Snappy ceramics

I've probably mentioned before something about my love for old school cameras. There is something utterly reassuring about using a proper film camera, a piece of kit that is older than me and doesn't require batteries to make it work. The pictures can be so satisfying, the anticipation of waiting to finish and the develop the film intense and most of all, there's that delicious clunk when you take the shot.  They also look seriously cool, all lined up in a little collection. It's amazing how inventive camera designers have been in the past, creating bodies that look completely different from each other.

I love finding objects created by people who seem to share my delight in camera memorabilia as much as I do. Nancy and Andy of Circa Ceramics on Etsy seems to be just such a duo! This little Lomo Lubitel plate, for example, is completely awesome - you choose the colour, they make the plate, print the design, fire and ship it to you! All handmade and costing just under £20 at the current exchange rate, plus £13 shipping (£7 if you're buying more than one) it's a perfect addition to any camera lover's kitchen!

Not a fan of the Lubitel and more of a Leica fan? What about the little Leica plate in berry red? Or my personal favourite, the Starmite, seen below in dodger blue!

If you're less of a camera fan and more of an audiophile, you might appreciate the little mix tape plate in avocado, or any other colour you might care to choose.

If you're looking for a just a little present for someone, Circa have a sweet range of magnets which cost just over a fiver. Designs include a Hasselblad, a Spartus and a Kiev - no I'm not talking about a chicken kiev, obviously, that would be absurd. 

I originally wrote this post for About Your Dress Blog, you can still find it amongst heaps of other posts by me and two other talented ladies there if you'd like to go and have a peek.

Marvellous millinery

We've talked before about my occasional need for accessories which do a small amount of communication, warding off potentially boring conversations and alerting people to my general mood. So I'm delighted to tell you I've found another Folksy Friend* in the form of Janine Basil, who's bringing comically verbose headgear to the aid of millions of speechless women throughout the MARVEL UNIVERSE. And potentially, this one too.

Check out this beautifully twinkly and ever-so-slightly aggressive BAM! fascinator, which costs £85. This is literally amazing. I would wear this A. to a comic book themed party where I could controversially go as The Text and mumble something that sounds vaguely intelligent about Roland Barthes and the death of the author, or in this case, illustrator, or A. wear this all the time. In my house. Outside the house. And whenever I catch my reflection in a in the mirror or window, just shout BAM! at myself. In the house this would be acceptable, my housemates find my mild insanity endearing. Outside the house, this might not fly, so perhaps I'd just shout BAM! in my head.

My other personal fave, because as you may have gathered from previous posts I'm a girl-geek-who-loves-the-chic (er, whatever, I'm speed typing on loads of coffee this morning) is the comic book inspired POW! rhinestone fascinator, which also costs £85. Man I so want one of these. I could pretend to be a superhero all the day long. And who wouldn't want that opportunity in life?

Moving away from the comic book theme, is the delightful Oh La Lah! rhinestone comic inspired fascinator, which again costs £85. I feel I could easily wear this with a nice pair of tailored black capris, one of my beloved stripey tops and black ballet pumps and you know, just have a totally French themed day. I'd eat tarte-au-citron and think about the Eiffel Tower and ride a bicycle and sigh wistfully and say 'oui' a fair bit, which sounds silly but really it's not.

The fascinators come as standard attached to headbands, but you can put in a special little request to have a comb or elasticated headband. Good old Janine's nice and obliging like that. Each rhinestone is carefully glued on by hand, so you know that she must be really quite skilled, a dab hand with the old glue-gun and totally deserving of our patronage.

If you're not into the rhinestones, or you're happy to speak for yourself she also as a lovely collection of crowns, bows and some hilarious zombie-themed 'oopsie-daisy-my-brain-is-peeking-through' headbands too!


* Well, strictly speaking, we're not actually friends, but I have emailed her to ask her permission to feature her work, so maybe, she'll potentially errr, like me for that? Maybe an internet friendship will bloom. Or maybe not. Who cares? This is getting awkward. I'm going now. Buhbye.


I originally wrote this post for About Your Dress Blog, you can still find it amongst heaps of other posts by me and two other talented ladies there if you'd like to go and have a peek.