holland

Its grey again ! Oh my gosh and its raining can I get it together again.

Down to breakfast and treat myself to whole carb fest, sultana bread chocolate

syrup sugary tea is downed quickly to forget the inevitably I am sure I have

said somewhere no rain, no cold , no yuck cloths. Decide to check the flower and

bulb market in the rain, there are some gorgeous neat blooms and every colour

and sized tulip imaginable there is another market nearby selling cloths and

food with cheese wheels the size of lorry tyres do people buy this or do the

cheese stalls just cut off the pieces they need! Photographer hungry again and

wants to try pancake we find the only pancake restaurant in Utrecht and I sip a

tea

and have major bust up with photographer can't do the rain! No not another 57km

Cheer up with a couple of second hand cloths shops not as good as London mind

and I don't spend to much time cause photographer wants to get going

So looking like I am going to the Northern hemisphere I start peddling!

Cycling Holland

We are there its today its 7.30 and I feel sick and I am sure its not with

anticipation its more like flipping petrification is my body going to do this

for me cause sure as hell my mind isn't! And yes its not weird that all business

people congregate in one area on eurostar its just that coach 5 snd14 are the

only ones with power points.Photographer has decided to start casual no pictures

yet thankgod! 2 hours gets you into Brussels midi for train connection to

Rotterdam. Ok first picture taken wish I had decided now on full make up.!But

wearing my NV London Calcutta bag my vintage Palladium boots and Kuyichi jeans,

instead of waiting 2 whole hours for the connection we have managed to get onto

an earlier train, weird being able to do that to another country!Taking a

forced pee stop and first encounter with clean efficient loos for 50 centimes

these are working machines that will take your change and convert to 50 centimes

the stern but friendly staff explain everything in a variation of languages and

signs! Camera man off on pizza hunt ugh this early its only 0900!!

1.45 hours on and we are already through Antwerp gorgeous sunny day and through

the train windows I have taken a peak at the cycling confederation and thank

god they're not wearing lycra, more like cords and flowery dresses but there

does seem to be a code of some sort all very orderly.

After a swap of trains at Rotterdam we arrive 1500 at Amersfoort having chilled

on the train and checked that yes the land is perfectly flat I am brought back

to reality by just the sheer volume of bikes! A quick respite as we re told at

the information bureau its Queens day tomorrow and there are some major

festivities in town! That's more like it and the idea of meeting tulip tour bike

man becomes a hazy reality! Sitting in the middle of lieve vrouwe kerkhof square

sipping a very very cold blonde beer with a slice of lemon and a gorgeous feta

salad I forget totally why I am here. Amersfoort is truly gorgeous medieval town

and the centre has remained more or less intact. A pilgrimage city , an

important beer brewing town and a trading crossroads have coloured its history!

Were staying at NH hotels and meet bike man who runs the company with mieke his

wife and the bikes. Actually. They're gorgeous and I fall in love

With mine the gears work, the sadle is great and its got every possibility of

carrying me through to the end!after opting for every possible insurance we

go on to enjoy queens day evening free concerts and loads of drink! It makes me

feel like a skiing trip!

And for a first day its all good good!

Alternative Fashion Week 2010

Colour explosion - Heidi Wikar
The paparazzi were out in force at the first and glorious sunny day of the Alternative Fashion Week shows at Spitalfield Market.

Somewhere in the middle of it all was our lovely photographer Shelley that managed to take these pictures!

Designers that stood out were Heidi Wikar (heidiwikar.com) – with her collection Singing Silence 2010/2011 – a gorgeous juxtaposition of colours and materials; orange and cream, smooth and sleek versus volumes of crumpledness.

Her collection is a statement on environmental changes in northern Scandinavian winter due to global warming where the usually snow-covered white frozen landscapes are melting and evaporating. The collection is feminine and glamorous and ‘can be packed into a 20kg rucksack’.

Chloe Haywoods (hatastic.folksy.com) showed some fun fascinators, hats and hairpieces – made from finds and remnants in boxes.

Anne Wilkinson’s knitwear used traditional handknitting techniques with mustard turquoise tones and vintage British styling.

Richard Evans–Lacey’s collection, made in Bethnal Green, showed off kilts for men. Floral, Camouflage City, Nationalistic and even one with more than a little hint of bondage. The kilt in its new form is mashed up with English town and country and the sporrans have been transformed into removable game pockets and army boots into lace up shoes!

Not sure if the city guys are ready for this but me and the rest of the crowd were!

Have said it before will say again the boys seems to be getting more of the hot designers. Colchester School of Art designs fantastic recycled jackets were amazing!

see full article on www.daisygreenmagazine.co.uk

Natural &Organic products show- and wow what a show

Not sure what happened but I did not stop eating there were so many delicious things!
From Flaxfarm.co.uk snacks fabulously made brownies to seedsstacked.com sugarless sweet temptations and a couple of raw chocolate thingies..and Daaz beer and loads of stuff made out of Hanuka honey.
In fact I was saved by Daniel at Chicza chewing gum who proffered a lifeline in the form of a pack of this sensible chewing gum, by which means no food could enter my mouth.In fact Chicza is an amazing story its origins are in the Mayan rain forest and the chewing gum is the first organic certified and biodegradable gum world wide.
Also it doesn't stick to anything it goes hard when you get rid of it, and as my blowing bubbles days are over the fact that you cant worries me not one bit.
You can get at Waitrose all the Natural food stores and a couple of indies too!

Think Act Vote: Eco T-shirt Design Competition Winner Announced

JESSON YIP!



The winner was decided by the Think Act Vote judging panel, made up of some of the best-known faces in ethical fashion and design, including ethical hero Katherine Hamnett, celebrated illustrator Daisy de Villeneuve and the original ‘anti-preneur’, Cyndi Rhoades.



In partnership with ethical fashion label Komodo, Think Act Vote ran a search for their carbon neutral Think Act Vote t-shirt from up and coming designers, artists and illustrators. The only proviso was that the design included the words “Think Act Vote



Jesson Yips tshirt was totally awsome coming in two colours and at £20 is available online from www.komodo.co.uk/thinkactvote

Hurry Sale Period 26th March-04th April

Spring has sprung and Easter Bunnies are running riot! And in the madness Bourgeois Boheme have decided to have a 70% clearance sale to make room for their gorgeous Summer arrivals!
Not only that but Alicia has decided to have a cup cake extravaganza on the 10Th April....its a bit of a trek to Richmond but I reckon the boots and cakes well make up for it!

NEW ONLINE ACCESSORIES BOUTIQUE CREATES A SEQUEL FOR RECYCLED CLOTHING

An online boutique for a new ethical accessories brand launches this month (www.sequellondon.co.uk), offering a range of leather bags created from recycled leather jackets, discarded silk ties and unwanted curtains.

Set up by cousins Laura Queening and Claire Baigent to reduce waste and encourage sustainability in fashion. The pair select unwanted clothing from Oxfam’s Wastesaver warehouses, and recycle the material to create contemporary accessories which can be used for another generation.

No two bags will be the same. The whole range is available in black leather, with some styles available in either black or brown.

Check out there webiste for gorgeous accessories