There was a time.

There was a time when a story, a tapestry of words, was as important a commodity as food, clothing or precious jewels. Words were treasure and they were exchanged as that. Handed down carefully, respectfully through generations. It was a trade.

People were connected to truly everything around them. They saw. They understood that everyone and everything is connected. Nothing is separate.

“They were capable of interpreting the transits of planets and communing with the souls of moths”

 The Turquoise Trail by Caron Karasik.

There was a time when people identified themselves and others through the words that were woven. A voice listened to. Holding on to each rich word spoken, like gold seeping through light. A time when people sat together, talked and listened. When people shared and heard the heart that beat through the words spoken.

“The truth of the matter was, stories was everything and everything was stories. Everybody told stories. It was their way of saying who they were in the world. It was their understanding of themselves” 'In Search of the One Eyed Jesus' by Harry Crewe.

Today we are dependent on imagery in which to understand ourselves. People connect to the understanding of themselves and each other by swiping and sweeping through images. The finger leads the pathways to the left or the right. Down, down, down. through carefully crafted ‘presentations’ of lives.

“They had the gift of seeing at least four sides to every story: the good, the bad, the chaotic surface and the buried heart.”The Turquoise trail by Caron Karasik.

As we fall into the quick sand of political instability, fear and hate and a time of ‘non -truth’, it seems more important than ever to hold on to the truth and integrity in our hearts and share the power of the words that come from that.

“Among all the valuable things of this world, the word is the most precious. For in the word one can find a light that gems and jewels do not possess; a word may contain such life that it can heal the wounds of the heart” Hazrat Inayat Khan.

It is through words from the heart that dreams are actualised. It is through words that the fibres of truth are met. Only through words can roots properly grow. Weaving a stronger foundation.  There is nothing more powerful and there is nothing more beautiful when it is met with sincerity.

Be careful what you say to each other. If you have nothing to say that is kind, then say nothing at all. “Words are more than symbols, they are triggers of biological information” as the mind-body system organizes itself around verbal experiences.

But when that word is spoken that is true and meets the dream of the heart right in the eye. It will never be forgotten and will resound in the heart for all time.

Worn With Love Headdresses in Trend Tablet.

Over the Summer my good friend and photographic comrade, Gisela Torres and I did a wonderful shoot featuring a new series of Headdresses I have made to sell. I am very excited to say that the full story can be seen in Trend Tablet,  the inspiring online magazine. I styled the headdresses with my collection of vintage and globally sourced textiles that I have been collecting for many years.

Wedding headdress with Swan Feathers £295.

This headdress is the ultimate wedding headpiece. The feathers are from a pair of Swans. One of my best friends passed the Swans in the Summer and watched the pair pruning themselves and waited to gather up all of their feathers for me. I couldn't have been more delighted. I have never been so lucky to work with Swan Feathers before. They are incredibly rare. These feathers signify ultimate unity. A pair who remain bound always. The vintage lace is exquisite with the finest intricate embroidery of butterflies. I love the juxtaposition between the total connection of the Swans unity but also the freedom from the Butterfly.

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 The necklace is Bedouin. The dress vintage European and the belt is Chinese.

Pheasant feather Headdress with 1920's centrepiece and Silver Coins £195 ( Sold). 

Middle Eastern Embroidered coat. European embroidered top. Vintage leather belt and French skirt. Turquoise necklace and Indian silver necklace

Parrot and Canadian Geese feathers with Navaho beaded centrepiece, coral, leather motif and coins £210

Full sleeved blouse with Navaho Squash Blossom necklace and 1920's Egyptian revival silver belt buckle worn as choker. Early twentieth century embroidered belt from Guatemala.

                                  Vintage Flowers and Navaho Turquoise Brooch £95 (Sold)

                       Styled with a Moroccan linen gown and Bolivian embroidered dress and Navaho turquoise jewellery.

Fabric headpiece with vintage and Bennison Fabrics and vintage silver brooch £75.

Vintage necklaces and early twentieth century coat from Pakistan.

                 Vintage brocade, vintage and Bennison fabrics and parrot feathers £120 (Sold)
                              Necklace Marni. Nagua Dress from Panama. Amber bracelet.

 Vintage embroidered belt with guinoa fowl feathers and heart motif. £45 with Vintage floral headband.

Silver necklaces from Guatemala. Silver and indigo bolero from Sapa, Vietnam. Embroidered 1970' dress Afghanistan. Navaho Turquoise rings.

I was introduced to Gisela by Caroline Baker about fifteen years ago! We became friends pretty instantly and we have worked together on many wonderful shoots. I think back to all the wonderful places we have worked and the fun we have had.

With many thanks to my friend and to the wonderful team: Ilona our beautiful model with whom I had great chats about the power of Super foods and thanks to Katie Campbell for the beautiful hair and make up. 

Falling in Love with Good Food - Creating Meals for the Floating Supper Club and myself.

For some time now I  have become increasingly passionate about creating really 'good' food for the Floating Supper club and for myself. Nutritious and vibrant, exploding with nutrients and vigour:

It took me some time to listen to the voice in my head to start buying from Farmers Markets and not supermarkets (much fresher, cheaper - organic, supporting small passionate companies rather than conglomerates) and I am pleased to say that for a year now it has become my ritual to go to Swiss cottage on a Wednesday,  Pimlico on a Saturday or Marylebone on a Sunday. It's a truly beautiful exchange.

Yesterday after Cerys, ( what better way is there to start your day than with Radio 6 on a Sunday?) I battled through the rain to buy my weekly shop from Marylebone and today I made the most delicious Green salad. Flat leaf parsley, tatsoi, spinach and Tuscan kale with half a green chilli, quinoa, sunflower seeds and rye bread, draped in an apple cider vinegar, olive oil, lemon and garlic dressing. Full of flavour and colour , vitamins and minerals and served with two freshly cut English Roses still holding the rain from a recent shower,  that a neighbour cut for me from his garden as I walked past.

Recently I picked up Sarah Dobbyn's most amazing book: 'The Fertility Diet, How to maximize your chances of having a baby at any age.' Basically: how to keep young and healthy. It was one of the most interesting and well researched books I have read. Full of the most brilliant nutritional facts and now I try to eat the very best food providing the ultimate nutrition. If you are interested in health, I can't recommend it highly enough.Here are just a few facts from the salad.

Parsley: 'I cup of raw parsley has outstanding amounts of  mineral and vitamin levels.
Quinoa: All the essential amino acids, minerals, vitamins and folic acid
Sunflower Seeds: One cup gives you 46% of daily vitamins and 62% of minerals
Beetroot: beta carotene, vitamins B and C, Calcium, phosophorus and manganese
Leafy greens: Loaded with folic acid, vitamin K and iron. Calcium, magnesium and manganese.

I forage where I can. In Spring I walked through the most wonderful banks of Wild Garlic.

Summer Days on the boat have involved plenty of foraging. Seasonal treasure including some pickings from places you can't reach unless you are on water. ( the plums still need a little more time...)

My photography books are starting to feel overshadowed by the bestsellers of the literary moment that I have stolen off my neice: 'Honestly Healthy. Eat with your body in mind, the alkaline way by Natasha Corrett and Vicki Edgson', ' Eat, Nourish, Glow by Amelia Freer' and Ella Woodward's' Deliciously Ella'. But one book in particular I want to mention, that came out way before the sweeping trend is 'Real Fresh Food, Healthy Meals for Busy People' by Anna and Roger Wilde.  I have found it very inspiring. The recipes are simple but the knowledge runs deep.

I could continue for days but we all have other places we should be..  I take my leave to watch a film and eat some of Ella Woodwards raw brownies I made this afternoon. I leave you with a link to a recent episode of Radio 4's Desert Island Discs , where one of the true founders of Seasonal foods, Ruth Rogers,  talks passionately about her life. Enjoy.

Inspired by Love. Thoughts on Love that crossed my path this week.

It was previously thought that  Harper Lee only ever wrote one book, ' To Kill a Mockingbird' But this week it emerged another book has been discovered, which led me to exploring more about her writing.

Her first words that were published were an essay on love, ' Love - in other words ' published in Vogue in 1961,

"As one holds down a cork to the bottom of a stream, so may love be imprisoned by self: remove self, and love rises to the surface of man's being. With love, all things are possible."

I also discovered this week that T.S. Eliot had written over a 1000 letters to a woman called Emily Hale in between his marriages but that these letters remain 'sealed' until 2020. To think about the contents of those letters is extraordinary and the fact that they remain. So much gets lost today with the modern forms of communication. It's all so fast and layered. But to make something that lasts, is tangible, that records what we feel and whom we loved and then gets passed down through time is life itself.

That is why I was so happy to get an email from Bernie asking me to make a piece by Worn with Love to celebrate his best friends love for each other. Symbolically Paper celebrates one year of being together. I found an old clock face in a Paris Flea Market and combined that with vintage sheet music and their own words from a song they had written.

Also a lady from America got in touch and wanted me to make a headdress for her for a Valentines evening in Vegas, ' Royal Court of Hearts' .  I made her this.

What is Love? As Harper Lee says, "There is only one kind of love- love. But the different manifestations of love are uncountable. "

Joni Mitchell published an anthology of love last year, 'Love has many faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting to be Danced.' Her first husband left her with only his Surname and after giving up her daughter for adoption she's been trying to work out ever since what love truely means. A journalist said to her, ' You're an expert on love'. Her answer was, " My interest is to get to the heart of things."

As she sings in Amelia, "People will tell you where they've gone, they'll tell you where to go. But till you get there yourself you never really know."

               
                                    I hope as you read this you are loving and being loved well.

Looking back on a Journey through Central America.

                                           
A myriad of curved roads that led me through Countries with the strongest heart beats, where the buses sway as they sweep around the bends of the Mountain sides leading me to cultures as old as the sun and as bright.

 
                                                           A necklace of Frida Khalo.

Stepping into the home of Frida Kahlo. Casa Azul. The first time her clothing and accessories have been on show.
When she walked the streets of Mexico, the children would run up to her and dancing around her would ask "When is the Circus coming?"She would smile and walk on.

                                                       The house of Deborah Turbeville.

I was so fortunate to have been able to visit the house of Deborah Turbeville in San Miguel de Allende. An enormous privilage of which I will always be so grateful and to those who opened their heart to me along the way.

Mexico was full of inspiration. The ways of the Aztec and the Mayans. Beyond comprehension. The finest textiles and a home to the greatest Artists.
Frida Kahlo. Diego Rivera. Edward Weston. Tina Modotti. Luis Barragan. Octavio Paz. Joaquin Santamaria. Manuel Alvarez Bravo. Lola Alvarez Bravo. Graciela Iturbide.

Travelling through places that you can't even dream of where the mist of memories lap against the days that have followed.

So that we may See.

So that we May see the light in the every day.  So that we may feel and share Love. So that we may See the Beauty in the every day and be Thankful for what we have.

                Angel In Adoration, Guido di Pietro (1417- 1455) Musee du Louvre, Paris.

                                               Filippo Lippi (1406-1469) Scala, Florence.

                                                 Basel,  Munster, 1400. Angel with Star.

                                              Happy Christmas and all good wishes for 2014.

Tributes and Celebrations.

How long do you let a tear roll down your face before you wipe it?

Last night I attended a celebration of the musician Bert Jansch. Simply Beautiful. Some of the greatest musicians collated:

The members of Pentangle, Wizz Jones, Ralph McTell, Robert Plant, Paul Wassif, Lisa Knapp and so many more.

The story is also that of Love. A deep love found between Bert Jansch and his wife Loren Auerbach. Together in life, Together there after.

I hear Love Call it's Name. Christmas is coming! Order your Hand made Christmas Wreath. ATestimony to Love, to return to each year made from vintage fabrics and Bennison fabrics and woven from Willow and Ivy.

As Seen In Country Living Magazine, January 2014 issue, out now.