Daniel Franco's Birthday Party - Continued

Saturday night we ventured from our bungalow in Venice to go to Mid-Wilshire to attend Daniel’s birthday party at his home. We arrived about an hour after the party started. When we went in, we spotted Daniel in the dining room, but he was busy in conversation, so we headed to the bar first to drop off our bottle of wine we brought and to get a drink. Afterwards, we headed over to meet Daniel. Not having any idea who we are, he still greeted us with that great Daniel smile. I then introduced my husband and I, and explained that Laura asked us to attend in her place. We chatted briefly about Project Runway, and he showed us around, including his studio.


We loved his home, especially the studio, in sight just behind some glass French
doors, and the dining room that had black walls and a black curved ceiling, all lit with candlelight and a beautiful chandelier. Another highlight was the fireplace, with the recognizable red mantel and topped with a mini Jimi Hendrix doll.




In the living room, you couldn’t miss the DJ and Karaoke set up just inside the front door, so I knew this was going to be fun! For the next hour or so, the house filled up and we mingled and met many of Daniel’s friends. While my mom was disappointed that I didn’t get to meet any other Project Runway folks, I was really impressed at how real this group was. This was not a Hollywood event, but rather Daniel’s real friends at his real birthday party. We felt so honored to be there!

After a while, Daniel and a friend set up chairs in the living room around the Karaoke set up and the singing began. After a couple of singers, all stellar by the way, Daniel stepped up to sing David Bowie’s China Girl. Hilarious! He was so fun. See for yourself in the minute or so of video footage we captured on our camera.

Later on into the evening, the Karaoke DJ played Happy Birthday, and everyone sang along. A friend of Daniel’s brought out a pie, pulled the candle out for him to blow, then proceeded to put the pie in his face! I thought he was done for, but not
long after, he came out of the bedroom, looking just as fresh and pulled together as he did earlier in the evening. What do he do to follow that? Well, he sang a duet of Under Pressure with a friend! Which was another big hit.

The party went on into the wee hours, and eventually, we called it a night. We had many opportunities to talk with Daniel, and he happily posed for photos as well. It was truly a great time! Afterwards, my husband and I talked about how gracious and genuine Daniel was. We were so honored to be there and were welcomed with open arms. We would love to see him again!

Thanks again to Laura K for making this happen, and to Daniel for his sweetness and generosity.

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