The early spring rains were plentiful this year resulting in an unusually green desert with abundant wildflowers. From a distance the ground looks covered with soft green growth but in actuality it is all pretty rough and prickly. Yellow is the predominate color of our flowers with faint splashes of purple and red.
The desert washes – the paths the rain take as it flows down the hills and through the desert, are always a source of flowers often changing and blossoming every few days.
From what I can tell from Arizona Highways and their book on wildflowers, this is Desert Goldenrod. (I think my allergies will agree…)
Desert Marigold is lovely with its lemony colored flowers and grey- green foliage.
The Globemallow and Brittlebrush are just starting to flower and with some warmer temperatures will be in full bloom in a matter of days! Stay tuned…
Last evening I decided to sweep up the leaves on my patio, pick over the flowers and water all the pots. It was very lovely out – temperatures in the low 80’s and quite dry.
The sky was beautiful – a very simple and pretty sunset. As I was gathering up the leaves I realized I was enveloped with the wonderful springtime scents of Geraniums and Alyssum and one more amazing fragrance.
Orange Blossoms - Fabulous, glorious, fragrant Orange Blossoms!!! Years ago, before many of the groves were removed to build houses, you could smell them all over the city. Now it only seems you catch their fleeting scent in the early morning and at dusk. There must be an inspiration for a jacket here somewhere. It will probably hit me in the middle of the night…
For some time I have shown my Jackets at John DeMedeiros on Worth Ave. in Palm Beach. It is one of the most beautiful stores ever. The building originally housed Martha’s, an equally fabulous and very famous establishment that I also worked with but, which ceased business in 2002. John, who is an interesting and debonair man and well respected by his customers for his great style and eye, revamped the space and opened the eponymous store in 2003. For over 10 years, I have had the pleasure of working with much of his staff who were also employed at Martha’s. I love that kind of continuity.
While in Palm Beach I stayed at the very lovely home of a wonderful friend and customer. Walking through the front door put me into a place back in time.
The curved staircase going to the second floor had an ”old world” feel.
The fireplace could have been plucked from a castle!
During my stay in Palm Beach I met up with friend, Bonnie Roseman of The Bonnie Roseman Collection and her wonderful and competent assistant, Gloria Roy. We attended a little benefit at the new Badgley Mischka store on Worth Ave.
I think I need to have this dress – it was beautiful and it’s my color!
Palm Beach was an interesting and wonderful show. The sales were great. I had not had a show that was as successful for almost two years. Even though it took place two weeks prior to the Gulf shows I have already written about, I hesitated to acknowledge the success. I wondered if it was just an anomaly in the current economy. After excellent sales in Naples at Kathryn’s Collection and the following days at the Gasparilla Inn, I am beginning to believe things are starting to loosen up – that my former customers are coming back and, along with brand new customers, are starting to buy!!
Up the coast from Boca Grande is Venice, Florida, an unassuming and laid back little arty town on the coast that is infinately livable with beautiful beaches and fun casual dining like The Crows Nest .
For the last 4 years I have been so fortunate to stay with my dear friend June Morgan at her wonderful little Villa right on the water’s edge in the city of Venice, Florida. She and her husband Dick, who reside in Cleveland, are the most gracious of hosts and, besides being a fabulous cook , June always entertains me!
I have been showing on the Island of Boca Grande for the last 9 or so years, beginning with the Gasparilla Inn and then with Perfect Day in Paradise which closed last year. So now I am back at the Inn and enjoying myself in the beautiful surroundings. In between my wonderful and abundant sales (Thank You God) I had the opportunity to wander the grounds.
The Front Porch greets you as you come up the steps to the Inn. I want that plant stand!
This is the Parlor / Library. Everytime I tried to shoot this, people were in the room either reading or on their laptops.
This is another view of the Parlor / Library. It makes me want to curl up with a good book and just relax.
I am a shell nut and love to scour the beaches for interesting shells and sea glass. I thought this fireplace was fun all filled with shells. I truly wonder where these came from – probably some designer bought a bag of them at the Shell Factory…
Off to the South side of the building is the Sun Porch. I love the blue and white chintz - would like to stay here for 2 weeks, sit on the beach and do some deep sea fishing (which is on my list). Did I mention there is also a wonderful Spa???
This is Cottage 51, (you can see the little sign above the door) one of the Cottages on the grounds. For many years, The Gasparilla Inn has been a getaway for the Presidents George W. and George H. W. Bush and their entire families. This last year all 3 generations of the Bush family arrived the day after Christmas for a little fishing and R&R. I’ll bet some of the Secret Service stayed in Cottage 51 and drove this little golf cart around the island!
After settling up with the Inn Shop and gladly paying them a commission on my great sales, I packed up my car to head back to Venice and June’s Villa. But first I had to make one last visit to the beach to view the almost setting sun and reflect on my good fortune and blessings.
After enjoying a very successful trunk show in Naples at Kathryn’s Collection, I set off up the coast to Boca Grande for my next show at The Gasparilla Inn. The drive was cold, windy and rainy but the day ended with one of the Gulf’s magnificent sunsets that are only rivaled by our beautiful sunsets in the desert.
The next day arrived sunny and bright and I was greeted by the elegant facade of the historic Gasparilla Inn where I would be showing for the next 3 days.
Down this beautiful hallway and to the right was a small little room where I set up a couple of tables and a rolling rack from which to peddle my Jackets.
At one end of the hallway was the dining room. Now if you stayed here at the Inn you could have a meal plan included in the cost of your room serving extraordinary dishes by the award winning, executive chef Peter Timmins, CMC. And by the way, the palms and orchids in this room were fabulous!
At the opposite end of the Dining Room is the Living Room where tea is served every afternoon. After a busy and fun first day of working with all new customers, I treated myself to unbelievable little tea cakes and Key Lime Tartletts – yum!!!
Naples, Florida is one of the prettiest cities in the country. The beaches are fabulous and tropical breezes are punctuated with the lovely mingling of flowering plants and salt air.
I am a closet “Beachcomber” and have to get my fix every time I am near the water. This is pretty difficult living in Phoenix but I am fortunate to have trunk shows at several wonderful stores that have coastal locations. Typically my walks on the beaches of Naples do not yield much more than pretty shells but this time was a surprise. I couldn’t believe the wonderful and unusual pieces I found – coral, bits of sponge, driftwood – beautiful. I have no clue what it all is but I’ll include it with my stash.
To be able to spend 3 days in Naples doing a trunk show at Kathryn’s Collection in Old Town was a treat. The store is beautiful, the staff was wonderful and the customers generous in their purchases. This store brought back memories as it originally housed the first store I sold through in Naples. So, the location was familiar but the current store – Kathryn’s Collection - is different and lovely. For a store that was new to me, I was pleasantly surprised at the first time response of the customers. Probably half of the sales came from prior clients but it was fun to meet new and intresting women who respect my work. I enjoyed so much working with Desiree, Stephanie, Suzanne, Susan and of course Kathryn. They have fun, are engaging, and have great rapport with their customers.
While I was there I stayed at the Cove Inn- a landmark in Naples. Accommodations can sometimes be a little rustic but luckily I had a good room with a great view from my little first floor balcony. The restaurants were fun and warm and friendly with great fish at both the DOCK and BOAT HOUSE but for sure the most memorable meal I had was at the COFFEE SHOPPE. Breakfast was unbelievable with the most amazing crepe like pancakes, buttery scrambled eggs and bacon cooked to perfection. I can’t get back there soon enough - but, it was time to head up the coast.
December was an amazing press month for me. One of my jackets that is sold through Isadora Gallery in Sedona, AZ was featured on the cover of SEDONA MONTHLY. Unfortunately Cici Bianca was not mentioned but I understand people from all over the country called the store to inquire about it. Sounds like they are all arriving in March so I guess I had better order in materials!!!
December Issue Sedona Monthly
Next I’ll tell you about the article in the NY Times!!!
Blackeyed Peas Image Wikipedia
Happy, happy I am that we are in the year 20-10. Last year was tough. Did I accomplish much? I don’t think so. It wasn’t that I didn’t attempt things – it’s just that the outcomes were not what I wanted. My fault? Of course – I should have done better…
So what is on tap for this year? Well, I have done my goals for the year and although they are not anything I publically want to share I must say that almost all of them are business related and certainly pertain to the success of my company.
So here’s to:
And:
May this year be exciting, creative and profitable!!!
What has happened to the last six weeks??? My original intention was to post once a week… Obviously there was a hang-up somewhere. It all started with my wholesale show in New York for my Cici Bianca jackets. Preparing for this event is all consuming. I could not even begin to address the obstacles I was running into with Cici Bianca for Baby http://tinyurl.com/yhkvtf7 until I handled my primary business. www.cicibianca.com
The show was good – not fabulous, but good – a few new stores and a new rep and I did have a chance to visit baby stores in New York. I was really on a fact finding mission with the baby line. I probably hit 11 or 12 stores in the Lexington, 5th and Madison Ave areas. Mostly I was looking for stores that could handle my price point, were independent, and didn’t carry only one brand (theirs)… Tough mission. The purpose behind this was to hopefully find a rep in New York that was well respected and handled high end lines of baby and children’s clothing. Forget it… Certainly I worked with a very small sampling, but I did not receive one positive recommendation of any rep, in fact most stores said they dealt with the manufacturers directly.
Well fine… but, how do you get to those stores without an intro??? It is the same situation I run into with the Cici Bianca line for women. Unless a store discovers you, you don’t exist. It is a constant battle to get in front of the retailer/buyer, but a battle you fight again and again because you know you have something they can sell and a product their customers will love.