THINK boutique Fashion launch

Last night saw the pop-up shop, DJ spun, and very well attended launch of {Think} Boutique, a brand new ethical fashion company run by Vic McQuillan! In Glasgow's Merchant city the beats were fast, wine flowing and excitement mounting for the fashion show and for many, a first peek at the clothes and accessories available. I did succeed in gaining a sneak preview of the range, as Vic kindly lent us her collection for the NYA2010 Stepping Up ethical fashion show last weekend (more on that later!).

So what is the company all about...

"Stocking the

most exciting and

fashion-forward ethical brands {Think}

Boutique strives to retail

clothing that have the highest possible social

and environmental credentials. Products are from Fair Trade,

organic, sustainable, up-cycled or

locally produced sources." (from website)

{Think} currently stocks 8 suppliers, all varying in their styles and backgrounds, but consistent in their creation of fashionable pieces made from recycled, up-cycled, fairly-traded materials.

There were some fabulous items, including coats, dresses, cute knitted tops with sparkle as well as winter woolie accessories.

The camel coat is predicted to be a top trend for the autumn season so if you're looking to invest a little more in an item which you can wear, in the confident knowledge that not only will you look stylin' but are helping the environment, it's a serious win-win! :)

Up-and-comings...!

ok, so it's been a while, I admit it!

However, I like to think I have made resourceful use of my time away from blogging: doing some travelling, expanding things in my job (really I mean increasing my hours, sigh), planning events, meeting new people and more! and from this year I have a few more ideas to share and exciting ventures to blog about! excellent!

a few blogs to watch this space for:

• Think Boutique's fashion launch- a new ethical fashion company, launching this weekend in Glasgow's Merchant City!

• NYA 2010- it happened last weekend in Stirling, it was excellent, and it involved around 200 young people having a voice within the CofS! Discussions were focused around Violence, Ethical Fashion, Politics, Mental Health and much more... Check the COSY blog for more!

• a variety of upcoming gigs! phew! similar to 2009, the first half of the year has been a laid back one! Now it would appear gig season is descending and I am thoroughly pleased! Gig thirst: about to be quenched! it starts tomorrow with RBRBR, Bright Light Bright Light and Mopp at King Tuts! and the guest list! I'm all about the guest list these days! :)

• Photos: i have a new camera. And a new iphone. And a new photo app which i've just started to play with! *PLEASED*

So it's happy times here! nice to see you again friends :)

Yeah Yeah Yeah

December saw my unintended gig-drought come to an end as the 4th Dec brought one of my favourite bands, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, to the O2 Academy! Support band were way too metal for my liking so after warming up with a few drinks in the bar we snuck thru the crowds down into the main floor and secured our spot!!! a giant sphere hung over the stage, and as the lights began flashing it rolled round and eye-balled us all, a little freakishly!!! 

Karen O absolutely owned the stage when she appeared throughout the night in a downright bizarre range of outifts, including metres of draped fabric hung over wooden arm extensions, hoods and masks!! the music and atmosphere were electric, everyone was well into it and they played a great mix of tracks from their most recent album 'It's Blitz'- stand-out performances were definitely Zero and Heads Will Roll! one of the best moments was when she switched things down a gear and played a more laid back version of Maps from their older album 'Fever to Tell', with the whole crowd joining in !!

'wait, they don't love you like i love you'! 

sandwich solutions!

this morning radio 1 had a genius idea! rather than spending hard-earned pennies on new lunchboxes for the school/ office/ picnic experience, u can instead give the VHS case a well-earned comeback!

1) take one sandwich









2) clean out a VHS case from one of ur favourite videos



3) and Voila, a fabulous looking, highly affordable, and rather kitsch lunch box!! :)

what katie wore

my friend Ing discovered this most excellent blog site by katie and joe! it's simple really:

katie wears a different outfit every day of the year.


joe photographs her and writes a wee blurb.


people like you and me have a nosey and see whatkatiewore!

lovely!

Drops like stars

is the title of rob bell's new book, just out on aug 1st! looks very interesting! his books always provoke some new sort of appreciation of the bible and faith in an actual relevant way! i find them refreshing! and am looking forward to engaging with Drops Like Stars!

'Official Description: 

We plot. We plan. We assume things are going to go a certain way. And when they don’t, we find ourselves in a new place—a place we haven’t been before, a place we never would have imagined on our own.
 
It is the difficult and the unexpected, and maybe even the tragic, that opens us up and frees us to see things in new ways.
 
Many of the most significant moments in our lives come not because it all went right but because it all fell apart.
 
Suffering does that. It hurts, but it also creates.
 
This book is an exploration of the complex relationship between suffering and creativity, driven by the belief that there is art in the agony.

a few things of note, for tonite!

• i am tired and exhausted in every way!
• i have had an outrageously fun weekend involving coffee's, deep chat, bbq's, a 4am bedtime, probably too much rosy, some great company, top tunes and a highly satisfying full breakfast brunch at stravaigins!
• this evening 6 of us went to the Arches for Alien Wars... only 3 went in, of which i was not one!! i suspected nervous disposition and nightmare tendencies would not combine well with massive alien, sharp claws, darkness, confined spaces and being chased!!
• costa coffee only charged me £1 for a mug of steamed soya milk, vanilla syrup and marshmallows :)
• fopp is my favourite shop. even when i can't afford anything it's so nice to wander about and lose yourself amongst it all! books, cds, dvds= perfect! it might (might!) even beat clothes shopping!
• in the Oxfam bookshop on Byres Rd my friend's book is being sold! 'God's Never Offside'! now sitting at front of shelf of religious books!

that's all really!

in a blink...

life is short. in the grand scheme of eternity we really are a drop in the ocean. sometimes i wonder where the time goes and wonder why i waste so much time doing silly, pointless things. i'm not beating myself up for it, just wondering why.

on friday night i saw a lady dying on the street. she had been run over by a van only a few moments before and as the paramedics worked on her my car was stopped by the police to let other vehicles by. i only saw her for a short time, probably only ten seconds, but it felt like minutes were going by as i watched her, surrounded by blood and her handbag sitting on the road. it was brown and so was her curly hair. i heard later she died on the street and that it was a hit and run- police are still looking for the driver that killed her. 

it has really hit home how fragile how life is and how in a second it can be taken away. i wonder about who she has left behind and how many lives have been impacted by her passing. about how many other people have been shaken and shocked by seeing her lying there. i had to pass the spot today on my way to work and flowers now colourfully mark the spot where tragedy occurred. our world is so full of contrasts and conflicting images... words... behaviour... opinions... reactions... and in the blink of an eye it, or we, can be gone.

so, what are you living for?

a world of readers...

My little cluster map (bottom right of my blog page!) is about to get its yearly clear and refresh so my little map of readers will be all sad and empty in a few days! on the nice side, my blog has had 819 views since 17th june last year so i hope u'v all been enjoying my reviews and ponderings! its fun to see where people are reading from and there's been some curious views from far flung lands! so here's to all of u, familiar and new!

the Britney Circus comes to london!!

and i was there to experience it!! arriving at the o2 with hazel we were both slightly tired but rather excited! we were about to see Britney Spears live in London, or as live as seeing Britney can get!! outside the venue were a variety of circus/ fun fair rides incl a helter skelter and carousel, which made us giddy on sight!! once inside we grabbed some food and ascended to the heights of level 4 where our glorious seats were to be found-not recommended for those with vertigo! the upper floor of the o2 is so steep its almost vertical, i feared that with one wrong step i would topple over the edge!!

thanx to the tube strike we were a little late 

for doors open but just in time for supporting act, Ciara!!! she was fantastic, the ideal performer to warm up the crowd with funky r& b beats and impressive vocals! then, the lights dimmed, the stage shifted and out of

 nowhere appeared... clowns!! and magicians!! and acrobats!! 

and lots of colourful and sparkly props!! there was an impressive circular screen hanging over the central stage area with videos, graphics and images of circus and britney related footage!! then came 

the opening beats of Britney's hit song "Circus' and there she appeared before us, descending from the centre of the arena 

in a golden sphere!!

the rest of the evening was non-stop!! the overall performance and show was high energy with some amazing stage props and dance moves from the accompanying dance troupe!! 

however, as much as i love and am loyal to britney, she was

 definitely lacking a certain sparkle!

 her costumes certainly tried to make up for that, but having been prepared for her miming i was at least expecting some outstanding and energetic dance moves! which were sadly lacking from the leading lady herself! lots of strutting around and being twirled on various props but not u got the impression she was just not on top her game! i am convinced that on thurs evening i was singing and dancing at the 02 more than britney!! however, she performed/ mimed a great variety of her tracks including new remixes of Baby One More Time, Slave 4 U and Me Against the Music,

 the atmosphere was buzzing and we were all on out feet dancing and singing along!!! fabulous!! and to be fair to her, she did sing Everytime (her one live song!) whilst suspended from the ceiling attached to a giant sparkly umbrella!! and did mid-air acrobatics which was pretty impressive!

So despite my slight disappointment at her lack of effort we still overall had an amazin time! the show was a colourful explosion of some classic hits, impressive stage performance and lots of sparkle!!! and i got a circus mask for free!! what's not to love...! :)