Whether
you love The Donald (Trump) or not, if you have any interest in the
world of business, his reality show, The Apprentice, is required
viewing.
(Image of Elaine Appelson with Fred & Lola)
While it's fascinating to watch the Donald's wannabe apprentices
manage some of their business tasks, what is more interesting is to
catch Donald's tidbits of business wisdoms that pepper each episode.
Although I always mean to write them down, I never quite make it to
locating a pen and pad. However, some of his sayings float
through my head at random times as I am running my own businesses.
Always Listen To Your Gut
One thing that Donald has said, and I paraphrase, is to go with your
gut. When it comes to Elaine Appelson
of The Fred & Lola accessory line, my gut was instantly singing loud
and clear.
I
first spied Elaine at one of the huge accessory shows over two years
ago. Unlike some of the other booth barkers trying to reel new
buyers into their merchandise webs, Elaine stood quietly inside her
smooth booth and arranged her brilliantly hued accessories. (Image
of Fred & Lola Enamel Flower hair clip with gold metal trim).
She was so calm and quiet that I hesitated stopping. I decided
to first cruise by her booth to take a "peek" at her designs.
My money manager was standing next to me giving me the evil eye as I
slowed my pace as if to stop. He took my arm and gently
dragged me past where Elaine's jeweled goodies shimmered in the
lights. Several steps from the Fred & Lola booth he quizzed me about
my intentions. He wanted to know if I was considering
spontaneously writing an order. He pointed out that Fred &
Lola was not on my list of new lines to negotiate new buys.
Although
my evil twin who lives by her guts wanted to plant herself in
Elaine's booth and buy, buy buy, reason won out. The voice of reason
swept me far away to one of the designers on my "master list".
Secretly I longed to run my finger tops over the tops of those
sparking gems and hold the little beauties up to the light for a
closer look. Something about Elaine's tiny hair gems had
burned a major impression into my gut.
After I made my way back home from the show I spent some time
researching The Fred & Lola line. I wanted to determine how it
might mix with our current accessory lines. I also poked
around asking some other buyers and designers for intell on Elaine
and her design talents. (Image
of Fred & Lola Enamel Flower hair stick in white with w/silver trim).
All reports were great. Regardless of the good reports, I
couldn't get some of Elaine's beautiful creations out of my mind.
Yep. That little voice inside my head was scolding me for not
listening and following my gut.
At
the very next show, I made an immediate beeline for Elaine's booth
and waited impatiently while some other buyers hemmed and hawwed
over their buys. Finally it was my turn and my reward was
Elaine's undivided attention. She patiently answered my
barrage of questions about the different materials she used, her
source of inspiration and even price points that she felt were most
compatible for my customer base. Elaine was gracious, charming
and incredibly modest. As I gushed over her beautiful work she
actually seemed a little shy. How refreshing and touching to
find such a gentle soul with such an artistic gift.
When
the first Fred & Lola shipment arrived, I was giddy with excitement
as we carefully opened the boxes and pulled out the gorgeous array
of delicate designs. Carefully and lovingly packed inside were
beautiful Art Deco inspired floral enamel hair accessory designs in
vibrant and zesty reds and oranges intermixed with soft and delicate
pinks, periwinkles and creamy whites. (Image
of Fred & Lola Wave Barrette in Periwinkle Blue).
The HairBoutique.com team gathered around and oohhed and aaahhed as
each new piece was unwrapped and held up to the light to be admired.
Who Is Elaine Appleson, Fred & Lola?
One
of the great accessory designers of all time, in my humble opinion,
is Gerard Yosca. He told me once during a chat that the mark
of a great designer is someone that follows their own creative
talent regardless of where it takes them as an artist. Even
more importantly Gerard told me that it's easy for new designers to
show up on the scene and get some instant media buzz. But the
truly talented designers continue to reinvent their creations
for many years and come back over and over to the shows. Every
year they dig deeper and push harder to get more inspiration.
Even more importantly, they design for their own talents and not
because of what others may be creating.
This
description fits Elaine Appleson. You might find her at
several of the major accessory shows. But she is often tucked
away in a small corner in an unpretenious booth where she focuses
all of her attention on showcasing her beautiful designs.
Just as the famous fashion designer Prada stripped her showroom to
the bare bones so as to not distract from her designs, Elaine does
the same thing in her own way.
Since I first discovered Elaine's creations, she has constantly
pushed herself into uncharted artistic territories. Every
season her designs mature and evolve. She constantly plays
with new stones and colors and materials, creating stellar results.
Elaine is rare by the fact that she doesn't simply take someone
else's base accessory pieces and build on top of them.
Instead, she creates her entire designs from deep inside and
translates it into her unique creations.
Just as Nature has designed the flowers that bloom in all their
splendor Elaine's designs are simple but breathtakingly beautiful.
The genius of Elaine's designs is that she directs attention to the
detail and the natural beautiful that flowers bring.
Even
more impressive about Elaine is that after spending five years in
corporate America, she could not ignore her own inner gut that drove
her to explore her creative talents and launch her line, which she
named for her dogs, Fred and Lola.
Starting with just a few one-of-a-kind glass earrings, she set up
her display table on the streets of SOHO in New York, alongside
other neighborhood artists where she let her beautiful designs speak
to the passerbys.
And speak they did. Over time, the Fred & Lola collection grew
to include hair accessories and jewelry and can now be found in
specialty boutiques and galleries nationwide. Elaine's designs have
also been featured on the pages of Bridal Guide, New York Best Bets
Daily, Redbook, Soap Opera Weekly and Modern Bride magazine and are
worn by the cast members of The Guiding Light.
Comfort Jewels To Last A Lifetime
Although
Elaine's creations are one-of-a-kind they evoke memories of Art Deco
classic designs. When I hold one of the gorgeous floral Migali
style clips in my hands I often channel a beautiful Spring day
walking through a botanical flower garden bursting with Nature's
brilliant array of hues.
My intense passion for accessories drives me to constantly search
for the latest and great designs. Consequently, I am a sucker
for all the hottest creations. Yet part of my soul longs for
the comfort of my favorite handbag, suede boots and black dress.
For me, Elaine's accessories are elegant in their simplicity yet
comforting by the fact that trigger memories of happy times.
And who doesn't have happy thoughts when it comes to flowers?
Summary
All of the times that I have had the immense priviledge to chat
with Elaine either in person or on the phone, I found her to be a
gentle and charming artist who has her feet planted firmly on the
ground. She is wildly talented but truly understands that to
enjoy long term success as a designer, she must also attend to the
mundane details of doing day to day business.
In one phone conversation she was at her design studio working
while the entire city was covered in many inches of snow. I
inquired about Fred and Lola and Elaine laughed and told me that
there were unhappy with the weather because they were stranded back
at home. I instantly had a vision of Fred and Lola with their
noses pressed to the glass waiting for Elaine to make her way home.
Meanwhile, as she's taking care of business, Elaine continues to
push her artistic envelope and constantly transforms her line with
gorgeous new creations and designs. And yes, every year, she
continues to appear in a quiet Zenlike way in her unpretentious
booth that is packed with beautiful designs.
As The Donald said recently, to a successful person, failure is
not an option and for Elaine Appleson, she has all the signs of a
major success.
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