Written by: Adam Dvořák aka Taste of Red
Launching a new product from Whoop·de·doo is no joke. From the initial design through production to product testing, so much water escapes in the mill that the seasons change outside the windows and the numbers on the tear-off calendar skip rotoscopically. Now the cups are being tested by testers (as I wrote before, the word tester is crazy), whom we invited one fine morning to SmetanaQ Café & Bistro for breakfast.
Who showed up?
For stand-up artists who simply must be at these places, there was Adéla Elbel. She came later, but it still counts. Petra Nesvačilová and Renata Prokopová, a representative of the acting industry, came exactly on time, as did Tereza Hanč, an underwear designer working under the name Tereza Vu. As another member of the secret sect of people starting with the letter T, among the guests was also Terézia Bělčáková aka Miss Cool Cat, burlesque artist and red-haired diva.
Terezias are never enough, and so Terezie Kovalová appeared at the scene, whom Anička declared to be her favorite cellist. I'm not sure if Anička knows any other cellists, but I won't go into that. Since it is a health issue, of course, an expert must not be missing either. This was Dr Petra Vrzáčková, gynaecologist, who was already consulted on the previous project – Venus balls.
If you want your project to succeed, you need to invite an architect, because without them, it's just never the same. Fortunately, Dagmar Štěpánová from studio FormaFatalaccepted the invitation. However, hosting a breakfast about menstrual cups and not inviting Tonya Graves, the famous and ever-smiling singer, would be as presumptuous as offering a celery cocktail at a biker bar.
I'll be very brief about the studio (even though Anička wanted me to elaborate more): Anička, Bára, Ivana, Eva and Petra. Altogether, if my numbers are correct, there were a total of thirteen ladies across the social spectrum. There were literally a couple of us as men: Martin, me and the sausages waiting for us in the breakfast catering.
Gender imbalanced? Yes. Did it bother anyone? No.
Let the fun begin
The whole morning was spent in a friendly spirit. First had a light breakfast. Unfortunately, that was the moment when everyone forbade me to take photos, because according to the guests, no one looks nice with food.
After breakfast they got to the word cups. Well, they don't have a mouth, so they can't talk, but Anička took the floor and stirred up a passionate debate on the topic of "indentations yes/no" and "so, girls, which one suits you best". At that point, I had a photographic harvest. Emotions, joy, fist banging, laughing, crying and reconciliation. But everything flowed in a pleasant atmosphere, which only menstrual cups can create, and so time flew by at the speed of the wind and, as it simply happens, the morning was slowly coming to an end.
Martin will not sit in the corner
Before leaving, however, Martin's moment came - recording interviews with all guests. I'd love to tell you how it all went down, but alas, after taking a stunningly beautiful photo of each of the ladies, I retreated inside to take classic girl talk shots of the rest of the cast. Eventually, the interview got to me too.
I didn't expect it and it was quite stressful for me, because as you know - when you bombard a man with a bunch of questions about menstruation without any preparation, he starts stuttering, sweating and looking for the nearest exit. But even I managed it with the elegance of a befuddled bee (and if the interview with me doesn't work I'll take the case to my lawyers) and everyone was able to go back to their homes and jobs. I surprised myself that in the end it wasn't too much of a problem for me to talk about periods and cups and all that. Either I'm growing up (which is bullshit) or what all the action around the cup is doing is happening - to talk openly about something that is actually quite natural.
The Whoop·de·doo breakfast went well and I'm a bit more open-minded. The world is changing and so am I. Does it bother anyone? No.
Photo: Adam Dvořák