Union Jack epidemic

It's official, the UK has been hit by a serious case of union jack fever. I can't even go to the loo without seeing a flag.

Grammar innit.

This made me smile today.

Letterpress Card from Sapling Press Source: Design is Mine

Hidden Tracks

Having had the longest Winter ever, it feels like it's been ages since I enjoyed the delights of Hastings on a sunny day. Last weekend I was walking by Claremont and as I passed the old Observer building passage, I spotted some street art I hadn't seen before.

I've always admired the urban feel of the little alley round the back of the Old Oberserver Building. I've even used it before as a backdrop for a photograph and I think it would make a great location for a fashion shoot.

I decided to check out this street art I hadn't seen and as I walked down the quiet and eerie passage, I felt like I was in an American teen supernatural series. In a few steps I found myself transported. I was no longer in Hastings. Perhaps the outskirts of Paris somewhere? I didn't have the courage to stay and investigate further but maybe next time. And who knows where I'll end up? Perhaps in the gutter minus my handbag but then where would we be if we weren't a little curious hey?

Springtime ride

Why is it that when you make plans, something else super cool comes up at the same time? Aubin & Wills are having their third annual bike ride this Saturday, but not just any old bike ride I'll have you know. But a bike ride in tweed. See here for more info. I'll just have to book this in for next year...but then something else just as fantastic will be on at the same time I'm sure!

Terada Mokei

Came across this chap today on my daily alerts from Cool Hunting. Not only is his website super cool but his paper engineering is divine. I love clever uses with paper and Mokei's scenes are simply beautiful.

Sunday Style

Sundays are most certainly a day of rest in our house. Tea in bed followed by a trip to Judges for their gorgeously doughy croissants. Then it's back home for Something for the Weekend whilst reading the Sunday papers.

The first thing I do when I get the Sunday Times is break into the sealed magazines and read Style. And boy what a gorgeous issue it is this week. The Big Spring Issue is bursting with colour and is most certainly a serious tease for the warm months to come.

If you're a graphic design student I'd seriously recommend taking a regular look at Style magazine. It's a synopsis of fashion today and tomorrow. And fashion, like graphics, is influenced by what's happening now, economically, environmentally, technologically and so on. Design is so fluid and what is seen on the catwalk often transcends into other design disciplines.

So what's hot? Vivid colours like tangerine, coral and lime are going to be big this year. These bold statements of colour are optimistic and celebratory and are an escape to the uncertain times in which we live. So I can see lots of vivid colours being used across design generally this year. Take a look at the wonderful work of Lesley Barnes. I adore her use of colour and her style of illustrations that for me capture some Midcentury magic and a trip to Dior en Paris feel about them.

Someone else embracing colour is the Cambridge Satchel Company whose satchels are to die for. At first glance of their website you might think you've accidentally tapped in a website for one of those little catalogues you get with the papers selling all in one thermals and feet warmers however do not be deterred, for they have some absolute gems if you take the time to browse. I think I'll definitely be 'bagging' one of these - boom boom.

Right, enough of my ramble, I'm going to get back to the papers and put that kettle on.

Sources: Style Mag, Cargo Collective and Retro to Go.

Chocolate Highs

Tonight I came home high on chocolate. And not just on any old chocolate. Green and Blacks chocolate to be precise. For chocolate taps into the same receptors in the brain that marijuana taps into. Yet the chocolate alone wasn't the sole cause for my increased state of consciousness. Tonight I came back truly inspired by Mr Craig Sams, cofounder of Green and Blacks who gave the most intellectually stimulating lecture about not only cacao and the Slow Food movement but also his career journey which left me truly in awe and eager to go get. It's easy to get bogged down with the day to day and it's only by steeping out of the box now and then and doing something a little different that you look at things with a new perspective.