July 30th, 2009 by Lori Houlihan

You may notice some strangeness in our site during the transition of isleofyou

November 21st, 2008 by Lori Houlihan

Cameos, Japanese cabochons, and Czech glass, all vintage and worked into delicate brass and silver settings, are now at Isle of You. The aforementioned are just a few of the materials that make up the charming “That Winsome Girl” collection by jewelry artist Amy Kelly.

Her earrings, necklaces and brooches evoke an era redolant of silk cheongsams, coiffed hair, and red nail varnish. Picture just how right any one of Ms. Kelly’s cabochon earrings pair with a Maxine Doillon forties-inspired frock. Likewise, Ms. Kelly’s leaf and branch charms work well with Weston Wear’s nature-themed motif.

“That Winsome Girl” is currently at the Isle for your Christmas perusal.

November 15th, 2008 by Lori Houlihan

Join us at the Isle on Friday, November 21st from 5-8 pm (during Gallery Hop) for a special showing of Amy Kelly’s jewelry. We already carry some of her pieces, but on Friday Amy will be here with many more items.

Make a stop at the Isle during Gallery Hop!

Vintage cameo barrettes

Vintage-inspired cabochon earrings

Earrings with brass findings, jade briolettes, and freshwater pearls

October 14th, 2008 by Lori Houlihan

If you've been to the Isle recently, you may have noticed that Whitney and her sweet little dog Fanny have been absent. Whitney had some health problems and was off work for a month. And since Fanny can't drive, she couldn't come to visit us either!

As of today, Whitney's back in action, and we are so happy to see her again!

October 6th, 2008 by Lori Houlihan

We here at the Isle are longtime listeners and fans of WRFL, Radio Free Lexington. WRFL got the go-ahead from the FCC to upgrade their broadcast signal from 250 watts to 7900 watts, an improvement that will allow the station to bring their eclectic, commercial-free programming to a much wider slice of the Bluegrass. What does that mean? You'll be able to listen to WRFL in your car during that trip to Frankfort, for example.

To help WRFL boost the power, Isle of You is selling an assortment of WRFL t-shirts, with all proceeds going to the tower fund.

Tune into WRFL at 88.1 FM. Don't have a radio near your computer? Listen on the web at WRFL.fm.

October 3rd, 2008 by Lori Houlihan

Last night Isle of You was open late for a special showing of local artist Stephanie Reinhardt’s jewelry. Stephanie uses semi-precious and precious stones for her lovely creations.

In addition to Stephanie’s jewelry, we celebrated the Custo Barcelona Trunk Show going on now. See here for a luscious description of the Custo goods.

And as a perfect backdrop for the events, we sampled cheese and seasonal fruit from Wine + Market, as well as wines from Toast of Kentucky, also available at Wine + Market.

Like the Custo Trunk show, Stephanie’s pieces will be available at the Isle until October 10th. See more photos of her work here and photos of last night’s event here.

September 30th, 2008 by Lori Houlihan

   Wall Street woes and rough-and-tumble politics aside, the Custo Barcelona coat collection at Isle of You provides a fearless feast of tough-built looks.  Slick vinyl, felted wool, and roughed-up velvet impose a certain bravura when tailored into trenches, jackets, and bat-winged dresses.  As usual, the Custo design team melds their geometric and tribal themes with their iconic caricatures and then superimposes textural interest with lurex shots, ropey crochet, and fur pile.  Parti-colored and Mondrian-block silk linings counterpoint the subterranean palette of Custo Country.  Women's coats as well as men's shirts are available for ordering through October 10th at Isle of You.

September 17th, 2008 by Lori Houlihan

When I say plastic shoes, you probably think "oversize clogs or discount priced, sweat producing jellies". No, Brazilian made Melissa Shoes are funky and fashionable, teaming up with world class designers like Vivienne Westwood and Zaha Hadid. Even better, the socially responsible company employs
sustainable practices and pays employees above-average wages and
benefits. Melissa Shoes
are made from MELFLEX plastic,
a patented, hypo-allergenic, recyclable, and extremely flexible PVC.
The shoes are totally cruelty free and devoid of animal products.

Now available at Isle of You!

September 12th, 2008 by Lori Houlihan

Last month we made solemn vows to regularly  update this blog. We were going to do it. Really, we were. We had the best of intentions. Then "real" life hit us squarely between the eyes and Alison and I have been crazy with parts of our lives that have little to do with the Isle. Alison escorted her friend Agnes to her new home in Southern California. I was just doing my usual Mom/Business Owner juggling act.

Hap are I have been helping create Local First Lexington, a grassroots, non-profit group whose mission is to help spread
the word about the value of patronizing locally-owned, independent
businesses of all sizes. We should be scheduling our first public meeting soon. If you're interested in joining us just drop me a note in the comments section.

My inspiration for coming here to write today is to announce to you the well-deserved awards bestowed upon Alison today by Ace Weekly. The latest print issue came out today and our very own Alison was voted Best Micro Blogger and she and her husband Allan were voted Best Power Couple! I'm not surprised. She and Allan have been quite busy these last couple of years making their new life together here in our fair city. They've been building a beautiful network of friends using the web as their starting point.They've made scores of new friends through social networking sites like Flickr, Facebook and Twitter but then they've taken that most important step out into the real world and come face to face with their "online friends". Let me tell you, it's powerful stuff. I've gone from calling  Allan & Alison my online friends, to just calling them my friends and I feel blessed to have found them..

My hat's off to you, A-Squared!

August 24th, 2008 by Lori Houlihan

This afternoon was the Signature Sale, held at the Signature Ballroom at Landsdowne Club. Isle of You joined other chic Lexington boutiques for a 5-hour extravaganza.

OK, maybe extravaganza is too strong a word. But there was a sale! With prices slashed! And lots of people!

About two hours before the sale started, I helped pack and move the clothing from Isle of You to Landsdowne. So far, so good. Half an hour before showtime, I went out for snacks and change. (Two important things when you’re selling things to people: sustenance and small bills.) I rolled back into the Landsdowne parking lot two minutes before sale time.

Except.

Except there were already a number of women fingering the fabrics. It was barely noon, but the sale was on! And the women, they kept coming.

I got busy writing the final markdown on the price tags. Lolli was busy ringing people up — or should I say writing people up, as we were using receipt pads and calculators — and the time went by so fast that when Lucille arrived at one, I was surprised to see her.

Lucy took over the markdowns and Lori and I took turns waiting on customers and bringing more clothes in.

By the time things slowed down, it was after two, but there was still a steady stream. I "clocked out" and went shopping myself. On the Isle of You racks I found two great dresses: one a Custo Barcelona dolman  sleeve dress, and the other a Curtsey V-neck dress. Both will look great with my Anarchic Kitty Shoes. The best thing? They were 75% off!

It was a good day for the Isle at the Signature Sale, but the sale is not over. There are plenty of items still marked down. Just head for the corner of Short and Jefferson. You know, on the sunny side of the street.