Vendors I Love: The Gypsy Kiss!

Let me tell you about one of my favorite vendors ever, The Gypsy Kiss! I've been addicted to Amy's creations since before I even started taking bellydance classes. She found me on Twitter when I was still just shimmying around my living room, and now we interact so much that some people are convinced she's part of the AZ dance community (she's actually in Wisconsin).

There's a lot of reasons why I love The Gypsy Kiss. Of course I'm all about one-of-a-kind creations. There's also the fact that Amy draws from a lot of my favorite sources of inspiration... Faeries, Art Nouveau, vintage materials, and of course tribal fusion fashion trends! And even though she uses high-quality materials, her prices make her work accessible to amateur dancers who want some pro-level adornment. But I think what I love most is Amy's great personality! Her love of what she does shows through in every item, every product photo.

Want one of the above items? Here's direct links:
Natural Beauty Hair Clip (shown modeled by Amy herself)
Genuine Tiger Eye Bindi
Flapper Deco Headband
But really, you should browse the whole shop and pick out your own favorites!

Pictures old and new of me wearing hairclips from The Gypsy Kiss! Yes, proof that I've been buying from her for a long time, there I am with brown hair! Gasp! I think that beautiful spiral clip is the second thing I ever bought from Amy. And the clip I'm wearing in this newer shot is one of my most recent purchases. Let's not discuss how many things I've bought from her between then and now, ok?

Vendor Spotlight: Mermaiden Creations

  

Since the holidays are just around the corner, I thought I might start featuring some of my favorite vendors, just in case you need to buy a gift for a dancer in your life!

You may have noticed that I really like to do a big ol' tribal hair garden around my bun! For extra variety, I like to add a beautiful chiffon rose by Mermaiden Creations into the mix. Although at the rate I'm buying them, I'll soon have enough to go all the way around, without any cheap fake flowers mixed in.

 

 This absinthe green is my favorite. I'm wearing it in that picture above, and I also wear it any time I wear my peridot green 25 yard skirt, because they're pretty much the same color. This shade stands out well against my red hair, but I think it would look good against any natural hair color and a lot of unnatural ones, too.

 Mermie also makes fascinators out of her roses. I am not-so-secretly hoping someone will buy this elegant one for me for the holidays, but you can feel free to buy it for a dancer in your life instead, because I am not going to die from lack of peacock feathers, believe me!

She also makes jewelry! I am partial to these earrings because I picked the spiked beads out, I saw them at the gem show and they said "MERMAIDEN!" in a surprisingly loud voice for something with no vocal cords. But the silver beads are cool, too! They are over 50 years old! I love sellers who source unusual supplies, it really makes their work stand out. These earrings would be so beautiful with a fusion or even ATS costume.

You should also check out her great Roman glass jewelry, and her new stacking rings which would even make a great gift for non-dancers!

Feeling Pretty

Well, the bra may still need work, and I may still have complicated feelings about the whole issue of bras as costuming, but over all I am pretty happy with how I looked last night! Thank you to my friend Cynthia for snapping this picture. And also for coming to the Open Stage and cheering the dancers.

I have to admit that a big part of me did not want to go out and dance last night. It was a hot, humid day and it seemed like way too much effort to put on a costume and makeup and do my hair. As it is, I took some short-cuts -- I kept my makeup a little more simple than I had planned, and I went for a headband from The Gypsy Kiss as a really quick and easy way to do my hair. What a lifesaver! That reminds me, I'm really overdue to do a post gushing about my collection of Amy's work.

And speaking of awesome things that I am wearing, my necklace is really amazing! It was custom made as a holiday present from one of my Etsy friends, Gypsy Moon Art Studio. The team that we're both part of does an annual secret swap for the holidays and Shannon made me this amazing necklace which is the perfect match for the bra!

Where was I before I started waxing poetic about wonderful, creative people? Oh yes! Open Stage! It was a great time and I'm glad I went. We had a really small crowd, but everyone had a very good time. It was a very intimate vibe, with a couple of dancers spontaneously deciding to perform in their street clothes to fill out the roster, borrowing coin scarves and veils from fellow dancers.