Nov 18

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Yes. I know. I haven’t blogged since September 23. The world has shifted. We have a new president, the economy has officially tanked and yet, my world has been filled with style adventures. I truly feel lucky to continue to express myself through my art. I wrapped at the end of October on The Whole Truth which was an incredible creative experience for me.

Music-wise, I did manage to check out some great shows despite working seven days a week. The Presets, Does this Offend You Yeah and Santigold are all top on my play lists these days. Fun, electronic and dance-able…not to mention 80’s influences. I love it.

I did a quick weekend trip to SF to cheer my gal pals on in the Nike Women’s Marathon. The route was incredible. I was so proud of my friends who ran for almost five straight hours…they are truly inspirational. It was great to be back in SF. I did do some killer shopping with clients in Union Square. The Barney’s in SF is fabulous ~ especially for men. I found a terrific store that I had a hard time leaving near North Beach called Eden Eden. The owner is a lovely British woman with exquisite taste. She has a lovely collection of very unique jewelry and accessories ~ including vintage pieces. Her clothing was wonderful and she carries a lovely Finnish designer, Ivana Helsinki, who just showed at Paris Fashion Week last season. Her knits and prints are incredible and the kind of pieces in this economy that are worth the investment because they are classic. Her spring pieces are playful and I will definitely keep you posted on her. The Eden Eden site doesn’t do the justice to the store, but it will give you a good idea. If you live in SF…go there. Food was difficult for some reason on this trip…however, did finally have a lovely cocktail at the Clift.

For those of you who know my routine, you probably can guess I am in NYC again. After 11 straight weeks of work, it is great to have a little time to clear my head, get inspired again and get caught up. It was great to check in at my fav Greenpoint stores, Alter, Daglaya and Hayden-Harnett. I have also gotten a chance to go to some of my favorite spots like Dressler, Diner, Coco 68 and NuBlu. I now have new fav spot in Greenpoint called Five Leaves. Since I have a bit more spare time and the timing was right, we did hit up a few galleries for the Williamsburg Art Openings on the second Friday of each month. The highlight of my trip was last night when I was the guest of my talented friend Etta Lillenthal who was selected to have her work shown at a new collective of women in theater; mainly costume and production designers. Etta is a very talented production designer and i was honored to be there. The collection called Curtain Call is showing for the next six months at the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center. The photo at the top is from the exhibit. Since this is an obvious area of great interest for me, I was truly inspired. It is interesting to note how make dominated costume and set design has been. I think that mostly catches me up for now. I must say that given everything that has happened in the world since my previous blog, I do have hope that through art we can and will stay inspired. RL

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Aug 27

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I normally don’t go to these trade events in the industry. I stick to the shows since I’m not a buyer. It has been years since I went to MAGIC and it has evolved. They are adding shows and the buyers can check things out according to the demographic/style, etc. As I mentioned a couple days ago, I was here representing SSF and facilitating fabulous strategy salons. It was a complete success in my opinion and we met some amazing folks; designers and manufacturers. [photo of gals from SUST and editor from PLENTY Mag]

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In ECollection, for the rock and roll gal in me, I was intrigued by Loka. They were a standout in the ECollection section not just because the girls were super cute and sweet, but they have a distinct non-eco look. It’s very refreshing. I can’t wait to start wearing some of their pieces.[photo of Loka Designer and the booth]
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Pool was super fun and hip. I saw a ton of brands I know and love, as well as, new ones. Funny, but I found a eco-brand there too that I happen to be wearing today ~ Velvet Leaf. The designers are adorable and really committed to sustainability. Top it off, their brand is super cute. I am a fan and will be writing more about them in the future. [photo of Velvet Leaf designers with Sp09 collection in the background]

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That’s it for now…got to take a disco nap to rev up for the last night in Vegas. I will give you a run down of new places besides Hard Rock to check out. RL

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May 18


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I have been searching for about a year for the right gladiator sandal. I have been doing all versions for my clients, mostly the flat look that is terrific with short shorts and dresses.  For me, personally, I have a hard fit in that style.  I also, garmento that I am, didn’t want to pay $500 for them.  Yesterday I scored not only for myself, but a couple of clients a cute glad sandal at a great price ($38). Where, you ask? Good ol’ Urban Outfitters.  I personally love this style because it doesn’t have the thong…Super sold out in Seattle, but perhaps if you run out today, you may be lucky. RL

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Mar 29

yedomi-chandelier.jpg  I am still on the road and loving my days here in Portland. Staying at the Ace, I don’t feel like I have to venture out, but I am meeting some wonderful people.  Last holiday season, a met a couple of lovely women at a holiday event for The Finerie in Seattle.  The were the designer, Naomi, and rep, Sandy, behind YedOmi Jewerly.  I instantly fell in love with the design of their pieces, bought one for me and special ordered a few for my clients. I met the gals for a couple of cocktails last night at a fun place on NW 23rd called 23Hoyt ~ great happy hour destination btw.  It was really fun the get the “story” behind the line of jewelry which is a delicate yet sexy and bold combination of metal and semi-precious gems. It turns out the Naomi loves to play with metal. She has an art background and started forging and sculpting back in art school days.  It developed from there.  She hand creates all aspects of her pieces and works through gem rep to get gems directly from the source country. Can we all say together, “sustainable”? I love that I zoned in on the pieces for their unique beauty and style and it turns out, it is sustainable too…Naomi now works on design with her husband and continues to be fascinated with “how far she can go with metal”. While it was hard for her to decide which piece out of her collection is her favorite, they are all like her children, she is zeroing in on her chandelier earrings this season. She is known in PDX for her custom wedding jewelry and basically the bees knees as far as I am concerned. If you are a client of mine, you will be seeing her work. RLP.S. Still trying to figure out how to get on-line photos with my MAC…sorry no image on this one, but as soon as I get a PC later this weekend, I will get one up. 

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Mar 12
PDX

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Just got in last night from a couple of days in Portland.  I headed down to participate in Crave Party’s Shop 08 Conference for Independents. One was held in Seattle last week and I was thrilled to be able to participate in the Portland event.  The panel I was on focused on Trends and the effective use of them in your business whether it be a retail business or not.  My co-panelists were really amazing (go to the list on the conference site to check them out).  The biggest message we left the attendees with was being true to your business and yourself, despite trends, by really focusing on your customer, their experience, needs and feedback.  Check out the link to get all the info and follow the links to all the speakers.  It was an incredible crew and congrats to Erika and Melody for a job well done.  I would definitely note this on your calendar to attend next year…

Of course I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t check out the scene in PDX while I was there.  It is pretty evident that there is a relative hipness around the city that it harder to find here in SEA.  The epi-center has to be the Ace Hotel and the surrounding block on Stark. The two restaurants flanking the hotel rock not only for the scene, but the food and of course, Stumphouse Coffee can’t be beat. If you are planning a stay in the city, stay there.  Each room is unique and has fun elements like record players and found objects from the city.  If you live in PDX, hit the bar.  They have a great happy hour and the Fig infused vodka Martini  is the cocktail to try…for lunch, yes, I went there twice, try the egg sandwich and a bloody mary…

I ended up on my own in the city Monday night and really wanted to seek out something super local. It was recommended to me to go check out Karaoke from Hell at Dante’s, apparently a Portland institution.  The first thing I said was, “isn’t that the strip club?”…”well, yeah…but it’s not in that part of the space…” I couldn’t resist and headed out….I wasn’t sure what to expect, but wow, so much better than watching TV in my hotel room.  This list of characters couldn’t have been cast better.  I stayed the entire time and even got up and to dance.  The concept is a live band; super talented musicians, backing you up as you live out your dream of being a rock star.  We had a run of this for awhile in Seattle with Rockaroke at the Sunset Tavern…remember? These guys however, blew ours out of the water.  The host was funny and a complete a#@, but that made it better.  There were obvious regulars coming up to the stage.  My favorites included the conservative suit wearing guy who was super funny on the mic, a bit like Steve Carrel, who sang ACDC’s Shook Me all Night Long, and sang it well.

Portland folks are super friendly and by the end, I felt quite at home.  By the way, I met people not just from Portland, but also Manhattan, Saudia Arabia, Puerto Rico and well, Bend, OR…check it out next time you find yourself in Portland on a Monday night. 

And, of course, I did shop for clients and did my regular turn of stores in the Pearl and Zelda’s shoe bar on NW 23rd.  I finally got to check out my friend and designer Rachel Mara’s store Moule’ in the Pearl.  It is a beautiful space and I they have a great selection for men and women.  They also have amazing jewelry, great home accessories and yes, even something for the bambino’s and pets in your life. It was fun to meet all the folks working there who are super nice…spring is just coming in, so if you head there in a week or so, you should have lots to choose from.  RL

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Jan 30

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Weekend Maintenance is tough for us gals, and some guys. Not only are we doing laundry, hanging up a weeks worth of outfits, catching up with friends, paying bills, trying to get to the gym, etc. We have have to maintain on the “personal grooming”.  Now usually its the manicure, facial, massage, brows…general stuff, but every 4 - 6 weeks we have to handle our bikini area…

Gal Pals are the best when it come to recommendations; especially for all things maintenance related. My oh so glamorous gal pal, V, turned me on to sugaring about 9 months ago.  I’m a bit addicted and obsessed and never reschedule my sugaring appointment. I go to the Sweet Spot in Seattle.  The process is ancient, literally,and much easier for us delicate types vs. waxing. Bikini day is universal, this past Saturday, my best buddy in NYC, L,  got waxed too and we were able to share the moment together….now that is bonding.  I am researching the sugaring options in NYC my east coast friends…I will let you know as I find one. RL

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Jan 11

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I love supporting local ~ It’s always great to shop at a local retailer.  The extra bonus is when I find a fabulous locally produced product as well.  While shopping with a client today, the lovely crew at Polite Society introduced us to a  jean that was absolutely fabulous. After seeing the fit, I knew I would be blogging about it. What I didn’t know was the sustainable and local story behind it. Pine IV is a design company based in Redmond, WA. They have joined forces with American Forests in a global tree planting program aimed at offsetting CO2 emissions to help fight global warming.  So, for every pair of Pine IV jeans purchased, a tree will be planted through American Forests.  Now that is a Sustainable Choice.  To top it off, it is the best fitting trouser jean I have run into to date.  Polite Society is really aware of sustainability not only from a product point of view, but they are big into giving back to the community.  They hosted an event for Sustainable Style Foundation over the holidays that raised quite a nice sum for Seattle Children’s Hospital and donated the most adorable teddy bears to the hospital I have ever seen.  Go to their site to check out what they are up to and definitely note these jeans to put on your list.  For spring they will have two styles I suggest you consider, the Hiroi and the Hiraku. RL

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Jan 10

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We know that trench coats were all the rage last spring and early this fall…I don’t see that trend changing for Spring 08. One of my favorite newest ones is a Burberry style that I recently picked up for a client.  It is the most beautiful navy and is constructed the way a garment should be.  The fabric is dreamy and this piece is a keeper for years.  So far it is only available on-line, special order at Saks Fifth Avenue.  A knock off version can be found at Banana Republic, but it is a knock-off. Let me know what you think. RL

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Jan 8

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I have to admit, when Manolo’s were first the rage, I was just getting my business started and didn’t have HBO. I had no idea that it was so “Sex & the City” and that everyone had to have them…Cut to almost ten years later and I have to admit, I am quite blown away.  Over the last couple of years, that lovely red sole of Christian Louboutin has slowly been making its way into ads /fashion spreads/movie sets, and finally is available for all.  While they are the next Manolo type of investment, I love them and have been waiting for just the right pair to become my seasonal signature shoe. I think I found them, but can’t find a shot of the exact shoe. For those of you that see me regularly, you will just have to notice. But I do love this platform style.  Fabulous with a pair of shorts, pencil skirt or little dress. RL

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