.. Faces of Eve exhibition.....

..... I Ventured to one of my least-liked places last night... Shoreditch!... What dragged me over East?  A private view for an exhibition by the wonderful photographer Gisela Torres. In an East-End "gallery" that was sweaty and stank of mould it was a real treat to see Gisela's latest work... the photographs have a muted, painterly quality and an almost eerie colouring to them. It was great to see her again and she is finally getting some recognition for her work, winning a Gold Medal for Portraiture from the Prix de la Photographie, Paris in June this year..... the link below the images takes you to more of the "Faces of Eve" series... I particularly like "Widow".......

http://www.giselatorres.co.uk/docs/sales.htm#

Deliciously Dark...

.... I'm loving the new Illamasqua make-up images for Autumn/Winter 11, "Theatre Of The Nameless".
 Created by the amazingly talented Alex Box.... Enjoy! ....


    www.illamasqua.com

Don't raid the Stationary Cupboard.....

.... You won't find anything stylish in there!


I do like my desk to look as stylish as possible..... why settle for lairy bright blue plastic tape dispensers,  rubbish identikit staplers and little pencil sharpeners that you can never find when you need them.....


My latest obsession is vintage desktop accessories - especially from the 1940's and 50's. Their Deco curves and streamlined looks make work seem so much more stylish. I have just purchased a gorgeous stapler and tape dispenser and I'm hoping soon to add a desktop mechanical pencil sharpener to and hole punch to my desk. 
There was some amazing design detail going into these products during the mid-century years - they put modern 'Plain Jane' desk accessories to shame! Most of these items, unsurprisingly, are from the USA. Have a peek below at some of the gorgeous items that adorned the office desks of the past......... 

                                 
                                  The "aristocrat" stapler from 1937

One of these is winging it's way to me from the USA... Designed in 1937, The "Swingline Speed" stapler, produced between 1938-1955

                                                              The "Tatum" stapler 1954

             

I love the hexagonal top on this one. The "Neva-Clog" stapler from 1936

Great lines!!!

                                            

                                          This one is soooo "Mad Men"

                                                           

           Cast iron Tape Dispenser...a common American design from 1930's-50's

                           

Streamline Art Deco hole punch

    Desktop mechanical sharpener

The amazing "Morrisharp" electric pencil sharpener designed in 1946

                               ...... and in chrome! Imagine this on your desk at work!!

                                                  Stylish and streamlined

My Book.....

.... One very, very cold January morning in 2007 I worked with the fashion & interiors photographer Gisela Torres on a series of photos called "Skin". Gisela wanted to capture a soft femininity rather than the hardness of body and taut bronzed flesh that we are so used to seeing in photographs these days. 
Styled by the gorgeous Victoria Cumming, we got to work at about 8.00am At the Painting Rooms in Denman Street, London. Using Vivienne Westwood Couture pieces mixed with Vintage girdles and slips, Vicky created a soft palette of peach, cream & faded white for the clothes. 
The hair team got to work on tight pincurling my hair, to be eventually brushed out into a slightly wild red halo and make-up was almost invisible... the make-up artist even 'removed' my eyebrows! 
Gisela had the resulting images printed up into a little book, on textured paper, which she gave to me as "My Book"......

Adorning The walls.....

..... my living room walls were blank until a recent frenzy of framing images meant that I had to get some of it onto the walls. I had decided to get some tearsheets framed from a "V" magazine special supplement from August 2009. Shot by Paul Rowland, they tread the line between fashion and the macabre so beautifully...

...This is the gorgeous video of the shoot & backstage.....

V61 Special Edition Covers by Paul Rowland, backstage shot of Supreme/Women Girls from Supreme Management on Vimeo.

It's Turban Time!......

.... Turbans have always been one of my favourite forms of headwear. Evoking Exoticism & glamour, they are reminiscent of times past and the mysteries of Eastern cultures. 
It became fashionable to wear a turban in the 1920's and 1930's as an exotic, almost shocking fashion statement. 
In the 1940's, the turban for women became a more practical way of keeping hair under wraps and then in the 1960's, again, turbans became a fashion with references to the glamour of the east.
... I have a few turbans myself.... but nothing as loosely wrapped as the beauties shown on the Jena.Theo catwalk for Spring/Summer 2011. I loved this show - the use of colour was dramatic but not too bold - gorgeous hot lilacs and pale fuschias.The turbans were a styling accessory, of course, but for me, they made a huge impact and stole my heart......

Me in a green Turban on Holiday, Sicily 2008

Joanie in a Turban - 1930's

Gloria Swanson in a Turban (& behind lace) 1924

.... The Perfect Light....

..... Is candlelight. So soft & flattering!  My favourite candle holders & votives have to be the "Hurricane Lamps" by Swedish design duo Skogsberg & Smart. I love how they ooze glamour......they are Opaque Silver or Opaque Gold glass until a candle is lit inside and then they become translucent with a sheeny glow. I am addicted to the silver votives, and have them in my living room, but I have a gold one for the bedroom for a softer glow.....