We hear…we hear…

That Vogue’s Andre Leon Talley talks about the latest YSL exhibit in Paris on Julia Reed‘s Fetch blog on taigan.com.

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/we_hear_we_hear_vBIHwcHw3MRmiIBIk6tAcM#.Te90lWz9TRA;email

Taigan, the highly edited online collection of specialty shops, lets you be the fashion editor using Polyvore, the web’s largest fashion community. Take your fashion, interior design and art imagination to a new virtual level to win a $200 Taigan shopping spree.

Nashville, TN – March 15, 2011 – Calling all fashion editors and want-to-be fashion editors! Taigan introduced its first Polyvore Designer #Fashion Competition, a contest for fashion, interior design and art that lets you play personal stylist with Polyvore styling tool and Taigan.com’s collection of 80 specialty shops and designers. Whether you’re sharing runway fashion, your personal style or street style, Taigan wants to celebrate spring in style with Polyvore’s easy-to-use clipping tools and Taigan’s fashion, decor and accessories.

Polyvore is the web’s largest fashion community where people can discover their style and set trends around the world. Create a look using any combination of items from Taigan’s designer shops for an opportunity to win a $200 Taigan shopping spree. Many Taigan specialty shops and their one-of-a-kind collections cannot be found anywhere else online. Fashion, gourmet food, wine, decor, art, jewelry and beauty – it’s all in one place, Taigan.com.

The Taigan Polyvore Stylist rules are as follows:

●      Create an outfit using the very simple Polyvore editor (http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/app)

○      Check out how to use the Polyvore editor in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYzy1Cewbjc

●      All items must be from Taigan.com for your chance to win $200

●      Winner will be featured in the Official Taigan Blog: TaiganFinds.com and Facebook Fan Page

●      Post your ‘set’ to the Taigan Facebook page: http://www.Facebook.com/TaiganFinds

●      There is no limit to entries per person; so let your creative juices flow!

●      The best collection wins!!

Deadline for entry is April 1, 2011. Entries are to be posted on Taigan’s Facebook Fan Page and will be judged by Taigan Creative Director Julia Reed and a panel of editor-judges.

Here are some example collections:

1. http://www.polyvore.com/spring_fling/set?id=28817221
2. http://www.polyvore.com/untitled/set?id=28925601

Award-winning and editorially acclaimed by publications including InStyle and Departures, Taigan brings the small exclusive collections of the best boutiques and designers together in one place, inviting shoppers to access new fashion the moment it arrives in store, and access to items otherwise not available online.

For more on Taigan, subscribe to the Taigan Finds Blog, stay connected on Taigan’s Facebook Fan Page or Follow us on Twitter @TaiganFinds.

About Polyvore

Polyvore’s community of tastemakers engages with millions of products from across the web every day. With 7 million monthly unique visitors, trendsetters and shoppers alike, Polyvore helps the fashion maven discover the hottest brands, products, trends and looks. Its global community has created over 20 million fashion sets that are shared across the site.

About Taigan

Editorially noted in InStyle, Departures, Elle Décor, winner of the Retailer of Excellence Award in the Internet Innovation category and named Technology Start-up of the Year, Taigan is recognized as the online shopping destination for a highly curated collection of boutiques, designers and purveyors.  Showcasing specialty retailers of women and men’s fashion, home décor, art, antiques, jewelry, gourmet food and wine and fine gifts, bringing the best shops to your fingertips. For the shopper, the collector, the epicure…  delivering an extraordinary and ever-expanding collection of shops and purveyors.  Creative Director Julia Reed delivers a collection of Elusive Finds, facts and profiles in Taigan’s fetch, online lifestyle magazine. Shopping is free, guests are asked to provide their email address to use the site’s messaging service with shops.

Taigan, a highly edited collection of online shops, continues to create online shopping experiences with the rollout of new interactive style blog TaiganFinds

Nashville, TN – February 14, 2011 –Taigan recently launched the redesign of TaiganFinds.com style, fashion and shopping blog. The latest stages of the revamp include a new homepage and sections such as What’s New, Fashion, Home, Gifts, Heath and Beauty, Food & Drink, Retail Shop Profiles and News and Updates. One of the more popular sections on TaiganFinds is New This Week, a front-page summary highlighting some of the latest arrivals on the specialty retail shopping website. Fashion covers interesting exposés on Investment pieces worth the splurge to How to travel in style from shoes to toiletries.

Known for its hand-picked collection of shops, designers and purveyors offering limited production specialty items in fashion, home, gourmet food, boutique wineries and more, the specialty online marketplace launched in 2009 and now represents more than 80 boutique shops and designers/purveyors in 11 different categories. The TaiganFinds blog is the second editorial blog for Taigan, which also publishes Julia Reed’s Fetch – a magazine-style collection of musings from famed tastemakers, lifestyle mavens and the always thought-provoking Reed.

The TaiganFinds blog new design mirrors the shopping website’s commitment to building community through a fresh interpretation of the fashion, lifestyle, interior design and foodie worlds.

“Providing meaningful editorial content is another way to engage the Taigan community and connect the independent voices of our shoppers, designers, retailers, fashion bloggers and industry elite.Online shopping can be oversaturated with content – we improved TaiganFinds to curate online shopping and celebrate the independent small shop owner, designer and purveyor,” said Taigan VP of Marketing, Gretchen Howell.

Visually, TaiganFinds is a fashion-forward style-sheet blog offeringvivid imagery and is fresh, easy to navigate, and extraordinarily engaging. The content — with tiers of editorial expertise, links, video, call-outs, socialmedia streams— is compelling to every type of online user: the shopper, contributor, and editorial retail world.

Many Taigan shops and their collections cannot be found anywhere else online. Fashion, gourmet food, wine, decor, art, jewelry and beauty- it’s all in one place, Taigan.com.

About

Editorially noted in InStyle, Departures, Elle Décor, winner of the Retailer of Excellence Award in the Internet Innovation category and named Technology Start-up of the Year, Taigan is recognized as the online shopping destination for a highly curated collection of boutiques, designers and purveyors.  Showcasing specialty retailers of women and men’s fashion, home décor, art, antiques, jewelry, gourmet food and wine and fine gifts, bringing the best shops to your fingertips. For the shopper, the collector, the epicure…  delivering an extraordinary and ever-expanding collection of shops and purveyors.  Creative Director Julia Reed delivers a collection of Elusive Finds, facts and profiles in Taigan’s fetch, online lifestyle magazine. Shopping is free, guests are asked to provide their email address to use the site’s messaging service with shops.

In a Taigan exclusive, former First Lady Laura Bush sits down with Taigan Creative Director Julia Reed to discuss what’s on her shelves right now, including her recent best-selling memoir, “Spoken From the Heart”. Signed copies of the memoir, which captures the former First Lady’s view of what really happens inside the White House are available via Books & Books on Taigan.

The well-known literary advocate pioneered the Texas and National Book Festivals, launched the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries, read aloud in countless classrooms as first lady, and has since authored two books.

In a Fetch exclusive, Laura Bush shares her current recommended reads:

Laura Bush Books Received for Christmas:
“Mark Hampton: An American Decorator,” by Duane Hampton
“The Language of American Design,” by Alexa Hampton
Both were gifts from Barbara Bush, who knows that her daughter-in-law collects interior design and “house” books.

Laura Bush is Reading Now:
“Mrs. Adams in Winter: A Journey of the Last Days of Napoleon,” by Michael O’Brien
“Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and The Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History,” by S.C. Gwynne

Laura Bush’s Guilty Pleasure:
“Kinky Friedman’s outrageous books. ‘What Would Kinky Do?’ is on my bedside table now. His books are not for the easily offended or the politically correct!”

Laura Bush’s List of Books to Reread:
“Two old favorites of mine that I reread every once in a while are Katherine Ann Porter’s ‘Ship of Fools’ and Willa Cather’s ‘My Antonia’ and ‘Death Comes to the Archbishop.’”

Lauran Bush’s Book on the list for 2011:
“My Reading Life,” by Pat Conroy
“I always enjoy his fiction so I’m interested in his reading.”

Click here to buy a signed copy of “Spoken from the Heart” at Books & Books on Taigan.

Online Shoppers Looking for Unique or Specialty Gifts Are Shopping at Taigan.com; Named Best of the Web 2010 for Gifts by InStyle Magazine.

Taigan announces its 2010 most unique holiday gift ideas designed to top the list of online boutique shoppers. Online shoppers looking for the unique and original turn to the web address Taigan.com; a marketplace of 88 independent specialty retailers and growing from places across the United States and abroad. Taigan and its shops have been recognized by Elle Décor, Departures magazine and The New York Times.

Taigan celebrates the holidays in style by offering some cost-accessible unique gifts in a variety of categories:

Home/Entertaining:

Match Pewter Martini Glasses: http://www.taigan.com/shops/themercantile/videos/536/items/3774

Speckled Green Glass Wine Cooler: http://www.taigan.com/shops/digs/items/11898

Waylande Gregory Gold Extra Small Zebra Bowl: http://www.taigan.com/shops/elementschicago/items/13131

William Yeoward Country Funnel: http://www.taigan.com/shops/hollyhock/items/2230

Horn and Sterling Silver Salad Servers: http://www.taigan.com/shops/imperiojp/items/12336

Small Orange Lizard Keepsake Box: http://www.taigan.com/shops/nibahome/items/9073

Horn Photo Frame: http://www.taigan.com/shops/nibahome/items/9059

Bamboo Pate Knife: http://www.taigan.com/shops/themercantile/videos/703/items/8801

Food & Wine

The Flock Box Wine Sampler: http://www.taigan.com/shops/blackbirdvineyards/videos/965/items/12844

Very Merry Holiday Macaroons: http://www.taigan.com/shops/sucre/items/2558

Wine For All Gift Set: http://www.taigan.com/shops/wineforall/items/11874

Tea for Two Gift Set: http://www.taigan.com/shops/partnerstea/items/12039

Chocolate and Cheese Gift Set: http://www.taigan.com/shops/stjamescheese/items/12795

Everyday Honey Gift Set: http://www.taigan.com/shops/savannahbee/items/11785

Blackberry Breakfast Gift Box: http://www.taigan.com/shops/blackberryfarm/items/12573

Misc. Gifts

Pink Tweed Dog Coat: http://www.taigan.com/shops/comesitstay/items/10633

Modern Alchemy Candle Gift Set: http://www.taigan.com/shops/sanctuaryofstyle/items/12141

Wooden Horse Ornament: http://www.taigan.com/shops/andgeorge/items/12724

Diptyque John Galliano Paris Candle: http://www.taigan.com/shops/revival/items/4667

Perdomo Habano Toro: http://www.taigan.com/shops/rslipmancigarandsmokeshop/items/9929

Orla Kiely Laptop Skin: http://www.taigan.com/shops/starprovisions/items/9520

Black Leather Studded iPhone Case: http://www.taigan.com/shops/churchboutique/items/12237

Children’s Pom Pom Hat: http://www.taigan.com/shops/shopodile/items/12927

Glass Egg Ornament: http://www.taigan.com/shops/digs/items/13377

Women’s

Tocca Eau De Parfum Touch: http://www.taigan.com/shops/wooskincareandcosmetics/items/7914

Elizabeth and James Feather Earrings: http://www.taigan.com/shops/elementschicago/items/9817

Sam Edelman Novato Heel: http://www.taigan.com/shops/sanctuaryofstyle/items/12627

Simple Bronze Necklace: http://www.taigan.com/shops/gabrielle/items/13597

Travel Essential Brush Collection: http://www.taigan.com/shops/29cosmetics/items/10105

Trina Turk Jewel Encrusted Ring

http://www.taigan.com/shops/gavin/items/9728

Quill and Hand-Beaded Earrings: http://www.taigan.com/shops/rodeo/items/13658

Men’s

100% Silk Bow Tie: http://www.taigan.com/shops/peterelliot/items/6801

Tortoise Shaving Brush: http://www.taigan.com/shops/aidangill/items/7150

Filson Tan Travel Kit: http://www.taigan.com/shops/sidmashburn/videos/317/items/1810

Brass Oyster Belt Buckle: http://www.taigan.com/shops/sidmashburn/items/3222

Scrabble Cufflinks: http://www.taigan.com/shops/aidangill/items/7230

About Taigan

A recent winner of the Retailer of Excellence Award in the Internet Innovation category, and named Technology Start-up of the Year, Taigan is recognized as the online shopping destination for a highly curated collection of boutiques, designers and purveyors. Showcasing specialty retailers of women and men’s fashion, home décor, art, antiques, jewelry, gourmet food and fine gifts, Julia Reed delivers a collection of Elusive Finds, facts and profiles in Taigan’s fetch, Taigan’s online lifestyle magazine. Shopping is free, guests are asked to provide their email address to use the site’s messaging service with shops.

For more Taigan news, subscribe to the Taigan newsroom, stay connected on Taigan’s Facebook Fan Page or Follow us on Twitter @TaiganFinds.

The Internet’s best collection of online shops adds a premium membership with savings and privileges. Whether it’s fall fashion trends in boots and purses to art and photography collections to the most unique holiday gift ideas, interior design gems and even luxury pet accessories; Taigan shops have it first.

Nashville, TN — September 30, 2010 – –Taigan.com, a website dedicated to specialty shops, today introduces a premium membership for its growing collection of retail shops, designers and purveyors. In honor of its one-year anniversary, Taigan.com launches “Taigan Gold,” a premium level of membership for its online shopping members. While online shopping on Taigan is always free, Taigan Gold members will enjoy special savings online and in-store, plus invitations to signature events and more.

Taigan Gold membership was introduced today at $30 annually for the first 5,000 members. Taigan Gold members signing up before October 15^th will receive a $30 shopping credit towards their next purchase.

“The Taigan shoppers are an influential group who thrive on discovering and sharing wonderful finds – from fashion to home décor, gourmet food & wine to jewelry and more,” said Gretchen Howell, Taigan VP of Marketing.

The Taigan website goes beyond serving as just a shopping portal, the highly visual website is also matched with Fetch, the online magazine edited by Taigan Creative Director Julia Reed.

“Taigan shoppers are quick to engage with newly introduced shops, and return often to shops providing great customer service.  We wanted to provide a special benefit that recognizes this,” added Howell.

Taigan retailers are known for offering the first and most authoritative edited collections originating in destinations spanning from Aspen to New York to Italy. More than 40 Taigan shops are offering savings online and in-store to Taigan Gold members. To see the most recent benefits, visit http://www.taigan.com/taigan_gold_benefits.

For more Taigan news, subscribe to Taigan’s newsroom, stay connected on Taigan’s Facebook Page and Follow us on Twitter @TaiganFinds.

About Taigan

Named for the famed sight hound known for its keen hunting abilities, Taigan.com is a highly edited collection of the world’s best boutiques, designers and purveyors from across the country and abroad. Showcasing specialty retailers of women, mens and childrens’ fashion, home décor, art, antiques, jewelry, gourmet food and fine gifts, Taigan brings the best shops to your fingertips. Shopping is free, guests are asked to input their email address to be able to communicate directly with Taigan’s retailers.

Taigan.com makes it possible to shop and save at your favorite boutiques in Aspen, Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York under one address.

Specialty retailers tap into turnkey e-commerce solution and create an online community of the best shops and products online; stylized and edited by Creative Director Julia Reed.

Nashville, Tenn. – September 8, 2010 One year, 59 specialty boutique shops, thousands of designer items, 30,000 registered online shoppers from 128 countries later; Taigan.com celebrates its one-year anniversary. Taigan’s first 12 months add up to industry awards, editorial acclaim, online retail growth and international expansion – the exception to the norm in a sluggish bricks and mortar retail year. With 83 percent of consumers shopping online at least once a week, Taigan helps bridge the gap between savvy online shoppers and specialty retailers with an e-commerce solution that is catching the eye of investors, retailers, fashion industry media and shoppers.

A recent winner of the Retailer of Excellence Award in the Internet Innovation category, and a finalist for Technology Start-up of the Year, Taigan’s one year marks a list of milestones. As Reed reports the elusive fashion finds in Taigan’s Fetch, its exclusive online magazine aimed at the curated lifestyle; shoppers continue to find, follow and friend the online retailer on its social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and multiple blogs.

Launched in September 2009, Taigan quickly grew into an international online shopping hub featuring a highly edited collection of shops in the US and abroad, representing designer apparel, gifts, home decor, gourmet food, wine, cigars and more. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Taigan welcomes shoppers from over 128 countries monthly, adding new shops and thousands of items each month.

From Tuscan olive oil grove in Tuscany to natural skin care and cosmetics like Woo skincare and cosmetics, to children’s designer shops in Aspen to notable menswear designer Sid Mashburn, Taigan gathers an eclectic yet well-heeled collection of talent and their wares.

“Taigan makes it possible for consumers to shop at their favorite boutiques and takes the pain away from retailers setting up individual e-commerce solutions. We’ve connected online shoppers with specialty retailers and designers all over the country and also globally,” said Taigan founder Elizabeth Nichols. “It is so gratifying to see some retailers who weren’t sure if they were going to weather the last yearn, now thriving on Taigan.”

As retailers look toward the rapidly approaching holidays, uptick in spending is predicted— consumers say they will be spending as much or more this holiday season compared to last according to experts at Compete.

For more on Taigan stay connected on Taigan’s Facebook Fan Page or Follow us on Twitter @TaiganFinds.

About Taigan

Named for the famed sight hound known for its keen hunting abilities, Taigan.com is a highly edited collection of the world’s best shops from across the country and abroad. Showcasing specialty retailers of women and men’s fashion, home décor, art, antiques, jewelry, gourmet food and fine gifts, Taigan brings the best shops to your fingertips. For the shopper, the collector, the epicure… Taigan delivers an extraordinary and ever-expanding collection of shops and purveyors. Shopping is free, guests are asked to provide their email address to use the site’s messaging service with Taigan shops.

Columnist, author, reporter and famed hostess Julia Reed Highlights Gourmet Recipes, Backyard Dining Tips and More with Taigan Fine Food and Wine Retailers Blackberry Farm, Wine for All, Delaware Chicken Farm and Seafood Market and St. James Cheese Company.

Nashville, TN – August 11, 2010 – The country’s premier place to find the finest and freshest gourmet foods is online at Taigan.com, according to Vogue alum and Newsweek Food & Drink Columnist Julia Reed. But you don’t have to be a gourmand to shop on Taigan.com, as foodies of all ranks are taking note of the online shopping site’s gourmet retailers like South Florida’s Delaware Chicken Farm and Seafood Market, Blackberry Farm located in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Atlanta-based Star Provisions, St. James Cheese Company in New Orleans and New York-based Wine for All.

“Finding high quality, great tasting food online can be time-consuming and, frankly, a bit dicey,” says Reed, who regularly shares entertaining stories, ideas and recipes on Taigan’s Online Magazine, Fetch. “Fortunately, Taigan has a highly edited collection of specialty shops offering gourmet foods and wines from around the world.”

Check out Julia Reed’s gourmet picks on Taigan.com:

Grill, baby grill with Blackberry Farm’s famous J&S Barbecue Sauce. It’s that end of summer time of the year where everyone breaks out the gourmet barbecue concoction and the men show off their flame broiling skills.

Sommelier Eli Hardof, owner of Taigan’s Wine for All, prefers to help customers choose a wine with food pairings in mind. Hardof recommends a dark and layered wine such as Pertuisane 2004 to pair with lamb, a summer barbecue favorite. Made from 90% Grenache and 10% Carignane, the vines are 40-80 years old and yield fruit of tremendous depth and character.

Delaware Chicken Farm and Seafood Market offers the finest and freshest seafood, meats and poultry available. Coast to coast, from show-stopping Alaskan King Crab Legs to succulent South Florida Lobster Tails, any order from Delaware Chicken Farm and Seafood Market will turn a meal into a gourmet event!

St. James Cheese Company on Taigan strives to offer its customers a wide selection of perfectly ripe cheese that will entice novice and veteran cheese lovers alike. Shop for all kinds of artisanal cheeses like Fleur de Maquis. Also known as Brindamour, this French cheese is made with sheep’s milk from Corsica and coated with rosemary, juniper berries and bird’s eye peppers.

For more on Taigan connect on Taigan’s Facebook Fan Page or Follow us on Twitter @TaiganFinds.

As the retail industry continues to build upon the combined power of branding, technology and e-commerce, Taigan.com helps specialty retailers gain online sales via Ruby on Rails technology that let’s retailers open an e-commerce site packed with user-friendly training and tools including video.

New York, NY– April 5–While names like Amazon and Wal-Mart helped boost online shopping during the 2009 4th quarter, small specialty retailers looking to compete in e-commerce are recognizing there’s strength in numbers.

Competing online against big brand names is challenging for boutique specialty retailers, as they seek brand retention, customer base expansion and signature customer service attention. Continue Reading…