pantone spring 2015: en plein air {titanium}

Fungi from Au Natural on Tumblr via Pinterest

Climate Transition by Obofili on Flickr

Fracture Series by Robert Hodgin on Flickr

Italian Greyhound by Hannah Blackmore via Peep My Style

Titanium 17-4014, it's a funny colour. You think of titanium as something hard, something solid, something cold and dark, but actually, most of the examples I found to show, as a colour at least, were beautifully soft and delicate.

But titanium to me, is yes, hard and solid but it's also somewhat magical.

In my first year of jewellery, we got taught how to anodize titanium. It's a relatively simple process by which heat or electricity is used to change the colour of a piece of titanium, and the colour depends on the heat or voltage used on the piece of metal...

Each colour on this chainmail bracelet by Melissa Randolph, is indicative of a different voltage passed through the titanium turning it beautiful golds, blues, yellows, pinks, purples, blues, greens and coppers. A rainbow from grey.

I told you it was magic.


Link | Pantone Fashion Colour Report Spring 2015
Link | Fungi from Au Natural on Tumblr via Pinterest
Link | Climate Transition by Obofili on Flickr via Lush Light on Tumblr (Pinterest)
Link | Fracture Series by Robert Hodgin on Flickr via Random Ghost on Tumblr (Pinterest)
Link | Italian Greyhound by Hannah Blackmore via Peep My Style (Pinterest)
Link | Rainbow Elfweave Wave by Melissa Randolph on Flickr

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Listening: Titanium - David Guetta feat. Sia

pantone spring 2015: en plein air {sandstone}

FLEUR via JusquOboutdumonde on Tumblr via Pinterest

Elie Saab Haute Couture S/S 2011 via Musing in Femininity on Tumblr

Cat's Eyes. by Egor Fedorov on Fivehundredpx

{ horse hues } from designseeds via Pinterest

I remember standing in the playground as a kid, facing the walls of my primary school, counting to whatever number you counted to when playing hide and seek, and playing with the pink sandstone bricks that the building was made out of. Brushing off layers of sand, looking at all those subtly different pinks, layered one after another. Helping it either eroded in undulations or helping small sections shear off the surface. It's a bizarre thing to have enjoyed, I probably just thought I was being pathetically destructive but thinking back on it, it was one of those strange little pleasures you have in life.

Apart from my memories of being a terrible vandal, Elie Saab makes me love Sandstone 16-1328. The Haute Couture designer uses a lot of shades his nude palette, intricately embroidered by hand with thousands of sequins, beads, appliqué flowers...

Designers talk about having idols. There are some people mention just because they're fashionable, or they make you look intellectual, there are clichés you roll your eyes at. I don't know if I have any, or at least many. I have designers I love, Thomas Heatherwick, Jacqueline Ryan, Dale Chihuly... Elie Saab is amongst them.

But I suppose it's the embroiders I adore the most. The beautiful, hand sewn intricacy of their work floors me. If textiles had been like that at university, I would have skipped joyfully into the textiles department. Instead I ran to jewellery to play with hammers and fire. I don't regret my path, I love both hammers and fire, but it would have been curious to see where a constructed textiles education could have taken me. Where I could be now rather than sitting in the lab popping lenses in and out.

As I stood in front of that sandstone wall, I knew I wanted to be a designer, just not what kind... twenty plus years on, I'm still not entirely sure what kind I am.


Link | Pantone Fashion Colour Report Spring 2015
Link | FLEUR via JusquOboutdumonde on Tumblr via (Pinterest)

Link | Elie Saab Haute Couture S/S 2011 via Musing in Femininity on Tumblr (Pinterest)

Link | Cat's Eyes. by Egor Fedorov on Fivehundredpx (Pinterest)
Link | { horse hues } from designseeds via Pinterest
Link | .: Backstage Elie Saab Haute Couture SS 2011 :. via A World of a Classy Lady on Tumbler (Pinterest)
Link | Elie Saab Atelier via Pinterest

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Listening: How Will I Know - Sam Smith

pantone spring 2015: en plein air {toasted almond}

M: Jess by Candice Carlin on Flickr

COPIA_DSC4641 by maldonado photographs on Flickr via Pinterest

Gills. Shaugh Prior, Dartmoor, Devon, England by Ross Hoddinott via The Telegraph

Elephant via p-o-l-y-v-a-l-e-n-t Tumblr

I wish I had a better relationship with nude and neutral colours, but without fail, with my skintone, I either look grubby or like I'm blushing so hard, I've either done something very embarrassing or seen a very attractive man. It's just not a colour range which I seem to get away with.

But nudes and neutrals can look so attractive on so many people, and with so many other colours, I think a collection of colours excluding one or two would definitely be lacking.

Plus, I actually really love this Toasted Almond 14-1213 mood board. Never has a bulb of garlic looked quite so pretty and I love elephants and microfloral dresses. They remind me of the nineties and all the pretty micro floral dresses I wore with denim jackets and Doc Martins, before I went and developed boobs and hips and ceased wearing dresses bar very rare occasions.

Can't say I'm 100% happy that the nineties fashions have returned once more in 2015, but micro florals and denim jackets make up for me being barely born/too young during the era of grunge to really embrace it.


Link | Pantone Fashion Colour Report Spring 2015

Link | M: Jess by Candice Carlinon Flickr (Pinterest)

Link | COPIA_DSC4641 by maldonado photographs on Flickr via Pinterest

Link | Gills. Shaugh Prior, Dartmoor, Devon, England by Ross Hoddinott via The Telegraph (Pinterest)
Link | Elephant via p-o-l-y-v-a-l-e-n-t Tumblr (Pinterest)



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Listening: Tea and Toast - Lucy Spraggan