These former Siamese twins have been "dismissed" from some of the best households of Europe, leaving a trail of unexplained crib deaths, poisonings, and mysterious odors. Their irresistible lily white skin and tightly corseted waists are strangely alluring, but remember this: they refuse to speak, but communicate only with each other through a series of hand and face gestures. Since their engagement with the Velvet Hammer began, six different performers have disappeared without a trace.

Bibi's Alter Ego

Fifi's Alter Ego

Barbara Ann Duffy states her theory for la vie en rose simply:"A happy woman is one who falls asleep with confetti in her hair at least five times a year".

She has played Moving Picture Auteur (Enter the Diva, 1995; Mr. Man Walks, Sits, then Stands; 2001), Professional Muse (please contact for references; 1993-present) and she once had a bona fide job, as Assistant Directorette of Animated Serials. Stricken with intense ennui, however, found herself unable to go on. Of quitting, she writes: "I didn't feel shame or fear. Just kind of blah. Like when you're just sitting there and all the water has run out of the bathtub".

She currently may be found about town laying down the ghosts of her sullied life and times through song in the musical group Suki Tawdry (www.sukitawdry.com), at the Grand Star sipping Blue Lagoons and paying homage to Dietrich, or at her new home since 2001 - the Velvet Hammer.

Vera Elizabeth Duffy was born in Hollywood, California. She began her career as a silent film star in the title role of "Enter the Diva" (Dir. Barbara Duffy, 1995). After engagements in London, Taipei, Santa Cruz, Moscow and Sydney, Nova Scotia, she returned to her hometown to complete her first collection of short stories, "The Everything" (Kinkos, 1997). Fleeing her patron of many years, Vera took brief stints as a nightclub singer, a seamstress, and a translator of Russian texts before finally finding financial independence in her writing. For the past several years, she has made her living penning episodes of various animated serials, and has been linked romantically to Buxotics' guitarist Blaine Capatch.

It was while vacationing with her twin sister at the Hôtel Studiya in Paris that their masterpiece, the short film "Le Petit Accident," was conceived; tragically, it remains unproduced. Vera has, however, completed several short films in the medium of Flash, including "No Sale," "Maids," and the mesmerizing "Dancing Girl'" (A Lot of Duffys Films, 2001). As Fifi and Bibi Poubelle -- Les Maids Mécontentes -- the twins first performed with the Velvet Hammer in 2001. They cannot remember whose idea it was, but they're quite pleased they thought of it.