Bay Area Fashion

Fashion Incubator San Francisco unveiled

 in Bay Area Fashion / Events / General Fashion / Local Designers  tagged emerging designers / fisf / macys / spring 2012 by

On Thursday, March 29, 2012 Macy’s unveiled the new Fashion Incubator San Francisco work space which includes offices for the six designers in residence. This highly anticipated event attracted local celebrities such as “Da Mayor” Willie Brown and David Chui from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

The Fashion Incubator San Francisco includes 3,500 square feet of workspace for six emerging designers who have access to their own professional-grade workroom, showroom, classroom and offices. The designers moved into the workspace this month and have just begun to create their spring 2013 collections.

The Fashion Incubator San Francisco or FISF was founded in 2011 as a non-profit to help turn talented designers into successful San Francisco entrepreneurs. The unveiling of the FISF workspace marks the beginning of an era for the non-profit as the first class of six designers begin their journey to launch their spring 2013 collections, followed by their fall 2013 lines.

The programs offers designers the right business education and tools to give them the skills they will need to continue and grow their businesses after the twelve month program ends. The ribbon “unzipping” ceremony revealed an incredible workspace which included production equipment such as straight stitch machines, hemmers, sergers, work tables, a large cutting table and gravity irons.

Executive Director of FISH and Co-Founder of Jeanne-Marc expressed her enthusiasm for the program: “We are thrilled to kick of FISH’s inaugural program and welcome the six Designers in Residence to the San Francisco fashion and business communities and to their new home at our facility. Through FISH, these designers will be able to tap into the many local resources and talents that the San Francisco business community has to offer, and we look forward to the opportunity to one day helping them establish businesses of their own.”

The Fashion Incubator San Francisco six Designers in Residence are:

Justin Jamison: progressive urban wear for men

Tamara Jaric: women’s urban outerwear embellished with couture details

Bethany Meuleners and Sabah Mansoor Husain: working together on Bohemian-Luxe women’s wear with artisan handicrafts and global influences

Tony Sananikone: “women’s wear reflecting empowerment and beauty

Paloma Von Broadley: embracing “slow fashion” through hand-made, sustainable patterning, sewing and knitting

Fashion Incubator San Francisco is a non-profit organization located in the executive office building of Macy’s Union Square in San Francisco. For more information, please visit fashionincubatorsf.org

*Original version of this article was written and published by Cathy on Examiner.com

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Stay bright on rainy days this spring

 in Bay Area Fashion / General Fashion / Shopping  tagged boots / coats / jackets / outerwear / rain gear / spring 2012 / umbrellas by

Oh the rain! Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we have had an extremely dry winter. The mild climate and warm sunshine have allowed Fashionistas around Northern California to start wearing their fabulous spring clothing and accessories. The bright spring 2012 colors combined with the sunny weather have put everyone in the mood for the warm summer months. Of course, the rain has decided to come now, in the middle of March. 

The March rains are seasonal. Every year we enjoy spring showers through April. The odd thing about this particular rain storm is that it just does not feel right! We have been enjoying spring weather over the past few months and going back to winter, for even just one week, feels odd.
Fortunately the bright spring colors of the season can keep us in our warm weather moods and brighten up even the dreariest of days. So toss aside that black umbrella, boring black rain boots and black nylon handbag. It is time to brighten up the grey sky!
Furla has fabulous spring handbags this season which also happen to be made from rubber. Perfect for the rain! These bright little numbers will also work perfectly when the weather is warm and sunny since a rubber handbag will survive a day at the beach and an entire summer by the pool. 
In addition to Furla brightening up the world of handbags, there are so many fabulous and colorful rain boots on the market right now. Why would you wear black? Look for polka dots, yellow, bright green, festive blues and of course the color of the year; Tangerine Tango. 
We scoured the web and found a few bright, rain friendly items to add a little sunshine to rainy days. Hope you enjoy! Stay dry and fabulous 
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Amen Jewelry combines precious metals and stones to create works of classic art

 in Bay Area Fashion / Jewelry / Local Designers  tagged amen jewelry / emerging designers by

San Francisco Bay Area native, Lisa Novak, relocated to Mercer Island near Seattle a few years back and in early 2011, the designer launched her line of religious jewelry; Amen Jewelry. The collection of jewelry, inspired by a quote from Pope John Paul II, “Become what you are,” has become an instant favorite of the catholic set while reaching out to a broader, non-secular audience.

Lisa Novak sources her materials from local sources and designs jewelry cast from gold, silver and bronze. Amen Jewelry combines the precious metals with both semi-precious and precious stones making each piece an instant, heirloom quality work of art.

Amen Jewelry carries earrings, rings, necklaces and pendants for men, women and children. While the majority of the designs are Catholic or Christian symbols, there are designs which appeal to a wider audience and can easily be enjoyed by non-religious jewelry fans.

Amen Jewelry donate 10% of it’s’ profits to local charities in the Seattle metro area. To learn more, please visit amenjewelry.com

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