Musings a l'image

I am in love with this image. I have looked at it over ten times, over several days, and I still can't figure out how they conceived this wall of paintings, mirrors and objects.

For me there is something intricate, beautiful and fascinating about all of these shapes and colours together.

I am going to stare at it a while longer

to see if I can decipher

what it teaches me.

Source: Ida via sfgirlbybay.

If only...it was Fairtrade..

There are quite a few small labels out there that I admire and Harvey Faircloth is one of them. I love the classic elements of their design- everything from their website to their accessories are beautifully thought out- and the twist that they always introduce so that the resulting clothing is both reminiscent of Grace Kelly in Monaco and of a contemporary stylish woman.

As with most of the brands that I admire- I just wish they were Fairtrade, so that I could save up my pennies and buy from them guilt-free. I often wonder what it would take for smaller, recent labels like this one to use Fairtrade producers.

Images from Harvey Faircloth's SS2010 collection courtesy of bussbuss.com.

Imaginary porch 2- how to make your porch sustainable

So now that I have my imaginary porch, attached to my imaginary wooden clapboard house, I want to deck it out ( pun intended!) in some cool, comfortable outside furniture. And obviously,

as is always the Emmas' goal, in a way that is environmentally sustainable, even environmentally beneficial and very importantly also Fairtrade.

I could go the bright neon route with these repurposed cinema chair's from Nigel's Eco Store:

Expensive, but you could move it into the house when the weather turns and it would look amazing against both a white wall or a white clapboard exterior wall!

I found a website called The Low Impact Initiative which has a lot of info and recommends several paint brands for wooden houses.

A British brand called Osmo featured on the site have

a lovely greyish blue called 'Dove Blue' that would suit me just fine.

I love the cinema rocker but I think that I would go for some 50's industrial warehouse style Emeco chairs made from recycled plastic bottles

I would be tempted to go for the green colour and then pair it with the aluminium rocker designed by one of Emma H's favorite's- Mr Starck.

Now add some cushions from the ever faithful Etsy- I love these ones made out of souvenir

tea-towels:

Throw in a grey Fairtrade and recycled wool throw and a creamy organic lambswool throw both from Ecocentric.

Finally to really make sitting out late at night listening to the night I would add as many fairy lights as I could afford! Powered by the sun and again from Nigel's lovely store:

To create the sort of happy feeling I get from the photograph of this wedding on Oncewed:

Blue flower, red thorns.

Another day out with darling photographer Steve George (who Em & I secretly call Stevo, but don't tell him now will you) who is always such a pleasure to work with. He has taken some enchanting images of Emma J which you can see here. I'm in a hand-me-down silk top, well-loved Cue palazzos, Fair Trade coir necklace from Sacha in Kolkata and old Zara sandals.

On the Hunt: Aspiga Sandals

I am having a tough time of it. Trying to find a pair of summer sandals that tick my plethora of boxes has lead me to many a dead end. Or has it? I'm quite liking these beaded t-bar sandals by Aspiga, a company that manufactures in small workshops in Kenya. Although these guys aren't certified Fair Trade they adhere to basic Fair Trade principles.

The next dilemma playing out in my vegetarian mind is the whole leather issue. I've tended to view leather as a by-product in the past and thought that if an animal is killed for meat then all body parts should be used in a productive way and I can't help thinking that synthetic factory made shoes aren't a great alternative. Hmmm ... still thinking.

A summer's night on my (imaginary) porch

The combination of warm summer nights, the absence of a garden and a very hectic few weeks have left me longing for a beautiful old wooden front porch. Ideally the porch would be attached to a clapboard house painted a soft petrol blue colour and would be filled with comfy white furniture and lots of wild tropical plants. Did I mention the gin and tonic?

I can recommend Juniper Green Organic Gin!

Eddie Ross and Jathan Kochar's gorgeous porch featured in Lonny Mag. They are responsible for the genius idea (below) of hanging framed pictures outside their door as well.

And this is how I would look on my porch- relaxed, elegant, boho chic! With all the talent of these two as well- they are an amazing wedding photography duo- check them out here- and if I had squillions of pounds I would have them at my wedding (as well as giving generously to MANY charities of course).

Sources: Lonny Magazine, Lonny Magazine, The Pullman State Historic Site, and the last five are all from designsponge- thanks for the inspiration!

No more Mean Mr. Mustard

I never aspired to wear mustard. I didn't seek it out. It was this dress- a combination of lovely and amazing design from Bora Aksu for People Tree (SS2009) and the colour. The unusual shape seems to find its perfect incarnation in this french mustard colour. So now I can say that I both love eating mustard (in scary amounts) and wearing it. As I remember this dress is made by the Assisi Fairtrade group in Bangladesh.

I've learnt my lesson and will no longer judge a dress by it's colour.

A hint of Grecian flair, a flattering and comfortable way of showing of the waist!

I love the caped back- it keeps me cool, adds a touch of sexiness and some drama. And it is something I would never have though of...I love details like that- that are very clearly from a different perspective.

Currently my favorite shoes- suede sandals by Terra Plana- and a great match for the dress.

So comfortable, great colour combination, intricate and did I say COMFORTABLE!

Lemlem

With the onset of modernisation and scaling up of manufacturing comes the inevitable loss of small-scale traditional methods of production, a phenomenon affecting millions of small-scale producers world wide. Not only does it mean that traditional knowledge is lost but it also leads to a loss of livelihood for these small scale producers.

Lemlem, which means to flourish or bloom in Amharic, was started in 2007 when model Liya Kebede discovered that due to a decline in local demand for their goods traditional weavers in her native country of Ethiopia were losing their jobs. Recognizing the beauty, quality and historic significance of their work, Liya wanted to preserve the art of weaving and inspire economic independence amongst the weavers.

The result is a collection for women and children brimming with light easy pieces with injections of brilliant colour perfect for breezy summer living.

See the full collection here.

Race For Life Brighton

To my shame, I've never participated in a charity race so I was excited when my Mum suggested that me, her and my sister walk the 5K Race for Life in Brighton's Stanmer Park. We were 3 of over 3000 women who walked this past Saturday raising over £200,000 for Cancer Research. It was a beautiful sunny day out amongst the Downs and really moving to see so many women joining forces. I become emotional when witnessing any kind of group effort- choirs, rescues, charity events- so I was quite teary at the sight of the sea of pink-clad ladies.

Every participant was encouraged to wear a pink sign on their back explaining who they were running for- reading over and over again how many people were running for their grandmothers, mothers, brothers, sisters, best friends.....

it was heartbreaking.

At least we were all out there though, hoping there wouldn't be so many pink signs in the future.

Fund-raising-collaborating-walking-pink-wearing-women as far as the eye can see.

My sister and me just before the finish line- look at all those teeth! We completed the 5k in a leisurely 1h01minute- we were talking most of the time! And we raised £300 for Cancer Research. The memory of all that goodwill and optimism will keep me going for quite a while.

My Daydream Home - More Tiles

My love of colourful tiles blossomed in India. I've since found more tantalising tile inspiration to share. Really love the way the kitchen in the first pic has just gone nuts and used mixed up tiles everywhere ... although on closer inspection don't think they actually are tiles :( in the first pic but cool idea of how to mix recycled tiles with a modern kitchen anyway.

(Sources: Desire to inspire, flickr)

Colour my gaze

Wearing old Gap top, vintage skirt from Oxfam, a mixture of charity shop necklaces, Kenzie shoes.

I have a love hate relationship with this outfit. On the one hand this orange knit top is one of my favourites and even though it’s from Gap – not the most ethical company by any stretch of the imagination – I literally wear it to death – with everything. I bought these platforms years ago and they've always been a fav, they'e literally on their last legs. Found this skirt for 2.99 in my local oxfam shop and thought they would work perfectly together and they do but i dunno – is it just too loud?? i know we’re all supposed to be wearing varying shades of beige at the minute but i’m just always drawn to brights. Wearing colour literally brightens my day.

Credit: Steve George Photography - visit his blog to see more of his gorgeous images.

Nkuku Obsession

I'm always banging on about the importance of branding and products to the success of Fair Trade companies and my latest discovery Nkuku have got it just right. Browsing their website has quickly turned into an obsession. Here are the products I am willing myself not to buy all at once.

How I want the shleves in my kitchen to look & gorgeous fringed towels for my bathroom.

I'm still desperate for lampshades - I'm loving this white cotton one. (please ignore my humble attempts at borrowing their photos)

Hooks and knobs to die for - I'll take all pls!

I already have a mini one of these guys currently holding my bedroom door open but this one is so much bigger ... and therefore better.

Cushions and handwoven rugs

... and my favourite - this handwoven Ayla throw - can so see it draped over my denim couch. My gorgeous friends at Altjeringa in Hove stock this blanket and it is even more perfect in real life (website coming soon).

Nkuku is the perfect example of how to do 'good business'. All their products are inspired by the traditional skills of artisans throughout Africa and India combining contemporary designs with age-old techniques, natural materials and sustainable methods of production. They have truly succeeded in finding the balance between beautiful products and ethical sourcing.