{favourite five: designer & author india hicks}

In fairy tales, humble and gallant princes defeat their adversaries, succeed to kingdoms and marry beautiful princesses -- and although India Hicks’ family legacy would suggest that to be her destiny, and even though she is very proud of her heritage -- her life hasn’t been based on Prince Charming sweeping her off her feet -- instead, she has created her own happily ever after as a a successful model, designer and author.





Born in London, India's father was famed interior decorator, David Hicks, and her mother, Pamela Hicks, the daughter to the Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma. As India's grandfather was the last Viceroy of India {and gave the country their independence in 1947}, she was appropriately given her name.



As the Goddaughter of The Prince of Wales {and also his second cousin}, India was one of the bridesmaids at his wedding to Lady Diana, above. Of the experience, she tells us that “riding in a horse drawn carriage in central London was rather magical . . .”



At 17, India traveled from England to Italy, meeting up with designer Emilio Pucci, and was asked to model his catsuits.



She then continued her studies in art and photography, and upon completion, moved to New York, where she was discovered by Ralph Lauren and began a successful career as a well-known fashion model of the 1980's and 1990's, modeling for the likes of J.Crew.



In 2007, India hosted the Bravo interior design competition TV series Top Design.





Now living in the Bahamas with her partner and four children, she has published an interiors book titled, 'Island Life', as well as a lifestyle/fitness/beauty book titled, ‘Island Beauty’ , and has also created a luxurious all-natural body and home fragrance line with Crabtree & Evelyn.



According to India, her “father's great design legacy has impacted me and remains a source of influence...”



And so, in addition to all of her designing achievements to date, India has also added a new fine jewelry line, influenced by her father [who once designed a line for the famed French jewelry house Chaumet], and her grandmother’s extensive and matchless jewelry collection, which included the Star Tiara of Queen Victoria [more about tiaras, here, if you like].



In light of all her many projects and accomplishments, for this week's Favourite Five, we had the chance to sit down with India to find out her:

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{five favourite tips for living a successfully balanced life:}

1. Not indulging in too much of a social life. Now-a-days I would prefer to be at home tucking my children into bed than attending a social dinner, especially as evening hours can be so productive in the home office, no phones ringing, no interruptions, no dogs needing to be exercised.

2. Keeping your body and soul in shape. I try to exercise 5 days a week.

3. Being born under the star sign Virgo. We are phenomenally organised -- we even organize piles of paper clips.

4. Not being ashamed to ask for help, for instance, having some one else cook the kids dinner.

5. Not spending too much time worrying about the little things.

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p r e v i o u s f a v o u r i t e f i v e s :

* food editor & author: donna hay
* photographer: debi treloar
* painter: janet hill
* jewelry designer: suzie gallehugh
* artist: michelle armas
* jewelry designers: megan & moira flynn
* actress & writer: shiva rose
* jeweler: camille eddera
* artist: kimia kline
* actress & fashion muse: chloë sevigny
* floral stylist, part 1: denise porcaro
* floral stylist, part 2: denise porcaro
* fashion photographer & illustrator: garance doré
* interior designer & architect: nina freudenberger
* entrepreneurs: rent the runway
* designer: rachel ashwell
* interior designer: tricia foley
* photographer: romina shama
* jewelry designer: cc skye
* designer & ceramicist: reiko kaneko
* perfumer: anne mcclain

~ laily


{images: 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 - photography by patrick cline for lonny, interior design by david flint wood; 2 - domino via a previous post; 9 - via india hicks; 10 - from island life via minty; 11 - collage by this is glamorous; 12 - india hicks by british photographer jason bell for viyella autumn/winter collection ad campaigns via rdujour}

{this is glamorous in we like we love magazine}

. . . and in all the flurry of last week's activities, had not had a chance to tell you about the beautiful feature on {this is glamorous} in the current issue of we like we love . . .



{p.s.} click here, if you like, to read my five likes & five loves [page 7], or, even better, pick up a strong coffee and macarons, and flip through the current online issue [there is a print version available as well]

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. . . thanks so much to alyssa for the lovely layout, extra time, and charmingly easy-going ways when even more time was needed to answer the interview questions . . .



{top image, photography by dear machine on esty via the neo-traditionalist & pinterest}

{favourite five: designer reiko kaneko}

“Art has no end but its own perfection.”

- Plato

To create the perfect piece of art requires a number of variables to be in order -- in the world of ceramics, for instance, the potter must manipulate matter, energy, time, and space -- and with that, can produce an infinite number of potential works of art.







So many factors are a part of what will result: there are countless ways force can be applied, limitless possibilities of what shape will evolve out of clay, and the timing, duration and intensity of the heat all play a role in the outcome.







And so it is with life -- there are many factors, like the time, place and the energy that we invest -- that play a role in creating meaningful and beautiful lives.







Ceramics and home accessories designer Reiko Kaneko certainly has merged beautiful ceramics with a beautiful life. Born in Britain, Reiko spent her childhood in Japan, and continuously draws on influences from both British and Japanese cultures, blending the two in the pieces she creates.







Having studied Arts and Design at Central St. Martin's College, Reiko specializes in ceramic design and supplies bone china design. In 2007, she established a design studio in London’s East End, where she creates the most exquisite home accessories and fine bone china tableware -- gorgeous pieces like her renowned boat, which was first launched at the famed Maison & Objet show in Paris earlier this year.







Featured on the pages of publications such as Vogue Living, Elle Decor and Marie Claire to name a few, Reiko has become one of the top designers in ceramics today.



This week, she imparts her:

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{top five favourite pieces of advice for young artists & designers:}



1. I find the more I learn, I realise how little I know, so my first piece of advice is to always keep trying, experimenting, and learning.



2. Use all the tools available to you -- for instance, YouTube and google are great senseis, or teachers -- don’t underestimate them!



3. Rome wasn't built in a day, so be faithful to your dreams.



4. Live every day as if it's your last, but also live as if you'll be alive for a very long time.



5. Above all, enjoy everything you do -- a lot!

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p r e v i o u s f a v o u r i t e f i v e s :

* food editor & author: donna hay

* photographer: debi treloar

* painter: janet hill

* jewelry designer: suzie gallehugh

* artist: michelle armas

* jewelry designers: megan & moira flynn

* actress & writer: shiva rose

* jeweler: camille eddera

* artist: kimia kline

* actress & fashion muse: chloë sevigny

* floral stylist, part 1: denise porcaro

* floral stylist, part 2: denise porcaro

* fashion photographer & illustrator: garance doré

* interior designer & architect: nina freudenberger

* entrepreneurs: rent the runway

* designer: rachel ashwell

* interior designer: tricia foley

* photographer: romina shama

* jewelry designer: cc skye



~ laily

{favourite five: jewelry designer cc skye}

Often, accessories are added afterward, to accentuate outfits, adding glimmering touches here and there. In the case of LA-based CC Skye, however, the accessories she designs do not merely accent outfits, but rather, create them.



Unlike most fashion lines that are influenced by big cities like New York or Paris, CC Skye was born out of a six-month study abroad program that the designer did in Nepal. Traveling only with a backpack containing the bare essentials, CC, a true LA Girl at heart, missed the fashions she would find in the pages of Vogue while living in Kathmandu.



After some time, she decided to trade in her hiking boots and ended up in the silk stalls of Kathmandu, buying silk used for Tibetan Temples to make dresses with the help of local seamstresses, and started to work with gems and metals . . .



According to the designer, "...living in Nepal made me stop and learn how to to create my vision with my hands and use my resources rather than just go out and buy something, which is what we are all so used to doing in a consumer-based culture. It [Nepal] was a self-sustained culture in which you grew your own food, made your own utensils out of bamboo or wood, and ultimately, you made your own spring wardrobe".



CC Skye, who has been called "consistently ahead of the trends" by Women's Wear Daily, merges uptown sophistication with downtown glamour in her jewelry and handbag collection. A favourite of the most fashionable celebrities, including Eva Mendes and Nicole Richie, CC Skye's line was nominated for Best New Accessory Designer by GEN ART.



This week, we ask the designer:

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{What are the top five ways you stay ahead of trends?}

1. Knowing trends is instinctual. I like to think some people are great at picking stocks, others are great at predicting trends. I've had an innate instinct since I was very young. Perhaps that was because I had a very fashion-forward mother who always had the latest trends in the 70's and 80's. I grew up in a big city and although I longed to live in the suburbs and climb trees, Barneys was my backyard.

2. Timing is everything. I found out early that you cannot be too ahead of the trends as you must connect to your customers.

3. Timing in fashion is everything. The magazines are not always correct about what the public wants and you have to be rather intuitive about what is good for the street versus the runway and be able to balance the two.

4. There is a constant play on opposites in the forming of trends and being aware of that is important. Years ago it was bohemian-based and then suddenly all skulls and rock n' roll! One season handbags are structured and almost immediately the next season they’re slouchy. There has even been correlations with the stock market in trend research. They say that when mini skirts are in, the stock market rises, and when long skirts are in, the market drops. I recall when the recession hit, we were unintentionally designing jewelry inspired by Art Deco in the 1930’s.

5. In the end, I think it comes down to finding styles or colors you love, exploring them, and reinventing ways to make it a part of your brand’s personality.

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p r e v i o u s f a v o u r i t e f i v e s :

* photographer: debi treloar
* painter: janet hill
* jewelry designer: suzie gallehugh
* artist: michelle armas
* jewelry designers: megan & moira flynn
* actress & writer: shiva rose
* jeweler: camille eddera
* artist: kimia kline
* actress & fashion muse: chloë sevigny
* floral stylist, part 1: denise porcaro
* floral stylist, part 2: denise porcaro
* fashion photographer & illustrator: garance doré
* interior designer & architect: nina freudenberger
* entrepreneurs: rent the runway
* designer: rachel ashwell
* interior designer: tricia foley
* photographer: romina shama
* food editor & author: donna hay

~ laily

{favourite five: photographer debi treloar}

“... for me it's all about the subject and the light”

The word “photography” comes from two individual words: “photo” meaning "light" and “graph” meaning "to write", literally translating to the wonderful definition, "to write with light", and there is no better way to describe photographer Debi Treloar than as a “light writer”.



Treloar's photographs are images that appear to be written with the most beautiful light, capturing not only its illuminating element, but also the soft, lightweight quality it can bestow when in the right hands.







Originally from Zimbabwe, Debi began her studies in art, developing a particular love and passion for photography. Living and working in London for the past 15 years, she has produced the photography for over 30 books on interiors and food that have been published around the world in many different languages. She has worked on a variety of well-known publications, including Elle Décor UK, Italy, Germany, France and Japan, and IDFX Magazine.

Best known for her photography of food, gardens, interiors and lifestyles captured in a modern, and simple style, Debi has notably participated in the creation of a series of French cookery books by Joanne Harris and Fran Warde {one & two} and also shot the food photography for a series in the Sunday Times with Tom Conran.

This week, eager to take advantage of the many photo opportunities the summer sunlight gives, we ask Debi her:

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{5 favourite tips for capturing a beautiful image:}

1. Go to the tropics! Everything always seems to look good there! It's not always an option, but try to have something beautiful in front of you or put it or them into the best setting you can find.

2. Make sure the light hitting whatever you are photographing looks beautiful -- if it doesn’t, walk around it to see where it looks better from, or move it to a place with better light.

3. The angle you take the picture makes a huge difference -- for example, if you take a picture of a person from low it makes his or her chin and neck look bigger, but if you take the photograph from high, it will make his or her face look thinner.

4. Try to expose the picture right; for example, if you use an iPhone and take a snap of someone, and they look too dark, by touching the screen where his or her face is, it will lighten it. If it is still too dark, choose the darkest part of the screen and the exposure will lighten -- I wish my work cameras were like that!

5. Try new technology! Try some apps -- they really help to enhance pictures -- I personally like “camerabag”.

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p r e v i o u s f a v o u r i t e f i v e s :

* painter: janet hill
* jewelry designer: suzie gallehugh
* artist: michelle armas
* jewelry designers: megan & moira flynn
* actress & writer: shiva rose
* jeweler: camille eddera
* artist: kimia kline
* actress & fashion muse: chloë sevigny
* floral stylist, part 1: denise porcaro
* floral stylist, part 2: denise porcaro
* fashion photographer & illustrator: garance doré
* interior designer & architect: nina freudenberger
* entrepreneurs: rent the runway
* designer: rachel ashwell
* interior designer: tricia foley
* photographer: romina shama
* food editor & author: donna hay

~ laily


{all photography by debi treloar from the book romantic style by selina lake & sara norrman}

{hello & ten style essentials}

. . . hello! hope you're having an impossibly wonderful week so far -- here, things have been running a little behind all week, and after traipsing around & about for meetings & appointments all afternoon long, a quick moment to say hello and to tell you, {if you haven't already had a chance to read}, about this beautiful write-up featuring my ten style essentials . . .

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a l s o n e w t o d a y :
* favourite five: artist janet hill
* runway inspiration: rock & refined

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{images: one - photography by laurey w. glenn, styling by anne turner carroll for southern living via simply smitten; two - photography by alix of the cherry blossom girl; [p.s.] & once last thing -- two other great series, for which was very unfortunately unable to complete due to scheduling conflicts: six to bliss & ramblings}

{favourite five: artist michelle armas}

Beauty without colour seems somehow to belong to another world."

~ Lady Murasaki

Colour affects emotions, design, art, and trends; it dictates our fashion, changes our mood and it epitomizes so many, many things without the need for words. Ruby red lipstick can be worn to signify ardent love and desire; pink blush conjures romantic rendezvous, and a bouquet of yellow daffodils can be given to symbolize friendship . . .



. . . lavender candles in a powder room can symbolize femininity, grace and elegance; a black evening gown that flows in the moonlight can represent sophistication and style, and the colour of a string of heirloom pearls worn on a wedding day is said to represent marriage.

Colour has its own language and painters are its masters.



Michelle Armas, an Atlanta-based artist, doesn’t simply paint with colours, she fuses colours with thoughts, blending magic to canvas -- each whimsical brushstroke takes your mind away to almost a heightened state of being and awareness, as you follow the light she creates through colour in paintings that have the power to light up a room.



By profession a graphic designer & illustrator, Michelle began painting to break away from the structure of work, but she says that ”the longer I paint, the more structured and narrative my work becomes.” Like many artists, Michelle’s design education began before she entered the classroom, making arts and crafts with her father at home, everything from clothes for her dolls to oil portraits.





Through her blog, Michelle offers a glimpse into the mind of an artist, and the motivations behind some of her loveliest works. This week, we sat down with her to talk about:

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{the top five things that inspire her work:}

1. Day dreaming.
I pretty much fantasize about beautiful things all day long, and then I think oh wow, wouldn't a lavender and dark green something be the best . . . off to paint!

2. Fashion.
The prints! The proportions! The drama! I am recently drawn to spare, modern clothes in the perfect shade of black, blue or grey, and it is making me want to do paintings with less color, and softer compositions and lots of nice clean space.

3. Travel.
I love to see what other people are wearing, how stores in different cities do window displays, the light and the sky and the ocean in places that are not land-locked Atlanta . . . even the trees, the colors of leaves. I am going to California soon, and I am super excited to look at some cool new plants!

4. Food.
I just made an almond yogurt cake with blue berries and peaches on the top, and when I took the layer of parchment off, the colors were so stunning! I love the color of cooked blueberries, and that purple blue next to the soft orange of the peach was super cool.

5. The Ottoman Empire.
Yup, those people knew how to do a mosaic, and how to use color. Wow, one, maybe two colors, in the most amazing, stunning, geometric splendor you have ever seen. I am researching right now to start painting a bunch of portraits, and I can't stop adding details that I have seen in mosaics.

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p r e v i o u s f a v o u r i t e f i v e s :

* jewelry designers: megan & moira flynn
* actress & writer: shiva rose
* jeweler: camille eddera
* artist: kimia kline
* actress & fashion muse: chloë sevigny
* floral stylist, part 1: denise porcaro
* floral stylist, part 2: denise porcaro
* fashion photographer & illustrator: garance doré
* interior designer & architect: nina freudenberger
* entrepreneurs: rent the runway
* designer: rachel ashwell
* interior designer: tricia foley
* photographer: romina shama
* food editor & author: donna hay

~ laily


{images: paintings by michelle armas, all other images from once wed: one & two}