Good Morning readers, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I enjoyed every second of my birthday trip to the beach over this past week, which is why I’ve been slacking on my daily blog posts since I returned from New York. However, I’m finally ready to share my New York Fashion Week experiences with you starting with my tour at the Graphic Image/Gigi New York Factory from Day 1.

The minute we landed in New York, a large van was there to greet us as if we were going on a big field trip. Really the van was there to accommodate Krystal (A Pinch of Lovely), Kaela (our photographer) and myself along with our thousand pounds of over-packed luggage to the Graphic Image/Gigi New York factory. Much to our surprise, the Gigi factory was just like how we imagined; 50,ooo square feet of top quality leather in almost every color you can think of!  We were in leather heaven and honored to have Tom Glazer, the owner give us a personal tour of the entire factory. We saw everything from the cutting and the sewing to the quality control and personalization. It was incredible to see everything from start to finish and were amazed to learn that Graphic image makes all of Tiffany & Co.’s leather goods minus their handbags! The Tiffany blue was probably my favorite color leather in the whole factory! Well, that was at least until we got to see a sneak peek of spring which consisted of the most beautiful pastel colors as well as some neon shades too! It was also at this point where Tom and I discussed a handbag collaboration between Haute Off The Rack and Gigi New York, in which I will design my own exclusive handbag so keep your eyes out for that!

We were also amazed to learn that Graphic Image makes leather goods for Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales, J. Crew, you name it! One of our favorite areas of the factory was the leather aisle where we could see everything leather the company has to offer. Krystal and I couldn’t help but pick out of few we loved and beg Tom to make us some bags in those colors. He never said no so we still have our fingers crossed! Our other favorite department was the back stock room where they keep every bag and accessory in every color for immediate orders! We of course had to pick a bag to carry for the rest of fashion week. We both picked their newest style bag called the Parker. I got navy and Krsytal got black. Needless to say we’re in love with our new bags and are so grateful for our wonderful experience at the factory. I hope to be back soon to design my own handbag! I get so excited just thinking about it!

In case you’re wondering where those monogramed flats in the photo above are from, Gigi New York teamed up with Go Priv and Yosi Samra during fashion week for fun a event. Together they hosted a NYFW Ready suite at the Empire Hotel for bloggers to enjoy free manicures and hairstyles as well as a monogramed Gigi New York clutch and a monogramed pair of the most comfortable Yosi Samra flats that I have ever put of my feet. I truly believe that flats helped keep me sane during our trip because I think I might have died in my heels all day!

Photos by: Kaela Rodehorst Photography

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