Spork Fashion

About a year ago, we reported on the fantastic wallets made of silk neckties from Parvenu Leisure Apparel.

We are pleased to report that Jim Warwick, owner of Parvenu, has received an order for 200 of his wallets, to be sold at Urban Outfitters stores across the country. If they sell well, a larger order could be in store! Congrats Jim!

For more info on Parvenu Leisure Apparel, visit myspace.com/ParvenuLeisure

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“My jewelry starts out with a ‘What if?’,” explains designer Angela Saunders. “I ask this question, and things start to happen. “I find inspiration in that initial question.”

Angela was displeased with mass-produced mall jewelry (”I had no interest in wearing the same pair of earrings as the girl next to me”). So she decided to make her own. Starting big box craft store beads, Angela moved on to genuine stones and sterling silver (”big girl stuff”). Compliments led to sales (”I don’t remember that lone customer of yore, but it was a turning point,” she muses), and sales led to Eura Le, her jewelry line, named for the grandfather she never met. “My creativity is often attributed to him,” Angela tells us. “Thus the name. We never met, but we still share something. He gave me something since we missed each other.”

The copper bracelet is one of Angela’s favorite creations. “I can’t decide if I really want to sell it. I just like looking at it!” When a friend specifically asked for a copper bracelet, Angela was intrigued by the malleability of the copper, and started experimenting. “I found that shape because I needed an attractive shape AND something that could actually be worn,” she says. The stones are golden cherry quartz, which Angela added to “bring the copper to life.”

Next on the schedule is a line of eco-conscious children’s items. “I’m in no way a ‘planet earth’ type girl,” she insists. “Natural products, especially Fair Trade items, keep my focus because the designs are cool.” Her current focus is on a Mommy & Me gift set, consisting of chlorine-free diapers and an organic cotton toy for baby, and earrings for mommy.

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I knew I was a grown-up the day I started to care about housewares. I didn’t have a house yet - just an apartment - but when registering for wedding gifts, I was actually excited about Kate Spade martini glasses and Calvin Klein bath towels. Now that I have a house, I care even more.

I was excited to discover the functional ceramics of Gina DeSantis. This Cleveland-based artist creates magnificent mugs, bowls, plates, and pendants out of ceramics and stoneware. For someone with a Masters of Fine Arts, you would almost expect her to create fussy pieces better suited for pate than PB&J. Her goal is to blend beauty and function, and she succeeds.

I have never used my fancy china because, even though it looks nicer than my collection of mismatched mugs with cartoon characters and logos emblazoned on them, it just feels too delicate to use. Gina’s pieces are gorgeous and don’t inspire fear. I am proud to serve a heaping mug of tea or cocoa They are sturdy, well-weighted, and microwave and dishwasher safe (though she recommends hand washing to preserve the glaze). Gina incorporates interesting glaze combinations and printmaking techniques to ensure that each hand-fired piece is a work of art.

Visit Gina on the web at GinaDeSantisCeramics.com. To purchase, visit her Etsy Page

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If you are a fashion idiot, this is the book for you. Fashion 101 is truly a crash course in clothing. Written for teenagers, it describes every conceivable clothing style, with tips on how to wear them and the history behind each item. For the most part, info is provided in an encyclopedic fashion, making it more of a reference than something you have to sit down and read in large gulps. Everything is divided into sections - jewelry, dresses, tops, shoes, etc.

If you are a little fashion-phobic, but want to up your style, this is a great, unintimidating way to get your feet wet. Everything is explained for the layman, from fabrics to necklines. The only downside is that there are no photographs - everything is illustrated with drawings. I imagine getting permission to reprint famous and not-so-famous fashions is a daunting task - both physically and financially. But this definitely has some useful info, including the tale behind the creation of Hermes’ infamous Birkin bag - something that I didn’t even know.

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One of the last great couturiers has died. At age 71, after a long illness, Yves Saint Lauren has died at his home in France.

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