Let’s be honest, March is kind of a basic month. It’s not quite as synonymous with wintry death as February, but spring is still too far away to think about leaving your apartment on a regular basis. That being said, it’s important to maintain the illusion of a rich and full social life while leaving your couch as little as possible. So, here are a few super Instagrammable events in NYC this March that should give you enough footage to make it to June. You’re so welcome.
The Orchid Show
Normally, I suggest avoiding nature at all costs (all it does is ruin your shoes!). But in this case, it’s an indoor flower display with alcohol and a DJ (for the evening show, anyway). Yes, please! The Orchid Show runs February 15 through April 19, and this year’s theme is Kaleidoscope, designed by renowned florist Jeff Leatham. Orchids are the perfect bougie flower to pose with and demonstrate to the world that you are a creature of luxury. Like when Kardashians pose with their new cars, but something you can afford. You have to get tickets in advance, so get on it now.
The Armory Show
The Armory Show is an art fair that takes place on Piers 90 & 94. Unlike many other art fairs and most things that happen on piers, The Armory Show is a chic, fun event featuring art from leading international galleries. It’s a highly anticipated annual NYC event, and while celebs are more likely to attend the March 4 VIP Event, you can plan your visit for one of the four days it’s open to the public. With all the exhibitions they’ve gathered together, there’s guaranteed to be enough Insta-background material for weeks worth of deep, musing, art-loving posts.
Holi In The City
Holi In The City is every Instagrammer’s dream. The Indian Festival of Colors is a full day and night long party (so pace yourself) which is taking place the every Saturday in March at Stage48. Buy your tickets here, and make sure to wear white clothes that you don’t mind ruining so you can make the most of when they cover you in various colorful powders.
Edge Observation Deck Opening
I’m still very unsure as to how I feel about The Vessel and Hudson Yards, but that might change after the Edge Observation Deck has its Grand Opening on March 11th, a year after the unveiling of everything else. The Edge has 360 degree views of New York, so you will definitely leave with a pic you love, or at least a really good insta story. There are a few different ticket packages, but one of them includes a glass of champagne, so you know where I’ll be.
Rosé Wine Mansion: Immersed In Wonderland
Rosé Mansion is presenting Immersed in Wonderland starting on March 13th. It’s basically an interactive Alice In Wonderland exhibit, and from the website, it looks like you are actually going to be in Wonderland. Buy your tickets in advance here. It’s a fun time as long as you go in with realistic expectations—it’s literally located in the Manhattan Mall, so the experience is about as high-end as that implies—and you have to be shameless about being there strictly for Instagram. Also, don’t expect to get drunk there (unless you pay for more rosé at the end) because they give you like one-ounce shots of wine in each room. However, with multiple rooms, you’ll have multiple thirst traps to space out over the next 6 months.
The Gold Gala
On March 14th, it’s the ninth annual Gold Gala: An Evening for St. Jude: a full-on A-list gala at the Bowery Hotel. Tickets start at $175, but all proceeds go toward ensuring that St. Jude’s can continue to provide treatment and care to children in need—and that the family won’t receive a bill after. Honestly, have you spent $175 on anything half as worthwhile in the past six months? Also, the ticket price goes toward free cocktails, food, and access to a fabulous party, complete with a photo booth for you to black out in commemorate the night.
So, while we’re waiting for this cold weather to finally leave and rooftop season to return, these are the six events you’ll want to hit up. The rest of the time, you can find me on my couch (and please bring pizza!).
One of the main complaints I ran into when talking to people about the James Charles/Tati Westrbook feud was simply, “who the f*ck are these people?” As you get older, you get out of touch with who the kids are following. It’s simply a fact of life. So I’m here to tell you who you should be following on social media and why. You’re so welcome.
One of my recent Instagram obsessions is Ashley Longshore, a painter and entrepreneur with a casual 209K followers on Instagram. That might not seem like a lot (even though you probs have like, 300 followers rn, so who are you to talk?), but Ashley is going to be huge, and trust me, the celeb and fashion-darling pop artist is going to become your new obsession. First, a little backstory. Ashley grew up in Montgomery, Alabama and was a self-described weird kid with a loud personality who did not fit in at the garden club (same). Ashley had no interest in fulfilling her mother’s dreams of attending cotillion, so she got the f*ck out of Dodge, taught herself to paint, and eventually moved to New Orleans. But reality came crashing down on her when local galleries rejected her work (her early paintings depicted masturbating couples—apparently that kind of artwork is frowned upon in the Big Easy… which is not exactly surprising).
After spending her nights “crying snot bubbles,” this entrepreneurial badass took matters into her own hands and opened her own gallery. And just like in a movie, Blake Lively was driving by one day, and upon seeing Ashley’s vibrant artwork, demanded that her driver stop so she could check it out.
View this post on Instagram
Blake Instagrammed about her new discovery, and just like Serena plucking Dan from obscurity, Ashley began her rise to superstardom. Salma Hayek, Penelope Cruz, and Kelly Ripa snatched up her art. Luxury brands like Gucci, Diane von Furstenberg, and Veuve Clicquot called for collaborations. Bergdorf Goodman selected Ashley to be the first woman in history to have a solo exhibit at their store. Ashley also redesigned their restaurant, which is now an art-filled, Insta-worthy dining destination called “Palette at BG.”
By now Ashley’s aesthetic had evolved to colorful, bedazzled portraits of iconic people like Audrey Hepburn, Anna Wintour, Lil Wayne, and Jesus surrounded by Care Bears, Birkin Bags, Veuve Clicquot, and Louis Vuitton.
Ashley’s art is so cool, but the best part about her might, unsurprisingly, be her Instagram @ashleylongshoreart. A diehard proponent of doing 20 naked jumping jacks in front of the mirror for morning motivation, this chick embraces her crazy and it is infectious.
In addition to featuring her artwork, her posts alternate between amazingly upbeat music/dance videos, girl power inspirations, honest af stories about her overcoming B.S., and elaborate, absurd, and hilarious backstories about random birds such as “Todd” who “sleeps in a nest above TJ MAXX” and after four drinks “can karoke a perfect version of ‘HOW MANY FUCKS DO I GIVE’ by Erika Jayne with choreography.”
Her Instagram is visual caffeine, the perfect hangover cure, and will actually help you channel a positive vibe for the day. If you’re obsessed with Lizzo right now, Ashley is a must-follow, because she brings very similar positive energy. Which is more than I can say about most thirst traps on Instagram. Did I mention that her mantra is “I do not cook. I do not clean. I do not fly commercial”?
View this post on InstagramGoals… i do not cook. I do not clean. I do not fly commercial…. #ashleylongshore #fuckyeah #popart
Spoken like a true betch. You’re welcome!
I only ever had interest in working in creative jobs. I am an artist, writer, and a slew of other creative things that require a lot of time and effort for virtually no money. Choosing a creative career field sounds really cool. I can’t tell you how many people say to me, upon finding out that I primarily work in animation, that they are so jealous and my job must be so fun. And tbh, most of the time it totally is. I definitely have a lot more fun than my friends who work in offices, or are doctors and have lives on the line every day. But there are a lot of things I didn’t expect when I became an artist/writer professionally, I wish I knew more going in.
Would it have changed anything for me? Not a chance, but that’s because the only thing I really like (besides my dog and margaritas) is art. I have to do it either way, so I might as well make a living from it. But if you’re ready to quit your 9-5 and pursue a creative job, here’s what you should know.
It’s The Worst Way To Make Money
Living in LA, I can’t tell you how many actors I’ve met who say things like, “Oh I can’t wait to be rich and famous, and ride in limos, and have mansions!” And it’s said totally un-ironically while they’re serving drinks at happy hour. Here’s the thing: yes, you can absolutely make money from the arts. I just found out Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe has a net worth of $45 mill, and his career was like, 10% writing/music and 90% f*cking everything up, according to The Dirt (could not recommend more btw, watch it immediately). There are many, many artists, musicians, actors, directors, writers, etc. living in mansions and making a ton of money. But that isn’t the reason to do it. It is unbelievably hard and soul-sucking to try to make money as a creative of any kind, and the chance of making mansion-level money is so difficult and unlikely. There are a million easier ways to make money if that’s what you want (I dunno, work in finance). Be an actor because you love acting and you love film or theater. If you’re after money and fame, you really just want to be a Kardashian. Also? I’m a huge believer that if you work hard and your work is good, money will come. But it’s not easy and not a guarantee.
You’ll Have To Work Harder
Speaking of working hard, except for your friend who’s a doctor, working in a creative field means you’ll probably work a lot harder than your friends do—and for a lot less. I regularly work nights and weekends, I don’t get vacation days, and I had to start forcing myself to take one day a week off work (which I don’t even get every week, tbh) because I developed such severe tendinitis in my drawing arm from overworking it. Meanwhile, most of my friends work regular jobs, get off work at 5 and go to happy hour, spend their weekends going out or watching Netflix, and they still make more money than I do. But creative jobs are “fun,” right?
You Won’t Get Job Perks
It is possible to get a steady job as a creative, depending on your field. I could work for an animation studio as a full-time employee instead of being freelance, for example. But most creative jobs, even in that case, are project-for-project. Meaning when your TV show (or whatever) ends, you will be unemployed. This causes issues with things like benefits, retirement plans, etc. I am completely self-employed, so not only do I pay out of pocket for benefits (which costs A LOT, BTW), my retirement plan is to just die. I also don’t get vacation, sick days, etc. If I can’t work, I don’t make money. And on top of that, you have to put a lot of money away just in case you get the flu and can’t work, so that you can still make your rent for the month.
You Will Be Unemployed
No matter how talented you are, in creative jobs, you will always have bouts of unemployment. In my experience it’s always feast or famine—I either have so much work I’m not sleeping, or I have no jobs to do, so I have to work super hard to line up more. For this reason, it’s crucial to save money when you do have an income. I remember being horrified when I interned at a big production studio and found out that even if I was a full-time employee doing my dream job, I should expect to be laid off every nine months. Projects just constantly end or fall through or get canceled. If you’re working in a creative field, it’s important to pick up as many side gigs as you can that earn income consistently.
It Does Kind Of Ruin It
When I was in high school, I woke up at 5am, did full hair and makeup every day, went to class from 7am-2pm, hung out with friends, did homework, and then worked on my art for hours. For fun. Now, my art is my work, and when I’m done working, the last thing I want to do is more art. So yeah, doing anything professionally ruins the fun of it. My job is really not fun when I’ve been awake for 36 hours to meet an insane deadline. The only thing I find fun then is sleeping. When you do it as your job, you have added stress you didn’t have when it was a hobby. The stakes are higher. That said, the rewards are higher too. There is nothing better than working on a project that you poured your heart and soul into and having it turn out amazing, and then watching your career move forward. It makes it all worth it.
Literally what I look like every day:
So should you look into creative jobs? Only if you love your art enough to pour blood, sweat, tears, and gallons of iced coffee into it. Otherwise, maybe you’d rather work a steady job and just play music for fun on the weekends–that’s totally acceptable too, and it doesn’t make you any less of an artist. It’s about figuring out what your optimal dream is for your art. For me, I don’t want to spend any time doing anything else. Also, I don’t have any other skills anyway. Hopefully this insight will help you figure it out! Let me know any other questions you have about creative jobs in the comments!
Images: Kevin Grieve / Unsplash; Giphy (5)
You know you’re officially adulting when you get really, really excited about home decor and cool art. There’s no better feeling than when your apartment has a commendable hygge living room or really good feng shui. Since this is a part of growing up and whatever, Shop Betches has collaborated with ArtSugar to bring you some v grool, modern, and affordable art for your humble abode.
Like us, ArtSugar is an Insta-famous, charitable, and female-founded (!!) company, so of course, we wanted to partner on these pieces. Not only is ArtSugar known for its incredible contemporary pieces, but it’s the *only* online art retailer to donate proceeds from every purchase to numerous charities including City Harvest, ASPCA, Girls Who Code, and God’s Love We Deliver. There’s nothing better than knowing you’re getting cute wall art while also giving back to a pretty awesome organization, tbh.
Shine Bright Like An Emerald Wall Art
The ArtSugar x Betches collection is already available on the Shop Betches site here, but hurry, because obviously, it’ll sell out. Our collab features a range of art from trippy, iconic pieces of Larry David to some our favorite phrases like, “No offense, but it’s true.” Everything comes framed and ready to hang, so, don’t worry. The work is already done for you.
Time Flies When You’re Stressed Out & Everything Hurts Wall Art
We’ve totally created the perfect styles for you to mix and match, and use to decorate any space you please—the bathroom, home office, hallway closet? You got it. As an added bonus, since we also love to give back any chance we get, a portion of profits will be donated to Autism Speaks. Prefer to see the art in person? You can take a peek at the collection at ArtSugar’s pop-up shop in New York on 87 Christopher Street until December 7th. Get psyched because you are going to LOVE IT.
Photos: Gilber Franco / Unsplash; Shop Betches
