Let's Catch Up: Fashion & Art

It's been a long time coming but at last, a post! This summer and last few months were very designful (pun on eventful), brimming with lots of learning curves and growth as a creative (Waaahhoo!), with a few moments of ups and many downs (bohoo!), but let's talk about the former.


I interned as a designer at a Pop Art inspired fashion label; working on the S/S 2014 collection. With a touch of humor the label is very playful and surreal. I gained a whole lot of insight into the fashion industry and the general logistics of running a fashion business. There was another design intern I had the utmost pleasure working alongside and made the whole experience such a laugh. I will definitely look back at the goofy memories we made with the silliest grin on my face, check out his work here, it's pretty cool!

I've also been head buried in freelance design work, including the opportunity to work with an up and coming fashion designer, but I'll leave that for another post, and instead leave you with this, a live graffiti art battle by Spraying Bricks, at the 'Social Media Week London' launch party.




What have you been up to?

Market Stall

My mate Brenda is an up coming artist and recently created some greeting cards with features of her detailed drawing style. She wanted to test the waters and get feedback on her greeting cards, so she hired a stall in Spitalfields market, last Monday. She asked me to help her out with the prep and on the actual day. Bouncing ideas off each other I quickly rustled up a mood board which inspired the look and feel of the stall; the idea was to create a rustic/vintage look. The hats are handmade from our friend's, mother's line.


We created mini feedback sheets and gave free 'thank you' lollipops for those who filled them in. It was definitely an insightful day and would love to do it again. 

Things we learned and Tips:
Coming soon

Thankful

1 Thessalonians 5:18 - in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

On Thursday it was thanksgiving in the USA, and though I've never celebrated it before as I live in the UK, a group of friends and I from church got together and decided to celebrate it over here along with some of our American friends. It was a lovely night and great way to take some time and think over our blessings, no matter how 'big' or 'small'. What are you thankful for??

I'm thankful for...
1.Life
2. My Family, friends & peers
3. The endurance and strength God has given me over the last year to overcome all the craziness and many obstacles I have had to face lately.
4. Creativity

Red Velvet Cupcake Themed Gift

This is my running cupcake themed, birthday gift which you can easily re-create for the cupcake lovers in your life! As a birthday gift my friend Jen wanted me to bake her Red Velvet Cupcakes. Thing is, I knew what they were and had heard about all their glory, but we didn't know what they tasted of until the summer when we visited a small, pretty bakery shop down in Brighton by the seaside. Man were they good, we had been missing out; they tasted divine! Consequently they were Jen's choice of gift, you know, something more personal and not material.

Having no clue on how to make these, I hunted down a recipe and decided to go with the London famous HummingBird bakery's recipe. It makes 12 standard sized cupcakes.

I used a piping bag to make the frosting on top fancy, then decorated them with edible silver balls and crumbled extra red velvet on top for contrast. As this was a gift, I really wanted to present them nicely, so to finish it off, I placed them in a cupcake box which holds 4. I purchased the box from my local supermarket, Sainsbury's. Lastly to add that extra personal touch I created a mini note/card and placed it on top once the frosting had set. It kind of felt like I had my own mini bakery going on. My friend loved them; definitely making for a tasty personal gift.

Roast Garlic and Rosemary Marinated English Leg of Lamb with Mint Sauce

The past weekend was pretty busy and filled with birthday celebrations. My friend Jennifer who makes the other half of Shannifer (our composite name), made a table reservation for herself and I to have dinner on the Thames at this restaurant, which is aboard a moored Yacht. We headed there straight after church. The view was nice as it looked out onto some of London's landmarks. The three course meal wasn't amazing but it was somewhat enjoyable; the starter was delicious and the main was a 6.7 out of 10, though dessert was disappointing. The overall dining experience would have been better if most of the yacht wasn't closed off, e.g the bar and the top deck, otherwise it was a great night with lovely company. As a birthday gift, Jennifer requested for me to bake her Red Velvet Cupcakes; detailed here. What are your plans for this weekend?

American Pancakes Recipe

I love pancakes; especially American pancakes, and don't get to make them often enough. During the summer I came across this recipe, but tweaked it a little to my taste. Wondering how to make these bad boys? Well here are some of the items and ingredients you will need:

Swan Lake

Credit: Sian Trenberth

I had always wanted to see a ballet production and took interest long before the success of the film Black Swan made it somewhat, commercially appealing. So seeing that there were a few shows on during the summer and that they were showing around my birthday, I took the opportunity to buy tickets for the opening night of Derek Deane's production of Swan Lake at the London Coliseum, performed by the English National Ballet.

With three tiers above the stalls, the interior of the Coliseum is very beautiful and majestic. My seats were right at the very top, on the balcony tier. Though it wasn't a bad view, I have to say that the seats on that tier weren't very comfortable.

The performance itself was an atmospheric spectacle; thanks to the set production, minimalist effects and the wonderful live orchestra who played very well; im kind of a sucker for Tchaikovsky. The dancers also held their own, the formation and precision of the corps dancing in the lake was beautifully done. Some of my favourite performances were when principle dancer, Erina Takahashi performed her solo as the Black Swan and when the four swans performed the well executed and much loved 'dance of the little swans/cygnes'. My only disappointment was that the last few moments leading up to the finale could have been built up a little more.

Eventually I would like to see The Nutcracker and an Opera production. What has been your favourite ballet, opera or theater production?