Make it a London Christmas / Part 2

I have found concluding 2018 difficult, it’s been a tough year in general ,most certainly for the High Street and for anyone who works in fashion. I wish I could say I am ending it on a high and feeling optimistic for 2019, hard as I try I am not. But I most certainly don’t want to end it on a low and I am certainly hopeful that 2019 will surprise me for the better.

I will let London, my source of inspiration,do the talking for me. Captured by photographer Dennis Madden over the festive period and right up to date 31/12/18, New Years Eve.

From Trafalgar square, to China Town

The all new Coal Drops Yard in Kings Cross, and the iconic Royal Albert Hall

From towering Christmas trees in Euston, to ho ho ho in Soho, and some much needed Angels in Regent Street

Spectacular skies over Waterlow Park in Highgate

And last, but most certainly not least, my very own Waterloo sunset

Wishing you all health, happiness and good fortune in 2019

x Nadia

TRAVEL: FILM, FISH AND FRITES, St Malo & Dinard

 

Images and details: Brian Minkoff Photography 

Travel Bag: The Camden tote in Mustard

Travelled with: There and back overnight on Brittany Ferries   from Portsmouth to St Malo .  There’s an excellent buffet ,so a pretty good start

 

Commuted: There’s a small ferry boat that goes from St Malo to Dinard and back every hour

Stayed at: Castelbrac  St Malo, 5 star luxury in a unique setting

 

Ate at: Brasserie du Sillon, right on the St Malo beach, where my starter (slightly not kosher) Plateau de fruits de mer  (oysters, langoustines, king prawns, whelks and winkles) and the Mrs’s  mackerel fillets marinated in Muscadet were fantastic as were the whole grilled  snapper (my favourite fish) and C’s Chateaubriand in a creamy mustard sauce with thin, thin chips. Followed by a pistachio pavlova with strawberry sorbet and crème brulée with Madagascan vanilla

 Le Sept Mers in St Malo overlooking the beach where we indulged in foie gras, crab with grilled avocado and fennel, pork belly with sage, smoked cauliflower and mash, cod baked with sea greens, a chocolate ganache with absinthe and a fruit soup with ginger and yogurt sorbet.

 

Stayed at: Le Nouveau Monde, St Malo and highly recommend,

Ate at:  our favourite restaurant, La Gonelle, overlooking the bay where they bring the fish fresh from the tank. We indulged in fresh sardines and then shared a whole turbot baked in beef juices with rosemary potatoes and a bottle of local cider.

 

 

 

Visited:  The Dinard Film Festival,  This  film fest offers access to paying punters and is very friendly.

Bag verdict: The Mrs loved the bag-very soft leather and a lovely colour and lots of room. The attached purse was neat too.

A bientot!

The HH Collection

 

Howard Hodgkin ‘Absent Friends’ retrospective at The National Portrait gallery held in March 2017, is the backbone and inspiration to the latest Nadia Minkoff London collection

“Howard Hodgkin’s powerful use of colour as well as his painted frames ,removing standard borders and boundaries, encouraged me to step out of my colour palette ‘comfort zone’ and produce a vibrant range of multi coloured, multi textured handbags.”

Often described as a ‘slow artist’ in his early years, his paintings despite their apparent fluidity and spontaneity, took years if not months to complete.

“the whole idea of slow appeals to me greatly, at a time when society wants everything immediate, at the press of a button and increasingly faster I take comfort in the whole ‘slow’ movement. Our UK made Fitzrovia bags are exactly that: one at a time, slow, refined, tactile. I love them, not just visually or from a wearable point of view but because I know how much care has been invested in making each and every one”

The Nadia Minkoff London ‘HH collection’ is now available to buy online and through leading stockists in the UK and worldwide