Another August party night

Hello from Tom Rickman and me.

Last night was the opening night party of Tom's show at Gallery Tresco with a flurry of excitement that caught us slightly unawares. The team and I had a hectic hour or so when the rush was on, the wine was flowing as fast as Polly could pour it and sales were brisk too. The photo captures Tom and I as we chilled at the end of the night, reflecting on the healthy start of another show. See the full exhibition here.

And here are the dream team (from l to r) Max, Tash, Polly and Ruth who all worked their socks off last night, keeping the glasses coming, topping up canapes and generally rushing around behind the scenes. Thanks ladies for all of your stalwart work. Posing alongside them is the latest addition to Gallery Tresco, our "Scilly cow" created by artist Tania Holland.

My party frock for the evening was a charity shop find saving me more than £100 on the ticket price. Brand new, this dress is from Designers at Debenhams by Jenny Packham, a name I've heard of, but not bought before. 

A bargain for me, but also my money makes a difference to this local charity.

The chiffon frock is hand embellished with beads, sequins and flowers making this a very special dress indeed. I decided to add silver as my accent colour which compliments the pale blue perfectly. 

The vintage shoes came from eBay many moons ago and are just right for this outfit.

The rings and bracelet are all preloved, but the necklace is by Charlie Dodge. If it takes your fancy, then do get in touch as I was only borrowing it for the night - it's £75 on sale at Gallery Tresco.

What do you think of the back view of the dress? Pretty eh? Well, that's actually the front of the frock. I tried it on in the shop and by mistake tried the v at the front, but then noticed the label was sticking up by my cleavage. As you may know, I'm not really a cleavage type of person, but the dress when worn the right way around plus these vintage shoes made me feel a bit granny-ish. So, I snipped the label out and took the plunge, hahaha - sorry for that!

And that's another successful show opened! This is our second to last summer show which alarms me somewhat as to how quickly another summer season has come and gone. So many artists, so many paintings come and gone! The 24th of August will see the team and I front our final summer exhibition and I do hope you'll come along to see how that goes. I'll be back again before that though - drop by when you get a moment!

In the meantime, have a great week!

Anna x

August and another show night

Hello and how are you? We're all well thanks. Here's a shot of me from last night's reception party at the gallery with artists Flynn O'Reilly (left) and Ramie Leahy at the end of a busy evening. The time just flew by as we welcomed guests from both Tresco and Bryher to join us for wine and canapes and to chat to the artists about their work (see the show in full, here).

Ramie uses this quaint mode of transport to carry his art supplies and paintings as well as get him about when he's on the island. He has become a regular sight during the summertime over the past couple years.

You may remember this lace jumpsuit (by Darling, London) from last year. I bought it from TK Maxx and this year found these new shoes from there too. See the funky heel in the next shot.

The brand is Xti TENTATIONS. The heels are decorated in tiny sparkling jewels of black, silver and bronze and the main part of the shoe is in sparkly silver. The block heel makes for a comfy and stable height which is just what I needed at the end of a long working day.

My jewellery is a mish mash of old, gifted and preloved pieces along with my pink elasticated belt. 

Show number four of six had me recycling a party outfit which wasn't really what I had planned. The slightly overcast weather forced me to change my mind at the last minute from a chiffon beaded number that I'd done some last minute adjusting to in readiness for the party but hey, I can always wear it next time, eh? I also have a vintage two piece in silk which I've been saving for a special event so you will see that before the exhibition period is over too.

And finally, here's the line-up of lovelies from last night. My thanks go to (l to r) Ruth, Max, Polly and Tash for all the front of house and behind the scenes work that ensured another successful evening. Four down and two to go and they're still smiling.Thanks ladies!

Until next time, take care!

Anna x

Show time once again!

Hellooooo! How are you? I may be a day or two late, but here they are, the dream team from our most recent exhibition opening night and don't these young ladies look fabulous? From left to right, Tash, Polly and Hannah did a wonderful job as well as sparkling amidst the heat of the evening on Tuesday when we opened the show for Stuart Kettle, Maggie O'Brien and David Thomas (see the paintings in full here). We sold a few pieces on the opening night and sales are continuing fine thank you.

My frock for the evening is an chiffon number (preloved) by LK Bennett which almost broke the bank at £15. Joking apart, it was in immaculate condition and fits like a dream. This lightweight fabric was perfect for the hot summer evening when we were almost becalmed at New Grimsby with not much of a breeze circulating around the building despite doors and skylights being open.

The finer details of the dress can be seen here where the pleating creates a gentle empire line and a deep v neck with a tiny modesty band behind. The lining is polyester which swishes nicely as you move. This cobalt blue isn't a colour I wear a lot of, and certainly not what I would wear in the winter when my Scottish pallor wouldn't be enhanced by this tone at all, but with a light tan I can just about get away with it.

Note this delicious floaty layer of chiffon - I fancy I didn't quite dance around enough to do it  justice however!

Here's a wee twirl for you.

Oh, and I can do this too!

These lime green satin sandals are by Steve Madden from TK Maxx and also cost £15. The kitten heel was a great height to wear after a long day at work, not too high, nor were the straps too snug either. I wish I'd had a some lime green accessories, but I got by as you can see below.

My oversized pearls (from Debenhams) you'll have seen before as well as the green amethyst bracelet which my dear hubby bought me in Morocco. The fab blue rings are charity shopped. I'm wearing my old favourite sunglasses from Quay.

The photo shoot was at the end of the evening when we were confident that things had gone well which I hope shows in our overall relaxed body language. It can be quite a stressful day, preparing the gallery for the evening's party as well as the conversation topic of the day being which outfit we will wear. So far this summer I've managed to choose mine well in advance and even stick to it rather than my usual last minute change of heart. I'm floundering a bit already about the upcoming one in August, so watch this space...

And finally, July on the Isles of Scilly has been nothing less than idyllic in the heatwave. Work days are peppered with end of the day picnics for Steve and I which makes for a welcome bit of downtime for us. We're off to another island tonight, but in the meantime I'll leave you with some picnic shots from the last couple of weeks.

Landing on the high tide at Samson, just a two minute boat trip from home. 

A quick hop from the boat into the little tender to take us ashore.

Picnic over, it's time to capture something for my Instagram feed - I gotta feature this amazing setting, surely! But first, a slight tweak here, a little adjustment there ...

What about placing another pop of colour here? This hat will do nicely!

Swatting a couple of flies away before I can settle down.

And this is it! The shadows created by the evening sun managed to make me look much more tanned than I really am, so no filters required. Tresco island lies in the backgroud with a sprinkling of yachts moored up in the channel.

This time last year I posted a bikini shot and said that I wasn't sure if at 60 I'd still be happy to wear one. Yay, I still am! 

Anna x

Summer show 14th July

Good morning to you on this fine sunny day! How's your weekend going? Well, I hope. Last night we opened a show at the Gallery featuring three of our female artists - Rosemary Trestini, Jenny Ulyatt and  Cornish artist Ellen Watson who attended our reception party. Ellen's attendance was a real bonus as I know she feels quite out of her comfort zone attending these events - so thank you Ellen for making the effort. She had quite a few collectors of her paintings waiting to chat to her about the work and they all appreciated her time too.

Click here to view last night's show.

I managed to force Ellen into having a couple of photos taken before she went off to have a meal with her husband in the local pub. As you can see, the sun was still high in the sky and we had a high tide too making for a wonderful view from the gallery.

Another exhibition is the perfect excuse for a new frock and this one is by Finery from TK Maxx. It was quite a bargain too - 

Made from 95% polyester, 5% elastane, the dress has a weighty drape and hangs beautifully. I did well not to blurt out what a wonderful bargain it was whenever I received a compliment about this orange dream of a dress, but I couldn't help but feel a bit smug at how little I paid for this classy number.

I dug deep into my jewellery box to find this long forgotten necklace by Magpie Vintage which seemed to be just the right piece to set off the simple dress. The chunky gold coloured cuff is actually made from brass and is by Almost Perfect Jewellery in Cornwall. My silver and gold Emily Nixon ring is the one Steve bought for my 60th birthday earlier this year.

You'll have seen these colourful shoes before on an exhibition night. They came from Primark a couple of years ago and cost the princely sum of £5 in the sale. As you can tell I'd rather invest my money on lovely enduring pieces of jewellery than spend hundreds and hundreds of pounds on clothes and shoes. The bargain hunter in me loves to find these quality items like this fabulous dress through TK Maxx where I know I'm truly getting value for money.

And finally, a huge thank you to the supporting cast of these lovely ladies who helped to make the party run smoothly as ever. From left to right are Polly, Tash, Heather and Ruth who all made the night pass without a hitch - hurrah for the team!

Anna x

The last summer exhibition

Friday heralded the final summer show at the Gallery and what a lovely collection it is (see here). And just to make the evening more special one of the artists, Theo Crutchley-Mack, managed to surprise us by turning up unannounced just when we'd resigned ourselves to hosting the party on our own. 

The party may be over, but the fat lady hasn't quite sung yet, as the show continues until the 19th October so plenty time for Maggie, Melanie and Theo to sell, sell, sell!

The eagle-eyed amongst you will recognise this most recognisable of outfits. My planned ensemble was something entirely different, but just didn't feel right on the night. With time running out (why, oh why, don't I have a dry run of these beforehand?) I threw open my wardrobe and my eyes fell on the riot of colour and texture that is this vintage skirt and decided to go with what made me feel fabulous. And I did, all night long. Outfit details - skirt: (vintage) Susan Small, blouse: (vintage) Shubette, shoes and handbag: Primark, rings and necklace: all preloved, sunglasses: Sainsbury's, belt: eBay.

The girls and I went out for a drink after the show was over to celebrate a job very well done. Thanks to Heather, Polly, Max and Ruth for making each evening run smoothly - without your help ladies the evening wouldn't be the success it is!

As the sun set on a perfect evening, our six shows in 60 days came to an end. The paintings came, were hung, many sold, and hopefully many more will sell before the year is over. We enjoyed the company of artists and clients bonding over a glass of wine, discussing the merits of the show of the moment. The exhibitions may be over, but summer remains and we will all revel in the last of these golden days before autumn creeps in.

Anna x