I will be introducing the Linen Dress Collection for Spring/Summer 2016. I have done a lot of research on this fabric and am comfortable introducing this line for late afternoon/evening summer wear. I have always loved the look of linen in the summer.

The new Sun Threadz dress design will be created in Linen, coming soon!

New summer dress for the beach, for the destination wedding, as a bridesmaid dress, any anytime dress design suitable for dinner overlooking the ocean. This dress can be casual or dressy, you be the stylist for the easy, flowing new Sun Threadz dress. Can be topped with the jacket for ultimate sun protection, if not wearing the jacket be sure to use sunscreen on your shoulders and arms.

Don’t forget your full body check up, could save a life!

Do all the summer things you love! xo

It has been a long time coming, the Sun Protection Dress. I have been working on this design for two years, yes that long. First it was a vision, then it was capturing the vision, then taking the captured vision to paper. From design on paper on to the prototype, which by the way was a very good mock up, I used for display at the Abramson Cancer Center Conference for Melanoma last May and it received rave reviews. Once the sample dress went from pattern to fabric I then needed the perfect model to showcase the dress. Maura is my beautifully talented model for the Sun Protection Dress, working in the fashion world in Manhattan. Maura has been touched by skin cancer; her mother, cousin, aunts, and uncle and she knows what is required to be sun safe.

I am currently working on a new design for a wear anytime tee shirt, designing for optimal sun protection.

Another project is in my metalsmithing world; I am working, learning, and having fun navigating the wonderful world of wire. I will share some completed pieces on my Sun Threadz website since the pieces are all sea related. While on vacation this past summer in Turks & Caicos, my daughter and I went snorkeling in a protected reef area and we were truly “swimming with the fishes.” We watched lobster emerge from their little caves, climb down the side and go back inside. The colors of the fish were amazing and it has brought on another project – learn the types of fish there are in the waters of Turks & Caicos.

And speaking of the islands, if you are planning a Destination Wedding, this dress is a great bridesmaid dress.

Back to the drawing board!

February, it is the shortest month but takes forever to get through. Some ideas on getting you through to the spring and summer. To brighten your face highlight your hair around your face, use a bronzer and a peach shimmer blush. I love a coral lipstick at this time of year. Also, put some self tanning lotion in your face cream to give a hint of color in the winter. All of these will look beautiful against the endless snow in the Northeast.

Some music to add to your summer dreaming; top 30 summer songs from billboard and to name a few to put you in the mood; Surfer Girl, Beach Boys – Summertime Blues, Eddie Cochran – Summertime, Billy Stewart – California Girls, Beach Boys – Under the Boardwalk, The Drifters – Summer of ’69, Bryan Adams (a favorite of mine) – In the Summertime, Mungo Jerry –  Surfin USA, Beach Boys – Summer in the City, Lovin Spoonful – California Gurls, Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg and I have added to the list another favorite of mine; Girls in their Summer Clothes – Bruce Springsteen. So crank up the music, bring in some beach chairs, have a pina colada and sit back and savor the joy of living.

The weather has been magnificent, temperatures in the high 70’s and some days, like yesterday, in the high 80’s. If you are like me you are still enjoying these last days of “summer.”  On the weekends, I eat breakfast poolside, umbrellas in the up position. In fact, headed to the beach today, I can never turn up an opportunity to sit by the ocean, with my feet in the sand, listening to the gentle roll of the waves. This is Paradise. I will bring books, and a sketch pad to capture a design, never leave home without a sketch pad or at the very least paper and pencil.

Last weekend I was an exhibitor at the juried Nassau Museum Art Show on Long Island, Roslyn, NY. The weather was much like it is right now, magnificent. I was exhibiting my metal work, I met some wonderful artists and buyers. The New York crowd is wonderfully embracing, they have a true appreciation of the arts and I love meeting them and selling my work to them. October 18 – 20 I will be exhibiting at the Academy Art Museum South Street Easton, MD, 65 juried artists. I will be a first time exhibitor at this show, expecting exciting things from a show that has taken the manual labor out of set up by supplying pipe and drape, tables and chairs and has a porter at your disposal. If you are in the area, please stop by and support the Academy Art Museum and the very talented artists exhibiting. I have included a one-of-a-kind piece, Portrait of Love, sterling silver, baroque pearl, boar’s hair, bronze stand. The piece is wearable and when not worn is a sculpture.

Being immersed in all this creativity and surrounded by such talented artists has pushed me to create a new technique for color on my clothing designs. I have been experimenting with paint on my sun protection fabric to add artistic dimension to the designs and I have come up with a process that I am excited about. Look for these new designs for the 2014 Art Collection to be titled; Beach Shack Designs.

As always be sun safe and plan your full body check this fall, this is a great time to plan this after spending a summer in the sun. Take your family, tell a friend…could save a life!

I thought I would gather what are considered “the best” summer songs, timing is perfect as it is pretty much the middle of the summer so here goes;

Summer of 69 – Bryan Adams – “those were the best days of my life”

Kokomo – Beach Boys – easy to imagine yourself laying on a beach anywhere in the world without a care in the world, some beaches I recommend; Perry Beach Cape May, NJ, The Point Beaches, Cape May Point, NJ, Higbees Beach, Cape May, NJ and Grace Bay Beach Providenciales Turks & Caicos

Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffett – “blew out my flip flop” who hasn’t done that..ahh the flavor of summer

Girls in their Summer Clothes – Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – My all time favorite group. This song was featured at the Fashion Show I put on at the Melanoma Conference for Penn Medicine May 2010

In the Summertime – Mungo Jerry “when the weather is fine”

Summer in the City – The Lovin Spoonful “hot time, summer in the city”

Heat Wave – Martha & the Vandellas …you have to dance in the summer

Surfer Girl – Beach Boys ..to all the Surfer Girls out there, this one’s for you

Surfin USA – Beach Boys …to all the Surfers out there, this one’s for you

The list was compiled with the help of Billboard and my own love of many of these memorable summer songs..

Do the summer things you love and enjoy the Summer of 13!

My ideal vacation; sun, sea, surf, and sailboat. You can still do all the summer things you love if you wear your sun protection clothing and use sunscreen on any exposed areas. I am able to swim for hours and sail for an hour and feel fully protected in Sun Threadz bathing suit, and swim jacket. “As for sunscreen; ingredients that indicate a product has adequate UVA protection include avobenzone, octocrylene, and zinc oxide. SPF measures protection against the wavelength of sunlight known as UVB which is the major wavelength that causes sunburn. Therefore, a product with a higher SPF value offers higher UVB protection.The SPF value does not measure the degree of protection against UVA the other portion of the UV spectrum. Both UVA & UVB rays can cause skin cancer.  When choosing a sunscreen product, you should look for the designation of broad spectrum, an SPF of 30 or higher for daily use. If you will be participating in sports or other outdoor activities, you should look for an SPF of 50 or higher along with a designation of water resistance.

To attain the level of protection stated on the packaging, an adequate amount of sunscreen must be used. For an average adult, the ideal amount is 2 milligrams of sunscreen per square centimeter of skin. This translates to about three tablespoons (1.4 ounces) to cover the back, torso, face, legs, and arms.

Sunscreen should be applied 30 minutes before going outside and reapplied every two hours if you are staying outdoors. It’s also important to choose a product that you enjoy using, both in its texture and its smell.” (Dr. Wang-Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center)

Sun Threadz is rated 50+ UPF protection which equals 97.5-99+ sun protection – A relatively new rating designation for sun protective textiles and clothing is UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor). Unlike SPF (Sun Protection Factor) that traditionally uses human sunburn testing in a laboratory environment, UPF measures both UV radiation transmittance using a laboratory instrument (spectroradiometer) and an artificial light source and translates these results using a mathematical expression based upon the sunburn action spectrum (erythema action spectrum) integrated over the relevant UV spectrum. Sun Threadz fabric is regulated by a federal agency: ARPANSA.

UPF Ratings and Protection Categories

Image from my Turks & Caicos Summer Vacation!

Enjoy your summer!!