MERRY CHRISTMAS 2012

I just wanted to take a quick moment to wish you and your family a wonderful and joyous Christmas this year and I hope you will have a prosperous and very blessed 2013.

Each of you that have trusted me with your timeless treasures or shared stories in the salon while having your hair done have truly blessed me.  Without YOU, I couldn't do what I do nor have fun trying to do the job I love. Both jobs to be precise.

Enjoy & Merry Christmas!
And remember the Prince of Peace this season.
Dreama Stephenson

ORDER PICKUP DAY

Just wanted to let all my great clients know in advance that ALL Orders that were placed before November 21st  can be picked up this coming Wednesday at the studio between 1:00 pm  & 7:00 pm on December 5th.  I was hoping for just a little sooner than my deadline I gave, but with thanksgiving break being a little longer due to the passing of our family dog...well this is just the best I could do. Thanks for understanding.

If this day just will not work for you, please call to schedule your pickup time for Thursday, Dec. 6th. Please use my studio number 615.451.0018, do not email or Facebook to setup an apt. time.

This includes all FALL FAMILY FUN sessions, Victorian Christmas, anything from this year not picked up ... and ADD ON's if called in before Dec. 1st, 2012.

Looking forward to seeing you there. For the men and the ladies.... if you're looking for a nice gift, perfume, spa items and more, be sure to check them out while here in the Salon/Studio.

I will also have Gift Certificates available for haircuts/perms/color, BeautiControl Cosmetics and our Spa Line, Jewelry and of course anything in our Photography Line, including sessions.

Merry Christmas from our studio to you and look forward to seeing each of you on Dec. 5th, 2012.

Sincrely,
Dreama

Thursday's Thrill If You Will

Bringing back Thursday's Thrill today. Hope you enjoy this couple as we show them to you here. Such nice people and they were a dream to work with... NO bridezilla around here.  Let us know if you enjoy or tell a friend.

Titan Times : Something needs to change

A very good friend of mine back in Virginia lost her son, a high school student, last February at the cause of his own choice. This article was written by a fellow class mate after another was lost because of his own choosing as well.  I agree with what this kid has to say....he makes very adult valid points.

Titan Times : Something needs to change

Victorian Winter Christmas Special

One Day ONLY.

Yes, Christmas will be here before you know it and now's the time to book your apt.
Call NOW - 615.451.0018

 

Want something different as gifts for everyone on your list?

Let us do something truly unique just for you. Not only are we providing a great winter set, that can serve as a Christmas look or not, we have a great plan for Santa too. Don't do Santa the same old way. Only added upon request when you call to schedule your

Victorian Winter Christmas Special.

 

Also add these great Limited Edition's to your calendar or send to a friend.

 

COMING SOON!

 

THE ENCHANTED FOREST FAIRY DAY - 09.29.2012

FUN FAMILY FALL PORTRAIT WEEKEND - 10 /13 & 14/ 2012

 

And By Appointment

OLD FASHION TEA PARTY

LAST OF THE SUMMER ROSES

Lawless Movie In Theaters Today - A Must See

Here is the full write-up from the Roanoke Times & World Newspaper I posted yesterday.

Rocky Mount goes Hollywood with 'Lawless'

Franklin County, self-appointed "Moonshine Capital of the World," will have its story brought to the silver screen in the upcoming movie "Lawless," which is scheduled to open in theaters this week.

By Dan Casey | The Roanoke Times

Photo courtesy of the Franklin County Historical Society

Hosea (Hogey) Thomas distillery -- circa 1916. Standing in back: Spairel (Sparrel) Rakes. Left to right, front: Arthur (Banjo) Martin, Thomas (Press) Martin and Wiley Thomas

Courtesy of The Weinstein Co.

Filmed mostly in Georgia and starring Shia LaBeouf, the movie “Lawless” is set in Franklin County and is based on the book “The Wettest County in the World,” by Matt Bondurant. It’s a fictionalized story of his grandfather and great uncles, Prohibition-era bootleggers known as the Bondurant boys, who took a small moonshining operation and battled urban gangsters and local law enforcement as they grew it into a black-market empire. The movie opens this week.

Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

Aimee Brookes (left), owner of the Eagle Cinema 5 in Rocky Mount, and her manager Wendy Smith had hoped to screen early showings of the movie “Lawless” before its Wednesday opening. But she was unable to win the approval of Hollywood studios for the early showings. "The whole community is buzzing about it," she said. "You can’t go in a restaurant without hearing about it."

Join the conversation

• Share your movie reviews -- and read previous "Lawless" stories -- on the Arts & Extras blog

“Lawless”

Opening in theaters Wednesday

Based on the novel "The Wettest County in the World" by Matt Bondurant, whose ancestors were Franklin County moonshiners.

• Plays Wednesday at 4, 7 and 9 p.m. at the Eagle Cinema 5 in Rocky Mount, and at 1, 4, 7 and 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday.
• More info: 540-483-9121

Head south down U.S. 220 to Rocky Mount, and soon you'll probably find yourself crossing the W.N. Angle Memorial Bridge near the center of town.

It rises high over the railroad tracks, above a stretch of factory buildings and warehouses that make up Ply Gem, a window manufacturing outfit that's one of the town's biggest employers.

A stone's throw down the same block you'll find the oddly shaped art gallery The Grainery, a building that has not a single right angle.

This is pretty much all that remains of Franklin Grocery & Grain, a once-thriving former wholesale operation that for decades supplied foodstuffs and other items to stores all over Franklin County and beyond.

The business played another key role in Franklin County commerce. It bought sugar by the train and truckload, hundreds of tons annually in the late 1940s and 1950s and beyond.

Most of that wound up in stills deep in surrounding wooded hollows, in places like Snow Creek, Ferrum and Endicott. The result was the product the county remains most famous for: untaxed corn whiskey, which fueled Franklin's self-appointed reputation as "Moonshine Capital of the World."

Most of those stills are gone now, but moonshine is still a big business in Rocky Mount.

You can see that in the T-shirts and bumper stickers for sale around town, and in the photos of bootleggers that proudly hang on the barroom walls at Ippy's, one of Rocky Mount's most popular restaurants.

You can find it on the bookshelves over at the Franklin County Historical Society. There, one best-seller is Matt Bondurant's "The Wettest County in the World," a novelized biography of the author's infamous moonshining relations, the Bondurant brothers.

Other recent volumes include "Spirits of Just Men — Mountaineers, Liquor Bosses, and Lawmen in the Moonshine Capital of the World" by Charles Thompson and "Chasing the White Dog: An Amateur Outlaw's Adventures in Moonshine," by Max Watman.

And you can see it each April, when hundreds of tourists descend on the small town for its annual Moonshine Express Tour, which started in 2005 and this year drew about 300 participants from seven states and one foreign country.

"It used to be, we made money making moonshine," said Linda Stanley, special projects coordinator for the historical society. "Now we make money talking about it."

That mini-tourism industry may be small potatoes compared with what's coming, however. Because Franklin County and its most famous product are two chief characters in a major Hollywood movie that hits theaters next week. It will put Rocky Mount on the map like never before.

Based on "The Wettest County in the World," the movie "Lawless" stars Gary Oldman, Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain and was a selection for the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. It opens in thousands of theaters across the country Wednesday.

Nowhere will the excitement be as great as in Rocky Mount. The movie opens at 4p.m. that day at the Eagle Cinema 5 on Tanyard Road.

The Franklin County Historical Society will be set up outside, selling "The Wettest County in the World" and other books and untaxed whiskey memorabilia from a moonshine-era vehicle.

Theater owner Aimee Brookes had hoped to have a special preshow Tuesday. But she had to cancel those plans because she couldn't work out a deal with the film's distributor.

Her phone has been ringing off the hook for more than two weeks.

"The whole community is buzzing about it," Brookes said. "You can't go in a restaurant without hearing about it. There are lots of people still around who lived in the days of the Bondurant boys. We're all very excited about this movie."

Another local who's excited is Peggie Foster, 82, a grand dame of Rocky Mount royalty. Her husband, Pete, who died five years ago, and his father E.G. Foster, owned and operated Franklin Grocery & Grain.

The business was closed in the late 1980s but she and her children still own the company's real estate, where Ply Gem is located now.

In 1952, Pete and E.G. Foster were charged criminally with failing to record their sugar sales, which federal agents estimated at 500,000 pounds per year.

"They got a slap on the wrist, no jail time," Peggie Foster said.

Earlier this summer she conducted a personal moonshine tour of Rocky Mount.

"If you had corn, or plums, or apples on your property, you made moonshine," Foster said.

"Everybody made moonshine. They had to, to feed their families. If you said your family had nothing to do with the business, you were either spineless or a liar."

Even to this day, "every family in Franklin County has some at home," she said.

That's probably not much of an exaggeration.

Over at the historical society, we found exhibits of submarine-style stills, the kind favored by Franklin moonshiners, plus other whiskey-making implements such as hygrometers, white oak brooms and mash forks.

More than one wall is lined with black-and-white photos of famous backwoods whiskey makers: T.F. Bailey, the Prillamans, the Cashes and James Lee.

Cecil Love, who's 84 and is a decorated Korean War veteran, holds the title as the county's most recently busted moonshiner. He was arrested and charged in June 2011 and pleaded guilty to reduced charges in April, for which he received probation.

But Love's was a small operation — reportedly he was making corn whiskey and apple brandy only for friends and family — and his arrest was an anomaly.

The days when revenue agents raided 600 stills a year, like they did in the 1960s and 1970s, are way past, said Morris Stephenson, a longtime reporter and photographer for the Franklin News-Post.

For decades he "walked a fine line" between his moonshining acquaintances and the lawmen he used to accompany to raids on their stills.

Stephenson, 76, who went on his first moonshine raid in the spring of 1964, is close to finishing his own book, "A Night of Makin' Likker — Other Stories from the Moonshine Capital of the World."

He's hoping the hullabaloo over "Lawless" will help spur interest by a major publisher in yet another volume about Franklin County's most famous product and the people involved in it.

Stephenson's book begins with an account of a night in Boones Mill when he stayed with some moonshiners as they made 160 gallons of whiskey. Much of the rest is about individual raids he accompanied police on over his career, and people involved on both sides of the trade.

One, in the 1960s, was now-retired Virginia State Trooper Woodrow Ward.

"He was feared," Stephenson said. "He had the fastest car and was the best driver in the county."

The last huge raid was in 1993, when agents found and destroyed an operation that employed 36 800-gallon stills in a metal building off Virginia 40 in the Penhook area near the Franklin-Pittsylvania County line. It still holds the state record for moonshine-making capacity, Stephenson said.

Compared to years past, these days "there's very little moonshine," Stephenson said wistfully. "For all practical purposes, moonshining as we know it is gone.

"Used to be, I could make a call and get a case," he said. "I can't pick up the phone and get you a jar anymore."

My Hometown Goes Hollywood Over White Lightening

Okay so this was in Sunday's Roanoke Times Newspaper... the city paper that covers the surrounding counties, just as the Tennessean does here in the Nashville area. For those of you who know me well, know that myself and family are from the town and county (Rocky Mount in Franklin County, VA) best known as the "Moonshine Capitol of the World".  Should I be proud... not proud, but think it's cool there is a movie made about it...Sure, maybe I  am proud, proud of where I lived for 29 years no matter what, and why not it was going on way before I was ever born. And it's been making headlines for years now, some not so good headlines I'll have to admit. Heck even my Grandfather was a moonshiner even though I'm not supposed to tell, (as my mother would kill me, if she had internet)  but unfortunately I never got to meet him or my grandmother on that side due to their earlier passing.

Did anyone see the special about the brothers who sold more sugar and accessories from the local farmers store "Helms Farmers Exchange" just down the hill from the court house and police department?  

Anyway as I understand it, this new movie "Lawless" is set much earlier than that of Helms Farmers Exchange, but possibly during the time of Mick R Mack (I'd have to check this). And portrays brothers and family members running moonshine, WHITE LIGHTENING to be exact.  For me this is a must see and I hope you'll check it out too. I have high hopes of this one being a good one.  Enjoy the movie trailer here. It's worth a watch and whew, I'm still glad all this happened long before I was ever born.

The CAST:  Tom Hardy , Jessica Chastain , Gary Goldman , Guy Pearce , Shia LaBeouf ,
                       Mia Wasikowska , Noah Taylor , Jason Clarke , Lew Temple

IN THEATERS: AUG. 29, 2012

If you like this give our Facebook page a LIKE while visiting me at www.facebook.com/dreamastephenson 

Thanks to Janet Thomas for the picture of the local paper from Roanoke, VA.

LIFE GOES ON

Check out the cd I did the graphics for here in-house... it's up for not 1, but 5 nominations. Way to go to all the artist who brought this one to life. And remember if you'd like to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, please contact us for your 2-CD set, which will give the hospital a donation for every one sold.

http://www.icontact-archive.com/EtLtNxPusCCSmQ2k2x1-QyOH3dHiT2ij?w=4#linkedinshare

Enchanted Forest Fairy Day

One Day ONLY.  Call for your appointment - 615.451.0018

These UNIQUE FAIRY SESSIONS will go quickly at this extremely low price.

Be the first to schedule yours. You will not be disappointed.

 

Also add these great Limited Edition's to your calendar or send to a friend.

 

COMING SOON!

 COWBOY DAYS of SUMMER - 09.08. 2012

FUN FAMILY FALL PORTRAIT WEEKEND - 10 /13&14/ 2012

VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS - 11.3.2012

 And By Appointment

OLD FASHION TEA PARTY

LAST OF THE SUMMER ROSES

 

ONLY AT Portrait Design by Dreama

Fun Family Fall Portrait Weekend - Limited Edition

Two Days ONLY.  Call for your appointment - 615.451.0018

If you've been wanting to take a family portrait, now is the time. We have some really cool ideas for this weekend, aside from our couch day. At this price for only 2 days, these will book fast so call NOW for your apt.

Also add these great Limited Edition's to your calendar or send to a friend.

COMING SOON!

COWBOY DAYS of SUMMER - 09.08. 2012

THE ENCHANTED FOREST FAIRY DAY - 09.29.2012

VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS - 11.3.2012

And By Appointment

OLD FASHION TEA PARTY

LAST OF THE SUMMER ROSES

Or schedule your tailored session.

Cowboy Days Of Summer 2012

RAIN or SHINE. Call for your appointment. One Day ONLY. 615.451.0018

 

Bring your western wear or jump into some of our items. Either way this session will be one to remember!  And let us turn one of these little treasures into an even better keepsake by letting us create your digital oil painted keepsake.

 

"Where Love of Art is a Part!"

Portrait Design by Dreama

 

Find Us on Facebook 

Join us for our very first "Cowboy Days of Summer" 9.9.12 (this is for those little cowgirls too.)

Meander with the horse, jump aboard the old truck, sit amongst the saddles and hay... We will have a set ready and get candid images as well on this Limited Edition.

This was a huge hit, so we're bringing it back again this year... "The Enchanted Forest Fairy Day" slated for 9.29.12. Best suited for 3-9 year old girls and the occasional older "young lady". Give us a call to discuss.

Our "Family Fun Fall Portrait Weekend" is back. We have big plans for this weekend Oct. 13 & 14, 2012. We'll give you the details in person as we're not letting this one out of the bag on the blog

Not on the schedule above. "The Last of the Summer Roses" - call to schedule.

"Old Fashion Fall Tea Party" - call to schedule.

Last of the 2012 Limited Editions is our "Old Fashion Victorian Christmas". For those toddlers  - teenagers, both female and male.  Don't do the same old thing for your portraits, let us create a treasure for you at our studio.

Call us: 615.451.0018

"Where Love of Art is a Part"

Portrait Design by Dreama

Dont' miss your chance for a timeless treasure from our studio on Sat. Sept. 29th. We provide quality work, so you have our guarantee on all orders. The Enchanted Fairy Sessions when done through the year instead of during our Limited Edition is worth $300.00.  So now is the time to act at $49.00 for the session and a 5x7.

These are quick indoor session and will book fast at this LOW PRICE. Optional Packages are available.  These session are best suited for 3-9 year olds or the occasional older young lady. Give us a call, we'd love to hear from you.

Spears+Garrision Sneak Peek #2

Love these two people I just met in time for their wedding day. Amanda Spears-Garrison and Walt Garrison. So easy to get along with and they have been so nice during this process along with their mothers. I just wanted to give another Sneak Peek of their special day. Thanks to Natalie Dohanos for being my sidekick at their event.

©Dreama Stephenson ~All images found on this blog are copyright material and may not be copied, downloaded, etc You may however share the link with your friends. If you're waiting on Facebook images you will be tagged soon.

 Spread the word their full event can be found on our website under the client section in just a few days. Hope you enjoy.

Dreama

Dohanos Family Fun -Sneak Peek

Even though very muggy I couldn't help but love this session; between my friends, the cool couch and their awesome 4 year old, they made it a good time for me too.  Not to mention, I LOVE MY JOB!  There's nothing better than actually having the time to come straight back in to the office and upload the images onto my computer and seeing some of the ones that I'd gotten so excited about while shooting.

And then having the time to actually begin editing and narrowing down my favs. Whoo hoo, even better.

Can't share many, since the family hasn't seen them yet, but wanted to share just a few for your viewing pleasure, so to speak.
Enjoy!

And remember we do a Family Couch Day during the fall and at any session when requested. These make awesome portraits.

©Dreama Stephenson (These images are copyright material and may not be used in any fashion: download, share, copying, etc.) Thanks for understanding.

Spears-Garrison Wedding - SNEAK

   So excited to share just a sneak of some of the wedding pictures taken last Saturday at Station Camp Baptist Church. The bride was the calmest of any I'd ever seen and the groom was pretty laid back himself (no bridezilla at this one).
   I sure appreciate the trust put into my company and looking forward to sharing the pictures with the wedding attendees very soon on the link that was provided at the wedding. You will also be able to click on the link I'll provide on my website under "Clients" using a password.  But for now, until the bride and groom get to view their special day... enjoy this little sneak peek.

© -All images are copyright material found on this blog and not to be downloaded, saved or reproduced in any way. Thanks for understanding.

Larry Stephenson "What Really Matters"

Just  a little banner we designed here in house to support Larry Stephenson's new music. Releases May 29th To Stores, but you can get YOURS in ADVANCE by visiting Larry Stephenson Band's website and go to "ORDER". If we can help YOU with YOUR design services, contact us: 

Phone: 615.451.0018 or Email: info@DreamBEECreations.com 

Ivan Nester

A dear friend of mine lost her husband Ivan Nester, who I'm proud to have called my friend as well, this past Saturday. His funeral is happening in Rocky Mount, Virginia at Flora Funeral Home today at 2:00 pm, as I make this post. Since I just left town and can't make the trip back so quick, I thought the family may enjoy seeing these pictures online during their time of sorrow.  I'm very touched the family chose me to take their family portraits for them a couple of years ago.  Ivan lost his battle to cancer like so many do these days. He had a passion for life and enjoyed his life to the fullest. Please help me pray for the family as they learn to tread-water again without his presence. I love you Ruby. ~ Dreama

All images on this blog are copyright material are not allowed to be downloaded, copied, printed, or shared online without permission.

Bell-Hazelwood Wedding continued...

Welcome to the Bell-Hazelwood wedding we did on March 10, 2012. I was honored to take part in this one for my dear friend and ex-neighbor. This gal is a true sweet-heart  and I wish her the best in her new married endeavors.

Hope you enjoy a little bit of what we captured.  We hope to add a video soon as well.

This March wedding was held at Amber Falls Winery before the trees became loaded with leaves.
The beautiful flowers were by the bride.
The cake by Publix.
Music DJ and Videographer by:
Osborne Studio & Sound

To view ALL images from the event and to place your order, please visit this link. You will find pricing and our direct email there to place your orders. The viewing will be taken down May 25th, 2012.
I hope you enjoy the fun captured on such a special day. ~ Dreama
(All images found on this blog are copyright material, please do not download, copy, print, or social network any images.)

All images found on this blog are copyright material, please do not download, copy, print, or social network any images.

Proud Of This CD

    Wanted to share this graphic project we did here at the studio for Larry Stephenson of the Larry Stephenson Band. Yes this one is for my husband.  Releases to Stores: May 29.

    For those who remember, we were doing graphics professionally before adding the photography professionally, so it's nice to still have time to create CD covers, magazine ads, promotional flyers, T-shirt designs, letterhead, business cards along with every promo item available.  This one can be purchased in ADVANCE at www.LarryStephensonBand.com so that you can be one of the first to get it. Hope you enjoy and we'll be adding the full graphics to our web very soon.

Produced by:

       Ben Surratt and Larry Stephenson

Includes: 

      Larry Stephenson, Kenny Ingram, Danny Stewart, Kevin Richardson

Guests:     Sam Bush, Aubrey Haynie

Available for purchase at:    www.LarryStephensonBand.com

Record Label:  Compass Records, Nashville, TN

Hope you enjoy and thanks for looking,

Dreama

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all of you and thanks to these little cuties and others for coming out for our live animal Easter sessions.  Let us all remember Him who gave his life for our sins! I hope you have a wonderful week and a joyous Easter weekend.

Sincerely, 

Dreama

Bell-Hazelwood Wedding

Just a sneak peek at some of our wedding photography from this past weekend at Amber Falls Winery. What a beautiful bride... you expect them to be beautiful, but WOW. My dear friend was married and and I wish her all the happiness in the world. She deserves it!  We will post the images online after Easter of the wedding for everyone to make their selections. We will produce portraits thereafter as quickly as possible.  Watch this blog to find out when and where the images will be posted for review and purchase.

Easter Have To Share

Okay,  there are several images and children I want to share from our lamb sessions... but this one just knew what the camera was looking for... at only 6 this child needs to model in magazines.  Look out girls when he hits high school.  Thanks for bringing him out along with his whole crew. And for trusting us to capture your timeless treasure.

©Dreama Stephenson

Easter Live Bunny & Spring Portrait Sessions

LIVE BUNNY & SPRING PORTRAIT SESSIONS THIS WEEKEND ONLY. MUST BOOK NO LATER THAN THURSDAY AT 4:00 PM TO SECURE A SPOT.  ONLY $25.00 OR FREE WITH PACKAGE.  615.451.0018

We look forward to seeing you.

EASTER "LIVE" Lamb & Bunny Sessions

Starting this Saturday, March 10th. We've added a second day for the lamb due to it's popularity. Not too late to get your appointment. Just give us a call. Satisfaction guaranteed. Ask about our bunny days.
Hope to see you.

SPBGMA AWARDS

Tonight we're on the way to the SPBGMA Awards Ceremony where my husband and I have been asked to give out a couple of awards. My husband is also for a couple of awards "Male Vocalist of the Year" and "Mandolin Player of the Year". Crossing my fingers on those.  My husbands banjo player is being honored tonight with the SPBGMA Hall of Honor Award for his banjo playing. So thrilled for him and it should be a good night on Super Bowl Sunday.

Jr. Miss Bundle of Love

 

Today my girl didn't get crowned Queen, but was runner up in her 2 year old Jr. Miss Bundle of Love division at the Sweetheart Pageant.  So proud of my lil bit for doing so well.  Even though the pageant wasn't up to the standards of the few Pageants we've been to so far, especially for the money...it was nice that the judges were the 2010 Miss America and a past Miss Tennessee.  It was also odd they didn't call the children in order by the numbers they were given. This meant lil bit had to go out first even though her number was the highest in her division. So not sure on what was going on there. But still so proud of my very tired little girl this morning, since she didn't go to bed until 2:00 am this morning and woke up at 9:00. Barely made it on a rainy day. No sash this time either, but a little bear, and plastic rose replaced that I suppose. 

Miss You!

One Year ago today you were laid to rest in a cemetary a few miles from home. And you've been missed every day you've been gone. Your granddaughter still talks about you and even at only 2 years old, she says aloud when she misses you (her PaPa). I never wanted to feel the pain of losing you and dread the day Mama(MiMi) and God-forbid, my husband and myself go to be with the Lord and have to leave my little bit alone. But it is the circle of life that keeps us going. I love and miss you with all my heart.
Your daughter,
Dreama

And to my darlin' sugarbritches. If it weren't for you coming into my life when you did, I certainly would have not made it through this year...
because of you I can make it through each day, even though it's still hard. Just remember Grandpa (PaPa) loved you very much and was prouder the last year and half he was alive, than he'd ever been. It's not fair I know that you and him didn't have more time together, because it's all he wanted, but we have to remember "he is with us".

Daddy I miss you. And to my daughter - Thank You!
Mommy

HAPPY NEW YEAR