http://blonde-gypsy.com/2013/04/04/scenes-from-a-holiday-in-st-lucia/

Miami is hands down a stunner place to party and dance.  With clubs like the electric Pickle and Central Station it’s an all night party place with lots of variety.  There are legal clubs to attend which open at 6AM when other clubs let out, it makes you feel like a rockstar.  This makes WMC a crazy time to be in Miami.  With hundreds of thousands of people in town to party you can’t really go wrong.

We had an amazing time at Black Coffee‘s shows around town .  He’s an incredible house DJ and producer from South Africa.  Black Coffee has his own sound and party wiggle which will keep you moving all night long.  We had the pleasure of catching one of his shows in Capetown last month making him one our favorite DJ’s right now.

We caught as much of Soulclap and their crews shows as possible, they know how to keep the party going till sunrise and beyond.  The Dirtybird crew threw an amazing BBQ at Villa 221 SF style.  There’s really nothing like getting low to Claude Von Stroke on a hot day throwing down that hard tech house.  Sporting our Dirtybird stunners by day and partying all night Winter Music Conference was the jump off.  See you next time Miami, keep on stunt’n.

This blog post was written by Yana, a Stunner of the Month member, who has been receiving Stunners over two years. She asked Stunner of the Month for our help, and we asked her to write a blog….

Not only does StunMo care that you do what you do in style, but StunMo also donates to one amazing organization: the Human Rights Campain (HRC). HRC is the nation’s largest LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender) civil rights organization. Six months of Stunners plus some sweet stunna swag will go to three lucky future StunMos in Philadelphia! The best part: it’s going to be part of the silent auction at Philly’s Regional HRC 17th Annual Dinner.

http://www.hrc.org/
http://www.facebook.com/HRCGreaterPhiladelphia
https://twitter.com/HRCGreaterPhila

TRVP is huge right so it was time to go huge with a TRVP mix.  “Trapped In Your Mind” is a 50min warm-up mix for Spring. Throw on some STUNNERS, step into the sunshine & bounce to this. With SXSW, Ultra and other major festivals on the horizon, we felt like it would only be appropriate to liven up the place and give you an early escape!!! Bless.

Rich Greene (aka: Reflex Le Roque) has gone from playing at iconic special events around the world & exclusive nightclubs in NYC to setting the soundtrack for Red Bull Arena. Now producing with legendary recording artist Wyclef Jean & Refugee Sound, we anticipate some fresh global tracks and some crazy live shows from this New York native. A versatile DJ, who mostly performs open format EDM, takes a moment to deliver a dose of TRVP for StunMo. This is Ivy League swag. @reflexnyc.

We’ll be rolling around Winter Music Conference in Miami with Reflex.  Come find us, we’ll stun you.  We’ll be at the DirtyBird Records BBQ at Villa 221 on Thursday.  We’ll be at the Fools Gold party at Central Station on Friday night.  Come see Black Coffee on Saturday at Jesonomo’s and get your South African house music on.  We’ll be stunt’n hard on Sunday morning till evening at Last Resort at Villa 221.  It’s always #time2stunt.

The C-STUNNERS tour focused on sharing Cyrus Kabiru’s creations with the Los Angeles art community, while also spending time with LA’s youth community to inspire future artists with Cyrus’s personal story and the stories behind each of his C-STUNNERS. During the exhibition, Cyrus participated in community talks at the MUSE School in Malibu, Santa Monica Boys and Girls Club (with Warren Brand of Branded Arts), and a hands-on workshop at UCLA Lab School on March 7 and 8.

The MUSE School hosted an art talk with Cyrus  to talk with students about the role that the environment and sustainability play in his work and life. Kids, as young as five, hurled questions at Cyrus asking him if he use shoes or cloth in his materials and if he’s made waterproof glasses before.

On Thursday, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Monica had a kick-back session with a conversation between Kabiru and Warren Brand, President of Branded Arts and long-time supporter of SMBGC. The evening event attended by 50 of SMBGC’s Club members focused on Cyrus’s innovative eyewear sculptures which were inspired by his immediate environment growing up near the largest trash dump in Nairobi. In “giving trash as second chance,”

Cyrus wrapped up the week at the  UCLA Lab School with hands-on workshop with third and fourth graders where four lucky kids got to make their own “Stunners” from matierials found around the school.  The students loved it and one said after that now whenever she throws something away, she’ll think about what she could have made it with instead.

This creative collaboration brought together by a shared love of stunners is an opportunity for StunMo to give back to the local community and support the Kuona Trust as part of their commitment to grow a collective of visionaries that think alike, but most importantly see alike.

Last weekend, Stunner of the Month took a break from packing sunglasses and put our sights on blowing up the art world of LA. Cyrus Kabiru’ makes stunnin wearable eyewear sculptures. He was invited to Long Beach for TED’s “Young, the Gifted, the Undiscovered” conference to receive a TED 2013 fellowship.  We’ve been following Cyrus’s  work for over two years, and decided it was important to help him share his vision during his first visit to the United States.

We saw more than 400 of LA’s finest turn out on Saturday night to check out Cyrus’s C-STUNNERS. Alex Drossler, StunMo Creative Director, curated the whole exhibit.  The show is at the Frank Pictures Gallery, located at Bergamot Station, and will only be up until Saturday. Go check it out. It looks stunnin.

Last night, CCH Pounder hosted an amazing party that allowed people to try on these C-STUNNERS and everyone was stunnin hella hard. CC is a an avid art collector and we appreciate her support to show Cyrus’s vision out there even further

This week, the Stunner Force will be in LA to host events on the C-STUNNER tour which includes giving back with events at the Santa Monica Boy and Girls Club, as well as making a stop at UCLA’s Lab School to get kids involved in a mini-stunner art project and talk about giving trash a second chance. 

Next Saturday, we’ll be throwing an artist talk and closing reception at the gallery before we drop the mike on this show and move on to the next city. Check out our FB invite and share with your LA peeps who love Stunners!

As avid collectors of all things Stunt, we not only procured some of his C-Stunners, but
also felt a camaraderie with this passionate entrepreneur whose work is a social
commentary of Africa and his life, just as our “Stunners” tell the stories of love, fun, and
dreams of our subscribers. It was in this kindred spirit that one stunner met another and
the wheels began moving to where we are today.

In late 2012, we received the wonderful news of him being offered a 2013 TED
Fellowship, which he will receive at TED’s the “Young, the Gifted, the Undiscovered”
conference in Long Beach at the end of this month.

True to our promise and commitment to expanding the StunMo lifestyle from sea to
stunting sea, we’re excited to announce that Stunner of the Month will be sponsoring
the C-Stunner Los Angeles tour to showcase Cyrus’s work and introduce him to the LA
art, fashion and design community.

From March 1-9, the StunMo crew will be down in Los Angeles, working with Ed Cross
Fine Art from London, to put Cyru’s C-Stunners on display at the Frank Pictures Gallery
for a nine-day exhibition which will kick off with a opening party for Cyrus on March 2
from 5:30-8:30pm.

We’ll not only be throwing an art show, but also organizing a series of events to
introduce him to Los Angeles’s folks in the know, as well as hosting some art talks and
workshops with area students and inner city youth. The workshops build on Cyrus’s
strong commitment to working with rural communities in Kenya to educate and inspire
communities in the use of sustainable materials for arts and craft practice.

As part of this commitment, Cyrus will be donating a portion of art sales to The Kuona
Trust, Centre for Visual Art, a charitable foundation dedicated to the generation,
presentation and promotion of innovative contemporary visual arts practice in Kenya.

We find it so important to do this art show to promote story-telling through shades and
build community of visionaries that think alike, but most importantly see alike.

Check out our invite http://www.facebook.com/events/
212693828874991/?ref=ts&fref=ts – on Facebook. For those of you in LA, spread
the word and come share our love for Cyrus’s stellar C-Stunners!

For more information about Cyrus and the C-Stunner Tour, see our press release below.

PICTURES
Exhibition: March 1 – March 9, 2013, 11:30-6:30 pm
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 2, 5:30-8:30 pm
Location: Frank Pictures Gallery in association with Ed Cross Fine Art, Bergamot Station, A-5
2525 Michigan Avenue, Santa Monica, CA

Los Angeles – We are delighted to announce the opening of Kenyan artist and 2013 TED
Fellow Cyrus Kabiru‘s “C-Stunner” collection, on view from March 1 thru March 9 at Frank
Pictures, located in Bergamot Station. This exhibition is Kabiru’s first show in the U.S. and
coincides with his appointment of a 2013 TED fellowship at TED’s the “Young, the Gifted, the
Undiscovered” conference in Long Beach.

A painter and sculptor, Cyrus Kabiru stands at the forefront of a generation of artists whose
innovation and creativity is shaping the way in which not only art from Africa is viewed, but Africa
itself. As the work of this generation travels across borders challenging perceptions and
stereotypes, Kabiru’s work has caught the imagination of the art world both within Africa and
abroad.

“I draw my inspiration from the urban environment of Nairobi. My passion is to inject new life
and purpose into the bottle tops, soda cans and other materials that people have discarded as
useless,” says Kabiru. “It is such an honor to be in Los Angeles to receive a 2013 TED
Fellowship and share with the LA art community my work.”

C-STUNNERS are a series of wearable eyewear sculptures that sit on the boundary between
art, performance, fashion and design. These innovative pieces of art each tell their own story
and are made using found objects from the artist’s immediate environment. Kabiru’s work is
inspired by the childhood memories of growing up in an area of Nairobi bordering the city’s
biggest garbage dump. Weaving together found materials such as bottle tops, shoe polish tins,
wire and cutlery, his visual art is built on the notion of, in Kabiru’s words, ‘giving trash a second
chance.’

Not withstanding their surreal humor, Kabiru’s C-Stunners address profound issues confronting
Africa and the world in general. His Big Mouth work, for example, made from two audio
speakers, commemorates the stand against government corruption taken by Kenyan whistle
blower John Githongo. Other works reference the grim conditions in prisons and others the
exploits of African dictators. Some of the pieces have historical and personal significance -
Sanyo is made from the front of Kabiru’s grandmother’s radio which was the first in her village.
Kabiru’s grandfather was the “Head of Music” in the Mau Mau liberation army that fought for
Kenya’s independence against the British.

In Los Angeles, Kabiru will receive a 2013 TED fellowship, an extraordinary achievement for a
self-taught artist from a deprived area of Nairobi. TED have been particularly impressed by
Kabiru’s commitment to working with rural communities in Kenya to teach people about
environmental sustainability through his workshops.

Kabiru’s “Outreach” program is his own largely self-funded initiative which involves the
organization of month-long workshops, often in remote areas where he teaches and inspires
people to create art out of waste materials found in the surrounding environment. Kabiru has
become a powerful role model for Kenyan youth from the slums and all walks of life. While in
LA, Kabiru will be participating in a number of events to talk with emerging artists about his work
and lead small workshops with urban youth.

The C-Stunner Los Angeles tour is supported by Stunner of the Month, a monthly sunglass
subscription service that is changing the way you see, and the way others see you. StunMo
founders discovered and acquired some of Kabiru’s work more than a year ago. As avid
supporters of story-telling and bringing his creations to more people, they offered to put on a
series of events while he is in Los Angeles to help one stunner from another. Stunner of the
Month: It’s not just a brand, it’s a lifestyle. Start stunnin’ today, go
to www.stunnerofthemonth.com.

Cyrus Kabiru is represented by London based Ed Cross Fine Art who specialize in
contemporary art from the African continent and its Diaspora. Further details at
www.edcrossfineart.com

About Cyrus

Kabiru has been creating his ‘spectacles’ since childhood. First as toys for himself and later for
his class-mates as a way of bartering his way through school work. His passion for ‘glasses’
stems from his father’s phobia about them. As a child, the artist’s grandparents punished his
father severely for losing a pair of glasses that they had made huge sacrifices to provide him
with. When the young Kabiru began playing with his father’s glasses, he was told by his father
“if you want to survive in my house you will make your own glasses”. Taking him at his word,
the young boy embarked on what would become his lifetime mission to create eyewear out of
“trash”.

His father, bemused by the explosion of toy glasses became an unwitting curator, decreeing that
his son should “only make the glasses when there is a reason” by recreating again and again
the object of his father’s pain, and his grandparent’s hope, Kabiru began to create a body of
work that would have symbolic significance well beyond his own family story, ultimately
becoming a metaphor for the power of creative transformation both within Africa and worldwide.

Kabiru has been featured in group shows throughout Europe and the Middle East including
Istanbul Design Biennale, Istanbul, Perimeter Art & Design, Paris, Rosetta Arts, London,
Fashion Space Gallery, London College of Fashion, London, and upcoming shows in Dubai and
Paris.

His C-STUNNERS were recently worn by Bobby Womack on the cover of Clash Magazine’s
December 2012 issue and he has been profiled by the New York Times (September 2012), The
International Herald Tribune (September 2012), and Under the Influence Magazine’s Africa
Issue (November 2012).

For more information about Kabiru’s work, you can watch the following video links below:

MTV Base – http://www.mtvbase.com/shows/touching-base/
Manufactured – http://vimeo.com/33167682
Ed Cross Fine Art - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3iWXSSj_6Y

For media inquiries or interview requests, please contact:
Kim Hunter 415-216-5509, kim@stunnerofthemonth.com

Everyone is doing the Harlem Shake, are you? The template is pretty simple and these are the steps to creating your own “Harlem Shake”:

1. Get some people together in one place
2. Put on a Goofy mask (or some type of eye wear)
3. Play Baauers’s massive trap hit “Harlem Shake”
4. Do this little shimmy move, called the “Harlem Shake”. Do it as bad as you can. Make sure no one pays attention to you
5. When the beat drops, everybody erupts in a frenzy

Some memes are better than others. Technically speaking, the University of Georgia’s Men’s Swim and Dive team have everyone beat. Try doing that under water!

In case you decide to make your own meme or be part of someone else’s, your Stunner Shades  make a great prop.

#harlemshake

Rico as we call him, is a native San Franciscan and a creative fashion icon to all those whom he has an opportunity to influence. He is our creative director @StunMo, but that doesn’t really explain what he actually does. Alex helped build our fulfillment process from scratch.  He’s a shipping expert. He’s also the mad genius who writes 99% of all the stories you receive with your Stunners.  He’s the one who selects what stunt we put into our inventory and helps design all our mix logo’s, T-shirts and branded stunt.  He’s responsible for designing the unique monthly Stunner stickers affixed to each box.

We’re lucky to have him on the team, but happy that we can call him our friend. He’s a good man, an OG stunna and late night dance fiend.  Although Alex may not stand in the limelight like some of us do, the sun never sets on this bad ass super stunner–Stunner of the Month.

We asked our members to answer three questions regarding their relationship to Stunner of the Month. Leeann answered back, immediately. She lives in San Francisco and Stuns Hella Hard with her fiancé…

StunMo: When your stunners arrive, describe your reaction. Do you have a ritual every month?

LeeAnn: I bring the mail upstairs with the little box and my fiancé always opens it. We always read the card first then unveil the stunners. It always an exciting moment. If he isn’t home when the mail comes I get really antsy waiting for him. We then take turns trying them on a talking about the perfect occasions to wear them.

StunMo: Tell us funny story when your Stunners saved your life

LeeAnn: I wore a pair of large frames white ones the night the giants won the 2012 World Series. They doubled as protective eye wear when on the walk home down Polk street we encountered crazed fans shattering glass in the streets. My stunners successfully saved my vision from flying shards of glass!

StunMo: Last place you traveled to and brought Stunners?

LeeAnn: Our stunners go with us everywhere including London, Amsterdam and all over Italy, Mexico and California. I think the most recent was a trip to Vegas. Always a must when grinding it out at the black jack tables!

Got a story you want to share. Email us at suggestion@stunnerofthemonth. We love to here from you!

#membersonly