Saturday, November 20, 2010

The Art of Show and Tell



This week in her Manhattan Showroom, Rebecca Minkoff showed off her Spring and Summer 2011 handbag collections. May I add that she had some beautiful bags. Pictured below are my favorite from her Spring collection.





While sipping champagne and nibbling on hors d'oeuvres I ended up conversing with the designer who I did not realize at that moment it was she. Rebecca was wearing a beautiful ring by Made Her Think that reminded me of one I was wearing and designed. Anyhow, I complimented her on the piece and she then complimented my earrings. I shared with her that I was a designer and had made all the accessories I was wearing. She wanted to photograph my When Doves Cry Earrings from my Connected Collection to post on her blog. By the grace of God she will keep her word and do just that. I would be honored! Rebecca was down to earth and personable. What I admired most is the fact she intends to expose other designers in her blog and share in her spotlight. Afterall, there is room enough for everyone.









The night ended with a classy send off gift bag which included Rebecca Minkoff's Spring 2011 Catalog, wallet and a simple holiday thank you note.













www.regalsovereignjewelry.com
www.regalsovereign.etsy.com

Sunday, October 31, 2010

The Art of Halloween!

It has been awhile since I've thrown a party and I figured that Halloween would be a good reason to do so. Now, I'm trying to follow the footsteps of my mother who is the Queen of throwing fancy house parties. Being that I'm a mom myself I see it as a tradition that I would like to make. Thank you mommy for passing the torch and teaching me the ropes as I have observed your skills over the years. With that said, I began to plan for this party about 2 1/2 weeks before Halloween. I had all these ideas that I wanted to set up for decorations. Since I work at a store we have garment bags and I thought it would be so cool to turn it into a body bag hanging on the back of our front door. Adding red paint to the bag and mask made it a bloody mess.

Then I thought about The Wizard of Oz when the house landed on the witch in the beginning and later in the movie when the witch melted...well I just combined the two incidents. I found an inexpensive wig with a partial green face at Abracadabra along with a witch hat for $1.00 and stick broom. I used a black laundry bag for her dress and laid her under our main table where I had all the goodies set up.


Simple finger foods will do. Oh and the 99 cent store had some decent Halloween decorations so I picked up plates, cups, table cloths, spider webs, a few Halloween signs and plastic bugs. I didn't spend over $30. (patting myself on the back.)





For my costume I wanted to keep it simple with the little time I had as I always wait for the last minute when it comes to Halloween. So I decided to be a leopard as I already had a leopard leotard that matches my skin perfect. I picked up a golden face mask with cat-like features from Creative Costume for only $8.00! I thought that was a great deal considering other mask I glanced at cost $55 and up!




I also got a set of cat ears and tail and painted them along with the mask to give it my leopard effect.






One must not forget the Leopard has cool fangs. The only thing I was missing here are the claws but you can cut me some slack afterall, I just didn't have time.




My baby was a Thai kick boxer. His grandfather went to Thailand and brought back these cute kick boxing shorts so that was a no brainer.


And his dad...well he just wore a Surfer wig. lol


Special appearances by...Two Cats


Isaac from The Love Boat


The Detective

My little Nephew the Boxer

And more Friends/Family






I'll share my breakfast with you...Cat Waffles.


Our beverage of choice...Mike's Hard Pink Lemonade....Support Breast Cancer Research!


Have a Happy & Safe Halloween! Happy Haunting!

www.regalsovereignjewelry.com
www.regalsovereign.etsy.com

Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Art of the Storm

Today was not the best day for me. I had zero sales today which means no money made for the hours I put in when I started the day off with nearly $3,000 in returns. This is why I despise retail...returns do count against our productivity for the week mind you. I had no idea it was going to rain today so I did not bring an umbrella. What do you know, it rained and I had an appointment to get my hair cut. As I was not wearing proper shoes they got soaked and my feet were cold. While I was at the salon I got an email from the owner of a boutique that was interested in seeing my jewelry with the possibility of selling my line stating they were happy that I shared my collection with them but did not find a place for it in their store right now. What a bummer. Oh well, you win some and you lose some. On my way home the trains were delayed I was hungry and just could not wait to get in my comfort zone. On my way home I looked up and there was one simple word that made me snap out of my funky rut....Pray. It's just that simple. Someone had wrote pray on one of the signs on the train and I see it as a message from God telling me what I really need to do on days like this to remain calm, patient and faithful literally in the mist of the storm.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

The Art of Southern Comfort


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www.regalsovereign.etsy.com

It's that time of year again when the weather is getting cold. My little one has a cold and I can feel one coming on myself. There's nothing like a good pot of gumbo to keep us warm. Now, you have two ways to make it...from scratch or out the box. The Zataran's New Orleans Gumbo mix that is. Today was my first time making it from scratch. You have to keep your eyes on the roux at all times because if you aren't careful it can easily burn. All it takes is a 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup flour. Let the oil heat first then gradually add your flour and stir. Do not dump all the flour at once. The key words here are gradual and stir. Once the roux browns to an almost dark coffee color you'll want to add water so keep a cup handy. You can continue to add water and stir. Transfer your roux from the skillet into your pot. I would add a total of 4-5 cups of water because you want to be mindful of all the other ingredients you have to add. My gumbo consist of hot links, sausages, shrimp, crab meat, chicken, onion, red, yellow and green peppers. I sauteed the peppers, onion and sausages together and let my chicken boil in the roux. I sauteed a few shrimp and added some frozen ones in the pot. I put the crab meat in last as it does not have to cook long. Typically you can have crab legs and okra. I don't particularly like okra because it's too slimy to me. Whatever you choose to add it is completely up to you and your taste buds. Umm ummm ummmm there is nothing like a nice pot of gumbo to make me feel at home. Just how my mom taught me. :-)

Saturday, October 2, 2010

The Art of Work

So I have been MIA on my blogging as I have been extremely busy building and launching my website www.regalsovereignjewelry.com That very day I received orders and of course I had to get right to work and complete the task. Everything is a work in progress. I know as an artist I'm constantly growing and evolving into the person God is molding me to be. After all, I am the clay and he's the potter. In previous blogs I talk about doing things myself. I don't know if it's because I feel if you want something done majority of the time you have to do it yourself otherwise it will only get done on someone else's time.
The reason I decided to make my own site is because I was asked to be featured on a site that promotes up and coming designers. The website will be launching soon as they are still working on it however, they wanted a lookbook and photos of my jewelry to add in the designer section. Low and behold I did not have a lookbook so we were trying to plan a photo shoot. When you're starting off you have to spend money before you begin to see any profit.
To make a long story short I did some research and came up with how I could shoot my jewelry without a budget. Then I realized, if I was going to do all this to be featured on a website why not go the extra mile and make my own website right now to be more accessible to sell and get my line out there. Yes, it's a lot of work to do all these things myself but if I don't want to get ahead of myself and start spending lots of money on a web designer, photographer, models, etc and figure out a day that works for everyone then I just have to do it in my down time. Like I said this way I know it will be done when I want it done. There will come a point in time where I will have to hire help but for now this is what I'm working with. Hopefully the site does well and that time will come soon. :-)
In closing, I wanted to share a letter from Italian jewelry designer Roberto Coin. He titled this The Art Of Being Oneself, "My lifestyle is continually changing with the times, anticipating trends and inventing my own fashion. My fashion is renewed by my desire to understand and discover new trends. Fashion should represent freedom; freedom for the person who wears jewelry and freedom for the person who creates it. Fashion should enhance the personality of everybody; it is an art, but the art of being different and should increase the ability of today's women to feel more comfortable in their own role." In relevance to the art of work, Roberto Coin has a unique angle in his approach to his consumers. His work is inspired by an ancient Egyptian legend and each piece is marked with the signature hidden ruby that is placed where it will touch the skin, blessing all who wear it with a long life, health and happiness as that is what the ruby signifies.
                                                         www.regalsovereignjewelry.com

Sunday, September 12, 2010

The Art of NYFW!

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www.regalsovereign.etsy.com
So the fashion fun began at Saks where people danced with the designers, Lindy hopped or shopped until they dropped.



Sales associate and I rocking the Regal Sovereign earrings.


Then it was off to Brooklyn. (Regal Sovereign earrings pictured below)


Dropping in to Callalilai for their FNO party. Pictured below are a few of my paintings on display and for sell. I truly appreciate the support of the boutique as they are the first to take in my designs and now paintings. You have no idea of the struggle it was to get in a store and this won't be the last. Talk about humble beginnings.

Woman


Love Lily


Water Under the Bridge


Blaze Your Path With Thunder




Great Balls of Fire






Checking out RS designs.






Designers of Haknik - Their antique vintage pieces are sick!










Then it was off to Soho we went...







We had to strut our stuff in Scoop. They had someone airbrush painting in the window.



And as any normal person would I jumped up to take my picture before the FNO Scoop NYC backdrop.

I'm giving it to you Top Model style. lol



However, there was a real model in the house...Jessica White posing with her publicist.

We weren't the only ones taking pictures. Girls just want to have fun! Can you blame us?



After leaving Scoop there was a girl in the window doing yoga.

Now on to Roomservice for the after party.


Crazy nails and rings by Regal Sovereign.

Cool picture...accident shots sometimes can be interesting.

MERRY FASHION TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!
www.regalsovereignjewelry.com
www.regalsovereign.etsy.com