Since 1882

It's Labor Day on Monday. Please take a minute out of your weekend celebrations to reflect on the meaning of this holiday. Labor day originated in 1882, as a "day off for working citizens". Although many of us work on this day, I support the idea of really celebrating the meaning of this holiday. Today, Labor Day unofficially signifies the 'end' of summer; but years ago, it had a different meaning. The day was occupied with speechmaking and parades that showed the strength and spirit of the trade and labor unions.
In this country, especially these days, the strength and spirit of our workers deserves to be celebrated more than ever. When it comes to work, I have always tried to practice what I preach, and that's why my jewelry collection is designed in NYC and manufactured in Rhode Island. Between my design studio and the workers at our jewelry factory, you will meet people of nearly every race, religion, and ethnic group, and we're all glad we are part of the American work force. We are all very happy that our customers like our products and are supporting not just my business, but American manufacturing and labor. At our company, we are all proud of the fact that we are doing our part to keep America strong, with the nicest earrings and necklaces we can make!!! I went to the US Open yesterday, to see American tennis star Venus Williams win her match. There were, in addition to great tennis, lots of flags and people from all over enjoying a beautiful day at Flushing Meadows Park. The festivities were a great way to kick off the Labor Day weekend. Enjoy yours!

you've come a long way, baby

I'm on vacation this week, out on the east end of Long Island. While poking around my trusty old laptop I came across this image from the crafts museum, of my collection from many, many years ago. Back then, resin plastic was all the rage, and each swarovski crystal was wrapped by hand with the strands, in near boiling water to make the plastic soft and pliable. Every time I see this picture I remember how that hot water burned and burned !! I'll have some more things to share when I return to NY next week. ciao.

Fred Astaire would approve

I went down to Union Square the other day, it is a great New York City space- there's so much going on all day and night. There is a green market, where you can get fresh fruits and veggies directly from the farmers who grow them upstate. This time of year, it is so nice to have this much fresh food at your fingertips. The park is filled with people, and you'll see lots of people of all ages enjoying the sun and lying on the grass.

There's a dog run where new york's cutest pups run around having fun. I always stop in Barnes & Noble, this one is huge, and always filled with people. I like to look at the books and magazines, and the people reading them. Well, to my delight, there were my earrings, the Daddy Long Legs, featured on the cover of Bridal Guide. It was fun working with the magazine for this photo shoot, they want the newest designs and of course, the jewelry has to work with the wedding gowns they are featuring. Women choose wedding gowns to flatter their figures, balancing your body's proportions so you look just right on your wedding day. For the gowns they were featuring, I had Fred Astaire in mind.

The vision I saw for this photo shoot came from a great 1955 musical comedy film set in France and New York City. Starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron, they have a dance scene that shows us that wonderful 50's style and elegance that is coming back into fashion. It's one of my favorites, and so when I was designing the earrings I named them Daddy Long Legs in honor of that movie. Don't you think it would look as good on Leslie Caron as it does on the beautiful bride on the cover of this magazine? I often consult with bridal parties, we try to get a coordinated look for all the people in the group, and these cubic zirconia earrings are always one of the designs chosen most often by brides-to-be.

After picking up a couple of magazines, I wander around the park, and make notes, sometimes sketches of the fashionable people you can see on every street corner of Manhattan. I check out the students and the businesswomen to see what everyone is wearing, trying to spot the looks that I like and can compliment with jewelry. I think Fred Astaire would have approved if Ms Caron had been wearing my earrings in this movie. It is reported this film was one of his favorites, he liked the script which addressed the complications resulting from a love affair between a young woman and a man thirty years her senior.
That was a bit much for 50's sensibilities, but they sure dressed well !! If you have a wedding in your future, or just want to see some of this elegance, pick up a copy of Bridal Guide. If you're in New York, read it in a public park like union square (between Park Avenue South and Broadway at 14th Street) and let your imagination run wild.

Happy Holidays! Market week draws to a close. . .

New York Accessories Market week has come to a close. This week fashion editors and store buyers converged on New York City to attend all the shows to find the items that will define our “holiday 2008” retail experience. I though it would be fun to share the process, what happens during this week and the next steps involved. Designers and fashion houses work in the future; today the 2008 holiday season has come to a close for me. It is just starting now for the fashion editors. They spent this week running all over town, from show to show to showroom, reviewing all the “holiday” merchandise on display. They will note their favorites, and the designs and colors they are interested in. Once they get back to their offices they will “call in” samples from the designers whose work they want to feature. Once the samples are in their hands, they will plan their layouts for articles featuring the holiday merchandise. Then, it’s time for the art directors and photographers to get involved; to plan photo shoots that will feature the looks they think will be hot for the holidays.

Time is short; most magazines need a couple of months lead time for their holiday issues. Because the shoots will happen pretty soon, if you look carefully, the autumn leaves and snow on the ground for these holiday stories and ads are fake!! What we see in the fall and winter issues of our favorite fashion magazines is generally shot out of season. Thankfully, for earrings, jewelry and accessories, close-ups can be shot so as not to require too many wintry props.

Fashion journalists and editors will also work with the designers when the features are being planned. They will call me and ask for the specific items they viewed at market. The editors are knowledgeable and skilled at putting all of the pieces together from different shows and different designer showrooms to create the look that gets us running to the stores or websites to check out what will be the “look” for the holidays. The best editors are unbelievably skilled at this stuff, they can see the finished pages in their head before the photo is taken or a sketch is drawn.
It's amazing how it all comes together.

I shot the above picture of a merchandise pull based on a request from an editor of a major magazine -the fashion will be influenced by the runway shows from Gucci. I keep a library of finished pieces in our showroom. The items are carefully filed by style, sizes and colors. Most items going out for editorial review and maybe to a photo shoot will be modified to meet the editor’s specifications. Then, I will send the samples over and the styling and shooting begins.

It won’t be till 4 months later and many hours of hard work
that the photos will appear in a magazine. It is this exciting process that keeps me going, from one season to the next. Now, in the middle of summer, we’ve just finished with next winters fashion! Next steps: the spring line for 2009. I’m off to figure out the colors, choose the crystals and start sketching the looks that will be made into prototypes for next spring’s jewelry. I’ll keep you posted and I welcome comments and feedback.

100 years

Is it really 100 years already? Last night the Accessories Council held an event to commemorate “100 years of Accessories Magazine”. I took their word for it that the concept of accessories even existed way back then. But it was a fantastic affair, with a great crowd. There are so many amazing places to have a party in New York City, this event was at a great new place called espace. The place is all the way down 42nd street, almost to the Hudson River, and it was packed with people from all over.

This is market week in New York, a time when the city fills with buyers and people who follow what the buyers are buying. It's time to order merchandise that will define what will be the 2008 “holiday” items you’ll see in stores in a couple of months.
This upcoming holiday season will feature some beautiful dark colors, there will be lots of rich dark browns, grays and deep topaz. Designs will be more intricate and complicated for the holiday season, and we’ve got some great Swarovski crystals in the hot holiday colors on display.

Hosted by the Accessories Council, (a national advocacy organization) there were representatives from the world's biggest brand names, retailers and associated providers for the eyewear and footwear industries. Heidi Bentsen from Swarovski was there, and we were both in black (as usual !!). I like to go to meet people, check out the trends, see what everyone is wearing and what they think the buyers will be buying this week. Hopefully everyone will like the chandelier earrings in the soon-to-be-hot rich dark brown and deep topaz. I included a pic of one below. It’s amazing that what is on display now will be in a store window as a ‘must-have’ Christmas gift in about 3 months.

we're back from florida

what a great trip!!!!
i am thrilled after my shows at HSN-every thing was perfect.
The entire week at HSN was a designer showcase, and to be in the same studio as so many designer idols was unbelievable.

I met some up-and-coming designers bringing their collections to you for the first time, and some fashion icons who have been at it far longer than me.
The whole experience was exciting . It was cool to chat with the other artists and designers , we're all trying to figure out what will be hot next season . Of course , I checked out everyone else's stuff ( I am sure the other designers checked out what I brought to HSN as well ) to look for new ideas and maybe pick up on a trend . Then we watched each other's segments from the famous 'green room' . With any luck, they will invite me back to show some more items.

If you missed any of the shows, they have a cool little ‘video’ icon next to the jewelry pieces on the HSN website, you can see me presenting each piece . Of course, there is a lot more jewelry to see over at robertachiarella.com . I came home to a steamy new york city - - it’s one of those days where the heat and humidity are both around 90.

When it’s hot and humid like this you want to stay close to home, so we had dinner at a great little Italian restaurant with an outdoor café on the upper east side of manhattan. There's something magical about a new york sidewalk cafe, and the food here is great.
This place has a great jazz band, nice music, some wonderful white wine, and a fun crowd. It was perfect for a little welcome home celebration. Who could ask for anything more?