Thursday, December 31, 2009

Last Snow of 2009!


The last snow of winter 2009 in Brooklyn!
I felt clear, still and ready for the new me next year!
Glad I had my camera handy to capture
the serene moment!
Thank you all for supporting my happenings in 2009!
I look forward to having you join my journey in 2010!



The possibilities are endless for us!

TIPS FOR LIVING OUR BEST NEW YEAR EVER....
1- Write your goals down and why your making them.
2- Hold yourself accountable or ask a friend to check in on your PROGRESS.
3- Be realistic
4- Do not expect perfection...just do..your..personal best.
5- Success leads to Success!
6- You Rock and Roll!
7- Love your self!
xoxoxoxo


Sunday, December 27, 2009

The Holidays in Paradise..St.Lucia to be exact!


Happy Holidays!
I was so fortunate to spend a majority of my
Dec. 09 Holiday season in Paradise...St.Lucia to be exact.
Its a beautiful Island in the Southeast Caribbean.
St. Lucia is full of lush rain forests, and crystal clear Waters.
The people are full of life and hospitality.
The food is fresh, colorful and mouth watering!
I took over 400 shots of the Island.
The views are so breath taking that a camera
doesn't do it justice. You must see it for yourself.
Below is just a taste of what I captured.
I look forward to my next trip for carnival 2010.

Me in front of the famous two Piton Mountains.
St. Lucia's Lager beer is named after them.

A majestic view of the Piton's

Looking out onto the Caribbean Sea on top of Pigeon Point.

The Sunset...Ever so Romantic!
Stay tuned for more images to come!

I have so much new inspiration for new collections in 2010!
xoxoxoxo

Fast Trac Growth Venture Course Complete!


Its been a busy two months. 2009 is coming to a close
with many blessings and successes for me.
One of my proudest moments of the year is completing the
Fast Trac Growth Venture Course sponsored by the
Levin Graduate Institute and Small Business Services NYC.
It is an intensive business course designed for giving
you hands on training to grow your existing business
or tools to start a new business.

One of my slides from my powerpoint presentation.

Fast Trac Instructors and Entrepreneurs
John and Derrick.

My Fast Trac Diploma!
I look forward to sharing new changes with my brands in 2010.
Please click on the blog title above for the link to
The Fast Trac program for more details.









Sunday, November 8, 2009

Mission Accomplished...EB x LW/TW x STA


The Soul Train Awards are back!
The ceremony was held at the
Georgia World Congress Center on
November 3, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia.
This years female tribute went to Chaka Khan,
for her life time of outstanding achievement in music.
The powerhouse vocal crew of Ledisi,
Erykah Badu, Angie Stone, and Fantasia
accompanied the legendary soul singer,
Chaka Khan on stage for a medley of her greatest hits.


I was pleased to see Erykah Badu rocking her
new Khepera Cuffs I custom designed and
shipped to her back in September 09.

A close up of the Cuffs! A Labor of Love!

Erykah Badu was inspired to wear an outfit
resembling Chaka Khan's 70's stage costumes.

Erykah and Chaka share the stage.
Brilliance personified!
The Soul Train Awards aires
Sunday November 29, 2009.


Saturday, November 7, 2009

Ease on down...ease on down the road...


The Wiz if definitely on my top 10 list of flicks.
I finally purchased it on i-tunes early October.
I was especially inspired to dress as Michael Jackson's
character of Scarecrow in The Wiz movie for Halloween 09.
The inspiration spread to my friends...we had the whole cast ready to
ease on down the roads of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
A blast was had by all..and yes we happened to meet the Wizard!

The original cast album cover art of the Wiz on Broadway.
If you don't have this album already it is a must have
for your music collection.

Captured at the 1st Annual Monsters Ball in Dumbo Brooklyn.
The Cast of The Wiz 2009..."off off Broadway,"AG.
Listed from left to right; Lorraine "Tasha" West as Scarecrow,
Ashaka Givens as The Lion, Kristen Tate as Dorothy,
and Brian "Deka" Paupaw as The Tin Man.

Our Inspiration
the original cast of the motion picture, The Wiz.

I had so much fun crafting my ensemble
the day of Halloween.
What can I say I'm a crafty girl!

Need I say more...MJJ Rules!

A Special shout out to Rebecca Casciano for
working her magic of make up artistry on
our Wiz cast 09.


New work...designed especially for her wedding day!

Hello lovelies...
Can you believe it's the
end of the year approaching.
I've been extremely busy with
new studies for restructuring my
business, custom orders and prototyping
new designs for 2010 collections.
Don't worry I'll have a few new pieces
for Holiday 09. Below is a new piece
I'll be offering this Fall/Winter.
I had the honor of creating the
wedding cuff bracelet for the
newly wed Raquel Cepeda-Jenkins.
It was an honor to create a piece
for her special day!

Raquel looking beautiful in a custom
Ashaka Givens Dress. The dress folds
inspired the new cuff you'll see below.

Welcome the new Crinkle Cuff.
(In Silver as shown)
Inspired by folds, wavy and crinkle cuts.

Another angle to get the full effect.


For inquires on the new Crinkle Cuff
contact info@tashawest.com!




Monday, October 12, 2009

Le coil appearance.


Happy October!
Check out my photo featured on the awesome visual site
Le coil
The site features natural hair styles
from all walks of life. So much fun.
Click on the title blog link above to check out the site.

Me wearing my Asea double scale silver earrings.
There becoming my staple again...coming soon
to www.tashawest.com

Sunday, September 27, 2009

New work...Custom Cuffs for E. Badu.


Erykah Badu has been one of my top clients for 10 years.
She and I are both intrigued by spiritual teachings
and symbols of enlightenment.
Below are images of the Khepera Cuff bracelets
I recently crafted for her by hand. Also known as Scarab,
large dung beetles from the eastern Mediterranean
and regarded as sacred in Ancient Khamit/Egypt.
Khepera is the manifestation of the rising sun,
rolling the sun along the sky.
Khepera also has the attributes of
self generation, self renewal and to become.

Cuffs are made of Sterling Silver with a
high polish finish.

I design a pattern to fit her wrists perfectly before
cutting the final pieces out of metal.

Below are images of Badu wearing classic
LWest pieces I designed custom for
her throughout the years. She owns dozens
more that I'll share during my
Vault page launch coming soon..

The first pair of leather cuffs I designed for Badu.
Tan fish cuffs with burned engraving.
She wore these for almost two years straight during
the Mamas Gun Tour.

On stage over seas wearing the
Grey Leather Stitched Fish Cuff Bracelets.

Custom Astro Pisces Pendant in Copper,
worn during the filming of the
Dave Chappelle Block Party movie in Brooklyn.

Badu pictured here wearing the first
generation prototype Nipple Bangles in Copper.

The 3rd generation design...perfection!
Available for purchase at www.tashawest.com

Ladder Copper cut out Cuff Bracelets.
One of her all time favorites she purchased two pairs.

Copper Hammered Ripped Cuff Bracelets.
very elegant and organic.















Saturday, September 26, 2009

Salon du Shine x M.A.D x The Toledo's Part 2.


The Fashion Institute of Technology Museum curated a
remarkable showcase of Isabel Toledo's fashion designs
from the years 1985 -2009. Even Michelle Obama's
Inauguration dress was on view. Suspended from the ceilings
surrounding Isabel's garments was Ruben Toledo's
Illustrations documenting each garment displayed.
I would like to give a special thanks to Michaela Angela Davis,
long time friends of the Toledo's for hosting the private
walk through and talk with the first couple of fashion.

Michelle Obama's Inauguration day dress.

Barack and Michelle Obama shine!

One of Isabel's' most popular silhouettes.

A peek at a portion of the collections shown at the
Fashion Institute of Technology Museum Gallery.
Look above, Ruben's illustrations hover
over his wife Isabel's work.
A match made in heaven and on earth!

Me with Michaela Angela Davis host of Salon du Shine.

Isabel, Myself and Ruben!
They are two of the most creative, intelligent,
warm, informative, and fun people I have ever met.

25 years and counting of their devotion to
art, design and love for one another.

Divine partnership a marriage between two souls
and their visions! An artist dream!

It was a pleasure to finally meet Andrea Pippins,
artist, graphic designer and expert blogger.
I'm a big fan of her blog www.flygirls.typepad.com

Click on the title post to view more history
of the tremendous Art of Ruben Toledo.



FNO x Isabel and Ruben Toledo Part 1.


Hello lovelies I'm back to share my two weeks of adventure.
First up was my Fashion Night Out experience at
Barneys New York with fashions first couple,
(Fashion Designer) Isabel and Ruben Toledo (Artist/Illustrator).
The Toledo's have pioneered the fashion business for over 25 years.
Isabel's claim to main stream fame came when Michelle Obama
wore the Toledo's lemon grass silk ensemble to
President Barack Obama's Inauguration day.
You may have seen Ruben's whimsical artwork in the pages of
Vogue Magazine and Nina Garcia's; The Black Book of Style,
The One hundred and Style Strategy.
Check out my portrait below by Ruben Toledo that
he sketched in my copy of Fashion From the Inside Out.
Once in a lifetime!!!

The finished gift a personalized portrait of me
and autograph from Ruben and Isabel Toledo.

Isabel Toledo's book Fashion from the Inside Out.
A testament to her design genius featuring the
exquisite Illustrations by her husband Ruben Toledo.

Ruben Toledo signed and did portraits of each individual that
purchased Isabel's new book. Isabel followed with her
autograph in each book with a smile!

A fun black number by Isabel Toledo sold at
Barneys New York.
Click the title of the post above to discover
more of Isabel Toledo's fashion designs.

Ashaka and I strike a pose while Rebecca's behind the lens.
Its almost our time to meet the legends!

Ruben begins his Illustration of me!
So exciting to watch the master at work.

Almost done!

Ruben said, "I wish I had more time, I love all this hair!"

We chatted up about Art, Design, Life and Love!

One of the best moments ever...The crew poses with the
Toledo's they had just as much fun with us as we did with them.
Left to Right; Me, Isabel, Ruben, Rebecca, and Ashaka.

A quick stop at Bendel's. I loved the banners
hung high from the ceilings...very inspiring words.

Me wearing the TW Asea Brass Bib Necklace
it topped off my outfit!

Last stop of the evening was at Apt to say farewell for a year
to our sister friend Jessica Castro, dancer extraordinaire,
she's on the worldwide tour with the Black Eyed Peas.
Can you believe we all met at F.I.T. back in 94-95
and still going strong.

DJ Cato taking a break from spinning his eclectic mix of beats.
BTW he's a client to...
DJ Cato wears his custom 14k LWest classic 45 pendant.
He never leaves home without it!