Hi {frolic!} readers!
Today is my last day of guest blogging- Chelsea is back tomorrow. Thanks so much for your comments and feedback- it made me feel right at home.
If you'd like to stay in touch, please check out our blog at www.rubypr.com, where you can also learn more about my PR agency Ruby Press.
Have a wonderful weekend!
xxMelissa
Searching for the perfect Loeffler Randall flats on Craigs List can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack, and scoring a covetable vintage Gucci bag on eBay can be just as daunting.
Splendora, the network for stylish women who want to connect, has the best "classified" section you could ever dream up. Just today I found Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton bags (gently and lovingly used), Chanel and Dior cosmetics (new in the box, of course!), and even a flat for rent in San Diego!
Don't waste anymore time sifting through the riff-raff.
{These lemon yellow Louboutins are brand new!}
{Score these Loeffler Randall flats for $150!}
I've always loved statement eyeglasses...I would never wear contacts when I can pick a pair of frames that are a great accessory! Allyn Scura sells an amazing assortment of dead-stock eyeglass frames and vintage sunglasses that could satisfy the pickiest of shoppers. For those of you in Northern California, check out his booth at the Alameda Flea Market. For those not as lucky, visit their website.
{Even Grace Kelly loved her glasses!}
49 SQ MI is a new handbag line based in San Francisco (didn't you know that the city is 7 miles by 7 miles?)- but they're sold all across the country. (Find out exactly where, here.) Everyone here at Ruby Press carries one of their bags- I just bought the Frost Shopper in Geranium, which is the most amazing shade of coral-ly red.
Their leathers are all Italian, and so yummy to the touch. (And like all leather bags of this quality, they get better with age.)
{My spring bag!}
{Love the deep aqua crackle patent!}
{My next purchase- a tangerine day clutch!}
Everyone in San Francisco knows about Britex Fabrics, a 4-floor, 10,000 square foot emporium in Union Square. (Actually, most designers and costumers around the country are very well acquainted as well- they often fly to San Francisco just to shop their enormous and unique selection of fabrics and accessories from around the globe.)
Remember June Carter's (Reese Witherspoon's) dress when she went into the river after Johnny Cash in Walk the Line? Made from Britex Fabrics. Brad Pitt's suit in Ocean's 11? Britex Fabrics. The period costumes in Memoirs of a Geisha? You guessed it.
Now everyone can shop the store- without having to jump on a plane. Learn more about Britex by Mail here.
Ladybug Art's handpainted wooden hangers are pint-sized for hanging baby/children's clothing and are such a great baby gift.
I gift these personalized tattoo hangers over and over...
Okay, I feel funny assuming you want to hear about my wedding, but Chelsea remembered it from an old issue of Martha Stewart Weddings and wanted me to tell you about it. ;)
To back track a bit...I had a friend who was an editor at Martha Stewart Weddings and when she heard I was dating a guy that I knew was "the one", she kept asking me to let her know the MINUTE we got engaged. (She wanted to cover our wedding in the magazine.) Well, when we did get engaged (like 10 minutes after he popped the question), it was funny- I immediately thought, "Oh, I've got to call Lynn!". Not so romantic, I know.
To make a long story short, the editors at the magazine asked me to keep them up to date on all the fun details of the wedding, and to send images of all of the elements. (The location, my dress, the flowers, the bridesmaids dresses, etc.) About a month before the wedding they confirmed that they did indeed want to cover it for a 6 to 8 page feature. When they do this type of feature, they send their stylists out to help with the last details of the wedding. It was really a dream come true- they whisked into town and really kind of took over. (In the best possible way!) They added more flowers, hired a calligrapher, assembled the candy goody boxes we were planning, created the seating cards from scratch, etc. And the two stylists could not have been more sweet or easier to work with. They ran everything by me for approval, and quite honestly, without evening seeing some of the elements they were talking about, I wholeheartedly agreed to anything they suggested. After all, I had never seen anything in the magazine that wasn't impeccably executed.
I didn't hire a wedding planner (I admit, I'm a control freak and wanted to do it all myself), so it was really wonderful to have the two stylists there the day of the wedding making sure everything went off without a hitch.
And a big bonus: they sent their own photographer to shoot the wedding (in addition to ours), which was a lifesaver because he got shots that our photographer forgot to get!
It was October 2003, and in a way it seems like yesterday and forever ago at the same time. Sam and I had an amazing day that we'll never forget. Here are some of my favorite photos:
{Our first dance!}
{The menu card was tied atop the box of sweets...}
{I'm a candy freak!}
{The flowers were garden roses and the sweet Sharla Flock was our florist.}
{Guest sign in- with John Derian paperweights and antique turquoise vessel.}
{We got married at Ralston Hall in Belmont, CA, which is about 30 minutes south of San Francisco. It was built in the late 1800's as a summer home for William Ralston, the founder of Bank of California, and is absolutely gorgeous!}
{My lovely bridesmaids!}
{I wore a Wearkstatt gown, vintage rhinestone earrings and alternated between two pairs of shoes- rhinestoned Vera Wangs and my favorite pink Prada peep toe pumps!}
{The vintage Rolls Royce we left the reception in used to belong to Desi Arnaz! I went bananas over the turquoise leather interior...}
You can see the feature in Martha Stewart Weddings by clicking to our website here.
There are a lot of letterpress companies out there, but Dauphine Press is the real deal. They're unbelievably talented, totally professional. Some of my favorite custom designs:
Another one of our jewelry clients is Thalia Jewelry, designed by Rachel Clinnick. Her line is 18k to 23k gold, and uses stones like rose cut diamonds, with which I must admit, I am a tad obsessed.
The collection is inspired by Byzantine and Etruscan art as well as antique jewelry, which she collected as a child. (Lucky girl, her mother was an accomplished antique dealer.)
I think her rings are just insanely gorgeous, and you can find them at stores like Swallowtail and Sarlo Wick in San Francisco. (Or to order directly, you can call the number on the website.)
{photos courtesy of Thalia Jewelry}
(This post is a continuation from a post yesterday.)
After 3 years at Harper's Bazaar, I accepted a job at (the now defunct) Conde Nast magazine Mademoiselle as a fashion market editor. While there, I was promoted to a senior editor position, and was there for 5 years.
I covered the American designers, which meant going to the fashion shows in New York and traveling to Los Angeles once a year to meet up with the designers on the west coast. A typical day included going to see new lines at designers' showrooms, pulling clothes for shoots, and attending meetings in the office. I worked with a great team and we had a lot of fun. Some of the most memorable moments included: going to a party at Betsey Johnson's penthouse apartment (pizza and cases of champagne were served) and her giving me a personal tour of her home (including her closet). Attending the CFDA awards. Moving into the new Conde Nast building, into an open-plan office with a window overlooking Times Square. Going out to dinner with designers like Anna Sui and Vivienne Tam. Sample sales (Manolo Blahnik's were the best- any pair of shoes for $100), beauty giveaways (all of the beauty products you could want- free!), being able to buy the chicest clothing at wholesale, being gifted free clothes, and Christmastime was the most ridiculous.
I really loved what I did, and I don't regret a single moment of my career in NYC, but I felt like I needed a new challenge after 8 years in the fashion editorial world and made the move to California. One year later I started our PR agency Ruby Press and have been running it since 2001.
Plover Organic is a brand new line of chic organic bedding based out of Portland, Oregon. The spring collection arrives in two weeks and everyone here at our office is going crazy with anticipation. I'm ordering the "yellow carnations" print quilt and pillowcases for my bedroom...
(Oh, and check out co-owner Marisa Kula Mercer's home in Cookie magazine's nesting blog. Her partner, Sheila Mulvihill's home will be featured soon as well...)
I've been collecting vintage photos for years...lately I've been using them as tags on gifts, but some I just can't bear to part with. Here are some of those photos:
{How daring is she?!}
{I love the shadow of the guy taking the photo!}
{What a cute little butterfly!}
{I just love their bows.}
I love to organize- a tad dorky, but true. Our client iomoi makes the chicest Lucite trays with gorgeous patterns. It's impossible to have too many! Everyone here at Ruby Press is obsessed with iomoi!
I wanted to be a fashion editor since I was 15 years old, so it goes without saying that I loved every minute of my career as a fashion editor in NYC. It started as an intern as Sassy magazine (oh my god, that dates me, doesn't it?)...I created a fashion "zine" when I was in college, and for those of you who remember Sassy, they used to feature a "zine of the month". Well, they featured mine and it served as my introduction to their fashion editors. They invited me to intern when I graduated from college, so I moved up to New York, slept on a friend's couch in New Jersey, and worked for free 40 hours a week. (And 30 hours a week at the very glamorous Kinko's Copies!)
I was there for 2 weeks, and got to do some funny stuff, like judge entries for the annual reader-produced issue and interview b-list celebrities. (I won't name names!) If you're too young to know this, Sassy was famous for it's interns- in fact Chloe Sevigny and Atoosa Rubenstein (of Cosmo Girl and Seventeen Editor-in-Chief fame) were both there right before I was. (Atoosa and I later became friends when we were editors at Mademoiselle and Cosmo, respectively.)
After two weeks, an editor told me that Harper's Bazaar was looking for fashion interns, and she recommended me. I interviewed and they asked me to start the next day. I was freaking out to put it mildly- this was September 1992- Liz Tilberis' first issue under her direction and it was making major waves in the fashion industry. The iconic cover:
I interned for a few months and then I was hired as Sasha Iglehart's (who was one of the senior fashion market editor) assistant, and I was in pure heaven. She was such a mentor to me, and the whole department became like family.
It was a lot of hard work, of course, but there were a lot of fun moments too... The first photo shoot I ever assisted on was a Kate Moss cover shot by Patrick Demarchelier. (Kate and then boyfriend Mario Sorrenti were often in the office.) I remember getting off the elevator on time and seeing Peggy Moffitt sitting in reception- in full 60's mod makeup! Meeting Christy Turlington in the office- she was in sweats and looked amazing. Going to Liz Tilberis' Christmas party (yes, she was so nice, she even invited lowly interns!) and sipping cocktails among the fashion glitterati, her two young boys, and two large golden retrievers, who ran around the whole night.
More tomorrow...
Some more gems I found at the Alameda Flea Market on Sunday... (This is a continuation of a post from yesterday.)
Love this vintage fabric!
Gorgeous old watch faces!
I keep saying that I'm over chandeliers, but I would love this in a wallpapered foyer.
And you MUST get a breakfast burrito from this white van. So good!
Violet is a refreshing, well-edited online gift boutique that makes shopping easy and fun. We can't decide what we like more over here at Ruby Press- their selection of gifts that we haven't seen everywhere else or the way they organize gifts by recipient, occasion, or category. (And then further into categories like "Birthday: 29 Again", "Hedonist" or "Has Everything".)
Some of our favorites from Violet.com:
Marseille rose skin care
Chic tote made from recycled inner tubes
Crustacean & kelp platter
Not only is designer Vicente Agor just about the sweetest guy you'll ever meet, but he's also incredibly talented. Sold at Saks across the country, as well as selected boutiques, his jewelry is a favorite of fashion editors.
I guess nice guys don't always finish last.
Hi! My name is Melissa Davis and I'm tickled to be guest blogging this week here at {frolic!}. A bit about me- I own a boutique PR agency called Ruby Press in Northern California. Berkeley to be exact.
We work with style-related companies which can range from fashion designers to restaurants to spas. Some of my criteria when considering potential clients: Do I love it? Would I write about it as an editor?
Which leads me to my background...I was a fashion editor in New York (at Harper's Bazaar and Mademoiselle) for 8 years before moving to California in 2000. I moved to California for a job as the fashion director of a website that folded two weeks after my arrival. I didn't know anyone here and it was just me and my dog- and a huge rent. I ended up working for Lucky magazine as their San Francisco editor and for a local city magazine called 7x7 as their fashion editor.
I started Ruby Press one year after my arrival on the west coast. I kept meeting really interesting designers and people starting their own businesses and wanted to help spread the word about them to the national press. The company started as just me, and at first, I only worked with companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area. In these past 7 years, we've grown to work with clients all over the globe (we had an Australian client for a few years- you can't get much further than that!), and we're now an office of 5 people.
Over this next week, I'll tell you more about myself, our clients and what I'm excited about right now. Thanks for joining me! xx
I found these playing cards at a little shop in San Francisco called Gypsy Honeymoon years ago. I have no idea how old they are, but I would guess late 1800's?? They had never been opened when I bought them. This is the paper they came wrapped in:
It was just too gorgeous to throw away. (And I actually had a really hard time even opening the deck. They were exquisite with the wrap on!)
The cards are not a traditional deck- no numbers, queens named Rachel and kings named Charles! Odd. I am absolutely enamored with them, though.
By now, most people know about viv&ingrid's stylish accessories that are always current but never fad-ish. What most people don't know, however, is that when you purchase their jewelry, you always receive a free fabric pouch with it. Perfect for gift giving, excellent for travel.
My husband Sam, two dogs (Huck and Lulu) and I live in Alameda, which is an island just east of San Francisco, and south of Berkeley and Oakland. It's claim to fame (at least in my circles) is the flea market, which is truly amazing. I've been to some great flea markets in my day (I still say that my day trip to Brimfield was one of the best days of my life, hands down!), and this is truly one of the very best.
The Alameda Flea Market happens the first Sunday of every month, rain or shine, and goes from 6:00 AM to 3:00 PM. I usually get there by 8:00 AM and find that it's early enough to find great stuff.
I have found so many amazing things at this flea market- the vintage rhinestone earrings I wore on my wedding day, the bamboo shelves in my living room, countless vintage dresses, old photographs, loads of vintage Christmas ornaments...I could go on and on.
Some amazing pieces I found yesterday...
More tomorrow!
