colourliving

southbank as inspiration

This post was inspired by 2 charming male bloggers. James balston, interior photographer extraordinaire, who shot my flat for heart home magazine and the lovely gerard mcguickin (affectionately named mr. grey) of walnut grey design, a design writer and interior stylists who i’m scheduled to meet, for the first time, later on next month. Both champion the aesthetics and have rather stylish blogs.

I was at the southbank centre last week and forgot what mish mash of concrete buildings, restaurants and public spaces all fight for attention. It’s a visual mayem. On closer inspection, i was amazed at all the changes that had taken place and it really looked very colourful, vibrant and rather funky. Visual mayem can be good, right?

The sun was slowly setting as i walked around, camera in hand. My first thought was to capture some of the buildings but sure enough i went for colour, patterns and interesting temporary objects and pop-up huts instead. No surprise there!

If you’re after beautifully shot buildings and interiors i urge you to take a look at both james and gerard’s blogs. You won’t be disappointed. These guys do it with style and panache.

If you’re after tina style photography, stay right here. I hope you find something of interest and i can inspire you in my own little way. How’s your week going?

I see you back here on friday, just before the long bank holiday where i’ll hopefully get a chance to go to some of the diamond jubilee festivities in order to share it with you here on my blog. Have a good rest of the week people.

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something about ‘me’

Today i’m participating in a blogger’s cocktail party, organised by my friend theresa. There is a whole bunch of us who will blog about the same topic just for today. The choice was between something we feared or to share something about us. Both topics serve to allow the reader to go ‘behind the scenes’ and get to know the person behind the blog a little better. I chose the latter and if you want to see the rest of the participating blogs, hop over here.

I’ve chosen to talk about the fear of failure vs the fear of success.

For the past 20 years i’ve believed in the notion of having a vocation versus just having a job. I’ve strived to find work that i love, that i’m aligned with and that supports my value system. It didn’t start out like this. In the beginning it was all about making money, fitting in with the social fabric and feeding my ego. Slowly, i started questioning my motifs and realised that i have the power to say no to jobs i didn’t think fitted the bill. It has been an uphill struggle and i can assure you it will continue to be a challenge.

I’ve always believed that i have a fear of failure. Full stop! In the past few years it has transpired that i actually also have a fear of success. Do you know this poem by Marianne Williamson from her book A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles?

‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

That’s right, we are powerful beyond measure and i’m starting to really get it!

You didn’t think it would stop here, did you? Well, then we have the meaning of success. What does success mean to you? I can only share here what it means to me. It means waking up every day and liking what i see in the mirror (metaphorically speaking:) to be true to who i want to be, to live in authenticity and to serve humankind. Yes, you read correctly, i see my working life as serving humankind. I believe that we can all create our own life. As the saying goes: Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. In my very small way i try to help people create their own life. For me, quality of life starts at home, hence why i’m passionate about home finding for my clients. I want to give them the best chance of waking up in a home that will facilitate them having the best day they can have.

I’ve also learned that i cannot grow if i don’t fail. I used to be paralysed with fear when it came to trying out new work things but am happy to report that these days i take it much more in my stride and will test, discard or change things as and when required without getting that feeling of being a failure.

I hope my learning never stops and that i’ll carry on the journey that has so far given me tremendous pleasure and enriched my life. Hey, let’s face it, getting to the destination is so last season. It’s all in the journey, a bit like, err, life itself.

Have a great weekend people and please share your thoughts on this. Does it make sense to you? How do you feel about your work?

Here’s to all my fellow cocktail party bloggers. You rock!

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my very first guest post!

Once upon a time there was a sweet girl named erin. She lived in philadelphia and one day decided to go on holiday to europe.

Fast forward to 2012. Yep, erin is a blogger and she’s got the right idea. Why not enrol the help of her readers while she swoons around the city of ‘amour’ eating macarons? A few emails later all decisions have been made and 8 guest posts lined up. Title: my favourite vacation! Job done! She’s clever and crafty that erin. I’ve changed things around a little but hey, isn’t that called: creative licence?

Oh, i’ve just noticed that i’m last up. I really enjoyed reading my fellow bloggers guest posts over the past week. If truth be told, i believe erin is back but still needs a day to recover before enchanting us with her anecdotes of her european adventure. You owe us girl!!! No, in all seriousness, thank you erin for inviting me to your virtual home. It’s rather cosy there.

Without any further ado, jump over to read my very first guest post @ the one and only ilikewantneed.

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a weekend in berlin

As most of you know, i visited berlin to attend the very first the hive blogging conference. No doubt there’s already 10′s of wonderful posts about the event for you to read online so i will instead recount some of my impressions of the weekend and introduce you to some of the wonderful bloggers i met.

First up, if you want a really comfortable, stylish and central hotel, look no further than to the exquisite and reasonably priced hotel amano in mitte. We stayed in two of their wonderful apartments and the roof terrace is to die for, helped by the weather being glorious and hitting 29 degrees by sunday. After a long day of sightseeing, shopping or attending a conference, this is the way to relax before dinner.

For glorious food, dudu is a must. Go for sashimi, maki rolls or the most popular crunchy dudu roll – an incredible combination of yellowfin tuna, avocado, cucumber and sesame covered crispy tempura, all accompanied by guacamole and salsa. The other favourite is their beef with lamb salad and their sushi rolls. We were lucky to sit outside on the patio and have dinner with the wonderful Toni and Thea from sister mag, clara from tastesheriff, susanne from lieschen heiratet and ricarda from 23qmstil.

The weekend was dominated by the blogging conference and i was delighted to hear some of the talks and meet these wonderful ladies. Oh, yes the boys from freunde von freunde did not disappoint.

See their magazines here

Look at jeanette’s magazines here.

Get the freunde von freunde book here.

The other talks that impressed me were growing your readership by oum and blog etiquette and how to deal with negative feedback by the lovely anne from prêt à voyager.

Another highlight for me was meeting the gorgeous sibylle from fun.kyti.me

and the talented anne from anne’s kitchen.

Now i’m back in cold and greyish london. Let’s hope for a sunny week. What were you up to on the weekend?

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design hero – the late alan fletcher

When studying graphic design, one of my greatest design heroes was the late alan fletcher.

Alan fletcher, one of the five founders of pentagram and one of the world’s greatest designers, died in september 2006 after a private 18-month struggle with cancer. He was born in 1931 in nairobi and moved to london as a child. He studied art and design at four different schools — hammersmith, the central school, the royal college of art, and yale — and worked in new york, chicago, barcelona and milan before returning to london in 1959. Pentagram was formed in 1972.

He famously once said: “i’d sooner do the same on monday or wednesday as I do on a saturday or sunday. I don’t divide my life between labour and pleasure.

At pentagram, his work and client base was remarkably diverse: identities and signage programs for the big boys like reuters, the commercial bank of kuwait, lloyds and ibm on one hand, and small personal projects on the other. “I’m a split personality,” he once was quoted saying. “I do quite large, complex corporate identity jobs. I enjoy that, but I also enjoy sitting round doing my own little things, which are invariably the ones that don’t pay.” So in 1992 he went off on his own to focus on his creative obsessions. These were eventually compiled in his 2001 masterpiece, the art of looking sideways, a staggering tour de force of visual and written delight with over 1,000 pages. It’s really a visual thinking bible. If you don’t own a copy i urge you to at least take a look at one. While doing so check out some of his other books here and here. They’re all very inspiring.

In this youtube clip, Alan Fletcher explains his book perfectly:

From 11 november 2006 – 18 february 2007, the design museum held a major exhibition of fletcher’s work - alan fletcher: fifty years of graphic work (and play) Unfortunately he died as the show was being put together, a couple of months before it opened. I visited quite a few times and it has stayed with me ever since. The images i took are not really good quality. It was very dark and this was before the iphone was invented. I used an old, simple point and shoot but still believe it’s worth showing you some of my favourites that were on display.

Do you know his work and do you have any favourite images?

 

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inspiration in everything

This post has been inspired by one of my heroes: sir paul smith.

Tomorrow i’ll be going to the v&a to listen to a talk by sir paul smith where he discusses his work and career and how we can find inspiration from everything, from the most exotic to the most mundane. I first heard this talk (probably updated now) at tate britain when his incredible book: you can find inspiration in everything…and if you can’t, look again was published in paperback in 2003. The hardback version came out in 2001. There are some books you can never get enough of.

It was the first time i had the pleasure to listen to sir paul smith and remember thinking how fortunate i was to be in the same room and listen to real ‘nuggets’. I’ve since been to hear more talks and every time come away elated, inspired, and full of creative hope. I’m so excited about tomorrow and believe that there’s still some tickets available.

So, you can find inspiration in everything. In december 2007 icon issue, there’s another fantastic example of this. (you can read the full article by clicking on the link).

The other day, when a little overwhelmed with too much work and a far too long to do list, i jumped on my vespa and went out for a little ‘thinking time’ and inspiration. I am working on many different processes and so the idea of a finished product did not appeal. What is it about the ‘raw state’ of something that can be alluring and teach us something? If inspiration is in everything, then, surely, it is also in the aesthetically challenged, the unfinished, the crude and disturbing.

I’m sure some of you will find these images grotesque or, dare i say, not pretty. I’m hoping that most of you will see the potential, the ‘what could be’, the ‘beginning of something new, the inspiration for colour schemes, fashion textiles, texture and patterns.

Me, i am going to listen to sir paul enlighten me further on you can find inspiration in everything…and if you can’t, look again!

Happy Monday everyone. Belated happy mother’s day to my american readers.

Oh, i couldn’t quite leave you with such challenging images, so here’s a little something. Who doesn’t love a bit of coloured crane?

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the new kings cross western concourse

Kings cross is one of the busiest transport interchanges in the country.

Around 47 million people use the station every year and forecasters predict that this number will rise by 10 million with the next decade. We needed a station that aligns with the 21st century and can meet passengers demand, while honouring the station’s victorian history.

Kings cross station in 1852.

The new concourse is the first phase to redevelop kings cross station. The second and final phase completes in the autumn of 2013. This is what it’s going to look like, with a new public square that will be larger than london’s leicester square.

The original front of the station will be exposed for the first time in years, revealing the careful restoration of the station’s victorian features alongside the new development.

For now, let’s take a look at this first completed phase of this fantastic world class station. The semi-circular vaulted concourse, designed by british architects john mcaslan + partners is incredible. The steel structure envelops the space around it with it’s criss-cross pattern. It’s made out of 16 steel tree form columns that radiate from a tapered central funnel.

Eating places and shops are on offer on the ground floor and mezzanine. The whole place was buzzing when i was there taking pictures.

Here are some photos of platforms 6 & 7.

I was interested in some of the detail structures and how they form really interesting pattern shapes.

This ambitious project, which involved re-use, restoration and new build will become a new gateway to the city, just in time for the 2012 olympics.

What struck me most, except for the beauty and inspiring architecture was the enthusiasm and excitement of the staff within the different areas of the station. Speaking to some of them i discovered that they were happy about the greatly improved working conditions. Everyone was smiling and in a good mood.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: ‘good design can change our world’. It makes for better products, better services, brings joy and therefore enhances our daily lifestyle.

How do you feel about good design can change our world? Any examples or anecdotes?

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the big british bang

My regular readers know how much i love selfridges. Well, today i want to share with you their new fantastic store wide event called the big british bang.

It’s a celebration of all things british and who doesn’t love a bit of british? They are marking the queen’s diamond jubilee celebrations and a summer of sport. Yes, while the weather has decided to play havoc here in london, go and cheer yourself up with this colourful and most charming celebration. You’ll find many accompanying events and there is a plethora of fantastic and unique products to buy that have been especially designed for this occasion . In the big british shop there’s a collection of some favourite brands exclusive and unique designs. In the big yellow shop you’ll find, err, well everything in selfridges’ signature yellow hue, pantone 109. The last time i saw exclusive designs in selfridges’ yellow was for their centenary festivities back in 2009.

I must say looking at their window displays and subsequently walking through selfridges put a smile on my face and made me feel it is spring after all. If you’re looking for inspiration, that special gift or just want to be around colour, you can’t go wrong with paying selfridges a visit.

Be prepared, there are a lot of images. It was impossible to edit down further. I was seduced by this visual feast. First off, here are some great posters for this lavish celebration.

Next, let me show you these fantastic window displays. It really made me want to become a window dresser. Selfridges, for me, always does it so well. They tell a story like no other department store in london. Judge for yourself. All right, I know, they have more windows for display than any of the others.

And some more window displays showing quintessential britishness.

Phew, and that was just some of the window displays outside the store. I also had to show you some of the goodies inside. After spending time in selfridges i came out buzzing with excitement and inspiration. See what you think.

I hope you’ve found some inspiration here for a project, a colour scheme or just for sheer pleasure in celebrating all things british. Which is your favourite window display? Oh, and by the way, a sales assistant told me that they will be selling the yellow birds as of tomorrow. Originally they were just meant to be used for props but they’ve had so many enquiries that they decided to offer them in their range of products for sale. Hurry, while stock lasts!

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the making of the ‘colourliving’ website

When i first played with the idea for the website, i knew i did not want to have photography of interior settings. I wanted something that reflected my curious, slightly eccentric and playful personality.

Having always been a fan of Slinkachu little people street art and miniatures in general, the plan was hatched. Now what to do and, more importantly, how to do it? I looked around for some sort of figures or figurines i could use, inspired by the work of sloane tanen. I quickly realised i was taking on too much so scrapped that idea and decided against figures.

I started researching online and lo and behold i came across the world of dolls houses and miniatures. Go figure, it’s a whole world in itself. My first stop was at a dolls house exhibition in alexandra palace. As luck wanted it and following my very astute nose, i came across a young woman who seemed rather out of place there as the average age was 50+. She had her own little stand amongst her mothers’ chris much larger stand. There was something about her and i hovered around for a while before approaching hannah. ‘Hi, i’m not really here to buy dolls house miniatures or anything of the sorts, i’m thinking of creating some miniature scenes to photograph for my upcoming website, i uttered.’ ‘Err, i haven’t worked anything out yet, but just wanted to get an idea of what is around and your stuff is really beautiful.’ Hannah’s work was different. It was smart and had panache. I’m sure both hannah and chris thought i was bonkers but they entertained my eccentricity.

Hannah and chris told me they were next exhibiting at the kensington dollshouse festival in london and so i went with a little more of an idea what i was looking for. There’s a summer and winter festival and the next one is actually in a couple of weeks. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The place is a haven for anyone interested in high quality miniatures and, oh, be prepared to part with some serious cash. So, there i was, a sort of shopping list in hand, ready to go wild for a couple of hours amongst some serious dolls houses collectors and connoisseurs. I bought some stuff, but most of the props i wanted for the photography i commissioned from hannah, who works in the product design department of the university of bristol. A huge thank you to hannah, whose input in the brainstorming of the ideas was invaluable.

The website was a labour of love for me and although i absolutely missed the point of shooting miniatures (it doesn’t show, hence why i wrote this post) i still feel it reflects the essence of what i tried to achieve. I hope you enjoy the visual diary……….

First off was the concept for the website.

Then came the sketches for the individual miniature scenes.

Now, I needed a lot of props. Some would be items I needed to commission, some would serve as a background. Let’s start with those. I was lucky that i had bought moma’s modern playhouse in magma a few weeks before. Somehow i knew, one day, it would come in use.

Next are some of my own artworks that i used as backgrounds props.

Here are some props i found online.

The details on the iphone and macbook are incredible, right?

The eames lounge chair and footstool and salvador dali’s lip shaped sofa are from the kensington dollshouse festival. Did you spot the cute hat stand?

The next lot is some of the stuff i commissioned hannah to make exclusively for the website. Isn’t she super talented?

Finally, here is a selection of the photographs used for the website.

There you have it. Months and months of work. I still don’t know how to photograph miniatures but no doubt would have done a better job if i came across tilt-shift photography earlier. Alternatively, next time i just ask the lovely james balston for advise. What are friends for?

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