STYLEAID BLOG

Well dear reader another week has come and gone, well almost, and we are heading towards the weekend…probably one of the last one’s that I will have off before the big night.

Some exciting news that is happening at present is our sponsor launch on Tuesday night - something that we do that lets us say thank you to our sponsors who support our work and make STYLEAID possible.

This promises to be a great night and we will be unvieling the STYLEAID DVD that we will be showing on the night that will remind people of why they are there and who they are supporting.

With just over 100 people due on Tuesday night the Veuve Clicquot should flow freely along with a stunning menu of canapes that will keep our kind sponsors happy.

It will also be where we show the STYLEAID photographic exhibition for the first time, before it heads off to the Johnston Gallery in Gylde Street Osborne Park for 9 days.  This is the first time we have had a gallery space to display the photographs and once again adds a whole new component to the event.

So keep in touch and keep reading.  Next week we will have Aly once again chatting about her road to the night as well as Lisa from Grace and Scarper chatting about what she is hoping to do on the night when we showcase her wonderful jewellery.

Have a great weekend and thanks for supporting STYLEAID, the WA AIDS Council and our website which has had just under 300,000 hits this month alone!!!!

marc xox

Well here we are on Friday and another week is almost over.

This weekend I am helping out at the Boobaliscious Ball at the Hyatt to assist backstage.  This is a fundraiser for Breast Cancer and I am honoured to be able to volunteer and work backstage on the show.  It is always so gratifying to be able to give back and help where we can.

I worked with our wonderful Aly May backstage last year and was fortunate to be asked to help again this year.  it is always a fun day and evening and it raises much needed funds for another worthwhile cause.

In this day and age I think it is so important to be able to assist to the best of our abilities where we can.  Volunteering is one way and so many charities and organisations in Perth could not survive without them.  I know that STYLEAID would not happen if it was not for the help of all of our volunteers and the same goes for the AIDS Council.

To be able to offer the best services possible the assistance of volunteers in our day to day work is vital and for me to be able to also give back to the community is important as well.

I hope you have a great weekend and look our for more posts next week.  Aly will begin here posting of her journey as we head towards the big night and this year Lisa from Grace and Scarper will also be joining the site and giving a designers perspective of the event.

So til next week.

Mark xoxo

Dear Reader of the blog…it is already Thursday and yet another week is zooming by.  I am in discussion with one of our sponsors from last year to once again come on board with another diamond for the treasure chest - some of you may not know but this element of the night is so much fun, people purchase a red wrist band that has a key attached and one of the keys opens the treasure chest and if it is you you win the diamond…will keep you posted on this one.

I also have a vmoto scooter to give away as a door prize to one lucky guest this year to add yet another dimension to the night.

And our VIP packages are available too…if you want to make the best night of the year even better then a VIP package would be perfect…email me for more information and I will let you know about it…

So will keep updating as things evolve…

Have a great day.

Mark

 One of the photos from Michael Chestnutt

Building on the back of last years amazing photography, once again this year we have asked some of the best photographers in Perth to take a garment from one of the top designers in Perth and create a photograph around the theme of Reflections.

To date I have seen about half of them and can tell you that once again they have outdone themselves.

A great range of photographers have put their lenses out there and created some truly original one off pieces of artwork that will be up for sale at both the sponsors night on July3 and then a week later at the Johnston Gallery in Mosman Park and at the event itself.

These amazing visionaries have once again committed to the event and with the support of Tony Nathan who is printing the photos and ART World who are framing we will have another component of the night that will amaze people.

Here you will see a teaser of just a couple of the pics. I hope you enjoy them!

Welcome blog reader as we work our way into the last 8 weeks before we hit the event again.

This year finds me well and hectic as usual.  I am currently working on STYLEAID but also on a number of education and prevention initiatives here at WAAC.  At the end of last year once the dust had settled from STYLEAID we produced a DVD called “Being Positive” which focusses on the lives of 3 people living with HIV - of which I am one.  This was produced with the support of the WA Health Department because we we having trouble getting people who had the time or desire to go out and continue the work we had been doing with our public speaking program in schools here in Perth.  The project began over 20 years ago and is just as important today as it was then in putting a human face to the epidemic of HIV/AIDS here in Western Australia.

So with the number of speakers diminishing we had to come up with a creative solution to allow us to keep putting that human face on the epidemic.  This DVD was the answer and we are currently working on the teaching guide to go with it.  Once this is completed we will get it out there into schools and other groups that see a benefit from a resource like this.

I am having a shorter version put together currently that we will be showing at both the sponsors night (more about that in another blog) and on the night of the event just before the auction.

It is my hope that this important DVD will give people a real understanding about what it is like to be living with HIV in 2007 and beyond. It focusses on 3 very different people - a positive woman, a young man born with HIV and myself.

Other than that I have been involved in running education groups and working on a few other projects since I last posted here that has been keeping me busy as well of course of resigning old and new sponsors for STYLEAID for this year.

 I have also taken on a role of writing fashion articles for our local gay and lesbian publication here in Perth - OUT In Perth and am really enjoying working with editor Zoe Carter each month to produce, what I hope is some fun fashion articles.

With plans well and truly at full steam and bookings rolling in this does promise to be an amazing night.

I look forward to keeping you updated as the days and weeks progress up to and beyond the night.

Keep your eyes on the blog.

The wonderful Hawaiian group has once again signed on to be a part of STYLEAID for this year.  Over the previous 4 years we have been fortunate to have Carillon City involved but this year we have added Claremont Arcade and the Colonnade under the banner of the three C’s and it is great to have them all as part of the event.

Each year we focus on our sponsors on the blog and on the website and this year is not different.  I want to keep you in the loop so you can support those who are supporting us.

Our sponsors are what make this event such a success- of course add to that mix the wonderful guests who purchase tickets and you my dear reader who logs on to see what we are up to and this year is no different.

Along with naming rights sponsor VanLee and makeup sponsor M.A.C (and their amazing contribution through the M.A.C AIDS fund to our work) I am pleased on once again have these great retail outlets on board.

Watch this space as the blog returns to full force and more highlights and news gets posted more often so you can really be in the loop as we countdown to the number one fashion fundraising event in Perth.