Mar

Help Wanted: Feathermaster at the Lido in Paris

by Meredith Mullins on March 6, 2014

Orange and turquoise exotic feathers, waiting for a feather master at the Lido in Paris to underscore the concept of living life to the fullest with the right job. (Photo © Meredith Mullins)

The Lido feathers wait for a Feathermaster.
© Meredith Mullins

Live Life to the Fullest with the Right Job

Paris seems to have more uniquely specialized jobs than most cities—from the Versailles Royal Molecatcher to the auctioneer who lights a candle every time someone offers a last bid at the Chambre des Notaires.

The French have a penchant for flair and living life to the fullest, even in the most functional of jobs.

There are also the jobs of utmost rarity. Consider the urban beekeeper who tends the hives on the roof of the Paris Opera House or the 40 “immortals” of the Académie Française, whose job it is to protect the usage, vocabulary, and grammar of the French language (who wouldn’t want to be an immortal?).

In that vein of rare professions comes the job position of Feathermaster at the Lido—the celebrated cabaret on the Champs Élysées in Paris.

Two showgirls at the Lido, living life to the fullest with the right job. (Photo courtesy of the Lido © PICS)

The Lido Revue: the best feathers in Paris
(Photo Courtesy of The Lido © PICS)

Eye Roll, Please

When I first learned that there was a Feathermaster at the Lido, I admit to rolling my eyes a bit. However, one of many “Oh, I See” moments came when I toured backstage and saw nearly 600 costumes for the current show, most of which had feathers. Of course, there needs to be a feathermaster. Why would there not be?

Blue and white feathers hanging backstage, the job of the feather master living life to the fullest with the right job. (Photo © Meredith Mullins)

One of the costume areas backstage at the Lido
© Meredith Mullins

“Since the beginning, in 1946, the Lido has always had unique costumes,” says Hervé Duperret, Directeur Général of the Lido. “The sequins, rhinestones, and feathers are really a signature of the spirit of cabaret,” he adds, especially on the grand headdresses and winglike extensions of the dancers’ outfits.

Pink feathers on female dancer, cared for by the feather master living life to the fullest with the right job. (Photo courtesy of the Lido © PICS)

Fluffiness at its height
(Photo courtesy of the Lido © PICS)

The Feathers Need a Master

“Feathers are both fragile and resilient at the same time,” Duperret explains, with the pride of a parent. “They need to be maintained with care. We have more than 20 varieties of feathers on our costumes. Each has its own special treatment.” Taking care of them is the job of an expert feathermaster (plumassière in French). And the position is open.

The Lido has been without a feathermaster for several months now since the last plumassière left. While there were more than 400 plumassières in the Belle Époque between 1871–1914 (feathers were a way of life then), there are now just a handful of experts. It has been difficult to find a qualified replacement.

A white feather headdress at the Lido in Paris, waiting for a feather master, a job that allows for living life to the fullest (Photo © Meredith Mullins)

Splendor in white
© Meredith Mullins

In stellar showbiz tradition, however, the show must go on . . . and the feathers must continue to be nothing short of splendorous. The ten Lido seamstresses (couturières) have risen to the challenge.

With passion and extensive study of what the different feathers need, the couturières dust, brush, steam, wash and dry, reattach, replace, or generally cajole the feathers back to fluffy perfection for the Lido performances each evening. The ostrich, marabou, pheasant, hen, turkey and peacock plumes strut their stuff, as beautifully as ever—the ultimate in cabaret haute couture.

Brown and blue feathers, waiting for a feather master at the Lido in Paris, a job that allows for living life to the fullest. (Photo © Meredith Mullins)

The art of feather haute couture
© Meredith Mullins

You might think 30-pound headdresses of jewels and feathers on a troupe of lithe and graceful semi-clad dancers would steal the show. But there are a lot of competing elements to the Bonheur (Happiness) extravaganza.

An ice skating rink and a golden temple rise from the depths. A motorized elephant transports an Indian princess. A white horse (real) side steps across the stage in the mist. In one scene, there are so many onstage fountains that you feel the humidity change even in the back row.

Fountains over mannequins at the Lido in Paris, a place where living life to the fullest with the right job is possible. (Photo © Meredith Mullins)

A practice simulation of the extraordinary fountain scene
© Meredith Mullins

Precision Onstage and Off

Imagine 23 set and costume changes during the 1.5 hour show. Backstage is organized chaos. Most transitions are completed in minutes. And all are orchestrated from a narrow area behind the stage called “the aircraft carrier”—six floors of “shelves” for props, sets, and costumes.

Backstage at the Lido in Paris, with a variety of costumes, a place that proves concept of living life to the fullest with the right job. (Photo © Meredith Mullins)

Dressing room ready for the one-minute costume changes
© Meredith Mullins

Precision backstage is as important as presence onstage and customer friendliness for the audience. Every one of the 350 employees is critical to the show’s success. All seem to enjoy the cabaret life.

A costume station backstage at the Lido in Paris, a place where living life to the fullest with the right job is possible. (Photo © Meredith Mullins)

Help Wanted: Feathermaster
© Meredith Mullins

Birds of a Feather

So, if you know a plumassière or if you are ready for a career change, keep this job opening in mind.

And keep another “Oh, I See” moment in mind whenever you are thinking about living life to the fullest:

We can’t all be one of the 40 “immortals,” but if we’re happy and needed in our work, whatever niche we may fit into, immortality is within reach.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Meredith Mullins 7 Comments

France (Paris)/On the World Stage

Mar

Worker Badges: Vintage Portraits Hint at Life Stories

by Bruce Goldstone on March 3, 2014

Worker's badges that include vintage portraits, hinting at lost life stories of the American worker. (Images courtesy of Ricco/Maresca Gallery)

Once worn to work daily, ID badges are now a hot collectible.
Images courtesy of Ricco/Maresca Gallery, New York

What Do You C in Employee IDs?

Above my computer here at home hangs an old worker’s ID badge. This vintage portrait moves and intrigues me, offering a glimpse into the life stories of American workers who punched clocks day in, day out.

A friend gave me the badge, partly because it’s from my hometown of Cleveland. I often look at worker number 338 and wonder what his days were like.

Worker's badge that includes a vintage portrait, hinting at lost life stories of the American worker. (Image © Bruce Goldstone)

A worker from the past watches over a worker from the present.
© Bruce Goldstone

I love this ID, with its worn leather tab and rubbed finish. But mostly I love the almost-smiling portrait of a man I know almost nothing about.

Bruce Goldstone Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/The World's Photography/USA

Feb

Is Social Media Redefining Relationships?

by Janine Boylan on February 27, 2014

photo of Facebook friends, showing a social media relationship. (Image © Tanja Hollander)

Keliy Anderson Staley and Matt Williams
Russellville, Arkansas, 2013
met via Hampshire College
© Tanja Hollander

A Friend Is Someone
Who (Kinda) Knows You

Social media allows people to connect at any point of their lives, no matter when or how physically far, and no matter how well or how little we know one another.

New tools make it easy to share words, photos, or videos instantly with one person, with all of our connections, or even with the whole world.

But has social media really improved relationships?

Turns out that a lot of people, from researchers to artists, are exploring this question in fascinating projects.

Tanja Hollander’s Meet-Up Project

In 2011, Tanja Hollander starting thinking about all her Facebook friends. She asked herself, “Am I really friends with all these people?” She decided to take a road trip and visit them—all 626 of them—to find out.

She photographs each one at home and carefully logs her photographs on her site, Are You Really My Friend?

photo of Facebook friend, showing a social media relationship. (Image © Tanja Hollander)

Nate Larson
Baltimore, Maryland, 2012
met on email
© Tanja Hollander

Interestingly, Hollander hadn’t met some of these people in person before she started her project. Now, two years into the project, she’s seen and photographed about half of them.

Hollander shares her “Oh, I see” moments from the project so far:

“I have learned about human kindness and compassion. I continue to be surprised by the number of people, especially (the real life) total strangers, who have opened their homes to me—offering me a place to stay, sharing their lives, their stories, their food, and their families while allowing my camera to document it all.”

Hollander would probably argue that social media has changed her relationships—but that’s because she has pursued each friendship by meeting her virtual friends face-to-face.

The Geolocation Project

With mobile phones, it’s simple to post up-to-the-minute ideas and photos, connecting with friends at any time from anywhere.

Through their project Geolocation, photographers Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman are investigating where people are when they tweet. The photographers track the geographic tags on tweets to uncover the location and then photograph the setting. They post the photo with its tweet.

[Side note: Nate Larson is one of the friends Tanja Hollander photographed. See above.]

Location of a tweet about a boyfriend, illustrating how the use of social media is changing relationships. (Image © Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman)

Location for this tweet: “He dnt kno y im hurt but its all over his twitter!! Y do I still carry hope?”
© Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman

Unless specifically directed otherwise, tweets are broadcast to all of a writer’s followers. If a hashtag like #HowToKeepARelationshipWithMe is added to the tweet, anyone accessing the hashtag can also see the message. Surely relationships get redefined when multiple eyes are on the same message.

Larson, who wondered if the setting for a tweet mattered as much as the words, described the project to Wired this way:

“It’s all about exploring the consequences of how people are relating to each other differently.”

The photos from the Geolocation project showed that, unlike plots in great literature, setting often has little to do with friends’ virtual conversations in 140 characters or less.

But there are exceptions, like the hotel photo below, where the setting adds much more meaning to the tweet!

Location for the tweet: Tell me I'm not making a mistake. Tell me you're worth the wait. (Image © Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman)

Location for the tweet: “Tell me I’m not making a mistake. Tell me you’re worth the wait.” © Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman

Through the Geolocation project, I discovered more about where people are when they interact with their friends, but I really wondered:

Did these writers ever share their ideas verbally with their friends or only virtually with the world?

Communication Studies Weigh In

Interesting research reveals different viewpoints about how social media is impacting friendship.

A University of Oxford study revealed that people maintain a small number of close friends with whom they focus their communication. No matter how many friends or followers you have on social media, the number of close friends you have remains constant.

In contrast, Jessica Vitak‘s study found that those who rely on Facebook for communication and those who live far from friends “not only see the site as a repository to store contacts, but as an interactive forum that improves the quality of relationships, and specifically benefits weaker and more distant ties.”

In her research on Facebook friendships, Bree McEwan found “the way we choose to communicate with our friends through this medium is what impacts the relationship.” People who post individual messages to friends promote stronger relationships, while those who post broadcast messages to their community tend to have shallower relationships with their online friends.

What Is Friendship?

All these projects make me wonder:

Has social media simply given a revised definition to the word friendship?

Is friendship just knowing someone from somewhere and at sometime?

Or, does friendship have to be a deeper relationship?

Shelby Sapusek, who specializes in social media strategies for businesses, argues:

“I believe that no friendship is real unless I have had the chance to meet the person.”

All this really got me thinking about friendship. It’s true that many of my social media friends are people I have some connection to, but rarely see or talk with one-on-one. Some I’ve never met. And I’m not sure that my relationships have improved due to social media, even if I know what my friends’ children and their dinners look like.

My “Oh, I see” moment: I’m still perfectly happy to call them all my friends.

Location of a tweet from someone who felt lonely, illustrating how social media is changing relationships. (Image © Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman)

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Janine Boylan 1 Comment

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Help Wanted: Feathermaster at the Lido in Paris