Ramona's Gift Guide

…and Brooke's Gratitude

First: It’s the end of our second week of fundraising and I have to give a hearty THANK YOU to the following people who have supported me in this crazy journey of making my own film and putting it into the world. Lou Reed was right: you need a busload of faith to get by. But so were the Beatles: with a little help from our friends!

Massive thank you’s from the depths of my heart to:

Brittany Biddle, Alison Brower, Tessa Blake, Julie Bleha, Joanna Hershon Buckner, Leslie Buxbaum, Cinder Chou, Andrea Ciannavei, Susan Collyer, Kia Corthron, Abby Epstein, Peggy Frank, Damon Gersh, Gina Gionfriddo, Amy Gross, Karen Hartman and Todd London, Hillary Heller, Neal Hemphill, Paten Hughes, Julia Jordan, Monica Koskey, Aaron Landsman, Mindy Lehman Cameron, Gabrielle Maisels, Susan McPherson, Joanna Meyer, Winter Miller, Ross Mondschain, Jordan Noel, Liann Pattison, Karen DeMars Pillsbury, Hope Reeves, JT Rogers, Sarah Ruhl, Aaron Steinbach, Susanna Styron, Kaitlin Solimine, Tatyana Yassukovich and Victoria Pettibone.

If you would still like to donate, we are only 500 dollars away from the halfway-mark to our goal of 15K. That’s 7000 in less than two weeks of fundraising, all because of you gorgeous people!

And now, Ramona’s Gift Guide:

Full disclosure: Ramona believes you are fully capable of doing your own shopping. And with so many style icons right here on Substack, inspiration abounds. But Brooke knows that there are a bunch of cool books, crafts, and brands featured in our film and you may want to have them on your radar as you finish your shopping.

Today, we’re featuring artisans and brands whose amazing stuff

Guittard Chocolates

We love Amy Guittard, Barnard grad and Chief Marketing Officer of her family business, Guittard Chocolates, founded by Amy’s great-great grandfather in 1868!

Amy donated chocolate to our film for both catering and treats. If you look closely, you’ll notice that when Ramona eats broccoli and chocolate for dinner, and that chocolate is Guittard. And as a much-needed treat at the end of the first week of production, our incredible caterer Diana Manalang of Little Chef Little Cafe baked cookies chock full of those incredible and incredibly rich chocolate chips. And wow, we needed it.

I’m currently obsessed with Cocoa Rouge, and Guittard is offering these great cookbook bundles for the holidays.

Guittard bundles: I always suspected love was a pink cake!

Jewelry by Melissa de la Fuente

Many of the pieces worn by Ramona were created by artisan Melissa de la Fuente. A former actor and mother of two, Melissa’s unique pieces each tell a story. They even have storybook names like Luxe, Hope, and Not Alone. Melissa crafts each piece for our inner warrior. And I don’t know about you, but my inner warrior could use a boost right now.

Not Alone, Hope and Luxe.

KT Benevento

More gems! Our incredible costume designers Serena da Conceicao (also a writer!) and Heather “Harley” Davidson sourced many of the costumes from the Hudson Valley where Serena has deep roots. Serena knew so many local artists and designers, including KT Benevento, whose magical jewelry, t-shirts and prints enchant me.

I’m in love with all of the earrings! Below, note the earrings Ramona wore on her date with Ryan the hot playground dad. We liked them so much, we bought them from KT. KT also designed the t-shirt worn by Carlos—played by Joel de la Fuente, husband of jewelry designer Melissa!—in the opening flashback, the night that haunts Ramona.

Anna Corinna

Back in the day, Anna Corinna made my favorite bags. I owned three of them. Foley + Corinna defined the kind of downtown style that I associate with Ramona and her crew. So, can you imagine how thrilled was I to connect with Anna this year and learn about her current endeavors? Anna has become a source for vintage finds, both for individuals and for the home. Her unique finds can be discovered on her website, Insta, and in monthly capsule drops at FreePeople.com. (You can also find Anna’s treasures at the Kingston Consignments Collective, Ball & Claw and the Red Owl Collective in the Hudson Valley.)

Personally, I live for a poncho and some silver boots.

And finally, if you’re in New York City, stop by our favorite bar, Von on Bleecker, for a glass of whatever brings you joy. And if you’re in Western Queens (LIC, to be precise) stop by Little Chef Little Cafe for a holiday treat or cute t-shirt!

Next week, I’ll tell you about the amazing authors whose books grace our movie.

Enjoy the holidays, stay warm and dry, be good to yourself!

Love,
Brooke