Archive for January, 2011
Usually we seek out great art to decorate our walls, but British artist Charlotte Mann takes white walls and transforms them into incredible living art. Hand-drawn with a thick black marker, Charlotte’s installations showcase unique sketched worlds that can be seen in homes, offices, and even on the runway. Collaborating on several occasions with fashion designer Peter Jensen, Charlotte has created fancy illustrated rooms complete with chandeliers to serve as fashion show backdrops. So Culture Vixens, pick up your pens and take to your walls!
View more of Charlotte’s work at CharlotteMann.co.uk
Looking for a unique travel experience? Try staying in a gypsy caravan! Romantic, fun, and all the rage right now, gypsy caravans, also known as roulottes in French, come decked out in full bohemian chic, creating a dreamy ambiance that global nomads are sure to appreciate.
Check out a couple caravan hotels here. Gypsy caravans can also be rented out to tour around in. What a fantastic way to experience the French countryside! And for those who fall in love with les roulottes, you can buy your very own dream wagon from the Gypsy Caravan Company.
[ photos via lesroulottes ]
The Green Dragon cocktail’s got substantial bite, and you gotta love its mystical green glow.
2 measures vodka
1 measure green Chartreuse
Yep that’s it! Shake with ice and strain before serving.
The special thing about the Green Dragon is the Chartreuse. Consisting of an aromatic grape brandy base flavored with over 130 herbs and plants, it happens to be made by a silent order of Monks near Grenoble, France. Chartreuse is typically aged in casks for up to 5 years and comes in both a yellow and green variety, the green being quite intense compared to its sweeter sibling.
Charlotte Hudders is a talented fashion designer who creates not only visually inventive designs, but exciting costumes as well. Hailing from the UK, Charlotte also spends time abroad in Bali drawing inspiration for her designs. The way she translates her ideas into illustrations and watercolors before ultimately transforming those into fabric is fascinating to observe. Culture Vixen had the chance to talk in depth with Charlotte about her work.
Gayle Wheatley (GW): How did you decide to pursue design and how did you get started as a designer?
Charlotte Hudders (CH): I was always very passionate about art and design at school. My parents encouraged my brothers and I to be creative. My mum is an artist and trained as a dressmaker. She would make us wonderful outfits and costumes growing up. I think that is probably where my passion for fashion and costumes began!
After leaving school I studied art foundation for a year before going on to study theater and performance design at Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
Although I was drawn to studying fashion and textiles, I still wanted to expand my knowledge in other areas of design. The course enabled me to explore a range of different design opportunities: costume, fashion, set design, and prop making. Being able to learn these different disciplines has really enabled me to push the boundaries of fashion and costume design by using unconventional techniques and materials.
GW: What is the craziest costume you’ve ever designed?
CH: I love designing costumes that incorporate prop making into them. I designed a costume based on the character ‘Silky’ from the Enid Blyton book The Magical Faraway Tree where the theme was to design it as though Terry Gilliam directed the screen version. Instead of having beautiful silky hair like the story suggests, the costume depicted a much darker side to Silky’s nature. Her skirt suggests that she has come out of a cocoon and that she was originally a silk worm! The organic nature of her costume reflects her natural environment, dried out cabbages are sewn into the corset with elements of hand painting and burnt out organza (pictured below).
: : : CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL INTERVIEW : : :
In the heart of Downtown Disney in Anaheim, you’ll find Tortilla Jo’s, a Mexican eatery full of Southern Californian flare. Located next to the Disneyland Resort, Tortilla Jo’s features upscale interior design highlighting rustic chandeliers and painted wall murals. Tortillas are hand-made on the premises, you’ll discover over 100 tequilas, and of course the desserts are delicious.
The Bloodhound
All the rage in 1920′s London, order a Bloodhound for a refreshing punch of strawberry.
On a recent evening out on the town, I encountered a bar with a cocktail list so long and exotic I was compelled to look up individual drinks on my phone first just to figure them out. This made me realize how in need of expansion my staple cocktail list is. This led to more thinking, and more drinking.
Voila! Culture Vixen’s elixir of the week was born. As each work week comes to a close, why not break up the monotony of endless gin and tonics, cosmos, and tequila sunrises? We’ll be bringing you a fresh new cocktail to help you unwind into the weekend. As always, your suggestions are welcome.
Here’s our pick of the week:
Bloodhound
1 1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz dry vermouth
1/2 oz sweet red vermouth
1/4 oz crème de fraise
6 strawberries
[ photo via cocktail culture ]
Lonely Planet is a great place to get inspired for your next adventure. While browsing through their slideshow galleries, I stumbled on this magical image of a silhouetted forest in Finland, captured by photographer David Tipling. Breathtaking! Now I’m dreaming of nothing but northern lights.
Calling all cupcake lovers out there (and really, who isn’t one?), we’ve just stumbled upon the cutest knitted cupcake beanies by Neff. Sold at FredFlare and Amazon.com, they come in three flavors: chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. To top it all off, they’ve all got fuzzy cherries on the top, and faux sprinkles. Adorable!
In a busy city packed with people, Italian architect Gaetano Pesce has designed a garden that reaches skyward. Crawling up the walls of a building filled with restaurants, shops, and office space, Pesce’s upward-sprawling garden houses 80 varieties of plants, all above street level.
[ via Fresh Home ]
Love robots? Then you’ll adore this mini robot vacuum from one of my favorite stylish shops, FredFlare.com. The perfect desktop assistant, this mini bot will clean up after you, picking up your crumbs, pencil shavings, and more!
[ via Fred Flare and Swiss Miss ]
