Here at Ballad HQ we love pretty things, pretty dresses, pretty shoes and of course pretty things for around the house. You may or may not know that Ballad HQ is actually Lindsey and Claires little granny flat, filled with Chintz, vintage tea cups and many many charity shops buys. Ashtrays and gin (or vodka) decanters a’plenty and we wouldn’t change it for the world.

But the day has come where we have to get (gasp) NEW THINGS!! we’re in desperate need for a few key items, bed side tables, a rug, new bedding, cushions, and a few new sofas to put those cushions on.  The search is officially ON.

A few Ballad ‘I Loves’ with a few cheeky green bits and bobs for Claire. (She loves green dontcha know?)

Gorgeous, a bit french and super summery for the ever looming spring time. (we can’t wait for summer!!!) Waking up in this bed (seperately, of course) would definitely set us up for a perfect day.

Cute little bed side tables, big enough to hold a night time read and a packet of paracetomals for our hangover mornings. PERFECT.

The all important green piece, Claire is head over heels with this.

A rocking chair…because every girl should own a rocking chair, right?

And well…what can we say, we would just adore our front room to look JUST LIKE THIS!

We are completely in love with all of these things so I guess its time to start saving the pennies. Easier said than done ey?

If your a budding designer then SKY LIVING need you! read on for a an excellent opportunity people!

Rihanna is set to join the Sky Living family. In her first ever television project, she’ll be executive-producing and appearing in an original and hugely ambitious new fashion series exclusively for Sky Living HD.

Synonymous with cutting-edge style, Rihanna is searching Britain for the next generation of raw, undiscovered designer talent and has hand-picked Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts to head up the challenge for her.

The show will celebrate the extraordinary talent and creativity in the British fashion scene. With Rihanna, a fashion icon herself, and Nicola, who created her own Dainty Doll make-up range, at the helm, the show will recognise the increasing influence popstars have on mainstream trends.

With her world-class reputation and passion for style, Rihanna is perfectly placed to find an aspiring designer worthy of the chance to break into the hugely competitive world of fashion. Tasking Nicola with fronting the search, Rihanna will be heavily responsible for casting and will be involved in editing post-production.

Rihanna – who has sold 20 million albums – will also be hands-on as the programme showcases Britain’s most promising fashion designers. Over ten weeks the unknown designers will be challenged by Rihanna and Nicola to create outfits for a string of musicians and celebrities.

The final challenge and ultimate task for the winner will be to design a unique stage outfit for Rihanna’s Wireless performance in Hyde Park in July 2012. The chance to dress one of the world’s most famous women for an event that will attract worldwide coverage is the perfect springboard for the aspiring designer’s future fashion career.

Executive producer, Rihanna said:

“I’ve always had a great love of fashion. It’s a constant source of inspiration in my life, and is a big reason why I’ve grown into the person and artist I am today. I have been very fortunate to work with some truly amazing designers and stylists throughout my career, and they have been instrumental in making sure my creative vision reaches the stage. I am excited to follow the journey of our aspiring contestants and see how their individuality influences their efforts during the course of the show.”

Nicola added: “I was so flattered when Rihanna asked me to work with her on this show. I’m so excited for us to get started on finding a new up and coming British designer who just needs a chance, a little bit of help in getting their skills noticed. There are talented people, undiscovered because they don’t have the means, or their circumstances are too far away from the fashion world. This show is here to discover those people and give them a shot. I’m looking for someone who can think outside the box, and who isn’t going to give up at the first hurdle. Ultimately, someone who can’t go ‘undiscovered’ anymore. I love both Rihanna’s music and her style. I love that she isn’t afraid to try new things. Her style is personal and that’s something I’m a fan of. You can see a genuine love for fashion in her. She is definitely one of my style icons.”

The series will come exclusively to Sky Living HD in summer 2012.Here’s how you can be a part of it.

We’ve got our beady eyes on Ellis’ new Petra Doe-esque bracelet, and just been and bought some delicious CANDY POP nail varnish, M-MMM!

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WHAT is the most CANDY POPPING day of the year..?! Yep, you guessed it guys & gals VALENTINES, and we have a real treat in store for you! We’ve teamed up with the CANDY POP dolls at Worn By and have five, count ‘em FIVE Worn By T-shirts to give away.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning one of these fabulous Ts is, Bold As Love – LIKE & SHARE the status on Facebook, or FOLLOW & Re-tweet on Twitter (that’s 2 chances each!). Winners will be chosen randomly on THE DAY OF LOVE, and will be contacted by end of play on 14th.

You know we heart the lovvies at WornBy, dedicated to recreating garments worn by icons of the past, they source photos of legends from the worlds of music, film and sport, capturing seminal moments in time. Something old, something new Happy Valentines. WE LOVE YOU

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Last night we went along to the The Modern Pantry to see the new solo exhibition but he lovely Chrissy Wallace.

Wine, wonderful company and the most beautiful venue complimented the stunning work by one of our favourite illustrators. The exhibition is on until March, get down there, you are in for a TREAT!!

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Good old Tim Walker eh? How can you help but love this guy? Yes it’s over styled and twee but isn’t that the best thing EVER?! Too beautiful to look at – and too Candy Pop for words. We don’t know a girl alive – of our age and from our photo – geek background who isn’t in love with the fantasy world that this man creates. He is a genius and an inspiration. There are too many iconic and favourite images by this man to even list, we could name one and a million more spring to mind, he is a living legend.

We are over the moon to be able to celebrate our Tim Walker love here, and it’s no lie he is a main influence for the Candy Pop issue. (We have a list in our minds that we need to tick off … pets, summer love, hand written, CANDY POP..!) We are drawing inspiration from TW in CANDY POP party prep. We may be being a bit ambitious, but for the issue launch of CANDY POP later in the year we are looking into prop and furniture hire to make the event an out of this world, CANDY POP extravaganza, and eeeeesh, we’re excited!!

If we start planning now, nothing is too extravagant, right..? We can have giant rock, candy floss, Vodka Skittles and gum ball machines galore. Step through the door at The Old Blue last and be warned – you will be blown away. Promise.

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You’ve been asking, so we thought it was time to re post Petra Doe’s tale…

So, you want to know who Petra Doe is? As submissions came in for The Little Book of Horrors theme (all together now) Petra Doe didn’t end up looking how we expected her to. In our minds eye, Little Book of Horrors was going to be full on vintage hammer horror, 60s beehives and a load of LBD’s, but such is the nature of Ballad, of course, you lot had other things on your mind. As we leaf through the pages of Petra, she is calm, quiet and spine tinglingly haunting. She is, essentially a collection of unnamed female corpses – Jane Doe’s if you like…

Now for a story.

In the 1500s, the Liberty of the Clink was an area of South London out side the City Walls. It was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Winchester and was known for its brothels, theatres, bull and bear baiting – activities not permitted within the City itself. Prostitutes local to the area were known as “Winchester Geese,” because they were licensed by the Bishop of Winchester to work within the Liberty. Although a legal profession in this area, it was still sinful and in death, these “single women” couldn’t be buried within the church yard if they had not repented their sins before death. Instead they were buried in unconsecrated ground, away from the parish. The area is rumoured to have started as a plague pit, then a single woman’s grave yard, for the Winchester Geese, then an unmarked pauper grave yard. It was closed in 1853 as locals were outraged – it was full to the seams with the dead.

Who would have thought that we could successfully merge Petra Doe and CANDY POP!!! Well, it’s always about Girl Power at the end of the day, right?

It is from here, these Jane Does that we drew inspiration for the name of this issue. They are not Little Book of Horrors, but it is that these women were outcast in death.

This area is now known as Borough, and while they were excavating the area to make way for the Jubilee Line they uncovered hundreds and hundreds of bodies, most of whom were women, but this was only a fraction of the 15,000 bodies that are believed to be buried down there.

We travel through this area every evening on our way back to Ballad HQ from Erd’s design HQ, and it is on the number 40 bus that we are most inspired and get most of our brain storming done – believe it, it’s true. The area of the burials is now known as Cross Bones Graveyard, and we took massive amounts of inspiration from the area; the unmarked grave yard of the outcast dead, the graphics of the buildings and pubs, and the very raw historical feel of the Liberty of the Clink. When we visited the site, words cannot describe the feel of the place. There is a tiny memorial; it’s a gate with offerings tied to it. A tiny symbol for the thousands of bodies dumped below. History, especially local and personable history is what makes us tick. We didn’t expect to be so struck by what we found here on our doorstep, but the stories and the histories we have stumbled across have inspired this entire issue.

R.I.P The Outcast Dead. Petra Doe can be bought at these outlets or delivered to your doorstep from this link

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We went to the Theatre to see Pitmen Painters by Lee Hall, starring the fantastical Trevor Fox as Oliver. This was always going to be a hit with me – Geordies, Newcastle, Art and History. Throw in The Spice Girls and I think i would have blacked out.

It is well worth a visit. On at The Duchess in the West End now, it’s a slight understatement to say that I was moved, i was moved that the events had even happened, and I was just as moved that they had been acknowledged and written down.

The play is consuming from start to finish, and i don’t think it’s just because i’m a Geordie art geek, the whole audience was captivated. It is the true story of the Ashington Group, miners who want to expand their knowledge of the world beyond the pit, where they have worked 11 hours a day since they were as many years old. It’s about the human need for art, and has the familiar Lee Hall theme (writer of Billy Elliot) of culture and art being all-consuming and available to all, not exclusive to the upper classes. I’m going back with a note pad!

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… Newcastle has a sit down with plates and silver Gregs. This is the best news EVER. What a treat!

So me Sean and Ross checked it out. VERY EXCITED thumbs up all round!

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Well wasn’t it just lovely?! We haven’t diaried in a while and we feel pretty bad about it, but CANDY POP has taken over our lives. Not that we are complaining! We weren’t together for NYE (sob) L spent it in London Town with THOSE fire works and C headed up to Edinburgh for Hogmanay. Never been before and it’s Charley Fox’s last year with the flat so we went all out – and the Scots know how NYE. Now, so do the geordies, so this was always going to be a real treat…

Little bit obsessed with Edinburgh and it’s history and it’s buildings and it’s castle and it’s GHOSTS (us, ghosts, nooo!) I have no new facts to report – turns out that i know a fair bit about the local legendary dogs, underground city, famous ghouls and the insane Earl of Drumlanrig (you know the one who roasted a servant boy on a spit and ate him the say the Act of Union was signed. Yep, grim) that i was able to pretty much talk at Lauren constantly  for the full 3 days any way, which won’t surprise.  … blush, geek! (she likes it man!)

Street party was amazing, and we did pretty well at all staying together until about 11:55 when me and Charley got lost. Didn’t see any bands because we were too busy conserning ourselves with… ummm… i’m not sure why we missed the bands to be honest. I can highly recommend it though, amazing atmosphere and it stayed relatively dry – not that we would have noticed I don’t think!

It’s just so bluddy pretty!!! I left my phone on charge so you’ll have to excuse the lovely crisp real-camera photographs. It’s not like us to publish such well executed photography on this page! I only managed shots in the Winter Wonderland and Currys… The world and his wife were Ed-bound it seemed; Camille dot music was there too, but you know how it goes on these occasions – our paths didn’t cross. Booo.

So there we have it, a full 3 days dedicated to celebrating the New Year, lots of drinking and lots of wrapping up warm and lots of walking. Obviously a load of CANDY POP too! As if we could forget! HAPPY NEW YEAR Balladeers, it’s going to be a SWEET TREAT!

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