Mary Quant, Mad Hatters and Phantoms!

Last weekend was incredibly busy but lots of fun.  We went to stay with our daughters in  London and they had planned lots of things for us.  I went down on Thursday as I wanted to visit the Ideal Homes Exhibition which was on at Earls Court.  Its a long time since I visited and I have to say I was a bit disappointed.  There didn't seem to be as many home related stands as I remember, and in fact, if it hadn't been for the large fashion and beauty section (yep, I don't know how that fits in either!) it would have seemed quite empty.  Still I had a most enjoyable time with daughter two and we still managed to buy things.

Friday evening was a joy. We had tickets for the Mary Quant talk at the V&A.  Sorry about the grainy photo, it was taken on my iPhone from quite a way back, but I wanted to have something to show.  She was truly a visionary.  It seems a bit cliched to say she revolutionised fashion but she truly did.  The clothes she designed were so different to anything that had proceeded them, both in terms of style and fabrics.  She was very keen on using different fabrics together, for example, tweed with soft silks.  She also developed a way of bonding silk crepe to give it structure and make it easier to work with.  She was also the first person to use plastics for fashion clothes.  And of course there was no way a woman could wear the stockings and suspenders that were worn then with the mini skirt!  She told us how she used to get tights from theatrical shops for her models to wear, until the hosiery companies caught on.

She has written her autobiography and I look forward to reading it because apart from the iconic clothes she designed she was also a part of the whole 60's scene that saw in change in almost every area of life and had a profound impact on womens lives.

As if that wasn't enough, on Saturday we had the most amazing afternoon tea at the Sandersons Hotel which was based on The Mad Hatters Tea Party!

Rainbow sandwiches, little bottles of fruit puree with drink me on and lollies that taste both hot and cold in your mouth.  Yummy cakes and some of the best scones I have tasted, rounded off with a glass of champagne (or an amazing cocktail) and tea, all served in the conservatory.    I can definitely recommend   it.  And if you do visit go into the lift - its interesting to say the least.  The bar is also quite cool.

Now, still keeping up?  We finished off our Saturday by seeing the wonderful Phantom of The Opera.  Its an amazing production and Sofia Escobar, who played Christine has the most beautiful voice. Its been running for 25 years this year but still seems fresh.

I hope your weekend was as much fun as ours.  Now its back to work and a different type of fun.

Thinking of proposing!

Well its that time again when we get an extra day in the year and traditionally its the day when the girls get to propose to the man in their life.  So girls, if your man's dragging his heals on the wedding  front then todays the day........

I caught the fashion segment on the Lorraine show this morning and they were featuring peplums which are big fashion news for this coming season.  For the uninitiated, a peplum is an extra bit of fabric attached around the waist that gently flairs out.  A good example of the style is this one from Zara (Zara black peplum dress).  It's a great style if you carry an extra bit of weight around your stomach, as it covers this area whilst still giving a nice lean silhouette. Also the defined waist with the gentle flair helps those of us who don't have much in the way of a waist. There are also lots of tops in this style out there, which paired with a pencil skirt or trousers combines comfort with style. You don't have to be young to wear this style, I think its a great look for the more mature woman - just maybe a little longer than this one! I think I might be hitting the shops for a try on session, if I'm successful I will post my purchase(s).

A springlike day!!

I know we British are obsessed with the weather but it seems to be that this year in particular we never seem to know what is happening from day to day.  Even the forecasters are backing their options giving us various scenarios, usually from either end of the spectrum!  Still I love it when the spring flowers come into the shops, you can import your own little bit of sunshine with a bunch of daffodils and you really know that the long dark days are coming to an end.

Last week I had an extra treat when our youngest daughter came up for a few days visit.  It was nice to shop and gossip in person.  We took the train over to Manchester for a little bit of retail therapy and a long enjoyable lunch at Harvey Nichols.  The food, as always was first class, and the desserts - they always have something a little bit different.  Daughter had a chocolate confection with peanut butter marshmallow, and I had a beetroot sorbet wrapped in white chocolate on a bed of chocolate soil (not the real thing, it was chocolate cake crumbs).  Now before you go ugh, let me assure you that even if you are not a great fan of beetroot, the combination of the white chocolate with it is a pleasure to the taste buds.  You also get an amazing red tongue from the red coloured dusting! (it appeals to the child in me!!).

If you ever go to Manchester do visit - it has the most amazing views over the Cathedral area of the city.

Another new year!

Its amazing how quickly they seem to come around!  We always try to get away over the holiday period and so on Christmas eve headed to the Alps for our yearly skiing fix.  I love being in the mountains, the scale and beauty fills me with awe, the air is so crisp and clear and we were fortunate to have lovely sunny weather for most of the week.  Of course, it decided to snow on the day we were due to leave so a rather long and delayed journey home ensued, but this is the first time in all the years we have skied that this has happened so we cannot complain - well not too much!

view from our hotel window

The weather since we got back has been crazy to say the least, with the wind taking out the greenhouse and the rain soaking the garden and making it impossible to work in for some time to come.  So its lovely to escape into designing for our spring/summer range and seeing all the lovely summer products come to life.   We will be giving you a preview very soon as to what we have planned, we hope you will be as excited as we are.

End of year!

Well, the last parcels have been posted for those of you who wanted your goods for Christmas.  Now its time to draw a deep breath and clear up all those odds and ends that need to be dealt with before we take a break for the holiday season.  We will be back in full swing on 3 January 2012 although we will be keeping track of any emails that come in in the meantime.

The next few days will be busy with stocktaking - it doesn't matter how careful we are with record keeping (ha ha !!) we still need to do that physical check.  As nearly all of our products are produced by us here at our studio/workshop chaos reigns at this time of year, so I am looking forward to restoring peace and calm.

We have had a very mild winter up until now but I'm sure things will change and that cold will bite soon.  Also, for many of you the ski season is on its way and our faux fur scarves, headbands and collars are perfect for snuggling into whilst enjoying a hot chocolate (or something a bit stronger!) on the slopes.

Arctic Wolf faux fur scarf

We look forward to helping all our lovely customers in 2012, thanks for shopping with us.

Not sure what to wear

silk/cotton bead trim scarf/wrap

Forgot to publish this post last week doh! but its still relevant today so here goes.
Realised that this time last year we were in the throws of snow and ice and yet here we are with temperatures that are far from wintery.  I never know what to wear on days like this, but one things for sure, we all need a bit of colour in our day.  Many of us are leaving for work in the dark and coming home in the dark so a bright scarf is sure to give us a lift.  Thats why I love our silk/cotton scarf/wraps (all those slash marks!).  Although quite large, which means they can be used as a wrap, they are lovely and light which means they are perfect for wrapping round your neck as a scarf without that bulky feeling.  Also, the fabric gives that great two colour shimmer which catches what bit of light there is.

Four seasons in one day!

Well this weekend we seem to have had - in the words of the Crowded House song - four seasons in one day.  We are very fortunate to live in a lovely village on the edge of the Pennines with beautiful scenery on our doorstep and it certainly means we are on the 'cutting edge' of the weather as it happens.  We always enjoy a walk on the weekend but with wind and rain (and a bit of sleet) on Saturday it was a day for enjoying the views from indoors.  However Sunday dawned bright and sunny and quite warm so after lunch we went on one of our favourite walks along the local canal.  Its very beautiful with trees running down to the edge of the water on one side and on the other side of the towpath is the river running through open fields.  I always feel the need to spend some time in our beautiful countryside, it makes facing the working week much happier.