Guest post at Chic Modern Vintage

 

 Today Head over to 

Chic Modern Vintage

to read a guest post about all things Floral

Thanks for inviting me to take part Tonia 

Chelsea Flower Show and The Gore Hotel

Truly friends are a wonderous thing

The Daily Telegraph garden winner of this years Best in Show

Today I am off to London to attend

The Chelsea Flower Show

This has been a dream of mine for so long

On Dec 25th I opened an envelope from a dearest friend......

So Today we both fly off to London to look at all that is new and wonderful in the world

of horticulture.

images from The Gore Hotel website

and if that wasn't enough..........

my gang of ladies who keep me sane here in the depths of middle Ireland 

pooled together to buy us a night in 

The Gore Hotel

The first time I set foot in this place I vowed I would one day

Lie my silken locks upon their feather pillows for a night.

I was in London for a designer Showcase in the 

Irish Embassy and was tagging along with the girls from 

Tatler Magazine who were staying there. 

Then Lisa from A Bloomsbury life 

did a post which included her stay here and how she loved it

I was further compelled 

So Now this weekend I get not 1 but 2 of my wishes!!!

Then Sunday I am off to NYC again for a month!

And to think in April I was wondering what to do with myself!

 

X

Limerick school of Art and Design

Last week I had the honour of judging the 

Limerick School of Art and Design

Final year Fashion Students.

The standard was incredible.

Truly I was blown away by the innovation

and craftsmanship of the pieces.

I want to say a HUGE congratulations

to ALL the students.

I was armed only with my iphone 

so here are some, not so great, snaps.

And the winning collection by Sarah Melody

Oh these images do not do the collections justice.

Such Talent.

The question is what do the 31 students do now?

The reality is when I left college back in 1992

Emigrating was pretty much taken for granted.

There were no jobs in Ireland for a textile design graduate.

 During the last 15 years maybe more people stayed here?

Now, I think people will be off again.

Graduates often ask me about what they should do when they leave college.

They want to set up a label 

They want to design a collection

My advice is always to gain experience working for someone else

before embarking on a solo career

There are things that can only be learned through experience in a workplace

and for that the opportunities in Ireland exist but are minimal.

Whatever the 2010 graduates decide to do I wish them all the best of luck and urge them

to hold on to their sense of humour.

Update
Some more images from the show

ps I have not included all the collections because
a) there were 31
b) not all the photo's are usable

Luis Barragan

Ireland is experiencing a Heatwave

Pink walls only work in the Sunshine

Luis Barragan

Dapper Folk and Hazel Lavery

When I came across this self portrait by 

Sir William Orpen

Painted in 1910

It immediately struck me that this dapper fellow should in fact be 

gracing the screen of  

The Sartorialist 

His outfit is so up to date 

In fact it is not simply the outfit but also the stance...very modern.

The Andalusian, painted by 

James Whistler in 1888

could be on her way to 

The costume Institute Ball

This painting by Sir John Lavery 

could be a society portrait 

in the current issue of Vogue, were it a photo instead of an Oil Painting.

Lavery was an Irish Artist and I have long been captivated by him 

but more enthralling than Sir John, was his wife

Lady Hazel Lavery

One of the most beautiful women of her time she was reported to have been

loved by many important men 

including some lascivious rumours involving Michael Collins.

I first came across her, like many others as the mystical 

and serene lady who graced the Irish currency until the 1970's

and was then relegated to the watermark of our currency 

until we converted to Euro's 

a few years ago.

This is probably the most famous portrait John Lavery painted 

of his wife, though he did reputedly paint over 400.

I am intrigued to learn more about this lady 

That is why I have just ordered this book

from Amazon

and as I like to immerse myself in a world once I first dip my toe 

I think as soon as I am finished I shall have to order this too

Simon Watson

I have been meaning to post about my friend

Simon Watson 

for some time.

And now seems like the perfect time 

as he is one of my oldest friends and based in NYC.

When I first moved to NYC in 1993 

I slept on his floor for 3 weeks

and he set me up with my first NY job 

working for an interior designer friend of his.

All images by Simon Watson

In Ireland we knew he was a great guy

and a good friend 

what we didn't know was,

he was such a great talent.

For that, as is often the case......he had to leave.

 I look forward to hanging out with my old friend in NYC again.

This time I won't be sleeping on his floor.

Have a great weekend

so good they named it twice.................

 I love it! ......
New York New York....

As the song goes 

and it's true I do 

That is why I am so excited to let you know

I am moving back!!

It's a huge undertaking with husband, 3 kids, 2 dogs and a cat 

This is not like the last time I emigrated to New york 1n 1993

with $500 in my pocket and a one way ticket

One step at a time though we will get there

and I will take you along for the ride

So this post is all about NY apartments

New Yorkers are obsessed

with their apartments

Location

Size

Rent

Rent control 

(where the landlord can only raise your rent a minimal amount each year...more on this later)

School catchment area

Are all HOT topics, 

so I had a fountain of knowledge to dip into amoungst my host compatriots

on all things to do with apartment searching.

Think I have found somewhere but will keep you posted

Meanwhile here are a few I have seen 

that whetted my appetite

 

images from New York Magazine

I like this "Neo country" in Brooklyn.

A little to modern and sparse for me though.

images from New York Magazine

I like this Greenwich Village apartment of Designer Rita Konig

a little too flowery though..

  

 

images from New York Magazine

I'd take the dog and the apartment......... this one is in 

Williamsburg though...... not for me

But This one in Cobble Hill would be just right

from the NY Times

I like the location

Good schools

Period features

Quite spacious looking

LOVE the floors

Homey but not too frou frou

Modern but not minimalist

......... only 1 bedroom........there's always a snag

That and the fact that its not for rent!!!

Which one would you live in?