FFANY

Fashion Footwear Association of New York.
a.k.a.- heaven.

I have just arrived home from New York City after 4 days of staring (more like drooling) over buttery leathers, soft suede's, and colorful fabrics that are part of what make up the beautiful brands of Sofft, Born, Isola, Kork-Ease, Vintage, and Walk-Over's- which are the beautiful shoes that made my eyes hungry and my feet itch with desire.

I was lucky enough this summer to be allowed to help out at my dad's company- H.H. Brown Shoe- working with line-sheets, photography, data entry, and numerous other odd-jobs that need an extra hand around the office. This may sound like sarcasm (but trust that it's not)- I truly enjoy driving 45 min. in rush hour to finally walk through the glass doors on the fourth floor and be surrounded by fashion and shoes every day. But aside from being able to occasionally take home the unwanted size 9's heaped in a pile out back (why aren't they already taken is my question), the best perk of this job was having the opportunity to come down to NYC twice this summer to be a part of FFANY.

FFANY happens four times a year and is a great way for buyers to come see shoes up-close and decide which shoes they'd like to have in their upcoming collections. H.H. Brown is lucky enough to have a beautiful showroom right off Broadway and Fashion Ave., but many other shoe designers and company's simply rent the exhibition space in a nearby hotel if they don't have a showroom in the city.  On the 14th floor, our showroom is beautiful; with light mahogany wood floors, windows on every side over looking Times Square, two kitchens, two small runways, and space for each of the company's shoe lines, it's a very impressive place to bring buyers- companies such as Saks, Nordstroms, Dillard's, Macy's, Bloomingdales, Bon-Ton, and many other big department stores as well as small boutiques.

The first night we arrived around 8:30pm after being stuck in about 5 hours of traffic- typical rushing around the city without regard for others will cause accidents, who knew? Anyways, we set up the photo equipment, met with the Russian cleaning guy who was super sweet, and I quickly glanced over the rack of clothes the models would be wearing over the next few days- white lace, crochet, bandage skirts, gauzy tops, sheer florals...aaah. My dad dragged me out so we could finally check in to the hotel- after working in the office from 8 to 3 and then driving from 3 to 8, we were absolutely exhausted and starving (salted peanuts and chocolate on the drive up just didn't cut it). We checked into our hotel, Ink 48, and I was blown away. A converted printing factory, Ink 48 is set on 48th street right near Hell's Kitchen and surrounded by a lot of car dealerships. My favorite part about the hotel was that it was pet friendly, with a dog bowl and chalkboard bone at the front entrance that read, "Ink 48 Welcomes Brady!"- the bowl was filled with treats! Inside the glass doors that extremely nice (and nice-looking) doormen open is a funky and modern interior. Warm colors such as gold, red, bronze, and orange play off the dark mahogany floors and music is pumped over the speakers. My room was on the 2nd floor, had an impressive king size bed (which I wish I could have shared with my girlfriends...another time!) a huge bathroom, a flat screen, stocked mini-bar, and complementary leopard bathrobes and umbrellas; needless to say I was more than happy with my arrangements for the next three days. I quickly changed into something more comfortable and met my dad downstairs to grab dinner...at 10:30pm. Now, whenever I travel with my dad I always feel the need to make it very clear that he is my father and not my aging, mustached boyfriend. So, I tend to say, "daaaaad" really loudly and proceed to say variations of, "Have you called mooooom since we got here? What do you think MOM is doing? Do you miss MOM?" etc. I hope people get the hint. Anyways, we ended up at this restaurant in Hell's Kitchen called 44andahalf and it was amazing. Dimly lit white and black interior and a small courtyard where you could eat under the stars and had fairy lights draped over the ivy covered rock walls- naturally we ate outside. The servers were all male and all gay, wearing pink t-shirts with different sayings on each. The shirt our waiter, Joey, had on said "heaven" on the front and "hell" on the back. Another waiter's said "over" on the front and "easy" on the back. I don't really get it but I like the concept. We got two huge crab cakes as appetizers and they were outstanding- they on a bed of lettuce with thinly sliced red and yellow peppers scattered around the plate and sides of peanut sauce, ginger sauce and some sort of spicy one that my dad thoroughly enjoyed. For my meal I got the Summer Salad and it was literally unbelievable. A thickly sliced heirloom tomato was the base and then, stacked like link n' logs, was generously cut watermelon and feta cheese drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette...wow. So simple yet so perfect. My dad and I left the restaurant around 11:30, went back to our separate rooms (his on the 5th floor had a much better view...I was jealous) and I proceeded to pass out as soon as I hit my pillow-top mattress.

Day 2- I shot out of bed at 7am to my alarm-clock radio playing "Can't Get Enough" by J. Cole, so obviously the day started out well. I met my dad and his assistant, Daniella, downstairs at 8am and we were in a cab by 8:15 on the way to the showroom. Drinking our complementary coffees, Daniella and I caught up on how awesome the new Kork-Ease were, how her adorable pug Duncan is, and how her sister's honeymoon in Italy is going. I love that she's only 23 and is on my level with so many things, especially the shoes. We got to the showroom by 8:30 and it was already filled with buyers, CEO's, presidents of shoe companies, caterers, and assistants. We spent the whole day in the backroom- the temporary media studio- shooting three quarter shots and pair shots of shoes from almost every line for the up-and-coming Fall 2011 season and Spring 2012 season. With my Kid Cudi Pandora radio station on, the day seemed to fly. I was introduced to media directors, art directors, creative directors, presidents, cleaning people, marketing people, web designers, and buyers, and surprisingly didn't feel overwhelmed meeting everyone and running around, but instead excited and energized by all of the hustle and bustle of it. After work, JD (the man behind all the promoting and marketing of the lines Walk-Overs, Kork-Ease, and Vintage) took us all to one of his favorite restaurants- Ember Room. A really funky and modern place that is Asian-American fusion food, my dad's boss accompanied us and proceeded to order everything on the menu...and it was all delicious (especially the chocolate ribs). After a raucous dinner involving politically incorrect statements being made at very loud volumes (thank you endless cocktails) we finally made our way back to the hotel. I, sadly, had to retreat to my room while everyone else went to the roof where the club/bar is- apparently very beautiful views overlooking the city...I of course wouldn't know because I laying in bed watching The Office until I fell asleep.

Day 3- Again, up at 7 but this time to the sweet melodies of "Desire, Want, and Need" by Big Sean. The showroom was just as busy as Tuesday, but this time I got to watch a few runway shows for the Sofft line which was really awesome- the models looked gorgeous in their dresses and my favorite was an Alice + Olivia cream colored bandage dress with an empire waist and criss-cross detailing showing her open back, fantastic. Around noon, my dad and I had to go to Grand Central Station to go pick up a camera he'd set up for another line of H.H. Brown, Dexter Shoe, which makes bowling shoes and sponsors events such as the one he'd set his camera up for- Teen Masters Finals- an event that was covered by Sports Illustrated, Time, and the New York Times. He'd set it up on a continuous interval shot at 8pm the night before, taking a shot every minute- so at this point there were about 1000 pictures stored on the memory! I met with the #1 bowler in the United States which was crazy, the president of Dexter, and the coordinator of the whole event- all really nice guys. They wanted the camera to continue taking pictures until the set-up was done (it was delayed because the NYPD came in and shut it down temporarily because the men setting it up weren't wearing long sleeve shirts and steel-toed work boots...typical unions) and they wanted to shots of the kids bowling. So in the meantime we went and got food in the dining concourse at a place called Zócalo, this delicious Mexican place. We ended up making friends with the manager who sadly informed us that the restaurant was being shut down after 14 years of being open because they were putting in a fast-food burger joint...right next to another burger place. He shook his head telling us he'd been there since the place opened and that it was really upsetting for him- we agreed, sympathizing and voicing how stupid it was to put in something they already had, this food was too delicious to shut down! At the end of our meal, our manager friend gave us two coupons for free house margarita's the next time we came back, and thanked us warmly for our support. Being nice pays off, eh? Afterwards, we went to go check on the bowling situation and noticed that some NY Fire Department workers had arrived and were eyeing my dad's camera rigged up on a huge ladder, seeming very suspicious. Two hours of waiting later, they had finally set up, thrown the first ball, made speeches, and we could get the camera and go. As soon as my dad climbed up the ladder to get the camera, a frantic middle aged woman came running towards me shaking her wrinkly index finger, "No! No! No! Get him down from there! Are you part of a Union?!" I shook my head and tried to explain my situation, but instead of listening to me she sneered at me and told me that we would be fined $7000 if anyone "important" came and saw (whatever that means). She tapped her foot, said "Sir pleaseeee" about twelve times, wagged her finger at me some more, and then finally walked away as my dad came down the later...really nice woman. We made it back to the studio around 4:30, did some more shooting and special requests for people, and then finally wrapped up around 7:30 and headed to dinner. Daniella, my dad, and I went to this incredible Italian restaurant called Amarone. It's won numerous awards for it's wine and food, and the atmosphere alone is fantastic. Dimly lit, white linens, candles, and a rose for every woman at the end of her meal- obviously I fell in love with the place. I got rigatoni e bolognese sauce and a house insalata to start. I literally burned my tongue on the sauce because I was so eager to keep eating it. After basically licking my plate clean, we ordered dessert. Daniella and my dad got chocolate cake with hazelnut gelato and I got a warm apple tart with vanilla gelato- soooo good. I left with a white rose and crashed into bed totally content (and very full).

Day 4- We were able to sleep in a little bit because we were way ahead on the pictures and linesheets- Daniella and I make an unbeatable team when it comes to getting things done. We wrapped up a few leftover shots of groups of shoes and then began cleaning up and packing up all the camera equipment for our trek back in the afternoon. Sadly, we were unable to make it to the insanely cool Training Camp, or, TC Supply Shop, which sells the Vintage, Walk-Over, Gorilla, and Kork-Ease shoes, along with brands such as Naked&Famous denim and Levi's. With chandeliers, taxidermy deer heads, and vintage antique shoe making machines, Johnny Cash and Jay-Z on the speakers, this store defines cool. We left the city after grabbing freshly made strecci, ciabatta, and bomboloni at Sullivan Street Bakery for the drive home...the pane and dolci didn't even last us to the parkway.

Five hours of traffic later I was back to reality...but I'm itching to return back and embrace the empire state of mind again.

44andahalf
Ember Room
Zócalo
Amarone
TC Supply Shop
Sullivan Street Bakery