Easy weekend job selling clothes for my friend

Hey New York people with cars looking to pick up a weekend job:

My friend and owner of Sharp Shirter, Dan Lachman, is looking for an NYC weekend employee starting ASAP for every summer weekend through September. His company, Sharp Shirter, makes amazing tshirts, dresses, scarves and hoodies that I sell at AuH2O, designed by local artists and printed on eco-friendly, socially-conscious American Apparel wear. This summer, Dan’s taking Sharp Shirter to a few flea markets in DC and NY. He’ll be participating in Artists and Fleas in Williamsburg (McCarren Park) and needs someone to sell his merchandise on Saturdays and Sundays. Only catch is- you need to have a car. He has a LOT of merch and a mini-tent and table, so you’d need to be able to transport (and store) all of that back and forth from your apartment to McCarren Park. He pays $100/day ($12/hr) plus incentives, like bonuses for hitting certain numbers and free clothes. Dan’s an awesome guy and owns a really great business, so overall it’d be a cool summer job. Below are a few of my favorite shirts/hoodies that I sell at my shop, and I imagine sell really well at the flea markets too. Let me or Dan (sharpshirter -at- gmail -dot- com) know if you’re interested!

Haymaker Hoodie, I own this one and wear it often

Cycling fish tee is a HUGE seller at AuH2O

The Hunter tee is a favorite among hipsters, obviously

Feel free to pass on to any New York friends with cars!

AuH2O & the Big Screen

Remember when I pulled an April Fools joke and photoshopped Lady Gaga into my store? It seems I may have cried wolf, because since then I’ve had Alicia Silverstone, Lonneke Engle (a Dutch model) and Lucy Liu shopping at AuH2O. And not only Lucy Liu, but the cast and crew from the movie she’s filming in the East Village, “East Fifth Bliss”: Michael C. Hall, Brie Larson and Sarah Shahi, plus the writer and director, producer, art director and costume designer. And no one will believe me since I lied about Lady Gaga. Well, it’s true! I’ve live tweeted the entire experience meeting and dressing the cast here but in case you don’t follow me on twitter (twitter.com/kategoldwater) or facebook (facebook.com/kategoldwater), below is the story of my week and some photos.

Last week, Lucy Liu and Brie Larson stopped in (Brie is the daughter in “United States of Tara” and was recently in “Greenberg”) and did a little shopping. They were great customers, very friendly, and didn’t really want any photos taken. Understandable. I suppose movie stars want to be treated like normal people, so I did the best I could to not die over them. We talked about the movie they’re filming across the street from my shop, “East Fifth Bliss,” and I tried to remain calm when they complimented my store and insisted that the clothing from my shop would be perfect for their characters, and they’d show some of their purchases to the costume designer and director. Since we’d been talking about how I make some of the clothes, Lucy Liu asked if it’d be okay if I could alter some of the clothing she bought. Of course I can, that’s why my store is so special. But I said “I mean, I’m pretty busy though, I’ll have to see if I can find the time.”

Later, Brie Larson came back with another actor, Sarah Shahi, who played Carmen on “The L Word.” Both ladies bought a bunch of clothing and jewelry, and told me they had wardrobe fittings later and would hopefully work some of it into the film. Yes!

A few days later, Lucy Liu came back with some items she bought at AuH2O and asked me to alter them for her - make one skirt into a mini skirt, hem and take in a dress. She’s a tiny one. Here are some post-alteration photos:

This skirt was originally from Anthropologie and I was selling it on consignment

This dress was vintage and I hemmed it about six inches. See my twitpic for a larger photo

After I finished, the costume designer stopped in and thanked me for doing the alterations. She asked what I charged and I said any items bought at AuH2O could be altered for free, but that I’d really like a) a movie credit and b) movie set food. You know how you always see those tents with the delicious-looking catered food on the street outside a set and want some? Well I always have, and I finally had some, it lived up to my expectations. Also the costume designer said I’d most definitely get a movie credit!

Later that day, Lucy Liu came back, shopped around again, and asked if she could use my dressing room to change and get ready for the scene, to which I said “I’ll have to think about it.” Then Michael C. Hall came in too so he could get his hair and make-up done and the hair stylist, Tara Smith, didn’t have her hairspray on her but luckily she was in AuH2O which has EVERYTHING you would ever need in a movie set dressing room, so she borrowed mine. Then we got to talking about hair products and turns out she just launched a hair product line that I need, but it’s all sold out. It’s “tested on film stars not on animals” and so she’s my favorite person. Meanwhile, Lucy was getting mic’ed up and we were all just hanging, talking about normal things like whether or not it’s okay to buy a probably-stolen bike from the guy on the street selling it for $25 (Conclusion: it is. I didn’t steal the bike). I started to feel comfortable with them; the initial “Holy Shit this is Lucy Liu” shock subsided and I felt like I was hanging out with pals. And then they left the store and went out to film, Lucy wearing the AuH2O altered dress.

Here’s a photo from Jezebel that shows the dress in action:

Click here to see a larger version on Jezebel

Pretty exciting. A day later, the director, Michael Knowles, stopped in and thanked me for the dress and the alterations and again assured me I’d get a movie credit. He then told me the rest of their filming schedule and a little bit about the movie, how he got the idea for it, the significance of all the bars, restaurants, pizza places and streets they’re filming on, and it sounds like it’s going to be a seriously East Village movie. I, for one, can’t wait to see it. It’s one thing to have your clothes in a movie (not that I’d know, but still), and it’s another to have your clothes in what should be a really sweet movie. I think this is going to be a really sweet one. Over the next few days, the producer stopped in, the art director, the make-up artists, extras, the actors came back, and I kind of started to feel like I was kind of a part of it. Kind of. It was a nice feeling. Brie returned a few items they unfortunately couldn’t use in the movie, but told me she definitely was wearing a pink jumper she bought, so hey there hey. Two looks from AuH2O for sure, not bad.

Then, the location manager came by and told me how the actors liked my store, how comfortable they felt there, and I told them how flattered I was and how comfortable they made me feel, too. He asked if it would they be able to rent out my store overnight while they do some night shooting. Again, I said, “I’ll have to think about it.” No, of course I told him I was happy for them to use it, signed a contract, and over this weekend the actors used AuH2O as their dressing room in the middle of the night. But they used up all the toilet paper and didn’t replace it, and I think stole $20 from the register. Just kidding!

So, that was my week with the film cast and crew for “East Fifth Bliss.”  Be sure to see it when it comes out, and sit through all the credits so you can see my name in it!

Earth Week Kick-Off!

This Sunday, April 18th, join AuH2O and TEICH as we kick off earth week with a fashion show at 5pm and clothing swap immediately after at 5:30. This Earth Week Kick-off party will be outside our stores on 84 E. 7th street b/t 1st and 2nd. Free and open to the public!

12-5pm Eco-fashion Marketplace
Charmoné shoes, Ryann clothing and The Andean Collection jewelry will be offering their beautiful Earth-friendly wares at our sidewalk marketplace. Plus, get 30% off bags and 15% off jewelry inside at TEICH.

5pm Sidewalk Fashion Show
Featuring AuH2O recycled clothing, Charmoné vegan shoes, The Andean Collection fair trade jewelry, Ryann eco-conscious clothing, and TEICH handbags.

5:30pm Clothing Swap
Bring at least 1 item of clothing (accessories welcome) that you no longer wear, but would be proud to pass on (no old tees, or stained/damaged clothes, please). Go home with new clothes!

Representatives from the LES Ecology Center will be on hand with information about EcoBiz and EVCC “Get Local” shopping guides.

Plus, refreshments will be served!

This event is weather permitting! If it’s raining, we’ll cancel. But it better not rain!

LADY GAGA SHOPPED AT AUH2O!

HUGE NEWS! THE BIGGEST NEWS EVER! LADY GAGA stopped into AuH2O to do some shopping! LADY GAGA! At AuH2O! Turns out the pop and fashion icon, and my HERO, has taken an interest in green fashion! SO SHE CAME TO MY STORE! She knows that she has such an influence on the fashion world, and that going green is more important than ever, and that if she gets on board, designers that want to dress her and her fans that look up to her will get on board too. Eco-fashion is the future, and so is Lady Gaga, so it makes perfect sense. Anyway, here’s the photo below of Lady Gaga and me at my shop:

Needless to say, April Fools. That was photo-shopped, poorly. Unfortunately, Lady Gaga is not YET interested in green fashion or wearing AuH2O’s eco-friendly clothing. Also, she’s in Australia now, little monsters. But did I get you? For just a split second? I did, didn’t I?

Have a great day everyone! Happy April Fools!

Eco-friendly Skiing

How can skiing be eco-friendly? By buying vintage, of course! I bought some skis on Craigslist for $29, as you can tell they’re from 1986, and I got the poles for an additional $10. Poles don’t match, but are roughly the same size and color scheme…

Then my boyfriend bought us some vintage ski suits from eBay, $15/each:

vintage 80s ski suit for $15= awesome

Keelan thinks he’s a superhero in his faux suede

The group of us on top of Hunter Mountain

Just wanted to share! Ebay and Craigslist are GREAT for inexpensive vintage finds!

AuH2O in the Examiner

More press lately! This time it’s from the Examiner, written by friend/customer/model Rachel Northrop. First, she covered the Haute Eco-ture fashion show: http://www.examiner.com/x-34299-Manhattan-Green-Living-Examiner~y2010m1d31-Haute-Ecoture and included a slideshow with photos of AuH2O’s best looks and Chris Roma’s hand-painted tees, sold at AuH2O.

Rachel also wrote an article on the store in general: AuH2O: 7th St. Green Dream. She says:

Kate embodies fashion as innovation, as do the other designers whose products she carries. A trip to AuH20 inevitably gives the shopper not only several fantastic, one-of-a-kind pieces your friends will envy, but a new outlook on style and what it means to wear something ‘new.’

And again, includes a slideshow of AuH2O as well as my designs, often modeled by Rachel at one of my many shows. Thanks Rachel!

One more thing! My friend Semir Chouaibi interviewed me for the German Fashion and Lifestyle Blog SuperStrudel, here’s a taste:

What do you like about fashion and how would you describe your own style?

Kate: I think fashion is the best form of self expression. Before I even open up my mouth people can see from my appearance that I’m unique, I’m creative, I care about the environment, or I support Obama, or that I’m Pro-Choice. In general, fashion just makes life more fun. It’s something to look at – people’s outfits are walking works of art – constant stimulation.

Photo credit: Ann Sanfedele

Read the full interview here: http://www.superstrudel.com/2010/02/11/kate-goldwater/

Thanks Semir!

Valentine’s Day on 7th Street

Happy Valentine’s Day! 7th Street’s having a party this Thursday, February 11th to celebrate:

Join AuH2O, Solena Chaniago, and TEICH Thursday night for a night of shopping and romance-inducing refreshments. Be your own Valentine and get yourself a treat, or shop for someone special.

AuH2O will be having a sale: 10% off clothing and jewelry, and we’ll have a bunch of necklaces for just $10. Also, we’ll have 25% off winter clothing in hopes that winter will end soon!

TEICH is hosting Ryann clothing and Nosipho jewelry. Ryann clothing and TEICH bags will all be 20% off, select jewelry will be 50% off. TEICH will be raffling off an item from each of the designers- no purchase necessary!

Earrings by Nosipho

Clothing by Ryann

Clutch by TEICH

Most importantly, there will be wine! And chocolate and heart-shaped cookies! And that is how to celebrate. That, and of course, seeing the Vagina Monologues. Happy VDay!

Shop-NYC Tours Video on AuH2O

A friend of mine, Natasha Malinsky, owns a shopping tours business, Shop-NYC, where she takes customers on tours of the best shopping in the city. Of course, AuH2O is one of her stops!  She hosts a web series so people can watch videos of all the different stores and decide where they want to go most. Here’s the video on AuH2O:

Recognize Natasha from somewhere? That’s because she was recently on VH1’s “Tough Love,” so she’s a reality TV survivor, and that’s fun and cool.

You can watch all of her web videos on other great stores in Manhattan on her Youtube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/nlm5844. Check her website for more info on tours- an especially good thing to do when friends come to town and they want to shop and you have to work: Shop-NYCtours.com. She takes you to the best stores in the city where you get exclusive discounts from all the boutiques. There’s even a special “recessionista” tour for the tough times.

Watch, and shop!