Barnard Castle has big news!!!

Calling all shoes fans and more……..

Ok well today I was going to write a little blog on colour, but I got wind of some big news about my idol Vivienne Westwood.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/content/image_galleries/vivienne_westwood_exhibition_gallery.shtml?31

Westwood is now embarking on a world tour with her successful London exhibition – ‘Vivienne Westwood Shoes’ show casing 40 years in design right up to the present day, destinations on the bill are Moscow, and Beirut and the only other UK date on this particular tour Barnard Castle, County Durham a little more specific, The Bowes Museum. This exhibition will run from 10^th June to 10^th July so you have one month to catch this really special exhibition of 200 shoes. After this Westwood’s shoes will be jetted off to New York, Japan, and China.

http://blogs.creativepool.co.uk/blog/super-elevated-gillie-by-vivienne-westwood-the-most-dangerous-item-of-footwear-ever-created/

Westwood has been to the Museum a few years ago with an exhibition of her garments along side a historic exhibition of lace The Blackborne Collection. This saw some iconic garments designed by the Dame go on display at The Bowes Museum, and I was lucky enough to be able to attend the opening night.

 At this event Westwood gave a small talk about her garments and her career, this was a once in a life time opportunity to meet the Dame and what’s more it was on my own door step in my home town. I sheepishly approached Westwood and asked her to sign my book about lace.  With such good grace she took my book from me and effortlessly signed her name in the front of my book. 'To Sarah Vivienne Westwood' 

I stood in awe as she slowly looked round the whole exhibition along with the other attendees of the opening night. She admired the work that had gone into the handmade lace on display and pointed out bits of interest as if she was in a room full of old friends.

It was this visit that set the theme of my degree dissertation.

How does Vivienne Westwood express identity in her designs?

A simple question for a dissertation but she is a complicated person to analyse. I could have written much more than the designated 8,000, which now I look back does not seem a lot hmmmm maybe because I am not faced with a deadline.

Hands down The Bowes Museum has earned its brownie points to be welcoming another Vivienne Westwood exhibition into its textile gallery, I think I will live in hope that she will be coming back to open this exhibition on shoes also. 

This exhibition comes months after closing a very successful Damian Hirst display, where the Bowes hosted his famous Diamond encrusted Scull for a short period of time.

More information on ‘Vivienne Westwood shoes’ exhibition and other exhibitions available at The Bowes Museum take a look at their website.  http://www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk/

So this post goes to say Barnard Castle may be a small sleepy town but we sure do know how to attract the big names, and I personally can not wait to go see the treasures which will be on display. 

Sarah x

Ian Dutton

Happy Monday everyone I hope the first full working Monday in a while has run smoothly.  

We are kick starting the week with a post about the lovely Ian Dutton illustrator and designer who loves drawing ‘stuff’.

Approximately 2 weeks ago I was daydreaming and browsing though some lovely blogs and websites, and stumbled across Ian in my travels from blog to blog. I instantly fell in love with his designs and style of working and

whilst having a good rummage though his website I saw that he was a tweeter and since I have just started tweeting myself just over a year ago I am drawn to follow people to hear their tweets and up to date news, sometimes just being drawn into a good old tweet with fellow followers.

After following Ian on twitter I was soon dragged away from looking at pretty things on the internet and wasting the day away. Armed with a cup of tea and a pile of ginger nuts I immersed my self in a world of paper work accounting and telephoning, organising my ever untidy office space (yes my gas bills etc are always covered in tea rings and slight smudges where I have kept my biscuit in the tea a little to long) I had soon filed my design inspiration and daydreaming into a special place inside my head for a later date.

After an afternoon of filing, hole punching, stapling, and calculating the next day I awoke bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to start a full day of design work re opening that little box in my head ready for all my ideas to spill out.

But first I can never resist a cheeky peek at what my followers and friends are up to on twitter, and waiting for my in my DM message box was a little message from Ian Dutton….. Sarah you are my 100^th follower congratulations you have won a print.

EEEEEk I couldn’t believe it I had actually won something just for being interested in what Ian had to say and what he got up to with his wonderful illustrations, he messaged me and asked me what I liked and a couple of days latter this lovely little print arrived, much prettier and bigger than I had ever imagined.

I love it!

I still can’t quite decide where to put it, I keep moving it around the house. It has given the house that little extra spring feel.

This is where I have it at the moment and I couldn’t resist placing my little hand made wooden mushroom in front of it making it almost like a woodland scene.

Pop over to Ian’s website and take a look at his lovely designs for your self maybe there is something that would fit into your front room.http://www.ianduttondesigns.com/

Ian regularly takes commissions and I am sure he would be happy to hear from you if you have some ideas for your perfect print.

I hope that you enjoy looking around Ian’s site and Ian I hope that you like where I currently have your print displayed in my house. My mum loved it but I am afraid this is going to be one of those prezzies you secretly want to take back and spend all you time trying to sneak it back ;) 


If you are an artist and would like a review please do not hesitate to contact me I would love to see some of you work and write you a feature. Please contact me Sarah at Sarah@skylarctextiles.co.uk It doesnt matter if you are a furniture designer, fine artist, or kitchen designer if you have an artistic way of producing your product I want to hear about it.