As seen in... George Spring Summer 09

We are so thrilled to once again have had barton&bell selected by the lovely people at George fashion company for their catalogue. George have been an iconic Australian fashion label producing beautiful garments for many years.

The new George collection is stunning and we had a fantastic time at the shoot helping to style the jewellery.

George Spring Summer 09 Daywear

George Spring Summer 09 Evening

To view the entire collection visit
www.georgefashion.com.au
It is great to see just how versatile our new barton&bell collection is and get inspired for Summer!
Enjoy. x

Fingers Crossed

I would definitely consider myself superstitious. I carry a penny in my purse for good luck, won't cheers a drink without looking you in the eye, am petrified of black cats, refuse to open an umbrella indoors or walk under a ladder....the list goes on!

Along with this comes my love of lucky symbols so we created a range of wooden symbols with sterling silver studs to bring luck and good fortune.

Cross - FAITH . Shield - PROTECTION . Anchor - STRENGTH

Key - WISDOM . Heart - LOVE . Bow & Arrow - ROMANCE

As a beautiful friend taught me to say...
Wishing you 'enough'.
barton&bell x

A few of my favourite things....

A few years back a friend introduced me to the fashion illustrations of Kat MacLeod.

Many have been up on my pin board to inspire and be admired.

"Kat Macleod’s collage ladies will inspire confusing feelings of wardrobe envy, even though they are drawings and not people. She finds fashion, textiles, new art supplies and old books inspiring. Her clients include Vogue Entertaining and Travel, Collette Dinnigan, Harper’s Bazaar, Madison and Frankie. She has also illustrated two books, Bird and The Cocktail Book. She enjoys hot chips, talking on the phone and her cat. She hopes to continue working with good people on beautifully designed illustration projects". THE JACKY WINTER GROUP

Her work can also be seen at www.michigirl.com.au

And in the book "the cocktail 200 fabulous drinks" by Jane Rocca

* I can confidently report to you that all cocktails taste just as good as the illustrations look. Enjoy!

love & LOTUS

I love the Buddhist philosophy. I read it often to make my head clear and my heart happy.
The very first ring I ever made for myself I designed based on the lotus flower (a buddhist symbol of love). I since designed a range around this called love&LOTUS. Currently there are charm necklecaes with the love or lotus symbol on them and earrings that come as a mixed pair.
They are available in stores now.

love: Since the beginning of time people have searched for the meaning of love but even the greatest philosophers with their profound definintions could not fully touch it's true essence.

LOTUS: The lotus grows in the muddy water of still ponds and lakes. The magnificent blossom unfolds gradually, one petal at a time, till full-bloom in the morning when the sun's rays touch the flower. As the lotus awakens and blooms at the first rays of the morning sun, the interdependence between the lotus and the sun is a symbol of love.

"Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared". Buddhist quote

A great place to read about Buddhism online: www.buddhanet.net

Florence Broadhurst prints.

I am a huge fan of Florence Broadhurst prints and have collected quite a few over the years. I think they are timeless and beautiful and have never tired of admiring them.

This is one of my favourites.

You can view more at www.signatureprints.com.au

Recently I stumbled across artist Emma Hack's work. The images below are from a series she has done using body art to blend the human form into the background of iconic Florence Broadhurst wallpaper prints. The detail is incredible.

'Exotic Birds II'

'Wallpaper Egrets'

http://www.emmahackartist.com/

Melbourne: Exhibiting our new range.

We have spent the last week in Melbourne exhibiting our new barton&bell collection at the recent trade fair. We are so excited about this collection so we are thrilled to have new barton&bell stockists throughout Australia and internationally that will be stocking our label.

The upcoming collection is very diverse. You can expect to see new styles in our signature carved bone and wood pieces, lots of long necklaces to layer through summer and huge amounts of colour as well as clean summer whites.

Here is one of my favourite shots from the new range...

We had a fantastic time in Melbourne. One of the highlight being our visit to Fifteen restaurant.
Fifteen was a concept set up by Jamie Oliver in London in 2002 and exists to inspire disadvantaged young people to believe that they can create for themselves great careers in the restaurant industry. Every month funds from the restaurant are reinvested into the apprenticeship schemes so not only do you get to enjoy good food but you are helping to support people turn their lives around.

The Melbourne restaurant has a great feel, delicious food and warm friendly staff who made our night (which happened to be Mum's birthday) so enjoyable. We were seated in the 'White Room' which is in full view of the open kitchen where you can watch as the meals are being prepared.


I highly recommend a visit.
http://www.fifteen.net/restaurants/fifteenmelbourne/Pages/default.aspx