LDN

On Sunday I dressed up in my new dress that I made on Saturday and B and I drove up to London to meet Anna and have a wander around. Anna looked resplendent in her great maxi dress but I'll let her tell you about that. First off we met with Joss and went to the Hammersmith vintage fair, it was a fiver to get in but if you fill in a form when you arrive they will send you free tickets to the next one and then if you go to that and fill in the form they will send you tickets to the next one and so on, the woman at the door was saying that she knew someone who had been coming for years and years off the back of one ticket! It's held every 5 to 6 weeks at Hammersmith Town hall.
It was a treasure trove of colourful printed dresses, appliques, vintage patterns and costume and bakelite jewellery. It was all rather lovely especially some of the printed neck scarves (£35) and a stunning cherry brooch (£85) . I didn't think the prices were quite justified but not wanting to go away empty handed I did snap up these rather fetching earrings for a fiver...After some lunch and an ice-cream we jumped on the tube where I released a book and saw it immediatley picked up by a pretty lady. We headed to the Art Car Boot Fair(ACBF) in Brick Lane to meet Anna's boyfriend Jr. Brick Lane was crazy busy and the ACBF had a very arty, carnivally, anything goes vibe. Jr was selling some printed canvas bags with jelly moulds and jelly inside which complemented his show Backwash which was held at Gallery Primo Alonso. There was some live music which was mostly being ignored and tons of weird and wonderful stalls to visit (including a cloakroom for you to leave your emotional baggage) and loads of objet d'art for sale. Again, some of the prices were not justified, there was no way I was going to pay £60 for a store bought t-shirt that some "artist" had drawn a barnet on, I could do that myself for a fiver. I did however come across some awesome buttons that had been made by artist Hayley Bates. There were 4 little button noses or two big ones for £4 so I got a couple of sets of the little ones.... no idea what for yet but I couldn't resist them. Then it was back on the bus to Streatham and back in the car for the journey home.

Thanks AJ, Jr, Joss and B for a lovely day out.

xxCandy

We love Short Shorts

I finished and mailed Jaclyns dress at the end of last week. Jacyln opted for the black butterfly fabric for the drapes in the back which looked really nice. I have made this dress for 4 different clients now (hmmm...one trick pony??)

Making my Leather B.AdoubleG was great fun. I made a sample first which was part of a birthday gift for my mate Sally. I then made up the real deal, I rounded the bottom of the bag and added a 4 inch strip through the middle to make the whole thing a bit wider and more accessible. And who would have guessed it, I substituted the Amy Butler print that I was going to use as the lining for the skulls and flowers fabric that I have clearly become obsessed with (I’m half expecting my family and friends to stage an intervention). The little brass feet I used are very cute and I have added an internal pocket with a zip to hold all that extra bag junk, this bag was featured in the Best of Section on Burdastyle.com last month. Anna’s promised to show me a magical part of London where I can get some leather skins fairly cheaply so I might come up with a few more bag designs. This Bagg is now available in our Etsy shop.

I’ve made my grey linen trousers. They are modelled on the Thai Fishermen’s style Pants that I wear for yoga so they are loose, wide and baggy. I’ve made them more suitable for everyday wear by making them a bit longer, adding a jet pocket and having poppers as the fastenings instead of ties. They are super comfortable and easy to make.

I’ve also made some cute little shorts

(yes, the trim is in flowers and skulls fabric)

and I finally got round to making a shirt for my brother(yes the collar stand and under collar are in flowers and skulls fabric).

I found the same flowers and skulls fabric in a darker colour which is just as awesome as the original cream one. I am now ready to crack on with my shirt alterations (yes, I’m going to be making it out of two different colours of flowers and skulls fabric), I am inspired to do the collar in a Vivienne Westwood/ Rick Owens style.

In other news I got some Polaroid film for my old camera. Although they are a little bit redundant in this “digital” age there’s definitely something very charming about a Polaroid picture. I want to do a shoot on Polaroid film with my Yohji Jacket, Fabric Necklace, Linen Yoga trousers, Short Shorts, Flowers and Skulls Shirt and Leather B.A.DoubleG perhaps in some yoga poses……

My dress for Matt and Carly’s wedding (17th July) is nearly ready. I’ll show you all when it’s done. I think my brother wants a white shirt for this wedding as well.

I also released my first book into the wild last week. If you like treasure hunts, reading and FREE books then check out www.bookcrossing.com

xxCandy