Love, Bonito Launches First U.S. Pop-Up Store in NYC

Love, Bonito, an omnichannel womenswear brand making waves in Asia, proudly announces the grand opening of its inaugural U.S. pop-up store in the vibrant SoHo neighborhood of New York City. With doors wide open to greet U.S. fans, the launch of the pop-up store signifies a major step towards Love, Bonito's global expansion outside of Asia.

"I started Love, Bonito because I struggled to find clothes that fit my body type. More than a decade ago, when I shopped for available options amongst popular brands, the proportions were off or the pockets were non-existent. It was disheartening to feel misrepresented by the styles and outfits marketed to me," said Rachel Lim, Co-Founder of Love, Bonito. "So, I decided to change the narrative by creating a brand that represented me and my community. With our official U.S. launch, we hope our message connects with diverse, Asian American women who celebrate their own unique journeys and feel empowered by what they wear."

The brand aspires to empower women with their message of Come Into Your Own - a mantra meant to celebrate every woman's journey of self-discovery and finding her community. The Love, Bonito pop-up experience is located at 465 Broadway New York, NY 10013 and will operate now until December 31, 2023.

About Love, Bonito

Designing for the key moments and milestones of a woman's life, Love, Bonito's comprehensive assortment features stylish and comfortable pieces for the modern Asian woman at home, work and play. Love, Bonito is the largest vertically integrated, omnichannel women's fashion brand in the region today. We remain committed to relationship building and nurturance, imbuing soul into innovation with thoughtful design and dedicated community outreach.

Malabar Gold and Diamonds Opens 300th Global Showroom in Dallas USA

The grand inauguration of the 300th global showroom of Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the 6th largest jewellery retailer globally with a strong retail network of 300 showrooms across 10 countries, was held in Dallas, USA.

Ms. Susan Fletcher, Collin County Commissioner and Mr. Jeff Cheney, Mayor of Frisco, Texas, jointly inaugurated the showroom in the presence of Mr. Shamlal Ahamed, Managing Director, International Operations. The event was virtually attended by Mr. M P Ahammed, Chairman, Malabar Group; Mr. KP Abdul Salam, Vice-Chairman, Malabar Group; Mr. O Asher, Managing Director, India Operations, other team members, well-wishers and dignitaries.

"It is a moment of great pride for us as we touch the 300th mark with this new showroom in Dallas, USA. We started off with a small showroom in Calicut, Kerala, India and today, in less than 30 years, we have a strong retail presence of 300 showrooms across 10 countries; all thanks to our customers, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders. We will continue to strengthen our retail presence in the regions where we have established a robust presence, as well as enter new markets with our differentiated products, services and assurances. The acceptance and patronage received by the brand gives us the confidence to further speed up the expansion process in becoming the No. 1 jewellery retailer globally," said Mr. MP Ahammed, Chairman, Malabar Group.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds currently operates in 10 countries and has immediate expansion plans into the UK, Bangladesh, Australia, Egypt, Canada, Turkey, South Africa. The future expansions are expected to create approximately 6,000 job opportunities in the retail, manufacturing, technical and management areas related to jewellery trade.

"Malabar Gold & Diamonds has played a vital role in making Indian jewellery more acceptable and trustworthy at the global level in recent years. We are now crafting unique experiences targeting the individual and specific preferences of our customers. As the design discovery and initial decision-making of most customers are happening online these days, we are focusing greatly on strengthening our omnichannel retail strategy, for which we are making use of the services of global technology giants like Microsoft, IBM, Accenture, E&Y, Deloitte etc..," said Mr. Abdul Salam KP, Vice Chairman, Malabar Group.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds is renowned globally for offering an unparalleled jewellery buying experience with convenience, and customer-friendly policies along with the 'Malabar Promise' of incomparable quality and service assurance. Malabar Promise includes assured lifetime maintenance from any of the showrooms across 10 countries, guaranteed buyback, IGI and GIA-certified diamonds ensuring 28-point quality check of global standards, zero deduction gold exchange, complete transparency, 916 hallmarked pure gold, responsible sourcing, fair price policy and fair labour practices.

"We are very excited about our future growth plan and will immediately be expanding into new markets, including the UK, Bangladesh, Australia and Canada, followed by Egypt, Turkey & South Africa. Apart from this, we will further strengthen our retail footprint within the existing markets as well. We constantly make efforts to evolve in line with the diverse preferences of our multicultural and multinational customers, as part of which we will focus further on product variety and a superior shopping experience, in addition to opening more stand-alone stores for local customers of the respective regions," said Mr. Shamlal Ahamed, Managing Director, International Operations, Malabar Gold & Diamonds.

The new showroom in Dallas has a stunning display of more than 30,000 jewellery designs from 20 countries across gold, diamonds, precious gems and platinum, catering to the design preferences of those residing in and around Dallas.

"We have an ambitious retail expansion plan in India as well, especially in the North and Central Indian states and are gearing up in a big way to enter new territories as well by setting higher standards in the jewellery trade. We understand the sensitivity of the industry and ensure compliance through responsible sourcing, ethical business practices, and transparent and professional fund management. Our association with trade bodies, financial houses, and government regulators help to ensure that our operations are infallible globally," said Mr. O Asher, Managing Director, India Operations, Malabar Gold & Diamonds.

"We will further strengthen our manufacturing capabilities to support our retail expansion drive globally. We will also be hiring skilled artisans and related staff as part of this process. This will also further bolster our mission, 'Make in India, Market to the World.' Keeping in line with the brand's outlook as a responsible jeweller, all our ongoing and upcoming facilities have and will be designed to provide safe and pleasant working conditions to the employees," said Mr. Nishad AK, Group Executive Director, Manufacturing & B2B, Malabar Group.

Malabar Group believes that the most successful companies are those which integrate responsibility and sustainability into their core business and commit 5% of their profit to support socially responsible purposes both in India and abroad, since its inception in 1993. Hunger, Health, Education, Women Empowerment, Housing and Environment are the key focus areas for the Group.

About Malabar Gold & Diamonds

Malabar Gold & Diamonds was established in 1993 and is the flagship company of Malabar Group, a leading diversified Indian business conglomerate.

With an annual turnover of $4.1 billion, the company currently ranks as the 6th largest jewellery retailer globally and today has a strong retail network of 300 outlets spread across 10 countries in addition to multiple offices, design centers, wholesale units and factories spread across India, Middle East, Far East & USA. The group, owned by more than 4,000 shareholders, has more than 16,500 professionals from over 26 countries working towards its continued success. Malabar Gold & Diamonds also features an online store www.malabargoldanddiamonds.com providing customers the opportunity to purchase their favorite jewelry at any time and on any day from the comfort of their homes.

The group also operates MGD, Lifestyle Jewellery, a retail concept offering trendy and light weight jewellery that represents the independent and the modern woman through its designs and collections.

CSR has been the primary commitment of the group since its inception; integrating ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) principles into the core business. The key CSR focus areas of Malabar Group are Hunger, Health, Education, Women Empowerment, Housing, and the Environment. The ESG goals of the organization are periodically strengthened by integrating responsibility and sustainability to remain a socially conscious and responsible organization. The group contributes 5% of its profit to such initiatives in the same country of operation.

Application Asks to Forever Ban ALL Vaccine Mandates

As thousands of Americans remain locked out of their careers despite the lift of the federal vaccine mandate due to the continued enforcement of state and private sector Covid-19 vaccine mandates, on May 18, 2023, the 127th year anniversary of the landmark case Plessy v. Ferguson – wherein the US Supreme Court declared on May 18, 1896 that separate and unequal facilities for African-Americans was constitutional, the U.S. Supreme Court will vote in private conference on whether to rule on the merits of an Emergency Application that asks the Court to forever ban vaccine mandates by any public or private employer, which have caused cause millions of employees to be separated from their jobs based on their unvaccinated status.

The emergency application submitted by the Women of Color For Equal Justice (WOC4EJ), a Maryland non-profit advocacy center on behalf of New York City employees, asks the Court to declare that all vaccine mandates by public and private sectors are illegal and where unauthorized when enacted and enforced because they violate the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) minimum safety standards as well as the Free Exercise and substantive Due Process clauses of the Constitution. Unlike the many cases around the country that sought to declare various vaccine mandates unconstitutional based on their “unequal or discriminatory application” against employees wherein some employees were granted exemptions and many were not, Jo Saint-George, Founder and Chief Legal Officer of WOC4J, argues that “all vaccine mandates have been illegal since at least 1970 when the OSH Act was enacted by Congress, which at that time was one of the most important pieces of “human rights” legislation for workers in America.”

OSHA Protects The Right To Refuse Any Vaccine

The OSH Act expressly protects the First Amendment Free Exercise right of all employees to refuse any immunization or vaccine based on religious grounds and the OSH Act also bans any person or employer from terminating or removing an employee from their job or a person from a public place based on their refusal to be vaccinated.

The OSH Act provides everyone employee an “automatic exemption” from any vaccination (a.k.a immunization) based on religious grounds because there is nothing in the statute that authorizes employers to demand employees to prove their religious beliefs nor are employees required to provide a letter from their clergy before the exemption is to be granted. When congress enacted the ”automatic religious exemption” in Section 20(a)(5) of the OSH Act no exemption pre-conditions was included and courts are to strictly interpret the statute based on its plain language and no employer can add or subtract from the language of the statute.

Women of Color for Equal Justice – is a Maryland non-profit national advocacy affiliate of the Madison County Economic Development Corporation a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to eliminate structural and systemic barriers to equality and economic justice and development for communities of color around the country.

American Cosmetic Association Awareness Campaign

The American Cosmetic Association is proud to announce the launch of the "Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery Awareness Day" campaign. The campaign will take place on May 11th and aims to promote awareness about cosmetic and plastic surgery.

Despite the popularity of cosmetic and plastic surgery, many people are still unaware of the risks and benefits associated with these procedures. The American Cosmetic Association has launched this campaign to educate the public about the importance of choosing a qualified and experienced surgeon, as well as the potential risks and complications that may arise from cosmetic and plastic surgery.

The "Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery Awareness Day" campaign will feature a series of educational events, social media campaigns, and informative resources, all designed to help individuals make informed decisions about cosmetic and plastic surgery. The events will include seminars, workshops, and Q&A sessions, featuring leading experts in the field of cosmetic and plastic surgery. The resources will be available on the American Cosmetic Association's website and social media channels.

"We believe that everyone should have access to accurate and reliable information about cosmetic and plastic surgery," said Dr. Steven Line, Board Member of the American Cosmetic Association. "We are committed to providing the public with the resources they need to make informed decisions."

The American Cosmetic Association encourages everyone to participate in the "Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery Awareness Day" campaign and spread the word about the importance of safety and informed decision-making when it comes to cosmetic and plastic surgery.

Select plastic surgeons and cosmetic surgery practices will be available to members of the media to answer specific questions about these surgeries.