Diamonds are a girl's best friend, says survey

Photo from Gemporia.

It’s official! “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” and British women’s favourite choice of gem to wear, but Tanzanite comes a close second according to research published by  UK online jewellers Gemporia.

One of the murals of film legend Elizabeth Taylor featured by Christie's for a major auction in 2011.

When asked which well-known person across the world they most associated with sophisticated jewellery, most popular (a fifth of respondents alone) voted for the late Elizabeth Taylor (NB – respondents were not given a multiple choice of names – an open response was required).

The Duchess of Cambridge polled second and the Queen came a close third. Other women also highlighted as icons of jewellery sophistication were Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, Jackie 0, Princess Diana and Victoria Beckham.

To read article in full, click HERE.

Jewellery for dramatic effects from BaroQco at Paris Fashion Week

Forget minimalism and austerity if you want to take the cue from jewellery designers Imelda and Eduardo whose label BaroQco is best associated with the notion that to be unique you have to be different.

Presenting their Haute Couture jewellery creations this month at Paris Fashion Week for Fall/Winter 2018-19, the designers celebrate their Dutch, Chinese Indonesian and Portuguese roots and embrace diversity as the foundation to their inspiration and creation.

The name of their label, BaroQco comes hails from the Baroque era when European cultural movement takes the turn from simplicity to lively and exuberant detailing.

According to the designers, BaroQco has a unique grandeur with an ability to surprise while achieving a sense of awe. Imelda and Eduardo started to create jewellery as they were looking for a tiara or crown for their wedding day and the search led them to creating their own and from there they expanded the range to include necklaces, cuffs and bracelets, and earrings.

Master painters like Vincent van Gogh and Pierre-Auguste Renoir inspire the designing couple.

« AS WE EMBRACE THE IMPRESSIONISM, WE STRIVE NOT ONLY FOR THE OUTER BUT ESPECIALLY FOR THE INNER-BEAUTY. IN OUR CREATIONS WE WANT TO PUSH BOUNDARIES OF ARTISTIC TECHNIQUES. AND THEREFORE THE BAROQCO IS A BOOK WITHOUT AN END. »

The stones used include opal and Swarovski crystals, and all the metalwork and gold are nickel free, the usage of non toxic plating to makes the jewellery more ecofriendly.

Interior designer launches cushion collections under FifteenFifeen label.

Natalia Petrov, Director/Designer of FifteenFifteen, has launched her first ever cushion collections in luxury fabrics of velvet and a variety of silk, including Habutai and Indian Dupion.

All manufactured in the East End of London, the cushions feature  digitally-printed designs in Worcestershire and have coordinating fabrics and colours  on both sides so one can reverse the design from season to season.

As a finishing touch of luxe, the cushions are featured with gold plated zips and each is supplied with a 85% feather/15% down inserts.

All are delivered in the brand's own bespoke reusable box perfect for storage.

FifteenFifteen will be showing at 100% DESIGN 19 - 22 September 2018 at London Olympia.

Natalia’s work includes painting, fabric and interior design.  Always has a keen interest in Abstract Art and interior design, citing Mark Rothko as her major influence, Natalia participated in a group art exhibition at Brick Lane gallery in 2010 and has since then sold her art internationally.  Having turned her passion to interiors, Natalia graduated with Merit from KLC School of Design in 2014 and went on to work for major interior design studios where she contributed to design and development of hotels, restaurants and residential properties. She also holds a BA in French Studies obtained at Queen Mary, University of London, a Private Client Advice & Management Diploma accredited by CISI and is fluent in Russian and French.

Soothing greenery trend in the home. New survey reveals Britons' sleep habits.

The urban jungle interiors trend is slated to stay even when walks and picnics in the park will be replaced by evenings of watching your favorite movies and series as nights start to draw in early during the autumn and winter months.

Thus soothing greenery motifs in interiors – in the form of live plants, fancy foliage in prints for cushions,  carpets, wallpaper and wall murals with a plant motif, are all suitable elements  to take on to optically enlarge a space or add visual impact.

The sets presented in the pictures above show Pixers®'s Vinyl Wall Murals - matte, durable and ecological material and framed posters, semi-matte finished, thick paper in solid but light frames.
Photos from Pixers®

The choice of plants that we can grow at home is huge, according to green interiors specialists Ola and Weronika from Projekt Rośliny (eng. Project Plants).  And against popular beliefs, some plants for suitable for the bedroom.

"All palms, sanseveiria (aka Mother-in-law’s Tougue), as well as peace lily and ferns are recommended for the bedroom. These are plants that actually release a lot of oxygen into the air, but we always emphasize that any plant is good to enrich the interior with a little bit of nature, and above all they add warmth and uniqueness into our home spaces. "- state Ola and Veronica.

New sleep survey reveals what Britons really get up to behind the bedroom door

A new survey held earlier this year, based on hundreds of responses, has taken a peek behind the bedroom door of UK people to reveal what us Brits really get up to when the lights go out.

The State of the Nation’s Sleep 2018 survey was commissioned by the sleep brand Sid to understand the bedroom habits and sleeping patterns of the United Kingdom.

The survey examined both the generation gap - comparing responses from Baby Boomers (those born before 1964), Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) and Millennials (those born after 1981) - and regional differences in what happens when the lights go out. 

Sifting through the hundreds of responses to the study, the leading mattress company identified a number of key trends and several slumber-themed surprises:

-The people of Scotland take the title of the UK’s most amorous

- Millennials are bedroom multitaskers, seeing more action than the preceding generations but also more likely to send work emails from their bed

- The most popular bedroom activity is… watching TV!

The UK’s most loved-up region is Scotland, with 44% of respondents saying that ‘getting amorous’ is one of the main activities in the bedroom. This compares to a national average of 25%, and is four-times higher than the South West, where only 11% of people say lovemaking is a major factor in their bedroom. 

We are said to be a nation of pet lovers, and nowhere do people love their furry friends more than the North West. 25% of respondents said they went to sleep with a pet in their bedroom (nationally: 7%).

Also we’re finding it harder and harder to switch off from work, as10% of us say that checking emails is now a ‘major bedroom activity’. Millennials particularly feel the pressure, with nearly double the national average regularly checking in (18% of Millennials). The hardest working region? The East, with 33% of respondents saying they regularly check emails in bed. 

The survey was carried out by sleepwithsid.com

Team Great Britain triumph at European Championships 2018. Nike introduces new running gear.

I hope anyone who’s been watching the European Championships 2018 (concluding on Aug. 12th in Glasgow and Berlin) are impressed with how well the British athletes are doing. See Medal Table on BBC sport.

Great Britain's Reece Prescod won 100m silver in Berlin at this year's European Championship.
Here Prescod models some of Nike's latest performance sportswear and running shoes in Berlin.
Getty Images.
Ahead of the European Track and Field Championships Nike celebrates three promising athletes and shows their hopes, training and preparations for the championship.   Award-winning documentary film maker Ian Derry created Portraits of Speed. A three-part series relating the personal stories of these althletes: 1500/5000m runner Konstanze Klosterhalfen, 100m specialist Reece Prescod and 200m World Champion Dafne Schippers. "My vision for Portraits of Speed was to try and articulate what it takes to become faster“, said Derry.
 Iconic Berlin locations such as Tempelhof Airport and Messedamm Subway provide a rich urban backdrop as Derry reveals candid insights into the mindset of these elite athletes.

(As on the final day, Aug. 12th 2018, Great Britain were second on the medal board with 74 medals total, 24 of which are gold, while the leader Russia had 31 gold out of 66 medals total.)

On the field and track championship in Berlin, team GB’s Dina Asher-Smith won three gold while setting a new British record while Zharnel Hughes & Reece Prescod won 100m gold & silver.

Four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson, a regular sports commentator on BBC, referred to GB’s success as a "new era", saying "I just hope these guys can continue on this trajectory - continue to improve and continue to win medals as the next World Championships come round and then the Olympics.
He added: "The new crop are thinking, 'I want to be up there with the best’."
Dina Asher-Smith was labelled as "world class" by BBC commentator Steve Cram, having triumphed in 10.85 seconds, the joint fastest time in the world in 2018.

World class athletes showcasing Nike's latest performance sportswear ahead of the European Track and Field Championships 2018 in Berlin.

Obviously a lot of these successes are down to hard work and talent.  But many can argue having the right gear is helpful too, and sportswear companies are keen to utilise major international championships to promote their latest garb to a captive audience especially when a healthy lifestyle is very much a norm even for amateur athletes like myself.

Shortly before the European Track and Field Championships, German sports brand Nike Running showcased the Nike Fast Lab's latest product innovations and fast running shoes that are ideal for both competition and daily exercise. 

The Nike Fast Lab is open to all visitors this week for all to experience a series of training sessions, seminars and races.

Kristina Fidelskaya launches Resort SS 2019 collection

These images from Kristina Fidelskaya showcasing her recently launched Resort SS 2019 ready-to-wear collection provide a breath of sweeping breeze to ease the current heatwave we are experiencing in the UK and many parts of Europe.

The elongated yet chic silhouette in earthy colours against an arid landscape of sand dunes and parched land reflect a feminine statement with a monastic asceticism.

The colour palette draws from Piero Manzoni’s Achromes to explore the transparent yet immutable presence of natural elements, according to the Dubai-based designer.

The palette of blond sand and sand stone, offset by vegetable tones, tobacco brown and sage green, along with onyx and ocean blue are echoed in a textural feast of washed canvas and evanescent parachute silk, technical poplin and Garza crepe, raw cotton and viscose twill.

Though elegantly refined, there is a sense of carefree sensibility about the collection, with a note of nomadic charm, seemingly striding aimlessly across the desert landscape.

The stylishly oversized tailoring and billowing shapes allow an urban look, appropriate for city lifestyles.

Robust drawstrings and contrast piping hint of references from the sportswear wardrobe.

Note the equally carefree rustic slides and ready-to-move on sack-bags to carry the look.

Stylish visors and caps by London designer Karen Henriksen

Eastbourne takes pride in itself as the Sunshine coast 
of southern England. 
It boasts six miles of beaches along the English Channel coastline.  
Photo © Lucia Carpio 2018

The reputation of our British summer weather is in tatters this year.  The way the strong sun beats down on us in these two months is like nothing we had experienced before in the UK.   Disbanding the image of a wet British summer to distant memory, the Southern coast facing the English Channel can make most days feels like the Mediterranean coast as the heatwave continues.  Which is why it is ever so important to have proper protection for our heads against harmful UV rays.

Karen Henriksen's visor - the Bali classic - in panama.

Hats made of straw are ideal this time of the year, either for going about in town or country.
Usually when we think of straw hats, we think of a Panama, the traditionally brimmed ones “made from the plaited leaves of the Carludovica palmata plant or toquilla palm found in South America, or Ecuador to be exact,” according to Wikipedia.

At the SCOOP trade fair held at the Saatchi Gallery in London last week, I was pleased to find stylish and lightweight Panama straw visors designed by Karen Henriksen which she has made in her London studio.  Its flat semi-circular shape means it can easily fit into one's bag when not in use. A new version features a visor with an attached cap which makes a lot of sense for added head protection.

Karen Henriksen's Filey in panama.

Karen Henriksen's cap design in violet-fade Irish linen. 

Also on offer is her a new cap design made in Irish linen, as shown her in the pictures above and below.

The Inge which sports a generous pleat on one side, echoed by the small pleat detail on the peak.

Karen applies innovative pattern-cutting and brings her passion for a milliner's aesthetic to everyday headwear designs.  

For more of Karen Henriksen's lovely creations for his and hers, you can visit her website.