hello summer half-way done, hi friends, how’s it going?
In the name of the silly meme, HOW IT STARTED…HOW IT’S GOING, here’s a read of summer fun through the years, plus a sharing of 9 current creative projects at the agency to inspire you to get going towards your dreams.

Via a “newsletter with a concept” have a peek at our creative teams’ latest BRAND MAGIC.

HOW IT STARTED.
That’s my Mama beside me, above, seaside.

When asked HOW IT’S GOING? “Magically! And ready to climb,” said me, the future mama to a creative agency, with glee while reaching towards NYC from a beach club in Deal. My ‘deal’ became…

A TINY, QUICK ADVERTISEMENT IF YA DON’T KNOW.
We are a full-service agency with clients in North and South America and Europe. With over 30 years of serving up creative for pop-culture and luxury lifestyle clients, we love to consistently create meaning, story and creative together with clients that connects and energizes.

Clients tell us how they love the new, vaster perspectives we see for them whether we work together via our hourly consults or full-scale brand productions.

OK, NOW BACK TO THE MEME FUN.
Have a glimpse of 9 Summer Delights, the work of our teams via 9 of our latest client relationships, projects and even a new venture in healing design.

#1   From Your Heart To Help the World’s Breadbasket.

HOW IT STARTED.
My great grandparents came to the US from Romania, Russia and Austria with open, hopeful hearts on their folksy, flowery sleeves. One summer, feeling them strongly, I teared up at the Ellis Island museum, coming upon an immigrant embroidered peasant blouse on display.

HOW IT’S GOING.
These days, the next generation moves me to tears. I’m so wow’d by my niece (above, speaking at a Stevens Institute of Technology peace rally in flowery blouse) and her Ukraine-born husband’s raising of over 100K for Ukrainian refugees! See the Inc. magazine story on them both and my niece’s story.

HOW WE CAN DO ANYTHING WAY BETTER TOGETHER.
If you wish to donate to Friends of Chevonohrad, it would be so helpful and generous. Thank you!  

#2   Strike a Pose. From Head-Turning Bathing Beauty Poses To A Tuned-In Healing Boat Pose

HOW IT STARTED.
Move over Twiggy! In the 1960’s my sister and I struck our model poses as bathing suit beauties to advertise our family’s clothing store. Since then, striking poses in my first yoga classes at 16 began my passion for “alternative health” and led to my lifelong studies with world-renown mistresses and masters of yoga, Feng Shui, and meditation.

HOW IT’S GOING.
Today we channel focused insight and creativity to grow the social media for several wellness clients, including Jess Cording, MS, RD, a dietitian, health coach and author whose expertise is total wellness, nutrition, and self-care. And yes, she is the woman above striking boat pose next to the fluffy dog and chakra tuning bowls.

We’re not posing…we’ve blissfully doubled some of her key social media metrics in a short time. Follow her on Instagram here.

HOW WE CAN DO ANYTHING WAY BETTER TOGETHER.
Need to strike a new pose for your branding and social media? Building a new wellness brand and need help with content curation and production? We can help! See our wellness work here.
 
#3   From the “Thing Sling!” to New Smart Fabrics Branding

HOW IT STARTED. No banana hammocks here, I’m talking about our PR role for the global launch of Speedo’s Olympic-winning, record-breaking Fastskin full-bodysuits in NYC, with famed Olympian Michael Phelps and teammates, as seen above in our Vanity Fair placement. HOW IT’S GOING. Incredibly, on a first call with Dan Short, the inventor of IONX, an ionized performance and prevention fiber, the start-up founder told me how he was the lead developer on Speedo’s Fastskin and admired the PR campaign… Wow. Hello. What a coincidence, I was the PR for that! Today, we are on Team IONX-World, consulting and conceptualizing the branding, marketing and PR.   HOW WE CAN DO ANYTHING WAY BETTER TOGETHER. Got Olympic-sized branding or PR desires? We can make you a winner, speedo!  See more of our work here. #4   From Ciao Bella to Ciao Biz.

HOW IT STARTED.
Backpacking across Europe one summer in the 80’s, my sister and I met quite a lot of bright smiling Italian boys in bright espadrilles and had lots of silly adventures. Who knew…(um, I actually did know deep in my soul) that celebrating my love for European culture would always be a core expression for me?

HOW IT’S GOING.
Today, my agency enjoys relationships with creative friends and business associates in Rome, Milan and Paris and beyond. Seen above is my illustration from behind my hat head while sharing a circular table at Crosby Street Hotel with our bright, creative and expressive Italian biz friends who were in NYC recently.

HOW WE CAN DO ANYTHING WAY BETTER TOGETHER.
If you have biz in Europe, talk to us!
Need original illustration or animation? We work with top talents. See my own illustration style on my Instagram here.

  #5   From Lago di Como to C’mon Let’s Go Luxe.

HOW IT STARTED.
My lust for the thrills and grandeur of Europe actually began with my first trip to London age 16, 1976, with the punk street scene in full regalia before my wide, thrilled eyes. Many trips later, thrills came in a press trip where I brought US editors to CastaDiva, for the opening of Lake Como’s first new luxury hotel in 100 years.

HOW IT’S GOING. 
With travel restricted, the Pandemic was the perfect time to conceptualize, write and design the identity and sales brochure for our client, a Euro-based concierge club that offers custom, global, ultra-luxury and healing experiences from yacht-sunbathing to spaceship voyages. So exclusive, we can’t share the name!

HOW WE CAN DO ANYTHING WAY BETTER TOGETHER.
Do you lust for full-scale Creative that travels and speaks to a global audience? Our luxury experiences range from work with mass brands like American Express to heritage brands like Bulgari and Dior and luxury design industry groups like Wien Products of Vienna and Textiles Scotland. Just a peek!

  #6   From the Mouths of Babes To “I’ll Have What They’re Having!”

HOW IT STARTED.
Good parents will tell you little fabrications of the truth, that you are the best ever child, even while, frankly, you are screaming and messing up a perfectly good beach day as per photo of said child, me, above.  

HOW IT’S GOING.
No illusion needed, beyond childish beach drama, we’ve actually made quite a few folks very happy over the years with our creativity and passion. Have what they had. See the talking heads and what they have to say here in testimonials.

HOW WE CAN DO ANYTHING WAY BETTER TOGETHER.
You’re good. I’m good. Got a creative idea? Need a creative direction? Need a creative partner? I testify that we should connect!

#7   From the Jet Set to Tibetan Tête-à-Têtes.

HOW IT STARTED.
After spiritual masters, the lifestyles of the jet set have fascinated me since age 2, and in fact there’s an ecstatic photo of me surrounded by Vogue and Life magazines laid out around me like a beach blanket. Magazines = my toy. By my preteen years the bon mots of visionary editor, Diana Vreeland, crowned her my new lifestyle guru. (Here she is on her beach blanket, above, with husband and son, Freck.)

HOW IT’S GOING.
An intriguing cross between James Bond and Barack Obama, Diana’s son Freck is now a vibrant 95-years old with an equally fascinating life.  He and his wife Sandra came to us to imagine and create his branding, book proposal and promotion of his memoir.

We created his Instagram account and zoomed it from zero to 12K in just months with posts on everything art, culture, Diana Vreeland, Cold War spies and the doings of a globe-trotting pal of people like Jackie O, Mick Jagger and Richard Branson. The apple does not fall far from the tree, in fact, Vogue editor Hamish Bowles coined “Vreelandese” for the “descriptions beyond” uttered by this family. (That’s Nicky, Freck’s son, with the Dalai Lama, the real guru.)

What an inspiring family! See Freck’s site here. Follow Freck on Instagram here. Memoir coming soon!

HOW WE CAN DO ANYTHING WAY BETTER TOGETHER.
Need bon mots for your social media? Desire to place your personality, brands, book or even a fabulous beach in media? Media is our toy! Let’s play together! 

#8  From 70’s Summer Style To Eternal Magic.

HOW IT STARTED. I admit it. Ever fascinated by what makes an image or a person iconic, pre-teen in the 70’s, I too had the famed and best-selling-poster-ever of Farrah Fawcett plastered on my walls. Later, I went on to style everything from the runways of NY legendary designers, to a Paris Fashion Week video, ads for Nordstrom and the New York Times and, my favorite bedtime story, I even styled pajamas for Cher!   HOW IT’S GOING. Style doesn’t copy, it references, enhances  and supports the soul. Style tells a story or can support a good cause, in this case, a “How To Get The Farrah Hairstyle” video for the Farrah Fawcett Foundation. Ever resourceful, our own photographer, videographer, Ylva Erevall, fit the bill as Farrah, seen here in a video clip, with her fresh makeup by Oscar Caballero and her golden Farrah tresses by Marco Maranghello.   HOW WE CAN DO ANYTHING WAY BETTER TOGETHER. Our eye for styling for photo and video is for “Luxury brands and Superstars.” Is that you? See some more of our styling work here. See our video work here.   #9  From Healing Roots To Healing Interior Design.

HOW IT STARTED. Among my Russian/Romanian clothing and lamp-making, retail pioneer and Viennese bakery ancestors, my immigrant great grandfather actually built the first apartments in Brooklyn that boasted their own bathrooms. A win for interior design, dignity and privacy. HOW IT’S GOING. In fact, the interior design industry is one of my favorites to work in given the creativity and its philanthropic actions that move culture forward. For example, one summer, I ran the PR for my interior designer and philanthropist client,Scott Sanders and his partner Peter Wilson as they hosted their 11th and final benefit at their Hamptons home for the nation’s oldest and largest LGBTQ youth service organization,Hentrick-Martins Institute. The generous and lively crowd of hundreds of guests included the likes of Kelly Rutherford and Andy Cohen.Read our blog for more here. HOW WE CAN DO ANYTHING WAY BETTER TOGETHER. These days, take a sneak peek at what inspired me during the Pandemic: a wallpaper and textile collection with some of my favorite artists designed for healing. This design, created with designer Maureen Flynn, has 12 sayings from around the world on roots, family and connecting to the Earth for spaces that need grounding and familial love.

full circle friends. water’s lovely, let’s create together!

ART. BOOKS. CULTURE. DESIGN. EXPERTS. FILM. FOOD. HOSPITALITY. INTERIOR DESIGN. LIFESTYLE. PERSONALITIES. STYLE. TRAVEL. WELLNESS.
RECENT CLIENT TESTIMONIALS.
“The brochure looks so incredible – a true work of art, xx.”

“This is coming together amazingly! I can’t wait to see the final art piece. You all are the best!!!”
More projects and testimonials can be found by clicking here.
THIS SUMMER. THIS YEAR.
WHY NOT TAKE A STEP BEYOND AND LET US AMPLIFY YOUR CREATIVE?
Let’s make magic together!