Mans Shirt Project

Hi all,

Sorry its been a little while. I have made the move to uni, but unfortunately we have had a fair amount of things to deal with. One of which is no internet, which should be set up on the 1st October!!! But I will continue...
As an introductory project/summer project to my uni course we had to take a mans shirt and adapt it to create a new garment that would be suitable for Spring Summer 2014. This basically meant that you could do whatever you wanted to it (as the S/S14 shows had not yet happened) I started with the GORGEOUS linen shirt that I picked up from a charity shop near my home. It was so huge I thought that it would give me ample fabric to play around with.

After a while of looking for inspiration and a few fabric tests, I decided that I wanted to create ruffles on the top that slightly changed the silhouette and were a different colour (which would make them stand out) I tie dyed them and dip dyed using dylon olive green, which kept the natural feel of the colour that the linen was. I circle cut the fabric to create the frills, and as that required a large amount of fabric the top quickly shrunk to a crop top!

The cream bias binding gives the edge a bit of a pop. I used the old front of the top to create the back of the new top, retaining the button fastenings and also the pockets. (Because everyone needs pockets by their shoulder blades!)

Thats what I made from the mans shirt.

Shopping charity shops can be really fun and changing things you buy makes them so much more unique and exciting. 

xox Niamh xox 

Sibling Knitwear at ICA

Hi all,

As a part of the ICA Off-Site exhibition at the Old Selfridges Hotel looking at 'A journey Through London subculture 1980’s to now' Sibling showed several pieces of knitwear. 

A collaboration between Joe Bates, Sid Bryan and Cozette McCreedy, Knitwear label Sibling launched in 2008. The premier collection included bright subversions of classic knitwear styles, including the sparkling knits and leopard graphics now synonymous with the label.

Here Sibling present a selection of Iconic Knits, most notably their world touring unofficial mascot ‘Knit Monster’ and the Laura Lees hand embroidered ‘Hell Flower’ look.

My favourite pieces were the huge glove and hat that appeared to be knitted from giant wool or tops. And the massive pom pom people were a little hard to miss!

 This is the 'Knit Monster' Fairisle meets monster, complete with skulls and frankenstein. 

xox Niamh xox

Room Tour - Home Edition

Hi all,

I have been meaning to post my 'after' room tour for ages now. My excuse... I hadn't sorted the throw pillows. I know, its a really bad excuse. But now I am heading off for Uni, so I figured now would be a good time to do it before I drain all of my belongings from it.

If you want to see what my room looked like before then you can have a look here: Before Room
It was quite a big room makeover, and this is now my room for life at home. I went with quite a neutral colour scheme, so that I could change the look of it with different coloured furnishings (cushions, throws e.t.c) I chose Elephants Breath by Farrow and Ball for the wall colour which I absolutely love. We got a new carpet laid which is cream with a really interesting weave.
Some pieces of furniture are the same, but we changed that desk, chest of drawers and wardrobe as they were not functioning properly (i.e they were broken, or on the brink of falling apart). I love the new furniture that I got so much, its kind of french style with the decorative feet and details and antique brass handles. I don't know how I am going to leave it here!

 The bedding I got was from House of Fraser by Sanderson. The duvet cover is cream with a white damask style raised pattern. The grey throw and pillow are from Ikea, and the turquoise throw pillow is from Next. I got it a while ago and it went with the previous colour scheme I had, but until I change it I am happy with it there. I absolutely love my bed, I got it a good few years ago when I 'upgraded' from my bunk bed. I am definitely going to miss it when I go to Uni! On my bedside table there is a lamp from John Lewis which is a similar antique brass colour to the handles on the furniture with a cream twisty lampshade. And a pile of magazines and books I am currently reading. I just started 'The Fault in Our Stars' by John Green.

My desk area is one of my favourite parts of my room. I love having my desk by the window looking out, as it not only gives great light to work with, but I can also look out at the trees and animals in our garden. I try not to keep too much on my desk, just the essentials, and of course my mini mannequin. I keep a few things on my windowsill. The flowers are from Ikea (yep, they are fake!) So they always bring colour to the room. On either side of them I have a photo frame (antique brass) with a sepia photo of Paris and Port Douglas, two of my favourite places.

 I like to think of this area as my reading area. I have quite a lot of 'stuff' in my room, and these big Ikea box shelves are great for storing the majority of my 'stuff'. I like then using the boxes to put things into. All of the black boxes are from Ikea, and they all have labels which is quite useful. The two slimmer Ikea shelve units next to the big one house my growing dvd collection. I love films and I tend to buy quite a lot of dvds, but I always wait until they are about £3. 

I am an avid collector of fashion magazines, and have been collecting Vogue for a while. New to my favourite magazines is I-D and Lula. I used to get the Beano, for about 10 years (all of the magazines are now in the roof) I keep the annuals that I got in my bedroom. I even have a few annuals from the 60's. My white book shelf was made by my dad, and has been in my room since I can remember. It now houses the majority of my fashion, art and reading books. I want to take them all with me to Uni, but I know I won't have room, so I have to pick my favourites.

 When the shop Pier was around in the UK, one visit we took I got my mum to sit on the 'Satellite Chair' (as I call it) I think they are called papasan chairs. Long story short she loved it and we got two for the lounge. Move on a few years and they aren't being used, so I brought one up into my room. Its the most comfy chair to sit on. You can just curl up with a book or laptop and relax (or fall asleep)

I keep my bags on the back of my door, for easy access to grab when I leave my room. My favourite bag make is Nica because they have interesting little details that I like. But my dream bag would be the Mulberry Alexa bag because it so classic and pretty. (one day.....)

A few little areas of my room. The wardrobe I have has these pole things that extend from the side, which I sometimes use to hang my outfit for the next day on. Recently they have been housing my favourite scarf of the moment and my Helen Kaminski felt hat.

I have my perfume collection in one of the boxes of the big Ikea shelf. I mostly have body sprays which I got in Washington D.C at Victorias Secret. I have really enjoyed wearing them over the summer, but I might transition into using perfume for the colder months. Most of my perfumes are nearly used up, so I have my eye on the Jo Malone counter for my next perfume. They all smell amazing though, I don't know which one to pick.

Finally there is my clock. I got it for Christmas last year as a complete surprise. I had the same clock in my bedroom for the whole of my life and it was probably time to change it. Having the 'Bunnykins teaching clock' hanging on your wall when you are 18 is probably not socially acceptable :) My mum picked out this Thomas Kent clock, and its soo perfect. I love the roman numerals and the colour. Its really big so I have no excuse about being late.

I hope you have enjoyed this look at my room

xox Niamh xox  

Mallorca: Sunshine, Markets and Seascapes

Hi all,

You may have noticed that I disappeared for a couple of weeks. I was away soaking up the last rays of summer sunshine before heading off to university. We had a great time in Mallorca, enjoying sun, sea and great food! We were based near Pollenca on the north of the island, and spent time enjoying the beautiful town, and others that surround it. Here is a snap shot of our trip...

We stayed in a villa, and the highlight of it was the huge fig tree on the driveway, which was heaving with fresh figs. Every morning we went out to see which ones were ready to pick, and enjoyed them straight off the tree.

The calvari 365 steps in Pollenca were something we had to do again. When I was 5 we went to Mallorca and I apparently ran up and down them whilst my parents walked to the top. I went up at a normal pace this time!

One of the highlights of Pollenca is definitely the Sunday morning market, which was brimming with fresh fruit and veggies, meats, cheeses and interesting hand made jewellery and crafts. It was really a feast for the senses! Photos below show more things there. I loved the leather satchels particularly the embossed one.

On the left is Teixits Vicens, an interiors textiles shop, known for its striped Mallorcan fabrics. It had lots of lovely goodies made from its fabrics, as well as huge rolls of them lining the walls. On the right is a ceramic shop entrance that had beautiful hand made and hand painted pottery.

I can't remember exactly what these were about, but there were these huge sculptures of musical instruments made from stone and metal in Pollenca. They were pretty impressive.

We stopped at a couple of vineyards for wine tastings whilst we were there. (I was on water though!) It was really relaxing to sit in the vineyard looking out at the long vines and grapes.

Cala Sant Vicenc coves were so pretty. I swam a few times and the water was so clear and warm. There were lots of little fish swimming around, but also some really weird looking jellyfish which I wasn't so happy about! (I am kind of scared of jellyfish!)

Sand sculptures line the beach in Port de Pollenca, they are complete with their own little fountains!

Following the lonely planet guide book we drove down to Sa Calobra. As the guide book describes "Feel your heart leap as you take the dramatic hairpin drive to Sa Calobra" and our hearts certainly did leap! At one point I thought my mum was going to have a panic attack! She doesn't like heights, and the road was really narrow with a very very steep drop down. Add to that the huge coaches coming against us almost forcing us off the road, and you can see why she was worried. But it was totally worth it (well in my opinion) The cove was beautiful and for swimming it was amazing.

I will end with another drive we took to Cap de Formentor, where there were some stunning views.

And there is me with one of the great views behind me. I lived in those denim shorts for the whole trip. I hate how I always over pack and end up wearing one thing!

Hope you enjoyed this look at our trip

I am looking forward to moving off to University, so expect some Uni related posts soon.

xox Niamh xox