Designer

………………….This is a picture of Jac and Alda in my Anne Klein Resort 1992 Collection. ….They are both wearing knit pieces done for me in Italy. Alda is in an Elastane dress, and Jac is wearing a crop top and short skirt also in Elastane. Elastane was a rayon and spandex knit with a high percentage of spandex so the garments really hugged the body….The colors were bright!…..I think Alda’s dress was TANGERINE, while Jac’s separates were a LIME  crop tank and a PURPLE short skirt……All of the jewelry , and the jeweled belt I designed for the Resort Anne Klein Couture Jewelry Collection ………..I don’t recall what the photo was taken for???,,,,,Even thought these clothes are over thirty years old they could still be worn today!

………………………This is a sketch I did at Fire Island at least 50 years ago!…….It was a quick study of the ocean, the dunes and the walk from the deck of the house I was renting with friends. I did in in magic markers and it took about five or so minutes to do. My friend, that I have mentioned in other posts, Maurice, loved it so I gave it to him. He had it framed and it has been hanging in his apartments ever since. When he moved to his new assisted living home in R.I. he wanted me to have it back. It said he didn’t want it packed away in some box to be lost for all time…..so when Charles and Glenn brought me another painting of a forest scene that Maurice had promised to me….they also brought me this little sketch. I remember doing it like it was yesterday! The house we rented was on “Sky Walk”…….The house was at the top of a hill, and we had unobstructed views of the beautiful beach and dunes below…….After many years two brand new houses were built, both with pools, on the beach in front of us which blocked our view. The beautiful dunes were gone……We decided to rent one of the new houses when they were finished, and so we moved down the hill to a beach front house!……Our old house was a run down beach shack with four bedrooms. We called it “Grey Gardens”, but we had fun times there….As far as I know it’s still there, or maybe it too was torn down to build some new big modern house…However…..Mother Nature had her way with these new houses, and a hurricane destroyed the one next to us, and the new house we rented lost the pool to the ocean……I heard that the house was literally picked up and moved to the main land…..Jac and I spent some wonderful times in this new house before we made the move to CT and never returned…….This little sketch brought it all back to me.

………………..The BIKINI DOUBLE STAND CHAIN NECKLACE………J413091……………is back in ALL THREE COLORS……………STERLING SILVER……….STERLING SILVER WITH 18 KARAT GOLD PLATE, and STERLING with 18  KARAT ROSE GOLD PLATE. The double strands are made out of one SNAKE CHAIN, and one BOX CHAIN…..This necklace is very popular , and has been sold out for quite a while….so I’m happy to be able to bring it back to you for the Holidays…Fine Chain jewelry is always in fashion, and always in demand for its’ simplicity, and its’ easy wearability…….It works with the set of three BIKINI CHAIN BRACELETS, also just back in stock in all colors, and the set of three ANKLE BRACELETS…….ALL of the reviews have been FIVE STAR, and many women have bought multiple colors!……..What a great HOLIDAY PRESENT they would make…….Also they are UNISEX!

………………..These may not be the most glamourous pictures I have ever posted, but to me they are glorious!…..The old burner is out and the new burner is in…..finally! Heat is soaring through the system. The three men in the photo are all here to make sure the new burner is working properly. The gent to the extreme right is Hans. He is the head guy at Petro Oil Co. here where I live, and it was he who got the ball rolling. He was here every day to make sure things were getting done properly, and he will be paying me a few more visits over the following weeks to make sure all is well…..That’s service! The man at the left is from the burner company, and the man in the middle is the head technician….all here to make sure everything was good. With my old burner I had to “flush” it once a week, but with the new burner I don’t have to do a thing!!!! Music to my ears!!! This burner should last another 20 to 30 years so the next owners can worry about it!!!….We take it for granted that there will be heat in the house…and when you don’t have it for the stretch of time like I didn’t it makes you think of all of the people in the world who suffer everyday from the cold and the extreme heat, and have nothing to alleviate them from their misery………Here’s to wonderful heat!

…………………..Many many years ago…..probably about fifty four years ago, I was invited to my new friend Maurice Antaya’s apartment on Bleeker Street in the West Village of NYC. I had just started to work as the designer of Giorgini, and Maurice designed for a sister company named Ginori……all under the umbrella of the main company Originala……At the time it was a powerhouse company with five or six divisions……..I remembered walking into his beautifully appointed apartment, and on the entrance wall was hanging this beautiful painting…..To me it looked like some enchanted magical forest showing a path leading you deep inside……I told Maurice how much I loved it, and he told me it was given to him by a friend who was also a student at Rhode Island School of Design where they both attended…….Every time after that I always commented on the painting….it just had a special effect on me…….On one of those occasions Maurice said to me….”if you love it so much then you shall have it….of course after I’m gone!”………….Well, Maurice is now 87 years young, and is now my OLDEST and LONGEST living friend……We have been through a lot together, and I love him dearly…….It was decided that he could no longer live by himself, and he moved back to RI where he was brought up, and where he is now closer to his existing family…..He lives in an assisted living facility that he has told me is very nice. I plan to visit him soon….As faith would have it Meredith Gladstone, a friend of Maurice’s from their days at RISD together…lives across the hall from him!!! They are both happy to have each other in their lives again….He has his own apartment, but it is much smaller than where he was previously living on Hanover Square in the heart of the financial district in NYC ……..He said to me, “Lou, it’s time you got your painting!….I want to make sure it’s in your hands, and I don’t want to leave it up to anyone else to make sure you get it.”……..So this past Weds. it was delivered to me by two wonderful people, Glenn and Charles, who worked for Maurice and myself at Anne Klein. They picked it up at his apartment, and drove to CT. to bring it to me. It was their first time at my home…We spent a lovely day together talking about old times. It’s been almost 40 years since we started working together…..so there was a lot to talk about, but it seemed like yesterday that we were all together. Charles was my personal assistant and Glenn was in charge of all print development for both Anne Klein Couture and Anne Klein 11….They are both extremely talented men, and it was my pleasure to mentor them and have them under my wing…..We promised that our next visit would be much sooner….We agreed a Christmas trip would be in order so they could see my decorations……I called Maurice to tell him Glenn and Charles brought me the painting, and it is now hanging in my dining room….He was very happy to know his cherished painting was with me……I love it now as much as I loved it the first time I saw it………..and it will always remind me of my dear friend Maurice.