Behind the Scenes
« Previous EntriesThe Search for a Handbag Education
Monday, August 25th, 2008PSST, I have a not so secret, secret - I am a self-taught handbag designer. Lately I have been feeling like getting a bit of an education in accessory design. It is not that I am unhappy with my line, on the contrary I love my designs and esthetic, however it is always nice to give your creativity a bit of an electric charge. I have always found schooling to do that for me. Right now a 2 week intensive workshop would be ideal, 3 weeks would even be manageable. I just don’t have the time to commit to an MFA or MA program and moving to a city that offers a strong course of study isn’t an option right now.
While searching I realized that finding quality workshop courses conducted by an accredited staff is a little trickier than I would like it to be. Currently I have identified a London location - Prescott and Mackay - as a potential resource for furthering my design education.
Their programming seems strong and they have a teaching staff that has been educated in accessory design. Prescott and Mackay also offers courses in shoe design and millinery (a secret passion of mine). I am fairly excited about finding them and just had to share. Hopefully I can convince them to offer a few workshops stateside in San Francisco. I have had little to no success finding any intensive study workshops in the U.S. - may be you know of some?
POP, CANDY, ARCADE: Glamorama 2008
Friday, August 8th, 2008
Glamorama, Macy’s annual charity fashion event, will take place next Friday and yours truly will be in attendance! This will be my second “Glam”, and with the talent that is lined up, may even be better than last year. This year MC Hammer and Cindy Lauper will take the stage while Macy’s shows off a variety of designer fashions that comes straight from the NY runway. The show is spectacular and is a sensory experience, however the real fun happens after the show at the after party. I can’t wait to see what the events team has cooked up to entertain its guests this year.
With all of the fashion and frivolity a girl, being me, has got to find the right thing to wear. So I placed an order for this little number that I have been eyeballing for months, (it finally went on sale). The theme of the night is the 80’s and I think that this strikes just the right cord for me.
I haven’t decided on a shoe just yet; I may do a flat, black, patent leather thong sandal that has patent leather rosettes on it, or I may do a shoe like the one shown above. Then I will use a bag from my upcoming collection. You’ll have to wait for the sneak peak. For those of you that are hungry for some new styles you won’t be disappointed, below is a look at a few of the “Glam” clutch’s that I made to send out to some Twin City style editors. It always gets my creative juices flowing to develop new styles and “Glamorama” seemed like the perfect opportunity. The Glam clutch’s are special edition and not available for sale - just a little something fun to throw into the mix.
adventures in a NY heat wave…………
Saturday, July 19th, 2008Well, well where to begin - so much to tell. I have been in NY the last 5 days and one word describes it; HOT.
I start this post discussing the heat to set the tone for my adventures… On Thursday this week I threw myself at the mercy of the fabulous New York style editor - Town and Country and Lucky magazine were kind enough to give this little midwestern gal a bit of their time. Very exciting stuff - right? Well yes and no! Exciting because I was able to present my pieces to a few women that have seen it all, so the feedback is more than valuable - not so good because I was a “hot , sticky, mess” - and definitely was not able to represent my most fabulous self to these chic and stylish women.
My Lucky appointment was at 10 am and I was still holding myself together pretty well - though I have to admit I was a bit nervous. Suzanne Signer the Assistant editor I met with was a doll and very gracious - said my bags were cute and asked about different colors - all in all it was a good experience, for a first time NY desk side.
My next appointment was not until 3 pm so silly me decides to poke around the garment district searching for inspiration - wasn’t much there, but I did destroy myself in the heat and then proceeded to spill a sticky liquid all over my dress. YIKES! With little more than an hour to spare I hopped a cab up to 55th and 5th and zipped into ZARA to find something quick. ZARA was packed - but I did find a great dress that I could change into. By the time I had found a new outfit and changed it up, I only had 15 minutes to get to the Hearst building and there was not a free cab to be found. So me, my rolling suitcase, and 20 handbags hoofed it in 99 degrees across three long avenues. I made it to Town and Country just in the nick of time, but when I got there - OY! - I looked like a wreck. I still don’t know for sure what would be worse; 1) being late and looking at peace or 2) being on time and looking extremely disheveled. I chose 2 because to be late would just be insulting! I did learn one thing thought - stop trying to multi task it only makes a mess.
The editors there were kind and encouraging - I did not dish out the whole sticky scenario to them, other than mentioning that it was hot and that I had made the mistake of walking a few avenues instead of cabbing it. I had to say something to explain my current appearance.
Many more stories to come from My 2nd Nelle trip to NY - I will fill you all in on the trunk show at Bendel’s tomorrow. ( hint: it went pretty well). OH yeah, well I was out there I had 2 celeb sightings; Jennifer Hudson (on my plane) and who I believe to have been Zac Posen (at the Beatrice Inn). NY is oh so glam - what is a girl to do?
What’s on My Playlist
Monday, June 30th, 2008
Wilco. . . . . . . . . . . . Either way
Iggy Pop. . . . . . . . . . Punk Rocker
Dolly Parton. . . . . . . .9 to 5
Cat Power. . . . . . . . . The moon
Flashdance. . . . . . . . What a feeling
Halen and Oates. . . . . Rich Girl
Look for Nelle at Covet NYC
Sunday, June 29th, 2008Covet, a fantastic jewelry store in New York’s Greenwhich Village that exclusively represents the work of Alexa Garner Sidaris, is the latest retailer to carry my new collection. They have picked up a variety of my cherub clutches. I was lucky enough to get the chance to stop by a few weeks ago and fell head-over-heels for a few of the pieces in the store.
The pieces are just lovely and very well pried for the quality and design. Cameron and I have been taking the ring tour for a while now and I have seen so many beautiful pieces but this ring takes the cake! The ring that I saw in the store was a light blue saphire and just stunning.
I know it is not a diamond, I am not really sure that I want one but for those of you that do Covet has some fantastic diamond engagement ring options at the store in NYC.
Nelle’s NYC Moment
Friday, June 20th, 2008
Hi there! What an amazing week this has been for Nelle! From the 3-day trunk show at Henri Bendel to the Independent Handbag Designer Awards ceremony it has been a whirlwind and a truly memorable experience. I am happy to report that my trunk show at Bendel’s was a smashing success, with nearly all of my pieces selling out. Bendel’s has invited Nelle back for another trunk show in July and they are considering picking up the line for their holiday assortment. I am still a bit star-struck that my handbag line will be in Henri Bendel on a regular basis. What a dream☺
It was a very successful week for Nelle in the big apple, however I did not walk away with the award in my category, which went to Darren Wallace. The event was simple and fun, filled with industry professionals who were eager to show their support for the indie designers in the room. I got the chance to meet Judith Lieber and celebrated the weeks successes drinking wine and feasting on crème brulee’. The next morning, as I drank my decaf coffee, I caught a quick glimpse of my Perfectly Petersham clutch on the CBS Early Show. What a week!
Nelle is a Finalist! Independant Handbag Designer Awards
Monday, April 28th, 2008Imagine my surprise when I checked my voice mail this morning and discovered that my bag was selected as a top five finalist in the Handmade Handbag category of the 2008 Independent Handbag Design Awards. If my clutch wins its category my bag will be featured in a window display at Henri Bendel and I will be invited with the other 5 winners to hold a trunk show at the legendary department store. Every time I think about this my heart skips a beat, it has been a dream of mine to have my bags at the store - shriek! Breathe….
Above is the clutch that is up for the award, it is a part of my 2008 Nelle Day Collection which will be available on-line the second week of May. It is the only 100 percent fabric bag in the Handmade Handbag category, which is amazing!
Designer Inspiration
Thursday, April 17th, 2008This week I took 3 days off to spend some QT time with my business plan. I am 75% of the way through with it and have myself so excited about the future of Nelle!
While researching for the bp I looked up Alabama Chanin, the latest reincarnation of Natalie Chanin’s original Project Alabama business model. Project Alabama was a grassroots fashion label that had quite a bit of success in the industry. Until a year or so ago all of thier pieces were made by local seamstresses and artisans in Florrence Alabama. Natalie’s business partners decided that they wanted to expand the business and have started production in India, Nancy decided to jump ship and stick to the founding principles of Project Alabama - Keep it local. Click here for the full story on Alabama Chanin.
I have always planned to keep my production local if Nelle ever decides to expand on me. So it was thrilling to learn even more about how Chanin’s production model works and how the slow design movement is starting to gain more attention in the national media. Slow design is defined as; Design for manufacturing with local/regional materials and technologies or Design that supports local industries, workshops and craftspeople. Chanin proved that a company can be profitable while not falling victim to the bottom line and the temptress mass production.
Accessory and clothing design can be about so much more when you invest in your community. After learning more about the slow design movement and reading a bit more about Chanin’s success I feel that my plan to keep production of Nelle goods local can do three amazing things: Provide work to talented crafts people, keep production in the united states, and most importantly create beautiful pieces made by the loving hands of local talents that may have otherwise been unused.
