Martha Freud - 'Mixed Messages' Exhibition

Portrait by Jack Brockway

On Wednesday night I went to the private viewing of Martha Freud’s ‘Mixed Messages’ exhibition at Camley Street Natural Park in conjunction with the London Design Festival and in partnership with the London Wildlife Trust.

After navigating myself through the twists and turns of the park’s path, all sweetly lit by a trail of quirky porcelain tea lights and stopping several times to admire various light and design installations all happily perched amongst their woodland surroundings, I eventually found the gorgeous designer herself – Martha Freud - teeny-tiny and minxy in Vivienne Westwood and Christian Louboutins.

London based Martha, the grand-daughter of Clement, the great-niece of Lucien and the great-great-grand-daughter of Sigmund, studied furniture and product design at Kingston University and has always been inspired by nature - this exhibition is no different; beautiful lights made of porcelain leaves and butterflies and wooden nests made from sustainably sourced branches are amongst the show stopping collection.

There are also really fun handcrafted pigeon hole cabinets with grids of porcelain cups - each cup displaying one word but lighting up for 5-10 seconds creating well known phrases – I could, and did, stare at these for ages.

A glamorous collection of London’s bright and light young things assembled around a bonfire for marshmallows, guitar playing, endless Veuve Clicquot and many bottles of Martha’s favourite tipple – Orangina.

The 'Mixed Messages' Exhibition is open today and tomorrow from 10am-8pm.
Please see Martha's website for further details.

Items from the collection are available as one-offs, limited editions and as commissions.

Please contact info@marthafreud.com for more information.

(L-R) Martha Freud, Caged Butterfly Light, With Jessica Pownall by the Nest Light

(L-R) With Shirley Leigh-Wood Oakes, Leaf Wall Light, Martha Freud in Vivienne Westwood

Beulah London Sample Sale TODAY

Beulah London is offering 60 per cent off their ladylike cotton and silk dresses until 7PM tonight at their summer sample sale.

Hurry!! Only 5 Hours left to go!!

At H2 Capital House, The Old Gas Works, 2 Michael Rd, SW6 2AD.

Whilst working at a charity in the Southern slums of Dehli, looking after impoverished girls recently rescued from the sex trade, providing them with safe refuge and the skills and tools they needed to become financially independent, Natasha Rufas Isaacs and Lavinia Brennan were motivated to take action and make a difference to the lives of these victims.

And so, Beulah London was born.

Natasha and Lavinia say, “We wanted to create a luxury brand that was naturally elegant and easy to wear. Our designs are simple, with a strong philosophy behind them – to provide stunning fashion with a conscience.”

If you cannot make the sample sale today, do look at their gorgeous website and if you buy nothing else (and good luck with that!) please do purchase a 'Beulah Bag.' The bags are made in the infamous red-light district in Kolkata, India, and made by women who have escaped the dangers of trafficking.

RRP. £10.00 (with 50% of sales goes directly to anti-human trafficking projects)

Photographs by Jack Brockway

Walkies

Today we took Jack's puppy, the black beauty Zee Zee (a working cocker spaniel) for a walk in Richmond Park... You can just about make her out camouflaged next to me!

Denim Skirt - Similar found at H&M
Sunglasses - Similar found here
Handbag - The Mulberry Alexa
Straw Hat - Urban Outfitters
Gold Brooch On Skirt- Vintage
Topaz Ring - Sourced by Goode And Son
Lipstick - MAC 'So Chaud'
Nailpolish - Essie 'Sugar Daddy'

As an aside... What do they say about Dogs looking like their owners....?!

Bleeding Heart Restaurant

Ooh La La...

Knowing my penchant for Tudor History, Paris and all things heart shaped, my boyfriend took me and my glittery shoes to dinner at Bleeding Heart in Hatton Cross.

There is a restaurant, a bistro, a tavern and a crypt (where King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine of Aragon held their three day wedding feast) all spread over a secluded cobbled courtyard – the same courtyard where the murder of Lady Hatton took place in 1626; Her jealous lover left her body lying in this courtyard, "torn limb from limb with her heart still pumping blood into the cobblestones...” Hungry?!

Jack, or in this case, Jacques, chose this particular location to give me a beautiful, Topaz ring (found in an auction by our friend Charlie Goode, of Goode and Son.)

Given that The Times voted Bleeding Heart as London’s most romantic restaurant and one of my girlfriends was recently proposed to here, so there could be no misunderstanding as to the ring’s purpose (can you imagine?!) upon presenting me with the aforementioned sparkler, Jacques loudly and slowly accompanied his gift with “THIS.. IS.. FOR.. OUR.. ONE.. YEAR.. ANNI.. VER.. SARY..”

With such clear instruction and stage projection our nearby neighbours will more than likely have assumed I was deaf or foreign.

“MER…CI… JACQUES... I... LOVES... IT!” ;)

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition

"Every Night In My Dreams...."

I have been obsessed with the story of the Titanic for as long as I can remember (and not just since Leonardo played Jack Dawson and Celine belted out ‘My Heart Will Go On...’ although perhaps this may have exacerbated it somewhat…)

I went to London’s O2 arena to see ‘Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition’ where more than 300 artifacts rescued from the shipwreck’s debris were laid out for me to peruse (including parts of the ship itself, crockery and personal belongings such as top hats and perfume bottles.) Historically accurate room recreations are also showcased.

You are given a White Line boarding card at the start of your Titanic journey with the name of a real passenger and a few other details on it. This makes the tragedy even more real and distressing for you, when at the end you search for ‘your’ name on the passenger lists of survivors and victims (alas, ‘I’ – little Hanora Heggerty, from County Cork, did not make it.)

There is also a chance to pose in front of a green screen where a photographer will superimpose your image onto the bottom of the Titanic’s sweeping main staircase – obviously I forced Jack (Yes!! A real life Jack!!) to do this with me.

You have the opportunity to read many compelling testimonials from survivors and poignant stories about those who did not, and an opportunity to touch a real piece of the ship.

Despite the walls being a little text heavy and the constant, eventually mind numbing, fiddle music playing throughout the exhibition, the show is both informative and moving.

On until Sept 1st.

Too Many Women

The totals are now in - a group of my girlfriends and I managed to raise nearly £11,000 at our 'Spring Fling' fundraiser last month, held at Guy Pelly's PUBLIC nightclub. All this money will go towards Harry Beecher's Two Many Women Campaign - raising money for Breast Cancer Research.

Thank you to all those who donated raffle prizes (which included goodies from Mulberry, Temperley, Jimmy Choo - to name but a few!) for the generous donations and for everyone who came down and helped to make it a really fun night.