November was a month filled with store presence. I did two personal appearances- one at
Bergdorf Goodman followed by Saks Fifth Avenue in New York. Usha Kris was on hand to photograph the events. It was wonderful to hear comments about the line. A lot of signing of special pieces that customers bought at both the stores. Neiman Marcus on Union Square in San Francisco looked spectacular with its radiant colors in their trees where I had done the skirts and ornaments.
December 2nd saw the opening of the annual “Sudha’s Treasures” a store space donated by the Town Center in Corte Madera. Thestore was a benefit for The Redwoods, a community of seniors. We raised more money over one weekend than we had done over 2 last year! A record contribution!
Jill Greenman, Chair of The Redwoods, formally received a $30,000 check from The House of Pennathur as a donation from the proceeds of the fund raiser on October 5th featuring Sudha’s unique collection of jewelry at Elisabeth Theriot’s estate. Sudha & Ed personally made a matching contribution that made up this figure. It was a rewarding moment for Ed Messerly, Craig Potter and Sudha who had put in innumerable hours getting ready for the sale. Many of the unique designs created for this event sold right away and the big pieces will be shown at Bergdorf Goodman on the 18th and 19th of November at a special appearance by Sudha in New York on the Seventh Floor.
I will be doing a Personal Appearance at Bergdorf Goodman on the 18th and 19th of November in New York to unveil my Maharaja Diamond Jewelry collection along with the Christmas collection of textiles and ornaments. If your travels bring you to New York, I would love to see you there.
I am back from New York on a real high after doing two of the most successful personal appearances in years! One at Bergdorf Goodman and the other at Saks Fifth Avenue. Mothers with kids came in to pick their annual ornament and most of them bought the wild animals – giraffes, lions, elephants. International visitors gravitated towards the New York city landmark ornaments, which were exquisitely embroidered and beaded. The “Sudha” collectors, who come year after year and buy the latest skirt or stocking, came back in force this year.
My Holiday collection is up online at NeimanMarcus.com. I have been doing a Christmas collection at Neiman’s for some 20 years, and every year feels like something new and exciting.
NeimanMarcus.com and The Horchow Collection offer a small online glimpse of the greater collection that is available in stores, more than 40 different items are for sale at the individual stores so be sure to head down to your local Neiman Marcus and check it out! (And don’t forget to drop by Bergdorf Goodman when you’re in Manhattan!)
I am gearing up for our 7th Annual Sudha Sale to benefit Bread & Roses, but this year the sale will also be for the benefit of The Redwoods. Please see the media release below:
Sudha Sale to Benefit Bread & Roses and The Redwoods, Sudha Pennathur, a celebrated international designer, brings us the Seventh Annual Sale to benefit Bread & Roses and The Redwoods. The store located at The Corte Madera Town Center will open for 2 weekends – November 7, & 8th and November 14th and 15th.
Sudha a long time friend of Bread & Roses is known for her original designs under the name of House of Pennathur, which she founded 24 years ago after a successful career at Levi Strauss & Co and other corporations.
Born in India she shocked the business community by trading in her six-figure salary to follow a dream to design and produce jewelry and scarves by reviving the arts of India.
Sudha has helped revive crafts, some of which were nearing extinction. Working with award winning artisans and hundreds of craftspeople in India, she uses materials available from nature and fabricates intricate jewelry, hand embroidered jeweled ornaments, or uniquely woven scarves, each a work of art and a keepsake that combines form and function.
Eco sensitive, her fabrics are often vegetable dyed, hand printed, and made with antique recycled materials to give it that unique flair. Her unique interpretation reflecting her distinct and rich cultural heritage enables her to adapt these pieces to the contemporary American woman.
She has employed thousands of artisans to produce her collections for prestigious stores, such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, and museum stores such as The Smithsonian, The Art Institute of Chicago The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Her creations can also be found in catalogs and online sites for National Geographic and Sundance and. Her collections give her a distinctive presence as she sells more than 1200 styles of jewelry, textiles, accessories and ornaments in some of America’s most famous retail institutions among others.
A rebel with a cause, Pennathur is committed to running a sustainable business, both with the use of artisans to revive crafts in her native India and in the community she lives. Sudha stepped forward seven years ago to help raise funds for Bread & Roses by opening a store for one weekend a year. This year another Marin nonprofit, The Redwoods, will also benefit from the sale. A labor of love, 100% of the proceeds are distributed to the non profits and the artisans who produced them.
The Corte Madera location will provide Marinites and friends from San Francisco & elsewhere around the Bay a chance to purchase these unique gifts, as seen in major museum shops and specialty stores around the country at prices at wholesale prices or below. You will be delighted in her treasures from exotic India.
The Benefit Sale has something for every budget starting from a $1 gift item to for a one of kind $800 necklace. Each piece, regardless of the cost, is a work of art…perfectly wrought……crafted by hand, to delight a connoisseur’s heart.
Sudha Pennathur, Bread & Roses, and The Redwoods are examples of how concerned private sector individuals are taking positive action to offset the ravages of a down economy.
November was a month filled with store presence. I did two personal appearances- one at
A lot of signing of special pieces that customers bought at both the stores. Neiman Marcus on Union Square in San Francisco looked spectacular with its radiant colors in their trees where I had done the skirts and ornaments.
