designer interview

ShopTalk: Ginger & Jade

by Kate Franco on May 13, 2010 · 7 comments

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Welcome! The first interview of the NEW&IMPROVED shoptalk series is with Mendenhall Schroeder, the talented designer behind Ginger & Jade. Mendenhall has designed jewelry for over six years. Her mission is to share her passion for travel & new cultures through her jewelry & inspire others to reach outside their everyday world. Each necklace is one of a kind, handmade in her San Francisco studio.

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 We had a chance to sit down and chat:

Where do you live?
Studio Apt in San Francisco

Where is your favorite place to go in your city?
Sundance Kabuki Theater :)  I love going to movies and they let you pick your seat from home and drink wine during the movie!

What can’t you leave home without?
Smith’s lip balm in minted rose – I’m addicted

What’s one thing about you that would surprise people?
I’m an opportunistic thrill seeker- I seem to fall into sky diving, bungee jumping & SCUBA diving!

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Who are your favorite artists?
Patrick Mukabi, a Kenyan artist who paints African women in their everyday lives. I’m planning to buy one of his pieces (a non-naked one) when we go back to Kenya. I also want something by Will McCoy, a local artist who is a huge advocate of Burma. He prints his photos on large canvases stretched over wooden frames. And Michelle Mansour, also a local artist who helps run Root Division in SF. I have a piece from her 2008 collection.

Favorite film?
All versions of Pride & Prejudice and anything with Johnny Depp.

Fill in the Blank:
I feel my best when I’m wearing boots.

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Any guilty pleasures we should know about?
I take a bath every morning before work!

What’s sitting on your coffee table right now? 
Molasses cookies & whole milk.

If you could choose any celebrity to wear your designs, who would it be?
Audrey Tautou– she can pull off both cute & sexy.

What motivates you?
Good food & compliments.

Coin a phrase to describe your style.
Drama student meets southern prep school.

Drama student meets southern prep school, love it…don’t you guys? Menden, thanks so much for stopping by! Stay tuned for an AWESOME giveaway next week, an exclusive from Ginger & Jade!

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It’s Love: Priestess NYC

by Kate Franco on April 29, 2008 · 2 comments

Priestess NYC has been all over the press lately in a subtle kind of way — Tyra sported a Priestess NYC sweater earlier in April (the 18th), and full-on articles have appeared on CNBC and Dirty Glam (pp 142-145). Plus a mention in Harper’s Bazaar — but I thought I’d call some of my own special attention to this label that has caught my eye.

Why this line you ask? It’s a little flirty, super versatile, and has a great story. You know how I love_1.jpeg stories…But seriously this line is cool: lots of snakeskin, inverted pyramids and volume. The perfect blend of BRIGHT colors and SUBDUED hues. It’s has a sweet edge mixed with a little futuristic rock and roll — right where edgy meets chic. Pieces can be adapted for work, they can be worn out on the town later that night, they make a statement and are not for the fashion faint of heart. What’s not to love?

I had the (lucky!) chance to chat it up with the designer himself, Mr. Cody Ross. Here’s more about the talented designer and his line. Plus a few of my favorite pieces in the collection.

Who wears Priestess NYC?
An opinionated, knowledgeable and highly individualized girl who is a little irreverent and subtly-outlandish. She obsesses over fit and style and is typically well traveled and familiar with the coolest things in the coolest cities: NYC, Paris, London, Shanghai, etc are her playgrounds…

Describe Priestess NYC in 3 words:
‘Kitschy, Punky, Futuristic’ . .. .‘Hmmmmm, a Grace Kelly meets Judy Jetson spirit…

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What is your design philosophy?
To feed the demands of individualism in an increasingly homogenized/collectivized world. . .. ‘to make clothes that are provocative, versatile and beautiful enough to excite…’

We want to know more about you!
From Dallas, Texas…Attended the London School of Economics and for many years worked as a hedge-fund analyst in Shanghai, Dallas and NYC. Spent all my free-time looking at fashion mags, dressing/styling cool girls and finally (fed up with repression) quit my job and launched the label 2 seasons ago. Fashion has also been a central interest of mine and sketching, sewing and draping an active hobby that I can now do full time! I got my technical skills from part-time courses at Central St. Martins and lots of do-it-yourself stuff…

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Where can we find your clothes?
…On the coolest girls around the world, haha…And at edgy, avant-garde boutiques and stores in most big cities. Look for Priestess NYC in stores like D-Mop, Podium, Colette, TG-170, Lane Crawford, Barneys, WeOneYouTwo, Sucre, etc.. and, of course, the Priestess NYC showroom/atelier in the West Village, NYC (West 4th +West 11th)

Visit www.priestessnyc.com OR www.myspace.com/priestessnyc for more visual appeal and the entire collection.

Thanks for your time, Cody!

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