Barbara Hulanicki, Chau Har Lee & Ben Westwood

Yesterday I ventured into the depths and bredths of London for a jam-packed day full of interviews...first on the agenda was the one and only Barbara Hulanicki.

It was an amazing experience meeting such an icon, and was so refreshing to meet someone that is so easy-going, fun to chat with and just an all round top lady! Her laughter was infectious as we chatted for over an hour at her friend's London home, and felt sad that it had to end! She has to be one of the nicest and most genuine people I have ever met and am throughly looking forward to seeing what she will come up with next... having designed fashion, founded Biba with her late husband Fitz, turned a hand to interior decorating, collaberated with Italian handbag brand Coccinelle... I wonder what will be on the cards next!?





Pics: Barbara Hulanicki being photographed for 3rd Floor, Me and Barbara, The mirror that hung in Biba (Barbara has given many of the old pieces from the store to her friend, who was her first assistant)

After leaving Barbara, we made our way to visit the breakthrough footwear designer Chau Har Lee at her studio near Shoreditch. She was once again, so lovely and helpful and you could tell she has such passion for what she does... which is great to see in someone who is obviously very intellectual as well, given that she trained herself to use complex computer programs to create 3D models of her collection of mixed material footwear.

Finally, we made it to Ben Westwood's place... unfortunately we got so lost around Battersea that we were quite a bit late, and not being from London doesnt help either! After profuse apologies when we arrived, we chatted away for over an hour about how he likes to escape to the countryside - the unpredictable landscape, it offers something completely different from the 'shithole' he calls London (and i'm sure many would agree!), though despite the bad points of the big smoke he does have an incredible view from his 12th floor flat... spanning almost all of the London skyline. We identified Big Ben, Crystal Palace, the London Eye, and many other key points. We also touched on subjects like the misconception everyone has had about him launching a clothing line, and how everyone expects him to just design fashion because his mother, Vivienne does. Soon it was time to go, and he offered both myself and Pippa to take one of his homemade 'porn badges' as a souvenir... deciding to choose the least raunchy I could see, I opted for a cheeky Bettie Page number, whereas Pippa got given two with a models legs spread in knee high pvc boots and leopard panties.

All in all, quite an interesting and eventful day! Also learning that I would be adding the legendary Phillip Treacy and Jackie Dixon to my list of interviews for next week, came as rather a fantastic surprise when I got home... now to draft up more questions for next week and transcribe these 3 interviews!

Be sure to watch out for them in Issue 3 of 3rd Floor - launch date June 2010.

xxxx

God bless Sophie Callé...

My goodness what a long week it has been, I have missed my social life so much, not to mention my Mac...am extremely thrilled to be back in contact with the world again, I swear by this time next fashion week Vodafone WILL give me a blackberry.

I forgot to mention this last week before I shot off for London Fashion Week, but I discovered the most amazing little (well, its actually not so little) book by Sophie Callé entitled 'Take care of yourself'. A rather interesting title would you not say?

Well, whilst flipping through the crisp yet almost transluscent pages of this book, I discovered that it was all centered around one significant moment in Ms. Callé's life - a letter she had received from a man, breaking up with her.

Now... this was no ordinary letter... no no no... it was kind of encrypted, so much so that if many people were to read it they would all have a different opinion and viewpoint of what the situation was. So, the author did just that and asked a selection of around 107 different women, from different professions and backgrounds to interpret this letter in their own style.

It was interesting to note that not everyone analysed this text in the same way. Some preferred to annotate and draw meaning from that, whereas some used the letter as inspiration for a piece of art. One person even used the letter to play a game of chess.

I have to say, I love this original method of creating a large piece of writing and it will certainly be something I am keen to take forward for use on '3rd Floor'.

Some images of the book:

A fresh start...

Me again...


..and can I say how relieved I am to have now handed in my final year dissertation.... YES! HANDED IN.. ON TIME... major kudos has been earned I think.

So.. now that leaves my final major project - the publication.

So far, I've been doing a little research into the market... how the publication is performing atm and all that, just casual stuff really. But one thing I really want to get focuses on is devising a theme for the next issue to be based around.

Ideas so far:

- Kaleidoscope: Metamorphisis, Transitions and Evolution... Change basically!
- Taboos & Fears: Playing on my old idea for a theme.. but developed further so that it includes challenging the boundaries, not sure if that quite makes sense... so i'm gonna go with 'pushing stereotypes'. Lol.

Need to get a few more down on paper today, and start 'reflecting' my progress in this journal we're supposed to keep for the duration of this.

Also, have to present all these ideas on Tues 26th (which actually counts towards the final grade), so am a bit nervous so just hope it all goes well and to plan!

I'm kind of in a strange place at the moment... lack of motivation.. so I guess i'll just have to push through it to get things done... I think when I finish my market research it will fizzle out a bit, as I find that part quite tiresome.

So, wish me luck...and with the new season of ANTM due to start and offer major distractions, I am praying I stay on track!!

As for work experience goes.. i've applied to all the publishers that I can physically find after weeks of scouring the internet, hopefully some will get back to me. If not, then hmmm I may be doomed. Bloody hope not though, so if there's anyone out there who can help, give me a buzz :-)

Thanking you!

Jo Clair
xoxo.

3RD FLOOR PUBLICATION!

Hi all,

Well i've just had great news! I've been selected to be the journalist and writer for the next issue of 3RD FLOOR, published by Southampton Solent University yearly!

I will be working on the 2010 Issue.. which is the 3rd publication to ever be published...you know what they say...3 is a magic number!




So keep an eye out in May, when the publication will be available to buy from RD Franks in London.

For any more info on the publication, just send me a message and I can pass on relevant info.

Woop! Phsyched!!

Jojo xxx