A Chance for Five Individuals to win $500 and Matching Donation to Local Charity

Los Angeles, CA – OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network announced today the launch of an online holiday sweepstakes at Oprah.com in support of the new fall series “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s.” Starting today through November 28, viewers can enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win $500, in addition to a matching $500 donation to a local charity in their community at www.oprah.com/sweetthanks.

Viewers are encouraged to share a Thanksgiving family tradition (e.g., favorite recipe, family activity, fun memory, etc.), using the text and photo upload tools available on Oprah.com.

Five winners will be chosen at random and are eligible to receive:

• $500 award

• $500 matching donation to the winner’s local charity for the holidays

Winners will be announced on on-air December 3 during the season finale of “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s” on OWN.

About “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s”

Saturday, 9-10 p.m. ET/PT When Robbie Montgomery – one of the original back-up singers for 1960s soul duo sensation Ike and Tina Turner – toured with the band, she poured her creative gifts into her cooking as much as her singing. After the singing stopped, Robbie took her mother’s soul food recipes, passed down through generations, and created the empire known as “Sweetie Pie’s,” St. Louis’ iconic and wildly popular soul food restaurant run by Robbie and her dynamic family. With two successful locations, Miss Robbie is upping the ante and preparing to open a third restaurant with the help of her son and business partner, Tim. While Tim and his girlfriend, Jenae, also prepare for the birth of their first child – and their wedding – Miss Robbie, who has never been married, continues to look for love at the age of 71. “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s” follows the loud, loving and still very musical Montgomery family as they struggle with the demands of expanding their family-owned business, one soulful dish at a time. Produced by Pilgrim Films & Television.

About OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network

A joint venture between Harpo, Inc. and Discovery Communications, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network is a multi-platform media company designed to entertain, inform and inspire people to live their best lives. OWN debuted on January 1, 2011, in approximately 77 million homes on what was the Discovery Health Channel. The venture also includes the award-winning digital platform, Oprah.com. For more information, please visit www.oprah.com/own and www.press.discovery.com/us/own.

18 Scholarships Totaling $200,000 to be Awarded

Women’s specialty retailer Talbots announces the launch of the Talbots Charitable Foundation’s 2012 Scholarship Program,  which empowers women to enrich themselves by returning to college later in life. For the 2012 academic year, the Foundation will award 17 $10,000 scholarships and one $30,000 Nancy Talbot Scholarship Award, in memory for the company’s founder.  This award will be presented to the finalist demonstrating creativity, conviction and an entrepreneurial spirit

The Talbots Scholarship Program is accepting applications online now through January 3, 2012 at Talbots.com/scholarship. The program is administered by Scholarship Management Services, a division of Citizen’s Scholarship Foundation of America, Inc.  The following women will serve on the panel of judges to assist in the selection of finalists:

• Joy Bauer, America’s favorite nutritionist and author
• Kate Betts, fashion editor and author
• Jean Chatzky, award winning journalist and best selling financial expert
• Rachael Chong, founder and CEO of Catchafire, helping nonprofits access probono
• Sunita Cooke, president of Grossmont College
• Kelly Corrigan, New York Times bestselling author
• Ann Daly, career coach, consultant and author
• Beth Kanter, blogger, social media expert and author
• Gloria Cordes Larson, president of Bentley University
• Pamela Mitchell, founder and CEO of the Reinvention Institute
• Mary Alice Stephenson, fashion and style expert and commentator
• Trudy Sullivan, president and CEO of The Talbots, Inc.

“We believe that education opens opportunities for women and are very pleased to increase the number of scholarships that will be granted in 2012,” said Lori Wagner, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Talbots. “Every one of the 15 years we’ve been running the Program, we’ve been awed and inspired by our applicants’ determination and ability to re-imagine the world as they know it.”

Eligibility requirements include women who currently reside in United States or Canada, earned their high school diploma or GED on or before September 2002, and are currently enrolled or planning to enroll in a college or university.

“Now at 52, I finally have the opportunity to prove that I can succeed in college,” said Patricia Welch, the 2011 Nancy Talbot Scholarship recipient.  “Receiving the scholarship allows me to reach my full potential as an artist and educator and fulfill my dreams of utilizing sculpture and film making to assist women and children who are beginning their healing journey.”

Talbots Focus on Education

The Talbots Scholarship Program is sponsored by the Talbots Charitable Foundation, Inc., an IRS recognized 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.  The Foundation provides financial support to non-profit organizations that enrich the lives of women.  The Scholarship Program has helped over 600 women pursue their educational dreams since its inception in 1997.

About Talbots

Talbots (NYSE:  TLB) is a specialty retailer and direct marketer of women’s apparel, shoes and accessories.  The Company’s online shopping site is located at www.talbots.com.

Fulei Ngangmuta
‎1. Ladybrille & ARISE’s one major contribution to Africa’s fashion is exposure. Without having both of these awesome outlets, the world of fashion would still have no clue to the shear creativity & forward fashion that if taking place in Africa.
2. I believe African designers need consistency, continuity & technology. Consistency for the sake that you cannot be here one minute & then nowhere to be found the next. You must have a consistent brand. Continuity in 2nd aspect of knowing what the trends will be & having ur line speak w/ elements of it. Not just designing haphazardly but w/ a flow to tell a story. 3rd technology in the sense to use to the benefit of your brand. A well working website, programs that assist in the growth of the brand ie Autocad, photoshop etc. & connections to social networking sites for exposure.
3. St. Petersburg, FL

Back in the day African Fashion in America was fake kente cloth & kufi hats…today though thanks to the contribution of magazines like ladybrille & Arise there is more awareness because they have brought the diversity of African Fashion to the international community. Also in this age of celebrity, fashion is very much tied to the music & movie industries…so African designers need to bring their fashion to those industries first if they want to expand their impact in the US market….thanx & I wish Africa continued success!!!
Keep Rising,
~Afia Nortey
Repping Accra, GH via NY, NY

AJ’waa Abeasi
Ladybrille and Arise Magazine continue to bring African fashion to the forefront of international fashion. Now all eyes are on Africa! New African designers need to start cultivating strong partnerships with already established brands or personalities who have made their mark in the U.S fashion industry.
Atlanta, GA

Ren Dc
I think that one of the contributions that Ladybrille and Arise Africa have made to the African Fashion industry is definitely theinterbational recognition of its photographers and models.

I think African designers should create alliances with stores, designers and magazines to stimulate the exposure of their creations to the American market.

My name is Ren and I live in NY. I’m hoping to win tickets for fashion show. Thank you.

Pam Ebele
‎1.) One contribution I believe both Ladybrille and Arise Magazine have made to Africa’s fashion Industry is giving Africa an international and sophisticated voice and mode of expression. For so long, many Africans, including those of the Diaspora, have craved for respresentations of Africa and its influnce in an elegant, postitve and self-motivating light. These magazines have done just that an
d the impact is immediate–from Burberry Porsum adopting ankara for one of their recent collections to Mercedes Benz hosting African designers at this year’s FNO.

2.) I think the number one requirement for African designers breaking into the US market is authenticity. If one’s product is good, people will love it and subsequently buy. Hard, true and authentic work does not go unnoticed.

3.) New York City (Manhattan), NY

Ladybrille Magazine & Arise Magazine have contributed tremendously to the African fashion industry by exposing our rich fashion/culture to the Global economy. I personally think African Fashion designers need to think out of the box from the basic pieces to other fashion accessories, although initiatives have been adopted in the past year to expand from just clothes to african printed shoes, bags, etc., many other fashion apparels have yet to be made using our vibrant African prints (eg hand lauggage made out of gorgeous ankara prints….who knows??) ………….Far Rockaway, NY.

These are all great entries that will help our African designers and fashion industry.

CLICK HERE FOR THE CONTEST INFORMATION AND HOW TO PARTICIPATE

THANK YOU!

Ladybrille Team

Glimpse of the Elite Models and Designers that await you!

Leona Lewis Will Perform

An Arise Magazine show is one you DO NOT want to miss! It is an opportunity to watch elite models strut the runway in Bunmi Koko, Lanre DaSilva-Ajayi, Jewel by Lisa, Asibelua, Tsemaye Binitie, Pierre- Antoine Vettorello and Klûk CGDT, a show produced by Jan Malan. It is also an opportunity to watch Leona Lewis perform, see and possibly snap a picture or two with powerful fashion editors, celebrities, models and trendsetters who will be present.

HOW TO ENTER

Entering this contest is very easy!

#1. Click to “LIKE” Ladybrille Magazine Facebook FAN page, if you haven’t already.

#2. Once on our fan page, WRITE ON OUR WALL, your answers to the following :

• 1) Name one contribution you believe Ladybrille Magazine & Arise Magazine have made to Africa’s fashion industry?AND
  
• 2) What do you  think is required  from African fashion designers  so they can breakthrough to the  USA market?

For extra consideration: you can also follow and tweet your answer to @ladybrille and cc: @arisemagazine

3. TELL US YOUR CITY & THE STATE YOU RESIDE

 NOTE: Winners will be selected randomly. Winners will be contacted via Facebook and results also posted on our Facebook fan page. Winners must respond within 24hours of posting otherwise another winner will be chosen. Contest opens today Wednesday September 7th, 2011 and ends Monday September 12th, 2011, 9AM EASTERN STANDARD TIME. You MUST be 18 to enter this contest. Contest is Open to USA residents only.

NOTE: Ladybrille Magazine reserves the right to modify contest rules should it deem it necessary. Winners are SOLELY responsible for their own travel and accommodations to the event(s).

***Thank you for your continued support! We look forward to reading your entries!

Academy of Art University is hosting a New York Fashion Week Contest! They are giving away a free pair of VIP Tickets to New York Fashion Week to one lucky winner. Winners will get to mingle with industry insiders while they watch the debut of Academy of Art University’s Spring 2011 Collections.

THE RULES

Join Academy of Art University on Facebook and share your passion for fashion by posting on their wall

Follow the @Academy_of_Art Twitter feed and tweet about your passion for fashion. Tweet must include a link to the contest (bit.ly/AAUtix) and #AAUtickets.

Entries must be posted by Midnight PDT on August 26. The winner will be announced on August 31. The most creative entry will be chosen as the winner by Simon Ungless, Director of Fashion at Academy of Art University.

Here is the link to the contest: http://www.academyart.edu/fashion-school/new-york-fashion-week-contest.html

Academy of Art University’s School of Fashion is the only school to show at New York Fashion Week, which makes this contest an amazing opportunity to see up-and-coming fashion designers and rub elbows with fashion’s elite. You can see the Academy’s Fall 2010 Collections here: www.academyart.edu/fashionshow/2010-02-13_new_york.html.

Good luck!

~Courtesy photo

Voted by their peers, the top 87 finalists will be judged by a panel of industry celebrities to find the 8 Real Teens winners who will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship and the chance to be featured in Aéropostale’s Fall 2010 marketing campaign. Judges include Ann Shoket, Editor in Chief of Seventeen and former judge on “America’s Next Top Model”; Taylor Gildersleeve, Actress “Haute and Bothered 2”; and many more!

For more information, head over to http://www.realteens2010.com/.

 Ladybrille Magazine, www.ladybrillemag.com, is giving away  two (2) copies of ‘Soldier of Love,’ Sade’s new album!  Sade’s album drops in stores on February 9th, 2010 BUT thanks to the legendary singer and her team, we get to give 2 of our lucky Ladybrille readers the VERY HOT  and in demand album!!!

HOW TO ENTER

Entering the contest is very easy!

1. Join our Ladybrille Magazine Facebook FAN page. If you are already a member of our group, thank you, but  you would still need to join our Facebook (FB) Fan Page (we will check).

2. We also give serious consideration if you tweet about the contest and of course follow us on twitter.

3. Once you join our Fan page, WRITE ON OUR WALL telling  us : 1) why you think you should win AND 2) what you like about Ladybrillemag.com. If you tweeted about us, be sure to let us know on the wall page.

4. Winners will be selected randomly.

5. Winners will be posted on our Facebook fan page.

6. Winners must respond within 24hours of posting otherwise another winner will be chosen.

7. Contest opens today Thursday February 4th, 2010 and ends February 9th, 2010.

8. You MUST be 18 to enter this contest.

Good luck!

NOTE: Ladybrille Magazine reserves the right to modify contest rules should it deem it necessary.
 
Sade – Soldier of Love (tracklisting)
 
1          The Moon and The Sky
2          Soldier of Love
3          Morning Bird
4          Babyfather
5          Long Hard Road
6          Be That Easy
7          Bring Me Home
8          In Another Time
9          Skin
10         The Safest Place

SADE BIOGRAPHY
Soldier of Love is only the sixth studio album the band Sade have released during their 25 year career, and the first since Lover’s Rock in 2000. For Sade herself, as the lynchpin of the group’s songwriting effort, it’s a simple matter of integrity and authenticity. “I only make records when I feel I have something to say. I’m not interested in releasing music just for the sake of selling something. Sade is not a brand.”

The call went out in 2008 for the group to re-convene at Peter Gabriel’s Real World studio, near Sade’s home in the countryside of south west England. It was the first time the four principals had met up since the Lover’s Rock tour wrapped in 2001. Bassist Paul Denman de-camped from Los Angeles, where he had been managing his teenage son’s punk band, Orange. Guitarist and sax player Stuart Matthewman interrupted his film soundtrack work in New York, and keyboardist Andrew Hale gave up his A&R consultancy.

In a series of fortnightly sessions at Real World, Sade sketched out the material for a new album which, they all felt, was probably their most ambitious to date. In particular, the sonic layering and martial beats of the title track, Soldier Of Love, sounded quite different from anything they had previously recorded. According to Andrew Hale: “The big question for all of us at the beginning was, did we still want to do this and could we still get along as friends?” The answer soon came back as a passionate affirmative.

The album was completed in the summer of 2009, mainly at Real World. The feel of the music this time had moved away from the old country soul styling of Lover’s Rock and assumed a more eclectic identity. At times the band sounded like the original Sade, with Matthewman back blowing soft sax on In Another Time and the vocal on Long Hard Road hymning. But with songs such as the joyously quirky reggae chant Babyfather, and the dramatically arranged album opener The Moon and the Sky, Sade were exploring new territory. “I never want to repeat myself,” Sade herself says. “And that becomes a more interesting challenge for us the longer we carry on together.”

Helen Folasade Adu was born in Ibadan, Nigeria. Her father was Nigerian, a university teacher of economics; her mother Anne was an English nurse. The couple met in London while he was studying at the LSE and moved to Nigeria shortly after getting married. When their daughter was born, nobody locally was prepared to call her by her English name, and a shortened version of Folasade stuck. Then, when she was four, her parents separated, and her mother brought Sade and her elder brother Banji back to England, where they initially lived with their grandparents just outside Colchester, Essex.

She listened to American soul music, particularly the wave led in the 1970′s by artists such as Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, and Bill Withers. As a teenager, she saw the Jackson 5 at the Rainbow theatre in Finsbury Park, where she worked behind the bar at weekends. “I was more fascinated by the audience than by anything that was going on on the stage. They’d attracted kids, mothers with children, old people, white, black. I was really moved. That’s the audience I’ve always aimed for.”

Music was not her first choice as a career. She studied fashion at St Martin’s School Of Art and only began singing after two old school friends with a fledgling group approached her to help them out with the vocals.

Somewhat to her surprise, she found that while the singing made her nervous, she enjoyed writing songs. Two years later she had overcome her stage fright and was regularly singing back up with a North London Latin funk band called Pride. “I used to get on stage with Pride, like, shaking. I was terrified. But I was determined to try my best, and I decided that if I was going to sing, I would sing the way I speak, because it’s important to be yourself.”

Sade served a long apprenticeship on the road with Pride. For three years, from 1981, she and the other seven members of the band toured the UK, often with her driving. Pride’s shows featured a segment in which Sade fronted a quartet that played quieter, jazzier numbers. One of these, a song called Smooth Operator, which Sade had co-written herself, attracted the attention of record company talent scouts. Soon, everybody wanted to sign her, but not the rest of Pride. Obstinately loyal to her friends in the group, Sade refused to depart. 18 months later she relented and signed to Epic records – on condition that she took with her the three band mates who still comprise the entity known as Sade: saxophonist Stuart Matthewman, keyboard player Andrew Hale, and bassist Paul Denman.

Sade’s first single, Your Love Is King, became a top 10 British hit in February 1984, and with that her life, and that of the band, changed forever. The unstressed, understated elegance of the music in conjunction with her look – unspecifically exotic and effortlessly sophisticated – launched Sade as the female face of the style decade. Magazines queued to put her on the cover. “It wasn’t marketing,” she says, wearily. “It was just me. And I wasn’t trying to promote an image.”

At the time of her first album, Diamond Life, her actual life was anything but diamond-like. Sade was living in a converted fire station in Finsbury Park with her then boyfriend, the style journalist Robert Elms. There was no heating, which meant that she had to get dressed in bed. The loo, which used to ice over in winter, was on the fire escape. The bath was in the kitchen. “We were freezing, basically.” For the remainder of the 1980′s, as the first three albums sold by the million around the world, Sade toured more or less constantly. For her this remains a point of principle. “If you just do TV or video then you become a tool of the record industry. All you’re doing is selling a product. It’s when I get on stage with the band and we play that I know that people love the music. I can feel it. Sometimes I yearn to be on the road. The feeling overwhelms me.”

Intrusive media interest in her private life has inspired a continuing reluctance on her part to participate in the promotional game. Having been travestied in print on many occasions, Sade rarely gives interviews. “It’s terrible this Fleet Street mentality that if something seems simple and easy, there must be something funny going on.”

For most of the past 20 years, Sade has prioritised her personal life over her professional career, releasing only three studio albums of new material during that period. Her marriage to the Spanish film director Carlos Scola Pliego in 1989; the birth of her daughter in 1996 and her early 21st century move from North London to rural Gloucestershire, where she now lives with a new partner, have consumed much of her time and attention. And quite rightly so. “You can only grow as an artist as long as you allow yourself the time to grow as a person,” Sade says. “We’re all parents, our lives have all moved on. I couldn’t have made Soldier of Love any time before now, and though it’s been a long wait for the fans – and I am sorry about that – I’m incredibly proud of it.”

In order to participate, professional designers with production capability are asked to submit an application online at macysinc.com/opencall. Completed applications must be received Jan. 15 – Jan. 31 in order to be reviewed by the Macy’s Fashion Office. Applicants will receive a response from the Macy’s Fashion Office by email during the first two weeks of February 2010, to advise if they are being invited to participate in Macy’s Open Call, which will be an opportunity to present their work, in person, to Macy’s fashion directors and selected Macy’s buyers and merchants at Macy’s Herald Square in New York City on Feb. 25 or 26.* Again, invited designers are expected to present their work in person at the Open Call at the scheduled time Feb. 25 – 26, 2010.

Important Dates
Jan. 31, 2010 – Last day to submit applications
Feb. 1-15, 2010 – Communication from the Macy’s Fashion Office to applicants
Feb. 25-26, 2010 – Macy’s Open Call Presentations

Open Call Presentations

• The presentations will be made to the Macy’s Fashion Office directors and selected Macy’s buyers and merchants.
• The presentations will be scheduled for specific appointments, each approximately 10 minutes long, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 25 and Feb. 26.
• Each participating designer should bring 6-10 samples of product that s/he regards as best from a fashion-forward, value perspective. Samples may be presented in any combination of actual goods, sketches, other images and/or editorial materials.
• Each participating designer should also bring a copy of his/her application.
• Each participating designer should prepare a 5-minute presentation and be prepared with questions s/he would like to pose to a Macy’s buyer or merchant.
• The Fashion Office directors and buyers will meet with the designer for approx. 10 minutes, listen to the presentation, provide feedback and take a few minutes to finalize notes.

The designer’s collections/sketches will be considered in the following categories:

• Quality/Value: Includes construction, fabrication and pricing
• Styling/Trend: Includes concept, design uniqueness and brand character
• Fit/Lifestyle: Includes evaluation of relevance to design vision

Application/Presentation Tips:
The Open Call will give designers time to meet with decision makers who represent Macy’s, a national department store. This is a valuable opportunity and designers should make effective use of these meetings by:

• Completing the application honestly, with detail, and putting forth the best you have to offer for assessment.
• Considering and then asking questions that elicit information the designer would need if a new vendor relationship were to be established or to demonstrate to Macy’s that the designer has the requisite level of sophistication and experience.
• Being prepared to confirm that there are no existing commitments that would make it difficult for the designer to become a Macy’s resource.
• Making sure that presentation materials are ready and on-site. This is an opportunity for professionals and professionalism is expected.
• Taking this opportunity to learn about Macy’s as Macy’s learns about you. Because you will be given the time to discuss your work with Macy’s fashion directors, use it to also learn about yourself and how to be in a better position next year.
• You can do that by asking smart questions such as
  “How do you think my designs would be received by the Macy’s customer?”
  “How can I make my design more attractive to Macy’s and to the Macy’s customer?”
  “If not this season, can I come back and show you my work for next season?”
  “Do my line sheets include the right information?”
  “How do I become the kind of designer, from a business readiness perspective and from a fashion perspective, that Macy’s wants as a resource?”

Results
Following the review process, the Macy’s fashion directors, buyers and merchants participating in the Open Call will discuss each of the designers and their presentations and decide if there is an interest in pursuing further discussions. Each designer will be notified by phone after Mar. 1, 2010 as to any decision, including any follow-up with other Macy’s merchants.

* Designers invited to participate in the “Macy’s Open Call” are responsible for their own travel to New York City for their presentation at Herald Square and for their own accommodations and other arrangements.

APPLY HERE and GOOD LUCK!

For more details and to enter competition,  click here.

Wondering what Alicia has been up to? She is very busy and is taking a new role as a fierce entrepreneur.

In October 2009, she launched AK Worldwide, her company which will handle all of her non-music projects.
The same October she launched her jewelry line, The Barber’s Daughters, a handcrafted jewelry line engraved with messages of hope and wisdom.
In November she signed movie and TV deals which includes an NBC TV series contract.
December 1st, 2009 she held a WORLD AIDS Day concert with proceeds benefitting her Keep a Child Alive non-profit organization.

She plans an upcoming launch of iamasuperwoman.com celebrating inspirational women.

Keep up the brilliant work Ms. Keys!

• Valuable giveaways including a car, jewelry, trips and shopping sprees
• Gifts with Purchase
• Exclusive savings
• Opportunities to support local charities

and Much more!

Read all about this event and more on Ladybrille Blogazine, our Press release and Events Listing site.