joyarte Success at Seattle Fashion Week 2011

The month of May was exceptionally exciting for me. In addition to events surrounding Mothers Day on a personal level (brunch with my folks, husband, and our entertaining 10 year old), I was thrilled to be invited to one of my favorite cities, Seattle for a host of events, namely Seattle Fashion Week. This week long event has been running for nearly ten years now with a large focus on local designers and local businesses.

joyarte jewelry couture on Heilyke at Seattle Fashion Week 2011 Finale wearing Nadia Bouvardia necklace Photo courtesy Ross James at RossJames.net.

Although I'm not "local", I feel a close kindred with Seattle as I have a number of family members who were either from there, or have lived there extensively. I recall fond memories of numerous annual visits there in my early twenties where I couldn't get enough of the fresh smell of the towering evergreens, and downtown shopping at the world famous stores of Bon Marche, Frederick & Nelson, and Nordstrom was an express-bus ride away from my aunt's house.

But I digress...

Seattle Fashion Week 2011!!

What an honor. One of my very good clients there, the Finerie, a lush downtown boutique near Pike Place and the Seattle Art Museum, was involved in the finale event on Friday to feature a few local designers along with some international designers whom they carry in the store. One such designer, with an amazing finesse for detail, was Heili Aun Nalla of Heilike.

I was first captivated by her work last fall upon another visit to the Finerie and immediately fell in love with her work, scooping up a one-of-kind sample jacket for myself. When the Finerie asked if I would be interested in adorning her garments for the finale runway show for SFW 2011, I did not hesitate to respond with a resounding "YES!". We determined that a good selection from my newest Encanto Collection would beautifully coordinate with Heilike's design.

Brooke Fox of Seattle's Movin 92.5 radio sports the Nadia Birch necklace Photo courtesy Dan Druta at twistinglight.com

I flew to Seattle to participate that week, and I received a second thrill when the Finerie decided that pieces from my upcoming Cloud9 collection would be a super fit for garments of international designers Yoana Baraschi and elmidae. So two distinct joyarte collections "jumped" off the models ramping up the runway with the garments and jewelry making the perfect complement. And a huge plus to the whole event was having one of my pieces worn by Brooke Fox of Seattle's Movin 92.5 radio who hosted the Thursday night men's runway event!

Additionally, I was able to successfully tag on two trunk shows during my stay, one at the Finerie, and another at another client, the Madison Art Collective. I rounded out the trip with a much needed visit with my dear auntie and my super cousin (to whom I gratefully owe tons for schlepping me around town for all those events!), and who both always make sure the coffee is plenty, the beds are comfy, and the company is grand.

Upon returning home to Texas, it was just as exciting to see the images from the events rolling onto the news feeds of Facebook and assorted blogsites, as it was to view the event in person from the second row of the King Kat Theatre. I can't wait for the next opportunity!