Sunday, January 3, 2010

new year's for nerds





i decided to immerse myself in the legal and business end of fashion over holiday break: i read three books: fashion law; the fashion designer survival guide; and how to start a home-based jewelry making business. the first book is very comprehensive and pretty technical--great for lawyers and fashion folks shopping for, or spending money on, lawyers (caveat emptor--read before you spend $500 an hour); it lays out the basic business structure and the legal issues faced by fashion design businesses in the creation, manufacturing and distribution of product, including considerations in the start up phase and overseas manufacturing. the survival guide is also a terrific resource written by mary gehlhar, the fashion division director of gen art, and i'd start here unless you're already very familiar with the fashion business in the united states. the third book, by marie loughran, about starting a home-based jewelry making business is really excellent--thorough and very readable.

all this was extra fun because i read these to and fro san francisco for the holidays, and in addition to the stunning physical landscape of northern california, it's ground zero for wonderful food and excellent vintage stores and fashion finds. first, skip the berkeley flea market (it's just scary and had fewer that 10 vendors of new-ish junk). head over to bill's trading post at 2945 college avenue instead; that's where i found the awesome 60s 0r 70's scandinavian enamel and silver ring (marked and signed, from finland) pictured above. also, the vintage and consignment stores on north main in walnut creek about 20-30 minutes from berkeley are worth the trip, including labels designer resale boutique which is wonderfully organized and chockful of well-priced, top of the line things old and new. and go to downtown san francisco at union square, for the first u.s. boutique for the parisian line, cop. copine. like paule ka who i can't get enough of (who doesn't love being continually stopped in the street to be told that you look stylish? happens everytime i where any pk item), the look is classic with detailed twists, very wearable and the boutique has a gorgeous, delicate but structured line of hand-made jewlery by another designer.

last but not least, try a new fruit. how about a delicious pomelo which is what a grapefruit should taste like if it had a conscience. it's not without tangy acid, but lacks bitterness and is much more predictably delicious by comparison. don't be put off by the gi-normous size; there's quite a bit of pith so it's not as big as it seems once peeled; besides isn't sharing yummy fruit with a friend the best? :0)

peace out, flatsie

ps my first fahion icon, my sister janine, and me in our pyjamas for our olan mills photo shoot

Share/Save/Bookmark