The Wool Company

Despite roasting in a studio yesterday along with 5 other models for an exciting shoot involving ghosts, cliffs & scaffolding(!!!) I feel like autumn is considering stopping twiddling its thumbs today and sadly, yet beautifully, hitting us with some cooler air...

To get over this shock (and also because I was, quite frankly, knackered, after non-stop shoots galore plus the horrible news that my doggie suffered heart failure while away; she is now on 3 different medications per day, poor thing (and we are grappling with the trauma - for all parties - of having to shove little tiny pieces of 'make-you-better-I-promise' down her little throat), and she is dealing incredibly well with her gorgeous little heart beating at several million miles an hour to cope with all that's going on in there; seriously, I know it sounds weird, but the X-rays of her tiny little body were adorable!), I decided to take a nap this afternoon and make the most of a recent purchase: welcome The Wool Company's mattress topper.

Wow. My entire bed is anew. Not that there was much wrong with it before; but seriously, I feel like it has new soft, floaty depths!

Gorgeous, afore-mentioned piglet certainly agrees (click to enlarge):

(yes, I have a rose on my pillowcase!)

Anyway, back (more directly) to The Wool Company. I'm delighted to be able to say that I'm their 'face'(/body), having recently shot for the second time around the moors and beaches of Cornwall, and finding their lovely website adorned with pictures of my mug and windswept hair. It's such a huge pleasure to shoot for them and I'm already looking forward to next season's photoshoot. After spending a couple of nights at the family's farmhouse I felt very much at home, and loved chatting to Harry and Sarah in the evening about music and life as much as snuggling up to the wool capes and cashmere scarves on little bridges and next to lakes. Definitely my cup of tea, that sort of thing! :-)

I obviously had to make the most of the discount I was kindly offered and purchased a few things of my own after the shoot, one of which I'm wearing below (clue; I look particularly happy in it!). I just think it's so nice to own things that feel so beautifully made and of the kind of quality that has you dreaming of autumn/winter nights by the fire...

Some shots and screengrabs:

 And in other news, I duck into La Galleria in Picadilly last night after a shoot in London to have a quick look at the painting 'Access to Justice' by Andrew Brady, which I posed for (as Justice herself!). I was pleased to get a text from Andy just beforehand telling me he'd won the 'People's Choice' award! The exhibition, 'Injustice', was run by London Legal Support Trust in association with Arts for Justice and you can see the entries here.

Here's 'Access to Justice':

About the artwork:  'Painted especially for this exhibition, this piece is an  allegory for the way in which the disadvantaged in society find it difficult to gain proper access to justice. Justice here is represented by the figure on the right; she is blind, which traditionally represents her impartiality.The bejewelled figure in the centre represents those with money, influence or power; able to gain the ear of Justice while at the same time obstructing the figure on the left, who, with her threadbare blouse represents the disadvantaged. Making cuts to Legal Aid is one of the greatest injustices in our country today.'

Pedal boats & Bikinis

Evening!

I'm back from a gorgeous 'sunshine shoot' in Portugal - lots of images to show soon, I hope, and in the meantime, the results of some more local (south coast of England) beach frolics, courtesy of a last minute road trip with the excellent Gary Sandy, and the fine Great British weather. Gary's so much fun to work with - I'm sure I'll be shooting with him a third time at some point.

These were great additions to my 'Bright' gallery on my new website.

Romance

I really love these shots taken by Kev at London's Beltcraft Studio. We had a really fun shoot trying all sorts of things, and I think/hope there will be more images to show in the near future. For now, though, sometimes you just need to lie down with the roses....

And..

Pipe Cleaners and Autumn Leaves!

Evening! The owl-eyed among you may have noticed my rapid pulling-down of my most recent blog post, 'Firebird', which featured some extremely cool dance-y studio stuff. Unfortunately I was told that the designer needed her pieces to be kept under wraps until June, so the blog post will be reappearing around then, by which time the shots will be a fun and fresh surprise again if your memories are as terrible as mine.

Today, I'm bringing you some fun and cute stock shots! It's always nice working with photographer Paul Viant at Belmont House. Such a gorgeous, shabby chic country house; I feel quite at home there!! The main theme was 'crafts', so out came the pipe cleaners, the scissors, the wool and ribbons, the dried leaves and the upholstery projects.

Behold the autumn crafting, day dreaming and the blowing on windows to draw hearts on the glass! :-)

We did lots of other little sets as well, including one where I was asked to lie outdoors on a huge, damp (but blissfully comfortable) bed of leaves, acting as though I was taking pictures of myself on my cameraphone. So I did...

Also, just a little thank you to everyone who is so patient when contacting me. I'm working a 7-day week at the moment, doing my usual impression of being more than one person at once, with several projects on the go, and my correspondence speed is far from ideal (it's never something I'm amazingly proud of, I'm the first to admit - though it's not through lack of effort, I assure you); though I do always get things done! :-)

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EDIT:

A little while later: inbox zen.

Screengrab:

I would like to thank: my friends and family, the tiny dog that sat on my lap for most of this 6-hour email session, the chair for supporting my bum (though it got a bit numb at times), my brand new polka-dot 2-person teapot WITH INBUILT FILTER (full of, variously, Earl Grey, Orange Blossom and English Rose) and my own sheer unadulterated determination to be good. Exquisite!