Tag Archive for: washington post

Wash Post: Left Disney to become a Taxidermist?

If you know the story of how I came to be a dating coach – you know that I have a soft spot for entrepreneurs who strike out on their own to pursue their passion.

Allis Markham of Prey Taxidermy is so magnificent and inspiring! I’m so honored to share her story for the Washington Post on newsstands this Sunday.

Here’s a sneak peek:

She left her social media job to take up taxidermy. Now her work is on TV.

You never forget your first deer, especially when it took several days to skin, stuff and dye the fur pink. It was 2013 and Allis Markham was working as a director of social media strategy at Disney in the Los Angeles area when she decided to spend two weeks in Montana to learn the art of taxidermy. At the time, she was interested in creating avant-garde pieces that merged her love of wildlife with her passion for art, hence the pink deer.

She went on to volunteer at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles and studied under Tim Bovard, the museum’s head taxidermist. “I volunteered so long I think they were embarrassed to not pay me anymore,” Markham remembers. Though she says she would have paid them for the experience, she officially became part of the team after a year of apprenticeship. Her time there shifted her focus from “rogue taxidermy” to creating works that were true to their natural state. (She gave the pink deer away.)

Continue Reading here!

Date Lab: Are drinking habits a deal-breaker?

This week, Damona covered a date that was set up by The Washington Post Date Lab!

Kate Bohan describes the men she has dated in the past as “good humans” who were just not right for her. The 32-year-old California native who handles billing for a study-abroad provider is seeking someone “genuine, handsome, curious and kind who believes that humanity is all connected.” The Date Lab team set her up with Alex Reading, 28, a George Washington University graduate student studying philosophy and social policy.

Kate says she doesn’t embarrass easily. But she described the feeling of first meeting Alex at Ris in the West End and taking the required photos as “awkward prom.” To break the ice, Kate suggested they order a drink, then noticed an uncomfortable look on Alex’s face. “Oh, God, he doesn’t drink,” Kate immediately realized. She was right.

Click here to see if this was a deal-breaker for Kate…

Date Lab: First impressions are everything

“Don’t look like a dad,” thought Jeremy Pryor, a 40-year-old mechanical engineer from Woodbridge, as he dressed for his date. But, the father of three then thought, “Don’t look like a kid.” The dates Jeremy has had since his divorce six years ago have taught him that the “first impression is everything.”

Over in Alexandria, his date, Ivana Hampton, 41, also worried about how she was presenting herself, having never had a blind date or even an online date before. She stopped at her mom’s house for a last-minute wardrobe check. “Why are you wearing that?” her mom questioned.

“She thought I should wear a dress, but I wasn’t feeling a dress,” Ivana told me. So she kept the pants and ordered a car to Matchbox in Chinatown, arriving about 15 minutes early for the date.

Wanna find out what happens? Read more here.

Date Lab: From introvert to extrovert

The night was wet and cold, and Jeff Savage, 38, really didn’t feel like going out. He’d already let Date Lab dissect his dating life once when he went out in 2017 with Katy Hospital, a graphic designer and kettlebell trainer who he says “went to bed too early” for his taste. He now regrets some of his original Date Lab application responses, like describing his dream date as “a riot grrl frontwoman turned development economist that likes her burgers rare.”

I wish I could say that I knew how Allie Kant, a 32-year-old tax manager, likes her burgers when I set up the two of them. What I did know was that she, like Jeff, enjoys running six days a week, loves dogs (she has a bichon poodle named Cosmo), and isn’t afraid to stay out a little late and have a few drinks.

Read how the rest of Allie & Jeff’s night went here…

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