on my muses: Madonna

have i discussed my madonna worship on the blog? yup..that's right. just love her. i have always pictured the divine one marching around S+M style with her minions staring up at her waiting for the approval that will never come, and her just staring back saying, "it's just not good enough! get it out of my sight!" and this week, of all the weeks in the year, i truly need to summon my inner madonna, in order to keep my head clear of all the chazzerrai that can get in the way. right now, it is so important, while i finish up all the decision making for the collection, i do not get sidetracked by the "maybes" and the "almosts" and the "sortofs". the final collection must only be about perfection..everything else goes away! and that's final.

new jill rugs!

this morning i received a truly exciting email from the good people at Surya(the company that manufactures my branded rugs) with an attachment picturing the new rugs for my collection. i have been waiting an eon for these, and i am so so happy because i think these are looking wonderful, and oh so fun. hooray! i think the one above is my fave.

this one below just kills me, so happy and so crazy.
dreamy and serene.

brights for fall

i know it is time to be thinking about the deep colors of fall, but i am continuing to see and be inspired by the bright tones of summer. i hate to put these colors away, now that we are in full time design panic mode.
we continue to make our final choices for the fall collection,and we are working in rich jewel tones, but there is something about all this warm and thrilling brightness that is giving me pause when i hit the design table. i keep coming back to yellow! and green! and blue!!


i mean aren't these objects terrific?
the chairs below just say yes please! right?

our design process

the last couple of weeks, i have been sharing a lot about what we are working on here at the studio to get ready for the fall gift show. i have posted quite a number of pix of my faves that are currently being considered for the collection. but yesterday, i thought, after looking at the piles of sketches on my table, that it might be cool to share how the patterns get onto the pieces.
i spend inordinate amounts of time getting a theme and inspiration for the season, and in turn that little seedling starts to take form, and grow in my mind, and finally morph into the sketches here.
from there, i do a bunch of sifting through concepts..drawing and redrawing. and finally it comes time to choose some colors, and try some of these babies out on some pieces. we like using plates as they are quick, and a good way of simply seeing something to know how well it might be working.
many of these plates, as pretty as they might be will never make their way into the collection because for some reason they do not cohere to the overall scheme. and so while they might be wonderful, i will never be able to use them, and they are pitilessly pushed aside, like the floral pictured below. buh bye navy and white plate!

missoni inspiration

by now you can see where the colors are going this season..super rrrrich! i have always loved the scallop missoni style bargello-ish print. i think this season it finally is working with everything else. i know the navy looks black here..but in person it is just a super dark shade.

my logo pattern

we have been struggling to find a perfect "JR" logo pattern for the new fall collection, and we think we may have struck gold with this greek key inspired pattern. can you find all the "j"'s?

killer video

my nephew visited with us this weekend and had this bit o hilarity to share. omg..how perfect is this? AND thank G-d i have one.

a shiny new suzani

ichiko just unloaded a plate from the kiln, and i snapped this photo right off. it is the first stab at a suzani pattern, and though i imagine there will be many more iterations before we perfect the design, i do like this pattern's playful quality, and bold colors.

on my muses: miss peggy guggenheim

when i am in the process of a design frenzy, as we are currently at the studio, i tend to cling to my many muses, one of whom is most certainly Peggy Guggenheim.
she really knew how to go over the top, (please.. those glasses?) and never give a damn what the other dames thought of her antics. we could all use a dose of peggy g when we need to steel ourselves for the deluge to come.
her wee palazzo in venezia..magnifico. and below this marino marini horse and rider (you can bet your bottom dollar peggy got a deal on that one!)

travie and i are on the same page

what can i say..i kvell.

Monograms

i was never a big proponent of the monogram thing, in fact i poo-pooed! but lately with all my preppy looks, and particularly our hampton links pieces, now seemed like just the right time.
we will be introducing this baby at the NYGift show in august..i'm anticipating the deluge. i mean isn't this gorge?

matta sarongs

whenever i head to the beach, i bring along my favorite tangerine sarong by a company called Matta, that sells each one in it's own adorable matching bag. i love their things because the prints are so lively and colorful, and i cannot get enough of my sarong because..it's a skirt! and a scarf! and a beach blanket! and a dress! and in a pinch..a face cloth! i know duh? right? but i do love my Matta sarong.

erin gates or michael kors model?

the other day i happen to look out the window and see a super chic woman crossing the street towards our studio in fort point. i had a fleeting thought of, "where does miss hamptons think she's headed?..there aren't any private jets 'round here!" and then of course, i realized it was our own erin coming to work with oliver and baxter in tow. isn't she fab?

design inspiration: connected by my brain

i would imagine to most of you these two disparate images are really not connected in any obvious way, but around here i am currently madly sketching away concepts for the fall collection. my inspiration, as i have mentioned here in previous posts, is jackie in india. this in turn makes me think about paisley and and rich colors, as well as super cool prep geometry. you do the math.

lady miss kier

hey! remember "groove is in the heart"? this was our first LADY of disco..and she loved her costume changes just about as much as ms. gaga does. i think the lady miss part of the moniker is a good one..and my dear friend christophe continues to call me "lady miss jill" as an homage to this FIT grad. it's all about the marketing baby.

she just kills me

it just renders one speechless. i mean really. how good are the cigarette shades? wish i'd thought of it!

bergstrom originasls

before entirely abandoning the theme, i thought i would also mention bergstrom originals, a cute toronto shop owned and operated by clothing designer christina bergstrom. i was instantly drawn to the colorful and lively sense of design here, and highly recommend a stop by her shop..if you happen to be in town.
..remind you of anyone?

thank you lonny!

look what i found! lonny mag's tori melliot found our sweet and sharp exeter cross dip bowls for the june/july issue. i am feeling so proud!