Elaine Turner 15th Anniversary Event at CityCentre Houston

A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the Elaine Turner 15th Anniversary Party at CityCentre Houston! I had never visited the CityCentre before, and found that it was a great shopping center full of interesting stores and great curb appeal. I definitely will be visiting again soon!

Just from leaving the garage, there were interesting things to see, like this encouraging mural. Words to live by, that's for sure!

The event started out with just mingling, drinks, and enjoying the wares at Elaine Turner. There was definitely a lot to offer at the boutique! Gorgeous bags, clothing, jewelry, and more! The bags were especially impressive, as was the wall of shoes!

For this event, 20% of the purchase benefitted Kids Meals, Inc, which is a charity organization that helps feed children in need. It's always great to see events like this benefitting others!

After meeting up with some bloggers and making new friends, everyone gathered around to listen to Elaine herself talk about how far the company has come. It's always wonderful to meet the designer behind the brand, and see the passion that they feel for everything that they do! 

Afterwards, Elaine continued on to talk about her favorite fall trends, and showcased the new fall looks on models who had been mingling with the crowd and chatting beforehand. 

The looks included the 'modern muse', 'clad in classics', 'casually cool' and 'femme fatale'. I personally love classic looks - what's your favorite?

Throughout the event, my good friend and fellow Fashion Illustrator Rongrong Devoe was doing what she does best - illustrating! Guests received a personalized sketch to take home from the event, and I was happy to be included in the fun!

Not only that, but I made two new friends at this event! Jillian of Cup of Charisma was such a sweetheart as was her mother, and Karla was a firecracker! They were both beautiful and hilarious to chat with, and I can't wait to hang out with them again!

Until next time!

Kit and Ace Boutique Opening Event

Last week I had the pleasure to attend a boutique opening in Rice Village for Kit and Ace, a specialty boutique for a unique fabric - Technical Cashmere. It's a special kind of cashmere that's machine washable, and in person is buttery soft. You can learn all about what they do and why they do it on their website at www.kitandace.com.  

The event itself was lots of fun, I was able to chat with a few of the workers there and it seems the environment is cool, relaxed, and everything about Kit and Ace had a wonderfully eclectic feel to it. The store was a bright and open space, filled with minimalist decor. The art and installations are apparently from local artists, and the chandelier seen below is the first thing that catches your eye when you walk in. 

Another piece of art in the store is a piece called Willow - Where the Wild Things Are by Anita Varadaraju. It's a beautiful contemporary piece that fits the clean style that is consistent within the boutique. You can learn more about Anita here.

The decorations for the event itself were simple and elegant, and the champagne served was very good! I feel the event was a great hit, and it was a huge crowd that was lively, energetic, and friendly. 

Along with the decor, there was a paper crafter there who had beautiful paper flowers on display and being made as favors for the event!  Blome's Paperie is an adorable and eclectic business based out of Houston who provides beautiful paper flowers for decor at weddings and events like this one. Sarah creates gorgeous stuff, so check her out at her website here.

The apparel for Kit and Ace features mostly basics and sportswear, with comfortable tees, shirts, and a few staples like blouses, wraps and polos for men! I really look forward to seeing how this company expands, and perhaps one day they'll even include Plus Sizes!

One of the best things about the apparel was the fact that each type of garment has a story behind it. Some are encouraging while others are outright hilarious! It was worth perusing the store just reading all of them! Below I've listed just a few of them. 

Like I love to do, I did a few sketches of the things I saw. A trench coat, a dress, and a wrap - all things that are comfortable, versatile, and essential for the everyday wardrobe. If you want a basic that's also a luxury item, Kit and Ace is for you!

This event was definitely a good one, and I hope that there will be plenty of others like it. It was fun, laid back, full of lots of smiles and laughter and a sense of camaraderie. I even got to take home a paper flower and an etched drinking glass! 

Here's to another great event here in Houston!

Lily Rain Grand Opening at Woodway Collection - Image Post

This past Thursday, Lily Rain had another store open up here in Houston! It's located in the Woodway Collection, which is right next to a Whole Foods and across from the Trader Joe's just inside the 610 loop. 

I didn't have much of a chance to socialize (due to my extreme shyness and I knew no one there), but I got a chance to see all of the cute, fun, and quirky things that are sold at Lily Rain. Unfortunately for me, there was nothing over a size Large there, but all of the clothing items offered were cute, eclectic, and full of color and vibrant prints. 

Below is a set of pictures I took from the event. 

Hope to see you at an event sometime soon!

Monday Sketches - Final Project

This week was pretty chaotic for me, and so unfortunately the only artwork I have to share is a sketch from a networking event (you can read about it here) and the last couple of progress images for my final Digital Painting project. 

Sketching at events is always an easy way to garner attention without necessarily approaching people first. I'm really shy and networking isn't my strongest suit, but sketching helps! People can come up to me, watch, and then ask about what I do and I have a chance to be able to open up to them with something I love, and then be able to connect with them.

Here's one last look for this image before it was completed. Fixing the shadows, working on the backgrounds, making final adjustments - I've learned so much from this class! 

The final product was all about refinement, and in the end I added a fun advertisement slogan. That was the intention of this digital painting, to be an advertisement, and I'm really pleased with how this project turned out in the end. 

That's all for this week, tune in next week for another segment!