Boutiques and retailers from all over Birmingham will come together Sunday, June 1 for a fashion show and silent auction benefiting Save the Children and The Ronald McDonald House of Alabama.

Up for auction will be Chinese art from Mandarina, an oil painting by French artist Patrice Brunet, a wine tasting party at The Grape and much more.

Summer styles from Manhattan South, Doree, Swank, Happi, Emma’s of Lee Branch, Shaia’s, a.k.a. Girl Stuff, Everything But Water, City Gear, The Perfect Fit and Shoezy Q will grace the runway. Joining them will be pieces by Maurice Brown and Las Vegas designer Adolfo Sanchez.

Sanchez’s designs should create a stir here in the Magic City. The youngest of four children and the only son, Sanchez says he is inspired by the women in his life. The up-and-coming designer unofficially began his career at age 14 sewing outfits under the covers at night. In 2005, he officially launched his first women’s ready-to-wear collection and two years later designed garments for Janet Jackson’s Discipline release party.

His current collection utilizes dark colors, particularly black and shades of purple, with an interesting mix of both tailored and breezy, feminine pieces. Think New York design house Heatherette meets Project Runway’s Christian Siriano.

Sanchez’s designs have received attention from magazines in Italy, the Netherlands and the United States, where his label recently became available nationwide. Two pieces from the Adolfo Sanchez collection will be featured at this weekend’s runway show. See his entire collection online at www.adolfosanchezdesigns.com - don’t worry, while his spelling may leave much to be desired, his clothes definitely deliver.

This weekend’s fashion show and auction will take place at 5 p.m. at Flower Stems, located at 213 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. South. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at any participating retailer or by calling 223-0279. Read more style news in this month’s Style Files, part of this week’s issue of Birmingham Weekly.

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“I started making my own jewelry because I wanted to knock off the expensive stuff I saw at Barney’s,” says K. Chatham Hellmers, a native of New York City who has lived in Birmingham since 1998.

While she’s been making jewelry for 15 years, she only started selling her work in the last year, joking that she “horded most of the good stuff” for herself.

An earring that’s lost its mate will become a broach, or beads from a broken necklace will find their way onto a bracelet. Hellmers, who for several years owned the late, great Southside boutique Jinx, says she spends a lot of time “thrifting” – shopping at thrift stores – and at flea markets.

“I’m kind of on a search-and-destroy mission for vintage jewelry; anything from Edwardian to 1950s copper,” she says. She’s recently been collecting a lot of cameos and lockets. “People really seem to be digging those right now.”

Hellmers’ jewelry is pretty, wearable and affordable – pieces range from $28-$78. In addition to recent trunk shows held at Lucy’s Coffee and Tea in Southside, Hellmers participated in Bottletree’s holiday craft show last December.

Hellmers will hold a jewelry trunk show and sale Sunday, May 18 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at Lucy’s Coffee and Tea, located at 2007 University Blvd. If you want to know more about her delightfully dainty jewelry, shoot an email to luxealabama@gmail.com.

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