Ping-Pong Piece no 2

Yes, it's the 20th of the month and time for this regular feature with my blogging friends Ann and Samantha. It's my turn to choose a piece for us to style and I've chosen the most ordinary of jackets, the blazer. My reasons being that a) most of our readers will either have or have once had a blazer, b) I wanted to alter the preconception of this conservative article of clothing (I'm surely not the only one who thinks navy and nautical when you mention blazer?), c) it's a chance to show you all sorts of interesting versions of the blazer, d) to offer up a variety of ways to wear it that aren't in the least mundane. Also, I've invited my friend and fellow blogger Julia to join us in the style challenge. 

Julia is a breath of fresh air in the blogging world: exuberant, fun and refreshingly honest that her body type doesn't conform to the norm as far as mainstream fashion goes, but will be damned if that means she's to be excluded from the party. She champions all the lovely ladies who, like her, are apple shaped as well being generously blessed in the bust department. I love her for all these reasons and more. I've know her since she started her blog last year and am so happy to see her blossom as time progresses and her confidence grows. Julia is wearing a longer length blazer in cornflower blue. The blazer and her gorgeous coral handbag are artfully tied together with the floral dress. The one constant throughout Julia's blog is her dazzling smile - she just exudes happiness! See Julia's blog, When The Girls Rule here and follow her on instagram here.

Details -

Jacket - Calvin Klein

Dress - Worthington

Shoes - Franco Sarto

Handbag - Liz Claiborne

Samantha is also sporting a blue blazer, hers being a striped version. Never one to miss the chance to mix her patterns, Samantha has added a spotty print mini skirt to ensure this look won't drift into the boring category. And as if the pop of red in brooch and handbag aren't enough to drum the point home, she adds a final punch with those stellar boots! Find Samantha's blog Fake Fabulous here and follow her instagram here.

Details -

SHOES: Topshop

TIGHTS: Gipsy

SHIRT: Urban Outfitters

BLAZER: Primark

BROOCH & EARRINGS: Gifts

BAG: FIORELLI

SKIRT: Boden

Ann's pink blazer has done a bit of Ping-Ponging itself - once handed over at a clothes swap party, the remorse was too much for Ann who instantly regretted it. A couple of years later it appeared almost as if by magic at another swap party where she snatched it back and isn't planning on letting it go again! Ann's styling is anything but conservative here. Trainers, micro mini skirt, tee shirt and pretty pink sunnies all say casual with a capital C! Find Ann's blog Kremb De La Kremb here and follow her on instagram here.

Details -

Sunnies--Thailand Night Market in Hua Hin

Earrings--Betsy Johnson (and one sadly just broke!)

Necklaces--TJ Maxx

Tank--Florence Market

Blazer--H&M and then a swap!

Denim Skirt--DIY from second hand shop

Trainers--Adidas

This beautiful blazer was a Christmas present from my husband (guided perhaps by my daughter). It's been too cold to wear it until now, so the timing couldn't have been better. I've ended up all Great Gatsby meets New Romantics, wearing pleats, frills and pearls to compliment the intricate pattern of the jacket. Lace tights and burgundy Oxfords finish the look.

Oh dear! How disappointing that I've ended up with Nora Batty tights on the last shot. This really wasn't the image I was after.

Details -

Blazer: Vila Clothes

Blouse: Jo-Ed Sophisticates

Skirt: charity shop
Belt: charity shop

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell, California

Tights: Topshop

Pearls: Debenhams

Rings: charity shop

Linking with -

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Laurie of Vanity And Me

Anna x

Easter exhibition night

Our first show of the season took place last night with resounding success, I'm delighted to say. The gallery looks fantastic, filled with a diverse collection of paintings and new glassware produced for this exhibition. You can view the show online here and I'll give you some inside shots of the gallery at the end of the post. But let's start with the team who performed like a well-oiled machine to make the evening run perfectly - Ruth, Polly and Heather.

Strike a pose for the blog ladies!

This vintage dress was a purchase in September when I was away on the mainland. I kept it to wear over Christmas, but then decided to save it for our exhibitions instead, and I'm glad I did. It's an 80's piece with huge shoulder pads, this wonderful ruffle hem and is Italian made by Gina Bacconi. The shoes are by Jessica Wright which I bought in TK Maxx in my recent post here. My necklace is by Magpie Vintage and rings are charity shopped. 

The exhibition features paintings by Tom Holland, Wendy McBride, Gary Long, Jon Evison and Richard Guy. Rob Braybrooks is showing work in woodcut from beech which is quite unusual. In addition we have a glass collection created by Will Shakspeare which are sketches of the landscape/seascape. 

The gallery window overlooks New Grimsby bay with the islands of Samson in the distance to the left and Bryher to the right. The tide rolls in, the tide goes out, but this ever changing view never fails to enchant.

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Anna x

Midweek monochrome

Midweek can sometimes be a bit blah for me clothes-wise. The start of the week usually prompts a surge of enthusiasm to find a fab outfit to set the right tone. Likewise, come Friday I have another boost at the thought of the weekend which acts to spur me on to delve deep and find something inspiring. But midweek is neither fish nor foul if you get my drift. However I've never worn this wonderful charity shop find before, even though I bought it during my autumn shopping spree. The jacket is from Planet and was a snip at a fiver. Five pounds could buy you a cup of tea and a sandwich and for the same money I've got this beautiful woollen jacket - wow!

I paired the jacket with my harem pants from TK Maxx, slipped a thin thermal top underneath (from M&S) and finished with my gorgeous wedges from Office. The rings are charity shopped, the gold chain was a gift and I'm wearing my old faithful sunnies by Quay Australia. 

I'm back from Harrogate, flushed with success from not only my business buying trip, but also from my personal shopping trip too. The Britishi Craft Trade Fair is where I find the design led gifts, jewellery and ceramics for the gallery as well as being a source of new talent from emerging artists who bring all sorts of novel ideas to the fore at these events. I never know what I'm going to find which is all part of the fun. See the full report here as well as the scoop on my purchases.

Linking with -

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Laurie of Vanity And Me

Anna x

Hurrah for Harrogate!

Yes, here we have the post about my annual business trip to Harrogate which also happens to be one of my best shopping trips too. I'm back home now, firmly at the helm at work and wearing the most fabulous of outfits, even if I say so myself.

Outfit details are - leather trousers are from TK Maxx (£14.99!), jacket by Autonomy (charity shopped), blouse from Sainsbury's, boots from River Island, necklace from Du Barry, clutch borrowed from Sasha, rings are charity shopped, sunglasses from Quay Austraila.

So let's rewind to the beginning shall we? I started my trip with a stopover at Sasha's new flat in Truro (where's the photos from this, I now ask myself?) and a visit to the hairdressers. My stylist, Matthew, is also the owner of Afina (see more about the salon here) one of the busiest salons in the county, where massage chairs at the backwash come as standard, and the welcome drink ranges from a glass of bubbles, a blast of caffeine or soothing herbal tea according to your fancy.

Matthew worked his magic and after various hair treatments I'm feeling ready to step out in style with the elegant ladies of Harrogate. The following day was spent on the train heading north reading this month's book for book club which is an absorbing read, a captivating story and as you can see has the most ornate of covers.

The main objective of my trip to Harrogate is to visit the British Craft Trade Fair see here to find new, often hand crafted gifts to sell in the art gallery I manage. The show delivers exactly what it says on the tin: British made goods that are craft orientated rather than mass produced. 

I met Matthew Read last year at the fair. This year I'm back to replenish my stock of these beautiful one-off pieces of gold and silver jewellery. Matthew is an extraordinary craftsman who collects all sorts of rare jewels and minerals (such as pieces of meteorites) to mount and mould into his quirky jewellery.See his website here to find out more about him.

The trade fair is based in one large hall located out at the Great Yorkshire Showground. After quartering the aisles for hours I would step outside for a breath of fresh air, take on some fuel and consider my plan. Spring is in full bloom here.

One of the new suppliers I found this year was Hazel Holland from House of Hazel. This range of tableware has a wonderful, fresh contemporary vibe that will sit perfectly in our gallery - I can't wait to put a window display together. Hazel also makes plush cushions and sells co-ordinating fabrics to compliment the range.

Hazel and her husband, artist Tom Holland, work from their studio in Penryn - see here for her website. Tom has been one of my gallery artists for years, and yet I've been blissfully unaware of Hazel's work. Their stand at the fair became a daily highlight for me to drop by and chat about how our endeavours were going.

This year, as every year, I stayed in a lovely guesthouse on the Kings Road in Harrogate, The Alamah (details here) which is run by Judy and Sue. The house is as warm and welcoming as they are, with every creature comfort you could need. Breakfast is a running banquet or in my case, more simple fare which set me up for the day ahead and the big bed was luxury at the end of my miles clocked up at the fair.

The boiled eggs hidden under these old fashioned egg cosies are the best protein packed fuel for me. Sue waits table while Judy acts as chef. I don't know of anywhere else you'd get the chef come to your table to check that the eggs were scrambled to your liking whilst they're still in the pan! I featured Judy's ceremony of the eggs to my table one morning as the little spiral egg cup in the background bobbed and danced its way to me - find it on my instagram here  

And yes, let's not be too coy about the other draw to Harrogate - the shopping! The sales were on, but aren't they always? I scored new shoes and boots from all sorts of shops, none of them charity.

From left to right, back row to front it reads like this - black and gold boots from River Island, silver boots from Primark, tassel sandals from River Island, pink and orange sandals from River Island, black lace heels, pale gold heels, coral and gold trainers, floral mules and burgundy oxfords are all from TK Maxx. Yes, that will keep me going for a few months.

Here's the loot all waiting to be loaded into the taxi ready for the journey home. I did in fact have to leave the blue holdall with Sasha to bring home for me as I couldn't carry it! I caught the train and finally the ship home to Scilly on Thursday. The islands were bathed in sunshine as we rounded into St Mary's quay. It was great to be back.

I count my blessings every time I see this sight. Island living suits me, and much as I love my trips to the mainland it's no longer a way of life that I hanker after. These forays to hunt and gather fulfil my needs and I'm happy to retreat to this smaller island existence. The season is well under way here and my focus is now all about the job. Our first exhibition of the year is next on my agenda and I'll be able to share that with you next week.

I'll leave you with the clothes spread as per usual. I think it's a great haul, mainly from charity shops with the odd purchase from TK Maxx. 

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style 

Anna x