Excitements at Top Drawer, London

CarrieMe are on the road again, this time not too far from the office: the Top Drawer trade fair in Kensington Olympia which has brought together over 600 carefully selected British and international suppliers, keen to showcase their newest product launches, cutting edge designs and must have products for Christmas.

Our stand showcased the new CarrieMore Snowball range, as well as our mobile finders and the full range of bag hooks we do including the new Vintage range which are embellished with a delicate ring of pearls.

Its always exciting to see what other new launches are coming to the market, so below we’ve picked some of our favourite brands:

http://alisonvanderlande.com/

Hampshire based Alison Van Der Lande produces luxurious handbags with style and elegance and we definitely feel that any CarrieMe product would look fab on all of these handbags.

http://www.saffronwinds.com/home.aspx

Saffronwinds creates recycled and fair trade fashion products, we especially like their fashionable handbags and purses; they also have really good prices for such great style.

http://www.skk.net/

We really like this Soho based lightning company, they are fun, colourful and have plenty of energy, they also have fantastic enthusiastic owners.

www.beckybroome.com

We love Becky Broome's homely collection - all handprinted in the UK.

http://www.rexinter.com/

Rex International has gone very patriotic with their British flag designed cushions, door mats and biscuit tins and with the Royal Wedding having just passed and London hosting the 2012 Olympics, patriotism is a theme set to run well into next year.

www.shopscratchtracks.com

This American based company is really fun and quirky, they have injected plenty of colour with their retro bags which also have a old school radio built into them, it’s fun, practical and quirky - just like CarrieMe!

www.lollipops.fr

Paris based Lollipops stand was probably our favourite stand.  Lollipops has lovely handbags, stylish umbrellas and quirky accessories and will be opening up a new shop in Spitalfields soon which is very exciting. So look out for it on your next visit!

Excitement at Autumn Fair 2011

CarrieMe exhibited for the first time at Autumn Fair at the NEC in Birmingham… exhausting but a fun packed four days!

So how does it work? 

Step 1:  In the office, we sketched the stand and styled the mannequin for winter chic to coincide with the launch of newest range – the CarrieMore Snowball Charm.

Step 2: Then it was time to put it all together when we arrived at the NEC… predictably it took longer than we expected!

Step 3: The time spent shifting and tweaking was well worth it, as our ideas came to life before our eyes. Here’s the finished product (with Carrie showcasing the new Snowball).

And here's a team photo (Carrie, Sian, Maggie) but missing Veni who came to help for a few days.

The show was full of hustle and bustle, there was always something going on. In between talking to potential buyers there were plenty of interesting business seminars on offer and even a glamorous fashion accessories catwalk show.  Plus we were lucky enough to be invited to a party, celebrating 21 years of the autumn trade show, for networking and nibbles. There was a live band, with complimentary drinks and canapés. Very VIP!

The trade show hosted a wide range of stands showcasing everything from fashion accessories, chocolates and candles to cards and clocks.  With such a variety of creativity, we couldn’t help but appreciate some of our neighbouring stands. Here are a few of our favourites.

1) Kim Bramley - handmade glassware - www.kimbramley.co.uk



2) MyWallet - lovely colourful bags and wallets - www.mywallet.com



3) Huna Blossom/Thang Tho Ltd -  gorgeous bath and candles - www.thangtho.com



4) And Mary - creative girly jewellery - www.andmary.com

As a special thank you for those visiting the stand, we entered them into a prize draw each day to win a bottle of bubbly and here is Dave one of our lucky winners!

After all this excitement, its time to do it all again Top Drawer in London!  So watch out for the next installment!

Notting Hill Carnival hits the spot

As a local, it’d be positively rude not to join in the fun at the Notting Hill Carnival.  There’s nothing like it to get you into the dancing vibe.  Despite lots of police (we're lucky it still went ahead after the riots) and some of my friends crying off, I braved it today with a few courageous friends and enjoyed being one in a million, as crowds descended on Notting Hill to get that great positive feeling.

After checking out the floats and following some in their wake shakin’ our stuff on Westbourne Grove and Ladbroke Grove, it was time for lunch, for me it had to be jerk chicken of course!  

Feeling like we needed to work off our lunch, we joined the revelers at different impromptu dance parties that sprang up on the side roads, getting refreshed along the way from enterprising locals.

...  though got property envy, or rather party envy, as I would have been happy to join the ledge/ balcony parties!

…. and as for fashion, well its festival gear all the way, and you can tell a lot about some of the girls just from their footwear: with the pessimists in wellies and the dreamers in 4 inch heels…. I was somewhere in between! 

Celebrating London as the world's fashion hotspot - Brick Lane

Located in the East End, Brick Lane is a mix of cultures, where Asia meets young Brit, so not only does it boast the best curry houses (check out the 'curry mile') but also wonderful fabrics and textiles due to the many influences from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. And true to the young Brit culture, its also known for having superb vintage and quirky fashion shops, as well as great markets - so here are some of my favourites when looking for inspiration for www.carrieme.co.uk and great for anyone visiting  Brick Lane.

Absolute Vintage
15 Handbury St,
London E1 6QR http://www.absolutevintage.co.uk

A dream come true for vintage fashion lovers, endless choice means its possible to spend hours here; I have  friends who come from all over the country just to visit this shop.  It has a whole array of vintage handbags, dresses and belts, and have I mentioned the thousands of shoes and boots they stock! So if you’re looking for clothing for both men and women dating from 1930’s to 1980’s this is definitely the place to go.

This Shop Rocks

131 Brick Lane,
London E1 6SE
Tel: 020 7739 7667

This shop rocks for quality but prices are high as you might expect for handmade one-offs and customized/classic vintage pieces, as this is THE place to go.  This shop is unique and famous for its stunning window displays, so it's always worth passing by and popping when you've just been paid!

Beyond Retro
110-112 Cheshire St,
London E2 6EJ

http://www.beyondretro.com/

It may look slightly unappealing at first glance, but once you go inside you will be in awe of the huge range they have of vintage clothing and at very reasonable prices.  Plus they sometimes have live local bands playing often on Sundays - love this quirky feature!

Brick Lane Market

Open 9am - 5pm on Sundays

Make a day of this traditional flea market, with so many bargains to be had and added fun thrown in with street performers and music, what more could you ask for?  If you feel slightly peckish (as I always do when shopping), then choose from a wide variety of food, as here you can definitely feel London's international vibe. 

Learn about Fashion in Brick Lane

http://www.fashionantidote.com/

Fashion Antidote provide a wide range of courses ranging from absolute beginners 'Learn to Sew', to industry level technical and creative fashion skills and everything in between. They also run courses and workshops on fashion business and how to set up your own company... and luckily they have a flexible approach with courses being run everyday and in evenings/weekends, so if you love fashion and want to get into the industry then this could be the place for you, especially with its superb location in a trendy part of London.

Whitechapel Art Gallery

www.whitechapelgallery.org

Need a break from the shopping? Theres many different exhibtions which are either free or varly cheap, it has activities for all ages so you can bring your children along.The latest exhibtions include Thomas Struth Photographs 1978 - 2010 & Rothko In Britain.

Happy Vintage hunting!  Please suggest your ideas here too.

London - the new No1 fashion hot spot

It’s been tough living in London of late, I don’t want to dwell on why, so its good to see that our trendy fashion scene has been recognised and has improved our global rankings.

London Fashion Week (London Evening Standard)

Global Language Monitor’s recent study that revealed London as the No 1 fashion hot spot, beating New York, Paris, Milan and somewhat surprisingly, Los Angeles came in 5^th.  The rankings were calculated by tracking trends in print and social media.

There were two keys reason behind London’s rise to the top, and I’m a huge admirer of both. 

Firstly Kate Middleton (now the Duchess of Cambridge) has developed into a fashion superstar overnight.

The new Duchess of Cambridge (Daily Mail)

Pure elegance (Daily Mail)

Over 3m people were glued to the royal “I do” … as I tweeted earlier this week, people have gone crazy about her wedding dress designed by Emma Burton, with the Peacocks copy selling out in just one hour!

...and ever since, everyone is commenting on her elegant style.

The second major influence was the late Alexander McQueen – a fashion legend.  

Alexander McQueen (TeamPeterStigter)

Alexander McQueen (TeamPeterStigter)

His quirky unique use of shape, texture and colour was inspirational and captured my imagination and the whole world.  Although he died under tragic circumstances, his name and brand live on and like all great artists, his work will always be an inspiration to young fashion designers.

Being based in the heart of London and working in fashion, I’m so delighted and proud of this news that I’ll be publishing a new blog in 12 parts during the year, which will highlight London fashion hot spots, so watch this space!

And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get all the latest fashion updates.

Its been a rollercoaster few months in the UK...

Eyes only for each other: Prince William and Kate Middleton's fairy tale wedding

Privacy is invaded, tabloid finally gets the boot - a stark warning to others

Warzone in London - burning and looting take over

Finally some good news: England become world's No 1 team 

Us Brits are usually very patriotic, however so far 2011 has been a rollercoaster ride for us.


When the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton took place the whole world adored Britain and we loved every minute of it and were proud to be British.  Let’s face it no one does royal weddings like us. 


However, swiftly after two appalling events shocked our island: the hacking scandal that took the News of the World under and recent riots across Britain that caused outrage.  With journalists invading people's privacy and our streets burning with looters tearing up the streets, the sick British underbelly was shown to the world.  


Our nation's reputation plummeted - it felt unreal to be in a third world country rather than the civilised life we thought we had, as one of the oldest democracies and a member of the G8.... and the nation that is hosting the 2012 Olympics next year. 


After such hooliganism, what should come to the rescue but civilised cricket of course, where England  became the world’s number one test playing nation after demolishing India, the former number one team. Congratulations England! Hopefully this will lift this nation's spirit (nevermind that few nations play, as one of my Spanish friends at the weekend pointed out...they just don't understand its underlying passion)


Cricket commands respect and that there's a gentleman's conduct and innate elegance in their all white uniform that is never flouted.  Now obviously being a brand full of colour and elegance, I would love to bring a bit of colour to the game, but being a good looking team, at least there's always the distraction of some great eye candy between overs!