Vuitton Visitor

A couple days ago, I had the great honor of being invited for the second time in my life to a Louis Vuitton factory. The first time, was at their original factory in Asnieres, France, which I wrote about here. The second time was on Friday at their top secret location outside of Los Angeles. For me, it was as close to Charlie in The Chocolate Factory as I'll ever get.

It is truly the Holy Grail for bag makers. I was strictly forbidden from taking pictures - much to my chagrin. But I get it, they seem to have this little problem with counterfeiting and such so it's kind of a big deal not to let any ol' person with a blog take pictures inside the facility. :) We sat through a brief lecture by our host - the French director of the factory - on the history of the House of Vuitton and the many meticulous details which make a Vuitton bag special; we toured the leather storage hangar; watched as the hides were obsessively checked for imperfections before they're sent inside the factory; were gobsmacked in front of futuristic cutting machines; stared at sewers making perfect stitch after perfect stitch; observed as women in Vuitton-brown lab coats scrutinized and tugged-at each bag giving new meaning to the words "quality control" before they were put into the cozy dustbag to be shipped to it's new rightful owner.

I came home from the tour and immediately pulled out my classic, cute "Speedy" - which this model is called - it is the only Vuitton item I own and it is going to be more present in my life. My authentic Speedy is from an estate sale in the boonies of northern California. My good friend was elated to find it a few months back. She has no interest in fashion, but she knew she'd have to buy this bag for me. Not only did she buy it, she put it in the post that very day with my address. Those are good friends.

We saw so many things in the couple hours or so it took us to tour the factory, and I'll retain it all preciously in my own private photo vault in my head, but one thing I'll say for Vuitton is they without question know how to run an impeccable state-of-the-art factory, treat employees (artisans as they are called there) with respect and dignity, and they make an incredible product. I dare say their products are worth every single dime they cost. I can't afford one in good conscious, but if I could, I would feel proud of it knowing where it came from. :)

Here is a cool video for their new book "Louis Vuitton: 100 Legendary Trunks."

Delivering Sunshine to Theory (By Whatever Means Necessary)

Yesterday, we shipped eleven boxes filled with sunshine and Trops to Theory LLC.

The afternoon light was streaming in through the windows.

Well, they weren't all Trops, there were also iPad sleeves, small clutches, black foldover clutches, messenger totes - the CV gamut. The sun was making the most beautiful lightshow on the plain cardboard boxes.

This is about how industrial we get, exhibit A: weighing boxes. This yellow bathroom-model is one of the only things we have from France and Le Mari's life before he met me. It is kilos. First we weighed Mat, then she held each box and we subtracted her weight from the total, then converted that to pounds. So glad we have a hot intern to do this job rather than moi.

This is good autumn light. Fed Ex wouldn't pick up the shipment so the boxes are waiting on the porch for us to carry them down and load them in a 1980s stoner van belonging to my neighbor, the legendary guitar maker, James Trussart. Jocelyn, Mat and I, all made the trip to Fed Ex in the plush-seated, behemoth blaring the Rolling Stones on two-for Tuesday rock-radio. It seemed the only station appropriate for that ride. Maybe our 80s van wasn't the classiest vehicle in town but as Mick always said best, "you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need..."

oh yeah. :)

Tying Knots

We had our annual PS ARTS Express Yourself event today. At our booth, DKap (above), Heather and I instructed people how to make fabric-knotted necklaces with big wooden beads.

Truth be told, we were very popular with the moms (maybe more so than the kids. Ha.) I LOve the big red bow. Lanvin? Nah.

HBT chics-out with blue tie-dye fabric.

Carrie was our stellar volunteer and beautiful with her pink-on-mariner-T.

This woman was lovely with her all-cream silk version.

This beauty stayed at the booth for about an hour making her creation. I think it is as happy as her smile.

I loved how this woman was wearing her gorgeous diamond pendant with her knotted-camo work.

By the way, there was a real nice piece on Closet Visit in LA Times Image section today. It mentions moi, Kathryn Bentley, DKap and HBT, too. Exciting. Incredible company to keep. Jeana just keeps on shining.

A Brilliant Theory

Holiday orders are piling up! We've been busy. I haven't been blogging. The only thing I have been capable of doing lately besides this day-to-day running my just-beyond-fledgling business, and being a mediocre wife and mama, was first to lose myself in Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. Then, when I plowed through the 600 pages like it was a chapter book, le mari and I launched into a k-hole-like obsession with season 1 of the tv show Friday Night Lights (weird, I know, but it was highly recommended from people I respect and I'm not ashamed to admit to a school-girl-like crush on Matt Seracen.) It's been an odd coupla weeks. But back to the orders at hand: THEORY.

Mr. Olivier Theyskens' Theory. That one. While in France this summer, I received an email from them. Email said they were interested in talking to me about carrying my bags. With stunned disbelief, I set up a call with them a week later to discuss further...So in three timezones - at 10 a.m. Jocelyn in Los Angeles (après breakfast), at 1 p.m. in NYC (at lunchtime) a couple of Theory merch people and buyers and me at 7 p.m. (pre-aperitif, pre-dinner) had a conference call. And I'm not gonna lie, it was kinda cool to say I'm calling in from Paris. (Sometimes it's in the details.)

Two months, and one in-person meeting later, and we're shipping a holiday order to stellar-reputation-holding-prime-real-estate-occupying-Theyskens-designing-THEORY. Here're Joce and Mat mega stamping and packing.

We've shipped the first portion, second portion goes out next week.

So, hey, especially with Theyskens over there, maybe we'll consider Theory this holiday season for gift giving and holiday outfits, just an idea. ;) xoxo

Clutching Autumn

We are not privy to much weather here in LA, so we've been enjoying this rain and gloom here at CViv. Sweaters and socks, oooh, wait, wait, I've got those somewhere in the back of my closet, let me go get them. Cozy. Here are some autumnal clutches which dropped by the studio today to say a brief hello and get blessed by our gold stamp machine on their way out to happy homes like yours.

These are a few of my favorite things right now...

This fluffy, French vintage jacket from Luxe De Ville (so cozy I want to wear it all the time) creamy, westerny boots and the mini sac in SILVER!!

In the immortal words of a famous stylist, I DIE.

Jocelyn took this picture of me taking the picture above. Pretty funny, no? Wait, is that a ninja in my dining room? No, it's just me. :)

Style Cults

I meet a lot of wonderful, stylish and inspiring women in Los Angeles but when I met interior designer Andrea Gibbin at a PS ARTS meeting a few years ago she struck me as having a special kind of allure. Before I was actually introduced to her, she reminded me of my Parisian sister-in-law with her effortlessly chic way. She always had a little twist that made her classic outfit something special - like wearing a string of bright blue beads with an otherwise plain white shirt, or carrying a beautiful, simple leather tote by Anya Hindmarch, before anyone really knew who the designer was (pre the "I am not a plastic bag" freakshow.) She now carries a Trop. Here she is at my Soho House trunk show, with fabulous hair, a cute army green shirt dress, a woven belt and a whole lot of great jewelry.

At one meeting, she had on a navy blazer with a little brooch pinned to the cuff. It was such an unusual place to pin a brooch but so cool, I knew I would be appropriating that small gesture myself.

A few nights later I wore my black blazer to have dinner with friends at the Chateau Marmont and donned the brooch-on-sleeve look. During a trip to the restroom, I crossed Cameron Diaz, who was wearing an almost identical blazer, we looked at each other with the same twinsies realization and she said, "nice blazer." And then without missing a thing she added "I like your pin." Pointing to my cuff. I said, "thanks, it's cute right? You should do it too." Unbeknownst to Andrea, I'd joined her style cult (and was recruiting celebrities.) To this day, the same pin hangs on the same black velvet jacket - without it, it's just a plain old blazer...

So when Andrea and her friend and colleague (and equally lovely) Wendy Riva decided to open a temporary interiors shop called R&G Collective in Brentwood and asked if I would sell my bags there, I was thrilled! I knew it would be a gorgeous place. A few days ago, it was featured on the very popular blog A Bloomsbury Life.

Bloomsbury Life is artist Lisa Borgnes' blog and R&G also sells a few of her cheeky embroidered tapestries like the one below.

I've never met Lisa, but I like her blog and I especially like the way she ended the entry on R & G Collective: "Andrea and Wendy are planning upcoming trunk sales from Minnie Mortimer, Soledad Twombly (whose striped caftan can be seen on the right) and cult handbag designer Clare Vivier (that's her leather tote hanging off the bench)." Cult?! Cool! Wanna join? No black sweatshirts and sneakers required. But there may be a pin on your sleeve in the future.

Photos of R&G Collective from A Bloomsbury Life