Jubilee and Olympic Greeting Cards!!

I was sooooooooooo pleased to know two of my images were selected by The Great British  Greeting Cards Company for the Jubilee and Olympic Theme to be sold Nationally !! I will tell you more about the story behind the images in a couple of days when I have more time.

 In the meantime I hope all of you are having a great weekend wherever you are. I'm off to The Malvern Hills to visit very good friends for good wine and food, catch up and country walks !! Bliss :-).

London Olympics 2012

After a couple of manic months working at the studio with endless deadliness,  I  needed to have a day to clear my head and gather my thoughts. Some find it works by going to the countryside, for me it always works by visiting London, even if it is for a few hours! I always feel  re-energized and super inspired by the great buzz and energy this fabulous city brings. Although still  work related I was able to have a couple of hours free time  for a wander...

To be honest apart form working on a couple of projects related to the Olympics and Jubilee ( which I'll tell you about very soon) I hadn't quite got my head round the fact how soon is all going to happen until I saw everywhere how London is getting ready to host these two big events...Well now that it seems all  the more real I'm starting to  get excited, finally !

Queens' Jubilee & Olympics Project !

Photograh by Rankin

I haven't been blogging properly for sometime due to a lot of work commissions for various clients. The  last seven days specially have been total madness in my studio as I've been working on a great design and photographic brief for the Queens Jubilee and the London Olympics !! 

 I was very flattered  to have been asked to be part of such an exciting and important project, although it was  crazy at times as I had to search for props everywhere and get inspiration whenever possible!! - I think I got there in the end . Unfortunately I can't say anymore or show you any images for copyright reasons... Hopefully if it all goes well I'll be able to share more with you in a few weeks time, so watch this space :-)

Massimo Viatli London Exhibition

I fell in love with Massimo Vitalis' images years ago whilst browsing through the Photographic book section in Waterstones bookshop and I hope to own one of his prints one day! 

The images made so much of an impact on me that since then I have developed a phobia of crowded beaches and refuse to be part of a crowd following a trend! Although I must add that these images make me smile seeing the humour in them and at the same time bringing me great memories of my childhood and teen holidays. 

Massimo Viatli was born in Como, Italy 1944. He moved to London after high school to study Photography where after that his career began and hasn't looked back since. After working as a photojournalist and cinematographer for many years he then began his beach series in 1995.

Massimo Vitali's work can  be found in the collections of the Guggenheim in New York, the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain and the Elton John collection. 

If you are in London over the next few weeks I'm very excited to tell you  there's currently an exhibition of his work in London  at the Brancolini Grimaldi Gallery.  For opening times check here.

London's Frieze Art Fair This Weekend

If you are in London this weekend you might like to know Frieze Art Fair is in town! A wonderful showcase of over 170 galleries from around the world featuring leading contemporary artists. The exhibition takes place in London's Regent Park every October. 

Arboreal (Detail)
Rohini Devasher

For those that live in the US you'll be able to attend Frieze Art Fair in New York's Randall's Island, Manhattan  and will take place on 4-7 May 2012. It will be the first time the exhibition crosses over the pond.

Noriko
Jon Kessler

I highly recommend a visit for those that love modern art and haven't had the chance to visit the fair before.

For visitor information and ticket prices click here. October 13-16.

A Dangling Conversation:...
Uwe Henneken

London's Portabello Market

Protabello Rd

Quintessential English china

Anything goes...

When I was living in London my Saturdays' consisted of a  ten minute walk down to Notting Hill for a good catch up with  friends on the weeks events over brunch. After a very lazy breakfast; many lattes and people watching we would  casually stroll down to Portabello's market which, by then was buzzing with  people everywhere. Locals pretty much doing the same as us and many tourists checking out the local landmarks; the market with its exotic fruit, antiques and fun items of clothing. You can't miss the great global mix of aromas  food stalls have to offer ranging  Caribbean, French, Mexican and Turkish whilst funky music is blurring out from various cds stalls.I love Notting Hill for the eclectic mix of people, food and  independent shops with a great buzz of creativity everywhere :-)

   

        To the market  and Open for 24 Hrs 

 Specialist shops          Market Day

        Iconic images on an opticians      'Notting Hill'  Movie's Famous door

 

  An Englishman's Home is its Castle....

This post is dedicated to my lovely friends from the 'hood' for the happy memories :-)

People Watching In London

A couple of days ago I was in London to visit Pulse.  After the show it was such a lovely day that I took a walk back to my old neighbourhood.  I had a couple of hours to spare whilst waiting to hook up with my friend Jo for a drink, so with my camera in hand I took tons of photos which I'll write a post on soon. I love London so much for the relaxed attitude to be as you like and the best thing is that no one really cares!

Country Living Spring Fair 23-27 March London

                                                                        

To celebrate 20 years of the Country Living Spring Fair the magazine has got together 400 exhibitors for the forthcoming show next week in London's Business Design Centre.

You'll be able to buy directly from independent  designers, makers and retailers from  all over the UK. A range of gorgeous  products for the home and garden, food, clothes and jewellery will be on sale. The show runs from 23-27 March and you can find directions to get there here. Ticket price is £16 at the door unless you want to save some pennies and buy online in advance.

I wont be exhibiting this time due to other work commitments but I'm going to try  for the Christmas Fair.

Ice Skating @ Somerset House

Every year I have managed to miss the lovely annual Ice skating ring at Somerset house but I am determined to try and take a visit this time ( snow permitting! )

They have different programs to offer to suit everyone ; Friday and Saturday Dj nights, Wheelchair sessions, Student discounts and Breakfast with Tiffany Saturday mornings. Free entry for one child with every adult and everyone gets a Tiffany Cupcake, with a free hot chocolate for the kids and a glass of Champagne for the grown ups ! Sounds fabulous and very festive but unfortunately Matt and I are both very clumsy and accident prone so I think we'll just have to take a stroll and take the atmosphere in from afar :-)

I'm off to the city for a few days..

Well folks the day is finally here! Finally I'm off to London for 5 days to be part of an exhibition I've been working for months! I shall tell you all about it when I get back...Be good and have a good week Xx0

Ps. The photograph is my mother somewhere in Argentina not so long ago :-)

An Englishman in New York: Photographic Exhibition -Jason Bell

Liam Neason

Kate Winslet

Zoe Heller

If you happen to be in London this weekend you might want to pop in the National Portrait Gallery and check the current photographic exhibition"An Englishman in New York" by Jason Bell. British born photographer living in New york was inspired by some of the 120,000 British men and women living in the big Apple. Jason has photographed leading figures setting the cultural agenda in the city such as; Kate Winslet, Writter Zoe Heller and Sting are to name a few. The exhibition runs until 11 of April 2011.

Have a great weekend whatever you are doing, the sunshine is great here but I'm afraid is a work all weekend for me preparing for my exhibition in London next week.

Anyone for Tea and Cake ?

Having come from the cafe culture I have totally embraced the English tradition of 'tea and cake'.

It is a lovely afternoon treat that should be practiced more often in my opinion.

My great friend Mel introduced me to this lovely patisserie in London one winters' day .

Maison Bertaux is believed to be one of the oldest patisseries founded in 1870 in London. With its fabulous Parisian Kirsch style decor, a visual feast of cakes and great characters walking in and out of the store it was like being in the middle of a movie set waiting for Amelie to turn up.

We entered the store for what was meant to be a quick catch up in mid afternoon and left when it was dark and closing time; the last ones to leave! I have fond memories of that afternoon; people watching, conversing over a pot of tea and enjoying more than one cake I have to say!!If you are in London and fancy treating yourself to afternoon tea and cake this Autumn, why not try Maison Bertaux, unless you know of this place already :-)

Thank You Melly for that fab afternoon/evening !

Alternative Shops-Supermarketsarah.

Reading the latest copy of Elle decoration magazine(UK) it came to my attention an
article about Sarah's very creative shop concept, located in my old neighborhood London's Notting Hill. Sarah's shop is in her home, which is very creatively laid out with a fabulous eclectic collection of colorful vintage fashion and homewares. Every couple of weeks she creates a 3D montage of her products, photographs it and adds it to her website supermarketsarah. You can visit her lovely site here.

If in London...

If you are going to be in London in the next couple of weeks you might be interested in checking out an exhibition of photographs by Leo Fuchs featuring Paul Newman. His images capture some of Newmans intimate moments never seem before. The exhibition runs untill 23 October and you can see it in Proud Camdem South Gallery.

A celebration for those that love reading...

If you are like me and love finding a special moment and place to read, be it your favourite sofa chair by the window as its raining outside, garden amongst your flower pots, train journey, local cafe or park and at the same time observing walkers by with your favourite coffee and cake ... You'll enjoy this exhibition of photographs coming up next month at the photographers gallery in London by André Kertész (1894 - 1985) one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century..
Hi images were taken between 1915 and 1980 in countries he traveled through, visited, lived and worked such as Argentina, France, Hungary, UK and USA. Capturing readers of all ages in various locations -on rooftops & balconies, in parks, on crowded streets, at train stations, in libraries - creating a poetic study of the act of reading.
"Kertész’s photographs are a celebration of the absorptive power and pleasure of reading" Photographers gallery. I personally can't wait !

Something for the weekend...

If in London this weekend why not check out the Deutche Borse photography exhibition in London's Photographers Gallery...It runs until the April 13. Oh ! and if you didn't know the gallery has moved to a cool new venue behind Oxford st. There's a fabulous bookshop with incredible collection of photography books and cafeteria too ! (one of my favourite spots in London! )