Let Summer Commence
May and June were so packed with events that I haven’t had the chance to get a blog out any earlier. It really has been a whirlwind few months.
Amalfi
In May I was lucky enough to have a week in Naples and the Amalfi Coast. It wasn’t my first trip, so this time I was determined to visit Pompeii. In Naples we started at the Thomas Dane Gallery, where he was presenting the work of Cecily Brown titled ‘We Didn’t Mean To Go To Sea’. The Gallery in Naples was such an amazing venue for this exciting work, it was a an inspiring and tranquil hour in an otherwise busy day.
On the Coast we enjoyed some sunshine. Although it wasn’t very warm, I still managed a swim in the sea and I am quite proud of myself for doing so! In fact it was so wonderful, I once again skipped Pompeii and only managed to get to Oplontis, a villa outside Pompeii. I absolutely loved it but shall definitely be returning to Pompeii at a later date.
Buckingham Palace
Luckily we were back in time to attend our invitation to one of the Queen’s Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace. It was the first time Becca and I had been invited so we were a little excited! We enjoyed the presence of The Queen, Prince William and Kate and the tea was pretty amazing too.
The best, however, was just sitting back, relaxing and people watching in the beautiful surroundings.
Garsington
Spring always starts with the delivery of our jewellery to the Garsington Opera season at Wormsley Estate and tickets to a dress rehearsal. This year we saw the production of Don Giovanni. It’s a joy to see and always so rewarding to work with the team and meet the other artisans who create the unique and hand crafted gift items available.
Belgravia In Bloom
Elizabeth Street has always led the way with the floral fantasies which celebrate The Chelsea Flower Show. This year the theme for Belgravia was ‘The Language of Flowers’. We kept to a very Victorian look for our window and inside the shop we celebrated with colour and the brilliant, bright stones of our exciting Spring Collection.
This Season we have created a simple flower design called Pop and it is, by far, our biggest seller at the moment. The pieces are made from simple bold shapes, mainly in gold with a pop of strong colour.
Fashion Roundtable
Also in May we collaborated with Tamara Cincik founder of Fashion Roundtable in hosting a fabulous creative workshop at the boutique. It was a great success and I truly believed everyone who came enjoyed the event immensely.The evening began with an informal Q&A between Tamara and myself. Chatting about my early days starting the business,the progression and direction we have now taken. We then enjoyed refreshments and an intimate workshop in which everyone made a piece of jewellery. It was a delightful group of people and all of us had a great time.
Images by Dalia Greppi
The Wallace Collection
We began June with an exciting new collaboration with London’s The Wallace Collection. Each limited edition piece we created was inspired by the artwork within and some include cameos of the most iconic paintings in the Gallery. The setting is so wonderful, made even more so, with the current Manola Blahnik presentation displayed within the collection. I truly believe that the Wallace is the most romantic museum in London, it is held with such affection and is a constant source of inspiration for all who appreciate romance and beauty.
Belgravia Square BBQ
What fun we had at the annual Belgrave Square BBQ. Becca, Maya and myself were invited to the table of our good friend and client Stacey Kivel. The food and drink were delicious with Uni Japanese for Starters and Mossiman hosting the BBQ. Everyone was in festive spirits and we ended up dancing the night away.
Knightsbridge Rocks
On the 19th of June Knightsbridge Rocks and VICKISARGE hosted yet another successful evening talk at 38 Elizabeth Street. This was presented by Nevin Bayoumi who is a gemologist and she discussed where to begin when collecting vintage jewellery. Nevin was fascinating and we hope that we will do another talk in the Autumn.
The Damned
I just have to make a comment on the recent play I went to at the Barbican. An adaptation of the Visconti film script of The Damned, produced and directed by Ivo van Hove with the Comedie-Francaise. It was the most intense theatre experience in my lifetime! It was amazing and disturbing all at the same time and I am so glad I saw this incredible version.
Edifice Dance Theatre
Last weekend we had a group outing to the Cockpit Studios in NW1. One of our designers, Nathalie David, is a friend of Fabio Dolce who recently formed the dance troupe Edifice with Harriet Waghorn and Carmine de Amici. They performed a magnificent version of Oscar Wilde’s Salome. We will keep you posted on further performances, so you can see for yourself. Nathalie had stepped in to help with the costumes, creating empowering and timeless looks to compliment the performance.
Image by Alfred George Bailey
Our Alumni - Maiko Takeda
If you’ve read my blog before, you know that we like to feature other designers in our shop. This month we are focusing on one of our Alumni. Maiko was part of our team whilst attending St Martins for her BA and then RCA for her Masters in Millinery. We always knew she was amazing and now she is proving this to the world with her creativity and vision. Her pieces have been worn by Bjork and received intentional praise and she is currently working for Issey Miyake accessories. It’s a pleasure to watch her shine.
