Category: Bohemian

July 18, 2014

Bargain Hunting..

The wonderful Toast are having a brilliant sale..particularly their ‘Archive‘ section – true bargains..if it’s in your size, snap it up..I got my denim Chore coat at more then half price and I’m delighted with it..Not sure it was the wisest thing to take to Greece, but I couldn’t bear to leave it behind..and coming back to the UK could be cold, couldn’t it?

Laters, Kate x

July 16, 2014

The Book Barge..

Sarah Henshaw, a modern day heroine and one of life’s great dreamers proves that life is still full of endless possibilities…if only we dare to live them…

sarah henshaw, books, london, entertainment, journalist, reporter, press, lethal weapon, danny glover, reading, boat, book barge,

Because her words are far more relevant than anything I could write, I’ve cut and pasted this article in its totality, but you can find the original words and all info here.

I remember quite clearly the first time I realised I might be in the wrong job.I was working as an entertainment journalist in London and, on this particular morning I was at a press junket to interview Lethal Weapon star Danny Glover.There was a long queue of journalists ahead of me so I took a book out of my bag and passed the time reading.When my interview started Danny quickly seemed bored and called his assistant over.After a brief exchange he turned back to me. “I hope you don’t mind,” he apologised, “but I’m very tired. I’m just going to stretch out on the floor for a few minutes and nap. You can stay here. We’ll resume the interview when I awake.”With that he pushed his chair aside and adopted a foetal position by my handbag.I squirmed awkwardly for several minutes, not quite sure where to look or what to do. “Oh, I should carry on with your book,” his assistant said helpfully. I didn’t need further encouragement.Anything with the power to take me away from a lightly snoring actor, a job I had no talent for and a city that overwhelmed me had my vote of confidence. I opened it and got lost.The idea for a black and cream book-flogging canal boat came a year later at the end of 2008.

Anything with the power to take me away from a lightly snoring actor, a job I had no talent for and a city that overwhelmed me had my vote of confidence

Sarah Henshaw

By then I’d quit London and planned to move back to the Midlands with my boyfriend Stu.He was about to retrain as a joiner and I had promised to support him financially while he studied. That was easier said than done.Months later, frustrated by a string of unsuccessful media applications, I hit upon the idea of creating my own job – a dream job. I would sell books… from a boat.I knew nothing about book selling – nor boats. I found Joseph, the craft that became The Book Barge, on Google.It was the first narrowboat I viewed and I bought it immediately with a £25,000 loan from my parents. My petitions to the banks had been turned down frequently and firmly.Despite my naivety business was initially brisk. Moored at Barton Marina in Staffordshire my shop stocked a decent range of new and secondhand literature and held regular bookish events, which were well-attended.This didn’t last. My appalling inexperience, coupled with price competition from online and supermarket retailers, meant that just two years later the shop was facing closure.

Saddled with guilt and debt, I split up with my boyfriend and moved on to the boat.Tears obscuring all their titles I looked at my shelves of books and wondered how they could ever get me out of this new mess. The solution – in its simplicity – surprised even me.I set off with the boat from its permanent mooring immediately, giving myself six months to save it as well as a vestige of self-respect.I put myself entirely in the customers’ hands as I chugged a nervous figure-of-eight route around the entire country and bartered away my stock. The idea of swapping books instead of selling them made sense.Since buying the boat all domestic comforts (including toilet, shower, gas hob, bed and fridge) had been ripped out to bed, breakfast and a packed lunch.In London a gentleman offered a month’s worth of food from Sainsbury’s delivered straight to the boat, redeeming the value of his till receipt in secondhand books.In less populated places it proved harder to negotiate. Here I would often rely on fellow boaters for the use of their showers or for occasional towpath-foraged delicacies, including a particularly memorable wild flower syrup cake.By June of that year The Book Barge had attracted the interest of the national press.While I was talking to a journalist who came aboard in Hackney one afternoon a customer interrupted by making a scissors movement with her fingers.She gestured to the whiteboard hanging over my desk upon which I listed the items I needed each day and for which I was prepared to sacrifice free stock. “The haircut?” she offered.The journalist folded his arms and raised an eyebrow expectantly. “S-s-sure,” I stuttered and fetched a towel to put over my shoulders.Now I’ve been going to the same salon for years. I don’t generally let strangers hack away at it with a pair of paper-scissors, let alone untrained strangers in the middle of a busy bookshop.

It took 10 minutes. At the end the woman responsible for the un even lengths littering the floor by my ankles grinned broadly.

With that she bagged an £8.99 paperback as payment and walked hastily out. The journalist picked up a guitar and started quietly strumming. I could just about make out the song: You Can’t Always Get What You Want.By October 2011 I had returned to the Midlands having journeyed some 1,000 miles through more than 700 locks. Determined now that I could never let the shop close, I took freelance copywriting shifts to pay off my debts and started working at a high-school library during term-time.I still live aboard. I still allow customers to barter for books as well as buy. But one thing has changed.I’m back with Stu, who has become a pretty decent carpenter.In between fitting a toilet for us, he is renovating a house in a hamlet in the middle of France. The canal runs past it and there’s a book barge-shaped mooring at the bottom of the garden. We found it for sale for just €19,000.Who knows whether we’ll sell any books there but it’s a nice place for the story to end. Or for a new one to begin.

The Bookshop That Floated Away by Sarah Henshaw

It’s always good to know that fairytales really do exist.

Laters, Kate x

July 15, 2014

More Than Words..

If clothes were a vibe then Raquel Allegra would be the coolest place in town.

But then who else would start their fashion line upcycling tees from the Los Angeles County Jail?

Her clothes have an unmistakable air of off-duty model louche looks: They don’t have to be flattering just capture the mood..and they do that with effortless beauty.

They say when I’m comfortable in my clothes, I’m confident in my life.

(There’s also her love of tie-dye..I have two more batches in the dye bath as I type..)

Her work has an honesty and integrity: She’s prepared to get her hands dirty. She says: ‘At an early age my creative heart was broken around creative expression: It kind of shut me off to the possibility of dreams. It’s really sad..but I didn’t think there was anything other than retail for me in my life..I feel very lucky to have found design, particularly in the way that I did.’

The clothes echo who she is – very connected, very personal..you want to know her and be part of her world.

‘I don’t believe you have to be anything but what you are. Be kind to people, and do what you believe in. I don’t believe in competition. I don’t believe in being mean. I believe in helping other people. I certainly couldn’t be here without other people helping me. What it really comes down to is your heart. Follow the light bulb in your head that says this is where you belong. This is what makes you happy.’

Amen to that.

Laters, Kate x

July 11, 2014

A Stitch in Time..

The Joy of the blogsphere is the treasure hunt that is discovering all the ideas and amazing products out there in the big wide world. This beauty was first spotted by the lovely Andreannadais on her Blog, but it was so good I feel the need to spread the love a bit further..

Harvey and Quinn is a jewellery company set up by Rachel Harvey and lucy Quinn that specialises in creating jewellery that is both nostalgic and contemporary. Their main source of inspiration are vintage buttons and the wealth of workmanship and wonder they have to offer.

They say: ‘For us each button tells a story, an intriguing glimpse of a forgotten past.’

It also helps that their pricing is incredibly sensible, starting at £32.00 and rising for special bespoke pieces.

For me they represent every thing I love: A forgotten quality item turned into a beautiful butterfly ready to fly forever. The magpie within is singing with joy..

Laters, Kate x

July 9, 2014

Accessing All Areas..

It’s the last day of school for the kids today before the nostalgia of summer holidays, which has meant the last two weeks have been manic. Sometimes it’s hard to describe that state of continual motion when every minute of the day is converted into action. Even this afternoon: After the presentation of presents to their teachers and almost missing them with cards still to write and hair to do this morning , they’re only at school till 12. Then there’s a joint birthday party on the Common for Charlie, a picnic for Bella – all with their associative jobs – and there’s shopping still to do, the dog to pick up, supper to sort…because tomorrow the kids leave for Greece with their Grandparents – and I haven’t even started packing: If Charlie goes without a couple of stitches in his new swimming trunks his modesty will never survive the first wave. And Bella wants to take one of the tie-dye tops we made – but the arms need shortening..and it was a late mum’s night out last night…..and where are their passports – and are they up to date??

At least I’ve ordered some holiday towels for all of us…we join them in Greece in a week so they’ve still got time to arrive. We’ll then stay for a few days with my parents, before heading off to the island of Lefkas for what I thought was a Greek Glamping experience…i.e. A little wooden house with air-con for the husband….except there seems a little confusion over what exactly we’ve booked. Hey ho, time will tell..

Made the old fashioned way, these cotton towels are hand loomed in Turkey (Don’t tell the Greeks) and are meant to be compact, dry quickly, absorbent and just generally awesome and cool. It helps they’re supplied by a local Company, Sorbet based in SW London..

At least I might have got one thing right..even if my priorities are a bit questionable….!

Laters, Kate x

July 8, 2014

Duro Olowu x

London based Nigerian designer Duro Olowu has his own unique aesthetic.

Prints inform the story, but you don’t have to choose between smart and boho..

He has a mastery for mixing colour and pattern, but there’s still sub clause stacked against sub clause. He says: ‘I have always believed that a garment is irresistible not only because of the label but rather because of the love and attention in it’s composition.’

He makes it easy to keep your cool with a simple shot of bright energy.

And creates clothes that love the female form.

Oh how I’d love to see Kate Middleton in this one..

(photos by Luis Monteiro)

His clothes sing like a mezzo soprano over an African drum beat, gently crooning there’s nothing shallow about feeling good, confidence is the most attractive thing – just go out and have fun..

Laters, Kate x

July 5, 2014

I Dyed.. x

Like the lifespan of a butterfly, the summer term is flying to it’s end. For Bella’s class it’s quite a poignant time as her year get re-mixed into different classes for September so after three years together it’s a real time of change. As a little hurrah for the mums of her 2B class I held a Shibori tie-dye day..with all the essentials….

Joy of joys..the sun shone!

Is that a stick I see before me?

Our patriotic dye bath..previously used for mixing concrete for the patio. The union jacks come from cut up passport covers from the 99p shop – they were perfect for holding the material in place to create the square shaped tie-dye pattern.

The magic starts when you unwrap..it’s a bit like Christmas..you have no idea what they’re going to be like..

But the results were pretty spectacular!

Each one different and unique! My washing line has never looked so cool!

OMG – It actually looks like the tutorial photo!

This beauty was the result of ‘stick’..it’s like looking up at the sea whilst diving..

Now I have the kids home and dying everything in sight! But honestly, I can’t blame them..it’s addictive..for a wonderful day with friends, it’s surprisingly easy, wonderfully effective and thoroughly recommended!

Laters, kate x

July 1, 2014

Two Into One x

Two New York is a treasure trove of beautiful things.

Monica Patel-Cohn, the driving force behind the label, believes that the chic boho vibe stems from her combined Indian and Italian background.

All her clothes are made locally in New York using handmade textiles and saris from India: It’s about quality, it’s about details, it’s about the purity of things.

Pale and interesting with a modern sensibility.

You can indulge your personal sense of style, away from the grunge of Glasonbury with featherlight clothes readymade for the summer urban burn.

A blue to match the colour of your mind, sky and sea..

Sun-meets-fun-eats-chic..

Perfect for a cocktail and a pollution fix on a deck over hanging the main strip peppered with neon lights. and mellow laughs..

…Or on a far-away beach under the stars..

Laters, Kate x

June 26, 2014

Simply Made x

Made was born from a desire to create beautiful products using traditional time-honoured skills and fashion led design: Made believe that people really matter, that if you look after the employees it translates through into what they make. It’s a meeting of beautiful thinking and beautiful doing where object and intention come together to create something truly special and unique whilst embracing cultures, personalities and genuine gorgeousness.. They are also dedicated to using the most environmentally friendly products possible: Their signature style comes from an extensive use of reclaimed brass which has a warmth and a softness unlike any other metal. But what makes them standout is the balance between tradition/friend of the earth and cutting edge fashion: Their sharp design skills come from a willingness to collaborate with some of the best the fashion and design world has to offer – Edun, Lois Vuitton, Whistles, Asos, TopShop to name just a few, all adding to a sense of continual growth and exploration of ideas.

I particularly love these pieces by Imogen Belfield, already touted by Vogue as an up and coming designer, her designs have a sense of presence and tactileness that make them exceptionally appealing: They’re a little bit of sunshine…