WEDDING MAGAZINE AUSTRALIA PHOTO SHOOT

I was thrilled to have my bridal jewellery collection featured in Wedding Magazine Australia. It was an honour to see my sparkling jewels paired with glamorous gowns from designers such as Judith Valente Bridal Couture, Bernadette Pimenta Bridal Couture and Ania G Couture. I had a wonderful time collaborating with some amazing wedding industry professionals on this styled photo shoot.

Location // Encore St Kilda Beach

Photography // Gazi photography

Hair and makeup // Iris Wieselmann

Styling // Alicia Ng

WEDDING STYLE: {GLAMOUR}

Love this glamorous contemporary look. For the luminous bride who loves to shine! Our smoky cinderella earrings are delicately understated whilst creating a beautiful and lasting impression. This is completely my style.....sparkles and silver!

{images: 1.George dress 2. Miss Amy Earrings 3. Jimmy Choo shoes}

J'ATON

Having recently become engaged my world has become engulfed in wedding planning. Whilst on my mission to find my perfect gown I came upon the amazing designer duo, J'Aton. Jacob Luppino and Anthony Pittorino started J'aton Couture in 1995. The Prahran based couturiers are known for their elaborately hand-beaded and meticulously hand-sewn gowns. A J'Aton gown is made in the tradition of a European couture house where they drape, cut and pin their gowns to the body and then sew, by hand, every seam, dart and tiny bead. The European sensibility of J'Aton is born from their Italian heritage, "we love lace, we love detailing, we love embroidery and beads." These images capture the pure elegance and femininity of a J'Aton masterpiece. I am inspired and in love!

{images: aisle perfect}

PRADA SAYS

THE HOLLYWOOD CAKE

Ron Ben-Israel is an executive chef based in New York City. I admire the exquisite works of this master confectioner. Ron is known for his wedding and special occasion cakes and for his detail in sugar paste flowers. His artistry has become legendary and The New York Times has proclaimed him “the Manolo Blahnik of wedding cakes”.

The work of Ron Ben-Israel for the film Sex and the City 2 is delightfully decadent. Ron created a lavish wedding cake laden with glamorous crystals. The 5 tier design took a staff of 9 people and 50 hours to put together. The cake stood at 6 feet 4 inches tall featuring a custom design cake stand made out of acrylic. Approximately 4,100 Swarovski crystals were used, mainly using chandelier elements. The cake served 485 guests and had a retail cost of $32,000. Wow!

{images: aisle dash}

DIGITAL CRYSTAL

The London Design museum has teamed with my favourite brand, Swarovski for a new exhibition. The show is a collaboration of light, crystals and digital technology featuring exciting new talents such as Ron Arad, Yves Behar, Maarten Baas and Paul Cocksedge. They explore the relationships between the digital age and intangible things and the idea of establishing new connections within this ever changing dynamic.

‘Swarovski at the Design Museum explores the meaning of memory in the digital age, with the demise of the analogue era our relationship and connection with personal memory, photographs, diaries, letters, time and ephemera is changing.’

-DEYAN SUDJIC, DIRECTOR OF THE DESIGN MUSEUM

The artists experiment with LEDs, laser lights, mirrors, light painting, intangible holograms and off course Swarovski crystals within the works. Yves Béhar’s Amplify Chandelier, (above) commissioned in 2010, takes a single crystal amplified within a paper lantern to create a digital pattern, a repeated form, each one different from the next.

The exhibition, "Digital Crystal" opens today, 5 September until 13 January.

{image: artdaily}

LEONARDO

LUXE MELBOURNE ARCHITECTURE

I recently came upon this gorgeous home located in Armadale, Melbourne.  This stunning residence was once the historic Golden Crust bakery warehouse. In 2006 architectural firm Jackson Clements Burrows transformed this iconic site into an expansive, eloquent family home. I am inspired by the chic, industrial design of the home. Clean open spaces are complimented by superb attention to detail. The unique combination of materials and design creates a wonderous, lustful elegance.

“The building was in a state of serious deterioration and under threat of demolition as it was not protected by any heritage overlays.” However, the clients were attracted to the building and its potential to meet the accommodation requirements for their large family. The original building fabric was retained and an extensive interior scheme was developed which engaged with the industrial history of the building. A new bridge was inserted which connected the two primary buildings providing a social connection between separated spaces.”

-JCB

{images: home dsgn}

SWAROVSKI AUSTRIA

Some gorgeous imagery of installations from the headquarters of Swarovski. Located in the heart of the Austrian capital on Kaerntner Strasse 24, Swarovski Wien invites visitors into a sparkling, creative world of amazement and shopping. An innovative and multifaceted Swarovski dream world captivates visitors, offering them works of art created by internationally renowned artists alongside magically scintillating product presentations over three storeys.

{images: swarovski austria, press gallery}

HOUSE OF DIOR

Love the Dior website. When I'm looking for inspiration, watching a clip from the "House of Dior in Video" gets my creative mind working. Check it out....sleek, contemporary, refined, lovely.

{website: here}

GARDEN ROSES

The distinct colours and shapes created by the rose is perfectly symbolic of glamorous beauty. It is this breathtaking beauty I seek to capture in all all of my work as a jewellery designer. A couple of shots of stunning garden roses I recently took. They were given to me by a lovely work colleague. I sought to capture their vibrant colour and delicate texture.

HOLLYWOOD AND SWAROVSKI

I enjoyed learning of the involvement of Swarovski within the set and costume design of the film Black Swan. To see the Swarovski product used in this manner highlights it's extraordinary beauty and versatility within creative media. The production designer for Black Swan, Therese DePrez talks of how Swarovski elements elevated the set, "much like the movement in ballet, the crystals give kicks and glint no matter what direction you see them in."

"From the early days of Hollywood, Swarovski has worked hand in hand with costume and set designers, creating show-stopping jewels, costumes and sets which capture the spotlight. The company’s reputation for the highest quality and largest variety of the finest cut crystal is unchallenged on and off the silver screen, adorning sets and stars in classics such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Wizard of Oz, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and more recently The Young Victoria, NINE, and The Black Swan."

-SWAROVSKI UK PRESS RELEASE 2010

{images and video: severely glamorous}

AUDREY'S POEM

This poem was a favourite of Audrey Hepburn and was recited by Gregory Peck shortly after her death. Love it.

UNENDING LOVE
I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times…
In life after life, in age after age, forever.
My spellbound heart has made and remade the necklace of songs,
That you take as a gift, wear round your neck in your many forms,
In life after life, in age after age, forever.
Whenever I hear old chronicles of love, it's age-old pain,
It's ancient tale of being apart or together.
As I stare on and on into the past, in the end you emerge,
Clad in the light of a pole-star piercing the darkness of time:
You become an image of what is remembered forever.
You and I have floated here on the stream that brings from the fount.
At the heart of time, love of one for another.
We have played along side millions of lovers, shared in the same
Shy sweetness of meeting, the same distressful tears of farewell-
Old love but in shapes that renew and renew forever.
Today it is heaped at your feet, it has found its end in you
The love of all man’s days both past and forever:
Universal joy, universal sorrow, universal life.
The memories of all loves merging with this one love of ours –
And the songs of every poet past and forever.
- RABINDRANATH TAGORE

{image: Karen Roderick}

DELTA STYLE

Love the styling in the new Delta "Sitting on top of The World" video clip. Just gorgeous. The video was shot over two days on March 11 and 12 in Melbourne and was styled by Melbourne based costume designer and stylist, Jess Daly. Jess was hired by Sony Music and designed costumes for both Delta and her dancers.

"A highlight of the styling is Delta's final outfit in the video, leather shorts and a $45,000 Balmain studded leather jacket" -Jess Daly

Jess works with a palette of soft colour and playful hues to evoke a creative, light filled ambience in the clip  I am an absolute fan. The video was directed by Guy Franklin.

{video: deltagoodrem.com} {image: delta daily}

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE

Whilst working on my current collections I have been listening to the amazing Florence And The Machine.

The crazy epic vocals of Florence Welch combined with an eclectic array of sounds creates a contemporary style of music that is to be envied. Florence has achieved high accolades for her rich, raw, individual talent. Her lyrics are "out there" but do revert to the simple notion of love and pain. The debut album from Florence and the Machine,"Lungs" has been hugely successful. The latest album "Ceremonials" is exquisite.  Take a listen, wonderful.

{image: musictrajectory.com}

GODWIN CHARLI

Loving my new Godwin Charli jacket. Check out his latest designs.

Sleek lines, fitted, classic, love it!

{website: here} {image: lets shop}

ORGANIC INSPIRATION

My passion is the creation and design of contemporary, couture jewellery. However another creative outlet I adore is my garden. The organic richness and fluency of plants and their precious blooms often inspire me during the creative process. To be away from the studio and engulf myself in the outdoors is at times refreshing, inspiring and allows free ideas to transpire. A pic of some recent snap dragons I have added to my garden sitting in french inspired terracotta pots.

CHANEL

“How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.”

―COCO CHANEL

{image: everyday treats}

INSPIRATIONAL MECCA

Having recently read some articles on Mecca Cosmetica founder Jo Horgan I have found her story, success and business to be both inspiring and motivating.

As founder of Mecca Cosmetica, Jo has created an empire that includes many stores in Australia and New Zealand. She has also opened Kit Cosmetic stores Australia wide. Mecca Maxima resides at Melbourne Central and reports outstanding success. The store offers a unique cosmetic experience suitable for women of all ages. Horgan was just 28 when she opened Mecca Cosmetica, her abilities as a young entrepreneur are to be admired.

{website: here} {image: stuart miles}

ANDY WARHOL SHOES

Love the shoes art of Pop icon Andy Warhol. These works were produced in his earlier years as a New York City commercial artist in the 1950s. The illustrations were advertisements for retail stores and magazines in New York.

My favourite piece is this print "Diamond Dust Shoes." Warhol wanted to make the print sparkle from industrial diamonds in the silk screen paint. When this idea did not work he is said to have used glass and mirror chips to achieve the desired effect. Absolutely love it!

{image: dougs art gallery}