Event is SOLD OUT!
You can sign up for the wait list by emailing Sandra at
Hello, Friends!
Goodness -- how time
flies!
It seems only yesterday
that we were welcoming 2017 with the exciting announcement about Richmond
-- and here it is...almost April!!!
This has been
an amazingly busy and demanding year for me, with lots of "life"
adjustments -- but, despite a crazy schedule, I've been able to fit in a couple
of important trips for research and to source some FABULOUS fabrics and other
surprises for our "Eternal Style" convention!
I can barely wait to
share details -- but first must say "THANKS!"
to each of you -- not only for your patience and understanding regarding my
recent adjustments and shipping delays -- but also for your
continued support and help in setting two important Sandra Stillwell Presents
"milestones"...
You've made 2016's Belle of New Orleans a record
breaking year for orders AND set a new RSVP record
for 2017's Eternal
Style -- which filled and went to "waitlist" in
record time!
And now, in
celebration of the fashion icon who once said, "Fashion is like a
party" and "Fashions fade, style is eternal"...
I'm proud to
get this "fashionable" party started...
If you are have received
this email, YOU are on the RSVP list and can now register for
Sandra Stillwell
Presents: Eternal Style!
August 24th - 27th
Our Theme --
Yes...you guessed it!
Our "Eternal
Style" convention will pay tribute to Yves Saint Laurent, the
acclaimed fashion designer who, as a young teenager, began his
iconic career designing his first "collection" for
paperdolls -- only to find himself at the age of nineteen, working as
an assistant in the most prestigious atelier in the world: The House of Dior,
graduating to head the celebrated firm at the tender age
of twenty-one and ultimately opening a world renowned fashion house
under his own brand, YSL.
We will explore
Yves Saint Laurent's landmark introductions with "twists"
to women's fashion and his unique style, equally at home through
all eras....
The cornerstone of our
"Eternal Style" convention will be our group tour of the fabulous
exhibit, Yves Saint
Laurent: The Perfection of Style, at the Virginia Museum of Fine
Arts. Showcasing over 100 garments from the legendary couturier's
forty-four year career, this visually rich exhibition is a journey from the
iconic designer's paper doll collection to his days at Dior -- through his
groundbreaking designs of the 60's and 70's and his opulent fashions of
the 80's and 90's, before retiring in 2002.
A tribute to Yves Saint
Laurent would not be complete without also paying tribute to his iconic
mentor, the legendary Christian Dior, and the fascinating story
-- from his childhood home in Granville, on the sea, through his
much too brief life.
In celebration of
the seventieth anniversary of Monsieur Dior's debut fashion
show and landmark "New Look" collection, we will trace the
history of the House of Dior, highlighting the subsequent five
designers who followed Yves Saint Laurent as head of the illustrious
Parisian fashion house.
No Sandra Stillwell Presents
convention would be complete without some Hollywood history fun -- and
both Christian
Dior and Yves Saint Laurent designed fashions for Hollywood stars in
"real life" as well as on the silver screen...so we've
heard whispers of a special matinee movie treat!
Convention package --
Your Eternal Style souvenir
package will be an exclusive collection of Yves Saint Laurent inspired
fashions -- with the perfect twist of elegance, glamour and fun you've
come to expect from "Sandra Stillwell" style!
Also included with your
registration will be:
- Thursday
evening opening dessert reception
- Three
breakfast programs
- One
Lunch
- Two
Dinners
- Table
gifts
- Interesting
Programs and Speakers
- Movie
breaks, surprises, raffles, and lots of "eternally"
fashionable fun!
- A
visit to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and private tour of their Yves Saint Laurent: The
Perfection of Style exhibition -- and other surprises!
But there's still more!!
You'll have first
opportunity to purchase or pre-order extremely limited fashions from the Sandra
Stillwell Presents: Eternal Style convention collection, including several made of the finest of
French fabrics direct from Paris!
Designed to fit our
favorite 16 inch "star", some of these fashions may fit other doll
bodies.
You'll not want to miss
a minute of all the fun and surprises we have planned, so please do plan
to attend all the functions....however, if you have to miss one, please be sure
to let either myself, Michael Basala, or Sherlyn Lovell know. We will do
our best to keep any gifts or table gifts for you,
but please understand this is not guaranteed,
Delivery is
also not guaranteed...Though
we make every attempt to have the souvenir fashions available at convention, we
are dependent not only on shipping, but also on factories meeting deadlines and
customs passing deliveries through without hold up. In the event that any of
the souvenirs are not delivered in time so that we can present them at
convention, they will be mailed as soon as possible. I very much appreciate
your understanding where this is concerned!
Payments and fee details
--
If booked within our
Sandra Stillwell Presents room block and paid in full by cash, check or money
order by July 1st, the registration fee is $510. After July 1st, the fee is
$560.
An additional $150 will
be added to registrations booked outside of the Sandra Stillwell Presents group room block or
for guests not staying at the hotel.
A $30 service fee will
be added to payments other than cash, check, or money order.
A non refundable deposit
of $100 will reserve your spot. Flexible payment plans can be arranged on
request.
A $150 cancellation fee
applies to all cancellations prior to July 1st. After that date,
no refunds will be issued.
Companion registrations
--
We always do our best to
accommodate companion registrations, but because this year's convention is
filled to capacity with RSVP's, we are unable to accept any companion
registrations that were not requested at the time of the RSVP. However, if you
would like to register a companion whom you did not name at that time, please
let me know asap and, though not guaranteed, we will do our best to work
with you.
Hotel information --
I'm happy to report that
we will be working with the Starwood Group/Sheraton Hotels as host to our 2017 Sandra Stillwell Presents
convention!
Our 2017 convention
hotel is:
The Four Points by
Sheraton
9901 Midlothian Turnpike
Richmond, Va, 23235
Please contact Denise Walters 804-521-2200 for hotel reservations -- be
sure to ask for the Sandra Stillwell Presents group block.
We have secured the
following special group rates:
Single $134 + tax
Double - Quad $144 + tax
Each room includes
complimentary parking and wi-fi.
Breakfast in the hotel
restaurant is also included each day except Friday, Saturday, and Sunday --
when we will have breakfast together in our ballroom.
Located only 15 - 20
minutes from downtown area attractions and closer to others, the Midlothian
Four Points is a great "home" base, conveniently situated.
In order for you to
experience all the wonderful things Richmond has to offer -- and I strongly
suggest you plan extra days to explore on your own -- I'm happy to say our special rate has been extended
from Sunday, August 20th through Wednesday, August 30th, based on availability. If you need additional nights other than
these, please contact me.
The cut off date for
reservations in our group block is August 9th, 5PM Eastern time --
however, our block is limited, so I would suggest making
hotel reservations as soon as possible!
If you have any issues
with the reservations process or booking the dates you need, please don't
hesitate to contact me -- I'm happy to help!
If you are planning to
join us at convention but are not yet ready to make your room reservation, it
would be a big help if you could please let me know what days you are planning
to be there. I will be monitoring the room block closely to add necessary rooms
with possible, but it always helps to have an idea of how any guests to expect
each day.
Please remember that it
is VERY important to book within our group block (before, during and after
convention), as our room and food rates are based on meeting a guaranteed
minimum. Your room booking helps defray meeting space rental fees and other
costs It's crucial that I have your cooperation with this!
Airport:
Richmond International
Airport is only 23 minutes (about 20 miles) from the Four Points
Midlothian.
Virginia Airlink (Bob
Capehart) is offering us a special group rate of $28.50
for shuttle transportation each way.
The van leaves every 30
minutes. For further details and to make reservations, call 804
873-0934.
For those of you driving
-- there are toll booths, so I would advise having some change on hand!
Raffle Donations:
A little known fact
about conventions is that registration fees never fully cover expenses, so
we'll be having a raffle to help offset extra costs!
Dolls, fashions,
accessories, repaints, dolly "spa" days or gift certificates...
donations of all types and sizes are welcomed and greatly appreciated --
including "people" prizes your fellow collectors will personally
enjoy!
We've had such
phenomenal raffle tables the past few years -- and SO much fun drawing for all
the "loot" -- let's make it our goal to continue the tradition and
have a repeat performance this year!
If you'd like to
contribute to the fun -- and help convention at the same time -- please email
me!
Table seating, table
gifts and special meal needs --
If you have friends you
would like to sit with, please submit your request to me asap. Though we make
every effort to honor seating requests, please understand that we cannot
always do so.
We realize that table
gifts are a long time tradition enjoyed by many -- but they can also be a
burden for some. We do not want to interfere with any of your
fun, so table gifts will be left to the discretion of each individual
attendee and/or table -- but please give any such goodies in the fun
spirit which they are intended and understand that not everyone will
reciprocate.
Though we try to seat
eight guests to a table, we may increase the number to ten as needed. If you are doing table gifts, please plan
for ten -- you can give any extras to friends who aren't seated
with you, or donate them to be used as door prizes!
Please let me know if
you have any special food requirements -- also, please follow up right before
convention to be sure your special needs have been addressed.
Optional Tours --
There are so many great
things to see and do in the historic Richmond area that we're still narrowing
down optional tour possibilities! We will definitely have some special
activities on Thursday and Sunday -- and Wednesday, if there is enough
interest.
Possibilities include
(but are not limited to)
Maymont Mansion --
https://maymont.org/
Swannanoa Palace (80
minutes away) The summer home to Maymont Mansion owners, Mr and Mrs James
Dooley http://www.newsleader.com/story/life/2014/09/27/swannanoa-mysterious-mountaintop-marble-mansion/16242299/
Valentine Museum and
Wickham House
The Confederacy White
House Civil War Museum
Edgar Allan Poe Museum http://www.poemuseum.org/
Jefferson Hotel tour and
tea (my personal favorite option for Sunday)
Virginia Capitol
Building https://virginiacapitol.gov/
The Byrd Theatre http://byrdtheatre.com/history/
The John Marshall House http://www.johnmarshallfoundation.org/john-marshall/historic-landmarks/the-john-marshall-house/
Historic James River
Plantations http://www.jamesriverplantations.org/
Age Croft Hall http://www.agecrofthall.com/View.aspx?page=about
Virginia House Mansion
-- http://www.vahistorical.org/your-visit/virginia-house
I'll be making another
visit to Richmond soon to finalize tours, so if there is anything
special YOU would like to see or do in the area, now is the time to
contact me so I can check it out!!
Finally...before
closing, I would like to share a couple of quotes from Christian Dior....
“Happiness
is the secret to all beauty. There is no beauty without happiness.” ...
"It
is unforgivable to do what one doesn't love, especially if one succeeds"...
I want to express
my heartfelt appreciation to each of you for giving me the
happiness that comes from the knowledge that I've brought you a few
moments of beauty and happiness through my conventions and fashions.
Thank you for enabling
me to not only create these conventions and fashion collections, but
to travel and do research and source fabrics that I so passionately
love... Sandra Stillwell
Presents could not be a success without your friendships and
continued support.
I look forward to
celebrating our friendships, fun and fashion with you in Richmond!
Sincerely,
Sandra
502 3775153 (I often do
not see texts, but feel free to call or email with questions at any
time! -- Phone calls are sometimes quicker)
