Bendel's ... a Pea's lesson in waiting

NEW YORK CITY / 2:30 am, Thursday, March 25, 2010. This was the exact time I stepped out of my cab and onto the cold, rainy sidewalk beneath Henri Bendel's famous window on 5th Avenue. I was there to attend the twice-annual "Open-See" event, where designers from around the world can show their wares to the buyers of Bendel's in hopes of being discovered. I was following in very famous footsteps (Todd Oldham, Anna Sui, James Purcell, Pamela Dennis, etc ...) and that knowledge coupled with my determination were what kept me going for the next 6.5 hours I waited in line. Did I mention it was 35 degrees and rainy??

My only company for the first hour in line, aside from the brightly lit accessories tucked warmly inside, were two lovely friends from California (Carine, a jewelry designer and Chris a law student attending Columbia). My spot in line is the empty spot under the sign ... yup 3rd in LINE!!! I had heard and read so much about how people sleep out, but I can only assume that the weather kept many people warm in their beds (lucky bastards).

We were soon joined by designers of  The Valley Bag, who came all the way from Tennessee, Hirotaka Inoue, a jewelry designer, and his friend from Tokyo, and a bag designer from Brazil. Suddenly, we were all sharing experiences, smiling and making our way through the darkness and cold together. Amidst all of the chatter, we realized we were standing in the wrong spot and quickly relocated to THE DOOR ... note the picture below:

Again, lucky for us the weather kept most people away until later, I went from being 3rd in line, to being 8th ...still in the top 10. In this neck of the journey, I met Ronen (owner and designer of FancySexyMe.com), a very talented jewelry designer from Brooklyn, and a host of jewelry designers, handbags, cosmetics, hair accessories and gift items. You name it, they were there in droves and from every part of the world. By the time the doors swung open, it was 9am and the line was wrapped easily around 4 city blocks. I had been joined by my friend Libby, and the first 25 were quickly ushered into the warmth to take their swing at the buyers.

Down, Down, Down we went ... into the bowels of Bendel's. It was then I realized how cold I was, when trying to sign my name to the list. I had no function in my hand/fingers, and had to take a minute to warm up. The whole moment went by so quickly, it's a well-oiled machine of a production down there. We set our things down, took off our coats and before I knew I it were presenting in front of our buyer. Although the buyer praised us for the quality and look, it was deemed to be, "Too Fine" for the pieces they currently sell. Most of the pieces in their store are BIG, BOLD & BAUBLE-Y ... very different from what we were offering.

I took it all in stride. I was confident in my presentation, my appearance and our display ... the rest was out of my hands. I figured I still deserved a pat on the back for doing something extraordinary. I would and WILL do it all again, even if only for the experience I had in line. I have never met a more determined, fun, creative and inspiring group of people, as I did that morning. It was a privilege to be with them all through the journey and I look forward to seeing their products in stores in the near future. The next "Open-See" is in October, and I can assure you that I will be there ... this time with my Custom Line of jewelry.