Coldest Day in Central Park in 118 Years!

January 7, 2014, 4 degrees above zero with very below zero wind chill. Yikes,  I had a lot of work to do that day in the Big Frozen Apple.

Actually I had arrived in New York the afternoon before and sped right over to the ENK Accessories Show for a little inspiration. Always love to visit the booth of My Flat in London which is so gorgeous and sophisticated. Besides it helps to start your venture with a little food for thought.

Awoke the next morning to the coldest day in Central Park in 118 years! Since I was born and raised in Chicago, I bundled up like my mother taught me to do in the Windy City, and I began my day with a good hot breakfast at an old favorite, Andrews Coffee Shop at 35th and 8th. (My hotel was in Chelsea, so I had walked 6 blocks uptown, only 25 more to go!)

My mission that day was to see several of my favorite NY vendors and then meet my hubby for a late lunch at Jean Georges in the Trump Hotel overlooking Central Park. First stop, Beads World, a great resource for all the little trivial items that only a jewelry designer could appreciate!

Fearing frostbite, my plan was to walk no more than 8 or 10 blocks at a time. It worked. Here is the last vendor I saw. I was at 48th Street where I warmed up and emptied my bank account!

I then decided to detour over to 5th Avenue to complete a little "research" checking out the jewelry at Saks, Henri Bendel and Bergdorf Goodman, ten more blocks. Freezing his buns off, is the police officer guarding Rockefeller Center. Baby, it's cold outside!

From Bergdorf Goodman I headed west and finally made it to Jean Georges.....from the ridiculous to the sublime!

The ambience is amazing.

And the food is off the charts!

My next stop was Sola Showroom, the showroom representing my "jewels." It is on 20th. Yes, we had sense enough to take a cab!

Perfect timing! My fabulous rep Lisa was just writing up an order for me.

Here are a few of the pieces that Montage will be shipping to the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas in February. One might think that this was the end of an exhausting day but, PS, we walked the 12 blocks back to our hotel for a little rest, and then our final walk of the day was to the theater district to see the previews of Beautiful, the story of Carol King, so fabulous! Yes, a very exciting day, and I think I worked off every calorie from that fabulous lunch at Jean Georges!

To see all the new spring jewelry from Montage visit www.myrnahalpern.com.

Mixing Old and New

When I design jewelry, I love mixing old and new. So it makes sense that I also gravitate to that look in home design. In the photo above, designer Stacey Costello unveils a seamless way to combine something old with something new. I especially love the way she mixed that gorgeous vintage tablecloth with lime green napkins, fruits and sunflowers.  No, your napkins do not have to match your cloth. See! Visit www.staceycostello.com for more ideas.

Suzanne Varner's website www.suzannevarner.com would be another fabulous resource if you enjoy this eclectic style of interior design. Her combination of a classic traditional dining table with leather chairs and 50's aqua walls is so unexpected and yet so sophisticated. Of course the magnificent chandelier is definitely the cherry on top!

Summer Thornton is another talented designer who exemplifies this quirky yet fabulous style of decorating. Love, love, love the funky color scheme and mint green glass lamps combined with the tufted velvet headboard and silver damask wall covering. Really cool. See lots more at www.summerthorntondesigns.com

I want to call this magnificent room "rustic revival." It is a real "McMansion" on Capitol Hill in the Seattle area. It sports an Old World look mixed with fabulous leathers and hides. Sweet!

Hope you will visit www.myrnahalpern to see how I put these eclectic concepts to use in a very different realm....... jewelry design. Have fun, cyber shoppers!