Our Bristol adventures with Kim.

I can't believe my year in Birmingham is nearly over. The saddest part is that I have started saying goodbye to some of the amazing friends I have made here. So with a few of the remaining ones we decided to take one last trip together, which was to Bristol- one of my favourite cities in the UK. We were so lucky with the weather, it was an amazing day, despite having to wake up at 4:45 in the morning, it was so worth it!

Another important reason for choosing Bristol for our destination was visiting my friend Kim, who I hadn't seen since February = waay too long. She's the best.

Kim lives just outside of Bristol in the lovely village of Cleeve, where she has her own wool shop called Alternit Universe, which will be opening this Autumn. She is also the owner of Art Equals Happy, which you can find out more about here. Kim makes her own wool, values all things that are handmade and 100% natural and just tries to make people happy with her products.

She certainly makes me happy whenever I get to see her (and her amazing parents!), which is not nearly as much as I'd like to. It's so nice to know that I can come and spend some time with them whenever I get sick of big cities or if I just want to play some board games, do a little crafting and watch some Mighty Boosh.
So if you like wool, colours, Harry Potter and lovely people and ever find yourself in the Bristol area, definitely pay this place a visit, you will be on cloud nine.

face puller

We were told today that we can have a fashion show towards the end of Masters which I found really exciting, I hope we can do it! Apparently we get to model our clothes too so I thought I'd practice a little bit, which is a tough one for me since I tend to pull faces quiite a lot. So most of the shots ended up in the trash. Long way to go!

 

The shirt I stole from my mom, the skirt is from a second hand shop in Prague (for about 20p), shirt is Michael Kors (stolen from my Mom), hat is from Forever 21, tights from Dorothy Perkins, shoes are Dr. Martens (brand new so my heels are sliced, anyone got tips on softening the back bit?) and the bug ring is from Cow, a great vintage store in Birmingham. Oh and the necklace I don't actually remember. I guess I'm turning into someone who talks about every single item of clothing they wear? The whole fashion world must be getting to me.

Tomorrow I'm off to London to see the London Textile Fair and hopefully get inspired and talk to some designers.. Roadtriip!

PS: photo credit - Kim Smith.

Shrewsbury getaway

So I've been back in England for a while now. It always takes me a few days to adapt to everything again, just like getting back to blogging. I've just discovered the band Chvrches and I can't wait to see them live in Birmingham in March! So instead of writing this I keep switching to their videos, they're really great, as are their videos.
My friend Kim is visiting me for a week or so, it's been so much fun. We took a trip to Shrewsbury at the weekend, it was so nice to get away from the city and see fields with sheep scattered all over them. It's such a nice town, filled with little hidden courtyards which was my favourite part.

There was even a tiny textile design place hidden away but unfortunately it was closed. Kim and I got so excited about everything, we just kept squealing and deciding which houses we're gonna live in and where our shops are gonna be!

I can call this research right? It definitely was inspiring and I always find that traveling and just getting away from your usual surroundings is a good idea, it gives you new impulses and things to think about. Countryside is bliss. I can't wait for Spring so I can do more getaways, English countryside is definitely worth it. And I want to do getaways with this lady, she's the best.
Before that, back to grey Birmingham, J.R.R. Tolkien's hometown!

Love Walk Cafe

Last weekend was just so inspiring in all aspects- after Renegade I decided to stay with Kim one more day because we were having such a lovely time together and I just wasn't ready to go back to Birmingham yet!
We went for brunch at Love Walk Cafe in Camberwell (South East London) which was really cute, not only was the food amazing but the design of the cafe was just funkyyy. I've started noticing interiors more recently and really liked the way this one was done.

 

Also I've never had an iced chai late before and it absolutely blew my mind. Together with my beetroot quinoa burger!
Also the company was seriously nice, my friend Tom joined us and him and Kim hadn't seen each other for about 3 years so we did some catching up and reminiscing.

love these stairs and this girl!