freddy&ma

all ma wants for christmas...

Ma has had this list prepared for months, she is happy to finally be able to put it in the public domain....

• Juicy Couture Dog Parka
  
  Will someone please buy this for me?  It just doesn't get more precious and over the top than this too-fab doggie jacket.

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  Miss A Kit -- for the girl who has everything.....this do-everything tool is the perfect gift for any situation.

• DuWop Mini Venom Trio
  
  I can't wear anything else on my lips since I bought my first lip venom.  Try out gold and silver "flashes" for the holidays and light a fire under the mistletoe.

• Sterling Dog tags......want to give something really personal and funky?  Inscribe a sterling silver dog tag with a special nickname or message.

• Vogue Illustrated History of Fashion.....Everyone could learn a thing or two from this book; perfect source of inspiration and reflection.

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Ticket Stub Diary
This one goes in the book!  My boyfriend (now fiance) thought I was serious when I used to say this after we left a movie, show, etc.....I wish I would have meant it -- never too late to start.

• 
• Kid's AC/DC shirt
• Give Shiloh and Kingston a  run for their money; I mean seriously, doesn't every 12 month old need and ACDC tee shirt?

• Indoor Smores
• Carpet camp-out anyone?  An unfortune incident in college convinced me that to roast marshmallows in doors, you really must invest in one of these.....and who doesn't like s'mores?

• 80's Flicks
• Campy 80s movies make everybody happy......design your own special "box set" from amazon......top suggestions, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, St Elmo's Fire, the Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Dirty Dancing and Shag.

• 

Polaroid Camera
With all this digital jazz, these classic cameras have fallen by the wayside; but it only takes a look through your childhood photos to realize that there's nothing like a Polaroid.

what Freddy wants for Christmas....

With holiday season just around the corner, we thought our friends might be interested in what Freddy&Ma are asking for this holiday season.  First up is Freddy.  He is a technophile, outdoorsy, stylish male with an eye for the unique.  If you know anyone like this, they might like the items below as well!

Freddy wants:

• My favorite fictional book character, Dirk Pitt, always wore a Doxa dive watch.  I always imagined the watch was just like this one by Bathy's.  If I had to pick only one item on this list, I would take this watch.  It is a work of functional art.

• I have 8 pair of sunglasses, 6 of which are by Oakley.  This pair is the missing link to the perfect collection.  Stylish and hi-tech at the same time, these glasses are perfect for a day at the beach or mountain bike run at Vail.  Oakley always seems to have something cool in their collection and I always seem to want it!

• Jeans are overrated.  Every guy needs a pair of pants that will not wear out or go out of style.  I saw these at a tradeshow recently, they would look great at work in the garage, the office or on the mountain.  Plus they would probably last for about 100 years.  If i had these I would wear them everyday.

• I am sick of having to check my carry on.  patagonia makes a bag that is the exact max legal size to bring on the plane.  It is has a cush shoulder strap for those sprints between planes in Detroit (thanks SpiritAir).

• I usually pack somewhere between 3 and 4 minutes before i have to leave for a flight.  This nifty little device would allow me to quickly cram a 3 week trip into the aforementioned max legal carry on.

• Tell that screaming kid in aisle 10 to shutup...with the push of a button.  I tried these at the Apple store and was amazed, they cancel out all background noise.  Very impressive.

• A tie with a bit of 70's flair.  I love it. 

• Nothing says cool more than whipping out the muji business card holder mid meeting.  A former co-worker had this $8.00 work of art.  I think it is the coolest thing money can buy at this price point.

the blonde identity

Back in April, I decided to embark on a hair color experiment due to a little boredom and my fascination with the chameleon-like transitions of celebrities.....of course, I am not a celebrity nor do I have access to top colorists and fabulous extensions.  I got way more than I bargained for; as a brunette I was practically unrecognizable to my family and friends and more importantly, to myself.  I never realized how much being blonde was a part of my identity as well as a part of my identity to others.  I think I was striving to achieve that very serious New York girl look AND see if/how people treated me differently; and boy, did they?!? For some reason, being blonde invites shouts, whistling and catcalls, even on a bad day and being brunette, at least in my case, does not.  The transition was immediate when I went dark and instantaneous when I began the long road back to my naturally dirty blonde hair.  They say if you stay close to what you were born with, you'll look the most natural and I have to say, "they" are right.  I was the only person who liked my hair dark and it will now be a fun memory, like colored contact lenses.....but in my case I think it's true, blondes have more fun or well, I have more fun AS a blonde. 

a nice mention

My favorite blogger, Julie Frederickson, included us in a very cute little post recently. Read here.

are your surprised?

I don't know if it's my advertising experience or what but this doesn't really shock me......however, I'm sure that most are not aware of just how common(place) this actually is.....does it make you feel any better?  do you see why you can't quite figure out what's wrong with your favorite celeb on the cover of that magazine? why she looks...different?  well, thanx to the folks at Dove, you can see what really happens -- people, this is truly worth a minute of your time.

another airport, another week of progress at freddy&ma

It is amazing how much work you can actually do in one week.  Since arriving in New York last Friday, we picked up samples of our new spring styles, revised said samples, completed our press-kit, selected new fabric to use on new styles, solidified the new styles for our upcoming retail line of bags, reviewed our print library, brainstormed on how to improve our website, spent 2 days at THINK meeting with various fashion mag editors, went for some great runs in central park, updated the freddy&ma server, devised a way to make our already snazzy business cards look a little better, began preparing for an upcoming photoshoot for spring, mailed some handbags out to various folks and ate way to many times at guy&garrards.  now i am in the all too familiar terminals at LaGuardia waiting for a flight heading back to SF.  what a week!

we are sooooo busy

Freddy's in town, which can only mean big things....our concept is being formally presented to many editors this week so we've been working like crazy to put together these fabulous little press kits that will surely wow everyone.....we've also had a mini portrait shoot and another bag shoot so we're a little tired.......but we're hanging tough and getting all sorts of goodies together for the upcoming season -- stay tuned loyal readers!

customer service is not always easy....

One of the things we strive for at Freddy&Ma is to always offer the best possible service to our clients.  I have always felt that whenever handling a customer service issue, we should do exactly what we would want a company to do for us if we were the client.  This sounds easy, but it can be quite stressful at times.

We recently had an issue where a bag was ordered and shipped with a slight defect that had somehow made it through our customer service radar. 

my secret life as a movie critic

One weekend every month I host a movie marathon for myself featuring anything I want old and new.  This particular event involved a strict diet of melba toast, light laughing cow cheese and red wine plus some comfy but chic sweats and my partner in crime, my little dog rocco.  I saw High Fidelity on an airplane some years ago and fell asleep, read the book this summer, loved it and wanted to revisit the film, which was mildly entertaining, save it for a rainy weekend. Me Without You features Michelle Williams pre-Brokeback Mountain stylist makeover and it's wonderful, highly recommend it.  I also LOVED a Slipping-Down Life with Lili Taylor so much; it's a really simple movie but for some reason it moved me and there was this great chemistry that seemed believable between Guy Pierce and Lili.....