The weekly column will be called: “ANTM Weekly Mentor Moments with Josh Flinn”, so make sure you look out for it every Tuesday evening at 8.30pm EST.

But firstly, who is Josh Flinn and what are his credentials?

Born and raised in Adelaide, Josh grew up dreaming of becoming a dancer. He started dancing when he was nine years old, performing in jazz, tap and modern.

After school and at the ripe ol’ age of 22 Josh took on the role of B2 in the Bananas in Pyjamas live concert, and to this day he still occasionally tours the country performing for children.

In 2003 Josh started creating window displays and realised that this is where his passions lie, so off to Sydney’s Fashion College FBI, Josh went and next up was Showroom Manager at Spin Communications.

While at Spin, Josh was responsible for labels including Lee, Wrangler, Lacoste and Reebok. After his time at Spin, Josh knew he wanted to get involved in Australia’s biggest fashion event, Simon Lock’s AFI (later known as Rosemount Australian Fashion Week), soon becoming their Client Liaisons Manager managing young emerging designers and even having a stint as Head Dresser at Melbourne Fashion Week.

In 2007 Josh decided to leave AFI and go freelance, his first client fashion label Silence is Golden, saw him looking after everything for them including the highlight of taking the label to New York for an Austrade G’Day USA event.

During this time Josh was also working as the PR and Events Manager for the satirical pop-culture magazine, Duke, a position he held until the end of last year.

Next in 2008 Josh took over as Brand Manager on An Ode to No One; working as a sales consultant at ParisTexas, a consultant for Zegna, a luxurious Italian suit label.

This year Josh joined Platform Artists Group as a model booker, a role which saw him nurture and guide both fresh and professional models in runway training, editorial and fashion photography instruction, and make-up and styling direction.

And now Josh has made his first foray into television via our longest running reality TV show, AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL.

I asked Josh a few questions so you can get to know him a bit more:

Q: Josh, how did the Model Mentor role come about?

A: I was in an episode in a previous season and the producers were on the lookout for a stylist for a particular segment and it just turned into a full time role – I was incredibly lucky and honored to be a part of the team this season.

Q: This is your first foray into TV, how are you finding the experience?

A: The whole experience has been an amazing learning curve, I was very used to being behind the scenes and it was a little awkward at first, but now I just love it!

Q: What aspect of being a Model Mentor do you find the most rewarding and challenging?

A: The most rewarding part of being the model mentor is seeing the girls grow and succeed from week to week. It was very exciting to see the girls’ confidence and abilities build during the competition. This season the competition is fierce and the girls are the hungriest contestants ever. The standard is incredibly high.

Q: What do you hope to achieve by being the show’s Model Mentor?

A: Ultimately I want to give each girl the confidence and knowledge to better themselves throughout and more importantly after the competition. As a mentor it is my job to ensure the models are at their best throughout the show. This is the best job I have ever had and I would love to come back next season.

Q: What’s been the most surprising aspect of being the show’s Model Mentor?

A: Funnily enough, although I am the girls teacher, I ended up learning a lot from the girls too!!! Each girl has their own quirks and strengths and I was very proud of how (most) of them handled the pressure.

Thanks Josh, we look forward to your weekly reports every Tuesday Evening at 8.30pm (EST) at the completion of the show!  Don’t forget, Australia’s Next Top Model can be seen on Fox8 at 7.30pm every Tuesday.

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See Vanessa Hudgens as you’ve not seen her before, it will be interesting to see if she can carry it off. Although the posters look really cool, I’m too sure about the storyline to be honest!

Sucker Punch is a movie about little girl who is trying to hide from the pain caused by her evil stepfather and lobotomy. She ends up in mental institution and while there she starts to imagine alternative reality. She plans to escape from that imaginary world but to do that she needs to steal five objects before she is caught by a vile man. Story is set in 1950’s.

You can visit the official website, not much on there just yet, it’s not due for release until March 2011 in the US.

IMDB

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Here are some behind the scenes images from the photoshoot photographed by Fernando Barraza from Backstage Fix.

Don’t forget tune into FOX8, every Tuesday at 7.30, to catch all the action on Australia’s Next Top Model.

Courtesy of SUPRÉ

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Simon comes across as very unassuming and he was joined by lots of local high profiles hoping I’m sure to meet Simon (his wife Rebecca Rigg was also in attendance), some included Sarah Wilson who is always glowing in good health when I see her, Charlotte Dawson being very brave wearing a beautiful white coat, Kerry-Anne Kennerley, Sophie Falkiner, Katherine Hicks (Rescue Special Ops) to name a few.

The new Samsung Series 9 LED TV is incredible, this is what you want sitting in your loungeroom, seriously!  It’s pencil thin in luxurious stainless steel with a world-first touch-screen remote control and a 55-inch LED screen.  They gave one away in a draw but sadly I didn’t win!

The Series 9 LED TV is also a 3D TV and it was first unveiled to the world at a show in Las Vegas in January this year where it won the highly coveted 2010 “Best of Innovations” award.

The first-of-its-kind 3D processor is optimised for, and enables compatibility with, multiple 3D formats and it can even be applied to broadcast TV, gaming content and DVDs to automatically convert 2D viewing to 3D in real time.  When not in 3D mode, it’s a regular HD TV.

Billy Bentley was the lucky winner of the TV

Another key feature is the Internet@TV connectivity, featuring Samsung Apps which offers an ever-expanding portal of  digital content accessed from wherever you are seated!

The Samsung Series 9 55” LED TV is available now exclusively at Myer for RRP$10,000.  For more information go to www.samsung.com.au/tv.

Courtesy of Samsung

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In case you missed it, there were 16 contestants and five were eliminated last night after a walk down the runway at Australian Fashion Week earlier this year on their first day and a Mad Men inspired photoshoot with resident photographer Jez Smith.

The transformations of the girls in the photoshoot is usually my favourite part of the show and I’ve included their images from the photoshoot.  The first five contestants to leave were:  Alison, Ashlea, Claire, Sally and Valeria.

New model mentor Josh Flinn is a little sweetheart and as Charlotte shared with us last night he plays one of the Bananas in Pyjamas too  You can read more about him in an interview my mate Patty Huntington did with him back in 2006 at RAFW.

We definitely had fun at the preview showing and I’ve got my eye on Sophie, Amanda, Brittney and Joanna.

I’ve also included some images for you from behind the scenes at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (including some previous ANTM contestants with Lara Bingle and Alyssa Sutherland) and behind the scenes at the photoshoot with Jez Smith and Romy Frydman.

Click thumbnails for full-size images

What did you think?

Photos by Jez Smith for ANTM and Ben Symons for Foxtel (it is mandatory that you credit Jez & Ben if you lift any images)

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Creating the look draws on the highly successful partnership between Italian-born photographer Bruno Benini and his wife Hazel Benini, a New Zealand-born window display artist, fashion stylist and visual merchandising designer. From the 1950s through to 2000, the couple produced some of Australia’s most memorable and elegant fashion images by combining careful styling with elegant design.

“The exhibition will unpick the ideas and stories, props, backdrops and locations, tricks, technical devices and other compositional elements used by the Beninis, as well as by today’s digital generation of contemporary fashion photographers,” said exhibition curator Anne-Marie Van de Ven.

“It will show how these images and ‘looks’ are presented in popular print and online media and how the Beninis led the way in democratising fashion for the market by mass producing fashion images for newspapers and other popular media.”

Drawing on the remarkable fashion photography archive of Bruno Benini, recently acquired by the Powerhouse Museum, the exhibition will include vintage and recent photographic prints, original colour transparencies and black and white negatives, biographical material, magazine tear sheets and newspaper clippings, dating from the 1950s through to the photographer’s death in 2001.

Previously unpublished works have now been digitised and these highlight Hazel Benini’s playful, energetic styling and Bruno Benini’s eye for beauty and skillful fashion photography.

Creating the look will explore how designers, models, make-up artists, hair stylists, fashion editors, props and locations all work together to produce the shot. Audio snippets from Hazel Benini and Beninis’ assistants and collaborators including former leading Australian models like Jan Stewart, Janice Wakely and others, will help bring the photographs to life.

Exhibition:         Creating the look: Benini and fashion photography

Dates:               31 July 2010 – February 2011

Address:           Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris Street, Ultimo

Website:           www.powerhousemuseum.com

Hours:               10.00am to 5.00pm (closed Christmas Day)

Admission:        $10 adult, $5 child/student, $6 concession and $25 family.  Powerhouse Museum members and children under 5 are free.

A large format publication accompanies the exhibitionfeaturing more than 60 black and white and colour images from Benini’s career, along with original proof sheets and contact prints and an essay by curator Anne-Marie Van de Ven on the Benini’s creative partnership and a chronology of their work.

Available from August through the Powerhouse Museum Shop or online at powerhousemuseum.com/publications.

You can even upload your own Street Photos to their Flickr Group (www.flickr.com/groups/sydneydesign), you just have to remember to tag your photos “straightup” and they need to incorporate a short message relating to their theme “Tell Us A Story.”

Sydney Design kicks off on 31st July and runs through until 15th August, with more than 70 events across 25 venues.  You can visit their website for a full listing of exhibitions at www.sydneydesign.com.au and iPhone users can download their free application at sydneydesign.com.ua/iphone to gain easy reference to events and maps.

Images courtesy of Sydney Design

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Pamela Clarke and Margot

We were paired up and I had the lovely Margot as my teammate and we cooked a Red Lentil, Mushroom & Spinich Curry.  Other curries that featured in our feast at the end were: Aloo Gobi, Lemon, Coconut & Chilli Poached Fish, Assamese Sour Fish Curry, Pork Green Curry, Palak Paneer and Butter Chicken.

Some of the curries we ate for dinner afterwards

You could ask Pamela any question you wanted, she pottered around the different stove areas to see how you were faring. It’s definitely lots of fun and it got me cooking something I haven’t done before. It felt strange having someone be so organised for you and having all the ingredients out on the bench, and I haven’t cooked with someone for so long so that was fun for me.

Margot cooking at our stove area

Our curry on the stove

I also remade the Red Lentil Curry at home (pictures below) and it wasn’t as good as Pamela’s when we cooked it in her kitchen, but that’s because I’m more impatient!

My curry cooked at home (the yoghurt was ‘flashed’ by the camera)

The following recipe for the Red Lentil Curry and all the other recipes mentioned above are available in the Australian Women’s Weekly “Stew … Braises and Casseroles” cookbook.  The cookbook is available in bookstores and online from www.acpbooks.com.au or Random House, RRP$19.95.  Another good cookbook I’ve been using is AWW Slow Cooking, RRP$39.95.

Recipe:

Red Lentil, Mushroom and Spinach Curry with Yoghurt Sauce

• 1 cup (200g) dried red lentils
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 small brown onion (80g), sliced thinly
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1cm piece fresh ginger (5g), grated
• 2 small green chillies, sliced thinly
• 200g button mushrooms, halved
• 1½ cups (375ml) vegetable stock
• ½ cup (125ml) water
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• 250g baby spinach leaves

yogurt sauce

• 1 cup (280g) natural yogurt
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• ½ teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Wash lentils well under cold running water.
2. Heat oil in large frying pan; cook seeds, stirring, until fragrant. Add onion, garlic, ginger and chilli; cook, stirring, until onion softens. Add mushrooms; cook until browned lightly.
3. Add drained lentils to pan with stock and the water; bring to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until lentils are tender.
4. Meanwhile, combine ingredients for yogurt sauce in small bowl.
5. Add garam masala and spinach to curry; stir until spinach has wilted.
6. Serve curry with yogurt sauce and naan bread, if desired.

Preparation time 15 minutes  cooking time 15 minutes and serves 4

Nutritional count per serving  8.8g total fat (2.5g saturated fat); 1170kJ (280 cal); 24.7g carbohydrate; 20.1g protein; 10.4g fibre.

To book a class call 136 116 or visit www.acpbooks.com.au, there’s a banner on the front page for you.  I highly recommend it, grab a girlfriend and book in.

You can read about the Cookbook Launch I recently went too and our review on the AWW Cooking School Cookbook.

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At the Perrier Mansion you get to ‘play’ with Dita in a variety of rooms in the mansion including a ‘dark room’ where you get to take pictures of the sexy star!

Of course, check out the gorgeous branding on the Perrier Bottles and Cans, you know how much I love bottle collaborations, I want one!

I’m not going to tell you anymore, get over there and have some fun … be warned it is very sexy and you will be visiting for a while!

Click thumbnails for full-size view

This is just one video from the site you can watch:

And of course you can Like them at their Facebook page.

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“All but two of the 17 awards went to local productions and Australian talent,” which is a real demonstration of the powerful content that Australians have come to love and expect on subscription TV” says ASTRA boss Petra Buchanan.

Good to see the Lifestyle Channel won Channel of the Year with big winner �Selling Houses Australia,� a home makeover show, hosted by Andrew Winter winning the �Most Outstanding Lifestyle Program� award for its second season.

Host, Andrew Winter, won �Most Outstanding Performance by a Presenter.� The show also won the �Favourite Program� and �Favourite Personality� awards after garnering the most viewer votes.

“Tangle“, a drama on Showcase, had some winners with Ben Mendelsohn and Justine Clarke winning the �Most Outstanding Performance by an Actor� in their respective male/female categories.

The �Best New Talent� award was given to Camille Keenan, star of �Satisfaction� and UKTV’s two-part thriller False Witness was awarded most outstanding drama.

Most outstanding light entertainment program went to FOX8’s Australia’s Next Top Model for the second year in a row, while The Weather Channel was honoured for most outstanding news program or coverage and most outstanding documentary.

Seen on the red carpet, Ruby Rose, Erin McNaught, Sarah Wilson, Miranda Otto, Tara Moss, Sarah Murdoch, Alex Perry, Sophie Falkiner, Justine Clarke and many more all looking incredibly glamboyant!

ABC News & Zimbio

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Mr Kelly says: �Vogue Living is Australia�s most directional magazine. With this new look we have merged some of the best content from Vogue Entertaining + Travel to further extend the editorial reach of Vogue Living and enhance the total experience for its loyal and discerning readers.�

Vogue Living is expanding it’s editorials to not be just about interiors, design, art, architecture and decorating but will also include the most current information about the hottest bars, chicest restaurants, inspiring people, coolest hotels and most exotic travel destinations and experiences, all encapsulated by the�very best in photography, journalism and art direction.

Vogue Living editor David Clark�explains the�editorial philosophy:��Vogue Living�s readers are interested in beauty, are inspired by creativity and are curious about the world. Vogue Living provides a window to the art of living, weaving together the myriad influences that inspire our lives, be it a new secret find around the corner, a far-flung destination or a privileged glimpse into a private and beautiful world.�

Vogue Living explores the�experience of�food as a way of living, focusing on how people entertain and express the ceremony of food,�rather than showing pages of plated food and recipes. In the issue take a trip to downtown Brooklyn New York, where creativity and the food culture are converging to make something exciting and new.

Vogue Living’s signature Milan Report is bursting out of 30 pages of the latest news from the world�s greatest design fair, as well as Vogue Living�s tips for places to stay, eat and shop.�For the first time the report is supplemented by a DVD featuring video footage and commentary from Editor David Clark which is FREE with every issue of Vogue Living July/August.

The new-look Vogue Living July/August issue is packed with almost 300 pages of the hottest trends is on sale now.

Courtesy of Vogue

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