Emma H

Emma J

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22 Dec 2010

Fold Away Desk

I know this is inappropriately non-Christmassy but I am still looking for a desk!! Plus, it's not like you can't add last year's tinsel.

(Source: unknown ... I saved it as 'nice room table' which is of absolutely no help)

15 Dec 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA H.!!!

Happy Birthday Em H.! I won't be able to see you till Friday but I'm sending you virtual cakes until I can bring you real ones! You are going to have such an amazing year. xxLovexx Em J.

Virtual Birthday Cakes courtesy of Charlotte Farmer at To Dry For.

Knocked Up

Yeah, so the paint job leaves a LOT to be desired but the rest of this room fascinates me. Every time I look at this picture I clock just how makeshift everything is, literally thrown together from scraps, and yet I still love it. It works somehow and prob cost 5 bucks. Love.

(Source: unknown again! Before the days of cataloguing my inspiration pictures)

14 Dec 2010

Haw-Lin

On my walk home from work I was feeling completely wound up and anxious about all the things I need to do before Christmas, all the money that I have spent and still need to spend to buy presents....all the usual Christmas list-making and brain hyperactivity. 
And this site was mentioned in Easy Living- Haw-Lin- just images, no words. I love it! It has calmed me right down. It had almost the same effect hearing 'Beat it' followed by 'Let's get physical' on the radio the other day had on me- I forgot all the lists and the worrying. I have to admit to dancing in my tiny kitchen to those two songs was maybe a teensy bit more fun!
The site also completely suits my schizophrenic tastes, and it's nice to see I'm not the only one who seems to like wildly different styles, ethics, arts, and dare I say price-brackets.
P.S.: The site features ladies buttocks rather heavily- Haw-lin is obviously a fan...they ARE pretty amazing Haw-Lin, you're right.

8 Dec 2010

I Died and so did the couch

Ok, so it's a little battered but this couch is the reason I LOVE OLD STUFF so much. It's so perfectly worn and brought to life again by embroidered cushions and a throw. See, why buy new, when you could have that in your life??

(Source: An Indian Summer)


6 Dec 2010

Shoe Dilemma: El Naturalista vs the Highstreet

Since taking this vow of abstinence from the highstreet I feel like I am constantly in a state of searching. Searching for that battered desk, for a snug black winter coat, for that perfectly printed leopard jumper, searching for those flawlessly formed ankle boots that will carry me from outfit to outfit through the darkest, snowiest of winter days.

With shoes, this whole not buying from the highstreet thing poses a bit of a conundrum. I need shoes I can stand all day in, they need to keep me warm, match most of my wardrobe and magically elongate my stumpy legs, all for the smallest price possible. And I have to like 'em too.

Ethical shoes, in any capacity of the word, that meet the above criteria are hard to find and so I set about creating new parameters that allowed shoe purchasing from the highstreet. This involved discerning the place of origin, Portugal, Italy and Spain being preferable due to dying culture of shoemaking, and noting the materials used.

After dragging round the shops for five hours, mother in tow, I came home with two candidates.


Candidate 1: El Naturalista Ambar Boots in Ebano featuring vegetable dyed leather, recycled rubber (and porridge) soles and a whole lot of heart
&
Candidate 2: Jones Bootmakers Ollie in Black Suede, origin unknown (most Jones' boots are made in Spain and I went with it mostly cus I was desperate, freezing and hungry)

After much in-house wearing ... and a whole lot of soul searching (no pun intended) El Naturalista won hands down (the Ollies have been returned).

There's so much to say about my new boots that I'm going to have to give them a post of their own but it was satisfying to know that I didn't have to abandon my values to find the winter shoes I'd been searching for.

5 Dec 2010

Uk Uncut Protests


I really liked this article on the Guardian website and thought I would share:
Anti-cuts protesters force Topshop to close its flagship store.
Arcadia boss Philip Green and Vodafone accused of tax avoidance
Tracy McVeigh
Sunday December 5 2010
The Observer
Campaigners took over Sir Philip Green's flagship London Topshop store yesterday, forcing it to close its doors on one of the busiest trading days of the year, as sit-ins and protests were staged across Britain against tax avoidance by rich individuals and big businesses.
The Arcadia retail group tycoon and businesses including Vodafone, Barclays and Boots are the focus of rising anger over government cuts that campaigners say could be avoided if alleged tax dodging were stamped out, bringing in some ?25bn a year to the public purse.
In Brighton, protesters superglued themselves to Topshop's window, while security guards in Oxford Street bundled reporters and protesters out of the store before around 70 to 80 demonstrators, chanting "Philip Green pay your tax", left voluntarily and moved on to Arcadia's BHS store, which also had to be closed to shoppers, as did a Vodafone shop.
Green, recently made an adviser on public spending by David Cameron, is under fire because his wife, his firm's direct owner, lives in Monaco, a tax haven.
Amid growing disquiet over spending cuts, the latest protests took place in Birmingham, Glasgow, York, Bristol, Manchester and Nottingham, under the banner of "UK Uncut" ? a new movement that is gathering support via social networking sites.
One protester, Ed Greens, 20, from north-west London, said: "We know Topshop owes the government tax. Together with companies like Vodafone, big businesses owe ?126bn. We are taking direct action on companies like Topshop ."
Eileen Smith, 78, said. "I support anyone who is fighting hese terrible cuts. How dare this government say we are all in this together when 24 members of the cabinet are millionaires and men like Philip Green and his cronies are feted. The hypocrisy is sickening."
Her friend Mary, 64, agreed: "And don't let anyone say this protest is hijacked by anarchists. If anything, it's hijacked by pensioners!"
UK Uncut held similar protests in October after Vodafone settled a large tax avoidance claim with the government but paid a lot less than expected.
James Kelly, a spokesman for UK Uncut, said: "Tax avoidance is a big issue and we believe this is the alternative to the cuts the government are making."


4 Dec 2010

Winter Warmers - The FAIR Shop Shoot

Well Miss J I have some ideas for winter warmers and you're in them! You absolute stunner. You and Steve rocked that day so big HUGE thank you to the both of you for dealing with my bossiness and producing some beautiful photographs for FAIR.

Emma wears People Tree and Ideo Winter Warmers all available now from FAIR.

God this girl is a beauty!

Emma H xx


Photography: Steve George Styling: By me

3 Dec 2010

Snow!

This is what I saw on my way to work this morning...
Time to hunt out some Fairtrade snow attire I think. I'll do some research and get back to you.
In the meantime I can recommend Divine's hot chocolate powder and M&S' Fairtrade chocolate chip cookies...



1 Dec 2010

My endless search for that perfect desk.

I am desperately seeking a beautifully battered desk from which to blog. My apple crate shelves are screwed firmly to the wall with nothing to sit underneath them. Sometimes I curse my relentless pursuit of old home furnishings, especially as I never make the time to go to one of the big antiques fairs to get what I need. I rely instead on other people doing so and bringing their goods home to Brighton for me to pick from (at a jacked up price of course). One year later and I'm still deskless ... and chest of drawers less ... and dining table less - you get the picture.

(Source: An Indian Summer)