Loot from London

I was in London for a couple of days, very inspiring trip, I made a few small purchases while I was there, here's a peek.  

This teapot, bought from a little lady at market in Brick Lane,  £11.

 

Toast rack, £8 Portobello Road. My 10 yr old son is very fussy about his toast, so he will like this.

Bug print frpm 1855, £16 Portobello Road

Copperplate print of the lifecycle of a Bee, £4 Portobello Road.

Resin ring, £4 Notting Hill.

 Large hankie from Liberty in this print, which I will wear as a scarf, the hankies are much cheaper than the scarves, £14.95

So the grand total of my purchases was £57.95.

Bargain, don't you think?

Red Hot

Are you "Feeeling" red hair, like me!

 

.....Is it Jane from sea of shoes, who just went red.
 

  image from seaofshoes

 Or Joan from Mad Men, - just finished watching season 1 and 2 in a box set marathon!

Maybe it's Grace Coddington, - saw "The September Issue" today, the word Noble comes to mind to describe her!

image from gawker no credit listed

Or possibly its Dame Vivienne Westwood, - new "Red" collection now up on style.com,  don't some people just get better with age.

photograph by Graeme Robertson for The Guardian

 Or it could be French designer Sonia Rykiel, whose blog Rykielles I was just looking at after Garance Dore posted about being invited to her showroom!

image from Flickr

Again red on an older woman is just so chic, no? 

I was red about 10yrs ago when my first son was born, after a disasterous home dye job, think greenish instead of platinum, red was the cover up.

 

sorry about really bad 10yr old polaroid image.

Maybe its time to crack open the hair dye once more.

 

Lucinda Chambers Home

The nature of blogging is one post ultimately leads to another............. I came across these pictures of Lucinda Chambers house in this book I have had for years "Country living, Country Chic". Thought you might like to see. To read the previous post on Lucinda click here

 

The title of the chapter is "Faded Patterns"

 Can I come round for tea?

 

Hey that table looks familiar..............

 

Oh yeah it looks just a bit like mine!

You can buy this book on amazon.uk 

I couldn't find photography credits but the inside cover credits Liz Bauwens, freelance stylist and Alexandra Campbell writer.

Laetitia Crahay for Maison Michel

Continuing on the theme of headpieces I came across a little  blurb in this months British Vogue and upon further investigation (well a google search) I came across these.  It is an advertising campaign for French Milliner Maison Michel and was shot by Karl Largerfeld.

The pieces were designed by Laetitia Crahay who oversees accessories design at Chanel,  Maison Michel  is one of the ateliers now owned by Chanel.

"I myself would never wear a big hat so I like the idea of small, easy-to-wear items and jewellery for the hair-subtle and elegant every-day pieces" Laetitia tells Vogue

 

I love the little monogrammed M on the piece on model Anouck Lepere above.

 

but I think my favourite is the one of Laetitia herself with the little lace bunny ears.

 

There is a slight eccentricity about them, no? and each image is like an individual portrait as opposed to an advertising shot, this may be because, of course Mr Lagerfeld would know these characters: Lou Doillon, Sasha Pivovarova, Erin Wasson, there are others which I have not included of designer Olivier Theyskens and Lagerfeld muse Amanda Harlech. There is an intimacy in them usually reserved for portraits that I feel, is a big part of their success.

All images Karl Lagerfeld for Maison Michel

A Little Florica Preview

I have been developing these headpieces for some time now and I am almost ready to get them out and into the world. Thought you might like a little preview.
They are completely made by hand using silk, silk chiffon and silk embroidery threads.
I am making them under a new name FLORICA



The first two are cream and ivory, designed with brides in mind ,

and this one is black and truffle

for the stylish lady who isn't a bride.
Can you see the influence of the Saipua flowers?above photo by Karen Wise

There will be a new FLORICA blog which will catalogue all the FLORICA designs and an ETSY shop coming soon.
Let me know what you think.

Saipua's Enchanting Flowers

In another life I would I have been a florist. If I had, I could only aspire to create anything as beautiful as the flowers from Saipua. Created by owners Sarah and Eric and based in Brooklyn, NY, Saipua have recently moved to new premises. The new store is lined in weathered wood, a beautiful backdrop for all the beautiful blooms.
There are many florists online and an abundance of pretty bouquets but there is something about Saipua's that I just find so inspiring, they have a freshness and spontaneity which really appeals to me.

Is it the breathtaking colour combinations?

The perfection of each individual flower ?

Or the variety of blooms combined in one bouquet?

There is an informality, a whimsical playfulness about them. You can appreciate each single blossom, but together they are a sweet chorus of delicate beauty. Sarah favours blooms such as Peonies, Anemone, Roses and Ranunculus with a scattering of Clematis, Nigella, Dahlia's and Jasmine all offset with the dusty silver foliage from Eucalyptus. I also love that Sarah uses berries and seed pods which give such an interesting texture. I just wish we could partake of what must be intoxicating perfumes from beyond the screen.

Sarah also has a great blog, and does an inspiring section over on Design*Sponge called Weeders Digest with very useful DIY tips about arranging posies and tips for brides.

I have used Saipua flowers in an inspiration board for the new line of headpieces I am working on, can you spot them?
All images courtesy of Saipua, except for the last one of my story board which includes images from Saipua, Vogue, World of Interiors and Martha Stewart weddings

Lucinda Chambers

So, all of the shoots from British Vogue by Javier Vallhonrat (see previous post) were styled by Lucinda Chambers. Lucinda is fashion director at British Vogue and also creative director for Marni. You can definitely see a Marni influence in the photos. The styling has that bohemian feeling... a very refined bohemian that is! There is a great article over on The Guardian/Observer website about the increasingly important role of stylists and Lucinda is interviewed. I love this passage about inspiration:

'A collection can start with anything,' she says. 'The last one started with a belt. It was an old belt with chains and gold. Everything was based around this belt.' She found it in Portobello market, and knew it was a good find the minute she saw it. 'It can be anything, from pieces of old fabric to a pair of clogs, bedspreads, pencil sharpenings.'

Pencil Sharpenings! They never looked so good! I find peoples inspiration so interesting. I love looking at Artists and Designers inspiration walls, The Selby is great for that. Also The Sartorialist has done some recent posts about books that have influenced him which give a little insight into his creative process.
Do you have any thoughts ? Where do you go for inspiration?

Photo of Lucinda Chambers courtesy of The Rug Company