Jana Platina Phipps. Founder at TrimQueen.com
Jana has been a pillar of my life and I’m truly grateful to count her among my dear close friends. She continues to inspire me with her creativity and her stylish joie de vivre. She is a trim expert but she is also a fierce cook. What makes her special in the kitchen, it’s not only her love for wholesome food, but also her trained fashionista spirit, that allows her to create incredibly elegant and chic meals.
Jana is a trimmings expert known for her refined vision for the use of embellishment in home furnishings and fashion. She began her career as an apprentice to Italian-American artisans in the garment district of NYC, translating handbag specifications from Italian to English for the likes of Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren. This lead to designing an exclusive line of accessories that sold at Bergdorf Goodman, high-end retailers across the country.
After the birth of her children, she became an independent consultant in branding, merchandising and sales representation for manufacturers, which ultimately lead to collaborating with trimmings producers worldwide. Affectionately called “Trim Queen” by her clients, she began to blog and use her social media channels to chronicle how the design community uses trimmings creatively. She has become the “ambassador of trimmings” and is a sought after speaker sharing the history of passementerie and modern embellishment trends. Most recently, she launched a tassel and trim-centric brooch collection, and continues to teach Trim-Alchemy, the concept of turning something ordinary into extraordinary with trimmings.
Read more about the Trim Queen and follow her at:
www.TrimQueen.com www.Instagram.com/TrimQueen www.Pinterest.com/TrimQueen www.Twitter.com/TrimQueen www.Facebook.com/TrimQueen
Jana Cooking Journey :
Although my heritage is Italian, my grandmother’s food originated from the American kitchen of the 1950’s. Meals consisted of lasagna with Velveeta and pesto with vegetable oil. Unthinkable now, but it’s what was readily available the time. The Italians then wanted to Americanize. It wasn’t until I started to work in Italy, at a trimmings factory outside of Torino, that I really learned to cook. The matron of the house would prepare dinner for us each night and I would shadow her. While we snacked on 18” Torinese grissini (breadsticks) with local wines, I assisted her, writing down simple recipes, like risotto. She baked her own bread, made jams, canned tomatoes. Watching Orsola cook was like watching a dancer dance when no one’s looking. All steps and timing were effortless. Her starting point was always fresh food. She would visit many purveyors to put a meal together, the baker, the butcher, and the vegetable market. She taught me how to make quince marmalade, agnolotti with butter and sage, to save a little pasta water to add back in pot before the sauce, and her risotto recipe of course. After spending many magical trips to their ‘cascina” I bought a property near Hemlock Hill Farm www.HemlockHillFarm.com Now I can walk to get fresh eggs, smoked bacon and can even serve them like Orsola, in a frittata with fresh spinach and tomatoes from our garden.
Cooking Trims In The Factory :
I often feel like a chef in my design work. Yarns are like my fresh ingredients and the factory is my kitchen. There is a lot of trial and error of mixing yarns and color combinations. When I work with luxury materials, everything is optimized; the gorgeous colors and luscious textures drive the design concept. Finally, I’ll find the best loom that fits the design, whether a cord, fringe, braid or tape, and get cooking!
I love teaching people how to use trimmings to express themselves, in the ways they dress and in their home décor. Making something yourself or having something custom made with trimmings, gives you a voice, expresses your unique sensibility. Whether you are styling your Thanksgiving table with handmade passementerie napkin rings, or adorning your handbag with a silky tassel, it reflects you. Decorating is a form of self-expression, it’s therapeutic and soulful, just like cooking.
Where Does Jana Like To Eat:
MeliMelo in Greenwich CT It is a bustling creperie. http://www.melimelogreenwich.com The owners are French and the buckwheat crepes are topped with fresh greens, eggs, Gruyere, prosciutto, asparagus, you name it, there are endless combinations. The artichoke soup is pureed fresh and you can even detect the crushed mint leaves in their ice cream. To me, it is the essence of authentic country cooking, it begins with the ingredients. Whenever I go, I feel like I’ve taken a French vacation.
Favorite Utensil:
I cannot live without my NutriBullet. www.nutribullet.com I prepare my green smoothie every morning during the manic morning dash with my kids. I also use it to whip up salad dressings and basil pesto all summer long. I add pesto to everything; it’s my go-to secret ingredient.
Favorite Place To Shop:
I travel a fair amount, for business and with family. I always venture to my new locale’s farmers market. I can gauge the culture from the farmers, purveyors and the shoppers. I love my local one in Peekskill, NY with it’s artistic flair, http://peekskillfarmersmarket.com but my favorites have been in La Jolla, CA http://www.lajollamarket.com where I discovered cherimoyas, jicama and avocados the size of small footballs. Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia http://www.annapolisroyalfarmersmarket.com had the most gorgeous, hearty baked goods. The rich coffee, heritage fiddler and authentic town crier, definitely added to my memory of the most sublime fruit tart I have ever tasted.
Although my heritage is Italian, my grandmother’s food originated from the American kitchen of the 1950’s. Meals consisted of lasagna with Velveeta and pesto with vegetable oil. Unthinkable now, but it’s what was readily available the time. The Italians then wanted to Americanize. It wasn’t until I started to work in Italy, at a trimmings factory outside of Torino, that I really learned to cook. The matron of the house would prepare dinner for us each night and I would shadow her. While we snacked on 18” Torinese grissini (breadsticks) with local wines, I assisted her, writing down simple recipes, like risotto. She baked her own bread, made jams, canned tomatoes. Watching Orsola cook was like watching a dancer dance when no one’s looking. All steps and timing were effortless. Her starting point was always fresh food. She would visit many purveyors to put a meal together, the baker, the butcher, and the vegetable market. She taught me how to make quince marmalade, agnolotti with butter and sage, to save a little pasta water to add back in pot before the sauce, and her risotto recipe of course. After spending many magical trips to their ‘cascina” I bought a property near Hemlock Hill Farm www.HemlockHillFarm.com Now I can walk to get fresh eggs, smoked bacon and can even serve them like Orsola, in a frittata with fresh spinach and tomatoes from our garden.
I often feel like a chef in my design work. Yarns are like my fresh ingredients and the factory is my kitchen. There is a lot of trial and error of mixing yarns and color combinations. When I work with luxury materials, everything is optimized; the gorgeous colors and luscious textures drive the design concept. Finally, I’ll find the best loom that fits the design, whether a cord, fringe, braid or tape, and get cooking!
I love teaching people how to use trimmings to express themselves, in the ways they dress and in their home décor. Making something yourself or having something custom made with trimmings, gives you a voice, expresses your unique sensibility. Whether you are styling your Thanksgiving table with handmade passementerie napkin rings, or adorning your handbag with a silky tassel, it reflects you. Decorating is a form of self-expression, it’s therapeutic and soulful, just like cooking.
Where Does Jana Like To Eat:
MeliMelo in Greenwich CT It is a bustling creperie. http://www.melimelogreenwich.com The owners are French and the buckwheat crepes are topped with fresh greens, eggs, Gruyere, prosciutto, asparagus, you name it, there are endless combinations. The artichoke soup is pureed fresh and you can even detect the crushed mint leaves in their ice cream. To me, it is the essence of authentic country cooking, it begins with the ingredients. Whenever I go, I feel like I’ve taken a French vacation.
Favorite Utensil:
I cannot live without my NutriBullet. www.nutribullet.com I prepare my green smoothie every morning during the manic morning dash with my kids. I also use it to whip up salad dressings and basil pesto all summer long. I add pesto to everything; it’s my go-to secret ingredient.
Favorite Place To Shop:
I travel a fair amount, for business and with family. I always venture to my new locale’s farmers market. I can gauge the culture from the farmers, purveyors and the shoppers. I love my local one in Peekskill, NY with it’s artistic flair, http://peekskillfarmersmarket.com but my favorites have been in La Jolla, CA http://www.lajollamarket.com where I discovered cherimoyas, jicama and avocados the size of small footballs. Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia http://www.annapolisroyalfarmersmarket.com had the most gorgeous, hearty baked goods. The rich coffee, heritage fiddler and authentic town crier, definitely added to my memory of the most sublime fruit tart I have ever tasted.
MeliMelo in Greenwich CT It is a bustling creperie. http://www.melimelogreenwich.com The owners are French and the buckwheat crepes are topped with fresh greens, eggs, Gruyere, prosciutto, asparagus, you name it, there are endless combinations. The artichoke soup is pureed fresh and you can even detect the crushed mint leaves in their ice cream. To me, it is the essence of authentic country cooking, it begins with the ingredients. Whenever I go, I feel like I’ve taken a French vacation.
I cannot live without my NutriBullet. www.nutribullet.com I prepare my green smoothie every morning during the manic morning dash with my kids. I also use it to whip up salad dressings and basil pesto all summer long. I add pesto to everything; it’s my go-to secret ingredient.
Favorite Place To Shop:
I travel a fair amount, for business and with family. I always venture to my new locale’s farmers market. I can gauge the culture from the farmers, purveyors and the shoppers. I love my local one in Peekskill, NY with it’s artistic flair, http://peekskillfarmersmarket.com but my favorites have been in La Jolla, CA http://www.lajollamarket.com where I discovered cherimoyas, jicama and avocados the size of small footballs. Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia http://www.annapolisroyalfarmersmarket.com had the most gorgeous, hearty baked goods. The rich coffee, heritage fiddler and authentic town crier, definitely added to my memory of the most sublime fruit tart I have ever tasted.
I travel a fair amount, for business and with family. I always venture to my new locale’s farmers market. I can gauge the culture from the farmers, purveyors and the shoppers. I love my local one in Peekskill, NY with it’s artistic flair, http://peekskillfarmersmarket.com but my favorites have been in La Jolla, CA http://www.lajollamarket.com where I discovered cherimoyas, jicama and avocados the size of small footballs. Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia http://www.annapolisroyalfarmersmarket.com had the most gorgeous, hearty baked goods. The rich coffee, heritage fiddler and authentic town crier, definitely added to my memory of the most sublime fruit tart I have ever tasted.
