Last Supper

Hi darlings. Sorry for the picture upload-overload but I've been sooo busy that I just got these little babies onto my computer. Being able to work last week with Zandra present the entire time was truly a one of a kind experience. I got to see the fashion world through the eyes of someone who has been in the business for 40 + years, and at some times it was not pretty.

Zandra is an exceptional artist who produces eminent pieces of clothing. I have never seen a 70 year old with more energy, nor I have a heard one swear as much. Her favorite words are definitely "fucking hell" and she tends to kick things around and slap herself in the face when she gets overwhelmed. One minute she could be screaming about unpicking a garment and the next she'll be coaxing you sweetly and calling you flower or angel. I realize that not only working with Zandra but living with her as well has been more than a dream come true. Tonight is my last night with her since she leaves tomorrow, and I am very sad to say goodbye to such the most unique individual I have ever met in my almost 21 years.

Moving on from the mushy, I had one of the best dinners of my life last night a la Zandra. She loves to cook and entertain when she is in town, and this was the second soiree of hers that I was fortunate enough to be a part of. She had quite the extensive guest list:

First, was Barry Lategan, who is a famed fashion photographer for British Vogue. He became a household name in the UK in the 1970's after discovering Twiggy. Yes, that Twiggy. In fact, Barry was the one who suggested she use the name "Twiggy" after he heard her boyfriend at the time call her twigs. . He recalled what it was like when Twiggy first waltzed into his Baker Street studio: "She sat there and looked straight back at the camera. It's hard to explain what photogenic is but she had it." The pictures of Twiggy above are some that Barry took.

Barry has a very obvious admiration for women and he did not stop taking photos of all of the ladies at the party all night. He explained to me how he loved watching women move and certain mannerisms different women have. He was very soft spoken and I thought it was very obvious that he has been in love with Zandra for decades. He absolutely adored her, just as everyone who meets her does. Here is Barry's official website: http://www.barrylategan.com/index.html

The second famous guest was British singer and personality Lulu. I had not heard about Lulu until Friday, and everyone in the office was so thrilled that she was going to be coming. Lulu is famous for her hit song, "To Sir, With Love", as well as being a reoccurring star on one of my all time fave shows "Absolutely Fabulous". When we were all out on Zandra's terrace last night, her gay queenie neighbors were having a swinging party outside as well, and when all 20 of the guys spotted Lulu they all went nuts. I guess her famous tagline is "Champagne for Lulu!" and that's what all of those girly men were shouting. It was a sight to be seen. She was gorgeous and tiny and could not have been more sweet and bubbly. She brought two Swedish friends who were both rude and boring.

Michelle had two friends over, and Andrew Logan's partner Michael also joined us, as did a lovely girl named Ella who works for Vogue.com. As for the menu, we had

Chilled melon soup (A Zandra specialty)
Whole cooked salmon (picture above)
English buttered peas
Roasted tomatoes with rosemary (that I picked) from the garden
Rocket (arugula) salad from the garden
Potatoes
Home made apple crumble with double cream AND ice cream
Mint tea with fennel

Truly incredible...until I had to do the dishes....

Some of the other pictures I posted were from different times this week. The top one of Zandra was this morning for a photo shoot with her 70 hand bags. Then we have me, Zandra and Michelle, and then Zandra with Barry, and a pic of some of the food. The other pictures are ones I took last Thursday while walking home from dinner in Embankment. I took the Millennium bridge across the Thames and was lucky to get a gorgeous sunset. The creepy insane asylum looking building is the Tate Modern Museum.

Today I painted and gardened all day and then helped Zandra, Michelle and Frances work on the bridal gown that Zandra has to take back to the US tomorrow. That is all for now - only one more week left for me here! xoxoox

Good Old England

I must of got up about 20 to 7,
Had a shower, had breakfast - a couple of pieces of toast,
And I forced it down and had a cup of coffee
And it was pouring with rain and I thought,
Oh God, y'know, good old England
- Writers Block, Just Jack

TWORKIN'

These are some photos I took from my phone yesterday while getting my twork on.

First, let me introduce you to my newest littlest pal Percy Pig. He is a gelatin pig that can only be found in the store Marks and Spencer's. When Jess and I are walking home from the tube, usually after consuming Prosecco's or V&T's, we make a bee line for Mr. Percy. I enjoy the "reversy Percy" or as they are called "extra sticky gums". Jess prefers plain ole Percy, which is obviously, my Percy reversed so that his ears are the dark pink and his head the light pink. I like how I just went into detail about a fruity candied pig. Anyway, I am bringing my friend back to the US so that all may enjoy him.

Next is the lovely mug that sits on my desk. I think it explains itself.......

And finally that last snapshot is a picture of the chart I was constructing yesterday. Sorry it's sideways.

I am on my lunch break right now and Jess just made Maria and I "American grilled cheese". Maria had never heard of frying the bread, but she fell in love immediately. Jess uses loads of their version of Kraft singles, or as Maria and I call it, Plastic cheese. Who cares, all of the butter she used really made the plastic-y taste all right in my mind. Nice little processed lunch.

Now I must head back downstairs where Zandra is in "stage 3" mood. Tuesday, she was stage 5 and we are all hoping and praying that she doesn't get that way today. The only good thing about the stage 5 day was that Frances the head sewer (who Zandra would be lost without), won 10 pounds in the lotto so she went out and bought us all chocolate because she felt sorry for Zandra's stage 5 antics. She's a sweetheart and loves cats so obviously we bonded.

Toodles xoxox

Hump Day

Well hello there my little mice (Zanrda's nicknames for her interns). Today has been very long and my sinus issues have been rather troublesome, but besides the constantly runny nose I managed to get a lot done.

My morning consisted of me in the packed tube making my way to Oxford Circus where I had to pick up boxes of pins that were urgent to Zandra and the rest of the team for the day. They are working on two bridal gowns as well as dresses for various women in the wedding parties. My main project this afternoon was to recreate a chart that Zandra constructed, which is made up of tiny sketches of her Fall 2010 line. She wanted me to duplicate it in order for her to take a copy back to the US when she returns on Monday.

Another task I was fortunate to complete today was sorting through tons of photo albums in search of pictures of Zandra and her work from the 1960's. She is appearing on a tele special tomorrow that is all about the swinging '60's, so I spent the afternoon going through crazy photos of dinner parties and fashion shows. The pictures were amazing and getting to see how beautiful Zandra was and how much fun it looked like she was having made me truly happy. Tomorrow I'm going to try to grab a few snapshots to post on here since I think they are so absolutely wonderful.

Since Zandra has so many brilliant pieces of art in her flat, I thought I would share another one of her favorite artists with you tonight. His name is Duggie Fields and he calls his work a "hard-edge post-Pop figuration". I love Pop art so you can imagine I was enthralled to see Zandra's flat daintily littered with his work. The first picture I posted is of his Marilyn Monroe rendition that is hanging in Zandra's sitting room. All of his stuff is very provocative yet feminine, and most of the pieces display dressed up women with their breasts exposed and heads cut off. None of it is disturbing, and I actually quite enjoy his work, and I hope you do as well. Until later, oxxooxo

Check out Duggie Fields' website here

Andrew Logan

Andrew Logan is a jewelry designer, sculptor, performance artist, and painter. He met Zandra when she came to view his first one-man show and shortly after he began making pieces of jewelry for her. Their friendship truly blossomed when Andrew had a house fire and was left homeless when Zandra insisted he stay with her. After that, the two became close friends and confidantes and now all of the art in her flat as well as the jewelry she wears are mostly all pieces by Mr. Logan. Just by looking at Zandra and Andrew together, you can tell that they serve as immense inspirations for one another. To me, they seem like brother and sister. A lot of his pieces resemble Zandra's clothing in so many ways, being that they are both very distinct and quite unique. Zandra has also served as a model for Andrew on more than two dozen occasions. He loves putting her face and spirit in his work, and I think that is the best compliment an artist could give another artist. Most of the photographs you see Zandra posing for, you will notice the abundance of intricate jewelry she is wearing, and it is usually all works by Andrew. While he has been working in India for the past few weeks, I was lucky enough to get to meet his partner at the first dinner party I had at Zandra's and he was such a genuinely sweet man. I hope I get the pleasure of meeting Mr. Logan before I leave London because I am absolutely in love with his art. Here is a link that describes Mr. Logan and his relationship with Zandra.

moldy hell!

Hey babes. So I guess I'm pretty shiesty when it comes to updating this thaaaang, but shitty internet + boyfriend in town = reasons not to! AAAAAhhhhh what I lovely weekend I did have. It was much needed, and having Nate here was truly amazing. It was sooo nice having him here! I felt like a local getting to show him around the TUBE as well as my hood. I was terrified to give the tube a try on my own without Jess but I found out that it is seriously simple.

Nate and I went to the Absolut Ice Bar on Friday night. This liquid luxury of a place gives you furry coats before you are escorted into the literally frozen room. They hand you your very own cup that has been chiseled from a block of ice, and then you chose from a selection of vodka concoctions. We chose to drink the Submarine which was vodka, lime and watermelon deliciousness. Since you're only allowed to be in there for 45 minutes, we threw back as many as we could and tried to stick our tongues to the walls. Not really, but that would have been awesome. Everyone in there was smiling from ear to ear and getting drunk to forget how cold it actually was in there. After some intimidating bouncer told us to get the frick out, we ordered one last drink behind his back and left.

On Saturday I brought Nate to the famous Portobello Market in Kensington. There were butt loads of people and lots of smelly antique furniture, but we did manage to buy some cool Beatles pictures and I paid a few too many pounds for a ring that I couldn't let slip by. It started raining and the amount of hairy Italians rubbing up on us made us bolt out of there to the safe haven known as Harrods. We felt immediately at home amongst the $950,000 jewelry, Birkin Bags and Burka-d women. We decided to eat at the dim sum bar in the food hall there, which was phenomenal and not to mention prime people watching. We then moved to Selfridges, another massive department store, to look around and have some champagne. That night we had an amazing French dinner that got us full after course # 1 and we had to unbutton our pants and wait for oh, about 5 more courses to follow.

On Sunday we met up with our friend Ned who vacations in Norway and England with his family in the summer, since his mom is from Britain. I brought the guys over to my area of town where we went to a pub called The Woolpack. It has this amazing garden/patio area where we posted up for about 2 hours just catching up and shootin' the shit. After I had a few Stella's, I decided to bring them over to my studio/flat which was literally across the street from the pub. I was just scared that if I'd gone over there on a Sunday Michelle would have put us all to work, but no one was here when we arrived. They loved the place. We moved on to another pub right along the Thames, where I tried Pimms for the first time and liked it a lot. After this point things get a wee fuzzy, but we ended up at a hookah bar/restaurant where the owner seemed to not like Nate very much and the beer tasted like sweaty socks. We said bye to Ned and Nate and I went to the hotel to eat room service and watch It's Always Sunny. I got him hooked on it too.

Monday, Nate left and it was very sad seeing him go. I was so glad that he was able to make it out here, and he enjoyed the city immensely.

Zandra came in from California yesterday night and brought her crazy chaos shit storm along with her. The woman will be in a room for 2 minutes and things will be out of place, upside down, torn to bits and twisted backwards before you know it. She is a stressed out mess (what would you expect from a 70 year old who flies 12 hours every 6 days). Last night she made Michelle remove the tiles from Jess and I's shower because there is mold growing everywhere in it. Now, there is a huge wall of exposed black mold that looks like the shadow of death just sitting there staring at you. It's gross and its making Jess and I feel like crap. Someone is coming to look at it Thursday.

Today, Zandra threw a temper tantrum like a 3 year old over some lunch she had to attend. It was amusing. She likes to kick desks and chairs when she's mad. I was working on a project for her where I looked through old slides of bridal gowns she made in the 70's and 80's and scanned them onto a computer for a book that wants to use them. Tomorrow, I have to go find buttons and pins before 9 am and construct a chart for her, so that should be fun.

I'm tired and sneezy so peace outtttt! xoxoxo

PURE LONDON

MY JANKY INTERNET IS WORKING FOR THE MOMENT!!!! Let us rejoice. SO, a lot has happened this week! On Monday Zandra returned to dreary ole London for about 22 hours. The only reason she flew 13 hours across the pond was for the world famous Pure London trade show. She was making an appearance to launch her new shoe and handbag line, as well as hold a meet and greet with certain buyers. On Sunday night, after a long day of slaving, Michelle told Jess and I that we were to attend the trade show to help Zandra out. We were SO HAPPY. Since I dream of owning my own store one day, getting to see Pure was a dream come true. Well, when Jess and I actually found the venue it was a dream come true, but we got preeettttyyyy lost. 3 wrong tube stops later, we found the show which was held in the posh Kensington area of London. Since Zandra's plane was late, her personal photographer (and full blown creepster) Patrick picked her up at the airport and took her straight to the show before she had a chance to come to the flat to change. You can imagine, she was a bit of a mess. Jess and I were running around sending 20 page faxes to Deb for her, I was constantly on the phone with Deb making sure she was receiving the faxes, and Zandra was on the other line screaming at Deb because she couldn't find the an iron for her clothes. So Deb had to send the shy textile pattern maker intern Amanda to the venue just so she could pick up some bag Zandra needed delivered to the studio. Poor Amanda... sister was lost when she arrived and then she literally got lost for about an hour so Jess and I were running around looking for her. After we found her, Jess and I caught a Q&A with the Draper's magazine and WGSN ladies who were talking about spring 2011 trends. After that was over, we caught a student fashion show right before Zandra's debut for her accessories line. She had a table up on the catwalk and was being interviewed by a cute girl from Vogue.com. She was hilarious onstage and even gave Jess and I a shout out. She went on to say some embarrassing things, such as she only showers once a week to keep her pink hair vibrant. She also said that when she was going into the US last week the customs officer asked her if she was a clown. WHAT AN ASSHOLE!! Only an American. Her response: No, I'm just British. Gotta love that woman.

After our duties at the trade show were fulfilled, Zandra told us we were free to leave for the rest of the day. Since we were in Kensington, famous for their gardens, we picked up some bottles of mini Pinot Grigio and downed them next to some rose bushes. We were feeling a bit loopy, and as we were approaching the flat, Zandra was just getting there unloading Patrick's car. We had to carry loads and loads of shit up 2 flights of stairs, while we were pretty drunk. To make things funnier, Zandra stripped down into her slip and could not stop shouting the F word. She must have been so tired and jet lagged, poor thing. After she screamed at Deb and Deb screamed back, she went up to her room only to discover mold growing in her bedroom. Lovely.

She left Monday morning and will return in six days for a whole week, which will be the longest time I'll get to spend with her. She had a new project for Jess and I to work on Tuesday, which involved going to high end stores dressed as "rich kids" (her explanation, not mine), and find the price points, prints and sizes of scarves. She is now thinking of launching a scarf line, so she wanted to know the facts before she started negotiating with the company. I had a blast searching through the scarves, except for the jackass Frenchie in Gucci who was yelling Frenchie things at me the whole time I was in there. Douche. We faxed that out to her this morning, and I spent the day working on the trend report with Jess which will be finished tomorrow. I have Friday off this week because NATE ODIO is coming to see me and I could NOT BE MORE EXCITED!!!!!!!! I can't wait to show him the places I've found, as well as give him a proper tour of the TUBE.

By the way, the cutie in the picture above is Michelle aka Aussie aka "Orange Michelle" as Zandra calls her. She is so beautiful, she looks like a China Doll in that picture! The other pics are of Pure, Zandra's handbags, Zandra, The WGSN/Draper's panel, some BADASS graffiti I found on Brick Lane, and finally Zandra's cool Indian table and chairs. OK, I'm off to watch more It's Always Sunny... Can't get enough of this show!!!!!! xoxoxooxoxoxoxoooooxoxoxox

vintage stores smell like shit

Well hello. I am so incredibly tired after my long day of working on a Sunday, so please excuse.

Jessica and I had all of Friday off to gather research for our trend report we are conducting for Zandra, so we took full advantage. We spent the morning in the Victoria & Albert Library where we looked up Spring 2011 predictions and sketched away. After that we bought magazines to help us get a better sense of what trends will be up and coming in the next few months. We snagged I.D., Dazed and Confused, British and Italian Vogue, British Elle, as well as Ben's Collezione.

After having lunch at some place literally called Japan House, we decided to go to the Natural History Museum down the street. That ended up being a cluster fuck of children and parents who didn't know how to contain them. We bought stupid post cards and left. After feeling like we needed a break from children, we bolted out of that place so fast that we ended up lost in Notting Hill. It was like the Twilight Zone..... the streets were completely empty except for Maserati's, Audi's, Range Rovers and cleaning crews. Somehow, we stumbled upon a high end consignment shop called Pandora that carried everything from vintage Yves Saint Laurent to last season Chanel jackets. We couldn't afford anything, so we followed a UPS truck into Knightsbridge. Here, we decided to get our afternoon tea on. Harrods just happened to be right in front of us, so voila, our minds were made up. I had Earl Grey and Jess chose Peppermint tea.

Friday night we went with newly pink dreaded Michelle on the bus to a Roman Bath House for a magazine launch. The place was cool but the people were lame. A bunch of hipsters. I'll post pictures later..... We had fun chatting with Michelle's friends, but decided we were hungry so ventured back to the bus and to a pub called Hinge.

Saturday was all about Brick Road Market. Maria had told us this was where the best vintage shopping is, and I have to agree with her. I bought a light blue 1950's polka dot dress, a 1970's shoulder bag, a big bow for my hair, and some candy. I would reccommend this area to anyone who loves interesting people watching and good prices. I just hate the way vintage stores smell....light some candles for bejesus sake.

There were all sorts of food stalls set up along the streets of the market. Everything from eel to tongue to the biggest dim sum I've ever seen. We decided to get some grilled veg's at this place called Cafe 1001 which was amazing. After a hobo tried to jack my bag, we left. I was over it.

Then, today, I worked. A lot. Now, I am going to sleep. Good night xxoxoxo

It's only been a week,
The rush of being home in rapid fading.
Prevailing to recall
What I was missing, all that time in England

Has sent me aimlessly,
On foot or by the help of transportation,
To knock on windows where
A friend no longer live, I had forgotten.

And everywhere I go,
There's always something to remind me
Of another place and time
Where love that traveled far had found me

- Remind me by Royksopp

Snoggers in the Loo

Why, you ask, do I have a picture of Vogue Creative Director Grace Coddington, as well as an El Camino above? Well now darlings, I'll explain.

With my first work week coming to an end, I feel quite fulfilled and happy about the work I have completed. The first two days in the studio consisted totally on drawing from 9 am - 5:30 pm. I know it doesn't sound like much, but when you haven't had proper textile pattern training like me, you basically start to look at everyone's drawings around you and feel like you've been doodling the day away. Zandra likes to have the students study her past textile designs and then come up with their own new ideas based off of her previous ones. I was lucky enough to get to see many portfolio's filled with drawings Zandra completes while she is traveling, which is most of her life. She prefers to sketch on thin rice paper with pencils and markers. She fancies drawing everything from patterns and people, to landscapes and her boyfriend. Zandra and her boyfriend whom resides in San Diego, have been partners for 25 years and have never married. Zandra says she loves the US because it is cheaper than London, but she thinks everywhere in the states uses too much air conditioning, which I find quite hilarious. Anyway, why I mention this is because since Sunday, Zandra has been away visiting her boyfriend, which she does for weeks at a time. She will be back here on Monday just for the day, so I expect that will be a very fun day since I have not gotten to be in the studio with her yet.

Yesterday after lunch and a long morning of more doodle drawing, Michelle (the adorable dreadlocked Aussie who has lived with Zandra for a year) decided that Jess and I should venture out to and see more of London, rather than be holed up in the studio. Maria, who works in the drawing room with Jess, Amanda and I, quickly agreed. It didn't hurt that yesterday was Maria's birthday and she was in quite the bubbly mood. Jess and I were given the task of going to the Tate Museum of Modern Art which was about a mile's walk from the studio/flat. Since pop art is my favorite, I was very happy to see all of the pieces at the museum. Jess, however, prefers classical art and was quite bored so we didn't spend as much time there and I'd have liked. Plus, we had a beautiful afternoon to kill, so we naturally hopped on the tube to go shopping in Piccadilly.

The tube as well as the streets around Oxford and Piccadilly were so crowded that I thought I might get swallowed alive. I was constantly trying not to breathe and pouring Purell on my hands by the gallons. Crowds = germs. Me = Can't afford to get sick while I'm here.... after becoming overwhelmed in Selfridges, Zara and Dorothy Perkins, we decided it was time for a drink. We ventured to SoHo and right as Jess exclaimed she wanted Mexican food, we stumbled upon El Camino.

We ordered chips and queso, Margs, and tacos. We were quite please with the seven-pound-a-pop Margaritas, but when the queso came we almost died. I mean, I'm from Texas where the Mexican food is better than it is in Mexico. This is what we received:
Revolting, no? We sent it back (something I NEVER do) and ended up with a free round of drinks.




After getting back on the tube to head home, we decided to stop at our neighborhood pub, The Shipwright's Arms. So bathrooms in England are proper with one main door, then once you are inside the Ladies doors, you can choose to go into one of two rooms that have a toilet and sometimes a sink. I walked into room #1 and while I was washing my hands I head a strange knocking sound. I thought it was Jess, so I walked out and while she was walking in, I noticed a line starting to form inside the loo. Just then, a man walked out of room # 2 with a very drunk young lady. She couldn't even find the door to leave. Everyone in line was laughing and trying not to pee their "pissed" selves. The guy simply smiled and walked out, proud. It was a defining moment. Something I won't forget. Maybe I don't get out much?

Today in the studio was the first day I actually got to sit at a desk and do PR. I was so excited to file emails all day... I know, what is wrong with me. After lunch, Michelle came in and gave Jess and I the task of going to the Victoria and Albert Art History Library to do research on upcoming trends for Zandra. After getting our cards, the librarian informed us that they only search for the books we desired at half past the hour, every hour. It was 4:45 pm so we had just missed our mark. Plus, everything they had in the catalogues was from 1980 and prior. We headed to Harrod's to do some serious research as well as some sketching for Zandra.

Finally, the answer to why I posted a picture of Grace Coddington with Anna Wintour. If you've seen The September Issue, you are well aware the Grace is fucking brilliant and without her, Anna would be a massive wreck and might actually have to, gasp, work! While I am not by any means comparing the sweet, lovely, caring Zandra for Anna, I have noticed that Zandra does have a sort of "right hand woman" who has been with her for years and years. The woman is Francis, and she does all of the hand stitching on Zandra's clothes. The first night I got here, Francis came up to have dinner with us at 9:30 pm in her apron because she had been working all day, and was planning on going all night and then returning Saturday to finish the dress. Francis is shy and quiet but always has funny things to say. She is an older woman but man, I see her bolting for the door every 30 minutes to have her "ciggie". I automatically loved Francis, and you would too.

Sooo much more I could go on writing about but I'm tired and have realized I should really try to update this every day. Good night xoxoxo

Picasso and Bardot

Me and Jess @ Tower Bridge - A Few Steps Away From Our "Home"

I just looked up my Chinese Zodiac (The Snake) and here is what I found.....

I am a.....Deep thinker, wise, mystic, graceful, soft-spoken, sensual, creative, prudent, shrewd, elegant, cautious, responsible, calm, strong, constant, purposeful.

Ummm...scarily spot on......

First Day in the Studio

Those are some quick shots of Zandra's top floor in her flat. Quite lovely, no!? Today was my first day of actual work. Well, I wouldn't quite call it work because I got to draw and paint for one of the head textile designers, Maria. Right now she is working on a project where she and the other girls are to be drawing "spots" or little dots, and make them into interesting designs for a collection of bathing suits as well as temporary tattoo's (kind of funny since I'm currently sporting some). Maria ended up liking three of my designs so we'll see what happens with those! Today a girl named Amanda started her two week internship, so she and I had our first days together. She just finished working for Alexander McQueen as an intern, and she had quite a lot to say about it, almost all negative. She had 16 hour work days, from 9am - 2am, six days a week. She and Maria were saying how that is typical for interns in London. I feel lucky..... She and Maria are both from Durham which is north England, so they had a lot to chat about. I loved hearing them speak. I came to two conclusions today. One, I would much rather be yelled at by a British person than by an American. Even if Brits are angry, it still sounds pretty to my ears. Two, I've started THINKING in my head with an English accent. Like, if I say to myself in my head, wow that's a cool car, I say it as a Brit would. Only took what, THREE DAYS?!!? Yikes. I also had about 5 cups of very strong tea this morning before I actually felt awake. And I drew all three of those spotty designs before the tea, so technically I can draw pretty well in my sleep. Tonight is one of my roommates last nights so we're going out to dinner. After tonight I get to move to the bottom bunk! Hell yes. I feel like I've just been upgraded to first class on a 20 hour flight. 'Til later, xoxoxox