Dear Friends:
I am, I admit, a total sucker for talent (and talented people). I have been thinking about talent for many years, never more so than during the past year and 9 months since we opened ArtsEcho Galleria. (That's all?? Doesn't it seem like a lot longer??)
We all know that Mozart's dad was a musician, but does that account for little Wolfgang's incredible abilities? And how many Wolfies with amazing musical talent were born to farming or bricklaying families or even glass blowing families who knew little about music and never discovered the talent in their midst?
There are so many People of Talent who find their way to ArtsEcho Galleria. In honor of our upcoming 'Sustainable Couture' Fashion Show on May 15, I'd like to introduce you to one of our favorite (incredibly talented) people.
Meet Ji Young Song. She is a graduate of Seoul University's famous Fashion Design Department and also graduated with honors from FIT where she won the departmental award of the School of Art and Design. She participated in the Hong Kong Young Fashion Week before moving to NY, and went on to win the Best Design Award for Levi's recent fashion contest. She was one of the national finalists in the highly competitive Mattel Barbie Design Competition.
Ji Young's desire is to create one-of-a-kind couture clothing that she hopes will be seen as artwork. That fits in perfectly with how we choose our collection here for ArtsEcho Galleria. We feel (and tell anyone who will listen) that many of our clothing and jewelry pieces are wearable works of art.
A few months ago, Ji Young trekked to my house in Weehawken (during a snow storm...remember those?) and chose fabrics from my large (30 years in the making) collection of silks, leathers, etc. Ji Young chose three silks; a black matte silk and two beige and black prints, and a soft black leather....and started working. She cut, sewed, and wove the fabrics together.
Here is the astounding result, modeled by (our new Project Manager) Zoe, photographed by Edwin Flores (more about Edwin later) right in that cute little Weehawken pocket park across from our shop:
There are many designers creating "eco"fashion with good new fabrics including bamboo and organic cottons, but because of our dedication to art, craftswomanship, recycling, and the very best existing designer fabric, we hope that our ArtsEcho Sustainable Couture one-of-a-kind pieces will make their own small, but important, statement in the fashion world. Ji Young is almost finished with her second design and I can't wait to see it! Remember...May 15.
Now speaking of talent, one of the most talented people who discovered ArtsEcho Galleria as we were discovering him, is fashion photographer Edwin Flores. Edwin and his partner Tyler just moved to the Watertower District. Edwin uses clothing from our terrific collection for photoshoots with some of NY's top models. Here is a photo that Edwin just sent me from the very same park (the model is wearing one of our Nanette Lepore pieces with a silver belt and purple Betsey Johnson dress). The photo on the right (with a wool Byblos jacket and purple belt) was taken on the steps leading down to Boulevard East from Sterling Place. Bet you never knew we were in such a photogenic neighborhood!
Speaking of honors...I want to publicly thank the County of Hudson and the charming (and funny) Thomas DeGise, our County Executive, who chose me to be among some pretty darned impressive Hudson County women who were honored this past week at Brennan Courthouse in Jersey City for Women's History Month in which the theme was "Writing Women Back into History". It seemed especially appropriate this year which is only the 90th anniversary of the year in which we women in the US got the vote. (Pretty shocking that it's only 90 years, hey?) Mr. DeGise introduced the evening by admitting that he grew up in a house filled with women...his only ally and fellow male was the dog...
Have a wonderful week and come visit us!
Warm regards,
Sandra and the ArtsEcho Galleria team, Zoe, Karina, Crystal, Ben, Arianna, Claude and Lina.
PS: We need volunteers! A few hours a week (on a regular basis) will net you "ArtsEcho FunnyMoney" which you can spend here on our glorious collection...it's like shopping for free!
PPS: On April 18th I will be performing in the concert "21st Century Music & On" dedicated to the amazing music of composer Ronn Yedidia (whom you may remember from the "DanzaNova" concert here last year.) The concert is at Merkin Concert Hall (one block north of Lincoln Center) on 67th Street in NYC and is at 7:30pm. There is a "Meet The Artists" reception (to which you are all invited) after the concert.
PPPS: Oh yes, 3809 Park Avenue, right across from the Weehawken Pathmark parking lot. 201-617-1110...M-W 11-7; Th-F 11-8; Sat 10-6.
PPPPS: Make sure to check out our new window displays! Very edgy...
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