Categories
Assiut/Assuit Publications

Book Reports: Cloth of Egypt – Proof #2

The second proof arrived!  And there was much rejoicing!  Now that the proof is in my hot little hands, I’m in the middle of fixing a bunch of issues – small issues – but in a 260 page book, there are a lot of them. We’re adding commas, taking out double spaces, and using proper italics to denote book titles are just to name a few!  The team of crack editors which includes a professional editor/copy writer, a tech support god, a crack librarian, a former school teacher, and my mom, are all going over a copy of the book hunting for the rogue typo’s, poorly formed sentences, and other problems.   I’m estimating 3 weeks for the editors to go through their copies, get them back to me, and for us to get the edits into place in the publication.  We are REALLY close to done!

The-Cloth-Of-Egypt-Cover-WEB

The cover is finalized and approved – with Her Royal Highness, Princess Farhana of Hollywood on the back cover wearing a bra made from modern assiut and dripping in a vintage assiut shawl.  Alisha Westerfeld took this photo during a super-fast 15 minute photo shoot on the Queen Mary Ship in the Observation Bar.  Using existing light, and dodging tour groups, we managed to get this amazing shot!  One tour guide, seeing the Princess in her glorious makeup and wrapped in assiut, told his group that she was actually a ghost!  The lovely 1930’s era decor made for an amazing, and quite appropriate, backdrop for the vintage cloth.  Find out more about Princess Farhana on her website.

Davina-Repair-Assiut-Detail-WEB

It turns out that there are some photos that didn’t quite make the grade in quality.  We have to find replacements for about half a dozen images, and we’ve got holes for another 20 or so more.  So we’re sorting, selecting, prepping about 25-30 images.  We have another 60 or so that need contrast adjustments to appear perfect in the final publication.  Like the image above, I’m working on making the final few fixes and then the work will be complete!  Now, if only it were as easy as threading up a needle and repairing a split in vintage assiut cloth.  But as you can see in the image below, of 12 pages, 6 spreads, the book is looking less like a random collection of text and pictures, and more like the cohesive publication it will be in a matter of weeks.

If you haven’t signed up for my mailing list –  now is the time!  I’ll be sending out a discount code for the book via my mailing list when the project is done!

Now, I’ve gotta get back to work!

~ Dawn

6-spreads-12-pages

 

 

Categories
Assiut/Assuit Belly Dance Design General

Pinterest and Assiut – A Love Affair

Hello Gang!

I love Pinterest! I find it to be an exceptional tool for both research and design. It gives the user the ability to save not only a link, but the key image as well. You have the power to annotate the image, share it with friends near and far, or in private. As a research, it has allowed me to create an inspiration board for assiut – and a links list to sellers, costumers, researchers, and fans like me. As a designer, pinterest gives me the tools to organize my images in any way I like, by project, subject, color, or fabrication. At the moment I write this, the assiut board curated by me, and my Cloth of Egypt co-author Alisha Westerfeld has over 970 images, with links to explore.

Pinterest-ScreenGrab-Assiut

I have enjoyed having the power to share my visual research instantly with the world.

Wanna see more assiut?  Follow the link below.  Enjoy!


Categories
Assiut/Assuit Design

Vintage Assiut Fix – Poster of Hedy Lamarr as Delilah

samson-and-delilah-hedy-lamarr-1949Need a dash of vintage assiut to decorate your room?  Cannot afford antique textiles?  Well, here’s a fantastic compromise, buy a poster!

In 1949, Hedy Lamarr starred in the film Sampson and Delilah, and wore a drop dead gorgeous assiut ensemble designed by Oscar award winning costumer, Edith Head. This dress made a stir at the time for its opulence, drape, and revealing midriff.

The website All Posters has this image of Hedy wearing her assiut wearing her two piece ensemble features an asymmetrical cropped top that has a long dramatic drape that drops from her right shoulder to the floor.  Her floor length skirt is pulled up just enough to showcase her vintage shoes.

Best of all, it comes complete with her signature sassy style, glamorous pose, and take no prisoners glare!

Hedy Lamarr as Delilah picture at All Posters starting at $16.99.  Click Here for more Info.

Categories
Assiut/Assuit Belly Dance Costuming DIY Publications

Book Report: The Cloth of Egypt Status – We’re Almost Done!

COE-Section2-2spreadsHello Gang!

The Cloth of Egypt: All About Assiut is nearing completion and I’m so happy to be closing in on the end of this project!    I’m in the final week of layouts.  Next step: Editing!   Right now, the book is sitting in that 250-260 page mark, each day that I work on the final layouts, it goes up a spread or down a spread depending on the flow of the content and images.  I think we’re four weeks from being absolutely complete!   The next phase of the book production includes sending the book out to our editors, collecting the edited documents, integrating edits into the final book, and then ordering proofs from the printer.  It’s a multi-week process and the end is definitely in sight!

The screen shots below represent 12 spreads taken at random from the four major sections of the book. As you can see, it’s filled with images that support the information. My co-author, Alisha Westerfeld has done an outstanding job with the bulk of the images, and along with a handful of extraordinarily talented photographers, this publication has become a visual delight.

Ultimately, I want this book to be a really good value when you pick it up!  I’m so very proud of how far I’ve come, and I’m looking forward to sharing the finished book with you soon!  At this point, the book release will be sometime between August 20 and Sept 15, depending on the speed of my editors, the efficiency of the proofing process with the printer, and as long as their are no major glitches, your copy will be available soon!

So enjoy this sneak peek!
Thanks for joining me on this adventure!

~ Dawn Devine ~ Davina

ps – Remember, you can email me if you have questions – davina@davina.us
pps – I’m really looking forward to getting back to blogging on a regular basis – I have so many projects to share with you that didn’t even MAKE it into the book.  As soon as we hit “print,” I’ll be back at work here on Costumer’s Notes!  Until then – Happy Costuming!  ~ D

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Section 1

Section 2

Section3

Section 4

Categories
Assiut/Assuit Belly Dance

Assiut Fest – Workshop and Dance Party

The end is so close – we’re planning the release party for The Cloth of Egypt: All About AssiutI’ve set up a page with more details, workshop info, links and more.  Click on the flyer below for more info!

Assiut-Fest-Flyer