Life Drawing at The Book Club

One of the many, many, things I love about London is that there are seemingly endless things to do. Pick a random Saturday, do a bit of digging and you can find any number of places to visit, things to see, or in this case, creative pursuits to get involved in.

The Book Club is a fabulous cool kid Shoreditch hangout, complete with exposed brick, jazzily named cocktails and amusing semi nostalgic ping pong tables (quite the new craze in entertainment for drinks/food venues). In addition to being the perfect place for a social drink or weekend dance it plays host to a series of cultural/creative events like life drawing.

It's been on my resolutions list for a while to spend some time being more artistic, doing some sketches, painting, anything to just stop my mind going on its endless whirl and remember the fun I used to have with a pencil and piece of paper at school. My friend Tessa and I have been going on a bit of an artistic quest recently, initiated with a very silly go at pottery painting at Art 4 Fun in West Hampstead - the results of which were a moustached egg cup (me) and a zebra striped tea pot (Tessa).

So, a few Saturdays ago, after stocking up on bagels from Brick Lane, we headed to Pitfield Street for  a couple of hours with some sticks of charcoal, paper and two life models.

These are my attempts:

I tweeted these sheets after the class and was selected by The Book Club as the winner  of their Twitter competition. The prize - free entry to the next life drawing class of my choice. So, come April 6th (after Sydney) there'll be more, hopefully better, pictures to share.

Coffee Cup Culture

As I sat talking with friends the other day we got into a discussion about coffee. Not the drink itself, specifically, but the increasing prevalence of coffee houses.

It seems completely normal now to walk down any high street in the UK and be confronted by an array of hot drink hot spots – the chain stores of Starbucks, Costa and Café Nero but also, more and more, artisan, independent, coffee houses (or not, in the case of Harris and Hoole).

It’s hardly surprising that coffee has become so accessible- in the increasingly fast paced working environment how anyone gets by without at least 5 caffeine hits a day is beyond me! What seems strange, when you get to think about it, is the social aspect of it.

I could spend hours, happily reading a book, scribbling notes and browsing the Internet in my favourite Starbucks. Yes, I have a favourite. I’m that sad. (It’s the one on Conduit Street).

But, in what other circumstance would you sit on a cosy sofa, nursing a steaming skinny cappuccino in a room full of complete strangers? You’re basically sat in an artificial lounge or kitchen. A homely, warm environment, created purely for you to have a hot drink and leisurely chat with friends or do a bit of work.

Unlike restaurants, there’s no time limit to your stay. You don’t see green aproned employees shifting you out of Starbucks once you’ve sucked dry your Frappuccino.  You can waste HOURS, aimlessly meandering on your MacBook Pro (has to be Apple , like, duh).

The particularly cool and hip coffee houses (check out ‘The Independent Coffee Book, London’ for some good ones) are decked out to give the impression of an artsy, bohemian studio. Fashion, photography and travel books abound, graphic prints hang on the walls, projectors stream the latest indie films (or retro ‘80s movies/‘90s TV shows)… They’re hubs for young (and older) creatives looking for a safe haven to read the Sunday papers and write their blogs.

Long live the coffee lounge. We couldn’t survive without you.

Street Coffee Goswell Road

Photo courtesy of the amazing BF

New year, new plans, new words

We love an opportunity for a fresh start. A marker of renewal and rebirth. A definitive starting point to a new project.

Diets always start on a Monday.

So, following in the traditional course of a new year calling for resolutions and statements of goals I begin with this.

Rather than express intentions to shape up and eat better I intend to live this year in the pursuit of creative learning, expression and betterment.

I'm bored, and I'm sure boyfriends, family and friends are bored of pointless whining and complaining about things missing or being inadequate in life. I am, to my detriment or benefit, in a perennial state of ambitious restlessness. I constantly think and voice the question, 'What's next?' It's not that I'm ungrateful or necessarily displeased with my current situation; quite the contrary. There's just a lot that I want to do with my life. I want to experience everything, know everything, do everything and I want to see, know and do it now. It's what drives me.

So, in order to move forward with these ambitions, I have come back to this blog.

I've always wanted to write. I find it therapeutic to get words out of my head and into a physical place, outside of me.

When I started this blog at university I found it a fun outlet to comment on the world around me. As I grew older and moved to London it became more of a helpful tool to discuss topics and events related to my work in fashion. Now, I just want to have a platform to talk about the things that interest me. The creative things. Art, fashion, film, music, food, literature...

I write this, on a snowy Sunday in January, sat in Street Coffee on Goswell Road. Glowing words emanate from above the counter in fluorescent tubing: 'my heart is yours, do you want it?'

These are my words. Think of them what you will.

Oh, London.

Eliot once wrote of London as an Unreal City. One of many. Zones of ever increasing industrialization, commercialization and materialism which will inevitably, in the circle of time, fall to dust and ruin like those great cities of old. Eliot talked of the city dwellers as zombies, drones, mindless automatrons sweeping in their masses through the streets.

Much as I love London, and frequently revel in all the excitement and variety it has on offer, there is no place like the city to make you feel insignificant. At an age when you are struggling to forge your own identity, develop a career and realise your dreams it can be overwhelming to be confronted by the sheer masses of people in the city. Coming from a relatively privileged middle class background I was used to having my hand held or surreptitiously guided. Now, I'm on my own and everything seems so big. I wanted my independence. I got it. Now comes the hard part.

Unreal City,
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn,
A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,
I had not thought death had undone so many.
Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled,
And each man fixed his eyes before his feet.
Flowed up the hill and down King William Street,
To where Saint Mary Woolnoth kept the hours
With a dead sound on the final stroke of nine.

Derek Lawlor AW11

A little snippet from Derek's press release:

"Whilst continuing to develop his signature cording techniques, this collection introduces exciting new elements to Lawlor's work. 

Structural, hand-woven pieces sit against a softer layered silhouette, incorporating delicate French silk chiffon with prints by illustrator and long-time collaborator, Alec Strang. For this collection Lawlor has introduced a palette of blues and greens to sit against his classic muted tones, whilst intricate sculptural pieces are seamlessly combined with wearable separates."

Check out all of Derek's work at:

www.dereklawlor.com

OnOff

In the wise words of Miss Dolly Parton: 'working 9-5, what a way to make a living'.

My job is rarely 9-5. I've never worn a suit, and I don't work in an office. Working in fashion has enabled me to be part of completely different projects, meet an array of interesting and talented people and has so far led me across the world to Miami, Rome and now....PARIS.

The changeable nature of the job means that new projects come and go in the blink of an eye- making scheduling incredibly difficult and spontaneous trips quite frequent! Apologies are due to all who have fallen victim to my last minute cancellations and disruptions of long-standing plans, but I wouldn't have it any other way- I'm sorry! I love not knowing where I will be working next. Every day is a new adventure.

At 9am this past Thursday I had been looking forward to a weekend of theatre, tattoos, family reunions and birthday celebrations. By 7pm I had tickets booked for the 6am Eurostar to Paris on Saturday.

So, here I am. I'm staying in an apartment on the Rue au Maire in the Marais district of Paris with my friend, the knitwear designer Derek Lawlor. I am helping Derek showcase his AW11 collection as part of the OnOff exhibition. I had never been to a showroom before and knew nothing about the requisite dress code, conduct or method of presentation.

This is what I have learnt so far...

Designers present their latest collection either in a solo showcase or as part of an exhibition. It is both the PR company and individual designer's responsibility to advertise themselves to prospective buyers, press and editors. When visitors arrive they nonchalantly breeze through the showroom looking at each designer's collection, feeling the fabrics, holding out the garments and, if they are interested, talking to the designers about their inspirations, ambitions and (hopefully) their sales plan. Lookbooks are distributed, business cards are taken and we smile politely whilst bracing ourselves internally with the fierce plea  that this one person be the beacon of hope we are searching for.

NYC