Photos for Friday : A Picture post

Happy Friday my lovelies, today I thought I would do a spontaneous picture post just to share a few snaps I've taken recently that I thought you would enjoy



A beautiful window in Berkley Castle

Magnolia blossom from earlier this year

I've been trying to improve my general photography skills and I'm hoping that there has been an improvement, so let me know what you think in the comments below.

 

 

I can't believe it's Friday already  the weeks are just flying by at the moment, my to do list this weekend is pretty hectic, making a last minute present for a friend tonight, celebrating that lovely ladies birthday tomorrow plus I have a few hats  on the go that I want to get finished this weekend. Oh and I am also hoping to get some gardening done as well , Hmm maybe it's time to invest in some sort of  a magic watch that stops time, well I'll let you know how all my creative endeavours turn very soon, have a great weekend. Jessie xxx

Book Talk - Hats an anthology by Stephen Jones and Oriole Cullen

 

Today I thought I would share a little book post about Hats, An Anthology by Stephen Jones and Oriole Cullen.

 

 

A few months ago I was lucky enough to attend a  talk  given by the Millinery superstar Mr Stephen Jones at the V&A. The talk discussed his career and work and in particular the anthology exhibition originally put on in V&A but that has now just finished a world tour.

 

After the talk, Mr Jones was doing a book signing for the book that accompanied the exhibition,  I had wanted the book for a while and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meet Stephen in person so I decided to treat myself to a copy.
 

 

The book itself is lovely, full of images of both Stephen's work and other examples of millinery throughout the ages. The book focuses on 4 different aspects of  millinery and what you could call the life of the hat, from it's inspiration,  the creation,  the salon ( where the hat is sold ) and the client   each section  gives an in depth view into this aspect of millinery and the way this element has changed and adapted over time.

 

 

 

 

I  loved the creation section as it gives a wonderful glimpse into  the creation of the hat and  the time and effort that goes into the process. It also shows  work in progress in the milliners workrooms which is great for me as I'm really nosey and love seeing into other peoples workspaces and studios.

It also includes these beautiful title pages for each section that have wonderful illustrations of all sorts of millinery trappings and quirky little rabbits and things. I love them so much I have taken a copy of the inspiration one to put on my wall by my desk.

 

 

 

Once of the main things I love about this book is the  crisp clear photographs of  the hats themselves. Showing  beautiful examples of hats from Victorian Britain to the current day is really inspiring and makes me aspire to creating hats that are just as ornate and beautiful.

 

 

I would  defiantly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in millinery  or even fashion and historic dress, it is clearly lovingly put together by Stephen Jones and the  exhibition curator Oriole Cullen and gives a wonderful insight into the world of millinery.

Happy today

So my blog is officially one year and one month old, Hurray!!

I have been somewhat absent over the last month  but fear not it was not for lack of activity, I have been helping out with a month long theatre festival which  has been keeping me very busy indeed.  Actually July has been a really great month between my theatrical activities, a splendid trip to London with my mum to visit the David Bowie  exhibition ( yes this was my second visit to it ) and my lovely man starting a super new job,  its been pretty hectic but in a really really good way.

The next couple months are going to be a really big push for me creatively  I feel like its time to step everything up a notch and have some great projects to get cracking on. I also intend to  really start anew with this blog, the last year has had it's ups and downs  blogging wise, it sounds so naïve now but I didn't anticipate that  blogging would be such a challenge.

Pastel Star Patchwork by Kaffe Fassett curtosey of www.kaffefassett.com



I shall leave you now with just this picture of a Kaffe Fassett painting I stumbled upon today. I love his textiles work but had not come across his painting before. I love the style and his signature use of colour so thought I would share it as a  moments inspiration for you all.

Hope you all have a great day  xxx