Tiger Mom to Parents: "Nevermind"

Last night I attended a talk given by Amy Chua, of the famous “Tiger Mom” fame, in front of a group of interested parties. She spent most of time debriefing the crowd on her initial intentions for her book, the detour taken when a Wall Street Journal excerpt was published, and the intense negative reaction that she has engendered. All a misunderstanding, she said. She was trying to be flip and her dogmatic tone is just part of her “zany” personality. Her critics don’t “get” her.

I get her. As a second-generation Chinese-American and the mother of a teenager, I am intimately aware of how Asian and western parenting practices clash. I, too, have a zany and sometime brash sense of humor. I like to tell stories and exaggerate my opinions for laughs.

So I was with Ms. Chua until last night when she had the chance to make her point to a group of demographically-similar professionals. (The event was sponsored jointly by the Asian-American Journalists Association, Asian American Artists and the Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance.) Jeannie Park, the moderator of the event and a crazy-accomplished Asian-American daughter and mom herself, asked Chua for take-away lesson from the Tiger Mom saga. “What is your legacy?”

There was none. Chua, the micro-managing, Harvard-educated Yale professor with a successful husband and two high-achieving daughters, retreated. She’s not offering any advice to other parents, she says. The book is a memoir, not a how-to. The lesson? Ms. Chua hesitated. “No more sleepovers?” she offered lamely.

What a disappointment. Could it be that after all the Internet traffic, media reaction, and television appearances, Tiger Mom doesn’t have a message? Surely someone has some wisdom on how to harass the power of Asian parenting practices for the benefit of a new generation of American children.

My son is 16 years old and I think it’s fair to say that I’ve been debating this topic his entire life. How do I guide him? What can I teach him? Some of the ways I was raised were good and some were bad. Now, which ones were which?

Ms. Chua got on a soapbox, only to slink away after she gathered a crowd. She leaves the question hanging. How can Asian parenting practices benefit our American children?

Anyone?

Hello Again

So many social networks, so little time.

As we begin 2010, we resolve to stay in virtual contact with you out there. First, we fired our web host and discovered that building and maintaining a website is something we can do ourselves now.

In the meantime, please use this site for information on my jewelry and shows.

You can email me at wendylin597@gmail.com

Or phone: 516 773 4774.

Best, Wendy

It's a Wrap -- Last Out-of-Town Show of 2009

Hello again. It's been a year since I last blogged, which is probably a good thing because 2009 was a difficult year. I hope I've grown wiser. I know I've grown older.

Our last show in Morristown, NJ was blessedly rewarding. It's good to see our customers back in full force.

Our Second Season Begins

A new round of shows is due to begin and we've got some new designs that we're eager to display.

Last season ended with a marathon of events. We participated in some fabulous events and met some wonderful people -- on both sides of the booth. This year we're hoping to do the same and then some.

The schedule of shows comes out in spurts, depending on the notification date of the sponsors. For now, we can report the following appearances:

May 18 -20: Lyndhurst Castle in Tarrytown, NY.
www.artrider.com
May 19, 20: JCC Fort Lee

May 26-28 (Memorial Day weekend): New Paltz, NY.

June 2,3: Nomahegan Park, Montclair, NJ.

June 16, 17: Anderson Park, Montclair, NJ

July 27-29: Stowe, VT.

Aug. 3,4: Manchester, VT.

Sept. 1-3 (Memorial Day weekend): Woodstock/New Paltz

Sept. 14-16: Lyndhurst Castle, Tarrytown, NY.

Oct. 13, 14: Montclair, NJ. Rose Squared Productions.

Last Outdoor Show for 2006

The weather's fine and we're hoping that it will hold out for our last outdoor show this year, Brookdale Park in Montclair, NJ. This Fine Art & Crafts show will be held on Saturday Oct. 14 and Sunday, Oct. 15 from 10 am to 5 pm in the park at Watchung and Bellevue Avenues in Montclair. For more information, visit: www.rosesquared.com.

Another addition to our fall schedule is a one-day holiday show at the JCC of Stamford on Nov. 12. More information on that show is upcoming. We will have two booths at that show: one for our jewelry and another for our scarves. The Center Women of the Jewish Community Center of Stamford will receive 15 % of all proceeds from the sales.

We also have two private holiday parties: one in Chicago on Nov. 4 and one in New Jersey on Dec. 9th.

Oct. 27, 28, 29 - Sugarloaf Crafts Festival (Somerset, NJ)http://www.sugarloafcrafts.com/festivals/somerset/fall/index.html
Nov. 3,4, 5 - Sugarloaf Crafts Festival (Secaucus, NJ)http://www.sugarloafcrafts.com/festivals/secaucus/fall/index.html
Dec. 1, 2, 3 - Holiday Crafts at the Morristown Armory (NJ)http://www.artrider.com/show_index05-06.html

New Autumn Collection

We have just returned from the Philadelphia Buyer's Market of American Craft where we are participants in the Visiting Artists program. It is the first step in wholesaling our jewelry and would expose us to a national market instead of confining ourselves to neighborhoods close to home.
It is an ongoing process. We will keep you posted in these pages.

In the meantime, we have stepped up production of a new line of jewelry for Fall 2006. Look for autumn hues and new additions in colors you have been asking for: steel blue, merlot and honey.

Private events are scheduled for August in New Jersey and Chicago. Our next public appearance is at the Lyndhurst show in Tarrytown, NY, Sept. 15, 16 and 17.

This new bracelet , a red leaf necklace and other new items will be available then.

Chicago Trunk Show

We're pleased to announce that our jewelry will be featured at a trunk show in a lovely boutique in Highland Park on Friday, May, 12. The boutique, Stima Bleu, is located at 1815 St. Johns Avenue ( 847-681-9577), and the show will begin at 12 noon. The show is in part of a special late night shopping night in downtown Highland Park and there will be special events at many of the stores. The shop will be open until 9 p.m. that night. When you go, please ask to see our representative, Rachel Stein.