July 2008
Monthly Archive
Wednesday 30 Jul 2008
With that said…
Clarabella will be closing early tonight. I’ll be leaving at 7pm to head on over to the GenArt shops. It’s all in the name of new design and fashion people!! One of the snazzy designs I find tonight could be the next line up at Clarabella. I’ll keep you posted and might even have a few photos for you tomorrow;).
See you for normal hours tomorrow!!
To recap: Clarabella will close today, July 30, at 7pm.
Wednesday 30 Jul 2008
GenArt’s Shop NYC!!
I’m currently doing a serious on the Accessories Shows for my blog over at Wunderbloc and I thought I’d share this one with you all. If you catch this post in time, maybe I’ll even see you over there;). I’ll be the gal in the blue dotted dress (my latest Shopbop STEAL at 80% off!!!).————————————————————–
Okay readers, I’m skipping over the bigger shows and rolling right into one of my favorites: Shop NYC by GenArt. I have to do this because it’s the first show in a lineup of many and it also happens to be tonight. So… imagine this. You walk in to the Metropolitan Pavilion. The DJ beats are the first things you hear. You’re checked in at the front, given a map of the space, and greeted with a smile. You’re on your way. You move along to weave your way in and out of the tables, each adorned with some of the most beautiful jewelry, shoes, handbags, you name it, that you’ve seen. This is where you find the up-and-comers. Sure, there are designers that have been at the show for a few years running, but combine the mainstays with the newbies and you’ve got the best combination yet. These designers are making their own pieces, working with small productions, selling to only a few shops across the country and beyond. They are what’s next and ultimately are what I want. I’ve found countless amazing designers at this show. I currently carry at least 6 lines from GenArt and I feel like I might be overlooking one or two. This is quality.
What sets this gem of a show even further apart from many of the others is that it’s open to the shopping public (for a small fee, of course.) This is not typical of an accessories show, which is why this is a shop night more than a show. But for me, it’s still a show. Most accessories shows require you to place a minimum order if buying anything at a show. It must be for a shop and you must have registered with your Tax ID number. At GenArt, you buy what you want. If you’re a shop owner like me, you indulge from time to time, but more often take a moment at every booth, taking in the designs and taking cards. It’s a great opportunity to see new styles, hold them, try them on and envision a client’s reaction. You meet the designer, make an impression and if you want to move forward with a buy, touch base with the designer a few days after the show has closed. It’s worked incredibly well for me and has never been a stressful, unwelcome trip.
Clarabella’s GenArt lines: Tashkent by Cheyenne (discovered her at my first GenArt show!), Marcello Toshi Creazioni, Judith Haas, Andrea Brueckner, Rebecka Froberg, and now Cri de Coeur. You get fresh styles, cutting edge paired with super quality, and lots of great conversation.
I’m headed over there in an hour or so and will try to get a few photos to share with you all tomorrow. And, if you’re reading this now, wondering what to do with your night, hoof it over to the Metropolitan Pavilion on 18th between 6th and 7th. The show opens to the public at 6pm and goes all the way to 10pm. Trust me, it’s worth it!!
Friday 25 Jul 2008
Fixed!!!
Thanks so much to my Dad and my friend Chris for catching the unclosed instruction for on the site, which ended up being the cause of the mysterious bolds!! The problem was strangely at the end of the Joshu + Vela post. I went into the html editor and found the source of the problem and voila!! It’s fixed:)
Tuesday 22 Jul 2008
hmmmm….
I’m not entirely sure what’s happened with the page. It looks like everything has gone bold. previous posts, sidebars… all without any real reason and it’s driving me a little crazy. I’m going to try to fix it, but I really have no idea what happened! Please bear with me with all the bolds in the meantime. I’m not stressing everything;).
Monday 21 Jul 2008
Joshu + Vela
LISTEN UP MEN!!
It’s your host, Erin. I’m writing to give you an update and a more in depth introduction to JOSHU + VELA, a new line coming to Clarabella this Fall. I snuck a few words in about them in the bag section a ways back - check that out here. What does this have to do with you, you ask? This will be my first line of unisex bags. Yay! Bags for men. Man bags. These are gorgeous, well-crafted bags that you won’t have to hand in your ‘man-card’ to carry. (that’s for all my guy friends who would actually be concerned about the term man-bag)
Joshu + Vela is the creative result of the minds of Noah (Joshu) Guy and Bodhi (Vela) Cole. Let me tell you a little about them. Noah and Bodhi first met while working together on a wild goose adventure that took them from the city by way of the bay area to Hong Kong and then on to Bali. While working, dengue fever, a tropical mosquito-borne virus, infected their household. In the fevered delerium, the message came through, loud and clear: DO WHAT YOU LOVE! Life is too precious and short to do anything else. So they put their skills together to combine modern functionality with timeless styles. Joshu + Vela bags are made with the highest caliber materials, creating a tactile experience of canvas and leather. Featuring custom lining prints designed by Ian Lynam, custom hardware hand case by Indonesian craftspeople, and all natural plant-based dyes (a rare thing in our chem-saturated world). We’re so proud of this dignified marriage of top quality craftsmanship, ancient dye techniques, and current function.
Want a sneak peek into the process? Check out the blog that the two have been keeping from their current post in Bali - Joshu + Vela Blog.
Want to check out the bags? Have a look:
And yes fellas… I know that a few of the photos show women carrying the bags too. That just means that they are good for everyone.
Coming to Clarabella in August. I’ll keep you posted!
Friday 18 Jul 2008
Sneak Peek…
Fall isn’t quite here yet… in fact, with a string of 90+ degree days in NY, it may feel like it will never come. Lucky for us, the fashion world works on a different schedule. I have a few styles from the FW08 collections coming in August. See below for a sneak peek on 2 styles. Most of the rest will arrive late August. Get ready - Clarabella has some fantastic styles for you!
The Silvia - these heels have ‘Danger’ written all over them;). Just think of all of the mischief you could get into wearing these beauties. New York will never be the same!!
The Zebra - cute with a serious edge. Because every NY woman needs a stylish pair of flats to usher her around the streets of Manhattan. The gladiator for the Fall. Wear them one day with the snaps, one day without. So many choices;)
Both styles from the Farylrobin FW08 collection. Images courtesy of Farylrobin.
Wednesday 16 Jul 2008
Sample Sale Mania!
As I mentioned last week, Clarabella participated in her very first off-site sample sale. It was a big moment indeed. So big, in fact, that it had to be documented. Just like sending your little one off for her first day at school, I had to see my little shop off to her first day outside of her space in the big shopping world that is NYC. Secret Threads hosted the event which took place at a fantastic space on Mulberry St. called OpenHouse Gallery.
You might think that prep for a sample sale is a piece of cake. It should be I suppose. Maybe with clothes? Draw up a little stock list, put everything on your hangers, put it in a garment bag or box and head on out. (Actually, I have no idea if that’s how clothes work, but I’m just guessing…) With shoes, it’s a whole different story. You could go one of two ways: keep the shoes in their boxes, or cast the boxes aside and give the customers a little something extra with a muslin shoe bag. Clarabella, of course, opted for the latter. Going the classier route isn’t without issue… It still means creating tags, labeling said tags, tying the tags individually onto each bag which must contain one pair of shoes. All in all, I packed up about 98 pairs of shoes, so you can imagine how long that might take! (If you can’t imagine, imagine me working on making tags, doing the inventory list and stamping bags all day on Sunday/Monday/Tuesday then packing everything until roughly 12:30am on Wednesday and Thursday!!) It was worth it though. I think everything looked great! I’m thinking the shoppers liked it as well - I sold 31 pairs of shoes and 4 handbags! If you weren’t able to make it down, stay tuned for news of the next one. There were great deals to be had, and not just at Clarabella’s booth. I managed to snatch up some amazing pieces from Spring & Clifton and Laura Dawson! An added bonus for my shoppers? I now offer shoe bags in place of shoe boxes - you choose!
Anyway, it was a fantastic weekend - check out the photos:
Tags
Packing up…
Clarabella shoe bag
Pile of shoes
Partially packed and nearly ready to roll
More packed and unpacked shoes
Clarabella at the sale
This is what 98 pairs of shoes look like in a big pile… before being geniusly grouped into smaller piles by style (Thanks to Ms. Annie Choi!)
Setup with Honey in the Rough owner, Ashley Hanosh and Designer, Samantha Pleet
Shoppers at the Sample Sale
Sidewalk Marketing
Unpacking… ugh.
Checking the list…
And with all that, I couldn’t have done any of this without some fabulous people, so please bear with me while I take a moment to THANK…
Jason, Amy, Aviva, and Seva at Secret Threads for putting this whole shindig together and being all around lovely to work with!
Whitney at Openhouse Gallery for being a lovely location rep!
The legendary Annie Choi for helping me to pack up, lending me many bags in which to carry mountains of shoes, watching the store on Saturday, helping me to pack up on Saturday night! You, my dear, are truly my own personal hero and rockstar. Yay for you!
Mike B for meeting me early on Friday to lug said mountain of shoes from E. Houston and Clinton all the way over to Mulberry. Tons of happy shoppers thank you as well for if it weren’t for you, none of the shoes ever would have made it past the Clarabella threshold!
Melissa T for helping me to log all of the shoes back in, break down boxes and keeping me company on Sunday night! I miss you already!!
Ed for lending me his gigantic rolling travel bag. Dang that thing is big. I think I might be able to fit Annie in there!
Ashley at Honey in the Rough for telling me about this opportunity in the first place.
Whew… I feel like I just accepted an award. Cue music… I’m out;).
Thursday 10 Jul 2008
Secret Threads Sample Sale
Get ready shoppers:) Tomorrow marks day 1 of a sample sale you definitely don’t want to miss. A collection of designers and shops have been brought together by new website, Secret Threads. Samantha Pleet, Laura Dawson, Madison Harding, Vanessa Barrantes, Sophomore, Verte, Honey in the Rough, and of course lil’ ol’ Clarabella will all be setting up weekend shop at OPENHOUSE Gallery at 201 Mulberry. Merchandise will be heavily discounted - sometimes hitting up to 80% off! There will be a DJ, and open bar, and loads of cool gals to hang out with and talk fashion. I’ve been packing up more shoes than I even know what to do with. Everything is nearly tagged and ready to go. I hope to see you there!! To learn more and RSVP online click here.
AND…. We got a Daily Candy listing today!! I’m not on the listing, but when you click through to the website, I’m there.
Sunday 06 Jul 2008
Barbara Probst on The Morning News
The Morning News is a great news website co-founded by another Colby grad, Rosecrans Baldwin. He used to be a Brooklyn guy, but I understand that he and his wife relocated to France. He’s got a fantastic team of writers for the online pub, covering current news, local stories, artwork, people of interest, mock stories and even the odd mad-lib type story. It’s a good read and one of my distractions here at the shop. A quick look today drew me into their most recent Gallery feature with an interview by Nicole Pasulka, one of TMN’s associate editor. The feature focuses on the photography of Barbara Probst. Different perspectives on a split second… I wanted to share it with you all as I found it to be particularly fascinating. Check it out.
Photos © Barbara Probst, courtesy Murray Guy, New York, all rights reserved. Taken from The Morning News article by Nicole Pasulka. Go read it!!
Thursday 03 Jul 2008
Happy Holiday Weekend!! (Holiday Closure)
Happy 4th everyone;). Or at least to everyone who hasn’t yet left the city on some exciting weekend trip - those that are still left at their jobs, reading my little website! Most of my friends have fled the city for the weekend. A few are out in LA for a wedding, a few have gone out to the Hamptons, one is off to Rhode Island, and maybe a few are headed down to PA. It’s left my friend Sanno and I with the big question… what to do for our big day off?? I’m turning to a recent issue of New York Magazine - check this out. I’m leaning toward Sandy Hook, but some sort of kayaking could be fun as well. Whatever we end up with, all you need to know, dear readers, is that Clarabella will be closed tomorrow, July 4, for the holiday. She’ll be open again on Saturday and Sunday, so if you’re still in town and having a lazy weekend to recover from your wild holiday plans, come on in to see me;).
Enjoy and Happy 4th of July!!
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