Frieze

The Frieze Art Fair is such a mammoth event. Artsy folk from all corners of the globe descend on London to attend the most prominent contemporary art fair in Europe. My Sunday was spent battling the crowds, gazing at art, becoming completely overwhelmed and disorientated, needing numerous breaks and forgetting what I had seen / what I hadn’t seen (I swear it all looked the same towards the end).

Eventually I headed home, everything seemed like a blur, and I had the worst art headache ever (worse then my trip to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa). But somehow I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I feel really inspired by the world of contemporary art around me.

My favourite pieces from the day were….

Grayson Perry’s embroided quilt (I didn’t capture any names of artworks whilst I was there – ooops sorry). I don’t really care what people say about that dress wearing oddball. I think Grayson Perry is great. I love the crafty feeling to his artworks, but he is totally obscene at the same time. I find his work really fascinating to look at. His works are so detailed, they are a sensory delight.

David Shrigley’s screen prints were also really awesome. I mainly liked these because there was a huge print of a black and white skull. I love skulls and David Shrigley is also really funny so this was a perfect combo.

I am not too sure who the artist was of this piece… But there was a pile of large molar sculptures in the corner of one of the gallery spaces. I really liked this piece because it reminds me of my friend Hariet in New York. She made this amazing little tooth pot in ceramics class and I was really impressed by it.

There was this also great piece of art which was made up of old bits of jewellery. It was like a pirates delight! It looked like a glitzy and shiny treasure chest mounted to the wall. The magpie in me couldn’t keep away.


The most amazing artwork was Andreas Gursley’s ‘James Bond Island II’. This is possibly the most beautiful photograph I have seen in a very long time. It felt really still and calming to look at. That is an awesome feat given the fact that I was standing in the midst of an art viewing feeding frenzy...


And here are more snapshots of other great artworks from Frieze. Thanks to the lovely Katrin for taking pictures. She is a far better photographer then me!

Pearly Kings and Queens

A few weeks ago I was having a conversation with my boyfriend about Pearly Kings and Queens. I have been fascinated with them for a while now (it is such an amazing and unusual tradition). My boyfriend (who is English) had no idea what I was talking about and thought I was just being a ranting foreigner who had created some sort of English mystical creature.

When I checked the Tatty Devine website this morning I was absolutely delighted to see her new collection called Button Up which is a tribute to the East End’s Pearly Kings and Queens. The new collection has buttons, heart brooches, anchor necklaces and bow earrings which are a reflection of the Pearlie’s costumes.

Tatty Devine is also donating £1 from Pearly King brooch and necklace sales to the Pearly Kings and Queens Association. Such an awesome idea!

In Tatty Devine’s East London shop there is also an exhibition of Pearlie portraits by photographer Harry Dutton (see below). Their costumes are so amazing. I love all the little details. Imagine how heavy they must be though!

London Fashion Week (come on people! I have to write something)

So everyone is blogging about London fashion week at the moment and I thought it was about time I jumped on the band wagon because London is buzzing at the moment and I cannot contain myself. Also what sort of fashion blog would this be if I totally ignored London Fashion Week?

Mark Fast’s show has made a stir because of his use of plus size models. Having been accused of designing clothes with slim ladies in mind, he hit back saying that his knitwear could be worn by women of any shape. I must say his curvy babes on the catwalk looked totally awesome and they didn’t seem out of place to me (however I do fly the flag for ladies with a bit of meat on them – I am one myself). Fast’s stylist quit just before the show appalled by Fast’s decision to use plus size models. Apparently we bigger lasses cannot walk properly… Is that the reason I always seem to trip up on my walk to work? I always thought it was the shoddy footpaths and my ridiculous footwear… Aside from that, Mark Fast’s knitwear is looking super tasty.

I have also been impressed by Eley Kishimoto’s collection ‘Beyond the Chintz.’ I have never seen so many pretty prints in my life. It is all very bold, bright and playful.

I am head over heels in love with this fun, flirty and playful theme which seems to be running across a number of shows during fashion week and the epitome of playfulness has to be the Mulberry show. The Claridges Ballroom was decked out like a fairground with pastel balloons and carousel horses. Once more pretty prints and gorgeous flirty clothes were on show (sigh – it is all too beautiful!). Drawing on inspiration from the Virgin Suicides (a big tick) and the use of cute little black pugs in their show (another big tick) puts the Mulberry show at the top of my list for favourite fashion week shows.

And my quick round up of my fashion favourites wouldn’t be complete without a shout out to one of my favourite designers Luella. I am always impressed by Luella’s amazing use of colour and want to own pretty much everything in her collection, every year. Luella seems to be nodding to the 60’s with her new collection. The peter pan collars and princess coats remind me of my granny ever so slightly but Luella will always impress me. That blue is also so very pretty.

Primrose Hill Bakery

One of my favourite spots for afternoon tea is the Primrose Hill Bakery in North London. This place looks like a little dolls house with its pastel coloured walls and matching tables and chairs. The cupcake selection is exquisite as well – chocolate, coffee, carrot, cookies and cream. Absolutely divine!

P.S. Bake-a-boo in West Hampstead is another cupcake favourite.

Candy Girl

One thing I love about London is all of the old fashioned sweet shops that seem to be dotted across the city. Who can resist standing in a store packed to the ceiling with lumps of colourful sugar?

My new favourite sweet shop is Mrs Kibbles Olde Sweet Shop in Soho. This place is so cute – the exterior is pink and white striped and inside jars of different sweets perfectly line the shelves. It also smells like sticky sweet heaven inside.

After devouring a bag of tasty hard boiled sweets, I cannot wait for my next trip back to sugar heaven. Bring on the sugar rush!


P.S. Suck and Chew is also a delightful place to purchase retro candy.

Flower Power

Liberty fever is spreading across London. Everyone seems to be going crazy for their dainty floral prints at the moment. Floral prints are the epitome of spring / summer chic. Every year they grace the catwalks and high streets and Liberty has been riding this craze since the beginning. They prove that floral is timeless and here to stay for years to come.

I am relatively new to wearing floral. At the beginning of last year I decided to become a bit more of a girl. This meant venturing away from jeans and tee-shirts and my tendency to wear head to toe black. I was hesitant towards wearing flowers. They scream ‘I am a girl’ and if you are not used to being lady-like, flowers can make you feel awkward and like an imposter. Nowadays I cannot get enough of flowers – it seems that all of my summer dresses have flowers on them and when I am shopping I gravitate towards anything floral. My wardrobe looks like a grandma’s tea party.

I was delighted when I noticed that the back of Liberty was covered in a Betsy floral print. Liberty is currently exhibiting the history of their prints (Prints Charming). I haven’t seen the exhibition yet but I look forward to Grayson Perry’s take on Liberty florals and checking out the collection of floral accessories. A shopping trip to Liberty? Yes Please!

A Trip to the Operating Theatre…

A few oddball things interest me – ghost and vampire stories, Japanese Samurai’s, astronomy, ancient Egypt, maritime history, and the history of medicine and surgery. So when I heard that there was an old operating theatre tucked away behind London Bridge station, I was intrigued to check this place out.

How does an old operating theatre exist in London after all of this time? Surely most hospitals become modernised when the times change and it seems odd for an out of date operating theatre to still be intact and preserved after hundreds of years, unable to be used. Apparently when the original hospital was relocated to a new site, nobody knew that wards and an operating theatre were up in the attic of the hospital. It remained intact for a good 60 years before it was re-discovered in the 1950’s and turned into a spot for visitors to soak up a unique piece of London history.


I was a bit stunned when I came to the entrance of the old operating theatre. It is this tiny and unassuming building. In fact – I walked past this place everyday for 5 months and never realised it existed. You climb up these tiny winding stairs but at the top you enter the most magnificent building I have ever seen. It is like something out of a Lemony Snicket book with giant circular windows and exposed wooden beams. It is clammy and poky up there; I cannot believe that this place once served as a hospital…

On display are old operating instruments, preserved body parts, medicines from the era and also have a section on herbal remedies. You can go into the old operating theatre and see where people had limbs amputated amongst other awful things. I am taken aback about how unhygienic this place would have been. They operated on this rickety wooden bench type thing and the general public could come along and watch operations although horrible flu’s and diseases were all over the city at the time. The room was so stuffy as well – the smell must have been dreadful on a warm summer’s day. They also used to put sawdust all over the floor to soak up the blood. A tad frightening as a church lay below the operating theatre’s floors. I am also struck by how many people would have died on the same spot I am standing. This was before the time of anaesthetic or antiseptic and your chances of surviving an operation would not have been great.



Sometimes London really surprises me, how could something that interesting exist in this city? How could it exist for so many years tucked away in an attic, remaining hidden from everyone? It makes me think about what might be in the ceiling above my head as we speak.