I'm feeling highland homesick...

I found this lovely site http://www.anta.co.uk that has great photographs of lovely traditional inspired products, which have made me pretty homesick for the beautiful highlands, fortunately I'm flying up north to visit the family next week, after spending christmas away from family for the first time last year!

how great would these be for weddings or new year celebrations?

This picture makes me so happy!

What a great setting for the products!

Tartan milk jug and heather heaven!

Every one needs a Tartan scarf!

HMMMMM...yummy.

Thats one hairy sporran!

TOPSHOP and my moral struggle.

I'm not actually a fan of Topshop as I worked for them when I was 19 and left feeling like they were a bit mean to their employee's treating us like numbers not people, but recently I've found myself wandering into their store to have a look and have found some great things I kinda want to buy. HOWEVER I haven't quite taken the plunge yet, as I worry about my hard earned cash lining Philip Green's tax avoiding pockets but hey, they still have a great design team, who obviously know what they are doing, I can't dispute that! Here is what I WOULD buy if my concience would let me....

What DO YOU THINK about the whole thing? I have my personal reasons and I don't blame anyone for not knowing or caring about the issue, so it would be great to hear what you think about it all, read the guardian article I've linked here if you want to know more about the protests...But god I'd like to buy something from Topshop guilt free please!?!

If I had this, it would be....Loved to Death!

I love taxidermy and this Etsy shop has some amazing jewelry http://www.etsy.com/shop/lovedtodeath

I want this one the most! Its about £80, but I love this cos its so delicate, tiny and creepy! All animals used died naturally!

 

My Winter Sale Bargains!

Navy suede River Island £25

River Island £7

Tesco...ONLY £15...I know..this one is the absolute best bargain!and fits like a glove!

Both Miss Selfridge worn with suede heels above, white tights, and messy beehive.

There was lots of things I almost bought whilst tipsy on boxing day but my sensible head told me to put the credit card down, but on recieving all of my goods in the post and being really pleased with all of them, I wish I'd bought a few more on my wishlist before they sold out, which they did by mid week last week!

Oh well I'm happy anyway, and I need to sell off a lot of older clothes I don't wear or don't fit me very well to make space for all my lovely winter purchases, which there have been MANY!!! Naughty but Nice.xxx

I just can't get enough of Lea Stein's Brooch designs!

I love this tortoise shell design the most AND I'm obsessed with foxes I even have a tattoo of one!

"Lea Stein (1931 —) is a French artist and accessories maker, known for her compressed plastic buttons, brooches and bracelets. She is often hailed as "the most notable and innovative designer of plastic jewelry of the 20th century"^.

"The most easily recognizable Lea Stein pin is the 3-D fox, which has been produced in a myriad of colors and designs. Often, lace or metal layers were incorporated into the celluloid, which produced an astounding number of unique textures. The 3-D fox's tail is looped from one piece of celluloid." (http://judy-smith.com/ls.html)

Little is known about her childhood, but some sources suggest that she spent part of it in a WWII concentration camp. She also trained as an artist at a young age.

If you love cats, there is lovely cat faces and whole cat designs too.

Stein entered the fashion industry in 1957 working in textiles, and by 1965 had developed an interest in plastic.

She worked with her husband, chemist Ferdinand Steinberger, to develop a process of layering very thin sheets of cellulose acetate (or rhodoid) and laminating them to form a "multi-coloured sandwich of plastic".

You can also buy them at this website Rumours Decorative Arts

Each 'sandwich' was baked for a long time, then cooled and cut into shapes. The process could take as long as six months.

Another site that sells them and you can sell your unwanted pieces is http://www.decogirl.co.uk/Lea-Stein.htm

This technique allowed Stein to insert different fabrics (such as brocades and lace), colors and textures into the plastic. "

Stein's brooches feature animals, cars, household items, celebrities and people in a distinctive style, sometimes resembling Art Deco (which leads some people to mistakenly date her work to the 1920s).

Each brooch has a name, sometimes as simple as 'Fox' or more descriptive like 'Quarrelsome' the cat. Each design might come in dozens of different colors and patterns.

(all quotes borrowed from Wikipedia.org)

Her designs are selling for about £40 each on ebay at the moment

I would love to own what I think is truely a unique innovative and striking style of jewellery. I might even start a collection! What do you all think about her designs?