Loft finds...

You know that we live in a tiny house. Well, I like collecting things. These two facts are not what you'd call a match made in heaven.

'Things' is a very broad term & in my case encompasses, amongst other items, clothes, shoes, vintage ceramics, art prints & photographs. So over a couple of weekends where loft sorting (hallelujah for actually having a loft) was the name of the game, I stumbled across a few bits & pieces that I'd actually forgotten I had (don't you just love it when that happens).

So here they are...

I love anything Art Deco & this pink Deco tea set just makes me smile. It now has pride of place on a chest in our bedroom. I know, not necessarily the most suitable room choice, but as I mentioned space is limited!

I love quirky prints & this is my little collection paying homage to Clarice Cliff. The teapot was a charity shop find, the beaker & jug were both Ebay purchases. These are all now in our kitchen & I get pleasure every day from looking at them.

I had to restrain myself of course. Still in the loft is my much loved Alfred Meakin midnight star coffee set, Deco wooden photo frame, retro floral serving tray...the list could go on.

I'm heading back to Lincolnshire next week, where I have a garage, wardrobe & probably many other areas full of cherished furniture & interiors paraphernalia. I'm sure I will do as I always do when I go home & that's gaze into the garage wondering when I'll be able to put these lovely things on show.

We all love a good list...

Now I may be speaking predominantly for girls here, but we all love making lists don't we?

Whether it's the obligatory banal 'to do' list for the coming week, a simple food shopping list or random jotted down reminders about the gorgeous new season clothes & accessories we've got our eye on (I carry a small notebook at all times for this purpose- moi, fashion obsessed, never!) There's a certain satisfaction to be felt from crossing out or ticking off a task completed or an item bought.

Now that we're in the midst of the online shopping age, list making has got a whole lot more complicated. I seem to have a wishlist for every online store I visit waiting for me to update. And we have to update them. God forbid that a family member logs into your Amazon wishlist which you've been carefully compiling for the last 5 years & decides to buy the Towering Inferno DVD (1975 version of course) that you can't even remember adding.

After that brief synopsis of my particular list making habits, I'll get to the point of this post!

Having recently trawled through several of my current online wishlists, I thought I'd share some of my favourite wants & must-haves with you.

Let's start with books.

I'm not an avid reader by any means. Chick lit on the beach & my fashion & interiors magazine fix is generally as far as it goes. Throw in a bit of culture from The Sunday Times & I'm about done.

Force me into Waterstones & I'll always gravitate towards the art department. Give me a glossy, weighty & vibrant coffee table book on fashion/art/design/photography any day over a 600 page novel. However, it may be a slight exaggeration to say that I actually 'read' these books. At the moment my collection has been relegated to our under stairs cupboard. Although I live in what's technically known as a house, I think it must be one of the smallest around & space is a luxury we definitely do not have. So every now & then, usually as I'm reaching for the hoover (my life is so glamorous), I pull out one of my lovelies & gaze over it with a cuppa.

Here's a few current 'wants' on my ever-growing Amazon wishlist...

Liberty & Co. in the Fifties and Sixties: A Taste for Design

The Fifties (V&A pattern)

Patterns: New Surface Design

Matthew Williamson

Pattern by Orla Kiely

Delving into the abyss, otherwise known as the loft coming next...

The colour of Autumn

So Autumn is almost upon us...Well today in particular it feels as though it's already here! So much for August being a Summer month, I'm sat here in my LONG SLEEVED (I feel I have to highlight this fact) Breton stripe tee (standard at home attire) with a chunky cardi over the top & I'm still freezing. It doesn't help that the desk is right next to our lovely but nevertheless draught inducing old sash windows.

What I really want to talk about is my love of Autumn clothes. Don't get me wrong I love a bit of sunshine, but I just can't get excited about the clothes that go with the Summer season. I can't pinpoint exactly what my reasons are, but I think it's mainly colour based. I just love the rich colours that the Autumn season brings. Does being a brunette predispose me to gravitate towards the darker end of the colour spectrum? After a 10 year career in the fashion industry have I been conditioned to wear mainly black? Who knows. Let's not get too deep.

Here's a quick round-up of some of the colours coming through on the high street this Autumn.

Firstly, as it's going to be THE colour of the season, I must mention camel. Now personally I find this a difficult colour to wear. Being a Brit I haven't really got the skin tone to carry off head to toe camel, but add some black (I know predictable) & a dash of animal print (another key look) & it'll work. I absolutely love this camel coat from Reiss.

Classic, simple, stylish, I don't need to go on. Plus it's working another key piece, the cape. A cheaper option at £95 is this fab military cape from Topshop.

Now back to animal print...I know the mere mention of it fills some people with dread, conjuring up images of Bet Lynch & Pat Butcher, but wear it right & it can look fab. Moderation is the key element. Take the Reiss animal print coat below. It could be described as giving a nod to the trend, not taking it too literally colour wise & giving it a sophisticated edge.

Me, I love a bit of animal print. Admittedly I tend to work it into my wardrobe through accessories. Personal favourites this season are these lovelies from Topshop.

People who know me will be aware that I love the colour red. I'm certainly going to be in my element this Autumn as red, in all it's gorgeous richness, is another key colour for the season.

The way to wear colour in general this Autumn is through head-to-toe hues of the same shade, as seen at Bottega Veneta. Yet again, Reiss have got the high street version of this look spot on. ASOS have encapsulated this trend for red along with the trend for velvet in an amazing deep maroon velvet cowl neck dress. I couldn't resist including these gorgeous velvet bow peep toe shoes from New Look.

So there we have it.

A quick run down of some of the key colours & trends coming through

for Autumn, my favourite fashion season of the year.

Autumn/Winter jewellery trends

So the Autumn season is almost upon us, but what are going to be the key jewellery pieces? I've trawled the AW10 London, New York, Paris & Milan catwalk shots courtesy of Style.com & these are my findings...

I predict that safety pin charm brooches as seen at Dolce & Gabbana will be a trend to watch & it's an easy way to update your Winter cardigan for the new season.

Our take on this trend has just hit the store so take a look at our butterfly pearl pin brooch.

Continuing the charm jewellery theme, Dolce & Gabbana showcased necklaces & earrings heavily adorned with vintage style trinkets, but nevertheless still retaining their femininity.

The Spring/Summer trend of bangle stacks & cuffs seems to be carrying on through to Autumn with Chanel, Pucci & Roberto Cavalli amongst others capturing this trend. At Chanel narrow semi-precious agate stone bracelets in earthy tones were a favourite of mine, looking fresh for the new season.

Another trend, which I think will translate well to The High Street is what I'm calling "Ice Queen" as seen at Chanel. Models were sent down the runway dripping in cascades of clear crystals reminiscent of icicles.

The final trend in my AW10 jewellery round-up is multi strand necklaces. They come in various guises to suit all tastes, from scarab beetle adorned at Bottega Veneta, to layered oversized chains at Oscar de la Renta & Giambattista Valli to feminine beaded & twisted strands at Dior.

I'll leave it up to you to decide which trends to embrace for the new season...

Handmade installment 3!

So you now know that I love all things red & fuchsia. However variety is the spice of life & so I thought I ought to offer something a little more neutral.

Still featuring hearts, flowers & stars, here's a sneaky peek of the monochrome group...

The handmade story continues...

So the flower theme continues, along with introducing another of my favourite things- the colour red. It's been a long-standing passion, my university final collection (too many years ago!) was a combination of red & fuchsia pink (another fabulous colour, which I'm sure will feature prominently in this blog).

I might add the odd fancy grosgrain ribbon to these pieces, but take a peek at the progress so far...

The handmade story so far...

You may have seen that I sell handmade jewellery on Etsy & Folksy as well as the bought-in goodies in our Cherry & Joy boutique. Well, in preparation for a couple of forthcoming markets, I've had a flurry of creativity & phase 1 of new handmade stock is well underway!

Here's a few pics of the works in progress, let me know your thoughts...

For these first pieces I've concentrated on an amber & gold theme with floral, heart & star motifs. Along with bows, as I mentioned in a previous post, these are a few of my favourite things. As a gardening fanatic (yes you heard me right) I'm sure there'll be more to come in this blog about flowers!