LupRocks Gossip

When it Rains, It Pours....

I'm just going to put it out there and say, this has not been a very easy month for me.  Okay, it's not been a very easy year so far.  Like everyone else, the economy has affected me, not in the "oh my God, I have to move into my mother's basement but she lives in an apartment and doesn't even have a basement!!" kind of way, but in that everything just seems so much more difficult all the time.  It doesn't help that some people, who shall remain nameless, don't seem to feel obliged by legally binding contracts which has put us in a bit of financial turmoil, not to mention April 15 hit us hard and I'm still trying to catch my breath from writing that...gulp....giant check.  On top of it, I've been hit with a romantic trial here and there, some really sad friend problems, and some mild to extremely annoying physical issues. 

But what am I gonna do about it???

While I might want to spend many mornings cowered under my covers, I really don't have that option, do I?  And besides that, experience has taught me that there is a damn good reason that when it rains it pours.  The reason is that if I continue to dwell on every little thing that goes wrong, even more sh!t is gonna go wrong.  Without fail. 

I reported here that I recently got back from a trip to Las Vegas.  So there I was; I hadn't seen real air in several days, hadn't eaten a vegetable in at least as many days, was working on an average of 4 hours of sleep a night, with several nights to go and loads of pressure to make new connections, nurture existing connections and drum up new business, I hadn't read a sentence of a book, talked to my family, worked out, or spent more than 10 minutes alone, I was missing one of the biggest Orman weddings of the century where my entire family was having a blast that they'll be discussing for the rest of my life, and frankly, my entire world felt like it was crumbling around me.  Any chance I got, I was sneaking off for a moment to cry before applying more black eye-liner and carrying on with a big smile plastered across my face.  Then I got a call from my doctor telling me I needed more tests to establish if I had a serious problem, or merely an annoying one.          

It was then that I realized...I'd been tuned into this self-pitying misery channel for far too long.  It took me a couple of hours--hours that I had to force myself to give to myself--to work my way out of this mood, off of this channel, and tune into something else.  I realized that while I desperately missed my family and vegetables and exercise and books and sleep and AIR, they would all be there waiting for me when I got back to planet earth.  And so would my problems.  In the meantime, I have a solid family that loves me unconditionally, great friendships, while possibly struggling, a thriving business with a great reputation worth fighting for, and most of all, a healthy intellect, a great sense of humor and my old reliable feistiness.  Sitting in my room (or the ballroom bathroom) crying wasn't doing me any good.  At all.  And dwelling on my problems while I was just so tired wasn't going to solve anything.

So I decided to change the channel, count my blessings, try to recognize my moments of grace, make a call to a sibling and let him/her tell me about his/her issues or tell me a joke rather than venting about the minutia of my daily existence, spend as much time as possible with people I genuinely like, and, well, hit it big at the blackjack table.  And guess what!  I ended up having a really, honest-to-God good time.

So, my dear friend Masuo, when I say "change your mindset" and you respond "Bahhh!  Change your mindset!  What the hell is THAT supposed to mean!  You can't just change your mindset!!!"  Know, in fact, that you can.     

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!

Every year for the past, well, 100 or so, I've been going to Las Vegas for the jewelry shows.  Rather than gauge my life by my birthday or the number of nieces and nephews I've been blessed with or the guys I've dated, I gauge my life by my annual pilgrimage to Sin City.  The economy goes up, it goes down, the players move from company to company, my wardrobe improves or gets worse, I work for someone else, I work for myself, we represent different clients, we have different tasks we have to fulfill....change is inevitable, but no matter what goes on in the rest of the world, some things about Vegas never change, including the pre-show stress! 

Ah, yes, the pre-show stress is as reliable as the hopped-up, diamond charged energy one feels when entering the JCK Show, it's as reliable as the smell of cigarette smoke and Wayne Newton's calogne in the air, it's as reliable as the intense desire to miss morning meetings because last night's "meeting" went a bit long (on the dance floor that is!), it's as reliable as a steady diet of passed hors d'ouevres and late-night spinach dip from the Grand Lux, it's as reliable as the house always winning.  It manifests itself in the way of snappish attitudes, short tempers, frantic jewelers calling requesting a last minute press release, clients giving no direction and expecting you to read their minds (fair enough!) and, of course, lots of "I have nothing to weaaaaaar!"

So what do we have on-deck for our Las Vegas adventure this year?  Well, we're giving guided press tours at the JCK Show to help media navigate their way through that wonderfully overwhelming place, we're working with the fabulous designer Lori Bonn promoting her collection (and we can't wait to see any new goodies she'll be bringing with her!), we're helping with the launch of a new, gorgeous collection of watches, we'll be tweeting away from the show floor, we're pulling jewelry for several upcoming celebrity appearances and shows, and of course, we've got lots of dinners, cocktail parties, and festivies planned that will help us spend some time with our many friends and colleagues and hopefully figure out ways that we can all work together. 

So, can I get a VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!!!

Lynn Furge's Trip to Oro Miami

No, I didn't whisk down to Miami last week to attend Oro Miami, the Fine Italian Jewelry exhibition.  Rather, I've been here in New York freezing my tale off while the ever-fabulous Lynn Furge, Editor-in-Chief of Métier Magazine and Creative Director of LupRocks.com partner Nolcha Network, rubbed elbows with the beautiful (and warm) people!  At least she brougth us back the below post: 

Oro Miami

Things Italians know how to do: add luxurious elements to any tangible object, design and throw a party.

All three came together during OROMIAMI the first edition trade event featuring high-end Italian jewelry.

With prosecco flowing, nineteen designers showcased their pieces in a runway show on Monday evening at the Ritz Carlton South Beach.  I attended thinking (just for mere curiosity) how a “jewelry runway show” would successfully take place.  How would the attendees see the jewels? What would stand out if models were breezing by so rapidly that an even a trained eye couldn’t guess the stones, techniques etc. 

But then as if Donatella herself whispered in my ear “Amora… it’s easy, we’re Italian” my worries were put at bay.  The first piece trotted down the runway and even from 15 feet away you could not miss the diamonds, bezel set and draped in a vine pattern.

Okay… now I got it.  I was dealing with Italians and nothing in Italy is left undone.

Prosecco still in hand (they re-fill…its lovely) I took my job of looking for the next cross over star seriously.  Do Americans still do matching sets? Is there ever such a thing as enough diamonds? I am used to minimalism.  I have grown to appreciate one diamond strung across one cord, therefore the strobe effect as each piece passed was over-whelming.

And then it turned the corner.  Compliments of Andreoli Gioielli, a lovely chandelier earring (the kind you would see on any star at any red carpet) with a mix of amethyst, citrine and aquamarine so lovely I started to check my bank account on-line.

Some super hip snakes followed in bracelet form by Aurea Venus, which is the hottest thing out there right now.  Trust me, I’ve seen them on Cameron and she knows.

And then for the men (because Italians invented metro-sexual even before that was a thing) there is Paparazzi Firenze.  The cufflinks are carved like butter with absolute precision and the cross is a sentiment, not a statement.  Only something true artisans from Florence could create.

Go Green!

I had the privilege a few years back to attend one of The Doneger Group's trend forecasting sessions and I've been a big fan of its creative director, David Wolfe, ever since.  Not only is David an engaging speaker, he also tends to be spot on with his predictions in both fashion and culture.  Today's WWD gave a brief review of some of David's predictions for Spring 2010. 

Primarily, he sited our new First Family as embodying the "colorful, pulled-together, classic dressing" that we'll be seeing in Spring of 2010, and noted "Spring 2010 will be the light at the end of the runway, when fashion comes to terms with our new reality."  Gone are the days of conspicuous consumption, meaning online shopping will be de rigueur as we take our shopping in the closet.  He also noted that the idea of flash in the pan "trends" in general will fade out, replaced instead with updating and replenishing our existing wardrobes, and re-embracing those trends like nautical, dress-for-success and Americana that aren't really trends at all.  The only exception to this "no new trends" rule is the green movement, not only as environmentally friendly but also in "floral prints, the color green, wood accessories and skins that evoke nature. 

Lucky for us, if you type "green" or "sustainable" into the LupRocks.com search bar, several designers come up.  Among them, some of our favorite designers, like Envirosax (everyone at Lup HQ is obsessed with these!), Lori Bonn (socially and environmentally responsible jewelry), and iWood Ecodesign Sunglasses. 

All of the designers who come up under the green category of our site are so fabulous and fun, one almost forgets she's "doing the right thing" in rocking them! 

Sentimentality is the Way

My entire day has been colored by my incessant "coverage" of the inaugural events last night (from the comfort of my couch, of course), and the overwhelming emotions yesterday mustered up.  I feel like Beyonce backstage at the Neighborhood Ball, ready to burst into tears at any second, which is why it's especially appropriate to report on one of the biggest trends we saw at the JANY Winter Show this past Sunday through Tuesday--sentimental jewelry.  While it's true that traffic was down overall, those designers that specialize in jewelry "with meaning" were slammed with business the entire three days.  Now I know that diamonds have long been considered gifts of love and therefore have inherent sentimentality, but I'm talking about more blatant displays of affection, like personalized charms from LupRocks.com designer Heather Moore Jewelry, or bespoke lockets from Monica Rich Kosann. 

It seems that if people feel like they're buying something for purposes other than adornment, they will feel less guilty about spending the money they still have.  Maybe this is a good message to send your customers?  It's not just a silk scarf, it's reminecent of the silk scarves your grandmother used to wear!  It's not just a handbag, its color identifies your political affliation....okay, I'm reaching here, but you get the idea. 

Now I have to go wipe my eyes, I just thought about yesterday again....

Lazare Kaplan Featured in JQ Magazine

LupRocks.com designer Lazare Kaplan is the innovator of ideal cut diamonds; jewelry designer Michael Bondanza is the Prince of Platinum.  They've joined forces to create an amazing bridal collection called "Simply Lazare" and one of our favorite writers, Ms. Lorraine DePasque wrote about it in this month's issue of JQ Magazine.  Congratulations Lazare Kaplan International Inc!

Russia's Rising Jewelry Czars

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been immersed in the Russian jewelry scene because I’m writing a story about Russian jewelers for the International Herald Tribune’s Dec. 13th watch and jewelry section. It’s a subject close to my heart: I was born in St. Petersburg and emigrated to the United States in 1978, when my parents decided to join the exodus of Jews seeking asylum in the West. Like most Soviet citizens, we didn’t have any jewelry — there simply wasn’t any to buy. So when I returned to Russia in 2004 to attend a month-long writing program in my hometown, and simultaneously research a series of articles about the Russian diamond trade, it came as something of a surprise to learn that Russia lays claim to one of the world’s most important jewelry traditions.

I suppose I could have named Peter Carl Fabergé, the master jeweler from St. Petersburg who created all those imperial eggs for the czars before the Bolsheviks stormed the country in 1917. But beyond some foggy notion of his contribution to Russia’s storied past, I had no idea that what I remembered as the grim and gray Soviet Union had once been home to such opulence. Then I went to the Hermitage.

(Truth be told, I’d already been to the grand museum, a complex of six buildings including the former residence of the czars, though I’d gotten no further than the front entrance. It was the 2004 summer solstice, the shortest and whitest night of them all, and Paul McCartney was playing a concert in Palace Square. With the sun blazing at 9 pm, I danced to old Beatles songs with two drunk Russian men who couldn’t seem to get past the fact that I was an Amerikanka. All I really remembered of the night was Sir Paul singing “Back in the U.S.S. R.” and the surreal lavender light reflecting off the windows of the Winter Palace.)

When I finally visited the museum’s stately jewelry galleries a couple weeks later with my friend Alexei Davidov, then a marketing director for Kristall Smolensk, Russia’s largest diamond manufacturer, the riches on display gave me a jolt of national pride (the Russians do it better!).

In this day and age, when the news is (or was) filled with stories about Russians oligarchs casually plunking down millions of dollars for gaudy diamond-encrusted status symbols, the incredible legacy of Fabergé and his contemporaries seems to have been forgotten by the West.

Now a cohort of talented jewelers is trying to change that. The first firm that comes to mind is Moscow’s Jewellery Theatre, founded 10 years ago by Irina Dorofeeva and Maxim Voznesensky. As exhibitors at the Baselworld luxury fair, they’re known to international buyers for their avant-garde jewels, which have the magical charm of a fairy tale. The Atlantika earrings shown below, for example, wouldn’t look out of place on the chiseled profile of an ice princess.

Further south, in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, Lobortas & Karpova has perfected the art of enameling that was brought to ancient Rus from Byzantium, while in central Russia’s Kostroma region, considered the cradle of the Russian jewelry industry, operate companies like Platina, representing the vanguard of Russian jewelry manufacturing.

Which is to say nothing of the Russian jewelry diaspora, and the scores of émigré jewelers (I'm a fan of Belarus-born, Brooklyn-based Lena Sklyut) who’ve brought a uniquely Slavic style to their adopted communities. So while India, France and other countries with a more explicit connection to jewelry than Russia get all the attention, don’t count out the Russkies. The same sensibilities that inspired their soulful contributions to world literature, music and art are alive and well in the jewelry sphere. The West may think of them as far-out, but in Russia, they're simply considered "klassnaya."

Daniela Swaebe in DailyCandy

I don't know of a single fashionable female that doesn't tune in daily to DailyCandy.com.  It is handily delivered, free of charge, to fashionista's email boxes every morning, and offers tips on fashion, restaurants, spa services, sample sales and, yes, jewelry.  It is because of the huge popularity of this site that I was so excited to see  Daniela Swaebe featured in today's Miami version.   One of LupRocks.com's first members and a dear, dear friend of those of us at Lup HQ, Daniela is the embodiment of hot, Miami style and her glam-intense line of fine jewelry is so worthy of this coveted nod from the fashion elite.  Congratulations Daniela! 
 

Designer Success Spotlight

Jessica Kagan Cushman on "Ugly Betty"

We just love it when something we've already embraced as the hottest new trend is seen on one of the hottest shows on television!  I mean, I knew that my "Romeo, Romeo, Wherefore Art Thou, Romeo?" and my "No Wire Hangers! EVER!" bracelet by Jessica Cushman was a huge hit, getting compliments everywhere I go, and the "Martini, Shaken Not Stirred" bracelet that I gave to my very important editor friend has been worshiped by all of the other fashion editors she hangs out with, but to see "Amanda" from Ugly Betty, a veritable icon of "what's hot" rock the look just fills us with a little flutter of self-love....

Look for Jessica Kagan Cushman on LupRocks.com.