Don’t miss out on the Treasure exhibition and Hatton Garden Festival, all part of London Jewellery Week.

• Treasure exhibition at Victoria House, WC1B 4DA   

  Meet designers face-to-face and find out more about the contemporary jewellery scene. Also featuring Mah Rana’s exhibition, Meanings and Attachments, a written and photographic record of people’s personal connections to jewellery, Swarovski will also be presenting highlights from their Runway Rocks couture catwalk jewellery show. Seminars from jewellery institutions the Birmingham Assay Office and GIA will give visitors an insight into hallmarking and gemmology.

• Jewellery fashion show featuring top jewellers at historic Goldsmiths HallFrom Art Nouveau, the rebellious Arts and Crafts movement, the glamour of Art Deco to the sobriety of the war years, Joanna Hardy will give an historical perspective on artist jewellers and their influences from 1900 to 1960. Leo de Vroomen will talk about his career as a designer and goldsmith, in particular about the art of repoussé, a skill he perfected over many years of painstaking training and practise.
• A street festival in Hatton Garden, London’s renowned diamond district includes jewellery making demonstrations and competitions. 

  Watch high-end jewellery being produced, join in ‘flash workshops’ to create your own jewellery, take advantage of amazing special offers from Hatton Garden jewellers and win prizes worth up to £3,000.

• ‘Wedding Wishes’ bridal jewellery event at OXO Tower 
• Special offers and competitions at small and large retailers across London

Don’t forget to join our facebook group  for information on up-coming London events.

Images sourced from LJW website. For more information visit http://www.londonjewelleryweek.co.uk/

FATLDN presents the Enchanted Castle ~ Buffet de Chocolat Launch Party

Jewel Bar Piccadilly, Tuesday 29th June 
7.30 – 11.30pm

Brian Olson – an amazing Performance Artist.

(Source: Vanity Fair)

Yves Saint Laurent’s incredible collection of antiques, art and furniture were recently auctioned for over $700 million – it’s not hard to see why!

(Source: Telegraph)

Lets face it.. No matter how many times you tune into MTV cribs you will never see anything like this.

(Source: Telegraph)

The editing is really fluid and the music used is perfect – well for me anyway.

Dont miss A Taste of Spain, which takes place on 6th June in Regent Street, London. With giant paellas, flamenco music, medieval food markets and a range of interactive sports challenges and events you are spoilt for choice.

Culture vultures can stroll through Aragón, Andalucía, Segovia, Valencia and Navarra to unravel the secrets of the regions and sample some tasty jamón, gazpacho, piglet and paella.

Spanish guitarist Paco Fernández and La Gente del Sol plus Foc i Fum, brass band Charanga La Chicuelina from Segovia and traditional flamenco music from Andalucía all take centre stage.

Information and images sourced from http://www.atasteofspain.co.uk/

Dont forget to join our Facebook group www.facebook.com/FATLDN

What a really unique treat! This weekend Kensington Townhall will be preparing for the arrival of the Kensington Dollhouse Festival.

Kensington’s Dollhouse Festival was established in 1985 and has become the leading event for craftsmen & miniatures enthusiasts to get together & enjoy their obsession. 

The festival showcases a collection of over 170 of the top dolls house & miniature makers from around the globe. There is even an chance to talk to the super-talented artisans who create them, some who have been specialising in miniatures for over 30 years.

I like the sound of the following workshops and events (which are charged seperately):

• Jill Bennett – Create a doll using Jill’s fabulous new kits
• The Little Hatter – Make a hat, parasol & hatboxC which is £35 for a 3 hr session
• Ann High – A 14th Century chest inc a carving masterclass (a bit pricey but definately for those who are taking this seriously as it lasts a whole day!)

Some interesting free talks

• Kevin Mulvany & Susan Rogers talk on their latest work, including 18th Century Chateau Antoniette, Bishop’s House & their most recent project for a US Museum.
• Beth Clackett of the Royal Collections will talk about the amazing story of Queen Mary’s Dolls house.

This is not just an exhibition for collectors, it is a day out for everyone of all ages. The festival takes place this weekend 14th – 16th May and tickets cost between £8 -  £10.

Address:
Kensington Town Hall
Hornton St
London
W8 7NX

Picture and information sourced from www.dollshousefestival.com

Source: NY Times

Sweat shop is a brand new sewing cafe, which has recently opened in Paris.  

Sissi Holleis, an Austrian designer  and Martena Duss, a makeup artist have spotted a gap in the market and have created a fashion version of a cybercafe where you can rent Singer sewing machines for only 6 Euros an hour. Located on 13, rue Lucien Sampaix, the decor is beautiful. One wall has even been covered in six layers of paint and antique wallpaper, then stripped away in spots to look ancient.

Source: NY Times

The cafe will be hosting courses in sewing and demonstrations from designers.

It’s a really great way to encourage people to get creative. I might just send my friend from Paris to have a little peek at the place and send out another update soon.

For more information and updates join our Facebook page.

Visit the Sweat Shop website and blog for more details.

Now wouldn’t this be fab? The Old London Underground Company is apparently in talks with one of the Ministers to get this idea off the ground.

We are being promised historic tours of the 26 disused ‘ghost’ London Underground stations to help bring tourist revenue to London and publicize the 2012 Olympic games by showcasing just how much London has achieved over the last 150 years.

I think we should show our support for the man who is trying to launch this idea Ajit Chambers – book me onto the first tour Ajit!

In an article on the BBC website, Ajit commented that “The idea is, there’s an adventure just below our feet, there are stations all over the place, it’s fantastic down there.”

The tours will present art and cultural performances, musical appearances and the exciting historical contribution of Sir John Fowler, Engineer and Frank Pick, Managing Director and pioneer of good design of Transport for London. If the project goes ahead you could also be looking at the possibility of holding a function or even your wedding in some of these stations.

The proposal has already been accepted by the Mayor of London and the transport commissioner has handed it to the MD of the London Underground. The main barriers to the go ahead are the obvious potential health and safety issues and TfL’s strong protective hold on the unused stations.

Like I said in my Banksy article, these mysterious and dark hideouts totally remind me of the final scene from ‘V for vendetta’ where ‘V’ is in an old underground station making his final attempt to fight against his totalitarian society. Funnily enough after doing a bit of research I discovered that ‘V for Vendetta’ was actually filmed at Aldwych station (shown below), which was officially closed as a station in 1994 and now used for filming and presenting movies.

It’s definitely something people will buy into – I mean we totally fell in love with the fictious Vauxhall Cross station in James Bond’s Die Another Day. Plus, I know the whole reason I watched the Ninja Turtles was to see what dark and dirty sewers they would be hanging out in next! We are all definitely suckers for discovering hidden and elusive places!

Before you head off to the links below dont forget to join our Facebook group or follow us on Twitter.

Here is the link to the site. www.theoldlondonundergroundcompany.com and for some interesting BBC blurb and a video about various unused stations visit http://bit.ly/lUufK

The Woman in Black tells the story of Arthur Kipps, a young and enthusiastic solicitor who is sent to manage the Eel Marsh House estate and paperwork of the recently deceased Alice Drablow. Unknown to him, the house is full of deep dark secrets and it soon becomes clear why the locals in the town become uneasy at the very mention of Alice’s name.

Years later, with the hope of putting his ghostly memories to rest once and for all, Mr Kipps shares his story and agrees to transform his experience into a play with the help of an excited Actor and Director.

Although I have often seen the ’play within a play’ scenario in many theatre shows, the thing which sets this one apart was how impressive the acting was considering it was focused on two characters who practically played the whole cast. And.. What a simple set! It’s great to see the cast make creative use of only a few props throughout the play.

We were in the second row from the front which really maximised the eerie effect of the play, especially as we came face to face with the white and spooky smoke traveling through the audience. Also, I may have jumped a little at the sight of the third mysterious cast member who crept alongside us in a dark cloak. Or at least, I think (or hope) she was one of the cast and it wasn’t my mind playing tricks!

I did find the whole thing a tad scary but what really put the final chill into my mind was the ending and what it left me thinking on the way home! I would highly recommend the show however, I would advise you to come with in total ‘concentration mode’ because it is primarily a serious drama.

My friend who had joined me unfortunately missed the first 15 minutes of the show but told me that the Fortune Theatre door staff had given her an amazing reenactment of what she missed and so, a big thank you to them and the cast for their hard work.

Dont forget to join our Facebook group or follow us on Twitter.