Away Days
I have just got back from 3 days away in Salcombe, Devon, I was visiting Holly in her new abode. The weather contrast has been a bit of a shock since coming home. I left very sunny spells for dirty grey skies, constant drizzle and some mild flooding. I think the weather change occurred somewhere just outside of Reading, as the train passed through it left the weather behind. Anyway enough about the poor British weather. So, I spent many hours on the train to get there as I live in Kent but when I did finally arrive Holly and I got straight to it, the shopping. I use this term ‘shopping’ in the loosest sense as I am currently the poorest thing ever. So what I did was some serious ‘shoe-string shopping’. In Totnes the main destination was the shop to end all shops, Gazebo. This is a shop which sells a comprehensive collection of Greengate (finally). The stuff is like gold-dust in the Uk.
The picture above is a collection of just some of Gazebo’s great window displays. This is just what I could snap from the outside (I am always too scared to ask to take pictures inside). The inside is rammed full of curious objects and the latest Cath Kidston and Greengate supplies. Not to mention the Orla Kiely mugs and the very extensive collection of Rice products. Gazebo was great and really exciting, however not good when you have no money. I did manage to grab a bargain pale blue spotted Greengate sugar bowel to add to my collection and a lovely new season Cath Kidston iPod case (both so pretty).
We did do more than just shopping, with views and beaches like this to see there was lots to explore. We walked and walked, and walked some more but it was all worth it we saw some good beaches and some good dogs (just for you Holly). Then we got the ferry back across the estuary, I loved this part I think it’s all the splashing waves and wind in the hair. Anyhow, I ate very well thanks to a lot of ice cream, pasties and Holly’s Ma’s cooking- all in the holiday spirit.
Ok, this is turning into an essay length post. So much to say and not enough time or space to say it. Last thing was my little study of sea plants (see above). I have a strange appreciation for plants that can rough it at the seaside, they are all hardy and so over-looked. Anyway they proved to be an interesting photography subject. I think the strange fascination comes from Geography at school (strange huh?). All round lovely trip, thanks Holly. See you in the smoke!
Foxyandwinston Super Cool
Ok, so many things have been changing lately. The look and design of my blog being one of them. The re-design took place last night, it was most unplanned and totally off- the- cuff. I had been wanting to jazz it up a bit since I first started, however with university ending and job hunting there was no time. Anyway, Miles and I stat down last night at his computer for a design play-around/tutorial and this is what emerged. For anyone who had visited my site before (hello) will recognize the difference. It was very pink and pretty, I still really love this but it only represented one side of me and I fancied something a little edgier. Design wise it all just happened in a couple of hours of bouncing ideas between Miles and I. This makes it quite organic and a really like that. I would love to know what anyone else thinks of the changes? Now, back to these lovely Foxyandwinston screen prints.
As I may have mentioned before (once or twice) I love screen prints. I have been searching high and low for some lovely ones to covert and when I came across these I fell in love. They are super cute and cool to say the least. I am a real sucker for cute kitsch animals like; deers, ginuea pigs and love birds. The designs are by Jane Buck a designer who resides in New York. However she is British born and trained, which is quite exciting. She uses her designs for greetings cards that are made on recycled acid-free card (environmentally aware too). To see more designs and limited edition prints visit her lovely etsy shop here. The toddler and baby organic cotton clothes are so simple and cute. I chose these two cards from the shop as they are my personal faves (see above). I have also added the Foxyandwinston blog to my blog roll if anyone fancies a look.
Clare Nicolson
A very funny thing happened the other day, well Tuesday. I received a lovely card in the mail from Holly. We had just been to Electric Gardens that weekend, she had been down to stay. Anyhow the strange part was the card that she sent. It was a super cute blue card with a pink donkey called ‘Donovan’. When I opened it I thought it looked familiar, then I turned it over and looked at the artist name and it was Clare Nicolson. Not very strange as she is a popular artist, but the strange part was only a few days before she came to stay I started this post about Clare Nicolson. I really loved all her stuff when I stumbled across the website on another blog. I thought wow that is freaky. Well we always do things like this. People constantly ask ‘are you sisters, twins or just related?’ We always buy the same stuff even when we are miles apart, and once had a bidding war on e-bay over a Paul Frank bag… The funny thing was neither of us realised it was the other one (I blame screen names). Anyway we both lost the bag in the end.
Here is the card. I scanned it, in all it’s glory. I think my 6 months working with greetings cards, and greetings cards only has left me strangely fixated with them. I can’t help but get excited over a nice one and Clare Nicolson makes some bloody nice ones. All her stuff is great, I love the way she uses real vintage fabric to create things (a girl after my own heart). The website is well worth a look, it’s adorable. Plus, the lavender bird bags (above) smell as good as they look, perfect for putting in your sock or small’s draw.
Mini Moo Cards
I had to write this to give credit where credit is due, and the mini moo cards rally do deserve credit. I first ever heard about mini moo’s over at Yvestown . I then investigated further on flickr and joined the mini moo card group to have a little look at other peoples ideas and images. I think overall they cost about £12 with P&P, plus you can pay via Paypal (so easy). They totally cheered me up after a very stressful week. I thought I would write this in the style of an electronics blog, capturing the un-boxing of the moo cards (he, he).
I ordered my 100 image slices on the Sunday and they were safely in my possession by the Friday, including a 3 day postal strike and coming from USA (pretty good going). They arrived in a sturdy but simple white box. They were much smaller then I imagined, however so perfectly proportioned. I am not sure exactly what I will do with them yet…. inspiration will follow at a later date.
Here is just a little scan collage I put together to show the cards. They are so cool for creating colour combinations to make whole pictures. I am considering putting some in frames. The scan quality is not great this is due to the fact they are small. Just a note to end on the moo card matter, the message and picture that you can put on the back is such a cool and unique touch. They could easily be used for business cards. Overall an great idea and a good buy