Monday, June 7, 2010

BUCKEYE JEANS Cincinnati Launch June 4, 2010

So, just as planned I launched my denim line, BUCKEYE JEANS, in my hometown last Friday.
A bunch of close friends came by and many purchased the "Cincinnati Fashionista" tee, underwear and the new necklaces. So many people I went to Walnut Hills with showed the love!

Luckily only one ex-bf showed up (Thank God!) and he said he was proud of me and apologized for being a dog back in the day. Wow! Oprah said they never do that.





Friday, May 21, 2010

Pics From Summer 2010 Trunk Show/Red Carpet Reception

May 14, 2010 - Step N Out Boutique - Columbus, OH

Friends, family, co-workers came out to support BUCKEYE JEANS and its first trunk show.





Photos Courtesy Docuvent Photography

Sunday, May 16, 2010

My Interview With JWORK TV From the Trunk Show

My inspiration for the line and the future of Buckeye Jeans

Monday, April 26, 2010

First Lady Frances Strickland Supports Buckeye Jeans!



Today, I went to the Statehouse to meet State Senator Eric Kearney as he arrived from Cincinnati to Columbus after his walk to fight childhood obesity.

While there, it was a pleasure to meet Ohio's 1st Lady, Frances Strickland, who showed her support for BUCKEYE JEANS and her advisor, Judy bought a pair!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Increase CDC's Micro Entrepreneur Awards

A wonderful event held at the Columbus Christian Center.
Local entrepreneurs and those who just finished the Increase CDC business class were honored.


Franklin County Auditor Clarence Mingo delivered the keynote address

New graduates

A drumline performed

I met dozens of people that gave me their business cards and enjoyed hearing about Buckeye Jeans. Hope to see you May 14th..Step Out Boutique!
It was a pleasure to meet Fanchon Kent of Miss Black Ohio and Pamela Lowery of Favor Magazine.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Check Out The Looks I Created On Polyvore!!

Polyvore.com is a site that allows you to mix and match items found in web stores as a VIRTUAL stylist. I LOVE THIS SITE!!
What do u think of my 3 looks?


Thursday, April 1, 2010

Great Beauty Breakthrough!


We can put a man on the moon, but until now we didn't have a REALLY long lasting nailpolish. NO MORE!

reprinted from Essence.com
There's something so exhilarating about exiting a salon rocking a fabulous new nail color--you feel special, girly, "polished" (pardon the pun). The inevitable let-down comes a few days later, when your polish starts to chip, turning your exquisite manicure into a hot mess. Thankfully, in May, the geniuses at Creative Nail Design are launching Shellac Hybrid Nail Color, a revolutionary line of twelve shade that apply like polish (base coat, color, top coat), but stay put for two weeks without chipping or fading! Here's how the in-salon treatment works: The technician applies the product and then cures it in a UV light so there's no dry time. To remove, the nails are wrapped in Shellac Remover Wraps (acetone-soaked cotton pads that target the nail directly, limiting your skin's exposure to the chemical). Voila, fourteen days of super-glossy,chip free nails!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Dueling denim dealers


Reprinted from Dispatch.com

Dueling denim dealers
Two premium jeans retailers are opening in the Short North
Saturday, March 27, 2010 2:51 AM
By Tim Feran


Jeff Hinckley | DIspatch
National Jean Co. will open in Dr. Mojoe's old location, shown here. Some of Mojoe's workers will be at Voodoo.
So the opening of two premium jeans stores in the Short North within a few weeks of each other might come as no surprise.

What might be surprising is that the stores are literally across the street from each other: National Jean Co. at 761 N. High St., in the former home of premium jeans store Dr. Mojoe; and Voodoo Denim Lounge at 780 N. High St., in what was previously Norka Futon.

"Having two of them right across the street from each other increases both of their odds of being successful - if they are strong operators," said Chris Boring, president of Columbus-based retail consultancy Boulevard Strategies. "Fashion is a selection-driven category. Shoppers will go to places where they have more choices, especially for items you don't see at all of the malls."

"It's a great area," said Helen Kim, director of operations at National Jean. "I love this street. This specific location pulls from the suburbs, it pulls from campus. It's a general mixture. All these neighborhood shops offer a lifestyle that lends itself to a day of shopping. There's a lot to do here."

"Exactly," said Voodoo Denim Lounge owner Cindy Zafar. "I think that only benefits us both. The more places you have, the more people come down. It's why people go to Easton or to the mall. That's why we chose the area - you can hit a gallery, a store, a restaurant, all in one area."

Sales trends also favor the two stores.

While total U.S. apparel market sales decreased 5.2 percent in 2009, the NPD Group reported that sales in the $13billion denim industry grew by 3.5 percent.

Jeans differ from other apparel categories in that price is not the key factor for most shoppers. According to Cotton Incorporated, a trade association, 50 percent of consumers say the most important feature for a jeans purchase is fit, followed by style (19 percent).

National Jean, a big name in the world of high-end denim, began in 1992 in Long Island, N.Y., and has painstakingly pursued its customers - who are almost entirely women - by super-

serving them.

The Short North store will be the company's first Midwest location; its other 11 are on the East Coast.

"We do only one new store a year," Kim said. "It's not about opening a million stores, but one store correctly. "

National Jean will have roughly a dozen employees when it opens next week, "then probably add more," Kim said.

"It's not self-service. That's the whole point of a specialty store. We're here to give individual attention."

Those employees will draw on 15 to 20 brands - approximately 1,500 pairs of jeans squeezed into the roughly 2,000-square-foot store - to find exactly the right fashion and fit for customers.

The personal attention is so important to the company that it asks its main vendors to regularly hold seminars with employees to train them on brand specialties and how various fits relate to body types.

And executives visit the stores weekly.

"I learn more by spending two hours in a store than five hours reading papers," Kim said. "I'm in my 13th year (with the company), and I'm still in contact with customers from my first year."

Such meticulous attention to customers is important for premium denim because the prices might otherwise scare them away. National Jean's prices start around $110, typically sell somewhere between $170 and $190, and a few will top out in the $220 to $250 range, Kim said.

Local startup Voodoo Denim Lounge is cut from the same fabric. Zafar has been on the floor as a matter of course, serving customers alongside the store's five or so employees since last week's opening. The staff includes former Dr. Mojoe veterans Kim Hughes and Kevin Van Order, "who is kind of known in the area as the denim expert," Zafar said.

Like National Jean, Voodoo focuses on premium denim and also carries other apparel. Unlike National Jean, Voodoo sells both men's and women's jeans, although more of the latter.

For Zafar, fashion has "always been a passion," but selling jeans isn't just about being hip.

"To me, it's all about people, which is why I'm doing it with Kim and Kevin," she said. "We're all three involved in the buying of the product and managing the store ... . Everyone has a hand in it.

"The same goes with customers. I've been in customer service for 15years" at AT&T and Bank One, she said. "That's key to us - building relationships, getting to know the people who work around here, the neighborhood we're in, asking about family when familiar faces come in."

That focus on customers is why Voodoo isn't just a lounge in name only.

"We've got a pool table in the store, so if a girl comes in to look at jeans with her boyfriend, they can shoot pool and hang out a little bit. It's different for Columbus," Zafar said.

While opening such unusual, upscale businesses "is scary in this economy," Boring said, there is reason for optimism. "Pricey retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch and others are starting to make a comeback in revenues.

"The Short North continues to fill some of the huge void in fashion-goods merchandise in the central part of the city left when City Center closed."

tferan@dispatch.com

Friday, March 12, 2010

EVENT TONITE HONORING MILK BAR



{milk bar}
Voted Best Fashion Boutique in the Columbus Alive

Would like to thank you for voting us number one with
a night of complimentary drinks and food.

March 18th
10-12 a.m.

@ THE SOCIAL
a refuge in the arena district
-527 Park Street
-Open to the Public 21 and over

also that night

Zach Sin Present's
The {milk bar} Spring Fashion Show

-Hair By Kat Sasfy & T.J Reed
-Make up by Makenzie Smith

March 18th at The Social
527 Park Street

http://thescoialroom.net
http://milkbarboutique.com




Spotted at Milk Bar was business partner, Kareem, wearing the local line, DRY CLEAN ONLY.
Fabulous!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Hotties spotted at the library


Willie of Hilliard In Shirt by Express
Spotted clutching law books.



A studious fashionista Kristin of Dublin(right, her mom left)wearing Stella jeans a shirt from Macy's paired this combo with a gray Coach purse.
3/11/10 5:45pm Hilliard Library

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Discovered a Great Blog

Please check out
Pink Diamond PR It's great to see another Columbus resident that is passionate about fashion.
Add it to your faves!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Product Review: L'Oreal 360 Cleanser



The ads for this product got me! I tried it, I liked it. The scrubber that comes with it is a great exfoliator and my skin feels great.


Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Website Posts 2010 Annual Listing of Real Business Grants

Reprinted from
www.dantelee.com



The National Institute of Small Business Grants, a leading global resource for business funding, has published their annual 2010 listing of business grant opportunities. The extensive listing is available online at www.BusinessGrants.org, and is free to the public.

Nike, Microsoft, Intuit, Pepsi, MillerCoors, and IBM are just a few of the companies listed who have programs that are designed to give business grants away this year. Organizations include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dayton Foundation, IFA Educational Foundation and the PepsiCo Foundation. Government agencies include the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), FTA (Federal Transit Administration), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and more.

A business grant is a unique form of funding whereas cash awards are given to entrepreneurs and business owners when they qualify for the specified guidelines. There is typically no expectation of repayment. Such grants are given away by major corporations for charity and public relations purposes, but are also given away by non-profits and government agencies to help rebuild or strengthen small business communities.

Because the Internet is saturated with so much fraudulent information pertaining to business grants, BusinessGrants.org was launched in 2008 as the official online resource for real and legit funding opportunities. The site reports on all avenues of business funding, and features exclusive and original news, tips, videos, and a daily blog.


The site also has a Twitter account (@BizGrants) and a YouTube channel to support their social media outreach.



For more details, visit:

www.BusinessGrants.org

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Men's Christian Louboutin--What Do We Think?



Yea or Nay on Louboutins for men?
And..ladies..
Would you date a man who had a more expensive shoe collection than you?

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

1st sample


Tuesday, January 26, 2010

A Fashionable Way To Help Haiti



I already liked Ralph Lauren and now I LOVE him.
Buy one of these limited edition polos..
Unlike some companies that only give a portion of proceeds..in this case
100% of proceeds go to relief efforts in Haiti.

buy it here

Friday, January 8, 2010

First Lady Clothing Repeats

Right now I'm reading--Michelle Obama First Lady of Fashion and Style by Susan Swimmer.


And like most of us mere mortals, She too repeats great look.
In the book.. see her rock the dramatic white blouse/cardigan/wide belt twice




And..speaking of the First Family

WTF! The President Can't Be A Model


The White House isn’t happy about the latest Times Square billboard advertisement, saying the president’s image is not supposed to be used for commercial purposes.

The latest celebrity ad to grace a Times Square billboard doesn’t feature an athlete, rock star or actor. It’s President Obama sporting a black jacket made by the company Weatherproof.

But the White House isn’t happy about the newest exposure, saying the president’s image — captured by The Associated Press during his November trip to the Great Wall in Badaling, China — is not supposed to be used for commercial purposes.

“The White House has a longstanding policy disapproving of the use of the president’s name and likeness for commercial purposes,” White House spokesman Ben LaBolt said in a written statement.