Getting ready for Spring!

Winter is generally slow for mehndi artists, so it gives us time to explore new patterns, tidy up the pattern books and work on our booths. Last year I focused on the big details of the tent - new curtains, tablecloths and rugs. This winter it's all about the small details. I've updated some signs for the table - as well a business card holder and other details for the tables. The biggest project was making a sandwich board for out front. This will be nice for events when I'm working inside of a shop for the sidewalk. The back side is painted with magnetic paint so I can change out the sign in the middle as needed. I'm very happy with the way it turned out - despite all the wrinkles in it. They aren't that noticeable, and now I know how to do it the correct way for next time! The top is open to hold an arrow sign, or I can attach balloons to it, and my pink and orange wedding garlands look really nice hanging from either side.

As of now, my first outdoor event is March 2nd for First Fridays Artwalk in Richmond. Let's hope the weather warms up a bit... yesterday we got snow!

Celebrity henna!

One thing that working henna artists do in the slower months of winter, besides updating the booth, is look at pictures. THOUSANDS of pictures. When I first heard about henna back in 1996, I could only find a handful of pictures on the internet of mehndi designs. Now you can find so many - especially on Flickr, where working artists often have portfolios, and places like Tumblr, weheartit, and numerous blogs devoted to henna designs.

When Madonna first wore henna onstage back in the late 90s, it sparked an interest in the West for henna body art. More recently, younger celebs such as Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez and Kendall and Kylie Jenner have posted pictures of their henna designs on Twitter, and a whole new generation of Americans are now aware of this ancient body art. Katy Perry and Russel Brand even had a mehndi celebration before their wedding (which didn't seem to bring their marriage good luck!) and Alanis Morissette had a Blessingway where she had a henna belly done, and her guests got hand designs.

Here are pictures I've seen around the web of these celebrities - even Camilla Parker Bowles got mehndi twice while traveling in Africa. Unfortunately, she didn't know the dangers of black henna and the photo of her with Prince Charles shows a smudged black henna design. Hopefully she didn't have a bad reaction to it!

Update: Found a picture of Beyonce with mehndi today!