Spring has sprung in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and our cherry trees are in bloom.  Children’s Spring Breaks have just about concluded and I,  again, am off to New York.

For the love of the Spring Bootie…

While in flight and en route, I cannot help but think about the wonderful footwear that is in bloom too.  So, let me take you on a brief fantasy tour of how I see a few Spring Trends that pair-up so nicely with our Cape.  First, who can resist a fabulous bootie with a peekaboo toe?

Lean In and go get em – pair up your Miu Miu flats with our Graphite Cape!

Next, how about the gal who loves to live in flats?  Zoom around town in these babies and you’ll be the epitome of a chic and button-up babe on the go!

Out on the town with “Oscar” never let’s a lady down…

What about a classic pump?  Here, Oscar de la Renta makes lovely use of the colors of the season – beautiful.

And, to keep within trends, let’s take a peek at just one of our favorite shoes that will carry into Fall looks lovely with our Epic in the Coffee colorway and rock it in Black too.

Fabu Fendi – loving the colorway for now and a bit later too!

And, just in case your a grey-flannel lady, we’ve got a little something for you too…

Our Eliot Vest pairs-up nicely too!

…just a few more hours until landing.  So, until then, enjoy and you can keep up with me day-to-day on Twitter and Facebook  too, ciao!

Having or capable of many uses.

Crossing the transom of married, mother of two teenage boys and one elementary school daughter, keeper of the family gate, various household pets and amimals, business owner and creative type…I think I may have a word or two to say about versatility.

Recently with a handful of women friends in Hawaii…

…I took my runway look

…and dragged it onto the beach.

Then, back in Sun Valley, I layered-it-on as I made my way through the snow.

Different pieces call for different environs…  So, whether at the top of the Space Needle…

…or worn over a glam gown,

Le Romantique is the right tool for the time at the Lincoln Center plaza with friends.

As the backdrop for measuring up,

…or connecting via Skype,

…or pushing my wears at VOGUE,

I always feel connected to my mission.

Fin…

From Diana Vreeland at Bazaar to Ann Richards to the School of American Ballet Winter Ball – a superb three days.

There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home….  Upon touching down in Seattle Wednesday evening, I returned to the chores of dressing for a toga party, scheduling a root canal, coordinating talent show logistics, and continued planning for an upcoming two-week family trip to China…and all this just for my children!  But, it is good to be  home.

My week started on the slab of rock called Manhattan, Sunday, March 10^th.  I was there for a whirlwind three days in New York City on business, and a bit of fun and adventure too.

Love listening to the great Earl Rose at Bemmelman’s Bar.

It has become a bit of a tradition for me, but I do like to start my re-entry to NYC, particularly when I arrive around the cocktail hour, at the Carlyle.  I order my favorite glass of Cabernet, sit back, and take in a bit of the bar lounge sights, sounds and scenes. Listening to Emmy Award winning composer/pianist Earl Rose was a very good way to make the transition from my Puget Sound day to day, to the faster pace of the city.

My Monday started with a flyby visit to the NBC Studios at Rockefeller Center, where I went behind the scenes at the Today show and met News Anchor Natalie Morales face-to-face.  She recently received, and loves, the Voyager Coquette.  It was fascinating to be behind the lights, cameras and action, and to watch as other stars of the show, Matt Lauer, etc., drifted in and out…

Natalie Morales – a natural beauty + she loves my jacket…!

And on the topic of leading ladies, word is in that Kelly Rutherford – who was one of the School of American Ballet’s sponsor’s, Van Cleef & Arpels shining star, more on this event below – is enjoying her Voyager Coquette as well and says it’s the “Must Have” for Spring…..

Fun to attend the same event as Voyager Coquette admirer Kelly Rutherford!

Next stop was day one of my market appointments.  We were very successful in lining up no fewer than 14 appointments with amazing publications.  Monday started with Editors from Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and Marie Claire.  Tuesday ranged from Oprah to Women’s Wear Daily.  And Wednesday, Ladies Home Journal to W-Magazine to More…  It was so exciting and validating to have our Fall 2013 line so well received.

Here is the line as presented at my showroom, WAVE Atelier, in New York.

It was a huge coup to not only walk them through the line, but also remain calm enough to hear their thoughts and get their picks on favorite new styles – wonderful!  A great example was Town & Country.  They fell in love with the Tuxedo Jacket and immediately tweeted about it!

A wonderful twitter conversation ensued with Town & Country.

Layered in and around all of the work, I did have time to add in some fun attending the School of American Ballet’s Winter Ball with Handbag Designer Amanda Pearl, seeing the new Broadway play, Ann – sitting in the house with Bill Clinton, Gabby Giffords and Meryl Streep…..and Best of all, breakfast with Harold Koda of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.  How amazing to discuss the days of Philippe de Montebello – my era at the Met – to those of Tomas Campbell. I loved every moment and kept pinching myself to ensure that yes, this was really happening!

Wonderful evening at Lincoln Center and to be at the Winter Ball.

ANN – the one woman show at the Vivian Beaumont.

So, there you have it…  Orders are coming in for Fall ’13 and we can’t wait to announce new stores to add to our growing roster of retailers!  I feel blessed  by all the momentum building around the Elizabeth Roberts brand as we head into designing Spring 2014 – yes, it’s already that time.  But for now, come see Spring 2013…enjoy!

Our wonderful cape in the Graphite colorway.

Here is a sneak peek of our refreshed website landing page for Spring 2013

On a day like today here in Seattle it really feels like Spring has sprung.  We just returned from President’s Day holiday week – the last school holiday where my children’s school breaks overlap.  Over the week, the office team worked to make inroads on several fronts at once.

Sun Valley is one of our family’s favorite places to ski & board.

While on break with my family in Sun Valley, my sales agent Joan Kelly arranged for a wonderful trunk show at the Brass Ranch in Sun Valley Village.  With the help of dear friends and trunk show co-hosts, Leslie Chihuly & Catherine Allchin, we made a bunch of new and friends and introduced them to our brand and ethos.  They loved the design, the technical fabrics, easy care and SMARTSHIELD pocket that protects from electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) and microwaves emitted by your cell phone without compromising your phone’s performance. It was wonderful that they “got” our brand.

Kat, me, Caroline, Leslie, Kenia and Catherine – what a team!

Within a few hours, the items we brought were picked-up, loved-up and sold!  “What a wonderful experience to have Elizabeth Roberts debut her Spring Collection at our Sun Valley Brass Ranch store.  We almost sold out of items in one evening!” says Kelly Mitchell, Director of Retail, Sun Valley Resort.  We also had a special: the last-of-holiday line’s chenille paired with the Spring line’s coquette vest promo-ed at $399 and boy, did they fly!

Then, once that was deemed a success, Joan was off to the east coast to get our Coterie booth up and running.  This trade show at the Javits Center in New York City is where we will continue making important in-roads with retailers.  Here are a few snap shots from the first couple of days…

Casey models the Romantique Printemps in Navy.

Potential retailer takes a closer measurement.

Joanie sits em down to write the orders – wonderful!

But, prior to all of this, we took advantage of the President’s Day holiday on Monday for our shoot…  I can hardly wait until you see the refreshed site, but for now, here is a sneak peek at one of our landing pages featuring our vest coquette and gamine chic – enjoy!

Beautiful, romantique and wearable styles that let you live your life!

At Cafe Campagne with dear friend, Jenny Kaisersatt, visiting from North Carolina.

Last week was the culmination of quite a few things…lookbook, sales sheets, walk-through of the Fall 2013 line with WAVE, our NYC showroom, sigh.  I was thrilled to have the grace and beauty of long-time dear friend “Jenny Ohrtman” – in town briefly with her husband – move through a fast and furious 8-hour day with me.  We have known each other since we were both 9-years old.  And now, we are both married with three children, living on opposite sides of our nation.  I was lucky that she arrived in the midst of my swirl and was game to be part of it.  Making time for each other we not only delighted in the execution of the day’s tasks, but made it a wonderful day.

Explaining the flow of our Fall 2013 Lookbook.

It was fun to explain how I conceptualized our Lookbook, starting with visual and layout cues from Piet Mondrian.  You can see in the picture above how I started, right to left, to think about the layout of pictures.

Laying out the detail. Making sense…

Next, the detail…  Yes, I made this picture a little blurry on purpose as we have not released this information just yet.  But you see all the detailed work that we poured into building the pages.  In this case, the detail is for our online press and retail preview.

Lookbooks are not just on paper anymore. Here with Mike from Woodinville Printer.

Then, because we cannot only be online, we had a number of paper presentation formats to go through.  I showed Jen all the options and the final format we chose.  Above, a picture of the assessment process we went through with Woodinville Printers.  Mike came to our office to discuss the options available and we were able to zero-in on preferred book size, paper weight. etc.

Nitty gritty of proofing.

Proofing – it always takes longer than you think.  I am humbled as to how many times we can review this material.  Then, when a fresh set of eyes taking a look we catch and eliminate another potential error.  Jen caught one or two on our order forms – merci!

Skyping with Jean Claude – Jen looks on as Brianna and I do the talking.

Skype – thank GOD for this amazing ability to “be at a meeting” without leaving the office.  Brianna and I successfully walked WAVE Atelier’s Jean Claude Huon through our Fall line with Jen at my side – wonderful.

Then it was a tearful goodbye dropping Jen off back at her hotel downtown.  We vowed to see each other again very soon.  And then she left carrying a bag full of new coats…

Sneak Peek: Spring is arriving none too soon! La Veste Coquette – beautiful!

So for now, closing down my pc after a long week.  Loved every second with Jen and am looking forward to the next time.  Oh, last but not least, a sneak peek at one of my favorite pieces: La Veste Coquette.  Layer this beauty over La Chenille and you have one hot-hot-hot look – ooh la la.

Yes, in Fall 2013 we lose the French words – but for now, enjoy!

It has been mentioned to me more than once just how versatile this season’s La Veste is for our modern day warrior woman on the go.  I love hearing this because it means that we are achieving our objective.

On a recent family vacation to Sun Valley for skiing, I took advantage of this snappy piece’s versatility.  Here below, for sport…

Keeping just the right temperature in La Veste in Noir over my sweater – wonderful.  So great to be layered-up!

And here for spectator…

Over La Chenille in Latte, La Veste allows me warmth and to comfortably be the mom on the lookout at the base of the hill.

And here with my husband and “Bean,” man’s best friend…

Each morning, Jonathan and I walked with Bean – man’s best friend – the 3/4-miles to get our Starbucks together.

And, to go along with this go-go theme, we are just launching our online “Going, going, gone SALE.”  You can access it through the website – wonderful.  I hope you enjoy these bargains and help me by forwarding this along to your friends and family.

Love these styles. Come get em while they’re hot, hot, hot and still available on SALE!

Merci!

A gathering of good friends. A wonderful Holiday Tradition.

For some reason, I take great delight in creating an atmosphere of wonder and joy.  So, I was excited to learn that, this year, my husband wanted to revive our holiday party.  Of course, it did not matter that I had just completed a major photo shoot for my pre-Spring pieces, or would be making a mad-dash to Miami to see my parents and sister while also attending the luscious Art Basel | Miami Beach Art Fair…or, for that matter, have a series of meetings in Manhattan two days prior to the party, related to the marketing and selling of my still nascent business throughput – this was going to be fun!

 

 

 

 

Finally satisfied that I had completed the vestibule interior, I took a moment to enjoy the sensory pleasures of it all.

Leading Up To the Event:  The photo shoot was set for November 12th.  This was great as we could get a new look for our website up by Thanksgiving in the hopes of great Black Friday sell-through.  As this was now our fifth or so shoot, we were getting more efficient.  Just after the shoot, we pulled the top 125 photos.  From those, we ultimately decided upon 32 that make up most of what you see on our website sales and lookbook pages.  We also added a new element, a SALE page, to liquidate our discontinued colors and styles.

We were able to narrow down the final shots to 125 before I left the photo studio. The following morning, I was tasked to choose the final 32.

On retailing:  We opened a few additional Forum Stores – wonderful.  Our solid sell-through at stores like Mario’s has enabled us to reach out to these shops including new-bee Kilgore Trout and others.  Northwest giant, Nordstrom, is having us look into working with Via C for our collection as our product gets lost in their coat department.  Fingers crossed that we’ll be able to reignite this relationship and bring the same branding and marketing to bear on the smaller, store within the store, that is Via C…

Wonderful to land a new Retailer. This tony shop is located in Cleveland, Ohio – wonderful!

On Fun & Frolic:  Heading toward my take-off days to Miami and then New York City, I opted to spend a bit of time with a few girlfriends at Tiffany’s & Co. reception for none other than Cameron Silver.  The celebration was a book launch for Decades: A Century Of Fashion, a collection of essays that document the last 100 years of trends, personalities, icons and moments in the industry.  Below I am pictured with Chidem Cherrier, Heather Baker, the man himself and Betty Tong – heaven!

Per Gwen: Cameron Silver is a God in LA, runs the Decades vintage store and has written a fabulous book on Fashion.”

Final Decisions & Sketching:  The following day, I was back down to work finishing up a few presentation books for the trip when I realized that I just could not go to Miami.  Quickly, I altered my flights, then hunkered down to get work done at the office.

Coloring in black and white representations of my Fall 2013 Women’s Wear – thank God for my Chihuly colored pencils!

Filling Up:  These few days with my family were superb.  Nothing quite like being tethered to the earth and reminded just how un-cool you really are by your soon to be 15-year old son or, for that matter, just how much he loves you when he snuggles up next to you while watching a family movie together.  The duality of it all…  Anyway, Elyse and I got down to brass tacks with decorating.  Her specialty: the greens!

Working the greens…

Transcontinental:  Sunday morning, I was off at the crack of dawn for New York.  Somewhat rested but mostly loved-up in that very special way that only three children, two bull mastiffs and one husband can – off I went.  Business in New York was fast and furious, super productive and hopefully super rewarding.  We’ll be working on clarifications and details this coming week.  Below, a fun picture in Tribeca as we neared the end of our trip.

With Anne Breza and Kelly Prime just after meeting Jenne Lombardo in person at Milk Studios.

Sell, sell, sell:  Then it was home for a super quick trunk show at Mercer – yes, that’s right, hit the ground running — at the University Village.

With Mercer owner, Scott Bonomo, at the University Village Trunk Show – fun!

Final Touches:  Then home putting day before touches on the home decor for the party…

Columns covered in greens, Living Room in the distance.

Tenting the patio beyond the Living Room for more space for our guests.

The bench at the east end of the tent.

Some of the in-puts and staging area – our garage!

Our library was transformed into our dance floor!

We moved our our kitchen table and brought in a few of our outdoor chairs and low tables to accompany our raspberry sofa.

Let the Games Begin:  Then it was time to welcome guests and let the celebration begin…  Nothing quite like mixing different groups of your friends together.  Connections made, friendships deepend – fun on the dance floor and more – wonderful!

Love the “mo” of this picture. So much happening in this moment!

Beauties in the tent.

Beauties at the door.

Beauties in front of the Seaton Smith.

Moving Ahead:  Wishing one and all the most remarkable holiday as we strive to reconcile and heal from the most difficult of events that unfurled this past Friday in Connecticut.

Dear friends, I am writing this the day after my mother’s departure back to Stuart, Florida.  She arrived early last week for my middle child’s Grand Parents and Special Friends day at school.  But upon her arrival, she quietly surveyed the family momentum and flow, saw where I needed her help, then rolled up her sleeves and pitched-in.  By doing this and filling in life’s little day-by-day divots, she shored up the soil upon which I could plant my new ideas and concentrate on moving ahead.

This is a lovely segue way into something that I want to share with you.  An organization that ensures the world’s poorest families have secure land rights and is focused around women.  The organization is called Landesa and it is the Center for Women’s Land Rights about which I am most excited.  You can read more about my involvement from my March blog about the fundraising luncheon that my husband and I co-chaired.

What is great about this now, is that through participating in the Seattle Tennis Club’s Holiday Bazaar for the second year in a row, I have made a commitment to donate a portion of the proceeds to this cause.  And, to soil in particular.  My goal this year is to purchase a number of micro-plots - plots of land the size of well, a tennis court, to distribute to individual families in Indian states connected to Landesa.

You can help by spreading the news about Landesa’s powerful impact on an international level and if you are in the Seattle area, please come by and bring a friend along to the Wednesday, November 28th, Holiday Bazaar at the Seattle Tennis Club between 9:30 and 3 pm. I will have my Fall and newly arrived Holiday jackets and coats available for purchase.  In addition, a representative from Landesa will be with us so you can learn more about the organization too.

Warmly yours,
Elizabeth

What a week.  We launched our first ever online & in atelier SALE…  Holiday 2012 pieces arrived…YUM!  And, I turned 48, or better to say, Forty-Gr8!

Online sales were best they have ever been – now, how to sustain that momentum?  Fun and intriguing as we’ve developed a wonderful customer base to think through next steps.

The lovely Holiday 2012 pieces just arrived and we’ve had fun quality controlling and shipping out.  Above is our Cape over La Chenille and to the right our Elegance – all in Noir.  It is always feels like my birthday when these large, full boxes arrive from overseas!

Then, speaking of my Birthday…  Thursday, helping to welcome in my new year was a surprise, beautiful in-office lunch courtesy of my informal Advisory Board – Merci mes chères amies!

And finally, looking forward to a wonderful “next week” an opportunity to join the gang supporting our Seattle Symphony at Bedecked and Bejeweled on Tuesday, November 13th at 1927 Events space in downtown Seattle.  Laura Cassidy of Seattle Met has the 2012 evening all locked up.  Looking forward to seeing you then and there!