Collage- A Community Art Gallery In Warwick, NY

I bought this ring at Collage, a newish (opened last October) gallery in Warwick, NY. Warwick is a cute little town in Southern NY where you can find beautiful Victorian houses, a decent farmers' market, antique shops and art galleries. Oh, and also Jean-Claude's Patisserie, which is as French as it comes (25 Elm Street, behind the Burger King, ironically). The patisserie alone is worth the trip, but now that I also found Collage, it becomes a regular stop for me.

The gallery was opened by a local businesswoman, a real estate agent, who decided to make her office into something more. Collage is a non-profit place that represents local artists from the Tri-State area (and also Pennsylvania, if I'm not mistaken). The mission statement says "The Gallery strives to present dynamic exhibits that engage, confound, delight and entice viewers". The collection includes jewelery, paintings, photographs, ceramics and more. Quite a few items caught my eye and I love the unceremonious and laid back atmosphere of the place that doesn't take away from the beauty of the items on display.

Collage Gallery doesn't have a website at this point but can be reached by phone (845-986-9000) or email (collage@warwick.net).  The address is 24 Railroad Avenue, Warwick, NY. Obviously I'm not affiliated with the place in any form other as a customer.

All photos, hand and kitten are mine. Here's another one of Josephine who assisted me as I was taking pictures of the ring.

Tweets From The Mall

There was no avoiding this today. We had to run some errands and go to the mall. Cat food, hardware and Nordstrom -could be worse. I hate Macy's with a passion (at least the one we have here), but we were already there to return something so I stopped by the Benefit counter and asked the sweet young girl to show me the new blush, Bella Bamba. She gave me the box and an extremely dirty brush (eww, cooties!). It's nice, very rosy, a lot more shimmery than their other boxed blushes, and looks a little cheap, if you ask me. I sort of liked the color on me, but what can I say? I like Edward Bess a lot better.

Nordstrom was somewhat of a zoo. I stopped by the Armani counter but there was nothing new. The SA complained they were nearly out of eye shadows. She had no idea when anything new is going to arrive. Dior already has the new spring collection. It's... springy, I guess, though the number of variations on gray and silver is a nice touch. But I'm the Grinch when it comes to spring colors and couldn't find anything there I really wanted. Still, the quints are gorgeous and worth your time, if not your cash. Personal opinion? It's better and actually prettier than Chanel Spring.

Then it was Burberry time. Doreen, the counter manager, gave me an incredible makeover and even managed to create a foundation match for me- mixing the liquid in No. 5 with the Compact in No. 7. Who would have thought? The result was perfect and I actually like the finish. There are also more eye shadow and lip color reviews in my (and your) future. They still don't know when the makeup brushes will be in. I can't wait- there's a huge face brush that's as soft and fluffy as can be. I need it.

The evening ended at Barnes & Noble. I got the new biography of Isabella Blow written by her husband. I'll let you know how it goes.

Harney & Sons Opening A NYC Tea Store

It's interesting but hardly surprising that many perfume lovers are also interested in high-quality tea. Let's see: bergamot, jasmine, lavender, osmanthus, smoky notes... we can drink as well as wear them, not to mention my favorite vanilla-flavored black tea.

One of my favorite fall trips is driving up north to Millerton, NY (rt. 22, right on the New York-Connecticut border) and visit Harney & Sons Tasting Room. I usually order their teas online, but it's still a fun ritual and the adjacent store has all kinds of tea paraphernalia, including home fragrances.

The nice people of Harney & Sons are about to open a tea store and tasting bar in NYC. The address is 433 Broome St. (SoHo) and the opening is mid-November according to this WSJ article.

Photo: harney.com

Jasper Gallery & Gifts- Vintage Shopping In New Jersey

I found this cute vintage cuff bracelet at Jasper Gallery & Gifts in Midland Park, New Jersey. It's a new store, barely opened, actually, their official opening is this coming Saturday (they're having a little reception that afternoon). They took a restored little stone cottage (not many of those in our area) and turned it into an art gallery (one of the owners is an artist) and a carefully-edited vintage shop. It hosts all kinds of interesting one-of-a-kind items- pottery, fashion accessories, jewelry. No perfume, sadly, but I'm simply happy to see more unique places opening. The last couple of years have been absolutely terrible to independent businesses and too many antique and vintage stores in the Tri-State area closed down. Let's hope for more new stores like this and less mass-produced mall crap.

Jasper Gallery & Gifts, 26 Goffle Road, Midland Park, New Jersey. Hours: 11AM to 6PM Tuesday- Saturday.

All photos are mine.