By Joy Kraft
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Julia Fluker took the long route to Newport. She grew up in Asia and Australia, has a degree in jewelry and silversmithing, lived in New York and produced work for Tiffany, Bulgari, Cartier and Van Cleef - eventually setting up a home on the banks of the Ohio, married to Keith Kutch, dean of the Art Academy of Cincinnati. She's still enthralled with jewelry-making and crafts one-of-a-kind limited-production necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings in 18K gold with precious gems. Her work, under the name Maenad Designs, will be in the spotlight 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday and Saturday at S. Stewart Ltd., 411 Wyoming Ave., Wyoming. Information: 948-1414.

Herrera trunk show: Get a peek at the resort and spring collection of designer Carolina Herrera 10 a.m.-5 p.m. today and Wednesday at Diane Firsten Studio, 2033 Madison Road, O'Bryonville. Information: 871-3399.

Otazu trunk show: Rodrigo Otazu Jewels, seen on celebs Nicole Kidman and Britney Spears, will be shown by Cincinnati rep Angie Casselman at a trunk show 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Bella Donna, 1115 Congress Ave., Glendale. Owner Donna Wesselman says she also has the Jewel-Tees by designer Rachel Abroms featured on the Today Show by Katie Couric. "And Oprah bought them for her staff, too," she says of the tees encrusted with semiprecious stones.

Fashion hunt: The Snooty Fox is planning a bus tour Sunday to the stores' 10 consignment shop locations. Customers will receive a 15 percent discount. The tour was a result of customers requesting a way to visit all the stores, says owner Donna Speigel who opened the first store in 1980. Reservations: 231-0457.

Paragon pampering: Paragon Salons put the ABCs of pampering to work Sunday at the Western Hills location on 50 women with breast cancer and breast cancer survivors. The event closed out Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Manicures, makeup, facials, gifts and refreshments were part of the special salon day. "These women need the pampering more than we will ever know,'' says stylist Laura Haun. "I am excited my skills can make them feel special again."Any monetary donations made will be sent to the Making Strides foundation.

Kindest cuts: University of Dayton students are passing up haircuts to grow their locks for a mass shearing March 28 to benefit Locks of Love, a Lake Worth, Fla.-based nonprofit that provides hairpieces to needy children suffering from medical hair loss. The project, sponsored by UD's Student Government Association, will end with free haircuts by Square One Salon in Dayton. Students must donate a minimum of 6 inches of hair. Junior Christy McBride says 105 students signed up, mostly women. "I thought I'd have to beg my friends. Instead we had to get a second piece of poster board to hold all the volunteers,'' she says.

Ooh-la-la: Kerastase, a line of French hair treatments, is creating a stir at Matt Bradley Salon in Hyde Park. The salon started carrying the upscale line this summer for clients dealing with swimmer's hair problems and now the products "are walking out the door," says manager Arlene Shuller. "People have picked them up in New York and now are coming in here looking for them" - the only spot in Ohio to carry the line. "They are especially good for limp and treated hair," she says. $20-$32. Information 533-1233.

Bill Blass retrospective: Gowns worn by Nancy Reagan and singers Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston are part of the exhibition at Indiana University, Bill Blass: An American Designer, through Dec. 17 on the Bloomington campus. The late designer, who died in June at 79, was from Fort Wayne and made arrangements before his death for the show that spans his career in the fashion industry. Included are designs and sketches with more than 100 ensembles representing his 50-year career as a leading designers. Free. 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Information: www.indiana.edu/{tilde}iuam/bblass.

Nippits: Women partial to tight-fitting tops, clingy sweaters and tops that sometimes bare a little more of the breast anatomy than they are comfortable showing have a concealment strip alternative to the adhesive bandage or pasties - Nippits, padless, painless-to-remove nipple concealment strips. "They can be worn all day and are so light you forget they are on," says company president and CEO Sheila Johnson. The latex-free strips are touted as being painless to apply and remove and stay put under everything from evening gowns to wet bathing suits, according to the Web site. $6.49 for five pairs. The company lists Knicker's of Hyde Park, on Hyde Park Square, and Women's Health Boutique, 8110 Montgomery Road, Madeira, as sources. Information: www.nippits.com.

Contact Joy Kraft by phone: 768-8467; fax: 768-8330; e-mail: jkraft@enquirer.com.

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