Money, if it does not bring you happiness,
will at least help you be miserable in comfort.
Helen Gurley Brown
More than the Rockefeller Christmas tree (which is looking extra fabulous this year,) the spectacle I look forward to seeing when the holidays roll around are the windows of Bergdorf Goodman.
This year’s Carnival of Animals by David Hoey‘s team is a mind blowing flight of fancy with brass birds, animals made of intricately hand cut/folded paper, needlework and carved wood, fish made of gemstones and glass mosaics, gowns with fur, fine beadwork, feathers, leather scales and diamond mesh by Alexander McQueen, Oscar de la Renta, Pringle of Scotland, Valentino and Celine. With five windows overflowing with animals created by artists such as Sergio Bustamante and Brett Windham, my eyes did not know where to start and stop looking. Here are a few details to whet your appetite. Catch a glimpse of this fantastic vision before January 3rd.
Thanks to the countless artisans and artists who contributed to this monument of creativity and wealth–reminding us of other realities, an oasis from the obsession of “this economy.”
What riches (that money can’t buy) embellish the fabric of your life already?
© Sharon Birke
Photography for the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother
Powerful Goddess is a trademark of DoubleSmart LLC
Powerful Goddess Portraits 
Dec 19, 2011 @ 04:34:54
I will not be shopping this year at Bergdorf Goodman on 5th Avenue or Neiman Marcus at the Westfield Mall, leaning more to Target is where my treasures lie. I too grow tired of hearing the groans of the economy. Being optimistic, I know that I along with others will again someday be giving gifts of the holidays from any store we choose. We must remember it does not matter the cost of the gift or where it was gotten it only matters why you choose to give to that someone special. Even the gift of a kind word or just a smile brings happiness and there is no cost except to mean it. Riches are in the heart of us all.
Thank you Sharon for giving through your eyes and camera the beauty some of us had never seen of these colorful and magnificent holiday store displays. Sometime I will wander the streets on New York and enjoy the color of the lights, the reflection of the buildings in the store front windows and a hot dog from a street vendor!
Dec 19, 2011 @ 14:35:59
Indeed, Robert!
Hallelujah to our many riches that money can’t buy–yet we can afford to take for granted.
xoxox