Passe-par-tout en vacances

I love vintage travel posters. I love the times they conjure up - when travel was rare, when you prepared for months, when you received bon voyage cards, when you dressed up to fly and had to pack for lunches, cocktails, dinners, tennis, sailing. A very civilised way to travel it seems to me.

I'm reminded of my favourite travel posters - this is one - whenever I'm about to travel. They're in my thoughts now because I'm taking a trip to a beautiful place that means a lot to me, and with people that mean everything.

I'll be gone for a little while but I do have some blog posts up my sleeve - as long as I can find an internet connection on the beach...

Next post from somewhere hot. Bon voyage!

x

(Image: AllPosters)

Celebrating Spring series - No one does colour better than Kate Spade

This was an easy one.

Kate Spade is to colour what Haagen Dazs is to ice-cream. A perfect match.

In the world of Kate Spade colour changes. It becomes even better. Yellow becomes buttercup. Red becomes ruby. Blue becomes sapphire. Pink becomes rose.

The clothes are gorgeous but it's the accessories I love...

Whether you're shopping at a market, taking a trip to the beach or sheltering from a spring shower, Kate Spade really does inspire us to live colourfully.

Look out for more in this Celebrating Spring series, No one does colour better than...

x





(Images: Kate Spade)

Yellow = Spring

I couldn't resist buying an  armful of daffodils a few days ago. They are the happiest of flowers. Because of the colour of course and the promise they bring of warm weather on its way. But also because they bring spring sunshine indoors - when you buy them they are totally closed, and then all of a sudden they burst open to reveal their brilliant yellow hearts and frilly, smiling faces.

The house is full of them. Bundles of spring indoors.

x

(Image - PPT)

A place of many colours

I can't think of a city that offers up more colour around every corner than Marrakech. From the ochre walls of the medina, to the brilliant white of the jasmine flowers, to the brightly-coloured spices in the market stalls.

It is a magical place bursting with colour.

x

(Image: Jardin Marjorelle - PPT)

Celebrating Spring series: No one does colour better than Matisse

I’m not an art expert. But I adore art. My perfect day would always include a visit to a gallery. I love that I can wander among so many beautiful things. I love the sense that artists have left something of themselves behind in their paintings.

My favourite artists are very different. I love Edward Hopper because of the light he creates and the loneliness of many of his subjects. Degas because of the delicacy of his ballerinas even when they’re stretching. And I love Matisse because of the incredible colours.

Colours are infinitely varied so blue, for example, has many shades, and changes depending on the other colours that are around it. Matisse understood how to place different colours together so that each appears more vibrant. He’s recognised as a master of colour.

Of all his works I love Matisse’s paper collages the most. Some are huge. All are vivid and full of imagination. And yet they are so simple.

Matisse produced his collages at a time in his life when he was too weak to stand in front of a canvas all day. His assistant would paint paper in the colours he wanted to use, while he sat in his wheel chair carving out the forms he imagined with scissors. Matisse would then tell his assistant exactly how to pin each piece of carved paper onto a background on the walls of his studio. When he found the balance of form and colour that he wanted –  months or even years later – the finished piece would be glued to a canvas.

Beautiful, simple, memorable, inspiring. I love them all.

“Colours have their own distinctive beauty that you have to preserve… It is a question of...finding the arrangement that will keep the beauty and freshness of the colour.” Matisse

 

Stay tuned for the next installment in this Celebrating Spring series, No one does colour better than...

x

(Images: Henri Matisse)

Let's show our true colours

It’s all about to change.

Spring 2011 is on its way in the northern hemisphere and this year it means colour. Lots of full-on, bright, dazzling colour. Colourful clothes, colourful bags, colourful homeware, coloured pens, colourful food, colourful opinions and ideas. It means putting on your rose-tinted glasses and marveling at the world. It means painting the town red – and purple, blue and orange.

What’s more, mixing colours is encouraged – those glossy pinks with radiant reds, shining blues with lustrous yellows, polished purples with glistening greens. I have a skip in my typing step as I tap out those delicious adjectives on my keyboard.

You might have guessed that I'm excited!

The world needs more colour. Colour makes us smile – think of a rainbow or the first crocuses that brave the cold. Colour represents boldness and being our best selves – open, bright, honest, vivacious and loving.

So, to celebrate the arrival of colour this spring, I’m starting a No one does colour better than… series of posts that will run for the next few weeks. I’m on the hunt for incredible, inspirational colour and looking forward to the colourful stories I find to tell you about.

And, of course, I’d love to hear about anything you come across on your colourful travels.

x

(Images: Prabul Gurung Spring 2011 RTW via Prabal Gurung; Dear Jacquie; Lanvin Spring 2011 RTW via style.com; Burano, Italy via Black Tomato on HuffPost; Oaxaca, Mexico by PPT; Harrison Street Adelle via Kate Spade; Marimekko socks rolled down tumbler via Finnish Design Centre; iPhone 4 cover via Kate Spade)

Cherry blossoms and hope

It's almost two years ago now. We arrived in Washington DC as the cherry trees that line the Potomac had burst into bloom.

We had no idea that the city was in the middle of its annual National Cherry Blossom Festival. We had no idea of the scale that the statement “the cherry trees are in bloom” signified. We had no idea that people from all over the world visit DC every year to marvel at the blooms, welcome spring and share this incredible event. Basically we had no idea how lucky we were to just happen to be in DC that weekend!

We learnt that the trees were a gift from Japan, given as a symbol of their friendship with the USA.

As the heart-breaking events have unfolded in Japan, one of the first things I thought about were those cherry trees. I’ve now learnt that the Japanese revere the flowering cherry tree. For them the beauty of a cherry blossom represents how fleeting life is. I’ve read that they track the blooming of the cherry blossom as it moves through Japan each spring. People flock to parks and temples to celebrate the blossoming and hold flower-viewing parties.  

Spring is on its way in the northern hemisphere. The cherry trees will have begun to blossom in Japan, offering a little piece of beauty among the chaos. I hope that they give the Japanese hope and remind them that they will rebuild the life they know. 

x

(Images: Washington DC - PPT)

The first step

We all know the first step is always the hardest. And that you just need to take it. But doing is not the same as saying. Doing can take time, effort and often courage.

I first had the idea for this blog in 2008. Way back then... Ideas have been kicking around in my head all this time. Since then, I've become a devotee of many stunning and inspiring blogs put together by some super-talented and creative bloggers.

And finally, better late than never, here I am. Taking a huge deep breath and just getting on with.

You have to start somewhere after all.

So, welcome. Join me. I hope you're as excited as I am.

x