Hugh Rice Blogger Event Goody Bag - 10th April 2015

It's not only been a busy month for me, but also for Hugh Rice...

Congratulations on winning Independent Retailer of the Year, as awarded at the UK Jewellery Awards on 17th June, well done!

Photo Credit: Retal Jeweller, UK Jewellery Awards 2015

Clearly this was all part of my plan, delay the post until the winner was announced.... it's been a long wait as the shortlist was announced back in February!

Or, a'hem, I might have just been super busy myself; no industry awards to win though, just normal busy... still enough of my ramblings and excuses, and on to the question.  What was in my Blogger Goody Bag?

Whilst Blogger Events will traditionally give a goody bag as a way of both thanking bloggers for their time and providing potential products for review, it's still something that takes me by surprise - probably because I tend to blog about what I buy, or what I'm thinking about buying, or more commonly what I've done with it once I've bought it!

Photographing the photographer photographing the Goody Bags

There was so much in the bag, it took a while to unpack... which was huge fun for me as I love jewellery packaging and I like to see how different brands present their jewellery and their paraphernalia.

Daisy Earrings
Daisy started out as one shop on London's Portobello Road selling imported Mexican Jewelley by the founder Noel Boyd, and from that small start, Daisy London is a now global brand.

The Chakra Collection is the idea of James (Noel's son who has been overseeing the business since 2009) and my goody bag contained the Brow Chakra earrings in silver from this Collection.  All the earring designs from this collection are available in a gold plated and rose gold plated finish as well as the sterling silver.

Daisy Brow Chakra Earrings in Sterling Silver

I was really fascinated by the closure on these earrings as they click into place which I thought was a neat touch and I really like the range, I think the Heart Chakra earrings in silver were my favourite.

Now for my confession... although my ears are many times pierced, I don't wear pretty earrings! 

Due to the large collection of holes in my ears I tend to stick to studs and ball closures otherwise I'd just look like an earring display stand... if you could see them under my hair that is... 

However I do *love* earrings, and if I ever cut my hair short again (or decide to sport another mohican) I would return to using the lowest hole for pretties... in fact I still have lots of my favourite earrings from this time.

Hugh Rice Earrings
These are Hugh Rice's own brand, great packaging and very well protected; did I mention that I really like seeing how jewellery is packaged?

Hugh Rice Heart Earrings in Silver

My husband was really surprised when I said how much I liked these as hearts usually send me running for the hills, but there's something about this pair that really appealed, so much so, that I broke my studs and ball closure earring rule and popped one in, in place of a stud!

Yes, I did look like a real life earring display stand but I didn't really care, they're pretty!

(I would have done the same with the Daisy earrings only ball closures are a pain to get the ball back in and I am rather lazy!)

Hugh Rice have a range of their own brand jewellery so there's lots to browse if you fancy a peek in their online shop!

Thomas Sabo
Our Thomas Sabo gifts were a limited edition range of temporary tattoos in silver, gold and rose gold to match their jewellery along with a make up bag, nail polish and nail file.

Thomas Sabo Temporary Tattoos and Nail Polish

Although I don't wear make up I am a fan of nail polish and this one lasted surprisingly well.

I say surprisingly, as all nail polish I wear normally manages to chip on my thumb nail in the first 12-24hrs and by Day 3 looks rubbish... not so with the Thomas Sabo polish, it didn't chip until Day 3 which really shocked me.  It has quite good staying power, but the green does stain the nail a bit - so my top tip is don't wear this the day before you need super lovely nude nails!

Mi Moneda
Mi Moneda is a brand I love but have yet to indulge in, no surprise that what caught my eye was their modular system for pendants.  Beautifully styled in the accompanying magazine and these are still on my wish list of pendants I want to wear but haven't yet bought!

Mi Moneda modular coin jewellery and cord bracelet

Mi Moneda means My Coin in Spanish and is known as an interchangeable coin brand, the choice of coins is huge and there's definitely something for everyone, even me!

In our goody bag was a sweet little cord bracelet, and again lovely packaging; it came in a little bag tied with Mi Moneda ribbon... love this way of packaging jewellery!

Diamonfire
Finally from Diamonfire we were gifted this lovely pen, it's actually quite short so has been a great one to throw in the handbag for blog notes!

Just perfect for blogging on the move!

Thanks to Hugh Rice and all the brands for my goody bag - it was a lovely event and
I'm always pleased to have any excuse to pop into Hugh Rice!
Not that I need an excuse... it is a Jewellers after all

Spotted any favourites from these?
What would you choose?

Spotlight on Hull Fashion Week Official Sponsors - Hugh Rice the Jewellers

Hull Fashion Week (HFW) hit the streets of Hull during early April, a series of events all around the city centre from the 4th to the Finale on the 11th.

One of my favourite events was the Blogger Event hosted by Hugh Rice, who were the official catwalk and stage sponsors.  If you think the name sounds familiar I wrote about them in my Behind the Scenes with Hugh Rice in 2014.

As I finished work for the week and headed straight out to meet the team at Hugh Rice and some of the other #HullBloggers I was a little concerned I might be late, but fate was kind, the roads were clear and I found a parking spot!

A quick tour around the store and then it was time for some research, being already familiar with Hugh Rice I headed for the part that I was very unfamiliar with but the one I intended to change on this trip - Pandora Rings!!

I keep meaning to go shopping for these and this seemed like an ideal opportunity... and taking advantage of the superb assistance from Kayleigh at Hugh Rice, away I went!

Pandora Rings at Hugh Rice
(Footprint ring is my own)

I spent a lovely time ring shopping and I've narrowed it down to that lovely Black Spinel Ring in the main picture as my first choice, which is unusual for me in that I don't normally suit rings that sit quite tall on my finger but that one was perfect.

I think I'm also going to stick the star ring and the hearts ring on my list too... and probably a few others that I haven't photographed... I'm very taken with these!!

Time for a few nibbles and to pop that empty glass somewhere and on to the next treat, the team at Hugh Rice had organised for us to see more of the jewellery they sell; ranging from "definitely out of my price range but please can I try it on anyway" to vintage and preloved pieces.  I think we were all a bit enamoured with some of these and we had our own favourites.

#HullBloggers learning about jewellery

I have to admit my inner geek came out during the next part as whilst people were getting their jewellery cleaned I got a bit gaga over the workbenches and tools... I think lampworking in a jewellery workshop is beginning to rub off on me a bit?

We had a great time wandering around Hugh Rice, I returned to enjoy some of the new Karma Beads whilst we also indulged in some more of those delicious pastries.

Karma Beads and Pastries

We had one last surprise waiting for us as the team at Hugh Rice had prepared us some goody bags... obviously being bloggers we have to photograph them first!

Photographing the photographer photographing the Goody Bags

So, what was in the surprise Goody Bag? Well you'll just have to come back next week month* to find out!

It was time for the #HullBloggers to say good-bye to the team at Hugh Rice and head out in search of some food to round off the day!

  Mission accomplished.

Any favourites from these photos? What would you choose?

*Sorry for delay! I'm having a little break as I'm out playing on the bus and with fire & glass,
although not at the same time as that would just be dangerous!!

Spotlight on Hull Fashion Week - Catwalk Finale Saturday 11th April 2015

Hull Fashion Week (HFW) hit the streets of Hull during early April, a series of events all around the city centre from the 4th to the Finale on the 11th.

I may have had a bit of a sleep since, or perhaps been busy taking part in an international month long April A to Z Blogging Challenge, considering it's now the 11th May, a whole month later.  So whilst the HFW twitter byline was Fashion Never Sleeps - I guess my byline should be Mars Always Sleeps... or spends a lot of time writing alphabetically during April...

On the plus side who doesn't want to still be reading about HFW in May?

The Finale
An early morning downpour made for a rather soggy breakfast, but by the time I skidded into view of Hull City Hall (blaming the roadworks for my tardy appearance) I was under the balcony rather than on it.  Oops!

The Finale kicks off with the traditional balcony welcome

By this time, the sun was shining and the blue skies made for a much better first photograph of the day - it could only get better.

All the things a blogger needs for a busy day of Fashion!

My definition of better involved a well dressed wrist, portions of Thieving Harry's coffee served with orange chocolate flapjack, a programme for the day and making sure I had plenty of room for my notes!

The Catwalk Finale was presented by Nineties Boy (Luke Chambers) and Keeley Donovan from Look North, with added glam and sparkle provided by our very own Hugh Rice and Celebrity Guest Stylist and Make Up Artist Lewis-Duncan Weedon.

Luke and Keeley make a start with introductions all round and you can just spot Lewis-Duncan waiting to make his entrance!

Then we stalled... I'm still not quite sure why we got off to a late start but we soon got back on track, in the meantime it gave me chance to catch up with the lovely #HullBloggers - a great group of folk who have also been working their way through HFW for your reading pleasure.

Yes, yes, it *always* gets this messy, er I mean, busy at the Bloggers Hub!

First up was the Sportswear Catwalk and I couldn't resist a cheeky tweet about odd shaped balls, childish and an old  joke I know!  I adored the riding boots that came strutting down the catwalk - as someone who personally goes from boots to sandals/converse, without an inbetween phase, a good boot always catches my eye...

No shoe fetish?!  Wait, what am I doing at a Fashion Event? Oh I wear clothes, phew!

Even the Mascots joined in the Catwalk fun with a "Walk Off" between the two!

We had boxing tips with Tommy Coyle demonstrated by the audience on stage, throwing their first (and hopefully only) punch of the day... I certainly didn't hear about any casualties; although I may have accidentally elbowed someone in the coffee queue later on!

Boxing Tips with Tommy Coyle

Festival Wear was a popular catwalk, unsurprising as Hull hosts a broad range of festivals throughout the year, outfits here catering to our ideal of sunny summer festivals, with less for the muddy field variety but I guess there are only so many ways you can style a variety of wet weather gear and wellies!

Bonus Flashback Post - Silver & Mud - How to wear great jewellery in a field from 2013

I think this one was popular with my fellow #HullBloggers as there were a lot of photos being snapped during this catwalk!

#HullBloggers - Hard at Work for Hull Fashion Week

Then it was time for a masterclass in Upcycyling old outfits!

Upcycled from old outfits

First we had a mini catwalk of the outfits and then our guest presenters took us through each look and how it had been created... you can certainly get a lot of mileage out of one pair of jeans.

When I borrowed my mum's net curtains in the 80's I'm not sure I was quite so good on the sewing side of upcycling... probably because I had to hang them back up in the window after the night out! (True Story)  

I love this element of fashion as I used to make a lot of my own clothes (badly sewn) although my Grandma's curtains never did make it back on the rail (Another True Story) as they were a more permanent donation to my wardrobe!

Guest presenters talking us through the concept and each outfit.

Next catwalk was Celebration and can I just say from the start that's it's impossible to take a photo of a sparkly dress, especially a wedding dress with a mobile phone... this is where my trusty Xperia Z let me down; I took 6 photos of ethereal ghost like figures before giving up, take my word for it though, both the dresses and the women modelling them were lovely!

Celebration Catwalk sans wedding and sparkly dresses

One of the elements of the day I really enjoyed was the Hair Piece, no, not an actual wig, but the segment of the day where HFW looked at hairstyles with H.Air Blow Dry Bar... Charley over at Rambling of a Beauty Blogger and another model had quick styles created on stage and Charley chatted about blogging from the stage with Lewis-Duncan.

All about Hair, Blogging and Fashion!

I slightly miscalculated how much time I had free at this point, as realising I was hungry I decided to nip out for a bite to eat... only I got sidetracked by the lovely market stalls outside, and guess who forgot to get a sandwich?

Market Stalls at Hull Fashion Week Finale

Actually I blame meeting Karma Feeling for the first time, well who would have predicted that one... the jewellery blogger getting sidetracked by jewellery?!

Karma Feeling at Hull Fashion Week

When I stopped drooling over the lovely bracelets and candles and made my way back into the main hall I'd missed a Catwalk, but was able to catch one of my favourite outfits of the day, a simple style but I've always been a sucker for that dress and boots look... am I finally fashionable?

My favourite look of the day

Just to give you an idea of how popular the shows were, this is a pic I snapped from the stage end, HFW Finale had a great turn out this year and it certainly felt busier all day.

Packed City Hall for the Catwalk Shows

#HullBloggers kept on working, I think a few of us forgot to eat properly during the day - next  year I think we need a food delivery to keep us going!

The audience didn't get off lightly either as there was a quick lesson in how to work the Catwalk, I wonder if we'll see some of these coming through in future Hull Fashion Week events?

Future HFW models get a class in how to work the Catwalk!

I've saved the very popular catwalk and segment that was by Paul Spence and the Hull Workmen's Calendar 2015 models for last, as a special treat for those of you who've scrolled down this far... I can't think why this generated so much buzz, but it was all for a good cause!

Hull Workman - flushed with success from charity fundraiser for HRI in the name of Paul Spence
back in the limelight to help launch the charity Paul.

Hull Fashion Week certainly kept the #HullBloggers busy - given that I've gone collage crazy I had to do a little montage of them too!  Mostly some of the more fun shots taken at the end of the day as we were quite busy during the shows.. Lewis-Duncan gets everywhere... by the way did you know he's an adopted #HullBlogger - fits in just nicely!

#HullBloggers relaxing after a hard day's work at HFW 2015

So for me and the #HullBloggers it was time to pack up and indulge in a little shopping, then for me it was time to crack on with the rest of that alphabet!!

Roll on Hull Fashion Week 2016!

Are you a fashion setter, a follower, one who ignores fashion
or a whatever falls out of your wardrobe person?

#HullFashion Week: Oresome Gallery ~ Paper Jewellery Workshop

If you follow my twitter feed you might have become increasingly confused by my "Fashion" retweets... fear not, my official status as one of the Hull Fashion Week Bloggers just means that I'll be showing you even more jewellery!

Fashion Week in Hull kicked off on Saturday 26th April and ran until Saturday 3rd May finishing with a fantastic Finale Event at Hull City Hall.  You can check out what I had to say and my version of LIVE BLOGGING here.

ORESOME GALLERY
Oresome Gallery is an independent jewellery workshop where Nicola Fidell Chapman and Victoria Prince both work creating beautiful pieces of jewellery.

Oresome Gallery in Hull's Fruit Market

As part of everything the gallery has to offer, they can also be found guiding students on their steps to becoming budding jewellers (whether as a one off session or the start of something more), hosting benchspace in their workshop and retail space in the Gallery to those more experienced practitioners of the craft.  Oh and they stock Earl Grey tea in their kitchen cupboards as standard... these are my kind of jewellers!

Seems I'm not the only person with a love of Earl Grey

Situated  next to Hull Marina, in the fashionable up and coming Fruit Market Quarter, it's a great setting for folk to be creative... and that's exactly what happened on Sunday 27th April as Hull Fashion Week budding jewellery makers made their way to the Gallery to try their hand at a Paper Jewellery Workshop!  This was one of the several free events as part of Fashion Week.

Oresome Gallery - Learn how to make your own jewellery

The event was quite popular, so unfortunately a few people had to be turned away as there was a maximum number of spaces available.

I was really intrigued as to how people would approach this workshop, as essentially you started out with a sheet of paper, and, er, that's it really!  Paper plus an assortment of fastenings so you could make earrings, bracelets, necklaces or a brooch.

What started to emerge as the taster session went on, was clearly that there are some very creative people about, the patterns they saw and started to cut out were really interesting.  Some people had a particular idea of what they wanted at the start and some chose to go with the flow to see what happened.

All that was left to do was a bit of clearing up...

...and someone had to finish off the pile of cakes.  Oresome Gallery really are Awesome!

Oresome Gallery run a variety of taster classes... Victoria was writing up the board for the ones coming up in May, these are to make a ring or a pendant.  

Cost of the workshops are £50 and if you choose to use Silver for your final piece there is a charge for the material (£20) on top which you can buy from the Gallery.  I will be blogging about the Silver Ring Making Workshop from the 27th April in more detail on Curling Stones for Lego People later this month, so if you're interested please check back. 

Please check the Gallery Website for more details.