First, I would like to thank everyone for all your condolences and for giving me privacy over the past week or so. Dealing with the deaths of my uncle and nephew, on the sme day, on each side of my family is the HARDEST thing I’ve ever had to do in my life, especially burying my nephew, who was like my child. I’ve heard people say that some things you never recover from, you just learn how to deal with it. And my nephew Marcus’ death is surely one of them. But one of the things I find comfort in is how he lived his life. See, in Marcus’ short 21 years on earth, he lived his life to the fullest, did all the things he wanted to do. So as I slowly get back into the routine of my life, I know that the best way to honor him is to live my life to the fullest; to always remember love and happiness, and never take ANY of my precious time here for granted. 

Second, I wanted to announce that I have reopened the online store today. Orders purchased this week will ship out next week. And I will begin answering emails today. Please give me a few days to reply.

Third, because of the tragedies, the spring/summer collection will be pushed back a bit to sometime in May. I have not scheduled an actual date yet, but  once I do, I will announce it. 

Thank you again to everyone for their support during this trying time.

Yesterday I was sitting here writing a post about my uncle Stan that passed away around 3am on April 8th from lung cancer/brain tumors.

Never in my craziest nightmares would I have thought I would have received a phone call from my sister telling me that her son, my oldest nephew, Marcus, was killed in a car crash. On April 8th. At 2:47am. 

It hurts so much to lose 2 people you love. And on the same day? There are no words to express the pain that I feel right now. Especially for my nephew, who was only 21. Just joined the navy. Just married his high school sweetheart. He had so much life to live…

You know death has a way of putting things in perspective for me. On one hand, I just want to crawl up in a corner and wither away; it’s just so difficult to face life without the ones you love. And on the other hand, I really want to spend time with the people I love, make sure they know that they ARE loved, which I’m not sure if my uncle knew how much he was loved. It makes me want to live life harder, to really go after all my hopes and dreams and goals; to stop letting trivial, insignificant things take up my time; to live my life with love and positivity.

I will be offline for a while. I have temporarily closed the online store and am pushing back the spring/summer collection debut to sometime in May. I appreciate everyone’s condolences right now. But I ask for privacy as this is a very difficult time for me and my family.

Rest in peace to my uncle Stan and my lovely nephew Marcus. You will always be in my heart. ALWAYS. Love you guys sooooo much!

I will always love you.

Rest in peace Whitney!

(Source: Los Angeles Times)

my heart is so heavy right now.

man, i loooooove me some heavy d. and i am so sad that he is no longer with us. i really don’t want to believe it…and to think, he just crossed my mind last night when i saw a snippet of michael jackson’s “this is it” when he was performing “jam”.

this is the last time i will probably visit any social networking site tonight because i’m just in shock. he was so young. such a jolly and positive soul.

r.i.p. my love!!!

vibemag:

BREAKING - Heavy D Dead At 44

rachelstewartjewelry:

Michael Richards, artist: born New York 2 August 1963; died New York 11 September 2001.

Michael Richards was probably working in his studio on the 92nd floor of the World Trade Centre north tower on the morning of 11 September. According to a colleague Richards’s last two sculptures were bronze versions of himself pierced by airplanes and accompanied by meteors and flames.

For the last 10 years he had worked repeatedly with imagery of flight, including feathers, wings and plane parts. The work for which the 38-year-old artist will surely be best remembered was entitled Tar Baby vs St Sebastian, a bronze sculpture made in 1999 consisting of his own life-size body pierced by model planes rather than arrows.

This bizarre congruity between Richards’s art and the direct manner of his death might seem typical of that odd semi-psychic ability known to artists. Christine Y. Kim, Assistant Curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem, acknowledged, “We had scheduled that I would see his new work [that week]. His creations often dealt with technology such as aviation, ironically.” But it should also be noted that Richards would have applied for this “studio-in-the-sky” specifically because of his interest in flight and aviation.

He was extremely happy with this new, raw studio space granted to him as one of the 15 artists in the “World Views” programme run by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. The LMCC was started 30 years ago and ran the World Trade Center Studio Program to take advantage of the small pockets of empty space always available in these mammoth buildings.

The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council offices at 5 World Trade Centre were destroyed but Liz Thompson, its Executive Director, found time to honour Richards, the only artist to have died in the events: “We think he worked late into the night. He was so promising. He was on a tear.”

Richards would often spend the night in his studio rather than embark on the lengthy commute back to his home in Queens. “He would work through most of the night and into the morning,” said Kira Harris, a close friend. According to a studio neighbour Richards had cooked dinner, watched the Monday-night football and at midnight was still working on his sculpture. Thus “See you later” are his last known words.

This sculpture is currently at the North Carolina Museum of art, everytime I go I get really emotional when I see this….not only because of the way he died but that more people didnt know about him and it was only through is death that I found out about him many years ago..

Pay attention to artist when they are alive.

my tv granma, clarice taylor, died on monday. she was 93 years young.

the cosby show is my all time favorite tv show, so it broke my heart to hear this news…

rest in peace my love!

so i think i am going to dismantle my 2nd label, shanae. well…dismantle may not be the right word…

i think i am just gonna put shanae back into naKIMuli. had a talk with kelly about this months ago and she suggested that i should just combine them. and ouigi from the brooklyn circus suggested that i just focus on 1 brand. and after months of sitting on it, i think it is time.

i actually started shanae out of fear. fear that people wouldn’t accept naKIMuli, with its bold colors and loud prints. so i took some pieces from naKIMuli (some items that were done in solid colors) + created shanae, my safe brand; the brand that i thought, if naKIMuli wouldn’t sell, then i wll always have shanae, the quiet, “bland” line. except that shanae is not that bland. yes, it was kinda just muted, with its all solid colors. but its silhouettes are still very unique and avant garde, still very naKIMuli. 

and the funny thing is that last year, when i debuted shanae, it called attention to naKIMuli and the sales and demand for naKIMuli increased dramatically. so i think it is time to let go of the fear and move on. and up. to show that i have confidence in myself and in my brand and even in my customers, you funky lil divas. ;)

plus people always call shanae naKIMuli anyway, so it just makes sense. *kanye shrug*

guess i will just use shanae for like my doggie clothing line or something. lol

unzipped, 1995

i rented this movie about a month ago via netflix (and just realized someone uploaded the whole movie on youtube, as usual) and have been watching it a couple nights a week before i go to bed.

so inspiring on so many levels. first, i love isaac mizrahi. 1-cuz he is funny 2-he loves color. 3-he’s a native new yorker (holla!) 4-his hair! second, it just shows you a glimpse into his life as a designer; from getting bad reviews, to seeing what inspires him; from working with legends (earth kitt r.i.p!), to traveling to paris. i watch it and would love for my life to be that way. can’t wait for the day when i have my team + we are showing at new york fashion week with the hottest models. and working with hot celebs and legends in the game. and traveling the world. *sigh*

going to watch it now.

dirtydebutantenyc:

RIP Mike …

T.

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i miss my baby so…

rest in peace to the greatest to have ever done it! (why r my eyes getting watery typing this?)

eutopiainnyc:

LENA HORNE died last night at a hospital in New York.  She was 92.   She was a successful singer, movie actress, and Broadway performer, but she’s also famous for being one of the first African-Americans to break into mainstream show business. You will be missed Ms. Horne!!

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and she was a fellow brooklynite!

i remember the 1st time i saw the wiz. lena only had a small part in it but the way she delivered that song “believe”, it was amazing! i remember tears coming to my eyes cuz she sang it w/such conviction.

thank u lena horne for all that you have done to pave the way for black women in show business! rest in peace! you are so loved + appreciated and will be missed deeply!

naKIMuli Spring 2010 Collection from Tennille McMillan on Vimeo.

enjoy!

(p.s.- the spring collection is dedicated to my lovely grandma that passed away last sept.)

“lights will guide you home

and ignite your bones

and i will try to fix you”

coldplay-fix u

my ipod played this while on shuffle + it made me think of mcqueen.

rest in peace lee alexander mcqueen. thank you for your creativity, your imagination, for your amazing work.

I KIND OF LIKE IT THE WAY IT IS RIGHT NOW, … I BELIEVE IN THAT ONE-ON-ONE SELL. I DON’T REALLY BELIEVE IN FLOODING THE MARKET WITH LOADS OF GOODS THAT DON’T MEAN MUCH, AND (YOU) LOSE YOUR IDENTITY.

alexander mcqueen- one of the best!

my heart is hurting so much today to find out that alexander mcqueen died. just last week i had a convo about how amazing he is. he is one of, and maybe even my fav fashion designer. i admired his imagination; his creations always inspired me to want to push the envelope a little bit more.

so sad to see such a wonderful talent pass away in their prime.

rest in peace alexander mcqueen!

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UPDATED:

WORDS via STYLE.COM

“The news that Alexander McQueen has killed himself is particularly devastating because it always felt to me like he’d be the last man standing. He was restless, but so pragmatic with it I assumed he had what it took to endure the extreme situations he placed himself in. He was also an arch romantic with a pessimistic streak. It produced some of the most beautiful, shocking images in the history of fashion, but it’s a state of mind that can lead to endless disappointments. The death of McQueen’s mother last week would have validated his pessimism. It would undoubtedly have taken away his most vital support. It’s awful to imagine him trying—and failing—to cope, and one can only hope that, if he was looking for peace, he found it. For everyone left behind, there will eventually be consolation, however scant right now, in a body of work whose power will never die.”
—Tim Blanks