On Wednesday, April 3rd, AMP3 client Magnifico Giornata launched their new sparkling wine infused essence collection with an invite-only party hosted by VH1′s Carrie Keagan, a partner in the brand. The event was held at the coveted Beaumarchais in New York’s meatpacking district, a venue known for their extravagant weekend brunch parties. Guests began arriving at 8pm and were greeted with glasses of Magnifico Giornata. Each of the essences were available for guests to sample and enjoy, including: Ginger Pêche, Grapefruit Blanc, and Lavender Honey. In addition to passed hors d’oeuvres, a pairing table was arranged so that guests could pair small bites created specially to compliment each of the essences. When guests weren’t sampling the product, they were enjoying tunes spun by renowned New York DJ, Jeffrey Tonnesen. At 8:30pm, Carrie Keagan formerly kicked off the event by saying a few words about the brand. She then introduced the 1st of 3 performances by burlesque troop Nuit Blanche. Known for their provocative performances, and with sparklers in hand, they did not disappoint. At the end of the soiree, Magnifico Giornata’s CEO Bob Manfredonia capped off the evening with a brief thank you speech. On the way out, guests were treated to complimentary gift bags featuring two bottles of Magnifico Giornata and decadent truffles to take home. The event marked the official launch of Magnifico Giornata in the Greater New York Area. The collection will be available at a suggested retail price of $24.99 a bottle in finer liquor stores and lounges throughout the city, and will roll-out to other key markets in the U.S. during 2013.

Notable attendees at the celebration included: Carrie Keagan (Host, VH1′s Big Morning Buzz with Carrie Keagan), Phillip Bloch (Celebrity Stylist), Janell Snowden (VH1), Trey Morgan (Radio Host, Z100), Kristen Ruhlin (Actress), J Smith Cameron (Actress), Cara Castronuova (Fitness Personality/Trainer, The Biggest Loser, Season 11).

For more information about Magnifico Giornata, please visit: www.magnificobrands.com.
Twitter: @MagnificoGio #BeMagnifico

If you’re looking for Consumer PR or Event PR services, please contact Ashley Lutzker of AMP3 Public Relations at 646-827-9594 or info@amp3pr.com.

Nolcha Fashion Week: New York presented by RUSK wraps-up Fall/Winter 2013 runway presentations

New York, NY (February 18th, 2013) — On Wednesday, February 13, Nolcha Fashion Week: New York Fall/Winter 2013 presented by RUSK held their runway shows at Pier 59. The day-long event featured 3 runway shows, and 13 designers. Now in its sixth year, Nolcha is one of New York’s leading platforms for independent fashion designers, and this season’s designers were global in scope including designers based out of China, Sweden, The UK, Brazil, and across the U.S.

The 1:30pm show featured: Mikailee Alton, Tess Johnson, Dos Caras Swimwear and The Vanity Project (featuring select shoes by Cat Footwear). The Vanity Project had celebrities walking in their show including rock-band “Early Morning Rebel,” Steve Maneri (Tight-end for the Kansas City Chiefs) and Robert McClain (defensive-back for Atlanta Falcons).

The 4:30pm show featured: Diana Simaan, Studio 6th Sense, Andressa Leão, Adolfo Sanchez and Michael Fenici. The Michael Fenici show included NYC’s most notable business men—including Nolcha’s own President, Arthur Mandel—making their catwalk debut to illustrate how Fenici’s bespoke suits are customized to different types & styles of men.

The 7:30pm show featured: JUNGWON (designer rain coats) Samantha Cole London, Lilly Lorraine and Dany Tabet. Tabet shocked the audience when during his finale walk, he stopped the music and started talking about his muse. He pulled her out of the audience and got down on one knee with a Tiffany box wrapped in a ribbon and proposed. The entire audience rose to their feet in a standing ovation and she said yes, it was an incredible moment where Fashion Week actually stood still, if only for a minute.

Celebrity attendance at the shows included: Carrie Keagan (VH1) with hair by RUSK, Dawn Olivieri (House of Lies) who was wearing Nolcha designer Tess Johnson, Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola (Jersey Shore), Kacie Boguskie (The Bachelor) who wore looks by Nolcha’s designers Diana Simaan & Lilly Lorraine, Waka Flocka (rapper), Masha (recording artist), Allure (female R&B group), Briella Calafiore (Style Network’s Glam Fairy), Early Morning Rebel (rock band), Krystal Joy Brown (Broadway star, “Big Fish”) who wore Dany Tabet, Guinevere (recording artist), Steve Maneri (Kansas City Chiefs), Robert McClain (Atlanta Falcons), and James Anderson (Carolina Panthers).

The Presenting Sponsor RUSK returned for a second consecutive season, and was joined by Official Sponsors: smartwater, CLEAR, RealBeanz, DON Q Rums, FOCO Pure Coconut Water and American Airlines.

For more information, visit: www.nolchafashionweek.com. For any press related inquiries, please contact Alyson Roy of AMP3 Public Relations via 646.827.9594 or nolcha@AMP3pr.com.

About Nolcha Fashion Week: New York

Nolcha Fashion Week is a leading award winning event for independent fashion designers to showcase their collections to a global audience of press, retailers, stylists and industry influencers. Over the past five years Nolcha Fashion Week has established itself as a platform of discovery promoting innovative fashion designers through runway shows and exhibition during New York Fashion Week. The event is an officially recognized New York Fashion Week platform by New York City Economic Development Corporation; offering a range of cost effective options to increase designers recognition and develop their business.

www.nolchafashionweek.com | facebook.com/nolcha | @nolchafashionwk #nolcha

About RUSK

Fashion + Culture + Attitude. RUSK is passionately dedicated to the art of hairdressing and represents unparalleled creative artistry and individuality in the professional haircare world. With a synergistic approach to cut, color and style and a complete range of high-performance products and tools, RUSK empowers professional stylists and their clients to achieve extraordinary results both in the salon and at home. From Deepshine™ Hair Color and RUSK Professional Engineering tools to iconic styling products like w8less, thickr and str8, RUSK products are available at fine salons around the world and at Cosmoprof and ULTA stores throughout the US.

www.rusk1.com | facebook.com/ruskhaircare | @ruskhaircare

We are super excited about our newest music/tech client, Mixify.com–the world’s never ending electronic music festival!

Essentially, Mixify is an interactive live-streaming platform where DJs can broadcast into virtual venues to fans around the world. DJs can stream their sets from physical events (like festivals), or release pre-recorded mixes, which EDM fans can enjoy from anywhere, anytime. The experience is a social one for the fans, and gives DJs new opportunity in the areas of: fan engagement, real-time analytics, and monetization.

Mixify beta-launched in July (2012) and had 200,000 uniques in the first month. On November 14th, Mixify will officially peel off the beta logo, with a hard launch of the new iteration of their site.

To celebrate, Mixify will be hosting the first ever worldwide digital music festival, aptly named “UNITY Digital Music Festival” on the platform (Nov 14-16). It will include 3 days worth of live DJ programming from around the world. The Crystal Method is headlining the live event along with 3LAU, DJs From Mars, and Adrian Lux. DJs from at least 5 continents will participate (North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia), and co-curators of the 3 day line-up include: Digil0ve, The Drop, Electro Italia, Electronica Oasis, ElectronicDanceMusic.com, Fist In The Air, Party Legacies, Run The Trap, Trance Hub and The Untz. The festival’s name was crowd-sourced by the Mixify community, and a contest has launched for two emerging DJs to earn their spot on the bill.

For more information, check out www.Mixify.com. For press inquiries, contact Alyson(AT)AMP3pr.com or 646-827-9594.

On Wednesday, February 22nd, Contorno’s Restaurant celebrated their official grand opening with an invite-only media tasting event at their new space, located at 30 West 31st Street inside the new boutique Holiday Inn Express. Guests enjoyed wine tastings as well as a selection of small plate passed hors d’oeuvres from the menu developed by executive chef David Buico. Popular items included a Hand Rolled Ricotta Gnocchi w/ Wild Boar Bolognese & Shaved Dry Ricotta, Shrimp Al Pancha w/ White Heirloom Beans, Spicy Salami and Tomato Jus, and Grilled Zucchini w/ English Mint and Pine Nut Pesto as well as a Milk Chocolate & Pistachio Tart and a New York Cheese Cake. The regular menu is filled with Rustic Italian style “small plate” options designed to be paired with the extensive wine list. With the lights turned down low and the music playing, a mood was set. The open layout (with seating for 110) allowed guests ample space to explore, mingle and sample wines from around the world. Contorno’s General Manager, Marta Cisneros, and owner, Andrew Impagliazzo, worked the room— mingling with the crowd and making sure that everyone was being taken care of. Contorno’s is certainly the new kid in an interesting neighborhood (i.e. Empire State Building, Herald Square, Korea Town), but Cisneros says, “There’s really nothing like us in this area and we’re looking forward to surprising people with everything that we have to offer— from our wines, to our food to our general ambiance. We want to create relationships with our customers and keep them coming back for more,” and after last night they definitely will be.

Check out all the photos from the Tasting Event on the Contorno’s Facebook fan page.

This week, Contorno’s also introduced “Swirl Tuesday’s”. Each week GM/Sommelier Marta Cisneros will lead customers in sampling a red or white wine flight from a different region, and help them learn about the wine and how to pair it with different dishes.

Contorno’s restaurant is located at 30 West 31st Street, between 5th Avenue and Broadway (www.ContornosRestaurant.com).

This fall, Nolcha Fashion Week began with Fashion’s Night Out on September 8th, 2011. Nolcha hosted an Independent Pop Up Shop at the Opia Lounge on 57th Street. The event was hosted by The New York Post, Ricardo Ralph Lopez, Farasha Boutique, and Globalfashionbrands.com.

Seventeen fashion brands were presented at FNO; at least three of which are eco friendly. Press and Industry personnel had the opportunity to browse the different collections; visit the beauty bar set up by Kroma Makeup and Kiss Nails; and sample cocktails provided by Don Q Rum. The first 100 shoppers who attended received a gift bag with goodies from vitabath and LypSyl among others.

Nolcha Fashion Week continued on Monday September 12th at The Metropolitan Pavilion. The event featured 3 runway shows, and an all day Apparel and Accessories Exhibition. People could browse the various collections at the exhibit while waiting for the runway shows to begin; or they could visit stations sponsored by Kiss Nails and vitabath. The runway shows were scheduled at 1pm, 4pm and 7pm and featured 12 different collections.

Nolcha Fashion Week officially concluded on Wednesday with the closing party presented by kiss nails at The Sanctuary Hotel on West 47th Street.

Nolcha in the Press:
Joonbug
Diva Gals Daily
Glam.com
MTV Act
New York Gossip Gal
Style and the Startup
BeautyCrasher.com
The Fashionisette
Runway Passport

Milk Street Cafe held a private press preview this past Monday night, June 6th, at their new New York City location at 40 Wall Street in the Trump Building. The new Milk Street Cafe is a 23,000 square foot ‘food hall’ space featuring a high-end selection of various food stations and gourmet cuisine which will include: a barista station, made-to-order breakfasts, made-from-scratch breads, desserts and pastries, pasta bar, Asian specialties, sushi bar, two create-your-own salad bars (one vegetarian, one not), homemade soups, a grill, a rotisserie and a carving station.

The press preview featured guided-tours of the space, interviews with the owner, Marc Epstein, as well as samples based off of the menu (created by Executive Chef Steven Mettle) including brushetta and risotto, spring rolls and pan fried noodles, fresh sushi and sashimi, and specialty dessert smoothies like strawberry-banana, vanilla bean, and mocha espresso.

The public opening of the Milk Street Cafe Food Hall will kick off on June 23rd with an Opening Bell Ceremony and complimentary cookies and coffee between 10-11am.

Check out photos from the Milk Street Press Preview on their Facebook Fan Page: http://on.fb.me/lxgUUY

La Vie Lounge celebrated their Grand Opening last night, April 28th, with a private party featuring tastings from their new French-Moroccan fusion menu, designed by Chef Momo Terien.

Guests at the event were treated to an open bar, hookah, passed hors d’oeuvres from the new menu, and an impromptu belly dancing performance.

Check out all the photos from the night on the La Vie Lounge Facebook fan page.

In honor of Earth Month this April, our client Global Fashion Brands (a new indie fashion shopping site) will be running an Eco Pop-Up Store featuring only the best in ethical womenswear, menswear and accessories. There will be a virtual pop-up storefront running all month long (online), as well as a physical pop-up shopping event in midtown Manhattan on Thursday, April 14th, at the Nexus Townhouse.

Keeping the Earth in mind, 10% of all proceeds from the pop-up store will be donated back to the Red Cross for Japan Relief, giving you more than one way to feel great about your sustainable spending. Plus, the roster will house two non-profit designer collections for a cause, including modernized muumuus courtesy of Care 4 Kenya and faux-leather cuffs by Project Migration.

Other Earth Month designers will include ethical fashion favorites like Lara Miller, Ailin, Chak Chel, Moonlight, Vella Mode, Boutique Ethique, Tammam, Elena Garcia and Tompkins Point, just to name a few.

“Earth Month is a great time to highlight ethical fashion,” says CEO Kerry Bannigan, “Not only to celebrate the brands that practice fair trade but also to remind consumers of the trends and wearable products within sustainable fashion.”

The virtual pop-up store will launch on Friday, April 1st at www.globalfashionbrands.com/earthmonth and the physical pop-up shop opens on Thursday, April 14 at the Nexus Townhouse, located at 39 W. 56th St., between 5th & 6th Aves.

Shopping never felt so good.

On Monday, April 11th, Singer/Songwriter Marcus Goldhaber and The Jon Davis Trio will be performing two sets at 7:30pm and 9:00pm presented by GlenGrant Scotch at Opia—a restaurant & lounge in the mezzanine of the Renaissance Hotel.

The event is free of charge and will feature live jazz including both standards and original music by Marcus Goldhaber, as well as complimentary scotch tastings courtesy of GlenGrant throughout the evening.

At the show, Marcus will be joined by The Jon Davis Trio, featuring Tom Hubbard (bass) and Marcello Pellitteri (drums).

Opia is located at 130 East 57th Street at Lexington Avenue (nearest subways: 5, 6, N, R, Q to 59th Street). No cover, no minimum. For reservations, phone 212-688-3939 or email Opia@AMP3pr.com. For more information about Opia, visit www.OpiaRestaurant.com.

AMP3 PR client A.R.T. has opened a new pop-up storefront in Brooklyn. This new store is the first destination of its kind, carrying exclusively modular products. Specifically, they’ll be featuring their sister brand Module R, an aggregation of modular art & design products from around the world. With Module R, they will retail 52+ modular products, such as: wine racks, shelving units, room dividers, housewares–something for every room—all items that make sense to be customizable and modular based on the taste and space requirements of the buyer.

The A.R.T. pop-up store opened to the public on November 5th and will run until January 9th. Located at 400 Atlantic Avenue, store hours are Wed-Sun from 11am-7pm. A.R.T. will be holding an opening reception in honor of the new A.R.T. | Module R storefront on December 2nd from 6-8pm. If you wish to attend, please RSVP to RSVP@amp3pr.com.

A.R.T., founded by architect/artist Donald Rattner in March 2010, can also be found online at www.art-rethought.com.

Recent Press Mentions of A.R.T./Module R
NY Magazine
Brooklyn Paper
Ponoko
Brooklyn Exposed
Socially Superlative
Associated Content
NY Post
24SevenBrooklyn
Bustler
ChicTip
Time Out New York