J'aime London

Next week, Paris is hosting the bi- annual fabric show Premiere Vision. I love going to it, mainly because it’s a great opportunity to see my friends from all over the world, who find themselves in the same place at the same time.

It also marks the beginning of a new season…..... Spring Summer 2011

This is the year of change and pleasure (or so I have decided) so my plan to go to Paris has changed for a trip to London. I'm so excited to be going back after a few years of absence.

The last time I visited London was probably around the same time of the year (maybe a little later) and I was in the middle of trying to source fabrics and fit dresses for the Baftas and Oscars.

This year my trip which is in some ways similar, is slightly less eventful and stressful......promising great inspiration and lots of fun

If you have any favourite or secret places you know and would like to share I would love to hear from you…..anything from exhibitions, gallerys, shops to restaurants….

Merci Beaucoup


For complete blog please click Silent Storyteller

Have a wonderful weekend

'Taste. You cannot buy such a rare and wonderful thing. You can`t send away for it in a catalogue. And I`m afraid it`s becoming obsolete. '

Rosalind Russell

Alex Ceball

For more information on one of my favourite contemporary illustrators, visit his site: Alex Ceball

In Loving Memory...of a dream not meant to be...

While writing this post my hands are shaky. I have debated should I or should I not be upfront about the situation. But as the season kicks off and the clock is ticking for the first, and slightly dreaded, interview where I'm asked about the new collection, where will I be showing etc, etc..

With some sorrow and some relief I confess that there will be no Paris this season. The decision, after ten collections, to let the train go, maybe for now, has been equally simple as it has been complex.

I have never complied with the industry standard but I did have some comfort in knowing that at least Paris was there. Season after season it gave me some normality in a rollercoaster ride of unpredictable excitement.

And as one mourns the loss of a dream, I am intrigued as to what the future beholds.

I know my best work is yet to come. It is when and how, which remains a mystery.

'The Haunted Wood'

"There is a border-land between the grave and the gay, the tragic and the comic, as between the sublime and ridiculous, in which Mr. Pettie is as much at home as when he confines himself to the domain of the more purely dramatic. He generally , however , shows a relish for the sensational, and the picture we engrave from the Winter Exhibition at the French Gallery is a happy and amusing example of somewhat special faculty, as well as a good specimen of the artist's clever and facile execution. No painter conceives a subject like this better than Mr. Pettie.'

The Illustrated London News Jan 20, 1872

Lucy Downes Sphere One

For some time I have wanted to feature a post about Lucy Downes. She's not only a brilliant designer but is one of my best friends in the real world.

For many many seasons we have travelled to Paris together for fashion week, so I guess she's always been there to celebrate or to console....

She uses the finest yarns in the world and her designs are incredibly ingenius

To see the wonderful hand knitted cashmere cardigan that she donated to our cause Talent for Haiti....Lucy Downes Sphere One Donation.

And to see more of her beautiful pieces check www.sphereone.biz

Kiichi Asano