Cool…The 9th Muse

Have you visited the cool jewel store, the 9th muse in Lyndhurst Terrace?   They have an varied selection of fashion jewels and accessories for sale and you will love their prices!

The founders ,Charlotte and Jing, have been friends since university days and dreamed of one day starting their own accessories business.   Their store is the culmination of this dream and the research and work they have put into  it shows!

So many of their pieces are unique and original- just the thing to brighten up a dress for Christmas or just to perk you up today.   They cater to lots of different styles too, you will be sure to find something whether you are boho chic or sleek and sophisticated.

They very kindly interviewed me for their blog (you can read it here)  & making me sound much more interesting than I am.  Thanks girls!

Cool…Paul Smith for Leica

I had a chance this week to see the new Leica X2 customized by designer, Paul Smith.  This is not a camera for the under-the-radar street photographer.   Everything about it screams attention! From the orange and yellow green stripes to the little whimsical touches ( a handrawn bulb on the pop-up flash), it is more Tim Walker than Robert Capa.

That’s not to say I didn’t like it.  Nicely balanced, all X2s feel great in your hand and that 24mm f/2.8 lens would be great for candid photojournalism type shots.    Those leather accessories are pretty nice too and could possibly tone down those rather vibrant stripes.

Only 1500 have been made and I am sure will sell out, once it hits HK at the Paul Smith boutique in November.   Not sure what the price is here but if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.

Sandra D’Auriol Fall Collection

Don’t forget amazing HK jeweler, Sandra D’Auriol’s Autumn show on at the Sin Sin Gallery on Tuesday evening and Wednesday all day. Her work is truly amazing…think lovely carved jade, mixed with diamonds and gold. Fabulous! I love all my pieces.

Joanne x

the humble fan

Visiting the Victoria & Albert Museum when I come to London is like visiting an old friend.

When I was at Christies, I used to come here nearly twice a week and spend a couple of hours each visit looking at a particular room. The museum is so vast that even though I come to London twice a year and spend a similar amount of time on my visit, it never gets boring.

I usually choose a theme: this visit I looked at fans. What?

Carried by ladies, not only to cool themselves, but to look alluring-a fan is one of the most beautiful accessories that a lady can hold. Usually, fans were constructed of carved wood or bamboo and covered in silk or lace. However, they were often painted by skilled miniature painters and carved out of precious or rare materials such as tortoisehell, leather, ivory and with metal details. A fan had to be light, as they were often used for hours at a time.

Check out these 3 fine examples.

The first is mid 18th century and each blade is made of intricately carved ivory. Such a rare material was extremely expensive and was probably a gift for a very rich woman.

The second is constructed of silk and pressed leather. The detail of the painting again is the main ornament of the fan.

The final example is again beautifully carved of mother of pearl and gold. Again the fan itself is made of painted silk

Cool… Mandel collection of cloisonné

Spring auction season is here and this year the highlight of the Spring auction calendar is the spectacular array of masterpieces in cloisonné enamel from the Mandel Collection. The sales is to be held on 30 May 2012 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Comprising 30 lots with a total estimate of over HK$40 million/US$5 million, the collection consists of beautiful cloisonné enamel works from the Qing dynasty (17th/18th century), and mostly from the Qianlong period (1736-1795). Followers of Chinese art will know that this period produced some of the most sophisticated and beautiful works of art the world has ever seen.

Cloisonné is an ancient form of metalwork that involves inserting enamel paste made from tinted ground glass into a network of bent copper wire cells soldered onto a bronze or copper surface. When fired at low temperature, the enamel fuses to the body of the object, which is then applied with gold for added brilliance.

A peek at the Mandel collection reveals beautifully delicate works of art made by some of the most talented craftsmen that existed in China in the 18th century.

This selection was curated by American collectors Dr Samuel and Annette Mandel, and features a wide range of Imperial decorative and ceremonial items. Some of the works were made for the Imperial court and are not only beautiful but have great cultural significance.

One of the great things about an auction is that it is open to the public and we are lucky in Hong Kong to have access to amazing collections that, if you are game,  you can ask to see and hold. This is encouraged…how else are you to learn about these things?   Some pieces in the Mandel collection are museum quality.    If you have never been to an auction viewing, I strongly encourage you to take a look.

Standouts in the sale are elaborately decorated cloisonné enamel archaistic vessel and cover, estimated at between USD 500 000 to 700 000.   Also stunning are the enamel peacock censers, estimated at around USD 400 000 to 600 000.

Even if you don’t think you like cloisonné, after seeing this, you will.

Cool… HK Art Fair 2012

Don’t forget the HK Art Fair opens tonight…I’ll be there checking out the Vernissage event ( if I ever find my ticket which I tucked away ‘safely’).  Even though the exhibition will be dominated by Chinese art, the HK Art Fair, one of the leading art fairs in the world,  is an opportunity to see what the world’s galleries have on offer.

Highlights include the Sir Peter Blake exhibition from the Cat Street Gallery and the sculptor,  Alexander Seton exhibit by Sullivan+ Strumpf. Both these artists have a very original  and contemporary take on traditional art.

Tomorrow, I will give you the rundown on must see exhibits.

Opening Day:

Wednesday 16 May

General Opening:

Cool… apt with LSD

I was perusing Vogue.com the other day, when I came across these images of the apartment of Nicole Hanley Mellon.   I am totally in love with the combination of yellow, black and white as you may know, but I mostly love the Peter Beard photos that decorate their walls.    Their gallery walls are pretty fab too.   By the way, Nicole Hanley Mellon live in an apartment in the Pierre!

Cool… raw edges @ salone del mobile 2012

As part of the Kvadrat project at the Salone del Mobile, design duo Raw Edges unveiled their  selvedge chairs.

The warp and weft threads of the cloth allowed the pair to unravel the threads from within the woven surface, creating a hollow sleeve. They then place two layers in different colors on top of each other and restitch them together using a transparent strip. The result is a colorful rim which appears from the exterior, reminiscent of the selvedge that is found at the hem of raw fabrics.

Raw Edges is a design partnership formed by Yael Mer & Shay Alkalay, who met each other during Ron Arad’s product design course at the Royal College of Art.   There work is interesting and beautiful.  They are most known for their pieces for Established and Sons,  but they have also worked for Stella McCartney, Arco,Cappellini and of course, Kvadrat.

Definitely a design duo to watch.

Cool… post secret

Do you have a secret that you have always wanted to tell someone but couldn’t? This is the premise of the book/website PostSecret.

The secrets that have been collected via this website have ranged from tragic ( in the truest sense of the word) to the ridiculous.  Some of the entries are beautifully illustrated, some are all the more poignant because of their simplicity and unabashed sincerity.

The founder, Frank Warren, has collected half a million of these secrets and shared them on his website and through his books.   Recently, he gave a talk about his project on TED which you can watch. He discusses the idea of a secret and shares some of his most touching, shocking and funny secrets.   If you can find some I highly recommend collecting some of the PostSecret books- they make compelling reading.   You can also visit his blog here.   It is the most visited ad-free blog in the world.