But It Feels Like It Should Last Forever

This summer I pulled out of storage everything I had packed up from my Scottsdale condo . All the memories of living with Kelly and Jason, the UKAZU parties, studying for the LSATS, and then the nostalgic items that go back even further -- things that go back to childhood days. Then I flew back to Manhattan to clean up my West Village apartment. Four years of living with Brian and Michael, Parsons, the fashion industry, New York City.

I felt like I was cleaning house on old memories -- the good, the bad and the ugly!

It was erie going through my stuff from two very different periods of life within such a short span of each other. It was like rewinding over two different movies at the same time.

I had not been in my Manhattan apartment since June of this summer and when I walked in I was completely overwhelmed! I thought it shouldn't take me more than a day and half to pack up -- come on it's NYC, our place wasn't that big. Ohhh, was I ever wrong. Tackling JUST my room was a nightmare! I had saved every school project, every note ever written to me, and my shoe collection is a bit out of control. I had shoes under my bed, in my closet, in our linen closet, and a long the side of my wall!

But beyond just organizing all my items, I was packing up four years of a fabulous adventure in New York City and unpacking 30 years of a lifetime in Arizona. I had my mother's Lenox China, my dad's old architectural drawings, barbie dolls, old school pictures. Talk about a bit of an emotional roller coaster.

I have had the itch to leave New York for a while, and being back didn't make me change my mind, like all the times in the past. However, it was weird to sink right back into the Manhattan way of life for at least a week. Brian was working from home all week, so I would pack, then we would go and grab lunch at all our old spots and it felt like old times and nothing had changed at all. I definitely got choked up as I hailed a cab and took off for JFK. I do miss our roommate banter and laughing at all of Brian's insane quotes, and having to watch him model outfit after outfit just to go downstairs to get coffee.

As I said goodbye to New York friends and re-connected with Arizona friends, I realized that nothing lasts forever, we are here but for a fleeting moment. Everything passes within a blink of an eye. So enjoy the ride, tomorrow could bring something totally different and new....

iTunes Junkie

I have documented my playlists before, but I have downloaded so much music the past two days, I decided to list it again...it's "iced-coffee" for my ears :-)

LOVE:

Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" - adore this song, but the whole album is fun
Glee's version of Wicked's "Defying Gravity
Glee's version of "Imagine"
Glee's version of "True Colors"
Priscilla Ahn's "Dream"
Sexy Bitch
Chromeo's version of Vampire Weekend's "The Kid's Don't Stand A Chance"
Beyonce's Halo
New Soul
When Love Takes Over
Kelly Clarkson's whole album -- "All I ever Wanted"
Santigold
Dance Remix of "Viva la Vida"

Live your story

I have been in a super reflective state of mind. I guess it makes sense, being that I am packing up my NYC life to make Phoenix my permanent landing spot, at least for this next stage of life. Funny, how time never stands still, and what feels like is going to be a never-ending adventure is really just a short chapter in a much larger book.

Ohh New York City and all the memories and adventures:

Parsons The New School For Design
My crazy classmates
My awesome roomates and getting to be "Grace"
Monday Night Dinners with all the boys + Amanda
Living in the West Village
Incredible school projects
Women's Wear Daily
Riding the subway
Brunch every weekend
Frigid weather almost all of the time!
Oscar de la Renta
Staying out until sunrise
Marc Jacob's Arabian Night Christmas Party
American Eagle Aerie Pre Production
Aeropostale
Boys at the Inn
My 30th birthday at Megu when alot of my AZ friends flew out for the weekend
Henri Bendel's Open See
Launching Jennifer Paige Designs
My Trunk Show at Henri Bendel
Meatpacking dance parties
Manolo Blahniks
Meeting some really incredible people
The chance to experience a completely different life than I had ever imagined...

Proving to myself that I could live and make it in NYC, and that it is okay to say goodbye to an amazing adventure for the chance at a calmer life that includes family and lifestyle that only the West can afford.

"Live your story, FAITH, HOPE AND GLORY, hold to the truth in your heart...if we hold onto together I know our dreams will never die..." -- Diana Ross

The next dream is just beginning.

Trunk Shows

Come check out my trunk shows! Headbands and Hair Clips make great gifts and stocking stuffers. It's time to do some Christmas shopping and I now take credit cards.

DATE: Wednesday, November 18th

TIME: 2-7pm
PLACE: New Way Learning Academy, the school is located at 77th St and McDowell, right off the 101.

I will be in New York, but Brooke & Alexa with Royaltees Clothier will have a booth and they will help to sell my headbands.


DATE: Wednesday, December 2nd
TIME: 4-6:30pm
PLACE: Chestnut Lane Cafe, southside of Camelback & 44th Street near Camelback Florist and Havana Cafe

There will be pink Champagne and delicious treats such as cinnamon rolls and cookies. This adorable little cafe has become my favorite Arcadia spots for coffee.

DATE: Tuesday, December 8th
TIME: 2-8pm
PLACE: Silver Leaf Country Club 18701 North Silverleaf Drive, Scottsdale, 85255

I had a dream

I love music that makes you sit back and be quiet and reflective. I even like when it stirs you to get a bit misty-eyed.

Ashley Bugg set this song to Tracey Martin's Baby Butter photo-shoot that Blake was a model for a few weeks ago. It is the song I journal to. So many thoughts dancing through my head -- my headband business, if I want to make the leap and buy another house, and where I want to be in 10 years. But the thoughts that won't stop lingering is how much I wish I could just see my mom. I may be all grown up, but at the same time I am a "little girl who just misses her mom."

DREAM

By Priscilla Ahn

I was a little girl alone in my little world who dreamed of a little home for me.
I played pretend between the trees, and fed my houseguests bark and leaves, and laughed in my pretty bed of green.

I had a dream
That I could fly from the highest swing.
I had a dream.

Long walks in the dark through woods grown behind the park, I asked God who I'm supposed to be.
The stars smiled down on me, God answered in silent reverie. I said a prayer and fell asleep.

I had a dream
That I could fly from the highest tree.
I had a dream.

Now I'm old and feeling grey. I don't know what's left to say about this life I'm willing to leave.
I lived it full and I lived it well, there's many tales I've lived to tell. I'm ready now, I'm ready now, I'm ready now to fly from the highest wing.

I had a dream

100% Sure

People are constantly asking me if I miss New York City, and if I am happy with my decision to move back home to Arizona. I can say with 100% certainty that I made the right decision to move home. I am soo happy right now, I feel like I am in my element and things are falling into place like I would have never imagined.

I have grappled with the issue of East Coast/West Coast since the day I arrived in New York 4 years ago. New York was an adventure that I always wanted to experience, but it was never home. I am a south-west girl through and through and that never changed while living in Manhattan.

Parsons, working in the fashion industry, the thrill of living in the West Village, my fabulous roomates and celebrity friends was all an absolutely incredible ride. However, deep down inside I knew it would someday need to wrap up because I missed the calm and wholesomeness of Arizona and my old life too much. The four years of living in New York, I never lost touch with my Arizona friends and of course family -- and I constantly felt like I had put my life on "Pause" to experience New York and I was aching to hit "Resume" on my old life.

Earlier this year, as well as a year ago, I wanted to move home, but than I changed my mind and decided to stay in New York because I felt I still had things to accomplish in the big apple, but this time things are different. This time I am no longer on the fence and I have no qualms about leaving the vibrant, sparkling city for something slower paced and not quite as frantic.

Yes, Blake Emery, my adorable niece is a huge factor as to why I moved home. Spending time with her and my wonderful sister is priceless and all the success and splendor of New York could never make up for that. But Arizona also affords a lifestyle that New York could never give me.

I had a lot of email exchanges with my friend Ryan Hyland, as the issue of moving back west started to weigh heavily on my heart. Ryan said something about just having the Faith to follow my heart and to see what unfolded if I just made the leap. And then one of my now fashion mentors, Tracey Martin (Baby Butter Clothing) told me "The Business Is You! Not where you reside!"

Those two ideas stuck in my head. And I am seeing how absolutely true they both are! My business is taking off in ways I could never have imagined and it does not matter where I am, because I am the business, not the city I reside in. And God is faithful when you are faithful to Him. I am surrounded by super creative people and artistic projects ( in the past I was leary of moving home because I was afraid of living a "Vanilla-White-Rice" life as compared to what I had in NYC). And now that is anything but true....God has laced my life with creativity and fantastic people who I couldn't be more happy to collaborate and surround myself with.

I am so happy, so certain and so excited to be back home :-) I'll always remember New York, but the sun has set on that chapter...and of course the sun is still shining in Arizona...as is Blake Emery...

Oh Beautiful Barneys!

The past few weeks my entire focus has been helping Cathy Jahnke with the grand opening of the east wing at Scottsdale Fashion Square. The east wing houses Barneys New York, a 6,000 sq foot H&M, Forever 21, a concept Banana Republic store, and Sam Fox's latest restaurant Modern Steak, among a slew of other stores.

Cathy came up with the concept "The Mannequin Is Our Muse" and we reached out to valley locals (designers, artists, architects, vendors, and merchants) to create mannequins. We ended up with 123 mannequins! Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys did a mannequin, and we even had mannequins flown in from NYC and California artists. The Armani Exchange mannequin had to be flown to Milan for Mr. Armani's final approval!!!!!

I collaborated on a mannequin with my architect friend Bob Wilkinson. We used floor mats from the 99 cent store. There was a bit of controversy with our mannequin, but I'll save that for another post. She is now standing in my kitchen -- she is a bit freaky but I am pleased with our final product.

It took an insane of amount of work to get the project off the ground. But Cathy is amazing, and she always pulls out all the stops and it comes together quite grandly. During the grand opening weekend we had live entertainment, pedestal modeling, and a huge breakfast. I was at the mall everyday from sunrise until way past sunset. Besides just overseeing the mannequins we had to direct the entertainment and models. Valarie Schad, who also worked on the event, and I nicknamed all the male models "CMs" for Couger Meat, they were all quite delectable but probably at least 10 years our junior ;-)

Everybody kept asking what I thought of the new Barneys, and the event was such a circus that I barely had more than two minutes to whip through the store. I loved going to Barneys in NYC. Kealey and I once ran into Cameron Diaz at the NYC Barneys and she even stopped to chat with us. Going to that store was something that I always did with Brian. Brian and I would never miss the Barneys wharehouse sale. He would always hold my bag so I could dig for Prada platforms or Michael Kor boots. It was always a madhouse but we would come away so proud of our purchases. Sigh, I do miss that boy...

So yesterday Jaime , Marleigh, Blake and I went to the mall for brunch and shopping. I love the store! But then again I love well designed products and clever visual merchandise, and Barneys satisfies both those credentials.

And how can stairing at a pair of Christian Loubutins or Giuseppe Zanotti over-the-knee boots ever put you in a bad mood? Oh beautiful Barneys, I am glad you have come to Scottsdale...

My website is up and running

www.jenniferpaigedesigns.com

Thanks to my fabulous sister! You rock!

Under Construction

My website is currently down while my sister revamps it. It will hopefully be up by the end of this week. Sorry for the inconvenience.

To see my latest pictures go to my photographer's website and then email me if you interested in purchasing anything : jenniferpaigedesigns@gmail.com

www.buggphotographer.com,then go to clients and type in "jp designs" all lower case and with a space between jp and designs.

It's going to be all right...

Jaime and I just got back from visiting Aunt Carol in Tucson. Aunt Carol had a ball showing off Blake to all her friends. And I really enjoyed visiting with the ladies, they were all sweethearts.

It is a beautiful drive through the desert, but emotionally it is probably one of the ugliest areas! We have not driven up I-10 since that fateful day almost ten years ago, we always take the Florence route, but still the drive weighs heavily on both of us.

I sat in the back to soothe little Blake. She was fussy and exhausted from not having a nap all day. Jaime put in Blake's "Baby Lullabies" CD. And then I was the one with tears in my eyes. I miss my mom. Blake is most the precious little gift, but it just does not seem right that my parents are not here to be a part of it.

I felt sick nauseous the rest of the ride home and it wasn't a physical thing, but a mental one.

My mother's last words before that horrendous moment when our SUV flipped was "It's going to be all right"....and yes it is....we have their legacy to carry on and a little baby girl Blake to be there for :-)

The Mannequin Is Our Muse

Bits of My Imagination In The Form of Headbands

Chills and a sense of pride

Yesterday my former ASU marketing professor, Dr. Beth Walker (who is now the dean of the MBA program at the W.P. Carey School of Business) took me to the Spirit of Enterprise luncheon as her guest at the Biltmore.

The event honors entrepreneurs and small time business owners.

They began the ceremony with someone singing "God Bless the U.S.A". That song always gives me goose bumps!

My dad loved that song, so 1) it reminds me of him and his journey from Thailand to America to pursue his Masters degree in architecture and 2) it reminds me of every time I go through customs and they say "Welcome back to the USA."

I am not overly patriotic, but it does send a jolt of pride when I get in line behind the sign that says "Citizen". I have a lot of foreign friends and they often complain about the US and all its faults and the agonizing process of entering the US for extended periods without a VISA or Greencard.

And I agree America is far from perfect, and I am not one to think that this is the only place to live, but I have done a fair amount of traveling to both really nice countries and to some places that still operate in "third world states". And at the end of the day I am glad I live here and I feel honored and blessed by all that this country affords me. And no matter what "I LOVE THIS LAND, God Bless the USA"

Discounted Designer Threads

Eek! I love a good find. I just googled the Sue Wong beaded dress I found at Last Chance, and it is selling at Neiman Marcus for $355! Needless to say I paid next to nothing for it!

I took my friends Jamie and Dee on Wednesday night. Dee found brand new Prada Suede Heels for $99, Jame found Seven Jeans for $29 and I nabbed a pair of camel-fur DVF heels )that are so Mad Men) for $69. AMAZING!

I love nice things but I love them even more via the bargain hunting method :-)

Pushing it to the edge

Most girls are not daring enough to strut something like this on their head. I am sure the average girl would feel absolutely ridiculous walking down the street, especially if they were outside of NYC, Paris or Milan. However, what I love about fashion, is that eventually we will see a weak, watered-down version of these headpieces over time. Just watch -- Forever 21 will come up with a VERY TAMED down version. Or maybe Jennifer Paige Designs will draw inspiration and push the envelope a bit this next season and come up with a collection that is a big more daring.

Stream Line

How does one person collect soo much stuff!!!???

I moved my items out of storage this past week and I have a ridiculous amount of items. And I have not even packed up my New York City apartment yet! Of course, prior to living in NYC I had a 1600  sq ft condo and most of what was in storage used to be housed in that condo, and there is also a lot of nostalgic leftovers from my parents, that I am not willing to part with, but still, oh my goodness this is too much clutter!

Putting things up on shelves just for the sake of "decorating" has never been my thing. I love the minimalistic look, and a piece of art has to really move me for me to want to display it. I am over all the knick-knacks and tacky collectibles. And going forward I want to stream line not only my decorating style but also my life. I want to declutter and weed out the unnecessary!

Whether it is situations and projects that I should NOT be involved in, to buying more than I need, I want to stream line it all.

Some Pictures From My Photo-Shoot

She's in Control!

I would rock these Rodarte boots in a heart beat! Love, love, love!

Creative Synergy

On top of everything else that is going on, I am helping my old boss, Cathy Jahnke with Cjcommunications, with the grand opening of Barney's at Scottsdale Fashion Square in October. She purchased 150 mannequins and her concept is to have artists, designers and other imaginative types use the mannequins as their canvas and create something really spectacular.  The event will be called "The Mannequin Is Our Muse". 

The mannequins will be displayed through out Scottsdale Fashion Square, with the top 5 mannequins being auctioned off and the proceeds going to the Scottsdale Art Museum. Local celebrities will be the judge of the contest. Simon Doonan, creative director of Barney's, as well as installation artist Janice Leonard (AZ 88 and Bar 89) are both participating in creating a mannequin. 

I am collaborating with my friend Bob Wilkinson who is an architect and we might even get to work with another architect Bill Tonnesen on the mannequin project. 

I know NYC is a mecca of creativity, but everyday seems to bring more opportunities for some absolutely fabulous creative synergy right here in Arizona. I could sit and brainstorm with Bob for hours ideas on what to do with our mannequin. We are started experimenting last weekend with various ideas and art mediums. It felt like my soul was being artistically fed. 

And then there is my photographer Ashley Bugg we got together yesterday to do still-life shots of my headbands. It is like Ashley is my creative kindred spirit. She totally understands my vision and her ideas are off the charts! Working with her is a pure delight! And I am totally bouncing off the wall with ideas, excitement and concepts when I am around Ashley. 

Oprah's magazine "O" magazine contacted me about my headbands. And Ashley is going to help me put together a Look Book and Line Sheet for the magazine. I think our finished product will be pretty slick. And of course my mannequin with Bob is going to be out of control. 

Creativity, I love it! It is my addiction and high...

Pieces of Creativity

Last Monday I went to LA's garment district with Shannon. I was blown away by the array of supplies! They have everything! And in massive quantities! NYC's fabric/garment district is great, but everything is tight and cramped.  LA's garment district pushed things to a whole other level. I felt like I was in the Costco of fabric, beads and ribbon. The district stretched for blocks upon blocks and I barely was able to scratch the surface.

But I did pick up a lot of new supplies. And I am excited to start experimenting and designing. 

 I really have found my passion and niche'!!!!

I could do this every weekend!

Several years ago my sister invited me to a "Stamp It Up Party". We made all sorts of adorable hand-made cards. The gal that hosted it was named Ashley Bugg. Ashley is also a photographer.

When I told my sister I wanted to do a photo-shoot of my headbands while I was home, she suggested Ashley. I looked at her website and I was sold! She had exactly the type of look I wanted! 

We chatted on the phone and it was as if she was inside my brain, she totally got my "vision" and what I wanted to accomplish with my photo-shoot. 

I have some absolutely gorgeous friends, who fit the mold of the "Posh Prepster" so I asked them to be my models. They were thrilled and I figured since we were all friends it would be natural for the camera to pick up on our chemistry and bond. Editorial shoots can be amazing, but I did not want anything severe and stuffy. I wanted something playful and warm. 

Ashley was spectacular to work with and we all had an absolute blast "playing models" and striking poses. 

So thank you Erika, Jamie, Diana, Jaime and Kealey!!!!! And of course Ashley! 

I could not have asked for a better day. Today is one of my best friend's birthday, Kealey, but it was such a great day, it felt like my birthday :-)

I can't wait to see the final pictures! In the mean time check out Ashley's work

Ohh Balmain, why do you have to design such fabulous things?

Soo many shoe desires. I need to sell a lot of my headbands because there is always something new tempting me!!!!

The Adventure

For the past two weeks "gems from heaven" keep dropping out of the sky for me. 

My Monday began with several emails from Melky Jean (Wyclef's sister) personally thanking me for her birthday headbands and praising my designs, the NY Post came to the hair event at Henri Bendel and asked to photography my headbands, and then of course my most precious niece was born. It was killing me that I was in New York City doing my trunk shows while my sister was giving birth. 

But blessings were being sent to both my sister and I, and when things are great, they are often AMAZING! And my little niece sure is amazing! She is beautiful, and perfect, and the most priceless gift! 

However, listing all these great things is barely scraping the surface! I have been given the most incredible opportunities and it has all happened in less than a week! The chance to go global, and the chance to collaborate with two really big business ventures. 

It is interesting because this year has not been 100% smooth sailing, but when I learned to let go of "the bad" and just focus on what is important and re-direct my energy, well, I feel that God has then opened up some amazing doors for me. Negative energy is never good for anyone or anything. It is toxic and life is too brief to get caught up in it. 

The adventure is barely beginning, but I am excited to see what else is in store....Two of my all time favorite songs are 1) The Adventure by Angels and Airwaves & 2) About Midnight by Sarah Kelley -- both do a good job of explaining my life this past year...

Defining HOT

I don't even need to explain it! 

My roomates gave me gift cards to Manolo Blahnik a few years ago. It was a fabulous birthday present, but I am wondering if we could up the ante this year :-) 

Uptown Chic, Downtown Diva

I have so many stories I want to document from my trunk shows last week at Henri Bendel. It was quite the adventure and I met a slew of people, as well as some real "characters". For now, I 'll just post pictures...more of stories to come later....

signing off from Scottsdale for now...

Things Have Come Full Circle

I started to reflect on my own "fashion-history-time-line", thinking about where things began and how far a long they have come. 

Kelly and I used to go to French Connection at Keirland Commons in Scottsdale all the time in search of the perfect party dress or outfit for  Axis Radius. Nicole, the manager of French Connection, had graduated from PRATT and was a trained fashion designer. We would always chat about fashion and New York City. 

I was wanting to do something more creative with my career and I was toying with the idea of design school. Nicole suggested I take some of the fashion illustration classes she taught at Mesa Community College. That truly was the beginning of this current adventure. 

The first night of Nicole's class, I met Evonne Bowling, the director of the fashion program at MCC. Evonne was handing out flyers promoting the New York Fashion Trip she does every May. She takes a group of students on a tour of the fashion industry -- you meet with designers, photographers, stylists, journalists. You name it, Evonne covers it. But mostly Evonne just shows you "Fashion" is not a pie in the sky/Hollywood dream. It is very attainable if you work hard enough and apply yourself. 

And that is what I did. I applied to Parsons Fashion Marketing Program, all the while taking fashion classes at MCC. I took a history of fashion class, color theory, visual merchandising and 2D design. I met some incredible people a long on the way, one of whom is my current intern, Katie. Katie and I instantly hit it off, when we realized we would laugh at the same crazy things that seemed to be unfolding during class.  One of these days Katie and I are going to write a book about all the "Characters" we seem to bump into, especially those in fashion. 

One of our projects was to create a window display. My brand was "Juicy Couture". I bought a case of styrofoam cups from Costco and I had labels made with the Juicy logo. Then I got pink straws and tons of pink tulle. I stuck the cups to the wall, and lined the ceiling and the floor with the pink tulle and I made a poster that proclaimed "Juicy Couture quenches your thirst for fashion".  Evonne suggested I look into visual merchandising, and I actually got paid to "dress" a window on Mill Ave in Tempe. 

I did not go into visual merchandising, but in a way I guess I did. Creating and designing headbands is creating a visual for a live person versus a display. 

Tomorrow is the start of Henri Bendel's Hair Atrium. I still can't get over the fact that I am selling at Henri Bendel. When I set out to do all this, Bendel's was a goal, but it seemed like the golden dream to actually get in! And that I got in, and now my merchandise is going to be on display!!!! In the 5th Ave window no less! It is all pretty amazing to me. All those trips to Keirland Commons, all those shopping sprees, well they paid off! I just wish I could get in a few more trips to Keirland Commons with Kelly, I hate that we are on exact opposite coasts. Dreams really do take you to far away places...

Henri Bendel Trunk Show

Knock Offs Are Obnoxious

My friend Alexa posted this to my Facebook page. I absolutely love it! It sums up so much that has been bothering me. 

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, I say it's a lack of creativity and a form of laziness.

 In fashion it is inevitable that styles and designs will be emulated. The whole concept of product development centers around "shopping the market" for trends and ideas and then tweaking those ideas to fit your brand. I get that. And when an "idea" is in the air, it is often in the air for multiple people. 

 But what I have a HARD time with is out right copy cats! People who can't come up with their own concept and who have the audacity to ride the coattails of the true trail blazers. It takes a lot of work to not only be creative but to actually put that creativity into action.  

My mother loved designer handbags, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Coach, etc., as well as expensive perfume. And she always told me that if I couldn't afford the real thing, to just go for something plain and simple rather than sport an imitation. 

I am 110% against being a FAKE person, especially when people spout one point of view and then live out their life life according to a different set of rules. Be whoever you are and don't be ashamed of it!

Buying imitations is like living a life full of hypocrisy. You want people to think you have the real deal, but you were not willing to shell out and pay the price of the REAL deal. I guess it comes back to my over-riding theme that nothing in this life is for free and there are consequences to all actions. If you want something bad enough, WORK hard for it, but don't go and take someone else's ideas to get where you are. That's a knock-off and it's obnoxious.