libby. edelman

August 23, 2010

Libby's Fall Collection Debuts on HSN!

August 12, 2010

Libby's August Hot List!

A fun list of things to do in August before fall rolls around!

· See Eat Pray Love

· Body surf in the warm ocean

· Get your eyebrows plucked (or threaded!)

· Read the three books from Steig Larson

· Wear Lilacism by Essie on your nails ( summer collection will be leaving soon!)

· Go to a museum you’ve never been to before

· Buy a new pair of Libby Edelman shoes!

· Take a day trip! (A ferry, a hike, amusement park, maybe a picnic?)

· Plan a fun event for the end of summer

· Email someone you haven’t talked to in awhile

· Try to win something – enter my Songs of Summer contest!

· Try a new food at a restaurant

· Overcome a fear

· Volunteer or give someone a dollar on the street

· Wear a bold color

· Buy something cute on sale!

· Get a haircut

· Walk a mile or jump rope

July 15, 2010

The Life of a Libby Edelman Shoe

Last month my design team and I traveled to China, where we go about five times a year to work on the design for the Libby Edelman shoe collection. While traveling to China sounds like a great adventure, and there are so many amazing cities and sites to see, I never get to experience any of that. Why? Because I'm working to make beautiful shoes that all of us can afford and enjoy!

But before China, and even before we start working on a new collection, we travel around the world for inspiration - from France to Italy to Sweden to Turkey - I'm always looking to see what women are wearing. From that inspiration I create "fashion stories," which are trends for the new collection. We start the design process in our office in New York City, where we sketch all the shoes and send the sketches to our office in China.

We head to China about a month after we send the sketches. It's a long trip - a 15-hour plane ride to Hong Kong, and then a long drive across two borders to get to China. Even though it's a trek, I love that long plane ride because I get some peace and quiet (which doesn't happen too often!). I sleep, eat, watch movies, read... relax!

All of the prototypes are waiting for me when I get to the China office. Once the fit model has tried on every pair, we go back to the drawing board and make all the necessary changes - there are always a lot of changes because the shoes are made from a sketch, and sometimes a shoe works on paper but not in real life. A shoe is corrected and it comes back to me again and again until it's perfect. Every correction that is made is like seeing a new shoe for the first time - the excitement is like opening a present.

Once they all look perfect, I put the pictures up on a board and arrange them according to the "fashion story" they go with - this is how I will present them to stores and magazine editors. Plus, it's a great way to finalize the collection. The final stage of the design process involves choosing colors and materials. This can take days, because we have to decide on the upper color, lining color, ornament color, stitching color, sole color, logo color... and you thought you just bought a simple shoe!

The best part is the end result, when the boxes arrive at our office. I open each one lovingly, like magnificent presents. And there it is - all our hard work looking stylish, wearable and ready to show off to all the stores. And that is how a Libby Edelman shoe is brought to life.

May 03, 2010

Spring Giveaway!

April 14, 2010

I Tweet Therefore I Am

I kept reading in the gossip magazines and newspapers about famous celebrities who were Twittering… or is it Tweeting? I still don’t know! They were sharing with millions of strangers what they were doing at every moment of the day. At first I thought it was such a strange thing to do. Why would anyone want to know what I was doing at 11:37 on a Tuesday morning? But then I realized what a great tool Twitter actually was.

I thought joining the Twitter movement was going to make me just as hip as the celebrities who had millions of followers. But for me, it wasn’t really about being hip (that was an added bonus and I have to say, I won some points with my kids). Twitter was about having a cool new way to converse with my fabulous and loyal customers, and my friends, and that is why I do it.

I knew that I didn’t want to tell my followers when I was going to the bathroom, or eating eggs. I wanted to be known as a Tweeter with substance. I wanted to share with my followers the magazines and books I was reading; I wanted to tell them about yoga and cooking and eating; I wanted them to see all of the trends I was spotting on the street. I had all of these great ideas but I realized I didn’t have any followers to share them with! And so the big question became, “How do I get followers?"

I started out searching for people I knew and began to follow them. Then I searched for things that interested me and started following those Tweeters, with the hope that they would reciprocate the love… and the rest is history! (Just kidding… I’m small potatoes compared to Uber-Tweeters like Oprah and Demi Moore. But my Tweeting philosophy is quality over quantity!) I realized that not only was I bringing a small piece of my daily life to my followers, but I was also exposed to all sorts of articles and bits of information I might not otherwise find on my own

Once I recruited some followers, and knew what my Twitter “M.O.” was going to be, I was ready to put the Twitter icon on my Blackberry, which I should mention is so cute and features a little white bird that asks, “What are you doing?” Once I got my “bird” the pressure to entertain my followers began.

Now I Tweet at least twice a day. Some days are harder than others, especially if I’m feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. I’m no expert, but I think I’m doing a pretty good job! Follow me and let me know what you think…