Friday, April 29, 2011

I beat up my boyfriend because I didn't like his jeans...








Love these cute couple pics! I googled 'stylish couples', jeez, you'd be surprised how many magazines have actually dedicated whole articles to this very concept.

Do you dress similarly to your mate? I do, and I think it's because the BF and I have similar opinions on style in every sense of the word - fashion, interiors, artwork...


Do you dress for yourself, your partner, or other people?... Why?

Monday, April 25, 2011

Thursday, April 21, 2011

London loving: blogger series...

Cynarra, left, Esperanza
A year or two ago, I met the beautiful and talented Cynarra (who hails from little ol' NZ) during her summer in the Mount. As summer came to an end, so did her time in NZ and she packed her bags and headed for London town. Since being there, she has become one half of the up and coming Two Lost Souls. Cynarra, along with Esperanza, describe themselves as... 'two lost souls. we believe in love. we believe in freedom. we spend our days california dreaming and are full of wanderlust. our parents wish we would get real jobs but our heads are too far up in the clouds. instead we like to make beautiful things for beautiful souls. come get lost with us.' (* Shit, I love that description!!)

Read on to find out more about these wanderlusting dreamers.


What do you do?
During the day we slave away together at our day job where we spend 90% of the time day-dreaming up a storm and at night we try and make the day-dreams reality by making beautiful paper flower coronas and blogging away our adventures. We've both previously been doing the whole fashion intern thing for awhile and although we have both worked for and met some amazing people we are well over being used and abused and penniless so Two Lost Souls was born out of a desire to combine our writing/styling/creative skills and do things our way for a change!

Where can we find you?
At the moment you can find us on our blog, we're currently working on our website and online shop but we're just a bit technologically challenged so they're a slow work in progress!!

We are also lucky enough to be stocking our crowns at a few of our friend's stores in London and Madrid


Where do you live?
Far across the sea in London-town, although one half of us is originally from New Zealand and the other half from Spain.

What's your favourite thing about living there?
That in London you are completely free to be whoever and whatever you want to be! Everyone is young, free and creating their own dreams and when the sun shines there's no other place we'd rather be.

What inspires you?
Sundays in London provide endless inspiration; breakfast bagels on Brick Lane then along to see the beauty of Columbia Road flower market followed by a stroll along the canal in the sunshine to lounge in the grass in London Fields drinking cold ciders and making daisy chains for hours on end. But our biggest source of inspiration is our desire to be able to leave our current job and work solely for ourselves!

Three things you couldn't live without?

Cynarra's flatmate's ridiculously funny looking and acting ginger Persian cat Frankie, he is the only man for us!


Copious amounts of hot chocolate overflowing with marshmallows and above all L O V E !


Five songs on your ipod/playlist right now?
Currently when we're working away we have these songs obsessively on repeat:
'Halah' Mazzy Star
'Sea Of Love' Cat Power
'Master Of None' Beach House
'Skinny Love' Bon Iver
'Home' Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Fave blogs?
When we find ourselves with some spare time we trawl through the hundreds bookmarked on our lappies but particular faves include mostly London based Style Bubble, Park and Cube, Discotheque Confusion, Because I'm Addicted and Lulu Kennedy's blog. We also make sure we keep up with blogs from our respective homelands to stay in touch!

What's next for Two Lost Souls?
Aargh so much we don't no where to start! We've been slow to catch up with our quiet successes so far, we can be fairly easy-going in our business approach! But we have plans to widen the availability of our floral coronas with our online shop and we have some super amazingly talented people putting together our first official shoot for us soon. We also have some ideas that we want to bring to life on Espe's sewing machine and we've been collecting crystals and beautiful stones for awhile which we've sent away to be shaped and made into little bits of magic. We'll keep blogging it all along the way so watch this space...

Quote you live by?
E: 'Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.' H.D Thoreau
C: 'Just phase out, breathe in, wear sandals and pretend it's a fine world.' C. Bukowski.

Keep checking on on the gran's loose change blog as you MAY be able to get your own Two Lost Souls coronas RIGHT here in the not so near future. We will let you know as soon as we know xx

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Hey you! Join us!...

gran's loose change is currently in the throes of organising the Winter '11 lookbook. We're mixing things up this year and we're looking for some extra hands to help us out.

From the beginning gran's loose change has always been collaborative. I am lucky enough to have some of the most amazingly talented friends and family who have been able to help out with advertising, design, photography, modelling and more.

Well, I want to be able to help YOU out too. So we're looking for a hair and makeup artist to be a part of our Winter '11 shoot. This is NOT a paid position but what you'll get is publicity. And nothing is more poweful than PR. Our lookbooks have been featured on numerous blogs in both Australia and New Zealand so it is a wonderful opportunity to boost your profile. AND, you get to be a part of the hilarity that ensues behind the scenes of gran's loose change lookbooks.


To register your interest, please send an email to kelly@gransloosechange.co.nz along with images of your work or ways we can see some of your work, ie, a blog. You will need to be available during a weekend in May and be able to get to Mount Maunganui - we can arrange your transport, if needed, from there.

Look forward to hearing from you!! K x

Happy first birthday...

Dear gran's loose change,

I can't believe you are one year old already. It seems like just yesterday that you went live.

In the past year you have had 467, 459 page views, where visitors spent an average of 3.38 minutes on the site. You have had 48,124 visits where visitors looked at an average of 9.71 page views per visit. 62% of your visitors come back (so you must be doing something right). Your biggest fan base is in Auckland, Wellington, Tauranga, Hamilton and Dunedin. You have even had visitors from Italy, Spain, Singapore and France.

We have shot three lookbooks: (huge thanks to Julia Keddell, Bridie Fitzgerald, Jamee Thomas, Josh Muller, Natalie Brownrigg and Finn Geoghegan).

Magpies to Butterflies



The drifter's escape, Winter '10




And,
Run away with me, summer '10/11





We have photographed, edited and uploaded hundreds of product. I have packaged and couriered hundreds of parcels. I have responded to hundreds of emails. I have PR'ed the shit out of you and we have had articles published in some of the countries most well read publications - Sunday magazine and Viva in New Zealand Herald as well as Girlfriend, NZGirl, Here Comes the Sun blog, Bay of Plenty Times, Fashion Guru, Studio Home blog, Sideroom, Beauty Bible and Australia's much loved Frankie mag. We have also been on Central News and The Good Morning Show live.


Some days, I feel like I was extremely naive going into this business. I have done so with no capital behind me, I struggle to keep afloat but I am proud to say that while you don't currently (or should I say regularly) pay me, you do pay for yourself and one year on, you are still alive and kicking.

In the past year, I became sole director and I have never been more satisfied. Sometimes I wish I could start it all again as there are times when I still feel like some of the decisions for gran's loose change weren't entirely mine and I would have done things differently...but that just means I can make those changes as we move forward.

There are big plans for gran's loose change this next year, a web revise has already been designed and is waiting to be revealed and we are welcoming some new friends on board....

There are days when I lose motivation - because I work a 'day job' as well as running gran's loose change and there are days when I am beyond exhausted, but new initiatives like those mentioned above and days like today - your first birthday - remind me that we are doing something special. Something amazing, and I am so proud to be the director of such an awesome site.

Happy birthday baby, here's to many more.

Love, Kelly x

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Top five...

We've been busy buying, photographing, editing and uploading product this week and we are loving these five items!...

The Levon Boot

The wall you have created cardy

You don't always know what you see knit

The importance of being idle duffle coat

Hip hip hooray knit (Model also wears Jasmin Sparrow There's no such thing as boring leather pouch necklace).

* Apologies for the shoddy lighting, the 9-5 'real job' means I often have to shoot at night with minimal lighting...this will soon be resolved with the use of a studio.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Week Four of the Blogger Series...


Fashion Westie is a regular blog stalk of mine and her tweets are ridiculously funny. I'm delighted to introduce you to her...

What do you do?
When I’m not socialising and ensconced in the air-kissy fashion realm [jokes]? Eating, blogging, working…and rubbing my belly for luck while trying to figure out how my intense desire for fashion, blogging and styling is going to be possible while cultivating my awesome little person.

Where can we find you?
BLOG

TWITTER

FACEBOOK
LOOKBOOK.NU

Where do you live?
The awesomeness that is the North Shore in the most unconventional location.

What's your favourite thing about living where you do?
Watching pukekos strutting below our deck and living their lives to the left, while tradesmen are eating pies, smoking and driving their vans to the right. Ooh, definite bonus has to be seriously close access to macarons from Farro and good coffee at Mozaik. Though the 3 minute walk to Mickey D’s does not go unnoticed or under utilised.

What inspires you?
Honesty and integrity. Whether it be in your words, your creations, your intentions or what you’re wearing. Trust me, I can smell the honesty/integrity, or lack there-of in an image, a comment or your pants [not that I go around sniffing pants all day…you know what I mean] so I’m inspired by those displays of truth. Visually and moral-compass-ly.

Three things you can't live without?
Laughter, Fashion, Making up words to get my point across….I swear I need more than three. Can another interviewee lend me there allocation? I’ll add: Internet, Oranges and Toothpaste.

How did you get to where you are now?
I came down the hallway, hung a right and sat down. That’s not what your asking is it? I’m not quite there yet but hopefully with passion, enthusiasm and hard work, I’ll arrive to this ‘now’ you speak of.

Where do you want to be in ten years?
At my unborn bumps 10th birthday with all the Mum’s so jealous at my awesome party throwing skills….and my bow staff skills, nunchuck skills….

Fave blogs?
The Usual Suspects [all those superstar out of the stratosphere bloggers, they know that I know that you know who they are] not gonna lie, I daily stalk them. Must reads are: Rag Pony, SRC783, the bulwark and the sunbeam, Gloria’s Jeans, Zara Mirkin, Imogen Wilson and duh, gran's loose change.

Top five songs on your ipod/playlist?
LMFAO-Party Rock Anthem
Naked and Famous-Girl Like You

Alexisonfire- This Could Be Anywhere In The World

North Shore Pony Club- Sex, Drugs and a Drum Machine
Princess Superstar-The Mysterious Hanger


Favourite quote or words of wisdom you live by...

This changes…lately it’s been: “If it smells funny or has fuzz on it, Babe, don’t eat it!” Big R

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

New boutique...

One of our friends is set to launch an online lingerie boutique next week and we can't wait! We love online shopping and we love lingerie! Check out my interview on All The Pretty Things blog here and become a fan of ATPT on facebook (and hear all of the news and special offers before everyone else) here.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Meet the latest...

So, as you know, I have been interviewing bloggers (I check their blogs religiously) and this week's blogger is the lovely Ilana from See Me Everywhere...

What do you do?
A bit of everything really :) I am part owner of a sweet little boutique jewellery & giftsware store called Rox at The Base here in Hamilton as well as a graphic designer.


Where can we find you?
See Me Everywhere

Where do you live?
In Hamilton, New Zealand, where I have lived the last 10 years but I am originally from South Africa.

What's your favourite thing about living in Hamilton?
Hamilton is big enough to keep you entertained but small enough to know everyone. It's such a central place to live here in New Zealand, as the beach is only 40min away and the snow is only 2 hours away - so they both make me very happy. You can always find gorgeous little coffee spots and great opshops.


What inspires you?
I can find inspiration in everything. I must say, blogging has helped a great amount with finding inspiration and it's opened my world to a range resources. I also love music, so sometimes I find that a song lyric can trigger my imagination and bring forth great ideas. Books are becoming a much loved possession of mine as well, as they are always full of neat ideas! The Selby's is my absolute favourite at the moment.

Three things you can't live without?
My husband, my bunny and my friends - oh oh oh and cliche, but family!! I seriously have the best, most amazing, splendid, hot bunch of babes I call family.


How did you get to where you are now?
Mostly luck to tell you the truth. The opportunity to buy into a business just fell into our lap, and I pretty much got handed my graphics job on a silver platter (along with a lot of hard work!!). I am a very lucky girl and feel so honoured to be in the place I am in at the moment. I do believe I have a very good Daddy that looks out for me and always has the best plans for my life, so probably not so much of it is actually luck as what it was planned :)

Where do you want to be in ten years?
On some gorgeous lifestyle property with 6 kids frolicking in the grass singing songs and being the von Trapp family... okay not quite,but close! I want to be a stay at home mumma and focus on doing craft and design projects from home, including launching my own brand.

Fave blogs?
Oh wow there are seriously so many beautiful, inspiring blogs (including all my beautiful bloggy friends' which you can go through on my blog). This is just a list of a few of my favourites at the moment:

Top five songs on your ipod/playlist?
Angus & Julia Stone - Babylon
The Script - Science & Faith
Mumford & Sons - Sigh no more
The Almost - Extravagent Love
Shiny Toy Guns - Le Disko
Quite a mix in music taste, I know!

Favourite quote or words of wisdom you live by...
"Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." - Alice in Wonderland.
Such a great mindset to have - believing the impossible and seeing it come to pass.


Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Them and us...

Shakuhachi.

Us.

Topshop, Miu Miu, Jeffrey Campbell, Stuart Weitzman, Opening Ceremony.

Us.

Asos.

Us.

Urban Outfitters.

Us.

Shakuhachi.

Us.

Alice McCall.

Us.
Images: Google.
Shop now.