Nice bit of carrot cake
Congratulations to The School for Creative Startups for the Somerset House showcase. There was a wide range of new independent brands to discover and I met a whole bunch of entrepreneurs who's passion for their business was a real inspiration, including the lovely Katie Harris providing the refreshments from Nana's pop up cafe, a social enterprising scheme and all round jolly good idea set up in Hackney, "NANA is a comfort food and craft café run by older ladies from the local
area. We’re serving up the very best in traditional home cooked food.
Customers get delicious, heart-warming grub at a reasonable price, and
NANA’s get a chance to put a lifetime worth of nurturing and cooking
skills to good use!" With her hope to make this idea accessible as a franchise It would be so great to see these popping up to perk up tired villages or get together the folks in local towns.
More delicious things, but from further afield let me introduce Cocoa Hernando! Created by a cool couple inspired by their exotic travels this is not a guilty pleasure to be fed on lying on some velvet couch from a silver tray.
This is the delicious package you delve into, pulled from your rucksack as you climb the last stone temple steps. Or unwrap up on the train as you ponder the foreign trees and long roads pan out from the window. Or break off a square with your new guide and maybe share a sip of fiery whisky from a hipflask too. This is Fuel for adventures, I loved it!
The illustrations are a treat for the eye and with exciting flavours such as Chai, Chipotle and pink diamond salt the chocolate definitely lives up to the gorgeous packaging.
It was great catching up with Shoreditch Muse, who stock Jade Mellor in Dubai. They had a fantastic selection of fashion and accessories adding a pop of fresh colour. Presenting a new collection of garments, they including a nicely tailored short jacket and some tailored tops and trousers contrasted by the comfortable fabric choice- the most wearable squidgy leisurewear fabrics and cotton jerseys. Deborah said the idea was to appear effortless yet stylish, and these looked like fail safe items to enjoying wearing for any occasion dressed up or down with no need to change into something else to relax in the evening (just swap the designer heels for your totes toasties) so I am all for that. The collared "T-shirts" with rolled hem short sleeved were my favourite, really nicely cut but in a casual rather than structured fabric so great for any/everyday when it gets a bit warmer or layered under jumpers with a nice chunky necklace- can't wait to see more of those! You can check out more details from the event on Somerset House website here.