Last winter, Katie Hatch, designer of Harvey Faircloth, was seeking inspiration and escape through surfing imagery. Stumbling across this image taken in Waimea Bay in Oahu, she was instantly drawn to the combination of photographic and painterly qualities. She then created a print that is used throughout the Harvey Faircloth Resort 2012 Collection. We were immediately drawn to the one-of-a-kind print on this classic style, the Silk Surf Print Button Down.

1. While I’m smitten with all of our cuff links we’re showing, these Allan Adler Sterling and Ebony Cufflinks are my favorite. The simplistic design works for any man – forever.

2. The Pippa Small stone studs have become a staple for us here at Huzza. The size makes for the perfect everyday earring, while still being sophisticated and eye catching to take you into evening. The pink rhodochrosite adds a touch of girliness and of course, is perfect for Valentine’s Day. When giving jewelry, these studs are foolproof.

3, 4. Eau d’ Hadrien EDT, a unisex scent from Annick Goutal, is a truly elegant scent that awakens the senses with fresh citrus and woodsy notes of lemon and cypress. If you’re looking for a scent that refreshes and isn’t overwhelming, this is it.

5. The crystal Olympia Champagne Flute from William Yeoward is a great example of elegant functional design. Like all of the glasses in the Olympia collection, the shape of this handmade champagne flute was designed to enhance your drinking experience. It’s honestly the perfect champagne flute.

6. Decorative decoupage glass tray from John Derian, for whatever your big heart desires.

7. Romance can be a lot of things for different people and opening a bottle of good wine with your loved one might be one of them, so why not do it in style. This handcrafted Olivewood Sommeiler Wine Key is a great gift for two.

- Tobin MacCready / Women’s Buyer

Over many years during our buying trips we have had the pleasure of visiting with Christina Kim – founder, designer, and owner of Dosa. Learning about the inspiration behind each collection and what goes into making Dosa clothing has always been and continues to be an enlightening and captivating experience for us.

This past spring was a particularly gratifying visit with Christina and her wonderful team, at their beautiful studio and workshop in downtown L.A.

In our first ever Huzza video, Christina shares the history of her affinity for using indigo dyes and describes the labor-intensive traditional method of hand dyeing indigo to achieve the deepest blues possible. We learned how, when, and where she began working with indigo and the stimulating people she met along the way.

Shop the Dosa collection here.

Featured:

Kristensen du Nord Soft Cashmere Knit Dress

Hache Shiny Collar Coat

Hache Cropped Pant

Rene Storck Wool Long Coat

Rene Storck Poplin Botton Down

Rene Storck Wool Stretch Pant 

This past October, we had our photoshoot just north of San Francisco in Mount Tamalpais Park. We stopped at The Cushing Memorial Outdoor Amphitheater and shot just outside the seating area up against the mossed covered stone shacks. After the high noon sun started to set and the hikers cleared, we made our way into the natural stone amphitheater and then off into the hilly fields. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day, in such a breathtaking atmosphere. We hope you enjoy viewing the photos as much as we did shooting them.

Featured:

Lemlem Mala Poncho

Lemlem Babaloo Smock Shirt

Lemlem Merkato Pants

Dosa Korean Dress

Shot and Styled by Brother and Sister Team:

Cody MacCready (Photographer)

Tobin MacCready (Head Women’s Buyer)

Makeup by Edin Carpenter

Last month we had the pleasure of meeting up with SVILU, the women’s wear design duo of Marina Polo and Britt Cosgrove. We are excited to be carrying SVILU’s debut collection and met to talk about the beautiful print that runs throughout their Spring 2013 line. Seen here in the lovely Pleated Crepe De Chine Dress.

What was your initial inspiration for the print?

Marina- We started with locating the collection in Deauville, a seaside town in Normandy. From there on we did a little research and stumbled upon Fauvist painters of the turn of the 19th century to 1920s. It inspired and worked with a bit of the nautical theme we had going with the collection, we had some sailor color lines, so it felt like a nice complement.

Britt- Yeah. We used all these striped pieces and very traditional men’s shirting and liked the movement and sort of playful quality of the Fauvist paintings, we wanted to take that and juxtapose it against our really tailored menswear feeling.

M- And then we sort of messed around a little with colors. Made them kind of off colors like instead of the water being blue we made everything the opposite, pink, and very playful.

Did you try out multiple color ways before arriving at the final product?

M- (laughs) Yes. Many many many versions. And many many many trips, we printed the fabric originally in New York in Long Island City so we took lots of subway rides out there to approve the strike off. It seemed nearly every other day we were taking the train out to see how it was coming in.

Is there a narrative behind the nautical theme of the collection and print?

B- We both grew up on the water. Marina’s family takes an annual sailing trip off the coast of Turkey in the Aegean and I grew up sailing in Nantucket and chartering bareboat in the Caribbean.  For some reason we ended up, just realizing this at the end of the process for Fall, with another sea print. We must really like the water…we were like what is up with water and boats?!

This being your first season, were you nervous about designing your own print?

B- I would say we both stood behind it from the beginning, we felt good about it.

M- It was a good starting point to build the rest of the collection around. We were really inspired by that style so everything sort of fell into place after the print was solidified. It was a good turning point for us.

 The print was the first thing you guys designed?

M- Yeah it was one of the first things. Just because it took such a long time to develop and go through all the color versions. The print really helped to tie everything together.

Did you reference specific painters of the Fauvist movement?

M- We were inspired by the Fauvists in general, but we did look at some (artisists) for movement, like Kees van Dongen and Raoul Dufy. Just as reference points, for the general feeling, we wouldn’t want to do something that’s a replica of a painting.

Why did you choose Deauville as the setting for your collection?

M- Well I grew up in France and Britt grew up in the US. We did sort of think of the collection of a meeting of two worlds So there is a feel of young American, we hate the word preppy but

B-  Classic.

M- Clean classic feeling

B- Twisted with a little European panache, the details are more European and the shapes are perhaps, breezy, more American

As an eco conscious brand, do you want to speak to your printing process?

B- Its digitally printed, which is the most eco friendly method of printing. There is less ink waste going back into the water stream and less water used then screen printing. Also the pieces were designed in a way where there is no matching needed, so you’re basically not wasting any fabric in cutting.

Is there a difference in quality?

M- I would say its better. It’s a little more costly, then traditional screen printing but I think more and more of the industry is moving into digital because the quality is so much crisper

B- Yeah you can do photoreal things if you wanted

M- Shades of one color are much more easy to arrive to.

What instilled your mission to practice sustainable design?

B- The decision to make SVILU as sustainable as possible was a natural extension of how we live our everyday lives. In our daily life we recycle, eat organically, locally and try to reduce our impact wherever possible- so when we launched SVILU we wanted to apply these same basic principles. Our goal is to produce beautifully made, effortless clothing that is also mindfully made. It’s a bit of an added bonus.

Shop Other SVILU designs at HUZZA:

It was such a joy to spend some time with Britt and Marina, they exude honesty and passion for their brand.

For more information check out our 

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Huzza has been an admirer of Parabellum since our initial introduction to the brand. We have developed a deep respect for the company and decided to document them in order to share the finer points with you. Not only are Parabellum leather goods impeccable, but Jason and Mike back it up with a genuine ferocity and passion for their work. It’s impossible not to love these guys; they design products they believe in and do so with honesty and integrity. Mike Feldman and Jason Jones are the founders of, and designers behind, Parabellum. We wanted to take you into their L.A. studio to help display the work and thought that goes into their leather pieces. Little did we know, Parabellum’s passion is indeed infectious, which inspired us to look beyond PB Headquarters to Colorado to visit the beast behind the brand, the American bison.

Parabellum’s hangar headquarters in Los Angeles is packed with new product, luscious leather hides, and heaps of copper and ceramic fixtures. All Parabellum items are designed, crafted, and shipped out from their studio, so it’s a busy place to say the least. The atmosphere strongly displays Jason and Mike’s inspiration and motivation for their work. It is clear that they are invested in providing compelling designs made with the highest quality of material.

Parabellum is the only leather good company to employ the use of Military Grade Ceramics. A material of exceptional strength and durability, Military Grade Ceramics have been worthy of space travel, used as thermal-resistant tiles on shuttles. Additionally, the ceramic material is beautiful coming in crisp white and pearly black colors.

Jason and Mike have thoughtfully considered time as an element that engages and influences their work. The decision to use copper fixtures and bison leather both reflect a respect for aging and the celebration of material over time. The copper hardware is handcrafted in America and will grow to develop a patina, reflecting the journey between item and owner.

The use of bison leather pays homage to times of old and new, presenting an animal that has had a tumultuous past with America and celebrating the creature’s relentless spirit. Spending time watching the bison move across the Colorado landscape deepened our respect for the species as well as Parabellum’s standard of only using Free Range American Bison that are able to live naturally for the full duration of their life. The bison leather has such a unique textured quality it provides a new aesthetic experience and understanding of what leather can be. The bison hides are treated at Parabellum’s family run micro-tannery, creating an end product of absurdly soft and supple leather.

The conscious effort to design with standards and respect ensures Parabellum’s products to be luxurious pieces that evolve and develop beautifully over time. Mike and Jason craft leather goods that can live hard and rough, capturing the life and spirit of their owners, with the hope of becoming heirlooms for generations to come.

Video Shot and Edited by: Jon-Michael Mooney & Blaine Dunkley

Photography: Cody MacCready

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The first fall arrivals are always exciting. However, it’s never easy saying goodbye to summer so we chose a collection of apparel looks that are easy to rock while transitioning to cooler months. Featuring Golden Goose’s Golden Resort Tee with green Denim Golden Cord. A Massimo Alba sweater and corduroy combo so good we had to have it in two colorways: the Overprinted Sweater in Ink and Natural Brown and the Cord Pant in Navy and Orange. 6397, a brand new to Huzza, offers the extremely comfortable Boy T, and Lazy Jean while our old friend Peter Cohen’s Double Face Wool Riding Jacket packs a punch, polishing off a look or standing alone. Some staples throughout the shoot were WOMAN by Common Projects Pattern Leather Achilles Shoe,  Wingtip Loafer and the Quarter Signet Ring from Mannin Jewelry.

Click the images below to shop designers, or link at the end for all of our Fall 2013 Arrivals.

 Styled by: Tobin MacCready, Photography: Cody MacCready

The post Women’s Fall 2013: First Looks appeared first on Huzza Blog.

Each year at the end of summer we enjoy taking a moment to celebrate another season in Harbor Springs. The annual Huzza party is a cherished time to relax as a group, share stories and enjoy each other’s company. We are a close-knit team of individuals living the work hard play hard mentality, we felt sharing our end of the summer party would be a great glimpse into how we let loose under the Michigan setting sun. This year our CEO, Caleb, planned, sourced, and cooked an authentic Mexican dinner for us all. His efforts in the kitchen chopping, slow cooking, blending, seasoning, and delegating makeshift sous-chefs were well worth it, fueling a night of happy stomachs and tequila smiles.

We obviously partied in style, putting to use the products we love, with pieces from Alessi, William Yeoward, Annieglass, Astier De Villatte, Dinosaur Designs, John Pawson and more.

To shop our party click the links below the images or explore the entire Huzza Home collection for yourself!

  Dinosaur Design‘s Large Beetle Bowl in black and white. Alessi Copper Cookware, D. Bryant Archie Kuba Stripe Throw, Brickett Davda Oval Platter. Spenser Peterman Walnut Bowl, Duo Cordial, Tina Frey Emma Resin Tray, Anichini Nobel Cocktail Napkin.  William Yeoward‘s Country Covered Pitcher and Maggie Country Goblets in Amber and Purple. John Pawson‘s Candleholder in Bronze and Silver. Daisy Hill‘s Cornucopia Harvest Napkin. Annieglass Platinum Dinnerware.  Astier De Villatte Spirale Grand Vase, William Yeoward‘s Country Covered Pitcher, Anichini‘s Nobel Cocktail Napkin. There’s something about the sun setting over Lake Michigan that never gets old, this quiet moment often brings forward thoughts of gratitude. As the lake shimmers with warm flecks of color we are blown away with the beauty of Northern Michigan and thankful for family, friends and another summer spent in Harbor Springs.

Photography: Cody MacCready   Styled By: Rad MacCready

The post Huzza End of Summer Party 2013 appeared first on Huzza Blog.

Kate Marshall’s studio, located in Petoskey, Michigan, has the aesthetic of a miniature Swedish barn, with crisp white walls, expansive windows and slight cracks amongst the paneling. We have been happy to carry Kate Marshall’s inspiring oil paintings at Huzza and thought it would be fun to catch up with her to discuss her process, artistic influences, and to snap a few images from her creative hideaway.

To shop Kate’s work click the images below or view her entire collection.

Have you always painted? I’ve not always painted but I’ve always done some creative work. For many years, I was involved in theater as an actress and lived in New York. I have a MFA in theater. Then, when we moved here, I started having children and doing other things. I worked in clay and did what I could from home. As the kids were getting older I was finding it necessary to explore something. Some work. Interestingly enough, I had been reading accounts of people in England and how they would go out on picnics and take their sketchbooks, that seemed like such a civilized thing to do. The question for me was, “How does one spend one’s time?” I started painting and drawing by myself and then I took classes at college and I was encouraged to go in a show and I did and then I was captured. I was swept away by painting. I just loved it right away so I just kept working and doing workshops with different people. 

What is it about painting that you respond to? I love all of it. I love the paint and the canvas and the paper. I love the process of painting, which is really what it’s about. The finished work is never as perfect as I would like it to be and never what I imagined it would be. So, it’s always a surprise and that’s a good thing. I’m not the kind of painter who is, at this point, in front of a tree and wants to make a perfect tree.

Do you find inspiration from nature? Of course, especially living here, it would be hard not to respond to nature. It’s everywhere. There’s the horizon and the lake and the sky and fields and trees. But for me its not about the fact of it, it’s how that fact is blended with the fiction of working in the moment. So, I might start with something about… lets say the water. But through working and making those marks, it doesn’t have to be real. It can be my response to what I’ve done, which to me is what is interesting about abstract work. There is a conversation and dialogue that the painter has with the work as it progresses. So it is ever changing, responding and adjusting…you’re scraping and making a mark or writing on a canvas or whatever you’re doing to create a composition and scheme that is ultimately satisfying.

How do you know when a piece is done? Everyone always asks that. You’re done when you can’t imagine doing any more. What is finished? That is the question. There’s the whole movement of Provisional Painting, artists like Joan Mitchell and Sergej Jensen where paintings are intentionally left with things undone. If you don’t complete the work you allow people to be part of the process.

Do you work on multiple paintings at a time? Sometimes, and sometimes not. It depends you know. With the bigger ones I’ll do pieces of them and then switch them around. With the smaller works, sometimes I paint them all at once.

Do you sketch or plan your paintings beforehand? I never sketch but I may do little paintings on paper. I do some plein air, outdoor things and then I take those and abstract them. I also read poetry, which has a different way of influencing my work.

July Hike, is that recounting an actual hike? Well it’s a memory of being outdoors with water with but it’s not a transcription of a day. There is a lot of mark making in that in order to create this journey, it’s my interpretation of a time and space.

Are the marks referring to specific things? I’m really drawn to making marks but I’m not into using symbolism. Although some artists are, for me, these marks don’t have any specific spiritual or mythological meaning. Sometimes they are just scribbles, and sometimes if I’m really frustrated I’ll write in charcoal on the canvas to remind myself that it’s my expression and it can be whatever I want it to be.

How do you begin when making a painting? For me, I need solitude and being left alone to have a clear mind. I don’t make work in the summer. There are so many distractions. I don’t have much time to focus between the restaurant being open and spending time with friends and family. My mind is very cluttered in the summer, it’s not spacious. In the fall I start with cleaning the studio and sometimes I will paint pieces that I throw out just to get going again. It’s important just to start and sometimes that’s a good way to take the pressure off.

What’s your ideal creative environment? Well, if it were my imagined creative environment, it would maybe be an old milk barn with pristine white walls and 30ft ceilings. Since I was able to build my own studio, it really is my ideal work environment. I can walk out the backdoor and be here. I don’t have to drive anywhere. We are fortunate because it’s pretty quiet around here. I like it that way. I don’t encourage people to come and visit and I don’t invite my friends to come and look at the work when it is in process.

Are there other artists you gain inspiration from? Joan Mitchell. Brice Marden, the economy in his mark making is beautiful and he is one who talks about the value in modern life away from technology and the value in making marks that are true and full of process. In addition to loving his work, I really appreciate that thought. So much is done by machines that it’s good to appreciate something that is done with the hand. I love Howard Hodgkin’s swathes of color and movement. Beautiful free painting; when I respond to work I feel like it’s because there is a certain freedom to the marks. Agnes martin. I have a real minimal aesthetic but at the same time I love a lot of chaos.

What’s next? Cleaning my studio and getting back to work, I’m looking around, quieting and refocusing. Now I’m getting really eager to begin again.

It was an absolute pleasure having the opportunity talk to Kate about her work and artistic influences. Her bright studio, expressive marks and serine pallet are a true extension of her vivacious energy. We wish her an autumn filled with inspiration as she transitions back to work in the studio.

The post Kate Marshall Art Studio Visit appeared first on Huzza Blog.

Shot on location at Sturgeon Bay and various other locations along M119 in Harbor Springs, Michigan. Sweaters from Nili Lotan and Jean Paul Knott, statement jackets from Rene Lezard, and knitted hats from The Elder Statesman and Dosa.

Click here to explore all of Huzza’s Fall 2013 New Arrivals!

Styling: Tobin MacCready  Photography: Cody MacCready

The post Fall 2013 Women’s Looks 2 appeared first on Huzza Blog.

Bellocq Tea Atelier creates a collection of artful tea blends. The aroma and taste of each tea envelop to tell a descriptive story. We talked with Michael and Heidi, the owners and talent behind Bellocq tea blends, about our favorite tea: The White Wolf and picked up some essential tea knowledge along the way.

What is the White Wolf composed of? Prominent notes of white tea, cedar, star anise and mint evoke the expansive Western frontier, hay and saddle, leather and snow. Our white tea is an excellent organic Pai Mutan from Fujian, China.

What was the inspiration behind this tea?  This blend was created with a winter-scape in mind. It was intended to articulate the experience of exploring the western plains during the desolate winter months, the steely grey horizon line, the snap of the frozen grass and frost under the hoof of a horse, the aged leather of the saddle, the wool of the blanket, the scent of the horse, the expansive sky all around.

Do you have an idea in mind prior to starting a new blend? Oddly enough, not usually, it is a creative process and usually the blend will reveal itself as we work with the tea. Sometimes a concept, or perhaps a piece of music or historical event inspires us.

Sometimes people seemed intimidated by the loose-leaf teas, are there benefits to loose leaf teas?  Speaking on behalf of Bellocq Tea, we can say that our loose-leaf tea is the finest quality full leaf tea, which provides a flavorful, nuanced, excellent brew. The quality is superior. Tea bags (supermarket or even otherwise) often contain a lower quality leaf used as a vehicle for artificial flavoring. There are many solutions to make brewing loose leaf tea much more accessible: Filter bags, metal tea filters, metal tea balls, bamboo tea filters.

What are a few basic things everyone should know about tea? Tea for Dummies: All teas come from the Camellia Sinensis plant, however, there are many varietals and the plants are affected by their terroir ( like wine).  Black tea is fully oxidized, Oolong tea is semi-oxidized and White and Green teas far less so, having almost no oxidization at all. The finest teas are grown in high elevations, which ensure slower growth and finer flavor. To brew an excellent cup of tea: Start with fresh, filtered or spring water. After trying many brands of water, we like Poland Springs. It brews a very good cup. Temperature and brewing time is also important: check the packaging. Black teas are usually brewed around 195 degrees for 4-6 minutes, green teas are brewed anywhere between 150 – 180 degrees depending on the tea for 2-4 minutes.  White teas are often in the 160-175 range and the time varies between 4-8 minutes.  Again, refer to the package instructions.

Is there a general rule of thumb concerning the kind of tea and time of day it should be served? Traditionally, in our culture, strong, black teas are served in the morning. But so many people drink green tea as well. Floral teas are traditionally afternoon teas, but, again, it’s a matter of personal preference and enjoyment. We try not to be dogmatic about it.

Do you have any tips concerning gifting tea? People love receiving tea for every reason, from celebration to consolation. We generally find that our older clients prefer a classic approach, i.e. Bellocq Breakfast or Earl Grey while our younger clients are open to a less conventional blend, i.e. Gypsy Caravan, The White Wolf or our new herbal, Ashram Afternoon.  We’ve recently created three different “favorites” boxes to allow customers to sample the teas to learn what they like best. It’s a great gift and a top seller. Also, it’s helpful to offer a brewing solution, like filter bags or a tea filter.

What’s your favorite thing about owning the atelier? It is a place to weave our dreams and share them.

Photography by Cody MacCready

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The holiday season offers an opportunity for us to slow down, cherish time with friends and family, reflect, and celebrate. Our holiday pickings of effortless and comforting food resonate the true essence of the holiday season: a festive time filled with slow mornings, small delicacies throughout the day and evenings in front of the fire. We invite you to celebrate with friends and family however you may choose, so long as it is often and happily.

The holiday pickings are our ideas of warm food that is easy to share and enjoy with loved ones. In the morning, Stollen Bread is a tasty comfort made perfect when toasted with a smear of butter and a warm cup of coffee. This simple bread is great to serve those sleepily finding themselves in the kitchen throughout the morning. We found our stollen, filled with dried cherries, cranberries and blueberries, at American Spoon Foods, of Petoskey Michigan. Small dishes of savory cheese platters, ours featuring Crottin Goat Cheese from Countywinds Creamery (Zeeland, Michigan), Valdeon Picon Blue Azul (Spain) and Monte Enebro (Spain), along with mixed brazil, filbert, almond, and peacan nuts ensure satisfied stomachs throughout the day. In the evening, Bacon and Shrimp Flambé and Cheese Fondue (recipes below) are wonderful for gatherings and happily pair with your favorite glass of champagne.

Bacon and Shrimp Flambé

Ingredients:
2 pounds of shrimp
½ pound bacon
½ cup rum

Preheat oven to 450. Clean the shrimp while warming rum in a small saucepan over low heat.
Wrap shrimp in small strips of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place the wrapped shrimp in a pan and bake for 10 minutes, turning until bacon is crispy on all sides.
After cooking transfer the shrimp into a heat safe dish, pour rum over shrimp and ignite.

Cheese Fondue

Ingredients:
1 garlic clove-halved
1 ½ cups dry white wine
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons kirsch
1/3 pound Emmenthal
1/3 pound Gruyere
1/3 pound Appenzeller

Season a 4-quart pot by rubbing the inside with garlic halves, once completed add wine and bring pot to a simmer. In a separate dish stir together cornstarch and kirsch. When the wine has reached a simmer slowly add the cheeses to the pot, do so while constantly stirring in a zigzag pattern to ensure the cheese does not clump. Allow the cheese to melt without boiling. When the cheese is fully melted, stir in the cornstarch mixture. 
Simmer and cook, while continuing to stir for 5 to 8 minutes. When the fondue has thickened transfer it to a lit fondue pot and enjoy!
We served ours with fresh pears, apples and baguette rustique.

Photography by Cody MacCready
Styling by Rad MacCready

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We had the pleasure of talking with Tammy Fender, the founder of Tammy Fender Holistic Skin Care, to gain knowledge of how to look and feel our best through the holiday season and into the new year. Tammy’s genuine passion for purification and the pursuit of internal as well as external beauty radiates from her and her products. In this post Tammy Fender explains why she began crafting her own custom skin care formulations, identifies skin and emotional issues associated with the holiday winter months, and reveals holistic tips so that we all may glow into 2014 with a happy body, mind, and spirit.

What inspired the founding of Tammy Fender skin care? My skin care collection was developed directly through my work in the treatment room and expresses my lifelong passion for holistic living. As an aesthetician, I’d studied botany, aromatherapy and holistic chemistry, but I couldn’t find anything on the market that would provide naturally revitalizing holistic benefits to my clients. I began creating my own custom-blended formulations and once my clients experienced good results, they told friends and word spread. I had no idea there would be such demand, but happily the collection just grew and grew.

What does being a holistic line mean for the production of your skin care products? To me, beauty is a feeling that emanates from within, and holistic beauty is the practice of restoring skin, along with body, mind and spirit, to its perfect, natural state. My collection recognizes the intimate connection between what we put onto our skin and what we put into the body. What we feed ourselves, and our skin, allows the body to thrive as a self-healing, self-renewing organism. So I only use the most pure botanical ingredients in my collection, highly active ingredients, full of what I call Pure Living Energy, that can penetrate skin quickly, and which work on the cellular level to repair, nourish and awaken skin. The concentrated power in these medicinal plants restores balance on every level, revealing the kind of beauty that shines with health and vitality.

Are there skin concerns associated with winter months? The unique character of the imbalance we can experience in the winter months reveals itself as dryness and dehydration. With the waning light, winter is a great time for looking inward and for restoration on every level. Skin, body and soul need nourishment, care and protection.
 
What are typical spiritual or emotional concerns that accompany the holidays?  As we all know, the holidays are a time of great busy-ness, as we see friends and family and celebrate in so many ways. These super social weeks can deliver a great rejuvenating rush, but it’s also important to make time for quiet, unplugging for a 20 minute rest, or going for a short walk alone in order to more deeply feel the physical and spiritual interdependence of all beings. With the waning sunlight, the effects of overdoing it can be amplified. Sunlight improves immune function and makes us feel happier overall, so it’s important to get outdoors and into the sun, even for a few moments. Some people also feel the benefit during this time of doing simple breathing exercises, focusing on pulling in what we need on the in-breath, and giving back on the out-breath.
 
Which Tammy Fender products will help us to look our most vibrant this holiday season? To keep skin ultra-nourished and protected during the drier, cooler winter months, I always recommend a potent double-layer of Intensive Repair Balm and my Quintessential Serum. Working in perfect harmony, these two formulations shield skin from the elements, locking in much-needed moisture, while replenishing essential nutrients. Quintessential Serum is super-concentrated skin food, providing a powerful dose of fatty acids, gamma linolenic acids and antioxidants the skin craves. Intensive Repair Balm supports regeneration and healing, stimulating new cell growth and increasing the elasticity that tightens connective tissues.

Beyond using Tammy Fender Products how else can we encourage healthy radiant skin in the winter months?  Though the diminished light and cold might keep us from wanting to get out there and exercise, it’s important for the skin that we can find the time to increase our circulation each day, bringing freshly oxygenated blood and nutrients to every cell, promoting renewal and giving skin a healthy glow. I also recommend drinking a glass of lemon water when waking up each morning, which helps hydrate skin throughout the day. Eating foods that are rich in omegas, whether walnuts, spinach, flax seed or salmon, can also give skin a wonderful boost. Ultimately, however, it’s important to remember the season’s joys! Laughter is one of nature’s greatest beautifiers.

Do you have any suggestions for finding balance or a more holistic perspective coming into the New Year? Part of attaining holistic balance is using intuition to guide the way. When we take the time to recognize the essential connection between our physical, spiritual and emotional well-being, often the ways in which we need to better nourish our physical bodies, as well as our souls, become abundantly clear. These small shifts help us feel more fully alive. So for some people, living more holistically might mean working more exercise into the daily routine. For others it might mean eating more foods in their natural state, or finding the time for physical rest. Practicing gratitude, consciously relishing the good in our lives, can also have a tremendous ripple effect. Some people use visual reminders to focus their attention towards thankfulness, or set aside a minute or two to remember two or three things to be grateful for each day.  Of course, physically, the holistic lifestyle brings so much to the skin—relieving the tension that causes premature aging, bringing nutrients and oxygen to every cell and kindling an unmistakable inner glow.

It was a pleasure working with Tammy Fender. We are ecstatic about Tammy Fender Products and are consistently blown away regarding the wealth of knowledge and wisdom Tammy and her company offer. To learn more about Tammy Fender or to shop Huzza’s full collection of skin care products click the link below.

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Last week we had the pleasure of visiting MiN New York’s store in SoHo, to speak with curators Chad Murawczyk and Mindy Yang about their new MEMBERS ONLY candle collection. The custom designed store exudes the presence of an old fashion perfumery coupled with an American speakeasy, a sensual yet slightly edgy atmosphere that truly caters to their products. Below Mindy Yang bestows her great knowledge of olfactory design, her passion for her process, and describes secret, Members Only, worlds that inspired this collection.

How did the Members Only Project Begin? MiN New York stands for the New York Minute. We are always very enamored with moments and the function of time. One thing that we wanted to do was to celebrate private clubs from around the world with a twist, through different eras and different countries. The first series, the collection of these three (Members Only Candles), are from New York City because we are out of New York. We also wanted to redefine exclusivity and luxury, because we are in a specialty market we call our guests who shop with us members. Our limited edition candles are luxurious in the sense that they are hand gilded, bone china, and 22 karat gold or platinum but are also sustainable because, in the spring, we will be offering pillar refills for each vessel.

Can you tell us about the differences amongst the three candles? Union Club: is a men’s den. We wanted to use notes of tobacco and scotch to evoke this whole chesterfield library environment, and to celebrate the first private men’s club of New York City. The notes have oud in it, but we wanted to focus and have the spotlight be about this boy’s club, masculine, balsamic, leather, things like having fireside chats going on, focus on that scenario, focus on that moment.

The second candle of the collection is called Casa Blanca. Union Club is from the 1800s, turn of the century; it is very old fashioned and very old masculine, we wanted to give an alternate to that ambiance with something that is a little more fun and vibrant, but still romantic, so we explored the Prohibition era.

Casa Blanca, is not in Morocco, but actually is a mansion that was a speakeasy converted from Club Napoleon, which was one the most famous speakeasies of the Prohibition era. Larry Fay, one of biggest bootleggers at the time was killed in front of the Casa Blanca, his own establishment, on New Years Day. He was shot dead by his doorman. Fay was known as “the Milkman” he was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s neighbor and referenced in the Great Gatsby. He also was known to smuggle whiskey from Canada using taxis. His story is a fascinating one. We didn’t want to feature an obvious speakeasy and what was romantic about this scene was that the candle is reminiscent of a softer side, almost like when this moment was over. As with a classic cocktail that lingers over time, here you smell brown spirit with aromatic garnishes evaporating from dark brown floors. That’s kind of how we thought about it. It’s our best seller since we launched it. It very easy: masculine and feminine and more ambient, it has a little bit of tobacco a little bit more spirit versus the first one (Union), which is very serious and very powerful, the first one looks like money and Casa Blanca is more fun, nighttime.

Mudd Club we took all the way to the 80s. Simultaneously while Studio 54 was really happening, the downtown kids played up White Street. What we loved about the Mudd Club was that it seemed like this underground thing but its not, it was 4 floors and on the 4th floor Keith Haring had his gallery. You had to know someone to get in; it was kind of where punk rock was born. Street art meeting Pop art. Warhol was there, Basquiat, Madonna, and David Bowie was a frequent, we have customers now who remember partying at the Mudd Club, so we wanted to touch upon that late 70s early 80s contemporary. It also appeals to a younger fashion forward clientele. Still very generalist but slightly funkier, it would be too boring if we stayed safe. Mudd Club is a little more abstract, we express this by “passion” “creativity” and “rebellion”. Passion is the top note with rose oxide; it is like a metallic bright rose- almost a neon. The heart is a very complex bouquet of things like sharpies and sweat. The base has lots of interesting bitter notes and sweaty notes, and lots and lots of leather. So you can see it’s almost as though you are in this very vibrant but dark underground place where you are going to party really hard till 4 in the morning. This is not for everyone, but we really wanted the sharpies, sweat and leather to come through, the rose oxide is a really cool opening, but when you burn it everything really comes together.

Do you associate with one Club more than others? I think they are all a part of the brand and me depending on my mood, Chad as well. I feel like when I’m focusing on a project, especially in the winter I prefer Union Club, it’s a little bit like burning fire in the fireplace. It has a smooth balsamic bounding scent. Casablanca is fun at night in summer and spring and also beautiful on rainy days I love playing jazz like Coltrane and Louis Armstrong and burning Casa Blanca it’s so romantic, the notes of aromatic tobacco and a little bit of that booziness really comes together. Mudd club is fun with friends over; it’s more vibrant and young with a little bit of a rebellious spirit. Scents are beautiful, and you need to be able to connect with it and its okay if you don’t connect with all three, but I do think it’s amazing and optimal when you learn to leverage scent almost as an accessory. They are mood enhancers and really help transcend moments.

What is your process when approaching olfactory design? Fortunately we have access to amazing perfumers and are very close with many of them, so they have taught us a lot over the years. We have over 2000 scents at pretty much any given time, Chad, and I are very specific about what we like about which scent, so we take that into consideration when designing a project.

We like to immerse ourselves in videos and books and then think ‘okay, which notes come to mind?’ I have a bad habit, unfortunately, but fortunately I’m very good at it, I often will call notes I want in the composition and will describe how I want the candle to unfold. Then in construction we try to make that work. It doesn’t always work and many times you have to strip away notes because certain notes don’t play well together.

The candles took over a year to develop, we had to try different blends, which wick you use matters, how much oil is in the wax makes a difference. Every candle has a different percentage of fragrance oil. It is all very technical requiring a lot of testing. On the design side, that part is fun, because we knew whom we wanted to work with; we wanted to work with the potters on Stoke-on-Trent, we knew we wanted bone china because when you burn it glows through (the vessel). So the vessels are unusual, although it looks white, when you burn the candle it illuminates, and depending on how high your wick is there is a variance in the kind of light as well, which makes it organic and magical. The green one glows almost like amber; the white ones look more golden. We knew we needed them to have lids and we knew that we wanted them gilded so they would really be timeless objects as opposed to another candle.

Are you exploring more Members Only concepts? We are exploring private member clubs and societies of Paris, London and the UK, Japan. We are getting excited about them and its fun to take everyone on little journeys and find the stories that are not as obvious. We want to find places that had an amazing moment in history, but that people may be forgetting about, we aim to revive those moments. I think it’s magical when you are able to identify things and people are able to get it just from the way something smells. However it’s important that the scent is good, interesting at the very least to provoke or elicit some emotion. I don’t care if you like it or hate it; it just can’t be boring. It has to have a very specific mood because then if you do get some kind of feeling then I know that I did my job right.

It was extremely fun to meet Chad and Mindy of MiN New York, the thoughtful work that went into the MEMBERS ONLY candle collection is evident through one’s interaction with the pieces. It is a series of true collectibles that have the capacity to transport members to places lost in time. To learn more about MiN New York and to explore the collection, click the link below.

Photography: Cody MacCready

Styling: Tobin MacCready

Written by: Kate Bonsted

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Traditionally, the month of February is often associated with winter’s harshest qualities. However, February also marks the advent of the carnival season. Carnival is a time of expression, celebration, and community. When seeking guidance of how to properly celebrate, we look to New Orleans, the American purveyor of all things spectacle and celebration. The Mardi Gras festival commenced this week in Louisiana and will conclude on March 4th, on the day of Mardi Gras, or “Fat Tuesday”. In this post, we will explore the history of Mardi Gras and a New Orleans’s original cocktail, the Ramos Gin Fizz, in an attempt to inspire a carnival all of your own.

Mardi Gras traditions were founded in the 17th and 18th centuries in medieval Europe, as a celebration of gluttony and access prior to the Lenten season. French colonists brought this tradition to the Americas with the first Mardi Gras celebration taking place in modern day Louisiana in 1703. Over the years Mardi Gras has evolved to include parades, floats, and extravagant balls. All the beads, papier-mâché, masquerades, music, and food culminate to an extreme communal expression of creativity and celebration of life.

Since 1888, the Ramos Gin Fizz has been a staple of Mardi Gras celebrations blending traditions of extravagance and mystery. The Ramos Ginn Fizz was invented by beloved bartender Henry C. Ramos and contains gin, lemon juice, lime juice, egg white, cream and orange flower water. The Ramos Gin Fizz is not the easiest cocktail to mix up, but the velvety smooth consistency of the fizz done right is well worth the effort. Upon releasing his recipe, Henry Ramos offered some advice: “shake and shake and shake until there is not a bubble left but the drink is smooth and snowy white and of the consistency of good rich milk. The secret in success lies in the good care you take and in your patience.”

RAMOS GIN FIZZ 1888

2 oz gin
1 egg white
½ oz fresh lemon juice
½ oz fresh lime juice
¾ oz simple syrup
3 drops orange blossom water
1 oz heavy cream
1 oz soda or seltzer water

Dry shake gin, egg white, lemon juice, lime juice, simple syrup and orange blossom water for 2 plus minutes.

Add ice and heavy cream to shaker.
Shake again for 2 plus minutes, the longer the better.

Strain into a chilled highball glass over soda or seltzer water to form a delicious meringue foam that lofts above the top of the glass. Garnish with an orange wheel or twist and enjoy.

The Ramos Gin Fizz is sweet with notes of citrus and a dry finish. Refreshing yet warm and cozy… it’s dangerous!

Carnival is a time of expression, a great and magnificent party where we all can be inspired and awed. An influx of inspiration doesn’t necessarily need to culminate with the procession of a parade or wild bash, sometimes the mixing of a generous cocktail, preparation of a gorgeous meal, or arranging a gathering with distant friends is simply enough to infuse a new sense of wonder and inspiration back into our lives. We encourage you to take the time this carnival season to do something extravagant, to celebrate in your own way and to raise a special glass to a time of year filled with creative energy, passion and fun.

Our Ramos Gin Fizz is pictured here with Moser’s Topaz Pebbles Highball, Alessi Chiringuito Cocktail Shaker and the Dransfield and Ross Jacknife Cocktail Napkin.

Photography: Cody MacCready
Writing: Kate Bonsted

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The launch of our new wedding registry interface on huzza.net and the hum of the start of another bridal season have me thinking about gift giving in the name of love. Weddings are certainly a time for celebration: we share intimate moments, participate in laughter with loved ones and shower the couple with gifts. These are all acts of affection and support of a couple’s pursuit of love. But in the 21st century, a time of material access, do the gifts we give, or the gifts we register for, really matter? I think so, and today with unconventional registries people have the opportunity to register and give items that not only support a newly wed pursuit, but also foster a life of love.

In ancient Babylon, Rome, and traditionally throughout the world a dowry was the original wedding present, given to the bride upon her marriage to secure her place and help in the costs of starting a life together. The inception of the wedding registry was also used for such practical reasons: to outfit a kitchen, livingroom, dining room, etc. for the young couple starting out. It was an easy way to keep track of who gave what and which items were still needed for the pair to function properly on their own. Today the functional aspects of the registry are still appreciated but have evolved to present not only what a couple needs, but what they actually want.

A registry has the luxury of functioning more as a mode of expression and curation. Since most are choosing to get married later in life, we have already acquired many of the necessities, developed a taste for the products that work with our lives, and understand the style of our homes more. The creation of a wedding registry is the process of melding two individual living styles and taste into one. It is the first movement toward a life as a unit. This is no small task, but an exciting one nonetheless, it provides an opportunity to dream the life ahead. It provides an opportunity to receive or give the objects that personify that dream.

Curating a space filled with objects that a pair understand, value, and love is an extremely important piece in a space becoming a home. When objects are well designed, and appreciated they not only are used frequently but become heirlooms of experiences. These items collectively define the home, by resonating moments of family dinners, special occasions, and everyday routines.

Here at Huzza we are passionate about helping people find these items that collectively define and express the owners in their space. A wedding registry is an incredible opportunity to celebrate the creation of a new home. When thinking of giving a wedding present, or registering for yourself, be sure to keep in mind that the home is where the heart is, so the objects within the home should be those which the heart loves.

Click Below to view Huzza’s new

By: Kate Bonsted
Photography: Cody MacCready

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