Japan diaries: Onomichi and Setoda

A set of pictures that remind me of some solo wanderings, times when I made the effort to notice my surroundings and see the beauty in the little things: views from above and views from below, sunsets and heavy skies, colours and textures, layers and landscapes. Wordsworth describes it best: 
“For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills
And dances with the daffodils.”
These photographs may not be of daffodils, but I can look at them and think back and smile at many a time when I stumbled upon beauty while “wandering lonely as a cloud”. 

 

Hiroshima Art Exhibition

There’s nothing like a good deadline in the form of an art exhibition to motivate and inspire! Hiroshima’s Charity Art Bonanza provided just that… an exhibition featuring work from 8 different artists, including painting, photography, fashion and embroidery. The event was an incredible success, raising just over 100 000 yen for “Brighter than Tomorrow”, a charity run by Estelle Hebert, which supports the victims of the March 11 disaster in the fishing town of Funakoshi in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Sarah, Harriet, Dave and Jackie did an amazing job organising, and thanks to everyone that popped in for support. I couldn’t have asked for a better afternoon in the city: chatting, sipping wine and appreciating unexpected talents.
Check out my portfolio to read more about the three dresses I exhibited as part of a range called “When I grow up”. In hopes of not sounding too pretentious, I did attach personal meaning to each garment, and hope it proves that fashion can also be a personally symbolic form of art. Let me know what you think of the range! xoxo 

DIY flower crown

With summer approaching and the fresh memory of spring blossoms, I’d been thinking about making one of these flower crowns for a while. I’d seen the hippie headbands all over stores in April, but if like me, you happen to be blessed with pixie ears and thin hair, you’re going to need something with a little more structure. If you know me well, you’ll know I’m a hippie at heart so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on some silk flowers and wire and get to work. Thanks to Bleubird and Green Wedding Shoes for the inspiration and know how, and thanks to Sayo for snapping my end result. What do you think? Hope you like it! xoxo.