

2012 Preliminary Judging Panel
Announcing our Preliminary Judging Panel for the Sixth Annual Independent
Handbag Designer Awards made up of the top industry influencers and bloggers.
Get live Tweets and updates on April 29th from the Hyatt 48 Lex New York where our
judges will select the finalists that will be announced on May 16th.
Colin T. McDonald is a noted Fashion Stylist and Commentator in New York City.
He's quickly emerging as one of the future faces of fashion. Along with being a
stylist, he commentates daily for many highly noted critics both on and off the
red carpet. Still finding time, he's also a fashion consultant for top and
emerging brands lending them his eye and expertise. Lastly, he's recently
launched a personal style blog Stylesource, and will soon be launching an online
TV network styleTV. For more information, please visit his website at
www.colintmcdonald.com.
Kathryn Finney is the founder of
TheBudgetFashionista.com and CEO of TBF Group, LLC, parent company of Simply
Good Media, an information network with the sole mission to teach you how to
live your best on less. Founded in 2003, the network’s flagship property is The
Budget Fashionista, one of the most popular and influential fashion blogs,
reaching a global audience of more than five million+ unique visitors a year. An
honors graduate of Yale and Rutgers Universities, Kathryn has been featured in
more than 600 media outlets, including TODAY show, Good Morning America, CNN,
E!/Style, Fox News and has been profiled numerous times leading publications
including the New York Times, USA TODAY, the Wall Street Journal, and InStyle.
Kathryn is considered an expert in building branded, women-centered online
properties and is a frequent keynote speaker at conferences such as Blogher
Business, South by Southwest (SXSW), New York Women in Communications, Women’s
Funding Network, and numerous colleges and universities. She is a founder and
trustee of The Robert Finney Foundation and serves on the board of the Hudson
Guild. A Minneapolis native, Kathryn lives in New York City with her husband and
35 shoes.
Highsnobette.com , was developed from a column on global men’s streetwear
fashion news site
Highsnobiety.com
since 2006. Through the founding editors Lois sakany and Samia Grand-Pierre
Highsnobette.com’s mission is to present a view of fashion that has no limits in
country, origin and influence. The DNA of Highsnobette :
“A women's lifestyle magazine devoted to outside-the-box fashion, art and
lifestyle trends. We're known for bridging the gap between streetwear and
couture and believe that a woman's greatest asset is the gift of duality and
complexity and females who can work those angles are beloved and admired by us.
In the HighSnobette universe, four-inch heels and sneakers are just as sexy as
tight jeans, a Fleet Ilya harness or a Chanel suit. What we like is what we like
and we aren't motivated by what's supposed to be hot or trendy. Yes, just like
the name, we're snobs and unashamed of it.”
Lois Sakany is a professional journalist, trend forecaster and business analyst
with a special focus on urban trends. Her work has been published in Sportswear
International, Footwear News, WGSN and WWD. Samia Grand-Pierre has a background
in retail, styling and social media management and has worked on various
projects for Levi’s, Reebok and American Apparel. Combined expertise includes
brand analysis, positioning, fit /styling, product seeding and collaboration,
plus influencer outreach
Amy DuFault has been writing about fashion and lifestyle for 15 years at such
publications as EcoSalon, Boston Magazine, Huffington Post and Coastal Living,
as well as appearing on ABC’s Emmy award-winning Boston news magazine Chronicle
and NBC’s “Style File” as a fashion expert. Amy is the current Managing Editor
and Fashion Editor of
EcoSalon, and on the
side, works with sustainable designers consulting, connecting and cheerleading
them on to greater success.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Micah Jesse's early fascination with the fabulous
lives of the rich and famous led him to New York City, where he attended Hofstra
University. While in school, Micah began covering red carpet events for Us
Weekly and OK! Magazine. Realizing the need to build his own platform, Micah
created
MicahJesse.com, which rapidly
gained popularity for its refreshing take on celebrity and entertainment news.
In just a few short years, Micah Jesse has blossomed from “blogger” to bona fide
Entertainment Personality and is celebrated throughout the industry for his
positive perspective on celebrity and entertainment news. Today, he is revered
as a “man about town” and can be seen on the red carpet mingling with celebs at
star studded events from “The Hamptons to Hollywood”.
Dawn Del Russo is a on-air fashion & lifestyle expert featured on Fox 5, CBS,
NBC, E News!, My 9, and Better TV, Martha Stewart Radio as well as host for a
local TV program. Dawn's fashion tips have been seen in national print InStyle,
Cosmo, Real Simple, Life & Style and US Weekly magazine. Dawn is the author of
"101 Glam Girl Ways to an Ultra Chic Lifestyle." Her tips cover, beauty,
fashion, healthy body and mind, stylish living, and finding inner confidence.
She has worked with top runway models, celebrities, and socialites, she loves to
add a little bit of glamour to every client on and off the red carpet. Dawn's
work can be viewed at
www.dawndelrusso.com
or visit her trendy boutique www.belladawn.com for stylish finds. Dawn is a
social media sweetheart and can be found chatting about fashion on twitter @DawnDelRusso,
posting finds on Pinterest, giving daily celebrity style tips on her YouTube
channel, virtual style advice, "Posing" for her 24,000 followers on Pose app,
and writing about her favorite beauty and fashion finds on her site My Intimate
Affair with Fashion.
Emma Grady is a stylist and award-winning fashion writer based in New York City.
She is the founder and editor of Past Fashion Future, an
internationally-acclaimed style site with a classic and timeless aesthetic, and
the resident fashion expert at Discovery's TreeHugger.com. Grady is regularly
featured across web and print publications, from WWD to Marie Claire, while her
highly-syndicated multimedia content has appeared everywhere from AOL to Current
TV. And you can link to
www.pastfashionfuture.com
Sara is currently a Digital Media Analyst at Nars Cosmetics and freelance
fashion/marketing/branding writer. A former Community Manager at Glamour, her
blog
sarazucker.com has been featured in
the Wall Street Journal, Lucky Magazine, on Racked, Mashable, Fashionista and
Refinery29, among others, and she has collaborated with such brands as ALDO, The
Outnet, Zappos, Warby Parker, and Betsey Johnson. She loves chicken fingers, the
History Channel, listening to herself talk, cashmere scarves and color-coding
her closet. To fully grasp the awesomeness that is Sara, follow her on Twitter
at @sbz.
Ysolt Usigan, digital diva, beauty maven and style guru: As a seasoned writer
and web editor, Ysolt has successfully created lifestyle content and provided
readers with engaging information for 10 years. Prior to her role as site
director at XO Group, Ysolt directed the tech and lifestyle vertical at
CBSNews.com/CBS Interactive where she quadrupled traffic to the section within
weeks of her arrival after executing her SEO, editorial and social media
strategy. Before her stint at CBSNews.com/CBS Interactive, Ysolt was the senior
editor of Beauty and Style at iVillage, where she leveraged the site’s content,
community and tools to create successful marketing campaigns and sales packages,
and was instrumental in millions of dollars in revenue annually. But beyond her
web and editorial prowess, Ysolt is extremely passionate about her readers,
studying users’ activities and comments, and using her findings to program
content to serve their needs. Check out her new blog at
www.theblush.com
Amina Akhtar is a veteran of the online fashion editorial realm. She's currently
the Fashion Director of
FashionEtc.com,
which she helped launch. Prior to this, she launched NYMag.com's The Cut blog
and online fashion section (winning the publication two ASME awards). She also
worked with NYTimes.com's online Style Section, conceiving videos, audio slide
shows, and other various multi-media. Amina also worked at Style.com, covering
fashion news, products, fashion shows and more. She started in fashion as an
assistant at Vogue, and helped conceive and launch the first issue of Teen Vogue
magazine. Amina has also worked with brands like Calvin Klein on their social
media platforms.
Sarah Reynolds is the Senior Social
Media Manager at ICED Media, a New York University alumni, and local fine
artist. Currently, she works on social media strategy and community management
for fashion and beauty brands such as Maybelline, Swatch US, Calypso St. Barth,
Kmart Fashion and Stylesip. Most recently she's been deemed one of Salvatore
Ferragamo's "Girls About Town" and has shown her artwork at Adrian Grenier's
Teenage Paparazzo Experience in New York City. If you want to chat affordable
fashion, tweet her @KmartFashion, for all thing art or strategy related follow @SarahReynoldsNY.
Pamela Pekerman is a
premier lifestyle correspondent, host, accessory expert, and spokesperson
reaching millions of women via her TV appearances, events, website, and social
media platforms. She has devoted her professional life to accessorizing your
body, bedroom & beyond – from the ring on your finger to the rug on your floor!
Pamela has appeared on VH1’s The Fabulous Life and morning/daytime shows on all
the major networks from NBC in Miami to FOX in New York to ABC in Houston. For
PIX11 Morning News NY and BETTER TV, she regularly shares style tips for every
budget and scoop on the latest trends. Currently, you can also hear her on
AfterBuzzTV.com covering fashion (Golden Globes Style Recap, Oscars LIVE Style
Recap, New York Fashion Week).
With her trademark whit, smile and relatable personality, Pamela appeared as a
style expert for HSN, where her trusted opinions sold millions of dollars worth
of merchandise. In 2012, she’ll debut on QVC as spokesperson and Creative
Director for Dan Azan handbags. Through her company, Psquared Productions,
Pamela has worked on projects ranging from styling, event hosting and editorial.
Pamela is a national spokesperson for off-priced retailers T.J. Maxx and
Marshalls and a brand ambassador/spokesperson for such elite and diverse clients
as HomeGoods, Blue Nile, Ulta Beauty, Crest, and Genesis Today. Her insight on
fashion lifestyle and entrepreneurship are often quoted in Life & Style, SUCCESS
for Women and The New York Times, to name a few.
As an event MC, Pamela has worked with a vast array of clientele including Simon
Property Malls, MCM, AMEX, The Plaza Hotel, Dasha Wellness Spa, and INK 48
Kimpton Hotel. Four times per year, she hosts her signature Accessorize parties
for an elite group of 35 media darlings and TV personalities. Past guests
include BRAVO’s Real Housewives Caroline Manzo, Alex McCord and Ramona Singer,
producers from Good Morning America and Rachael Ray Show, and key editors. Past
participating brands include Ford, Michael C. Fina, Franco Sarto, Intel, Stuart
Weitzman, Joy Mangano for HSN and Disney Couture Jewelry.
A regular on the Red Carpet, Pamela is as comfortable interviewing fashion
personalities like Marc Jacobs, Zac Posen, and Kimora Lee, as she is in sharing
her down-to-earth fashion advice with women across the country. She holds a
magna cum laude journalism degree from New York University and is devoted to her
charity, the Ilya Peckerman Fund which benefits the Vasculitis Foundation.
Pamela lives in New York with my husband, a man who actually encourages her to
indulge in famous red soles and things that sparkle!
Georgia Bobley is currently a writer at
guestofaguest.com, where she writes posts on various lifestyle topics. She
is also a co-founder of the blog SkinnyOffice (www.theskinnyoffice.com), which
offers daily snack suggestions to people who work in offices and are looking for
low-calorie snacking options that are easy to eat at their desks. Recently,
SkinnyOffice was chosen to sample Luna Bar's newest flavor bar, and a post about
it will be on the blog in a few weeks. Previously, Georgia worked at Girls Learn
International; a non-profit organization that pairs US middle and high schools
with schools in developing countries in order to promote cross cultural exchange
and understanding, and she remains involved with the organization today. Georgia
spends all of her free time traveling, most recently to Hong Kong and Vietnam,
and will be headed to Dubai and London this summer.
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