Patti Pilgrimage // Utrecht

2019 has started well for travelling - Poland and Holland on consecutive weekends - not bad. I spent a very rainy weekend in Utrecht last month, while on a pilgrimage to see Patti Smith play. I was too excited to take any good photographs of the gig but here is some evidence of it...

We spent a lot of time in cafes sheltering from stormy elements - this felt fitting on a weekend dedicated to a woman who spends a lot of time drinking Nescafe worldwide. 

Book Worm

I have just returned from Cornwall where I spend Christmas with my family, laden with a heavy bag of books. I love getting books as presents and did really well this festive period!

I have already torn through Grace Coddington's memoir, which I loved and found incredibly interesting. She is an idol of mine. I have a long list of Coddington shoots to google!

I was also recently given a book of Guy Bourdin's polaroids, which was great to look at alongside Coddington's book as she talks about working with him such a lot. Can't wait to spend more time staring at this beautifully put together book - Thank You, Charlie!

 

The birthday card Charlie gave me is worth a mention too:

 

WOW.

Beautiful Pawn Shop Jewels

I was reminded of a phrase from 'The Cheap Date Guide to Style' by this charm bracelet in the window of a pawn shop in Shepherd's Bush this morning, which always has quite unusual if expensive things

'Apart from the risk of getting mugged, we like the idea of having beautiful jewels rather than a savings account.'

Sophie Calle, The Hotel

I came across these photo montages by Sophie Calle last week when flicking through the pages of a photography book I always keep near my desk. The Hotel pictures show the various belongings of anonymous hotel guests and were captured secretly by Calle who worked as a temporary chambermaid in Venice during the early 1980s. I find these secret photographs so intriguing as I'm interested in all the different parts that make up who someone is. Clothes, jewellery etc are so central to this, which is one of the reasons I enjoy doing One Off's Style Profiles so much. And so my book tells me: 'The importance of Calle's art has been to raise questions about just what it is that interests us: the ordinary fabric of other people's lives'.

Study Time

I got given a great selection of books for my birthday and Christmas this year. Lots of poetry - the little books are perfect tube train reads in particular I think.