From Louis

………………..Last night Lou and I had a “BOY’S NIGHT”……….Actually I did invite Lou’s wife Maria to come, but she was a little under the weather….so it was just the two of us…..We ordered pizza, had a few beers, and had my chocolate cheesecake for desert…and smoked cigars….actually Lou did the smoking….cigars aren’t my thing!……It was also the first time I lit the firepit. The weather was perfect….The air cooled down from the 90 degree heat and there was just a slight breeze off of the water

…………………..”ITALIAN KNITS”……….there simply are none better!…..For the twenty plus years I worked in Italy developing knitwear for Anne Klein I met some of the most marvelous people…..There are countless numbers of yarn suppliers and knit manufactures all over Italy…..The first week of my stay in Florence, Italy appointments were made to see many yarn companies to review their collections. They would come to the office of Ciampini/Pestelli where I worked with Giovanna. She and her husband Marcello owned the company. After I made my selection, and yarns to make samples were ordered it was time to design the sweater for each yarn……The second week was calling in the different manufactures and giving them the sketches and spec sheets I developed…..Sometimes Giovanna and I would go directly to the factories which was always great fun and an incredible learning experience……At the factories we would see knit swatches for the sketches that were already sent to them…..Every detail was discussed, and then it was time for them to do their work. When the sweaters were finished they were sent to my office in NYC for my review. Sometimes corrections needed to be made and new samples were submitted…..The photos are an example of one of the groups I designed for my AK Resort 1991 collection……Each sweater was trimmed in tiny brass golden beads….all hand sewn……They were a huge success!…….Years later I did another group of sweaters using the same detail for my Linea collection for QVC………They were a huge success too…..and reordered many times……I miss those days of designing in Italy….traveling the country with Giovanna, and working with wonderful people!…..I still speak with Giovanna often!….We are FAMILY!!

……………Sunday, early evening, I went to dinner with my friends Alicia and her husband Mike……..We went to a restaurant on the water called….”THE WHEEL”……….Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t good so we couldn’t dine outside, but from the inside there were beautiful views of the water…….For our first course Alicia had a huge chopped salad, Mike had the steak tartar, and I had the beet salad with goat’s cheese and chopped pistachio nuts….For our main course Alicia and I had the pork chop with a peach compote…..and Mike had the scallops…..It was all delicious!……..After dinner we went back to my home for desert……….I made an Oreo cookie chocolate cheesecake……We talked and talked, and planned a trip together in the fall….We are going to Paris….the French wine country, and a few days in Strasburg!…..I haven’t been to Paris in EIGHT years so I’m really looking forward to the trip!!

…………………For more than 20 years I went to Florence, Italy….two to three times a year to work on the sweater knit collection for my Anne Klein Collection. Here, for my 1991 AK Resort collection, are three examples of my creations…..At the far left a deep V-neck sweater with a matching knit skirt with racing stripes down the sides…………At the right……..a navy and white color block dress….easy to wear….modern forever!