As Earth Day comes around on Sunday, April 22^nd a lot of us are tuning into the state of our planet and getting a green dose of reality. On Earth Day, attention is put on the environment and ways to “go green.” For us at SnL, everyday is an opportunity to be more conscious of our choices. Remember, what we do today will affect the future of the planet for generations to come. We CAN make a difference!

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has posted a link on its site which gives quick and simple tips on going green. Below is an example of our collective efforts as an agency and how we’re joining the “eco revolution!”

Bike to work on the 23^rd

No plastic water bottles

Use extra blankets during cold times, so we aren’t using more energy with heat

Buy eco friendly household items, like laundry detergent

Re-use newspaper, plastic wrap to “curb my dog”

Be conscious of using re-usable bags for grocery shopping

Recycle more

Make more of an effort to shop locally by going to the farmers market every week for veggies

Walk more and drive less

Use only water that we need and reuse when possible

Help to keep water sources clean by only using biodegradable and environmental friendly cleaning products

Use pesticides safely

Buy energy star appliances and CFL light bulbs

No littering and pick up after others

Learn about composting; try it out

Cut back on the amount of ‘stuff’ that could later end up in landfills

Use our office Klean Kanteen’s for beverages

There are lots of amazing organizations that are helping to spread the word on environmental initiatives. Each month our employees gather round and one by one shares their “charity of choice” for the month, and then we provide a donation to that organization. Check out a few of our favorites we’ve contributed to in the past with a focus on our planet:

Thirst Project

Oceana

The Water Project

What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day?

(Images L-R: A crowd protesting planet pollution in 1970. The first Earth Day on Fifth Ave. in NYC. Source: http://www.earthday.org/gallery/earth-day-history-movement)

2012 is flying by furiously and it’s already the end of March, which in SnL’s world means another New York Press Trip.  Last week, two SnL team members Allie and Marla headed to New York to present fall 12 client products to top accessories editors and bloggers.  Four enormous suitcases, cross county plane ride, and personal taxi driver later, they hit the ground running.  Lucky the weather was nicer in NY than it was in LA.  Marla and Allie drove throughout the city with the help of  their fabulous driver Adnan, stopping off at the Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith, Bauer buildings. for three days presenting  great fashion and accessory products including Restricted Footwear, Matisse Footwear, K. Bell Socks, Freestyle and Shark Watches, Tsukihoshi, Queen George, and Q.  Marla and Allie became masters of unzipping suitcases, presenting product, zipping suitcases, hopping into the car, and driving off to the next appointment.

Night two, Marla and Allie had the opportunity to head downtown to the 9/11 memorial.  With heightened security they walked through a maze   of security check points until it opened up into a courtyard with trees, pools, and buildings under construction.  In the center of the courtyard were huge pools about the perimeter of the former towers labeled “North Tower” and “South Tower”.  Along the pool each name, department, and flights were carved along the ledge honoring the innocent victims that were taken.   By the North Tower pool stood a tree known as the survivor’s tree.  Friends, family, and tourist left medallions, flowers, and notes in honor of those who have been affected by 9/11. Computers were set up against a wall to locate the names on each pool.

After 4 long days of travel, appointments, and the 9/11 memorial visit, Marla and Allie were ready to head back to the west coast.  As exhausted as they were, SnL had a successful trip with 26 media appointments.  Each client had stand out pieces that the editors went crazy for.  Restricted’s Lynn in burgundy was a hit while Matisse’s Tonic and Welsh were crowd pleasers.  The editors won’t be able to forget how soft the Shark Slim silicone straps are, and how cozy K. Bell’s soft & dreamy Over The Knees feel.  The editors loved Tsukihoshi’s washable feature and Queen George’s edgy skull prints.  Q’s exquisite transition ring, an inverted black pave diamond left the editors speechless.  SnL is excited and ready to fully dive into the fall 12 season!

In the PR world, you will notice there are some agencies that focus on everything underneath the sun (fashion, beauty, lifestyle, décor, entertainment etc.) and you wonder to yourself…How do they do it all? Once you delve a bit deeper you come to realize how important it is to always maintain your credibility within your specific area of expertise, but also to expand your horizons and change as necessary to meet the demands of new prospects. Even though that might mean seeking out new relationships and delving into new territories outside of once familiar waters ( good for you!), a great agency should be able to successfully expand their portfolio and continue to make themselves relevant in years to come.

Perfect example; here at SnL we started off as a west coast fashion and footwear PR agency and we have continued to expand and evolve over the years. Every day is exciting, new, and fresh and we always remember how important it is to continuously seek out new challenges and expand our knowledge. SnL is thrilled to most recently be named the agency of record for Zappos.com (Private label) and Zappos Couture, along with Civilianaire (premium denim), Queen George (novelty t-shirts), Sugar (junior footwear) and Tokidoki (lifestyle).  These clients keep us on our toes and keep things exciting…

So here’s your challenge:  every day do something new. No matter if its finding a new charity, seeking out a new relationship, or trying out a new sport. You just might surprise yourself!

Avid concert go-er, Partner Karen Schneider, says there is no festival like the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas. After having sampled the likes of Lollapalooza and the I Heart Music Festival in Vegas, we at SnL consider her to be quite the expert when it comes to the music scene.

Her favorite part about KROQ? The rotating stage.

Having gone to night 2 of this two day musical showcase, here’s what Karen had to say about her Sunday at the 22^nd Annual KROQ Almost Christmas;

“It’s the ultimate music festival! From 5:30 to 11:00PM, its nonstop music. While Mumford and Sons is wrapping their set, The Black Keys are setting up for their performance on the opposite side of the rotating stage, leaving you glued to your seat for the entire 5 ½ hour show!”

With such a contained venue, it’s a surprise anyone has the desire to get up to even use the bathroom. Other artists included names such as Foster The People, Florence + The Machine, The Naked and Famous and Jane’s Addiction playing hits as well as debuting new tunes, sending fans into a musical euphoric frenzy.

Having gotten her tickets from music business manager and brother, David Weise, Karen not only got to see the show, she got to hang with the acts backstage.

Since not all of us are lucky enough to hang with Mark Foster and hear the incredible vocals of Ms. Florence herself, we live vicariously through Karen. So until next year, Partner, Publicist and musical maven, Karen Schneider, out.

One of the most inspiring, emotional and entertaining events that we SnL partners attend yearly is the Glamour Magazine Women of the Year Awards, held in New York the first week of November.  Every year, we come back with a renewed faith in the “power and influence of females” and the extraordinary impact that women have in making a difference in the world. The audience includes the usual “VIPs and influencers” but also, a balcony full of young girls who are invited to hear and experience what women before them have accomplished. One of the best things about the event for us is the sheer element of surprise of who will be honored and who will be presenting the honors.  Although Glamour releases their annual Women of the Year issue before the event, we have always avoided it so we could sit there and gasp when one amazing, awe- inspiring celebrity after another walks out on stage. The oooh’s and ahhh’s are thrilling and have become a part of our tradition every year for the past 7 years…

Except for this year. Something overcame us. We couldn’t resist knowing who we were going to see. It was fun to sit before the event and talk about the history of that person, what we loved about them, why they would be honored and who could potentially present the honors? What has Chelsea Handler done (other than make a hell of a lot of people laugh) to be honored? We commiserated about the horrific ordeal that Gabriele Giffords has gone through, the amazing success of Arianna Huffington’s “Huffington Post” when she sold it this year to AOL for $315 million, how excited we were to learn more about “Facebook Girl”- the woman who helped overturn the ruler of Egypt, what will Jennifer Lopez wear, and what an incredible kick ass woman is Gloria Steinem… we wondered how Debbie Harry sounds after all these years and what the Bush women have been doing to be honored as a threesome. We didn’t know who Cindy Sherman was, didn’t know much about Lea Michelle, nor had we heard of Withelma “T” Ortiz-Macey.  But we sure do now, and you can too – at Glamour.com

Even though we broke our tradition, there were still lots of surprises.  We still oooh’d and ahh’d when presenters Condoleezza Rice, Jessica Alba, Diane Sawyer, Jennifer Aniston, Barbara Walters, Donatella Versace and Anita Hill amongst others came out. We still laughed, cried and mostly were awestruck and inspired to be better, stronger and supportive women to each other.

Will we open the Women of the Year issue before the event next year? Guess we’ll see, but at least we’ll know our level of inspiration will remain unchanged. We still walked away feeling like we can do anything we want if we set our minds to it. In the words of Chelsea Handler “You really can do whatever it is you want to do. You just have to get out there and F*%#CKng do it.”

Jennifer Aniston introducing Chelsea Handler

 

Chelsea Handler speaking at the eventÂ

Jennifer Lopez on the Glamour red carpet

Donned as ‘The Biggest Live Music Event in Radio History,’ the iHeartRadio Music Festival was not to be missed this past weekend. Performers and fans flooded Vegas for what can only be described as the Grammy’s for the common man, although you were sure to spot a celeb in the crowd if you looked hard enough. SnL founding partner, Karen Schneider, came back gushing about the magical musical variety and energy of the show. The festival featured performances by every big name out today, Fergie to Coldplay to Gaga to Rascal Flatts all attracting quite an array of fans. So you can only imagine, the fashion was something to behold.

First you’ve got the typical Vegas fashion: sequins, ‘Fergalicious’ short-shorts, sparkled tights (not unlike our favorite metallic’s from K. Bell) and cocktail dresses- tight and decadent as ever. Seated intermittently throughout the dominating Vegas glam were country fans adorned with jeweled jeans, boots, belts and the like. And last but not least Karen saw the free spirited, slightly edgy bohemian style (so band of gypsies) which was also illuminated on stage with Steven Tyler’s ultra-cool rocker wardrobe.

See below for a snippet from Karen’s photo diary of the performances, fans and fashion from her killer festival weekend in Vegas!

There are so many amazing causes, So many amazing people doing amazing things And I truly believe we’re all on this earth to do something more than just live… But I often find myself paralyzed and overwhelmed by so much devastation and sadness in every sector in every corner of our lives…that I can’t choose just one…And all of them are truly amazing… Children need help all over the world, there’s hunger, disease, a global water crisis, injustice to women, environmental destruction, natural disasters and people left homeless, drought, poverty, mental illness, our oceans are polluted, animals need homes, and so so much more. We have needs in our country yet there are global issues more distressing than anything we can fathom. Meanwhile we go on with our lives and people die. Unfairly, unjustly for so many different reasons. Different cancers have taken different people in my life, how do I choose which one to focus on and support? Mental illness is prevalent in my family, autism is prevalent in my family… how can I make even a tiny difference in any of these things? What we do at SnL doesn’t really “make a difference” but if anything, maybe it has made us think and become aware of so many great people who dedicate their lives to making a difference. AND we need to remember that if every one of the billions of people on this earth “do something” we can collectively make a difference. I wish I could be one of those people that dedicate their lives to a cause and really make a difference. Maybe someday I will. Taking off on a shoe drop to Ethiopia, traveling to a remote village in Africa to help build a water well, even going on a mission to save lives somewhere, anywhere… Until then, I will continue to be inspired and awestruck by the people that do and their dedication and courage. One of these people is Agi Hershberg. Agi’s husband died of Pancreatic Cancer. One of the most deadly of all cancers. It took her husband and it took my mother in law. And it’s trying to take Karen’s. And we all know about the fight Steve Jobs is fighting. And there are thousands more. Agi has dedicated her life to finding a cure for this evil disease. So today I will choose and honor her work. You can learn more about it at www.pancreatic.org. Whether there’s that one special thing in your life YOU’RE passionate about and want to support, or if you’re like me and you just can’t pick, pick them all! And let’s all continue to be inspired by people like Agi, Blake Mykoskie, even little Seth Maxwell or even Bill Gates or Nelson Mandella who have made a commitment to making a difference. We need more of these people on this earth. I honor all causes and the people who have dedicated their lives to making a difference. Causes don’t make a difference, people do.

It’s already been one year since we moved into our new office! It sure has been a wild, crazy, exhausting, interesting and rewarding year…

Let’s first touch on the wild and crazy… we moved into our new digs and after 10 years in our old space, it was quite cathartic going through years’ of “stuff” and when we say we left almost everything behind… we truly did. Our desks, chairs, computers… it all stayed. Now we sit in our lofty space with lots of fresh air and less “stuff” crowding our office and instead lots of fresh and creative ideas are filling the room.

Not only was the move exhausting, but the economy took its toll on us too… we saw clients come, clients go, staff come, staff go… whew, just thinking back about it makes us queasy. But we’ve ridden the storm – and we’re settling in, settling down and looking forward to settling some new clients! Our latest client additions, Band of Gypsies and Suss have been incredibly fun and rewarding brands to work on and our expansion into social media has been extremely successful. We’ve been able to increase our clients’ fans and followers two-fold, and have even launched a few ad campaigns and new websites along the way. We may still have hills to climb but we’ve got hiking boots under our high heels so bring it on!

And… it’s really interesting that although we may have our smallest team since our beginnings over 23 years ago, we have the most dynamic, synergistic and professional group ever. We hired our first-ever VP this year, Marla White and she’s keeping us all on our toes, and keeping us laughing (have you heard her infectious laugh?). And our recent SnL Guac Off was a fun celebration of summer and our camaraderie…

The rewarding part? As we head into our 24th year of business, we still hear laughter in the office, our clients have become our friends, our brands businesses are growing, we’re giving back… and we’re still having fun.

Here’s to the bright side of 2011.

adidas

Dad ALWAYS needs a new gym bag, even if he thinks he doesn’t!  The large Striker Duffle from adidas is perfect and can be purchased at www.adidas.com for $45.00.

Auri

No one does style AND comfort like Auri Footwear.  Dad will LOVE these Gulf Stream kicks available at www.aurifootwearonline.com for $165.00 – he might even get out of that chair!

Freestyle

What dad doesn’t want a stylish performance watch?  Freestyle’s Tide 4.0 has tide/sunrise/sunset data for 150 beaches worldwide for 10 YEARS with preset heat times of 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 minutes!  $100.00 at www.freestyleusa.com

K. Bell

Think K. Bell’s just for women – NOT EVEN!  Check out their amazing “Xtremely Soft” socks for men at www.kbellsocks.com.  Available in black, charcoal, navy, and khaki and at $8.00 – you can get all 4!

Save the ta-tas

We all know someone  touched by breast cancer, BE A MAN – and sport this shirt in support– “Save a life, grope your wife” – we’ll smile through a serious subject!  $29. At www.savethetatas.com

adidas Striker duffle

 

Auri Gulf Stream

 

 

Freestyle Tide 4.0

K. Bell Xtremely Soft Men's Socks

Save the ta-tas men's "Grope" shirt