Design Now!

 

If you’re in or around Cape Town, make sure you trot down to the Cape Quarter…

A unique design event with Pop-Up Galleries and inspirational decor and furniture installations is happening until November 5 at the Cape Quarter Lifestyle Village coinciding with their 2nd anniversary. Curated by leading interior stylist Tracy Lynch, the Design Now! exhibition is a clever and compelling celebration of Cape Town’s colourful and diverse heritage.

Tracy gave the Freeworld Design Centre team and myself a sneak peek at the three urban spaces which form part of the storytelling Pop-Up galleries in the Cape Quarter Lifestyle Village. With top local designers including Pedersen and Lennard and Pierre Cronje hosting workshops and events, this inspirational event is a true celebration of beauty, culture, and design. Not to be missed!

Isn’t this modern, interpretative piece of furniture below amazing? Coated by Freeworld Design Centre, the contemporary bench has a WOW factor, making it a standout piece on exhibit.

For more info, visit www.capequarter.co.za

all photos my own.

Belgrade fashion week - young designers II ...

                                                                                                CLICK TO SEE MORE

                                                                                              Marta Miljanic

                                                                                               Jovana Markovic

                                                                                                Aleksandra Pecic
                                                                                                ph. Marina (check the rest of her great photos HERE)
                                                                                                videos by me

Okay, one more fashion report at midnight, young designers, round two! ;) On Saturday, we had chance to see models from Marta Miljanic, she showed us her collection "Revolution of Desire". The second in row was Jovana Markovic, she found her inspiration in jockeys, horses and fashion from forties. Leather, studs, spines, perfect moment for these details on clothes! We really like it! And at the end, sweet Aleksandra Pecic showed her romantic collection "La Dame a la Lacrone" , inspired by medieval handwork, tapestries she used cotton velvet, silk shantung and tapestry fabric to express her thoughts.
Huge thanks to Aleksandra for giving me such a great place!

p.s. stay tuned, the next post will be really special! ;)

Almost daily outfit of the day: I'm back, y'all. 10.31.11

Thrifted J Crew denim jacket; Gap Outlet cargos; thrifted Gap Kids button-down; Dolce Vita suede wedges

DUDES. This is the HOTTEST OUTFIT EVER, amirite???






Bam. I just lied to you. I TOTALLY know I look like crap. This is far from my most inspired outfit. My eleven year-old could come up with something more fabulous, and she's a tomboy who has to be cajoled into brushing her hair . In addition, I'm pale. I'm pasty. My smile is forced. I look wiped out. And let's not even talk about my hair. But in my defense, this is the first outfit I've worn in a week that didn't include sweatpants and slippers. I'm not accessorizing with a clutch filled with Kleenex. And I'm not sprawled in a fetal position on my couch, hacking into a tissue and wailing that I am never, ever going to feel better.

People, pneumonia is nothing to joke about. There were moments in the last week when I was convinced, absolutely convinced, that I was GOING TO DIE. I pictured my husband coming home from work and finding my cold, lifeless body crumpled on the ground, kind of like that scene in Steel Magnolias when Dylan McDermott discovers poor sickly Julia Roberts collapsed on the stairs, her hand curled around the phone and a bubbling pot of spaghetti sauce boiling over on the stove and her beautiful, beautiful blue-eyed son wailing next to her, desperately pleading for her to just GET UP and take him trick-or-treating. (Just try to deny that this isn't the very saddest scene you've ever watched in a movie. Go ahead. I'll wait.)

I was NOT going to be Julia Roberts. No siree. So I sent prayers to the gods for recovery in return for things I was going to do once I got better, the kind of desperate promises you can only make when you're deep in the throes of illness. Such as, from now on, I'm going to take my vitamins. I'm going to get 8 hours of sleep every night. I'm going to work out every day, and avoid trans fats, and floss twice a day and watch more PBS and maybe even add some charity work because, what the hell, it can't hurt.

YEAH, I can feel your side-eye from here.

So bear with me here. Things could be a lot worse. This could be a photo of me hacking into a tissue. Be grateful that it isn't.


(I have an awesome giveaway coming tomorrow, just to thank you all for not deserting me during Pneumoina Germpocalypse 2011. Say tuned.)

Birds of a feather

It seems that I have birds on the brain lately. Everywhere I look, there is another sweet little bird in some form or another. One of my favourites so far are the birds by talented UK textile artist, Abigail Brown, who crafts her birds entirely by hand in her London studio. They are made from both new and reused materials, each little bird is totally unique and no two birds are alike!

Growing up, Abigail was surrounded by the fabric scraps, threads and wonderful influence of her seamstress grandmother. 'My grandma had a beautiful patchwork bag she kept all her fabric scraps in, ‘the raggy bag’, and when I was old enough to display my feelings of desire for this magical object full of wondrous bits of colour, pattern and texture, she made me my very own, much littler version.'

Abigail’s work is inspiring, delicate and imbued with a sense of inherited passion for fabrics and texture.

Another favourite feathery inspiration is the work of designer, Louise Body, whose collection of bird wallpaper is both quirky and sweet. Highly regarded as a modern British designer of contemporary wallpaper, fabric, cushions and lampshades, Louise creates wonderful designs which are printed onto high grade paper. All the paper is sourced from managed forests and only water-based inks are used.

I find Louise’s designs so appealing because they hint at a vintage nostalgia from an era long ago, a bit like those gorgeous hand-tinted vintage postcards. I found out that the hand painted quality to her work is because the wallpapers are finished by hand, with the colour on the birds being applied after the printing process.

It’s understandable why Louise’s work is so popular. It’s unique, ecologically sustainable and incredibly beautiful. All box-tickers in my opinion!

Enjoy your Monday and don’t forget to enter the GIVEAWAY for 2 tickets to the Film & Food Festival. Entries close Wednesday 2 November.

Mihano Momosa, Ana Sekularac, Tamara Radivojevic - BFW...

                                                                                                CLICK TO SEE MORE

                                                                                               Mihano Momosa

                                                                                               Ana Sekularac

                                                                                                Tamara Radivojevic 
                                                                                              ph. and videos: by me
                                                                                         
After my midnight fashion report where i showed you a new collection from Ines Jankovic, we are continuing today with other great designers.... Right after the Amazon Attitude collection we had opportunity to enjoy the work of another young designer Mihailo Anusic with his brand Mihano Momosa, where he left all the girls speechless with his very first collection . Layers of the finest fabrics, lace, feathers and perfect details ... I think i have a new fashion crush!
Ana Sekularac showed us her spring/summer 2012 collection in white, nude, blue and turquoise colors, she is already well known designer , accepted in the world and these models you can find in the top places for shopping as it is Harrods! I began struggling with the lights at this show, so i couldn't make more photos, and the same problem has followed me on the last one at Tamara Radivojevic show, where she showed her Absolut Style collection for this season. Inspired by women from Helmut Newton's photography she used leather, wool, silk in black, brown and purple-gray shade to show those intriguing women in their real lives. And i love it! Check the video and pay attention, you will see the perfect coats, jackets and blazers.

Ines Jankovic AW2011/12 - Belgrade fashion week ....

                                                                                                CLICK TO SEE MORE

                                                                                               ph. and video: by me


Last night my blogger girls and I, had chance to enjoy in some really great fashion shows, and this was the first. Ines Jankovic, young designer from Serbia, with her Amazon Attitude collection for this autumn/winter season. She was inspired by Amazon forests and modern women who is ready to take challenges in "urban jungle", armed with her own beauty. She was also inspired with the seventies and so called "dandy" style. Should i say something more? I like this collection so much, pleated skirts, great wool coats, leather, fur and perfect hats as a must have for this winter! Dont hesitate to check her previous collection on  Facebook page, and for all information check her website. Remember this name, she has a lot of to show us in the future!
Huge thanks to Ines for giving me the front row tickets and this honored seat position where i snapped all the photos and recorded a great video! Hope you will like it!

p.s. tomorrow, i will post the other shows that happened last night, so be here! ;)