Greenblatt, Darren 1971-

PERSONAL:

Born August 17, 1971, in Philadelphia, PA; son of Irwin (an educator and business owner) and Audrey (an educator and business owner) Greenblatt. Education: Fashion Institute of Technology, graduated, 1991.

ADDRESSES:

Home—New York, NY. E-mail— dgdgnyc@fast.net.

CAREER:

O&D Productions, New York, NY, owner, fashion stylist, illustrator, designer, marketing representative, writer, and consultant, 1995—.

WRITINGS:

(With Ela Jaynes; and illustrator) Planet Yumthing Do- It-Yourself: Create, Design, Reinvent, and Make It Yours!, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS:

Darren Greenblatt told CA: "I am a designer, stylist, and business owner. I have my own independent clothing label, Planet Yumthing, and do freelance design and styling work for large clothing companies. Planet Yumthing is the first branded do-itself-destination for teens. As a fashion show producer and event planner I created the teen fashion shows ‘Girls Rule’ and ‘Mega Denim,’ raised over a million dollars in corporate sponsorship, and presented our events in Bryant Park during the ‘7th on Sixth’ fashion week for ten years. My book is a do-it-yourself style primer for teens. My illustrated series, ‘The Ugly Lives of Beautiful People,’ will pay homage to the fashion industry while poking fun at the shallowness of the rich, young, and beautiful."

Greenblatt continued: "I always knew that I would end up living and creating in New York City. I believe in creating the life you want to live, in humor, fashion, in collecting and letting go, in old mixed with new and colors that don't match, in public transportation, and in promoting creative anarchy; I believe that style equals power, you can solve life's problems with creativity, change is good, the world is just a free art supply store, you should start your own trends, your home is your kingdom; I believe you get what you settle for; you should be interested and interesting, you should surround yourself with what you love, and if you mess up, you should try again (I do)."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

School Library Journal, August, 2004, Kathryn Kosiorek, review of Planet Yumthing Do-It-Yourself: Create, Design, Reinvent, and Make It Yours!, p. 138.

ONLINE

Planet Yumthing Web site, http://www.planetyumthing.net (April 15, 2006).