Thursday, 26 September 2013
"...Every age can be enchanting, provided you live within it."
"What could be more beautiful than a dear old lady growning wise with age? Every age can be enchanting, provided you live within it."
-Brigitte Bardot
Friday, 14 June 2013
Diary of an Interior Design Intern
So after finishing up my course in Interior Architecture and Design for the summer, I was lucky enough to be offered a place interning with Martin-Hudson & Gibson Ltd. in Dublin's sandy, covey, and aptly named, Sandycove. I could not have asked for a better location to work. Not gonna lie, eating lunch by the sea with ma amie francais, and fellow intern, Julie makes be feel like I'm well on my way to the good life.
So what does one do as an interior design intern? A lot of different stuff. The little element of unpredictability in the bizz means no two days are alike. And for maybe the first time in a job, I really look forward to going to work, and know I won't be bored. At every turn there's a new little discovery, and no matter how insignificant something might seem, I take comfort on knowing that little-by-little I'm building up a knowledge of the industry that unfortunately college can't teach you. And being 55 years in business, it's good to know that I'm working with a company that's obviously doing something right.
The other day I was asked to write a blog entry on the company website based on a collection of company documents dating back to the early 1960's. http://vintagewednesdays.blogspot.ie/2013/06/old-company-documents.html?m=1
And I did the shop window display. (Not a great picture, but this at least this snap documents my window display AND a rare glimpse of sun in Ireland.)
And on my train ride home, I made some lists in my forever-to-keep "This is what I did as an intern, so this is probably what I should do as a designer when I grow up and become a designer." notebook. I'm hoping this notebooks serves me well. :)
Friday, 17 May 2013
Lily Ashwell fashion collection
Well, hello there! It's been a while... Although this blog has kind of taken a backseat this past year while I've been studying Interior Architecture and Design in Dublin, my fascination with all things creative, design-y and lovely has only grown stronger. And as I see some more things to inspire me, I make a mental note to one day blog about them. One day, when I can afford a working laptop and I'm not spending 12 hours in a studio working on an upcoming college assignment...
Daughter of an ol' favourite Rachel, Lily Ashwell definitely seems to have inherited her mother's flair for making shabby chic. It's very vintage, very pastel, and as nothing is overly trend-driven, it's the kind of collection that would suit any age, in any age. The Lily Ashwell fashion line launched in 2012, and prides itself on printing on rare vintage materials, and keeping pieces American-made. This, in turn, makes the collections pricey, yes, but doesn't it also make them more like.. art?
Rather than taking advantage of her big-name parents (Lily's father is painter is British painter David Ashwell), Lily seems to have approached her career the old-fashioned way; spending four years at London's Central Saint Martins, a prestigious arts school, where Lily explains they "they did teach us to sew and all of the other technical aspects of clothing design, but they seemed more fixed on the storytelling aspect of creating a collection". And her collection is getting some serious recognition, with the likes of Elle and Teen Vogue taking note.
I was so interested to learn about the design process. Isn't that always interesting? It's just one of those personal quirks that make you understand something. "I think in a very cinematic way, so I usually start with a landscape of the setting where I see the collection, and the holiday collection was in Wales. I was feeling coastal towns meeting pastures and farmland, so I start with an image like that. Then I make journals, where I create an illustrated story of who this girl is. I'll go as far as designing her house and creating an all-encompassing story around her.", the designer explains.
This video to accompany her Holiday 2012 collection kinda captures the mood perfectly. It kinda captures a really lovely mood perfectly. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NHF7avkNvY
Daughter of an ol' favourite Rachel, Lily Ashwell definitely seems to have inherited her mother's flair for making shabby chic. It's very vintage, very pastel, and as nothing is overly trend-driven, it's the kind of collection that would suit any age, in any age. The Lily Ashwell fashion line launched in 2012, and prides itself on printing on rare vintage materials, and keeping pieces American-made. This, in turn, makes the collections pricey, yes, but doesn't it also make them more like.. art?
Rather than taking advantage of her big-name parents (Lily's father is painter is British painter David Ashwell), Lily seems to have approached her career the old-fashioned way; spending four years at London's Central Saint Martins, a prestigious arts school, where Lily explains they "they did teach us to sew and all of the other technical aspects of clothing design, but they seemed more fixed on the storytelling aspect of creating a collection". And her collection is getting some serious recognition, with the likes of Elle and Teen Vogue taking note.
I was so interested to learn about the design process. Isn't that always interesting? It's just one of those personal quirks that make you understand something. "I think in a very cinematic way, so I usually start with a landscape of the setting where I see the collection, and the holiday collection was in Wales. I was feeling coastal towns meeting pastures and farmland, so I start with an image like that. Then I make journals, where I create an illustrated story of who this girl is. I'll go as far as designing her house and creating an all-encompassing story around her.", the designer explains.
This video to accompany her Holiday 2012 collection kinda captures the mood perfectly. It kinda captures a really lovely mood perfectly. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NHF7avkNvY
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
Getting back blogging is #1 on my list of things to do, you know...
...and I know it's sounds silly, but sometimes it feels kinds silly; as though I'm talking to myself (which is a lot easier to do that when it's not on the internet!). Being totally honest, nobody ever talks about how hard it is when you first start a blog and not know if there's anybody reading it. Kinda like that awkward feeling you get when you say hey to someone on a crowded street and they don't say hey back. Anyway, I'm totally just thinking out loud here, and maybe wondering if any other bloggers ever felt the same? If so, don't be all ironic-cool and please let me know! #ifeelsodesperate
But hey, in other (good) news, I finally got invited to Pinterest! Man, granted I haven't been invited to many parties in my day, but not being invited to Pinterest for so long was tough. Yeah, that shit hurt.
(Why do I feel like this post has made me look like the biggest lame-o ever?)
Anyway, check it out? http://pinterest.com/thinkwithlove/
Anyway, check it out? http://pinterest.com/thinkwithlove/
New post coming soon. If anybody's reading this. ;)
Thursday, 7 June 2012
Nutty blueberry, raspberry and apple crumble.
So not gonna lie, this recipe came to fruition after I noticed we had some half-full Bonne Maman jars of jam in the press that I wanted to use up really quick so that I could have the empty jars. You're probably familiar with this brand; it's sold overseas, but can be a little pricey. But y'know, with some things you just pay for quality. Now, I would consider myself a hugely superficial kinda gal.... But if it's French and comes in nice packaging, I will spend the extra money! It's kinda like I just feel like I'm paying for a) the food itself, b) a nice prop for my cupboard, c) packaging I will reuse (so hello, technically I'm being very thrifty!) and d) a little bit of Frenchy-ness. A 'lifestyle' product, I say! Buying French food is kind of a back-up plan for if I never actually get living in France. Yep, I put a lot of thought into my grocery-shopping. It's an art form, really. Funny enough though, my shopping companions tend to think it's just me being a pain in the ass and wanting the most expensive products. Whatever... My lovely Bonne Maman jars look cute with simple home-made labels and filled with my spices and dried herbs. And I don't mean to get competitive, but cheap, ugly jars just won't do. (Is it kinda bad that my first "I'm RIGHT" moment of the day has come while talking about jam jars?)
Anyway, time to remember that "it's what's inside that's important"- the jam. I've used the blueberry and raspberry ones, but of course you can use whichever flavour you have. This recipe is handy because the only fresh fruit needed are apples, which have a longer shelf-life. Fresh berries can be expensive and tend to go bad quickly, but they would be great for a crumble. Really, crumbles are so versatile and such a classic. Switch up the fruit and nuts accordingly and you're bound to please!
Ingrediants:
* 2 cups of rolled oats
* 1 cup of plain flour
* 1 cup of ground almonds
* Handful of chopped nuts. (I used a mix of chopped hazelnuts and flaked almonds for texture and extra flavour.)
* 150g of butter
* 100g golden caster sugar
* 1 teaspoon of mixed spice
* Pinch of cinnamon
* 2 cooking apples
* About 10 tablespoons of jam; 5 of blueberry and 5 of raspberry.
* Zest and juice of one orange
* 1 level tablespoon of cornflour
* An extra knob of butter and pinch of sugar for caramelizing the apples.
Method:
On a low heat, caramelize the chopped apples with a little butter and sugar. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the apples are tender, but not too soft and mushy. Add in the orange zest and juice, the jam and then gradually the cornflour. In a separate bowl, rub together the sugar, oats, flour, spices and nuts with your fingertips until the mixture resembles peas. Well, funny-shaped, non-green peas. :) In an ovenproof dish, tip in the fruit and then scatter over the oaty crumble mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius, covering with tinfoil for the first 15-20 minutes to prevent your crumble drying out too much. Allow to cool slightly before serving. I feel like such a rustic, old-fashioned dessert deserves an old-school accompaniment. My choice? Good ol' fashioned, from-when-you-were-a-kid custard. Failing that, good vanilla ice-cream or creme Chantilly.
Anyway, time to remember that "it's what's inside that's important"- the jam. I've used the blueberry and raspberry ones, but of course you can use whichever flavour you have. This recipe is handy because the only fresh fruit needed are apples, which have a longer shelf-life. Fresh berries can be expensive and tend to go bad quickly, but they would be great for a crumble. Really, crumbles are so versatile and such a classic. Switch up the fruit and nuts accordingly and you're bound to please!
Ingrediants:
* 2 cups of rolled oats
* 1 cup of plain flour
* 1 cup of ground almonds
* Handful of chopped nuts. (I used a mix of chopped hazelnuts and flaked almonds for texture and extra flavour.)
* 150g of butter
* 100g golden caster sugar
* 1 teaspoon of mixed spice
* Pinch of cinnamon
* 2 cooking apples
* About 10 tablespoons of jam; 5 of blueberry and 5 of raspberry.
* Zest and juice of one orange
* 1 level tablespoon of cornflour
* An extra knob of butter and pinch of sugar for caramelizing the apples.
Method:
On a low heat, caramelize the chopped apples with a little butter and sugar. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the apples are tender, but not too soft and mushy. Add in the orange zest and juice, the jam and then gradually the cornflour. In a separate bowl, rub together the sugar, oats, flour, spices and nuts with your fingertips until the mixture resembles peas. Well, funny-shaped, non-green peas. :) In an ovenproof dish, tip in the fruit and then scatter over the oaty crumble mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius, covering with tinfoil for the first 15-20 minutes to prevent your crumble drying out too much. Allow to cool slightly before serving. I feel like such a rustic, old-fashioned dessert deserves an old-school accompaniment. My choice? Good ol' fashioned, from-when-you-were-a-kid custard. Failing that, good vanilla ice-cream or creme Chantilly.
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