Empire Drive - Gosforth, Newcastle

I'm a bit of a home and interiors buff. In a previous job, I looked at home and lifestyle trends for home interior clients, and this confirmed my love for all things beautiful for the home.

This is something for which my love has seriously developed , and when we bought our flat last year, I was determined to make the interior styling was a good mixture of my favourite interior styles - Scandinavian, mid-century modern and salvaged.

I've recently been looking for a few new pieces for the flat, and luckily, I heard from James, owner of mid century modern/antique furniture store, Empire Drive in Gosforth, Newcastle - a handy 20 minute drive from where I live.

It's fantastic that James' business in thriving in the North East, where we have such a hotbed of great independent home product designer-makers, restorers, retailers and interior enthusiasts.

James' dad, who'd been involved in the antiques trade for over 30 years and has a significant knowledge of all things antiques, which he's passed down to him, offered James a space to work out of in Sunderland when he was looking to expand into the furniture business and sell on lovingly restored pieces.

Now with his business based in Gosforth, James has a fantastic array of mid-century modern and antique furniture for sale. He also has a selection of furniture available online - I've got my eyes the Ercol drop leaf table.

Empire Drive is open to the public 3 days a week; Thursday-Saturday 10am-5pm 

All images courtesy of James Newrick.

Tatty Devine comes to the Toon

I have long been a fan of Tatty Devine,  the ultimate laser cut perspex jewellery supremos.

Ever since first discovering them at the age of 14, I've been bowled over by their super-cool jewellery and accessories, and have made a fair few purchases over the years; their iconic name necklaces, plectrum earrings and spectacle neckwear.

This summer, BALTIC Shop, one of my favourite North East shopping destinations, part BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and TD's larget North East stockist, welcome the Tatty Devine team, who'll be hosting the region's first Bunting Necklace Workshops. Aspiring jewellery makers can work with the team in choosing their own necklace components and create a bunting masterpiece all for themselves.

The two workshops, running on Saturday 13th July, are sure to sell out quick, so to book your place on this super exclusive workshop, hot-foot it over to BALTIC Shop to get your hands on some tickets, or click here to book online. 

Tatty Devine Bunting Necklace Workshops

Saturday 13 July 2013

Workshop Times: 12.00 and 14.30

£35.00 per person

BALTIC SHOP, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead

All images courtesy of BALTIC and Tatty Devine

Bernicia Festival 2013

Now, I wasn't at the press launch today, but I can't bloody wait for Bernicia Festival - South Shields' own alternative arts festival happening on 4th August at The Customs House.

As a Shields girl, this is big business for the town. We have so many great artists and bands coming out of the area at the minute and I'm so glad there's a chance to see everyone altogether in one place.

Tickets are free but only on a lottery basis, so make sure you sign-up quick sharp to be in with a chance of seeing South Tyneside's finest Little Comets, Lulu James, Natasha Haws and my mates, Boy Jumps Ship.

Want to see more? Check out KYEO's line-up reveal and new from the press launch.

Cath Kidston Newcastle Store & Giveaway winners.

At the end of last week, I ventured into Newcastle to check out the new stand alone Cath Kidston store. Set over 2 floors on the beautiful Grainger Street, the store has a great mix of fashion, homeware, childrenswear and Christmas merchandise, along with some lovely, considered displays for the store including a wall full of framed Newcastle paraphernalia.

I spoke to CK Newcastle's store manager, Alex, to find out a bit more about the store:

Welcome to Newcastle! I’m so pleased Newcastle finally has it’s own stand-alone store, following on from the success of CK’s concession in Fenwick. How does it feel to have a base in the North East? Thank you. We are all really excited about the new store and being able to offer Newcastle a chance to see the whole product range. From just being open a couple of days, we can already see that everyone is really as excited as we are here. The reception has been fantastic.

What can CK’s Newcastle fans expect from the store? 
I’m really excited by the faces of our customers as they walk through the doors of the new store. They will be taken aback by so much colour and brightness. It’s such an expressive brand, so uplifting.

CK is all about print – which prints do you think will be most popular with Newcastle’s CK fans?
Print is so important to Cath Kidston, all of our prints are unique and inspired by Vintage. The products are colourful and fun and bring a smile to your face. Our spot prints are really popular and spray flower in our china is a best seller, both these prints are very classic Cath Kidston and never go out of style or date.

As the festive season is upon us, does the store have anything special lined up for it’s Newcastle customers this Christmas? 
We have opening promotions going on over our launch day and the weekend. We also have a shopping spree competition for the customer to win £250 shopping spree with Cath Kidston.

And now to reveal the winners of the Cath Kidston giveaway.

After randomly selecting names out of a hat (well, a decorative bowl in this case), the winners are...

Cath Kidston Laptop Case - Sophie-Anne from Decisions, Decisions
Cath Kidston Tote Bag - Katie Coward

Well done ladies. If you could please drop me an email with your address details in, that would be marvellous.

To Build A Home

Above: Our gorgeous tiled hallway

Blogging has slipped by the wayside recently due to buying a flat and starting a new job. But I'm back! I had a lot of requests from Instagram and Twitter followers to blog some photos of our gorgeous Tyneside flat, so I though I'd start with something small as the flat is no where near done yet and I want to show it off properly when we have it pristine.

I always knew I wanted beautiful and unique prints up around the flat, and started buying some of my favourites before we even got the keys. Coincidentally, all of the prints below are by North-East based design studios - we have so many talented designers here and I love supporting them.

Here's a quick look at some of the prints we have up around the flat - I've got a lot which are waiting to be framed, so will snap them when they're ready to go up.

My absolute favourite print, Always in England, sits above the fireplace in the master bedroom and is by the brilliant Prefab 77. I'm still longing for one of their amazing Let It Reign prints - the ultimate way to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee. In LOVE.

Ben Holland who goes under the alias of Low Moon Over High Town, creates amazing ink drawings which celebrate less revered architectural gems located in the North-East. The above print is of the Crown Posada, one of Newcastle's oldest pubs and one of mine and Joe's favourite places to have a drink in the Toon. The Crown Posada have the best record player and a cosy snug, the perfect place for a quiet drink on date night. Next on my list is Ben's Vampire Rabbit print.

Above (L-R) are prints by WonderStuff Studio and C-Front, both North East based design studios. I love the hidden message in WSS's eye chart print (If You Know Where To Look, You Will Find Happiness) and C-Front's Impossible Love print is a brilliant piece of design. I heart it.

The Late Shows, Newcastle

On Friday and Saturday night, 2012's The Late Shows took place around cultural venues in the North East of England. The Late Shows, part of international Museums at Night festivities, is an inspiring, after dark programme of events and exhibitions centering on the cultural venues in NewcastleGateshead that are usually closed in the evening. There are so many brilliant venues to go and visit, and this year I decided to head to a couple of the newer venues on the list.

Stephen Jones at The Bowes Museum

On Friday night, I hot-footed it on down to the majestic The Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, for the private view of a truly fantastic new fashion exhibition - Stephen Jones; From Georgiana to Boy George.

The Bowes Museum's Fashion & Textile Gallery recently played host to the prestigious Vivienne Westwood Shoes exhibition, and with this second high profile fashion exhibition, this exquisite, historical venue is really proving to be a draw for major fashion players.

The night started with a champagne reception and a speech from main man himself. The milliner explained that designer Giles Deacon had first brought Jones' attention to the Bowes Museum, citing the museum's Silver Swan automaton as an influence for his Spring/Summer 2012 collection (Deacon went to Barnard Castle Prep School as a child, which is situated next door to the Bowes Museum). Giles and Jones' red swan masterpiece from Giles' Spring/Summer 2012 collection is on show as part of the exhibition, including the red swan headpiece which Jones' created for this collection. 

The exhibition itself, although small, showcases a beautifully curated selection of Jones' iconic designs. For this display, Jones has collaborated with friend and fashion writer Iain R Webb, utilising pieces from the Bowes' permanent collection to show an inspired display of his millinery. Antique mannequin heads from Bath's Museum of Fashion & Costume were also loaned for the exhibition.

I managed to speak to Stephen at the launch, where he very kindly signed my copy of Stephen Jones and the Accent of Fashion book, including a small drawing of one of my favourite Stephen Jones designs - the infamous Pac Man helmets he created for Giles' Spring/Summer 2009 collection. 

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Stephen Jones; From Georgiana To Boy George runs from 19th May - 2nd September 2012 in the Fashion & Textiles Gallery at the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP


On Thursday 9th August 2012, Stephen Jones will be in conversation with friend and acclaimed fashion writer Iain R Webb, bringing the two together to discuss their life-long love of fashion, history and hats. 

ASOS and Aurasma: Scan to Shop App

There are so many ways in which we can now shop. ASOS revolutionised online fashion retailing, and now they are revolutionising mobile shopping with their Scan to Shop smartphone app, developed with augmented reality tech company, Aurasma.

ASOS' monthly print magazine can now be shopped straight from the page - simply download the Scan to Shop App, hover over any page in the magazine and arrows will appear highlighting items which can be instantly 'shopped'. The magazine also includes a digital treasure hunt, where exclusive offers can be unlocked.

The images below, screengrabs from my iPhone, show how the app works. The arrows dictate which items can be bought online at ASOS - simply click on one of these arrows and it takes you to the item on the main site. Shopping Lists from the pages of the magazine become enlarged via this app, making them easy to select and again, taking you right to the main ASOS store, where you can purchase the products through your smartphone.

By clicking on a garment in the above image, it took me straight to the ASOS online store, making this item instantly available to purchase. As with most ASOS print magazines, some of the items aren't ready available but arrows still guide you to their page on the main site, where you can asked to be notified once the item becomes available.

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Consumers demands for super easy, convenient and fun ways to shop are quickly increasing, and this Scan to Shop app fulfills this need for new ways for customers to shop a brand's products, engaging them with new technologies which will only become more commonplace, and eventually, the norm for purchasing.

Danish fashion retailer Only are another company producing experiential ways to shop. Their interactive and shoppable fashion film allows the viewer to not only shop the products through the video but also pause the video at any time and 'pin' images to their Pinterest sites or share on social media networks. See Disney Roller Girl's blog for more details on this genius new marketing tool.

Fashion: Hiut Denim

I was recently introduced to a very clever new brand from the founder of Howies - Hiut Denim.

David and Claire Hieatt, founders of Hiut Denim, launched the brand to inject life back into the denim industry in Cardigan, Wales.

What's really interesting about this brand is the story;

"We make jeans. That’s it. Nothing else. No distractions. Nothing to steal our focus. No kidding ourselves that we can be good at everything. No trying to conquer the whole world. We just do our best to conquer our bit of it. So each day we come in and make the best jeans we know how. Use the best quality denims. Cut them with an expert eye. And then let our ‘Grand Masters’ behind the sewing machines do the rest.

There is a great deal of satisfaction to be gained from making something well, of such superior quality that you know it is going to stand the test of time. It makes the hard work and the obsessing over each and every detail worth all the effort. That’s our reward. That’s why we stick to just making jeans. Yup, we just make jeans. That’s all folks."

In an age of recession and many established brands goings into administration, it's great to see new and specialist brands cropping up and ceasing the opportunity to launch products which people really want to buy - even when consumers are continuing to tighten their purse strings. Now more than ever, consumers want quality products with longevity and an engaging story behind the brand, and this is something Hiut Denim are doing exceedingly well.

Along with their denim, they're also launching the History Tag;

"Each jean will come with a unique number. Your unique number. You go to the HistoryTag website and register. That’s it. Then you can upload pictures of where you went, what you did, who you did it with…to the HistoryTag website. So those memories get saved. Not a big deal right now. But when you look back, it will become a big deal."

http://hiutdenim.co.uk

Fashion: The Cambridge Satchel Company.

The Cambridge Satchel Company have been on my radar for sometime now. They make classic satchel bags which are all made in Britain in a fantastic array of colours and you can even personalise them with your initials in gold, silver, black or blind de-bossing. Very, very covetable and purchasing one has been high on my wishlist for a long while.

Now, on Thursday whilst typing away at work my phone buzzed and I saw a tweet from the Cambridge Satchel Co announcing that I'd won their 8,000 Twitter Followers Sparkly Satchel Giveaway! I was randomly selected out of their Twitter followers to receive one of their beautiful Sparkly Satchels - a new design for 2012. Such a wonderful surprise to receive one of these beautifully made and very covetable satchels.

After a few emails back and forth with the wonderful Emma at the Cambridge Satchel Co, I decided on the 13" Graphite Grey Sparkly Satchel, with my initials blind debossed on the front. And because this is a special giveaway prize, they debossed the number 8 (for 8,000 Twitter followers) on the satchel strap, so it is truly very special. Joe (my better half) was born on 8/8/88 so not only is 8 his lucky number, it's also now mine.

My satchel arrived safe and sound this morning and I did a little squeal when I opened the packaging! Thanks Cambridge Satchel Company - my sparkly satchel is perfect!

Fashion: Chanel Makeup Confidential

Erm, ever so slightly obsessed with writing my name and anything I can think of for that matter, in the Chanel make-up font!

Fancy Chanelifying your words? Click here!

Afternoon Tea at Jesmond Dene House

Today marked the start of my 3-day birthday weekend, so Joe and myself headed to the beautiful Jesmond Dene House in Newcastle, for a spot of Champagne Afternoon Tea to kick-start the weekend in style.

Such an occasion demanded a special piece of clothing, so I opted to give my Topshop Navy Spot Ankle Grazer Trousers their debut. I teamed them with black suede ASOS pumps, my faithful ASOS Navy Crombie coat, plain black H&M jumper and my treasured Mulberry Alexa.

The Afternoon Tea in itself was a grand affair - we started with Champagne, and then a selection of the most delicious finger sandwiches, scones and pastries. My favourites were the Roast Red Pepper sandwiches and the Chocolate and Mint Macaron - Joe dived straight in for his favourite Ham and Pease Pudding sandwiches (a lovely, Geordie touch for this Afternoon Tea).

I really cannot recommend Jesmond Dene House enough - not only do they do the wonderful Afternoon Teas, but they serve some exquisite food in their Restaurant (I had a mean steak for my birthday there last year).

Today, I also received something in the post which I've been waiting for patiently - my silver, Vega ring from new jewellery label Paper & Chain. The jewellery duo, based in Worcester, have created my dream jewellery - very simple, sophisticated designs, all with a subtle edge. I can't wait to add more to my collection.

Above: Vega ring by Paper & Chain on middle finger; Knot ring by unknown (I've had it ever since I can remember!)