Edinburgh Charity Fashion Show

I feel super privileged to be involved with this year's Edinburgh Charity Fashion Show

Last week ECFS kindly posted a shoot using my jewellery on their models, you can view the original article here. 

They took the mix of subverted tradition and the conflicting qualities of the delicate and feminine against the edgy aggression found in my jewellery to form the basis of the shoot.

 "For the clothing, we wanted to keep to the subversive and androgynous mood of the jewellery, mixing elements of soft, virginal, femininity and contrasting it with the dark and masculine."

The use of pomegranates, roses and the location of the ECA Sculpture Court were inspired by Juergen Teller but I love the inadvertently created classical theme of Persephone!

 

A little more on the Edinburgh Charity Fashion Show:

The theme of this year's show is DUALITY which is felt to represent both the world of fashion and the nature of Scotland and therefore Edinburgh. "For example, Robert Louis Stevenson apparently took inspiration for his Jekyll and Hyde characters from the stark contrast between Edinburgh’s city scape; the chaotic, organic nature of the Medieval Old Town and the ordered, reposed classicism of the New Town." Quote taken from ECFS's Theme and Purpose.

 

It is, of course, a CHARITY fashion show (the clue is in the name) and it was when I heard about the wonderful charities that are being supported this year that I became determined to get involved! 

Last year over £10,000 was raised for the Children's Hospice Association Scotland so its clear to see what an impact the fashion show can have on supporting these causes. This year there are two charities being supported; the Sandpiper Trust and Cancer Support Scotland. 

"The Sandpiper Trust, founded in memory of Sandy Dickson, was established as a Scottish charity in order to help improve Pre-hospital emergency care in remote and rural Scotland. Working together with BASICS -Scotland (British Association of Immediate Care), a standardised portable and effective medical care kit, now widely known as a Sandpiper Bag, was created for the use of  BASICS trained doctors, nurses and paramedics in remote and rural parts of Scotland. The Sandpiper Trust is making a huge difference to Emergency pre-hospital care in Scotland and as a result lives which might otherwise have been lost, have been saved." Caroline Welles

 

"Cancer Support Scotland is a Glasgow based charity providing emotional and practical support to anyone affected by cancer including family, friends and carers. It recognises that when faced with a diagnosis of cancer, people need a holistic approach to their care which includes psychological, emotional and spiritual care as well as physical. Professor Sir Kenneth Calman recognised that within the medical environment, such total care was not able to be adequately provided and that there was room for additional support. Cancer Support Scotland was formed to bridge this gap and complement medical treatment provided by the NHS." Caroline Welles
 

I will be lending my support to these charities by giving 10% of all of my sales throughout March (the month of the fashion show) to ECFS.

Art Direction: Rosanna Reade, Grace Bremner, Finlay MacAulay, Adam Gavshon Brady

Photos: Lucy Henshall, Clarice Kenny

Models: Yasamin Salah, Julius Colwyn, Sophie Marr

Styling: Finlay MacAulay, Grace Bremner, Alex Bunting

More to come!
xxx

Wolves and Badgers and Balls

Some videos for your viewing pleasure! In my last post I talked about Lily Silverton's video for POP Magazine featuring Wolf&Badger and I can now show you the finished product:

Lily W&B from POP Magazine on Vimeo.

You can read what Lily has to say about it here.

I was also involved in the video for Fryars second single for his upcoming album. (Check out the first track here.) It was filmed at Tooting Bec lido, which I'm sure is absolutely lovely in the summer but on a chilly afternoon in November with relentless drizzle it was slightly harder to see the Victorian charm. However, I was far more excited to get a go in the 'water walkers'/'Zorb balls' we were going to be filmed in - I'd seen the One Direction video, I knew hilarity would ensue. 

We only started filming once it was dark so the balls could be beautifully lit (yes, every conceivable innuendo about balls has been made) and here we have Fryars himself preparing to throw himself into the icy water.

There was also a kayak with a pair of lifeguards on hand at all times because when you have a bunch of people trapped in airtight orbs with limited oxygen floating on 8ft deep water pretty much everything  could go wrong. (Nothing went wrong.) 

I would love to upload my videos of all of us tumbling about as we tried to walk on water for the first time but I fear it would destroy the ethereal beauty of the final film. It is a credit to Mark Walker's skill as a director and editor that the final video turned out as well as it did!

Fryars - In My Arms

More to come!

xxx

Post-Graduate Life

'Where have you been?' I hear my mass of followers cry!

Well I shall tell you. I have been trying to avoid the post-university slump that is so easy to fall into - on BBC Radio 4 they referred to it as 'locked-in-bedroom syndrome' which seemed rather accurate. My way of avoiding this is by only allowing myself to see my bedroom when I am so tired that I feel like I'm about to pass out. The rest of the time I have been doing a range of jobs which I have Instagrammed here for your viewing pleasure. 

I apologize for the excessive use of hipster hues but some images contain parts of other people's intellectual property which I am not trying to steal and so I hope to have distorted the images enough for it to be ok and of course I shall give credits where possible!

First of all, I have been helping out my mum at her jewellery shop. This involves a lot of tapping away at the computer doing little odd-jobs but I have also taken over the window display which predominantly requires playing with card and scissors. Above is the Halloween window, you can see a bit more about this on my mum's blog.

I have finally been catching up with my own jewellery which was badly neglected during my final year at uni. As you can see here, carrying out quality control on the new stock is a dangerous task! (N.B. The wound is from the packaging not the beetles.) It is so exciting to see all of the bright, shiny new fly studs lined up and ready to go on sale and to have my hefty dung beetle cocktail ring back in stock! My little black cat joined in too, sort of.

I have also been working as an intern at Wolf&Badger, an independent concept store which specializes in promoting fresh, emerging designers. In my first week I met the lovely knitwear designer Amy Hall when she held a preview of her SS13 collection at the Dover Street Store providing these gorgeous floral tequila cocktails! More on that here.

This was swiftly followed by Wool Week and this snuggly window display by Melanie Porter. I love her knitted cinema chairs, something I definitely want in my imaginary manor house in the country...

I think I may have landed one of the most varied and fun internships around as I've even had the opportunity to assist on shoots! This was a Wolf and Badger love story by Lily Silverton, styled by Nickque, photography by Nicola Dodds (not these pictures obviously, the proper ones!), make-up by Scarlett Viva. There were more people involved in the shoot but I am having trouble finding their webpages so I shall fix this later. The venues are the breathtaking Petersham Playhouse and Petersham Nurseries. I was amazed at every turn, Paula Rego on the walls, lunch in the tropical conservatory and Shetland ponies! I cannot wait to see the result! 

Wolf&Badger is also special because it has a gallery space below the Dover Street store which regularly hosts different exhibitions and events. Recently it was been home to a rare Japanese 17th century screen with glowing gold leaf and lovely Buddha. I am afraid I do not have any more information on these right now but I will hopefully update this!

I miss Manchester a lot but it is so fun to be home!

More to come!

xxx

top drawer London, Sept '12

On Monday I visited Top Drawer "The UK's leading event for design-led gifts, lifestyle &; fashion accessories" with my mum, Joy Everley ( her website , her blog page ). We were not there to trade, just to have a wander about and explore! I haven't been to a trade-show since I was a pre-teen but I remember my mum doing them loads when I was little and coming home with exciting presents.

Our passes and the business card of a guy with the sweetest name!

I am so glad that most traders don't let you buy retail at the show as there was SO much temptation! So in no particular order, here is some stuff that I saw and liked!

1. This Gatsby poster

http://www.spinelessclassics.com/

These were just great. All of the words from a variety of books and fairytales presented on posters and cards. I saw something similar in the restaurant of The Victoria, Holkham, where they have a large portrait of Queen Victoria where the image is made up of the words of her biography in teeny tiny handwriting - amazing!

2. These jewellery cases

http://madelcar.es

I adored these classic jewellery cases which we may be stocking this Christmas so keep a look out!

3. Maggie Angus' Gold Flapper

www.maggieangus.com

I finally read The Great Gatsby a couple of weeks ago (I had to get in there before the new film taints it for me forever) so now I am a little bit obsessed with all things Gatsby. Maggie Angus had a variety of cute designs in laser-cut perspex but the gold flapper dancer is my absolute favourite!

4. Bianca Jones' Postcards

www.biancajones.co.uk

Bianca Jones is actually a jeweller who makes lovely romantic pieces in sterling silver but what drew me to her stand were these gorgeous postcards which she has also designed. Many of her necklaces come packaged in a similar envelope-style cards and the overall effect is a perfect balance of nostalgia and style.

5. This iPad case (but in red)

www.byronandbrown.co.uk

This was probably my biggest temptation of the day. I have been searching for a while for a genuine leather iPad case in a nice soft, thin leather - just enough to protect the screen from scratches without adding a massive amount of weight to it. Most things I've seen are made with quite heavy leather and bold stitching but these were just nice and simple. 

6. This great big cuff

www.azuni.co.uk

We had a nice long chat with the gentleman at the Azuni stand while I couldn't help picking up and touching all of these great bold textured pieces.

7. The adorable Zoo in Box

wwww.talesfromtheearth.com

The picture doesn't really show how tiny these silver animals are, any of them would look dwarfed by being placed next to a penny! Each animal represents different family qualities and I supposed it would make a lovely baby gift for the baby to appreciate when they are older. I have just always loved miniature worlds (doll's houses etc.) so I obviously loved this.

8. Best postcards ever

http://another-studio.com/

It's a postcard. You open it and it becomes a living garden. It's my fascination with miniature worlds again. And there is a whole variety of different scenes that would be cute as postcards on their own but become magical by adding life to them including little woodland cottages with tiny card children dashing towards the forest of watercress!

9. These tagua nut animals

www.justtrade.co.uk

Unfortunately the website doesn't have pictures of my favourite pieces - little round white animals that have a sheen to them as though they were carved from polished ivory - but this little owl is made from the same material, the tagua nut! I had never heard of this nut before but it really does have a similar quality to ivory without the ethical issues and this company overall has very good ethical credentials being fair trade and supporting local communities.

10. This incredible furniture

www.starbay.com

I cannot even begin to explain how and why this furniture is so awesome. Just click the link. We may be using one of their dressing tables in a window display soon...

That's all!

xxx

New Cases!

As summer draws to a close I am getting back to work in earnest. Well, I say that, but I've started with the fun stuff - new cases!

I really enjoy hunting around junk shops to find nice old cases that are both suitably vintage and relatively cheap. The Stables Market in Camden Lock is where I ended up finding all three of my current collection.

The first is a lady's jewellery case, apparently 1920s, in racing green.

The second is a gentleman's grooming case with all sorts of attachments presumably for colognes and cufflinks etc. but to be honest I can't figure out what most of the compartments are for so if anyone knows anything about these things I would be grateful.

The third appears to be a doctor's case, apparently 1920s again, with original glass bottles and thermometers and things.

 Voilá!

More to come!

xxx