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2015 TO DO

(Better Late Than Never)

  • Wash car at least once during the year.
  • Send handwritten notes for no reason.
  • Facial!  Facial!  Facial!
  • Finish NYT crossword without any google.
  • Spend a day not answering the phone, texts or emails. Really.
  • Rescue a dog.
  • Binge watch House of Cards.
  • Sleep past 6 AM.
  • Bake dozens of cookies just for the smell.
  • Spend a rainy day in pajamas watching Doris Day movies with the dogs.
  • No more soda. Really.
  • Grow an herb garden.
  • Take unused clothes to the women’s shelter.
  • Remember one really good joke.  (And how to tell it.)
  • No bread at restaurants!
  • Show gratitude.
  • Laugh more.
  • Give more.
  • Love more.

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Women Know

Women Know

This photo shoot is a tribute to the little girl in us and the little girls we love.

We start early and we don’t even realize it.  It’s a natural born urge and innate talent to know exactly how to hold a bag; how to pose with a bag.  No training, no instruction necessary.  As women, every cell of ours is filled with instinct, and every decision — conscious or not — is in some part based on a “je ne sais quoi” intuition that can’t possibly be explained.  WE JUST KNOW.

Cleo, Harper and Juno.  These beautiful girls showed me and reminded me of the power of female instinct:  when we did this very impromptu photo shoot with their mother, Vivica, there was virtually no camera direction given.  Yet in a very easy manner, they focused in on the bags they wanted to hold, and they magically turned toward the camera and posed as if they were models for Gucci.  They each held the bags as if they were precious packages that gave them a feeling of confidence. 

The most beautiful thing to see?  They posed proud; proud of themselves!  They posed with satisfaction and as if they were presenting themselves and the bags to us.  They showed a natural feminine coy expression AND serious attitude.  They showed grace in every move that will eventually grow into the grace of a woman —just like Vivica.

As Vivica moved into her professional yoga poses, the girls fell into her rhythm of movements and soon all four of them were in the lens together.  All natural.  All un-directed. 

GIRLS KNOW.  WOMEN KNOW.  THEY JUST DO.

And aren’t we lucky.

Enjoy your lucque and tap into your feminine instincts everyday….

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'Tis The Season

I never liked the term Black Friday.  It sounds negative and ominous, like the stock market crash of '89, even though in this case it means the day retailers traditionally go in the black.  And yet, like an annual pilgrimage to Mecca, shoppers flock to stores by the millions on the day after Thanksgiving, to buy gifts and save dollars.  That’s a positive right?  Unless you're stuck in the stampede to the door!

So although lucque is not going to follow this charming, all-American, apple-pie tradition of Black Friday, we are going to offer a sale of fall / winter handbags, and encourage sales for us and savings for you.  On December 1, officially the month of Christmas, Hannukah, company parties and year-end bonuses, selected lucque bags will go on sale.  So check back on the lucque site throughout the month of December and give yourself and others some old fashioned holiday cheer and indulge in the American pastime of year-end sales.  Enjoy your lucque and enjoy your savings and most especially, enjoy the holiday season with the ones you love most.

Have fun treasure hunting for the sales sprinkled throughout the site and drink your egg nog responsibly! 

Cheers!

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ZEN-NING

Lucque at the Golden Door Spa

If I have to travel to do a trunk show, it might as well be to the renowned Golden Door, famous many decades for its vast grounds, unearthly peacefulness, authentic Japanese gardens, farm- to- table gourmet cuisine and highly trained staff.  They are the caretakers of body, mind and spirit.

Amid coromandel screens, delicate rice papers and silks, authentic Japanese artifacts that could fill a small museum, and magnificent old wood warmly wrapping the walls and ceilings, I made myself at home along with Lucque sales reps.  This was no department store trunk show. 

As a team, Lucque was paired with noted jewelry designer Nancy Phillips and together we showed fall / winter styles from our lines.  Nancy specializes in 18k gold pieces, and hunts for special stones in Thailand to add to her intricate designs.  Along with Nancy, Lucque handbags were woven into the landscape of the upscale boutique. 

BLACK-BAG.jpg

Admittedly, I was not so prepared to leave the world behind for 4 days, so when I discovered no TV in the room and realized the property was not exactly in a big cell area, panic set in.  The first two days I spent pacing around the grounds trying to find the exact latitude and longitude that would hold a signal to reach my chaotic life in Los Angeles.  No such spot.  Could I possibly live so quietly without all of that noise and news and barrage of emails?  Could I re-create the era prior to instant global access without anxiety attacks?  Well, it was a rhetorical question anyway, because I had no choice but to meditate with silence in a gloriously beautiful setting. 

And by day 3, decompression was complete, and I spent more time getting to know the guests and talking bags and the art of relaxation after a long morning hike.  (If I had an iPad, I would have added my surroundings to Pinterest!)

In the end, I don’t remember how many bags were sold, but I remember that I enjoyed doing it at the Golden Door.  Thanks for your hospitality!

Moral of the blog:  unplug thyself from the civilized world and just breathe.  Phones NOT required.

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The Sisterhood of the Traveling Handbags

lucque's Debut Trunk Show

Lucque's Lucky Tote in Cobal Calf Hair

To all the women who came to the lucque launch party, this is a heartfelt thank you for your support and enthusiasm.

Prior to the event, I thought I was in the business of selling handbags for my love of design and passion for bags.  But at the launch, there was an even bigger joy from the creation of lucque bags:  hanging out with fabulous women.

 I kicked off lucque at my home, and from the moment the first person arrived before noon, till the last group that left late at night, it was intimate and personal.

Our Paris Tote in Black and Tan Geometric Fabric.

As women of very different and fascinating backgrounds filled the rooms with a collective confidence, I was reminded of the sheer power of women coming together.  Here, we bonded over all things feminine.  Old friends reconnected, new friendships were made and everyone talked over each other’s compliments.  It felt good to be a part of such warmth and laughter and spirit. 

Exotic treatments in Italian leathers: embossed croc, and cobalt and cerulean calf hair.

Ladies, we are more than the sum of our lucque handbags; we are formidable.  

The launch was a big success, much more than the scores and scores of handbags sold.  And now I’m off to deliver a car full of handbags to a women’s shelter, where that group of women can come together for some laughter and then support each other on the next leg of their journey -- and acknowledge the strength it took to get there.

The punchline of this blog is that what started out as a purely business affair of launching my line of handbags turned into a moment where it was wonderful to celebrate life as a woman, with women!  To be part of the club where the members don’t tell you that you look fat, but they rave about your new hair color instead! 

(Note to self:  I must do these parties more often.)  Enjoy your lucque!  Xo

An elegant display of Paris Totes and a Rousseau Satchel.

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The Birth of lucque - limited edition handbags

A soft well worn white tshirt.  A bright white button down.  A slouchy black cashmere sweater.  Yoga pants. My favorite jeans that transcend any current trend.  No matter how dressed down I am, to the point where I hope not to run into anyone I know, I think a great bag takes care of everything.   Any handbag I carry  is a statement that I'm not completely devoid of style.  My messy hair may suggest I have no interest;  but my bag says that I am a serious lover of design.  In fact the more casual I am dressed, the more brightly my bag stands out.   For me, a great bag is an excuse to be a bit slouchy everywhere else.  A great bag that no one else has seen before is a conversation piece, and a defining element of the person who carries it.

It's easy to pick up the latest IT bag of the season.  IT automatically flashes a sign that you carry the most desirable handbag that everyone wants.  I started lucque to break the IT bag conventions of the world that encourage and fuel the inevitable knockoffs -- suddenly an “original” is not so original.  And although the majority of these IT bags are worthy of coveting, each season I  still search to find a great bag for me that few others will see.

The birth of lucque was built on another equally important rationale:  bags are an investment, so it’s harder and harder to buy multiples.  Yet there are many different functions that demand different bags.  I wanted to create a bag that would be fairly unique and jam-packed with style.  I wanted to fuse my love of classicism and counter balance it with something unexpected.  I wanted to create a bag that could be more than one thing — a true transformer and chameleon.

lucque gained steam as I connected with a woman who supplied leather to one of the most exclusive home design showrooms in the country.  As I went through the collection of leathers for walls, floors, and furnishings, I was in awe of the treatments applied to the hides.  There were floral embossings and hand painted prints and filigreed paisleys carved into beautiful soft leather, colors so rich you could eat them.  The first reaction was — I want a handbag out of this.  And this.  And this.  Realizing that no one was going to do “this”, I decided it would be me.   I wanted to make my own personal IT bag.  A ME bag.

Thus the life of lucque had begun.

From one handbag lover to another, I hope you enjoy wearing your lucque as much as I have enjoyed creating them.

Susan Paillassou

Los Angeles, California

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