Ancient Scent

As summer draws to a close and Autumn has firmly set in I've looking back at all the things I've done and woweee has it been busy. August was especially packed. I had the Happy Tat sale which was a delight and then a mammoth car boot sale, and I'm now entering the new season feeling a whole lot lighter and brighter. 

 I've also been knee deep in preparations for Ancient Scent which is coming up at the beginning of October (7th-10th). We've had so many wonderful and fortuitous things happen around the project. The launch evening will take place on October 8th and will include a full programme of discussion, readings and performances. We're very lucky to have Richard Shillitoe and Marcus Williamson (both Ithell Colquhoun experts and enthusiasts) lending us some real deal Ithell Colquhoun's for the evening and holding a short discussion alongside member of Ancient Scent, Steve Patterson. 

About month ago my mum, Penny MacBeth, who is also a part of Ancient Scent, received a forwarded email through a curator and friend at Penlee House Gallery and Museum detailing that Peter Owen Press were soon to re-launch Ithell Colquhoun's two travelogues The Crying of the Wind and The Living Stones with a new foreword by Stewart Lee.  Penlee held the first retrospective of Colquhoun's work last January but weren't looking for any further Colquhoun events. After many emails, a trip to the Peter Owen offices and a few calls we arranged to also host the launch of the two books at our launch of the exhibition. It's incredibly exciting that the books will be re-launched, and we feel very honoured to have them present at our evening. The Living Stones is how I first discovered Colquhoun, through a dusty old copy from the library. It had me gripped from beginning to end, it is beautifully evocative depiction of Cornwall in the early-mid fifties and indeed it has much that we could learn from today in it. I think I've quoted this passage here before but it's still my absolute favourite, Ithell Colquhoun on fox hunting:

If I can explain my feeling on the subject of 'blood sports' without priggishness, I would say that the human race can never enjoy the freedom of the cosmos until it ceases to exploit the other races with which it must share it's life. In other words, you cannot count on benevolence in your surroundings unless you practice harmlessness yourself. (The Living Stones, 1957, p.119)

My own work for Ancient Scent has been progressing very well. I've spent lots of time in the studio immersed in my alter ego, Hector Nit's, World. This foamy, cavernous landscape will provide the backdrop for the animals I've made to stand against. 

I've been worrying a lot what I might wear for the evenings proceedings, I have grand plans for a watercoloured outfit. However, I did also just buy this magical Bella Freud suit from ebay and it might just be my favourite ensemble ever. It had its first outing to some old friends' wedding last weekend and it was a joy to wear. 

As well as making the rocky landscape I've been busy making t-shirts to sell. I'll probably put most of them up in my shop, Happy Tat, afterwards so I'll let you all know!

The final, and extremely delightful, piece of fortune that was handed to us was this beautiful photograph of Ithell taken by Alastair Thain in 1985. We received an email from the same curator at Penlee stating they'd found it just after a phone call we'd made about the exhibition to them... We'll now have it on show for the duration of the exhibition!

If you'd like to visit Ancient Scent, details are below. Anyone wishing to attend the launch party or interested in more information about the project/launch please email me.

Outfit Details

1990s pink velvet suit - Bella Freud via ebay

Cupie doll t-shirt - Meadham Kirchoff X Topshop 

Brogues - Nicole Farhi via charity shop

1950s pink velvet turban hat - vintage shop

Adventuring in France: Part 2

I'm back with the second installment. I've actually skipped a day in favour of posting these pictures from our third day instead. It was the first day of truly glorious weather and we spent the day train hopping across the coast, we began at Cagnes sur Mer then stopped off at Villefranche sur Mer and then finally Monte Carlo in Monaco. 

Villefranche was one of the most spectacularly beautiful places I've ever visited, endlessly photogenic, every possible angle looked wonderful. As you can imagine I took quite a few snaps so I've drastically narrowed these down to my favourites. I was very happy with my outfit choice this day, I was going for French Riviera chic - the headscarf was also partially out of necessity as my hair went a bit fluffy and wild with the humidity.

The hotel above is one of the very fanciest in the town, right on the sea front with a view across the bay. I loved the sign, it looks like something straight out of a 1960s film. Hopefully when I win the lotto I can stay in one of those rooms up top! 

Chappelle St Pierre (below) was another favourite, utterly magnificent.

Monte Carlo was a little stranger in atmosphere, the Grand Prix was being packed away. All the stainless steel structures did rather dampen the vibe (and view) it was also dreadfully hot by the time we arrived so we all felt a bit bothered. Having climbed to the top to visit the Palais it cooled down a little and we were able to enjoy ourselves a little more. However for me it lacked the character that the crumbly medieval towns retain (despite being overrun with tourists). It was incredibly clean and everything was very pretty but I'm not sure I'd return in rush. I much much prefered Villefranche.

I still seem to have rather a lot of photos left to share so there'll be another post tomorrow (and maybe one the day after too!) X

Outfit Details

1950s cotton dress - car boot sale

Beaded choker necklace - car boot sale

Headscarf - nicked from my mum

Sunglasses - flea market stall on Brick Lane 

Grace Elliott

Hello! It's been a little while since I've popped my head up here. There are a combination of reasons mainly that I've spent the last month or so flitting back and forth between London for work but also it's been terrible weather which does not really make one feel like donning elaborate outfits and jumping about outside. Luckily the weather has cheered up and I've had a little break from my flitting so I finally have time to put together a post.

The jacket I'm wearing in these pictures was bought by mum in the late 1970s from a boutique in the town she grew up in, Worcester. The shop was called Grace Elliott and the label of the jacket reads just that in a lovely bubbly 1970s typeface. 

Grace Elliott denim dress, mid-1970s. Source: GoldCanaryVintage

The jacket was passed to me when I was about 18, I'd ogled it from afar for a long time. It's a beautiful thing; hand-stitched squares of liberty-esque florals and lined in ivory silk. It's a like an old friend, I can't really imagine not seeing it hanging about on my rail.

Grace Elliott denim dress, mid-1970s. Source: GoldCanaryVintage

A few years ago my mum found the pink acetate skirt in Falmouth, what should the label read but Grace Elliott! Although the label was by this point a machine embroidered number. The strangest coincidence. She of course bought it right away. By now I was intrigued, who was Grace Elliott? Googling over the years since has produced very little in the way of information. I know it was open from roughly 1970-1985 (when it was dissolved), and there were two (possibly 3) shops; one at 35 Friar Street and one near The Butts. They traded under both Grace Elliott and Grace Elliott Designs Ltd. I've found one other Grace Elliott item selling on Etsy recently - a denim dress with embroidered tapestry cuffs and pockets. 

However, apart from this the thread has run rather dry. My intrigue is now at an all time high (my favourite thing is a mystery, and an ungoogleable one is the best sort!) This post is a sort of plea/call out/shout for help! Have any of you ever encountered items by Grace Elliott? Does anyone know anything about the firm or indeed remember it? Please comment if you do! Likewise I'd be very interested in seeing pictures if you have any items by the mysterious Grace. I'm pretty sure it was only based in Worcester so it's operations were probably quite small (however, items travel as exemplified by my skirt!)

Both these items are such favourites of mine that I can only imagine how wonderful the other items they might have sold would have been. The jacket reminds me so much of the fabrics used for flour sack dresses. I've never found a patchwork as wonderful and delicate as it. The skirt is made of 100% acetate (!) and has the brilliant watery/woodgrain pattern. 

I've rarely worn both items together but I  like the results, I felt a little like Andie (Molly Ringwald) in Pretty in Pink:

Andie, Pretty in Pink. Source: 1

Andie, Pretty in Pink. Source: 2

She was my absolute favourite as a teenager so maybe that's why I feel such an attachment to these items. They definitely embody that late 1970s-1980s style: ultra pink, floral and girly but with a little punk spirit thrown in. It's ever so slightly sloaney pony but it just about gets away with it (it's all about the attitude you imbue an outfit with...)

Please please please do get in touch if you have any information regarding Grace Elliott (send me an email if that's easier) or any tips on how one might go about tracking down a provincial boutique. My supersleuth investigative research skills have failed me this time!  I'll be back soon I promise!

Outfit Details

Jacket & skirt - Grace Elliott (via my mum)

1930s theatre dress (worn as top) - Vintage sale

1970s brown suede platform boots - Charity shop

1930s straw hat - Belonged to my mum

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