April 2012 Archives

Wine-Tasting at Denbies in the Spring

By jenn on April 29, 2012 4:02 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

On a warm Sunday afternoon at the end of March (the first warm day of the year, and it happened to be Mother's Day in the UK), I headed to Denbies' Wine Estate in Surrey (south of London) to taste some wine. Some of the wine produced at this winery has won awards, and their rose wine was named the top English wine in one of the national newspapers, and the royals have been customers. Denbies has something for everyone, and unfortunately my plans changed at the last minute and I could not make a full day out. I would have surely loved to have had something from their cafe/restaurant and spent half the day here had my plans not changed. Perhaps I will make it back there at some point.

In addition to wine tastings and vineyards within reach, Denbies have a large gift shop, filled with wonderful and amazing bits and pieces (many not wine-related). They also have wagon rides around the vineyard, a farm shop, a garden shop, and I noticed some paintings above the reception area, which people could browse. (I sadly actually forgot to do this after the wine tour as I was in a hurry to get home.) I did come home with three bottles of wine and craft items.

The wine-tasting happened in the cellar. We were shown a creative video of the vineyards and the wine-making process, season-by-season. After the video, we were led via a little train down to the cellar. The little train was meant to give us a 'guided' tour of the factory where the wine is bottled, but as it is spring, there was nothing happening. We tasted three different kinds of wine in the cellar area, and the barrels in the background of the above photograph were a series of eight depicting the different stages in the wine-making process. Apparently, they were created from a large oak tree on the estate, but English trees are not good with the wine-making process because the wood is too dense. (So, the barrels are only for show.)

Spring in the vineyard feels slightly empty, with the rows leaf-less vines, but the countryside in this area is beautiful. I think that this would be an amazing place to visit in the autumn.

For more information about Denbies Wine Estate, please visit: http://www.denbies.co.uk/

The Artists' Interpretations - 2012 Olympic Posters and Olympic Torch

By jenn on April 28, 2012 8:59 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

The Olympic Games in London will be here before too long, and the country has been obsessed with the games. Earlier this week, the Design Museum in London released its winners of the 'Design of the Year 2012' award, and the Olympic torch was the winner (http://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/2012/designs-of-the-year-2012). The Olympic torch was designed by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby. All of the winning designs in the different categories, including the torch, can be seen at the Design Museum until the beginning of July. In addition to this artwork, a series of posters to promote the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were unveiled to the public at the end of last year. These will be on display to the public during the Olympic games.

Martin Creed's poster (No. 1273) represents an extended winner's podium using the Olympic colours. Chris Ofili was inspired by runners and historical vases used to depict the ancient Olympic games for his poster, "For the unknown runner". Bridget Riley's poster of vibrantly-coloured stripes represents swimming lanes. Rachel Whiteread's poster depicts rings in the Olympic colours. Tracey Emin's poster (Birds 2012) shows inspiration and determination. Sarah Morris's poster shows a tribute to London's architecture reminiscent in the angles and shapes used in Big Ben. Patrick Brill's poster shows hand-written text.

These posters are on display at Tate Britain this year as part of a free London cultural festival. The 12-week arts festival in London will run at the same time as the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and other landmarks in the United Kingdom will also display public artwork during this event. The festival starts on June 21st and ends on September 9th, the last day of the Paralympic Games.

Many have criticised the posters and the artists. I do wish that more people had been involved in creating artwork for the games and wish that the public had been involved in selecting winning pieces, instead of selecting the well-known artists to commission artwork. I believe that the output had been better had the design and art community had been asked, as a whole, to create posters. I also think getting the public involved to select the best posters would have been a good idea. I'm not feeling impressed with the posters, overall.

More information about the posters and artists can be read here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2057576/London-2012-Olympics-Arty-posters-launched-Games.html

More information about the art festival can be read here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15596043

Recent Project: PetsInPractise.co.uk

By jenn on April 26, 2012 10:40 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

My latest website project was to create a redesign for the Pets in Practise website. Pets in Practise is a company based in the North Hampshire and Berkshire area that specialises in giving advice on pet behaviour, training, and helping pets overcome behaviour problems. The company's website was built a little over a year ago using the Joomla content management system for the employees to make updates, and the company wanted to refresh its design.

The redesign took two weeks, with the majority of the design and implementation completed at the weekend and in the evenings. This included a new design that was mocked up in Adobe Fireworks, colour correcting images to use for the slideshow, and development integration in Joomla Content Management System (CSS changes with some HTML changes). A screenshot of the new design is below.

Despite never having had any experience with Joomla before this project, I found it to be quite easy to understand and work through. Some of the editing within the Content Management System can be fiddly, but it was otherwise fine, bearing in mind that all Content Management Systems have their own strengths and weaknesses. It seemed robust enough to make the changes, though sometimes it inputs some bad code, which needed to be cleaned up in order to fix a few of the pages.

Obviously, for those of you who are doing a similar project or any web redesign project, I cannot state how important it is to back up the data files and database before beginning any work (as well as backing up the files once the website has gone live). Nothing went wrong for me, but it's always important to back everything up, and it's such a simple step that could save a project for potentially going completely wrong and losing everything. Also, I've got friends in the same industry who have told stories about an old employer not backing up the data, but they fortunately had taken a backup, so they were able to retrieve some of the work.

Coming back to the website redesign, I've attached a screenshot of their old design below, and I analysed what could be changed and put these items in a list.

The website is text-oriented, and there's not much that really grabs the user to pull them into the website. There's no definition of a hierarchy to pull the user in, such as headings. Most visitors will skim over material, but if the website is visually engaging and the content is presented with visual cues (defined headings and a hierarchy), then visitors will take a little time to skim and read content more thoroughly.
A phone number or contact information is not displayed prominently. There is a phone number in the footer, but it's not noticeable. A smaller, local business should include more prominent contact information so a prospective client can easily get in touch and not have to search the website for this information.
The navigation could be broken down into sub-navigation as one mentions information about the company and the other mentions specific information about training and behaviour. The navigation menu itself also feels a bit 'lost'.
I felt that the services offered was slightly vague on the home page, and this could be improved with headings and graphical elements breaking up the flow of the page.
I didn't like the slideshow photographs blended together, and I felt the photographs were stronger on their own.
The company has a Facebook page and a Twitter page, and I felt that this could be advertised more prominently to keep regular clients collaborating and up-to-date as the owner of the business keeps the social media websites up-to-date.
I felt that testimonials on the home page is absolutely necessary for this type of business and it could get clients to use the service. The company has many testimonials from previous clients, and I felt that it was a shame for these to be hidden under a sub-menu.
I felt that it was important to mention the owner and her qualifications on the website more prominently than in the footer, where it gets 'lost'.

Send me a message and let me know what you think of the new design.

Also, the owner is lovely, so if you have a problematic pet or need someone to speak about pets and are located in the area, then I am sure she could help. The website is http://www.petsinpractise.co.uk.

Lovely Lambs at 'The Herdy Company'

By jenn on April 24, 2012 10:35 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

I recently discovered the giftware shop, "The Herdy Company", online. I love the cute sheep designs, and the minimal sheep design with a variety of bright colours goes a long way to create a simple and cute product. While visiting Salisbury and walking into the National Trust shop, I was greeted by many adorable merchandise from "The Herdy Company", which I had recognised instantly from another blog, and I bookmarked these. (Unfortunately, there weren't any egg cups, which I find the most adorable, but I really would not have any use for these anyway as I don't care for eggs.) "The Herdy Company" sells mugs, tea towels, postcards, keyrings, egg cups, and many more giftable items with its simple sheep-head design and bright colours. I bought the bright pink towel, which I snapped a photograph of below.

"The Herdy Company" brand was created in England's Lake District, and it is inspired by the Herdwick sheep breed, which is found in the Lake District. A percentage of the cost of products bought from "The Herdy Company" is donated to the community. According to their website (http://www.herdy.co.uk), products are ethically-sourced with natural dyes. The company also has won awards, such as best "small company of the year". They have also done well during problematic economic times.

(The photographs below are from the official website of "The Herdy Company".)

Browsing Cultural Camden Town

By jenn on April 21, 2012 8:00 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

I last visited Camden Town nearly twelve years ago. At the time, I was living in north London and spent my weekends exploring the city. I remember browsing through old magazines, newspapers, and records at the back of a spacious warehouse. I much preferred Camden Town market to the too-busy and over-priced Portobello Road market. Also, Camden Town had much better 'finds'. Portobello Road was more touristy.

While I recognised and remembered some of the market area, I also noted just how much Camden Town has changed in the past twelve years. It is much busier and popular today, and it's grown in size. The High Street shops have grown, and there are more popular and chain brands and more sellers in the High Street area. The market area has expanded significantly. (The indoor maze of stalls reminded me of a souk in Marrakech; there are stalls also selling items that you would find in Marrakech.) Not only has the market expanded, but every possible floor space has been used to accommodate more area to vendors, making the walkways extremely narrow.

The market is also more cultural than I remember it; there are goods from all over the world for sale and plenty of Hookah cafes. The market also contains many food stalls and a seating area now. Bronze horses and stable statues also feature in one of the markets, and I am pretty sure that these works of art (and other ones scattered throughout the market) did not exist in the past. I also do not remember the locks, but the "Camden Town" bridge painting was familiar. Unfortunately, all of my old photos of Camden Town are not accessible to me at the moment as they were taken on my non-digital SLR. It would be great to look at these old photographs.

I noted that many visitors to the markets were tourists; while some tourists did visit inevitably in the past, but many more are visiting now. Another reason if may be more popular now is due to the music scene. Camden Town was where Amy Winehouse lived. Also, the atmosphere in Camden Town is completely different to anywhere else in London.

I enjoyed my trip, and the market has a wide variety of products, although some 'cheap' and touristy areas are inevitable with its popularity, and the crowds were annoying. However, there's still many stalls that sell items that you wouldn't be able to find elsewhere. I've uploaded a few of the photographs that capture a little bit of what Camden Town has to offer.

Although the market was busy, I found a gap in the crowds to take a nice photograph.

This horse statue is at one of the entrances of the covered market area.

This mosaic statue is located in the markets.

Camden Locks are busy on a Saturday.

A canal boat is steered down Camden Lock.

A canal boat is steered down Camden Lock.

Graffiti is painted on a wall near the locks, and the one on the left features singing legend Amy Winehouse, who was a famous resident.

Racks of clothing are displayed at Iverness Street market.

Statues are scattered around the market.

Statues are scattered around the market.

This is one of the small alleyways leading from the stable market.

These Hookah pipes are famous in the Middle East, and there are a few places you can get them in Camden Town now.

The famous Camden Lock bridge and advertisement does not seem to have changed since my visit many years ago, although the two 'painters' on the sign may have been added since.

A Collection of Vintage Fonts

By jenn on April 19, 2012 7:10 AM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

As a web developer and designer, I am always on the lookout for different styles of font to use for my projects. In the past few months, I have been busy looking at vintage fonts for my my new website redesign, and I have decided to display a few of these in this post for your projects. I have decided to use the "Goudy Bookletter 1911" font for heading text on my website. This font is also available to use through Google Web Font, which is convenient for websites. You may also recognise the "Aphasia BT" font, which I used for my wedding invitations. I hope you enjoy the small selection below.

Here are a couple of good font resources for more vintage fonts, as well as other styles of font:

http://www.theleagueofmoveabletype.com/

http://www.losttype.com

Inspiring Traditional and Timeline Facebook Designs for Big Brands

By jenn on April 16, 2012 12:49 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

A little while ago, I started to compile a list of the best corporate Facebook websites. Now that the Facebook Timeline has been rolled out to users, these sites have been replaced by new ones in the Timeline format. So, I'll include the original Facebook page and the new Facebook Timeline page from these brands, across many different types of products (fashion, beauty products, cars, food products, restaurants, gaming consoles, and theme parks) which I felt stood out.

Brands are embracing Facebook to keep their customers informed and to engage with them by providing competitions and a chance to speak to them and to speak other customers. Many of these products have loyal fans that identify with the brand, and engaging in the customer is an important aspect of their marketing strategy.

American Eagle Outfitters - Original Facebook and Timeline sites

American Eagle Outfitters provide contests, music, and freebies as ways to engage their customers on their Facebook page. The image and logo in their Timeline page is a strong image, signifying their identity and customers as belonging to a crowd.

Volkswagen Original Facebook and Timeline sites

Volkswagen makes a point of getting users to "like" the brand and provides their television advertisements on their Facebook page.

MINI Facebook and Timeline

MINI engage with their customers by creating competitions to involve and give them an identity. The new Timeline site depicts an evolution of their brand while keeping their customers informed about what is going on in the world of MINI.

Lacoste Facebook and Timeline sites

Lacoste get their customers involved whilst promoting their fashion and sense of identity to their followers.

Subway Facebook and Timeline sites

Subway showcase their sandwiches and new products with the use of bright photographs of their sandwiches.

Applebees Facebook and Timeline sites

Applebees posts their offers on their Facebook site and encourages their customers to participate and bring friends and take and upload photographs at their restaurants. They focus on food and providing their menu online with colourful photographs.

Taco Bell Facebook and Timeline sites

Fast food restaurant Taco Bell uses videos and comic-style promotions to get their customers more involved. However, I found their Timeline website to be too dull and not colourful enough.

Reeses Facebook and Timeline sites

Reeses peanut butter cups involve their customers by showcasing the candy and gets their users involved in competitions.

Pepsi Facebook and Timeline sites

The old Facebook page for Pepsi was a little dull, and it focused heavily on sponsoring the XFactor. The new Timeline design is better, with a nice cover image.

McDonalds Facebook and Timeline sites

McDonalds' old Facebook website highlighted its new products. I preferred their old Facebook page to their new one.

DisneyLand Facebook and Timeline sites

The Disney Facebook page is filled with many ways to engage customers, from posting favourite memories (photographs), to games and activities.

Nutella Facebook and Timeline sites

Nutella features its products with good imagery.

Playstation Facebook and Timeline sites

Playstation provides weekly polls and other interactive features to get their customers engaged in the console and games.

PINK Facebook and Timeline sites

Victoria Secret's PINK Facebook page features photographs of their lingerie and gives users the ability to download wallpapers and get the 'inside scoop' on the brand.

Red Bull Facebook and Timeline sites

Energy drink brand Red Bull features many different competitions and areas for games, television, athletes, and I love their old Facebook design image with the arrows pointing to the "Like" button. Red Bull are always good at providing events and competitions to its customers.

Revlon Facebook and Timeline sites

Beauty and cosmetic company Revlon promises freebies to new customers who "Like" their Facebook page. Their Facebook page also provides beauty hints and tips.

Carte Noir Facebook and Timeline sites

Carte Noir provide links to competitions and its YouTube channel as well as product information. Their old Facebook image was quite strong and organic, but I feel that they have not given any thought to their new Timeline design. The images are low resolution and placed together poorly.

Starburst Facebook and Timeline sites

I love the colours that Starburst use to break it out of the "Facebook blue" colour, and they provide information about their products to help schools.

Oreo Facebook and Timeline sites

Cookie brand Oreo provide recipes involving their chocolate cookie, links to commercials, photographs, and they post a picture of a new fan each week. Their Timeline website currently showcases images of a fan each day, for that fan's birthday.

Starbucks Facebook and Timeline sites

Starbucks showcases information about its products and new products, and their new Timeline website shows the community of Starbucks fans.

Coca-Cola Facebook and Timeline sites

Coca-Cola has always been pretty good at getting its customers involved, and it runs several competitions through its Facebook site. I like the Timeline design with the fluid 'bubble' photographs.

Xbox Facebook and Timeline sites

Xbox's Facebook site showcases the console and released games as well providing seasonal events.

Social Media Wins: Instagram and Pinterest

By jenn on April 14, 2012 9:00 AM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

Facebook purchased the photo-editing application, Instagram, for one billion dollars earlier this week. Instagram is a photo-sharing tool that allows users to add filters to their photographs without an in-depth knowledge of photo-editing software. Instagram allows every-day photographs to be edited into works of art. It allows the general computer user to create works of art with simple photographs without knowledge or ownership of photo editing tools, such as Adobe Photoshop.

I remember the first time (circa October of 2011) that I saw a photo edited and shared by one of my friends on Facebook using Instagram. The photograph stood out because it looked artistic (with a fashionable old-style saturated filter and clouded edges), and I left a comment on how great I thought the photograph was and asked how the user managed to capture it. It was then that I was told of the Apple app.

With the news this week, I decided to look into how users have reacted. The feedback on Twitter was mainly neutral, with 52% not that bothered. Thirty-five percent were negative about Facebook purchasing Instagram (1). However, the buy-out and recent launch of the Android app prompted many more users to download the software, and there are currently 40 million users signed up with Instagram (2).

With the acquisition of Instagram, I am surprised that Facebook have yet to try to do the same with Pinterest, an increasingly-popular web tool that allows users to 'pin' and store several images from websites to refer to later, with the images arranged in a grid layout on the website. (Pinterest's users can connect to the application via Facebook, and I've read about the demographics of the users of this website mainly being middle-aged females with some college education and low-to-middle income. In fact, 80% of its U.S. users are female, and over half of the users are above 35 years of age (3). Apparently, the demographics of this website are different in the U.K., with more male users and higher wage-earners (4).)

I, and many other bloggers, enjoy using Pinterest as it allows us to quickly view a series of photographs arranged by different categories. It's easy to browse these images, scattered across the interface, and to click to view the larger image and the source of the image. It helps that there's already a user-base established to share these images with. (Recipes, crafts, beauty, fashion, and photographs are all important and popular categories.)

In addition to the popularity among general users, I have noticed that some companies have been advertising their products on Pinterest for a while. Social media websites and products are definitely making some leaps and bounds in profitable business ventures as of late, and there's no doubt in my mind that Pinterest will continue to grow in popularity and obtain space for companies and brands to sell their products through this platform and imagery.

1) Bennett, Shea. Facebook's Instagram Purchase Given A 12% Approval Rating By Twitter [Study].

http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/twitter-facebook-instagram_b20837 [2012, April 11].

2) Rue, Liu, Instagram Hits 40 Million Users after Facebook Deal. http://www.slashgear.com/instagram-hits-40-million-users-after-facebook-deal-13222832/ [2012, April 13].

3) Ledbetter, Erin. Pinterest Demographic Data. http://www.ignitesocialmedia.com/social-networks/pinterest-demographic-data/ [2012, 24 January].

4) Komarketing Associates. Pinterest demographics different in U.K. http://www.komarketingassociates.com/industry-news/pinterest-demographics-different-in-u-k-904/ [2012, April 3].

Days Out: Exeter in Devon, England

By jenn on April 11, 2012 8:34 AM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

I visited the city of Exeter on a cloudy spring day in March. I had been near and through the city before, but I had never really stopped to explore it. The city is not too far from where I live, so a day trip was adequate to have a look at Exeter Cathedral, to explore the Exeter Underground Passages, and to have a leisurely walk around the centre.

One particularly-interesting sight is "The house that moved". The timber-framed house, now a wedding shop, was moved on rollers in 1961 to its present location after city and road expansion; in fact, the house was moved just in time as there was a possibility that it would be demolished. Sadly, other monuments in the city, such as some of the gates and conduit, were destroyed to make way for road expansion and to ease traffic flow. The following two photographs show this house with its sign.

The following photograph was taken of a few buildings in the Exeter Cathedral close. The close and the Exeter Green is beautiful.

A walk down to the quay, only a few minutes from the High Street, is pleasant. The quay is lined with several shops, cafes, and restaurants. There's also an antique shop and several craft shops to visit. The views around the canal are beautiful, and the following photograph shows one of the lamps on the side of the quay, with Exeter's city emblem.

This cannon was photographed on the quay.

I discovered this fancy dress shop on South Street.

London's Carnaby Street and Liberty Building

By jenn on April 9, 2012 6:10 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

In the 1960s, Carnaby Street was the place to visit, and the street was frequented by the Beatles and other musicians and the public seeking the latest fashion trends. Carnaby Street was well-known for its popular fashions, and these fashions became popular all over the globe. Today, Carnaby Street still retains some of this heritage, though the shops are mainly chains. (It's still well worth a visit, and there's many nice shops here as well as an indoor shopping centre.)

The famous Liberty building (the timber-framed black and white Tudor-style building housing the Liberty department store) is at one end of the Carnaby Street shopping area. Particularly around the Christmas season, it is well worth seeing the window displays. There's also a florist at the middle shop entrance (facing Argyll Street), and they sell the most beautiful flowers that are reminiscent to flower shops in France.

After buying my new camera (a Leica Lux-3), I decided to take a trip to London and take some photographs, and I ended up in the West End. The photographs below are taken of Carnaby Street and the Liberty Building.

The Great Marlborough Street entrance to the Liberty department store, showing the usual Saturday crowd of shoppers and the florist. The sun was bright and low to the west (late afternoon at the beginning of March), which created fantastic lighting for this photograph. I thought a sepia tone worked well for this photograph.

The flowers in front of the Liberty department store are always beautiful. I muted the colours in the above photograph, but I did not enhance or change the colouring in the photograph below. I am very happy with the colour output of my new camera. (I was never happy with the output of colour that my Canon produced.)

Arched signs let the visitors know that they are entering the Carnaby Street shopping area. The building on the right is a vivid yellow, and I felt that muting the colours slightly would appeal more and highlight the history of this street.

London's Big Egg Hunt Grand Finale at Covent Garden

By jenn on April 6, 2012 11:00 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

The London Big Egg Hunt is coming to an end after this weekend, and the eggs have already started to be auctioned off for charity. For those of you who have read my previous posts, you will know that I have been searching all over London for the giant painted or sculpted eggs. You can read more about this and see photographs of a few of the eggs in their original locations here: Hunting Eggs in London: Fabergé Big Egg Hunt.

I, like many countless others, have enjoyed and appreciated the eggs across London over the past two months, and it will be sad to see them go. (However, for those enjoying similar events to this may want to try the swans in Wells or cattle in Ireland this summer.)

With my camera in hand, I made my way to Covent Garden, first stopping off for morning indulgence in cupcakes at my favourite cupcakery, Primrose Bakery. (Perfect cupcakes and a perfect place that is slightly out of the way of the busy Covent Garden, but only a block away from it, with ample opportunity to sit down and watch people walk by its large windows.) I blogged about this here: A Visit to Primrose Bakery in Covent Garden. After stuffing my face full of sweet cupcakes, I made my way to the busy Covent Garden and joined the crowds admiring the eggs.

Here are a few photographs of the eggs that I took at Covent Garden today. The giant eggs will be on display until Monday, so it's the last chance to see them before they are taken away. They are also selling books, postcards, and other items at Covent Garden and have set up a shop in the covered market.

I take a photograph of the reflection in the "Eight ball" egg.

A bird perched on top of one of the eggs.

The staff at Lush were entertaining the children outside of the window by blowing bubbles.

Marshmallow Peeps and Sweet Jewellery

By jenn on April 5, 2012 10:30 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Cute jewellery inspired by sweets and foods is already popular in Japan. I love traditional sweets that remind me of my childhood and bring up memories of the holidays (Valentine's Day and Easter). Conversation candy hearts and Marshmallow Peeps are my favourites, though I personally do not care for the taste of either of them. They are cute to look at. I have added a few cute pieces in this entry.

"Bit of Sugar" crate jewellery inspired by candy, such as cookies and shaved ice, Valentine's Day hearts, and Easter Peeps and gummy bears. I have bought a few items from this shop, and the items are extremely cute and go well with quirky outfits.

To view or buy, you can visit the Bit of Sugar shop online at http://bitofsugar.com. They also have a shop on Etsy here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BitOfSugar

I bought these peep earrings a little while ago from Little Schremlin, and I love them. They look so real, from the detail in the "sugar-like" coating to the little brown eyes. They also came wrapped in tissue paper inside a plastic Easter egg. I cannot recommend these enough.

http://www.etsy.com/people/thelittleschremlin

I love the tiny sculptures by Le Animale, and this miniature peep is adorable.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/leanimale

I love conversation candy hearts, and this pink "Be Mine" necklace, from Weirdly Cute, is one of my favourites.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/WeirdlyCute

A conversation message heart bracelet is a perfect Valentine's Day gift for next year.

http://www.etsy.com/people/scarletrevolution

City Artwork From Matte Stephens

By jenn on April 2, 2012 7:19 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

I discovered Matte's playful artwork and cityscapes and really enjoy the earthy tones and characters created. I especially am fond of the city artwork as I've always enjoyed painting city scenes myself, and I enjoy admiring architecture. Matte has painted a variety of cities all over the world, and the London one is shown below, along with some of his other work. I also really enjoy the "Late Fall" painting with the couple standing in the rain. A few of my favourites are below. Matte also sells prints of his work online.

To visit Matte Stephenson's blog and website, go here: http://matteart.blogspot.com

To visit his shop on Etsy, go here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/matteart

Retro and Vintage Jewellery: Etsy Finds

By jenn on April 1, 2012 7:00 PM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

A piece of jewellery should function as a statement and as a work of art. Jewellery should enhance and add to an outfit. I have included some unique works of jewellery art here, from talented artists, ranging from vintage to retro to contemporary and geometric.

1 & 2) Marang Studios: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MarangStudios

This cream and blue rosette cloth necklace looks beautiful and reminds me of my wedding day; there are many other different colours to choose from.

3) The Polka Dot Magpie: http://www.etsy.com/people/ThePolkadotMagpie

This heart necklace is made out of several different types of wood and painted to achieve a rustic look.

4) Lock and Spoon: http://www.etsy.com/people/LockandSpoon

These vintage-looking rings are made from sterling wire, and each one is unique. Based in New York City, Lock and Spoon also makes several other pieces of jewellery from pieces of wire, and each one is unique.

Emilina Ballerina: http://www.etsy.com/people/EmilinaBallerina

Emilina Ballerina sells a collection of jewellery, from witty to vintage to stamped/engraved gems. This collection includes vintage flowers in different colours, pewter owls and a retro cassette necklace. There's also engraved dog-tag pieces, some of them witty plays on brands names with Halloween themes (like the Aberzombie and Witch necklace above), and others that simply contain an image of a heart of the words "Geek" or "Wicked" (not shown). There's also a collection of designs, such as the snowflake, that can be personalised.

finestimaginary: http://www.etsy.com/people/finestimaginary

Kim Lawler of finestimaginary creates comic-book-style illustrations and cute imagery for her necklace designs. This comic-book retro 1980's 'geek' look has been popular for a little while now with the revival of popular culture from the era.

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April 2012 Archives

Wine-Tasting at Denbies in the Spring

The Artists' Interpretations - 2012 Olympic Posters and Olympic Torch

Recent Project: PetsInPractise.co.uk

Lovely Lambs at 'The Herdy Company'

Browsing Cultural Camden Town

A Collection of Vintage Fonts

Inspiring Traditional and Timeline Facebook Designs for Big Brands

Social Media Wins: Instagram and Pinterest

Days Out: Exeter in Devon, England

London's Carnaby Street and Liberty Building

London's Big Egg Hunt Grand Finale at Covent Garden

Marshmallow Peeps and Sweet Jewellery

City Artwork From Matte Stephens

Retro and Vintage Jewellery: Etsy Finds

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