Congratulations Kate and William- a Royal Job well done!

God save the Queen! I've always wanted to say that, so there! It's not every day New Yorkers sit about watching the goings-on across the pond, so we have to make the most of it. A Royal wedding is not something you see every day, and what with twitter and the internet, we get to see everything. Look at this, early this morning Times Square in NYC was closed, with crowds standing there on a beautiful spring night as the entire wedding was shown on the giant monitors of Broadway. It was incredible.



Times Square's Royal Wedding displays



Of course, New Yorkers have to ham it up, and re-enact every possible famous scene, but it was all in fun. I think today the whole world stopped for a second or two to celebrate with Catherine and William. I really enjoyed it all.

Did you see the hats? I've never seen such a display of haberdashery, Westminster Abbey was just filled with Englands most fashionable women with hats. I guess it is a tradition or something, and it seems like the hats made up for the fact that we didn't see too much elaborate jewelry. The Queen did not dissapoint with her pearls and smart brooch, and the men, well one has to wonder how long it took to pin all those medals on.

So there we have it, new heirs to the throne, young and pretty. For Kate, it was a long courtship but in the end, she got her man. Here in New York it is clear the Royal wedding was also a marketing success, giving the dynasty some new spark and exciting jewelry designers like myself and dressmakers across the globe.



Thanks to all this pomp and circumstance, I was on the Today Show! Not my jewelry but me, right there on the set. I felt like I needed one of those royal carriages to carry me home, it was such an experience. We've been celebrating the Royal wedding all week and to be part of it, in even this little way, was wonderful. To think that people looking for designs and jewelry got to see some of my things on television is an incredible honor, and was a lot of fun to be a part of.



WNBC New York Today Show Royal Wedding Makeover



We had an 'ambush makeover' segment the other day, and one of my favorite necklaces (the My Fair Lady) made the final cut for our royal wedding for less segment. Next week, we've booked a few shoots and photo sessions to demonstrate some of the jewelry seen at the reception, the after parties, and on the fashionistas of London.

And, to make sure you can get some of these 'royal' looks, our incredible spring sale is going on.

'Royal' Crystal coin cascade



We've placed dozens and dozens of items on our 'flower power' sale section, all 50% off. Did I say half price? You can get the popular crystal coin cascade (very, very similar to the earrings worn by a certain Dutchess just this morning) for less than 15 pounds sterling, or $25.00. If you pick up a few items, you'll get free shipping if your total is more than $75. We even ship to England! Ciao.

P.S. Sign up for our mailing list on robertachiarella.com and become a blog follower to enjoy some 'secret specials. Click on this to see the today show appearance- Roberta 

ROBERTA DOES TIMES SQUARE!

well, isn't this too much? I got a call from People StyleWatch today, the editor was in Times Square looking at their full-building billboard that was flashing the cover of the magazine featuring two, yes two of my creations! Just take a look!

Broadway and 44th street, in Times Square, NY

Here's another shot when the billboard zoomed- I love these interactive billboards, they show both the purrr-fect earring and the great brava bib necklace. If you want to get a laugh, look at the 'red things' below the billboard.

If you happen to traverse Times Square as a tourist the vendors and bus-guides will spot you, trying to get you to buy a t-shirt or take a tour bus. Chinese artists will draw your portrait (and you'll be thinner, instantly!) and now, they have these giant flowers set up on the sidewalk.

Stick your face in the red thing, they'll snap your photo and voila, you are a star in Times Square. I usually run in the other direction when I see these guys, but it was fun watching them while we waited for the billboard to come back up. The city is full of tourists, and when a nice couple saw me taking pictures, they dutifully did the same, so I know their friends will be asking them why they shot that picture of a billboard. And they'll say it had famous Roberta Chiarella jewelry on it, pointed out by the artist herself! Ciao.

It's a wrap! Merry Christmas to everyone

The holiday shopping season is drawing to a close and we watched frenzied last-minute shoppers running all around the city today, buying a gift here, some goodies there, all in preparation for Christmas.

Our family members are all off on holiday adventures, others are gathering for Christmas dinner. The traditional gift of the fruit basket arrived today, so we're trying out some tasty pears and apples right now.

Greetings from Mr. Spock!

Holidays are a combination of rituals and customs and festivities, and for this season we get to top it all off with gifts. Tokens of appreciation for being a great friend, a smart child, a thoughtful neighbor or co-worker or even a mailman who brings your letters when you are home and holds them when you are away.

We've given tributes to the staff at our apartment house, thanking the doorman, the porters, the folks who shovel the snow and fix little things, and we rewarded our staff with presents and dinners. As always, I made sure our customers got a little something extra too, by cutting prices, using lighter packaging so shipping could be cheaper, and making some jewels that look like they cost far more than they really do. 

Boomer relaxes on the couch

We took every order, included free gifts to our long-time customers, and gave lots of discounts and promotions. I'm happy to say that lots of folks were happy with our jewelry and ordered like crazy. I really thank each and every customer and appreciate your business. I tried to visit our retail store, Henri Bendel a few times to wait on customers and thank them in person, because it helps me design better things for you when I can chat and see what people like and what they desire.

At home, we've decorated my brothers house with zillions of ornaments, trinkets and lights, while our faithful doggies Chicklet and Boomer looked on in amusement.

My brother Joe celebrated the season with a christmas toy he bought for himself, a 1969 Chevy Corvair. Yes, it's an old car but if it makes you smile, then why not! I can't wait for a ride in it, maybe we'll drive around the neighborhood and look at some of New Yorks super-duper christmas houses, where the owners put up enough lights to make it look like Times Square.

So, we're ready. Our last 'rush' package went out the door, but orders are still coming in for New Year's eve so we'll be back to work packing soon. We've handed off our giant red bag of jewels to Santa, who flew by earlier today, because even elves can't make jewelry the way we do at robertachiarella.com. And Yes, Virginia, there IS a santa claus. Here's proof, from a letter in the New York Sun from 1897. Ciao and Merry Christmas everyone!


Click to make it bigger!



what's your resolution?

Wow, this is it- 2008 is drawing to a close. It's been an amazing year, filled with positives and negatives. Stock market crashes, wars, natural disasters; these all take the wind out of your sails. Unfortunately it takes the wind out of sales too, jewelry sales (like every other business) are down, and it is hard to predict when things will improve. We have a new president, and hope that things will settle down and the recession makes a quick exit and the economic climate starts to improve.

But, hey, we can't change the world all by ourselves. Maybe this is a time that the best thing you could do is to try and improve your own situation, and hope that if everyone did the same the world would be a better place. Maybe that's where resolutions come in. New Year's eve is a perfect day to reflect on the changes we want (or need) to make and resolve to follow through on those changes as 2009 comes at us.

This is a very old tradition, it is said that New Year's Resolutions began back as far as 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar, as he had two faces, and could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.

I've looked around, and found a few lists of "top resolutions" we all make. Some are no surprise- our top resolution is to spend more time with family and friends. We all want to be healthier, the top resolutions include lose weight, quit smoking, be physically fit, and quit drinking. After that, we want better finances- getting out of debt and finding a better job are resolutions millions of americans will make.

With all of these, it is good to see that there were some optimistic resolutions that made the top 10 list. We want to help others, enjoy life more, and learn something new. I've never spent a lot of time making resolutions, it seems an easy way to depress yourself if you do not become thin, rich or famous in the coming year. But I have a permanent resolution concerning the last few- I always try to take some time to just enjoy life, and always try to help others. I had some great experiences with the step-up women's network this past year, and have always been a volunteer for a good cause- it is very rewarding.

So take a moment to do what the Romans did, look at the year past and get an idea of what you'd like to do for the coming year, and try to do it. And then, take some time to relax- we made it out of a very crazy year. Plan to do something or be with someone to ring in the new year and start 2009 in style. Check out the celebrations where you live, or just watch our New York City celebration on TV. Don't pay too much attention to the ball though, it is Waterford, not Swarovski crystal !! I wish all my family and friends the best, may we all have a happy new year. Ciao and Buon Capodanno !

you better watch out

You better not cry

Better not pout I'm telling you why

Santa Claus is coming to town

He's making a list And checking it twice;

Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice

Santa Claus is coming to town

It's finally beginning to feel like christmas. I heard this song while waiting to buy something at the grand central station holiday fair, a shopping experience that they open just for the holidays. There are some folks selling things you can't normally buy in new york (imagine that!) so I always visit this fair. Grand Central Station has set up a laser light show that stops traffic, projecting a great display on to the ceiling of the station. I missed it by 5 minutes, drat!

It's cold and rainy, but while I was out I decided to walk over to the new ice skating rink that's opened behind the New York Public Library. It was filled with happy skaters who are much braver than I am when it comes to spending this much time outdoors in the freezing cold!

Even though we're all worried about the economy, there are crowds in the stores and lots of people are shopping. Lord & Taylor had lots of crowds, and who wouldn't want to be there- they have a giant snow globe in the window. How cool is that? Times square was bustling, the tourists love it here and it's not hard to see why- it's non-stop action.

Of course, the main attraction is Rockefeller Center with the best tree in the city. It's wall-to-wall people, so I passed up the opportunity to visit the tree now that it is lit. I came by right before the tree lighting to check out the Swarovski booth, they supply the giant crystal star at the very top of the tree, and sell replicas and other crystals in this booth. As someone who works with their crystals, I was presented with a star ornament, as a token of thanks for all the work we did together this year. I decided to wear it as a necklace because I am so proud that they gave it to me. It's a bit heavy, and will probably end up on my christmas tree as an ornament, just like it's giant cousin is on top of this beautiful tree now all lit up at Rockefeller center.
We'll put up our tree this weekend, and decorate it with our family heirloom ornaments and a couple of new ones. There will certainly be room on the tree for my swarovski star, it can take the place of the NY Mets christmas ball that is being demoted to the back this year. Then, next week, after we've shipped most of our customers holiday orders I can go and do a bit of shopping myself. ciao !