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DESIGN AND INNOVATE ISSUE

footwear, marketing and design at Tommy Hilfiger which afforded her the opportunity to gain invaluable experience in a large fashion house. Tommy Girl Shoes was just one of her successful additions to the brand. Finally, the moment was right. Davis left Hilfiger and worked feverishly to complete her first shoe collection. “I didn’t spend a lot of time talking about what I was going to do. I just built the shoes. The line included this really cool graphite heel and a titanium wedge, just like Mac’s PowerBook G4. Then I did a launch at an art gallery in West Chelsea where we hung all the shoes like art. I didn’t even know who I was going to sell to at that point, I just wanted to see something tangible,” recalls Ms. Davis. Despite all her time in the shoe industry, Davis had no experience in how to market highend luxury. Packets were sent to people with photos and a cover letter, samples were placed in beautiful little 10

bags and taken on cold calls; and she even loitered in stores, befriending the sales clerks until the manager came in. Her hard work definitely paid off. Editorial attention received from quality fashion magazines, including Elle and Vogue, created a phenomenal buzz. The fact that the celebrity crowd embraced her shoes right from that first collection produced an unparalleled amount of press. From runway to red carpet, her shoes were seen and mentioned everywhere. Ruthie Davis® shoes and handbags are designed with the strong, athletic woman in mind. “My muse is a James Bond girl in a one-piece ski suit, swooshing down the mountain.” A multi-tasker at heart, Davis often designs while out running. Anything she experiences can provide that spark of inspiration. Back in the studio, Ruthie immediately jots down notes and creates sketches. Bright neons, eye-catching metallics and black fill out the palette. Studs embellish many of the designs. In true Davis fashion, she often takes a known element and elevates it to a new level. An example is the spike heel. “I’m the first one to use these taller spikes. As they didn’t exist, I had to create a custom mold in Italy. We also had to design a new technology [to attach them] as they are so long, they could catch and come off easily.” Raine Magazine Vol. 8 - Innovate

After over five years of developing her brand, Davis feels this collection shows she has both matured as a designer and is on the scene to stay. “It is a real collection. It’s got all the bell’s and whistles, sizzle and sexiness, of the Ruthie Davis® brand. It also has a variety of heel heights, some sharper price points and is well merchandised. It’s super cool and on trend, but yet very wearable.” The newest pop for fall is a custom color she christened: Race Car Green. All the hardware is either rose gold or gun metal. A complimentary line of handbags round out the line. Fall ‘11 will also see a capsule collection of sneakers, to be developed into a larger offering in upcoming seasons. The next year promises to be very busy for Davis. She will appear on reality television this summer in Bravo’s Mad Fashion. A Ruthie Davis® jewelry line is currently in development for release in Spring 2012. She also manages to find time apart from a very busy work schedule to mentor women. Her message to them, “You can be whatever you want to be – smart, successful, feminine youthful, sexy – and you don’t have to compromise yourself in any way. You can go after your dreams, but you have to work hard.” For more information go to www.ruthiedavis.com. Raine Magazine Vol. 8 - Innovate

WHERE TO EAT.STAY.CHILL

CHILL AT THE POL AR LOUNGE New York City WRITTEN BY JAEME GRIFFIN

Raine Magazine Vol. 8 - Innovate

Nothing says good time to me more than a room of guys/gals dancing. And there were a lot of them at Polar Lounge on Saturday night. I have never been more impressed to see men and women so uninhibited in a public situation and it was grand. Maybe it was the high girl to guy ratio, the generally friendly atmosphere, the pitchers of drinks that were constantly being filled, or simply that the DJ was really good, but whatever it was, it helped contribute to what I would say was a smashing good dance party. From the very beginning, the staff was helpful and polite, which is never a guarantee at a club and the line moved smoothly and quickly. For such a small space, I was impressed with how separate areas were delineated, probably helped along by the “caves” within the lounge The cocktail waitresses were fantastic, constantly moving through the crowd, abandoned glasses were promptly removed from the tables and spilled drinks were cleaned up almost immediately. There were only two bartenders, which made sense for the size of the actual bar, but with the number of people in the space, it meant you waited a good long time for your drinks, and there was nothing really that could have been done, except adding another person behind the bar. The drinks themselves were a little intense, most of them having a predominant flavor that overpowered the rest of the drink, but the Artic Tea would probably have been my favorite with a little less mint. The biggest hit of the night was definitely the Operation Highjump, an original cocktail that is reminiscent of a vodka martini mellowed out with white grape juice. It was icy cold, refreshing and tasted like excellent vodka without the face you make when you drink a straight vodka martini. I’m pretty sure though, that they add more novelty than flavor. If you’re down to spend some money, you can also try the Polar Shots, which were delicious, but a little steep at 12 dollars if you’re buying a round for your friends. The décor is simple and unobtrusive, and really, no one is there to check out upholstery. It was clean (especially for a unisex bathroom) and the banquettes were comfortable. I’d say if what you’re looking for is a place to get your groove on, grab some of your friends, some dancing shoes, and check it out. Raine Magazine Vol. 8 - Innovate

THE NEXT LEVEL

blogging and marketing Over the years I have attended a multitude of seminars on, “Marketing for Entrepreneurs”. The one thing I hear speakers saying over and over again is to start a blog. With that one word, “blog,” a sea of pens get to work and eager entrepreneurs take notes on the importance of blogging for the promotion of their businesses. Most believe that if they start a blog they will gain new customers and increase their profits. But the truth is, starting a blog alone won’t make your business an overnight sensation. Blogging has changed the landscape of marketing. Not as an easy way to garner foot traffic – anyone who has tried to keep a blog up knows that it is not easy – but as a conversation tool with your clients and followers. As the Internet becomes more interactive, businesses must also become more interactive. Blogs allow your business to publicize your expertise and then discuss it with your clients and fans. If you follow a few simple tips, your blog can help drive traffic to your site…and keep them coming back.

POST ON A CONSISTENT SCHEDULE: This doesn’t mean you have to post every day, or even multiple times a week, but having a regular schedule tells readers when to come back for new content. If a reader comes to your blog and sees old content they become disinterested, move on and don’t come back. MAKE YOUR BLOG A CONVERSATION – NOT A MONOLOGUE: Make sure to answer people who comment on your blog – let them know you care about their responses. Urge readers to talk back and forth about the blog topic. Answer their questions and ask questions to spur conversation. Having an open conversation with your readers can help you make necessary changes to your customer service, inventory and marketing plan. MAKE YOUR BLOG INTERESTING, RELEVANT AND SEARCH FRIENDLY: An obvious statement, but not as easy as it sounds. Feel free to draw in pop culture and top search topics that are relevant to your website. I once knew a woman who owned a vintage clothing shop. She frequently blogged about celebrities sighted wearing vintage pieces and then link back to similar pieces and designers sold in her boutique. The genius of her blog was that she kept her topics relevant to her readers and drew in new readers by tagging her blogs with the celebrity names. When a person searched for their favorite celebrity they would stumble across her blog and be tempted to purchase from her online store. BE A GUEST BLOGGER ON OTHER SITES: By asking a relevant blog to be a guest blogger on your site and by you guest blogging on their site, you are able to maximize 44

on their readers. It’s a win-win situation because you both gain readers. And if you are able to guest blog on several sites, your name and business gain searchability, as well as credibility. SYNDICATE YOUR BLOG: This would mean adding your blog’s feed to the other sites that compile content. For instance, Alltop is a site that compiles blogs into categories, making it easy for the reader who wants to find new blogs to read about a certain topic.You can also submit your blog-to-blog directories such as; My Blog Log, Fuel My Blog or Blogs on Blogged. DO A SERIES; EVEN BETTER… A VIDEO SERIES! Give them a teaser and a cliffhanger and they will come back for more. Why do we tune in every Sunday to Desperate Housewives or Grey’s Anatomy? Because it’s an on-going story. Dole out your blogging knowledge over several entries. It will give your reader a compelling reason to come back. And if you are really ambitious, make it a video blog series. Video is becoming a must in disseminating information. It will allow your readers to put a face and personality with the information. USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO CONNECT WITH YOUR READERS: Everyone has their own preferred method of following their favorite web brands. Using Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets, gives your readers an alert that you’ve posted new content. About Noelle Frieson: Noelle is the principal partner of Prosperiti Partners Inc., a marketing firm specializing in small business marketing and recruitment. You may reach her directly by emailing noelle@prosperiti.net.

Raine Magazine Vol. 8 - Innovate

Tablets vs Laptops July 28th 2010. That was my husband, Mario's birthday; the day I got him an iPad, and the last day I saw him on his laptop. From that day, he checks and sends emails, plays games, creates music, surfs the web, watches movies and navigates the streets of Northern New Jersey; all in the time it takes his laptop to power on.

to Omar Khan, Chief Strategy Officer of Samsung Mobile, “We want each company to hand out 50,000 tablets instead of 50,000 laptops.” Khan continues, “Android is becoming more enterpriseready every day, we’re all working on hardening Android to make sure the security is there, so it can become a true laptop replacement.”

His almost romantic association with his 10 inch black device made me question if our laptops are going the way of desktops and dinosaurs? Can a person live on tablet alone? So with my purchase of iPad’s archenemy, the Motorola Xoom, I decided to take a week vacation from my trusty laptop and go "Survivor style" with nothing more than my new android operated device.

But from my personal experience, it’s not a laptop replacement yet. Heavy productivity apps for design and website development are lacking, storage on most tablets is limited and touch-typing is just plain annoying. So for now, I would keep your laptop at home or the office – as we did with our old desktops – and buy a tablet for vacations, meetings or the occasional doctor’s office visit.

Footloose and Laptop Free Installation was easy. Upon turning on the Xoom, I entered in my Gmail account and within a few seconds, all of the apps I have in my Android phone appeared out of thin air. I was able to get all of my emails, but responding by touch typing was awkward. I missed the ease of my trusty keyboard. All of my important laptop files were handy through the DropBox app for android. DropBox is an online file storage system that links to all of your computers and devices. I opted for the $9.99 a month package for 50GB of storage over the free 2GB of storage, and moved most of my computer files over to my DropBox account. And with that one app, all I had to do was click on the screen, and all my daily files were at my fingertips. By day four my laptop jones had dissipated, and I was happy to only use my new tablet. The Xoom was a lifesaver at a “doctor’s appointment gone bad.” After 15 minutes in a room filled with other patients gathering dust from their wait, I pulled out the Xoom, connected to the office Wifi and spent the next hour finishing articles for the June issue of Raine Magazine as well as answering client emails. The Jury Is Still Out After 5 days of Xoom only access, I was still left with the overwhelming question, “Can I toss my laptop in exchange for my tablet?” The answer is, almost. With mostly every computer company coming out with a new tablet in the next year, we know the market is paving the way for tablet laptop replacements. Someday soon most major companies will be utilizing tablets instead of laptops. According

If you decide to go Laptop free, here are some great apps for an easy transition: DROPBOX : DropBox is an online file storage system that links to all of your computers, tablets and mobile devices. Paid subscription starts at $9.99 per month. For those of you on a budget, there is a free subscription that allows up to 2GB of storage. DOCUMENTSTO-GO: An app that mimics Microsoft Office; you can view and Adobe PDF, Work, Excel and PowerPoint files. In addition, you are able to save it to your device or to a Google Docs account for easy access from anywhere. There is a free limited version; however the full version is $14.99. ROOT EXPLORER: Root Explorer is the ultimate file manager where you area able to access the whole of an Android’s file system. Features include: a SQLite database viewer, text editor, the ability to create and extract zip files, and send files via email. Root Explorer is sold on the Android market for $4.01. LOG ME IN IGNITION: LogMeIn Ignition for Android allows remote access to one or more computers anywhere, anytime. Directly control your Mac or PC, all your programs and your files – like that important presentation for your boss or that application that only exists on your work computer – with a simple click. Log Me In Ignition is sold on the Android market for $29.99.

Raine Magazine Vol. 8 - Innovate

A DOSE OF CULTURE

INNOVATIVE INTERIORS 56

Raine Magazine Vol. 8 - Innovate

Cecelia Cronk Makes her Mark BY TAMARA WALKER

Raine Magazine Vol. 8 - Innovate

FRESH FACE MODEL STEVEN JEAYS Born in Australia Currently living in Vancouver, BC Height: 6”1

Photographer: Yila Dong (yilaimage.com) Makeup Artist: Tommy Chiang Raine Magazine Vol. 8 - Innovate