Happy Holidays!

It's been a great year for all of us here at Sara Berman HQ and we couldn't have done it without all of you. Thank you for being part of our world. Here's to a fabulous holiday season and an even better 2012!

A New Addition to the SB Family

Hi Everyone! It's Danielle again. Sara has been rather busy this past week so has asked me to let you all know her big news...the latest member of the SB Family has finally arrived!
Marley Beau arrived on Sunday morning, 27th November. Both mum and baby are home and doing very well.
Isn't she a cutie??

Danielle's Red Carpet Moment

Hi Everyone! It’s Danielle here. I wanted to highjack Sara’s blog this week so that I could publicly thank her for something amazing that she did for me this week. First, though, my confession...I am a HUGE Twilight fan. This is something, as a grown woman, I should probably be embarrassed about and keep to myself but I seem to have no shame. I would like to apportion some of the blame for my obsession on our online marketing coordinator. It turns out she had discovered Twilight at around the same time as me and we each fed off the other’s enthusiasm until our excitement for a good book had turned into a hardcore obsession not only with Twilight but with a certain British actor. While the rest of the SB team shakes their heads in amusement at us, we carried on unabashed.
As many of you will know (or have heard), the London premiere for the first part of the final instalment, Breaking Dawn, was this past week. And the two big stars, Rob Pattinson and Taylor Lautner would both be there! Despite entering every competition we could find and trying to come up with any plan that would get us in, we were feeling no love from the movie gods. But as it turns out, our scheming did not go unnoticed. We found out on Monday that Sara just happens to have a connection with a ticket fairy and that fairy was able to sprinkle some magic ticket dust around and conjure us up two tickets to the premiere on Wednesday night!! Yes, that’s right, we were going to get to walk the red carpet at the London premiere of Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1!!
I can’t tell even begin to tell you how excited I was for Wednesday night. Outfit carefully chosen (SB of course!), hair and make up artfully done, we arrived for our big moment.

(I mean, this could be the moment RPattz falls in love with us and whisks us away!) What a big moment it was thanks to this being one of the biggest movie premieres ever hosted in London. Not only were RPattz and Tay Tay there but KStew (or Kristen Stewart for those not in the know) put in an appearance as well. And while RPattz was kept busy with interview and pictures so that we didn’t get our moment, we were able to sneak a few cheeky pictures of me with him...in the background at least.

So a massive thank you to Sara and her awesome ticket fairy for giving us this amazing opportunity. And just a reminder...Twilight Breaking Dawn, part 2 is in 1 year and counting!

Raindrops on Roses

And early morning walks on Hampstead Heath. Is there anywhere more beautiful in the Autumn?

Such great hair....

I am currently almost nine months pregnant so it takes something truely special to drag me from my sofa.... But safe to say the rather sexy Bernard-Henri-Levi speaking at the Bicom dinner at the Royal Courts of Justice is quite that something special. Philosopher, Intellectual, Political envoy, Activist and possibly one of the most important men of our generation.... Such great hair. Maybe it is the hormones surging through my body but this man has hair a girl could run her fingers through. Such volume! Didn't understand a word he said but I managed to look intelligent, involved and most importantly my waters didnt break and my exit was elegant. Surely those are the important things when dealing with issues of world peace, political uprising and freedom of the press?... Unfortunately he dashed off before I could instigate a Q & A as I did have some rather

pressing questions... I wonder if he uses Baptiste? Sounds French, non? Such great hair.

P Middy rocks Best of British in SB Harris Tweed!

I know I should feign a certain nonchalance but actually no. P Middy is rocking our Harris Tweed Yvette jacket around town and I am loving how she looks in it. I think I might be gettting girl crush. I also love the fact that within about 3 seconds Bulgari, Marie Claire and Glamour have all noticed and tweeted about her fashion fabulousness. And that she made it on to the 'Do' list of the Glamour Do's and Don'ts by yesterday tea time.

There is also part of me that wishes I could be her just for the 5 minutes it would take to put on a pair of fairy wings to nip out for a packet of cigarettes and start a new trend.

Proud moment.

We are rather vocal on our love of Harris Tweed so it was a particularly pround moment when this beautiful coffee table book was sent to us fresh from the publishers. It is a stunning book on Harris Tweed by Lara Platman and we are thrillingly included as a fine example of using Harris in fashion. To be honest, it is things like this that makes it all worthwhile

Here we go again!

As you know Amiee is now based out in LA, but this has not affected our syncronicity. You may or may not know that my son Raphael and her daughter Cydney were born 11 weeks apart.... Now we are both expecting again and in order to make the work/life balance that little bit easier this time we have managed to be 13 weeks apart! Amiee is briefly here in London for meetings so I thought you would appeciate a 4 month (Amiee) /7 month (me) bump update!

Dan Baldwin the Cover Star

As you will know Dan Baldwin is one of my favourite artists I have collaborated with him on exclusive Sara Berman pieces since AW10. Well, imagine my delight at seeing Dan as the cover star of Art of England this month (July 2011). Inside, Dan talks about his inspirations and new print editions with the CCA Galleries.

Take a look at the AW11 Sara Berman and Dan Baldwin silk scarves collection here. Wear your art around your neck.

 

Curiosity of the Week: Musical Cigarette Box

Here's a little bit of 1950's nostalgia for you with a wonderfully weird musical cigarette box. Yes, that is a rather happy looking dog appearing to a rather unnerving twinkly soundtrack holding a cigarette. Things were weird in the fifties...

Hot for Harris

Hello everyone, it's Bernie here! So yesterday we were lucky enough to be mentioned in an article by uber fashion editor Hilary Alexander discussing the popularity of Harris Tweed and the new fashion brands that have jumped on board with the heritage fabric. Well, we are not boasting, but here at SB we have been using the gorgeous handwoven material for over 10 years! And on top of that we have also been officially endorsed by The Harris Tweed Authority, an honour for a brand that prides itself on flying the flag for British design.

So as this is obviously a key trend to AW11, I thought I would give you a little sneak peek of the Sara Berman Harris Tweed coats before they go online at www.saraberman.com next week.

This season we have mixed 60s androgyny with feminine country chic. Firstly we have the Marley coat, a crombie shape perfect for this winter's Mod twist and girls as boys trend. However, with the bow detail adoring the pockets, Sara has made sure there is a touch of sweetness about the coat (obviously not too much though!)

The Yvette Smoking jacket carries on with the teddy girl trend, sharp cuts with luxe punk detailing, the velvet collar is pure luxury, already a big hit with the press, I have only seen our sample briefly in the last few months!

Moving onto a more traditional and feminine shape, the Vivienne Trench is a favourite at SB and has been a huge success in previous seasons. The large gold buttons on the double breast and the thick belt scream sixties elegance, just imagine teamed with classic Jackie O sunglasses and a smart silk dress.

Last but of course not least, we have the Dolly Coat. Simple with discreet detailing, an oversized open collar, slanted pockets and a detachable multicoloured brooch.

So there you go, our Harris Tweed beauties for this season! Now off to contemplate a long cold winter whilst walking through sunny London, fashion is so confusing!

Ayako Rokkaku, Colours in My Hand

Ayako Rokkaku is one of my favorite artists. She paints using her fingers and her work is full of emotion, energy and color. It touches me deeply and I wanted to share her new exhibition with you - Colours in My Hand. 

AW11 First Look

So we have finally put the Sara Berman AW11 collection online. I wanted to quickly blog about it because this collection is one that we are particularly proud of as it is uncompromisingly Sara Berman. 

Amiee and I were in Paris last September and it was at this time that we felt the vibe for AW11 and decided to go for it. So we equipped ourselves with a good bottle of red, a packet of cigarettes, some Earl Grey tea and holed up in our little Marais apartment for 2 days and got creative. 

At that time the grip of the recession had very much dominated the fashion world for a couple of years and we had had enough of the austerity. For AW11 we wanted to go a little bit wild, be a little bit selfish and design a collection that was not about anything other than pleasing ourselves and going to the roots of Sara Berman. We have used our favorite winter palette of jeweled colors and rich hues. We have been feminine and retrospective with our dresses and prints, playful with our big collars and of course there is plenty of our beloved Harris tweed. 

As you know, Sara Berman has always favoured a retro vibe and this is very obvious in this collection which takes much inspiration from the 1940’s. However the last few years have seen us develop a love affair with leather which comes through strongly in this collection. These 2 factors have combined to give a modish vibe. 

We have taken much of our British heritage –from the Queen to cult movements such as Mods and Rockers to offer you a collection which is as feminine as it is strong with a healthy dose of Sara Berman’s trademark English eccentricity.

I hope you like it. You can see more of the Sara Berman AW11 Look Book here and shop the collection at www.saraberman.com.

Rothschild Blvd

Roughly translated this means 'I always wanted a duplex on Rothschild!'.

To explain... this tent has been erected in the middle of the well-to-do Rothschild Boulevard in central Tel Aviv in protest at the rising house prices. 

Spotted

I was merrily flicking through a Sunday supplement this weekend when I spotted these boots!!

Look familiar to anyone else?? Sara Berman SS10.. Don't you just hate that!

My Daughter the Virtuoso.. and Jamie Cullum

It's been a week of musical delights.... First Kenwood, then Jamie Cullum at the Jewish Care fundraiser and last but most definitely not least - my daughter Lulu performing her piano solo at her very first school concert! 

Not only did she unflinchingly go first but she did so with panache...In her very best party dress, a spot of mummy's lipstick and a brief (unrehearsed!) diversion to the buffet table on the way up to grap a handfull of crips before unceremoniously wiping her hands on her dress before settling herself down at the piano for what (in my unbiased opinion) was a virtuoso performance.

A very cheeky purchase

Last week a customer emailed in a question about the Mini Jivvy which got me pondering why I didn't own one of these gorgeous little bags already. So... I rather cheekily bought one from the site and it arrived today!

I am loving the Mini Jivvy for a hands free summer - Ibiza here I come!

An Evening with AU&

A crazy but fabulous evening spent with Austrian art collective AO& at their London residency in Hoxton courtesy of Outset Art Fund. A wonderful evening of sensory pleasure. Has to be experienced to be truly understood!

The Menu

The ingredients

The open roof

Helene enjoying the open roof!

The food...

Cheers!

Kenwood House Magic

Sara here. I enjoyed a magical evening on Saturday at Kenwood House... Picnic on the grass with 20 fabulous friends and Jools Holland doing a little plinkety plonk to amuse. London in the sun is officially the best city in the world!

Danielle's Nightmare Continental Airlines Journey

Danielle received some bad news this week and so immediately booked on to the next available flight to get her back home to Pittsburgh (via Newark airport) to be with her family. 

Unfortunately, upon arrival at Newark Danielle learns that her flight to Pittsburgh and ALL subsequent flights are cancelled. Not what you want when you're trying to get home as quickly as possible to join your family in grieving. But her woes don't end there... 

Getting her family on the case they quickly learn that there are no flights to any surrounding cities or from any surrounding cities. What on earth could have happened for all these flights to be cancelled?!

So, Danielle thinks about renting a car but quickly decides that's a bad idea considering how long the drive is and just how tired she is! Next idea... trains! Nope, last train to Pittsburgh left as the time was being looked up.

Finally there is light at the end of the travel nightmare tunnel. Danielle's brother books her onto the Greyhound bus that leaves Newark at 10pm and will get her to Pittsburgh for 6am. So with a sigh of relief Danielle makes her way to the train station to catch the train that will get her from Newark airport to the Newark Greyhound station. Oh... the trains aren't working. Apparently no trains in the whole of New Jersey are working?!?!

Last we heard from Danielle, she was on the bus that would get her to the Greyhound station with moments to spare.

We have all our fingers and toes crossed for you D and hope you can get to your family soon.

Lots of love

All of us at SB xx

Isle of Wight Festival

Hi everyone! It’s Danielle here. 

If there’s one thing we here at SBHQ enjoy more than getting our new season wardrobes, it’s the chance to go to a good festival.  Growing up in the States, we didn’t really have music festivals like you guys here in the UK do so my festival experience is rather limited.  The first year I moved here, I went to Global Gathering and got hooked on the festival atmosphere. A weekend of suspended reality where I can pretend that I can still party with the kids and have no responsibility? How can you NOT want to join in with that?  The next year I went to Glastonbury and then another go at Global Gathering the following year.  I was really getting into the whole festival thing but it’s been a couple years since I could gather a group to go to another one.    So when my boyfriend asked if I’d like to join him and his mates at the Isle of Wight festival this year, I said yes without even looking at the line up. 

This past weekend, I put all thoughts of cloth sourcing, button ordering and factories out of my mind and instead turned my attention to the difficulties of packing when the weather is all over the place, you are going with boys who don’t understand what a fashion event a festival is and I have to somehow transport my bag along with a sleeping bag, tent and other various provisions on the long walk from the car to the camp site.  And it was all worth it because it was an absolutely awesome weekend!

After setting up camp on the Friday, we settled in to the festival vibe with a visit to the Strongbow tent before heading to the main stage to see Kaiser Chiefs, Kings of Leon and the legendary Joan Jett.  And the line up went from good to brilliant with Saturday’s performances by Seasick Steve (a new favourite), Iggy and the Stooges (talk about rocking a look), Pulp and Foo Fighters.  The Foo Fighters were hands down the best act of the weekend.  If you’ve never seen them live, you are missing out! They know how to put on a performance and give the crowd what they want.  We went to bed on a high only to wake up to the pitter patter of rain against our tent the following morning.  

Foo Fighters

In an effort to avoid claustrophobia by staying in our tents until it stopped raining, we decided to walk the 20 minutes into Newport and sit out the rain in a pub for the afternoon. Oh how naive! After 5 hours in the pub, with the rain not stopping and in fact getting even worse, off we went to enjoy what we could of the last night.  Thank goodness for the Big Top tent!  We got to rock out to Cast and Manic Street Preachers covered from the pounding, relentless rain. So despite being drenched to the bone, the festival ended on a high. 

Very wet - but check out the little glimpse of the Jeanne bag from SS10

Lots of mud!

And now my weekend of suspended reality and partying with the kids is over and it’s back to the actual realities of sourcing fabrics, working on production schedules and chasing orders. But at least I can face them freshly showered, having had a full night’s sleep in a comfy bed and with the warm glow of having had the most fun, relaxing weekend I’ve had in ages!