World Goth Day

On may 1st I hosted my first café meetup in my city. People wanted another one, and it was suggested that we could do it on World Goth Day, which was a great idea! I didn't want it to be super close to WGT, so that was perfect. Over 40 people clicked going or interested on the facebook event, which was crazy! I think we ended up with 18 attendants, which I still think is a good turnup (we were 13 at the first one)! We forgot to take pictures last time, so when the table filled up, I asked Simen to take some photos of us!

So many lovely girls! I noticed we were ALL girls except for Simen - 3 more women showed up, and two more men showed up much later. Usually you see a lot of goth girls online, cause girls are usually the ones who are the most active on social media - especially when it comes to photos. But in real life it's more or less 50/50. Not in this city, apparently! There were a bunch of men interested in the event, but most of them didn't show up.

But we were more than enough really, cause I didn't manage to talk to everyone, it's a little hard to talk across that big table! But since people came and went during, some moved closer so we could talk. The entire thing lasted from 15:00 to a little past 20:30! That's longer than last time, and if this continues to grow, it'll probably last even longer too!

So this was definitely a success. People were really happy and grateful for that I took initiative to start this. Not everyone can make it to the goth night for different reasons, so it's nice to do something during the day in a relaxed and more quiet environment.

My event even made it to the official website!

My facebook memories showed me that I have been ''celebrating'' World Goth Day for 7 years now. But most of the times I've been all alone. My only connection to the goth scene was Wave Gotik Treffen, which is only once a year, and in another country. It wasn't until recent years I started looking for goth communities online, and I found stuff like the Cemetery Confessions podcast that made me feel connected to the scene. Last year really changed things for me. In addition to WGT, I went to Subkult and Prague Gothic Treffen, as well as other events. Late last year I found out that a goth night had popped up, and couldn't believe it! I didn't care that there were almost nobody there, I got to dress up, go out and hear music I love, as well as discover new music! Then through the norwegian facebook group I helped start the Goth Norway project, where we share events happening all over the country. Suddenly I had ''collected'' enough people from my city through various ways, and I took inspiration from my friend in Oslo who does café meetups, and asked if that was something people were interested in, and they were! And here we are now, and it's so amazing.

So to everyone who says there aren't any goths or a scene in their area; get online and look! There might be events in your area, they just might not be labeled as goth nights. Check out events and places that might attract goths, and see if you find any! But the best way is definitely to look for them online. We are SO good at sitting at home hiding, but we are most likely on social media. I found a few from here through social media, and some have even found me through my blog! See if there's a group or a page for your city / larger area / country - there usually is one! If not, start your own! When you have gathered a bunch, arrange an event! The easiest to do are daytime meetups in public, but if there's interest and either you or someone you know have the skills / experience, do a club event! It could be a one-off thing, or as often as you can do it. If you want something, the best way is to do it yourself! It will probably pay off. It's been incredibly rewarding for me! So get out there, people!

Ayame Designs Jewelry!

Today I'm excited to show you a little haul from Ayame Designs! It's actually my friend Jossie, who I will be meeting for the first time in 2 weeks after knowing each other for almost 3 years! We're staying at an AirBnB together for WGT, I'm so excited! She was super kind and sent me some of her stuff. I've really become jewelry obsessed lately, so picking what to wear for WGT is gonna be hard!

Jossie made custom stamps with her face on it, how cool is that?!

I've kept it, cause how many people do you know who has their face on a stamp? Hahaha.

A personal note and the tissue paper was sealed with wax, with the wolf from the logo!

I very carefully opened it, and managed to save the seal too.

Inside the tissue paper they came in this little bag! Very handy to have.

And here they are, plus a sticker!

Click here or here for the earrings!

Click here or here for the necklace!

Click here or here for the nose chain!

Zomg, a photo of me without make-up?! I didn't wear it yesterday since I felt it would be a little too much with all at once! But then I forgot to take a photo with it before I removed my make-up, so you'll just have to deal with the ''morning after'' look, hahah.

Anyway, I'm totally in love with this stuff! So they will most likely be coming with me for WGT (I haven't really started with outfit details yet)! One thing I found really unique is that for most products, you have different options for color, fastenings, etc. She can also make earrings to work for people with stretched ears! She is also willing to do completely custom stuff, I've seen she's made some amazing things in the past, so don't limit yourself to whatever's on her website or Etsy! Check her social media for her past work. She ships free within Europe, and for 7€ worldwide (tracking included). And her jewelry is pretty cheap too for what you get! This is why I love independent designers, they're the complete opposite of bigger brands where you get overpriced cheap shit. Plus the care and love small businesses put into their customers is so amazing! I've probably said all of this before, but I will never stop saying it!

Festival season is coming up, so if you want something new and shiny to wear, check out Ayame Designs! It took a week to get to me (Belgium to Norway), so even if you need something for WGT, you can still order and get it before you go!

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Norway's national day 2019

I don't usually post a lot of stuff from my life, mostly because I don't think it's interesting, but let's give it a go with how I spent this year's norwegian national day! Last year we were in Germany for WGT, but I did blog about the celebration in 2017. This was actually my first national day in my bunad (our national costume)! It was kinda scary to walk around on the most crowded day of the year, but it made it fine, without any stains or losing anything!

We woke up a little late, and I managed to put myself together before Simen was even ready. We headed into town and met Simen's parents and their friends. They had managed to grab the best spot at 9 AM, so we stayed there for a while! My city (Bergen) is famous for this place, it's called Bryggen.

Simen's mom managed to grab a selfie where Simen doesn't look angry or awkward LOL

It was pretty hot, 24 Celsius! The hottest national day my city has had in 20 years. So us walking around in wool outfits were extra hot! As an adult I think one of the best things about this day is to look at all the beautiful bunads people are wearing. It usually represents where you and your family are from, so in bigger cities you see more of a variety, as well as more of specific types from the area. After a while we gave our table away and sat inside the lobby of the hotel they were staying at. Later me and Simen went home to change. A bunad is a wonderful costume, but it's an ordeal to put on and wear! So taking it off feels really nice. I decided to change into my cheap children's version for the evening (you can see a full photo of it in the 2017 post I linked at the top).

Gah, the top of my hair had fallen down (it's too long, gonna go get it cut tomorrow) and I picked the wrong shade of blue lipstick, but oh well. We went to a restaurant called Marg Og Bein (marrow and bone), and I tried the braised ox cheek, and it was seriously the most tender meat I have ever eaten - you could eat it with a spoon! Finished off with a chocolate parfait. Afterwards we split up; Simen went to work, the others went to their hotel and I went home, cause I didn't feel like partying.

The day after Simen's parents met my parents for the first time! It was about time. My parents got home from vacation in The Philippines the day before, so I haven't seen them for a while. We ate a lot of food, and it went really well! Now they don't have to meet at the wedding, hahaha.

Today has been your typical sunday, we got food delivered, washed some clothes, I did some skincare, I've worked out, and pulled out some potential clothes for WGT.

It's coming up soon, I'm so excited! I have my World Goth Day café meetup on wednesday, that's the last goth-related event before it's full-force focus on WGT!

WGT Schedule Panic

I fell asleep early yesterday evening, so I woke up to messages about the WGT schedule being up at like 5 this morning! I jolted awake, haha. Usually the schedule comes out one MAYBE two weeks before, so this is highly unusual. Not everything is up yet, but you can click every band to see when and where they are playing. Which is a little weird, since not all the bands are announced yet - we ''only'' have 160 so far! So I hope there won't be too many more amazing bands announced, cause I think I've pretty much decided now. Let me take you on my little panic decision journey!

So first I went through my entire list of bands I wanted to see, which was about 40 bands. I knew there was no way that would be possible. But I wrote down where they all played each day, and sorted them by venue. Here's what that looked like!

I already knew that especially the sunday would be heartbreaking for me, but there were a few surprises. I decided to plan logistically, meaning choose the venues with the most bands I wanted to see, and then add on any more I could get to close by afterwards. That way I wouldn't have to move around the city too much, and I'd see as many bands as possible. Here's what I ended up with!

I've already found some friends with the same plans, so this is going to be great.
I found out that Void Vision and Automelodi are also playing Stadtbad on friday, and I definitely don't mind seeing those! And I'm pretty sure Hante. will be done in time for us to head to Agra to catch White Lies.
Saturday I need to get ready for Obsession Bizarr and be there until past midnight, so no bands for me that day. I'm pretty sad that I won't be able to see Light Asylum and Sally Dige, they were two of my must-see bands, but alas.
So sunday I decided to go with Volkspalast, as there were three bands I wanted to see there. Pretty heartbreaking, but oh well. I added Vowws and Kælan Mikla, since they will be playing there too, even though I'm not very excited about those. Then I think I'll be able to head over to Agra to catch London After Midnight! I've already seen Christian Death, so they lost.
Monday worked out perfectly for me! Sure there were three bands I wanted to see at Agra, but I don't like them THAT much - those are just bands I like to dance to. So like last year we will be spending monday there - and last year that was THE BEST, so I'm hoping this will be too!

How did you think I did? Which bands here would you like to see? If you are coming to WGT, and you'll be where I'll be, hit me up so we can meet! There's SO many people I know going this year, so it'll definitely be hard to meet everyone. But I will try my best! Even though me and my friends might have the same taste in music, our priorities are often different. There's always clubbing too! I don't plan any of those, I just see where we end up. Now the next thing to do is to plan outfits! So weird that it's the other way around this year. I don't think I will share that on here, so you'll just have to wait and see until after I come back! I am also doing a post on WGT bands for Obscura Undead, so that'll be up soon! We'll see what I post next on here, I've got the norwegian national day on the 17th, and my café meetup on world goth day (the 22nd), so if I get pictures, I'll post about that!