New York, New York!!!
Wow, Scott and I just returned from our first business trip for RealKidz. We went to the Big Apple!! Man, what a trip!! We had a great time and were overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of New Yorkers.
We attended the Material World Fabric and Sourcing Event at Javits Convention Center. While I don’t think we’ll need to go to another one of those in the near future, it was a good first stop for us since we’re so new and still learning. We met a lot of vendors, got some great information and saw some wonderful fabrics and trims. We even went to a seminar on trends. While RealKidz is really more concerned with making sure our kids clothes are in line with (as opposed to in front of) the trends, it was an interesting peek into what it must be like for the trendsetting designers. We learned that layers, layers, layers will continue to be THE look for the future and, if you’re a guy and you want to be fashion forward, start getting used to the idea of shoving your pants into below the knee riding type boots. We actually saw that look after we heard about it in one of the window fronts on 5th Avenue. Needless to say, Scott told me to whack him over the head with his boots, if he ever comes to the office looking like that!! Michigan is a fer cry from New York in that respect.
As a total foodie wanna be, I made sure we hit some of the classic New York specialties…bagels, New York style pizza and cheesecake, and knish (ooh, that was nummie). We popped over to the Empire State Building for a great view at night and then the next night stopped by Times Square to be overwhelmed with people, activity and lights.
We really enjoyed our hotel in the Chelsea area of New York. The Chelsea Savoy was a delight. It was very inexpensive (for New York), impeccably clean, and politely staffed. We were in a more residential type neighborhood which led to making new friends.
Our last night in town, we discovered Lasagna Ristorante on 8th and 20th. What a wonderful spot, the food was great, the atmosphere fun and the waiters were a blast! We even met a fellow Michigander who shared with us pictures on his iphone from his recent trip up north. I wish I could remember everyone’s names we met, but we had a great time with David and his friends and look forward to seeing them again on our next trip to NY!
Life certainly is a few paces slower outside of Manhattan and I can’t say that I mind, but it was so energizing to be a part of city life for a little bit! I’m looking forward to the next trip and to the time when I can purchase (instead of just window shop) at some of the amazing stores we passed by.