Last night was the first ever Emma Graham sample sale! And it was certainly a success. We had wine, delicious pizza from Eataly and great company! Thank you to everyone who came out and supported us! The sample sale was held at EG Headquarters in NYC. We transformed our work space into a comfortable and cozy spot for guests to not only shop, but to hang out and enjoy drinks with friends.

Here is Logan trekking through Madison Square Park with pizza for our guests! She was on a mission! If you haven’t been to Eataly, check it out! All the food is incredible and you could wander around for hours making stops at the gelato bar and pasta bar! The pizza was a hit and was all gone by the end of the night (thanks to Emma and Jackie polishing off the last pieces). 

Friends shopping and hanging out! It was totally casual. There were skirts and tops for as low as 20 dollars! Such a steal!

Interns Caitlin, Logan and Jordan

Logan and Jordan wearing their sample sale purchases! Logan (R) is wearing the Aimee and Jordan (L) is wearing the Kristen skirt. 

We are hoping to host another sample sale in the near future so be on the lookout! Thanks again to everyone that came out! 

Two weeks ago I headed from tranquil, sunny Charleston, SC to NYC ready to take on a new adventure and a great summer interning for Emma Graham!

Pretty view of the Cooper River Bridge off in the distance on one of my last days in Charleston.

I have loved everything about NYC so far! From my gorgeous walk through Washington Square Park to working every day in the Flat Iron District, I see something new and amazing every day.

Washington Square Park fountain is so calm in the morning before it gets packed with tourists.

Logan, Caitlin, and I are lucky enough that the factory where all of the Emma Graham pieces are produced is just around the corner from the office. It has been great to learn more about how some of my favorite dresses, skirts, and tops are created, and to even have a hand in helping with production.  The factory is located in the garment district, which makes the walk from HQ very fun. Imagine streets full of tiny stores specializing in everything you could possibly need to make a garment: zippers, button, sequins, and beads, even a Spandex world :).

Walking to the factory.

I’ve also loved watching the process of creating a dress. Jackie wrote an awesome behind the scenes blog about the detailed process of creating each piece here. I’ve taken a few trips to the factory in the past two weeks and have snapped some fun pictures in the process. I was able to capture the production of the Aimee dress in an adorable new color combination, coral and navy!

Pieces of the Aimee cut and ready to be assembled.

Aimee assembled and ready to be pressed, tagged, and bagged:

Logan carrying the Aimee dresses from the factory to Emma Graham HQ. There have been a few amusing mishaps that come from being an inexperienced NYC dweller and carrying dresses through crowds (read: hangers catching on a nice gentleman’s ear buds as well as a very understanding woman’s purse). 

Once they have arrived safe and sound at the office, they are packed up to be sold at a trunk show. 

What do you think of this new color combination? I am picturing this dress at an evening summer wedding with some sparkly earrings, or as a look that is sure to impress during fall recruitment. Happy summer!

It’s only been a little over a week in NYC and we have already accomplished so much! Jordan Napper and I are interning here at Emma Graham every day.  We have already seen the factory, helped pack orders, researched our potential wholesale market, and helped Jackie get ready for the Atlanta market. 

Over this past weekend Jordan and I walked from downtown Manhattan all the way up to the Rockefeller Center.  We stopped in most of the shops along the way and took in everything this town has to offer.  Sunday we went out and enjoyed a fabulous Mexican meal in the Hell’s Kitchen area.  We had a blast exploring a different area of town.  Monday night we went to Chicago on Broadway.  This performance was truly amazing; we even got a seat upgrade!  If you’re ever in New York City you should definitely try to catch a Broadway show, they have student rush tickets if you have any university ID!

Hi everyone! I am so excited to get to join all of our awesome Design Consultants on the blog and keep you updated with what’s going on at Emma Graham NYC! I love the concept of our whole team coming together on one page to share ideas, inspirations, and stories with the rest of our Emma Graham community and fans. It’s really interesting to see what our girls are up to and how they’re living the EG life from Bucknell to Florida, to Arizona!

So I figured for my first blog I would start with something fun! I just returned from the fascinatingly charming, authentic, and dreadfully sinful city that is New Orleans, or Nawlins to those true natives. This wasn’t my first rodeo on Bourbon Street, but definitely one I will not forget! I traveled to NOLA for the SEC Tournament, (For those who do not follow basketball, it is the Southeastern Conference Tournament of the college basketball league teams) or a time for Kentucky fans to spend all their money on alcohol and basketball tickets. http://www.secdigitalnetwork.com/SECSports/Home.aspx

 Being from Kentucky myself, where basketball is basically a religion, I completely understand why everyone chooses to follow UK’s team…we’re kind of a big deal (This could be a whole other blog for me so I won’t get into my love for KY basketball, but we are #1 in the country and have been almost the entire season)

So back to Nawlins, here is my recap of my fun-filled trip to the Big Easy and what I would recommend to those looking to travel down anytime soon…Final Four Trip anyone??

To start your trip I would definitely recommend getting Beignets at Café Du Mond http://www.cafedumonde.com/  This place had 2 lines around the building , 1 just to get in and another to get a to-go order! It’s famous for their Beignets, fried pieces of dough with powdered sugar on top. Delicious! And it’s in a great location, right on the Mississippi River on Decatur St. in the French Quarter. 

From there you can take a walk through Jackson Square, check out St. Louis Cathedral and even get your palm read,if you’re into that sort of thing.( Pictured below my cynical friend Jessica who argued with the Palm Reader the whole time)

Next up Bourbon Street! There are so many fun places so I won’t even try to list my favorites, but definitely find somewhere with live music and dancing! The go-to Kentucky bar for the tournament was Pat O’briens on Bourbon and St. Peter St. At any time of day/night/early dawn you could find someone wearing Blue inside this place! EG even made her debut there on Friday!

 This would have been the perfect place for me to wear the Griffi, but unfortunately at night in early March it was a little too cool for that but I of course still packed it just in case! http://emmagrahamdesigns.com/shop-our-favorites/griffin.html

Now on to the food! A must is Mr. B’s BBQ Shrimp…everyone recommended this and now I know why! Peel and eat shrimp, soaking in a delicious BBQ sauce with bread for dipping, I couldn’t resist. http://www.mrbsbistro.com/

Mr. B’s is located on the corner of Iberville and Royal, and literally a walk away from Bourbon St. so you don’t have to leave for too long …don’t worry!

Now depending on how you are feeling the next day or if you ever plan on leaving Bourbon St. a great thing to do is go uptown and tour the Garden District. http://www.tourneworleans.com/garden_set.html This part of town is so different from Bourbon St. that it will give you a whole new outlook on New Orleans. I continued to persuade my mother that Bourbon St. was NOT New Orleans and that there was more to the city than drinking and beads! Here’s a little sneak peek of what you can find if you hop on the St. Charles Trolley and head west!  

Not too shabby!

Now the weather when I was there was a mild 65-70 perfect temp for wearing my UK BLUE Sammi Skirt!

http://emmagrahamdesigns.com/shop-our-favorites/sammi.html 

I mean how perfect is this for cheering on the CATS, then touring the Garden District! 

Now I have to be quite honest I didn’t make it shopping this trip, what with all the B-ball games, celebrating, eating, dancing etc. But if you are looking for some shops try Magazine Street near the Garden District!  http://www.magazinestreet.com/

After a very fun-filled,  too quick, long weekend of basketball and bourbon street I came out alive, and still holding on to that #1 Seed going into the NCAA Tournament. This was a perfect kick-off to March Madness and the spring season! I loved seeing good friends from Kentucky and representing Emma Graham in the big easy!

I hope your next trip to New Orleans will be just as great as mine! Enjoy!