Last Minute Shopping Advice!!!

When did it become December 12th!?!?!
I'm half way done with my shopping, and hoping Saturday will really put a nail in my list.  How are you guys doing?  Need to get a little Lisa August for someone?  I've compiled a list of our favorite stores online that you can shop at.

Max and Chloe is a great website for jewelry gift buying.  Right now they are offering 20% off sitewide too! Max and Chloe

If shopping on Gilt is your thing, we still have a few of our exclusive items on sale there:
Gilt.com

I like shopping local as much as I can, and my favorite boutique to do so in Astoria is Lockwood, it's the type of store you can get lost in, and the type of store where you wish people would shop in for you! It's a great place to buy a pair of our famous tortoise hoops: Lockwood

Tuckernuck is a very tastefully edited online lifestyle store, with lots of clothing and accessories for everyone.  They do very well with all of out cabochon styles if that's your thing: Tuckernuck

You can find many of a styles at Anna Gray in Austin, Texas.  They sell our things both online and in store! Anna Gray

Fab.com is also a great lifestyle website that can really knock people off your list, and there are still three Lisa August styles you can purchase through them! Fab.com

So there you have our little Holiday Shopping list, hope this helps!

A Heavy but Thankful Heart

It's that time of year to be grateful, and I think it is a healthy exercise to look back on the year and pay some mental tribute to what it is that makes you grateful.  I've been somewhat anxious about the notion of Thanksgiving this year.  Thanksgiving in my mind is an image of my Grandfather Augie surrounded by his gaggle of grandchildren, turkey in front of him.  This has always been the one picture a year I find enjoyment in being a part of.  I'm not sure what we will be doing this year, but I assure all my readers, I don't think any of us are looking forward to it.  Instead of giving in to my sadness and the hole in my heart I want to be yet again grateful for my Grandfather.  A year did not go by that I wasn't grateful for him when he was alive, and why should it be different now that he is gone, which still in all honesty doesn't seem possible.

Me and Augie, let's say circa Thanksgiving 1987

I was in the grocery store a few weeks ago and I went to grab some lemons.  Naturally, I thought of Augie (lover of grocery stores) and how he taught me to choose the juiciest ones (his trick works every time).  Suddenly I had the urge to scream, cry and launch one of those lemons across the supermarket, hopefully pegging someone who had parked their cart and blocked some produce I couldn't get to earlier.  Since that time,  I go right up to those lemons and try to just feel grateful that I know how to pick out citrus like no other, and it's because I had the greatest Grandfather.  So much of my skill set, tiny and large, I possess because of him.  Some people don't even get to know their Grandfathers.  I got to be his Grandchild, his friend and eventually his employee for 34 years. 

The week before Augie died he was in the hospital, and we knew it wasn't going to be long.  I went over there on a Thursday afternoon with my brother.  Some of my cousins and my Grandmother, of course were there.  We actually had a nice time, as nice as it can be.  When Augie threw out one of his off color jokes to a nurse that he had a thing for, we all laughed, but I really wanted to cry.  I thought my heart might burst upon realizing this was going to be one of the last wisecracks I was going to hear out of him.  He delivered many that afternoon and I desperately clung to and soaked each one up, he really was a genius when it came to one liners.  This is another grateful moment folks.  I got to hear his perfectly delivered one liners for 34 years.  Training myself to be grateful instead of sad in these moments is not easy but necessary.

I have the PO box of the nurse who bared the brunt of his humor.  He really liked her a lot, and that is no small feat on her part.  She was one of those great nurses: positive, caring and not at all desensitized, at least not towards her patients.  Augie wanted to send her some jewelry and then with his passing, the funeral and my laziness nothing was sent to her.   He would not be happy with me if he knew I hadn't done this deed for him.  I'm going to put together some Lisa August jewelry and write her a nice note, to show my appreciation so she can know that there are people grateful to her this Thanksgiving.  Maybe she won't remember him (she probably will), but I will remember her because she gave him comfort when he was the most uncomfortable.

Just to not leave you hanging, she had the word Bell in her name and when she gave him her contact info, he simply told her: 'You could ring my bell anytime'.
Classic.

It's the Holiday Season...

Yes, yes it's early on in the holiday season, but it is upon us people, like it or not!  I'm starting to get my list together, so for those who know me, it's time to start behaving!  I know some of you are like me, and you like to get your shopping done early.  This year Lisa August is one of the featured artists at the Guilford Art Center's show, Artistry.  There are over 300 artists represented there, and it goes on from now until January 4th.  So if you are anywhere near Guilford in Connecticut or you like to take interesting day trips, this show sounds like winner.  I'm really hoping to find a free Saturday to check it out.

Check out the flier, and some of our pieces that are being featured at the sale below!

 

Spring 15!

So I've begun prepping for spring, it's that time once again!  I checked out the runway shows (via my desk of course) and got some color inspiration, which is always the way I like to start.  Usually I just let the colors inspire me.

Of course the line will be classic neutral heavy, because hey, that's what we all like!  BUT I do like to add some pops of color, and this spring will be no different.

Three colors stood out to me the most from the runway, so I will be incorporating them into the line.

First, the color that I think I saw at every show was yellow.  It was everywhere!

Left to right: Nanette Lepore, Ferragamo, Carolina Herrera, Zach Posen, Tory Burch, Tracy Reese, Ralph Lauren, Prada and Badgley Mischa

The next color that I saw a lot of, and it is just so nice and rich is coraly orange:

Clockwise, from top left: Lanvin, Gucci, Jason Wu, Nina Ricci, Tracy Reese & Oscar de la Renta

Last and certainly not least was minty teal:

Missoni, Issey Mayake, Christian Siriano, Zach Posen, Ferragamo & Naeem Khan

I'm excited that these colors were all over the place because I am a big fan of them and think all will look great mixed with our tortoise and spring neutrals like horn and turquoise.

So, these are the colors I will be adding to the line (drum roll please) :

Now onto designing!

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!

We are Vegan Tortoise and We've been here for years!

I'm back in the office after 4 long days at the NYNOW gift show in New York.  I'm tired and a little cranky.  Cranky because there seems to be a trend out there that has inadvertently hurt business for us.  Horn jewelry.  I think it's pretty safe to say faux-tortoise jewelry and accessories have been around for a while, considering my family alone has been producing it for over 50 years.  We aren't trying to be horn, and we don't want to be horn.

For years, while I was growing up and helping my family at trade shows, we would hear buyers saying, 'Oh, it's plastic' and they would walk away in disgust.  The stigma that we used plastic was tough to overcome but we did, faux-tortoise has been popular for years, and I know all of our customers love and appreciate our jewelry.  This material, cellulose acetate may be plastic, but our factories in Italy take great care in creating these rich painterly effect colors, and our acetate is light weight and durable and so comfortable to wear.  Again, this is appreciated by all of our fans and has been for years.

In the past 6 months, all of a sudden the charms of lightweight faux tortoise has been lost.  People want to wear clunky animal bone.  I have had numerous conversations in the past 4 days where a buyer will ask if it's horn, I say no it's acetate and they b-line it out of there.  This is all fine and dandy, this part doesn't bother me, our jewelry isn't for everyone.  The part I have a hard time with is that people seem to think we are selling jewelry that is trying to be or copy horn.   We sell faux-tortoise jewelry, and I think it's been around long enough where that doesn't need explaining.

I'm also a little surprised that there are so many people out there comfortable with wearing real horn, and I sincerely hope the horn being sold here is truly cruelty free.  Since we are proud that we are selling (gulp) PLASTIC, and not real animal horn I've decided I will start referring to our material as vegan tortoise when at shows, as acetate is a plant-based material, totally cruelty free and not harmful to the environment.

Having to stand there at the shows with a smile on my face while people look down on your product is not a good feeling, and I have to just remember that most of those people are uninformed, and that there are plenty of buyers out there who appreciate a quality product that is handmade by a small business in the United States and to boot, does not involve animal bi-products.  I'm very proud of what we do here, and I promise no more rant posts!