Family Reunion

After 18 years I finally made it back to Scotland where the majority of my family live on my Mums side. I think that until you have lived away from your family or in my case grown up without them you can't really understand how strong family bonds are - like you know you love them but until you have been apart its hard to understand just how much they mean to you. I know this cause I've known my whole life how much I love and care for my parents and brother but now that I am away from them its just something else. So when I went up to Scotland as a 25 year old Kiwi woman to see a family that remembered me as a 7 year old child with an English accent I couldn't  help but wonder what it would be like. But that family bond kicked in instantly and it was like I had never left - I could see the children I knew in my cousins now adult faces and when we were together it was like I had never been away and I just had an absolute ball with them! I met all my gorgeous second cousins and again with them it was just instant love and for the first time in my life I had more than a couple of family members around me and it was one of the best feelings I have ever had - I waited so long for it and wasn't disappointed. I have never laughed so much and it was nice to be looked after for a week (my Aunties are like duplicates of my Mum!!!) and it was so interesting to see all the similar traits they had, learn about my family history and see where my Mum grew up. My family are barking mad but you just have to dive right in and become part of the madness which I did without hesitation - I really can't wait to go back up and see everyone again!!

Vintage Shop

Today we left work at 10am, jumped in a black cab (oh yeah we did!) and went to Holland Park where we spent an hour in a collectors vintage shop. The drive there was so nice and the surroundings were quite like Ponsonby in Auckland! We were greeted by a beautiful dog that kept hitting me the whole time I was there if I stopped patting her… there were such gorgeous one of pieces of clothing there as well as drawers filled with lace, trimmings and scarfs all from the early 19th century! Nice way to start the day!

My Placemat in John Lewis

Popped into John Lewis today to buy some stockings and got a photo with the placemat design I did all the way back in New Zealand! So cool seeing it there! Of course I bought a set for the house :) On the subject of stockings, when I arrived back at work and announced what I had bought there was some excitement from the boys in the office and I then learnt that stockings in England refer to the naughty thigh-high lace kind and that I must refer to the kind I got as tights and only tights (hehe). So thats trousers instead of pants, tights instead of stockings, wellies instead of gumboots.... 

Kempton Park Markets

5.30am on Tuesday morning, my lovely alarm goes off. That morning I got up early to head south of Wimbledon to Kempton Park to meet my fellow work colleagues and explore the vintage markets for inspiration for the next collection. So with my Starbucks in tow, jacket and snood I set off on the train at 6.45am. These markets were just fantastic and there was so much to see! Times like that I really wish that I owned a house here and could fill it up with all the beautiful furniture that was there. I found a beautiful large mirror with an incredible antique detailed frame for only £35!!! You'd pay more than that for a cheap nasty one from Ikea! There was so much nostalgia there, I saw a series of Beatrix Potter books which brought back such nice memories, there was real knights armour / swords, antique guns which my brother would have loved (that sounds bad haha) and just lots of beautiful handmade clothes and accessories. Vintage and antiques aren't really my thing but after visiting these markets my thoughts on that have changed and you just really admire the handy work and talent that went into creating all the pieces there. I even nabbed an angora / wool handmade cardigan for £5!! It was a cold drizzly day but we had delicious hot jacket potatoes for lunch, I have a new found love for food since I have been here especially hot food! Will have to watch the waistline over the next few months…. yeah, right!

Regent Park

One of things I'm really pleasantly surprised about with London is the beautiful parks that can be found throughout the city. I have one near my work and when the sun is out (emphasis on the word 'when' haha) its really nice to have a walk around or eat lunch there. Hyde Park is also beautiful and it was the first park in London I went to with Kate (miss you!!!!!) when we first arrived here in May. Last weekend I ventured to Regents Park with a friend from NZ and it was just stunning, the Autumn leaves were in there element and I have never seen such beauty in the Autumn before. So if your planning on coming to London its worthwhile to venture into a few parks, have a picnic and see some squirrels too! 

V&A

We also went to the V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum) http://www.vam.ac.uk/ which was by far my favourite place that I have been to in London. William Morris is one of the most well known English textile designers and has been such a huge inspiration to my design work and I can't describe how fulfilling it was to see his original work in REAL life and not through the pages of a book. We had lunch in the most beautiful room that was designed by him and it was a real 'take a moment and absorb it all' experience for me. The V&A have excellent exhibitions and the ones we saw were The Power of Making which was really interesting and focused on crafts and making things by hand and not with machines - there has been such a boom and re-focus on handmade items over the past few years and it was a really worthwhile exhibition to see. The second was called Postmodernism - Style and Subversion 1970-90 which was focused on fashion and accessories. Such a worthwhile place to visit even if design isn't a key area in your life - you'll be inspired no matter what field you work in!

Exploring London with Work

After a hugely full on month with fashion week we were able to have a bit of down time and go and see some beautiful art galleries and exhibitions in London. We saw so much inspirational work and got a lot of photos for future reference. We went to Tate Modern http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/ and saw an inspiring exhibition by Gerhard Richter and there was so much more to see - 5 levels of exhibitions so I have to head back there at some point. We also visited a gallery and saw original art works by Picasso, Magritte (who I did a study on at uni) and Andy Warhol, the prices were through the roof (£10 million a piece). I also saw a sculpture that looked exactly the same as one I had seen at Vatican City a few months back only this was a flat circle not a sphere shape like the other and when I read the description it turns out that they were both made as a series and the chances of seeing them both in a lifetime are pretty slim so that was pretty cool too!!!!