The author, poet and civil-rights activist Maya Angelou died today, aged 86. I suspect some people know her work primarily from the Angelou epigrams that circulate on Instagram and Pinterest. This one is often posted by someone who is feeling burned. This one is also popular. But Angelou was much more than a dispenser of…
In the News
Throwback Thursday: Columbia University Graduation
Columbia University’s 2014 commencement ceremony took place yesterday. (To celebrate, the Empire State Building was lit in the school colors of blue and white.) This year is a big anniversary for my own graduation from Columbia University, which took place on May 17, 1989. I can’t stand to say the actual number of years because…
Skylar Grey and Wendy Brandes Jewelry on Inked’s Cover
Gorgeous singer/songerwriter Skylar Grey is wearing the double-ax necklace I made for her on the cover of an upcoming issue of Inked Magazine! Notice that Skylar now has a double-ax neck tattoo as well? The axes were part of the logo for her 2013 Don’t Look Down album, hence the design’s importance to her. I…
New Necklace Inspiration, Thanks to Jill Abramson
I need to thank my gorgeous online friend Marguerite for pointing out the Instagram from Jill Abramson‘s daughter, Cornelia. “Mom’s badass new hobby,” Cornelia wrote as a caption on a picture of Jill in boxing gloves, using the hashtags #girls and #pushy. This Instagram is giving me life! It also made me finalize the idea…
Jill Abramson Out at New York Times; Cue My Side-Eye
If you’ve been on Twitter today, you already know it: This afternoon, the New York Times reported that Jill Abramson, its executive editor, “is unexpectedly leaving the position and will be replaced by Dean Baquet, the managing editor.” Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. made the announcement in the Times newsroom at 2:30 p.m. ET. Abramson, 60,…
Vogue Is Worried About Your Self-Esteem
Last night, Vogue tweeted: And followed up with this: BRB, gotta go take a heavily photoshopped belfie before I laugh my ass off!
Jewels of the Month: Boss and Bossy Necklaces
I’ve loved singer Kelis ever since she appeared on the scene in 1999 with her debut single, “Caught Out There.” The song’s “Augggggh! I hate you so much right now!” line — aimed at a cheating man — and Kelis’s rainbow hair in the video always screamed “Badass!” to me. Because of Kelis’s badass credentials…
The Weeks in Review
The past two weeks have been wild around here! The big news was the announcement that the Columbia Daily Spectator — the undergraduate newspaper of my alma mater, Columbia University — would focus on its website, while reducing its printing schedule from five times a week to once a week. As the chairman of the…
Never Is the Next New Thing™: My Bio and Columbia Spectator
If you’ve read my blog for a while — or simply looked at my header — you know that my personal (trademarked!) adage is “Never Is the Next New Thing™.” It started out as a 2010 observation about fashion trends. I wrote: “I used to say, ‘Never say never’ when it comes to fashion, but…
Be Specific About What You Wish For
People always say, “Be careful what you wish for.” Having read a lot of fantasy and magic-land-type books as a child, I’ve always thought there should be follow-up warning: “Be specific about what you wish for.” A common plot twist in the fantasy genre involves a poor soul who doesn’t word a wish carefully and…