Wearable technology

Venturing into new territory in a potential collaboration with Oumi, an innovative new emotive wearable technology brand. The creator Bushra Kelsey Burge (lecturer at London College of Fashion) has her finger firmly on the pulse! Meanwhile I'm enjoying the work of talented Alice Tams, I love birds and birds in hats are impossible to resist, already ordered a calendar for my office!

Budgie in a Trilby with Novelty Sunglasses by Alice Tams

Vinyl lovers look away now

At the Artsmart market I had the pleasure of a stall next to House of Jamal and Tamara Walsh. Jamal produces signature perfumes which seemed to prove irresistible to passers by. He also produces bespoke perfumes, probably not for my budget, but well worth checking him out.


Tamara creates hair pieces using melted down vinyl. I hope no-one accidentally left their vinyl record shopping by the stand! The hair pieces are primarily red and/or black or bold colours and are very striking. Several are not for the faint hearted and are bold and edgy while others are more feminine (some are very floral) or simple. Her pieces drew lots of attention. An absolute must is checking out her range of wigs.  

Junky Styling on The Apprentice

I volunteered in the sewing room at Junky Styling (based at the Truman Brewery off Brick Lane) a few years ago. Their designs are high end fashion using recycled materials. Junky Styling consists of a small lovely team who are extremely creative and talented. They were on The Apprentice which I love watching so have to share the youtube link!

Virginia Graham

I adored Virginia's ceramics at the Tea Potty? exhibition at the SDC Gallery on Rivington Street last September.

Unfortunately the gallery is currently closed but I'm hoping it will re-open soon... Virginia Graham exhibited at Origin in September this year and seeing an image in the Guardian recently, I was reminded how just looking at her work is pure eye candy. I find them beautiful and quirky and love that she incorporates found objects. I never tire of the above images!

Naomi Ryder

Naomi's illustrated embroideries are so lively and fresh. An age old traditional technique has been used and yet they look modern and original. I really love it when artists and/or designers use everyday activities or scenes for their images. Naomi's favourite artist is Alex Katz and you can see her creative spin on what are anything but mundane illustrations! I did a workshop with Naomi at the Fashion and Textiles Museum last year, creating embroidered silk paintings based on Bill Gibb. I'm always tempted to go back and do another and have visited her studio and website several times!

Linda Florence

The wallpaper and floor designs of Linda Florence always draw me back for another look. A wide variety of traditional and more modern techniques give a real richness to her work, her use of matt colours combined with bronzes and silvers creates real depth to her layers. She's clearly not afraid to experiment! My only concern with her wallpapers for Ted Baker is that I'd be more interested in the walls than the clothes! I especially like the bold teal floral design over a geometric triangular design, really striking. Another piece that caught my eye was a beautiful decoupage screen for the Swarovski Unbridled exhibition in Paris. I confess I would never have considered flooring to be that interesting but now see it with completely different eyes and am intrigued by Linda's installation floor designs. The designs are dramatic and vibrant such as the 'Meta Table Setting' installation at the Millenium gallery in Sheffield or the unusual 'Articulate Landscape' design in the grass at York Saint John's University. I am now open to the unlimited possibilities after seeing the hand printed slate flooring for the Scin studio showroom and the 'sugar' floors... It seems a travesty that the sugar flooring designs will be ruined as they are so temporary, yet at the same time, this adds an ethereal effect (making them more a piece of artwork if anything). I particularly love the image of two dancers at the 'Out of the Ordinary: Spectacular Craft' at the V&A (October 2008), this could be perfect for the first dance at a wedding?? Just spotted this video on the website... I also like its use for the design set around a chair and table for the flooring book 'Grounded', simultaneously invoking both a rustic and contemporary feel. Am lucky enough to have been invited to visit her studio so looking forward to that :) http://www.lindaflorence.co.uk/main.html

Installation jewellery

To my mind, the installation pieces of Maiko Takeda were the focal point of the St Martin's graduate jewellery exhibition. By shining light through 'simple' holes in the jewellery the shadows created beautiful images on the body and I had to go back for another look. The attached picture is taken from her website and is also on a flier I keep on my ever evolving 'mood board'... PS the first pieces of my recycled bag collection will be here very soon.

More from the catwalk and exhibits

Another model looked stunning in an ensemble put together by Ismat Jaffer and Ruweyda Dool. Izzy made the striking waistcoat and Ruweyda made the jazzy tie. Also in the picture is a wallpaper exhibit by Juliet Sitaram, beautiful bird images that I'd be more than happy to have in my home! A display of large tiles by Kate Lovell also caught my eye, they looked really fresh and elegant with their layered images with selective detail, these oriental style tiles would look great inside and out. A couple more unusual exhibits included a boldly decorated car bonnet by Cassie Pittaway and some ornate designs on guitars by Amie Petrou.