The Swingtime Vest and a Resolution

I know that I have been remiss in writing, but, well, it is a new year, and I am going to be a whole lot more scheduled in my postings. I shall write to you at least once a week, and if I am not pithy and witty and clever, why then, I shall make up for it in cohesive ramblings and mumblings.

I'll be in New York City coming up again very soon at the Atelier Designers Show in Times Square, at the Double Tree Suites Hotel, right in Times Square. The Show is on the corner of 7th Avenue and West 47th St, and runs from February 20th through February 22nd.

Saturday, February 20th, from 9am-8pm...late night shopping for you stout of heart buyers.

Sunday, February 21st, from 9am-6pm...just to stretch it a bit later because we are in New York City and there are no Early Bird Specials.

And Monday, February 22nd, from 9am-5pm...so everyone can get out in time to make it out to a Happy Hour somewhere.

We will be in Suite #3606 this time and we are assured that we are in the midst of a most excellent "pod" of designers. Nanci and I are really going to try and do without those big clunky wooden boxes, but I guess you will just have to trek on over to see us and see how we do as we begin to formulate the origins of the new display. Come by and wish us luck!

I will be sending out postcards and hopefully Chimp email cards as well sometime this week, so if you haven't given me your email address and would like to be on the e-mailing list, please sign up on the website, okay? Elizabeth of Eyebright Studios the website genius is going to help Sam (my new assistant) and me get that together, and most likely with one of her own Bright Eyed photos as well.

I am almost done tearing my hair out making some decisions about logos and hangtags and Q. Cassetti is doing such great things for me. Go look at some of her work. She is totally the best.

Sheryl Sinkow of Sheryl Sinkow Photography has agreed, with much begging on my part, to become the official photographer for Amy Brill/Totally Brill. I can't believe my good fortune to have her on board to shoot the styles that we've been working on! Sheryl has the best pair of eyes around, and to have her with us is a great blessing. She is the one who has done all of the glorious catalog photos you've seen so far. Sheryl is also the one who has taken those shots of me that have been turned into posters at these last few Atelier shows. Believe you me, I really can't figure out how she makes me look so cool. And it is my fervent hope that before I leave for THE CITY, all of the new styles and the jewels as well, will be posted in the catalog, AND labeled, and you will be able to look with longing, and then remember what you ordered......progress!

Anyhoo. I'm exhausted.
I'm supposed to help out with a Benefit Auction tonight. I'm the "Yep" girl for my friend Peggy Haine.... but I only just found out that its a Mardi Gras party as well and I'm supposed to be in costume. It's a good thing that it doesn't take much to make me look odd... signing off now.

Love,
Amy

A new Bracelet is Born

I've been hard at work making up things, and I realized that I like writing up the "Romance Cards" for the Journey Jewels, just as much as I like making up the Jewels themselves. It's sort of like the icing on the cake for these little treasures and to me, it kind of makes them special. Special for you to find the "Journey Markers" that speak just to you, and special because you then have your own story already to tell when someone remarks about your beautiful jewelry. I don't have a photo as yet of my latest bracelet, but I hope to be able to post one tomorrow for you. For now, let me write down what it will say on the card:

The Kineh Hurah Poo Poo Bracelet (or, It's Not Polite to Stare)

We are not so immune from this silly "evil eye" thing as we might like to think. Many cultures have their funny little names and legends: " mal occhio", "ayin horeh", "ayin harsha", "droch shuil", "bose blick", " mauvais oeil". We unconsciously curse others and are cursed by them, unless we are ever vigilant and uncommonly wonderful. Invidia is our vice. When through our gaze, we covet. Envy. The active manifestation of passive resentment. We praise another's success, and at the same time, wish it were ours. We feel the coldness behind another's good wishes towards us.

The Kineh Hurah Poo Poo Bracelet is your talisman against such curses flung at you, intentionally or un.

For your own sake, Darling, don't go out without it!!

Love,
Amy Brill

Open the Pod Bay Doors, Hal

Just a quick note for today with another tidbit of fun for all of you out there. Its something that I've done for years and it never fails to absolutely thrill me. Although, I must admit, I am quite easy to thrill. But, here it is:

As you walk up to any building that you know has those automatic sliding doors that will open as you approach them....plan your approach carefully...take a deep breath....stop just a tiny step before them....and then dramatically and with as much flare as you can muster..... OPEN YOUR ARMS WIDE....and just like magic, the doors will open to herald your arrival! You are the star on your own red carpet! Oh, I tell you, it works for me every time! Try it once and you'll see. It is quite a boost for your ego. And, if you find that you need a tweak more than that, if you time it just right, after you walk through the open doors, you can also gesture behind yourself, and...... you can make them close behind you as well!!! My goodness gracious, the power you possess!

This sweet little sweetie of a sweater on my wardrobe door is the Houdini. This one is a short/wide one in black. It looks and acts just like a sweater, with its own built in little necklace of buttons along the neckline; that is, of course, until you button up all of the buttons and then, like the Houdini it is, it transforms itself magically into the most luscious shrug with a string of accent buttons across the back of it. Try it, you'll like it....

Runnin' Around

Working from my little webbook and just realized that I don't have any photos stored here anywhere, but I thought I'd take a moment, sit down, and write something out for you. It is a mile a minute out there, especially now and we are racing, racing, racing so fast sometimes to where? Mostly just to keep up to stay in one place.
So think on this:

When it is spinning ahead so fast, that you're not even sure that what you think you think is what you think; STOP! You are a human being. Just BE..... if even for a moment.... Give yourself permisson. And if you won't, I just have. I give you permission to stop for a moment today; to breathe for a moment today; and to just be.....

Love,
Amy

Tinker and tink

A snap of cold weather as I've been tinkering around, trying to get a smattering of my completely wonderful signature "multi-tasking wardrobe sweaters"; my Journey Jewel pieces; and some never before seen accessory items, like Hand Manipulated Silk Chiffon Scarves and Shawls and Black Silk Velvet Luxe Shawls, and Brill's magnetic Flower Rescue Remedies into local Ithaca shop, The Jewel Box. There I'll be, Journey Jewels, Totally Brill "Be The Change Bracelets", right next to Micky Roof's goldsmith-ed champagne diamonds. What a hoot!

We are, at completely the same exact time, trying to photograph everything on the current linesheet and get it posted on our website, so my silly little drawings will get sort of, well, not fleshed out exactly, but at least, yarned out. So, tink(!) to that. Tink is simply knit spelled backwards. And that's what we knittin' fools find ourselves doing about half of the time when we are trying to figure out something new..... tink, tink, tink....

What you see here at the left, is a Flare Tunic. It is one of the new styles; kind of a double-decker sort of deal. I really like it a whole lot and the word out there so far from all who have gotten them in is truly love at first wearing. I'm pretty sure this one is in Sand/ Spring Neutral, although that top portion just might be Fleur de Sel, a great new tweedy neutral for Spring/Summer 2010, named for the most expensive Sea Salt that you can buy. It has all the little flecks of color found in that particular sea salt, and it is named because it is definitely the most luxe version of the tweed.

Let me take this opportunity to wish all of you the best and happiest of all seasons. Take at least one moment each day in the whirl of it all, to take a good deep breath, and smile to yourself, over nothin' at all.

Love,
Amy

A Quick Note

Hello out there! I can't believe how time has flown by so fast and we are already in countdown mode to Big Holidays Seasons. Kinda always losin' track of things like that here at Casa Brill as we forge (or forage) on ahead, working hard to create the most best fabulous things for you! There are such gorgeous colors piled up in profusions of grandeur, and the new styles are looking so wonderful as well.
I've been working on these excellent new pieces of Journey Jewels for you, too, to keep you safe, and mark your way. All I can say is that "I'm lovin' it".
We are going to try and post up a bunch of photos on the website over the weekend and the current swatches too. And, God willing, you'll be seeing a few of the newest colors that I will be showing over at the MODA show in January at the Javits Center.
That's all I'll say for now. Got to get back to work......

Eponymous

Don't you just love that word? I didn't know what it meant and now I am Anoneponymous. Under the tutelage of My Uncle Jack, the wordsmith and keeper of etymological factoids of the Brill Clan, every word was always broken down from whatever high altitude it began, described and explained and parsed apart and delegated to a particular time and culture, back and back through the eons of history, until, inevitably, every single word worked its way back to....."and from the Caveman, "Ungh!". Personally, I liked to wait until the end, just to hear the Caveman meaning. Except about Brill. When asked if We Brills had ever changed our name, Uncle jack usually became very indignant and drew himself up to his full four foot ten inches of height to exclaim loudly that, " BRILL is a root name! and has never been changed. Never been altered. Never been shortened from anything longer. Never had to be. Never needs to be. Brill is the perfect name!".

If Uncle Jack was feeling a little superior to those around him, he would tell them that Brill actually stood for Briller, for the German word for eyeglasses, because who but such intelligent people as we Brills, would even know that we needed eyeglasses, except that we could read and understand! And of course, if Uncle jack was feeling a whole lot superior to those around him, he merely waved his hand in his most kingly fashion and told anyone who'd listen that, yes, the name Brill had indeed been shortened; that our name was actually BRILLIANT, but since we are all such terribly modest folk, we shortened up the name a bit to shield everyone from the shock of our Brilliance...

I didn't really realize that the slang term "Brill" or "Totally Brill" had actually been around for, like, a long time in England, and meant just that: Brilliant! As in Fabulous! Excellent! Remarkable! Like, Awesome, Dude! Wow!

So, in naming my company 'Amy Brill Handmade Sweaters', I had named it eponymously (or after myself); but in trying to transition the name to 'Totally Brill', I have made it anoneponymous (or even though it still IS my name, it now also is really an anonymous trademark)???

I think I need a glass of water and a soft place to sit.

And for all of you out there who are so patiently waiting for your Graphique Wriggle Vests and your Graphique Gooseneck Pullovers to arrive... I promise, they are coming! This proves that they are the bestest! And we simply will not compromise on how long they take to make. I have been training more folks to make the yarns for them. And also teaching more knitters the patterns. But let me tell you, Wow! (or Brill!) it takes a really really long time to make the yarns for those sweaters so that the stripes come out right. But that's our problem and not yours. And they will be in your stores really really really soon!!!!

I've got a few more AFFIRM charms to make this evening and then I get to really chill out.

I'll be back soon. Thanks for tuning in.

Amy