Monday 13 October 2014

Fashion & Lifestyle Expo || Health & Fitness Expo at EventCity Manchester.


#FASHIONLIFESTYLE2014




Attended the Fashion & Lifestyle Exhibition || Health & Fitness Expo for the first time the weekend at Event City Manchester run by Samia Ansari & Aisha Ansari of Ansari Goc LTD. It was between attending The Clothes Show Birmingham & The Fashion and Lifestyle Expo Manchester but after comparing the two and seeing Manchester as being much better for promotion & a different target area we trusted the organisers and decided to head up and attend.
I’ve never done anything to this scale before, usually keep everything low key & affordable without taking too much of a risk, After speaking to organisers and hearing Boohoo.com & Elle Magazine were in attendance it was a perfect opportunity and too good to miss as could really make a massive difference to the models I have on my books…. So we booked in!


Once we agreed to attend we asked about stock, how many people were attending? Would 200 tops be enough? Would 500 tops be enough? I was told they would all sell out within the first couple of hours by the organisers so we made sure we had extra stock ready for the mass of people!
Friday finally came and we arrived in Manchester after travelling through horrible conditions to find our space wasn’t what we expected.



We had actually travelled all the way to Manchester and paid out £2,000 for a piece of carpet, When asked what to do by organisers as we had no table, no rails as we had planned to have a rope going across the stand hanging off various items but there was no body to the stand, we was offered a table for £15.00 & a chair for £10.00 to borrow or we could go to Argos in the Trafford Centre. In the end we agreed to go out and buy furniture to make our stand more appealing, We headed over to the Trafford Centre to find the nearest Argos was actually in Salford 20 minutes away from the venue however the journey took just over 2 hours after trailing round various stores.



After setting up we drove all the way to home to Staffordshire which took over 2 hours making us get home at 1am, We packed a case and headed back out at 4am having just over 2 hours sleep. Upon arriving in Manchester  everywhere was really quiet & our models arrived to share the stand with us over the weekend


By 5pm on Saturday most of the runway shows had been cancelled or delayed leaving visitors angry and complaining, I went into the organisers office with a parent of one of the models to offer help & support as we had more than enough people to help out with our stand, We offer support to aisha & samia for help with the runway, flyering, anything at all free of charge as we didn’t want to be surrounded by negative energy all weekend.. Samia & aisha was greatful for the support but we was then told not to worry as ELLE magazine & 10 Celebrity Guests were to attend on the Sunday and it was going to be way better than today’s experience.


After leaving the office many people had already packed away leaving empty spaces and the show being on till 8pm we decided also to write the day off and leave early as we trusted these people and everyone gets issues!

Sunday AM.
Sunday arrived and by 12pm there had been NO Footfall for the Fashion & Lifestyle Expo and surrounding stall holders began to get annoyed and start packing up despite this being on till 6pm. It then became clear Elle Magazine& Boohoo were never really going to attend neither were the other leading high street retailers, After getting no footfall from the stand we decided to flyer all of the chairs in the  fashion show area to be greeted by angry guests asking why the show again was cancelled at 12pm, So again myself and one of the models parents went back into the office to see if we could help fix their disaster before everyone left & we lost £2,000 for the weekend. W e sent half of our team with leaflets to flyer the Trafford Centre and the other half to flyer outside the venue to bring in more crowds.
We offered Aisha & Samia to use our models for the runway show as the original agency could not keep to their promise, We offered promotional models to flyer the event, To speak to stall holders and put together outfits for the runway and help every stall holder get promotion.. We had solutions and they said ‘You paid by bank transfer nobody will get their money back, Elle Magazine cancelled they are based too far away, if you want to go then go we can offer you a free stand next year’. So that was that we couldn’t find an agreement and now they had the money it was clear that they didn’t really care. We went back to our stand to do model scouting & to talk to one of our franchise directors about upcoming work and left things at that.



A couple of minutes later in mid conversation with one of our franchise directors about an upcoming collaboration project I was taken back into the office with one of the models parents by Aisha. Once we were in the organisers office all staff, security and volunteers who were in the office at this time were kicked out, All the doors were locked and fire exits closed. We were asked to leave The Fashion & Lifestyle Expo as we wasn’t welcome or wanted. We then asked why we were being asked to leave as we would respect a vaild reason but we were told that we wasn’t allowed to talk to other exhibitors and we will be escorted off the premises (even though at this point we hadn’t spoken to anyone) and we stood there blankly as the whole situation was so random. Then out of nowhere Samia stood up and told me ‘I’m going to smash you f**cking face in” and had to be restrained by Aisha out of nowhere, we still hadn’t responded to the fact we were being escorted as we were in that much shock. Aisha then told us we would be escorted out. (We wasn't)

When arriving back to our stand we called 101 for advice and was put through direct to 999 as our safety was at risk, as we started packing away all our stock a group of people formed around the organisers office of Health & Fitness Expo in groups of atleast 50 to 100 banging on the door to be seen.


A small amount of exhibitors (36) managed to get their way into the organisers office and demand a refund for the stands they have been misssold.
We managed to capture this on video as they left the building.. (Queue photos on twitter by @josh_peers





Then the Fashion & Lifestyle Expo came together to complain and queued up outside the organisers office and things began to get a little bit heated after the organisers began abusing the exhibitors. Bobody-builders were then paid to protect the organisers as people were demanding answers.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=901481319863966&set=vb.100000063189582&type=2&theater&notif_t=video_reply

The police then arrived in force and the exhibition was shut down & the organisers vanished. One of the organisers claimed to have some sort of panic attack and an ambulance was called to treat her, We was then told by police as the assault on me happened in the organisers office where there are no cameras there is no grounds to file a complaint! However one arrest was made following racial abuse and a fine was given.

Now as exhibitors we are all left in the dark, we probably won’t ever get a refund for the money we have lost and it’s been an emotionally draining experience. It has put me in an awful situation with my business as I invested way too much into attending this event after all the false advertising and promises. Aisha & Samia exploited SME's to their advantage and created false advertising and misrepresentation of the Fashion & Lifestyle Expo & The Heatlth & Fitness Expo and now are in hiding as many of us would like answers. 

Throughout the whole experience i did not want a refund, abuse or a scene i wanted to offer my services FREE of charge to help stop this from happening however i am no longer willing to co-operate after being assulted and i am awaiting more advice to take the assult further. 

Many exhibitions are working tirelessly to put things right and set up collaborations to create something positive out of this experience.



See the organisers response here:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=901481319863966&set=vb.100000063189582&type=2&theater&notif_t=video_reply

Facebook Pages;
https://www.facebook.com/healthandfitnessexhibition/timeline
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fashion-and-Lifestyle-Exhibition/695766637156286

Organiser Samia Ansari featured in the press- 
Former England boss Steve McClaren cheats on his wife for a second time with the woman who also had an affair with Sven Goran Eriksson
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2190530/Former-England-boss-Steve-McClaren-cheats-wife-second-time-woman-affair-Sven-Goran-Eriksson.html

For all media enquires contact:
Chloe Avon – dreamstreetpromotions@gmail.com (Exhibitor) 
Madeline Morgan - maddymorganxoxo@hotmail.com (Exhibitor)
Press Release Available on Request. 

Help save Dream Street! - Purchase a Bag from our online store at:
http://www.dreamstreetmodels.bigcartel.com/product/pre-manchester-offer-bag-t-shirt
Every Bag purchased helps keep our business going as we try to re-build ourselves from this awful experience. 


Monday 23 December 2013

60 Second Interview with Jasper!

60 Second Interview with Jasper!

We hear you have been up to some pretty amazing things during your three month break & we have missed having you on our runway!









Where have you been? 


Ethiopia, Dire Dawa


What made you decide to go there?

I went with an organization called VSO ICS, they give the opportunity for anyone between 18-25 to volunteer for 3 months working in development. My personal reasons for going was to contribute to an community and to gain experience.

What was the best experience while you was out there? It's hard to specify one but when handing out certificates to students who passed the grade, just the general happiness of everyone I encountered was amazing. Here is a documentary I made from my time in Ethiopia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkKZqtV5ezg


What would you say to anyone else who wants to share the same experience's you have?

Go for it, if you do not have many commitments and want to experience a new culture then you have nothing to lose.


Sounds Amazing, Has this made an impact on your life?

Yes, it's given me future career goals and reinforced priorities.


So what are you plans for next year?

University, I am working for the university working on environmental sanitation, explore more of my art & photography, do some more in international developmen
t.

Monday 2 December 2013

FEATURED: Inspirational Women

Last weekend it was the event that everyone was talking about, Dream Street's first ever Inspirational Women Awards. 

The event taken place at The Ark, Alvechurch in Birmingham on Saturday 23rd November and featured a wide variety of Award Categories including; Inspirational Mum, Inspirational Business Woman & Inspirational Award of Bravery. 


“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”

·         Being a single mum at the age of 23 can often be hard work but then losing your mum, Best friend and being diagnosed with a life threatening illness is enough to turn anyone’s life upside down, However not for this lady..
On March 26th 2012 Tracy was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer and was lucky enough to beat the illness and have all the cancer removed through surgery, She was left with a huge scar and unable to have any more children yet continues day in day out to share her story and encourage young women to have cervical cancer screenings from the age of 25. Tracy uses all her enthusiasm and love for the world to continue to make a difference to other people’s lives and fundraise for charities close to her heart,

This is lady is not only extremely appreciated for everything she does for other people, for sharing her story and fundraising for charity but she is also Dream Street’s Inspirational Women 2013.


 Michelle Williams has raised 9 children single-handily for 22 years and works nights as a residential carer.  Michelle is not only appreciated as a mum but also appreciated by many of those residents who she looks after and often receives thank you cards and flowers to show her how much she is appreciated.
As well as being as working and being a mum at home, she also finds the time to take her children to football training twice a week and to a match once a week as well as driving her other daughter to photo shoots or beauty pageants whenever she is needed, Her other daughter attends singing practice and music lessons, another daughter attends school athletics club and my younger brother goes to Spanish classes.. You get the idea of the busy household!
Michelle not only spends most of her time looking after people but also spends a lot of time raising money for the PDSA and Sunnyside Dog Kennels as these are charities very close to her heart, Michelle arranged and took part in a 6 mile walk dressed as dogs and raised over £300 for Sunnyside & recently donated £1,000 to Macmillan as this was a wish of my grandmothers before she passed away. That is also something that was very difficult for my mum as she was very close to her. Losing her mum also meant that she had to deal with her children’s grief over losing their Nan but to also try and find time for herself to grieve as well.

Michelle always thinks about other people and never puts herself first; she is always there for her children, her friends and to find time to fund-raise for charity. We would like to congratulate Michelle Williams on becoming Inspirational Mum of the year. 



When her mum was diagnosed with Arthritis this meant that Nadia would be faced too with this soul diminishing condition, Nadia was nominated by her father for not the large amount of goodwill she has shown but for the little things she does on a day to day basis out the kindness of her heart, like helping her mum out of bed, helping her get dressed or around the house.  Often cleaning up the house or making meals if her mum is unwell at just 13 years old.

Anyone who suffers from arthritis or looks after someone who does will be able to understand the daily struggle which many suffers are faced on a day to day basis, & often carers cannot be thanked enough for all the small things that they do, We would like to congratulate Nadia on becoming the Inspirational Young Person of the year. 

The Winner of the next award works extremely hard in her day to day life in order to reach her dreams, Not only for herself but reaching out for other people too.
She is a very hard working mum with two young children and wanted to start a business that would combine being a great mum with her passion for music. Working very hard she has  built up her business from a few hours a week to gaining degree, teaching diploma and business finance and management qualifications to now seeing over 40 students a week all within a short time of 5 years .
She has gone beyond her role on numerous occasions including community workshops and a fundraising concert in aid of Arthritis UK.

A quote from her students:

'My confidence was not good before & my tutor really helped me to be able to believe I can get up & show everyone what a voice I have.

Congratulations Maxine on becoming ‘Inspirational Tutor of the year 2013


Freya Felton was diagnosed with Hereditary Pancreatitis when she was just 2 years old and is now facing multiple conditions because of the severity her illness has caused, Ever since she was little she has undergone major surgery and theatre trips to help her get better.

In the last 6 years Freya was granted a Wendy House by local charity ‘Promise Dreams’ and since this day freya has understood the importance of other childrens happiness and has started fundraising for the charity to help other children have their wishes granted.
Freya has now helped raise £15,0000 for Promise Dreams and almost £1,000 in making bracelets with one of the Dream Street Girls, Sasha.

No matter what Freya is going through at just 8 years old she always remains strong not only for herself but for her family too.
We would like to congratulate Freya on winning the Inspirational Award of Bravery. 


The Dream Street Group would like to thank everyone for their kind donations and we were happy to present a cheque to Arthrtis Research for £707 for this event, Meaning we reached our £4,000 Target! 

Images by Mantis Photography - www.mantisphoto.co.uk

Sunday 10 November 2013

November Newsletter

A few of our girls had a really busy week this week fundraising for charities close to them whilst out on castings or shooting with industry professionals..






We would like to congratulate one of our newest models, Leah Waite on her success at The Britian's Got Talent Auditions in making it to the next stage in the competition. 













 We would like to send a massive congratulations to Ann-Marie Norton who has raised a massive £1045.57 collecting for the Huntingdon Poppy Appeal this year at Tesco's Huntingdon.

We would also like to send a massive congratulations to Abbey who has been raising money for the Lullaby Trust,
"The Lullaby Trust provides specialist support for bereaved families and promotes expert advice on safer baby sleep.

Working with the NHS they run a national health-visitor led service for bereaved parents"

Well Done Abby for raising £398 pound last night!



& Finally we are happy to announce one of our models, Nadia is off to compete for Ireland in a pageant early next year, We are very proud she has made it to the finals and wish her all the luck in the world!

Wednesday 6 November 2013

Meet The New Ambassador – Natalie

Meet The New Ambassador – Natalie

Hello J my name is Natalie and I recently became an Ambassador for the Dream Street Group. I started modeling when I was 19 years old and have had some great opportunities over the last few years. I really enjoy fundraising and taking on any challenge that comes my way. Over the last couple of years I have organized local events for charity, raising over £1000.  I also try to get involved with the moonwalk every year, a midnight marathon raising awareness for cancer charities. I believe it is important for an ambassador to become a good role model.  Through my experience, I would now like to help others achieve their goals and dreams.
During February 2014 I am hosting a Charity Catwalk as part of the Dream Street Group. All money raised from this event will go straight to charity (Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Arthritis UK). I have organised a few events for breakthrough breast cancer over the last couple of years as this disease has affected my mother, grandmother and auntie.  It continues to affect many women every day. Therefore Breakthrough is a charity close to my heart that I have a lot of passion for.

I really want to get as many young people in the Worcestershire area involved as possible. It is a great way to bring communities together, making a difference while having some fun as well!  By working together as a team, we can raise so much more awareness and vital funds to keep research going, benefiting the lives of many. Working together, we can make big changes and build a better future. I am hoping that my role as an ambassador will help me achieve this goal.

I am currently planning some fundraising activities for over the next few months. November I will be taking a group of girls to climb Mount Snowdon to raise money for both Arthritis Research UK and Breakthrough Breast Cancer. December I will be organizing a Christmas Charity Fare. February is the Charity Catwalk! I am very excited about the months ahead.  My goal is to raise a further £2000 J


Tuesday 22 October 2013

Dream Street Beauty Northampton Directors, Leanne and Jonjo are running their heat slightly different to the other 11 franchises!

Dream Street Beauty Northampton Directors Leanne and Jonjo are running their heat slightly different to the other 11 franchises! Read on to find out more... 

What made you come on board as a director? 
I have directed 2 very successful pageant heats before, one to chose the Face of my charity for one year, and another for Face of Europe, the Midlands heat. Jonjo kindly presented the Midlands heat for me, and from there we decided to take on a heat with Dream Street Beauty together.

What heat are you running and when is it being held?
We are running the Northampton Online Heat,

What has been the most challenging part of organizing your Dream Street Heat? … 
I would say trying to get the girls interested in taking part in fundraisers has been the biggest challenge, but even this has not been a large problem, more of a small challenge J

What would you say to anyone who is thinking about joining the Directors Team?
It’s a lovely company to work for and Chloe is extremely helpful and friendly. The Dream Street brand is very popular and is going from strength to strength, so now would be a good time to get on board and would be an amazing opportunity and lots of fun too!

What are you most looking forward too? 
The grand Final & that Hereford Photo shoot location! 

Tell us about the charity you are fundraising for?
 We are fundraising for my own children’s wish charity ‘Pure Imaginations’ We grant wishes and arrange holidays, day trips, events, equipment, toys and offer support to seriously and terminally ill and disabled children from the Leicestershire area. 

When was the charity set up and what was the reasons behind this?
The charity launched in June 2012, and was set up due to my daughter having severe disabilities and heart problems. My daughter is so brave and amazing, and through her time in the hospitals, I have seen just how amazing, brave and inspirational all of the children are, and how much their families struggle as a result. I just wanted to help, and bring a smile and some happiness, even if for a short time, to their lives.

 What do you have planned to raise extra funds for your charity? 
 We have lots and lots of fundraisers planned, from bag packs, sponsored walks and auctions to a charity skydive!



Friday 11 October 2013

Model Advice - Don't learn the Hard Way




Model Advice

Breaking into the modelling world can be challenging and involves a lot of work and thick skin in order to get to where you want to be, with there being so many model agencies around and many asking you for upfront payments or to purchase portfolio’s over £500 it’s time to say NO.
You should never pay a model agency upfront to join their books, If a model agency is to want you on their books they will take a commission from paid work which is bought in by the agency as they will be getting you the work and NEVER sign anything without understanding the agreements which is being processed.

It’s also important that you NEVER let anyone pressure you into doing anything you are uncomfortable with, before attending castings know which type of model you would like to become which will then help you focus and get where you want to be.
If you are to take a serious interest in your modelling career it is important that you are prepared to get professional images done which could be by a professional photographer and cost around a maximum of £100 for a full portfolio of images which you would own the copyright too, a student photographer may do these for free for their portfolio and this is acceptable too.


Child Modelling:Any person under the age of 16 or in full time education must be licensed to work in modelling or entertainment industries. Reputable agencies which represent children are aware of and adhere to Child Licensing Laws and will organize this for you when needed, At Dream Street Models & Events this will be discussed with a parent or guardian prior to the first casting / paid work is received.


Contact Numbers:It’s vital that when working with clients or as a freelance model you have a separate contact number to give out for safety precautions, not everyone you meet is trustworthy. Always check references and if you feel something isn’t right then it probably isn’t.


Chaperons: When attending shoots and castings it’s important that you take someone with you especially if it’s the first time you are meeting an agent or on a job, Photographers and agents who ask you to attend alone should be kept away from as a reputable company would be happy for you to bring along a friend and talk you both through everything to give you a clear understanding on what is expected. Don’t attend alone and make sure you keep your feet on the ground and be well aware of everything which is going on around you.


Sizes and Photos:It’s vital that you are to keep an agent up to date with your current look even if this is something simple as to changing your hair color, it’s vital that the agency are aware of this as it may mean you are suitable / not suitable for certain jobs.


Restrictions:Many agencies take on Models from 5’7 female and 6’0+ Male as a requirement, Petite models are usually from a minimum of 5’2 female and 5’7 for a male. Plus size varies from anything from a 14+ however at the Dream Street Group we have strong ethical beliefs in which we stand by when representing models, Always check before applying to an agency their restrictions.