to his overall character. “David has the eyes, this sinister smile. He’s got this really great voice that just resonates. We used all of those things when animating the character,” he said. Smith also added attributes from some of his favorite Disney villains, such as Captain Hook and Cruella De Vil to Dr. Facilier’s character. David is an internationally known actor who has appeared in hun-dreds of films and television programs over the span of his career, includ-ing Platoon, They Live, Gargoyles, Armageddon, There’s Something About Mary, Crush and Coraline. He currently has over ten projects either in production or post-production. The Princess and the Frog, set in Jazz-era New Orleans and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, marks Disney’s triumphant return to 2-D hand drawn animation. In its opening weekend, the film knocked Twilight out of the number one box office spot, becoming the highest grossing animated film to ever be released in December.

Artwork

left: “spill”,

acrylic on canvas

below:“the light”,

mixed media on canvas

left: “droop”, mixed media on canvas

above:“vodoo bayou”, mixed media

on canvas

Two 5’ x 11’ canvas window displays

created for Buffalo Jo clothing boutique. Charcoal and pastels

on muslin.

Marketing

hope chandlerbeauty. makeup. facials. chandlerhope@gmail.com

world class style

19900 Old Scenic Hwy., Suite B. Zachary, LA225-654-6565

www.facebook.com/artisanfabrics.fabricshop

30% off Christmas ornaments and gift items. 35% off select merchandise.

20% off fabric and patterns..

1121 Church Street, Ste. A in Zachary225-570-8819 * artisanfab@gmail.com

Look for us on Facebook!

Resume

Experience

Alexandra’s Boutique, Zachary, LA July 2009- PresentBuying Assistant/ Merchandising Consultant

· Assist with online buying and brand discovery to find quality product that meets the fast-paced bou-tique’s clientele and price-points. · Provide monthly consultation for merchandising, including layouts, display, arrangement and color coding. Personally style dress forms and arrange form groupings to best present the product to clients in a consistently fresh way.

LSU Alumni Association, Baton Rouge, LA May 2010-presentThe Cook Hotel and Conference Center at LSUMarketing Manager/ Executive Assistant

· Responsible for a wide array of daily functions at the Cook Hotel. Manage marketing accounts, including purchasing, design and placement and budgeting for upcoming fiscal year. Write radio scripts, ad copy, press releases and stories for the quarterly newsletter. Use creative thinking daily to design promo-tional packages and incentives to drive traffic and revenue. Copy-edit all stories for the quarterly Alumni Magazine. · Closely oversaw the redesign of the hotel’s website and serve as the web administrator. · Trained as the Newmarket Systems Analyst for the Delphi hotel planning software.

Scene Magazine, New Orleans, LA October 2009- May 2010Chief Operations Officer/ Contributing Editor

· Handled all daily operations of a statewide entertainment magazine, including, but not limited to, billing, payroll, A/R, A/P, budgeting and cash flow. · Also contributed significant portions of copy and material to each issue and assisted in all final copy-editing, proofing and layout using InDesign.

Lana N. Huntlanahuntcreative@gmail.com

225-933-6459

Buffalo Jo, Zachary, LA February, 2006- July 2009Owner

· Managed all day-to-day operations of a small clothing boutique, including purchasing, market-ing, advertising, customer relations, sales, inventory management, and tax preparation.

The Zachary Plainsman, Zachary, LA May 2005- March 2007Editor-in-Chief· Responsible for production, layout and aesthetic of the weekly newspaper. · Collected news information, conducted interviews, wrote and edited news and editorial stories, took and edited photographs.

Education

Louisiana State University May 2005BA in Mass Communication with an emphasis in public relationsVice President, PRSSA

California State University, Los Angeles August 2002- June 2003National Student ExchangeStudied public relations and fashion design as part of the college exchange program.

skills

Proficient in Microsoft processing programs, QuickBooks, InDesign, Photoshop, Quark Xpress and retail point of sale systems. Excellent communication, writing, and time-management skills, extremely fast learner, self-proficient and high ability to work in fast-paced and high stress environments. Possess strong ability to use creative thinking to always provide the best solution for any project.

Copyright © Lana Hunt Creative, 2010. All rights reserved. The purpose of this document is for review only. No portion of this document may be reproduced, distributed or printed without written consent of the author.

All articles from Scene Magazine copyright © Louisiana Entertainment Publishers, 2010. All rights reserved. No article or portion of articles may be copied, reproduced, or distributed for any reason.