Welcome Summer!

It's here- Memorial Day weekend! The unofficial beginning of summer has finally arrived and that's a good thing. After the winter of 2010-2011 with monumental snow and bone-crushing cold, I almost didn't remember what shorts and flip-flops looked like, so the thought of lounging around in summer attire is nice.

We'll be enjoying New York City, where it's Fleet Week, our wonderful military men and women come into town in their planes, on their boats and get a taste of New York City hospitality. You'll see New Yorkers walk right up to soldiers, marines and shake their hands, pat them on the back, because we all appreciate what these young men and women do. The United States is protected and defended by a volunteer army, our own citizens, our own families have patriotic (and brave) individuals who volunteer. It makes me proud, and gives me a good reason to go to our local treasure, the Douglaston-Little Neck Memorial Day Parade. The weather should be good and it's a great way to appreciate all our armed forces do for us by honoring our troops, especially those who died in wars.

Summer, Memorial Day, the end of May and the Solstice, we don't need much of a reason to have a big sale, so we've got a great selection of jewels at an incredible 60% off the original price for the weekend.  Go out and buy a nice summer dress or top and plan to wear it in style with the La Strada Bib Necklace. It'll probably never be more affordable, and has been featured in magazines and on TV. If you like a simple and elegant piece for your hair, check out the pave hair stick which I just love. This one's a close out and when the last one is sold, that's it. We get so many orders for weddings, the hair stick is just the right accessory.



La Strada Necklace



No weddings? Still need an excuse to get some jewelry, hmm. Well, it was graduation day for lots of students, and New York City schools will graduate their high-schoolers in just a couple of weeks. Here at the jewelry studio, we've had our own little graduation too. I participate in internship programs with FIT in New York and have been so lucky to get wonderful students who come in and learn and work, learn and work with us. Going to college isn't easy, and internships are part of getting that edge, the experience of being in a real business doing what you went to college for, fashion!

Thanks, Abie Angelillo and Candice Roselli, their help has been amazing and I hope you've learned a thing or two as well. Candice excelled in adobe photo shop and will take her skills to her new career once she's come down to earth after she graduates. She should get off to a good start, with a professional resume and some direction we enjoyed providing. 

It is a way to give back and that's why I support FIT and it's programs. I was privileged to talk to the Direct and Interactive Marketing Club, where students really want to listen and learn. It's a pleasure to share my experiences in buliding a business from a dream (and a severence package) and work for yourself. There is no better way to create jobs than to join the workforce in private enterprise and start a business. If you take that risk you will get rewarded many times over. You make your future, no unions, no guarantee of a pension but plenty of excitement and lots of happiness if you get it right and find success. Our interns learned this every day, and our customers know it too- they deal with me, the owner, with our great staff, they buy from a first-class website or in a high-end store or boutique. It is the American Dream, made possible by our constitution and the service of our troops. Happy Summer! Ciao.

Happy Summer!

It's the start of the Memorial Day weekend so I hope you've made plans to enjoy the holiday. We've sold a lot of our Brava Bib Necklaces, and I know it's styles like these that make girls look summery and super-chic! Another great choice is the crystal coin cascade earring, filled with sparkly crystals in so many colors. Our summer jewelry has been a hit with jewelry editors, appearing on TV, in the New York Daily News and lots of fashion magazines. People Style Watch is a must read, it is on newsstands right now, and there's a special promotion going on with them, so it's worth a look!

We're planning to go to the Douglaston-Little Neck Memorial Day parade, billed as the largest memorial day parade in the country! I know the president is skipping out on the traditional ceremonies and heading back to Chicago, but you can participate in the holiday and see this spectacle for yourself on Monday. We've got Mayor Bloomberg and city officials and soldiers and bands, and we'll even bring Chicklet, Lulu and Boomer! What more could you ask for.

Take a moment of your weekend and say a prayer of thanks for all those in our armed forces who give years of their lives, and sometimes make huge sacrifices to protect our country and the freedom we enjoy every single day. If it wasn't for our great military men and women we would not be safe and feee, especially with all these crazy things going on around the world.

And if you can't come to Queens to watch our parade, check out their website (link above) and consider a contribution to help this organization make it possible. I'll be there to cheer on the troops and thank any soldiers or sailors that pass by, you can be sure of that. Ciao!

a memorable memorial day

Today is Memorial Day, and I hope you took a moment out of your day to remember those brave men and women who gave their lives so that we may live in freedom. We should never forget the sacrifices that our soldiers made for us and our country.
We were lucky that what is said to be the largest Memorial Day parade in the country is just down the road from my brothers home in Douglaston, Queens.

The weather was perfect and the parade route was packed. The mayor was there, along with all the local politicians, marching bands, and veterans from all branches of the military.
The local cub scouts marched, and chicklet, who never met a kid she doesn't want to run towards, had to be kept under close supervision! After most of the marchers passed our observation post on Northern Boulevard, we headed over to the house for "the first barbecue of summer". It was a beautiful day, with great food and good company.

I was happy to have some time to relax, it has been such a busy week (in a really good way). Our trip to Florida to show my HSN collection was a success, and I have to say it is always a pleasure to work with the HSN staff. Rachel Huber is a great host, we had super models on the set. I was worried about the time slot, it was pretty late for the east coast, but the orders came in like crazy.

You'll never know how exciting it is to be sitting there when the last item of the batch has been sold. There is a bell that rings, the lights flash, the people taking orders have to stop in mid-stream and start saying "I'm sorry, the item has sold out" and my heart just skips a beat. I love what I do, and like most artists and designers, there is no greater validation of your work than to have people want to buy it. The feeling that came over me when I saw so many of my pieces sell out on the HSN show was one of pure joy. I hope every person who bought some of my jewelry is as happy as I felt during that show when their order is delivered!

Designing this collection was a challenge for me, as we don't usually have to make a design for a specific price. The whole idea of working with HSN is to offer people a high fashion item that is affordably priced. Sometimes, when you have an idea in your head about what a bracelet should look like, you are not always worried about how many stones to use, how thick the metal should be, what type of clasp will you use, because the idea is to design from the heart. Of course, this means that the design might end up to be more costly, and I'll sell less of them, but when we work with HSN the concept is a bit different- we want to give the best design money can buy, but carefully choose the stones, settings, and manufacturing process so that the jewelry will be reasonably priced. In this case, I think everyone connected with the collection agreed it was a hit.

I love a challenge, and making this collection with specific prices in mind was a biggie, but it worked out well in the end. I was thrilled to see the "Best Dressed" earrings sold out even before they got a chance to air and they were made a customer pick. That was so exciting and I am still smiling, I really liked designing that one, and to see that so many people liked it is amazing. The show went so well that we've booked a few more later in the year, and I've got to go back to the studio to get the designs firmed up so they will be ready in time.

But, that is for tomorrow. Today was a day for relaxation and family, enjoying each others company, taking the pups for a walk down by the water, and seeing the flag draped on houses and cars, and carried by little kids or tied to their bicycle handlebars. And, as they say- a good time was had by all. Ciao!