Holly Fulton's April Showers & Spring Flowers

Well we can definitely say the evenings aren't quite as dark any more and the first buds and flowers are peeping out at us. This means Spring will be on it's way (please hurry, we miss you!). It also means it's nearly the time to wear Holly Fulton's beautiful S/S13 dresses.

Holly's lovely friend and rep showed me these at London Fashion Week in September. (She had the most amazing mixed up Scottish/northern accent, hoarse from the contagious enthusing of Holly's collection). Back then Spring seemed a lifetime away but after a few days in a row of bright sunshine I'm beginning to see the light, and looking through my images of her exquisite frocks has brought me great joy.

Exquisite detailing and translucent materials make a light, bright delicate collection.

The cut of an amazing 60s dress in a texture like your childhood raincoat. It makes you want to be outdoors after being cooped up all winter, just like a hibernating crocus bulb.

This use of unusual fabrics reminds me of cane work chairs scattered on the pavements outside lively cafes. "I'm thirsty let's stop here for a lemonade..."

My Beautiful Object

Beautiful Objects at Aram gallery from my last posts displayed jewellery artist's work with a contextual object of their choice. Inspired by their selection here is one of mine.

I love everything about this jug. Black and shiny, angled and curved with a mouthwateringly vibrant pop of colour gleaming from the inside.

More Beautiful Objects

This is the second half of Aram gallery's Beautiful Objects exhibition. As the work was so diverse in style and materials I tried to separate them into categories to look at them a little closer. These are the artists I felt were led by their process and materials.

If you went to this exhibition I would love to hear your thoughts. I hope it's the first of many jewellery themed events at Aram as it has been curated to show the depth of what goes into designed and made art objects which may be missed in a solely retail environment, so hopefully gives us the chance to appreciate them more.

Beautiful Objects jewellery exhibition at Aram

The pieces on the right by Karola Torkos are part of her "Changeable" series. Both the large statement object pieces and simplified metal versions in this collection look at layering and transparency, but the latter focusing on wearability and practicality. Her inspirational object was a children's book as she had previously dismantled and re-built these into jewellery. By reassembling an object and giving it a new purpose she is interacting with it and wants the wearer of her jewellery to do the same by having aspects of her pieces that can be personally altered by them, (different coloured swappable sections etc.) The fact that she uses children's books rather than adult literature is interesting because they often have to try harder to engage the young by having pop up sections, textures and moveable tabs and wheels. I don't think this is something we ever grow out of and this is a sophisticated way of letting us interact with our objects as a piece of jewellery.

Four Colours, 2006 - 7 Silver, gold plated, low temperature enamel

Garland, 2007 Silver, gold plated Karola Torkos

Glow, 2012

Beautiful Mutant, 2012 Nylon, dye, copper, zirconia

Weidenbach/Klein

Silvia Weidenbach and Tobias Klein's collaboration also shares the responsibility of the finished piece. Working separately but "ping-ponging" ideas between them allows the ideas to be shared and develop over a set time frame. The name of the work is "Metamorphosis" relating to both this process and their subject matter. Their collections and grouping of information is shown in their inspirational objects which were the first 170 images found on a search engine when typing chrysalis and butterfly. Their finished designs were actually two pieces that are worn together realised using 3D printing.

Bombyx Mori Moth

Exuvie . Hybrid – 3-2, 2008 925 silver, rough silk, organic waste David Roux-Fouillet 

David Roux-Fouillet is another designer who after starting the piece on it's journey, actually leaves the part of the fabrication to another. His "3D printer" in actual fact is the amazing Bombyx Mori silkmoth! His own theme of metamorphosis also includes the living pupae housed in the piece of jewellery hatching and flying off. I love the way he describes how he works with the moths: "This piece is the result of my collaboration with five generations of worms building up layers of silk...Proposing a structure to the first three silkworms, they quickly find their way to the spots where they can build a conventional type of cocoon. Then the next ones will start weaving wherever they want while I try to direct them wherever I would like them to weave." It makes me think of a little team of moth larvae looking intently at David's designs in a miniature boardroom. He likens it to sculpting a Bonzai tree, "this fine balance where the material claims its independence is the space where I like working." 

Golden spider silk cape

This way of using the skills and materials of amazing creatures also reminds me of the beautiful cape I saw in the V&A made by combining the creative skills of Simon Peers and Nicholas Godley, a team of handloom weavers and the silk of thousands of Golden Orb Spiders. I will look out for more designer/nature's craftsmen collaborations in 2013, and possibly plan one of my own with the sand lizards in the garden (I hear they are good at mosaics).

Woven textures were Lina Peterson's inspirational object represented in the Swedish Rag Rug.  She says that she is interested in: "material qualities and the inherent language that we associate with different materials and I enjoy playfully turning these elements on their head." She combines this approach with traditional craft techniques like carving in her painted lime wood and resin brooches, the process of which created coloured curls. Loving this by-product Lina was then able to use these as the material for more brooches so they are a sequence of objects with one creating the other. These wood shavings change our view on what we would expect from a brooch made from wood and (indirectly) the process of carving.

Lina Peterson's inspiration: Swedish rag-rug texture with her Shavings Brooches

Carved wooden brooches, 2012  Wood, resin, silver Lina Peterson

Blues Collection Necklace, 2011 cotton braid, cotton yarn Eleanor Bolton

Cannele Mercerised Cotton on cardboard cone her inspirational object was the material and therefore process she uses.

Long Red Coiled Necklace, 2010 Eleanor Bolton

Eleanor Bolton (who's work I knew from her being a fellow Darkroom jeweller) is her own silk moth when creating her colourful coiled pieces. Bold, interesting shapes and textures organically grow through the repetition of her processes, Eleanor says: "The yarn is the material that enables the forms to be created from the cotton braid. I am interested in using simple techniques to create unexpected forms."

It looks quite chunky and solid but the round shapes are actually hollow and springy, my sister Julie met Eleanor at Great Northern Contemporary Craft last year and says "I was immediately drawn to these sculptural neck pieces by Eleanor Bolton. It's great to be able to get up close and try things on. They are light and comfortable, easy to wear."

Bust of African Female Carved solid wood

This beautiful carved wooden bust was the object chosen by Simone Brewster, a piece that's been in her family since the 60s. Simone (who is another Darkroom jeweller) states that this object from an era of "ethnic pride" and the use of a lathe in her work both contribute to her collection title "Ebony Revolution". Featuring rings and necklaces of wood shaped to highlight it's natural grain patterns she says: "I wanted to use something I considered precious (wood) and treat it like you would a precious stone to reveal its beauty."

Turned Wooden Rings Simone Brewster

These necklaces were the favourites of my artist friend Gweni Louu who accompanied me to the exhibition. They actually look like they were made for her as she has a fantastic collection of big bold 60s jewellery in unusual materials she unearths in charity shops all over.

Little Pony Series, 2008 - 9, Little Pony 1, Little Pony Gothic, Electroformed Little Pony, Little Pony Thailand, Magic Rainbow Clay, synthetic stones, Swarovski stones, glitter, copper Maud Traon

Maud Traon's obsession with objects is the origin of her work. Hypnotised by the psychedelic equine world of My Little Pony (I admit I am from the generation of pink mane combers and glittery castles in the sky) she distorts and builds from these plastic figures to make ring sculptures. The commercial craft items of former high street favourite Woolworths provided Maud's inspirational item a "Paint by Numbers" kit. This "do it yourself" art as a hobby amongst other toys and objects to amuse us and pass the time seems obviously to have influenced these abstract impressionist pony ring sculptures. However one mustn't leave out another important aspect to Mauds practice: "I work during concentrated periods, in silence just eating sweets which is important - colourful sweets." I am hazarding a guess that Maud also did some Woolies pic 'n' mix plundering back in the day, overdoing it on squidgy, fizzy jelly delights leading to a trippy sugar-high experience in the toy department. Nice one Maud :)

Light Constructions bangles, 2003 - 2012 Bioresin Sarah King

On the opposite end of Mauds's excess of bright, glitter encrusted coloured plastics are Sarah King's bio-resin bangles. Colourless, and ethereal the pared back scheme and simple geometry are a super edit of her mass of influences. Struggling when asked to choose a single inspirational object she says:

” I felt it was an impossible request as all my work is a synthesis of many interests and influences.  Many objects and books that I have collected reflect these interests and I could have brought armfuls of monographs relating to abstraction, as well as materiality and structure."

Light Constructions bangles, 2003 - 2012 Bioresin Sarah King

Sarah's shortlist of objects included: a series of African wooden head rests, artist Kim Lim’s folded paper pieces and the high-tech insulating foam used by NASA, Aerogel, demonstrating that although looking very simple there is a lot of careful consideration and interests that inform these pieces. I'm glad Sarah mentions how varied and deep her research runs as sometimes it is forgotten if a piece is made from non-precious materials or doesn't automatically show signs of a brush stroke or labour intensive craft technique. The image Sarah ended up choosing is from a photographic series that was produced when glass objects from Kettles Yard in Cambridge were placed directly on UV sensitive paper as it most embodied her strongest theme, the "combination of somewhat solid objects and the ephemeral qualities of light and the effects affects produced when the two interact."

Sarah Kings inspiration: Light Spells Series Photograph by Kathryn Faulkner, 2000

Another artist who selected photographs as their contextual object was Mah Rana. The jewellery work she had on show she had researched and made during an international research fellowship in Australia, staying in Melbourne for two months in 2004.  Having first been wowed by the new environment, she soon found herself becoming accustomed of her new surroundings and no longer appreciating them. When she realised this she says: "I made the decision, to take my time each day and look at what was in front of me - and to become more present in the moment and to see more."

So the photographs she took are not only a record of her time, but were also at the time a way of engaging with her surroundings in the present and noticing the small details missed when rushing from place to place. These images, along with her writing join together with the jewellery she produced  to form the whole body of work, including even the name, "Little differences" a reference to a passage from a Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, the book she was reading at the time.

Little Differences, 2004 50 pendants, 18ct Australian Gold, Synthetic Polymer Paint Mah Rana

Digital Prints

"If you look at Little Differences very briefly, one can be forgiven for  thinking that the pendants are all the same colour, all the same grey, but if one takes a little more time to look again, one can notice that each grey is different from the next." Mah Rana

Perspex light  and reflection installation

Lili Colley's Perspex and Brass pieces lit up the room beautifully. Her main inspiration is light, the whole spectrum and ways of capturing it, revealing it and dazzling a room with it (which is what a fabulous piece of jewellery can also do).

She says, "I love the flood of colour through stained glass windows. In the art deco times they celebrated it, they celebrated electricity, the light bulb and life; they lived for the moment, as they didn’t know what tomorrow brought." I can really get this sense of joy from Lili's work, shown in her choice of neon and sweetie wrapper colour scheme, gleaming brass and bold shapes. I believe that serious and important are two different things, and even though Lili's work is bright and playful the technical aspects, quality construction and depth are very important to her.

Underside of necklace shown via mirror reflection

Octo Deco LEDs Neckpiece, 2012 Blue Deco LEDs Neckpiece, 2012 Both, perspex and brass Lili Colley

"I always like to make things that have an extra dimension...more than what first meets the eye...seen only when you become more involved with the piece". During the planning the exhibition Lili also wanted her pieces to be visible from as many angles as possible. Not only to let the luscious light stream through but also so to show the gleaming brass components that not only join it  together but allow it to move to refract colours and make shapes.

Bangle: The Human Body as a Landscape for Design and Intervention, 2012 Brass with 18ctg gold plating Stephanie Bila

Stephanie Bila uses geometry but it is the symmetry of the human body, skeletal structures and shells. She says: "Although the pieces are quite geometrical and symmetrical, the purpose of my project was to explore themes of evolution and metamorphosis, which created a spontaneous and organic feel to my pieces." 

Her intricately structured designs both large scale catwalk pieces and smaller versions aim to use "jewellery as a medium to redesign and compliment the structure of the human body and to reinterpret the silhouette."

Stephanie Bila's moodboard was her contextual object literally showing us her inspirations

The work of Naomi Filmer is also intended to be catwalk pieces such as this glass and metal orb created for Alexander McQueen's S/S 2002 show: 

"McQueen asked me to make bubbles that capture the negative space around the torso of a flamenco dancer...I was particularly drawn to her expressive hand movements, and so this bubble was a way of capturing both the space in the arch of the back, but around the hands in motion."

Ball in the Small of my Back, 2001  Blown glass and electro-formed copper (silver plated) Naomi Filmer

Creating big sculptural objects that echo the shapes of bodily movement but actually restrict it by having to be held carefully or are unmissable due to their largeness Naomi says: "Impact on flesh as well as to the eye is  important to me."

Suspended Body Scapes, 2011 Glass and leather Naomi Filmer

The languid shapes and colour choice of flesh tones allude to the soft and rounded areas of the body. The leather harnesses and metal hardware  also give them the appearance that they are to blend into a body and almost look like they could perform a function as some replacement organ or incubator providing comfort and nutrition. They would look completely different in any other colour, and I feel could almost have a sinister edge in a less pristine setting.

However by displaying them with a massive jar of honey, the nutritious sugary sweetness rubs off on them so they seem friendlier, their soft curves appealing. Naomi herself describes them as oozing, which as a choice of words could go either way, the grotesque and disgusting or the deliciously decadent.  I would love to wear one in my day to day life, filled with a dark heady treacle ready to pour all over anything (or anyone) I find bland and dry and lacking in goodness. 

"Oooooooooooozing" Naomi Filmer's hand blown glass and leather body sculptures

great lighting at the exhibition

Beautiful Objects

Beautiful Objects was Aram's first jewellery exhibition. Originally on from Nov 22nd, it was extended for a further two weeks til the 26th Jan which meant I got to catch this exhibition (any free time in the month or so before Christmas just got vacuumed up with extra workshop hours/festive functions). Situated above the Aram store it's also an excuse to window shop the stylish furnishings on the way up to the gallery. I have divided the exhibition into two posts, here's no.1 the designers who I think look at the meaning of objects (the second will focus on materials and processes)!

Each designer was asked to provide an object to be displayed with their work that was connected with their approach, inspiration or making process. To appreciate the work as contemporary maker's pieces they shunned traditional jewellery fixtures and conventional display stands giving the work space and a blank background to be interpreted by the individual.

One of the best explorers of jewellery meaning by turning tradition on it's head is Lin Cheung exhibiting a collection of brooches from 2010 inspired by the quilted "luxurious" packaging found in the world of traditional jewellery.

A trio of Cheung's brooches

Her inspirational object was a copy of the Argos catalogue circa S/S '85 from her teenage years relishing the first opportunities to choose and buy precious pieces for herself (from these tiny flat images, it must have taken a lot of imagination). Pre-online shopping meant hand made pieces like Cheung's own work would only be available by visiting individual galleries or events at this time.

"...to encourage the re-valuing of old, broken, odd, unfashionable and unwanted jewellery. This series of brooches are designed with the idea that each can act as a physical barrier between an old piece of jewellery and the wearer. The ‘preventing of intimacy’ between the object (old jewellery) and the wearer is the central concept behind this work with the brooches themselves acting as carriers of old earrings, chains or other brooches. Here I bring into question the constantly evolving meaning of jewellery and find new emotional and literal spaces for old jewellery that seems to have lost its value and potency"  Lin Cheung

Wear Again, Again, 2010 Nylon flocked acrylic and brass, faux leather, stainless steel Lin Cheung

Inspirational Object: Argos Catalogue, Spring & Summer 1985

close up of a brooch fastening

Using fine jewellery skills, like a clean perfect pin is even more important when using an unconventional material to demonstrate attention to detail for a quality object.

Her Argos hoard lives on by being carried on her person in other ways as it still has a lot of sentiment. These brooches have pockets and pouches to house small treasures turning the items from wearable jewellery to keepsake. This is the opposite of many contemporary jewellers who turn found objects and personal items into wearable pieces. 

Katy Hackney is one such artist, although I think she collects and collates her found objects more through their joint aesthetic rather than because of their sentimental value. Her inspirational object was a set of vintage children's play shapes in beautiful stained wood, which you can see directly reflect in her choice of colour pallete.

Brooch, 2012 Plywood, silver, coloucore, boxwood, steel, hand dyed nylon cord

Katy Hackney

Necklace, 2011

Silver, rosewood, box wood, bamboo, formica, found ceramic  objects, 18ct gold, vitreous enamel,  bone, colourcore, hand dyed nylon cord, paint

Katy Hackney

Inspirational Objects: Box of vintage Abbatt play shapes

Katy Hackney

Inspiration for Katy Hackney

Zoe Arnold also has a magpie approach, collecting objects that interest her and combining them with her hand made components using various materials and techniques. She calls these assemblages sculptural collage, influenced by poetry:

"I use the ideas and abstract imagery from the poems to feed into my pieces, and in this way add a depth and meaning to my work." Zoe Arnold

Opinion No.1, 2010 Antique wooden frame, antique prints, pearls, red thread, oxidised silver Zoe Arnold

Emotions Brooch Green, 2009 Oxidised silver, 18ct gold, picture Jasper, diamonds, antique marble cameo, mother of pearl, dyed agate, steel pin Zoe Arnold

Another of the artists using found objects in Maria Militsi who sources her objects through auctions and includes their printed listings as her inspirational objects.

"By hunting down, researching, classifying and responding to incidental qualities of existing objects this work revolves around  the rare and aged or the unusual and worthy of collecting." Maria Militsi

Pin Holders, 2009 Antique pin cushions, gold Maria Militsi 

Printed listings from the auction sites where Maria Militsi sources her objects

Maria Militsi drawing of cross used for 57 Edward Spencer for the Artificers Guild

57 Edward Spencer for the Artificers Guild, 2012 Altar Cross/ Circa 1910, silver Maria Militsi

Another fan of internet auctions sites is Laura Potter. "I’m interested in the echoes of time invested in the making of Lifetime medal 280100507863. Initially there was the eBay search for the subject matter, which can be a drawn out process of stalking listings until the right thing comes up. Then there’s the waiting and watching for the countdown to end, followed by more waiting for delivery. Appropriately then you use an equally lengthy process; hand embroidery."

Laura Potter's accompanying object: "Cash-for-gold" envelope "It is an object designed to obliterate the emotional content of an object by pointing directly to its physical substance."

The processes and added materials Potter used to create this piece of work from the ebay purchases were very important:

"I made the piece with care, incorporating some fabrics that belonged to me, and applied the quote using an embroidery technique that has connotations of female family ties, passed on with patience and love. It is true that the labour intensiveness of this process was important. If you are prepared to listen, learning to cross-stitch with your grandmother will teach you much more than how to sew. This is what I mean by equivalence: one person’s lot of scrap gold is another person’s realisation that they are forever in debt to their Nan."

Lifetime Medal 280100507863, 2007 Gold, linen, cotton Laura Potter

"In these lots of second hand jewellery I was looking for private sellers who were advertising old family pieces, and especially those who gave an insight into the emotional status of the items for sale. The embroidered quote is taken directly from the eBay listing: it contains no punctuation, no capitalisation and ‘jewellery’ is incorrectly spelled."

Other artists in the exhibition also found the craft of hand sewing associated with their mother to be strong influences. Hans Stofer adapted the needle to lose it's function and become decorative only whereas Caroline Broadhead combined her mother's necklace, a collaboration with her daughter and  bracelet from Mexico with labour intensive hand beading. 

Hand Tinted Portrait (Applied) Hans Stofer

When asked what actvities accompanied the making of this piece: 

"Thinking about my mother, her habits and her practical intelligence."

Hans Stofer: "By changing the eye of the needle into a heart you change its original purpose as a functional sewing implement. The sewing needle simply becomes a pin with a heart, a narrative object that still has the ability to pierce 

cloth and therefore can be worn. I was less interested in the notion of ‘piercing the heart’ than wearing something close to the heart - the notion of emotional connection through an action."

Pin Cushion, 2006 - 12 Ceramic, stainless steel pins, thread, rubber, silicon

Wearing my Mother’s Pearls, 2012 Glass beads, pearls

Inspirational Objects: Pearls in Box, Mexican Beaded Bracelet

"My mother was given a string of pearls by her father, following her graduation in 1940s. The photograph on which this bracelet it based was taken at the time."  

Caroline Broadhead

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H Magazine, "Think Green"

The latest issue of art, music & fashion publication H Magazine on news stands as of Friday is focused on sustainable fashion. The Barcelona based trend mag have featured the unique ring I made using a reclaimed Cat's Eye that was once used to light up the middle of the road (near my house!). Now it lights up in a piece of jewellery as seen at the Camden Cycle Fashion Show as part of a worldwide event to encourage us to use greener transport to benefit the planet and ourselves!

Reclaimed cat's eye reflector, black resin and glass beading inspired by a tarmac texture.

Patented in the 1930's, Cat's Eyes were invented by Percy Shaw from West Yorkshire, after he realised that the shine from the polished steel tram lines had been helping him to navigate in the low light of evening. His inspiration for the road safety device was the light reflected from the eyes of a cat.

Cat's Eye ring being worn by central model. (Left model pictured wearing Black Facet ring also by Jade Mellor)

Closer view of Cat's Eye ring being worn during the live cycle fashion event in Camden, London.

Here's a behind the scenes shot from the fashion show, you can see the Cat's Eye ring catching the camera flash in the bottom right hand corner. (It lights up even better in darker surroundings).

Details of this piece can be seen at my studio shop here.

Concentrated, collection for Sruli Recht

 PREVIEW

Sruli Recht A/W13 Collection, CONCENTRATED presented at Paris Fashion Week including the mineral and resin jewellery collection I produced with him. Other materials include Icelandic down, Japanese denim and heavy satin, goat skin, walnut wood, cashmere rib, metal mesh, Austrian felt, Scottish waxed cotton, viscose jersey, wool and modal jersey, silk and cupro shirting, shearling, pixelated rabbit fur, and Italian wool suiting, providing a rich variety of intriguing trextures.

Here is a preview from the lookbook. 

“This collection is completely burned.” - Sruli Recht, January, 2013. The collection in three words – facetted, charred, smoking.

Black Ring, Pyrite & Resin

Wood & Leather jacket, Sruli Recht & Elisa Stroyk

Black Double ring, pyrite & resin

Asymetrical Ring, Resin & Pyrite

White ring with bornite specimen 

Asymmetrical white ring with bornite mineral

Double finger faceted ring with peacock ore specimen

More on the collection at Dezeen and further details at www.srulirecht.com

Desert Varnish

This new year I have started a palaeontology course which I am enjoying enormously. Instead of just reading things up in my own books, being taught about these processes in so much depth means being able to ask questions about these wondrous transformations and really understand from a microscopic level what is going on to make these amazing specimens. It also means meeting and sharing this interest with some really nice people. Today, Annie from the course brought in a specimen of fossilised wood she picked up in Libya amidst a whole desert of stoic looking petrified timber monoliths.

Petrified Wood from Libya found by Annie

Broken pieces of fossilised tree trunks. Image courtesy of Temehu http://www.temehu.com/Cities_sites/sahara-fossilised-forest.htm

Petrified wood gnarled edge

These burnished edges you can see are polished up in a process called "desert varnish" where dew from cool desert nights when the temperature plummets and manganese carried in the harsh winds coat and polish up portions of the fossilised wood.

I have previously tried to emulate this textured surface in my work, (Black Beam ring below) contrasting rough and organic with burnishing, so it was great to get my hands on an actual weighty specimen of it rather than through the glass of cabinets or photos. It really was so smooth and flint-like after the organic matter in the wood had been replaced by minerals whilst it was trapped deep under the ground for millions of years. I will look forward to trying some more experiments in the workshop now I have handled a piece up close and my hands have experienced the real surface.

Black Beam ring 2012

Resin, oxidised silver, hand polished copper metallic lustre.

Purchase details available at Not Just A Label http://www.notjustalabel.com/shop/46919

Deeper Underground Paris : The Empire of Death

As well as the amazing fossil finds the old quarry of Catacombes de Paris in the 18th Century it was filled with the bones of 6 million Parisians. If you are squeamish look away now. If not, please hand in your permission slip, tick the box to say you are over 15 and let's get spooky...

Stop! This is the Empire of Death

The cavernous quarries became home to the remains of six million Parisians in the 18th Century when the overflowing Cemetery of Innocent had to be moved as it was causing infections in the area.

View fullsize

Port Mahon Sculptures of the palace in Minorca in memory of the first Quarry Inspectors including  Decure who was imprisoned opposite the palace in the Balearic Islands for a long time. He was killed in a cave in during work in the quarry.

The styling of the bones and surrounding caverns is  known as "romantico-macabre".

"The removal of the bones began after the blessing of the place on April 7, 1786 and was continued until 1788, always at night and according to a ceremonial made up of a procession of priests who sang the burial service along the way borrowed by the tipcarts charged with bones and covered with a black veil. Thereafter, this place was used, until 1814, to collect the bones of all the cemeteries of Paris."

This macabre labyrinth has attracted many visitors to satisfy their curiosity, including Ladies of the Court, Charles X, an Austrian Empoper and Napolean III and his son. To follow in their footsteps details can be found here.

Underground Paris - A Journey through Space & Time

Invitation to a Journey through Space and Time

I had my first chance to explore the re-opened Catacombs under Paris in December. We were lucky enough to visit when such a unique place, full of natural history as well as the macabre structures of human bones was eerily quiet as the minus temperatures above chilled the city air.

"Between street level and the bottom of the Catacombs, the visitor is taken back nearly 45 million years in time. You go through a succession of increasingly ancient layers of rock until you reach a bed of limestone whih corresponds to a geological period called the "Lutetian" (between 48 and 40 million years ago)."

"The Quarryman's foot-bath"

"This period was first identified in Paris called "Lutetian" after the ancient name for Paris, Lutetia. The official reference profile (GSSP) for Lutetian is located in the catacombs, at the water-well that bears the name Bain de pieds des carriers ("The Quarrymen's Foot-bath")."

"The Lutetian doesn't actually account for very much time in the history of the Earth, which is 4,500 million years old. The dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago, while modern Man has only been developing for 200 000 years,"

natural strata and man made supports above

You can read up on the Catacombs of Paris here and there will be a second more grisly post to follow...

British Fashion Awards 2012

Last night was the British Fashion Awards, housed in the Deco splendour of the Savoy!

We pulled up in a rather nice merc to save any floor length frocks being munched by the escalator or trapped in tube doors-(this is something that would probably happen to me), but there were purrs from Lamborghinis,  Bentlys, and Rolls amidst the black cabs as the designers and glamourous fashion folks emerged.

Awards ticket which became the wristband for the after party

So happy to find a dress for a black tie event that still had pockets

There were no cameras allowed in the auditorium, but the stage was an angular set of screens and lights showing videos on the nominees and messages from Naomi Campbell, Grace Coddington and Kate Moss. Hosted by Nik Grimshaw and Gemma Arterton (in Stella McCartney) the awards had a nice informal feel with winners thanking fellow designers (even fellow nominees) who had encouraged and inspired them.

Here are the winners

British Style winner (voted by the public)

Alexa Chung

Emerging Talent (RTW)

J.W Anderson

Emerging Talent (Accessories)

Sophie Hulme

Emerging Talent (Menswear)

Jonathan Saunders

Outstanding Achievement in Fashion

Manolo Blahnik CBE

Special Recognition Award

Harold Tillman CBE

Red Carpet

Roksanda Ilinic

Isabella Blow 
Award for 
Fashion Creator
Professor Louise 
Wilson OBE

New Establishment
Erdem

Model
Cara Delevingne

Menswear Designer
Kim Jones

Designer of the Year and Designer Brand

Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney seemed genuinely surprised to win the two awards. Thanking her team she also told of her time working for an "anonymous" fashion house in Paris. Nudge nudge etc. Making the difficult decision to leave France and start her own label in her home city of London she was told by her boss "no WOMAN  has ever launched a label, let alone a label bearing that woman's name and turned it into an international force, anywhere but Paris". Spurring her on to succeed and now bearing the proof clutching her awards like batons in  her own strapless but sporty edged jumpsuit  you can see why such a determined designer was chosen for team GB's Olympic outfits.

Roksanda Illincic and Andrea Risebourough (who presented her with the award) both wearing her designs

Roksanda Illincic thanked all of the women who choose take a chance on her designs to wear for the big events in their lives and careers. I don't think there's any questioning why a woman would choose one of her stunning designs. Roksanda's dresses last night (as always) really stood out as something very special.

It was touching to see notorious tough cookie Professor Louise Wilson letting her emotions out when recognised for her achievements in teaching the fashion students of Central Saint Martins, she also spoke out for other art colleges and institutions who are educating the designers of tomorrow. Without help and guidance and sharing wisdom there would be no new designers or artists. Even though I was just a spectator to all the prizes, the winner's speeches made me think about all the people I would want to thank, it has only been through talented and suportive family and friends that I can do what I'm doing so massive thankyooooooos to all of them- couldn't do any of this without you all!

Winter Show 2012...Where the Wonderful Happens

There is a collection of my work at the beautiful gallery "The Art Shop" in Abergavenny for their winter show.    

New green Hewn ring with pyrite nugget available to purchase in the exhibition.

Hewn ring in the exhibition, inspired by the mineral malachite.

"A Winter Circus of make believe. Cabinets of curiosities, extravaganzas of peep shows, this is a place where talented makers and performers come together.

The circus has a deep attraction with artists, makers and performers. Painters, printmakers, jewellers and ceramic artists at The Art Shop have collaborated to put on a show of story telling and humour, clowning and nonsense, games and transformations, fantasies and pleasures.

Come and be entertained, amused, delighted and surprised. This is a celebratory winter show for all. Gather ideas and inspiration for Christmas in "

The gallery features many different types of artwork, from stone carvers and ceramicists to painters and print makers.

William Brown bear print

Clementina Van Der Walt

A selection of grey, granite and carnelian Hewn rings in the exhibition.

Matt Caines-studied traditional Inuit carving techniques.

I'm looking forward to checking out the work at this event, you can find out more on the site here. The exhibition runs from 3rd November - 26th January, but check out their blog for the interactive events and artist workshops that will be on as part of the show. There is also a fab food festival in the town on Sunday 9th December!

Frank vs App

 I mentioned in my last post that there's an App  for the new Ancient World's exhibition at Manchester Museum so here's my friend Natalie and I trying it out.

Using the museum wifi you can download their new app on your smartphone.

Along with each exhibit there is a unique combination of Pheonician codes. By "unlocking" the extra info yourself  you only need access the extra info on things you are particularly interested in. 

I liked this idea of using the symbols, simple but brilliantly in keeping with the exhibition (although as Nat was scrolling through I kept wanting to shout "Get the crystal, GET THE CRYSTAL")

As well as accessing image galleries and info on the objects (how they were discovered, uses etc) there were also audio commentaries. It was interesting to have a multi sensory experience but this kind of thing could be used for those with visual impairments too. Blown up details and videos of modern guides were shown on brightly lit screens as well, so you didn't need a smart phone to for all of the shiny new technology on offer.

I liked the vibrancy the screens and interaction added to the museum. I think it would make the place more inviting for a lot of people and there was definitely a feeling of making it relevant to today but with a spirit of adventure and discovery being able to find things out for yourself.

I think there are some good possibilities with the apps as they could be kept up to date with new info so you could potentially revisit the exhibition but get a new experience and learn more as you go along. (new discoveries, news, techniques on how they were made, links to current events going on in the museum etc).

But much as I like clever and cool, I am also a HUGE fan of WISDOM AND WONDER. And for me you an only get that by learning from a real person who has a deep interest they want to share.

Cue Frank...

I was really happy to see the museum's hand's on section with some fab objects to find out about and even  (carefully!) handle. Frank is a volunteer at the museum and his enthusiasm was infectious as he answered our questions and taught us about the pieces on the table. I asked how long he had been interested in finding out about history through objects and he said always, when he was a small boy he would sit in the coal shed with a little hammer smashing the black lumps to find fossils.  Viva the Urban Palaeontologist! 

When I quizzed Frank on his fave object at the museum the winner was this mysterious white fragment and it was very exciting when he told us why...

In a true Antiques Roadshow "Turner in the loft" kind of thing, this piece had been buried in a box of stored objects since it was donated in the 1930s by a German Archaeologist. It was unearthed 10 weeks ago during the prep for the new exhibition. There was no quick look on wiki for this, but by researching in "proper old books" to find images to photocopy like the one Frank's holding of Rameses II it shows the object to be a finial on a chariot used to tie the reins to keep hands free (for fighting with a massive sword or maybe I think eating a nice sandwich* "on the hoof"). 

*or ancient Egyptian carb equivalent

It is the ONLY piece in the museum with a Pharaoh's name on it. The stylised Dead Duck and Snake you can see -apart from sounding like a jolly nice pub are actually the hieroglyphics for "live in fear of". It also states that he was away fighting at the time. And we got to hold it! Erm just please keep it over the cushioned table. It is very old. Sorry!

For more cool stuff on museums going digital check out culture hack here. To learn more about the objects with a brill volunteers like Frank check out events on the museum website here or just get in and visit. It's free!