Bobbin Talk

Happy New 2012 Year!!

Have a glamorous, fabulous, lucky and happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a wonderful weekend to all of youl!!! Hope you have a relaxing time with friends and family!

Snap shots form Macys Holiday Wondows 2011!

Accessory Design Book Launch Party - Part II

Yeahp we are right in the midst of Hanukkah and almost at Christmas but somehow this week has just simply melted away, for me and disappeared in a haze of exhausted, sleeping-late-I-can-hardly-believe-this-year-is-almost-over. And also a "Phew, these last two, three months were quite stressful and harder than I originally thought! But Maaaan, did they just fly by!"

So instead of holiday recipes and seasonal greetings and wishes, which you can find on any other blog, I will just go right back to continuing the story of my party! It is that tie of year after all...

If you remember it was time to find a space for the party. I've heard plenty of: "Don't get a big space you can't fill up, because it doesn't look good, but  don't get a space too small, because it would be too crowded." So after agonizing for a couple of days and just generally freaking out about the ridiculous prices of everything in NYC I got an unbelievable break, when I talked to Simon Collins, the dean of fashion at Parsons The New School for Design. He was not only happy and pleased with the book, but graciously offered the 2nd floor auditorium in the Parsons fashion building at 40th St and Seventh Ave. If there is one thing you need to know about that space is that is huge and dreary looking, with no windows, BUT it is where they film the TV show Project Runway! That means high ceilings and professional lighting.

The space before and after!

So task number one was to make it come alive and represent all the creative forces that came together to publish this book. I thought it would be best to create an exhibition of accessories from designers featured in the book. And so I went off to one of the biggest challenges, finding pedestals that would highlight the work in the best possible way. What happened next truly surprised me! It turned out that nobody in the whole university has pedestals. Each department builds pedestals as needed and then demolishes and throws them away! After endless emails and phone calls I came up with a plan to build stackable pedestals that can be taken apart and stored for future use. Two vertical panes with a square top. The project got sponsored by the Art Media and Technology department and the finished pedestals were painted in black chalkboard paint for the bottom part and a high shine gloss for the top. The idea was to emulate the design sensibility and write the designer's names with chalk on each side of the pedestals. Here is the finished look!

Here are the finished pedestals!

And here are some of the featured accessories.

Bag and shoe by Frank Nathen


Shoe and monocle by Kristina Gress

Vegan shoes by olsen Haus


Hats by Frank Nathen

Bracelet by AImee Kestenberg

The Accessory Design Book Launch Party

Planning my book launch party was one of the most grueling projects I have ever done! I am very good at drawing and making things but organizing an event has never been on my horizon. I had less than a month to make everything happen and spent a few sleepless nights, going from panic to hysterical laughs with friends and helpers. We went through quite a few last minute changes but the final results were better than I could have ever imagined. So for the next few posts I'll walk you through the ups and downs of making it happen!

Here is a look into the accessory exhibition. Featured are handbags, shoes, hats and other accessories from designers featured in the book.

Aimee Kestenberg's Tammi Tales winning design for best use of Swarowski Crystalized elements.

The Accessory Design book is available at Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com and you can get a signed copy at my own website {here}.

Accessory Design Book Launch Party

The time has finally come to celebrate my Accessory Design book.

The book launch party is this coming Friday Dec 2, 7-10pm at Parsons The New School for Design. I am extremely excited to host the event in the space where the beloved Project Runway gets filmed. That gave me the amazing opportunity to curate an exhibition, highlighting accessory design talent and work ranging from established designers to recent fashion graduates from Parsons who contributed to the book. We are also building and displaying giant paper shoes and creating an interactive exhibit highlighting the making of hat. It will be an exciting evening and an opportunity to celebrate the wonderful works of accessories.

The book is published by Fairchild Books and is currently sold at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. To purchase a signed copy please visit AnetaGenova.com

If you'd like to attend the book launch party please RSVP at the following link:

tinyurl.com/accessoryparty

 

 

Glossy Box Feature

About a month ago I was asked to become a stylist adviser for a European shopping website called Glossy Box. What followed was a 3 day whirlwind of video and photoshoots and the final result is finally online at GlossyBox.de I am featured alongside the Italian photographer ... and the British ... The feature just went live today. You can see the collage of my favorite things {here} They certainly captured my love for bright colors and patterns. Most people assume that because I live in NYC I wear mostly black. I actually look for the opportunity to wear color and pattern any time I can and the last couple of seasons I have been very happy to see the bright palettes come to the runways in full force.

The written interview is in German, but the video is just subtitled so you can actually hear my voice. Here is the video with the interview on the website {here} and the youtube below:

Fashion's Night Out NYC

This FNO one felt a bit calmer than previous years! I did the round uptown from Henri Bendel, through Bergdorf Goodman and then up Madison Avenue.

Nenri Bendel had a surprising amount of stands with food, (none of it free which reduced the temptation greatly!)

One of my favorite windows was the sexy Agent Provocateur:

And this girl was probably the friendliest and had the most fun outfit!

Governors Island Jazz Age Lawn Party 2011

This is one of my favorite outside parties where people really take it to heart to dress up. Some people really put in a lot of effort into their costumes and use authentic 20's clothing and accessories. The Jazz Age Party is an annual event in the beginning of the summer held on Governors Island, just a short free ferry ride from Manhattan or Brooklyn. I sat for a while watching the people coming from the ferry. Lots of guys in cream or white pants with a vest and a bow-tie. It's so wonderful to see guys dressed up and enjoying it.

These girls might not have had the most authentic dresses but the yellow crochet cloche hat was wonderful.

On the lawn cars were another huge attraction! Who doesn't love a perfectly maintained shiny retro car. Lots of people were lining up to take a photo in front of them. 

And last but not least here is me {on the left} with my friend Julia. She's got the perfect shoes for this era, AND a long cigarette holder!

Photos by Aneta Genova and Alex Popov

Indepenedent Handbag Designer Awards 2011

Last night was the Fifth Annual Independent Handbag Awards event organized by Emily Blumenthal. There were 1,200 applicants from around the world, narrowed down to 40 finalists vying for the top awards in nine categories. See all the winners at HBD101.com

I, of course, had my own favorites that didn't always agree with the judges choices, so instead of showing you all the winners I'd rather show you my own favorites.

Hands down, apart from winning the Best Handbag in Overall Style & Design Fabiola Pedrazzini's bag (although too conservative for me) was really one of the most elegant, beautiful and truly functional bags.

My other favorite bag was Olivia Yoo Kyung Sohn's python/lamb skin bag, which won for best handmade handbag.

And of course Aimee Kestenbegr's python bag and cuff with gorgeous hardware! {which did not win, but should have!}

Now for the fun and ridiculous!

I completely agree with the Red-Carpet Ready winner, made by Clara Casavina and Micha Berger from Russia. It really is a sparkler, ready for the paparazzi!

And I totally disagree with the winner for Best Use of Swarovski elements, made by Lorna Nixon.

I think Angela Hao-CHun Yang should have won that one. The shape is incredible and the bag is significantly more tasteful!

Another bag in that category that didn't win but certainly deserves an award for being either the most fun {or the most ridiculous} is the banana adorned bag by Yanique Moore




All photos by Aneta Genova

Hear Me Roar

I never wear animal prints, but the one time I did, I noticed lots of fun variations around me! Here I'm posing with illustrator Steven Broadway at the Parsons thesis collection static show opening. How could you not love a touch of leopard with an LV monigram bag and a dangling cute puppy toy. Needless to say I wanted to steal his pink beads! {Notice the leopard skirt right behind Steven!}