Windsor

What do you think of when you hear the name "Windsor"?  I think of opulence and English royalty, with a heavy Victorian influence.  It's fitting, then, that the Windsor Collection is named as such.  While I was designing it and picking out the gems in subtly different hues of black diamond, smoky topaz, and dusty mauve, it struck me as something so ornate and delicate - something fit for a queen.

Windsor Necklace

I didn't realize it at the time, but upon later reflection, I discovered that the design of this collection had been influenced by the film "The Young Victoria."  All of the costumes and jewelry in the film were amazingly rich with detail.  I'm also a sucker for the story, since it is, after all, a dramatic and somewhat tragic love story.

As the young heir to the British throne, Victoria was in a fragile position, and many people were trying to sabotage her position and gain power for themselves as the head of the English monarchy.  She couldn't even trust her own mother, whose lover was trying to usurp the throne.  Naturally, she was wary of her many suitors and resisted being pushed into marriage too quickly.

Prince Albert courted her for quite some time.  After several meetings, and much correspondence, the developed a strong friendship.  She finally felt she could trust him, and she proposed to him!  They were married in 1840.  After a happy marriage of 22 years, however, he died suddenly at the age of 42, plunging Victoria into a deep mourning, which lasted for the remainder of her life.  She retreated to the privacy of Windsor Castle and became known as "The Widow of Windsor."

Although a tragic story, it is also a beautiful one.  She found in Albert her soul mate, which is more than most people ever find in a lifetime.  It is a rare thing indeed, to be cherished, much like the Windsor Collection.

Windsor Drop Earrings

Windsor Button Earrings

Windsor Cuff

You can find pieces from the Windsor Collection at Henri Bendel (512 Fifth Avenue, NYC), Scoop NYC (various locations), Nordstrom (Santa Monica), and Sucre (357 Bleecker Street, NYC).

Mahhh...ldives

I can't remember when I first found out about a place called the Maldives, but I do remember the effect discovering such a paradise had on me: instant, intense feelings of yearning and strong desire, no - NEED to go there.  I must have been in the travel section of some book store, and stumbled upon a cover photo of a beautiful desert island, with white sand, turquoise waters, azure skies, and a hammock effortlessly strung up between palm trees, swaying lazily in the breeze.  Or maybe I came upon it while doing an internet search.  In any case, once I was aware of it, i knew I MUST one day go.

The Maldives are made up of 26 atolls with over 1000 islands, off the coast of India and Sri Lanka, in the Indian Ocean.  They are very shallow; in fact, 99% of the country is under water.  Many of the islands disappear during high tide, but all of them are beautiful, with pristine white sand beaches, crystal clear water, swaying palm trees, and breath-taking views.

It always seemed like a far away dream, but fast forward to two months ago, and the brilliant idea popped into my head.  I knew I would be going to India, and the Maldives is just a hop, skip, and a jump away, right?  It was the perfect opportunity.  It only took a little persuasion from my Japanese neighbor, who had been there a few years earlier, and the tip from my sister that the islands are actually sinking, to convince me that it was now or never (I am very open to suggestion, especially when travel is involved).   So it was decided, we were going to paradise!

I didn't realize that you have to really want to go to the Maldives to get there.  It's not an easy trip.  There were no direct flights from India, so we had to fly through Sri Lanka, spend the night in the Sri Lankan airport, fly to Male the next morning, and then get on a speedboat for an hour in order to get to our island.  Of course, I thought it was all worth it for the "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow, but I could tell all this travel was wearing on my parents.  I kept reminding them how amazingly beautiful it would be when we got there, but I had the feeling that, with each delayed flight, they were believing me less and less.  Truthfully, I was having to go overtime to convince myself too.

See, we were supposed to leave Delhi that evening at 7:15pm, arrive in Sri Lanka at 10:40pm, check into our hotel and sleep a few hours, and then leave for Male at 7:30 am the next morning.  Sri Lankan Airlines had other ideas...  Our flight was delayed until about 11pm and did not arrive in Sri Lanka until 2:30am.  We figured it would be pointless to go to a hotel and sleep for at most an hour, so we decided to settle in at the Sri Lankan airport with all the other passengers on lay overs.

They should really think about making that airport a hotel.  Either that, or fix the flight schedules!  Practically the whole place was filled with people camping out, waiting for flights, and it was hard to find an empty row of chairs to use as a makeshift bed.  I think I got at most an hour of sleep that night - probably 30 minutes is more accurate.

Then our flight to Male got cancelled and moved to 11am.  But then that got delayed another hour.  I think we ended up finally leaving the God forsaken Colombo airport at 1pm, and I truly believe it was a miracle.

On the plane, I pushed past my fatigue and started to get excited again.  We were so close!  I got a window seat and had my camera ready for what I anticipated to be amazing photos of the islands on our descent into Male.  Upon my first glimpse of pale turquoise water, I started taking shots.  It was so beautiful!  I couldn't wait to be off this plane and into paradise!!!

a glimpse of a far-off island 

beautiful turquoise water

After claiming our luggage and taking the boat transfer to our hotel, we finally got to our resort.  The room was so nice, and the bathroom was amazing - it was half covered by the thatched roof, and the other half looked up to open skies.

the shower opened right up to the sky

On the back side of our room, there was a small patio, which led to the beach.  I could see the bright turquoise water through the lush tropical greenery and was so excited to rush down and start taking pictures.  The pathway opened to a shallow lagoon, with a few stingrays swimming along the edges.  As far as you could see, everything was turquoise and green, with pops of fuchsia and orange from the tropical flowers.

a view of the lagoon 

I love this pop of pink against the bright green leaves

a sting ray, skimming along the edge of the water, looking for food

There were lots of interesting creatures and plants on our island, and we spent the next morning exploring and taking photos.

coconuts on a palm tree

these lizards were everywhere!

I love these palms!

a little hermit crab

a view of the beach

there were so many hibiscus, I had to put one in my hair

Since it was monsoon season, it was a bit overcast, but that did not make it any less beautiful.  There was usually sun in the morning, and the clouds rolled in around two or three in the afternoon.  

If it did rain, it was still hot, so the rain felt good.  My mother and I spent a lot of time combing the beach for shells and tiny pieces of coral.  It was so nice to be in such a beautiful, relaxing place.  I think all the hassle in getting there was worth it, and I would love to go back.  The last night, I took these pretty photos:

I would love to go back someday, when I have more money and more time!

Inspiration India - Mumbai

It feels as if I always visit Mumbai during monsoon season.  At least that has been the case for both times I've been there, including this visit.  We got off to a bit of a rocky start in Mumbai.  Our flight didn't arrive until almost midnight.  That, paired with the rainy weather and deserted streets, gave the city a sense of gloom.  Things didn't get much better once we saw our hotel room either - the hallway reeked of mildew, and we were jammed in such a small space that we could barely move without bumping into one another.  It didn't help that we were exhausted.  Resigned to the fact that we would have to spend the night, we decided to deal with getting a new hotel in the morning.


The next morning, after about an hour of going back and forth with hotels.com, we were able to change to a different hotel and get a refund for the obviously misrepresented "4-star" hotel we had to endure our first night.  Whew!  


Once we arrived in our new hotel, things were much better.  It was located right on Marine Drive, along Back Bay (informally called the Queen's Necklace for it's arced shape), near the Gateway of India, Victoria Terminus, and many other majestic Victorian buildings.  I got right to work on designing new pieces for the Spring 2011 collection, and my parents went sight seeing.

Victoria Terminus

The first day or two, the sky was covered in clouds, and there was a very light drizzle, if that.  On our second day, we decided to take advantage of the comparatively nice weather (it would pour the next day) and headed for Elephanta Island.  This is an island which was discovered in the 17th century by Portuguese explorers, who named it after a sculpture of an elephant found near the entrance.  It consists of awe-inspiring temples that were intricately carved by hand out of basalt rock over a period of 200-300 years.  The carvings depict many events in the life of the Hindu god Shiva.


We left from the Gateway of India, in Mumbai Harbor, right across the street form the majestic Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel (not to be confused with the real Taj Mahal in Agra).  From there, we boarded a ferry, for the hour-long trip to the island. 

The Gateway of India

The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower

Once we arrived on the island, we had to climb a set of steep stairs to reach the caves.  At the top of the stairway, we were greeted by an array of wildlife, which included dogs, monkeys, goats, cows, and roosters, all of whom wanted to be fed.  Check out this little guy, who stole a bag of potato chips from an unsuspecting tourist:

The caves were pretty amazing.  To think that they had all been carved by hand was just unbelievable.

outside the entrance to the main cave

inside the main cave - all the open space was carved out of rock!

large carving of Shiva at the center of the main cave

dancing Shiva

another entrance to the main cave

one of the other caves, which was used for practicing yoga

While touring the caves and seeing all the carvings of Shiva, our guide explained to us that the reason Shiva sometimes has so many arms is to show movement.  Shiva didn't really have multiple arms.  I thought this was interesting because I never looked at it that way, but once it was explained to me, it totally made sense.


The monsoon made everything so lush and green.  On the way back to the ferry, our guide showed me a delicate fern-like plant and told me to touch it.  I was hesitant at first and wanted to know why, but he insisted that I do it.  As soon as my fingers brushed against the leaves, they at once closed in on themselves, as if retreating from danger.  It was so cool - a plant that could move as a defense to protect itself.  Quite amazing.


We headed back to Mumbai, and on our last day, it poured, in true monsoon fashion.  It was a good time for me to focus and get a lot of work done, so I didn't mind the rain.  


The next day we left for the last part of our trip - the Maldives.  I was so excited to go to this paradise that I had been dreaming of visiting for years.  It was to turn out to be as beautiful as I dreamed...