Video: Jilted brides in Morristown, from News 12

A lot of upset ladies converged on Nonchalance in Morristown on Friday looking for their wedding dresses–or for their money back.

Many of them struck out on both ends, as this video report by News 12 illustrates.

The bridal boutique on South Street is going bust, and many of the future brides and bridesmaids we spoke to outside the shop were not buying the story that the owner’s serious illness was forcing the closure.

“This woman should be ashamed of herself for doing this,” MorristownGreen.com reader Kim Cupo fumed in a comment to our story.

READ MORE ABOUT NONCHALANCE CLOSING

Morristown’s Josh Stephens on Henry Saiz’s ‘Balance 019′

By Josh Stephens

Balance has unleashed their latest mix compilation, Balance 019, with Spain’s Henry Saiz at the controls.  Balance is arguably the most revered series in dance music which has previously released mixes by the likes of Nick Warren, James Holden, and Jimmy Van M. 

Saiz is responsible for some of the finest moments in the progressive house genre of the past few years.  He has created positively blistering remixes including a dazzlingly evil rework of Guy J “Lamur,” a dirty, heavy take on Way Out West- “Future Perfect,” and a relentless, unstoppable spin on Bedrock’s seminal release, “Emerald” among others.  With a body of work this accomplished, expectations couldn’t have been higher when whispers of Saiz’s mix compilation began to appear on message boards in early spring.

CD1 gently begins to take shape with Saiz’s acid breakbeat remix of Tyrane’s “King of the Invisible Land.”  The momentum builds as the moody, melancholic synths of “Honey Wine,” a collaboration between Saiz and Jesse Somfay, rise to the surface.  The swirling keys and vocal effects in the break provide the first of many defining moments of this compilation. 

“Little Mountains” is the second of two offerings on the album made by Hal Incandenza, a Saiz alias.  With its crunchy snares, funk-fueled bassline, and euphonic synths, the piece demonstrates how Saiz, a revered force in the progressive house world, is equally adept in the indie dance arena and isn’t too far removed from artists like Panda Bear, Animal Collective, and Passion Pit.  Kindred spirit Spada contributes the summery “Onice,” a track released on Saiz’s own label, Natura Sonoris.

The mix takes a darker turn in the form of Saiz’s stomping “Lady in the Mirror” and the sleek 80’s electro of Cora Nova & Spaceman- “Black Heart.”  The combination of Saiz’s edit of the quirky Kitkaliitto- “Letting Go” and the spacey “Ink” by Esperanza prove to be the light at the end of the tunnel with their luminescent melodies and finely chopped beats.  The booming, rippling “Eterno Retorno” by Saiz delivers the big bang that the mix had been building toward all along.  After the trippy spoken word “Interlude,” the mix arrives at a glorious finale with “Uroboros,” a psychedelic, chugging beauty and collaboration between Saiz and fellow Spaniard, Pional.

CD2 opens with the brooding “Gaia” by Calypso Synth Ensemble followed by the soaring sun-drenched synths of Armed- “Caminando Sobre la Superficie Del Sol.”  Spacious, bassy pads- a trademark element of Saiz’s sound- pervade as Saiz’s own “Vargtimmen” drifts in.  Resonant stabs burst through in the form of Saiz’s remix of Eelke Kleijn- “Lone Ranger” and kick things up a gear. 

Saiz deftly transitions into his seismic remix of Mono Electric Orchestra’s “Indifference” with its razor sharp stabs and an ungodly bassline.  The dissonant “Tango Hej Da” by Charles Gudagavfa is a hard listen at times, but it continues to raise the tension and build up the energy of the mix.  Despite its name, the shuffling “Gloom” by Spada and Saiz is sprightly and hopeful.  Dosem and Saiz’s “Zen Boat” pushes on in that vein and sets the stage for Ricardo Tobar’s “Together” to smash through with its frenetic percussion and warbling synths. 

The transition into Amyn- “Elle” is a difficult one as the keys of the fast paced “Together” are gradually pitched down to allow for a progression into the significantly slower “Elle.”  It’s a surprising downshift that nearly feels like the beginning of a new mix altogether.  Solar Sailor- “Horizons” and then Marc Marzenit & Saiz’s “Radience” form a sort of plateau as the mix takes on a more afterhours and less club feel.  Liz Cirelli and Minski provide the most musical piece in this entire set with a heavenly violin solo in the form of “Trip of the Dolphin.”

Okain’s “Thank You, Come Again” and Simon Garcia’s “If This World Were Dub” keep things moving but are less than distinguished.  Anneke Van Giersbergen delivers possibly the defining moment of the entire release with her ethereal reverb-drenched vocals in “Come Wander with Me.”  It’s a lovely denouement.  Sistema- “Nodo 6” is beautiful and compelling, but it’s an unnecessary afterthought in the context of the mix.      

Although a bit uneven in its pacing, Balance 019 showcases Henry Saiz’s boundless aural palette.  Equally skilled at creating subtle moody soundscapes and full-on ground-shaking club anthems, Saiz has a dynamic range and is one of electronic music’s richest talents.

7.5 out of 10

Morristown resident Josh Stephens is a music fanatic. Check out his reviews of artists like Bon Iver, Radiohead, Florence and the Machine, and The Strokes on MorristownGreen.com.

 

Letter by English Romantic poet Lord Byron held by Morristown museum turns out to be a fake

The nearly 200-year-old missive was with the National Historical Park for more than 50 years and occasionally touted among Byron enthusiasts

Graduates and students at Oak Knoll School in Summit are AP Scholars

Forty-three young alumnae and rising seniors at Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child in Summit have earned AP Scholar Awards in recognition of their exceptional achievement on Advanced Placement exams. As part of its rigorous Upper School curriculum,...

Rocky horror show: Future brides and bridesmaids line up for bad news at Morristown’s Nonchalance

A long line of future brides and bridesmaids lined up outside Nonchalance on Friday hoping to claim dresses or refunds from the Morristown bridal shop before it enters the bonds of holy bankruptcy.

Some waited as long as 90 minutes, in a thundershower, for their turn to step inside and receive the mostly bad news.

Those who had ordered dresses with cash or checks were given the number of a bankruptcy lawyer. Credit card customers were told to try a charge-back. Members of the state Division of Consumer Affairs distributed complaint forms. Women snapped digital photos of  shop records of their orders.

Some young ladies told horror stories of payments made to Nonchalance that never were forwarded to the dress manufacturers.  To claim those ordered dresses, brides and bridesmaids must pay again, this time directly to the manufacturers.

In other cases, women said their dress orders never got forwarded at all to the dress makers.

A sign on the door at Nonchalance–cited as a “Best of NJ” business by a magazine last year–blamed “unforseen circumstances” for the closure.

A newspaper reported that serious illness may have forced owner Kristin Erickson-Taylor to close her doors after 18 years.

Nobody was buying that one.

“My sister-in-law came last Tuesday,” said Jillian Bennett of East Hanover. “They took her money.”

“She wasn’t too sick to go to the bank” and cash the checks, added Vanessa Incorvaia of Wayne. Nonchalance took money from her six bridesmaids and never placed the orders, she said.

Like many of the brides-to-be, Vanessa feels compelled to pick up the tab for her bridesmaids when they re-order their dresses for her April wedding.

“A bride can’t expect bridesmaids to pay again,” she said, describing the whole experience as “devastating.”

Video from News 12:

Jillian Bennett is getting married in October. The dresses for her bridal party were due at Nonchalance on Aug. 4.

“Now I have to start all over again,” she said. “They called me on Wednesday saying they’re done. They’re closed up.”

When Jillian called the owner, Kristin, the owner’s mother answered and said Kristin was ill and they were filing for Chapter 11.  The mother said everyone’s money would be refunded, said Jillian, who had shopped at Nonchalance twice before for bridesmaid dresses.

“I wasn’t a fan of the co-workers,” she said. “But the owner was very nice.”

Jillian now must go to the manufacturer of her dresses, Waters and Waters, and pay the full balance for all eight girls on her credit card, she said. Nonchalance never ordered the flower girls’ dresses as promised, she said.

Adding insult to injury, when Jillian finally got inside Nonchalance on Friday, “family friends” of the owner wanted to charge her for fabric. She refused to pay.

Dana Firrincila of Montville ordered dresses in March for nine bridesmaids and a flower girl. The good news is the manufacturer has the dresses. The bad news: Nonchalance never sent payment.

Dana said the store was packed with customers the day she ordered her dresses. Others also said the place appeared to be doing a brisk business.

“Where did the money go?” Dana asked.

Her cousin, Danielle Lichtenberger of Butler, paid by check for her dress and is not confident about recovering her money. She was not as surprised as some victims.

“I came here last year, browsing with my bridesmaids,” Danielle said. “I felt uncomfortable here.  (Shop employees) were kind of rude.”

Barbara Rodriguez of Harrison said she never carries cash. Except for the day she plinked down $135 for bridesmaid dress at Nonchalance.

“I’m dumb!” she exclaimed.

Courtney Boutillier of Wayne got nervous when her dresses did not arrive as promised on July 1.

“There was no call, no nothing,” she said.

The teacher finally got a call on Wednesday:

“We are out of business. Period,” was the gist of it, Courtney said.

The Park Avenue Bridal Shop in Verona is honoring Nonchalance orders and discounts, she said.

Initially, customers were told they only would be let inside Nonchalance to claim dresses. But Courtney got inside by claiming her aunt just had surgery and needed a break from the steamy sidewalk on South Street.

A new pizza shop, Tomato Pie, walked over with free pizza for the ladies as TV crews shot news pieces.

While grateful for the food, some of the women had a sour taste in their mouths from the wedding industry.

“It’s all b.s.,” said Angela Sergonis, asserting it’s hard to get married in New Jersey for less than $50,000 these days. “It’s a ripoff. Look at all of us standing in the rain. We’re idiots.”

Acorn Hall in Morristown invites the public to a garden party

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Judge dismisses Toshiba Foster election challenge in Morristown; Raline Smith-Reid remains winner of Second Ward council primary

A judge on Friday ruled that Councilwoman Raline Smith-Reid is the winner of the June 7 Democratic council primary in Morristown’s Second Ward, ending a challenge from second-place finisher Toshiba Foster.

“There is a lot of mending that needs to be done in the Second Ward with regard to this election,” said Raline, who acknowledged a division in her community while calling the challenge to her original 21-vote victory “a waste of my time and my own personal resources.”

Toshiba said she may request a state investigation of alleged election irregularities.

“The primary may be over, but I will continue to fight for residents of the Second Ward,” she said.

Raline said the legal defense of her primary victory so far has cost her $8,400. The court order signed by Superior Court Judge Thomas Weisenbeck gives her 30 days to seek reimbursement of her legal fees from Toshiba’s camp.

Paul Bangiola, the attorney representing Raline, said Democratic Mayor Tim Dougherty and his wife, Mary Dougherty, the chairwoman of the Morristown Democratic committee, “owe the people of the Second Ward an apology” for trying to unseat a Democratic councilwoman.

“Those who pressed this case caused a lot of pain and anxiety on the part of lots of good people who voted honestly and didn’t deserve this,” the attorney said.

He asked who funded Toshiba’s case and questioned the involvement of “mysterious outsiders”–a reference to former Jersey City Mayor Gerry McCann, who appeared at a recount last month on Toshiba’s behalf.

Toshiba’s lawyer, Sharon Weiner, called Paul’s demand for an apology “ridiculous.”

She said Toshiba’s case raised valid questions about the handling of absentee ballots and the residency of certain voters, including former Mayor Donald Cresitello, who gave a business address as his voting residence.

“All of these issues needed to be brought to the forefront. We owe no apology…This was a legitimate challenge and we came quite close,” Sharon said.

The challenge has been underwritten by fundraising events, said the lawyer, asserting that the case was hindered by the sudden illness of Toshiba’s attorney, Umar Sheik, who was forced to the sidelines by pneumonia.

After losing by a 196-175 margin in June, Toshiba’s camp challenged 55 votes. This week, the council hopeful withdrew 18 of those challenges.

Paul Bangiola, Raline’s attorney, successfully asked the judge to remove another 20 challenges. The judge said Toshiba’s side had made “no substantial claim” suggesting that those 20 challenges would affect the outcome.

When all was said and done, only 19 votes remained in dispute–a number too small to overturn the election.

Raline will face Republican newcomer Naveen Nadipuram in November’s general election. The incumbent seeks a fourth term on the Morristown council.

READ MORE ABOUT THE ELECTION CHALLENGE

On Sales: Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, the Throne, ‘So You Think You Can Dance,’ more

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones will perform in Princeton on Nov. 9. The following is a list of major concerts and other events whose tickets are going on sale this week. They are listed by on-sale time. FRIDAY, 9 A.M....

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