PRESS

There was a mis-print in the description and retail price
of the of the Jean Rouget note cards:
"Duplex" or two-tone note card with envelope are $22.00/25
Solid color note card with envelope are $32.00/40

I keep a stash of Jean Rouget note cards and envelopes
with me at all times for the impromptu note...

A week in pictures...

My newest favorite color is all different shades of olive green, due to a favorite sweater bought at j.crew last Fall. So the graphics on this bag, by The Body Shop, definitely caught my eye!

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However, the color orange is my back-up accent color and I couldn't resist this shoulder bag by Lacoste! L., who was wearing this bag owns a Jeanine Payer "Lars" bracelet with the quote "I dwell in possibility". - Emily Dickinson

I found out that L. works in the fitness dept of Self magazine so of course I had to ask her some questions about exercises that I can do at home. A girlfriend swears by Billy Blanks "Tae-bo" tapes and suggested I try it. L. also recommended I buy a set of weights to use at home.

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What a super fun bag! I love the pink handles peeking out. They actually matched the pink "skin" on her iPhone which I didn't see until after I had taken the photograph!

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Bundled up beautifully against a wintry cold day.

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This large crystal layered in gold wire, designed by the late Kazuko Oshima, looked exquisite below a Temple St. Clair cherub pendant and other small charms.

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A silk flower accents the ponytail of a woman who works at a restaurant nearby. She forgot that she still had it on when I asked if I could take a photo of it...

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Out of everything this woman was wearing I find it interesting how my eye & brain focused on the contrast of her curly red hair against the delicate jumble of pearls and stones of her earring.

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This coat was deliciously beautiful. The texture of the fur was so smooth and the color reminded me of a lipstick I used to wear. I love how the sleeves of her dress peeked out from the sleeves of her coat. Pink is another one of my favorite colors and seeing it combined with the thin red stripes in her scarf was pure delight.

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A view of the back wall of Cursive from our register.

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Sisters from Chicago, were in New York to buy dresses for their brother's wedding, and were looking at the Jeanine Payer jewelry for the first time. While they stood reading the Jeanine Payer "book/catalog" I took photos of their attire.

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Thorny branches sit atop a John Derian "nest" plate

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Cobalt blue and a deep berry purple seem to be the hottest colors in clothing or at least in winter coats and scarfs!

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The hat in the middle, bought at the J.J. Hat Center by a young guy, inspired me to take a photo of it and the additional accessories worn by his friend.

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1st: Elda's hat was too fun not to take a photo.
She agreed and said that when she bought this hat
she had to buy a 2nd one in a different color.

2nd: I spotted her fly earrings...

3rd: her rings were so pretty, and they are her own design!

4th and lastly, I couldn't help myself but capture her bag too.

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Love, love, LOVE this knit hat with an embroidered fish on the top and matched with a bright orange scarf by Virginia Johnson!

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Just loved all the different patterns on Ms. Black who wore them with confidence.

A Valentine's Day wish

Two pieces from Jeanine Payer's Valentine's collection

"Give all to love". - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"I believe in you my soul". - Walt Whitman

An overdue posting...

I had created this post in December but somehow never got around to actually posting it...
So here it is in all of its glory!

Ah, the joys of short hair. I've been seeing some fabulous short hairstyles on a few of my customers and I miss mine.

I've been growing my hair since August and friends and family have said it has softened my look, though I do miss rolling out of bed, dabbing a bit of styling gel to my hair and out the door I go... I could try doing the same with my long hair and seeing what happens, but oh, I would love to take a pair of scissors and just chop it all off!

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Catherine, a mutual friend of Peggy Lo of Figments in Providence, RI, came in today to say hello and pick up a few goodies.

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Octopus necklace by _______. I have to find the postcard that Catherine gave to me.

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A type of hydrangea.

I had never seen this flower, Chinchirichi or Star of Bethlehem in a potted plant form until a customer came in with it. She had bought it from Whole Foods last Saturday.
Each green bud blooms into a small white flower. I used to buy bunches of these in stem form and they would last for at least a month.

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Love this patterned coat with the shoulder bag. The tatoo needle & thread just speaks for itself...

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I saw this fabulous coat last night on the N train and had desperately wanted to take a photo of it but didn't have my camera with me... The next day, what should walk in but the coat! I was so happy to see it again and the customer was so happy to have made my day!

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Customers playing out the jingle bells tune on their cell phone into Michael's ear.

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I spotted this Orla Kiely bag on this customer and it turned out that I had already photographed this bag about 6 months ago... Funny how that happens...

Gift Fair week: Accessories make the outfit

Hi Julie! A bright kelly green coat brightens a very cold winter day. I LOVE her bag, which combines plastic with textile scraps, designed by Luisa Cevese.

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The "Bon" women! Bonnie and Crystal, mother and daughter team of Bon in Tuscon, AZ at Cursive the day before the Gift Fair. I introduced myself to them after seeing them both in ABC and at the gift fair over the past few years. I always love talking with them because they GET IT: Cultivating a customer and conversation and finding something charming in the small bits...

What caught my eye: Bonnie's b/w striped fingerless gloves, her tweedy green coat and Patch NYC bag with owl illustration and Crystal's crackled white leather zippered clutch with textured blue scarf.

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Three hable construction bags spotted in one day, let alone in a span of 5 minutes, all carried by the women of The Home Market in Milwaukee, WI and also in town for the gift fair last week. The "monarch sails" pattern on the left is something I've been eyeing for a while. I can't figure out what size bag to get (I usually carry my entire apt...) and I love all of hable's patterns! I have several journals in the bead patterns shown in the middle and on the right.

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I was able to snap a few bag shots at the gift fair. The tote on the left is my kind of bag... large, roomy, stylish though can get a bit heavy, after a few catalogs...! If I could narrow down my belongings into a small shoulder bag, like the one on the right, I think my boss would fall over...

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Anthony, a sales associate at the New York Historical Society, on 77th Street & Central Park West has a wonderful wardrobe of vintage clothing and finally I was able to take a snapshot of his attire at the NY Gift Fair recently. Last August, he was wearing a top hat with his attire and carrying a beautiful cane, unfortunately I did not have my camera.

Taking photos of shopping bags is a new favorite subject of mine but especially when they belong to stores where I personally know the owner. Tinsel Trading had an outpost in ABC Carpet last year (which has now closed) but they still have their flagship store at 1 West 27th Street (5th/6th Avenues) and Deva Curl is part of the Devachan Salon on Broadway (Prince/Spring Streets) and also on Broome Street.

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There's something about how the edge of jeans, draping over a good looking sneaker, that always grabs my attention and I have to take a photo of it.

The carved frog on the top of this cane is from Charleston, SC and belongs to "teacher Jeff" who teaches in a Brooklyn High School. I am still trying to get the hang of my digital camera so I apologize that I didn't get all the details of the carving. It was beautiful in person.

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conversations...

It is unusually quiet at Cursive these days, so after dusting and neatening the shop and catching up with things that have happened on my days off, I try and find other ways to stimulate my brain cells i.e. conversations with customers.

Yesterday I met Julie, owner of Virtu in Chicago, and we had a nice conversation about what else... but product and the state of small businesses in this economy etc... It all started when I commented on her bag which I thought was Marimekko but it turned out to be a vintage Orla Kiely "sling" bag found on ebay by her husband. Julie loves certain Orla Kiely patterns and her husband knows this, so when he is on ebay, he knows what to look for.

A second conversation with a customer began over the graphite objects as Ms. Rubin lives in the Bay Area where the artist lives. She was also wearing a beautiful gold Kieselstein-Cord ring which turned out to be her and her husband's wedding rings.

It's these conversations that always adds a highlight to my day.