We were so impressed with this creative lot, they were so keen and thoughtful with their project and we LOVE what they came up with.

The Project: In 3′s pick an animal…pretend you are that animal…you are let loose in the school, what do you see, what do to look for…what is your viewpoint and perspective…GO!

Team Monkey (Claire’s Team)

Team Cheetah

Team Red Squirrel

Team Rabbit

Team Peregrine Falcon

Team Butterfly (Lindsey’s Team)

What a beautiful bunch of pictures! We were honestly amazed by the quality of work produced…we have some talented young photographers here. Thanks 4NH! We had such a lovely day!

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She explores the importance of objects, especially cassette tape, being disguarded and sent to landmines! What could be better…ethical art!!!

The project takes place in a deprived area of Leeds called, well, Holbeck.  The idea is to, ultimately, try and connect the poor area up more effectively with the affluent city centre which is very close by, by creating a nice walking route into the centre.  Unfortunately Holbeck is surrounded by motorways and the path north into the city is pretty piss poor.  Derelict sites, crime, prostitution, dumping (ever wondered what happened to old couches??) and general poor environment. 

But the council have started an environmental project to improve the surroundings – relandscaping to improve site lines, trees for improved townscape, installing new lighting and best of all, some very pretty urban meadows. The photo above was taken on Bridge Road (if you know the area). Below we have one of next to the Meynell Heights tower block and the disused viaduct.

Pretty cool hey? And pretty pretty too. All these photos were taken by Hannah Sibai.

Ballad Of…Tell us a little bit about yourself

Dora…Well, I am a realistic dreamer and a a reliable adventuress:) my more official BIO is on my site.

B…We read you are big on ethical fashion (so are we) what made you become so passionate about being kind to the world when designing your clothing?

D…I am devoted to ethical attitude in fashion. I do not believe in fast and valueless fashion, so we do not make mass production and do not exploit labor, we use only carefully selected materials and hardwares produced in the EU under fair circumstances, we work only with local professionals here in Hungary so we support the local industry. We never use exotic skins (like alligators, snakes, reptiles, ostrich, exotic fishes etc) or real fur. We collect our remained material cuts and now we started to develop methods how to recycle them in a fashionable way and we newer throw away leather pieces, as we use everything for our key rings and the remained small pieces are collected and donated for local fashion students or recycled. Sometimes we use recycled materials for our clothes and we would like to strengthen the usage of recycled materials in our collections.

I had always a green attitude, however I am not a fanatic, but I am conscious in environmental and local industry questions. I think that mass production without reason produces only waste and a lot of people started to treat fashion and design as a valueless and replaceable thing, there are so many extra cheap replicas and products which are copying directly or indirectly the designer items without any consequences, so people started to think that the original design item is also valueless and replaceable with the replica or with the mass product. It’s an other problem that mass production requires cheap and exploited employees and the big companies went to poor countries to make production and this means that in this factories underpaid modern slaves or very young people extremely poorly paid, sometimes children.

Another problem with mass production that destroys the local industry in many countries, as the big companies are leaving their former producers for the cheaper producer but they fill the market with exta cheap products with which the local industry can not compete in price. The mas production also results environmental pollution, as everybody knows that in poor countries a lot of factories do not respect environmental standards.

Of course the question is more complicated, there are so many other related issues to talk about…

B…Do you enjoy vintage shopping?

D…Oh, yes, of course, especially vintage hats, jewels, and bejeweled evening dresses.

B...If so…what is your BEST ever buy…

D…I bought 2 weeks ago a very old spring coat probably made in the the 30′s. Its made from a gold and grey jacquard brocade fully embroidered with small beads and different metal applications. Its really beautiful.

B…How would you describe your personal style…

D…Very eclectic, so it depends on my mood and the occasion. I prefer winter and autumn when I can vary more the layers. I love to be very feminine, so I wear very often high heels, red nails and lipstick. I like to wear black, white, electric blue, red, fucsia, light blue, nude and violet. I love leggings with short dresses, and I am absolutely coat, handbag and shoe addict, so I have a wide range from this items.

B…Diamonds or Pearls?

D…Diamonds, but I do not refuse pearls.

B…What do you do to relax?

D…Reading novels, party-friends-family, sitting on my terrace wondering on the Budapest view and drinking champagne, going in to the nature and just watching the plants and animals, travelling, drawing, chat, internet etc…

B…And whats your perfect night out…?

D…Dancing all night and then relaxing a bit in the taxi in the morning

B…What Era would you LOVE to live in…and why?

D…I would like to have a time machine and to visit different eras, especially the future when the space travel will be a usual thing.

B…The desert that makes you go mmmm the most…?

D…A special cookie called Non plus ultra and an other which is a coffee-nut mousse combined with a cookie, both were specialities of my grandmas.

Credits:

Photo: Bálint Trunkó

Styling: Orsi Pinczel and Dora Abodi

Hair: Ildi Tóth

Make-up: Renáta Vörös

Models: AnnaJulia and Doreen from Art models

All clothes, accessories, shoes Dora Abodi

Ballad Of...What is your favorite outfit to wear? Could we see a photo of it

Emily…I don’t have just one favorite outfit, because I dress so much according to what mood I’m in. Also, I always have these visions of outfits I would want to wear but don’t have. Like right now, I’m obsessing about this plaid cape from H&M’s fall collection that hasn’t even hit the stores yet. By the time it does I will probably have moved on, I’m always chasing the perfect look to suit my mood. But if I have to choose just one outfit this year, it’s my thrifted playsuit. Here is a photo.

Ballad Of…Where is your most favorite place ever?

Emily…The places I love the most are New York (especially Lafayette Street) and a tiny Swedish island called Fårö. These places are the total opposites of each other, one is over-crowded and bustling while the other is almost deserted (it has only 548 permanent residents). And that’s why I love them so much I guess.

B…Who was your first kiss? heehee

E…Ha ha, I think my very first kiss was with a boy named Daniel, in kindergarten. He was tall, dark and handsome (for a five-year-old), and we got married and everything. But my first real kiss, that meant something, was with Erik. He was eighteen and I was sixteen and we had been secretly in love with each other for months when we finally got around to that first kiss. It was very urgent and passionate.

B…If you could go back in time to any era, which would it be? And why?

E…I used to be crazy for the 18^th century as a kid, because of the clothes of course. But now I think I would rather have been born in the 1940’s or 50’s, preferably in Hollywood. I think the most perfect fashion was created during this period, and that everything was so much more beautiful and extravagant back then.

B…What Camera do you use?

E…A Canon EOS 400D most of the time, but I’m gonna have to upgrade it soon, because it’s starting get old and forgetful. I also have a Diana Mini that I love, and some analog cameras that I use when I feel like experimenting.

B…Could we see a photo of your favorite piece of your own art?

E...Unfortunately all my paintings are rolled up and stored in my old apartment right now. Otherwise I would have shown you my favorite self-portrait. It’s an oil painting made on top of pieces of paper I found at the bottom of my purse; movie tickets, airplane tickets, letters and receipts, and I’m very happy with it. I always liked these illustrations too though, so I’ll show you them instead

B...Who inspires you?

E…This is always such a tough question, because I’m inspired by so many people. My boyfriend inspires me a lot, because he is a self-made man and very driven and successful. I’m also inspired by photographers like Ellen von Unwerth and Cindy Sherman, and by designers like Christian Dior and Elsa Schiaparelli.

B...Night or Morning type of girl?

E…Night! I hate mornings, but I’m a very determined person so I always get up and go for a walk or to the gym. I figure that if you get your exercise done in the mornings, that are so boring anyway, you can relax for the rest of the day

B…What’s your favorite tipple?

E…Well, I’m a beer drinker mostly, because wine gives me headaches. If I’m in a club I’ll have either a White Russian or vodka straight up.

B…Tea..with one sugar or none?

E…Tea with two sugars, of course! I’m such a sweet tooth, he he.

Thank you Emily  

Lets hang out with The Sunflower Painter for a bit…

Episode Seven: Van Gogh does Arles

We’re all Arles – obsessed at the moment…probably as its the 1st in 5 years that we aren’t going to the sunny Southern France town. Sigh.

Arles’ rich and famously vibrant light attracted many (if not all) of the Post Impressionist painters of note at some point around the 1880s and the town is particularly pleased with its Van Gogh connections. The image below, Yellow House is where Ol Vincent rented four rooms of the house, and where he was living when he famously waved his razor blade at Gauguin, sliced off his own ear and gave it to a prostitute. 

Most of the beautiful paintings of fame that Van Gogh did while he was in Arles, and in fact ever, were intended as decoration for the empty walls of the Yellow House. After living here, fou roux as he was known to locals, was swiftly moved to the infamous Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.

Should we go to Arles? Should we..? In the name of art…? 

Yellow House, 1888

Garden of the Asylum, Arles, 1888

View of Arles with Irises, 1888

La Nuit Etoilee Arles, 1888

The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles at Night,1888

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The first thing that needs to be pointed out about this festival is the location – I got a ride there, but as I understand it, we were in Suffolk – which is one of those places that  (in my world and so I expect yours too) only exist on TV: woodland, lake with lakeside grazing, grassy knolls  – it’s the utopia the Animal’s Of Farthing Wood dreamt about.

A winning event of the weekend was inadvertently stumbling into the arena (can’t remember why we did) early and finding ourselves faced with Tom Jones.  It felt like a coo because we knew he was doing the Thursday evening but had heard that only 400 people were allowed to watch. Oh me, how pointless.  He seemingly enjoyed it so much that he resurfaced for another showing, displaying the fruits of his latest records Praise and Blame where, at last, the man has ditched his …whatever he was trying to do before – no purple suits, no sex bomb, no bad beard dye jobs and no attempt at pop music. Instead its back to his beginnings with a gospel bluesy rock n roll album, which is great news.  OK, it’s a bit preachy – but for god’s sake, the guy was friends with Elvis!!!

For new bands we caught scotsmen Mitchell Museum doing a shit-hot set.  Frankie and the Heartstrings were the dipping hats of the newbie stage and the ethereal doo wop of Spectrals was a perfect afternoon gig.  Then there was  School of Seven Bells shone out their earnest alt pop, Jamie Lidell aka the white, British, middle class Stevie Wonder,pissed on everyone’s performing bonfire (again) and I am still trying to work out how Gabriela of Rodrigo y Gabriela does that thing with her hand (…on the guitar, stupid).

There were 7 year olds body popping – this brings out conflicting feelings of ‘wow’, ‘how cute’ and ‘how does that tiny body have infinitely more talent than me – I irrationally hate them’.  There was Swan Lake – as well as some giant white baby’s who danced in the dark (you need to see this, there’s no way to explain). Blake Morrison read his poetry, and I missed all the comedy because I couldn’t get near the tent for the crowds.  At night though, that tent had the most sublime pop music – I had forgotten how many tunes Whitney has.

My only regret is losing the power of thought and speech by about 9am Sunday morning.  I apologise for that.

Also the sheep are multi-coloured.  Attention to detail is important hey.

Ballad Of…Tell us a bit more about yourself and what you do

Alice…Since leaving New York in 2006,  I’ve lived my life in

 B…Who are your inspirations

A…Designers, Nature, Life, People, Books and Magazines, Art, Music, Celebrities, Friends, Conversations, Photography, Film etc etc So many things to love and be inspired of/by.

B…Who is your favorite designer:

A…Marc Jacobs for both his own line and his work for Louis Vuitton.

B…Give us a style tip

A…Stay Intelligently Cute! Express Yourself.

B…Cat or Dog person?

A…I Want a King Charles so I think that does make me a dog person.

B…Who is your favorite person featured on Ballad Of

A…Ellen Rogers. The talent of hers is Endless together with the kind personality one should aspire to have.

B…Night in or night out?

A…Night in.

B…Early mornings or late nights?

A…Early Mornings…I love the light and the serenity of quietness.

B…Vintage or Designer?

A…Both. Mix it up.

B…Best place to shop

A… Beyond Retro and Screaming Mimi’s. Basically any vintage or antique store.

B…Who is your favorite Spice Girl…and why?

A…I never liked the spice girls….but maybe Victoria Beckham because of her accomplishments afterwards or for being the Posh one:)

B…Chocolate cake or Cheese Cake?

A…Cheese Cake.

B…Ballad Of…are all about new artists…who are you tipping for the top?

A… I have a few that I have my eye on at the moment…Yvonne Lau, Ara Jo and Clare Bickford-Smith.

Love Alice

Models: Cat B at mandpmodels, Daul Kim, Hannah at Elite Stockholm, Marta at IMG Models.

What was that thing again? from Bec Wonders on Vimeo.

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