Happy Summer!

It's the start of the Memorial Day weekend so I hope you've made plans to enjoy the holiday. We've sold a lot of our Brava Bib Necklaces, and I know it's styles like these that make girls look summery and super-chic! Another great choice is the crystal coin cascade earring, filled with sparkly crystals in so many colors. Our summer jewelry has been a hit with jewelry editors, appearing on TV, in the New York Daily News and lots of fashion magazines. People Style Watch is a must read, it is on newsstands right now, and there's a special promotion going on with them, so it's worth a look!

We're planning to go to the Douglaston-Little Neck Memorial Day parade, billed as the largest memorial day parade in the country! I know the president is skipping out on the traditional ceremonies and heading back to Chicago, but you can participate in the holiday and see this spectacle for yourself on Monday. We've got Mayor Bloomberg and city officials and soldiers and bands, and we'll even bring Chicklet, Lulu and Boomer! What more could you ask for.

Take a moment of your weekend and say a prayer of thanks for all those in our armed forces who give years of their lives, and sometimes make huge sacrifices to protect our country and the freedom we enjoy every single day. If it wasn't for our great military men and women we would not be safe and feee, especially with all these crazy things going on around the world.

And if you can't come to Queens to watch our parade, check out their website (link above) and consider a contribution to help this organization make it possible. I'll be there to cheer on the troops and thank any soldiers or sailors that pass by, you can be sure of that. Ciao!

Turn off the computer, go watch TV!

Make some coffee, and get ready for our spring spectacular HSN show. Conveniently scheduled for 4:00 AM eastern time, you west coast gals should see some great jewelry at prices that only HSN can do! Once these pieces are sold out, and we expect them to go quickly, the jewelry that insipired this collection is on our site http://www.robertachiarella.com/ , where the american made, swarovski crystallized elements and stunning CZ come out to play. So, no matter what your budget, we've got the goods!

Take a look at these beautiful earrings and necklaces, specially made from high quality stones and fittings, giving you the luxury and quality at this unbelievable price point. It's worth staying up to see your's truly on TV, but the items are available for purchase now, if you've got to get to bed.

So, you may have bought directly from us at the website, or at a retail store, and may be seeing if HSN is a good place to get our merchandise. Remember, they back the product, they accept returns, and they've bought in quantity so they can get the best price. Don't be afraid of the low prices, the quality and value and style are all roberta chiarella trademarks and are in there!

Don't take my word for it, see what the buyers said:

Anyway, the jewelry goes on tonight on HSN, if these pieces sell out, the original collection on which the HSN collection was based is always availbale on our website. Ciao!

Where's the FASHION, where's the STYLE?

It's right here in the big apple! When you're designing and producing jewelry, you've got to know who is wearing what, and there is no better way to see what is in style all around the world than to stroll the streets of Manhattan.

The city is never prettier than it is on a friday evening, the weather just right, and people are all in a relaxed mood. New York City is an amazing tourist destination, and it really inspires me. There's no need to journey to Paris or Berlin, just walk the streets that the tourists tend to visit. Want to see what's popular in Brazil- head over to "little brazil" on 46th street in Manhattan and see what the women of brazil are wearing right in your own back yard.
See my Greenwich Village Slideshow

I had to run some errands and decided to pick up some food for dinner. Yes, in a city with a million restaurants I do cook dinner at home, at least once in a while. In Greenwich Village, you'll find plenty of "old italian stores" that still make suasage in the back, and import cheese from Italy you can't get in a supermarket anywhere. I love Faicco's and remember when we had a latticini on our own block in Queens. This storefront might look familiar, it's been in lots of movies and TV shows, but I go for the sausage and the rice balls. On the way back, you can buy some pickles right on the sidewalk, now tell me where else you'll see this?

I took my little camera and had my iphone too, so I could snap discrete photos of women on the street who were wearing jewelry that I thought was interesting. It's so nice to see a group of french women on the street, waiting for their tour bus, and check out what they've got on. Of course, not everybody likes being photographed, so I have to be careful. The New Yorkers don't mind, and unlike the people in some foreign lands who ask for money after you've taken their picture, our people smile and pose for you!

Every now and then, I'll see an earring from robertachiarella.com, and that always is a treat! There was an elegant lady on the corner of Bleeker Street today who seemed to be wearing my Brava Bib Statement Necklace, but the traffic light changed and she disappeared before I could cross the street.

Then I saw this artist, and he was quite involved in his work to see me and my camera. He might be the last of the Greenwich Village street artists. When we were kids, there were summer weekends devoted to art festivals on these streets, with countless artists showing their stuff. My father, who was a painter and sculptor, would take us and walk the streets till we were exhausted.

He'd always buy a painting or two, and if it was an amateur artist, he'd put it on HIS easel when we got home and set about 'improving' the painting.  We've got a couple hanging on the walls to this day, dad was never satisfied with the improvements, and was constantly re-painting a shadow or the color of the sky on his acquisitions. They don't have these festivals any more, and it's too bad. I guess if they had one for digital pics I could enter the shots I've posted here, so tourists could take home a bit of Roberta's Manhattan. Ciao!

Jewelry Overboard!

Just my luck! Today was our day to visit our dear friends who live on Staten Island. It was a beautiful morning, but I was dressing in layers, cause the ferry ride across New York Harbor can be breezy and the water is still pretty cold this

time of year. Imagine my surprise when we heard the ferry had crashed
into the dock, and there were injuries too. I pictured myself swimming to shore, although they do have lifeboats and there were a million rescuers who were at the scene immediately.

And the jewelry! I was carrying some really nice gifts, who'd want them at the bottom of the sea?

Thankfully it wasn't a huge disaster. The Staten Island Ferry is one giant operation, and there are a number of boats, some seem like they can hold a couple of thousand people. There are a series of piers or docks on the New York side with a terminal, shops and waiting rooms that are brand new and a great place to take out-of-town visitors.

The free ferry ride passes right by the Statue of Liberty and you have a fantastic view of Manhattan, the harbor with all it's giant cargo ships coming and going, and you can see coney island on a nice day, too. So, by the time we got there, the unfortunate ship that had crashed was off to the side, and some other boats from their fleet gave us a safe, swift ride, complete with a perfect landing! I feel bad for those injured in this crash, thankfully they saw it coming and the crew made the people back up to the rear of the boat, which is gigantic and could absorb some of the force of the crash. Needless to say, we weren't riding in the front on our journey.

It's mother's day today, and to all you moms out there, enjoy your day! I know a few hundred of you will be opening up a nice package containing jewelry from robertachiarella.com, we shipped countless packages and as is our practice, hand write the gift notes and messages our customers want to send to their mothers. One of the most popular mother's day gifts was the medium Sarah, a great CZ earring that can be worn by anyone, it is so sparkly and hangs just right on your ear.

With our special promotion that we were running, customers could also get one of our new rc2 Trend Collection pieces for 30% off, and we sold plenty. I am so glad I ordered a lot of statement necklaces, ours is called the Brava Bib Necklace and has been well-received, with people ordering all 3 colors, turquoise, coral and jade.

The other rc2 Trend Collection neclkace we call Dolcetti, and boy is it sweet! It's available in fuschia and blue zircon, and comes with a bonus- matching earrings! We've priced this one low so you can get these as a set for $68. There's an introductory promotion going on at robertachiarella.com, see the site for your promo code and you can save $10. Buy yourself another couple of items and you'll get free shipping too!

If you like the luxurious CZ look, the petite Sarah, baby sister to the medium Sarah is $10 off this month. You can't go wrong with these jewels, just picture yourself cruising on the open water, safely tucked away at the back of the Staten Island Ferry, (near the lifeboats) with lots of people admiring your look. Ciao!