Hello and welcome to the reprise of Tuesday night at the gallery where Tom Rickman was our artist in attendance for the opening of his summer exhibition with us. I'm not sure who was the most delighted with the outcome as Tom sold 6 of his 10 paintings. We're both grinning madly here at the end of the night and for good reason! Tom has been showing his work with us for many years now and his passion for the North End of the island hasn't faltered over that time, nor has our guests appreciation for the subject either. Thank you Tom, for making the effort to come across the water from mainland Cornwall to attend the party. The other two contributing artists are Jenny Ulyatt and Alasdair Urquhart. The entire show can be viewed online here.
I've shopped my closet this week for my exhibition outfit, purely because I love this frock by Finery and have only worn it once before. I fancy that I probably paired it up with the same shoes that time too, but goodness why on earth not? I'm a big fan of Finery as a brand because they do a great job to what you'd call grown up dressing. The cut is always stylish and flattering (see this other dress in the sale currently for more of what I mean). My orange frock was a TK Maxx find last year, so I picked up a bargain there too.
The satin floral shoes are my favourite summer stilettos meaning you'll have seen them many times before I expect. The always earn me lots of compliments, especially for those shiny gold heels. I'm learning to keep it zipped when someone says they love these (and yes, a few ladies did the other evening) as my default setting would be to blurt out the fact that they cost me £5.99 from Primark. Sharing that here somehow doesn't seem to count. Mad, eh?
This frock is all about the f's - flouncy, frilly and fun!
I'm hoping to round up my lovely helpers during the next and last summer show to get a photograph of them all together. The girls are always in a rush to go off for a celebratory meal together at the end of the shows and I seem to get caught up in saying farewell to the artist of the day, missing my chance of a group shot. Needless to say, I'm so grateful to them for all the hard work they put in to make these nights a success - especially Polly who helps to hang the show too - I couldn't do it without you, so thank you all ladies!
I usually have a swoosh factor shot, but this is the best I can do given my limited resources this time!
The rose gold ripple necklace was a purchase in a tiny side street boutique in St Andrews earlier on this year. I've added a rose gold ring (pre-loved) to that along with this bejewelled contemporary ring which I bought at an airport concession during the same trip. Both bangles are in rose gold, the sailor's knot is by Kate Spade and the other was from the gallery in the basement of the Barbican. The sunglasses of the moment are by Guess.
Thanks so much for joining me again. I'm dreadfully aware how busy we all are at this time of year, all the more so when we have to make the most of these precious last few weeks of the summer. I've come to accept that my readership drops off around now, so I do appreciate those of you who are able to make the time to follow the story of my island life. It would be lovely to have your comments, good or bad - I love a bit of constructive criticism - to let me know you're out there, especially if you've never spoken to me before. I write my blog for you, each and every one of you and it's wonderful to create a connection to you. I'm always happy to widen my circle of friends. And a final thank you to those who comment regularly x
Anna x
