The Whimsical World Of Sophia Webster

Welcome back!

Sophia Webster is a British shoe designer that I've had my eye on for some time now. 

Her footwear creations are whimsical and more importantly stunning (although, there are a few styles that I doubt I'd be able to pull off!)

Two weeks ago she opened her new flagship store on London's Mount Street in the heart of Mayfair. Photographs alone are a treat for the eyes, I've never seen such a beautiful and  fun space to shop! I feel that it really emulates Sophia as a person. In a recent interview with Vogue, she stated "I wanted it to feel intimate, like you're getting a special experience".

There are a few aspects that I have particularly fallen head over heels for, one being her use of a  handbag as a form of communication - telling her customers when the store is open and closed. 

The other is the butterfly light in her window. As customers stand in front of it when looking in the mirror, they're given wings through the reflection!

Oh, and let's not forget her cash desk. The most aesthetically pleasing one I've ever seen!

For a luxury designer, she makes sure to not take herself too seriously which is very rare!

I know I'll be making at least one trip to London during the Summer, I can't wait to pop in and have a look around! (I've had my eye on the Bibi Low Top's for quite some time now - I don't think I can resist the temptation much longer!!!)

Keep being you Sophia - we all love it!

(P.S. follow her on SnapChat 'sophiawebster' - her team are hilarious!)

Love, Lana Skye x 

Photo Credit: Vogue, Sophia Webster Instagram.

Quote Credit: Vogue.

If You're Creative Then This Is The Place To Be

Welcome back!

Last night, me and two other lovely bloggers for The Creative Quarter were invited to The Loom, located on High Pavement Street in The Lace Market area opposite the Nottingham Contemporary.

Once we arrived, we were warmly greeted by James and Samantha - a brother and sister duo whose passion for the place spilled out immediately. They shared with us an abundance of information, as well as enlightening us on The Creative Factory concept. James, being a highly skilled creative himself, wants The Loom to be a place where artists can come together and exhibit their work. They will have the opportunity to collaborate with ease, which is so so important!

The Loom is a bar/restaurant that opened last November, but has recently been beautifully refurbished. As you enter, everything is monochrome, resulting in feeling as though you've entered a time machine and popped out into an Old Hollywood movie. The gorgeous bay window and overall attention to detail had us overly impressed already, but then we walked in further and the excitement increased! 

Everything changed. The lighting, the decor. I felt like I was in a completely different venue. There was artwork referencing films that I've loved for years everywhere, such as childhood favourite 'The Wizard of Oz' and 'Breakfast At Tiffany's'. 

Although the whole place is incredible, what really stole the show for me were the stain glass windows situated at the rear. I could've stared at them for hours! They featured iconic figures such as Bob Marley, Debbie Harry (Blondie), David Bowie and Andy Warhol. 

I really want to express how wonderful The Loom is. Me and the girls had another event to attend, but if we hadn't then we would have happily stayed until they closed. Even though there was a networking event occurring at the time, we felt relaxed and almost 'at home'. 

If you're reading this and thinking "wow, this place couldn't get any better" then believe me when I say, it can! They serve a whole host of amazing food and drink, which again has been thought out down to the very last detail. All of the options have been named (the Ha "Loomy" Burger was my personal favourite) and James' talented partner Faye Finney was responsible for all of the illustrations found within the menu's. 

I think I was so consumed by where I was that I almost forgot to take many photographs, so please please please go and check this place out. I promise, you will not regret it!

Love, Lana Skye x 

Photo Credit: Myself. 

Film Love: Funny Face

Welcome back!

Anybody who knows me will be aware that I have a little bit of an obsession with Audrey Hepburn. 

(Michael Moebius' artwork of her with a Tiffany blue bubble coming out of her mouth has been the wallpaper background on my phone for as long as I can remember!)

Last Monday at University set my obsession in stone, as we watched 1957 film 'Funny Face'.

The American musical romantic comedy surrounds an impromptu fashion shoot in a New York book store, resulting in the shop clerk Jo Stockton (Hepburn) becoming a successful fashion model. 

One of my favourite things about the film is the outfits Hepburn is presented in.

Here are a few of my favourites!

If you're a lover of fashion and the colour pink in particular, then this film is definitely for you!

Love, Lana Skye x 

Photo Credit: Google Images. 

Range Rover's Incredible Publicity Stunt

I'm pretty sure we all saw it doing its rounds on social media.

 If you didn't, then you are waaaay too out of the loop!

 A couple of weeks ago, a stunning white Range Rover was spotted by thousands of passers by outside of luxury department store 'Harrods' in London. Everything was completely normal, apart from the fact that the car had been emblazoned with red spray paint, sporting hateful phrases such as:

"HOPE SHE WAS WORTH IT"

"CHEATER" &

"ITS OVER".

At least to begin with, everybody fell for it. We all believed that a crazy girl had got back at her ex partner by destroying his brand new, very expensive car. But no, this was a stunt set up to reveal the new 2016 Revere Range Rover Vogue Knightsbridge Edition. 

In my opinion, this is INCREDIBLE marketing. All it costed was one of their models, which fair enough has a starting point of £75,000, but I'm sure they could have fixed it up quick sharp. In return, the incident, along with the car, went viral. What makes it even better? Range Rover didn't pay any of the people who shared it on their social media accounts a single penny!

What do you guys think? Clever or stupid?

Love, Lana Skye x

Photo Credit: Google Images. 

Just When We All Thought The Selfie Craze Had Reached It's Peak

It now seems that we could all reach a point where were able to buy things online with the blink of an eye!

Internet based retailer 'Amazon' recently filed a patent application for a new security system, meaning items could by paid for by merely taking a couple of selfies. They feel this would eliminate the risk of customers passwords being hacked. 

The first selfie is said to establish the buyer's identity.

The second selfie is said to show a clear movement from the previous image, to determine that the buyer wasn't holding up a static photograph. 

I personally don't know how to feel about this crazy development. It's such a brilliant idea but it would just result in me buying so much more online due to it's easy-to-use nature! Nevertheless, I hope Amazon's plans come to life!

What do you think?

Love, Lana Skye x 

Photo Credit: Amazon. 

Anastasia Beverley Hills Glow Kit Review

Welcome back!

It was recently my 19th birthday (read all about it here!) One of the lovely gifts I received was the seriously hyped about Anastasia Beverley Hills Glow Gleam Kit. I'm yet to bring myself to actually use it as I don't want to ruin it's perfect prettiness, but thought I would show you all some close-up's and swatches so you can get a real feel for the shades and amazing pigmentation.

Hard Candy, Crushed Pearl, Starburst & Mimosa.

Hard Candy, Mimosa, Crushed Pearl & Starburst.

I think my personal favourite is going to be 'Crushed Pearl', purely because I seem to be obsessed with extreme highlight at the moment. That being said, it would be perfect for maybe a special occasion or a night out with friends - your cheekbones will be the centre of attention in any photograph!

'Starburst' is definitely a more wearable everyday shade, where as 'Mimosa' and 'Hard Candy' are a lot darker, so I think I'll use them more when I'm on holiday to enhance my tan. The quality of Anastasia's products have never faltered in my eyes, this palette is truly stunning, both on and off your face.

Love, Lana Skye x 

Photo Credit: Myself. 

Loving Vincent: Van Gogh Brought To Life

The world's first feature length painted animation film is almost complete - how exciting!

Vincent Van Gogh, a famous impressionist painter whose works had a far reaching influence on 20th century art, is at the centre of this film. 

   

His paintings, as well as the characters he created, will be used to tell his story. 

'Loving Vincent' has taking a lengthy six years to make - which suggests just how much time and effort has gone into it's production! 

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see it - I'm so intrigued!

Watch the full trailer here.

Love, Lana Skye x

GIF Credit: Google Images.

Who Inspires me?

Parents.

Everyone has or has had them. They influence and shape our lives in so many different ways without us even realising it. It sounds cliché, but I couldn't love mine anymore if I tried.

If you think this is cheesy then stop reading. I created this blog to discuss things that I'm truly interested in and my Mam & Dad definitely fall into that category.

My Mam.

The relationship I have with her is one of a kind. I feel we've reached a point now where were best friends as well as mother and daughter. I can't go a day without hearing her voice. She makes me smile even when I'm in the worst ever mood (I swear that's a power only mother's possess). If she's happy I'm happy. If she's upset I'm upset - that's just the way it works with us, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

My Dad.

To me, he is the smartest man in the world. I don't think he realises it, but there's nothing I love more than coming downstairs on a morning at home, sitting in the big comfy armchair in the kitchen and listening to him talk about things. This could be anything, whether it be something funny my little brother Cole did the day before or something in the news that he feels strongly about. It just makes me smile. I think he can sense when I'm home sick, as I always seem to receive a letter in the post from him at university when it happens. (I actually got something from him today!)

They've both taught me so so much and have supported and pushed me in everything I've ever done.

I wouldn't be half the person I am now without their constant love. 

I've never met two people that work as hard as them, making me even more motivated to succeed in life and make them so proud their faces will ache from smiling. 

Love, Lana Skye x

Photo Credit: Google Images.

NFW: Style Show Live 2016

Welcome back!

I recently attended Nottingham Fashion Week's Style Show Live. The showcase was held in the Nottingham Conference Centre on Friday 29th April. I managed to score a bunch of free tickets through my job at Jack Wills, meaning I could take a few friends a long with me!

As soon as I walked in the room I became excited. It was a beautiful day outside making the lighting perfect for the show that was about to unfold. Although it was short, I really enjoyed it! 

Television and Radio Presenter Alice Levine explained that the show would be split into six different categories.

Nautical Luxe

Botanical

Monochrome

Think Pink

Dream Weaver

Colour Clash

Brands that supported the event included Dorothy Perkins, Made In Nottingham, TopMan, House Of Fraser, Jigsaw, New Look & American Apparel.

Here are a few shots I managed to get, enjoy!

Love, Lana Skye x 

Photo Credit: Myself.

Brand Launch Prep: Reminisce #1

Welcome back!

Last week I completed the 3rd phase of my Scent Brief at University.

In a nutshell, this involved creating a brand from scratch.

The 2 phases before this consisted of me, along with my assigned group, completing a hell of a lot of research to try and find an opportunity/gap in the market for a new scent product. The scent market is SO saturated which made this quite difficult, but even more rewarding when we came up with an idea!

Before we did anything else, the key thing for us was coming up with a brand name and creating a logo. Our brand specialises in producing scented journals that preserve memories through both sight and smell. We figured, journals are used to document memories, so whose to say we should only use our eyes to go back? After noting down a bunch of key words that we felt symbolised our brand, we went for 'Reminisce' along with the slogan 'Capture Now, Keep Forever'.
This is our finalised logo - ever so kindly put together by Millie Franklin - follow her on Instagram (@millfranklin).

I'll also enclose our full colour palette in the form of our logo! We wanted to go for quite innocent and bright colours that also had some link to the 5 key life events we have focused on. 

Birth, Milestone Birthday's (18th, 21st), Getting A Car, Moving Out & Getting Married!

One thing I've learned about this part of the process is that planning is SO IMPORTANT!

Before our photo shoot, myself and my team decided we wanted to get our Print & Video Advertisement's completed. We only had a 40 minute slot so we really had to be on our game.

Fortunately, the 12 hours of prep work we did was so worth it.

As you can see, our brand ad's were heavily prop based. We thought about getting a model involved but ultimately, the props seemed to convey exactly what we wanted them too.

Here are the finished results!

I have to say, I felt completely in my element during the shoot - everything came together so perfectly purely because we walked into the studio knowing exactly what we wanted!

After the excitement, we not only had to get down to editing our ad's, but also completing and finalising our presentation. This was the part that took the most work as it involved collating and fitting everything we had done over the past month or so into 15 minutes worth of content!

I'm so excited to say that as a result of our hard work, our presentation as a whole went down an absolute treat with the lecturers that watched. We will be presenting for a second time this Thursday, after finding out today that 'Reminisce' has been short listed for 'Best Video Advertisement' & 'Best Presentation'. We'll be showcasing our work in front of all of our course mates, as well as our lecturers and some industry professionals (eek!)

Love, Lana Skye x

Photo Credit: Myself.