INDIVIDUALISTIC STYLE: DOWN-HOME IN STYLE, BUT VOCALS FROM ANOTHER WORLD

INDIVIDUALISTIC STYLE: Molly McGinn  

Each week I feature someone who stands tall and is always distinct from the rest. 

There are those who set out to do this intentionally,

 and then there are those who just...

ARE.

Molly McGinn...

a breath of fresh air in a city that was made of commonalities and stereotypes

... in my head, anyway.

 "In my head" being the key phrase. 

I had just moved to Greensboro, NC to study Interior Architecture 

However, I soon discovered that to truly flourish as an 
interior architect one must possess 

patience * high attention to detail * long attention span

Soooo, moving on... 

 turns out they also had a fantastic business school

&

THRIVING LOCAL ARTS & MUSIC COMMUNITY! 

Molly was one one of the first people I met. 

Tall. Beautiful. Kind. Genuine...

and I soon found out

 amazingly talented

with a voice that will peel the layers off an onion that you

 never knew you had.

 When planning for the MY FASHIONABLE FRIEND clothing swap, 

I realized this would be a great excuse to get her down here. 

I crossed my fingers and it worked! 

She sounded amazing, authentic, beautiful, care-free ...just as I had remembered. 

Of course, you know I also used this as an opportunity to ask her my special questions...

When I meet with clients the first thing we do is go through a questionnaire, 

which is meant to help me get to know their personality, passions, uniqueness and quirks. 

This is by far my favorite part in the whole process. I love to learn about 

people, what drives them and what has made them who they are. 

What gives you passion and inspires you in life?

" It comes from many different places. In songwriting, it's usually something that I'm going through, some kind of life lesson sitting me down in a 

chair and asking for my full attention.

Then I'll find myself thinking about something I'd heard at a Artists Talk at the Weatherspoon Museum, or one of the live lunch WUNC 

broadcasts here at Triad Stage. 

Most recently it was the concept of "Fantastical Realism," 

and I tried to write a song incorporating that concept. 

Otherwise, North Carolina inspires me. 

So does my first hometown, Dodge City, Kansas.

As for fashion, I've always been inspired by a handsome definition of femininity; a French-approach to effortless and classic dressing;

 and the Irish tweed blazers and knits." 

Molly has this on her website and a few of her other social media spots.
 She truly radiates this phrase without saying a word.
I always feel lighter after being around her.

Give me three words that describe your 

personal style.

" Irish. Tomboy. North Carolina. "

What experiences have most shaped who you are?

"The first would be learning to play guitar from my Dad. The second would be a heartbreak, 9 years ago. It changed everything. And the third would be today; I try to let today teach me what I need to be the person I'm supposed to become. It doesn't always work that way, but I try."

I hope to find another excuse to get her down again soon!

-Stephanie

MOZART MEETS MODERN ART?!

Possibly.

Eddie Vedder and Fleetwood Mac are options too.

Whatever your favorite song or sound, can quickly become your best wall decor!

Discover your signature soundwaves...

OR

 Discover your signature stars...

and  frame them as modern artwork in magnificent colors!!

Exactly how will you do this, might you ask?

VAPOR SKY.com!!

"Modern canvas art with a personality and look as unique as you."

As soon as I came across the snippet about Vapor Sky on Facebook I was 

intrigued & excited 

...and felt that I definitely

NEEDED TO OWN A PIECE OF PERSONALIZED VAPOR!

How they make each and every piece of artwork personal to YOU, is that they will either depict the precise alignment of the stars and planets over a specific location, time, and date, that you choose, 

and then get it onto canvas in amazing colors.

OR...

 You can get their RESONANT DECOR, which displays the exact waveform of any sound you choose, in any vibrant color and size combination that speaks to YOU!  

For someone like me, who could spend hours and hours navigating through color options, this was a 

STYLE DREAM COME TRUE!

If I went with the STELLAR DECOR, 

what date would I pick?

I decided I would choose the date of my very first meeting with my first client and then hang it in my studio - it definitely needs some wall decor anyway!

What SOUND would I give the fantastic Vapor Sky guys?

I had to think about that one. 

I'm not much of a music buff, so I thought of other sounds that were meaningful to me. 

I decided that when the time comes to order my special piece, I would give them the sound of car wheels rolling along the interstate. There is something so soothing about that. 

Possibly, just the memory of being driven to school by Mom, looking out the window, dreaming of days to come without a care in the world. Well, aside from the MAJOR cares of my pre-teen life. 

Such as...

Where the heck can I find a pair of purple Doc Martens?

...don't worry!

 I have always been insanely persistent...

 I got them in a deep plum. 

Hey! They were cute at the time. I'd still rock 'em if they hadn't gotten swapped for Lisa's black pair.
One of my deeper regrets in life.

During all of this

color, star and sound research,

 it suddenly dawned on me that Vapor Sky would be a PERFECT fit 

for the arts portion of the

MY FASHIONABLE FRIEND CLOTHING SWAP 

that myself and Tremont Music Hall will be hosting..

AT TREMONT! 

It also gave me an excuse to meet the men behind the madness...

 So, being curious about the story behind Vapor Sky, I took the opportunity

 to ask David Inman (Director of Operations) some questions...

What fueled the creation of Vapor Sky?

"Unemployment, a desire to own our own business, love of art & science."

What has been your most highly requested item?

"Resonant decor (sound waves)."

What's one of the most unexpected sound requests you've recieved?

"Toddlers saying 'I love you Mommy and Daddy'".

Vapor Sky is simply amazing and sell their work all around the world. Given the focus on personalization and individuality, we decided their pieces would be a great compliment to my wardrobe styling services, which are also deeply committed to individuality. 

Check out this link to see the details on our partner promotion:  

MIRROR YOUR PERSONAL STYLE AND ART

Be sure to check them out online and turn your favorite

 tunes and special moments into FANTASTIC DECOR!!

-Stephanie

INDIVIDUALISTIC STYLE: BELLA BAG'S FOUNDER & THE CHICEST BAG LADY EVER!

INDIVIDUALISTIC STYLE: CASEY CONNERS 

Each week I feature someone who stands tall and is always distinct from the rest. 

There are those who set out to do this intentionally,

 and then there are those who just... 

ARE.

This week's personal style post has a special place in my heart. 

Throughout life there are people that you could spend decades with, but never truly connect with, and then there are those that only cross your path for a short stint, but that you resonate with right away. 
Casey Conners, Director and Founder of Bella Bag, the second largest online seller of authentic, pre-owned luxury handbags and accessories, was just that for me.

Of course, at the time, she was simply Casey to me. I met her while we were both in our early 20's and living in sunny Florida. She was one of the most polite, well-spoken, and sharply dressed people I had ever met! Having not ventured too far from North Carolina at that point, this little lady (straight from the heart of New York City) was foreign territory to me, yet there was something so familiar about her. 
It turned out to be a slight smirk and hint of sarcasm, 
in addition to all of the poise and sophistication she possessed. 


Smirks and sarcasm, though, I relate to!

She is one of those people you just know will go on to do great things, 
you just aren't sure exactly what. There is 


a fire, a passion, an eye, and an ability to influence others 


that are all tell-tale signs of great success to come. She had these traits and more.
 I would say that she has certainly gone on to achieve that success in many areas, but most notably with the remarkable success she has had as an entrepreneur. 
It doesn't look like she is slowing down anytime soon either.

This little go-getter has taken her company, Bella Bag, from a one-person start-up to a global shopping leader boasting the world’s second largest private handbag collection. They have clients in more than 30 countries and a significant portion of limited-edition and discontinued pieces readily available for sale.

Bella Bag brings in more than a quarter million visitors to the site each year and is a leader in customer service and authenticity and is practically a household name. 


Casey is now one of the leading Internet entrepreneurs under age 30 in the Atlanta area, and quite an inspiration to me!

When I meet with clients the first thing we do is go through a questionnaire, 

which is meant to help me get to know their personality, passions, uniqueness and quirks. 

This is by far my favorite part in the whole process. I love to learn about 

people, what drives them and what has made them who they are. 

I probably could have guessed Casey's answers ten years ago, but I was dying to know what they might have evolved into today. This is what I found out:

What gives you passion and inspires you in life?

"What gives me passion and inspires me is my family....brian (my fiancé), and my puppy!"

Give me three words that describe your personal style.

simple, classic, soft

What experiences have most shaped who you are?

"The experiences that have most shaped me have been my work at Bella Bag and the struggles and challenges to make a small business and a big dream become a reality-working hard each day on one project to make sure it happens, even when I'm sick and tired of it or bored, keeping my eye on the prize.

Bella Bag keeps me going everyday, and I try to stay focused on the creative and fun parts and not get too bogged down by the administrative pieces of it and the little chores, sometimes its easy to get lost in the daily grind and forget the big picture.I also just simply adore the bags. Watching new bags coming in and out everyday and getting to use them when possible isn't such a bad perk of the job either!"

However, when I think of Casey, I will always fondly remember our drives in the Florida sunshine in our SUPER cute & BRIGHT sundresses belting out (with not so much poise) Fleetwood Mac songs and laughing until we cried.

Now you know where to go when you need a good bag lady!

-Stephanie

THE HEART OF SELBY STYLE

Valentine's Day is the perfect day to reflect on a beautiful event that occurred this past weekend...

The 2012 HEART BALL

The Heart Ball is the big annual fundraising event for The American Heart Association.

It was a blast to get to see the town out-and-about in their formal attire, but

often the best part is getting ready for the event with your girlfriends...

Of course, getting dressed up is always fun for me, but more than that, 

The American Heart Association holds a special place in my own heart. 

My father and grandfather both died suddenly in their early fifties from heart attacks. Unfortunately, I was never even able to meet my grandfather and it was devastating to lose my father at such an early age. 

If he were here, I know he would insist on getting into the solution, rather than focusing on the problem. So, it felt good this year to be even just a small part of the movement towards

 prevention of heart disease in others. 

My father inspires me more than anyone else to this day. He was blind almost his entire life, but never let that stop him from any dream, achievement or accomplishment he might have otherwise had, and he certainly accomplished more than most ever will. 

That is how I have started to try to live my life as well.

Though my limitations have been of a different nature, 

they have still held me back from what could be and should be.

I have fallen flat on my face a million times in life. However, the thing I have come to realize is that after screwing up a whole lot, you become pretty fearless. I mean, it's not that frightening a notion when it's happened ten times already. I have also discovered that the things I once thought to be my biggest defects are actually my greatest assets. One of Dad's favorite things to say to me was-

"If there is a will, there is a way."

I think this may actually be the way to a healthy heart. 

Pursue your dreams with reckless abandon, no matter what your circumstances are. 

Get knocked down. Get back up. Get knocked down. Get back up. Get knocked down. Get back up...

...and then you will believe just how strong you actually are. 

*Thanks, Dad!

-Stephanie