Our First Anniversary Year in Review!

Today, September 16th marks our one year anniversary as the fully functioning Lisa August!  It's been a year of highs, lows and learning.  It has never been boring, it is usually a little scary, it's been fun many times and sad at times.  Without further adieu, the following is a little stroll down memory lane through images.

This picture was taken on September 5th, the day I came here and never left.  It was a beautiful NY September day, and I spent that time helping the movers and letting in our coned, the alarm company, our electrician and a whole bevy of contractors.  Lenore joined me at the end, and I'll always love this picture, a calm moment between me and my new partner, everything ahead of us.

 The days were long and exhausting but it was fun and exciting to get to move into this clean slate.  Everything felt so new, but all of our belongings were so familiar at the same time.

 The downstairs caused the most worry, and we were nervous about all of our large equipment fitting.  This is when a little less than half was inside, and none of our material had been brought over.  Everything fit perfectly and the guys keep it so neat down there, it was a relief.

The electricity caused the most stress.  I've forgotten almost everything I had learned, but I had to talk to so many electricians and experts (my boyfriend's Dad who helped me out so much the first time we met) on how we were going to provide and disperse all the power throughout the building, I really started to get it!  Power and electric took up a good ten days of my stress though.  It all worked out in the end which is all that matters.

Things finally settled down early October.   I remember staying one Friday night with Lenore and Claudia and we had wine and thai food and worked at our leisure and it was really nice.  I remember feeling excited and like a proud owner.

That early fall we got to see so many beautiful sunsets, I'm looking forward to getting to see that again, the only good that comes from earlier nights.  We have officially gone through every season at Lisa August, I love to see how the light changes in a year. (and of course those extreme NY temperatures)

Speaking of which, what a winter!  I felt like that winter defined us and took over our lives!  I feel it will be a repeat, but really, it can't be worse than last year!  I do love Christmas decorations and preparing our spring line though.  Come January is when I'm over it!

 Ah, the gas leaks on 57th street.  Lisa August is located on 57th Street in Woodside, and this is some street let me tell you.  There is always some sort of action on it and we have had our fair share of gas leaks.  Like two right in front of our building and at least two surrounding our building.  We had a really nice new sidewalk when we moved in, and then it was dug up TWICE.  This was the first and smallest hole.  The rest were more like trenches.  Gas trenches.  It was quite interesting and quite cold.  Never a dull moment.

 No dull moments here!  We like to celebrate our birthdays here, and we do it right.  In fact we'll be having a little party here today to celebrate the anniversary, so please no phone calls after 4 today! 

  Spring was a nice time for us.  We were busy, the weather was nice and I designed our fall line.

 The summer was quiet and a very hard time for us at Lisa August.  Augie, our namesake and inspiration passed away.  Most of you know that we were a family business for many many years.  My Mother and my two Uncles owned the company that my Grandfather founded and loved so much.  All of our employees here loved Augie and worked for him before they worked for anyone else, so it was a hard time for all of us and still is.  The name of our company means more to me than ever and I hope to make him proud more than ever.

Then August came and it was showtime. It was a rough show season, but it's over now and fall is in full swing!  I'm interested to see what this year brings at Lisa August.  I think we did pretty well for our first year, so bring it on terrible two's we're ready for you!

Our Best Picks For Fall

Trade show season has come and gone, and it's time to recap what is selling best for us.  In case you did not make it to the shows, or you just need a little ordering guidance, this post may help you in your time of Lisa August need!
Of course some of our old standbys sold really well, like our tortoise hoops, cuffs and chain, but I would like to introduce you to a few new styles and colors that did really well too.

Our bestselling large filigree cuff is back, of course and it looks great in our Fall 14 jewel tones.  I'm especially loving it in our rich navy,  a great winter wrist staple.

Wine has sold nicely for us, and it's particularly nice in our bib chain, which also sells really well in tokyo, safari and navy.  This is a great staple.

Speaking of jewel-tones, I incorporated the navy and tortoise with wine, spice and forest I can't think of a better piece for fall, it can go with so many colors and silhouettes, and as always the necklace can be doubled.  A truly versatile piece!

 I went for the 'winter white' this season, as it was supposed to be popular and yes our pearl was popular at the shows.  The first few customers I saw asked if it was for Spring, and I said no, it's winter white.  Some people liked it and some didn't.  I thought, Oh no, what have I done!  But then a lot of people got behind it and loved it.  So, you can either love it or want it for later, I happen to love it, but you can decide for yourself!

Our new Geometric cuff was a hit!  Every year or so I like to come up with a new openwork tapered cuff the taper makes them so comfortable and the large design is always bold and fun.  I've been wearing one in pearl and spice already and love them both!

This is our clover cuff pictured in forest, it's a great new deep green color of ours, and the clover cuff has continued to be a great seller for us.  

These are one of our top selling earrings, they are big, lightweight and fun, especially when you want the hoop look without wearing the hoop.  We now have them in spice, and they look great!

This is a new multi-colored chain.  This combination is in Tokyo, Safari and Black.  These colors mix so nicely together.  They are rich and subdued and will go so well with so many winter staples.

This is our new bib necklace!  I love this piece, tortoise and crystal go so well together.  It's casual elegance at it's best, which really is a great way to describe any tortoise jewelry.

 

This is our cutout chain link neck.  I love the cutout links, it's unique and just adds a little whimsy.  I'm also loving the color combination of pearl, black, navy and tokyo.  This chain and the other two multi-colored chains in this post are all available in the three color combinations I've posted.  Good luck trying to make picks, they are all fun fall and winter combinations.

Last but not least is our 'dainty' earring.  We love this little earring, and apparently a lot of our customers did, it was one of our best-sellers.  Small styles are never our best sellers!  There is just something perfectly cute about it, I can't decide what color i want to make it in for myself.  I'll probably go with the tortoise or the pearl though.

I have a lot of our wholesale items up on the website, and soon I will have all of it up.  If you would like to view it on the site, please create and account and we will set you up as a wholesale client.  If you would like to receive a hardcopy or be emailed a current catalog, or you just would like to place an order, please email us at: sales@lisaaugst.com

Happy Almost Fall!