Pop Up Mexico Exhibition In Potters Fields | London Gems

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

2015 is the year of Mexico in the UK and to celebrate there is a wonderful and vibrant pop up Mexico exhibition which opened yesterday in Potters Fields. I went along to take in the culture and the fun experience.

Pop Up Mexico Exhibition In Potters Fields

Pop Up Mexico Exhibition In Potters Fields | London Gems

As I headed towards Potters Field I heard beautiful Mexican music and already saw the bright colours and statues. There were crowds everywhere. The exhibition had certainly caught the attention of Londoners who were having lots of fun. There was a huge queue at the Wahaca truck for burritos and nachos. But it is not all food, statues and music. There is an immersive pop-up pavilion in London’s South Bank. It is a multi-media experience and is not just educational but also tons of fun. You learn all about Mexico through state-of-the-art innovation, using cutting-edge modern technology. Best of all, it’s free!

Inside the dome is a very cool colourful car, clothes, the opportunity to experience Mexico City, lots of art and lots of other immersive media. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. I had a great time and I learned a lot. I definitely want to head to Mexico now. It has made its way onto my bucket list as it is so beautiful. Mexico has a lot going for it.

Pop Up Mexico Exhibition In Potters Fields | London Gemsclothes

2015 marks the beginning of an exciting collaboration between Mexico and the United Kingdom. For twelve months, the two countries will create new connections in the areas of culture, arts, education, science, innovation, trade and investment. There will be a series of events taking place across the UK, all of which are designed to address the preconceptions people have about Mexico. Mexico is not about mariachi, tacos and guacamole anymore.This is all about the modern and contemporary Mexico that has everything to offer: wonderful culture, great food, nature and art. In fact, Mexico is the only nation to have its cuisine designated by UNESCO as of Intangible Heritage of Humanity so after checking out the exhibition enjoy some great food by acclaimed Mexican restaurant, Wahaca.

Pop Up Mexico Exhibition In Potters Fields | London Gems food

Pop Up Mexico Exhibition In Potters Fields south banl

If you don’t live in London, don’t worry, you won’t miss out. Later in the year the dome will be travelling north to Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. This is a great day out for all of the family. Pop along before it closes on the 12th March.

The dome is open to the general public: 26^th Feb – 12^th March, Potters Field Park next to City Hall, 10am – 8pm. Entry is free.

Find out more here: http://mexicouk2015.mx/en/dual-year

Sponsored post.

Cuddledry Review | Parenting

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

The Cuddledry is something that immediately caught my eye. Reason? Because it is so damn cute. It would take a hard person indeed to look at the pictures of the cute baby wrapped in this towel and not go ‘aw’. But we can’t be worn over on cuteness alone (mostly). Does it work? Is it convenient? Read on…

First of all, it looks good. It is obviously high quality. It is very soft and feels great. Perfect for baby’s skin. If you don’t already know what the Cuddledry is; it is an apron style towel that lets you dry your baby hands free. This is not to be underestimated. Anything that stops you dropping your baby is a good thing. The baby bath towel also keeps you dry and it has a hood which makes baby look adorable and keeps the water away from baby’s skin and hair. We love this apron towel. It makes life with a newborn significantly easier. A brilliant, yet simple invention.

Made with natural bamboo fibre and pure cotton, the Cuddledry is much softer than a normal towel, and stays that way after washing – ideal for snuggling and drying your little one’s soft skin.

Cuddledry designers, Helen Wooldridge and Polly Marsh, were inspired to create the Cuddledry after they and their husbands struggled at bath time with slippery babies, and realising this was a challenge every new parent faces:

“We asked hundreds of parents and found that mums and dads everywhere battle with baby towels held awkwardly under their chin, or in their teeth, or put crying babies onto towels on cold bathroom floors, to get over the need for an extra hand to hold the towel at bath time,” explains Polly Marsh, one of Cuddledry’s creators. “It is of course impossible to safely lift a baby without two hands, but you also somehow have to hold a towel and wrap them in it!”

“Cuddledry have thought of everything, it clips around the neck to free up your arms for picking up your bubba and drying them in a flash, before you know it baby is all snuggled up in the cuddly side. Fantastic invention, why didn’t I think of it first” – Zoe Ball

“I’m so glad my mum bought a Cuddledry for me, it’s the best thing anyone can buy for a new parent.” Denise Van Outen

Helen and Polly were asked by the BBC to take the Cuddledry apron towel onto Dragons Den. They amazed the dragons by turning down three offers of investment. Since the show, the entrepreneurial duo has secured private investment and the business has expanded beyond all expectations. The Cuddledry is now used by tens of thousands of parents, endorsed by celebrities and recommended by midwives and maternity nurses worldwide. It has won over 40 prestigious awards and is recommended again and again as the number 1 baby bath-time essential.

The Cuddledry apron is available to buy for £29.99 here or from Boots.com, John Lewis.com, JoJoMamanBebe.com and Mothercare.com as well as the Cuddledry website www.cuddledry.com

Diamonds Are Forever… Jennifer Klein’s Exquisite Debut Jewellery Collection

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Corinne Tuddenham-Finn

It may break the rules, but daytime glitz is all the rage and real stones have never been so cutting-edge.

On Saturday evening, Jennifer Klein launched her debut ‘Diamonds are Forever’ 2015 collection at the Meursault, Kensington, a heady mix of the finest jewellery on a catwalk presentation produced by Oliver Morris and played out to a huddle of well-heeled, glossy VIP guests who were treated to drinks and canapés whilst deliberating on their purchases, direct from the catwalk. Alex B, a vision of elegance, compered the evening, taking the audience through the collection at an absorbable pace.

Jennifer’s use of fashion colours rather than traditional hues make this exclusive collection as appealing as a sweet shop – fashion accessories to be indulged in.

This is great news for the woman who loves to wear real jewellery. The last few years the girlie, quasi-Bohemian aesthetic has been fun but it didn’t give us the opportunity to dazzle – real gemstones instead of paste is what suits fashion’s money-conscious new mood … and Jennifer Klein is running with it.

Aimed at a design-conscious clientele, far from the hushed, carpeted atmosphere of the old-fashioned jeweller as you can imagine, Jennifer’s collection is giving real jewellery a modish twist, it’s as though all the sugariness of the past few years has unleashed in each of us the deep desire to behave like a woman of the world, instead of a slip of a girl.

Jennifer Klein has rationalised the reinstatement of the pearl necklace, considering all the baggage it once carried with it of dowager duchesses, maiden aunts and women who wear taffeta gowns to the opera. The return to real jewellery is about being grown-up, chic, womanly. It’s a step up in sophistication and it’s a step up in significance because a necklace intricately defined with real stones is, by definition, less throwaway than, say, a £5 bead choker from Top Shop.

Real gems are now being worn by a younger generation of women, no longer saved for special occasions, but worn with the season’s wardrobe – just as all those rules about only wearing sequins in the evening dissolved in a flurry of spangled T-shirts, the idea of what jewellery you can wear and when is changing.

The catwalk featured black leather and silk necklaces, 4 stone detail embellishments incorporating Tibetan turquoise, quartz druzy, white agate and amethyst, Swarovski crystals and 18 carat gold plate, double freshwater pearl

and black druzy. Cuffs adorned with semi-precious bi-colour gemstones surrounded by tumbled ametrine and crystal on genuine snakeskin bands… each piece, due to their inherent characteristics, unique and unmatched.

Each beautiful adornment is sensibly priced, earrings are approximately £150 per pair, necklaces, approximately £380 and cuffs around £175.

A Latin-themed dance show inspired by the sophistication of Jennifer Klein’s luxury jewellery debut collection was presented by international championship dancers, Florent and Diana – superior dancing from a couple who are taking London Fashion Week 2015 by storm, leaving the audience spellbound after a breath-taking performance.

Jennifer’s jewellery can be purchased or hired.

To purchase, visit www.jenniferklein.co.uk

or to hire:

www.msdroom.com

Please view the beautiful promotional video featuring the jewellery of Jennifer Klein:

About Jennifer Klein…

London, Paris, New York and Spain were the backdrops and influences growing up with a mother who was a model and an International fashion tycoon for a father. Jennifer began her 14 year career in beauty as a professional makeup artist working with prestigious brands such as MAC, Laura Mercier, Space NK and Shu Uemura.

Along with her fashion and beauty editorial background, she has also worked within corporate PR and media. As well as styling commercial fashion shoots in Spain, London and New York, Jennifer is a model who has also worked with a great portfolio of International clients including Spanish Hola!, Vogue España, Marie-Claire, Tatler and Now! magazine.

Having identified a gap in the market where fashion, beauty and lifestyle are synthesised within one brand. My A-Dress Book under one dynamic platform, is the first part of this vision.

About My Secret Dressing Room…

YOUR INFINITE WARDROBE

They say you are what you wear… Although I am sure you will agree it is not always easy to find the right outfit for every occasion! Then again, the idea of continually wearing the same outfit can quickly lose the appeal, and additionally you are really eager to keep up with trends without spending a fortune. Well, we have the answer! My Secret Dressing Room is an infinite wardrobe, where women like you, share dresses, bags, shoes and fabulous accessories.

RENTING IS EASY, QUICK AND SECURE

Once registered, you can browse the infinite wardrobe for your perfect outfit. You are able to ask the Secret Stylists for specific information and advice on the fashion items. When you have selected the perfect fashion item/s, you then choose a suitable time and location for delivery and collection. The chosen items can be delivered directly to your home or place of work. After your fashion item hire, you will be encouraged to give feedback on the fashion items and the SecretStylists. Your opinion is important in allowing the secret community to flourish while providing the opportunity for SecretFans to select their dream outfits.

HIRING OUT YOUR FASHION ITEMS IS EASY AND ENJOYABLE

Becoming a ‘Secret Stylist’ is very easy, and above all, totally enjoyable! Simply register on the website, book your free photo shoot, and select the dresses and accessories you would like to add to your virtual wardrobe. On completion, you will be invited to meet our team, where you can star in your own private photo shoot, all managed by our fashion professionals. (If preferred, we are happy to organise our own model ) Once the fashion items are loaded onto the website, you can decide the hire price for your items alongside your own brief description of each piece – perhaps telling the story detailing the event and experience of them. When a lady chooses her perfect outfit from your wardrobe, our personal courier service will collect and deliver them directly to her, allowing her fashion fantasy to become a reality!

Search – Shoot – List- Feel Safe – Earn

Images © Shane Finn at Visual Devotion – www.visual-devotion.co.uk

www.corinne-modelling.co.uk

There Is Only One Word For Sex Selective Abortion: Gendercide. But Should It Be Illegal?

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

On Monday the 23rd February MPs voted on whether to amend the serious crime bill to make abortion based on foetal gender a crime. MPs ultimately rejected the amendment to the bill from Fiona Bruce. But was it the right decision?

Sex selective abortion is only one thing: gendercide. This brilliant article on gendercide in The Economist states the shocking fact that at least 100 million girls have been killed. It will be much more now, the article was written five years ago, but it has always stayed with me. I always thought sex selective abortion was a problem in China and India, I had no idea that it was also problem in Britain. And lets be clear: it is a problem, and a growing one.

I tend to be wary of amendments to abortion rights. In the US more and more bills are passed to take away a women’s right to her own reproductive future. History also proves that it doesn’t matter if abortion is legal or not, women will still have them. Legalisation means less maternal deaths. I am pro-choice even though I would never have an abortion myself. A woman’s body belongs to herself, not the government. But what about gendercide? Which is a very real crime.

As I write this I am 35 weeks pregnant with a boy. When we told people the sex of our child I was shocked at the sexism. I was told congratulations for having a boy. I was even told it is ‘better to have a boy’. Why? Usually no reason was given. Or a fluster of babbling that made no coherent sense. I was supposed to feel proud that my body was making a boy, as if by making a daughter I would somehow have failed. What makes a boys life more important than a girls? It’s a good question, if only so we can address and dismantle it. If there is pressure for a white, British, non-religious female to have a boy, can you imagine how much pressure a woman from another culture would feel?

Feminists widely criticised the amendment. Bryony Gordon spoke out against it. Rebecca Schiller wrote an amazing article on it but I think they are both wrong. Should gendercide be illegal? Yes. Schiller says “This is not about whether sex-selective abortion is right. This is about a woman deciding what happens to her body throughout her life and valuing her as the key protagonist in these decisions across her lifetime.” She makes a good point, but if that decision is to kill a baby girl then it is not okay. The Telegraph did an amazing expose on doctors agreeing to do sex selective abortions.

Lisa Hallgarten, chair of Voice for Choice, said: “We urge MPs from all political parties to oppose this dangerous amendment. This is the wrong piece of legislation to address the issue of son-preference and gender discrimination and could disadvantage the very women it claims to be helping. “If passed, this amendment would seriously undermine abortion law and provision in this country, which is clearly the intention of its proposer Fiona Bruce MP.” Some feminist may be up in arms but what is more anti-feminist than a girl being aborted just because of her gender? One way to fix this is the gender of the child not being revealed until the abortion limit has passed.

Women’s reproductive rights have been hard won and should always be protected but the truth is sex selective abortions are becoming more common in Britain. Christina Odone wrote a great piece in The Telegraph and stated that ‘We should be up in arms at the thought of would-be parents deciding that girls are not worth conceiving. In a country where the culling of baby seals brings out street protests, the culling of baby girls is happening without a murmur.” We must defend the rights of girls. In the womb and out. Labour MP Yvette Cooper MP has said that the practice of aborting a foetus simply based on their sex is already illegal, but more must be done to enforce it. Over one million girls are lost every year to gendercide. Something must be done about it. We must show that a girls life is just as important as a boys.

At The Break of Day By Margaret Graham Book Review

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

Margaret Graham has written many good books, in fact she is working on her 14th. Many of these books are compelling and well-researched books set during wartime. At The Break of Day is no exception. It is yet another brilliant novel to lose yourself in while the author takes you into another time and setting.

Many of the main characters in Margaret Graham’s novels are women making the best of themselves in hard circumstances. In this novel Rosie Norton is facing a bright future in America in 1946, until she is called home from Pennsylvania. Rosie was evacuated by her grandfather in 1939 by her beloved grandfather and she returns to a devastated Europe which is still picking itself up after the war. She has developed an American accent and finds it hard to be accepted by the people around her. Many who refer to her as a dumb yank. She is supported by her childhood sweetheart Jack, but lies and people with bad intentions get between them. Jack is sent to war in Korea and a homeless Rosie, together with the child he doesn’t know they have, is left to fend for herself in London.

This is a wonderful novel that I really enjoyed reading. The character of Rosie is a great one. She makes the most of herself and her circumstances. She is an inspirational character who it is impossible to not fall in love with. I also loved the parallels between the UK and US. McCarthyism is on the rise in the US and her American family write about it in their letters. This is an engaging novel which captures the time it is set in perfectly. Highly recommended: another triumph for Margaret Graham.

At the Break of Day is available here.

Patricia Arquette’s Oscar Speech Is a Thing of Beauty | Watch Now

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

Patricia Arquette’s kick ass Oscar Speech took over the internet, and rightly so. While political statements are generally frowned upon at the Academy Awards, Arquette won the hearts of people all over the world with her demand for equal pay for women. The best reaction came from Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez, both of whom nearly fell off their seats with glee. Equal pay for women in Hollywood has been a widely debated topic since the Sony hacks. I hope that Arquette’s speech makes a difference, she has at least raised awareness to billions of people, and for that she is amazing.

She also said earlier this year that she paid her babysitter and dog walker more money than she made on Boyhood. She isn’t the only one to speak out. Hilary Swank said: “My male counterpart will get paid ten times more than me — ten times. Not double, but ten times for the same job. We only have this much left for the female actress. I mean, there’s two genders on this earth. Both are compelling, interesting, diverse, wonderful in all their own separate ways. And yet there’s an influx of male roles, and there’s just not for women.”

While Amy Pascal has said that the problem is that women accept less money than men it is not as simple as that. Pascal herself said that there are less roles for women so women are more likely to work for less just to have a job. This is a sad state of affairs that must change. Arquette has started the battle call, we must all follow through.

Fashions Finest Off-Schedule Show – Season 9 … powering through LFW!

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Corinne Tuddenham-Finn

A new generation of creative talent has been discovered.
Whilst other runways were dominated by the brittle and mainstream, the Fashions Finest London Fashion Week off-schedule event at the Grand Connaught Rooms (Great Queen Street) on the 21st and 22nd of February 2015, showcased a new generation of designers, contrasting polish and luxury with the romantic urban statement of the city streets.

Every collection told a story, inspirations springing from adversity and anarchy, delicate and feminine designs merging seamlessly with the party-hard and controversial.
CEO Deborah St Louis and her team brought together a hoard of cutting-edge designers to the catwalk, displaying slick, elegant chic and sassy dressy daywear with sexy cuts and adventurous colour.

Sophisticated simplicity – comfortable, chic items that work around the clock.

In a season of unabashed glitz and gloss, super-feminine, body-conscious dressing is back.

Knitwear was given a radical and sustainable twist, but kept within the sensibilities of a working, structured wardrobe.

Rebel yell – Replayed mod styles with head-to-toe black and a whole heap of attitude, combining all the eternal elements of rebel dressing – from the classic LBD to black leather trousers, for drop-dead, don’t-give-a-damn sex appeal.

Prints transmit the rhythm and emotion of fashion and the Fashions Finest offerings were loud and brash, tiny and muted, encapsulating the mood in a single burst.

Read my post-London Fashion Week designer reviews throughout the week!

Tonight’s featured designer images:

Eva Cammarata – www.evacammarata.com

Hellavagirl – www.hellavagirl.com

Ingrid Bratt – www.ingridbratt.com

Tinkilove – www.tinkilove.com

London Pacific Collective – www.facebook.com/LPFltd

www.corinne-modelling.com

For more information, please contact info@fashionsfinest.com

The Theory of Everything Review by David Evan Giles

Posted on February 23, 2015 by David Giles

The Theory of Everything is, quite simply, brilliant. In the same way that director Steven Soderbergh lifted Erin Brockovich from being a legal procedural TV movie to its position as a major motion picture, Oscar-winning documentary director James Marsh has taken what could have been an awkward mix of impenetrable science and a terrible disease and made a deeply human story that is moving, inspiring and so totally engaging that audiences often sit right through the end credits as they take in what they have just seen.

It is the humanity, the frailty, the warmth, the humour, the kindness and – to use a very old fashioned word for an unfashionable quality – the decency of the story, played by a faultless cast with such little apparent effort or strain, that makes The Theory of Everything the most memorable film in a rich field at this year’s Oscars.

Eddie Redmayne’s transformation from a slightly awkward ‘natural scientist’ (the traditional expression at Cambridge University for a ‘geek’) to the towering brain caught in an unco-operative body is little short of miraculous. This is not a star turn, where the dribbling is designed to win prizes for being ‘confronting’. Redmayne plays the man and not the disease. The character of Stephen Hawking stays vigorously alive as more and more of his body fails and what Jane, his wife played so delicately by Oscar-nominated Felicity Jones, fell in love with is still there in his eyes though his voice is gone, replaced by the American accent in a box that most of us have heard. His family and friends are brave, supportive and accepting. As played by Redmayne, Stephen Hawking inspires love because of the man he is, alive and laughing, inside the body he no longer controls.

A recent article in a national newspaper carried a cynical headline, asking that no more films be made about white, male, British geniuses. It was a painful bit of smartypantsness, because the two movies that could fall into that category this year are both brilliant pieces of filmmaking – the other film is The Imitation Game, for which Benedict Cummerbatch is also deservedly Oscar-nominated. Between them, these two films are likely to do more to wash away prejudice against homosexuality and the disabled than a thousand pages of legislation ever could. Their heroes are both great men, great minds and in great pain. They are treated by the writers and directors with enormous respect and played faultlessly by young actors reaching the top of their game. In the English-speaking world, the film culture has lately been dominated by endless sequels, remakes, stories based on comic books, gross-out comedies and cynical violence. The Theory of Everything proves that complex stories about real people can still be told and the audience is rewarded by the feeling that the human journey can still be an ennobling experience, in which we are not limited by our bodies, but only by the barriers we set up in our minds. Don’t miss this film.

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