Hi, hello and welcome to the reprise of our final summer show at Gallery Tresco. The schedule of 6 exhibitions in 60 days is a huge undertaking, but a challenge I love none the less. Featured above is the attending artist Maggie O'Brien, who over the years has built herself a big following with our clients. Her painting above my right shoulder has been sold, but the star of the show had to be her large homage to the swallow, a lament at the decline of our bird population in general which is one of Maggie's passions. See the entire show here.
Maggie and I are both putting our best foot forward in our frocks of the evening. Maggie is wearing her new dress by Whistles, not brown but snakeskin print she corrected. And me, I'm wearing a Monsoon gown (pre-loved) which of course, isn't beige, but vanilla. Whew, thank goodness we've got that all straight!
I bought the beautiful satin and chiffon dress from the Cancer Research shop in Truro when I was over there last month for my medical appointment. I'd walked past there in the evening when all the shops were closed and this was hanging against the door. I promised myself that I'd return the next morning and if it were less than £30 I'd buy it. It cost £18 and is worth every penny. The dry cleaning label was still stapled inside which itself had saved me about the same amount of money. Hurrah! You do know how I love a bargain.
It may not be the biggest swoosh factor of the summer, but this gorgeous gown certainly wins in the glamour stakes, don't you think?
I added my favourite oversized Debenhams pearls to the column dress for a bit of impact and two pre-loved rings in neutral tones. The sunglasses of the day are by Guess.
The satin kitten heel shoes by Wallis must be vintage by now as I've had them for over 20 years. They've hardly been worn. The first outing they had was on a New Year's Eve party which nearly spoilt them for good. We walked home in the rain and it was only the next morning that I discovered that they were soiled with muddy splashes. Some gentle mopping and drying redeemed them and I wrapped them up in tissue in their box, put them into the top of the wardrobe and promptly forgot them. It was only earlier on this year that I rediscovered them. Their best feature has to be the pale green lozenge gemstone surrounded by smaller gems - another touch of glamour!
And here, as promised, is the dream team from that evening. From l to r, Duffy, yours truly, Polly and Hannah. The girls worked wonders on the Opening Night party, zipping back and forth with bottle after bottle, keeping the clients topped up with refreshments and canapes. Thank you ladies for the endless support this summer - I couldn't have done it without you!
As we say goodnight in the glow of the evening sun, I also had to say goodbye to Polly. My wonderful assistant of the past 5 years has moved to an office job on the island. Her admin skills will be put to very good use in Human Resources and she is looking forward to new challenges within this very different role. Her departure was sudden and without much notice; a complete surprise to me if the truth be known, but I don't begrudge her the new start and have wished her well on the next phase of her journey. In the meantime, I've been given part-time help to tide me over the last few months of the season (not quite enough to cover her full time support, but hey, such is life). I shall miss Polly's bright, enthusiastic input, her capacity for hard work, her ability to wrap a painting which defies all efforts by the courier service to trash it, and let's not forget her talents as my blog photographer. Thank you for everything and good luck Polly!
Anna x
