Joy Gryson Introduces IIIBeca at Scoop NYC

2012 July 26

Stewart Blechner, Maris Blechner, Joy Gryson, Olivia Harris Gryson, Peter Gryson
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On Wednesday night, Joy Gryson introduced her new IIIBeca line at Scoop NYC's Meatpacking District outpost, and your Chic seized the opportunity to interview the designer along with her daughter Olivia Harris Gryson and mother Maris Blechner.

Joy, what's different about IIIBeca?
JG: These designs are a little bit more on the simpler side. They’re really meant to be approachable by a vast audience. Prices are definitely less expensive than my previous lines, and they’re definitely more approachable from a visual and aesthetic standpoint as well.

What's the charity angle?
JG: Three percent of the wholesale price of each bag is donated to each of these three charities, so 9% in total from each bag. As for the ones we chose? Well, my mom is one of the founders of Family Focus Adoption Services, and I’ve worked for her in the summertime. I was adopted myself, and I’ve been very fortunate and have had the best upbringing ever. The 9/11 Memorial Fund is extremely important because we’re New Yorkers, and we were there on that frightful day. Memorial Sloan Kettering is also extremely important, because my husband's mother, who passed away from cancer, was very well tacared for when she was there.
MB: The children that need to be adopted the most are not the cute little babies—it's teenagers who have been sitting in foster care for far too many years and have no birth families to go back to. We run an agency that gets those children successfully adopted into what we call 'forever families.'

Olivia seems to be quite the young chicette.
JG: Yes, she has a very strong point of view. We love it when she comes into work once in a while! We ask her to pick out her favorite colors, and a lot of the time, she’s actually right. Everything we do, honestly, is inspired by Olivia…she’s our future and our present. We want to build a future for her.
MB: She’s got design in her!

What are some of your favorite local haunts in TriBeCa?
OG: My favorite restaurant that’s right next to my house is called Edward's. We usually go there every Saturday.
JG: We’ve been trying to get her to go to Odeon, but she’s a little reserved. Store-wise, I love Steven Alan. Patron of the New is a really edgy store that a lot of people don’t even know about. Eden Manor has great shoes, and Stella, a home store, is great for gifts.

Any travel plans?
JG: We have a beach house out in Avalon, New Jersey. We all go out at least once or twice a year as the whole family! We actually have a vacation plan to go to Atlantis, too.

Olivia, how does it feel to have a whole handbag collection named after you?
OG: It’s fun, but IIIBeca has more colors than Olivia Harris, so I got a little more excited. I have an interesting color palate when it comes to drawing and stuff like that.