Project Council

Members of the council are offered the opportunity to guide the project. Five people will be on the council at all times. The project founder will be a member of the council until such time he elects to remove himself or all other members of the council vote to remove him, with the approval of a majority of votes from participants as responding over one month.

Council members will serve a term of one year, with three consecutive terms possible. Council members are nominated from all participants in the project, then selected by the current council. Council members will be participating project members at the time of nomination.

Council members will meet bi-monthly to review overall project status, issues, and vote on relevant matters as presented to the agenda in advance of the meeting. A simply majority of total present for the meeting will rule. This includes the selection of restricted publication works as defined elsewhere.

PROJECT PARTICIPANTS

Two categories of talent and participants may be in both depending on role.

• Creative team - includes fashion designers, stylists, makeup artists, hair stylists, production coordinators, graphic artists, and publicists
• Subject team - consists of models, photographers, and videographers creating images used for show, exhibition, and publication.

PROJECT ENTRANCE

Everyone benefits from this project. The level of investment into the community of the project will include a project entrance fee. This fee will be imposed once and subsequent activities for the project are then made available to registered participants. The determination of current entrance fee is made by the project council based on funding needed for activities. The creative team makes an investment of materials, time, and skill.

What To Bring

The Spring photoshoot is just a few hours from now and you might be thinking... what is supposed to be in my bag for the event? The base location for this shoot is Red Door Gallery, 7500 Oakland St, Detroit 48211. The locations will be in the Northend / Central neighborhoods which are going through a lot of change at present. A number of community meetings have been happening plotting out a vision for the future of the neighborhood and this shoot will have appropriate placements.

Everyone

Bring a bottle or two of water, a snack, comfortable shoes for walking, a flashlight, and a cell phone for communications. A recharger or extra cell phone batteries is a good thing as well.

Models

Two changes of clothing to include a casual look and something dressy and easy to accessorize. The outfits should be foundations for creating a look. Layers work well as they permit mix and match and for group photos it becomes easier to bring together common styles. Casual jeans, a dark t-shirt, a light t-shirt, a couple belts, about 4-6 pairs of shoes mostly heels, plus the walking shoes. Underwear options such as strapless/convertible bra makes for easier wear under a variety of outfits, colors for underwear should be flesh color or black. A night-club style dress. Fun separates for going out - skirt, pants, tops. PLEASE don't OVERPACK. If there is anything you need to bring in abundance it is accessories... for some reason we haven't had many accessories designers/stylists at the photoshoot events. We will likely leave a lot of what you bring at the base location and return to pull from it as needed.

Photographers

Make sure you bring lots of memory/film for camera. A recharger for your batteries or spares is a smart thing. Reflectors and bounce boards help bring natural fill light into images. The weather forecast says we'll have GORGEOUS partly cloudy skies and highs in the mid-60s.

Stylists

The responses from models for this specific shoot have been lower than expected, especially given six months of awareness. We will likely have less than a dozen models to work with. That makes it easier to bring outfits and styling accessories. If possible please prepare for 12 models and if we have fewer there can be change-outs to cover what is brought. Model sizes vary a lot for these shoots with an average size of 3-4, and going from 0-16 generally.

Can't Make It?

Don't let transportation stand in the way - call 248-632-6156 between 8:30-9:30am and a fast network of carpools will be created. If you know someone else attending it is recommended to travel together as community.

Summer and Fall Shoots

Dates for the next shoots can be discussed at the Spring shoot. Tentative dates are Sunday July 10, and Sunday September 18.

JPG Magazine: Blog: Calling all designers!

The Abandoned In Detroit story is submitted to JPG Magazine for Issue 12, which has a Fashion theme. The key photo for the story has been gathering votes. The story however could definitely use more support in the form of votes.

One of the other themes is Creative License. The magazine is making it pretty simple for designers to get into the swing of writing a story submission so it gets into the magazine. They wrote a blog post that offers a simple template for submitting your story for publication.

This is an IDEAL opportunity for Abandoned In Detroit to take a very noticeable position of publicity through getting MULTIPLE stories and photos published. So I'm appealing to the designers out there to go through the story submission process and post a few supporting photos. Check out the blog posting - it poses 7 easy questions as a template. Just fill it out, put up a photo in the Creative License theme and do it quickly. August 1 is the deadline for photos and stories to go into Issue 12.

Supporting the project - How to participate?

I've heard people expressing interest in participating in the photoshoots from month to month yet have had little action from models and photographers in causing these event. They are a low-cost full service fashion photo shoots. You'll get photos from it that will stand out in your portfolio. You'll meet people through this project that are doorways to opportunities. Involved are fashion designers, makeup artists, hair stylists, photographers, and models. Most are local to the Detroit area, some travel here to be part of the passion in the project. We have operated covertly in abandoned spaces and are taking this up a notch as exposure of the project is being noticed and accepted. These photoshoots are not observer events - they are working sessions.

We are documenting the rise of fashion in the ruins of Detroit, want to be a key player in this story? This city is an established presence in the world, known for the creative people that come from here. The process of leaving Detroit (abandonment) is common in the story of success for our people. This project lays claim to that as an opportunity for expression and acknowledgment. There are a lot of proud Detroiters that have moved away wishing their city could have supported their rise. As the project moves forward in exposure lets hope that a part of Detroit will go on tour for the world to see and bring people here for a visit.

Our obstacles are internal in failing to identify with the creative struggle for recognition. This project is a showcase - a chance for recognition. Our goal is moving into exhibitions and runway shows this year and holding these successively. The project needs support - sponsors, endowments, grants. If you can offer support please contact info@abandonedindetroit.com or call 248-632-6156 (Stephen).

I came across this quotation recently ...

Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.
-- Eleanor Roosevelt (U.S. Diplomat and reformer, 1884 - 1962)

If you worry and concern yourself with the past then your future holds small opportunities. Consider what is on your mind.
-- Stephen Boyle (today)

Get involved and discuss it with your friends. Tell them there is a fashion movement in Detroit. We are growing from the decay of the city into a vibrant expression. Upcoming photoshoots are March 11, April 22, May 13, 2007. Project participants please note the prior blog post indicates you can earn referral rewards in the form of cash for new participants in the project. Time to be out recruiting, making this your project, your community.