Valentines Gift Guide

As you can imagine I have had an extremely busy what with starting at Video to Viral last Monday. In addition, right before and during my first week I was working on features for both Area and FAKE magazine. It's always good to see the fruits of your labour though and now the February issue of Area is out! You can pick it up around Birmingham or view online here. My Valentines Gift Guide is on p.34 - 41.

Temporary Secretary

Over the past year I've put together quite a few fashion spreads for Fused and Area including a selection of purse friendly suggestions for the annual student guide and more recently (but not yet published) a colourful autumn spread. Fused and Area are independent magazines and as such I like to include a mixture of well known brands and lesser known gems. One such gem that I have used in several recent spreads is Temporary Secretary.

Sarah Wong founded the brand in 2008 and it's gone from strength to strength with fabulous designs and a great blog. In fact, she recently won the A/W 11 Look Magazine's Blog Competition - congratulations! In all honesty though, I think she shines when she gives the reader an insight into her life...particularly her adorable posts with the lovely cat Oscar.

Brand wise she is always a pleasure to work with, ready to help and with lovely pictures of her quirky and kitsch handmade jewellery. I can't wait to get my hands on some of her latest pieces... particularly her laser cut wood range and typewriter rings. I love the bright red tab key, I think I'll have to get that and a letter. Thankfully, it'll be Christmas before we know it. This year I am definitely making a list.

Images from the Temporary Secretary blog and website.

Autumn/Winter Style in Fused Student Guide 2011

For the second year on the trot (which is nice because it gives the impression it went down well last time) I have compiled the autumn/winter style pages for Fused's annual Student Guide, which has been transferred to their pocket sized Area format.  So, I suppose, it's now Area's Student Guide but it is as awesome as always.

You can find it here or embedded below (p14 - 19) but you should read the rest as well.  I particularly like 'How to Get Laid on the Cheap' (p34) and 'The Carpels' Guide to Birmingham Music' (p58).

Open publication - Free publishing - More fused

BLAC Space Scape

Now I'm back in the Midlands I decided to try my luck and see if Fused Magazine would let me write for them again...and they said yes.  I will be writing for Fused/Area Culture Guide online and in print, so keep an eye out for me.  For those of you who go to Birmingham uni look out for my reprise in Fused's Student Issue, where I give you the best trends for the coming season...all affordable of course.

My first article went up on Tuesday entitled BLAC Space Scape.  (If you follow me on Twitter you'll already know this but I am a bit behind with my blog sorry!) You should read it because it features fabulous jewellery by BLAC and an incredible shoot by creative director Ashley Hilton, who will be graduating this summer.  It also features an amazing film of the shoot by Videographer Dima Kalenda.

Catch up on your reading...

I'm dotted throughtout this months Area Guide and on their website too.  Sometimes my initials are at the end sometimes not...don't ask me why.  The important thing is that whether or not LB is tagged on the end people will be reading things that I have written.  It makes me all smiley and excited...and certain that I made the right choice doing an internship with Fused Magazine.  Working for a smaller company certainly pays off.  I've been writing actual articles rather than just cleaning the supply closet.

My articles are:
Inbindable Volume (page 4) - the first article in the mag :o)
Behind the Mask (page 12)
Six Summer Saturdays (page 14)
Shambala Festival (page 22)
Graduate Birmingham: Lorna Hirst (page 33)
Give it Some...Sourz (page 39)


I also compiled the big long list of What's on for Septmeber at the end. See...I've been working hard :o)  I do not expect you to read them all. I'm just showing off as it's so exciting to see my work as it will look in print, in something that people will actually read...with LB at the end makes it even better!

I also wrote Claire's Twi-Hard Beauty Looks on Fused Magazine too...as well as having some of the Area articles published on there.  What am I doing now? Compiling the fashion pages for Fused's magazine September issue.  Birmingham is going to have some very stylish students.  Oh...and organising work with Style Birmingham to help at their Style Birmingham Live event hosted by George Lamb.  Busy busy...should probably stop blogging.