This Sunday at The Market NYC, I'll have full size range for our new Lace Pinstripe Tank, for your trying-on pleasure. Stop by, bring friends. Remember, walk through the door and turn left. Our booth is right there. All 4 major credit cards accepted. Did you know, there is no longer sales tax on clothing items (under $110)? I like it!

Have you noticed the really neat ceramic birds in the window displays at Fresh? I asked, and they are for sale. They are taking orders now. They come in sky blue, chartreuse and orange. And they are $15 each. Go to Fresh and put your order in. Here is a list of their stores. They will take your name and call you. Picture to follow!

Don't worry, I am just looking. Both of these pieces by Marc by Marc Jacobs appeal to me. I didn't notice them in the store but I'm sure they were there. Find them online under Bags, Spring 2006 Women's. Why is their site so annoying? It kills the fun of sending links to your friends!
Here is the series of bags which that wristlet comes from. I cannot find that wristlet. It must be just an in-store treat. Go and look before it sells out! Isn't the metallic subtle and lovely?




And here is the strange chunky necklace I tried on for $35. I think you have to be very very very tall to wear this one. And I am not. I like the one I made better. Remember the Lucky Moon Necklace from a couple of years ago? I still like to wear that one in the summer.

The Marc Jacobs store is always an interesting visit. I got hooked on the fantasy last year that I too would someday own a Marc Jacobs bag. This one, but in teal to match my eyes, as my friend Jodi pointed out. So what if it cost much more than my rent? I went to visit that bag so often at Saks that the sales people all knew me.

Now back to reality, I still like visiting the store to be dazzled by the great designs. Currently, there are particularly lovely small pouch-like bags with wrist handles in subtle metallics. Under $200. Let me see if I can find them online for you. Forget it. The site is all flash. Maybe the bag is on saks.com? No not here either.

Well anyway, the strange thing I find about the store is that considering the rest of the high prices, there is always something ridiculously affordable in the accessories cases. Why? Bangle bracelets for $35, leather key fobs for $5. A chunky (buy weird) necklace for $35. Maybe he is just trying to be true to his Rock 'n Roll roots. I don't know. It is nice though. I have 2 bangles and a barette. Go check out the store near you. You will love the wristlet bag.

Check out this scone! (bowl, Russell Wright to match the coffee cup below) It is sweetened with applesauce. No sugar! It is giant. (I ate half...) Has anyone from Boston ever had the scones from the old Claremont Cafe on Columbus? These are just as good! I am so very excited. And no sugar! I have given up sugar Sunday through Thursday, allowing myself a treat on Friday and Saturday. Is that weird? I need to do these things. Otherwise I would be eating every cupcake that crosses my path. In fact, I went into Magnolia today, just for the smell. And did not purchase! Pious? Not really. I had already bought this scone up the street. Below is the magical place's business card. GO! It is packed with goodies!! Great iced coffee too. And right up the street from the Marc Jacobs stores.

Take the L to 8th Ave, and walk downtown a half a block. Sweet Heart is between 13th & 14th Sts on the right, heading downtown.

I just got back from the Garment District, with a new table drape for Sunday. Blue mesh (packs small and light, takes up little room in my suitcase) with this bamboo mat layered on top. Last week I chose a cute fabric (the buttons below) but it was a bit loud, combined with the prints of my tees. Now you can find me at the Mart. I'll be the one with this nifty table drape.

You know a city is great when they sell snaps that come this many to the card! This is eight times the amount of a Boston snap card. I made the right move.

As you may know if you have been reading the blog, I have become inspired by grassy green as the It Color for this season. To the point of seeking it out in objects and interior design where ever I can find it (here, here and here), growing my own mini lawn, sampled here, writing about it a lot, and making clothes to match.

I made this new index page for elaineperlov.com to coordinate with the Lace Pinstripe Tank featured in our ad running on Spree Dallas. I wanted to show the new pieces for Spring/Summer nestled in the new grass. I especially like the repeat of the "pattern," particularly the water droplets. I decided with this composition that less was more. Click on all the new pieces, and check out our ad to shop with a special discount. We'll have all these new pieces this weekend at The Market NYC too for you to touch and try and take home!

Yes I could. I keep looking at it in the catalogue. It would go so well with my new grassy green pieces for Spring/Summer. But that is hardly a good reason to buy a chair. It reminds me of my LABYRINTH TOP. I could see the new pieces casually draped across the arms. Of course, I would have to make a cushion. Oh the fabric possibilities! I could make many cushions for my different mix-match moods. Even a wood grain pillow that I could make with my new rocker!!

I had a dream that we got 2 new pieces of furniture. But since everything fits so nicely right now (which it does in real life too), the 2 additional pieces had to be stacked on top of existing pieces. Tables stacked on chairs and vice versa. And everytime we needed something, we had to restack and reshuffle.

So maybe the new chair will have to wait. Maybe I could get a friend to buy it, and I could sit in it at their house.

Overlapping Squares Chair, photo from westelm.com

I am currently sculpting with grass. In Photoshop, that is. I think I should go for a swim and let these ideas sink in. Here is the background layer for the new index page. So far. Everything could change when I get back.

If you are just waking up to my blog, you have a bit of back reading to do. I posted quite a bit last night, to make up for not posting much on Monday and Tuesday. You see, I am thinking about you. :-) I have been working like crazy. Excited about all of my new projects, and excited about having a venue to show my latest designs every weekend for the next 4 weeks. There is nothing like an audience to ignite production.

So anyway, this is my new morning set-up with my favorite coffee cup and peanut butter toast plate. The cup is vintage, Russell Wright "Residential" by Northern (made in Boston!). Don't you just love Russell Wright? Plus anything plastic I have a thing for. I will call my autobiography, Penchant for Plastic. Really! The red plate, melamine. The placemat, real wood but faux grain. The other placemat, tomatoes! Purchased at The Block at Orange. OC, California. The tablecloth. Made by me. 100% linen. With those pertinent details digested, happy Wednesday! I have more work to do. Will be back later with a sneak peak at my ad running on Spree Dallas that begins tomorrow.

Not so junky right? Yes I am pleased with it too. So I took a picture to show you. It has stayed neat for a year. The key to it: these wire organizers (the large one that holds my chopsticks doubles as a bread basket. Just add waxed paper cut to size. I got the idea from Salamander in Boston, a great restaurant, now sadly out of business. The small ones double as jewelry displays which I fill with colored aquarium rocks.)

I like how everything fits so nicely. I am not tempted to buy more coasters, because they fit! No overflow. I made the little care packages in half-baggies (on the counter) when we moved. So precious. They crack me up. One contains a happy face bottle opener and 2 neon pour spouts (good for Balsamic vinegar). The other, sushi grass! And soy sauce containers shaped like little fishies. I saved them from my lunches in Japan back in 1990. I had to save something. I did get rid of my Parisian sugar collection though, which I saved from every cappuccino I drank in Paris.

First you may want to read the entry entitled, "another egg timer success story," because this post is along the same lines: something I wrote about which inspired another! Erin of Erin Originals sent me a photo of her Success Board, and wrote this [excerpted]:

"As promised a photo of my more haphazard Success Board. Sorry for the [blurry photo] but I think you get the gist. It's been really helpful if only because it adds a bit of colour to the place!"

Thanks Erin, I love it!

Note to readers: I got this email a month ago, but it took me awhile to figure out how to save the picture properly and upload it. Consult this older post for background information: Project Success!

Hardly. Look at all of these shoe inserts I have purchased! Obviously, I have a pre-occupation with foot comfort. I thought I would take a photo to remind myself to stop buying these things, and start buying more comfortable shoes. (But comfortable generally equals ugly, and thus my search continues...)

I found this, under my yogurt lid. Admittedly, well-placed and appropriate, but really.

I just checked the business card of that member of the Press. Editor-in-Chief! Yes I like that Market NYC. So I have a great spot. Walk through the door, turn to the left. There I am! Right against the wall by the door. Come see me. Geisha Tops all restocked for your shopping pleasure next Sunday.

Yesterday's Market NYC was quite good. I love doing that show. I left with only one Geisha Top. People are just loving that top. Another popular item: The Dynasty T in red/silver. Stop by for shopping next Sunday!!! This week, we will be restocking sold-out items and coming back with more goodies. Another great thing that happened: a member of the Press bought some things! Now that is what I call a good Market. More later....

Sure I could show you the case full of delicious cupcakes. But that would be too obvious. With a sign like this and a window stuffed with challah, wouldn't you want to go check it out? And look at these frosted cupcake cakes (below)! These warm my heart.

to visit:
Bruce's Cupcakery
1045 1st Ave (at 57th St)
212.223.1085

And I was worried that Google wouldn't like me posting their logo!

Read about the Miro-esque Google logo being pulled down. (Oops. But they forgot to pull it down from their interior pages.)

Is it Miro's birthday today? I suppose I could click around and find out, but why not just ask? I am not sure if it is even legal to show Google's logo here. Hopefully it's ok with them...

I used to have a theory that Catalonians were particularly gifted, and held the key to life. It was after I saw painting after painting by Miro at the retrospective at MoMA back in 1993 that I came up with this thought. I was lulled into a meditation on his forms. That his symbols, or "constellations," as they are sometimes called, were representations in his own language of something Greater.

The same thing happened to me at the Musee Picasso in 1994. After seeing painting after painting by Picasso, particularly examples I had never seen before, I had an epiphany. I also sought out everything I could read on Gaudi, the third great Catalonian (in no particular hierarchical order really), to unlock the great Truths I believed they all held. I wrote on a rather grandiose to-do list that I still keep in my sewing drawer because it amuses me, to research Gaudi and begin to make connections between his architecture and the universe, and then start formulating some sort of thesis about these three from Catalan.

It should be noted that I also investigated Salvador Dali, yet another great Catalonian, and read The Secret Life of Salvador Dali, which was quite good; but in the end, he really didn't fit in with my theories...

Hmm. Perhaps a pilgrimage is in order. Catalan might be a good place to visit.

It occurs to me today that I live a good life. I am listening to Blondie (No Exit), ruminating on what to write in my blog, and meanwhile Photoshopping some photos of new designs (with grassy green!) for an ad that I am placing for a Mother's Day online Gift Guide (Spree Dallas). It is Springy out. I live in New York City! I have my own company. I get to be creative most times of the day. I have a great husband. I have a great family. I have a blog! I already went for my swim today and took my exercise class. I made a really tasty scrambled egg with tofu and spicy black beans for lunch. I have good friends I like a lot. Fellow designers to brainstorm with. And I have brand new designs to show this Sunday at the Nolita Designer's Market! I am trying new things all the time and seeing what happens. I am risking. Life is good.

Eureka! I have discovered the Greek Cup, right in my own backyard. I was buying some Polish sourdough rye today at a local bakery, as I do every 2 weeks or so, when I spied The Stack. Greek Cups! And so I got to have my first cup of coffee in NYC in the genuine Greek Cup (version with urns). 50 cents. Just a little milk. Although she added a lot. It tasted extra good.

This bread deserves a detail picture all its own. Here it is. $2.20 for the loaf. So delicious. "Granny's Rye" if you want to order it. Just look at that crust!

I purchased my wood graining rocker! And at a good price too: $6.99 at Janovic on 9th Avenue. Plus my kit comes with all sorts of extra tools. (Admittedly I realize I am using this tool backwards. I want to apply paint with it. Technically you are supposed to use it to dig in to already applied paint. But we'll see...)

Let the wood graining begin!

Attention jeans-wearers (ladies only), I have a question for you. When it comes to tops, what is your desired longer length? (let me clarify: measurement is from the base of the armhole, not the shoulder seam, so tanks can get into the action too) 18"? 21"? 16"? I am talking about the kind of style you would wear with a lower waist, or with a cropped jacket.

Take a tape measure to your favorite tops and tell me. Tell me your height while you are at it too. Much appreciated! These jeans (Antik, $260) have an interesting back pocket embroidery.

Stay tuned for a some new summery tops from us that are cute with jeans. I look forward to your answers to my question.

You will find this a little nutty. After living here in NYC for nearly a year, I have yet to get a deli cup of coffee that is served in the Greek Cup! So now, (the nutty part) I am specifically seeking out delis that use the Greek Cup to get my coffee. I spotted one such place on my way into Manhattan the other day. (You have to come above ground in Queens to transfer from the G to the 7, and I spied a group of 4 guys standing out front of a place, all sipping out of The Cup.)

So on my way back to Brooklyn a few hours later, I ordered myself a small coffee (75 cents) at the same place. And wouldn't you know it, they ran out of the real thing, and I got this knock-off. I like it, but I don't. It has the Greek keys. It has a lovely picture of the Parthenon with a very nice framing element. But no escutcheon on the other side. Just an uninspired square. Yuck. That is what makes the other so beautiful. The way it plays with the negative space. The columns are not lyrical on this one either. Too boxy. And the typeface is not in the "Greek font." I want the real one. Did you know there are two different versions of the real one? One has the columns, the other, urns. Interesting.

I am going to the fabric district now, and I will stealthily seek out The Cup. Time for my afternoon coffee anyway. If I find more knock-offs in my coffee travels, I will surely photograph them for you here. I get so deeply interested in the weirdest things...

Yesterday, all of my projects fell into place so nicely. I got so much done and worked on some new designs (to come)! And it was a Monday, no less. Today I am going for an early swim to get the juices flowing. Be back to write more later. In the meantime, enjoy this amazing online catalogue application from Target, courtesy of Happy Mundane. The pages turn and everything. You must check this out! I particularly like the patterned wallpaper backgrounds. Gives me food for thought.

Check out the latest outfit pairings and new pieces on
Collection 3: Dressy Utilitarian.




Our Means Business Skirt has a new little touch for Spring: indigo & silver embroidered flowers adorning the hemline. View this denim skirt in greater detail on the site.




And our classic "Rancho" style skirt has a new incarnation for Spring/Summer: a comfortably stretchy black and white bamboo print with a rich emerald green accent at the waist. Check out the Bamboo Rancho Skirt here. Below is a close-up of the fabric (stretch cotton, light twill finish). Go to the site for more images and shopping information. We are offering this new skirt at a special price for a limited time.

I have been having a lot of fun since I learned the new "Print Screen" technology. I can show you so many new things now! Our latest index page, any new developments on Collection pages (that is coming later today!), and on and on. It occured to me, why not show you our spiffy Checkout pages. Perhaps you have not tried "ADD TO BAG" yet. Here is what it looks like when you do.

Click on the photo above to see a larger view of this Checkout page. You get thumbnail photos of every product you add to your shopping bag, so you can see your new outfit combos, without having to remember, what did I buy again? I love that feature. And all of our policies are linked in pop-up windows, for easy reading, without having to navigate away from the page while you shop.

To access the Checkout pages on the site, go here (for example), and click "SHOPPING BAG" or "MY ACCOUNT" at top right, or "ADD TO BAG" at lower left and start visualizing your own new outfit combos.

One final post to leave you with for the weekend. We are gearing up to show at The Market NYC, beginning the Sunday after Easter. That is April 23, 11-7 pm. Come by and see us on the first day! Or check our show schedule to see which date suits you best. We will be cutting the SILK WRAP TOP today in this lovely new pinstripe variation of the ice blue. It is our hot seller! Come try it on.

This style of fire call box which is all over New York, reminds me of Japanese Buddhist sculptures of Kannon, Goddess of Mercy. (note: the Chinese style of Guan Yin is somewhat different) There is one example in my neighborhood that is particularly lovely -- very old with peeling paint -- that is, to me, so similar to various standing examples of this deity. Similarities in form: the "pose," the overall boxy shape, the surface texture, the crowning finial.

Kannon generally takes on a gentle female form, protecting living beings with loving compassion, but the Bodhisattva can also take on a an angry fiery form (fiery!), Bato Kannon, or horse-faced Kannon. I will show you more photo comparisons. I am particularly fixated on this thought. For now, this photo of a firebox near Koreatown, and Thousand-Armed Kannon at Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto.

Just look at this cutting table! Truthfully, it was my favorite item at the Conran Shop. Apparently, they sell fabric by the yard. But woefully, not this cutting table. Sigh.

I think I had mentioned a few weeks ago that on a gigantic walk to explore the city, we found a Conran Shop in NYC! You know what that means. Great design at darn good prices. There are great clocks, jewelry, textiles, outdoor furnishings and accessories (planters!), and a flower shop, to name just a few categories. And no need to shop online from their England-based website. Well I guess it has version for the U.S., but shopping in person at this store is much more fun. Plus they have many more products than are shown online. How I have missed this store!

The store itself is great looking, with the 59th Street Bridge as a dramatic backdrop (more dramatic in person). Those of you who make it a policy to never go above 14th St will miss out on the fun, but the more intrepid will make the pilgrimage and be pleased. There is also a very dramatic Food Emporium built right into the bridge that is not too be missed. (The ceilings are particularly striking.) And if you get peckish from all that exploring, Food Emporium has an extensive prepared foods department.

The Conran Shop
Bridgemarket
407 E 59th St
New York, NY 10022
212.755.9079
shop online

A little pampering goes a long way. When I entered Sabon (6th Avenue and 10th Street in the West Village), I was whisked back to one of two demonstration sinks and treated to a moisturizing Dead Sea Salt hand scrub in the flavor of my choice (I chose Lemon-Mint), and a moisturizer chaser (Carrot, so as not to compete with my Lemon-Mint).

Well, I am sold. Their products are amazing. The scents are incredible, and the all-natural products have such nice finishes. Very smooth like satin, not squeaky clean, and not greasy. Quite nice. The sales person gave me 3 soaps to sample. I think I will go back and treat myself to a bar of their Lemon-Mint glycerin soap. It has a moisturizing finish, and the scent reminds me of a lemon drop candy you can only get in the Amish Country. Yum.

Check out their catalogue online, and then go visit one of their stores and start sampling!



photos from SabonNyc.com, (above) Soap-on-a-Rope, a very lovely gift I think, and the Lemon Glycerin Soap I am going to buy, (below) Lemon-Mint Body Scrub which I tried and loved

Are thoughts of Spring clothes causing you to regroup, get inspired and adopt new healthy habits? Here is a tasty, quick and inexpensive recipe that I like to whip up when I am pressed for time. It is based on a Turkish salad, with some of my own variations. The ingredients you will need are in bold.

Chop 3 pickling cucumbers and 2 tomatoes into cubes
Toss with balsamic vinegar and fresh ground black pepper
Cube a half cake of tofu, mix in
Add a half can of chickpeas, mix in
Let the mixture marinate for an hour at room temperature.
Toss together with an equal or greater amount of mesclun greens.
Eat!

It is so fresh and clean-tasting. You will feel great after you eat.



If you are looking for more inspiration to eat better, check out this: 31 Healthy Habits from Self Magazine. Adopt a new one each day and watch yourself change.


Or for a funny reminder to stay on track, try these refrigerator decals from Target (funny post courtesy of Decor8).

I have seen by now 8 signs in shop windows that say, "The Best Gefilte Fish in New York." How could there be 8 bests? The last window I passed stating this fact was Citarella. "One of the better gefilte fishes in the 5 boroughs" maybe I could accept. Oh well, I am changing my index page. It will now read,

The Best Fashion Designer in New York
and the nicest too.

Why not.

Want to know the hot colors for Spring 06? You could always take a look at the Pantone site and read the articles, or purchase a color book like this one for $275. If you ask me though, it will be grassy green. Along with bright shades of turquoise, yellow, orange and hot pink. Rich, saturated colors. (Even if pastel shades were featured, I would not use them. I look to the trends, but then pick what I like, and what works within my idiom.) I like to predict these trends by looking at what is hot in interiors. British Elle Decor is a good 6-9 months ahead. Over the years, I have noticed that the same colors they show trickle down to fashion.











For complete how-to steps on growing your own grassy green mini-lawn, go to this post.

That does it. I must find a wood graining tool or get some woodgrain fabric!! Wouldn't this color combo make the greatest outfit? (photo again from EmmeBi) I already have that green. New design from me coming soon using that green, to appear on this page.