How to manage bad press

Over the weekend, the proverbial doo-doo hit the proverbial fan for one of our members. It's been a lousy weekend. The owner of a home sewing pattern company (let's call her Tammy) has accused our friend (let's call her Amy) of using her retail pattern to make her products. From what I know personally and from what can be determined from a cursory comparison of the two items via photos- there's no legitimacy to the claim. Tammy didn't even email, write or call Amy to say that she thought her patterns were infringed upon. She just posted the claim to her website with Amy's logo displayed; news of which has spread via consumer blogs and forums that specialize in this niche product.

Amy has worked tirelessly to become one of the leaders in her niche. She's well known, consumers love her products. The items are discussed endlessly in blogs and forums. As it happens, Tammy also sells ready made products made of her pattern. Her products aren't so successful; her reputation of poor fit and quality are cited as ongoing issues. Worse, she resides in California and she doesn't have a license. Ouch. One would think she would have tidied up that detail before creating a lot of publicity for herself. She thinks she doesn't need a license because she doesn't make "garments" (isn't underwear a garment?). Not that it matters, the state of California takes a dim view of manufacturer's self-serving interpretive semantics. In sum, Tammy's integrity is questionable with her history of only following rules or accepted standard practices that suit her.

Shrinkage? What shrinkage?

The reports of the incredible shrinking handbag have been grossly exaggerated as evidenced by the amazing roving lens of The New york Times' Bill Cunnigham. Once again, he has captured a great selection of New York women and their amazing handbags for his On The Street feature.

The big focus this week was on the ever growing and ever brightening selection of handbags. Doubtlessly, the Louis Vuitton Richard Prince duffel on the left and it's ilk was the most popular look. Other styles included the large L.A.M.B. tote (interesting how similar to the Louis Vuitton it is when they're side by side), and brightly dyed skins. You can view the entire gallery which includes Guccis, Balenciagas, and lots more LV, along with wonderful commentary by Bill Cuningham himself via a fabulous video slide show on the New york Times site.
But, obvious "IT' bags aside, the most amazing big bag in the set is this Yohji Yamamoto worn by a woman who has a truly singular and amazing sense of style (I see her in my neighborhood often, and she will also be familiar to anyone who regularly reads On The Street).

Most closely resembling a coin purse, this ginormous red fabric frame bag is the best tongue in cheek take on the over sized craze. I'm not even sure how you'd go about finding your wallet in there without a flashlight and one of those extended grabbers...of course, with a bag this size, you have room for both!

Tourmaline: The Stone with Mixed Colours

If I get any busier I'm going to have to clone myself! Nevertheless, I decided it was time to update the blog and try to get a few things on the website. Some time ago I bought quite a few tourmaline strands; some of them turned out to be very pretty. Pretty tourmaline can be difficult to find in bead form. How I wish I'd bought strands and strands of it when I was in India! But now I have to try to search and search like everyone else. I saw great tourmaline when I was in India; appropriate, since Sri Lanki gave tourmaline its name and (tur mali in Sinhalese) the Dutch East India Company (headquartered in Madras where I spent most of my time; Sri Lanka is right off the coast) brought tourmalines back to Europe. Nowadays, tourmaline comes from Brazil (deep blue-green paraiba tourmaline is prized), Namibia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Tourmaline is even found in the USA.

What I love about tourmalines is what they are known for - their many colours, even within a single crystal. One old legend has it that in coming up from the earth, the tourmaline somehow passed over an underground rainbow and absorbed its varied colours.
Many people are fond of pink tourmaline, and it has been accepted as an alternate birthstone for the month of October (usual birthstone is the opal). I like to use all the colours of tourmaline together in one piece of jewelry. This works for me because, first, it is rare to get enough perfect tourmaline in one colour for a piece of jewelry, and second, because I like the way the colours blend together. I particularly like clear olive, pink, and yellow tourmaline. And these three shades are wonderful together.The jewelry on this page is representative of the tourmalines I get: the top pair of tourmaline earrings illustrate the different colours of green and pink; the second pair, here in the last picture, show blends of pink although without the green that makes "watermelon" tourmaline - very popular recently. The tourmaline necklace above has colours of tourmalines ranging from black to watermelon to green to pink and all shades in between. Tourmaline jewelry is also very useful in the jewelry wardrobe since it can go with so many different clothes.


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The Shoes of the Pope

Manolo says, after all of the discussion about the Pope Benedict's magnificent red shoes, the Manolo has finally located the close-up photograph of these wonders, the product of the Roman cobbler Adriano Stefanelli.

The Manolo now takes this opportunity to remind you that cobbling is one of the most sanctified of all the manual arts.

Plaid Jumper From TopShop

Plaid, plaid, plaid. I love plaid. Through out my trip in Europe I have picked up no less than four items covered in plaid.

In Belfast I wandered into thrift shops and cheap trendy stores and found a plaid dress with a voluminous skirt, a thick plaid fitted button-down and a plaid vintage corset soon to be worn with jeans. I also purchased an overpriced plaid romper from TopShop in London.

To veer away from plaid for the moment, I was not impressed with TopShop. Quality is lacking in 80% of the merchandised but priced retarded high. $300 for a thin hounds tooth coat with buttons hanging off it? I think not.

Also, the Kate Moss section of the shop had very little to offer and the price point averaged 130 pounds ($260). Obscene I tell you. Mostly because it is supposed to be an inexpensive store. The only thing I saw there that was cheap were the seams.

On a positive note, there were a few cute pieces for sure and some of the leather jackets were quite lovely.

Back to plaid, I love it! The only warning I would say is no short girly plaid skirts: too outdated. If you want a plaid skirt, veer towards a high-waist pencil skirt. Chic!

Sarah Mann Jewelry

Jewelry Designer and Metalsmith

Sarah Mann is fascinated by the creative and technical challenges of transforming sterling silver into objects of adornment. She is proud to carry on a family tradition in the crafts, and pleased that this enables her to exercise her talent no matter where she lives. She creates clean straightforward designs that often incorporate kinetics.





'Astral' Sterling Silver Ring

A dreamy band of brushed sterling silver punctuated with otherworldly designs.

$130



Sarah was introduced to metalsmithing at the University of Wisconsin in her hometown of Milwaukee. She furthered her interest under the expert guidance of Heikki Seppa at Washington University in St. Louis, and the craftspeople at Fuji Studio in Florence.





Collapsible Ring

Brushed sterling silver ring with unique design. Movement and flexibility makes for a comfortable fit. Narrow ring has one bar instead of two.

$150



Sarah then lived in New Orleans, where she worked amid its thriving community of metalsmiths and honed her skills in preparation for a transition to New York City. The dynamic nature of the city inspired the strong form and kinetic design of her pieces.





Jester Cuff Links

Sterling silver cuff links with a patina enhanced surface texture.

$105



Sarah Mann has recently returned to her roots in the Midwest and continues her silversmithing there, creating bold yet elegant jewelry with unique surface treatments. The jewelry that she designs and handcrafts skillfully merges geometric and organic elements to create a style that is recognizably her own.



Mann realizes fully the broad potential of sterling silver. She crafts her jewelry with torch and tools - saws, files, pliers, nippers, drills, hammers, dapping blocks, and a rolling mill - then gives it with a range of hues through delicately controlled oxidation. The combined effect of patina on texture is a signature characteristic of all Sarah Mann jewelry.



Sarah introduces a new jewelry collection - earrings, necklaces, pins, bracelets, and rings - about every ten months. She carefully crafts each piece, and presents it as one of a limited edition. "Raw sterling silver cries out to me, begs me to convert it into bold jewelry with subtle finishes. Of course, I must obey."

See full article.





Related Entries:

Jewelry Career Resources - 08 August 2006

Native American Inlay Jewelry - 14 January 2008

Caroline Ballou Jewelry - 26 May 2008

Stephen LeBlanc Art Jewelry - 27 May 2008

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Aubade Opin Divin Thong

Sometimes in life, awareness can be triggered through a single event. For instance, you might be at a party with a girlfriend who explains the meaning of a word to you. You are enthralled because you've never heard this word before. Suddenly, however, you hear it three more times in the next week. Had you really never heard it before, or did you simply ignore it because it meant nothing to you?

We had a similar experience this week after our interview with Gina Huerta, the inventor of the Naughty Knot. Suddenly, ribbon-like lingerie seemed to be popping up all over the place.

It was probably Confucious or Socrates who said “When life throws you ribbons, make a thong Thursday post about it”.

So, that's what we did.

The Aubade Opin Divin thong looks enough like a “normal thong” from the front. It's actually quite pretty, featuring a semi-sheer floral pattern in stretch lace and scalloped edges. It's cut with a high leg design with a low rise waistband. Turn that baby around, though, and you've got a flirty little surprise. The rear of this thong resembles a violet ribbon that neatly packages your booty for whatever is in store. It provides minimal (as in almost zero) coverage but it's pretty impractical, since the ribbon on the back is likely to leave a conspicuous bump under all but the loosest of clothing.

All impracticalities aside, however, this thong sure is different and fun.