Fashion Events

Come shop Jennifer Paige Designs this Sunday, May 2nd at The Shops At Gainey Village's Farmer's Market. I am switching up my new collection, so once I sell out of my old styles, I am going to put them into retirement :-)

When: Sunday, May 2nd
Where: The Shops At Gainey Village, Scottsdale Road & Doubletree
Time: 9am-1pm

And then Saturday, May 8th my accessories will be featured on Mill Fashion Mash-Up runway. Time 5-7pm. Click on the link for more info

Baby Posh Prepsters

Rework - Don't Copy!!!

Paul told Bob who told me, to read the book "Rework" by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier. It is the best business book I have read in a long time. It's short, snappy and full of sound-real-life advice. Perfect for those about to embark on their own business, or who are already in the swing of it.

I love the chapter that talks about NOT COPYING. I am going to "copy" word for word what they said ;-)

"...The problem with copying is it skips understanding - and understanding is how you grow. You have to understand why something works or why something is the way it is. When you just copy and paste, you miss that. You just repurpose the last layer instead of understanding all the layers underneath...The copycat doesn't really know why something looks the way it looks or feels the way it feels or reads the way it reads. The copy is a FAUX finish. It delivers no substance, no understanding, and nothing to base future decisions on. Plus if you are a copycat you can never keep up. You're always in a passive position. You never lead, you always follow. You give birth to something that's already behind the times - just a knockoff, an inferior version of the original. That's no way to live...Be influenced , but don't steal."

--- Amazing, that last line is absolutely right on the money! Love it!

Gaga For Gaga

Lady Gaga is brilliant! Her music, her personality, her outlandish outfits. She is amazing! And she is bright and truly talented. You don't graduate from Tisch without serious talent and hard work, she is not a pop-tartlet with 15 mins of fame and a one-hit wonder....Anyway this crazy creation is inspired by her and for her. I am determined to push it even further and eventually get it into her hands. And thank you to my dear friend Kelly Nash for buying me the fun sequin mannequin head.

Live.Work.Create.

Some of my latest creations that are not hair accessories. I slashed up my Dolce & Gabbana tank, cut up and spray painted over my Brooklyn Industries shirt and spray-painted and sewed on dollies to an Old Navy hoodie I found on sale.

The Colors Of My Imagination

I am sitting at Hava Java doing a bit of brainstorming. This truly is my bliss. There is nothing I love to do more than drink good coffee, stick in my headphones and let iTunes take me away so I can zero in- focus and then CREATE. Creativity is my crack...

I brought my prisma colored pencils, markers and fashion illustration book from Parsons. I have a ton of ideas and a lot of them have nothing to do with headbands. It is time to evolve and push myself behind just hair accessories...this brings me back to Parson days. I love it!

Cupcakes

Created for Steph & Linny at "Cupcakes" at Hilton Village. They have amazing cupcakes! And I love the vegan "Skinny Minny" just as much as the regular cupcakes!

For The Tinest Of Posh Prepsters

Al Beadle or Whitney Port?

In January Cassy Saba and I were walking through NY's garment district. We were leaving Laura Bennett's (3rd season Project Runway finalist) apartment on our way to talk to Laura's manufacturing company when Cassy spotted Whitney Port, MTV Reality Star. I was on my iPhone scrolling through an email that Heather Maclean (my real estate agent) had sent me. I was in the market for a new home and Heather had graciously been showing me homes since the summer.

I wanted something modern. I wanted to be in the Arcadia area. I was partial to Al Beadle homes and mid-century modern design. As I flipped through the MLS listing Heather sent me, my heart stopped. The Camelback Place Townhouse she sent me was PERFECT! It was in the heart of the Arcadia-Biltmore area, it was mid-century modern, it was an Al Beadle design and the price was phenomenal for a Beadle home at the golden intersection of 32nd and Camelback. Cassy grabbed me as she let out a scream and booked it down the street to run after Whitney. Cassy is a jewelry designer and she wanted to connect with Whitney to show her designs. I know the importance of having a celebrity wear your designs and the marketing impact it can create. But instead of chasing Whitney I scrambled to call Heather and tell her I wanted that HOME and that we should put an offer in! I had not even been inside the townhouse but I knew it had to be mine.

Three days later when I was back in Phoenix, Heather showed me the home and I put in an offer later that day. That was only the beginning of what turned into a very stressful roller-coaster ride! First someone outbid me, then a month later their offer fell through, so I put in another offer, then the appraisal did not match the seller's price and the lending piece got screwed up. One moment we would have great news and the very next, very deflating news, it was like Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold" song. Finally at the end of March I closed escrow and the deed was recorded. The place is finally mine!

It needs a good deal of work. But that is okay. I am hiring my friend Bob Wilkinson to completely remodel the place. We have a ton of ideas and we are going to create a masterpiece & turn this townhouse into one huge art piece. I am Bob's first official client since going out on his own and starting a design-build firm, Worksite.

So I may not have connected with Whitney Port but I got my "Beadle Box". And who knows, if Bob and I do an amazing-enough remodel, maybe we can be featured in a design magazine, and Whitney is no stranger to the world of high-end magazines ;-)

Forever Young at Abercrombie and American Eagle

Jay Z's "Young Forever" has been on repeat and it made me think about my taste in clothes.

I love fashion. Do I really need to even validate it -- I graduated from Parsons, worked in the industry, and lived in one of THE FASHION CAPITALS for 4 years. I have boots that cost as much as rent, a closet full of designer purses, jeans, and enough fashion magazines and Women's Wear Dailies to wall paper an entire house. And yet what do I revert to? Not Lanvin or Rodarte but Abercrombie and Fitch and American Eagle!

Seriously, I dress like a southern-California surfer girl. Ripped up jean shorts, denim skirts and tank tops! I appreciate, adore and enjoy almost every aspect of fashion, especially the creative process. But when it comes to buying and putting together my own wardrobe I am not the poster child for haute couture! And to top it off, I am shopping at retailer's that cater to the tween and teen market! I may be obsessed with Blair Waldorf and Gossip Girl, but I dress more like the cast of 90210 and The O.C.

Maybe it does come from growing up in sunny Arizona -- everything is relaxed and Phoenix & Scottsdale draw a lot of their energy & style from their next door neighbor, California.

I also think it is comes from liking to layer on the accessories -- bangles, headbands (surprise, surprise, I was buying insane head gear years before I even started designing them), and my dedication to rocking super-tall shoes and fantastic boots ;-) It really does boil down to being more a shoe and accessory girl. Wear simple staples and then rock out with the crazy shoes and accessories.

The Middle

The power of music, the epiphany of lyrics, there is something that mentally and soul-fully just washes over me when a song captures what I am feeling, thinking, or going through. It can be magical, eerie, or overwhelmingly empowering. I have probably posted dozens of songs on this blog that really mean something to me...and it is here one more!

This song is almost a decade old, but it's lyrics are just as prevalent and timeless.

Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle"

Hey,
Don't write yourself off yet.
It's only in your head you feel left out,
Or looked down on.
Just try your best,
Try everything you can.
And don't you worry what they tell themselves
When you're away.

[Chorus]
It just takes some time,
little girl, you're in the middle of the ride.
Everything, everything will be just fine,
Everything, everything will be alright. (alright)

Hey,
You know they're all the same.
You know you're doing better on your own, (on your own)
So don't buy in.
Live right now.
Yeah, just be yourself.
It doesn't matter if it's good enough (good enough)
For someone else.

[Chorus x2]

Hey, don't write yourself off yet.
It's only in your head you feel left out, (feel left out)
Or looked down on.
Just do your best, (just do your best)
Do everything you can. (do everything you can)
And don't you worry what their bitter hearts (bitter hearts)
Are gonna say.

My Heart Belongs To

Bleeding Love

2010 has been a bit of a rocky year. And it doesn't help that in one month it will be ten years since my family was in a roll-over accident and both my parents were killed. I often laugh and think, "Well, if I survived ten years and got through all the emotional turmoil that comes with watching your parents bleed to death on the side of the road, I can handle almost anything." And I guess God says "Yes, you can, here are some more trials to work through and grow from!!!" You can't become "gold" unless you walk through the fire, but it would be nice if there was a drama-draught for once!

However, in the end I am determined to rise above it all, the cattiness, the hurt, the pain, the friends who have proven their true colors and are now no longer a part of my circle, the sickness, the stress of trying to make it as a designer and business owner. A lot has been thrown my way, but I shouldn't complain because my life is still amazing and I don't believe in whining and sulking in self-pity.

Last Saturday, I went with one of my best friends, Kealey, to feed the homeless downtown. It was a tremendously rewarding experience. To serve and give back to those who have nothing, really opens your eyes to the fact that no matter how much I have lost, I still am incredibly blessed and I still have a tremendous amount to be thankful for. These people have NOTHING, and they were the most gracious and kind individuals merely because we gave them some hot food.

It's hard because I get extremely annoyed at those who don't rise above and live life with morals, integrity and kindness but in the end I am going to be the bigger person and continue to bleed love....

In the words of one of my favorite singers of the moment, Leona Lewis:

"Bleeding Love"

Closed off from love
I didn't need the pain
Once or twice was enough
And it was all in vain
Time starts to pass
Before you know it you're frozen

But something happened
For the very first time with you
My heart melts into the ground
Found something true
And everyone's looking round
Thinking I'm going crazy

But I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open

Trying hard not to hear
But they talk so loud
Their piercing sounds fill my ears
Try to fill me with doubt
Yet I know that the goal
Is to keep me from falling

But nothing's greater than the rush that comes with your embrace
And in this world of loneliness
I see your face
Yet everyone around me
Thinks that I'm going crazy, maybe, maybe

But I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open

And it's draining all of me
Oh they find it hard to believe
I'll be wearing these scars
For everyone to see

I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open and I
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love