i have been having a love affair with neon this summer.  whether my bold neon yellow necklace, a neon tank top peeking out from under a grey t-shirt, or just a tiny stitch of neon thread…it’s making me smile.  plus i experienced the joy of neon paint pens at Summer School PDX (i took the Packaging 101 class with the lovely and talented Sally and Joke).

but i only like it in small doses – and preferably an accent to a simple gray or navy.  with my Summer Color Story – i decided to pair neon yellow and neon pink with a simple heather gray and a dreamy pastel-y aqua for balance.  i LOVE it.   hope you do to!

here’s the 411 – in case you want to know more/buy:

Dress: $52 bobi at Revolve ( i could wear this everyday)
Shoes: $62.50 Shelly’s at Imeldas & Louies (on sale!)
Earrings: $340 Tom Binns at Net-a-Porter (a splurge – but oh my!)
Ring: $129 Janish Jewels on Etsy (love the aqua chalcedony)
iphone cover: $39.99 Pencil Shavings on Etsy (lots of cute designs)
Baby dress: $64 Splendid Littles at Amazon (so adorable! – maybe it will go on sale soon)
Tote: $23.92 at Everyday Life Store

sorry i’ve been MIA again!  of course, the babies keep me busy – but i’ve been working on my new Troolie business plan like mad!  nothing sets the wheels in motion like an available retail space  in a desirable location!!

but alas – i fear i’m not quite ready to jump in.  still have so much research to do (POS! banks!  product!  displays!  fixtures! the list goes on…) and i’m still nursing my littlest boy. and the space is wee bit too large.

i’m glad that the idea of this space set  me into a high gear though.  and now as i continue to peruse the retail landscape, i’ve opted to create a Concept One Sheet – a teeny, tiny business plan in a nutshell.  i think it will be a great tool  for my real estate broker to give to owners of buildings that may be opening in my timeframe.   it’s basically a teaser with just the basic facts, ma’am.

what does my Concept one-sheet include?
WHAT - a quick description of my concept
WHO - a little summary of my business background
WHERE - my ideal locations and building size
WHEN - my time  frame for opening

if my one-sheet sufficiently piques interest – then they can have access to the full blown business plan and financial projections.  but i certainly don’t want to send this to every tom, dick and harry!

so – hopefully i’ll have time to post more thoughts on the preparation of my newest venture.  in the meantime, you can see some of my ideas in visual form on Pinterest!

all the paper blogs are abuzz with NSS reporting and hoopla!    for me – it was a place to make connections, get inspired, discover product and feel the excitement of opening a new business.  but it was more than that – i also was away from my 2 kids for the first time since the littlest was born (he just turned ONE on Saturday – gasp in disbelief).    one of my closest friend joined me – she is also a mother of two away for the first time.   we had a blast!

NYC: alive, big, bustling, fun!   we got to do things like ride the subway, walk for miles, shop our brains out, sleep in,  sit at the bar.   these are things that are not easy with strollers, high chairs, early-risers, nappers.  so it was pretty fabulous.

NSS:  booth upon booth of creative wonder!  colorful designs, super thick papers, laugh-out loud humor, interesting booths, friendly faces, bloggers come to life, fun kid stuff, snarky cool stuff, calenders to make you swoon,wedding invites that make you wish for a do-over (with the same man, naturally).

all in all, a successful foray back into the world of retail trade shows.

and that includes a ginormous amount of catalogs and line sheets and a seemingly impossible process of selection and elimination.  My friend, my parents and my husband all ask, “How will you possibly decide what to buy?”. darn good question.

my answer? it will be intuition broken down into methodical choices.   i’ll start by circling my favorites.  then i’ll create a grand spreadsheet (similar to Kates Merchandising Matrix – but re-tooled for stationery) with everything i love with columns for “style” “price” and “type”.   then i’ll break it down into occasion and/or recipient.  then i’ll decide what percentage of produce to devote to greeting cards, note cards, books, gifts.   then i’ll decide what percentage of cards i need for birthday, baby, wedding, etc. then i’ll make sure i have a good mix of sweet and snarky and everything in between.  then i’ll determine which wedding albums to stock.  it’s gonna take awhile to go through everything.  but as i find bits and pieces of time between naps – i will begin to report on what is making the cut.

i welcome suggestions!!

hello lovelies…

some of you may have shopped at the boutique i created in the charming North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco.  it was my first “baby”.  it was my time to create something from scratch that was a manifestation of what i adore:  bright colors, chic clothing and amazing relationships with people.  it is ooma – objects of my affection.

but when my second baby came along  (Oscar) – and we decided to move to Portland – i sold ooma to a lovely couple.  and guess what?  now they have a new baby (Wilder)!!  between parenthood and a slew of other projects they have their hands on – they have decided to sell ooma.

anyone interested in owning a darling store in San Francisco that’s ready to go?  let me know and i’ll pass you on to Jessica & Matt.

oooops!  i missed Winter!  let’s assume i’d do a post that was either filled with color to brighten a dreary day – or a traditional nautical color scheme which always makes me feel like shopping after the holidays.

but now it’s officially Spring and i got the Nordstrom catalog in the mail today and this amazing “blurred print” dress inspired me to create a new color story.  it also inspired a series of paintings i have planned in my head.  can’t wait to get out my paints and brushes (one of these days…).

meanwhile – as usual – you will find my color story to be colortastic!  i’m loving these splashes and they all look amazing together – and would look good alone with almost anything in your closet (orange wedges with jeans and a t-shirt?  yes, please.  garnet girl rings every day of your life?  naturally.  chartreuse coat making every outfit pop?  uh-huh!).

here’s the scoop on where to find my faves.  i try to keep things in a reasonable price range (i had found some reallly amazing shoes but they were in the “should i buy a new ipad or these shoes category?”) – but some things are just too perfect.  and i’m really into the new kate spade website and monthly color stories too.  so just had to choose one of her bags.  (note that there are some ludicrously adorable dresses on the site too).

enjoy!

Where to find:

ECI blurred print dress @ nordies $148
Robindira green garnet Juicy Drop earrings $88
Kate Spade Shady Side Small Karen bag $275
One Garnet Girl Spring Daffodil Sideswept rings $298
Not Too Coy wedges @ Zappos $71.20
Tell the Chartreuse Coat @ Modcloth $57.99