Curious Tales - Eco Fashion Blog

Belfast Fashion Week October 2008

2008-09-26T02:05:00.003+01:00

Curious Tales is going to be showcasing our new range of one-off customised jackets at Belfast Fashion Week for the first time ever and I am so so excited about it!

You can catch us on Thursday 16th October in the Baby Grand, Grand Opera House. There are two shows, at 6.30pm and 8pm so take your pick.

Tickets are £10 each and can be bought online or by phoning ++44 28 90241 919.

The show price also includes a complimentary West Coast Cooler and a goodie bag as well. The tickets have been on sale since 1st Aug so if you fancy it you might be better getting them sooner rather than later as I know it usually sells out.

We'll be showing alongside designs from Atelier, Madison Rose, Mary Rose McGrath, Una Rodden, HARPER, Raspberry Beret, Avoca, Liberty Blue, Beverly Hills, Oxfam Vintage and Pillar Box Red so there will be a lot to choose from.

There is also going to be a static show of gorgeous vintage clothes by Previously Loved Boutique, Holywood

The models are in the very capable hands of Michael Quinn hairdressers, and makeup artist Paddy McGurgan. I've checked them out online and you're in for a treat. Paddy has some spectacular makeup shots in his portfolio.

I'm planning on making some outrageous show pieces, corsets and headpieces, and can't wait to get into the studio and dream them up. I haven't made any hats since I was at school, so I am really looking forward to it! I hope to see you down there, it should be a fantastic night!

Fashion Souk

2008-09-25T09:08:00.004+01:00

Wow, well I have finally come down after all the excitement of the past few days. Curious Tales took part in Fashion Souk, the first showcase of new designer talent in Belfast. It took place in Blick Studios, at 51 Malone Road and it was a wonderful night. I was showing my jackets in the fashion show along with designers Catherine B, Jude Bags, Una Rodden, Zoë Boomer, & Vanjo while Jolovesmij promoted her fabulous range of lovely hand bags.

It was a fantastic event, organised by Alyson McElroy Jones of Pinkfly PR and Image Consultancy. We dined on fine sushi from one of my favourite Belfast haunts, Sakura and sipped champers, after being welcomed from the street with a full on red carpet. I was upstairs frantically dressing models so I wouldn't have minded a whole bottle! Fell in love with some of Una Rodden's gorgeous damask skirts and Vanjo's beautiful lingerie. The models were fantastic and looked amazing with big hair courtesy of Paul Stafford, and makeup by The Makeup Boutique. Thank you so much to everyone that came along. I had an absolute ball and it was so lovely to meet so many lovely new people. And I was totally overwhelmed with the response to my jackets. I will have to get busy stitching and make some more :)

You can check out a review of the event here!

Edinburgh Festival 2008!

2008-08-10T14:28:00.008+01:00

Well Curious Tales is in Edinburgh for the Festival. And wow! For those of you who have never experienced it, there's nothing like it anywhere else in the world. There are over 2000 performances and shows taking place every single day! These are just some of the performers who are gracing the street stages every day.

We are set up in the Mound Market if you fancy saying hello :) It's just off Princes Street between the two National Galleries.

There are street performances going on all day in the square - chainsaw jugglers, fire whip acrobats, sword swallowers, strong men, unicyclists and even performing potatoes! Nuns, buskers, bagpipers, tourists, and sporrans galore. One day there were even naked activists protesting at the sporrans. You can't move round here for someone trying to swallow fire, or make a bendy balloon sculpture of Homer Simpson. The guy in the stall up from me has even brought his drum kit to amuse himself on rainy days. It's a bit of a squeeze in there!

And as if all that excitement wasn't too much to bear, who asked me for directions on the very first day? None other than the leg end that is Roy Walker. What are the chances? Apparently he is doing a show here called Goodnight Mr Chips. You can check out his blog here!

We will be checking out what's on and posting more soon!

Lowdown from Ethical Expo!

2008-05-10T23:06:00.005+01:00

Well we are just in from the Ethical Expo in Bristol and we had a great time and met some wonderful people.

Greenknickers had some wonderfully quirky pants, made from organic cotton, bamboo and recycled materials. They even had some pants made from Mr Men fabric, as well as a pair of padded pants for comfortable cycling! Look at these beautiful hemp and silk knickers with ribbons! Mmmmm...

There were gorgeous kimonos from Just Trade for only £35! And they are reversible :) Check out their website for jewellery, purses and some great bags, including these cool laptop cases made from rice sacks!

Green shoes were selling their ethical and hand-made footwear. They can create shoes and boots especially for you from their range of designs. All you have to do is draw around your feet and post it to them! I couldn't resist their very cool accessories in gorgeous metallic leather. Check out their fringed wrist cuff, slashed cuff and necklace. They also do corset belts, but unfortunately I had to restrain myself.

I met the lovely Tamsin Blanchard, style director for the Telegraph Magazine and author of Green is the New Black, which I can't wait to read. Check out her blog here for up to the minute eco fashion news! She was giving us the low-down on eco-chic and talking about the new Oxfam Fashion Boutique in Westbourne Grove which I am SO going to have to check out! It sells reworked pieces from the UK's top designers.

Oxfam and Urban Threads held a recycling challenge while we were at the Expo. Urban Threads work with schools and community groups around Bristol, teaching about sustainability and recycling clothing. A team led by Jacqui Reeves, made fabulous creations for the fashion show, corsets from old ties, puff dresses from scarves, bustle skirts from shirts and created them all in the two days we were there. It was a hive of industry as they got busy with their sewing machines just across the way. It reminded me of the Trash Fashion Project that I ran for New Belfast Community Arts Initiative :)

The event was wrapped up with a fashion show organised by Flock Fashion, featuring reworked pieces made by the Urban Threads team, fashion students from Filton College, and clothes from Adili, Chandni Chowk, Bishopston Trading Company, People Tree, Green Knickers, Just Trade, Green Shoes, and of course, fab T-shirts from Curious Tales! I will have to see if any of the photos I took came out. Look out for them here...

The Fire Gathering Festival

2008-05-05T02:35:00.002+01:00

Next we stop off at The Fire Gathering Festival from 16th-18th May to relax in the sunshine :) Situated on an idyllic farm midway between Brighton and London, this not-for-profit festival is packed with eclectic entertainment; live music, workshops, cabaret, DJ's, circus and comedy.

The site is studded with site-wide art installations and nature trails. Organisers ensure there’s minimum impact on the stunning surrounding countryside – other than the footprints of nature-loving festival-goers.

They're be plenty of live bands on offer, check out their wares here! Ska, punk, dub, acoustic, the choice is endless. Revel in the cornucopia of lush soundscapes and layered harmonies provided by Jim Noir, and his Gnome. Battle with the melodic Little Fish, or get entranced by the psychedelic lounge rock of 12 Stone Toddler.

Acts already confirmed include cult ska collective Los Albertos, regular performers Turning Green, Digitonal, Duologue, Octavcat, John Callaghan, Timothy Victor’s Folk Orchestra, John Crampton, Opaque, Jude Cowan and Mr Finn.

There'll be oddity and illusion with Third Heaven Cabaret and Jonathan Kay and his Nomadic Academy of Fools. And if you fancy having a go yourself check out the workshops in poi, belly-dancing, juggling, hula hoops and latin dance. And of course, you'll be able to buy some fabulous, eco-friendly Curious Tales T-shirts!

Tickets are £65 for three days. For more information and directions on how to get there click here.

Ethical Expo 2008!

2008-04-28T23:13:00.006+01:00

Curious Tales heads across the water this month on our first adventure! Hooray! We will be exploring ethical festivals in the South of England!

The first port of call is Bristol, where we will be exhibiting at the first ever Ethical Expo, on the 9th and 10th May 2008. It should be a fantastic event, supported by Oxfam, The Fair Trade Foundation and Christian Aid, and designed to coincide with World Fair Trade Day.

Head along to Castle Park to sample the delights of over 60 major exhibitors. Get lost in the Eat, Live and Wear Zones, look out for our T-shirts in the ethical fashion show, and take notes at seminars and workshops throughout the day, all while slurping ice-cream in the glorious sunshine (here's hoping!)

Its free in, and on from 10am-6pm each day. Please register at their website to ensure entry and to be kept up to date with ethical info.

Hope to see you there! For directions click here.

And that's not at, then we're heading to...?

Kyron and the Strangels, puppets and clones...

2008-03-31T00:47:00.006+01:00

Check out the brilliant new video for Kyron and The Strangels! The song is You, you, you. Kyron battles with hundreds of smiling and slightly worried versions of himself, who are dancing, playing music and gradually surrounding him on every side. Will he drown in a sea of clones? With a puppet on accordion who is making him dance, he's gonna get a rope, and tie it to a tree, on this moonlit night...

If you missed their hilarious video for Walking the Dog check it out below. Featuring a eco friendly set, made completely from cardboard, Kyron paces the streets with his cardboard dog catching glimpses of the characters who live within the houses. Marvel at the bands dexterity as they play their cardboard instruments, admire Kryon's pink plaid suit and thrill at the buxom troupe of can-can dancers... ;)

The live show is fantastic! Catch them on 19th April at The Rotterdam, or 1st May at The Empire, Belfast. Expect tonnes of energy, along with top hats, megaphones, sequins, golden clouds and some more great visuals courtesy of Stephen Mullan.

Listen to the tunes, or keep up to date with where they're playing here!

Fashion for Sustainability Exhibition - Istanbul

2008-03-07T17:02:00.009Z

I just sent Bernard C. Periwinkle off to Istanbul today. He's going to be hanging out in the Garanti Gallery with other sustainably made garments courtesy of Kate Fletcher, eco fashion guru extraordinaire. Kate is curating the exhibition called SürModa / Fashion for Sustainability which will run from 18th March - 26th April 2008.

As she says, "The exhibition explores fashion as a positive force for change towards sustainability. It combines the products, processes and voices of global brands, independent designers, pressure groups and garment workers, presenting them as a new type of fashion activism."

Kate certainly knows what she is talking about, she has just written a book called Sustainable Fashion and Textiles - Design Journeys, which is available from Earth Scan. I tried getting it from Amazon, but they haven't sorted their supply yet. I'll write more about it when I finally get my hands on a copy.

I'm sure Bernard will have a ball, and return sunkissed with a few tales of whirling dervishes, steaming baths and hookah pipes!

The Irish Blogger Awards 2008

2008-03-03T18:16:00.005Z

What do you get if you cross Twenty Major with Grandad Headrambles, throw in a Bright Spark, the odd mohican, George Bush, an ice-cream man in wellies and finish with a healthy topping of Lady Bloggers and sticky moustaches?
The Irish Blogger Awards 2008! Check out the winners here!
We all piled down to support my friend Michelle Gallen who was up for the Best Technology Award. She didn't win (Boo! Next year!) but we all had such a great time anyway. We started off at the Lady Blogger's Tea Party in the Market Bar where tapas, wooden shoes, and white wine were on the menu. It was organised by Sabrina Dent (who made us feel really welcome, THANK YOU! and who also won Best Designed Blog- check out the gorgeousness!) I tried out my collection of different sized moustaches on everyone, by the time we were leaving most people had embraced their masculine side, and disturbingly some really suited the tiny taches (MaryRose!).
Then on to the Alexandria Hotel for more boozing and shameless moustache promotion. The ceremony was great with hilarious intros courtesy of George Bush himself, and presented by Rick O'Shea who was brilliant and could hardly see past the podium later on in the night, for all his awards adorning it! I hadn't a clue about the scene or who was blogging about what, but now I have enough reading material to do me for the next year. I still have to check out the blogs of everyone I met. I got Grandad Headrambles into a Curious Tales T-shirt. Check him out on the T-shots page. And I bothered Kieran Murphy, the ice cream king, about where I could get my hands on an ice cream van (I'll tell you about that later!)
Twenty Major rounded the night off with Best Blog of the Year, and we even got to see what he looked like (as local legend has it, he is as elusive as the Scarlet Pimpernel.) It was so brilliant, everyone was dead friendly. It was so inspiring that my friend Karen is going to start up her own blog called Magpie, which is going to be full of delightful glittery encrusted things. Watch this space!

Curious Tales Blog Launch!

2008-02-15T11:54:00.006Z

Welcome to my Curious Tales blog!

Over the next few weeks I'll be working hard on getting my new site launched. I'll also be posting some curious tales for you to read...so stay tuned!