18th century hair

I love these 18th century illustrations of hairstyles, most of which are by M Darly in a book from 1777, except for the one above by J Lockington. Most of them are funny exaggerations, but real life versions not least those favoured by Marie Antoinette would often be 3 feet high and adorned with numerous objects including model ships or pineapples.

Anyway must dash, I have an appointment at the hairdressers...

Carlos

We now have a man working in the office! His name is Carlos Domeque - please be kind to him girls!

A chanel life

Wow it seems that, much like Hello Kitty, there isn't anything Chanel doesn't turn their hands to. You could practically live a Chanel life if you wanted. You can spend Chanel Euros,

ride a Chanel bicycle and now even brand your skin with Chanel with their new range of transfer tattoos.

Roses

So nice to have these roses, tulips and hyacinths from the tradeshow on my desk whilst I paint today.

Paul Costello

Love these photos from Paul Costello. See more here

Anzu trade show

Apologies for the radio silence, but we have been very busy with another trade show - Top Drawer. I am pleased (and relieved!) that my new designs went down as well as they did and can't wait to post a few on this blog soon.

It was certainly busy, and really nice to be able to have a little 10th Anniversary celebration and raffle (for the painting below). Celebrating with a glass of champagne with all the buyers who have helped us on our way was very special.

Thank you to everyone that could make it. Next stop - Birmingham!

It is possible!

Look how much work you can fit in a little suitcase? This practically looks like a mini office!

And this certainly does (the Mayfair steamer secretary trunk from Restoration Hardware).

Meaning that you can ditch the cold and work from here after all!!

If anyone knows where the top image is from, please let me know.

How lovely is this?

Following on from my hothouse post, I discovered these images of Heather Cameron's greenhouse via mondemateriel (and as featured in Country Living). I love it!

Colour wheel

Imagine having a colour wheel of Ferragamo shoes! We are busy here preparing for a trade show this weekend, and have lots of new things coming in including some additions to our Patent range of cards (a rainbow of high gloss cards with embossed text).

These are from the current range, and I can't wait to see (and show you) the new ones which are due in this week!

The idea came from traditional colour wheels and the association of colours and emotions. Below is a colour wheel based on Jung's personality types - which colour are you?

City guides

I hope you like our new look blog! An addition we're excited about is our City guides. Each guide is written by people who know that city inside out and we will be adding many more. Start by checking out our Istanbul guide.

Thank you to Refik for giving the recommendations and also for pointing me to these stunning pictures of Istanbul in the 1950s by Ara Guler (click here for more information).

Images courtesy of Ara Guler, lens culture

Gorgeous cars

I don't even have a driving license, but it doesn't stop me wishing I was driving into work in one of these...

Above, the Porsche 356. I love the leather straps.

A 1938 Bugatti

A 1936 Mercedes 50K

A Ferrari California

and our Anzu Convertible card.

Just painting today

Hope you had some good New Year celebrations. I'm back in the office and am painting away today - lots of new things in the pipeline!

Image via simplyseductiveblogspot.com