Wish List: Coordinates

I had been hoping this blazer short coordinate set was going to arrive at Yumi before I left - no such luck. I love that being a coordinate pairing, the pieces are right on trend, yet they also have quite a classic, timeless feel with the subtle bird print. The blazer short combo would work as well for the office with a shirt, tights and brouges, as they would for a casual day outfit with a plain tee and converse, and also for night out over a white cami and tonnes of gold jewellery! Fingers crossed I can find these at a decent price on eBay or that my mum will take the hints I've been dropping - now that I no longer have the pleasure of 60% staff discount at Yumi!

Outfit
Blazer: Yumi £55, Shorts: Yumi £30, Shirt: Topshop £29

Chrissy Ralphs

I love cats way too much to be considered normal, so when Chrissy started displaying her degree show work next to mine, I instantly fell in love with her work! Drawing from ornamental cats figures, Chrissy has re-contextualised the items with one line statements in a very witty way to create some very intriguing and beautiful illustrations. The narratives and statements are not only influenced by the imagery but drawing in from well known "cat" sayings including "curiousity killed the cat", with a current, minimal twist on the format.

The imagery, line and typography is so carefully considered and the hand stitch so precisely finished,  I could not fault a single element of the collection! I really hope Chrissy puts these up for sale, as I'll be first in line to purchase a piece! Below are a select few of the phrases the designer displayed for her final degree show.

 

 

Contact
Please contact me if you wish for further information or contact details of Chrissy Ralphs

Location
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, Birmingham

All images shown copyright Chrissy Ralphs, please to not use without permission of or crediting to Chrissy Ralphs

Yumi

Wednesday is my last day working for Yumi, and I must say I'm actually a lot more sad about leaving than I thought I would be! Anyone visiting Birmingham centre, definitely pop in to House of Fraser on Corporation Street and head towards Yumi and talk to the lovely ladies I will be leaving on the department, they will help you find the perfect piece! Although I joined the team working on their kidswear section (which is just so so cute, see here), as soon as the Womenswear section came in to store I knew my bank balance would take a hit! The brand is very vintage inspired, and certainly has pieces in the collections for those who want to stand out from the crowd. Although less known than lots of the brands in House of Fraser, Yumi has been spotted on Una from The Saturday's, Nina Nesbitt and Dawn Porter, and is growing in popularity fast!

Below, I have paired my favourite piece of the Yumi S/S 2013 collection - a pearl collar, floral lace, pleat front top - with cropped polka dot trousers. Let me know what you think, and look out for the A/W 2013 collection that starts coming in to store this week!...

Outfit
Top: Yumi £40, Trousers: Forever 21, £18.50, Bag: Topshop £25 (birthday gift), Watch: Marc by Marc Jacobs £200 (birthday gift), Necklace: Miss Selfridge £3 (in sale), Pumps: Primark £4, Umbrella: Primark £3
Location
Moreton Street, Birmingham

Emma Scott

Being a print student, it wasn't often that I got to see the work of other textile specialisms, so when people started to display their final degree show projects it gave me a chance to take a look around at what embroidered textiles, weave and knit specialisms entailed. I came across Emma's embroidery work and was immediately attracted to her project's simple yet distinct display, trend considerations and exciting materiality choices.

The designer's work has a strong personal style, and takes a comtemporary, geometric slant on traditional embroidery. The ideas for Emma's final collection of handmade beads developed after initally experimenting with ice cubes and capsules, and continued to progress in terms of composition and aesthetic after researching modern architecture. Carefully resolving the facet inspired beads, Emma's final main choice matter of hand rendered resin has been embedded and coated with varying metallic and matte materials that give a subtle luxury feel, that really intice you to look closer. Below are a few of the beautiful final beads from Emma's collection.

  

 

Website 

To see even more Emma's beautiful embellishment creations, visit her website: http://emmalscott.tumblr.com/
Location
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, Birmingham

All images shown copyright Emma Scott, please to not use without permission of or crediting to Emma Scott

America Count Down

I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful, sunny weather! Unfortunately, I have been either working or stuck in my flat, which has decided to convert itself to a wood free sauna! Currently saving every penny I can for my travels, I am trying not to leave my flat so not to be tempted by the call of the pub or the Bullring. This makes me very sad, but in the end it will be so worth it.

However, today, I can not believe, is exactly 6 weeks until I leave for America! I am excited beyond words! And this excitement has overwhelmed my willpower not to shop, thus the t-shirt purchase below. Although I will probably melt in its thick black fabric, I've found the cropped style really easy to pair with anything from simple denim shorts to high waisted trousers so will be a good diverse piece to pack. The aztec joggers I'm wearing  are also  a favourite  of mine, the ultimate piece for both comfort and style. Again, I will probably melt from the heat in them but I will defintely be finding room for them in my case.

Finally, I just need to say these are absolutely the most comfortable sandals I have ever worn. Made from real suede, it literally feels like I don't have shoes on, but the lace up style means they work as well for the office as they do for the beach! Let me know what you think...

Outfit
T-shirt: Riverisland £15, Joggers: Topshop £25, Necklace H&M £5.99, Clutch Bag: Primark £5, Sandals: Ecote at Urban Outfitters £30
Location
Warstone Lane, Birmingham

Nicola Brighton

I've always been a huge fan of Nicola's work, right from the first year of university, and her Final Major Project certainly did not disappoint. Designing a digital collection of womenswear scarves, Nicola focussed on tropical blooms, jungle foliage, bejewelled prints and brave, vibrant colour after being inspired the WGSN S/S 2014 trend Next Nature.

The designer's combination of photography, hand drawn illustration and hand dying, has been developed in to an expressive collection that bursts with creativity and a sense of bohemian, with a futher element of luxury through the use of silk as the base fabric choice. I really hope she approaches Topshop, as I think the style really suits the brands on trend aesthetics, and would definitely fly off the shelves next summer! Below are just some of the many beautiful final digital scarf designs by Nicola.

 

Website
To see even more of Nicola's vibrant designs, visit her website: http://nicolabrighton.tumblr.com
Location
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, Birmingham

All images shown copyright Nicola Brighton, please to not use without permission of or crediting to Nicola Brighton

Polka Dots

I love that polka dots have come in to fashion recently (well in the past year or so), as you'll soon come to find I have a complete obsession with anything that has polka dots on it (see current background of blog). Last week I even wore a polka dot tee, polka dot trousers and polka dot shoes all in one go. I did get a few strange looks that day - I wonder why...? My mum is the same with stripes, she literally has about 50 striped tops. Maybe we should swap some clothes as I love mixing stripe and pattern with a good dot!

Fashion Bargains
As you may have guessed, todays outfit involves polka dots! The dress was an absolute steal from COW Vintage Birmingham, although it did need a good attack with scissors, needle and thread to make it fit properly. At the other end of the spectrum I'm also wearing my most prized possession in the form of my Marc by Marc Jacobs watch that I got for my 21st birthday. I drooled over this beauty in the Selfridges' watch section for months before my birthday, and since getting it (with all the thanks in the world to the bestest mum and dad ever) I have had endless admirers! Let me know what you think...

Outfit
Dress: Cow Vintage £2 (in sale), Necklace: Accessorize £3 (in sale), Watch: Marc by Marc Jacobs £200 (birthday gift)
Location
Tenby Street North, Birmingham

Liz Shuter At New Designers 2013

Ok, so I know I should probably post about my design work first but my super talented friend Liz Shuter is exhibiting at New Designers this week so wanted to show everyone some of her illustrations she will be displaying - below is a photo of her work displayed (centre) at New Designers alongside other designers from Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, stand T35.

I love cats and birds, so am clearly going to be very biased in saying how cute they all are, but they really are absolutely beautiful! I could easily see the cards being stocked in Paperchase! Using CAD, Liz has thoughtfully layered simple hand drawings with mark making patterns in pastel colours to create subtly textured illustrations for use on greeting cards and art prints. 

 

Website
To see even more of Liz's beautiful illustrations, visit her website: http://www.lizshuter.com or http://lizshuter.tumblr.com
Location
New Designers, London

All images shown copyright Liz Shuter, please to not use without permission of or crediting to Liz Shuter

Graduate

Having officially graduated from Birmingham Institute of Art and Design yesterday but still with 2 months to go before I travel to America (unbelievably excited!) and then come back to job hunting, I want to keep creative and inspired in any way I can... So here we go, a blog searching for New Design Talent, Stylish People, Fashion Bargains and Places To Visit, all around the city of Birmingham.

Fashion Bargains

My friends are always telling me I have way to many clothes but can never understand how as I am constantly broke. The last 3 years of university, eBay has been my saviour! Not only having provided me with a place to buy many, many wonderful bargains but also a place for me to sell old clothes to buy even more! Literally every outfit I put together will always include something from eBay, which I know some people won't like because the clothes are second hand, but lets just say they're vintage. That sounds nicer. Anyway, here's my first fashion bargain outfit, with photography thanks to my lovely boyfriend. Let me know what you think...
 

Outfit

Dress: Topshop £26 (eBay £5.50), Necklace: Miss Selfridge £3 (in sale), Bag: Topshop £72 (Vintage Shop £8), Watch: My mums jewellery box, Converse: Office £45

Location

Albion Street, Birmingham