Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1121563
28 BLINDED BY THE RAIN THE EYE BALL WAS A HEAD TRIP. BY CHRISTINA GEYER. PHOTOGRAPHY BECKLEY & CO., KRISTI AND SCOT REDMAN. W hen the forecast called for a quintessential Texas storm on the night of the Eye Ball, threats of lightning and thunder required quick decision-making by the event's organizers. Headington Companies' Jeny Bania and Swoon's Sam Sano and Joslyn Taylor made a quick pivot: They moved the event from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon — a mid-morning brunch of magnificent scale. Emails about the reschedule were deployed, and promptly at 10 am the next day, guests turned out en masse for a tipsy tea party. Down Alice's rabbit hole we went, meandering through a hedge maze and grabbing a cup of tea from servers dressed in surrealist topiary. FYI: Those darling teacups were not so tame, as they were inscribed inside with wicked witticisms by Dallas company Vulgar Teacups. Mine appropriately read "Delicate fucking flower," while my date's was a bit more optimistic with "You Lovely Piece of Art." The Eye Ball's theme is always the highlight of the party, and the details didn't miss a beat. The idea of getting lost in a punk-rock British wonderland was perfectly executed, even in daytime. We found several partygoers huddled in the maze's tiny hidden room, where neon lights, shag carpet, and scratch-and-sniff wallpaper made for an experience that could only have been heightened by an acid trip. A crimson phone booth, straight out of a London streetscape, boasted a mysterious telephone: When the light flashed, we were dared to pick up the phone and see what kind of stranger was on the other line. A queue formed all afternoon for a trip inside Motus Red's photo booth. And it really was a trip. The tilted set was propped with oversized teacups and other Alice in Wonderland-style objects that, when photographed, gave the effect that those on one side of the room had been shrunk, while those on the other side were enlarged. I found myself eating the mushroom that makes you itty-bitty and sipping out of an enormous teacup. Have I made it back to my normal height yet? Almost. SEEN: Performer Sarah Jaffe, whose moody vibe was perfectly in line with the afternoon; Jan Strimple, Kelle and Joe Jackson, Bridget Hall, Michael Tregoning, John Sughrue, Shelby Wagner and Niven Morgan, Sara and Michael Modovan, Peter Doroshenko, and the most famous guest, Bertie The Pomeranian, who has nearly 400,000 Instagram followers. Kristin Smith, Diamond Mahone, Francisco Rizo Kelle Jackson fills up Dean Robinson Jan Strimple Jennifer McGill, Annabel McGill, Logan McGill Angus Glover Wilson, Esther Park Sarah Jaffe Kevin Thomas, Jake Dalton, Jennifer Jennings Kyle Branch, Amberlee Patterson Chance Weick Jonathan Merla, Michelle Padgett Tracy & Van Hayes Nerissa Von Helpenstill Dustin Holcomb Eneida Hatch, Jay Sims Amy Van Cleave