At Last - New Website

After months of - creating, musing, agonizing, losing sleep, deciding, etc - my new website has launched! I am so excited to share it with you, my dear friends and fans.  It was hard work, but also fun fun fun! I hope you like what you see.  Please click on my logo to visit and browse my latest designs for Fall/Winter 2011:

A Sneak Peek at Fall

I am so excited about my Fall 2011 Lookbook that I decided to share a little bit of it with you.  More soon!

Vive la France!

Happy Birrthday to France, my favorite travel destination!  July 14th 1789 marks the beginning of France as a modern nation.  Yes, it was bloody and I think generally dreadful, but it has been celebrated ever since as a big national holiday.  In my family, although we're not French, we are drawn to French food, places, traditions, and - naturellement - fashion.  Here, in Seattle, far away from France, Cafe Campagne is my favorite spot where I can perch at the bar and sip my kir royale.  From there Le Panier is conveniently close by to pick up a baguette and a bag of macarons.  In my 'hood we adore sitting in the garden of Le Reve and munch on croque monsieur...

 Vive La France!

Claude Monet, Rue Montorgueil, Paris, Festival of June 30, 1878.

Coffee with Liv

Had coffee with Liv at my favorite neighborhood spot - Caffe Vita.  Liv was my model at the last photoshoot - it is not what she does for a living, but she could!  The woman of multiple talents, she is also a gifted artist (see for yourself here).  We chatted and laughed, and it is so sad she is moving to the East coast in a month.  Bon voyage and bon chance, Liv!

Lovely Liv

One of Liv's paintings

My Favorite Summer Things...

"Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."  ~ Henry James

Summer - a perfect time of year, but oh so short and precious.  Long days pass too quickly as we savor deliciously warm minutes trying to save up the feeling of contentment to last us into the rainy season...

How to stop time and make the flavors and scents linger a little longer? 

Here are a few of my favorites I will miss when summer is gone:

Farmers Markets around town with their parade of summer fruit - starting with strawberries and cherries, ending with plums and pears - well into autumn

Blackberry fields in our own neighborhood
The simple elegance of a little white summer dress, and -
Turquoise, robin egg and aqua blue jewelry to complement my LWD

Warm nights perfect for dining al fresco
Languishing...
An abundance of flowers



Easier, slower, gentler living
etc, etc, etc ...  a rose is a rose is a rose is a rose....

What are your summer favorites?

Eco Chic - It is Easy Being Green If You Try

If I were asked to be on TV - LIVE TV - I would have to take a tranquilizer (ha, ha!).  Sara of SPUN just glided graciously through the entire Q13 morning program with Kaci Aitchinson, which aired on Monday, June 27th. 
SPUN is one of the first boutiques that has changed the notion that eco chic is an oxymoron.  Frequented by women who love fashion and are excited to discover new designers, the Capitol Hill store offers an edited modern collection of locally designed and made fashions: clothes, accessories, jewelry.  I was so happy my bracelet (on Sara's arm) and necklace (on the model next to Cameron) made it into the clip - thank you, Sara, for mentioning Joanna Morgan Designs!
Here is a short video from the show:

My Photoshoot - An Inside Look

Last Saturday greeted us with an overcast sky - a perfect day for a photoshoot!  We started bright and early - at least early for a weekend day - with Krystal of Smashing Divas, who worked her amazing artistry on my already flawless model, Liv.  She gave Liv a smoky-eye, sophisticated look. 

Krystal working her artistry



Hair time!

Krystal's tools of the trade

Then it was time for Amanda of Art of Subtlety to capture in her trademark masterful way the mood and personality of my collection. 

Making sure

Yes, these are phone books and one super thick book we used as a stepstool

Can't wait to show you the end result!