Biz Nites

As if we didn't already have enough fun stuff going on in our lives. We are going to be the door bitches at Monday night's Biz Nites event held at Tableaux in Daikanyama.

Here is the deal. Looks like a fabulously talented line up at a swish new location. Looking forward to seeing you there!

BiZ NITE, French Flavor at Daikanyama Tableaux. July 14th, 2008. 6 pm - late.

What is BiZ NITE?

Tokyo's fastest growing networking event for creative business people. It's a monthly event which features presentations, showcases, exhibitions, discussion panels, product launches and more from the creative industries in Tokyo. Each sphere of interest in the A-Z of creative industries has a Biz NITE nickname, for example photo biz, ad biz, art biz, DJ biz, design biz, eco biz, NPO biz, fashion biz, movie biz, music biz, net biz, sport biz, success biz, VJ biz, wellness biz. Every month the crowds get a little bigger, and more and more people are making it a regular feature on their monthly event calendar to meet with old friends, meet new ones and see a little of what's going in around the city.

When & Where is this monthly event held?

Biz Nites are held monthly at Daikanyama Tableaux on 7/14, 8/18, 9/8, and venue TBD on 10/20, 11/17, 12/15.

When is the next Biz NITE?

Monday 14 July at Daikanyama/Ebisu Tableaux, 18:00-23:00, with a ‘French Flavor’ to celebrate Bastille Day together.
The venue has a beautiful patio, great food and reasonably priced drinks. In addition to our regular content,
BiZ NITE will host presentations about contemporary French fashion and culture, and about French creative business people's activities in Japan.
We expect around 300 people to attend community presentations and get-togethers in three spaces throughout the venue.

How much?

Entry: Advance: 1000 yen / Door 1500 yen, (Please buy at least one drink) (To qualify for advance, please sign up as a member at biznites.ning.com)

The first 50 people at Biz Nite receive a Skype headset & calling card.

Who is presenting this month?

7/14 (Mon) ‘French Flavor’ BiZ NITE CONTENTS

18:00-22:30 Presentations & Discussions in Three Spaces:

Ad Biz: info soon

Art Biz:

1) “Dr Sketchy's Anti-Art School: an introduction to the divinely seedy underbelly of live sketching ala Burlesque style” with MC LadyElle [www.drsketchytokyo.com]
(Plus: 5 minute burlesque dance performance by burlesque dancer Cherry Typhoon of the Murasaki Baby Dolls at 10 pm)

2) "ICON 5: The NY Illustration Conference: A review, and an Introduction to the works of Andrea Innocent and Beck Wheeler",
a review presentation and slideshow by well-known Australian artists/illustrators/animators
Andrea Innocent (www.otoshimono.org) and Beck Wheeler (www.beckwheeler.net)

3) “Creative platforms to bring different art forms and audiences under the same umbrella” with 4th Skin Arts Network www.4thskin.com

Design Biz:

“WorkVitamins: Why creativity in the office just works” - Martin van der Linden (workvitamins.com, www.vanderarchitects.com)

Eco Biz: info soon

Fashion Biz:

Fashion Biz: “ID SHAPE: new solution for luxury packaging anti-counterfeiting from France” – Lucas Nanini (www.idshape.com)
Lucas Nanini

Movie Biz:

“Surfing DVD Release- Japan’s legendary surfers of the ‘70s enjoy a 2007 reunion in Micronesia” – Michio Degawa (http://www.kooks.jp)

Music Biz:

1) “Panel Discussion: Anime, Games and Urahara Fashion - How can Japanese Pop Culture Drive
Japanese Music Sales at Home and Overseas?" - Moderator & presenter: Nathan Reaven (www.hearjapan.com)

2) “The New French Music Scene – Preview of French Summer Festival Artists”- Sylvain Delange
(Bureau Export de la Musique Francaise a Tokyo, www.french-music.org/video)

Net Biz:

1) “New Contents Delivery and Gallery System”- Tan Tan (http://ikaros-plan.jugem.jp/ )

2) info soon

New in Japan Biz:

“Revolutionary New Instrument – Tenori-on” – K. Sugii (YAMAHA, www.yamaha.co.jp/tenori-on)

Performance BIz:

Performance Biz: “The making of ‘Tunnelvision’ DVD - Choreographed Performance Art in one of the biggest underground locations in the world,
Gaikaku Housuiro, broadcast on NHK” Monique van kerkhof (www.roboudendijk.com)

Photo Biz:

“Unknown France: A tour of the cheese and wine farms of rural France” by photographer, writer and editor, Miki Toyoda.

Sports Biz:

1) “Update on Hakuba MTB Jamboree 8/16-17” ( www.sweetriders.com)

2) “Reporting about Muay Thai Fight Events” – Chisa Yamane (www.jmc-gym.com)

VJ Biz: info soon

Wellness Biz:

’Awaken to New Dimensions’ - Introduction to insightful transformation techniques to tap into your inner balance
and potential through Art of Living“ with Marianne White & Keerthana Mariappan (www.artofliving.org)

22:00-23:30 LOUNGE DJs: James Carstensen (Tokyo Electro – Special French Music Mix), DJ Tawara (ultralounge)

See more information in Japanese and English at http://www.stereojapan.com/ and forum http://biznites.ning.com/

Hooping Up High

I recently did an interactive performance at the Mado Lounge in Roppongi hills for Guy Perryman's Sky High Party. The party peeps got into the hoop groove and Isaac Shultz of Brilliant World Tokyo was there to capture some of the light show, laughs and hooping hips.

Love the footage he took, at one point it looks like my LED hoop is swirling around one of the Tokyo skyscrapers.

HOOPLOVERS on Tokyo Espresso

Designed by Oshima of BROS WEAR DESIGNS

Tokyo Espresso is a 30 minute breakfast radio show hosted by Guy Perryman. The sleek and up to date, listen on demand program is known as The Hot Shot of Tokyo and a tuned in way to keep you in the know about all things happening in this wild and wonderful city, Tokyo.

I met with long time Tokyo dweller and radio superstar, Guy Perryman, yesterday and we got to talking about all things hoopy. As a result I will be featured on his radio program every day this week chatting about my love of the hoop and my passion to share the joy with you all.

Check out Guy's site guyperryman.com and have a listen to Tokyo Espresso, a shot of all things cool and happening in Tokyo.

Tell Me

Yes I am still here in Planet Tokyo. Sharing the Hoop Love. Tell me what is up with you. I would love to hear it and will share all my news soon!



Beginner's Hoop Dance Class tomorrow! Yay!

Raw Food and Funky Fashion

Life as a supermodel has been fun so far but it is not all runways and photo shoots... ;)

On Friday night I skipped happily along to Veggie Paradise in Yoyogi Uehara for the Raw Food meet up . This time it was not a raw food potluck it was a divine five course RAW dinner prepared by Yuki, visiting vegan chef Caroline Ishi and the Veggie Paradise team. Mouthwatering stuff! If you have not been to Veggie Paradise I highly recommend it. Gorgeous, open atmosphere, friendly vibe and of course scrumptious raw food to feed every cell of your body with goodness.


This weekend is Design Festa at the Tokyo Big Site. We spent yesterday happily bumping into many friends and finding new greatness to love. We are just about to leave for another day full of Design Festa fun.

Hope you are having a great weekend. What is happening in your part of the world?

A Month of Art and Design in Japan

Some of the biggest art and design events in Asia are happening right here in Japan this month.

This weekend is the 9th Spiral Independent Creators Festival held over four days at The Spiral building in Minami- Aoyama. The four day event is broken up into two 2 day showings. Group A and Group B each consist of a gathering of 50 selected independent creators.

Sonja de Boer, Discrete Bag and de Boer creator and Kana San of Sci Fi fame were both selected for this year's festival. Congratulations to them both.



Next weekend marks the return of GEISAI to Japan. After an extended break from Japan and making big news with global events the GEISAI event, founded by Takahashi Murakami, is back in full effect. Held at the Tokyo Big Site, GEISAI Museum 2 gives both amateur and professional artists a chance to display their work to the community. The one day event, Sunday May 11, will involve a panel of museum directors judging the displays in each booth.



In two weeks time, May 17 & 18, the biggest art event in Asia will be held at Tokyo Big Site. Design Festa Vol. 27 is almost here, it seems every one is talking about it too! While applications for space are closed there is still much anticipation about who will be showing their latest ranges, what acts will be there to delight and how many people we will bump into.

Many TOKYOMADE designers will be there on the day as booth dwellers or as aisle wanderers. This year TOKYOMADE is not going to have a booth, while we had an amazing time at Vol. 26 we dearly missed wandering around with friends and getting to learn about new creators and their mind blowing greatness. We do intend to be there for the two days from open til close, there is just SO much to see at Design Festa.

Sweating Glitter - Dr Sketchy's Tokyo April

The field was prepared, the team was pumped and there was much anticipation leading up to the April Dr Sketchy's Tokyo event. There was also a fair amount of smutty jokes and saucy comments being splashed around as we had been given just a very small dose of the champion that was to grace the sketchy's stage at the Pink Cow.

Leila, Dr Sketchy's Tokyo MC and all round laugh generator, had given us all the heads up on the act that we were all in store for. The theme was Sketchy Olympics, a tribute to the original event, rumors and photo evidence told us that we would be sketching a true God.


Justin Berti, or as I like to think of him The guy from Sex and the City, clearly had the body of a God but add to that the heart of an angel and the ability to entertain the crowd like a true star, a powerful combination.


From Olympic athlete to Gladiator, then Greek God to a man savaged by the wild tigress and left to die with no clothes on (!) The performance from beginning to end was a feast for the eyes and an entertaining series of poses well worth staying for.



Be sure to check out the next Dr Sketchy's Tokyo event at The Pink Cow on the 4th Wednesday of May. After Justin's mighty performance I know quite a few new faces will be returning mixed with the gorgeous regulars Dr Sketchy's Tokyo is becoming quite the monthly event.

Ice Ice Baby

Be a part of the big freeze in Tokyo.
Too cool for school.

Created by Improv Everywhere in New York, a group known for "scenes of chaos and joy in public places", the freeze is heading back to Tokyo.
Naturally there is a facebook group called Tokyo Freeze 2008 with some fun suggestions and thoughts for the big event.
This should be a whole load of useless, time wasting fun! I am up for it. Lady Elle and I will be out in full force! See you there.

Photos by Sasa

We were lucky to have many talented and stylish people come and hang with us at Velours on Saturday night. Sasa of lo-fi-me fame was one of the super sleek style masters that graced the dance floor with his presence. He also took some shots of my hooping and I think you will agree they are a colorful representation of his creative talents.




More pics here.

Nani Birds Take Flight

The Nani Birds have been flying to new homes recently so luckily illustrator Josh McKible kindly let us adopt a few more of his original creations.
New Nani Birds are nesting at TOKYOMADE. Each birdie is a one of a kind painting, part of the complete Nani Bird series created by Josh for the MCKIBILLO range.

Rain Rain Go Away

Sadly today's Hoop Fest in Yoyogi park had to be canceled because of rain but here is some hoop action that should make you smile. Mario from Hoop Tokyo shows off his moves and tests out another odd Japanese invention the bean shaped hoop.

Enjoy the rain and watch out for a hoop happening coming to a park near you!

In Love with a Japanese Guy

Last week over at Julie in Japan, Julie wrote an article entitled You asked for it...foreign girls dating in Japan. It seems she was getting quite a few emails from foreign girls searching for tips on the art of dating a Japanese guy. As always her article was sweet, interesting and thought provoking. It had me thinking about our love match and even prompted me to go digging around in old Flickr archives searching for photos of when Masao and I first met.



Every couple gets the "How did you meet?" question thrown at them I am sure. The bonus question of "Where did you meet?" is always thrown in if it is obvious that you are not from the same country. Generally we skip the "how did you meet?" and answer the "where?" with something along the lines of "at a cafe called Sign in Daikanyama" This technically is the truth as I clearly remember waiting with a friend of mine to meet Masao at Daikanyama station. He had a friend djing at the cafe that night and had invited me along. The "how" part of our meeting, while certainly not dramatic, is a little long winded so we have been known to give out the modified version. It all seems like a very long time ago now but Julie's post had me thinking that perhaps there are a ton of girls out there wondering how to meet Japanese guys. Similar to Julie I have no full proof tips, I think life goes in the direction that it is supposed to, but I can tell you our story.



I came to Tokyo in January of 2004, initially for one year. If people ask me why I came I often say it was a childhood dream. Honestly I am still not sure exactly why, I felt an extremely strong urge to move to Tokyo at that time. It wasn't for the money, as I had a great job and wonderful life in Australia. It wasn't for the language because as yet I have not mastered even the basics. It certainly wasn't for manga, kimonos, Sony, tea ceremonies or any of the other Japanophile loves. I just had to come. My spiritual self would look back now and say that I came to fulfill many dreams, ones that I was not consciously aware of back then. I came to fulfill independence, I came to meet Masao, start TOKYOMADE and become a hoop dancer. I came to learn about the world and my place in it, to meet the outstanding people that I have. The mystery of why I am in Tokyo continues to unfold everyday. It is a fabulous life!


Part of what has kept me here is an intensely love filled, calm, inspiring, balanced, powerful and happy relationship with a Japanese man. Masao and I met in the spring/summer of 2004, if you ask him he will know the exact day and time but I am just not good with that kind of stuff. It is true we met in Daikanyama, a very cool part of Tokyo known for it's cafes, clubs and boutiques. The way that we met was completely conspired by the universe. I was not looking for a boyfriend, although I found Japanese guys to be shockingly gorgeous and divinely preened to perfection. What I was looking for was somebody to help me create some short films. I had no experience with the language and very little insight into the culture but I saw an overwhelming need to capture the essence of Tokyo. I was obsessed with Japanese obsession. I wanted more but I needed someone to help me.

I put an advertisement in a magazine called Metropolis. I think it read something along the lines of "Aussie girl looking for friends to help make short film in Tokyo." I seriously cannot remember. Again you could ask Masao and he would recite it word for word. I got some awesome responses. Met some very cool people a few of which I remained friends with and who really added to my experiences here. And then there was Masao...to be honest in the beginning I would never have thought we would be together for so long. In actual fact I thought he was a little strange ;). Not used to the low key, cool and calm ways of the Japanese boy I thought he was far more into boys than girls and so part of why we hit it off in the beginning I believe is because there was no pressure of thinking about it being a relationship.



Back then Masao lived with his Dad, a very common thing in Tokyo many young people live with their parents, so we would see each other whenever we could. He would take me to all these very cool places that he knew and I would get my fill of Tokyo fun and scenery. We had met a few times with friends and in a group. This is also very common in Japan. Often you will think you are heading out on a "date" only to find that a truck load of friends have been invited. This can make it tricky to "get to know somebody" in the beginning. Perhaps a tip for others thinking about dating Japanese guys is to be patient in the beginning. I think in many relationships in other parts of the world people like to rush, rush, rush, they have expectations built up about what they should know and what should be done. In Japan it is a different game and patience is a virtue, being friends first is a common step, being friends with his friends is sometimes equally important. I remember being very nervous when I knew I was meeting him for the first time "alone", I am not sure why, but I had kind of figured that this was a big step and had real potential. I also figured that dating a foreign girl must have been very knew for Masao when he asked me as we stood under the glow of the Shibuyan crossing "Don't you shave your face?" (Face shaving is the done thing for many a Japanese girl!) It was a steep and fabulous learning curve for both of us from that point on!


Not long after the face shaving question we moved into a VERY tiny apartment in Okubo where we stayed blissfully for 2 years. In that time we traveled around Europe, went to Australia to meet the family, had my mum come and stay, started TOKYOMADE, Masao went from being a salary man to being a stylin' entrepreneur, our lives changed daily for the better, we made so many wonderful new friends all in such confined quarters we had really put our love to the test. If there were going to be any bust ups it was sure to happen then. Luckily it was smooth sailing, aside from the time we decided to order office furniture online I managed to smash Masao in the forehead with a piece of wood causing much bleeding and hysteria. Oh good times!



We now live in a much roomier apartment with our own spaces to do what we do. Masao in his office and me in our tatami room hooping. There has been a great deal of learning to do which may be part of what keeps our relationship so strong. There is no doubting that in any relationship where the partners are from very different backgrounds there is going to be intense amounts of learning and coming to understandings. Another tip I would offer up if you are thinking of dating a Japanese guy or anyone who was not born in your suburb/state/country is to be ready to question what you know to be real and true, be ready to learn about a new way of life, be willing to explore other lifestyles and customs. Of course this should go for your partner as well. We are super lucky in that neither of us are particularly bound by any forms of tradition, past or nationalistic pride. I rarely think of Masao as "Japanese" and me as "Australian". We have really created our own world and left all the past stuff behind. This is an important step I think in any relationship.


Naturally I can only speak of my experience with one person it is very hard to generalize. I have no idea what other Japanese guys are like to date or live with. I could only speak of exterior, superficial stuff (which is all pretty FINE in my opinion! mmm ) I have heard some horror stories of demanding, old fashioned stubbornness but nothing could be further from my experience with Masao and all of the Japanese males that I know as friends.

My tips...
Hang out at places you love. There are endless destinations in this city to hang out and meet people.
Be yourself. Trying to be something you are not is not appealing to anyone. Being your individual, unique self is very attractive.
Don't try too hard. You know when you are searching too hard you often can't find the perfect dress, same goes for Japanese guys. ;)
Make friends with Japanese people.
Visualize positively what you would like your life to be like, if that includes a Japanese boy then so be it! They are very beautiful, that is definitely a positive visualization. ;)
Let go of any us and them thoughts.
Join some clubs, learn something new. Oh a Japanese yogi, a Japanese salsa dancer, an artist, coin polisher, manicurist...whatever you are into.
Learn Japanese! (although I never did properly there is always time)
Have an interest and put out an ad to get people to help you. Be sure to meet new friends with other friends, don't go alone. It is not very common in Tokyo for people to invite you to their apartment especially on the first meet up, some friends in this city NEVER see their close friends apartments. So be clued up and NEVER go to apartments alone - goes without saying.

Good luck, have fun, send us your purikura! ;)

Hoop Fashion

You know how I love and adore my hoops, I think they are the ultimate fashion accessory and sure to turn heads particularly on the crowded streets of Tokyo. So when I jumped over to check out the latest costume and design range by CHAPTER I almost had to take a little lie down after my heart skipped several beats upon seeing hoops incorporated into their designs.




These funky pieces fit for all hoopy kings and queens of style are designed an created right here in Tokyo by the CHAPTER team Shotaro and Ikumi.

CHAPTER also sell their hoopalicious accessories on TOKYOMADE. The swirling and twirling form of their rings always remind me of the light patterns created by LED hoops and poi.

Robots in Disguise

Back by popular demand! After being featured by Gala Darling last week in her post entitled Fun Accessories the Mixed Tape Transformer Necklaces were snapped up in no time.

The funky mix masters were featured on other spaces around the internet too so Miss BLITZ Kiss put her fingers to work and created a few more to share with you.

A gaggle (what is the collective noun for a group of transformers?) have been sent off to Red Mutha for the opening of their new Brighton store. The rest we held on to tightly but they are already robot dancing away, snatched quickly by global style lovers!

Push

A few things that are pushing me forward right now

"If we truly digest and understand the repercussions of “otherness,” then maybe we can understand the very essence of healing the planet and ourselves." Kris Carr

Sarma's fight. A global shift, imagine it.

Hot Chocolate and Mint - the blog, not the bev.

Finding used books in Tokyo. A might feat.


Sprouting. Our own mini farms. Big fun!

Ashtanga baby!

New projects, new sites to be built and new adventures!

The Making of a Hoop Star

Recently I have been asked by a tribe of amazing supporters how I began hooping. So I have decided to write a little post about my steps to becoming a hoop obsessed dancer.

A friend of mine Gala, creator of the must-read blog iCiNG (if you don't read her and love her by now you totally should!) held her 5th International Dress Up Day back in June 2007. The theme was alter ego. The pictures and stories sent in were glorious and the effort outstanding. One stood out for me and so I quickly jumped onto the link promising a "short video of my alter ego in action". What I saw was this...

A sideways video that would change my life!

I couldn't get the image of the funky hooper out of my head and I knew I had to get my hands on a hoop. I remembered that a year or two before during a totally spontaneous shopping spree at a sports store (??) in Tokyo Masao had bought me a hoop in a box that had to be assembled, made up of about 12 pieces. I dug in out of storage, put all the pieces together, realised it was quite small but took turns with Masao until one of us could keep it revolving around our hips for more than two or three rotations. Masao was the pioneer. His hips pumping at warp speed he was able to keep the tiny hoop spinning for quite some time. This crazy hip pumping went on for days. I was completely entranced by the motion, the sweat, the centrifugal force. At the same time I began to collect a growing number of hoop videos on youtube and information about hooping. I learned that I needed a large hoop, measuring about 95cm in diameter, if I hoped to do anything more than a hip pumping, body shaking dance.

I searched and pestered Masao to find me a hoop in Tokyo. It seemed near impossible, no one we contacted knew anything about the hoop thing. I persevered with my mini hoop and mimicked the motions and moves I had been watching over and over on youtube, spending up to two hours a days spinning, twirling, jumping and dropping the hoop. Finally Masao stumbled upon Hoopstore Tokyo. I could barely contain myself and sent an email to the Hoop Girl trained, Justin and Mario immediately. They wrote back with such a friendly response and I booked the next class that was available.

My mum was in Tokyo at the time, possibly confused by my obsession but obviously seeing my delight with the plastic pipe she came along with Masao and I to our first hoop class in Shinjuku. By this time I had mastered the hip pumping but was unprepared for how much of a workout the new, big hoops were about to put me through. Sweat poured, muscles burned and I felt completely alive from head to toe.

A few days later Masao set out on one of his city adventures to "meet a friend" leaving mum and I to relax, shop and cook up a storm. It was getting late and I still had not heard from Masao, he had been out all day and I had tried calling his phone several times to see if he wanted to have dinner with us. Mum appeared to be just as worried as me that he was not returning my calls, little did I know that she was in on the whole scam. Masao returned hours later with a perfectly wrapped, sparkling pink hoop. My mum had sent Masao off to buy one from Justin and Mario at Hoopstore Tokyo and the trio had spent the day talking hoops, business and boy stuff.

I now had everything I needed to start on the road to hoop stardom. We hit the park everyday. I feel like I ate, slept and dreamed hooping. It was the first thing I thought about in the mornings and I would go to bed each night in a spin from watching so many hoop videos on youtube.

I continued to go to a few classes at the Hoopstore Tokyo but as other parts of our lives got busier it became impossible to get to classes. We would go to the park and hoop late at night sometimes well after midnight. That is one of the most amazing things about living in Tokyo, it is so safe.

Still needing instruction but unable to make it to classes I invested in the Hoop Girl DVD and the Hoopnotica Teaching Training Package Level 1 & 2. I would watch them every morning before work and as soon as I got home from work preparing for my after dinner park hoop jam. Masao had his own hoop by this stage and we would teach, encourage and remind each other of things we had learned in class and on the DVDs. I definitely recommend both of these DVDs for mastering a range of hoop moves. Each has it's strengths. The Hoop Girl DVD offers inspiring dance combinations while the Hoopnotics DVD is fantastic for trouble shooting and tips on how to work through the learning process.

From there I basically took hooping into my own hands. Taking inspiration from Hoopers all over the world thanks to youtube, hooping.org and tribe.net I was able to connect with an intense and welcoming global community.



In January I was nominated by hooping.org as one of 5 Newbie Hoopers for 2007. This was an amazing reward and opened up so many opportunities for me. I was invited to perform my first Hoop Dance in a Tokyo club, fulfilling part of one of my goals for 2008. I received my first LED hoop and twin hoops to begin my journey into the world of circus hooping.

Friday night at Velours in Tokyo marked my first Hoop Dance performance in a Tokyo club. It was just the beginning, I hope to see you out and about I plan to take this city by storm and whip the club scene into a flashing, rainbow swirl of wild hoopla! Be sure to come and say hi!

One of the most exciting things to happen in my world of hooping recently is the connection I have made with Bunny Hoopstar. Bunny is a Sydney-based hooper, performer and trainer. She has long been a powerful inspiration to me. In fact one of my goals for 2008 read "Meet Bunny Hoopstar". That dream is coming true very soon as I get prepared to jetset off to Sydney in March to complete teach training with Bunny at her Darlinghurst hoop camp. I had contemplated teacher training via a few other teachers but Bunny rocks the style, strength, individuality and hoop skills that I admire and aspire to the most. I couldn't be happier to have her as my mentor.


So what does the future of hooping hold for me?

I really look forward to sharing my adoration for this mind blowing, body changing, life transforming form of self expression with friends and students in Japan and the rest of the world. I am a life long learner of the hoop path so I also look forward to learning from students, friends and other hoopers.

Everyday I learn something new about my body, it's motion and connectedness with the colorful rings. I look forward to strengthening my practice with each dance.

My LED hoop is far too gorgeous to be locked up at home so I will be spinning it at clubs and events around Tokyo and in Australia.

I am open and ready for all of the exhilarating hoop opportunities that are heading my way.

So there you have it, my short but powerful journey into the world of hooping thus far. I feel it has only just begun and yet has given me so much more than I could ever have thought possible. I have an endless number of friends and hoopers to thank.

Anytime you feel like starting a revolution be sure to get in contact with me! Sure to put you in a spin in the funkiest possible way.

Hoops and Mischief

Last night was a Tokyo extravaganza to remember! To celebrate the launch of chief&mischief on TOKYOMADE, a delicious crowd of designers, dancers, photographers, artists, djs and fashionistas made their way to the stylish Velours in Aoyama, Tokyo.

It was a super special night for me though as I had been asked to hoop dance in the club. This was my first ever "public appearance". I thought I would be more nervous. I had a few pre-performance worries earlier in the week doubting my ability to keep a handle on the new and much heavier LED hoop I had ordered from Super Hooper but something told me I was going to love the experience. That something was totally right.


(Rocking the Heavy Metal tee by chief&mischief)

Masao is a wise old man. When I said to him earlier in the week that I didn't think I was ready and I wasn't sure if I could do it he said to me, "No one ever thinks they are ready for anything so most people sit around thinking they can't do things because they are not ready. If you wait until you are ready you will never do it and then you can't get better". A simple piece of advice.



I was set to perform at 11pm and 1am. I had practiced a little routine to the first song, Boyz by M.I.A, to be mixed in by dj James. When I took my place in the tiny little space in the middle of Velours that routine flew out the window, the music and cheers from my friends and rest of the audience took over and I felt completely relaxed and spun in a heightened sense of flow. My only analogy for this feeling would be something drug related. The ultimate high.



I really need to thank so many people! My mum for buying me my first hoop, hoop store tokyo for giving me my first few lessons that was a great springboard, Masao for always encouraging me and putting up with hoops and hoop marks all over the apartment, all of my gorgeous and crazy friends for giving me more courage than they realise, my students for cheering me on at school and sharing my love for hoop videos on youtube, hoopers around the world, chief&mischief Caroline and Brandon for thinking of me and inviting me to perform, Bunny for being an inspiration, everyone who cheered, clapped, whistled, complimented me last night you made my year!

More pics HERE and HERE

N.E.E.T Magazine

How we love you so! The December 2007 issue of N.E.E.T magazine is out with a deliciously good spread on why we should all be buying handmade this holiday season!


Check out N.E.E.T for "grassroots creativity" and tons of hot picks from super cool handmade sellers from all over the world, including TOKYOMADE.