I like to do the splits

I think this is pretty self explanatory.

Sugar Cane Jane sure likes to end the show in the splits.

#1: The Gong Gong Song at EXIT Chicago, June 2011


#2: The Lincoln Fair at the Lincoln Tap Room, April 2011


#3: Sugar Cane Jane solo performance at the Windy City Burlesque Fest 2011


xoxo

Wardrobe Wonders: Outfit Post #5

Yesterday, Chicago was sizzling hot, with temperatures reaching damn near 90 degrees! For a good portion of the afternoon I tried to stay inside as much as possible, first spending two and half hours at the thrift store hunting for new merch for my etsy shop and then working on some things and thangs from home (etsy shop and non-etsy related) in the good ol' a.c.

I had several AMAZING finds while out vintage hunting yesterday, one of which being this incredible late 50s Mexican themed wicker picnic bag that I had to keep for myself. I spiffed it up and took it out on the town to work last night and then out with my some of my girlfriends after that.



Halter top: 1980s swimsuit top
Skirt: 1950s cotton cherry blossom print full skirt
Handbag: 1950s Mexican themed wicker picnic bag
Shoes: thrifted deadstock italian dance shoes with peep toes (these are my go-to's!)
Earrings: vintage (70s?) native beaded drop earrings

The Gong Gong Song: An Ikettes Burlesque Tribute

I've realized that I haven't posted anything about burlesque or my alter ego Sugar Cane Jane in quite some time, so I thought after having performed this past Friday, that I'd share my most recent routine. Though this act is my newest solo feature, I've already had the pleasure of performing it three times in the last month and a half, twice with the Vaudezilla team and once with the lovely Scarlett Deville & the Devillettes. The footage below is from my show with Vaudezilla at EXIT Chicago this past Friday, and is my first show back from my three week wedding hiatus.

The act is entitled the Gong Gong Song and was originally released by the Ikettes, Ike & Tina Turner's famous back up dancers. If you're a John Waters fan, you might remember this track from the HAIRSPRAY soundtrack. I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE this song, I love soul, I love dancing, I love John Waters, I love the 60s, and I certainly love shakin' my tail feather, so I feel that everything just sort of fell into place with this act.

Enjoy!

BROADZILLA! (6.24.11) - "The Gong Gong Song" by Sugar Cane Jane from Vaudezilla Productions on Vimeo.

...and then I got married!

....and because I'm leaving for my honeymoon in a few hours, I'm leaving you with a few photo teasers of my husband and myself at our insanely fucking awesome 300 person wedding! (Which was held at both Johalla Projects & The UPRISE Loft in Chicago, thanks to our dear, dear friends)

I think the theme of the entire weekend leading up until our spectacular day was GO BIG OR GO HOME. So, everybody went HUGE.


When I get back, and we round up all the photos from our guests and photographers, I promise I'll have a very detailed description and visual play by play of all the insanity. And even a picture or two of Stu's dad in his kilt...

Wardrobe Wonders: Outfit Post #3

So today, before the temperature dropped about twenty degrees (as it did this past hour), I had to run some errands out and about, one of which included picking out an incredibly badass pair of shoes for my wedding next week (!!!!!!!!!). Before I headed out for the day, I snapped a quick photo of the dress I wore (which, unfortunately because of the whacky weather here, doesn't get out of my closet as much as I'd like it to)....



Dress: 1950s cotton day dress
Shoes: Vintage inspired Italian leather dancing shoes
Bra: early 1950s Hollywood Vasserette Black Lace scalloped bullet bra
Earrings: Mexican coiled silver drops

Oh, and don't you worry, I'll have pictures of my whole wedding ensemble soon enough!

The Vintage Bazaar Part Two

Yesterday, I was able to snap a few more photos of the lovely finds I scored at this past weekend's Vintage Bazaar held in Chicago's Pilsen Arts District.

I was especially pleased with my fabric finds this time around, as I was able to get some new wardrobe wonders for a steal!

Pictured below, I purchased lime green sequined bloomers solely so I could base my next burlesque act on them! My hope is to be squeezing limes in these bad boys sooner than later...


And next up, was this super adorable 1970s mini sailor-ette swing dress I bought from pop up dealer, Bummertwon Vintage. Loveeeeee this! (And it fits like a gem!)


After that, at the end of the event, I scoured Milwaukee's Pineapple Mint Vintage's racks and came across this amazing late 50s, early 60s two piece sailor skirt suit. The jacket is ideal and the skirt fits perfectly on my tush, yay!

Here's a back side view of the jacket:

(This set still needs a good steaming)

There are still some more goodies to share, with more pictures to come. I came across a heaping pile of decorative border trim and supplies, perfect for motivating me to revamp and create some new insane costumes for this summer's burlesque adventures. And perhaps I can even turn out my own garter for my wedding, which is just 18 short days away by the by! But more on that later....

;)

The Vintage Bazaar: Why yes, I WILL go on a shopping spree!

Yesterday was a big day for vintage lovers in Chicago, as a great deal of us migrated down to Pilsen for this season's Vintage Bazaar, which is a lovely culmination of vintage clothing, jewelry, antique and kitsch dealers held as a single day event. Although I do sell vintage as well, I was not a dealer at this event and for once, had the day off, so I decided to head down to see some dealer friends and get a little healthy dose of shopping in before I start two new jobs this upcoming week.

Usually when I go to vintage expos and fairs I shack up in my dear friend Niki's booth, owner of BombshellShocked Vintage, who I work and model for weekly and who's selection I not only drool over, but am fortunate enough to get first pick of, but this time around, I made sure to hunt around the booths of some other local dealers I know for some new spring and summer additions to my wardrobe and household collections. (P.S. Both Niki and her booth were stunning, as per usual!)

And though I kept telling myself I would only be looking and buying for the sake of neccessity, needless to say I treated myself to things that were super cute and I just flat out wanted! Hopefully my fiance won't be too frusturated with me coming home with yet another bag of vintage marvels....

Here are the new black glazed ceramics I got from Kokorokoko Vintage to add to my collection at home:

(Note, I could NOT pass this unicorn up.)


(And I loveeeeeee black cats, especially with green eyes, though it's kind of hard to tell in this photo)


And I treated myself to a new pulp book for my bus & train reading time:

(the illustrated babe on the cover totally sold me)

I have to spiff up my new wardrobe finds, so consider this post a part one, and I'll shoot a few sneak peaks of all the clothes I scored in just a bit.

Yay! Now if this damn weather here would just balance out, I could take the spring/summer wardrobe out for another spin....

xoxo

Wardrobe Wonders: Outfit Post #2

With yet another day of miraculously wonderful hot and sweaty weather in Chicago, as it appears as though we've just missed spring completely and gone straight for summer, I figured I'd attempt to keep up with the wardrobe "Joneses" thus far. Today, it's been so damn hot, my closet picks don't seem to make a whole lot of sense, but the idea was to pretty much wear as little clothing as humanly possibly, as it's about 90 degrees outside right now.

After fiddling around with this and that, here's what I ended up walking out in:


Top/mini-dress: 1960s Fuschia Hawaiian Tiki Print beach mini-dress
Shorts: an old & overwashed pair of Sass&Bide cut off shorts
Belt: vintage Southwestern Woven Scorpion belt
Shoes: 70s inspired chocolate suede and wicker wedges by MIA
Earrings: from Crossroads Trading Co.

xoxo

Wardrobe Wonders: Outfit Post Numero Uno

Now that it's finally getting warm enough in Chicago to blow the dust off of my spring/summer wardrobe, I thought I'd give this whole outfit post thing a whirl.

The photo in this post was shot by a patron at my most recent burlesque show with Scarlett Deville & The Devillettes at Debonair this past Wednesday for the Wild Women Review Rockabilly Night. I had such a blast with those fine ladies, and have to say it was one of my most stress-free and totally wild and improvised performances to date.

Here's a flyer of the show:


And here's what I wore after my set:


Dress: 50s inspired 80s tropical wrap dress, courtesy of BombshellShocked Vintage
Fishnets with Cuban seam: 40s inspired, from Silver Moon Vintage
Shoes: Chocolate Leather 40s inspired pumps by Naughty Monkey
Hair Flower: by Original Cenz, purchased on Etsy


xoxo

The Crystal Jones Thesis Collection

Recently I was hired to model for the thesis collection of designer Crystal Jones. She has a beautiful ensemble of garments and the shoot was really fun to be part of. The team I worked with was small, friendly and extremely open to various concepts. I was just emailed a link to our tears sheets, so I thought I'd share some completely unedited versions of a few of the photos we captured that day.

It's also an EXTREME rarity to see me with any sort of fake or store bought hair, so let's indulge, shall we?


Wardrobe & Styling: Crystal Jones.
Photographer: Maureen Peabody.

In 38 days, he'll have made an honest woman out of me

In just 38 short days the love of my life and I are gettin' hitched, jumping the broom and breaking tons and tons of glass, as June 4th is the day I officially become Mrs. Jacobs! And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a)elated, b) totally freaked out, and c)positively smitten with my full length vintage estevez big cat leopard print backless dress (my version of the perfect wedding dress).

This day has been fast approaching since my fiance Stu and I got engaged this past October, and almost every day after that has involved checking some sort of wedding-ish task off the list of things to tackle when planning and orchestrating your own big day. My nerves as well as my sanity have most certainly been challenged in these recent weeks, as everything is becoming more and more of a reality. But despite my panic attacks and pre-marital jitters, in addition to the anxiety that comes along with simultaneously quitting one job (to start a MONUMENTALLY better one) and slowly but surely making a reality my itsy bitsy vintage business, my heart of hearts still melts every single morning that I wake up next to the man I am so fucking insanely in love with.

Because in the end, we're it. He's it. My (soon to be) stepson's it. Our family's it. We're essentially Team Jacobs. And we kick ass. And pretty soon, my awesome friend Corryn will marry us, and then we get to kick ass til death. Boom.

Non-Talking Heads.

This spring has thus far been full of new art exhibitions, which I am pleased to say I've recently co-produced and shown new work in. The following images are of two new paintings that I've completed and exhibited amongst the work of many other talented artists within the month of March.


I was stuck in an illustrative rut for many months, so it feels great to have some new work produced under my hand as of late, and I'm eager to share the outcomes.

Piece number one, entitled "Tribute to Marie Laveau", created for the Fat Tuesday Voodoo Group Show at the Flat Iron in Chicago. This piece sold the same night, yay!



Piece number two, entitled "Femme Excentrique", created for the group exhibition I recently curated, Signed. Sealed. Delivered: Presence of the Unknown, held at the Revolution Tattoo Gallery in Chicago. On a personal note, this was one of the best and most elegantly completed shows I've curated to date.



As the spring and summer slowly creep upon Chicago, I am feeling more motivated and inclined to be productive again, and it feels jusssssssst fine.

xoxo

Signed. Sealed. Delivered.

Next week, I'm very pleased to be curating a new group art exhibition with my dear friends Corryn and Lindsey (my co-curators from the large skateboard exhibition I produced last year, and Lindsey of course being my burlesque partner) along with our buddies over at Revolution Tattoo in Chicago. The show is entiteled Signed. Sealed. Delivered: Presence of the Unknown, and emphasizes the unique exploration of parcel post via images of the unknown, uncharted, mythical and mystical through the eyes of over 20 different artists. Initially, we had approximately over 30 artists contributing, but this month thus far, has been a little bananas for everybody, so we've had our selection of exhibitors trimmed down a smidge. None the less, I am incredibly excited to be in charge of this large production, and completely ecstatic to be working with Revolution Tattoo on this project, especially considering that this is the first large scale art show that I've put together in over a year!

If you are in the Chicago area, won't you join us for an evening of the unknown? With beer and snacks provided, of course...

Signed. Sealed. Delivered: Presence of the Unknown
Saturday, March 26th, 2011
opening reception: 8pm-11pm
@Revolution Tattoo
2221 N. Western Avenue
Chicgao, Il 60647
A MahaloClub Arts & Revolution Tattoo Collaboration
Sponsored by our buddies at Old Style Beer



xoxo

Voyeurism.

A couple of weeks back, after my 25th birthday, one of my gal pals, professional stylist Xza Louise Higgins came over by my house for a little intimate photoshoot. She's working on a new project for her portfolio, intriguingly entitled "does this bra make my boobs look fat?", paying homage to the concept of women and their busts throughout the decades ranging from the 1920s through the 1980s. Xza, who I've had the pleasure of both modeling for and working together with as vintage clothing dealers in Chicago, chose me to be her 1970s muse.

As she is familiar with me both behind the lens, as a commissioned artist as well as a burlesque dancer, she chose me to be her wild 70s personality. With that and the fact that bi-weekly, I shimmy out of my clothes and shake my boobs and pasties in front of large audiences in mind, we decided my theme would be more inclined toward the concepts of 70s voyeurism and bra burning.

I have to say, it was great to be shot in my home, while painting and running around in my various vintage garments, as the 50s and 70s are what my closet's wardrobe specialize in. We worked for about an hour or so, both in my studio/boudoir as well as in my living room manipulating my randomly placed eclectic mid century and modern furniture, utilizing as much of my "intimate" setting as possible.

As the photos are still be editing, and the project is still ongoing, I was given a teaser image from the tear sheet, and I'm quite pleased. So I though I'd share it with you fine folks.

Enjoy.



xoxo,
erin

Step right up, folks!

...and see loooooong awaited footage of Honey B. Combe's "Little Egypt". You can even see the amazing vintage cleopatra collar I recently gained ownership off!

BROADZILLA! (2.25.11) - "Little Egypt" by Honey B Combe from Vaudezilla Productions on Vimeo.

Not once, but twice.

Well, yeeehaaaaaw! Our buddies over at Vaudezilla Productions were kind enough to send some sweet, sweet footage over our way of two recent Honey B. Combe performances, both being different renditions of our act, "All aboard the Chattanooga Choo Choo". I'm elated to share them both, as I feel Dolly Dagger(Lindsey) and I have come quite a longggg way since first voyaging into the complex world of burlesque and all that it encompasses.

The first video reel is from our Halloween show at Exit on October 29th. For this show, we decided to channel our inner zombied-out, awakened-from-the-dead Andrews Sisters. Mission accomplished.



And here's the reel for you to enjoy:

BROADZILLA! (10.29.10) - "All Aboard the Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Honey B Combe from Vaudezilla Productions on Vimeo.

And just a short time later, we were invited to perform at the Lincoln Fair, monthly Burlesque Expostion, hosted by Vaudezilla at the Lincoln Tap Room for Lincoln Tap Room's 20th Anniversary par-tayyyyyyyyy.



Here's the reel from that expostion:

Lincoln Fair (11.20.10) - "All Aboard the Chattanooga Choo-Choo" by Honey B Combe from Vaudezilla Productions on Vimeo.

this fall/winter will have far many more things to come, but for now, I leave you with these goodies.

xoxo,
erin
and my slightly altered ego, Sugar Cane Jane

all aboard the chattanooga choo choo.

It has been quite a while since I've posted anything, as I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to gather my bearings with work, shows, freelancing and all that jazz. So I thought I'd take a moment to sit down and sort through photos of the new Honey B. Combe act that Lindsey and I worked so diligently on. Our new performance, the Chattanooga Choo Choo, as rendered by the Andrews Sisters accompanied by the Glenn Miller orchestra, debuted on Saturday, October 16th at Chicago's Viaduct Theater for the Rock Via Vaudeville expedition. We were elated to debut this act as one of the featured performers for the event, and were even more thrilled at the crowd's feedback. It's always a little nerve-racking counting down the moments until call time, especially when unleashing a new act to a theater full of nameless faces. But it went super well, and as usual, we had a fabulous time.

This was the production:


And here are some photos of Honey B. Combe backstage sporting our new handmade costumes for the performance, as photographed by Isa Giallorenzo of Chicago Looks. Additionally, we performed the Chattanooga Choo Choo again last night, in a more awake-from-the-dead, blood and gore fashion for a Halloween Burlesque show at Exit Chicago with a gaggle of smokin' gals for the monthly event, Broadzilla, and will have footage in the coming month, which I can't wait to see.





For Rock Via Vaudeville, we were given two time slots, and of course, we had to bust out our Little Egypt act, so Isa had us do a little costume change in the dark, so she could snag a couple more photos of us and our banner...





with love and tassels,
Honey B. Combe!



oh, p.s. look forward to some of the following random excursions to come:

-"Plastic is Fantastic" Barbies from around the world photoshoot

-Excavated Memories Jewelry lookbook photoshoot

-Milio's Hair Salon pin-up hair show featuring Chicago burlesque babes

-new vintage treasures and inventory for Psychosurplus Vintage

-and yes, new concepts for a new art show,(because it's been wayyyy too long since I've curated) yayyyyyyyyyy!

xoxo,
erin.

Holy moly, I'm in Time Out Chicago...!

Okay, okay, so a few weeks ago, I was stopped on the street and asked if I could be photographed and interviewed briefly. I was hestitant at first, as I didn't know what the hell these two random guys were trying to get at, until they told me they were from Time Out Magazine(the Chicago edition), to which I replied surely, as long as the interview wasn't too ridiculous and they didn't mind the fact that I was carrying three bags of groceries along with me. They basically summarized the interview as being more or less fashion based, but as we got to talking (while the interviewer, Jake, recorded everything on his dictaphone), the conversation branched out to all sorts of silly things. I told them I would agree to letting them include me in this week's issues if I could receive a jpeg of the photo they decided to use for the blurb, via my business email. To my pleasant surprise, when Andrew, the photgrapher, emailed me the image, he also noted that Time Out would be running my interview and image on the first page as the feature for the public eye section.

!!!!!Whoaaaaaaaa, man, awesome!!!!!

I really don't want to toot my own horn, but when I saw the new copy of Time Out the other day, I couldn't deny being a little delighted. Plus, it's one of the first times that I've been interviewed and accurately quoted in a public editorial, as a few botches have happened with other blurbs and such in the past, so that was super exciting, too. Plus, they noted my friend Niki's vintage business, BombshellShocked, that I work/model for, which is grand, because she and her business were featured just a couple months back in Time Out for the Vintage issue. Plus, I just plain ol' love that gal.

Yay!

This is the image they decided upon, photo credit goes to Andrew Nawrocki of Time Out Chicago.


(Here's the the full article)

xoxo,
erin

Indian Delights, Indonesian garage rock, Incense & a little piece of mind.

Yesterday, I had a lovely afternoon with my long time friend, Kara, traveling to the far north side of Chicago, visiting a street in a neighborhood I lived in for a time as a child. The street we spent the day romping aorund on was Devon Ave, in West Roger's Park, home to one of the largest Indo-Pakistani communities in the U.S. We went to countless fabric stores, jewelry shops and home goods businesses, absorbing all of the amazingly vibrant jewels, fabrics and garments, while Kara searched diligently for a new nose ring. We ventured into a few of the markets, inhaling scents of spices, incense and fresh pastries. It was such an incredible day. We also managed to take ina few snacks while we were up there, first diving into oven fired dough pastries filled with cheeses and potato from a Georgian (provincial region of Russia) bakery, in the more Russian inhabited portion of the street at the western end of the stretch, as well as naan breads and lamb patties, accompanied by highly refreshing rose water yogurt drinks at the Indian Garden, a restaurant dedicated solely to delicious Indian cuisine. Needless to say, we spent the bus ride back to Logan Square in totally delightful food comas.

Though I don't have any photos from yesterday's adventure quite yet, here's a photo of Kara and me from her first day after moving back to Chicago. Together, we make quite the brightly colored adevnturous duo.


When we got back to my apartment, we vegged out on the couch for a bit, burning our new incense finds and listened to the sounds of Dara Puspita, this super amazing surf/garage girl band from the 60s & 70s that originated in Indonesia, but was later exiled to China. They rule.


After Kara left that evening, and my boyfriend went out skating with his friend, I decided to curl up on the couch with a glass of wine and work on a new illustration. It's been a while since I've had such a relaxing day and had the opprtunity to work on some new art without the pressure of work or commissions or deadlines, so I was thrilled to have a little piece of mind. I didn't really have anything particular in mind to draw out, but I was also pondering different ways to promote my burlesque endeavors and where the fall will take me in terms of my career as an artist and a relative newbie in the Burlesque field in Chicago, so I decided to combine the two work/extra-cirrculars I love and came up with this new piece. Of course, as with most of my artwork, it's not really finished, but for now, I'm pretty happy with the direction it's going in.

Take a gander.


xoxo,
erin

Where's my whistle? Where's my luggage? And some tap shoes??

The proceeding video is footage of Dorothy Dandridge and the Nicholas Brothers performing with the Glenn Miller Orchestra to the classic, Chattanooga Choo Choo. This is one of my favorite musical selections, and though I love The Andrews Sisters version of this song, I just absolutely adore Dorothy Danridge's performance. As we gradually make our way into fall this year, Honey B. Combe has been on the prowl for new act inspiration, and boy, oh boy, have we found it in this segment! Lindsey and I are doing a wardrobe and performance overhaul for the upcoming season, and we're completely stoked to include Honey B. Combe's very special version of Chattanooga Choo Choo to our spankin' new repetoire.



We also recently had another fantastic show with our friends over at Vaudezilla this past month, winding down August with a totally revised "Peace Pipe" performance in Broadzilla! the Burlesque Beast at Exit Chicago. That show was filmed and photographed, and though I'm still awaiting footage and such, which are all soon to come, I can't wait to visually share the experience!

I have much more catching up to do, but we'll have to save other goodies for later.

xoxo,
erin