My Eleventh signing was at Bergdorf Goodman- Posey Pugglesworth made her last personal appearance of the season. It was a great time- I met so many wonderful people and made  new friends with Anne and her niece, Robin  and her La La !

Robin bought the very last  Bergdorf Custom ball – congrats to those  lucky 72 people, that designwill not be out again next year.

My book A Very New York Christmas was selling fast and by the end of the event only a few  ornaments and books were left.

I felt very honored.

Until the next sketch!

It has been an exciting last two weeks and now I need to catch you up on all my past events.

At my signing at Barnes and Noble on Greenwich Ave, I was asked to give a talk about my  book  A Very New York Christmas and to read from it. This was the first time I had ever done this ( I normally  just sit at the front entrance and sign copies!).

So quick on my toes, I spoke about the origin of the book, my ornaments, working in publishing, my covers, my art , and answered insightful questions from the audience. As I am  a village resident, it was exciting to do a signing there.

My next signing was at Bloomingdales- when I arrived my ornaments were basically already sold out! Very few books were left and by the end of the event, there were none left!  It was  a very busy day there and I got to see so many great people, even a  few of my friends made it.

The 10th signing was  this past Saturday at Lord and Taylor.

Most of my stock was gone, and all of my books of A Very New York Christmas were sold out!

It must be due to the amazing  review from Outblush.com

Until the next sketch!

I had a great time at my events on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

In the morning I was at the Waldorf  Astoria- Diana the store manager did a wonderful job  displaying my ornaments and books.  It was a great  time signing books and ornaments.  I met a couple who run  a very  special organization called Gentle Carousel.

They use minature horses as therapy for children and adults in hospitals, hospices, nursing homes,etc.

In the afternoon, my ambassador Posey Pugglesworth joined me at Bergdorf Goodman. We had a great time and Posey made some wonderful new friends. She even met Joy Behar from the View.   It was great to see my friend, artist William Honkanen. He is an amazing artist and does all of the animation work on the Today show.

Until the next sketch!

This past Saturday was my fourth signing this season. It was at Bloomies. Boy did they have a nice display of my ornaments- all of them on a white  feather tree. The red “NYC in a bag” designs were scattered about the tree and it looked amazing. People were taking photos of it!

It was a great day- and a special one—some customers who have been collecting since the beginning came to see me.  I am  always so honored to see them.

My copies of A Very New York Christmas were selling very quickly and the custom ball & subway car were hits with the customers.

If you missed me at Bloomies  on this day, I’ll be back there on  Saturday December 5th from 1-3PM.

Until the next sketch!

On Saturday  November 21- I will be doing a signing at Bloomingdales from 1-3PM.

The custom ball for them this year is really fun!  It has the Statue of Liberty driving a taxicab with Santa , two Bloomingdales’ shoppers, and a doggie in the backseat. They are taking home the Empire State & Chrysler buildings in their trunk!

The 59th St Bridge and Cable Car,  a big Brown Bag, Subway Cars, and a Coffee Vendor are also featured on the ball.A Limited edition of only 240 pieces has been produced.

I also produced a limited quantity of ONLY 60 Bloomingdale’s  Subway  Cars! A silhouette of the Statue of Liberty is looking out the conductor’s  back windowDid you know that when the subway train comes into the station platform and stops- the conductor always sticks his arm out and points to  a black& white diagonally striped  painted board hanging from ceiling, called an “indication board.”

“Since the late 1990′s the conductor is required to point to the sign, after the train stops and before the doors are opened. This is for an eight car train. If he/she cannot look straight out from the cab and see this indication board, some of the cars in the train are not in the station. The doors MUST NOT be opened.” (this and other useful explanations of subway signs from the website www.thejoekorner.com)

I will also be signing copies of my book A Very New York Christmas.

Come and see me if you can.

Until the next sketch!

Outblush.com , a fantastic blog  for girls who like to shop , posted a review of my Park Avenue Coasters and  they sold out!

Here was the review:

Park Avenue Coasters

This one’s for all of our New Yorkers! Do you love to stroll along Park Avenue, Madison Avenue, 5th Avenue, York or maybe even Houston? Well then…the Park Avenue Coasters ($25) are the perfect conversation piece! The charming watercolor print by artist Michael Storrings was recreated on hardboard coasters, which are perfect for those late night cocktails. Honestly they’re also great for preventing those unsightly rings that you usually find on your stunning coffee table the morning after a fab night.

You must check out this site!

Thanks Outblush!

Until the next sketch!

The question: do I decorate my home with my own ornaments?

Yes, is the answer!

In my home, I have a large  8ft prelit tree that I have all of my painted ball ornaments along with my molded designs.

I call it my travel tree.  All of my ornaments are inspired by trips that I have had, soon to have , and memories  that have happened.  I am lucky to be able to fill a tree with all those inspirations.

I love Christmas and  even before I started designing ornaments, I collected them—and still do. In addition to my large tree, I have 5 feather trees with different themes and I will be talking  about those in upcoming posts.

My suggestions for decorating trees are as such:

• have  a focus/theme for your tree- it could be as simple as a color that is carried throughout or a shape.  To me  it bestows on the tree a meaning and story- the viewer is able to look at the tree and take home a memory.
• I love feather trees for displaying ornaments- a prelit tree is great as well as the wires do not get in the way.
• mix antique with new ornaments- with my ornaments I mix antique shiny brites that were given  to me by my parents and grandparents. The solids , stripes, and various sizes create a great backdrop for the newer designs.
• you can never have enough ornaments!
• finish your tree off at the  base with an antique fence or beautiful tree skirt. Under my travel tree I have a city themed skirt that  helps anchor  the ornaments.
• find a topper that fits- I actually have in my line a Times Square tree topper- right now only a few prototypes  have been made but I hope to release it in 2010
• most of all, have fun!

Until the next sketch!

What an amazing signing at Bergdorf Goodman on Saturday—It was so special to have Posey Pugglesworth  there as my ambassador. She  was quite the celebrity.

The sales staff and customers were wonderful and the display of my ornaments was beautiful.

Some highlights included a visit from my assistant Lisa, and signing an ornament for a couple  celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. They purchased an ornament to commemorate the event- as I personalized it, I also wrote the number 40 on the taxi cab to make it extra special.

The custom designs are a hit and by the time I left more than half are sold out.

To reserve any before my next signing event call (212) 753-7300 and ask for the holiday shop—and  one of the fantastic sales staff will  be able to help you.

Come and see Posey again on Friday November 27th.

Until the next sketch!

Tomorrow is going to be  a fun day- I will be doing a signing at Bergdorf Goodman on the seventh floor  and my pug Posey Pugglesworth will be joining me!

I just  finished giving her a bath and she is now resting for her appearance- she will sport her red Goyard collar with gold bells from  Paris.

I will be signing copies of my book A Very New York Christmas and my ornaments. You must check out  the custom ball I did for them this year. Only 72 produced for 2009 it is surely to become a collector’s piece. It has a gorgeous purple sky and features the store as the backdrop-  a bridge from Central Park with a band playing and skaters  all the way around. The skaters consist of the statue of liberty, shoppers,  women in fur coats, the Bergdorf doorman,  and figures  with  a dog from the old bergdorf shopping bag.

The snowflakes are dotted with Swarowski crystals.

The idea behind the ball was inspired by the movie The Bishop’s Wife (later a contemporary version with Whitney Houston called The Preacher’s Wife). I love that scene when Cary Grant takes the Bishop’s wife skating in the park.

This custom ball was featured in the new Bergdorf Holiday catalog  and retails at $95.00

Also produced in limited quantity is the Bergdorf Dog in  ahat box.

A cute little Bichon Frise holds a Bergdorf bag in its mouth while wearing a cool hat with feather. Only 48 made!Hope to see you there.

Until the next sketch!

The  wonderful thing about signings is that you never know who you are going to meet or see.   At my signing at Lord and Taylor, I saw a colleague of mine from 20 years ago!  We worked together at Berkley/Putnam publishing and she was out shopping with her mom.

It was a fun night- Lord & Taylor had a beautiful set up in their Christmas Department  and was raising money for charity. It was also a pleasure to meet fellow Golden Glow member and ornament designer Melissa Byrne from Jingle Nog  as well as designer Michael Park.

I signed lots of copies of  A Very New York Christmas and the Lord & Taylor custom ornament.

My next event is at Bergdorf Goodman and should be very special as  Posey Pugglesworth will be making her debut as ambassador for the Storrings’ line!  Come and meet us from 1-4 on the 7th floor!

Until the next sketch!