Mpls.St.Paul Magazine - Shop + Style - StyleMakers

Bag Lady

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:44:42 GMT

Talin Spring was a reluctant Twin Cities transplant— the Istanbul native grew up in France and lived in New York before her husband’s job brought them to Minnesota six years ago. Once here, she was impressed by the commitment to local brands and driven to create Spring Finn & Co., a chic yet simple line of hardworking leather and canvas bags—all U.S. made. Each style is inspired by a trade, from the fisherman’s cabin bag to the architect bag. No detail has been overlooked: even the Spring Finn & Co. logo is based on the Northrup King Building water tower—something only a true local would know.

$45–$596, at The Foundry Home Goods, 125 N. 1st St., Mpls., 612-333-8484, thefoundryhomegoods.com; Brightwater Clothing and Gear, 256 Water St., Excelsior, 952-474-0256, brightwater-excelsior.com; springfinnandco.com

Janell Geason

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:01:06 GMT

Around the time you were warming up to matte red lips, circa 2011, Janell Geason was starting to feel green. As global artistic director of makeup for Aveda, it’s Geason’s job to capture the mood of each spring and fall and turn it into a limited-edition makeup collection. She’s part trend forecaster, part artist, part sociologist, and a little bit psychic. Geason works two years ahead. She has to know the trends before they happen so she can come up with products that inspire Aveda’s cutting-edge staff of makeup artists working at designer runway shows in New York and Paris while still connecting with consumers of all skin tones around the world.

That’s all.

“The changes are subtle from season to season but have to be different enough that you’ll buy it,” says Geason, a hairstylist turned makeup artist who spent a decade in Europe before returning home to Minnesota, where she worked at Juut SalonSpas before climbing the ranks within Blaine-based Aveda Corp.

Currently immersed in the eyeliners and lip glosses of 2015, Geason is jumping back to the present to celebrate Aveda’s Art of Nature makeup collection, which hits beauty counters this month. It includes coral lipstick and eye shadow in three shades of green—right on trend, to be sure, considering emerald green is the 2013 Pantone color of the year.

“It’s nice to come back to it and think, ‘Oh, I really like this!’ ” Of course, Geason benefits from industry color forecasting services, but it’s not enough to know that green is going to be “in.”

“I’ve got to figure out what that is— an eyeliner, an eye shadow? How would you actually wear it as a consumer?” For 2013, Geason was thinking about seasons and the metamorphosis from winter browns and grays to the green of spring.

“Early spring is an unveiling of fresh light green, and the colors intensify as summer goes on,” Geason says. The Hibiscus cheek stain is one of her favorite products in the 14-piece spring collection. “It’s the bomb,” she says. “It shows up on even the deepest skin tones.” It was a hit on the runway at New York Fashion Week.

Even so, when it’s gone, it’s gone. The point of the seasonal collections is to inspire new looks and prompt women to experiment with current trends.

And why not try a green? “The beauty with makeup,” says Geason, “ is it washes off.”

—A. K.

Geason’s Makeup Tips and Tricks:

A hint of the trendy hue is enough. Rather than green eye shadow, try green eyeliner and keep everything else simple.
Set eyeliner with eye shadow. It will last longer.
Apply lip liner over lipstick for a matte finish.
Adjust your blush as your color deepens throughout the summer. Try a bronzy coral for a spring glow.

The Aveda product Geason can’t live without?

Tourmaline Charged Hydrating Creme, $40. “Makeup goes on easier when you have beautiful skin.”

Martha McQuade

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:46:40 GMT

Liz Barrere

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 08:09:16 GMT

Liz Barrere is yearning for the desert. She can smell the cacti now: a mix of cassis, pink sea salt, and wild geranium with a hint of avocado. And the amber dunes: bergamot, tobacco flower, golden amber, and sandalwood with notes of velvet peach and Asian teak.

For every place, for every mood, there is a scented candle.

“The past few years, we’ve been in the woods, we’ve spent lots of time at the beach,” says Barrere, president of Bloomington-based Illume Candles. “Spring 2013 is going to be about the hip desert.”

You can bet the whole box of matches on that.

That ability to translate cultural shifts and trends from the home industry and fashion runways into candles has helped Barrere transform Illume from an under-the-radar private-label manufacturer into an industry leader not only producing, but helping to develop collections for Target, Crate & Barrel, West Elm, and Anthropologie. Between big chains and local boutiques including Ampersand and Patina, Illume products are sold at more than 4,500 stores worldwide. This fall, Illume made its first major foray into bath and body with a body butter collection, Eternal Nomad, exclusive to Sephora (it’s currently available at 80 stores—none in Minnesota—and at sephora.com). With global-inspired packaging and scents such as Thai Lily and Mediterranean, Eternal Nomad evokes a sense of bohemian luxury that Barrere says was missing from Sephora’s shelves. The retailer agreed—a second wave of Eternal Nomad products will hit Sephora in March.

“We have such a strong design and product development team. We’re thinking about what we can do beyond candles,” says Barrere, who worked in product development for the home division of Marshall Field’s/Macy’s before joining Illume six years ago.

Illume employs 50 in Bloomington, including a staff of chemists who work onsite concocting scents and testing candle formulations. The product development team, led by Barrere, identifies the key trends, dreams up the scents, and develops the vessels—a critical piece that cements the style of each candle. Illume’s exotic print Boho jars are a top seller. The number one fragrance, for several years running, is pineapple cilantro.

“It always surprises me, but Americans like food smells,” Barrere says. “People have such an emotional response to fragrance.”

A coconut candle burns on Barrere’s desk, which faces an inspiration wall covered with magazine tear sheets. Rihanna is up there, next to Gucci ads and shots of Kelly Wearsler’s Los Angeles store—one of Barrere’s favorites at the moment. Barrere and her team have also been spending time at top flea markets, such as the one in Brimfield, Massachusetts, where they hunt for vintage objects that can be reproduced as candleholders.

“I like translating a vibe into home design,” Barrere says. “And we’re an accent business—not a couch—so we can play. It’s like lipstick. Candles make you feel good.” illumecandles.com

Shoe Designer Bettye Muller

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 13:48:46 GMT

Preppy, chic, and wearable, Bettye Muller was one of the first shoe collections Marlys Badzin ordered when she opened Pumpz & Co. at the Galleria. At the time, Muller’s New York apartment doubled as her showroom, and the designer was her own shoe model. “She was wearing these amazing leather sandals that I would still carry today,” Badzin recalls. Twelve years later, Muller has a showroom and staff, and her line is a top seller at Pumpz. From 11 am to 2 pm on Oct. 12, Muller makes her first appearance at the boutique that helped put her on the map. Stop by—she’s as darling as her tartan flats.

First love: Pappagallo. They were a really soft, beautiful kidskin leather. I just remember wanting lots of them.

Huge heels: I don’t like them at all. Victoria Beckham wears the ones with the big front—it looks like a clubfoot.

Comfort: It’s very, very important. Suffering for the look is a young person’s game. Making beautiful shoes that are wearable is part of who I am. I was an ice skater!

Right height: Three inches is nice. I’m starting to do lower heels, too. Pumps are starting to come back.

Designer prices: Even if you made a shoe in gold in the most beautiful factory in Italy, there’s no justification for charging $1,500. I’ll see some of these $800 or $900 shoes and they have a crooked heel—it’s like, shame on you!

Menswear influences: I love men’s tailoring. This year, it’s right in the mix with the smoking shoe and the tuxedo shoe. A lot of women don’t feel feminine, but it’s a very sophisticated look. There’s a cool factor to it. I love it with nice slacks and a blazer.

For travel: I wear Silvia Fiorentina moccasins or Converse sneakers. Always closed-toe. I don’t like when people travel in open-toe shoes. Unless it’s one of mine. I guess I’d make an exception for that.

Alexandra Davis of Cobra Society

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 10:11:44 GMT

Boot obsession — Alexandra Davis, the 26-year-old creator of up-and-coming luxury footwear and accessories brand Cobra Society, has lived in Boston, Los Angeles, and New York. She studied in Morocco; she interned in London and Paris. But no matter where in the world she is, there’s no denying that Davis is a Minnesotan at heart: She loves boots.

“I wear boots every day, all year round,” says Davis, whose silky long locks and effortless style make her the envy of every girl in the room—even without her tribal print, slouchy over-the-knee boots. But it’s always about the boots.

Davis received her first Frye boots when she completed middle school, and she got another pair for graduation from The Blake School. Davis studied international relations and French at Boston University and thought she might like to be a diplomat. Along the way, she found fashionable footwear to be a surer bet for bridging cultural divides. Good boots are a language that requires no interpretation.

North African Influence — Davis was on a summer program in Morocco when she discovered traditional kilim hand-woven rugs. Inspired by the native designs, colors, and textures, Davis envisioned the fabric on boots. After college, she spent some time working in the fashion business, both on the design side and public relations, but soon found herself drawn back to Morocco.

With some seed money from her parents, who live in Wayzata, and the help of a professor, Davis identified a village in the Middle Atlas Mountains where artisans could make rugs that would adhere to leather. While the fabrics are woven in Morocco, the actual boots are constructed in Spain, in one of just a few factories that does Goodyear welt construction—the gold standard for quality. “I wanted a feminine cowboy shape,” Davis says. The result is a distinct look at once exotic and familiar.

Cobra Society’s fall 2012 collection was inspired by Greece

Next steps — The boots, which cost upwards of $700, were an instant hit with fashion editors around the globe. Celebrities have embraced the young brand as well—Jessica Alba even paid full price for a pair, Davis dishes. Cobra Society is sold on designer shopping site net-a-porter.com and at high-end boutiques—none in the Twin Cities right now, but Davis treats her hometown fans to a trunk show at least twice a year.

Now in her third year of design, Davis is branching out with loafers and leather bags. She’s moved beyond the browns and reds of traditional kilims to saffron and blue. She travels monthly to Spain and Morocco, and when not there in person, she spends her days on the phone, from one time zone to the next. “It’s like the United Nations at my office,” Davis jokes. It’s not what she imagined as an undergrad—just so much better. thecobrasociety.com — A.K.

Bear Fox Chalk

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 09:20:51 GMT

CHALKING IT UP | “Always Minnesota Nice” is the tag phrase for Johnna and Max Holmgren’s chalk-art business, Bear Fox Chalk. It’s also a good way to describe the couple themselves, who slide into seats at Spyhouse Coffee Shop on Hennepin sharing big smiles and big ideas. “She has great vision,” says Max, winking at his wife, who is quick to return a compliment: “And he’s a great artist.”

Their company, named after the high school sweethearts’ nicknames for each other (he’s Bear, she’s Fox, natch), has been steadily getting orders ever since brides-to-be spotted the oversized chalkboards serving as backdrops for Johnna’s photography booth at the Minneapolis Wedding Fair last October. “At my booth, brides were coming up and asking if the boards came with my photography,” says Johnna, who already has a business snapping weddings and families. “I turned to Max and said, ‘We have a new business as of right now.’ ” After the fair wrapped up, the couple scrambled for two weeks to put up a website, find a name, and come up with their branding.

Fans of the well-known Brooklyn chalk artist Dana Tanamachi, who has designed and lettered for the cover of O Magazine and clients such as West Elm and Ralph Lauren, the Holmgrens are hoping to branch out from the wedding arena to capture concert venues, retailers, and home decor clients as well.

ACROSS THE BOARD | Max realized his passion for chalk when Stillwater stationery store Mara-Mi commissioned him to design a menu board last summer. He instantly loved it as a medium—its ephemeral quality coupled with that old-timey yet very on-trend appearance. It also seems the perfect fit for the hip and wholesome Holmgrens (he sports an arm tattoo; she wears a feather in her hair)—who were born and raised in Minnesota and recently moved from Stillwater to St. Anthony to be closer to the urban action.

While Max sharpens his chalk with a blade cutter to prepare to sketch his designs, Johnna works on the vision and the client relationship. Max builds their Restoration Hardware–inspired boards from galvanized metal frames stamped around sheets of wood. The boards can be purchased along with the designs, or rented for an event. Prices start at $300 to lease a two-by-two-foot board and $400 to buy.

SLATED FOR THE FUTURE | “Working with chalk is probably a little like building a wedding cake. It’s a work of art, but it can easily be smooshed. That’s part of the beauty,” says Max, who is still trying to find the best way to transport the boards to protect them on their way to a client. For couples or businesses that want to display theirs indefinitely as a “work of art,” he sprays them with a sealant.

On average, a board will take at least two days to complete. The time-lapse video on their site, which shows Max illustrating the Bear Fox Chalk logo over a path through the woods, took a whopping 50 hours to produce. And there will be more where that came from. “I’m interested in epic chalkboards,” says Max. “Big backdrops to concerts, a chalk mural on the side of a building.” Or their most recent: a wall mural of a starry sky in the forest for their 3-month-old daughter Luella’s nursery.

Monica Nassif

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 09:00:03 GMT

A career entrepreneur, Monica Nassif founded Caldrea in 1999 and Mrs. Meyer’s shortly thereafter—Minneapolis-based brands that opened the door to a new category of luxury household cleaners. She left the top post two years ago with nothing but visions of lounging in a glamorous caftan.

Then she went shopping. “I couldn’t find anything elegant, refined,” Nassif says. “I started thinking: The sleepwear category is everywhere, and nowhere.”

And so it began. Again. This month, Nassif will launch her new collection of luxury sleepwear, Sophia Graydon—names she plucked from her family tree. She’s targeting affluent women who have moved beyond frilly without resigning themselves to flannel. It’s pretty but not overtly sexy. Appropriate on an intimate weekend getaway or for a family brunch. The look is tailored, and craftsmanship is key. Pieces range from a $375 men’s-inspired box-pleated cotton nightshirt to a Scottish cashmere robe with French silk lining that retails for $3,950.

“If you make a superior product, consumers will buy,” Nassif says. “I didn’t want to take any shortcuts.”

She did want to keep production in Minneapolis, which proved a challenge. Because there are so few manufacturing jobs left in town, skilled sewers have moved away or found other work. A professor from the University of Minnesota’s College of Design connected Nassif with patternmaker Ida Matthys, who had worked with New York fashion brands including The Row and Chado Ralph Rucci but was eager to return home to the Twin Cities. Matthys, director of atelier for Sophia Graydon, runs a Northeast Minneapolis workroom of five sewers.

“The craftsmanship and artistry reminds me of growing up,” says Nassif, who learned about petite French seams practically before she could tie her shoes. “I like the idea of straddling Old World/New World,” Nassif says. The old: high-quality products made by artisans. The new: Sophia Graydon will be sold online exclusively.

Nassif says online gives her greater control of her brand. Eventually, she’d like to open Sophia Graydon boutiques. The focus now is on connecting with upscale consumers and putting the finishing touches on the spring 2013 collection. It looks like it will be a while before Nassif devotes an afternoon to lounging. At least, when the day comes, she knows she’ll be outfitted in style.

sophiagraydon.com

Amanda Christine

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 15:23:55 GMT

Fashion designer Amanda Christine Natzel launched her own line right out of design school at St. Catherine University—to gain the experience she thought she needed to get hired in the fashion industry.

Either she underestimated her ability to create a fashion brand on her own, or she overachieved. Regardless, Natzel, now six years into the business, has surpassed the label of “Minnesota designer.” Her collection, which is entirely produced in the Midwest, has been sold in more than 30 boutiques nationwide, as well as Canada and Japan. It’s been well received locally at Drama, Arafina, and Cliche.

“I think I’ve done better being from Minnesota,” Natzel theorizes. “If I was in L.A., I’d get lost with all the other designers.”

For her upcoming fall/winter collection, Natzel says she was craving dresses in black, brown, and Bordeaux. One of the highlights is the cozy-chic “Cocoon” dress with a connected belt for a flattering shape.

See the new collection in stores in October. amandachristinedesigns.com

Kris Naros

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 08:13:28 GMT