Hello, and welcome to Bon Vivant! My name is Alexandra Schorndorf (please call me Alex). I am a New York City based fashion and lifestyle illustrator and designer. Currently, I work full time at Ralph Lauren as a graphic artist and you can find me doing anything from creating hangtags, labels and packaging across all of their brands. In my free time, I illustrate from the runways, my dinner plates and from my travels, typically in watercolor and/or colored pencil.
I have been living in New York City since the day I started my studies in fashion illustration and art history at the Fashion Institute of Technology. I grew up about two hours East; having the Hampton's beaches in my backyard. Bonfires and eating lobster in the sand were the highlight of my summers. However, I always wanted to break away from the solitude and craved the energy of city living. I remember looking out the car window as a little girl, wanting to be one of those powerful, fashion forward women walking around in tweed suits (it was the 90s, who knows). I may not ever buy a tweed suit, (I pray there is someone to stop me if I ever have the impulse), but that minute, funny flashback makes me laugh as I keep powering through, taking all that this city throws at me. I have been an intern for interior designers, wacky fine artists, worked in art galleries, bustling NYC cafes, home product design, prop shops and event styling companies. I guess you could say that I'm a jack of all trades.
I'm not going to lie, working full time and illustrating on the side, is not easy (come on, some nights I just want to order take-out and binge on Netflix, don't we all?) It took me a while to get a schedule down, but I needed to do it! It is what fuels my happiness and makes me feel most like my true self. So, Bon Vivant was born to serve as a place to share my fashion driven illustrations, travel inspired posts, and recipes for entertaining. Don't be fooled by the "hoity-toity" French name, as I am a New Yorker who simply resonates with the meaning of this graceful French phrase that can't possibly be summed up using one word in the English language (see below).
I hope you enjoy and thank you so much for stopping by!
bon vi·vant
(bôN′ vē-väN′) noun
literally translates to "good liver." one who enjoys the good things in life, especially with respect to food and drink (let's add in art + travel)
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Feel free to email me at alexandraschorndorf@gmail.com
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