buy yourself flowers

secret shame

"Elizabeth had turned the key in the Fox lock, releasing a heavy metal bar that scraped across the inside of the front door with an impressive prison-gate sound, and was about to attach the Segal lock when the phone in the apartment started to ring. By the time she had opened the second lock and was sliding the key into the last one - this was New York, after all - the phone was on its fourth ring. At almost midnight, it had to be the West Coast calling.

She could still grab it in time, but Elizabeth didn't hurry. Slow, with purpose. Slow, giving the internal anger and hurt time to shoot from zero to a hundred. It needed only seconds, like the start-up speed of a Maserati. Except it was never at zero. Not anymore. Hadn't been for the last eight months. And she couldn't imagine a time when it would ever be there again. As always, the hurt overpowered the anger, and what welled up into her throat came with tears that choked her."

I used to love the Sweet Valley High series. No shame in that: I was very young, and I wanted to work at a student newspaper just like Elizabeth. I eventually grew out of that phase, and gave all my books away because I thought they were so uncool...then many years later, began buying them again for 50 cents a piece at book fairs. No shame in that either: I love the cheesy but brilliant pastel hued cover art, by artist James L. Mathewuse*.
There is, however, some shame in the fact that I downloaded and read the first chapter of the upcoming book Sweet Valley Confidential, which catches up with Elizabeth and Jessica 10 years later. The writing is like a terrible creative writing project, and yet, I kept reading. You can download it and read it for yourself here.

* The New Yorker has a piece about the genius of the original cover art, which you can read here.

under milk wood

"Mrs. Rose Cottage's eldest, Mae, peels off her pink-and-white skin in a furnace in a tower in a cave in a waterfall in a wood and waits there raw as an onion for Mister Right to leap up the burning tall hollow splashes of leaves like a brilliantined trout" — an excerpt from Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas.

We get a lot of emails from people who want us to write about things, to talk about their work, their products, their projects. For the most part, we don't (who on earth had the great idea to approach us to write a feature about Ugg Boots?). But, when it's something beautiful and wonderful and exciting and magical, well, then, with pleasure. I was delighted to see the short film that collective Spilt Milk have made to promote their run of Dylan Thomas' famous play, Under Milk Wood.

Under Milk Wood runs from August 11-15 at 10pm, at Symposium Hall, The Space as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. More information and tickets are available here. I wish I could go, the costuming alone is a delight!

Perhaps you've seen The Edge of Love, the recent-ish biopic of Thomas, documenting his love life. Admittedly, my favourite part of this slightly lacklustre film was the costuming and the moodiness of the Welsh countryside. But Thomas' work and prose and astounding way with words rings true throughout, his poems dark paens to love, sadness, confusion, war.

tiny vices

No girl ever got anywhere with messy hair, staying in bed until noon. No girl ever got anywhere with dreams in her head and a boy in her bed; gin, coffee, cigarette porch; duvet curls and unwashed towels; half-read books, unpaid parking tickets, a full jar of vitamins. The best intentions...

the doors of perception

I saw When You're Strange on Sunday night. I wasn't expecting much - although I love the Doors, sometimes I dismiss Jim Morrison as boorish, overhyped. He wasn't - he was a magical frontman and the film is a marvelous testament to the band. Full of unseen before footage, his poems, deftly woven concert excerpts and snippets of short films, it is all narrated by Johnny Depp and his whisky voice. It made me sad too, want to do more, care more, have more fun, be more free, make beautiful things, be part of a time where people weren't so materialistic and complacent.

“I am interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos - especially activity that seems to have no meaning. It seems to me to be the road toward freedom… Rather than starting inside, I start outside and reach the mental through the physical”- Jim Morrison

"Can you picture what will be / So limitless and free" - The End

especially for you

I really like vintage illustrated cards, for any reason: Valentine's Day, birthday, wedding day, an anniversary day, Monday.

we love kirsha and kirsha loves...

Kirsha Whitcher is the designer of New Zealand label Salasai, and a very cool and inspiring woman. Her pieces have an androgynous and unfussy feel to them, and the new spring/summer season collection is great. She has great taste in muses - like Grace Jones and Neneh Cherry - and great taste in things too....

1. Rocco Bufalo's handmade shoes
An Italian born, Melbourne based shoe maker who has been hand making shoes for 40 years. Musicians such as Coldplay, David Bowie and The Strokes are known to have their shoes made here. His style is very much 1950s and 1960s rock 'n roll; it is my secret and favourite shoe spot in the world. I wish I had stocked up last time I was there! Rocco's is reason enough to visit Melbourne again - you can get personally fitted made shoes - who does this anymore? Only tell friends you love.
 
2.Prada Infusion D' Iris
I thought I had found my life time perfume but this smell is so amazing it has become my new best friend - now I couldn't live without! It is so subtle and endearing yet mysterious, you've got to try.

3. Sweet Rolls from Opera Kitchen in Hawkes Bay 
These sweet rolls are a delicious pastry bread that has been baked and dipped into soft toffee....with a crunch, they are the best thing for a Friday morning tea and the Salasai crew all take turns at buying them in bulk - only from the Opera Kitchen, only in Hawkes Bay.

4. Salasai Nude Knot Dress
This silk dress piece is so fem and pretty, I love it a lot - it's definitely one of my favourite pieces of the Salasai SS10-11 range.

5. Comme des Garcons hand painted shoe
How wild are these? I love them, and I think I need a pair in my life right now. They are so nuts; can you imagine getting dressed in the morning knowing you were going to wear them? What a smile.

6. MoMu Fashion Museum, Antwerp
One of the best fashion museums in the world in my eyes - although I haven't been there personally, I follow a lot of blogs that visit and it's on my go to list. A new exhibition "MASTERS OF BLACK" is on and looks so inspiring, wish I was there! Featuring Comme, Martin Margiela, Yohji Yamamoto, Raf Simons, the list goes on.

7. Alex Gaidouk
I've been doing some research on photographers and a friend introduced me to this Russian photographer's work - I instantly fell for; there's something quite airy and lonely yet still and calming about his pictures.

8. Piiata lights
By Nga Waiata and Peter Baker, both contemporary artists based down here in Hawkes Bay who are also friends. These handmade lightboxes have the inclusion of te reo maori script which is meticulously handcut from translucent vinyl. These are to die for, there is one I have my heart set on - it reads PRO BONO, love it

9. Tretchikoff Wall paper please
If you're a Tret lover like me you will appreciate this masterpiece. This room is calling me to move in. I've had this image saved in a place called "dream house" for ever and a day...how chic is that!

10. White, the new black 
I'm really excited by white, it's def the new black and sells better for us as well...we dedicated Spring/Summer to a lot of white and will do so for the next few seasons as well. By far my favourite garment colour - here's the proof:

friends of friends

My new favourite website is Freunde von Freunden. Literally, 'Friends of Friends', it is a calmer, less flashy counterpart to The Selby. The site documents interesting people and homes around central Europe - Berlin, Amsterdam. Here are some favourite images from the interviews that have caught my eye.

armchair travel

Like startled doves, linens and underwear flap in the Mediterranean sun baking old Palermo's rugged Albergheria neighborhood. "We get angry when it rains," says a native Palermitan. "It's an insult, and we take it personally."

- From "Italy Apart-Sicily," August 1995, National Geographic magazine

Natalie and I love National Geographic magazine. My Dad used to have boxes of them stored in the basement, which I remember looking at and reading repeatedly. They were so interesting: the colour, life and culture of a world that seemed far, far away from my West Auckland basement. Far more inspiring for a 10-year-old than magazine articles about Jonathan Taylor Thomas or tips on getting your crush to notice you. The best thing is that they never seem to date - I picked up a couple of National Geographic's at a book fair recently, from 1983 and 1989, and they're just as interesting and inspiring today. And look at those photos! Beautiful. They're from National Geographic's amazing website.