Friday, August 29, 2008

Dancing with the Stars!... (of Love Shine)

We have a stereo speaker outside of the store and play music of all types - Annie Lennox, Kirk Franklin, Grateful Dead, David Bowie, Kanye West, Led Zeppelin, Mariah Carey, Parliament, Joni Mitchell, etc. People passing by sometimes stop and start dancing. However some people come by the store regularly to have a "dance fever" moment. Like this cute girl...

Her parents bring her by the store... to dance! She is getting very good and displayed some new moves recently. Her mom said she would be starting a children's flamenco dance class soon! Also check out the Love Shine blue mesh pouch her father is holding. The family just added a new addition to their dance crew- a little baby boy. Congratulations!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

A message from Victoria (pictured here with her son Jack)

Monday, August 25, 2008
My friend gave me my Love Shine bag a year ago and I love it.
- Victoria
San Francisco, CA

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Mark & Antonio AKA "Pato"...

Striking a pose in the Love Shine booth at the gift show...
After finishing up at the gift show, the next night we (Mark, Antonio & Richard) toured the East Village and sampled some tequila... shots. We made plans to visit Antonio & Lee in San Miguel - Mexico next year. Time to start saving some pesos....

Monday, August 25, 2008

Back to School...


Love Shine BACKPACKS do a Body Good..

Backpacks also available in this tattoo print...

Saturday, August 23, 2008

The Gift Show Has Ended... Love Shine Has Left the Building

The back wall of the Love Shine booth...
The left side...
The right side...
Our friends (and gift show neighbors): Andrea, Gayle, their wonderful Mom and lovely daughters.
Another dear friend... Antonio AKA "Pato" (on the right) and friend.
Dinner out with the gang! From left to right: Mark, Pato, Lee, Alden and Jessie.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Some More Courier Bags

Tick tock.
Day 3 is over... at the Gift Show.
Only 2 more days to go.
So here are some more featured bags:



Need a little Frida?

So we are about to start Day 3 of the Gift Show at the Javits Center. We are featuring this Frida Kahlo courier bag along with the Frida umbrellas by Sombrila Sisters. We wrote about these before, but here is a photo. Just in case you forgot :-)

Imagine, if you will, walking down the street with Frida on your shoulders and above your head. Everybody needs a little Frida -- but some of us necesita mas!

Friday, August 15, 2008

Remembering Gerard... AKA "Mr. Fashion"

Gerard is in the upper left corner with a leopard print hat, gloves and ear rings. He passed recently and we will miss him. He was supposed to appear in an early Love Shine sidewalk fashion show. He was going to perform/sashay/walk to the song "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" by James Brown. He had to pull out a couple of hours before the show.

He has now moved on to another catwalk... RIP.
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/dailymusto/archives/2008/08/rip_mr_fashion.php

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Monday, August 11, 2008

"The Story of a Bag..." A correspondence so touching that we asked (Felix) if we could share it with you

From: Felix Köhler Subject: the story of a bag bought 8 years ago
To: loveshinenyc@yahoo.com>
Date: Thursday, August 7, 2008, 5:08 PM

Dear Mark, Dear Mike,
I am not writing to you because I just ordered two bags. I guess Im writing because Id like you to know how happy I am that youve got an internet shop and most of all that youre still around and still producing these amazing bags. The (up until now) only bag I bought from you I bought in the year 2000, during my first and only trip to New York. Ive had it for eight years and basically used it every day until it got stolen last weekend in a rotten club here in Berlin where I didnt even enjoy myself properly in the first place. I was completely shocked, couldnt believe it and my friends had to more or less drag me out of that club because in my drunken stubbornness, I insisted on checking every corner three times at least. I dont know how often you hear this, but over the years Ive heard so many great bags, wheredidyougethats and ireallylovethatbagofyoursses that it became something like an integral part of my style as a member of generation courier bag. At quite a few of these opportunities, I told the tale of how I got lost in New York on a scorching hot day and found this shop that produced these bags and strange masks I hadnt seen before, and how I went in and there were these two really nice guys who were actually sitting behind their sewing machines. And as I was lost, I had to buy this bag immediately because I couldnt be sure if Id find the shop again. Even though people asked me quite a number of times, its only now that I realize I never checked if your address was on the label inside the bag - so Im afraid I didnt help you to any significant business… but Ill recommend your web shop now ;-) I still remember the day I bought it, because I really didnt have that much money at the time and the trip alone had cost me a fortune. The bag was more or less the only souvenir I got (except for a hat I got as an unofficial gift from someone who had been working at KrispyKreme Doughnuts in the basement of the WTC, but that is another story). It was probably the most expensive accessory I had bought until then, but I fell in love with it immediately. The motif on the flap (?) was a green-eyed woman whose left arm touched a serpent, but kind of merged with it, as the arm was green where it touched the snake. I was kind of hoping to find the same one again when I started looking for your shop on the internet. But maybe its not too bad Im getting something new now, because maybe its not too good an idea to feel so attached to inanimate objects anyway. But this bag was special to me, and maybe thats why Im writing this lengthy message, maybe this is something like a funeral oration ;-) Just to provide you with some info on the durability of your products: the material survived really well, even though I had to take the bag to a tailors a couple of times to have the shoulder strap fixed to the bag again. And now I remember I had its interior lined with new cloth after it got its first hole last summer. Seven years til the first hole is really good for a bag used every day, i.m.h.o.. Thanks for reading this far and best wishes, keep up the good work,
yours Felix
Berlin - Schöneberg

Sunday, August 10, 2008

More Doggies... they do LOVE the store

Had to take a pic of this little darling...
This is Hawkeye and his owner Sasha. Isn't she a beauty?
And here is a new image we are thinking about using on our bags. Ruff!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Oil Cloth Laptop - Portfolio Bags (Only Two Left In-Stock)

Last chance to snap up one of these Love Shine floral print oil cloth laptop - portfolio bags. We only have 2 left in our store and they are looking for a good home. We do not have them on our website... so call us at 212.387.0935 TODAY if you want to feel EXTRA special on the streets of whatever city or town you call home. Whether you use it for you laptop or for holding your books, newspapers and files, this bag is sure to turn heads!

Price: $95.00
Size: 16"x12"x2"

Thursday, August 7, 2008

"Emmet does the East Village"

Ok, so here is another shout-out.
From Emmet... who is a little doggy living a fab life.
And who has his own blog!!! Scroll down the East Village section to see pix and info on his recent visit to Love Shine
http://emmetisking.blogspot.com/2008/05/emmett-does-east-village.html
Thanks Carlene!!!

***

And check out new El Bad Dog image for our courier/messenger AND day bags. Courtesy of the wonderfully creative and clever arist Ken Brown.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Congrats to Love Shine for 11 Years of being in the BIZ-ness

Happy Birthday to Mark (Aug 3rd)... and to Love Shine! August marks our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of moving into the new store.

BEFORE

AFTER

Friday, August 1, 2008

Vintage Love Shine Wholesale Catalog... from the early days

As we are started to prepare for the International Gift Show (at the Javits Center), we found this little gem from the past. Before we moved into the computer age, we had a different type of catalog. Check out some of our old fab Love Shine designs below -->






*All design & images are owned by Love Shine/Mark Seamon. Please do not duplicate without permission.