Pets Alive Fur Ball to take place in Westchester county June 11,2011

To all my friends, business contacts, fellow students and dog lovers,
My days are hectic and filled with tasks both personal, business and volunteer.  Wedding plans continue for daughter #2, baby shower and first grandson on the way for daughter #1, preparations for the Las Vagas, SuperZoo Pet product trade fair in September with some great new products in development.....and then there are the sweet old dogs and young, energetic pups I love to visit at Pets Alive rescue shelter, in Elmsford, NY.  Everyone there is an extreme animal lover who volunteers their time taking care of homeless dogs, cats and rabbits and, to me, I couldn't meet or work with a better bunch of  people or more wonderful dogs starving for attention (and more treats) and working with them to help them become more adoptable. 
On June 11 Pets Alive will be hosting their annual FUR BALL and I want to get the word out to everyone I know. 
If you're a business or simply a compassionate animal lover, check out their website to find out how you can help by donating an auction item,  becoming a sponsor or a patron or by attending this fun gala.
Pets Alive Westchester is part of the Pets Alive Organization, one of the oldest and largest no-kill animal organizations in the US and saves over 2,000 animals each year.  ALL the proceeds from the Fur Ball will go directly to helping the animals. 
Please check their website for more detailed information. www.petsalive.org
I will be there helping out with the cocktail reception, formal dinner, dancing (maybe cut the rug a bit myself) and fabulous auctions (Lollypups Petwear sweater and scarf included-- and  a super elegant custom made harness and leash!) There will be an online auction as well, so if you can't attend, you can still bid on the items.  Or if you prefer, ANY donation will be SUPER appreciated.
Check back on my blog, lollypupspetwear.blogspot.com for updates,  I'll keep you posted as news and information comes in. Off I go now, to take my "senior" charges out for some exercise.
xoxo
JoAnn & Lacy

Hi ho, hi ho...it's off to work I go.......

Sometimes a girl just has to do what a girl has to do.......so, mug of strong coffee beside me, I embarked on a midnight excursion through cyberspace in pursuit of something absolutely extraordinary in the way of summer print fabrics. (read chic and cheap) Off I go through Googleland, unearthing this and that and being bombarded with inspiration up the wazoo at the same time.......I love this!

3 more pieces are final for the spring/summer collection of harnesses by 2:30AM and I'm SO ready to nod off, in a good way. Tomorrow is going to be busy. Dentist first then Email appointments with resources are set and ideas are to the max so it’s time for executive decisions. A trek into Manhattan is required to find what else I need! Meetings with vinyl suppler, leash maker, trim and embellishments for the new fabrics. Then back to my other life. A bridal veil to order for Em and weather permitting, dinner in Andy and Ellen’s garden to top off a hopefully productive shopping trip.
I’m so loving the little ooh la la French number cotton I found on line, and a more graphic heart pattern, and will post the new styles once complete.  But doing girls is easy. It’s the boys I need to focus on, not that the summer is their season. Brushed wools and plaids are more suitable for them during the winter months. Handsome. Masculine. Different. I’ll focus on an unusual plaid or stripe and printed lining for them I think. and found one that's a madras plaid patchwork in denim blues and neutrals. So off I go to work......hi ho.

Updates and Upstarts........

Lacy has decided that she wants ALL of my attention this week.  At times she's been sassy, energetic, eccentric, and downright pesky.  I tried everything to appease her.....early dinners,  walks outside every 15 minutes, treats, praise.......but here she is at my feet once again, standing on her hind legs and "quarking"--making a guttural sound resembling something between a quack and a bark.  As I rise to pick her up and maybe cuddle her into submission, she turns and bolts from the studio, then stands in the hallway and whimpers.  How do I get any work done??   Well, here's a clue          

<---------------better.

I was able to contact a couple of vendors in NYC willing to sell me low minimums for my little biz.  Two in particular were very accommodating and willing to send me swatches of what I was interested in.

I also physically went to a warehouse nearby and checked out his high-end cotton sateen patterns and ended up buying rolls of less then 10 yards as well as contrast linings. (and left Lacy to pester Jeff). So now, I have two prints planned for summer harnesses.  Next week will be a busy one.  The Indigo show is upon us again and it's always great to see what kinds of prints and color trends are out there. With the patterns finished and ready for Igor, I'll be able to discuss samples now that I have the yardage for them and the matching leashes.   All this is in preparation for Superzoo in September.  This time I want to get a vendor booth and sell wholesale.  Got my free flight from Jet Blue and the rooms are cheap, cheap, cheap..........so, all I'll have to pay for is the booth. Still a big expense but worth it.  The attendance was up from last year! 

So, in the end, I did accomplish a lot and Lacy, tuckered out, went to sleep with Otto, finally leaving me in.... peace. 

Mood: pensive..............

Lacy is curled at my feet in the studio, as is her routine in late afternoon.  I look down at her as she smacks her lips while dreaming. Of what, I can only imagine, reminding me that soon she'll want dinner.  My eyes move over to my right foot still covered in a bandage to keep the golf-ball size swelling at bay, though it doesn't do much for the throbbing.  My ankle injury has lasted for two weeks now and gone from basketball, to bocce ball, to baseball sized swelling.   We travelled to Florida the beginning of March because New York's angry chill drove us from where the snow and ice remained defiantly covering the surface of the property, to seek out a less harsh climate.   Lacy and I would take our walks back home, with little baby steps, gingerly.....cautiously. Maybe, with a bit of a stumble on a hidden rock now and then but no major mishaps for either of our old bodies. 

But it's in Florida, on my brisk power walk to the gym,  where I take a clumsy step into an unseen hole at the edge of the sidewalk. It's here, at the immaculately kept complex of my brother in law and sister-in-law where we will be staying for a week,  where I crash down to the pavement and wrench my ankle, not on my treacherous, ice covered stepping stones at home.  Had I turned around and gone back and iced it instead of insisting that I was fine, and continuing on to the gym to do my 45 minute workout..... Well, I suppose the results of the fall would have been the same no matter what I did.   So my "vacation" was spent hobbling on crutches yet I was still hell bent on wearing my Vivian Westwood Heart pumps at our friend's son's wedding three days away. 

That, of course, was not to be and one shoe had to suffice, no matter how un-chic my other foot looked.... which resembled a bound baked potato.  We did make it to the beach one day and I'm almost through crocheting my soon to be grandson's sweater...... I finished  "The Art of Racing in the Rain", (when else would I ever sit long enough to actually read a book!!)

I guess some good comes out of all calamity.  I've no business complaining at all after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan so I won't.  Such disasters only put puny things in perspective, while we search through newspapers and internet postings of the tragedy, trying to wrap our minds around the colossal inhumanity of it all.

Or maybe, hoping to find a tidbit of humanity amid the rubble and mud..... a rescue after 9 days trapped under rubble, the joyous tears of a daughter reunited with her mother.........my heart breaks for the people and my heart breaks for the lost animals-- http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110316/ts_yblog_thelookout/dog-in-japan-stays-by-the-side-of-its-ailing-friend-in-the-rubble
Just so I am continually reminded why I love dogs so much.  And why a sprained ankle and Vivian Westwood Heart pumps are so meaningless in the grand scheme of things.  Peace.

Spring harness development

Yesterday was development day and my trek into the garment district of NYC proved to be (finally) a success.  I found four stunning 100% cotton qualities at reasonable prices and discovered many new trims, but bought two that I could use for now.  I'm also getting e/mails from the vendors I visited at Texworld last month with fabric information and trim prices so much is coming together.  I LOVE  this phase of development.  In a nano second, a pattern or fabric will catch my eye and a silhouette pops into my brain.  All the research on closures and interesting details I'd done over the past months seem to fly out of my temporal lobe filing cabinet and float together with the fabrics, embellishments and lining colors and the garments practically design themselves. 
Had lunch with my good friend Suzanne, fabric maven and super sales agent, and talked about the possibility of her hooking me up with converters who don't have giant minimums.  Next conversation.... how does one introverted designer become an ace sales person without feeling personally hurt every time someone doesn't buy my product.  Of all the hats I must wear, this is the most important and the only one I have the biggest problem with.  Go figure. 
Lacy is making the most obscene, guttural noises and yips........almost like she's trying to speak in human words.  Which reminds me of the terrific book I'm reading "The Art of Racing in the Rain" a novel by Garth Stein. Enzo is also an old dog and human life is viewed from his perspective and amazing insight.  Lacy however, just wants to eat....too early old girl.
The weekend will be for doing girly wedding things again and a visit to my dad, so not much design time until we leave for Florida on Tuesday.  I'll be antsy, I know, because we'll be gone for a week and I won't be able to do much in the way of designing so, I'll do as much as I can today.......and off I go. 

Fashion filled weekend.........doggie and human

OD'd on fashion this weekend ...in a good way.  Pre-Westminster Fashion Show proved to be a bit of a disappointment but still fun on a number of levels.  The pooch peeps were as out there as ever, donned in all their fashion finery, some with dogs in matching outfits that they carried like accessories. There were lots of tuxedos and ball gowns (of the pup variety), bling and sparkles and more chihuahuas then you could shake a bone at (sorry)   I was busy conducting two sales so I missed the actual fashion show at 7:30 and the Misty Heart worn by Chaka, a pure white maltese and her person Yumi who escorted her down the runway.  I did a search online to see if there was a shot of them but so far haven't found anything.  The harnesses were a big success style-wise and price-wise and sold like hot cakes so get them while you can.  Unfortunately, the pups were not too cooperative when I wanted to take their pictures so I wasn't able to get a clean shot of them. I just loved seeing the dogs wearing my harnesses and though somewhat eccentric, pooch peeps had nothing but praise and lavish oohs and aahs for the merchandise.
 
The second fashion show I attended was for my friend and former colleague Jane Ibraham and her new collection Maisonnette1977 which debuted at The Box at Lincoln Center .  She's the sweetest girl and although the clothing was edgy for me, there were two pieces I would definitely wear!

The collection was shown by a group of models standing on platforms in the center of the floor rather than walking a runway.    Guests walked around the perimeter of the room to view each model in each style. It was my first foray into the world of  Mercedes Benz Fashion week. Interesting but for me,  I'll still stick to the dogs (much more fun) so it's back to the drawing  board. My focus.....the spring collection and more harnesses for MALE dogs.  Got lots of requests at the show and I know I do tend to favor the girls more because of Lacy.  I'll get it right one of these days 

Quiet after the storm.........

The wind shakes the ice encrusted branches and pelts the house with frozen shards.  It sounds weird against the siding and against the windows, breaking the quiet of the night time.  In the morning Lacy and I go out and the ground is covered with little ice pellets sparkling in the morning light like broken glass, beautiful but treacherous.  Lacy needs boots I think.  She gingerly steps down on the path I've tried to shovel for her,  then turns and looks at me.  I know what she's thinking and go and get her "chew socks", (infant socks I put on her when she chews on her paws).  She hates them, but they help.  It's too cold to stay outside and the snow is too deep to walk around the property, so she takes care of business and walks back to the house, stopping at the door.  I have to put a towel on top of the rubber mat outside the doorway because it's frozen and sharp on her paws and she refuses to walk on it even with the socks.

Jeff's in California and Lacy is confused, walking into his office and barking at his empty chair.  These are the times we rely on each other the most, I to calm her and she to calm me.  I'm ok being apart from my spouse, I get a lot done and do it all my way, but it's still a strange sensation when the house is so quiet.  I put on my music and get to work on more designs which puts me in a whole other zen place.

I donned my graphic designer hat yesterday, and finished the ad for Doggie Aficinado magazine, my third and last.   The issue comes out in March.  They will also put a spot on their web page www.poochcity.com once I send that too.  I'll have an ad in Modern Dog for their spring advertorial section, I believe that's this month.  Let's see if all this works to help sales. 

Meanwhile, still prepping for the Pre-Westminster Gala on February 11th.  I'll go into the city tomorrow and meet with Robin, my table-mate, to hash out set up details. Then to shop for more trims and fabrics for the spring collection and hopefully, meet with Igor about sample making.  Now that the patterns are all done and graded and the protos made, I'm ready for the next step.....costing. :(

To end, a little color amid all this whiteness.........