Shoes

[Littlebear]

What's happened to Bruce Makowsky? Haven't seen him in a while. Also, I noticed that Lord & Taylor and Macy's no longer carry his bags. Anyone know what's going on?

[DollnScrap]

On line it mentions he sold his home for $70 million:

"The L.A. area's unusually hot ultra-luxury real estate market ended 2014 with yet another mega-sale. Swedish video-game billionaire Markus Persson bought a Beverly Hills mansion built by handbag tycoon Bruce Makowsky for $70 million."

"Beyonce and Jay Z had previously been interested in buying the home, and the couple had reportedly visited the property six times."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/minecraft-creator-buys-70-million-home-

2014-12?op=1#ixzz3fCI3LPEI

Looks like he's entering the high end real estate market:

“There was a void of homes for super-wealthy people, and that’s why I did it,” Makowsky said while sitting near a curved 54-foot (16-meter) glass wall that slides open to an infinity pool with iPad-controlled fountains. “I don’t think there’s anybody who’s served up $85 million-to-$100 million homes at this level for somebody to step into and buy.”

"Makowsky may be the boldest developer of Los Angeles mansions built on speculation, without a buyer in place. He’s betting on growing demand from billionaires, technology magnates and entertainers -- a global elite who collect mansions in cities such as Hong Kong, London or Miami, where they alight a few times a year from their yachts and private jets."

“Even though this represents 0.1 percent of the housing market, this kind of a price tag is not out of the realm of possibilities,” said Jonathan Miller, president of New York-based appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and a Bloomberg View contributor. “About three years ago, this global phenomenon built momentum where luxury real estate has become a new global currency.”

[DollnScrap]

More--

$56,000 Chairs

As Makowsky led an hour-long tour of the house, he cited prices and brands of furniture and fixtures, speaking in the patter that made him a QVC star. A 24-person dining-room table has place settings by Roberto Cavalli priced at $3,700 each, and the living room has 10 chairs designed by Bentley Motors that cost $56,000 apiece. A climate-controlled wine cellar is stocked with Dom Perignon and Perrier-Jouet champagne along with Cohiba and Montecristo cigars.

“I want every detail inside of the house to be as good as the view,” he said. “I will tell you because I’m not going to sell you.”

Makowsky and his wife, Kathy Van Zeeland, spent 30 years making handbags and shoes, a business they sold in 2008 to Hong Kong-based trading company Li & Fung Ltd for $495 million, according to a company filing. Makowsky, a Rhode Island native who would say only that he’s in his 50s, built his fashion business in New York before the couple moved to Los Angeles four years ago."

[DollnScrap]

And more--

High Demand

"The couple bought an oceanfront house in Malibu in 2010 for about $15 million. Four months later, they purchased a second home, in Beverly Hills, for $22.6 million. Makowsky jumped into homebuilding after observing the high demand for ultra-luxury mansions in Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Holmby Hills, an area known as the Platinum Triangle."

The Trousdale neighborhood alone has 46 construction sites, according to a city of Beverly Hills report from June."

“I was inspired by the amount of construction I saw out here,” said Makowsky, dressed in a T-shirt, white jeans and black blazer with white elbow patches by Beverly Hills designer Bijan. “People are really starting to care what their house looks like more than ever -- the really wealthy people.”

"Makowsky said he’s put money into six residential investment properties so far. He paid $5.3 million in January 2013 for a house above the Sunset Strip that he renovated and then sold for $19 million this past April. He’s updating a Bel Air property formerly owned by Michael Strahan, the retired New York Giants football player, bought last July for $11 million. Makowsky has three ground-up developments in the pipeline, each larger and more opulent than the Trousdale home, he said."

More Competition

"Rather than relying on investors or bankers to finance his projects, Makowsky said he’s spending his own cash.

A growing number of luxury developments and renovations in Los Angeles’s toniest neighborhoods may hurt demand for Makowsky’s houses. On a lot adjacent to his Trousdale estate, a mansion is under construction by another speculative developer, according to Williams, the real estate agent, and several newly built or renovated homes line Hillcrest Road."

“Yes, there is competition, but nobody will invest this kind of money and build this kind of a house,” said Makowsky, who said he has 150 architects, designers and other people working on his projects."

[DollnScrap]

It appears Bruce's successful businesses enabled he and his wife to enter the high-end real estate market where he is a rousing success. Their new endeavour sounds like a formidable challenge...so maybe he's turning his expertise from handbags to multi-million dollar homes for the very wealthiest clients of the world. And they're willing to pay for his impeccable taste in new and recycled real estate. I wish him well and will enjoy his handbags I own from QVC all the more!

The article ends with:

“I want to create and design things that I am proud of and that people will die for or love,” Makowsky said. “That’s what we did in the handbag-and-shoe business, and that’s hopefully what we’ll do here.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-09-22/purse-tycoon-s-85-million-beverly-hills-home-targe...

Take a look at the photos...reminds me of the house in Iron Man. Enjoy this video:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/selling-an-85-million-home-and-the-lifestyle-behind-it/

[Vivian]

I was up one night, couldn't fall asleep, so I turned on the TV and saw one of those how-the-billionaires-live programs. When I saw Bruce Makowsky, I started paying attention because he was showing one of those fabulous homes. It would put to shame any of the finest hotels and castles in the world. Everything was of the highest quality, much of it hand crafted and imported from Europe. I guess the one-percenters are doing better than ever and Bruce M is cashing in.