Amelia’s Magazine | The Secret Emporium at The Secret Garden Party Festival 2012

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The Secret Emporium by Maria Papadimitriou aka Slowly The Eggs

This year The Secret Garden Pary, which took place between the 19th and 22nd of July, had chosen for its 10th birthday celebrations the theme ‘Standing on Ceremony’. More than ever before this famously flamboyant festival encouraged all kinds of rituals, ceremonies, initiations and carnivals to be abundantly created, attended and enjoyed by the gardeners. As the charming Secret Garden Party guide from this year explained, the aim of the above, and of the Garden as a whole, was to ‘bind us together’ and ‘emphasise matter over mind’. I felt that both these aims were most certainly achieved not only by the colourful activities, but also the huge amounts of mud which challenged us, bonded us as if with gooey, brown glue and made sure that ‘matter’ took centre stage indeed…

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Bannersphoto by Maria Papadimitriou

I found myself part of this mud world because I was one of the designers taking part in the Secret Emporium. For a few years now The Secret Emporium has been sourcing independent, underground and out of the ordinary designers during the winter and taking them to festivals over the summer – as well as organising various other pop up events during the year, such as The Secret Emporium Christmas Market, featured previously in Amelia’s Magazine. The often theatrical pieces by The Secret Emporium designers are especially suited to a playful festival, like The Secret Garden Party, and it was most fun witnessing people all around being at their most willing to dress up and give in to a bit of embelishment. Below are just a few of my favorite looks and designs from The Secret Emporium festive marquee…

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party EABURNS photo by Maria Papadimitriou

A wonderful shoulder piece, headband and pendant from EABurns by the very talented Lizzie Burns.

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Veronique wearing SJSSTYLE and Every Cloud has a Silver Lining photo by Maria Papadimitriou

I think a few jaws dropped when the beautiful Veronique – a Secret Emporium intern – modeled this onesie by SJSSTYLE and long statement necklace by Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining.

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Key-Lime-Pie cape+bow photo by Maria Papadimitriou

A lovely festival look consisting of cape, bow hairpiece and bum-bag by Key Lime Pie.

Secret Emporium Tell Tails by Maria Papadimitriou aka Slowly The Eggs

Tell Tails by Maria Papadimitriou aka Slowly The Eggs

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Hapuska photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Hapuska’s headpieces were perfect for a bit of drama – and notice the cute red bows make up by In Your Dreams mentioned below!

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Feathersmith photo by Maria Papadimitriou

More feathery, tribal headwear by Feathersmith.

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Camille Walalaphoto by Maria Papadimitriou

The super lovely Camille Walala, whose colourful stall I had the pleasure of having immediately opposite me, dressed glamorously every day in her own designs.

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party The Poundshopphoto by Maria Papadimitriou

I totally loved the forces behind The Poundshop, Sara and George, who were, like myself, recipients of one of the very generous Secret Emporium scholarships. From their greatly designed wooden kiosk on wheels they represented a host of designers via their super affordable and witty products.

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Plastic Seconds photo by Maria Papadimitriou

This lady was very excited about just purchasing this headpiece made from found objects by Plastic Seconds – which is my jewellery line.

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Hathor photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Elegant and sparkly one-off headpieces by Hathor.

Secret Emporium BangBangCrash by Maria Papadimitriou aka Slowly The Eggs

Bang Bang Crash by Maria Papadimitriou aka Slowly The Eggs

Of course The Secret Garden Party is very clear about its desire to bring out the animal side in a Gardener so Bang Bang Crash were there to provide various animal suits…

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party JobeeJo Creations photo by Maria Papadimitriou

And felted animal ear hats by JoBee Jo Creations were helping along.

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party In Your Dreams photo by Maria Papadimitriou

In Your Dreams catered for all our ‘out there’ make up needs and were deservedly very popular.

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Tell Tales 2 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Tell Tails photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Also very popular – both with kids and adults! – were the fabulous tails from Tell Tails.

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Merrimaking

The Merrimaking stall, as always, was full of cleverly designed and fun promoting items.

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party SJSSTYLE photo by Maria Papadimitriou

SJSSTYLE made sunglasses with all sorts of weird and wonderful additions to them!

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Lucy Peacock photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Lucy Peacock, who is helping to run The Secret Emporium, also displayed her geometric jewellery.

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Grace Du Prez photo by Maria Papadimitriou

I have long admired Grace du Prez’s jewellery design and at The Secret Emporium she was also my delightful neighbour.

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Gilbert Grotto and Grace Du Prezphoto by Maria Papadimitriou

Here is one of Grace du Prez’s hair pendants worn on a Gilbert Grotto tee!

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Fuudhoods photo by Maria Papadimitriou

The cockerel in me loved these head turning hoods by Fuud Hoods.

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Leftover photo by Maria Papadimitriou

More found objects headpiece action by Leftover.

Secret Emporium at Secret Garden Party Umbrellas decorations photo by Maria Papadimitriou

The Secret Emporium team had made these bright and colourful umbrellas to decorate the interior of their euqally bright and colourful marquee.

All photography by Maria Papadimitriou.

Categories ,BangBang Crash, ,Camille Walala, ,EABurns, ,Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining, ,Feathersmith, ,festival, ,Fuud Hoods, ,Gilbert Grotto, ,Grace Du Prez, ,Hapuska, ,Hathor, ,In Your Dreams, ,JoBee Jo Creations, ,Key Lime Pie, ,Leftover, ,Lucy Peacock Jewellery, ,Maria Papadimitriou, ,Merrimaking, ,Plastic Seconds, ,Secret Emporium, ,Secret Garden Party, ,SJSSTYLE, ,Tell Tails, ,The Poundshop, ,The Secret Emporium, ,The Secret Garden Party

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Amelia’s Magazine | Christmas Gift Ideas 2012: Cushions!

ooh deer pictor_cushion http://www.williambranton.com
Pictor cushion in super soft faux suede by William Branton for Ohh Deer.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be blogging all my best suggestions for a range of gifts, from homeware to jewellery to fine art prints to kids’ clothes… and to start off my round up I bring you my pick of cushions…

As a surface to display design in the home cushions are hard to beat, which is why you will find so many illustrators and textile designers currently churning them out. And they’re a great way to cheaply dress up your living room – so why not splash out on one, or two, for your loved ones. And then you’ll get to enjoy them too. Perfect!

ben the illustrator greenland multicoloured cushion
Ben the Illustrator believes that ‘good places make people feel good‘, whether you’re on the coast watching birds, or on the couch watching TV. His artwork is inspired by nature and his new homeware range is printed and hand-made in the UK, aided by his wife Fiona and manufactured ‘using unlimited volumes of colour and love‘. I love this Greenland design, inspired by Arctic dwellings.

kate marsden park hill cushion
The iconic Park Hill housing estate in Sheffield inspired this large square cushion by Kate Marsden, which is digitally printed on the front with black felt on the reverse.

Imogen-Heath-Dahlia-Cushion
Imogen Heath combines traditional artistry with digital technology to create print designs such as this bright Dahlia design.

shake the dust cheetah cushion
Shake the Dust is a new ethical design brand which sources, commissions and sells hand-made, luxury homeware and accessories: traditional skills are reinterpreted through modern eyes. This gorgeous Cheetah design was made in the Kingdom of Swaziland by Baobab Batik.

constructive studio faces_cushion
Craig Yamey of Constructive Studio created this beautiful calligraphic face print from his studio in Cockpit Arts, Holborn. Read more about the Constructive Studio collection here.

Donna Wilson oak tree cushion
No blog on cushions would be complete without mention of the all conquering Donna Wilson – I particularly like this shaped woollen oak tree. Something a bit different for the sofa!

Darkroom cushion Camille Walala
A little bit 80s, a little bit tribal,what’s not to love about Camille Walala‘s brilliant double sided cushion which was inspired by the wall paintings of South Africa’s Ndebele tribe? Part of the T-R-I-B-A-L-A-L-A collaboration with Darkroom.

howkapow white bear paul farrell cushion
I adore this White Bear/Black Bear two-sided cushion by Bristol-based illustrator, Paul Farrell, available from the great Howkapow design website run by husband and wife design team Cat and Rog.

ooh deer big_chill_jack teagle cushion
On Culture Label I found this characterful cushion designed by the inimitable Jack Teagle for Ohh Deer, who work with a host of illustrators to create lovely things.

Soma Ben Javens drum major mini cushion
Is it a cushion? Is it a plush toy? I’m going with the former for the purposes of this fab creation by Ben Javens on Soma Gallery. Each Drum Major cushion is carefully screen-printed in the UK using eco-friendly water-based inks, then stuffed and sewn by hand by Beast in Show in Oxford.

poppy and red ditsy flower cushion
A search of Society6 brought me to this lovely ditsy design by Irish design duo Poppy & Red.

Lu Flux Alphabet A cushion
For patchwork lovers: check out these fab alphabet cushions by ethical designer Lu Flux. They are all made from vintage fabrics sourced in Britain and no two are the same.

Urban-Cross-Stitch-Floral-Skull-BUST
For those of you who prefer to create your own: I’ve already bought one of these as a present – an amazing floral skull cushion by Urban Cross Stitch. Meet them in person at the Bust Craftacular.

lorna syson Bullfinch cushion
Finally, for a festive feel that will work all year around, how about these plump and handsome bullfinch adorned cushions by Lorna Syson, discovered last weekend at the Cockpit Arts open studios.

Look out for my next gift blog, coming soon.

Categories ,Baobab Batik, ,Beast in Show, ,Ben Javens, ,Ben the Illustrator, ,Black Bear, ,Bust Craftacular, ,Camille Walala, ,Cockpit Arts, ,Constructive Studio, ,Craig Yamey, ,Culture Label, ,Cushion, ,cushions, ,Dahlia, ,Darkroom, ,Donna Wilson, ,Drum Major, ,eco, ,ethical, ,Greenland, ,Holborn, ,Homewares, ,Howkapow, ,illustrator, ,Imogen Heath, ,Interior Design, ,Interiors, ,Jack Teagle, ,Kate Marsden, ,Lorna Syson, ,Lu Flux, ,Ndebele, ,Ohh Deer, ,Ooh Deer, ,Park Hill, ,pattern, ,Paul Farrell, ,Shake the Dust, ,Skull, ,Society6, ,Soma Gallery, ,T-R-I-B-A-L-A-L-A, ,Urban Cross Stitch, ,White Bear, ,William Branton

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