Feature Stories

Art Official @ W Atlanta Midtown [INVITE]

Art Official @ W Atlanta Midtown [INVITE]

This Thursday, April 19th, the W Atlanta – Midtown will begin it’s monthly ‘Art Official’ cocktail parties at The Living Room. The hotel says the ART Official Series will ‘exhibit Atlanta’s bold street art and unique creativity paired with carefully crafted cocktails and a series of rotating DJs.’ First up on Thursday are resident artists Chris Hobe of Artistic Revolution, Chris Hamer of UrbnPop, tattoo artist Mike Groves, Kevin Rein, and the Mindzai Creative Team. The first Art Official party coincides with the 76th Annual Dogwood Festival at Piedmont Park. Future Art Official parties will be held on May 17th, June 21st, July 19th, August 16th, and September 20th.

 

Tyler Perry Shares Entrepreneurial Advice

Tyler Perry Shares Entrepreneurial Advice

Friday afternoon American Express hosted a forum for small business owners with Atlanta-based mogul Tyler Perry. The event, titled ‘Tyler Perry: The Entrepreneurial Mind‘ drew about 100 guests to the Fox Theatre‘s Egyptian Ballroom to hear what Perry, who owns his own studio, had to say.

His #1 piece of advice? ‘Oprah taught me to own everything, never sell,’ he said. Also, ‘Social media is everything. I didn’t even know what a Facebook was six months ago, until they called me up. I had about a million people on my email list from TylerPerry.com, but there were about six people calling themselves Tyler Perry on Facebook. So Facebook called me up and asked if I would have a page. When I started seeing that people would like it then their friends would like it then their friends would like it, I was like, wow.’

Perry also shared that all of his first projects were bombs. ‘My first play, I was expecting about a thousand people. 30 showed up, and I knew all of them. But out of that 30, there was one who wanted to invest.’ Perry said one of his secrets to final success was finding local church people who already had a following to star in his plays. ‘People are always trying to get the big fish, when there are so many other fish you can get.’

Here are some other nuggets from Tyler Perry: The Entrepreneurial Mind:

  • Always touch people coming into your business, whether it’s with a thank you note or a phone call.
  • Super serve your niche. Give your customers more than they’re expecting, and do it again and again and again.
  • Everyone comes into your life to teach you a lesson. If you don’t learn it it will show up again as as another person and you’ll have to go through all the hard stuff again.
  • Never feel like you know it all and never give up control.
  • Hire people that have your spirit. Never give people too much too quickly or they’ll go crazy with people. Give them a little power at first to see how they handle it.
  • You can’t get anything with your hands closed.
  • Some things (charitable) should be done in private so God can reward you in private. Some should be done in public because it inspires others.
  • There are things you cannot be cheap about (financial advice, attorneys, etc.)
  • You have to know that you deserve it. Say to yourself, ‘I deserve good things, good health, and for my business to prosper, because God said I deserve it.’

Kandi Burruss Spreads Happiness & Joy

Kandi Burruss Spreads Happiness & Joy



On the season finale of The Real Housewives of Atlanta last night, Kandi Burruss revealed her new line of Bedroom Kandi sex toys at a party for fans. Here she is giving us a more up-close-and-personal demonstration. Kandi is currently expanding her empire with a network of in-home Bedroom Kandi party reps. She tells us she wants the party network to be ‘just like Tupperware, only with a different kind of plastic!’ Apply here.

Honey Boo Boo Child Gets Her Own Show

Honey Boo Boo Child Gets Her Own Show

Alana ‘Honey Boo Boo Child‘, the McIntyre, Georgia ‘dollar makes me holler’ breakout star will soon start filming her own reality show for TLC. June Thompson, Alana’s mom, confirms to us that a camera crew will start filming the duo on April 14th for a month. You can catch the original episode that made June ‘The Coupon Queen’ and Honey Boo Boo Child national celebrities on TLC’s ‘Toddlers & Tiaras‘ this Wednesday, April 4th at 9 and 11 p.m. They will also be featured on the show’s season opener episode in July.

In case you missed it, check out our exclusive interview with Alana ‘Honey Boo Boo Child’ and June ‘The Coupon Queen’ below:


 

Will you watch Alana & June’s new show on TLC?

Kandi Burruss on The Nate Show Today

Kandi Burruss on The Nate Show Today

Atlanta Housewife Kandi Burruss will appear on the Nate Berkus Show today, showing viewers how to create a sexy bedroom for Valentine’s Day.

We hear Kandi also reveals her ‘must-haves’ for a sexy bedroom – wonder if those include her Bedroom Kandi sex toy line and a performance by RiDICKulous?

Kandi just won Best Overall Sex Toy Line at the AVN Awards in Las Vegas, so she knows what she’s talking about!

Nate was in Atlanta a few months ago for Oprah‘s O You conference. Check out our video interview with him where he gives tips for decorating a Midtown loft, and of of course, our interview with Kandi.

Valentine’s Cocktails from the W Buckhead

Valentines Cocktails from the W Buckhead

The W Atlanta – Buckhead was kind enough to send over not one, but two signature Valentine’s Day cocktails! Try them tonight at the hotel bar, Whiskey Blue (one night only!) or make them yourself using the W Buckhead’s special recipes below…

Candy Heart (left above)

Part 1

In a Shaker Glass add:

  • 1 1/2 oz. Godiva Chocolate Liquer or Baileys
  • 1 2/2 oz. Creme De Cacao
  • 1/2 oz. Vodka
  • 1/2 oz/ Half and Half
  • Add ice shake well and strain into a martini glass

Part 2:

In a shaker glass add:

  • 1 1/2 oz. Strawberry Puree
  • 3/4 oz Fresh Sweet n Sour
  • 1/4 oz. Simple Syrup
  • 2 1/2 oz. Whip Cream

Add ice shake VERY well and slowly strain layer on top of the martini glass filled with chocolate martini drink.

Love Potion #9 (right above)

In a shaker glass add:

  • 1 oz. Stoli Vanilla
  • 1/2 oz. Watermelon Pucker
  • 1 oz. Cranberry Juice
  • 1 oz. Pineapple Juice

Add ice shake well and strain into a champagne flute about 3/4 to the top. Top with champagne. Garnish with a strawberry half.

Enjoy!

Meet Paul Wolski’s ‘Alter Egos’ [PHOTOS]

Meet Paul Wolskis Alter Egos [PHOTOS]

Midtown artist Paul Wolski’s collection of Alter Ego Pop Art is now on display at Chic – Evolution in Art at Phipps Plaza…



The gallery recently held an opening night party to benefit Pancreatic cancer with Atlanta Housewife Cynthia Bailey. She bought several pieces for herself and friends like Kandi Burruss, who also attended and had previously picked out a sculpture for her daughter Riley.

Meet Paul Wolskis Alter Egos [PHOTOS]

Most of the Atlanta Housewives have visited Chic. It was even prominently featured on Sunday night’s episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta along with Wolski’s pieces.

Meet Paul Wolskis Alter Egos [PHOTOS]

Gallery’s owner Ivan Pitoni (who also lives in Midtown), told me he chose to feature Paul Wolski’s work because, “It always leaves behind a smile and instantly makes people interact with each other. Whenever I seek new talent to bring into Chic, it has to be unique and remarkable. Paul’s work transmits freedom with simple interpretations of our own dualities.”

Meet Paul Wolskis Alter Egos [PHOTOS]

Wolski, who started out as a lead designer and authorized character illustrator at Walt Disney Imagineering, tells me the formula for his art is simple: “Avoid tradition, embrace diversity, relate to the audience, and be the life of the party.”

Meet Paul Wolskis Alter Egos [PHOTOS]

His characters begin as black and white pencil sketches, then later enter the digital world with the help of Mac-based design software. The end result is a colorful illustration somewhere between 2D and 3D, lush and layered yet graphic and minimal.

Meet Paul Wolskis Alter Egos [PHOTOS]

I’ve been a fan of Wolski’s work since 2005, when he created the cover character for my book, ATLANTAboy.

Meet Paul Wolskis Alter Egos [PHOTOS]

Want your own Alter Ego? It’s possible to commission your own – stop by the gallery for a consultation!



- Paul Wolski’s ‘Alter Egos’ runs through the end of December at Chic Evolution in Art.

* Gallery photography by Sacha Griffin, Seeit360.com. Art images by Paul Wolski.

RuPaul Wishes You A Merry Xmas, Baby!

RuPaul Wishes You A Merry Xmas, Baby!

Atlanta’s own RuPaul wanted us to wish you a very merry Christmas, baby!

The new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race drops January 30th on Logo TV.

Here’s a sneak peek…


 

Kandi Burruss On How to Get Very Rich, Bitch!

Kandi Burruss On How to Get Very Rich, Bitch!

“You have to live for the time
you don’t even see coming yet.”



Kandi Burruss is not only a musician and reality star, she’s also a serial entrepreneur.

The single mom and star of The Real Housewives of Atlanta started out in the Atlanta-based group Xscape when she was in high school.

But unlike other young artists who later went broke, Kandi now runs four successful businesses. She’s a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and music producer but also owns a clothing store (TAGS Boutique) in Smyrna, a sex toy line (Bedroom Kandi) and a game app (Kandi Koated Spades).

I recently caught up with Kandi to find out how she became one of the only (actually) very rich Housewives of Atlanta…

“When I was in high school, my mom always told me, ‘Good credit better than money.’ A lot of my friends didn’t learn that lesson. It doesn’t matter if you’re making a lot of money if you don’t have good credit.”

“I have always been a firm believer in living below your means. The first car I eve rhad was a BMW 325i that I bought, but I had been out on tour selling millions of albums before I every bought that car. I was still driving the old car that my momma had given me in high school, even though I had an album and hit songs on the radio. I waited until I had $100,000 in the bank before I went out and bought my little $30,000 car. I didn’t want to go out and buy the biggest Benz just to impress other people.”

You don’t want to put on for other people
so much that you become broke in the process.”

“I didn’t want to go spend spend spend to put on an image for everyone else. I don’t think it’s important for to go, ‘I got millions of dollars. I want everybody to see it by spending way more than I’ve got. If I’ve got a million dollars but I’m two million dollars in debt, I’m still not a millionaire.”

“You have to live for the time you don’t even see coming yet. A lot of people are living for today. Just because you’re making a lot of money today, doesn’t mean you’re gonna be making a lot of money 20 years from now or 10 years from now. Unless you set yourself up in a way to where you will be able to make money off the money that you have.”

LL Cool J once told me, ‘always have
a house and a car that you own.”

“LL Cool J once told me, ‘always have a house and a car that you own.’ So every time you get a check, throw a little money to the principle so you can pay off your house. So that’s what I did, and those were words for me to live buy. Every time I got a check, instead of balling out to impress people, I paid more toward my house. I paid toward things that accumulate in value.”

“Take care of your credit and pay your bills on time. You don’t ever want to be one of those people who is putting on for other people so much, that you go broke in the process.”

Who is your favorite Real Housewife of Atlanta?

Johnny Weir: The Atlanta Interview

Johnny Weir: The Atlanta Interview

“I can’t even count how many
men in heels I’ve seen down here.”



Last night I caught up with Johnny Weir at Grady High School for the CNN Dialogues: LGBT forum.

Weir, who is usually much more flamboyant, chose to wear an all black suit instead of his usual attire.

“I wanted to be very serious and downplayed, because I’m in quite a mixture of people and I’m the weird, crazy one on the end. I wanted to blend in for fashion,” he told me.

“This is my serious look. I’m in a high school, so I can’t come with my feathers and nipple tassels and all that. But I have seen so many men in high heels down here, I can’t even count – especially from The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”

It’s funny he said that, because a few minutes into the forum, Purple Door Salon owner and Real Housewives of Atlanta star Dwight Eubanks walked in and sat down right next to me (I’ll post my interview with him soon).

“I’ve been very much attacked for being gay
by the media outlets of the world.”

Weir said he would talk about whatever the group wanted to discuss, because “I’ve been there. I’ve been through it all. I’ve been very much attacked publicly for being gay by the media outlets of the world.”

“If me being here can shed some light on issues that I’ve had and that people around the world have had, then I have to be here to talk about it.”

Weir also told me he loves the southern charm and culture of Atlanta. But that’s not the only reason. Weir recently got engaged to an Atlanta man – Roswell High School and Emory University graduate Victor Voronov.

“I have an appearance in Greenville, South Carolina tomorrow,” Weir said. “Then I’m coming back to Atlanta to meet the in-laws!”

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