Colours galore!!

Hello friends,

it's been a while since I posted about my knitting/ crocheting adventure. Well, I have been busy, and here are some of the goodies that I have made:

As you can see, this one is a little different from the bags I've made before. A good friend, Clara, wanted one but with a zip and not a button, and I have to admit, my mum helped with that. I really didn' know how to sew in the zip and do it neatly. And she taught me how to do a flower. I was quite proud of this bag and Clara says she likes it, so it is a success.

The next one I made two weeks ago. A lovely girl commissioned it when I was selling at the Designers Makers Market. I did it in one afternoon, sent it the next day and guess what,... she never received it. Here are the pictures:

As she hasn't received this one, I made a new one. Very similar, but still not the same:

So, these are my latest creations. I am still waiting to hear from Brixi boutique if they sold any of my beauty bags. In the mean time, I'll keep making and the rain will keep raining.

What do you do on a rainy day?

Red xx

It's raining in Brixton

Hello friends,

We had sunny weather in April and May, so rain is welcome, even if it is in June. Vegetables, fruit and flowers need it and I have to admit, although I love hot weather, I also like rain. In fact, I love walking in the rain.
I took these pictures on my way from Brixton to my house. I took the pictures from the bus, sitting upstairs. This is what I saw (click on the picture to enlrage):

And the bus ride ends. I am home. I usually read when I travel, but for once I took my camera and looked up. It surprised me how green Brixton Hill Road is. I never noticed it before.

I hope you are enjoying the weather wherever you are. Is the street as green as this one in Brixton?

See you all soon.

Red xx

On a well deserved day off - I buy 3 vintage dresses!!!

Hello all,

as I mentioned in my last post, on my first day off in ages, which was this past Sunday, I strolled down to Brixton, took my beauty bags to Brixi boutique, had an espresso at Rosie's and bought myself 3 vintage dresses. In my world, this counts as a wonderfully productive day. 
I have long stopped buying cheap clothes in high street shops and prefer to give more money for just one item as I know it will look good, last a long time and will be quite unique. OK, I still buy classic essentials like plain shirts from Gap and very, very rarely these days Hennes, but my choice of a shopping heaven is any vintage clothing store. As you remember, I recently went to East London for a bit of vintage shopping and I have to say I was somewhat disappointed as the shops were way too overpriced and to be honest, stuff wasn't exactly vintage. It was old, or rather the fabric looked like the fabric that was used in the 50's and 60's but stuff just didn't look genuine. It made me a little bit cross, as vintage is very "in" at the moment, and everyone is jumping on that band wagon but not everyone is being honest and they are selling everything hat remotely might pass as vintage. However, one shop in Brixton Village had an amazing sale on Sunday and I purchased 3 beautiful dresses. Here is the first one, and my favourite. The colour is a bit difficult (or at least many people say it is). I don't think that is true. I think that it's the attitude of wearing something that counts. It is how you wear it and how you present it that makes the dress. So, here it is. Firstly, this is how it looks when it is not worn:

And here is the detail of it:

And here it is on me. OK, not the best picture as I was taking the picture myself and there is a plastic bag right next to me, but never mind, here it is:

Ignore the background. The dress is cool, don't you think?

Here is the next dress. There is a bit of a story with this purchase. As I was trying it on in a tiny dressing room, I heard a girl coming in and asking the shop seller about a green, silk dress that was there just half an hour ago. The seller girl said she has no idea what dress she is talking about and went out to look for it on the rails outside the shop. I immediately realised it was the dress I just tried on and realised it fits me perfectly. So,... I did what every boy or girl who knows a good dress when they see it would do. I hid it under all the other stuff I was trying on, came out and had a chat with another customer in the shop. She also realised it was my dress and said, "just hide it, it is yours". So, I wrapped it in the two other dresses I chose to buy and went to pay for it. All the while, the girl was outside, desperately looking for the dress that I was already paying for. I didn't have the heart to tell her: "it is mine, I got it, you can't have it". I think we escaped a murder on a shop floor :-) I left the girl there looking for this beauty, while I walked down the market with a cheeky smile on my face, dress in my hand. Here is the gorgeous, silk, summer dress that I am very happy with and, can I just say, looks very good on me too. Way better than it would on that other girl :-)

What can I say, it goes well with my hair and eye shadow I have :-)

And here is the third dress that is the easiest to wear. I can wear it with jeans, with blue tights, at work, to a party. It is versatile:

So, I got a dress for each occasion: glamorous party, summer day and any other time of the day; work, going out with friends. walk in the park, shopping for more clothes. The possibilities are endless :-)

A productive day off, don't you think?
And as they were on the sale rack, I got all three for just £30. They were all £20 each, but I smiled a lot, talked a lot and made a deal with the shop girl. Can you believe it? I am still skipping from joy.

Have you bought anything special for yourself lately? What kind of clothes do you like to wear? Do tell, I want to know.

See you all soon and keep stylish, that's the way to go, I say :-)

Red xx

Desingers Makers Market and how it all went

Hello all,

As you know, yesterday was my first outing as a stall holder at an East London market. I had fun, met lots of new, creative people, had fantastic feedback on my bags and even had a commission which I've already started working on.
Here is how my stall looked like:

And here are some of the bags that were on offer, in close up. (I haven't shown them here before as I've finished them literally at 4am, the night before I went to the market):

This one is called Pink Lady bag and the next one is Blue Boy bag.

I haven't sold these bags at the market, but a fabulous new boutique in Brixton called Brixi is selling them. I'll post about this hop in detail some other time. In the mean time, have a look at other stuff Emy (a lovely girl who owns the shop) has in there:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/capturingcuriosity/5687129180/in/set-72157626645601566/ 

And here are some pictures of other stall holders at the market: 

This is Rosie and this Ubisqutous Bakehouse. She makes amazing cakes. I had a coconut one with my coffee and it was delicious. Here is the link to her facebook page, so have a look at the goodies she makes. http://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/Ubisquitous-Bakehouse/194601753903451?v=info 

Another stall that I loved was ceramics made by Maria:

Although the market is small and young (only started in April), the atmosphere is great. There was a funky band playing at the entrance, (didn't get their name, but they were great entertainment), ping pong table,... all in all, really good atmosphere:

I had a great day and will be back there in July. If you have a few hours on one of the Saturdays this summer, come and check out this place. Creative Londoners need your support and I promise you, even if there is nothing you want to buy, you'll have a good time.

Today was my first day off in a long time, so I went to Brixton market and treated myself to something very special. About that, in the next post.

Until then, stay well.

Red xx

Preparing for the Designers Market on Saturday - 2 new bags coming your way!

Hello all,

I've been a busy bee this last week or so. Working every night till 3am and doing very little but making bags. I've decided that "detail" is going to get me in the end. I am so particular about little details being done well that it takes me a long time to get one bag done. 


This Saturday I will be selling my bags (and some jewellery) at the Designers Market in East London. Have a look at their website for more details:

http://www.designersmakers.com/DesignersMakersMarket

The market is new, only started trading in April this year. Not sure how many people visit, but I've got to start somewhere, right? I'll be reporting how things go this weekend and let you know if I've sold anything. 
In the mean time here are two more bags I've just finished:

This one is called "Cherry Bag" and I think this is my favourite bag so far.
Here is another one, called "Dotty Bag"

I hope you like the new bags. I am quite proud of them, but also I know how much effort and time has been put into them, so they are pretty special.
Let's hope there will be lots of traffic at the market on Saturday and others will think the same as me. 
Now off to buy funky beads and get on with jewellery making. And, I've got two more beauty bags to do. So little time and so much stuff to make and do. I haven't read a book in a few weeks now and although I am enjoying this work, I also need a break. I've been working non - stop for days now. Come Sunday, I am starting a beauty bag for a very dear friend Clara, and snuggling in with a book "Room". Apparently, once you start reading it, you can't put it down. It's been sitting on my table for weeks now, tempting me, but I didn't dare start it. 

Stay tuned, I will be posting picture of my stall and all the other stuff I am selling. And of course, if you are around and would like to do a spot of shopping or just want to browse, stop by my stall and say hello.

See you all soon

Red xx