FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Maria Luisa Whittingham

845-664-8492

845-353-4122

LONGTIME NYACK MERCHANT ANNOUNCES ARTISTIC COLLABORATION

Maria Luisa Boutique teams with award-winning illustrator Johanna Goodman

Maria Luisa Whittingham, who has owned and operated Maria Luisa Boutique in Nyack for more than 30 years, announces a new venture – an artistic collaboration with award-winning, Nyack-based artist and illustrator Johanna Goodman.

The effort, another example of Whittingham’s ongoing commitment to supporting local arts and artisans, has yielded an exclusive collection of accessories and home goods designed in close collaboration with Goodman,

The collection will be formally unveiled during the South Broadway boutique’s annual Holiday Party, an open-to-the-public event set for 4 to 8 p.m. Dec. 7.

The initial offerings will feature designs from Goodman’s distinctive “The Catalogue of Imaginary Beings,” an ongoing series that Goodman launched in 2015 and is based on more than 20 years of portraiture and collage work. Products in the debut collection for Maria Luisa Boutique will include pillows, shower curtains and tote bags.

Of the collaboration, Whittingham says it “brings ‘Imaginary Beings’ into a lifestyle setting, which is really what Maria Luisa is all about, bringing creativity into our homes.”

Whittingham particularly sees the tote bags, featuring strong women characters, as ideal holiday gifts for all ages, offering “great, positive imagery for young people.”

BIOS/BACKGROUND

• Johanna Goodman studied at Boston University’s School of Fine Art and Parsons School of Design in Manhattan, where she graduated with a bachelor’s of fine arts in illustration in 1992. Since then, she has worked as a freelance illustrator for clients ranging from The Metropolitan Transit Authority of New York to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, West Elm to Habitat Skateboards and for publications including Time Magazine, Rolling Stone, The New York Times and The Washington Post. Her work has been honored by organizations including The Society of Publication Design, American Illustration and Communication Arts. In 2017, Goodman was awarded a NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship grant for Printingmaking/Drawing/Book Arts for her work on “The Catalogue of Imaginary Beings.”

• Maria Luisa Whittingham, who opened her eponymous Nyack boutique in 1987 and today is also the owner of sister store ML by Maria Luisa, is noted for her small-business success as she helms two brick-and-mortar boutiques while maintaining a thriving web-based business on both her own site, marialuisaboutique.com and through Shoptiques.com.

Having also lived in Rockland County for more than 30 years, Whittingham is both rooted in the local community and its issues – and willing to lend a hand to causes she believes in. Past and continuing efforts support causes ranging from the arts to racial equality, women’s issues to economic development, education to gender issues. Whittingham has been recognized over the years, having being named the “Woman of the Year” by the Rockland Business Women’s Network and the “Latina Entrepreneur of the Year” by the Business Development Center and RCC College Foundation and has also been honored by Friends of the Nyacks with its “Distinguished Citizen Award.”

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Maria Luisa Whittingham
75-77 SOUTH BROADWAY, NYACK NY