1973

 belle and boo first meet by belle and boo

A lovely company called nineteen seventy three who make cards, notebooks, stationary and wrapping paper with a unique designs by a variety of different illustrators including Sanna Annukka. They also sell limited screen edition prints.

 

cowboys and indians by belle and boo

evie's flowers by belle and boo

I love the Belle and Boo range because they very naive, delicate and pretty (and because my mum nicknames me 'Boo'!). I bought some of these notebooks as christmas presents...and ended up keeping them for myself, so naughty. 

deluxe by Sukie

This card from the Sukie range is also lovely.

Clever Clogs

Barcelona

I've had my eye on a pair of Maguba clogs for a while now. The clogs trend has really taken off this season, and every designer seems to jumping on the bandwagon, but these are my favourite because they are handmade in a family owned factory using traditional techniques.

 

Bologna

They are also made with the environment in mind and utilise natural materials such as wood, leather and water based paints, producing shoes that are both comfortable and durable. They are comitted to sustainable production processes and for every pair of clogs sold a donation is made to plant new woodland in an attempt to reduce their carbon footprint.

Visby

What makes Maguba clogs even better is that you can design your own pair! Choosing the style, sole and upper leather colour to create your own perfect pair. I fancy the Barcelona in brown or orange...or gold?!

The hills are alive

On Sunday I am off on holiday; skiing in Switzerland with friends and family. I am very, very excited. In celebration, a simple post containing some beautiful postcards I bought in Zermatt on last year's holiday. Above is a poster for the 'Chemins de Fer' made in 1895 by F.Hugo d'Alesi, from the poster collection at the Zurich Museum of Design. 

This dreamy image of the striking Matterhorn is by Francois Gos, from 1925. It's a lovely illustration, but I sincerely hope there is more snow in Verbier, where we are staying, next week! 

This is more like it. Crisp, white snow and a wonderfully stylised skiier flying through the air, like I will be shortly only slightly less gracefully (I don't do jumps). This poster from 1931 is by Pierre Kramer.

I did'ne ken...but I do now

backpack, courtesy of Julia Crew 

The perfect bike needs a perfect bicycle bag, and I think I may have found one, well a whole collection of them actually. A recent graduate of London College of Fashion's new MA course, entitled Fashion and the Environment, Julia Crew has designed a collection of sustainable man bags entitled 'i-did-nee-ken'.

saddlebag, courtesy of Julia Crew

In this collection she confronts head on some of the environmental issues faced by the fashion industry, concentrating her design process into three main areas: Durable design, responsible sourcing of materials and the encouragement of a sustainable lifestyle. This has resulted in bags made specifically to appeal to cyclists, using the highest quality organic waxed cotton and sustainably sourced leather, that are made to last a lifetime. The collection name 'I-did-nee-ken' stems from a Scottish colloquialism meaning 'I didn't know' and illustrates the commitment to transparency and honesty Crew has shown throughout this project.

small satchel, courtesy of Julia Crew

The best thing about these bags is undoubtedly the design; innovative styles that will appeal to a unisex audience (whether they want to or not) and functional features such as the reflective piping and copious amounts of chunky zip pockets. Julia is working on turning her first collection into a business and I for one am holding my breath until I can buy one. For more information on Julia's collection and her fellow student's solutions to environmental issues within the fashion industry you can see the article I wrote regarding the MA show for Amelia's Magazine here.

Hello Princess

The Raleigh Apple with it's shiny red frame and bicycle box, was my pride and joy. It was the perfect bicycle - when I was six. It must be these sweet childhood memories that caused my heart to flutter when I saw the Pashley Princess for the first time. The classic hand-built frame, the front wicker basket, the antique brown Brooks saddle. Even the name is perfect.

For Spring 2010 Pashley have released The Brittania, a special edition model based on the Princess in fire engine red, white and navy blue, in celebration of the company's heritage as the longest established manufacturer of hand built bikes in Britain. This lovely red number is, dare I say it, even better than the Raleigh of my memories.

The navy is my colour of choice - the perfect accessory to my current wardrobe and just asking for some new 40's style tea dresses to accompany it on bike rides in the country...a girl can dream.

Lady Muk

I love the Muks AW09 collection. The combination of soft suede, sumptuous fur, Italian leather and tartan makes for the cosiest footwear I've seen (and so much chicer than uggs!). Based on the moccassins (Mukluks) worn by Candian aboriginals, the boots feature bead designs that traditionally represented the different tribes. All of Muks fur is responsibly sourced as a by-product from an existing manufacturing process, but they do offer fur free options too.

I particularly love this cartridge bag style satchel...because I designed it! I undertook a freelance project for Muks over a year ago inspired by the Canadian pioneers and this was the result. I have to say I'm so pleased with it. You can buy one here. The Pioneer collection features some vintagey, almost Victorian style lace-up boots, all in subtle dusty shades of leather, with antique burnished gold fittings.

Isn't the styling lovely too? So warm and cosy, it's almost a shame the Spring's on it's way... well we probably have a couple of months yet to make the most if it!

healthy happy jobs

This post is dedicated to strong women, like my cousin Soph who is celebrating some very good news today. She has been accepted to study for an MPhil and PHD in Social and Economic History at Cambridge University. Clever girl, I am so proud!

So Land Girls or The Women's Land Army, their image on iconic posters such as these glamourised agriculture during the first and second World Wars, when in reality it was back breaking work. It was the first time that women were able prove that they could work just as hard as men and were an essential part of the war effort. I've always had a romantic view of the landgirls, mainly because they were so stylish!

'Heart' and 'Pixie' designs, pictures courtesy of Antoni and Alison.

I found these beautiful silk scarves by Antoni and Alison, perfect for keeping hair out of your eyes while weeding the garden. They have a wide selection of 100% silk scarves with their unique, naive prints.

I'm always stealing D's Barbour jumper, it's the perfect shade of bottle green, and is really warm. It has to be a man's jumper though...for the perfect chunky proportions. I especially like this one with the shoulder patches, I can't tell but I really hope it has elbow patches too. I am also enamoured with these Marg Kate boots from Clarks of all places...the greatest (or only?) thing to come out of Street in Somerset - where I went to college!

For a perfect tribute to forties style run for shelter at a Blitz party in Shoreditch. See http://www.theblitzparty.com/ for more information. Wonderfully authentic with sandbags, gin fizz cocktails, ration books and doorstop cheese sandwiches...but obviously minus the bombs; the perfect night out!

Stylish seeds

The next exciting step is to choose what to grow! I discovered The Allotment Shop by chance at Chelsea Flower Show last year, they offer a fantastic range of gardening essentials (and extravagances) with a quirky, nostalgic edge. This year they have introduced a special selection of Franchi seeds from Italy. The seed packets themselves are frame-worthy and the choice of vegetables are exciting and like nothing you can buy in UK supermarkets. I discovered the Romanesco Precoce (pictured above) when I was living in Italy and having never seen it before, had no idea what it was and have been calling it Dinosaur Broccoli (it's the scales). It is absolutely delicious and really good with pasta, sausagemeat and chilli. I have been longing for it since I moved back to England, so that will be the first thing to be potted up in the greenhouse!

These wonderfully retro seed packets, produced exclusively by The Allotment Shop, hark back to the wartime days of rationing and combined with this pretty, enamel teapot are fuel to my landgirl fantasies! As well as through their online shop, these chic garden and home products will be touring the country this summer at various gardening shows including The Malvern Show, BBC Gardeners World, Hampton Court and Tatton Park in Manchester. Hmm...next stop is a silk headscarf and a cosy fairisle knit.

The Greenhouse

We were very pro-active this weekend, D and I. We were awake by 7.30am on Sunday morning and in the garden in record time. I donned my navy blue Hunter wellies and D his (much posher) Le Chameau lovelies-these have a warm neoprene liner to keep your feet cosy. Our task was to clean out the greenhouse which was previously home to a flock of quail...that were delicious roasted the other weekend! We want to grow our own veg and the sunny, Spring(ish) weather spurred us into action.

Growing veg is something I have wanted to do since I was about 14 and had an unhealthy obsession with 'The Good Life' (still do actually), unfortunatley I have very little natural ability with plants. I once managed to kill a plant gifted to me by my boss of the time who said "it would take a miracle to kill this". Well miracles can happen, it was shrivelled and dry in two weeks flat. D has promised to guide me through as he is something of a green fingered pro, being a tree surgeon by profession.

Three hours later the greenhouse was sparkling with cleanliness, the assortment of pots just itching to house the exciting array of delicacies we want to bring to life. I have signed up to the RHS' 'Fruit and Veg Pledge' campaign which encourages individuals to - well grow their own fruit and veg. I signed up in the hope of obtaining a free starter pack, which I think have now run out due to the high demand but you do still get a monthly e-newsletter with expert advice and tips, which I will be pouring over.