I'm writing for Arbitrage Clothing!

Guess what?  Recently, I was offered the opportunity to start working with a company I respect, Arbitrage Clothing.  One of the things I'm honored to be in charge of is writing for their blog.  Below is my first post.

This will be the only post for them I have on joshstevensnyc.com but if you'd like to read more, check out www.arbitrage.com/blog/ for regular updates!

Thirsty Thursday

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Due to popular demand, Thirsty Thursday is back!

We’re gonna keep it real simple today with an Arbitrage original shot:  The Lumberjack, inspired by the great times our crew had at the Movember charity event in December.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 1/2 oz. gin

Maple syrup

Here’s how you make it:

Take a shot of gin.  Right as you can start to taste the pine-y, juniper taste of the gin in your mouth, open up and drizzle the maple syrup right in with it.  Growl and shake your head vigorously to mix and gulp it on down. 

Be careful…  A few rounds of these and you might hear your buddies yelling “Timberrrrr…” as you fall like a Great Sequoia!

If you truly want to make it authentic, make sure you do this in your reversible Beaverton shirt!  With our new Spring shirts on the way, we’re down to our last few of these babies so if you’ve wanted one, now is the time to get one before we sell out of your size!

Label: Blog by Josh S on 01/28/2010 | Comment (edit this)

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Interview with Nathan Hurst of Cincinnati Fashion Week

Yesterday, during the Cincinnati Fashion Week Sunday volunteer meeting, I was able to sit down with the founder and director of Cincinnati Fashion Week, Nathan Hurst.  We found a few minutes to talk about fashion in Cincinnati.

If you’re not aware yet, it is going to be Cincinnati’s very first fashion event of it’s kind.  To join the Facebook group, click here: http://www.facebook.com/CinciFashionWeek.  In our short 10-minute chat, here’s what we were able to fit in:

• How and why he went from being a nurse to fashion designer
  
• What people are saying about the event
  
• How to become involved
  
• Plans for this year’s fashion week and his vision for the future
  

Here's the link to our interview: http://www.joshstevensnyc.com/Nathan_Hurst_Interview.mp3

Tickets are slated to go on sale February 1st on www.cincinnatifashionweek.com.

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BREAKING NEWS!!!! Cincinnati Fashion Week is proud to announce a partnership with one of Cincinnati's leading not-for-profits, "Keep Cincinnati Beautiful." Cincinnati Fashion Week will now run from April 19th through the 24th, ending with a celebration as participants of the "Great American Clean-Up."

MEETINGS: Our next meeting will be on Sunday, January 31st at 7p.m at the Panera Bread in Clifton.

Interview with Amy Scalia of Cincy Chic

Yesterday, I met with the 27-year-old pint-sized powerhouse, Amy Scalia, editor-in-chief of Cincy Chic.

For the past three years, she’s been the founder and owner of Cincy Chic, an online-only publication geared towards the professional woman aged mid-20s to late-50s that deals with all things beauty, fashion and style-related in the Cincinnati, OH area.  If you’re not in the know, it’s a SUPER resource to those interested in projecting the best image as a woman that you can.  Check them out now at www.cincychic.com.

I had a fantastic time chatting and learning from the wealth of knowledge she provided.  Here’s some of the things we talked about:

• How she launched her online media business to 20,000+ unique visitors per month
  
• Why being highly skilled in your field is NOT enough to run a successful company
  
• Her take on what style is…
  
• Why some trends are successful and others fall flat
  
• Being stylish on a budget
  
• Fashion resources you might not know about
  
• How to stand out from the herd to get media coverage
  
• What it’s REALLY like to be a business owner…
  
• Advice about when is the best time to start your company 

So grab a cup of coffee and start your day with THIS instead of the news!  Here's a link to our 23-minute interview:

http://www.joshstevensnyc.com/Amy_Scalia_Interview.mp3

Below are the resources we mentioned: 

• http://www.e-myth.com/
  
• http://whatiwore2day.blogspot.com/
  
• http://www.cincinnatiboutiquesale.com/
  
• http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/
  
• http://www.forever21.com
• http://www.gannett.com/ 

So what did YOU think of this interview?

Cincy Fashion Week - Coming Soon

I’m super excited about how the planning for Cincinnati Fashion Week is coming along.  I’ve been at three planning meetings thus far.  The website (www.CincinnatiFashionWeek.com) is looking a MILLION times better, we’re getting the graphics and promo material together (thanks to Steven Broadway for providing the inspiration for some of the graphics), they just hit over 2,000 fans on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/CinciFashionWeek) today and everyone that hears about it has the same reaction: “Wow, that’s so cool!  It’s about time!”

The director and founder, Nathan Hurst (Nathan.Hurst@CincinnatiFashionWeek.com) is a really dedicated, competent person, and he is surrounded by a lot of intelligent, creative people on his team as well.  I have no doubt it is going to be a success!

Now for the important part… finding the right mix of designers and shop owners to showcase.  Of course, the focus is to feature local talent, but out of town companies are welcome as well.  Those interested should contact Amy Kirchen at Amy.Kirchen@CincinnatiFashionWeek.com

For the tall, thin, female, fashionistas and guys that make women swoon, we could use your help by modeling.  Those interested should email Derek Bauman at Derek.Bauman@CincinnatiFashionWeek.com

If you simply would like to help out in ANY way possible, email Teren Posey at Teren.Posey@CincinnatiFashionWeek.com

Here’s the week’s schedule of events:

• Monday April 19th: Fixed-On-Fashion: It's a party! Participating local retailers are throwing on-site promotional events! Participation may be in the form of parties, sale events, special discounts, or promotional advertisement. All participating retailers will be added to a comprehensive online list which will be sent out to all Cincinnati Fashion Week subscribers and Facebook fans. . 

• Wednesday April 21st: Exclusive Designer Meet & Greet Fashion Pre-Party

• Thursday April 22nd: Men & Women’s Fashion Party. The party will feature short runway segments showcasing the work of up & coming designers and local retailers as their unique designs stomp the catwalk. There will be swag bags, raffles, give-aways, special guests and more. The party will also showcase the work of top cosmetic designers from the Tri-State's two most premium salons, PUMP Salon, and Mitchell's Salon & Day Spa, as they present their hottest avant-garde hair designs.

• Friday April 23rd: Cincinnati Fashion Week will conclude with a major fashion finale at a high end venue in Cincinnati. The show will feature 10-15 of the hottest designers from across the country. Meanwhile, Cincinnati Fashion Week will also host a vendor and marketing fair at the same location; designers, local boutiques, and all sponsors are invited to take part in this vending and promotional opportunity. After the fashion show there will be an exclusive after-party at a Cincinnati nightlife hotspot.  

Tickets and week-long passes go on sale February 1st.

Who else can’t wait?!

My Promiscuous Jeans

My jeans sure do get around...  They were worn by Paul Bucalo in a recent photoshoot and got published as featured work in an interview with Steve Maisch in the new online publication of GlamModelz Magazine.  Oh, and he got the COVER!  I told you he was talented ;)

The "About Us" section describes the magazine:

"GlamModelz is a pictorial exposé geared towards working professionals in today's glamour industry.  We are internationally cultured, inspired and dedicated to showcasing the cutting edge works of today's market, while also providing useful information for those wishing to make their big break into the modeling industry.  GlamModelz magazine offers an unbiased perspective into Glamour, Beauty and Art Photography - Modeling.  We feature the work of some of the most creative, well-noted photographers and artists in the world today."

It's certainly NOT a feature on me or my own stuff, but it's still pretty wicked to have my jeans published in a media outlet of some kind!  For those interested, talk to me about getting a pair of your very own custom-made jeans :)

Serket Jewelry Vampire Wedding Photoshoot

On Saturday, I got the opportunity to be part of a jewelry photoshoot for Serket Jewelry.  Steve Maisch was the photographer and he nailed it.  It was a lot of fun and all the pictures are processed now.  I even got to use some of my sewing skills to refit a corset!

The previous owner was a bride who didn’t want to mess with unbuttoning all the buttons after the ceremony so she had it cut off her haha!  So, on top of refinishing the back seams, I needed to cut holes for the ribbon to make it a laced-up corset instead of buttoned up so it fit Rachel.  I wish I had a picture of the back :(

Getting everyone ready definitely took some work.

The girls were awesome to work with and it was a blast.

The last sequence of shots outside were FREEZING.  I think it might have been in the single digits.  I was working with a couple tough cookies.

It was worth it though as the pictures turned out fantastically!  Seriously, these girls look breathtakingly gorgeous and work the jewelry GREAT.  Here are some of my favorites:

"...dirty rat motherf*cker" -Gawker.com

So I’m pretty excited…  my friend Mariel just told me that she saw me on gawker.com.  I’m like “Uhhh… what?  Why?”  Well I went to read it and found out I was called a “dirty rat motherfucker” hahahaha.  I was happily surprised to find out that it was linked to a NY Post article.

Tom Namako, the reporter I first contacted, got the green light last week to run the story about the NYPD handing out the goofiest tickets ever of “taking up more than one seat on the subway” at 2:30 am.  Forget about the fact that MTA rules warn not to: “occupy more than one seat or place bags on an empty seat when doing so would interfere with transit operations or the comfort of other customers.” 

At the time, I was furious about this.  I went to a local copy shop, Impressions Printing & Graphics, and, after my second try, got the owner, Shabir Jafer, to donate 300 free copies of my story.  I had some of my friends post them up around The Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn, while I handed out copies in front of Times Square the day before I flew out for Cincinnati for Thanksgiving. 

There was some journalistic issue about publishing it earlier because I only had one of the two tickets (I lost the first).  However, a few weeks after I got them, I saw officers pull off two people from the train at 2:30 am on a weekday and take one guy away in cuffs and ticket the other for the same “infraction.”  I went and talked to him and learned he was a 58-year old waiter who just got off working a long shift.  Nice.  There are bigger fish to fry.

So I called Tom at 3 am and left him a voicemail at his office telling him that the nonsense was still going on, and, as someone in the media, he could be a huge help by drawing attention to this situation.  And he came through!

Anyway, the police have yet to turn in EITHER of my tickets to the Transit Adjudication Bureau (which they found odd) and for the ticket I WAS able to dispute, the judge dismissed it immediately and apologized for the ordeal.

While I'd rather get press coverage for... umm... my talent... there were dozens of hilarious comments about this MTA rubbish.  The Gawker article is hiiiilarious.  Here's where I found the story mentioned online:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/space_hogs_lapped_on_empty_subways_m7iRAd9b4E9alYPuGvy5OO#ixzz0arfHHBT7 

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Attention-Straphangers-Dont-Be-a-Seat-Hog-80132472.html

http://gawker.com/5434771/reason-4671-to-cherish-the-mta-stretching-when-appropriate-now-outlawed 

http://gothamist.com/2009/12/27/no_feet_on_seats_rule_remains_in_ef.php 

My absolute favorite comment was this:

"The guy is an FIT student from Ohio, which means he has been here, at most, three years, and he hasn't learned basic NYC behavior yet? The number of yokels putting their feet on the subway in the past few years has really increased. Maybe they think this is how NYers behave.  If ticketing is what it takes to teach these newbies a lesson in manners, letting him spend a night in jail might even work better."

Fun Stuff...

New Year’s Eve was last night and I had a kick-ass time in Cincinnati!  It was pretty cool to see the ball drop in Time's Square and be able to imagine all the stuff around it at Broadway and 45th.

Earlier in the day, I found a pair of cowboy boots at a thrift shop.  These were Tony Lama iguana skin boots that were in almost new condition.  Here’s a similar pair brand new.  They were size 8, which was way too snug for me.  Luckily, I was already shopping with my girlfriend and they were a perfect fit for her.  I scored them for $25!  I was so excited about them, I went and bought some cordovan shoe polish to give them a little different of a finish, polished the hecky-heck out of them and threw in some gel insoles.  My goal is to make them her favorite pair of shoes.

Reflecting on this, that’s my ULTIMATE goal for any piece of apparel I make for someone. 

The reason we were there in the first place was to shop for a few complimentary pieces for the Serket Jewelry photoshoot on Saturday.  The theme is Vampire Wedding.  There are going to be two other female models and Steve Maisch is going to be the photographer.  Extremely talented dude.

Stay tuned for the shots...

I’m looking forward to a healthy, fun and productive 2010!  I’m also looking forward to the pepperoni pizza and Coke I’m about to devour (I guess "healthy" might have to wait until tomorrow)!