Dreams Unwind, Love's A State Of Mind

I chose this outfit based completely around this amazing Esprit hat I received from Surfdome.com. The outfit ended up having a seventies feel to it hence the post title lyrics from Fleetwood Mac's Rhiannon which are also fitting considering it's Halloween later this week.  Have a look here at Surfdome's array of hats for Autumn/Winter. 

Photos by Donnacha

Hat- Esprit c/o Surfdome

Sunglasses- eBay

Fur Collar- Chicwish

Jacket- Marella (charity shop)

Dress and Boots- Marks and Spencer

Bag- Coach (via eBay)

Rings-Vintage

Earrings and Bracelet- Accessorize

Watch- Fossil Georgina

Lips- YSL Rose Baby Doll Glossy Stain (review coming this week)

Nails- Essie Velvet Voyeur

We've been so lucky with the weather so far this Autumn. Apart from the rain and wind, it's been quite mild so I'm enjoying wearing light layers at the moment. I've been having a lot of fun recently, hanging out with friends, going out more than I usually do, work is going really well and I've been making the most of new challenges every day. I feel really lucky. I'm going to Paris very soon and we've been trying to organise what we're going to do each day so I'm getting really excited about that. I've been watching The Mindy Project which has quickly become my new favourite show and listening to a lot of Pixies, Elliott Smith and Fleetwood Mac. I've had lots of great exciting opportunities because of blogging, which can sometimes be scary but I really want to embrace it all and enjoy it. It's been so much fun and so rewarding!

Tell me how you are!

Emma x

Absolut Originality- Interview with Chrissie Abbott

This week I had the wonderful opportunity to interview London based illustrator Chrissie Abbott for the upcoming Absolut Originality Exhibition running in Dublin next week. I didn't realise that I already knew some of Chrissie's work and I can now say that I am a true fan. I am in complete awe of how talented she is. Please take a look at her site to see more of her amazing work.

Have you been creative from an early age? When did you first start getting into the world of design/illustration?

I think it’s just something I've always enjoyed; at school art was my favourite, the only subject I liked. I've always drawn and made things; collaging old scraps of Christmas cards, birthday cards and magazines was a group activity in my house when I was little.

 When did you know that you wanted to be an illustrator? What made you realise that's what you wanted to do?

I never really considered another option; it just wouldn't make sense to me to not do this. The covers of book and record sleeves that my parents owned were a massive inspiration and it was just always what I saw myself doing. 

Do you think it's important for someone interested in design/illustration to study it in college or do you think you can be self-taught?

I think it really depends on the person. The thing about Art College is that it doesn't teach you to have talent, it teaches you techniques to express what's inside of you, and you meet wonderful and inspiring people and you learn how to communicate your ideas. At the time I wasn't the biggest fan of being there but in hindsight I learnt how to work to deadlines and discovered printmaking which was invaluable.

Chrissie's collaboration with ASOS

 As someone who doesn't know a great deal about the world of illustrating, I would love to know who your favourite illustrators are.

There are so many! Jiro Bevis, Marcus Oakley, Will Sweeny, French, Esra Roise, Jody Barton, Jim Stoten, and Peter Blake is my ultimate hero.

 I had a look at your tumblr and I noticed you seem to be a fan of a lot of different films, television and music. What are some of your favourite films/television/music? Do you think that they have an influence on your work? Are there any directors/musicians that you would love to work with?

I love Sofia Coppola's visual style; The Virgin Suicides was a big influence and inspiration for me because it was just so dreamy.

Older films and TV shows like Twin Peaks, The Holy Mountain, Harold and Maude, and Easy Rider are amongst my favourites.

I really enjoy working with musicians and bands whose music I like because it’s usually really easy to translate into a record sleeve. 

I would flip out if I ever got to work with My Bloody Valentine or Neil Young.

Reading Emotions

What makes you decide to work with a brand?

If it’s an exciting project it’s great to work with brands as it elevates your work to a wider platform and gets seen by more people.

 Do you have a favourite from your body of work?

Recently I did artwork for a band called Big Deal, and I think this is my favourite because they were such a joy to work with and I felt really inspired by their record.

 I have a friend who is just starting out as a fashion illustrator, is there any advice you can give her from your own experience?

I think just work hard and be enthusiastic and try not to lose the love of what you do.

 Do you have any plans for the future? Are there any brands/people you would love to work with? 

I’m just about to embark on a trip to Australia and I'm excited to be in warmer climes and get inspired by new things.

I'd love to do more fashion stuff like textile and pattern design.

 What inspired you for the collaboration with Absolut Vodka?

I'm a big fan of rocks and minerals, for me the cobalt blue held a wealth of inspiration, plus I get to work with some amazingly talented and people who make wonderful things.

Chrissie will be featuring her designs in ABSOLUT ORIGINALITY, a free multidisciplinary exhibition taking place in Mabos Arts Space, 8 Hanover Quay, Dublin. The exhibition is free and open to the public on Thursday, October 31^st; 11am to 8pm, Friday, November 1^st; 11am to 6pm and Saturday, November 2^nd, 11am to 6pm. The exhibition is to launch this year’s new limited edition bottle design, ABSOLUT ORIGINALITY, which features a streak of cobalt blue to reflect the original streak in all of us.  Visit www.ABSOLUTORIGINALITY.ie for more information.

I hope you enjoyed reading the interview as much as I did coming up with the questions and a huge thank you so much to Chrissie for her time and to Absolut for this opportunity. 

Emma x

Camera Talk

Today I want to talk about cameras for blogging. Unfortunately I don't have my own digital SLR yet although I am extremely lucky to have access to a Panasonic Lumix GH1 for taking all of my blog photos. My boyfriend bought it a few years ago for filming with and it's an excellent camera that I would fully recommend  to anyone interested and I've learned so much about photography through using it and figuring out all of the settings. It helps when you have your own personal expert on hand of course. However, I would love to some day invest in my own camera. As much as I love the Panasonic one, I do feel it's strengths lie in filming with rather than stills so I've been doing some research into the Canon and Nikon options on Jessops online store for my future camera investment.

The Canon 5D Mark III is the most recent in the 5D range and would be a dream to own but it a little out of my price range. 

The more affordable option would be to buy a body only as we already have 28mm and 50mm Canon lenses and you can always build on your collection later. The Canon EOS 7D would be ideal as the body is significantly less expensive than with the 18-35mm kit included. I've used the 7D for filming and stills and I absolutely loved using it. It takes the most beautiful photographs. 

Another more affordable option is the Nikon D3200. Again, you could pay very little for the body only, depending on what lenses you already have, or invest in a kit with the 18-55mm VR lens and a Tamron 70-300mm lens so that you would have a lot of options. 

If you wanted to invest in Nikon, another possible option that wouldn't break the bank would be the D7000 with 18-105mm VR Lens Kit.  I would be a lot less familiar with Nikon, although I have used my friends Nikon for stills and I did find it was quite easy to adapt to it after working primarily with Panasonic and Canon cameras. 

I think it's a case of once you know what you're doing with one camera, it's fairly easy to work with any make or model. I know a lot of people have their favourite brands but after using a few different cameras I'm certain I could adapt to any brand. Being as passionate as I am about photography it's about time I started to save for my own camera. I look forward to doing more research and finally choosing the one I want to invest in. 

What camera do you use? Are you loyal to one brand?

Emma x

Next Christmas Collection

Last Wednesday evening I went to the Next Christmas Collection event in the beautiful surroundings of the Cliff Townhouse. The room was decorated beautifully and included pieces from Womenwear, Menswear, Childrenswear and Home Decor. There was also a Tropical Popical nail bar and Christmas cookie decorating from Thunders Bakery. 

As you can see the Christmas accessories collection was very opulent. There were black, gold, silver, purple, velvet, sequinned and bejewelled necklaces, watches, evening bags and shoes. 

As you would expect fabric and texture were a big feature of the collection with fur, jacquard, sequins, silk, tulle, leather and velvet. There was a good range of colour with monochrome, black and red, camel, soft pink and purple as well as the old reliable black. There was a big Highland inspiration to the more casual items with a lot of tartan, dogtooth, check, wool and tweed. 

The Home collection for Christmas really drew me in with all of the bright colours, candles, Christmas decorations, gifts and fairy lights. It got me really excited for December to come around. My favourite item was the Teapot cushion above. That is definitely going on my Christmas wishlist!

Despite not having as much of an interest in men's and children's fashion, the collections for both were gorgeous. I especially loved the men's footwear. All of the pretty girls dresses reminded me of how much I loved getting my new Christmas dress every year. The children's Christmas jumpers were so cute! 

I met the lovely Marta from Addicted to Fashion Forever. You can read her post about the event here. 

My good friend Vanessa came with me, we had a great time drinking wine, decorating our cookies and chatting to the lovely ladies from Next- Rebecca, Chantelle and Vicky. 

If you're near a branch of Next pop in and grab the gorgeous lookbook featuring the stunning Arizona Muse.

Thanks to the lovely ladies from Next for inviting me along and a huge well done on organising such an enjoyable evening!

Is there anything from the collection you have your eye on?

Emma x