My Heart is in New York

Speaking of Relationships...

2011-02-15T23:47:00.004Z

So, yesterday was Valentine's day huh? I tried to pretend that it wasn't. Not because I'm bitter about being single or anything like that, but I just didn't particularly want the whole loved-up world reminding me of just how hard my resolve to kiss dating goodbye was. Having said that, I did get the sweetest Valentine's email from my dad which made the whole day simply amazing (can you tell I'm such a daddy's girl?)

I am aware that a lot of you probably still have your eyebrows raised at the 'kiss dating goodbye' statement. It's the title of a book I'm currently reading, as well as a principle I'm trying to imbibe. Joshua Harris talks about saving yourself (physically and emotionally) for your future spouse, and not giving away too much in a string of (essentially) meaningless relationships. The author makes a case for enjoying your single days, as opposed to despising them, and how important it is for you to grow as an individual before then trying to merge/combine your life with someone else's. You are probably more likely to run into trouble if you have two 'incomplete' people trying to use the other to complete themselves, than if you had two 'whole' people who simply strengthened each other. It makes the relationship more equal, and less needy and crippling. It also makes for much better relationship mathematics.

Now, while it may not be easy I am also sure that it will definitely be very rewarding if I can stay strong in my resolve.

I came across some quotes on love and marriage while doing research for a recent article I wrote for Amplify The Word;

One was by Jon Bon Jovi, and he said that as for his secret to staying married: "My wife tells me that if I ever decide to leave, she is coming with me."

A second one I read was by Robert Brault which I must share with two friends of mine with 'man troubles';

Sometimes two people need to step apart
and make a space between
that each might see the other anew,
in a glance across a room
or silhouetted against the moon.

From a post titled "For better or worse, or Parkinson's disease"
by Bob Kuhn

Some food for thought eh?

As we celebrate love, either that which is firmly in our grasps, or love hoped for, we must remember that love is a two-way street - we must give as much as we hope to receive - and that there is One who is Love, by His very nature, who has, and always will, love us.

You can also read my article for ATW on the website; especially for some of that relationship mathematics I was talking about...

End of Hiatus

2011-01-03T22:52:00.006Z

Picture from My Crazy Busy Life

It's been a while, I know. Eight months and a rolling-over of the year later, and here I am. Merry Christmas and Happy 2011. I hope you enjoyed your holidays wherever you were.

I initially planned that my first post back would explain the hiatus from MHIINYC. Truth is, I'm still figuring that one out. One thing I do know is that I've grown since my last post almost 8 months ago which is good. I needed to find my 'voice' (please forgive me if that sounds silly, as though I have thousands of followers tuning in for each post - well, not yet anyway) and while I am still 'looking' for it - discovering and developing - I have more of an idea of what it isn't.

A lot has happened since I've been away - I will attempt to put into words what exactly (the interesting bits at least). Also, incase anyone out there was wondering, my blog will probably still focus mainly on fashion. However, that might change - I promise to warn you in advance so that you can run far away if you need to. The other thing is that while my heart is still somewhat in New York (about half-and-half with London), I no longer have the 'desperate' need to move there. I'll be planted in London for a while yet I believe - I pray - but we'll see right?

It should be interesting though - my journey - or at least it will be for me. If you find it entertaining/inspiring/interesting/informative as well - then that'll be the cherry on my cheesecake.

To a fresh start *clinks glass*

Election Fever

2010-05-06T13:51:00.003+01:00

So what'll it be - Red, Yellow or Blue?

I know that my blog is not one for politics and you've probably been hearing enough about the elections as it is but I figured that on today of all days I couldn't not mention it.

The 'Great Election' is drawing to a close tonight and after all the ~~gobbledygook~~ policies, promises and 'politician speak' we've been hearing for the past God-knows how long, it's finally time to for us to decide who we believe. What team are you on? Whoever you vote for, whatever the reason, it's important to vote full-stop. It would be silly not to use your voice if you have one right? And also, as a mate at work said the other day, you can't go complaining later on if you didn't vote in the first place.

Image courtesy of the Sky News Blog

My Irish Love

2010-05-05T23:20:00.000+01:00

A photographer, like a painter or an illustrator, creates an image intending to evoke a response in the person who views it. The degree of the response will vary of course, from the ‘huh, that’s interesting’ to the ones when your head cocks to the side and really makes you think. They might change your perception about a subject or inspire you to go and do something you wouldn’t normally do. Recently I’ve been inspired by an Irish photographer, Hugh O’Malley, whose work has a dual effect of calming me and bringing out my cheeky side (speaking of cheeky, I caught my 3-year old nephew scolding his pants calling them ‘cheeky’ a few days ago. Now the fascinating thing wasn’t him calling his pants cheeky – ok so it wasn’t the only fascinating thing – but more of where he learnt the word ‘cheeky’ from! I digress...)

These pictures are from a test shot Hugh did portraying a woman who’s strong yet soft. There’s a vulnerability to her and the fact that she’s in her underwear brings this out even more. But in her eyes, especially in the picture with the fur stole where she’s looking directly at the camera, lets you know you can’t mess with this one. The feel of the pictures brings to mind a song by Jordin Sparks, a line from it reading “just ‘cause I think of you in bed, don’t let it go to your head”. Anyone else want to prance around London in just fur and HUGE hair after seeing these pictures?

Princess Grace

2010-05-03T02:37:00.002+01:00

“There hasn't been such a demand for a girl since (Ingrid) Bergman. She's a lady without being starchy - that's how they dub Grace Kelly" quote from the article - New Queen of Hollywood.

I might not have been alive during her time, and in fact she had sadly passed away four years before I was born, but having lived in Philadelphia for a while I like to think that we might have crossed paths spatially, if not temporally. Before Grace became Princess Grace of Monaco she was a Philly girl – born and raised – and started her acting career at the wee age of 12 starring in popular MGM movies including 14 Hours, Dial M for Murder, To Catch a Thief and High Society alongside Bill Crosby and Frank Sinatra. MGM costume designers Edith Head and Helen Rose kept Grace looking stylish in all her roles and Helen also designed Grace’s dresses for both the civil and traditional marriage ceremonies to Prince Rainier III. Interestingly a sub-plot of the movie High Society, Grace’s last, paralleled her own forthcoming marriage to the Prince – imagine the media frenzy when the queen of Hollywood as she was dubbed became actually royalty. Back to the wedding; David Evins made matching shoes to go with her dress for the civil ceremony dress, she wore jewellery from Van Cleef & Arpels and smelled of Fleurissimo, the exclusive scent made for Grace by perfumery House of Creed. Wedding presents from the Prince? But of course. The wedding must have been quite an elegant sight as even the Prince designed the uniform he wore himself. Speaking of her wedding day Oscar de la Renta said she gave a new meaning to the word icon and described her as an ageless bride.

Now, these wedding dresses might have been the last outfits made for Grace by Edith or Helen, but it was far from being the end of a stylish Grace (or the last time a dress was made for her full stop. She was loved by designers and wore dresses by the best couturiers of the time – Balenciaga, Marc Bohan at Dior, and Hubert de Givenchy; lucky girl). Grace Kelly was a style icon before she became a princess, and even up until she died she still inspired modern day fashion. I could go on for a lot longer about the details of her wedding alone, and that only lasted for two days, let alone the rest of her very fashionable life. Princess Kelly continues to be a standard for beauty, grace and style and the exhibition at the V&A celebrates her life looking through her fabulous wardrobe.

Grace Kelly, Style Icon. Now at the V&A until 26^th September 2010

Pictures are courtesy of Grace Kelly Online and from Tom Tierney’s Grace Kelly Paper Dolls in Full Colour.

Colour me Summer

2010-04-24T16:44:00.000+01:00

With their first birthday coming round the corner nailgirls are certainly painting their little corner of Angel coral, yellow, aqua and green. Why these colours you might ask? These are the latest additions to their colour spectrum – the High Summer 2010 collection.

Drawing inspiration from Christopher Kane and Burberry Prorsum SS10 amongst others, Lynda-Louise and Joanna, sisters and founders of nailgirls created a new palette of colours that they believe captures the essence of spring and summer months this year. The peachy coral is my favourite hue, but then again that’s a colour I would naturally gravitate towards. I also really liked the aqua, infact of all the colours the only one I can’t imagine wearing is the grassy-green colour #3 polish.

The launch at their boutique spa on Cross Street (off Upper Street) was cheesy twists, seafood canapés and mini-manis galore. To my disappointment we couldn’t actually sample the new colours (the volcanic ash meant a delay in deliveries in time for the launch) and so we had to settle with some of their other own-brand colours. I chose a pretty light blue, a similar shade to the aqua #1 from the summer collection and, although I think it might be quite a bright shade for my skin tone, the more I look at it, the more I like it.

Lynda-Louise and Joanna Burrell

My manicure - the light aqua blue is the same shade as my wall at home!

Goody bag with nail essentials

The collection officially launches in June 2010 and will be available to buy for £10 each at nailgirls – in the spa or online at www.nailgirls.co.uk

Nailgirls spa and boutique
50 Cross Street, Islington, London N1 2BA
020 7359 2772

Hideaway Love by Natsuki Otani

2010-04-19T22:38:00.000+01:00

Hello lovely people, it's been ages hasn't it? Quickie blog post, you know the illustrator Natsuki Otani? Of course you do! She did the banner for MHIINYC . Well she recently did a collaboration with Urban Outfitters and now you can buy her colourful artwork as prints of skins for you laptop or iPod/iPhone.

Hope you've been enjoying the sunshine recently (at least over the weekend). I have two interviews lined up soon for MHIINYC so look out for those too.

Absence makes the Heart grow fonder

2010-04-07T23:31:00.000+01:00

How I have neglected thee. It's not because I have forgotten about MHIINYC but it was the Easter weekend and then my parents flew in plus I started my new job Tuesday right after the Easter weekend and then I'm also gearing up for a training session at church that I'm helping to organise (for our new Multimedia members) as well as a shoot on Sunday (that I'm still not even sure I'll be able to make) *sighs*. I'm thinking I might need to get back on coffee to keep my awake half the time - I have missed having my daily (ok twice-daily) caramel macchiato from Starbucks.

Will post again soon x

Mooks, Blogebrities and Augmented Reality

2010-03-31T23:51:00.007+01:00

Today I went to the Print vs Online panel discussion over at Sketchbook Magazine's pop-up shop which was very insightful with lots of thought-provoking points mentioned. The panel was made up of blogger Susie Bubble, graphic designer and writer Adrian Shaughnessy, trend director at Style Sight Sandrine Maggiani and Becky Smith, previously of Lula Magazine and now of Twin Magazine.

The moderator, art writer Clare Acheson, opened the discussion by inviting the panel members to talk about what they do and if they were more print or online based. Adrian believes in a hybrid future between print and online. He says there will always be a place for books and it's just a matter of finding a way to have best of both worlds. Becky talks about how Twin, unlike Lula, is more a book than a magazine (hence the term Mook) which is completely online with daily updates of the blog and video content. Susie dabbles in both worlds but is primarily online and Sandrine embraces both worlds.

The panel then go on to discuss the differences between print and online and the pros and cons of each medium. One of the points that were raised was the ease of the web in its navigation and in setting up a blog or website, giving individuals a platform to express their opinions without the costs and other setbacks with setting up a printed publication. However with the rise of bloggers, especially fashion bloggers, there's almost a blogger overload (as Becky called it) with bloggers getting younger and younger all trying to become blogger celebrities - blogebrities, like the Bryan Boys and Tavis, and they all want to rise up the ranks and get to seat front row at fashion shows. Can we deal with these many bloggers, should there be regulations for bloggers? Will it be possible to regulate, afterall isn't the beauty of having a blog the fact that you have freedom of speech? Susie and Becky both think blogging is simply another established way of media, especially with fashion. However is it just a thing of the moment, or will it die down eventually?

Going back to print, everyone generally agrees that it's something that shouldn't necessarily die out. It's always nice to have something tangible to flick through and also to be able to disconnect from technology, not having to always read things off a screen. Adrian does make a point that the next generation growing up might not care so much about books, especially if they have gadgets like the Apple iPad. He also says that magazines will probably be fine and newspapers are more likely to become extinct, if you can read all the news on your mobile applications or on BBC online why would you buy a newspaper? Susie agrees and points out that editorial and long features are the positive points about magazines and to that effect bite-size mumbo jumbos and revamped press releases will eventually become more redundant.

A question was asked by the moderator: how do you make a living as a blogger (because with online you expect the content to be free) and also as a magazine like Twin that has very little advertising? Becky and Susie agreed that it was hard, especially with the recession but it's all about being creative. Adrian tells about how people would often sell books or DVDs after talks or events to generate some income and most often have a day job to fund their blogging - a strange hybrid economy he calls it. Sandrine brings up the importance of collaborations and gives the example of Garance Dore collaborating with Vogue Online and stresses the point of being multi-talented. Susie then brings up the point that of course bloggers like Garance and Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist are brands in their own rights and of course this won't apply to every blogger.

The discussion continues on the internet and advances like video and 3D and now Augmented Reality (AR) and and how it will change the way we communicate and media as a whole (AR was first used by Esquire Magazine and recently by Grazia Magazine). Sandrine suggests it as a way for publishers to offer exclusive content only to subscribers but Susie comments that she wonders if locking content will actually hinder people as opposed to letting them access it for free.

Mini Cupcakes from Love Bakery after the panel discussion

The discussion brought up a lot of other points but it would definitely make too long a post. I did go away from it with two big questions in mind:

1. Just WHERE will technology take us? With 3D printed shoes and AR bar codes in magazines meaning you can actually BE in the photo shoot what else can we expect? Is anyone else even slightly worried about where we could be in say 5 years?
2. Bloggers and blogging, how long will the fascination last for? Especially with some blogs containing less text and more pictures maybe we'll just start having photo/video blogs and no one will even care about words anymore.

The Writings on the Wall

2010-03-31T22:13:00.003+01:00

Last night saw the launch of Sketchbook Magazine's pop-up shop in Carnaby as well as the release of the second issue. The ground floor of the shop had pictures and illustrations on the wall from the second issue; 5 Fabulously Colourful women in Fashion by Bryony Lloyd and Susan Keys, Susie Bubble by June Champoomidole, Lloyd Peek's Charlie Le Mindu and one of my favourites, Jack Teagle's Fashion Tips by Danielle Scutt

On descending the stairs little illustrated portraits of the team were hanging on the wall (including one of yours truly!) done by Laura Callaghan. The rooms downstairs all have a different theme, from Jack Teagle's 'office' to the dreamy room created by Annie Driscoll and the viewing den (as I've now named it) with mini-films courtesy of Sketchbook TV and illustrations by Hamza Isa. There were cupcakes (I missed out on unfortunately because I was late), wine and good music by ENL (Eighteen Nightmares at the Lux)

It was an amazing evening and one which I truly enjoyed. I think it was even more special for me because I was the Content Manager for the second issue and so was involved in commissioning most of the illustrations and choosing who we wanted to do what and then receiving the final drawings. As much as I'd seen the illustrations on a laptop screen and then on the flat plan, it was so different seeing them put up on the wall like that. It really was like seeing them for the first time. Also I hadn't seen the girls in a while so it was nice to catch up with everyone as well as putting faces to emails (June will know exactly what I mean).

If you missed it, not to worry, they still have more events up their sleeves. Besides the lectures and discussion sessions there are also two more Live Music sessions on Easter Sunday and the closing party but you better RSVP. Especially after the success of last night I'm sure spaces are even more limited now.

Love the guitarist's half-black half-white trousers

Some of the Sketchbook Girls. From L-R: Siobhan, Rachel, Beth, Sufiyeh, Wafa and I

Sketchbook Magazine sets up Shop

2010-03-30T11:55:00.002+01:00

My very own Sketchbook Magazine (well, not my Sketchbook Magazine but you know *smiles proudly*) launches its Pop-up Shop in Carnaby this evening. For the next three weeks it will be the place to be as they have scheduled workshops, lectures and discussions including guest speakers Maria Francesca Pepe, Lee Lapthorne, Twin Magazine's Becky Smith, Amelia Gregory and cover girl Susie Bubble. I'll be attending the launch party tonight and some of the talks over the weeks so check back here for updates and lots and lots of pictures. They've also got the Sketchbook illustrators to customise the walls so I can't wait to see those too.

Pictures are from the Sketchbook Blog. For the full schedule of events visit the blog.

Waiting for number 48

2010-03-29T22:25:00.001+01:00

I bought a new pair of shoes this weekend and so of course when I got home I spent a while parading around in them (don’t pretend you don’t do it too). Whilst doing so this scene popped into my head – revolving around the shoes of course. Magical shoes? Well they are from Primarni. I’ll let you decide...

Samantha White was standing at the bus stop on Bishopgate Street waiting for a bus to London Bridge. The rain had finally subsided, which was just as well, I didn’t want my new cream shoes to get dirty already. I glanced down at them for about the hundredth time that day. “They’re some shoes; those studs could probably hurt someone”. I look up at the slightly dishevelled man who is now smiling at me. I smile back. He wasn’t half bad looking, sure I wouldn’t have picked out that colour shirt for him but I could tell his charcoal suit was from Zara so he scored some points.

“Thank you”, I answer “and yes they do double as a weapon”. “Well it is a dangerous world out there so protection is wise, even if they are in the form of shoes”. I smile and start to play with my hair. “So”, the stranger said, “What’s a girl like you doing waiting for the bus?” “What do you mean a girl like me?” I reply intrigued. “Well you know, you seem like the kind that would have a car, chauffeur driven even”. “Well maybe it’s the driver’s day off”. “Nah, you’d surely have a back up driver, surely”. I laugh at the thought; “I do use the bus. In fact I’ve had some of the funniest journeys on buses” “If you say so Princess”. I giggle at ‘Princess’ and run my fingers through my brown locks.

“You do that a lot don’t you? Play with your hair I mean. You don’t have to keep faffing with it, looks pretty good from where I’m standing”. I blush, “Thanks. Sorry, apparently I do it sometimes when I’m flirting” I peek at him from under my eyelashes. “So how would one know if you were definitely flirting?” I pause and then stretch out my right hand; “I would say ‘hi, my name is Samantha and I think you’re pretty cute’“. He takes my hand in a firm grip, “Just pretty cute?” he smiles. Jesus, he had the cutest dimples. “Uhm, I think a more appropriate response would have been to at least tell me your name, don’t you think?” “My name is Adam and I think you’re hot!” “Haha, you’re just saying that to make me feel bad about calling just calling you ‘pretty cute’”. “Exactly”, he grinned and I get another glimpse of those dimples. “You’re funny”. “I know, right? I get it all the time. I don’t even try you know”

He’s going on and I’m thinking Oh no, not another arrogant guy. I’ve dated his type before. Thank God, saved by the bus. “This is me” I say to Adam and move towards the bus that’s just arrived. “You’re getting the 48 too? What a coincidence”. I couldn’t help but smile at his cheeky grin, coincidence my backside. Adam steps aside to let me get on the bus first. There aren’t any seats left so I stand in an available spot. I bring out my Blackberry; I need to tweet about my handsome encounter. Adam comes and stands next to me just as the bus begins to move; I’m thrown off balance, into his arms and onto his right foot. The look on his face as he tries to play hero but also hold in his scream is so endearing I have to bite my lip to stop from laughing out loud. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” “Fine” he manages to get out, “Are you okay?” “Yes I am. I’m so so sorry”. “Jeez I know you said those heels were a potential weapon but I was trying to help”. “I know and I said sorry. Stop being such a baby”. “I should step on you and see how you like it” Adam retorted. “Now wouldn’t that just be childish?” “Perhaps, but I’m in too much pain to care”.

We both fall into an awkward silence, me because I didn’t know what to say and I guess he was still in pain slash sulking. As the voice on the bus announces London Bridge I glance over at Adam and wonder if I should say something. “Well this is me. It was nice to meet you Samantha, even though you almost maimed me” Adam’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “It was nice meeting you too Adam. Actually I’m getting off at London Bridge too”. “Uh huh, you wouldn’t just be getting off because I said I was”. There it was again, I guess at least it meant he was feeling better. We both get off the bus and I’m about to walk off towards the station when Adam calls after me, “Will you have dinner with me next Thursday?”

I turn around; “You’re not really my type” I say, “No offense”. “None taken, I just figured that after saving your life the least you could do is agree to have dinner with me. Think of it as a proper way to say thank you for saving your life instead of having stomped on my foot. What do you say?” I hesitate, he is very good looking but the arrogant ones always are. Jonathan was good looking and look at how that relationship turned out. Adam is looking at me expectantly, what do I say? Damn those dimples!

Flying with your feet (firmly) on the ground

2010-03-28T22:17:00.002+01:00

Check out these heels! Aren't they glorious?

*whistles*

I came across them whilst reading Susie's blog, they're part of the Finsk by Julia Lundsten A/W collection. You should read the rest of her post on Style Bubble

That is all I had to say :) I hope you all had an amazing weekend
♥

5 reasons why I won't be wearing clogs

2010-03-26T14:23:00.006Z

When the rumours of clogs coming back into fashion surfaced I was one of the first to scoff. Clogs? Yeah right. No one's going to want to wear clogs again. Surely not. Even when the March issue of the British Vogue came out featuring Alexa Chung wearing the Chanel clogs I was still desperately trying to resist.

I have to admit that my resistance has been weakening more and more ever since. But just when I thought I was getting over my ~~addiction~~ slight interest in the idea of clogs Kurt Geiger changed their home page image to this:

Amazing, beautiful, graceful, long, long limbs... WEARING CLOGS!

Why Kurt Geiger? Why do this to me? *sniff* And I was doing so well you know...

But I shall still resist. I can't and won't go back on my word. I said I wouldn't wear clogs and therefore I shan't *smiles to herself as she makes her mind up* However, I can't stop the rest of you lovely ladies buying clogs. I will say that if I were to indulge my... let's call it interest and purchase a pair (or 3) these would be my top 5 purchases:

(again, this situation is purely hypothetical)

So there you have it, my would-be purchases if I gave in to my 'interest'. Basically I would buy the shoes right off their front page. What do you think, will you be 'clogging' this summer?

3D Printed Shoes

2010-03-26T09:05:00.003Z

Now when I first read this article a part of me thought "come on seriously, everything can't be 3D" but I was also very intrigued because shoes were involved. Sarah Barnes' post on Fashion156 talks about Melonia, the world's first pair of wearable printed shoes and the science behind how it works; a very interesting read. I am yet to watch the YouTube video and therefore a bit sceptical still but the rate at which technology is growing I wouldn't be too surprised.

Check out the article, what do you think? Just how close are we getting to year 3000 in 2010? If it were true however I would immediately print out these uber cute Emilio Pucci printed shoes - they're just crazy enough for me to want a pair.

Melonia is a creation of two students, Naim Josefi and Souzan Youssouf and their shoes made their debut during Stockholm Fashion Week.

Fashion Interviews for Dia Boutique

2010-03-25T14:00:00.000Z

I'm on my way out so this is a mini post - micro even, but I just got sent links to these so I wanted to share them with you. I interviewed two ladies: Serra Turker and Zena Baroudi for Dia Boutique (the Middle Eastern equivalent of Net-a-porter) and they are now live on the website.

Click here to read my interview with jewellery designer Zena Baroudi and here for 5 minutes with Serra Turker (who I have donned the Clutch lady)

Come back and leave me comments please, they'd be much appreciated.

♥

Mr Louboutin goes to Broadway

2010-03-24T17:08:00.002Z

Christian, dancing? No, you didn't read wrong. The amazing shoemaker Mr Louboutin puts on a pair of his own jazz shoes and danced to 'We should Kiss' by Joe Stilgoe in the exclusive film 'Dancer in a Daydream' for FASHIONAIR. The video starts of with Mr Louboutin in his studio sketching a pair of sparkly brogues and we are then transported to Broadway where the man himself swishes and sashays with two dancers also in red-soled beauties. I love the boyish side of Mr Louboutin that the film brings out, he looks like he is having a ball!

Watch 'The Making Of ...' video here and as the video premièred today you can now head over to Fashionair to watch the full video.

Still images are courtesy of FASHIONAIR

Shop Louboutin at the official website and on Net-a-porter

A Peek inside the Designer's Studio: Christine Mhando of ChiChia London

2010-03-24T14:53:00.005Z

Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria I've always had a special place in my heart for all things African; the weather, the food, the colours and the beautiful fabrics (some of the stuff you don't see on TV - it's not all corruption and poverty). As a designer myself with Renaissance of our Roots I love to see other designers that are also using African fabrics - there will come a time when African print won't just be a trend but be norm, you heard it here first!

I first mentioned ChiChia London during fashion week; I saw the collection at the Untold Fashion show on Day 4 and got to chat with the designer of the brand, Christine Mhando. See how we got on after the jump:

MHIINYC: Tell us about growing up in London? Do you go back to your hometown in Tanzania often?
Christine Mhando: My family moved to London when I was 10 (my dad got a job working for the BBC World Service) so I went to High school and had my teen years here in London. It was quite a normal one. Once we moved to London we’d go back to Tanzania at least every 2 or 3 years but in recent years I’ve been going back 2 or 3 times a year. Love it!!

MHIINYC: How did you get interested in fashion?
CM: From when I was very young I was always fascinated when I saw really well dressed women. My mum always made/makes an effort with her appearance so I guess I was influenced by her. My aunt (mum’s younger sister) used to make clothes and I’d watch her turn a piece of fabric into a dress. I thought ‘Wow, it’s like magic!’ So I started making clothes for my dolls.

MHIINYC: What was it like studying at London College of Fashion and then later Kent University?
CM: I went to study at London College of Fashion from when I left high school at 16 and that’s where I learned to sew and pattern cut. LCF was where I learned the construction side of fashion but as a teenager going to school in the heart of London can get a little bit distracting so I decided to complete the last 2 years of my degree at Kent institute of Art and Design (now known as Kent University) and that’s where I really found my “creative” feet, the course leaders were really good at encouraging us to accentuate our strong points.

Khanga maxi dress from 'Mwangaza'. I love that it has pockets

MHIINYC: What inspires you when you are designing your collections?
CM: I’m inspired by many different aspects but I would say first and foremost, the fabrics and prints.

MHIINYC: Walk us through the process of designing one of your collections, your last collection ‘Made in Dar’ for example
CM: With “Made in Dar”, I started with around 20 khanga and vitenge prints (not all prints eventually made the cut – no pun intended!) that I had bought during a sourcing trip in Dar Es Salaam, locked myself in a room with all the prints laid out on the floor, did a few sketches and some modelling/ draping on the stand to explore shapes and silhouettes. Every single first sample from the collection I made myself and then the rest of the production was done in Dar Es Salaam.

Yellow lace print Khanga dress from 'Made in Dar'

MHIINYC: What do you think of the new ASOS Africa range using fabric from Kenya and Tanzania? Do they do the fabrics justice?
CM: If I had a penny for every time I’ve been asked about ASOS Africa in the past 3 months, I could have saved up enough to fly to Africa and back [laughs].The African print trend is at its biggest ever so it makes sense for large companies such as ASOS to make this accessible to their customers. I’ve only just seen the collection and think it looks great, I love the jacket but can’t buy it of course for obvious reasons... A friend of mine bought it though then asked me if it was disloyal of her... I may just borrow it from her [laughs]

The ASOS Africa blazer

MHIINYC: Do you look up to any designers?
CM: Lots of great designers are bringing out fantastic collections season by season. I love the ones that always keep it new and you can never guess what they’re going to do– too many to mention .Oh yeah one... Have you seen Alexander McQueen’s Winter 2010 collection? Phenomenal!

MHIINYC: Do you have a moodboard where you sketch ideas?
CM: Ohh how I wish I had time for moodboards (I have them in my head). I do have a sketch book with lots of messy doodles of things that are supposed to look like clothes though

Print button up tunic with bead detail from 'Succulent'

MHIINYC: If you weren’t designing clothes what else would you be doing?
CM: I’ve always wanted to learn to play the drums, maybe I can join a band... more realistically I’d probably be a stylist or something

MHIINYC: Do you see yourself doing ChiChia for Men in the future?
CM: Not in the near future but who knows. I would do a childrenswear range first though, far more fun and a lot cuter

MHIINYC: What plans do you have for the future?
CM: I would love for ChiChia to eventually become a worldwide recognised brand with stores and concessions all over the globe

MHIINYC: Do you have any advice for upcoming designers?
CM: Always stay true to yourself!!

Frill sleeve dress with beading detail and print skirt from 'Understated Regal'

Quickfire questions:

Describe your personal style
Eclectic

What are your five must-have wardrobe pieces?
Right now: Jeans, animal print, leather separates, dresses, dresses, dresses!!! (actually Christine that’s technically six but it’s ok because I HEART dresses too)

Do you spend more money on shoes or bags?
Oh dear... probably shoes these days

Would you ever wear underwear as outerwear?
Depends. Not JUST underwear though, no

Name something you do when you’re alone that you wouldn’t do in front of others
Google myself (*Blushes*) (I do too, I even have Google Alert setup – it’s ok we’re the cool ones)

This printed summer Jacket from 'Mwangaza' is the latest addition to my lust list

ChiChia London is available to buy at The Look Boutique, Unique Boutique and The Laden Showroom. Check out their website and Facebook page and they also tweet @ChiChiaLondon.

♥ It's actually Christine's birthday today, have a fabulous day today from My Heart is in New York ♥

It's all about the shoes

2010-03-22T20:13:00.001Z

Another Monday means another post on Style Cartel. I blogged about my favourite topic - shoes! Glorious, amazing, beautiful, delicious shoes. Expensive shoes yes, but beautiful all the same. The shoes are the latest addition to my lust-list and are apt for this Spring to toughen up your pretty/floral outfits whilst still maintaining a soft feminine look.

You can see the whole post on Style Cartel but I've posted pictures and prices of the shoes here:

Jeffrey Campbell - Clinic ($180 from Sole Struck)

Jeffrey Campbell - Mary Roks ($125 from Sole Struck)

Camilla Skovgaard Ankle Cuff sandals (£369 from Intermix Online)

Yerke sandals for £80 at Aldo

Elizabeth and James suede cutout slingback courts; £253 at Intermix Online)

Brian Atwood Temptress studded open-toe boots; a hefty £809 also from Intermix Online

What's on your lust-lists for Spring, or in general? Leave a comment and let me know

A Peek inside the Designer’s Studio: Hermione de Paula

2010-03-19T01:41:00.004Z

As promised here’s an interview I conducted with Hermione de Paula, do forgive me for its tardiness. I was privy enough to be invited to see her Autumn/Winter collection during London Fashion Week (here) and also to be able to meet Hermione herself backstage afterwards. I ask her about life as a designer and those rumours of a stripper past…

Tell us about where you grew up? Did you always want to be a designer?
Designing was always a path I was naturally drawn towards. I grew up in Devon where I was always searching for creative projects. Whilst I was at school I even created my own little business customizing t-shirts. I loved glamorous and visually pleasing things; I used to make my mother add bows and bells onto me and my dresses – a signature which still sometimes creeps into my collections today!

Did you have a mentor or do you remember meeting a designer that shaped the path of your career?
I’ve had the privilege of working with so many inspiring designers and individuals (including Giles Deacon and the late Alexander McQueen), but Elisa Palomino at John Galliano is someone who really stands out. She was a great mentor and an amazing influence; she taught me so much about the spatial awareness of prints.

One of Hermione’s specialities is making her own prints. I ask her how she made the prints she used for Polly Crystalline – her AW collection and she explains a process that involved taking pictures of flowers that had been frozen in a massive freezer she borrowed from the man who owned the local shop next door (I wonder what he thought she was up to).

Polly Crystalline AW10

I read something about a stripper past… details please? Would that explain the quiet sexuality in your pieces and the illusion of nakedness?
I’m not sure I could quite call it a ‘stripper past’, although yes, I did work at Spearmint Rhino’s but as a waitress! At the time it was my way of funding my own label, and I can’t pretend I didn’t enjoy the bright lights and elaborate exhibitionism! I do definitely try to translate a quiet sexuality in my work; this is more prominent in my (present) collection. I like to convey the illusion of nakedness through both my patterns and my garment designs; it adds a certain sexual yet subtle feminine delicacy.

What is it about unconventional women that inspire you?
Unconventional women have such a fascinating beauty, I find there’s an unconscious elegance which surrounds the eccentric and unconventional, a certain obscure quality which is often completely overlooked in favour of more obvious beauty ideals.

Las Venus - SS10

What is a typical day like for you?
Long! I get to the studio early and check emails then I used to work on creative stuff in the afternoon - prints/designs. In the madness running up to the show I was working closely with the pattern cutters and seamstresses and finalising show details and press pieces. I am very social so a glass of wine with friends in the building is standard. Kristin Vicari, the photographer who has art directed all my press material, has just moved in with an amazing photography studio in the basement so you can usually find me down there after hours plotting something with her!

Are there any downsides to being a designer? What is your most favourite aspect about what you do?
I don’t think there any many downsides, although it can be incredibly stressful working with tight budgets - I can’t wait to have no constraints and sew everything with gold thread… However I do feel very lucky to be able to be doing what I really love everyday and feel really honoured to have received the Vauxhall Merit as it will give me a chance to shine and hopefully the platform for my business to grow!

Who would you say is a typical ‘Hermione de Paula’ woman?
The type of woman whose motto in life is: ‘I probably shouldn’t…but I will anyway!’

If you could dress one celebrity/personality who would it be?
Grace Jones!

If you weren’t a women’s wear designer what else would you design?
Possibly mini printed dog outfits with my dog Edward as my muse!

Will we ever be able to dress our men in ‘Homme de Paula’ or will you stick to just women’s wear?
At the moment I’m very happy with womenswear but I’m always interested in exploring further creative possibilities, so who knows? I share my studio with two great friends of mine who are in the middle of launching their new menswear label ‘Braille’, I would to collaborate and do some prints for them!

Do you have any advice for upcoming designers?
Be patient, stick to what you’re good at, and just follow your own distinct style and jump head first!

Polly Crystalline AW10 - catwalk photo by Christopher Dadey

What are your 5 must have wardrobe pieces?
High heels, high heels, high heels, high heels…and mascara, is that 5?

(So we’ve established that we could be very good friends. But just to be sure…) Flats or heels?

Definitely heels, EVEN in the snow! I actually managed to badly injure my ankle the other day due to platform shoes a wicker basket and Mariah Carey…yikes!

With regards to movie genres; Romantic comedy or Thriller?

Both, it just depends on the mood I’m in

Name something you do when you’re alone that you wouldn’t do in front of others

Shouldn’t a girl have some kind of mystery?!

Hermione de Paula’s S/S ’10 Las Venus range is now stocked at Browns Focus on South Molton Street www.brownsfashion.com. Check out Hermione's website: http://www.hermionedepaula.com, and her blog: http://i-heart-hermione.blogspot.com/

All images (unless stated otherwise) were taken by Kristin Vicari for Hermione de Paula.

The First Lady of Clutches

2010-03-18T16:11:00.003Z

You might remember this clutch I featured in a previous post, on love and just how complicated it was (I was contemplating what I would be wearing on Valentine's day - it was a 2-part post on MHIINYC and on Style Cartel). I forgot to post what I did end up wearing; it was option A but as opposed to spending it with Jack (or my man at the time) the girls and I were sewing. Valentine's day was actually quite a funny one but that's a whole other story.

I had actually just stumbled across the camel clutch the first time around but today I was reading the story of the remarkable lady behind the clutch. Judith Leiber (nee Peto) a Jew luckily escaped the Holocaust during the second World War and later emigrated to the States after marrying G.I. Joe Gerson Leiber.She started making handbags after the war and has been quoted saying "Hitler put me in the handbag business".

She is most famous for her minaudieres (small, jewelled cases, for women's personal objects or cosmetics), tiny creations each of which are hand-made and can have as many as 13,000 Swarovski crystals encrusted onto them. Judith has long retired (in 1998) but the company continues to create masterpieces based on her original designs. Her pieces are quite pricey, but understandably so - considering the amount of work that goes into each piece but are still highly favoured amongst celebrities and pretty much every First Lady of the USA. Even little Lily had the Strawberry Cupcake clutch for Aunt Carrie's wedding in SATC.

Here are my favourite pieces of the about 3,500 that she's made (although I have to say, every time I see a new one my top 5 list changes ever so slightly so let's say these are my favourite at the moment):

1. Da Yun - from the Pre-Fall 2010 collection. For my inner tigress as he says...

2. Bee Hive clutch - the detailing on this is breath-taking

3. Silver/Gold 'Package' clutch - simple and elegant

4. Hello Kitty clutch - too cute

5. Multicoloured Finch clutch

See more of Judith's designs on her website Judith Leiber and read more about the remarkable woman on the Jewish Women's Archive site. A remarkable story and it's a great lesson to all that where you've come from/ your background shouldn't be a limitation to what you can achieve in life.

Tattoos by Chanel

2010-03-11T13:55:00.001Z

So I gave in and finally got a tattoo. I've been wanting one since the year I lived in the States. One to show both my creative and rebellious sides, I had been thinking about maybe getting....

Oh who am I kidding? My tattoo isn't real. I'm not actually sure I could sit through the painful process and then endure the wrath of my mother on retuning home with 'markings on my body' as she would call it (although having said that I've had my temporary tattoo for almost a week and no one has noticed, and I'm not even deliberately trying to hide it!)

I have a Chanel tattoo; they're limited edition and were first debuted on the Spring 2010 catwalk show in Paris last September. The inspiration of the show was the girl next door and the 'catwalk' had a barn-like appearance complete with hay and straw and Lily Allen singing country tunes.

From Popbee.com

Image by Getty, from the Wall Street Journal

Peter Philips created a set of temporary tattoos to capture that ethereal essence. There were wildflowers and birds as well as chains an pearls, and of course double-C charms. They were such a hit that they are now available to buy, exclusively at Selfridges. Each pack has 55 tattoos and they cost £49. I personally think it's a tad bit expensive for temporary tattoos but the sales girl did point out that for the number of tattoos you got it came to about 90 pennies a tat. Having said that, I've had mine since Friday as I mentioned and for someone who's not making a conscious effort to look after it, it's keeping pretty well.

Les Trompe-l'oeil de CHANEL

The tattoo barn will be open at Selfridges for the next two weeks I believe so get it whilst they're still in stock. Even if you're not a tattoo person I think they make a great collector's item.

Sarah Jessica Parker at the 2010 Oscars wearing Chanel couture and the pearl temporary tattoo. Image from InStyle

Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Guess who's back

2010-03-11T12:54:00.000Z

I've been meaning to post for ages but wasn't sure of what to say (I'm a firm believer of not blogging unless I have something worthwhile saying/reading). I've had some quite significant changes happen in the past 2-3 weeks and whilst change is good, this time it's really taken its toll on me and I have to admit I struggled to the point of feeling like I was drowning. I've had to re-evalute things in my life and I've been asking myself 'What's important to me?'

I'm still in the process of answering this question and it has caused me to make more changes. I can't say much more than that at the moment but I'm sure more will be revealed in time. I can say that some of the most significant support I got during this period came in the most unlikely forms (even the small gestures) and it's made me realise that you shouldn't take any of your relationships for granted - even the people you only see once every-so-often and even twitter-friends (as I call them - they know who they are). Someone I spoke to made me realise that bad things have a tendency to seeming a bit larger than life and it only takes watching the news to realise that your problems aren't actually 'problems' in the grand scale of things. Yes, there were huge personal and professional changes in your life but at least I still have my health, my sanity and people around me who love me no matter what. It was great advice, took a while to sink in but great advice nonetheless.

It was so easy to just sink into some state of semi-depression these past weeks; doing the bare minimum and not caring about the rest. I really had to kick myself out of it, it was getting pathetic! There was actually quite a bit happening I could have blogged about, was just lazy I suppose. I had to remind myself why I started the blog in the first place: as an avenue to talk about what I was thinking, doing, seeing, inspired by... and because I love to write - it keeps me sane.

Anyway, I'm back! And we have a lot of catching up to do (bear with me, I'm assuming people actually read my blog) starting with this tattoo I got....

Marian Kihogo on why she is thinking of giving up blogging

2010-02-24T02:10:00.002Z

Some serious food for thought

So I know I said I was going to bed but I though I should share this post on Marian's blog and it's a must-read if you're a fashion blogger or thinking of becoming one.

There was also a post by The Times, the Global Herald and Demi Couture on the same subject and it sounds like a serious lesson in etiquette and manners needs to be learned. The same way bloggers quickly rose to fame is the same way we can quickly crash and burn if we're not careful, and it's a shame that a few bad eggs should ruin the whole breakfast. I was actually discussing this with a fellow blogger and we were saying how excited and privileged we felt to even be able to see the few shows we did this season and I wish others would see it as what it is, a privilege and not a right. Bloggers pulling a 'do you know who I am' at fashion shows is soo not on. Yes I know who you are: nobody. And that goes for your dog too.

5th and Final day of London Fashion Week

2010-02-23T23:56:00.003Z

This post is going to be short and sweet - desperately need to get into bed. Didn't go to any shows today as wasn't able to get tickets to any of them (shame as I would have loved to see them all. Someday...) The highlight of my day was being interviewed by Live from Fashion Week who wanted to know my thoughts on ethical fashion and more about my RooR skirt :D It was streamed live just before 7pm today but I'm hoping to get the video link for my section and will definitely post it here when I can. Whilst waiting to be interviewed I caught up with Em of Make Lemonade and I hadn't seen her since the start of fashion week so it was nice to sit and gossip :)

So that was my fashion week coverage people, quite minimal I have to admit but I was excited all the same as it was my very first fashion week (attending and showing) and I'm sure there'll be many more to come. Tomorrow I will put up some pictures from shows I saw/did not see and give my top 10 favourite looks for autumn/winter 2010.

One thing I have taken away from fashion week - it's not just what you wear, it's how you wear it. There's a clear difference between fashion and style.

Day 4 at London Fashion Week

2010-02-22T11:41:00.002Z

The weather had been so good so far (well, for London in February) and then it decided to rain/snow today. I was lazy enough as it was and definitely didn't need another excuse to stay in bed. Anyhoo I had lots to do so eventually dragged myself out of bed and after errands made my way to the city.

First of all there was Fashion Scout's Merit Award winner Hermione de Paula's show. I really enjoyed her show (sitting 3rd row definitely helped) and her signature print was evident, although for this season the colours were absent - monochrome was definitely in. She played with contradictions; the mix of soft prints with transparent plastic, some pieces were demurely sexy from body-con micro dresses and printed leggings emphasizing the model's curves whilst a few screamed 'sex' like the transparent corset. The make up contrasted the monochrome prints, colourful blocks of eye shadow, dark lips and edgy punk rock blunt-fringed wigs. I also loved the detailing with the HDP key necklaces (I wonder if you can buy those...) that opened the locks on the clutch bags (at least I think they were clutch bags) One look I especially LOVED was the hooded jacket with the blue fur trim round, it looked very cosy and very warm (a must-have if we keep having so many random snowy days).

Vicki Loomes (of Fashion156) and I also got a chance to speak to Hermione backstage and asked her a few questions. I will post these up plus some more questions she answered via email soon.

In the evening I went to the Untold Pop-up Boutique and Fashion Show in Battersea Arts Centre and especially loved pieces by two of the designers they showed: Mononoko and ChiChia London. I hope to feature an interview with Christine Mhando of ChiChia on MHIINYC soon so watch this space.

Print/beaded dress from the 'Made in Dar' collection by ChiChia London

My camera was messing up so my pictures of Hermione's show aren't so great. I've put them up anyway but Emerging Fervour has some amazing pictures on their Flickr account here so you should check it out.

London Fashion Week Day 2 and 3

2010-02-21T23:27:00.001Z

Sorry for the lack of post yesterday. We got home from our RooR show with Fashion Mavericks and was so completely exhausted. I stayed awake long enough to have some dinner and then went straight to bed (having a total of 6 hours sleep in 3 days is not healthy. Seriously, do not try this at home)

Our RooR show was amazing, I'm so very proud of us girls. The last week was manic to say the least and having got no sleep Friday night my nerves were completely shot on Saturday. No amounts of sweets/doughnuts were helping and I was really sick to my stomach with worry. Turns out, fretting I needn't have done as the show went pretty well if I may say so myself. So grateful to Jacqui and her team at Fashion Mavericks (especially Matthew, THE runway coach diva EXTRAORDINAIRE. He was like Miss Jay but ten times more awesome).

I've put up some backstage pictures but there are more over at the RooR blog, Twenty-Four Carat Cocoa. The official pictures will also be up on our site www.roordesign.com once we get them back from the photographer.

So, Day 2 = pretty eventful. The boy came to the show and hadn't seen him in 2 weeks and he was looking gooooood *wolf whistles* I like to think my fashion sense was rubbing off on him. Having said that, absence does make the heart grow fonder, maybe we should be apart more often (don't tell him I said that). Day 3 of LFW I decided to take it slow; church in the morning and then spent the rest of the day with the boy - a belated valentine's so to speak. However the twitpics kept me up to date with who was showing what at Somerset House. Thank God for twitter.

Off to bed now. Looking forward to the shows tomorrow, especially Hermione de Paula at Vauxhall Fashion Scout.

First day at London Fashion Week

2010-02-19T22:07:00.001Z

Today was a crazy day, in a good way but crazy all the same. I also have to say that starting fashion week having not slept very much in the past week would have undoubtedly added to the stress of the day.

The day didn't start off very well as I was late and therefore missed the Glam/Benefit bloggers' breakfast (damn traffic - I was trying to save time but I might as well have taken the train) so I missed out on a great goody bag. Anyhoo later on I went over to Vauxhall Fashion Scout to see David Koma's show. It had a few elements that I thought were similar to his last collection but I did like the pieces, especially towards the end. Loved the cut out details and how he played with that sometimes using nude inserts and sometimes bare skin.

As well as being the start of LFW it was also RooR's exhibition at Fashion Mavericks. That went really well too and we got quite a bit of interest, and some potential buyers *fingers crossed* We also had Nike Akinola come to our stand and it was lovely to meet her in person.

Anyway need to get back to work now. Our show is tomorrow and still have some finishing touches left to do but I wanted to do a quick post. Hoping to get to bed relatively early (read 3am).

By the way, Stacey killed Archie Mitchell. Who knew eh?

I really like the detail on this piece, this is where it started to get interesting for me. David's signature heavy embellishment and structural shapes becoming more obvious. You can also catch a glimpse of Susie in the background, wonder what she though of the show...

Check out the asymmetrical piece, I wonder if it's back for another season?

The man himself

Wearing RooR printed dress, Topshop jumper and Nine West croc bag

Sleep Well, Lee Alexander McQueen

2010-02-12T13:25:00.005Z

Lee McQueen (16th March 1969 - 11th February 2010)

"The British fashion designer Alexander McQueen has been found dead at the age of 40 in his London home...shortly after 10am today. The death comes days before the start of London fashion week and a month before the designer was to unveil his new collection at Paris fashion week. His mother passed away on the 2nd of February and he wrote on his twitter page last week: "I'm letting my followers know the my mother passed away yesterday if it she had not me nor would you RIP mum x" A minute later he added: "but life must go on!"and then on Sunday McQueen wrote: "sunday evening been a f****** awful week but my friends have been great but now I have to some how pull myself together..." The Guardian 11/02/10

We lost one of the greats yesterday, Alexander McQueen. Sometimes there are no words that can be said. It's sad that it could have seemed so bad that he felt he had to take his own life, someone so seemingly fulfilled with a great career and all who loved and adored him, both personally and in the fashion world. My condolences go to his family and close friends as they mourn their terrible loss, we all mourn with them too.

Alexander McQueen Spring 2010

Those shoes

Watch a clip from his last collection, Spring 2010, below, courtesy of Modelinia.com Click through to read their blog post on the show: Plato's Atlantis

New York Fashion Week + Heavy Snow = ?

2010-02-11T08:50:00.003Z

Today is the start of New York Fashion Week and I'm excited to see what autumn/winter 10/11 trends will be gracing the catwalks (well, weather permitting. There's a whole palava about shows maybe getting re-scheduled because of the heavy snow that hit New York yesterday). Anyway the rise of Twitter and SHOWstudio live streaming means that even though I am not physically able to be in New York I can still get the same experience (minus the snow and whilst curled up on my warm sofa with a cup of marshmallow-y hot cocoa)

I guess this is assuming the shows still go on...

This also marks 9 days left until our show at London Fashion Week - eek! I mean it's going well so far but I'm a bit apprehensive that time seems to be running away and we still have stuff like the music and goody bags to sort out. God will make a way, where there seems to be no way... (song from my childhood - I wonder if God can please send some skilled seamstresses our way, just to help out a bit).

We did have a sit brainstorm session with Mimmie today. She's doing the jewellery for our show and we'll be off to Portobello Market and Covent Garden in the morning, well, a few hours to buy some more materials for her to finish off the last few pieces. Her stuff is a-MA-zing! I've been telling her she needs to start selling her pieces, I know I'll be ready to snatch up half of her jewellery in a hot second.

Anyhoo, I also put up a post this morning for Style Cartel. If you're wondering what I'll be wearing during London Fashion Week, here are my top 5 spring 2010 ready-to-wear trends from the shows last September. Can you guess which ones made the cut? Here are three clues:

Stay tuned as I'll be posting daily during LFW with all the gossip from shows, including all-access backstage at a few, and some after parties too. Better still, follow me with blog lovin' or sign up to get MHIINYC in your inbox (somewhere on the left side of this page) and you can see what I get up to, and what I'm wearing. Also Tweet/Email me a picture of you rocking your favourite Spring 2010 look and I'll feature some in an upcoming post.

Have a fabulous day! Make a few wishes today and dare them not to come true.

Invitation to RooR A/W 10/11 show - it's finally here!

2010-02-08T23:25:00.002Z

You are cordially invited to

Renaissance of our Roots
“Frozen Inferno”
Runway Show
and Exhibition

During London Fashion Week at Fashion Mavericks

February 19^th 2010 – Exhibition 1pm-8pm | February 20^th 2010 – Catwalk show 4:30pm

The Strand Palace Hotel
372 Strand, London
WC2R 0JJ | Map

To RSVP email ekaete.inyang@roordesign.com

For additional press/media inquiries about Renaissance of our Roots, please email ekaete.inyang@roordesign.com

For more information about the hosts of the show please email info@sunshine-grace.com

View the press release below:

Renaissance of Our Roots - Press Release

Getting ready for London Fashion Week

2010-02-07T01:47:00.008Z

Early Sunday morning, I really should be in bed but I haven't finished my to-do list yet :( there's just not enough hours in the day. There's a skirt I really need to finish for our show at Fashion Mavericks during London Fashion Week this February but I got a bit distracted looking at the behind the scenes pictures from our shoot on Thursday.

We went over to Battersea Park in London to shoot our Spring/Summer 09/10 collection (if you will, technically it's just our first 16 pieces). E and I, my friend Andie, our hair/makeup artist; the model Tope from Mahogany Model Management; photographer Kitty Gallannaugh and her assistant Nathan met at the park bright and early and battled with Mother Nature and nosy passer-bys to get the best shots for our portfolio. I'll put up the final pictures when I receive them but here are some of the behind the scenes shots:

Thanks to all for a great day - our first professional photo shoot was amazing! Now we can send out our press release for our show using professional pictures :D For a video montage with more pictures check out this YouTube link.

Also speaking of LFW, my acceptance email came in yesterday! Now all I'm waiting for is my press pass to arrive and I'm going to be hitting up all those shows (well after ours is over, obviously)

Sweet dreams all
*kisses*

Because love isn't quite complicated enough as it is

2010-02-02T15:24:00.005Z

I had dinner with the lovely Charlotte of Style Cartel and Em of Make Lemonade last night at this great little American bistro. It was nice to get to unwind for a bit and forget about the to-do list as long as my arm (well, when my berry finally stopped beeping at me). We had a good heart-to-heart as well and it's nice to know that there's still some honest people in the industry. I have some re-evaluating to do but I won't bore you with all the details.

Anyhoo I blogged for Style Cartel today. I was pondering the dreaded V day in a few weeks, and no, not because I'm single and bitter but because I'm not single.

Or at least I don't think I am... you see the problem folks?

Here's one way I would happily like to spend V day but you can read the rest of my post here

Classic Chunky knit cardigan by Joseph, ‘Aww, screw it’ women’s tank top by Cafe Press, Belle Sauvage printed leggings (because even if one is home alone on Valentine’s day one should still be stylishly miserable), Gap Bunny slippers, LOTS of B&J and Season 6 of 24.

Chicken Ceaser and Jammie Dodgers

2010-01-18T23:21:00.006Z

First day back at SB HQ today after the long break. It was quite a hectic day, plus I think my brain had to get used to the bombardment again, but it was fun. I missed the crew and we had some new interns as well. We had lots of catching up and updating to do and organising calendars and travel plans for the upcoming fashion weeks: NYC, London, Milan and Paris - what a hectic few weeks it's going to be.

In the evening Amy, our Art Director brought the flat plan of the next issue of SB (the content which was put together and layed out by yours truly) for us to ogle at. It was beautiful. And yes I know that it just the print out and not the actual issue itself but it was still exciting.

Then I got sent a video link by Sola (of MMM) from Top Model of Colour which we sponsored and the first two outfits the girls are modelling are ours!! The video's here

Also today I confirmed an interview I'm conducting with Njide Ugboma of Let Them Eat Cake Magazine for Sketchbook Mag on Wednesday and should also be meeting Robin Derrick of British Vogue late this week or early next. Good day huh? I'm uber excited!

Good night lovelies, and also please support the Haiti Earthquake Appeal if you can.

It's your birthday...

2010-01-12T10:22:00.001Z

Happy Birthday to my baby brother! Well he's hardly a baby anymore, he's 22 and wayyy taller than me.

Wasn't he soo cute?

Would you believe I was wearing 4-inch heels in this picture?

Have a great day today hun xoxo

My Big To-do List

2010-01-11T23:29:00.003Z

I'm back! Should have been back earlier but got a bit distracted with Eastenders (guilty pleasure) and Hustle (two words - Adrian Lester. And then they go and put that man in a tailored suit...)

Anyway so the next few months are going to be a bit busy so I apologise in advance if I don't post updates as often. At Sketchbook I've been given a bit more responsibility, training new interns as well as my administrative/PR roles and writing features etcetera. Speaking of new interns there's a new illustrator that joined a few weeks ago... but that's a whole other blog post. So SB as well as the odd article for Dia Diwan (W has become the new editor for their online site, sort of the Middle Eastern Net-a-Porter and I'm considering a Features Editor position under her).

I have also started to blog for Style Cartel once a week and will also be covering London Fashion Week next month for Glam (and possibly Paris and Milan too - fingers crossed! I haven't been to Paris in years and never been to Italy. There's also talk of a Glam van and a pink front row for us bloggers. Pink is soooo my colour :D )

Another project that's in the works needs to be confirmed by Bloomsbury Publishing and I will let you know more about that as soon as I can.

So that's all writing work... On the other hand RooR is also stepping things up this year. We've presented our business plans to some investors and are currently waiting for a response from one in particular as to if they want to give us some money. Major prayers for that and hopefully we can get some investor backings soon. In the meantime D is trying to finish working on our website and we're preparing for our show in February with Fashion Mavericks that will be happening during 19th to 22nd of February (yes, during London Fashion Week eek!) as well as updating our portfolio. Some good news, RooR recently sponsored Miss Central Africa and the winner, Shelly Mobunda was wearing one of our dresses!

Busy? You can say that again. And then the boy is also trying to give me stress as if I haven't got enough already... but again that's another post. Maybe if I threaten him with the fact that there's a hot new illustrator in the office...

Still more work to be done; I'm interviewing Hermione de Paula, the most recent recipient of the Vauxhall Fashion Scout Merit Awards for Autumn/Winter 10/11, and have to finish the questions I have for her. Plus I'm also due to interview Robin Derrick, photographer and Creative Director of British Vogue on Saturday so need to get myself ready for that.

Good night and God bless

iBlogged

2010-01-11T18:28:00.004Z

Two recent blog posts of mine (albeit for other blogs):

Make it while you Fake it for Style Cartel
Slimming shorts: is it possible that as we rock on this season trends for spring we could also shed a few centimetres off our hips and thighs? I'm sceptical but it anyone tries it out do let me know if you got results in 21 days as they claim.

And Dempsey's Musical Stamps for Sketchbook
For all the philatelists out there the Royal Mail releases special issues of stamps throughout the year with different themes. Their latest one which was released last Thursday celebrates some of the greatest British Album Covers.

Enjoy. I'm off to have some dinner and then do a spot of sewing then I shall be back to put up a proper blog post

What happened to our Honeymoon?

2010-01-04T23:34:00.007Z

I had a fight with the boy today... it was kind of brewing from the night before and I called to kiss and make up so to speak but all I got was round two. To be honest I wonder if I can really call him the boy as we've only been talking for a few weeks and technically he hasn't asked me out yet.

By the by: do people still ask each other out anymore? I've been out of the dating scene for so long but I know back in high school (my last proper relationship, sad? I know) the boy had to officially ask the girl out. Is that still the case or do we just assume that if I like you and you like me that we're dating? On the other hand am I to be all women-have-balls-too and ask him out myself? Plus if he tells you he loves you before you're officially dating is that backwards or no?

He'd gone back home for the Christmas holiday and it was my turn to call him yesterday evening. When I did call he wasn't available and later on when he was free to talk I was busy. For some reason this was a problem; what could I possibly be doing that I was too busy to talk, and round one begun. I really didn't want to fight and tried to remain as calm as possible but apparently being calm = patronizing.

Blah blah blah, to cut the long story short it got me thinking about the so-called honeymoon period in relationships. You know those first few weeks, months (years if you're lucky) when everything is perfect and you never have any arguments? Whatever the time frame is I'm pretty sure 4 weeks is a bit on the short side (especially considering the fact that I'm not even sure if we're technically in a relationship). And not to go all Carrie B on y'all but I found myself wondering: is this a sign to cut my losses and run whilst I can, or is it a realistic occurrence in any normal relationship in which case I should see how we can settle our creative differences?

This is probably why I stayed single for so long. Men = muchos stress

I will Rise

2010-01-01T04:44:00.002Z

Morning (or evening) lovely people, it's 2010!!! I've had the longest evening ever and I'm actually surprised I am still awake. We had our New Year's Eve celebration over at New Wine Church and it was getting broadcast so we were working our behinds off to get it all ready for our 5-hour show, glitches et al. I got really stressed out during the broadcast, and even broke down in tears at one point, but I managed to pull it together and we had a near-perfect production.

It got me thinking about how much we push ourselves; to do things we think we aught to do, setting targets for ourselves by ourselves. Setting targets is good don't get me wrong, but I find that I sometimes give myself somewhat impossible challenges. Like today I decided that I was going to get everything done perfectly, there was no room for errors. Now considering I was still only just receiving some of the song lyrics after we had already gone live I'm not quite sure how I thought I could prepare all 70-something Power Point slides in time to project them. Single-handedly might I add. And also why I was kicking myself when I couldn't.

Having said that I'll continue to push myself (you'll never know until you try right?) and I'm determined to be the best that I can be in 2010. It's crazy to think that I've been alive for two decades... pushing two-and-a-half actually. I did a little fast-forward in my mind and tried to see myself in 2020... three decades old, wrinkles and screaming kids, maybe finally having moved to NYC... hmmm. Whichever way I'm determined to make my mark on this world and this is my year for new beginnings.

So, new year resolution this year: Rise, Run and Reign. 2009 was a great year for me and I really grew as a person, but I truly believe it's just a stepping stone to the things that I will see/do/experience in 2010, with Him by my side.

Here's some food for thought: if you want something whole-heartedly why would you only put half your heart into it?

Autumnal Rise with Maria Luisa Hernandez

2009-12-02T16:23:00.002Z

Hi lovers,

Sorry I haven't posted in ages and ages. The second issue of SB goes off to the printers in 24 hours so it's been crunch time at work. Promise will update soon.

Some good news in the meantime; my previous post about getting to meet and interview the artist Maria Hernandez is now on the Sketchbook Blog! My first post! First the Blog, then the print, and then the world.

Enjoy here (it's slightly edited from the version I have here)

Muchos love

An evening with Maria Luisa Hernandez

2009-11-28T05:19:00.003Z

Due to the insane amount of traffic and slight malfunction with the Google Maps on my berry I was running quite late getting to Maria Luisa Hernandez’s home/studio for an intimate reception she was having, showcasing some of her recent artwork. But better late than never I always say, and that applied more than ever yesterday evening.

I arrived at Maria’s apartment slightly flustered and feeling a bit disheveled, I was sure I was a mess and was hoping the bathroom was near enough to the front door so I could run in quickly and sort out the mess that was my hair (damn wind!) I wasn’t sure if it was the smell of warm cinnamon that hit my senses as I opened the door or the stunning painting that were in front of me, or the combination of the two but I immediately feel a wave of calmness rush over me and the need to powder my nose is no longer pressing. The glass of champagne put into my hand also helped I’m sure.

I walk around the ground floor feeding my eyes with more of Maria’s amazing work. I recognize some of the pictures from her website and they are even more intense in person. There are some of her oil paintings, either on canvas or linen, from her Ignis, Aqua and Aero collections.

I finally spot the lovely lady herself; whose pictures, I have to say, do not do her any justice: she’s stunning and lovely to chat to. I steal her away from her guests for a few moments and we go upstairs to her studio for a girly chat. Maria slips off her shoes for a moment and we get comfortable on the couch.

We talk about her artwork and what inspires her. Her work has been described as “…an atmospheric play of colour and light: the two anchors of her work” by the art critic Pedro Labowitz and I ask her how much of a part nature plays in her art. She says that nature and natural beauty inspire her and she talks about the peace she feels when she’s surrounded by nature. “It’s a place that I feel where you can relate with your God” she adds, and the painting of Jesus and the Bible in one corner of her studio is a testament to how religious she is. Some of her other inspirations include the great Michelangelo and Rembrandt.

She goes on to describe painting as the love of her life, “I do it day and night. That’s why I have my studio in my house, it’s important to live with your lover”. However, as much as she loves to paint she is also very disciplined and she notes that “it takes focus, passion, patience and a lot of time”. This seemed like the perfect time to ask her about her recent collaboration with the interior designer Catherine Milner. “She came to me actually. She contacted me through someone who had bought one of my paintings”. They have worked together on a number of luxurious properties for private clients combining unique architecture with stunning artwork, providing an end result that is both functional and artistic. Maria believes her paintings ‘give the soul of the rooms’.

We go on to talk about travelling, a love that we discover we both share and she talks about how the different cultures and cities influence her work. And get this; her favourite city is London, despite the weather! In fact she says the weather helps her as an artist. ‘I think the weather in the UK is suitable for artists, it encourages you to be introspective and find that quiet space inside yourself”. Good to know the crummy weather helps some people, I wish I could find a positive thing to say about cold, wet and windy London… it’ll come to me soon I’m sure… She also loves the boats in England, especially down by Cornwall and ponders if she was a seagull in her past life.

The final question I ask Maria; if she weren’t an artist, could she see herself doing anything else? Laughing she replies, “I am hopeless at everything else! If I was a waitress I’d forget the orders, and I make such a mess in the kitchen I wouldn’t be a great cook. I think I’m better off as an artist”. If I was as good as she was, I’d also struggle to find a Plan B.

Photography: Chun P Lin

Looking Through and Through

2009-11-24T23:37:00.001Z

I mentioned in a post a few days ago that I was privy to being at the first ever Connoisseur Magazine photo shoot where I was assisting KK of The Clothes Whisperer, their Fashion Editor. As promised here are some behind the scenes photographs taken by Chun Lin. I also found out today that I will mentioned in the editorial spread as a styling assistant. Yay! So excited. There's this warm feeling I get seeing my name in print... I get all gooey and fuzzy, and it never gets old.

Ok stopping now. I can feel you looking at me as though I might be strange. I promise I'm relatively normal. Except the tiny shoe obsession. Everyone needs a little crazy now and again, right?

Fashion Editor: Kristin Knox
Photographer: Nicholas Elliott
Model: Delphine Hervieu
Looks from DKNY, Armand Basi, Collette Dinnigan and Amanda Wakeley; and shoes from YSL and Manolo Blahnik.
Jewellery: Dean Davidson Designs

Savoury vs Sweet Pannenkoeken

2009-11-24T01:25:00.001Z

Today was a good day. I had eight hours of sleep and woke up feeling so much more refreshed and ready to tackle my day. After work I met up with some friends from secondary school and we had dinner at My Old Dutch in Holborn for a night of a thousand laughs. Memories and maple syrup kept me in stitches all night. Monday has now been designated 'date night' so we can at least catch up once a week.

To pancakes and great friends.

Wearing top by Topshop, Zara high waist leggings, New Look strappy sandals and Primark necklace and bracelet.

The Art of the Trench

2009-11-22T22:32:00.001Z

Adam in NYC. LOVE the shorts

Lula and Ruby in Glasgow - they make me want twins. Picture taken by Brian Sweeney

Caterina in London

Garance Dore in New York City taken by BF Scott

Francisco in Venice. Such a great shot by The Sartorialist

Jeremy from Berlin. Although I swear he must be Jude Law's twin brother. Such a beautiful man!

I recently went for an interview where I was told that if I didn’t own a Facebook, Twitter or Youtube account, or blogged religiously that I was not a relevant member of the society as it was. Harsh. Very harsh, but true.

The world is getting smaller; people no longer have to send smoke signals or even letters and emails, and instead tweet to get their messages across. So you can see why if you haven’t got at least one, or preferably all of these, you’re considered to be living under a rock. Companies who wish to stay relevant, luxury brands included, have to tap into these resources to remain at the forefront of their customer’s minds.

In that respect, Burberry is doing pretty well. They tick all the boxes: Facebook fan page with over 700,000 fans, check; Youtube account with video coverage and behind the scenes footage from LFW, check; a Twitter page with over 5,000 followers, check; and now a Burberry blog, check check. The Art of the Trench, essentially a communal blog, is a new social networking medium launched by Burberry on the 9^th of November. It has over 100 pictures of people all around the world from Berlin to Toronto sporting the famous Burberry trench.

Quite a few of the pictures were taken by Scott Shuman of The Sartorialist, although member of the public can now send in pictures of themselves and the best of the best will be uploaded onto the site. ‘Crowdsourcing’ it’s called – a new term I learned today. Clever, Mr. Bailey. That way people sending their pictures to the ‘blog’ as well as signing in to see if they’ve been picked, as well as their friends logging in via Facebook Connect to give it a thumbs up or make comments significantly increases the traffic to their website.

All in all a very smart move by Burberry, and as far as I know (and I am the Oracle. Ha, I kid), no other luxury brand has a social networking site of this proportion. The Art of the Trench is further enhanced by the fact that the site is very well designed, easy to navigate and you can filter the images according to parameters such as the weather for example.

The site also features some of the greatest ad campaigns over the years as well as a history of the trench from 1910s using photographs and film.

Champage, Couture and Blahniks

2009-11-22T02:28:00.001Z

I spent my Saturday morning assisting KK at the Connoisseur Magazine photo shoot for the Jan/Feb 2010 issue. The theme of the issue will be Champagne and so we had the shoot at The Commander, a champagne and oyster bar in Notting Hill, surrounded by bottles of Don Perignon and Veuve Clicquot, vintage fur, gowns by Amanda Wakeley, and Blahniks (a girl's best friend!) Will have some behind the scenes pictures to put up soon so watch this space.

I found this amazing print silk blouse in a vintage store in Notting Hill (I bought it last week but didn't get a chance to blog about it). It's by Flora Kung and it's so loud it's almost obnoxious. I love love the shoulder pads - takes it right back to the eighties. Anyone who knows me would tell you how it was as though it was made for me!

Wearing Flora Kung silk blouse, AA skirt, Topshop glitter socks and Fioni shoes. Croc-skin bag by Nine West.

Vogue shoot at SHOWstudio part trois

2009-11-21T05:27:00.003Z

So I FINALLY got to see a Vogue photo shoot at Somerset House - yay! Although I don't know if it was because I hyped it up so much in my head, or because there were no wild outfit changes but I was a bit bored :( Undoubtedly Lisa Eldridge is amazing and it was great to watch her work, and I was not aware that CD Robin Derrick had photography as one of his many talents, but I still somehow felt it was not as great as the one I missed (Vogue shoot at SHOWstudio part une and part deux)

However it was great to watch these two at work. I wonder if they often work together... hmmm

I only popped in for a bit as I had to get back to work to finish editing (next issue's out in December eek!) but I hope you enjoy the pictures. I'm thinking of taking up photography as well (No. I do not yet have too much I'm doing) so any feedback, good or bad, will be appreciated.

Muchos love

There was a model this time! Look at those cheekbones - such perfection. So exquisite. *sigh*

Lisa Eldridge creates a new look

Testing, testing

Husband-and-wife duo at work

Peek-a-boo...I see you

Lisa preps the next model

Mulberry + Apple = Chemistry 101

2009-11-16T22:33:00.002Z

Mix three measures of Apple with two measures of Mulberry. Stir gently – mixture is highly explosive.

“Designed by Mulberry, Made for Apple” - a new collaboration between one of Britain’s longest established brands and arguably the largest grossing, most innovative electronics mega brand. If there was ever a ker-ching moment...

Recently I’m loving the new Mulberry, under the direction of their new creative director Emma Hill, who was appointed in Dec 2007. At LFW this September, her third fashion week, they definitely opened with a bang. The theme was funfair and the carousel rides and pastel coloured balloons definitely gave The Claridges Hotel a carnival feel. Mulberry have always been known for its classics; the Mitzy, the Shimmy, and of course, the Bayswater, but their RTW S/S 2010 took a step outwards, it was fun, playful and full of youth. And this season, more than with any of their other collections, I found myself wanting quite a few of the pieces; especially the berry Bayswater clutch with the oversized bow and the deep V back print dress because of its unexpected naughtiness.

It felt like Emma, I say it like we’re on first name basis, was going in a new direction and appealing to a wider market, the younger generations. I mean yes, we love the Bayswater, and we all own, or hope to own, one in our bag closet; but it’s great to have other things to get excited about as well. In the present economic blah blah we found a lot of designers played it safe with their designs showing more wearable pieces. Some designers however, took risks instead; catering to their customers and proving perseverance despite seemingly difficult times.

This recent collaboration with Apple is another example of ways in which Mulberry is thinking outside the box and pulling in another target audience: the nerds (and I say that with no disrespect. After-all a geek with a Mulberry for Apple is quite the fashion-geek-sta). Apple is one of the largest electronic producers with a range of products. Macs are très easy to use and quickly taking over the computer market, the iPhone vs. Blackberry competition shows no sign of declaring a winner anytime soon and iPods are probably the most superior MP3 players. Of course all these users need cases for their precious babies. Enter stage left, Mulberry comes in. By combining the classic looks of the Bayswater and Brynmore, with versatility and usability, they’ve created a product with the same coveted exteriors but enhanced interiors.

Again, ker-ching.

The only sad element about this whole sha-bang is that some idiot stole my MacBook and now I have no Apple to get that Bayswater sleeve for :( Maybe I could buy one anyway and the MacBook will just appear in it. Do you believe in magic?

Pictures are courtesy of My MANy Bags Blog

Freakum dress, Bang-bang shoes

2009-11-15T23:58:00.001Z

She was so cute, wasn't she?

Beyonce Knowles-Carter....

.....meet Sasha Fierce

I'm so sorry I haven't blogged in ageeesss. The rest of my week last week was so crazy; we were trying to get the second issue of SB ready (it comes out next month eek!) and there was a whole palava with our cover boys changing PR agents and suddenly not being available but we managed to get an interview with Henry Holland which totally saved the cover. So as Content Manager (I love it! I smile every time I say or type it. Content Manager hehe) for this issue I've been emailing up all the writers, photographers, bloggers and illustrators for their content, as well as chasing a few PR people. I also had a deadline myself, I had to finish my article for Black Hair and get it to Afua by Thursday.

Busy week? You can say that again.

Needless to say Friday came around much too quickly and before I knew it, it was Sunday night (why does the weekend fly by so?) My Saturday was awesome because I got to see ... drumroll please ... Beyonce in concert at the O2! She was super amazing and I am so much more in awe of her and that voice. I was a bit upset at having missed Backstreet Boys in concert on Tuesday but I think Beyonce definitely made up for that.

I wore a pink Topshop top, AA dress worn as skirt, H&M leggings, New Look shoobs and beaded necklace.

Another Day, Another Dim Sum

2009-11-09T22:46:00.001Z

The week couldn't have started any better if it tried. I got the greatest news on Sunday evening and I can tell I'm going to be on a high all week. To celebrate, I decided I was going to wear the brightest colours in my wardrobe today. After work my bestest friend Peki and I dined at Ping Pong behind Selfridges (if you go I recommend the Char Sui Bun and Winter tea punch - alcoholic and very warming) after which we had waffles and Ben&Jerry ice cream.

Work time now, got to finish an article I'm writing for BH as well as do some tweaking on a blog post I wrote for SB. Then hopefully it's fairly early to bed, there's a shoe sample sale in the morning and I plan on stopping by before work.

...and yet I can never seem to wake up early enough to go jogging before work.

Wearing Donna Ricco New York dress, Primark basic tee, Forever 21 belt, Dorothy Perkins necklace, and jewellery so old I can't remember where I got them from. The serpent bracelet is from a random vintage store but I found a similar one at Max and Chloe.

Vogue shoot at SHOWstudio part deux

2009-11-08T00:50:00.003Z

As promised, here are some of the pictures I took at the exhibition at Somerset House yesternight. I went with Susan, one of our illustrators. The most fascinating room by far was the Mirror Room where Susan and I took loads of pictures. We also had lots of fun with Naomi where we drew to our hearts' delight.

Hey down there. You sexy *hehe*

So... there's how many of us?

Naomi C hearts SB

Susan observing the rotating black dresses

I'm going to be up there one day!

Pity there was no male model yesterday

I've also included some pictures from the actual shoot that Nick Knight's team posted on twitter. Pictures below are courtesy of @SHOWstudio.

Natalia V. in Fendi

That a-MA-zing Valentino dress

Rock that Chanel! A sequined number and Sam McKnight's albino mohican

Vogue shoot at SHOWstudio

2009-11-07T05:23:00.003Z

Today was a wet day. I hate it when it rains. I don’t usually mind how cold it gets but once it starts to rain – it’s just wet. And then umbrellas fail to work, cars drive by at Grand-Prix speed and drench you in what you hope is water but really who knows what’s on our roads these days, and Londoners lose the little etiquette they have. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not the happiest bunny today. It also didn’t help that was I was looking forward to all week finished before I got there.

On Thursday and Friday of this week Nick Knight was doing a live photo shoot for British Vogue for the February 2010 cover at the Somerset House in Strand. For those who don’t know, Somerset House is the new venue for London Fashion Week newly launched this year. Also, if you didn’t know, Nick Knight is a LEGENDARY photographer, his portfolio including works for Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, British and Paris Vogue to name a few. The innovator that he is, one of the latest things he’s been working on is SHOWstudio. Again, if you haven’t heard about SHOWstudio, seriously where have you been? It’s only been around for 10 years. Although in your defence it only really picked up recently. He sort of exploded, in my memory, when he filmed the Alexander McQueen S/S 2010 collection at LFW this September.

“SHOWstudio is based on the belief that showing the entire creative process—from conception to completion—is beneficial for the artist, the audience and the art itself.” – Nick Knight

The revolutionary thinking of this man means that people like me and you can go over and watch a photo shoot, LIVE, for British Vogue with Natalia Vodianova wearing amazing couture dresses. Just like that. Watch the stylist jump up every few minutes to adjust Natalia’s mohawk, see Alexandra Shulman and Robin Derrick, even Lady Gaga made an appearance.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to see any of this. Not myself anyway. I couldn’t go yesterday because I had to meet up with Rachel after work (she wanted to borrow a few pieces from RooR to wear to her dad’s art gallery opening). So, all of today I was itching to get to see the second half of the shoot. I had been reading tweets all day from @SHOWstudio, @SomersetHouse, and even @robinderrick (and he rarely ever tweets) and I was dying to go. So we got there: Susan, Erinne and I, blagged our free entries using our SB press passes (yes, I know, I heart my job) only to find out that the shoot had finished earlier than anticipated.

*gasps*

I am still very sad, and the fact that we still had fun looking round at the exhibition is not sufficient consolation. Nonetheless, there are other live photo shoots planned, although I doubt they’d be anything as great as today must have been.

Pictures to follow tomorrow, my camera battery has died and it would need some spinach before I can access the pictures I took.

Now I shall cry myself to sleep *sniff*

Melon and Berry Crunch

2009-11-04T19:34:00.001Z

Another day and still no coffee run. The more time I spend at the SB HQ, the more I love the team and the people I work with. The concept behind the publication is truly truly unique and as I'm being exposed to more artists and designers and bloggers that contribute to SB the more aware of this fact I am. I'm proper gushing!!

The great thing about interning at SB (I know I'm sounding like a crazed stalker-fan) is that unlike some other publications (not to point the finger but have you guys seen The Devil Wears Prada?) despite it being only my third day in I'm being given actual responsibility. I haven't been sent to Starbucks or the drycleaners or doggy day-care (although one of the other interns did have to make a run to Ikea to pick up some chairs).

Today I was given the responsibility of compiling all the content for the next issue together. In the morning I went through emails and the database to figure out who was supposed to be sending what articles in and what picture/illustration accompanied it. I then spent some part of the afternoon chasing up contributors and photographers and doing some editing.

It was all so great, I really love the creative process of what goes into the final glossy print that you can then purchase at your local corner shop. It's like baking. You put together the pretty much boring ingredients: flour, baking soda, essence, some fruit; and come out on the other side with a summer berry tarte tatin complete with crème fraîche.

By the way, I upgraded today! Got a proper camera as opposed to using my berry to take pictures of my reflection.

Wearing shirt from Ralph Lauren, H&M cardi, Topshop skirt and socks, New Look shoes and patchwork clutch from Faith.

New Kid on the Block

2009-11-03T06:05:00.003Z

Today was my first day interning at Sketchbook in Notting Hill. It didn't get off to a great start (although that was mainly because of the previous week/few months before today).

At SB everyone is required to bring in their own laptop. This would usually not be a problem. However my Macbook got stolen in May, right before graduation. Sad times. This, plus the present economic crisis (that decided to occur just as I was graduating - thanks guys) meant that I could not afford a new laptop right away. I mean, I could. But I had become spoiled you see. Once you go Mac, you can't go back. Unfortunately I do not yet have £1500 disposable cash in my account so it will be a while before I can afford a new MB.

However, I have an old Acer notebook from my Cheltenham days - it's 6 years old - and had since given up on me. A great friend of mine was helping me refurbish it and had given it back to me. All that was left to do was some minor tweaking to get the wireless to work.

He says.

Now as much as I love my gadgets I don't have a computer engineering degree. So needless to say I couldn't figure out how to fix it and was still battling with it at 9am this morning before I eventually had to give up. So first day - I arrive late and laptop-less. Not a great impression.

It wasn't too bad in the end. I went to a nearby internet cafe and my editor emailed me some articles to proof read so I still managed to get some editing done. I also got some good news, this friend of mine (let's call him techno-geek shall we) has a laptop he'll let me borrow whilst he tries to figure out what's wrong with mine. So tomorrow I will be the proud temporary owner of an IBM laptop. It's not my MB but it'll suffice.

So all in all it ended up being a good day and I didn't have to make any coffee runs. In fact the EIC brought cupcakes in which we had with tea after lunch. There's a really good vibe in the office and I can see I'm going to settle in really well at the SB office.

So what does an intern wear to her first day at work? It was quite sunny so I decided on a vibrant outfit which said "Hey SB, I'm here and I'm fabulous". Do you think I succeeded?

Dress - AA, mustard jumper - Charlotte Russe, belt - Dorothy Perkins, shoes - New Look