It was so good to see Iris. I have one of her mother’s necklaces. It’s from a casino in Jamaica. Out of plastic, from that glamorous time of gambling and drinking and dancing. It’s very old, and has sentimental value for me. Iris signed her new book for me: Iris Apfel Accidental […]
There’s more than one elephant orphanage in Africa. I visited one in Zimbabwe, run by IFAW and ZEN. Many elephant babies are orphaned when the mothers are killed for their ivory tusks. Animals are slaughtered throughout Africa. Those at the biggest risk are elephants and rhinos. If something isn’t done soon, these animals could only […]
This quote says it all. My guide, Fred, had a great sense of humor. And he had a great love of all the animals in the park under his protection. I had an interesting insight into Africa, not just as a safari tourist. Yes, we were on safari, but it was more of a […]
I’d been looking for a building to open the retail store. I didn’t want to rent. We’d done some pop-up stores. Those experiences taught me I didn’t want a landlord telling me what I could or couldn’t do. Or, if I was a success, raising my rent and making it impossible to stay. I’ve seen […]
We had races on the last day of school. And a maypole. I don’t know why I remember the maypole, but I do. It was a great day when we got out, especially when I got my new pair of sneakers. It wasn’t just the day that was special, but that whole last week. We […]
Ever since Cupcake started, our signature colors have been black, gray, and a little red. That’s what we could print, and people liked it. We’re excited for a new look and a whole new color way for our collection. Indigo pieces go with the casual fashion of blue jeans. And it gives our customers […]
The pants are in black and white, crop pants with a wide leg, and comfortable. The shirts are long-sleeved, cut long to fingertip length, and comfortable. The patterns on the shirts are the Tree of Life, Elephant, and the mantra “Breathe, Exhale.” The shirts are available […]
The pattern reminded me of Native American patterns, especially Navajo patterns. We put it on an interesting, textured cotton. It causes the garment to almost feel like a basket weave. It’s available in a rust color, red, and black. The ZigZag pieces are a unique design on a textured cotton. It’s an architectural […]
I’m going on a trip to Africa to see the orphan Elephant camp, sponsored by IFAW. Planning the trip got me interested in making clothes to remind people how endangered this wonderful animal is. Like the whale, which is another gentle, intelligent creature that’s in trouble. I hope we can stoop this trend of killing […]
The Oyster shell is extremely hard and difficult to open. I thought it would be fun to put a pen and ink version of an oyster shell on clothing and add a small pearl. The oyster is an amazing shellfish. They’re “filter feeders.” If you put oysters in dirty water, the water becomes clean and […]