The Velvet and Silk Cafe

The Velvet and Silk Cafe is a series of events/ talks/ discussions involving local architects, artists and designers.

[thevelvetandsilkcafe]

I was lucky enough to enjoy my Art Skool days alongside one of the lovely girls from Home Slice, Steph Parr. Amazing illustrations and beautiful hand drawings were always her signature style, and now Steph has joined forces with her friend and creative partner Ellie to create Home Slice: a homeware label that celebrates Britishness and icons of our British culture.

The duo now have their beautiful crockery stocked in Liberty of London!! As well as their own online shop where you can pick up some other hand drawn goodies such as the brilliant Margate cushion (above)! Congratulations girls! x

[condenasttraveler]

Can luxury like this change lives?

[thevelvetandsilkcafe]

Take me here!! :) Look at that light!

[thevelvetandsilkcafe]

Some images from my recent trip to Marrakech & Essaouira - colour and pattern everywhere!

[condenasttraveler]

Cocktail Recipes from the Best New Bars in the World

[thevelvetandsilkcafe]

Picking up some tips for my bday celebrations!

[newyorker]

“Automonument #2.” Photograph by Niv Rozenberg.

A look at photographs from “Another New York,” a show that aims to move past the iconic and at times clichéd images that are often used to represent the city: http://nyr.kr/160nINZ

[thevelvetandsilkcafe]

Love this shade of blue! Brilliant image!

[mybtextiles]

These photographs were sent to us this morning by Chouchou and Rene Walrus to give us a sneak preview of their collaborative fashion collection, currently being created by for the Edinburgh International Fashion Festival.

They have used MYB’s Eleanor and Petra lace in Black and deconstructed the flat colour using dyes and bleaching, which we think sits alongside the metallic leather roses beautifully!

Looking forward to seeing the finished pieces! 

[graphicalhouse]

Graphical House/DWS Semaphor Dominoes feature in Fast Company Magazine, May issue.

[thevelvetandsilkcafe]

Love these dominoes more and more every time I see them!

[thevelvetandsilkcafe]

A Special Report

Somebody in the high flats threw a big telly out the window during the night. It had flew through the air and landed right outside the close door. By the time I got ready and went over there was already a crowd out looking at it. The screen had smashed and there was glass everywhere. It was one of the old ones with wood round the sides and a big metal back. Me and wee Stevie McGinn heaved it upright so the screen was facing the front, but the wood at one side had buckled and it sat on a slant. Stevie’s big sister said whoever flung it out must have opened their window first coz there were no new broke windows she could see. Auld Mrs Love came out with a brush and shovel to sweep the glass away. She told me and Stevie to kick the last shards out of the frame so it couldn’t injure anybody. We did, and she pulled it all away with the brush and left it in a wee heap next to the bins. Stevie climbed into the telly and shouted ‘Welcome to a special report!’ We played with the telly all day. Everybody got a chance at being in it. Kelly and Clare Black managed to both fit in, then have an argument like they were in EastEnders. After we all got took in, the older ones set the telly on fire. They were all standing about drinking and shouting. My da laughed when I begged him to go out and stop them. I watched out the window as the bottom of the high flat and the garages flickered orange. In the morning it was just a pile of black ashes.

A Special Report is the first part of a short story written by the submissions editor of Thi Wurd, Brian Hamill. Anyone who dropped into the last Velvet and Silk Cafe event in Glasgow may have heard the brilliant reading from Thi Wurd's first issue: a short fiction magazine complete with illustrations for each story. This short story is yet unpublished and a preview of the great writing to come in issue 2.

[visitheworld]

Gondolas at sunset in Venice, Italy (by anthony pappone).

[thevelvetandsilkcafe]

Aw Venice, its been too long. . .

[condenasttraveler]

Photo Tour: The Markets and Food of Southern France | While Gascony is famous for its foie gras, vegetarians won’t go hungry—the moist, cool air around the Garonne River is perfect for growing vegetables and fruit, such as these wild peaches and grapes from the weekly market in Lavardac.

[thevelvetandsilkcafe]

Love the colours in this image!

[thevelvetandsilkcafe]

So this is happening on the vacant site of 220 Broomielaw on the 21st of July! Sounds like a good excuse for a Sunday night out!!

Get tickets on www.ticketweb.co.uk

See you all there! :)

[thevelvetandsilkcafe]

Analogue Social @ The Velvet and Silk Cafe 16.05.13

Presentation - Part 1

[thevelvetandsilkcafe]

Analogue Social @ The Velvet and Silk Cafe 16.05.13

Presentation - Part 2

[graphicalhouse]

Districts of Creativity by Michael Thomas Jones. Featuring, amount others, Graphical House, Collective Architecture, DO Architecture, Martin Boyce and Wasps.

[thevelvetandsilkcafe]

Cracking short film on Glasgow and the creative communities at work within different areas of the city. Definitely a V+SC viewing! Enjoy.

[thevelvetandsilkcafe]

The Parker Knoll chair project continues with Fun Makes Good! The chairs are now stripped and ready for the french polisher! Hopefully by the end of May they will be polished and we will have decided on a colour palette and design for each of them!

[thevelvetandsilkcafe]

V+SC Trip to Bute Fabrics

Back in March, The Velvet and Silk Cafe and Fun Makes Good travelled to the Isle of Bute, via the amazing Wemyss Bay station, to visit Bute Fabrics.

This was my second visit to the company and it was just as exciting and enjoyable as the first! Not least because we had the very hospitable MD James Sprint to show us around (as seen in the picture above)!!

The purpose of the trip was to find inspiration for a little collaborative project we are going to be working on over the next few months and we found plenty of fabrics! The problem was not getting carried away when it came to deciding what to order!! There is no shortage of inspiration, innovation, colour, texture and beautiful finished product at Bute! We have made a very random selection and hope it all comes together in the finished project!

When we were walking around the mill, I was extremely jealous to see Bute's Head Designer, Catherine, hard at work sampling on her hand loom. . . how amazing to have a loom at your desk and the perfect way to be versatile with sampling!

The craftsmanship and skill prevalent in the production of textiles in Scotland never ceases to amaze me. From tweed, lace, wool, cashmere and leather, there are processes passed down through mills over decades, even hundreds of years. These qualities are truly unique to each mill and create an industry that is incomparable to any other.

As Fun Makes Good and I begin our project, we are already thinking ahead and what mill we can find an excuse to go to next!! In fact a third visit to Bute may be on the cards. Thank you to James, Catherine and the team at Bute who were all very welcoming and great hosts!

[thevelvetandsilkcafe]

There are employment opportunities for Architects and Urban Planners living in Glasgow through the Glasgow Commonwealth Initiative. Follow this link to register and submit an application. I have it on good authority that they have had no applications as yet and are desperate for people to fit these categories. Not often you hear that these days!

Sounds like a great opportunity with potential full time work. Good Luck!