Vintage aesthetic historian Ben Sander created the ultimate drag domestic goddess Brini Maxwell in the 1990s. Over time Brini with her campy tips and demos of style, decor and party planning became a genuine drag TV star before RuPaul introduced us to 200+ plus more throughout multiple seasons of “Drag Race.” And now we’re happy to report that Ms. Maxwell is returning to TV, care of a new docuseries filmed in a vital NYC venue!
Thotyssey: Hi Brini, thanks for chatting with us today! So, St. Patrick’s Day came and went… were you able to do any holiday themed craft-making for your weekly Club Cumming experience?
Brini Maxwell: Yes indeed! One of our regulars at the club led an evening of making bespoke Mr. Potato Heads!
Are you as crafty in your free time as you are in a professional capacity?
I like to think so. I learned to knit for the event (which used to be called “Knit at Night”) and I have a degree in fashion design and sew many of my own outfits. I also do a lot of the home improvement work in my apartment myself.
You’re known for celebrating and showcasing the classic aesthetics of the 50s, 60s and 70s, both with your drag and your crafting!
You can add the 80’s to that now.
Do you have a Top 5 of style icons that have shaped that style?
Doris Day, Mary Tyler Moore, Auntie Mame, Stefanie Powers and my mother.
You grew up in Massachusetts with parents who worked in in theater and education. Did you develop your Brini style from anything in your household at all?
My mother was a big influence on me. She loved the gracious life, and was always entertaining and decorating. Her sense of style was on point, and she made many of her own clothes too.
How did you come to find yourself in the New York drag scene, and what was your early drag presence like at that time? Were you lip synching, doing more theatrical pieces, hosting parties, etc.?
I started out at the Center when I was 19, helping to organize the weekly dances. I dressed for the themed ones and made friends with Coco LaChine, who sponsored my membership in the Imperial Court (where I met Panzi). I developed the character of Brini in tandem with the development of the original television show for cable access in the late 90’s.
Following in the footsteps of other drag trailblazers such as Hedda Lettuce and Lady Bunny, you were a fan favorite star of pre-RuPaul’s Drag Race drag TV thanks to Manhattan cable public access; your show featured frequent appearances from the prior-mentioned Panzi! Eventually The Brini Maxwell Show made it’s way to the Style Network for two seasons in the early ’00s (a sister channel of E!), which featured your crafting, cooking, home decor, party planning and etiquette instruction with an overall sense of tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek. What was that whole experience like behind the scenes throughout those versions of the show: was it a ton of work to plan and create episodes, and did it teach you a lot about the biz?
I like to describe the initial production of the cable access show as driving a jeep at 90 mph over a rutted road — it was a steep learning curve. We eventually settled into a groove, and it got easier. Once we had a catalogue, we could air reruns and that made our production schedule easier still.
The [the cable access version of the] show was noticed by a production company executive, and that was how we started developing the show for Style. It was initially produced as a pilot for Bravo, but they went with Queer Eye instead of us. Production on the Style show was a lovely experience; there was enough money to make things much smoother, and we had a lot of fun on the set.
2005’s Brini Maxwell’s Guide to Gracious Living is required reading for anyone who wants to succeed in every second of life! What was it like writing that?
That book was fun to write. It was a collection of many of my best ideas, recipes and tips, so it was really just a process of compiling and editing them. I think we organized it in an interesting way that I haven’t seen before, with four primary aspects of life – Daily Life, Entertaining, Travel and Life’s Happy Milestones.
What were your thoughts when RuPaul’s Drag Race showed up and became such a cultural phenom? Were you happy that drag suddenly had this massive platform, or were you concerned for what it might do to its integrity?
I was delighted! I think that show has shifted the zeitgeist in such a way that drag is now a mainstream artform. And before that happened, who would have thought that was even possible in America?
“Make It,” your Tuesday night live show and casual crafting workshop, has been a big hit at Club Cumming since it originated as a weekly knitting circle several years ago! Can you explain how this show came about, and what happens there?
Daniel Nardicio was one of the owners when the club opened in 2017, and he was booking the events there. He did a series of shows with [nightlife writer and personality] Michael Musto singing duets with downtown denizens, and I became involved with that. Because of my involvement I was top of mind when he was putting the knitting night together, and he felt I would be a natural fit for that sort of programming. So that’s how it came about. The content expanded to general crafting after the pandemic.
Is it becoming more of a challenge to come up with ideas for group crafts?
Well, the event is a voracious maw of content… but somehow I always have projects in mind. Instagram feeds me a constant supply of craft videos that give me ideas, we have regular crafts that we repeat like friendship bracelets and origami, and the ever-popular Shrinky Dinks! And we’ve just recently begun a collaboration with the Outlet Arts Collective for a monthly evening of sing-a-longs and performances to entertain the crafters as they do the weekly project together. It’s been a really delightful addition to the lineup, and gives me a chance to sing regularly again–which is nice.
What’s the best craft project you led there, do you think?
Shrinky Dinks has been, hands down, the popular favorite. I bring a toaster oven, or individual heat guns down and we make different variations of the craft, from using flower presses to mold the hot plastic into floral beads to using molded drinking cups to shrink down into discs decorated as holiday ornaments. When the craft is announced, the crowd cheers!
What makes Club Cumming such a special place to have a show?
The club, as it’s described in the series, is as much of a community center as it is a bar. It’s sexy but not sexual, fun instead of fraught. It’s a place where you know you can just be yourself and not worry about trying to impress anyone. Lasting friendships have been made at the events held there, and the people who work there and patronize the place are all friendly and welcoming. It sounds idyllic–and it is–I think because it attracts people who want that sort of energy in their lives. It’s a very special place.
Are you a fan of owner Alan Cumming’s TV reality competition sensation The Traitors?
I am. I think Alan’s outfits are outrageous!
WOW Presents Plus is about to premiere a six part docuseries also called Club Cumming starring Alan and several performers and employees of the club, including yourself! Can you tell us a bit about the origin of this series? When did it film, what was the filming process like, and what folks can expect?
Yes! The show debuts Monday, 3/30, and we’re all looking forward to it. It was developed around the Club because of Alan and his commitment to making it a safe haven for queer art. The process included each of the performers creating a series of reels that explored their lives in and out of the club, and then doing an interview with WOW. That was in the winter of ’24 I think, so it took a while to settle on the actual format of the show. We were notified that shooting would begin in August of ’25 and take about a month. The process was a lot of fun, with crew members at our weekly events and following us around as we did things outside the club as well. The last week of shooting was devoted to interviews in the Club that framed our work and our lives.
What else is going on with you?
I’ve recently revived my YouTube channel, and have begun creating content there again and for Instagram. My focus has shifted from domestic arts to vintage and retro lifestyle with segments showing off my 1974 “time capsule” apartment and features on vintage and retro fashion, entertaining and other aspects of style.
I’ve also started stepping out from behind the character and presenting some of the content as myself — most notably my new podcast Past/Perfect, in which I interview vintage and retro influencers. You can find all that through my hub for all activity, my new website.
Finally: what is your favorite vintage drink order at the bar?
When you come, you have to get Colt… to make you a French 75.
Thanks, Brini!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Brini Maxwell’s upcoming appearances and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkTree and her website.
Thotyssey 