When I was in Florida in February for my sister’s wedding, one of the guests said I needed to go to the Kino Factory in Key West for sandals. Kino’s? I had never heard of them but was intrigued. Who doesn’t love a good deal on sandals. And they are made in Key West, so figured I could get them at the source.

So on our last day, on our trip to the town, I had two must-dos: Southernmost Point and this tucked away Kino store. Found both. And while M kept the bench occupied, I went in and conducted my business.

There was a long shelf of all the colors and styles. I request the 8 from behind the counter to try on and confirm the size. And boom boom boom, I’ve got the sizes and colors in my hand in less than 5 minutes (nope, I didn’t try on all the pairs). Why debate at this price? I just found it funny as some of the tourists, debated, needed different sizes…for this price, you just buy it and give it away if it doesn’t fit in the end.

And I’m off to California tomorrow morning (for a week, so looking forward to it). And I think it might be time to break them out! I don’t do a lot of flip flop wearing in NY. I walk too much and I find the grime at the end of the day kind of gross. I only need one trip to see what my feet look like and won’t do it again the rest of the season.

So I’m sharing the Kino secret…I think you can find them online, so it’s not that big of a secret.

I’m a fan of MZ Wallace. This is me in India with my purple MZ.

I was introduced to the brand by my friend R in 2008. She wanted to pop into the Crosby Street store after catching up over coffee. I wasn’t going to argue, I’m always looking for a good bag. I left with the Bea and haven’t looked back. The bags are functional and help me look put together. It’s a durable nylon with enough details to hold it’s shape. I feel organized when I use that and well, that’s important in my “like to be organized life”. I can fit the laptop and gym clothes in it, and that’s what I like. I own a Bea, a Jane, a Zoe, and 2 I don’t know the names of which seem to have gone into retirement. I scope out the pop up sales and hit the 3 hour “everything is 50% off from 6-9 at the Crosby Street store” where I’ll stand in line for an hour with 40 other women.

So there was a Facebook post by the company looking for fans. Yes, I’m a fan on Facebook so sent in an email. After an exchange of emails, I went to meet up with the digital marketing firm they are working with. I’m a mid-thirties, practical kind of girl. And apparently, there is a “type” for owners of these bags. People like me. Who doesn’t love to talk about themselves? It was an hour of me rattling off what celeb would own one of these, what other brands I’m loyal to (Fergus said I was a wealth of info as I rattled on about the Laundress, Smart Wool, Pradagonia, Femmegems, Satya, and Tieks. All these random brands that clearly I have an affinity for). An interesting question they posed: Would I want to know more about MZ Wallace and the girls behind it? It made me realize I don’t know much, besides there are 2 women behind it. Maybe? I clearly know the two Cornell textile- trained women behind the Laundress and follow their blog.

It’s funny because were getting wine Saturday afternoon and the girl at the counter liked my Zoe. I like her, too.

I love interesting jewelry. A cool statement piece, a necklace with some sparkle, something bright. In my current casual state, I’m typically in jeans and a tshirt all day. So when I head out for an event, it’s typically some black (it’s easy and fast!), so like to add some fun with something from my jewelry collection.

• Most of my fun baubles tends towards the less expensive end of the range. For more creative color, I have a few Femmegems pieces I’ve made, but most of the rest is things I’ve picked up here and there.

• Last Wednesday I went to an event at Tribal Societe to support Young Executives for Success (Y.E.S!) and Dress for Success. A perfect opportunity to sip wine, mingle and try on jewelry.

• Tribal Societe showcases products that are hand made by artistans of tribal villages worldwide. The showroom is a great little space on Hudson Street and the website is very searchable (by jewelry piece, price range, color). The company was launched in March 2009 by Nicole Basabe and Alma Sehovic (who met in BSchool, yay for Bschool ladies!). It’s been featured in Stylecaster and Daily Candy.

• This is the necklace I purchased. Actually, I had on one strand and then Alma suggested that it’s even better with 2, and that she wears 3. Needless to say, I walked out with 3 strands.

She gave us a few business cards in case anyone asked about our purchases when we wore them. And actually, I got a complement the next night at the Inhabitat event (see last post). So it was clearly a great purchase.  Going to break out all 3 strands this Fall!