Elementree

My friend Charlotte with her class organized a catwalk show displaying key pieces from the first year of their degree. The group of students study Jewelry and Silversmithing in the Artistic department of London Metropolitan University. The show was put on at Islington Metal Works, a sort of bar/warehouse near Angel tube station. Tickets were 5 pounds, and there were people queuing outside when I arrived. Everyone was given a souvenir ticket, which had the show's logo on it "Elementree" where the "t" was an image of a tree which Charlotte had drawn.

The show was in one room, and the bar was in another, where the work shown would later be displayed for a closer look. There were 3 black podiums for the models wearing the clothes to stand on, and several white benches facing them. Both rooms were decorated with many strings of fairy lights, creating a warm and welcoming feeling when walking into the rooms. 

The show opened with a woman doing the trapeze and then switched into different music as the first few models walked out. I loved seeing each piece on a person, because often it is hard to see where the artist would place the object they created. These are some of the pieces I liked the most.

Overall, I had a really great evening, it was nice to talk to people who created an event, because its linked to my future career. And it was nice to be surrounded by people who have visions and think through visual things. I genuinely miss that. I wish I was invited to more events like these. 

Here's the website for the show: http://elementree.info/

The Photographers' Gallery

A little while ago I went all the way to Oxford Circus to see a photography exhibition at The Photographers' Gallery. The main exhibit I went to see was for the runners up of the Deutsche Borse prize. This prize consists of 30,000 pounds which is given to the winner with the "best" collection of photographs for the year. The gallery is a sort of relaxed, calm space right behind the shopping craze of Oxford Street.

Not only was the gallery showing the photographic work of these competitors but they also had an exhibit by a Finnish photographer with a variety of past Finnish ad campaigns. It was fun to see some of the products I've used in Finland shown in an ad from the 1960's.

There was also a room showing only one image, and everyone visiting the exhibit is invited to draw the photograph. Therefore having to spend more time looking at the image and analyzing it unlike how we may have looked at the other work in the gallery, by just glancing at it. My drawing was featured on the gallery's tumblr page, here: http://whatdoyousee-tpg.tumblr.com/post/52862580199/diana-turchi-this-response-to-the-photograph. Overall, I really liked this gallery because it  was able to show a diversity of work but kept it all tied together due to the simple fact that everything we saw was based on stilled images.

Here's their website: http://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/

Paper Exhibit: Saatchi Gallery

I've probably said it before that I'm a huge fan of the Saatchi Gallery. I've even joined their mailing list, and therefore become a Saatchi member. This way I always know if there's something good, and new to see. A few days before I left London for the summer I got an email saying there was something new, a Paper Exhibit. 

So I invited a few friends to see the new collection with me. Upon arriving I realized I had already seen the art in the ground floor and I was hoping there was at least 4 rooms filled with new things. And there were. I was really impressed by the different things people created with paper. 

There were paper coffee cups with intricate drawings all over them. There were huge wall hanging drawings which had several tiny details as well as huge sketching features. There was also an installation filling a whole room made out of coloured paper kites. But I think the best thing I saw was trees cut into paper shopping bags. They were so tiny, so perfect, and it really looked like the tree was fully made by the cut out on the top of the bag, which then created the correct light on the tree.

It's usually hard to describe art with words, so I'll let the pictures speak more than me. But the exhibition ends soon, and its really worth seeing, if innovative art is something you think you might like. Or it's just a good place to hide from the rain and broaden your knowledge of the visual arts. 

Here's the gallery's website: http://www.saatchigallery.com/

Anthropologie

The only thing I've ever bought from Anthropologie are books. But the inside of their stores make you wish you could afford all their other products. Every dress seems to have enough details to tell a story, and every cute little bowl has a print you've never seen before. I tend to go to Anthropologie with my friend Daniella because she buys the clothes. I've hunted through the their sales racks but still have never been able to buy anything.

However I do appreciate their selection of books a lot. They have slightly more interesting cooking books and their other books range from autobiographies to DIY books. Maybe I just like their books because of the pretty covers, but I've found that the books I've bought from there I actually read. Which is generally a good sign because I've had some books on my shelf since uni started and I still haven't looked through them once. 

Anthropologie is nice because the warm colours of their stores make you somewhat feel at home, and unlike most shops they tend to have nice seating areas where you can just soak you surroundings. In the shop on Regents Street they have a whole wall of plants, which I think is pretty cool. 

Here's their website: http://www.anthropologie.eu/uk/page/home

Wahaca

Wahaca is a chain restaurant that has been expanding really quickly within the UK. My friend Alice took me there before we went to see her boyfriend in a play. The best thing about this restaurant is that its set up like tapas (Spanish small portions "snacks") but with Mexican food. The menu is on the table cloth and everything is labelled with a title and then a good description. 

Alice and I chose to get 2 dishes each, and then 3 sides to share, we also split a dessert a the end. I chose steak fajitas, and chicken tacos and then we shared a sour-cream and black bean side, corn on the cob, and sweet potatoes. It was a full blown out meal. The end of the meal was incredible too though, we shared churros and I had a Mexican hot chocolate, which is non dairy, and has a little chili in it for fire. Everything tasted incredible. 

The design of the restaurant is also really cute. Their catch phrase is "Mexican Market Eating" so the inside of the place is made to look a bit like a Mexican street, with colours and different shapes and booths for larger parties to sit in. The tiles on the floor change and some how everything still matches. They have a wall of different bottles reminding us all that yes we do want a cocktail with lunch. 

I know I'm going to eat at Wahaca again, because there's so much more on the menu I need to try! Here's their website: http://www.wahaca.co.uk/

Hermes at the Saatchi Gallery

In May 2013 there was a craft fair at the Saatchi Gallery. The craft people showing their work were people from the Hermes workshops in France. There were many different different mini studios set up showing the craftsmen at work. There was a leather worker, a tie maker, a print maker, a bag maker and a watch maker. It was incredible to see all the work behind one item which we then get to hold. 

There was a live show showing the silk printing of the silk Hermes scarfs. The presentation had a man explaining the process and the actual person doing the printing. The man explained that yes Hermes do use machines but "Hermes has found the perfect balance between man and the machine" for all of their products. The work surface in the Gallery only had enough space to print two scarfs at a time being a table of about 4 meters in length. In their workshop (they do not like you calling it a "factory"), the table is 100 meters long, so that they can print more scarfs at once. 

The technique has very many steps, each colour has to be printed on in different layers, starting with the darkest and then going to the lightest. However if the darkest colour takes up a lot of space on the silk then it must be printed last because it will remain wet longer than the lighter colours. In their workshop their tables have heaters underneath so that the ink dries faster. Also everything in their workshop is monitored, the temperature of the silk is measured so that it can be the perfect humidity and the ink stays on the silk the longest possible. 

Every year they come out with 10 prints for the fall and 10 prints for the spring. Out of these prints the colourists must come up with 20 different colour combinations on the same pattern where then only 10 get selected. All the heads of the international branched of Hermes then come together in Paris and select the coloured prints that will sell the most in their countries and make their order for the factories. Occasionally certain prints are brought back in new colours to update the old designs.

Each of the Hermes designs are meant to show a story, every image they print they collected from around the world. Culture is a very important thing in the Hermes family. After seeing into the way Hermes works at this work shop, I was inspired to try to work with them. Companies who have a story mean a lot to me, and I think its important to cherish tradition as well as bringing in modern things and they are able to do this with their scarfs. 

Here's the Saatchi Gallery website: http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/

and here's the Hermes site: http://uk.hermes.com/

Rokit

Rokit on Brick Lane takes up 3 shop windows. I've walked past it a lot because I went in there with my parents once and I didn't like it. With my flatmate Emily, I decided to try it out again. The first and last door lead to small vintage shops and the middle door has really modern clothes from small English clothing labels.

The vintage sections are really cheap, with the clothes divided really well by cut, length and type. All the cropped t-shirts are together, that way you don't have to spend ages in the shop looking for them. The women's wear spreads into the men's wear section a bit. There's at least one of everything in every colour you just have to be lucky enough for the colour you like to be your size but I guess that's always the case with vintage clothes.

The middle store is beautiful, its divided into mini boutiques where each small label has its specific section. All the clothes are hung in size and colour order. So you don't even have to sort through to find the thing you want. Everything has an interesting design or print. There was this one sweater I really wanted. But I think I'm going to try to survive without it because after all it does cost 40 pounds, and I don't really need it.

I thought it was really cool that the shop is divided because it helped me shop better in each individual one and I could focus more on what I needed to buy instead of what I thought I might wear. You can shop online at http://www.rokit.co.uk 

Brick Lane Coffee

Walking along Brick Lane at least once a week I've noticed the flashing lights of Brick Lane Coffee before, many times. I don't know why I never stopped before, I think every time I walked past I had a different destination. Anyway, this time my friend Charlotte and I went. I was really thirsty so I knew I had to get something to drink. 

I chose to get an Arizona ice tea because I know they actually quench my thirst unlike the blue lemonade I had earlier that day from a stall in Brick Lane market. We sat down on a couch side by side discussing what we were up to and talking about our flat for next year. I was really relaxed due to the perfect couch, the chill music and the good conversation. 

Everyone inside the coffee shop looked like some kind of an artist and I loved it. The man sitting across from us was drawing something, and seemed very focused. The venue is pretty small but there are several cute details that make it home-y and special. I really liked the drawings on the walls, the different mismatched seats and that everyone seemed to be doing something. I'm glad I finally walked in.

Here's their website: http://streetcoffee.co.uk/pages/bricklane.php

Frock Me!

On the 19th of May I went to the Frock Me! Vintage Fashion Fair in Chelsea Town Hall. When I was a kid I remembered going to this town hall to see many different things. I think there was one time I remember really well because I was surrounded by like pink and beige clothes, it was a Burberry sample sale. This time I recognized traits of the building but not much else. 

We paid our 2 pound entrance fee, and walked inside, astonished by the number of stands selling clothes from different eras. I'm very picky with vintage clothes, they need to actually be old and represent something from the past to me, instead of being something from a few years ago with a label I recognize. Both my friend and I were able to find something we liked that wasn't incredibly expensive. However there was this one princess chiffon dress which I would have loved to own but it was a little out of my price range (280 pounds). 

Everyone selling things was really friendly allowing us to try things on, and when we didn't have enough cash, to go to the machine across the street to get money for the item we wanted. We got to hold a phone-bag which was used in the film "An Education", and see clothes that could have been featured in the Marie Antoinette film. Overall, it was like a little fairy tale. The next Frock Me! event is on the 8th of September, but there is also one on the 20th of October too. 

Here's their website: http://www.frockmevintagefashion.com