Manuel at The Gilcrease Museum (Tulsa, OK)

Flew into Nashville today, returning from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Manuel invited me to attend his opening gala and event-packed week at the Gilcrease Museum in honor of his State Coat Thank You Tour. My sister was on her way from Dallas to meet me and we were ready to spend some quality time together supporting Manuel.

Manuel's standard groups of people were in attendance. His assistant, Lali, his children Manny, Morelia & Jessie, and several interns from the Nashville studio.... Dani, Sara & Philip. A few of his better clients showed up in full Manuel attire as well, giving the evening some festive flair. Elizabeth Scokin from NashvilleFashion.com and The Oak Ridge Boys were also there to support the State Coat installation.


Bunny (my sister) and I snuck back to the hotel early to have a little 'us' time. The ceremony was gorgeous, so I don't think we were missed! The next day was filled with a morning brunch for the patrons to the museum who were given personal walk throughs with Manuel. Then TV appearances and Q&A sessions, ending with an evening concert by The Oak Ridge Boys, who brought Manuel up on stage to honor his special week in Tulsa.

Come Monday, most of the friends & family had left and the real work began for the Cuevas Family: Educating local children about Manuel and his trade. I stayed through to support them as they spent several days speaking with high school kids about the dying art of hand embroidered goods and custom tailored suits and offereed classroom style days of illustrating patterns for jackets and combining fabrics. Watching Manuel work with the children to explore ideas and passions about their future was great fun! Several of the young girls were extremely interested and show great promise ass future fashion designers.

There were many fun activities available to us during our stay by the generous people at the Gilcrease..... Oklahoma wine tasting, a hay ride at a longhorn steer ranch, private archive tours of navajo blankets & artifacts as well as many great conversations and fabulous dinners. I adore the Cuevas family. They are a talented bunch of road warriors, ready to embrace their dreams and create their passions in the form of some of the rockin'est clothes I've ever seen!