| TV's New "Good Thing"
Drag domestic diva Brini Maxwell swears she’s
not out to be the new Martha. Tell that to the devotees of her cable
show.
By Lawrence Ferber
She’s blond, smiling and eminently tasteful – a living
treasure trove of handy home hints, expert with a sewing machine,
kitchen implements, and tools – and she hosts her own TV show.
But something sets Brini Maxwell apart from that other guru of good
living, Martha Stewart. “I don’t play the market,”
Maxwell coos in her signature honeyed register. “I prefer to
invest in vintage.”
Star of the Style Network’s The Brini Maxwell Show, the alter
ego of 34-year-old New Yorker Ben Sander arguably owes Steward a debt
for Brini’s sudden thrust into the limelight, fueled by the
media’s frenzied search for the “new Martha.” In
may, Access Hollywood aired an attention getting profile, while she’s
also been featured on CNN and ABC’s World News Tonight.
“I don’t consider myself the next Martha Stewart,”
Sander protests “I consider myself the next Sue Anne Nivens!
I just think it’s like comparing apples and oranges. We talk
to different types of people – my audience tends to be very
urban, and I think that Martha’s audience is more suburban.”
The son of Hofstra University theater department head, Sander moved
to New York in 1988 and studied fashion design. Obsessed with 1950’s
vintage items found in thrift stores and on eBay and fueled by a desire
to “help the world and find a more gracious way to express that,”
Sander created an effervescent female alter ego and launched her eponymous
public access program in 1998.
Taping in his small, retro-deco Chelsea studio apartment, Sander quickly
garnered a devoted audience. Since its 2004 pickup by Style, the show
is now recorded on Unitel Studio’s former Sally Jessy Raphael
stage. In a typical themed episode, Brini makes over a room, takes
a field trip – her visit to and perky sprucing-up of a Manhattan
public restroom further distinguishes her from Stewart – and
chats with guests like Helen Gurley Brown and a survivalist who “showed
me how to survive with the contents of my purse in the wild.”
Brini also dishes up numerous ingeniously simple “Why Didn’t
You Think of That?” hints and tips, most of which Sander culls
from vintage homemaking books. “If you find yourself with a
hangover, split a lemon and rub the halves in your armpits,”
he notes, laughing, of a more obscure (albeit practical) discovery.
“For some reason it seems to work! My friend Mary Ellen tried
it out, and she’s been very pleased.” Future episodes
may be themed around camping, improving studio apartments, “family
game night and how to bring that back” and collections.
Gay marriage may also be an episode’s focus, Sander reveals.
Any tips for alter bound couples today? “Throw birdseed because
rice will swell in the bird’s stomachs,” he notes. “Glitter
is fun but it takes a while to wash off. There are so many wonderful
wedding planners out there, so take what you want from them, but don’t
consider yourself bound to their suggestions. And shoving the cake
in your mate’s face is not a great idea.”
On – and let’s not forget some advice for poor ol’
Martha. “Buck up, dear,”
Sander offers, adding hopefully, “she may have gotten herself
into a pickle, but Martha’s the one who can make relish out
of that pickle.
|
Back
To Press Index
