Hip. Cool. Free.

There are clear advantages to living in a hip, cool neighborhood – there is always something hip and cool to do.  Tuesday night I took full advantage of the coolness when I dropped by the super cute Brooklyn Stone Boutique in Fort Greene, Brooklyn for NY1 Anchor Cheryl Wills’ booksigning soiree.   First let’s talk about the “where.“ Did I say super cute?!  Opened last September, Brooklyn Stone Boutique features hot, trendy, fashions that are mostly imported from the UK and Australia.

Boutique Owner Regina Stone & Tracee Loran

Wearing MusicaWear Rockstar Zippered Shirt & Cropped Jacket from Brooklyn Stone Boutique

Store owner Regina Stone never orders more than seven pieces of any single clothing item and typically carries a mere three. And many of the super baaad pumps are custom made (I’m in love with the black & white numbers with the red bow accent on the heel), which means often only one pair of specialty

footwear is available.  So what’s the big deal about that, Tracee? The chances of attending a party and spotting 3 chix wearing your “limited edition” dress are very low.  Don’t you hate when that happens?  You spend the evening trying to pretend like you don’t see each other or worst yet, you have to leave early due to an “emergency.” Very few items at BSB are over $200 & you can find many things for under a hundred bucks, so you can look like brand new money without spending a lot of it. Needless to say  Brooklyn Stone Boutique is definitely the place to get your fashion fix on. And it’s the new hot spot for radically fabulous events.

News Anchor/Author Cheryl Wills

In walks Award-winning NY1 Anchor Cheryl Wills who held a booksigning for her new powerful tomeDie Free: A Heroic Family History, which chronicles the story of Wills’ great great great grandfather Sandy Wills, a runaway slave and fearless Civil War veteran. Die Free also explores the life of Wills’ dad, Clarence Douglas Wills, the first black firefighter to desegregate Engine 1 Ladder 24 in New York City.  He tragically died in a motorcycle accident on the Williamsburg Bridge in Brooklyn at the tender age of 38, and according to Cheryl, lived a very enigmatic & reckless life during his last few years on this planet.

Tracee Loran & Cheryl Wills

Cheryl is one of the most dynamic people I’ve met in New York City. Hands down! We had an engaging conversation about history, slavery, and knowing your roots.  The full interview will be available next week, but here’s a juicy sample:

I asked Cheryl what was the impetus, the one event that led her to write Die Free.  This excerpt is extracted from her response.

CW: The short version is Sandy was purchased by Edmond Wills.  That was the first shock to know that I am Cheryl Wills because Edmond bought him when he was 10-years old on an auction block.

TL: Did they say who Edmond Was?

CW: I know all about Edmond.

TL: Of course.

CW: He was a white man who had a family and was living fat off the backs of African slaves as his parents did and as his grandparents did coming from Virginia.  Came to Tennessee to start a new life.  Some family business, huh?  Buying Africans.

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Yes, Cheryl is that honest and forthright; she’s a powerful speaker with an inspiring ball of fire in her belly ignited by learning the truth about her family.  You’ll get the full version next week; believe me regardless of race, creed, or religious affiliation you will be moved by her story. If you just can’t wait to hear it from me, you can stop by St. Philips Church in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn this Sunday, March 20 at 11:00 am. Cheryl’s reading excerpts from Die Free: A Heroic Family History.  This won’t be an ordinary book-reading as she’ll be accompanied by a full gospel choir.  I can’t wait! (Click on flyer for more details.)

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MUA Karen Swaby & Tracee Loran

You know I never pull off these events solo; beside every socialite is a talented crew of artists. Since its Woman’s History Month its befitting that the ladies represented. Fresh off of a snazzy fashion spectacular for PR Whiz Lawrence Blake Harvey, Makeup Artist Karen Swaby carved out some time to paint beautiful hues on my face.  Dame Swaby has skills because she convinced me to go with smoky eyes for a more edgy look and pink lips. Yes, pink lips!  Designer Raquel Alfred of MusicaWear provided me with her really adorable signature item – the RockStar Zippered T-Shirt.  News flash – it’s  pink! In the immortal words of Whitney Houston, me and pink “are not friends!” These sly foxes must have slipped a mickey in my Shirley Temple! 😉

Documenting the event was gifted Photographer Tamara Edme of Urban Exposure Images. Miss Tamara is all about unique angles and interesting shots. She often uses graffiti’d walls & other urban backdrops to capture subjects in their purest, most uninhibited form. Love it!

This event was definitely fun and enlightening. I look forward to sharing the full Cheryl Wills interview & reports of what I hear is an incredible book-reading presentation.

Time is running out on the Radically Fabulous My PeepStakes; don’t forget to enter to win a prize package worth $125!  It is the easiest open book quiz you’ll ever take! 🙂

Until the next time, stay radically fabulous….

Anchor/Author Cheryl Wills & Sports Agent Martin Gover

Tracee Loran & Sports Agent Martin Gover

Tracee Loran & Cheryl Wills Share a Laugh

Martin Gover & McArthur St. Juste

McArthur St. Juste & Cheryl Wills