PIN-UPS FOR 2018!

The Pin-Up Finland calendar for 2018, featuring the finalists of the competition, is out now! And the very intense yearly "pageant"-weekend is also over. I slept until 12 today and had a big milkshake for lunch and am now at our studio with the intention to actually attend one of our guest-teacher classes myself. Mondays are my Sundays you know!

Anyway, here are the calendar pictures!

The cover picture depictsde a usual day at the Shangri-La Rubies office.

January: Lily Wanderlust
February: Mondy Delight & Marie Luscious

March: Lady Winkheart
April: Shanona Dreem 

May: Miss Kris

June: Arctic Cherry 

July: Stormin A. Teacup & Betty von Black

August: Miss Alice Angel 

September: Nancy Gold & Miss Cherry Bow

October: Sin D.Skye 

November: Miss Rosie Revolution

December: Lilia Regina & Sanita de Champagne

What is your favourite month?

The jury selected Sin D.Skye as this year's Pin-Up Finland! 1st runner up was Stormin A.Teacup and 2nd Miss Kris! But as usual the most important is really not winning but the experience, networking and the expoure the competition gives.

Styling, concept & direction: TurrrboCherry & Tinker Bell

Photography: Micky's Pictures / Mikael Häggblom

Muah: Eve Komi, Taija Riihimäki, Miss Kris

Production: Autot ja Viihde/Pin-Up Finland / Kirsi Ojaniemi
-Feel free to share if properly credited!-

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WORK / PIN-UP FINLAND

This summer and fall I have as usual been working with Pin-Up Finland, which is the oldest and biggest pin-up competition for aspiring pin-up models over here,  creating and directing photoshoots for the finalists together with Tinker Bell and planning the show at the Pin-Up Finland finals in Lahti.

This year we shot a calendar old school style for the competition.  It both amazes and pleases me to find how much stuff and how many props one has gathered during the years, as a lot of the things we use for shoots we grab from the stashes at home.

Different skills come in to place. Like the anatomy of lifting skirts for example. (Or how to smoothly blow up beach balls, as un-willingly demonstrated by yours truly over in a video series at IG...)

All set-up and light-check images must always be dorky.

In the end got to shoot a little ourselves as well.

Concepting and styling photoshoots is something I really like to do and would I have more time over from the rest of the eclectic mess of things I work with I would definitely do more of this. But both my colleague and I are people who do not know how to deal with the concept of "time off" so we do have some plans in mind regarding this and the future...

The calendar will be out in time for the finals at the Autot &Viihde-weekend.
You can see some pictures of the contestants over at mtv-viihde for example (under a typical click-bait headline *adding eyeroll*), in a shoot that we put together with Asko Rantanen over at Weird Antiques (but where the finalists otherwise got to style themselves).

See you in Lahti on Saturday!

Phone snaps of the set photos by Mikael Häggblom, the rest is à la iphone from my instagram.

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AT THE PIN-UP FINLAND FINALS

One thing about getting older, I've noticed, is that you get more tired doing things that before did not tire you as much. So after a weekend of working for about 30 hours, of which half of those hours in high heels, walking an uncountable amount of time back-and-forth between stage area and back stage at a huge fair center (note to self for next year: bring a pedometer!) it does take some days, not just a, to recover. But because work and moving apartments and such those days have not yet appeared; this is the first time in a week I managed to sit down by the computer and do internet-stuff from a bigger screen than the one in the palm of my hand. Phew!

Here are a few shots from the Pin-Up Finland pageant that we were working on last weekend -
It's not really a pageant per se, that focuses on looks, but a modelling competition that values over all style and how to embody the modern pin-up, as well as modelling skills live and in front of the camera. The pin-ups this year were between ages 18 and 35; the age range is usually quite wide, as is the style of the contenstans. We produced the final event with all it's hundreds of bits and pieces and also help coach (=calm, mostly) the girls for it. As said before, I've never been much for competitions myself, but as one competitor put it: it did not feel like a competition; more like a pin-up camp. All contestants usually become great friends, plus get a lot of new opportunities via the events around the competition.

 My hosting-face.

 Our lovely ladies on stage of the first round, that they get to style themselves.


Milkshake break!
@Nancybites snapped this one of us.

 Backstage with the girls before the second show of the day.

We had one go-go themed round and Eija sew these amazing groovy outfits our of vintage materials for the girls! So much want there!

Cherry Liqueur, who would win the competition, at the final show of the event, featuring beautiful robes and fluffy pyjamas from VintagEija's, and and on-stage boudoir we put together with furniture borrowed from Kymen Viiri

 After the show with our winner Cherry Liqueur!

We will produce the Pin-Up Finland 2017 finals again next year, and also work on the photoshoots and other happenings around  the event, so if you want in as a sponsor or to see your products featured throughout the summer season do get in touch.

Photos by Harri Antikainen and Operation Rocking Piggy.
(Instagram photos by me.)

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RED LEO COMBO

It's that weekend, or rather, week of the year, again that seems to have more hours than the rest of the weeks and in the same time way too few, as you don't really get to sleep and everything all blends into one long day. A very long such, during which I have managed to manage more things and details than one could possible think of, one of them being putting this pencil skirt tie-top combo together between one and three am two nights in a row. It turned out really good; the past years I've spent more details on how the clothes I sew look on the inside too and I've gotten used to how to cut the pieces of fabric for myself I usually get it right once away without having to correct the seams (I don't use patterns, just cut straight from the fabric) afterwards.

We are producing the Pin-Up Finland event this year again, thus the long days and short nights this week; and if you head over to Lahti tomorrow (or, it might be today by now already) you can catch me wear this on stage when I also host the event at the Autot & Viihde happening! Lots of great looking cars, bands, custom goodies to shop and lots of aspiring pin ups. And me, running on Choca-cola (that's caffeinaited chocolate for ya) for the xx-day in a row. So come, it will be fun!

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