Marrakech, Morocco - day 3

11:00 AM
We decide that it’s time to visit the beautiful Majorelle Gardens & pay our respects to the late YSL. The gardens surround a Moorish villa (painted bright blue) all originally built in 1923 by the artist Jacques Majorelle. Saint Laurent bought the house in the 1980s and had his ashes scattered in the gardens when he passed away in 2008. The gardens are a luscious oasis and we spend time strolling in the shade, enjoying the ponds and fountains, and checking out the collection of YSL "Love" posters on display.

2:00 PM
Lunchtime means a meal of Tagine (traditional slow-cooked stew) and Fanta on the rooftop terrace of a restaurant in the Medina. As we watch the city bustling below us we can’t help but see Marrakech as an old world version of New York. Vendors calling out to passersby, cabbies attempting to rip-off tourists, street performers begging for money. Marrakech is just like New York. But with donkeys.

4:00 PM
More shopping! J buys her brother one of the flutes that the snake charmers use to entrance the cobras with blaring tunes (you’re welcome Mom and Dad), H buys a beautiful cognac leather satchel for a fraction of the price that it would cost in the states. We spend about an hour in the lantern shop as we hold up the lanterns to the light and deliberate which ones would look best hanging in our apartments at home.

7:00 PM
Back to the Riad to watch the sunset from the rooftop terrace, which has become our daily routine and a fantastic way to end each day. From the roof we can hear the distant sounds of the drums and flutes from the Jemaa el Fna, mixed with the sounds of children playing on nearby rooftops. We gaze at the swallows darting about the fading sky and watch as the sun sets on Koutoubia and the city of Marrakech. When we hear the call for prayer time echoing in surround sound from the mosques around the city, we know it’s almost time to head down to the courtyard for dinner.

xx H&J

The beautiful Majorelle Gardens!

Ode to YSL

Birds eye view of Jemaa el Fna.

Sunset from our rooftop terrace.

Marrakech, Morocco - day 2

11:00 AM
We’re off to the Bahia Palace, a 19th century, 150-room palace where a grand vizier once lived with his four wives and 24 concubines. More recently, P. Diddy threw a huge birthday bash here in 2002 complete with dancers performing on flying carpets. The palace is full of intricately painted cedar ceilings, delicate stucco work, stained-glass windows and colorful zellij tiles. We spend time in awe of the beautiful architectural details and enjoying the beautiful Andalusian gardens.

3:00 PM
Our first venture into the Souks (markets) of Marrakech! The Souks are full of the traditional handicrafts of the country and the market is arranged by these categories. Leather goods, jewelry, spices, lanterns, carpets, slippers, woodwork and pottery fill the stalls that stretch for blocks and blocks in any direction. The Souks are full of rich spice aromas, vibrant colors of the wares, the sounds of vendors calling out, and customers bustling to and fro.

Today’s venture in the Souks finds us buying old Berber pottery, vintage Saharan jewelry and antiqued mirrors. We barter with the vendors and get a kick out of the process of writing down our “best price” on a pad of paper that we pass back and forth between the vendor and us. They throw out a ridiculously high price, we feign shock. We throw out a ridiculously low price, they feign shock. The process continues until we meet somewhere in the middle. We learn that the line “You insult me and my family” is a common bargaining tool and add it to our Moroccan lingo.

6:00 PM
Tea time! We wander back to Jemaa el Fna where J has traditional mint tea and H has a café au lait as we watch the square come to life as the day comes to an end. Pedestrians, cars, bicycles, mopeds, donkey carts, everyone shares the same narrow streets here in a dance that follows the rhythm of this vibrant city.

XX H&J

Bahia Palace. Zellij tiles, intricate carved door & stucco work!

Painted ceilings!!

J in the courtyard of Bahia Palace.

The Souks!

"You insult me & my family!" H bartering for a bowl.


View of Jemaa el Fna from our favorite cafe at tea time.

Marrakech, Morocco - day 1

11:00 AM
After a sleepless red-eye flight from JFK and a brief layover in Casablanca, we’ve finally arrived in Marrakech, Morocco for our carol marie inspiration trip for the spring 2011 collection!!! Couldn’t be more excited to see what the city has in store for us.

11:30 AM
We take a taxi our hotel, Riad Kaiss, a small boutique hotel located in the central part of the city, called the Medina. Riads are traditional Moroccan houses with the rooms built around a courtyard and many of them now function as boutique hotels in Morocco. Ours is complete with a spa, pool, courtyard and rooftop terraces that overlook the city.

3:00 PM
After a quick nap to catch up from the flight, we walk from our Riad to the Jemaa el Fna, the square that functions as the heart and soul of Marrakech. Open-air cafes and restaurants line the plaza and the hustle and bustle of the city passes through. The square exudes a vivacious energy and is filled with snake charmers, vendors, henna tattoo artists, entertainers, food stalls and musicians.

5:00 PM
We check out the Koutoubia mosque just as the ethereal call for evening prayers is being reverberated throughout the city. As non-Muslims we aren’t allowed to enter, but we peak into the 12th century mosque to see the faithful conducting prayers. With a minaret that reaches 210 feet, Koutoubia is easily the highest building in Marrakech and functions as the main landmark for the city. To a couple of New Yorkers, 210 feet doesn’t sound tall, but in a city where none of the other buildings reach over three stories high, Koutoubia majestically towers above the rest of Marrakech. We spend some time walking around the garden with swaying palm trees and Morocco’s famous orange trees.

8:00 PM
Back to the Riad for a traditional dinner of harira (Morocco’s delicious lentil and tomato soup), pastilla (a flaky pastry filled with sweet meats and vegetables), and of course wine!

xx H&J

The courtyard of our Riad.

The tiny, but beautiful, doors that lead to our room at the Riad.

Jemaa el Fna with Koutoubia minaret in the background.

Snake charmer!

H in front of the fruits & nuts stands in Jemaa el Fna.

Koutoubia

carol marie launch party!!!!!

Thanks to everyone who came out to support us this week for the official launch party for carol marie! The atmosphere at Avenue was perfect with PBR and vodka flowing freely & tunes from our favorite DJ Sergio as well as a performance by Cara Salimando. Check out images below for those of you who missed out on the fun!

xx H&J

So nervous for our big night!

The venue. We love the vintage chic aesthetic of Avenue!

A special performance by Columbia records artist Cara Salimando!

With Alan, one half of the design duo from Timo Weiland.

We're off to a running start with the carol marie Fall 2010 collection! Shopbop just picked us up, we showed the collection at editor preview days & we did the open-see day for new designers at Henri Bendel. Open-see is how tons of big designers like Anna Sui & Todd Oldham got their start in the industry. We got in line at 5 am and stood in the cold for 4 hours before we got in. But it was all worth the wait - stand by for the dates of the carol marie trunk show at Bendels NY this summer!!! And of course you can always check out & shop the newest styles at www.carolmariedesign.com

xx H&J

H setting up for editor previews

The line of hopefuls waiting outside Henri Bendel

On the way home to celebrate with mimosas!!!

carol marie hits the east village!

We're all about supporting other younger designers so we spent this past Saturday afternoon sipping on champagne and sorbet celebrating Timo Weiland at Pas de Deux in the east village. Design duo Timo and Alan were there to celebrate in the compact-but-chic boutique that looks just like your dream closet. Pas de Deux carries a perfectly edited selection of all of the best clothing & accessories that you want right now from the coolest designers. We fell in love with the Timo Weiland bow ties for women. Can't wait to rock them this spring!

But the best part of the day? Scoping out the glass jewelry display case where our very own carol marie jewelry is now available for purchase! Go check it out kids...

Pas de Deux
328 e. 11th St.
NY, NY 10003

xx H&J

Things have been crazy with new things going on for carol marie! We recently had our fall 2010 lookbook photo shoot & had headshots of ourselves taken as well! See below for faves from our portraits & a behind-the-scenes look at the fall 2010 carol marie lookbook shoot!

xx H&J

Smize!