Philadelphia Motorcycle Expo; January 25, 2009.....CT my 14th State Visited! Yayyy!

Motorcyle Expo!!! What a cool time looking at everything from a custom bike dedicated to the Philadelphia Flyers to wild and crazy fun concept bikes of the future! We had a great time looking and networking with some amazing people in the bike realm. After soaking in some beautiful bikes at the Valley Forge Convention Center, we rode around Philadelphia and saw some pretty amazing works of "art", in honor of my Art Teacher at Keystone High School, Ms. Templar! I had to take some pics of them as I thought of so much information that I had actually learned in my art appreciation class!


As we headed back to New York City, I was surprised with the fact that we were heading to Conneticut for a head shot studio photo shoot tonight!! Awesome! I knew that would be incredible to work with Photos by Hamza for new head shots! Visiting the studio and the residents of CT would make that the 14th state and 47th appearance since being crowned Beauties of America's Teen in August of 2008!
I was so excited to get to add a new appearance and state to my list of travels!
My hair and makeup looked great for the shoot, and I cannot wait for Hamza to give me some pics from the shoot that I can post!!

As I keep on traveling!
Laurie Kimsey
America's Teen 2008-09

"STOMP"ing Back in NYC!!

Yes, I am already back in New York City with a busy week planned! Before boarding my flight in NC, I had a wonderful opportunity to see some of my old friends from my hometown of Thomasville, NC! I checked out a game at East Davidson High School with many of my old gang. On January 22, 2009 I flew back up to wonderful New York to prepare for a gang-buster week full of appearances and fun!
First of all after I landed, I was picked up and we headed out to see "STOMP"! It was amazing to see how talented folks can be with garbage cans, brooms, and other household cleaning items...lol! It was great, and I enjoyed the show so much!
I used Friday to get settled in and rest up because Saturday morning I was on my way to Philadelphia to see the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Dexter University, and meet new friends along the way! And YES!!! Beauties of America's Teen ran up those stairs with pride and success just like "Rocky" in front of the Philly Museum! I don't think my muscles are quite that big yet, as the statue that stands out front!!
This was the beginning of what I knew was going to be another America's Teen adventure!
Til later!
Laurie Kimsey, America's Teen 2008

"STOMP"ing

Link to some more SERDARDESIGN shots!!

Hello All!
I am actually on my way back to New York City today to spend a week working on photo shoots, auditions, and interviews!! Yayyy!
Before I fly out, I just wanted to give you a link to this photoshoot that one of my favorite photographers SerdarDesign has posted online!

My SERDARDESIGN.COM online Gallery:
http://www.serdardesign.com/Laurie_WebG … index.html

Check it out and I hope you enjoy it!
Laurie Kimsey
Americas Teen 2008-09

America's Teen Takes New York City!

January 11-13, 2009 I had the most wonderful time pursuing my wishes, hopes, dreams, and goals in New York City, NY!
One of my ambitions while vying for the crown of Beauties of America's Teen was one of my personal goals of attempting to attend the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts; School of Film and Television in New York City! I achieved the next step in my quest for life in New York with a one on one personal audition for the school on Monday January 12! The school was so unbelievable! The staff was more than friendly and accomodating, the dorms were so nice (especially the orange hall with the beautiful tile bathrooms!!) Charlie F, my admissions coordinator is one of the nicest people I have ever met and he really made me feel comfortable!

I finally got the opportunity to go see my dear friend and New York agent Charlie Winfield at FunnyFace Today Inc. It was so great to see the person that gave me the very first opportunity to get to New York in the summer of 2007 and be a working model in New York City! I will never forget the basics that I learned that year and how it helped to mold me into the person that would eventually become America's Teen!

Hamza Hamza!! I love him! Hamza is a New York photographer and film producer, director, and friend! I met him last summer and we shot on the Jersey Shore during my 4th of July vacation. We collaborated and made some great images, and on this trip he was so kind to be my body guard, my taxi driver, and the best teacher of what New York living is really all about!
Hamza introduced me to Juniors Cheesecake....I had no clue it was sooooo good!
I had my picture taken on the "Bull", turned a giant "Cube", visited the United Nations Building, as well as Ground Zero, played in the remains of the "snow", and visited Brooklyn and crossed over to New Jersey to see the New York skyline in all its glory! Thank you Hamza for treating America's Teen truly like royalty!! It was awesome!

Next time you are in New York, you've got to try the melt in your mouth steak at "Old Homestead Steakhouse", also compliments of Hamza! That was the best steak I have eaten in my life! We had a great time staying at the Milford Plaza and spending our last day shopping in Times Square and making a couple of special appearances at "Bubba Gump Shrimp Co" and the "ESPN Zone"!

One of the other many highlights of my amazing New York trip was the Horse and Carriage ride through Central Park the last night of our stay provided as a super surprise from Hamza. The park was so very beautiful with the ice covered snow on the ground, the frozen ponds, the beautiful icy trees and the simple sound of the horse pulling me in my white carriage with red velvet seats, while bundled up in a toasty warm fur blanket.

This amazing adventure made my fairy-tale year as America's Teen even more special than I could have ever imagined! New York, get ready, here I come!!!

Til my next adventure....it's Laurie Kimsey, America's Teen 2008

Coastal Home & Lifestyle Magazine

**************************************************************The 2009 Prom Fashion Spread - Haute Couture for High Schoolers has finally arrived for the Coastal Carolina's! Check it out and you just might recognize one of the models....yes it's ME, America's Teen 2008!
We shot this spread in November with the amazing photography of Scott Smallin of SC and the talented skills of New York make-up artist Perry Foulke!
This dynamic duo is truly amazing, as I am sure I have probably mentioned in other blogs! They are so easy to work with and the results are awesome!!
Check out my new tearsheets, while getting your copy of Coastal Home and Lifestyle Magazine available at The Sun News in Myrtle Beach, SC!
I also want to thank Mrs. Ruth Cole Sheppard for allowing me to represent Sheppard's Boutique in her 2009 ads!

Loving life and riding the wave!
Laurie Kimsey, America's Teen 2008

"Dismal" by FearMakers Studio

Wilmington NC here I come to experience the premiere of the horror genre movie "Dismal", directed by Gary King of New York and written by Bo Buckley! I admit I really wanted to attend the premiere because I spent a couple days last June working on the set of Dismal as Kimmie, and I really loved the cast and crew members that I met and worked with during the filming! I also met a band called "Breathing Amber" from Blakely, GA, and Chase the lead singer was my boyfriend for a day!
Check them out on myspace and give them your support! They are a great up and coming band that will be breaking out of GA with their awesome music soon!
To see more about "Dismal", you can check it out on Fearmakers Studios website or search Dismal on IMDB, then you can get a full listing of the cast, crew, and the many dedicated people that it takes to make a movie!
If you like horror movies, you'll love Dismal!!
Laurie Kimsey
America's Teen 2008

ScottSmallinDOTcom & Perry Foulke "They ROCK"

I FINALLY got the most amazing opportunity to work with the incredible photographer Scott Smallin and his multi-talented New York make-up artist and hair stylist Perry Foulke!!! I met them at the shoot for the prom layout coming out this month in Coastal Carolina Home & Lifestyle magazing last month and I was so EXCITED to get to work with them one on one!! They are so impressive and their style simply rocks with a mix of New York style and the alternative creativeness creates images that I totally LOVE!! I can't wait to see more and post more of the shoot! They are also two of the craziest fun people I have EVER worked with! Thanks again guys for a great time and a really cool shoot (January 10, 2009).
Always a fan of Scott & Perry!!!!
Laurie Kimsey, America's Teen 2008

www.SexyVisionBikinis.com

....and the new model/spokesmodel for SexyVisionBikinis is.....Laurie Kimsey, America's Teen 2008! Sexy Vision Bikinis, a new franchise company from Nashville TN for Ujena Swimwear has selected America's Teen for their 2009 website and national swimsuit promotional campaign! Mike Eaddy of Florence, SC was also selected as Chief Photographer for SVB! Mike and I will be working together to create some incredible promotional location photos for the new franchise! I will also be making appearances for the company and my images will be used for promo posters, calendars, brochures, and of course the website and catalogues!!
Having a wonderful New Year! Laurie Kimsey, America's Teen 2008

America's Teen shoot for Milano Fashion

As January cranked up so did my traveling!! New Years Eve from South Carolina to North Carolina and then back to South Carolina....then on January 4, 2009 I headed out to Atanta GA for a photo shoot for the prom catalogue for Milano Fashions! Thank you to Stevee Ashlock for your hospitality and for the photo ops! Stevee is not only the owner of Stoneybrook Productions in Atlanta GA, a fantastic non-exclusive modeling agency in the Atlanta area, but she is also an amazing pianist from Las Vegas! She has been in the entertainment industry for years and still works hard and does an a great job for her talent and with her own talent!
We had such a great time and all the girls were wonderful! It was a fantastic shoot, and a ton of fun!

Happy New Year!!

.............................As the ball fell in Times Square in New York, I was having a wonderful New Years with friends and family! But just a few hours prior I was being interviewed by Blank Surfaces-Across the Canvas, a film production company in Wilmington NC that has added Beauties of America's Teen 2008 as one of their new hosts for 2008-09! While I was there I also had the opportunity to be interviewed by Anthony from ERPM Productions in Atlanta GA. He and I will also be working on some other top secret projects in the next couple of months that will most definitely be newsworthy once in production!! Shhhhh!!! ;)
Yayyy! I am having a great time working with Across the Canvas as a hosts!
On New Years Day we continued filming with Catherine Sewell, Doug Shaw, Jerry and Jane Harrison, Anthony and of course Lance!! We will be traveling in 2009 meeting and introducing new artists across the US....while having a great time in the process!

December 2008 America's Teen Update

Wowww! I can't believe it's been so long, but now I get to update everyone on my December events! December started off with an amazing Christmas Event that my pageant sister Suzanne, our director Jennifer, and I got to attend at Dillards-Coastal Grande Mall, Myrtle Beach, SC. On December 7, we had an amazing time! It was wonderful! Thank you to all the special people at Dillards that made us feel so special!
On December 13, 2008 I had a great time representing Beauties of America in the Gafney SC Christmas Parade. Prior to being crowned America's Teen 2008, I had won the SC Peach Festival Pageant in Gafney SC! It was a cold but beautiful day.
After the 10:00 am parade, I traveled down to Charleston SC to visit the Charleston Art Institute and meet many of the key people that are working on the 2009 Charleston Fashion Week in March 2009. I hope to attend that also, because Charleston really does it up right and in an amazing way comparable to the New York Fashion Week in the park.
I spent Christmas in Thomasville NC with family and old friends! It was truly wonderful to take some time off for family and be thankful for the Christmas season!