anyone up for a dance?

come boogie down at trafalgar square in london this thursday for t-mobiles latest dance flash mob! might very well go and watch, some nice camera opportunities...

love bomb...

more gorgeous ceramics - ADORE this grenade money bank. and according to the designer/mollaspace:

we don't hear the deafening explosion nor the devastation after the explosion when this "love grenade" is thrown. we see future and prosperity

yeh, i know, a little cheesy but partial proceeds are donated to "Act Now to Stop War & End Racism" (A.N.S.W.E.R.) which makes it good for you (you get to keep this beauty) and good for the world. shame you have to crack it to open it though....

moss and bluebells...

some of my favourite subjects! bluebells, moss, woodland and walks....

the sweetest critters...

have an adorable little friend sharing your brew or left over cereal milk with these beautiful ceramic pieces from laura walls taylor. her shop is choc full of nature inspired ceramics so tootle on over to etsy for a browse.

sad eyes...

she's very beautiful...and i do love her ethereal style...both her look and her music.

my bloke and i saw bat for lashes play at shepherd's bush empire (aka 02 empire) on friday...it was a christmas present from, well, both of us! we both unknowingly brought each the same present for christmas...a pair of tickets to the same act on the same night. the synchronicity was quite a nice feeling...but did mean that we ended up with a spare pair of tickets!

i'm not sure how i first heard about bat for lashes, i think it may have been through lee may at bonbi forest who designed beautiful t-shirts for them. i adore fur and gold as an album, i'm still warming to natasha khan's latest, two suns, but i think i will grow to love it too...and i've always wanted to see her play live, and slightly regret not seeing her play when i first heard of them and the gigs they would have been playing were smaller. but as far as venues go shepherd's bush isn't so big that it prevents you from really absorbing the act and their ambiance, as opposed to just absorbing the sweat from the armpits of the really tall bloke that is standing just in front of you at the massive gig where you can only watch the act on tv screens....always go for smaller and intimate. i like being able to catch the eye of the act i'm watching (even if i only imagine it), it just makes the experience more personal and beyond what staying at home and watching from your sofa can offer.

so, we hustled down to the front of the gig and took up our positions next to her piano. the few shots i've posted above give a little glimpse of the night...the stage seemed to be themed around an eclectic front room - with antlers, lamps, kitsch fairies and madonna/jesus figurines scattered around the stage.

as expected her voice was beautiful and eerie, and the strong basslines and drums provided a gorgeous tribal feel to the songs. and she looked really beautiful...a bjork-esque feel with the ruffle colour (and of course the voice) and possibly the only playsuit i've seen that i would actually consider buying. the shimmery fabric looked great in the spotlights and the little pirate boots she wore with it worked really well to add contrast to the silky feel and voluminous harem shape. i borrowed a picture from preamble as none of my photos really showed off the outfit (as you can cheap camera + low light + moving subject + minimal photography skills = fuzzy focus). Gorgeous ain't it?

photo borrowed from preamble

aaaaaaand, even better, i think i have found it over at topshop. now, do i have the courage to actually wear this? WHERE could i actually wear this? but it's so pretty.....

tiles on the underground...

stepney green by twintubey

i try to keep off the london underground as much as possible...particularly at commuter time. it is such a bustle...and it always suprises me that people get so close to each other...so close! the last time i was on the tube i ended up with my head buried in some unknown gentleman's chest because people kept tumbling onto the train, like a huge wave of suits and briefcases. there were people hanging onto the tube doorways, just about managing to duck their heads inside as they were ordered to 'mind the closing doors'. i don't think i've ever been so intimate with a stranger - odd!

but, when the tubes are calmer you get to appreciate all the beautiful artwork that adorns the network...i really love the huge variation of style and periods within the tube stations. from the futuristic westminster to the sweet vintage style of tubes like regent street with the british racing green tiles there are some really lovely gems to hunt out. i've taken a few pictures whilst i've been out and about, but as they were taken on my iphone the quality isn't too great. i'd quite like to make it a little project, documenting the beautiful tiles across the london underground...

the first two photos below are my underground scavenges, the other three photos in this post i found over in the london underground tile patterns group on flickr:

tottenham court road

unknown (can't remember where i took this but think it is in north london)

kings cross tube by belfegore

unknown by A.D.A

bushy tailed rats?

seizethedave

i know that views on these little beasties are mixed, but i think squirrels are adorable! i love their cheeky faces and cheeky ways...and my last house we had a little fella who would sit on the doorstep and poke his head around the front door when it was open, though he never did quite have the courage to venture inside...

there are some awesome squirrel shots over on flickr which i've popped here, like the little baby squirrel below - how sweet!

mosippy


mikeworld


mikeworld

these super closeups from mikeworld are awesome, and cleverly taken by tricking greedy squirrels to come up close by attaching hazelnuts to the camera. love the grotty yellow teeth, reminds me of my (now dead) little hammie 'hazel', 'cept with a much bushier tail!

some take home squirrel goodies:

squirrel ring box via squirrels squirrels squirrels


amberalexander



mamaslittlebabies

and if you are so inclined to purchase your own kicking and squealing squirrel (not recommended) you can find out more info here!

spring moleskines...

who doesn't love a moleskine? who doesn't love a chartreuse green moleskine? i'll take them by the dozen please. see the new volant selection for more info.

by the way i'm looking for a great stamp maker, any recommendations? or even anyone who does a good deal on custom moleskines? i stumbled across pinball publishing who offer custom designed moleskines, but they start at 250 minimum order for $475...could afford my own gocco for that! sure there must be someone over on etsy...

i'm a sellsumer, are you?

so apparently us crafty folk are the feature of a new trend (supposedly recession induced) - the 'sellsumer'.

so a sellsumer - consumers who are making money instead of just spending it....hawking their creative output to fellow consumers....yup, that's me! and probably you too. etsy is mentioned under section 2 (sellsumers and creation) in the article over on trendwatching.com '(etsy) boasts 200,000 sellsumers'....not really sure what to make of the word...what is sellsummer a pun on? sellsumthinks? what do you think?

but the point of the article is that we are a new trend of consumers to engage with, consumers who are business savvy, a bit quirky, and not 'string' puppets to traditional corporations. the article encourages brands to come up with a sellsumer service which can facilitate existing or aspiring sellsumers....so that got me on to thinking. what could brands do to help out sellsumers, and what would i, as a sellsumer, want from a brand?

i guess the biggest thing that a brand could offer me is publicity. like the kind of thing that folksy did with howies for the london design festival week. the winner of the competition was featured in their flagship store in carnaby street - how awesome is that? imagine if topshop did competitions like that....or even selfridges?



tips and techniques would be great too - marketing advice from the marketing departments of brands, wouldn't you love to have a chat with the marketing department at cath kidston to get a few tricks of the trade?


via guardian website

(oh and talking of cath kidston, get 15% off tomorrow only by quoting SPGET at check out)

so, what could a brand do for you? post below in the comments and hopefully it might help send them our way!

art, dates and desktops...

got me a new desktop today from smashingmagazine.com - each month they feature a huge amount of fab artists who have donated their designs as desktops with calenders included. following the disapointment of the beautiful gocco printed desk calender i ordered not turning up this makes for a pretty happy subsitute. new artwork gets released each month, which is a nice opportunity to spring clean your desktop!

i went with this one for now:

but also thought these were pretty fab:

take me to the meadow...

so so many beautiful photos in benoitp's flickr stream it was hard to choose, but i had to go with these stunning flower shots. i really feel like i'm in the meadow with the sun streaming in my eyes and blurring my vision.

buy benoitp's book over on blurb.com