Brini on TV

A woman wearing a pink dress and leg warmers stretching while sitting on a cream-colored sofa in a cozy, well-decorated living room.

Cable Access

Two women with towels wrapped around their heads and wearing matching pajamas, posing back-to-back on a bench against a white brick wall.

Brini and her sidekick from the cable access days, Mary Ellen.

Brini first appeared on cable access in Manhattan on January 1st, 1998. The Brini Maxwell Show was designed to be a hybrid of a sitcom and a service show.                                                       
The sitcom elements included regular characters, most notably Brini's neighbor, Mary Ellen whose New Jersey pedigree clashed with Brini's New England demeanor.

The service show elements were cooking, tips, design and craft projects. Mary Ellen was usually on hand to put in her two cents.

The show was a cult hit and was profiled in the New York Times, The Village Voice, The New York Sun and New York Magazine among others.

Style Network

Dave Downing and Brini Maxwell sitting on a bed in a 1960's Hollywood Regency pink and green bedroom room, smiling and holding drinks. The room has bright green and pink walls, large table lamps, and decorative furniture.

Brini on the set with her friend and musical director, David Downing (aka Alastair).

In 2004, The Brini Maxwell Show transitioned to The Style Network. The new show was moved from Brini’s studio apartment to a sound stage at Unitel Studios on 57th Street.

Each episode of the series centered around a theme of some sort - Hippies, Travel, Cocktail Parties, etc. Regular segments included “Make Yourself At Home” (cooking), “Putting It Together” (crafts), “Design for Living” (interiors) and “Out and About” (location segments). Carried over from the cable access show was the popular “Why Didn’t You Think of That” segment, during which Brini imparted household hints.

The show was produced for two seasons by Style and was aired nationally and sold to a few international markets.

Club Cumming

Alan Cumming takes a selfie, with one of the regular attendees of Make It with Brini. Brini Maxwell stands in the background while three other attendees sit at a table nearby, with various objects and bags on the table.

Brini with Alan Cumming and regulars of the weekly Make It with Brini event at Club Cumming. 

Club Cumming is a unique night club in New York, partially owned by actor, Alan Cumming. It's become a safe space for performers and clubgoers alike in celebrating their differences and making art. Brini was asked to host a crafting event there in 2017 and it's been going strong ever since.

In 2025, World of Wonder shot a 6 part series documenting the community that has gathered around the club that will debut in mid 2026. One of the events profiled in the series is Make It with Brini.

“With her gazelle-like gait, Valium-smooth voice and ingratiating demeanor, Brini exudes the eerie poise of Pan Am stewardesses in the industry’s full service peak of the 60’s”

– Jim Farber, New York Daily News