Last Summer for two Lovers

Samantha Pleet collections are often accompanied with a short film, her S/S 2010 collection is also accompanied with an enchanting, enigmatic short film starring Victoria Legrand from Beach House.


Watch it...

Samantha Pleet S/S 2011, Starring Victoria Legrand from Samantha Pleet on Vimeo.

Thank God I'm Natural

About a year ago I mentioned getting my hair loced, well its been over a year now and i'm pretty pleased with the way my hair is looking, i'll post pictures when I get a descent camera that doesn't scream 'battery low" every time I turn it on even when I've just charged it (I needed to rant about that).


A book that has really helped me is titled 'Thank God I'm Natural' written by Harvard graduate Chris Tia Donaldson, the book is packed with lots of fantastic product and routine advice and gorgeous pictures with a variety of natural hairstyles.

Its just nice to finally have a book on natural hair that doesn't patronise you or contradicts itself when it comes to dishing out advise. If you are considering going natural or already wearing your hair in its natural state then you might want a copy of this book, it also comes in handy on one those days where you wake up looking a wee bit like Chewbacca and you don't have a clue what to do with your hair. The book is available in Waterstones.


At the moment my current hair crush is Valerie June, I guess Miss June has always been my hair crush, I went on a bit about her in that previous post, she's the singer-song writer, banjo picker from Tennessee, whose name I google over 50 times a day or something like that, I promise, i'm not stalking her, I just have a bit of a crush on her hair and her general attitude to life and her amazing music.

At the moment Valerie is trying to capture her songs on a 12 song album,
Valerie says "I never had the funds to be able to work in a studio with a capable producer who could help me capture the magic my music gives when I perform live."
Miss June has just 60 days to raise some funds for this album, this is where she needs our help... go here to find out more


Have a look at this amazing video and hopefully you'll have a better understanding of this amazing and under rated Independent artist.

Hello

Its been a while, i've been busy with reality and this blog has had to take a back seat. However I'm hoping to continue where I stopped.


Firstly, I'd like to thank Laura and Stephanie from We love Colors, for sending me this lovely, super stretchy purple tights, We love Colors have a wide range of leg wear in any colour or design you can possibly imagine, they go pretty well with me Hush Puppies shoes.

Fringe Headbands

Michelle Hartney says "All of the jewelry I make is hand sewn and/or hand beaded. Most of the items are made from old rings, and I recycle walnut shells to make my walnut necklaces."

This collection of fringe headbands are some of my favourites from Michelle's wide collection of handmade pieces including bags, belts, jewellery, charms etc.


These are just a couple of the fringe handmades, they are playful and unique.


Find more here

Chau Har Lee Shoegasm

I havent posted any shoe finds in ages, while searching for some shoe designs I came across this amazing ones by designer Char Har Lee, Char is a London Based shoe designer, her designs are absolutely genius so I was quick to ask her whether she'll be willing to take part in an interview so we can all get to know more about her and her designs.

Here it goes... 

Tell us a little about yourself.


I’m Chau, I’m a footwear designer and have been working in footwear and accessories for about 8 years now. I recently finished a Masters at the Royal College of Art in Footwear Design and now about to launch my own footwear label.

When and how did you realise you wanted to become a shoe designer.

I have always enjoyed making things. My mother always encouraged me to pursue my creative side. I studied an Art Foundation course at Camberwell College and met shoe designer Olivia Morris, she set us a shoe project and I found it was the perfect mix of my favourite subjects- textiles and sculpture. So I went to the open day at Cordwainers College in Mare Street, London and applied for the BA course in Footwear, which I completed in 2002. Since then I have always been involved in working in shoes, accessories and leather goods.

In one of your profiles, you mentioned Luigi Colani and Pierre Cardin as your main inspirations, why this two?

I always look to other disciplines to be inspired and through my research for this collection, these are two of designers who struck me as visionary.

Your shoe collection have a futuristic and architectural look to them, but wearable at the same time, how did you manage to achieve this?

This collection was a chance for me to experiment with materials and processes and push the boundaries of conventional shoemaking.

It was a massive learning curve as I used materials and techniques which were completely new to me. For example, in order to achieve the look and the correct fit, I learnt to use a 3D computer program and had a shoe engineered out of one piece of resin. I had pieces laser cut and used techniques from across disciplines. I drew on my experience from traditional shoemaking to ensure the shoes fit.

What materials did you use to create such innovative shoes.

I used materials such as stainless steel, walnut wood, acrylic and leather to make these shoes.

 As a shoe designer, I assume you obviously love shoes, so how many pair of shoes do you own?

I am extremely fussy about buying shoes- I don’t think I have that many….maybe about 30 pairs- and that includes sneakers and flats.

Who are your favourite designers / shoe designers?

My favorite designers are Margiela, Dries van Noten and Balenciaga.

Describe your own personal style

I think I’m quite laid back and no-fuss. I know what I like and what I don’t, but open-minded at the same time.

Name an item from your wardrobe you cant be without

I’m not so precious about my own wardrobe- more so about my mothers- I borrow a lot of clothes and jewellery from her.

What are your plans for the future?

I am in the process of moving into a studio in East London where I can work on my next collection, which I will be showing in 2010.

I also will be continuing to teach shoe design and making courses in London.

Are your shoes available to buy, if so where and when?

They are currently being developed and will be available to buy in the not too distant future, either through my website or available to order at my studio in East London.

Alice's adventures in Wonderland

It seems like such a coincidence, I came across the trailer for the new Alice in Wonderland movie which I cant wait to see, I love Tim Burton's work,

I came across the trailer and a few hours later I saw these collection of jewelries by Copenhagen based designer Alidra Alic.

Her Fairy tale, dreamy collection is titled "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", the collection is inspired by floral motifs from the romantic era in the 1800s.
Alidra used mostly resin and plastic to create these pieces, other materials like freshwater pearls was also used for the"Drink Me" ring, as well as gold and silver.
My favourites are the Orchid ones.

Queen's Wardrobe

I've got another online shop to add to my long list of favourite places to shop, earlier today I got a lovely email from Nikio introducing me to her fantastic Online shop Queen's Wardrobe .

Having had a look, I think its safe to say that I'm in awe with Nikio's shop, there are so many unique and stunning pieces. Here are just a few of my favourites.

Let yourself feel

Esteban Diácono is an Argentinian motion graphics designer and I absolutely love his recent his recent animation project.

The project is inspired by the music of Olafur Arnalds, an amazing musician from Iceland who I love love love, this animated video is titled Let yourself feel, it features a colourful animated smoke which changes shape and colour through the film, the smoke is accompanied with a variety of quotes from artists such as Brian Eno, Albert Einstein and many more.

I personally think this video is beautiful and very creative, you can view more of Esteban's work here

let yourself feel. from Esteban Diácono on Vimeo.

Helpless Romantic Headwear

Helpless Romantic is by London designer Milo Li-ren Mckeand, she creates a whole lot of pretty and playful custom jewelries and accessories.

This two lovely headwear are one of my favourites pieces from her shop, the blue one is modelled by the very lovely Miss Lou Lou.

Bright, lovely Nabila

This is Nabila, she added me on flickr a little while back and I absoloutely love her style,

She has a whole lot of lovely, bright vintage pieces, her photography is playful, unique and colourful, she also likes to play dress up...

Here are a few facts about Nabila

• She's allergic to hot weather, oily food and sweat
• She doesn't wear make-up
• She started to practise karate when she was 15 years old
• She used to collect stamps when she was a kid and
• Her first obsession are bags

Have a look at her Photostream for more of Nabila's gorgeous and quirky outfits, also have a look at her 22 things about me project to view the pictures that go along with some facts about Nabila.

Neurotica + Topshop Collaboration

Some of you will know that I've been following the work of london based label Neurotica by designer Victoria for a while now and I was ever so delighted to see this video previewing some of the pieces from her collaboration with Topshop for the AW 09 collection.

The collection features Victoria's design trademark of playful geometric prints and hand drawn illustrations.

A for afro

London based photographer Errol recently started a project titled 'Do you have an Afro', the project involves Errol taking portrait pictures of people with Afro's. Having put out an advert inviting anyone with an afro to model for his project, a number of people have already replied to the advert.

I think this project is absolutely fantastic, so if you have an afro and would like to take part in this project, you can email Errol himself here or in the mean time you can see some more of the project here.

Here are some of the results so far.

Also there's this A for Afro Illustration by illustrator and graphic designer DP Sullivan, this is part of his alphabet illustrations which features each letter of the alphabet, sadly they seem to have sold out from his Etsy shop, however I'm hoping he'll make more of them because I think they are absolutely clever.

Noir et Blanc SS10 Collection

Noir et Blanc, is a Swedish brand by designer Petra Thoms and Linnea Carlgren, and like the name of the brand suggests, the designers often make use of the colours black and white to create striking prints for their pieces.

Their most recent collection has a strong yet feminine silhouette with geometrical shapes.