Mrs John L Strong was one of my true inspirations for becoming a luxury stationer in Australia. It was up there with Smythson on Bond Street in London. On my first visit I saw an invitation to Frank Sinatra’s birthday party. It was the paper of choice for Oprah Winfrey, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Karl Lagerfeld, European royalty and Vogue’s editor, Anna Wintour. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, a true icon of style, also had stationery personally crafted for her by Mrs John L Strong.
So it was a very sad moment when a friend emailed me that this beautiful stationer was closing it’s doors after 80 years. Every year when I go to New York I have visited the store on Madison Avenue or in Barneys department store. This year in May when I visited the Madison Avenue store, which you enter via the fifth floor elevator, it opened onto a handwritten sign that read ‘Closed for inventory’. I thought at the time that the handwritten sign did not fit with the image and that it was quite odd.
Nannette Brown, the chief executive and creative director, said that an inability “to finance the business’s expansion plans combined with a challenging retail and economic environment, left the company with no alternative but to close.”
“This is a sad day for Mrs. John L. Strong,” Ms. Brown said, “and a sad day for luxury as the world has become increasingly bereft of unique, hand-finished products. Mrs. John L. Strong has enjoyed a rich history offering beautiful things to wonderful clients over the years.”
Founded by Flora Strong during The Great Depression, Mrs. John L. Strong was the stationer of choice for affluent brides and socialites.
At what point with any business, whether a corner store, a fashion boutique or a stationer, do you give up and decide that it is time to walk away. Does the passion leave you, is it purely financial or has it sucked the life out of you…
A sad, sad, sad day for luxury….
We always think it strange at Papier d’Amour when the grooms get really really really involved in the organisation of the wedding stationery. Now correct me if I am wrong: shouldn’t they organise the cars, the alcohol and compliment the mother of the bride? My grandmother used to say “just turn up on the day and don’t get too intoxicated”.
What little girl doesn’t dream of being a prima ballerina? I desperately wanted to do ballet and when I finally was given the opportunity by my reluctant mother, I think it took me all of two lessons to realise that I was completely uncoordinated. My best friend Georgia however did have a gift – a gift I was quite jealous of but came to terms with quickly. When I was run over (yes, by a car) and was on crutches for six weeks I decided this was a good excuse for my short career to come to and end. Georgia continued on to do solos, eisteddfods and exams and may have had an amazing career. For whatever reason Georgia did not become the ballerina that she could have, but became a lawyer and is now the mother of five girls.
Darcey Bussell became the principal ballerina of The Royal Ballet at the age of 19 – at the time the youngest ballerina to be given the honour. At this lunch Darcey and Rafael (the artistic Director of the Sydney Dance Company) spoke together about the company and Darcey shared her experiences with her various partners throughout her career. I felt like I had slipped into a time warp and I was watching the likes of Audrey Hepburn or Grace Kelly. She was amazing to listen to and held the attention of the room like the true star that she was and is. Her voice, grace and pure style is mesmerizing.
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These divine shoes remind me of black patent leather shoes, that I always wanted when I was little. I dreamed about them. I am sure every little girl wanted them – I never got them.![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=76143641-a2e9-46d4-bf5b-f4bd3761a0b6)
I first loved paper lanterns when I saw them in martha stewart about ten years ago. A stylist told me the other day she was sick of them, but to me it is all about reinventing the wheel..and so I shall.
…it would look something like this!
a different perspective
Isn’t it amazing how different people have different perspectives. So when one person looks at something, another person is looking at it in a totally different way. A few weeks ago Jillian Leiboff dropped in to our store to ask if she could take some shots. She has taken some of the most beautiful photographs of our store. I had never really seen it in this light. Jillian takes amazing photos of lots of different things – www.jillianleiboff.com or www.jillianleiboff.blogsopt.com.