WOOP WOOP HERES TO THE ALL BLACKS!!!

In some ways it sucks to be away from home during the Rugby World Cup but in other ways I'm so proud to be in London representing my fellow Kiwi's!! So excited for the final this Sunday, Dan we miss you and the close up's of conversions and penalty kicks just aren't the same without you.... But anyway, life goes on, heres to the final this Sunday!!!

GO BOYS!

$$ The cost of living in London $$

London is a very expensive place to live. I have found that what you pay £80 for over here, you can get for $80 in New Zealand. I am struggling to find a good pair of affordable boots and a good winter coat that doesn't disagree with my bank account. Where is the Number 1 shoe warehouse? Where is Glassons for all the merino wool basics, and Jay Jays for my yearly purchase of ugg boots? If you may remember in my earlier posts when I was talking about saving, I mentioned that I sold a lot of stuff on Trade Me to make some extra money. Don't do this! Well, not your winter things anyway. I worked out that for my parents to send me over a few of my coats, wool cardigans, thermals, gloves, scarfs and jumpers it will cost £60. It will cost me £80 to get just one coat over here and even at that it will be like 40% wool and you really need at least 80% to stay warm over here. How ironic that in NZ the jackets are half this price with more wool in them? You would think the colder country would be more ideal for buying coats in the winter... apparently not. A pair of leather boots that you could pick up for a cool $90 (£45) is infact £90 here ($180). So before you get the idea in your head that London is amazing for shopping - which it is in some respects - keep in mind that its generally only the rich and famous that can afford to shop in one of the worlds most popular fashionable cities! There are definitely cheap shops around here but the quality is obviously rubbish and will not keep you warm. I'm having to order ugg boots off Ebay as they predominantly seem to have Australian uggs here which will set you back $150-300!!!!!! Madness! I'm hoping Mum will chuck in a packet of milk bottles and pineapple lumps for me when posting my things over (hint hint) :D

London update + working for Daks

http://vimeo.com/30673367

Click on the above link for an awesome video showing the behind the scenes experience of Daks at London fashion week (where I was work). London continues to just get more and more exciting (and more cold for that matter!) What an amazing experience though, who would have known when I left NZ nearly 6 months ago that I would end up in such an amazing job and be backstage at London fashion week. Fashion was never what I had in mind for myself as I have always been drawn to homewares (wallpaper, wrapping paper, patterns, mugs, linens etc) but its all easily adaptable to clothing and fabric is quickly turning into a favourite of mine. It's interesting seeing my design style evolve as I grow as well, I have always loved florals and decorative complicated pieces and now I see myself moving into a more simpler style of design and its just so exciting being able to have the opportunity to continue to grow and explore the creative world in more ways than I could have ever dreamed of. My research can consist of looking through fashion magazines, exploring London and checking out the latest shops and trends and as well as hunting through fashion websites such as Vogue and style.com. I will also be working on a new homewares collection soon enough as well. The role I have is not just focused on one area of design - I get to work on a variety of projects and am alway doing something different which suits me perfectly as I love learning and extending my skill base.

Everything is going amazing at the flat as well, my room is finally set up for the first time in 6 months I finally have a bed again! Only now its harder to get up in the mornings... living in London in general is quite draining at times especially cause we don't have a car so we have to walk and take public transport everywhere. Everything is go go go and if you stop in the street to look for something in your bag someone will knock into you - guaranteed! Its very different to Auckland thats for sure.

Homesickness eases after a while, first few months were the hardest really. Then sometimes it will just hit you out of the blue, like this morning at work, talking to my brother on Facebook chat and I just got really upset and ended up having a bit of a cry for a good 10 minutes at work!! I think thats only the second time I have cried since I have been away from home though so I guess I was due for some tears but didn't expect it to happen at work! But hey, I'm in London so I just went shopping at lunch and cheered up pretty fast :) Oh that reminds me of another entry I must get onto! Thanks for reading!