Art Deco meets the new iphone at the Place St Michel
Even the bears over do it sometimes, but how can you not?
Despite Covid ,Paris is as beautiful and as tasty. In fact, maybe Covid restrictions and complications have made short, successful getaways even more special.
Happy New Year to all, may 2022 be healthy, happy, tasty and a whole lot easier.
“I don’t think we could have stood the test of time had we not paid such close attention to what our customers want, what they buy or the direct feedback they provide us with. Covid meant we had to look and listen to your feedback even more to make sure we could keep our business alive. Our new AW21 bag collection has taken all we’ve seen; all we’ve learnt and all you’ve asked for and suggested to us into account.”
During lockdown we learnt how to be creative, resourceful and how to make the most of what we have at our doorstep and in our homes:
Walks to the park, discovering a new local beauty spot, queuing up for a take away coffee & pastry, learning something new, time spent watching and discussing Netflix
When lockdown ended but travel was restricted, we learnt how to Staycation and how to support and embrace local businesses.
Now that the skies, restaurants, workplaces and entertainment venues have re-opened did life resume to pre-covid normal or have we changed? adapted? developed new habits?
It’s hard to imagine that we can learn so much at Nadia Minkoff London through our online bag and jewellery sales, but we can.
Roll on Winter 2021 and we’ve adapting:
Our bag sizes have changed- we now ‘live in’ our phones and want smaller, lighter, more practical bags.
We’ve re-designed the interiors of our bags too- different compartments to make life easier: sewn in card holders, key fob holders, face mask pockets, more external pockets.
Our straps are wider, softer and kinder on the shoulders. And our colour palette? goodbye ‘seasonal’ and hello ‘all year round’. Seems we as people enjoy greater freedoms these days, switching things up, doing things our way, adding vibrant colours to our winter wardrobe and basic neutrals to summer one.
In 2017 I designed The Rena Bag in memory of my mother, it’s been a great, staple classic but needed to adapt to 2021. The all new Rena Go for Winter 21/22 is a great example of how we’ve adapted:
The Rena Go a fair bit smaller: at just under 2/3rds of the original Rena that’s a big drop in size!
The layout of the compartments and pockets in The Rena Go is designed to make everything visible at a glance- no need to rummage in the bag looking for that pen, lipstick, phone. But of course the all vital sewn-in key fob remains, you have no idea just how happy that key fob makes me, so useful!
Internally and externally we have maximised the space with a full size outside pouch and clever detailing inside
The new strap is a wide, soft cotton webbing. Not only is it comfortable so you can wear your bag crossbody or on the shoulder it is detachable so you can pack the bag away easily into a small suitcase if your flying light
The all new gunmetal plated hardware give compliments the modern, minimalist shape of the bag,but best of all will work with any jewellery plating be it gold, silver or gunemtal.
Of course, we test and re-test all our bags at the office, at home and outside.
We sent our Rena Go on a short Brighton staycation, which involved walking, cycling, beach strolling, eating out, drinking out and … more eating out.
It was perfect and I think my mum Rena would have approved….Normally she would have gone for Grey but I think this time round she would have gone for the Aqua Blue , Blue was her favourite colour.
“The dictates of work are as compelling for a woman as for a man”
(Barbara Hepworth)
Sculptor, Barbara Hepworth, has been an inspiration throughout my life. An all-time favourite of my mother, I was introduced to her work at a young age and grew up with it. Initially fascinated by her smooth tactile textures and by her abstract yet natural forms, I later discovered her remarkable strengths as a woman and artist.
“Ideas come with a rush in a place like that & I feel that forms will become concrete at great speed.”
(Barbara Hepworth, The Sculptor in the Studio/Sophie Bowness)
St Ives was battered by gale force winds on the day of my visit, so strong as to make it impossible to walk along the waterfront, it was eerily quiet and deserted bar the noise of the wind battering the rooftops and whistling down the narrow cobbled alleyways of St Ives. I had the fortune of experiencing Trewyn studios and garden entirely on my own, apart from a large tabby cat, happily asleep next to the door.
The BaH Collection is a deeply personal homage to Barabara Hepworth’s work, studio and her many attributes which I have found so inspiring:
Ambition, determination, clarity of shape and form, balance and the ability to translate female physical experiences into her art.
“The BaH collections aesthetics and colours are drawn from this journey, minimal and clean I hope they encapsulate my interpretation of Barbara Hepworth whose enduring legacy continues to be as remarkable both as a female trailblazer and as an artist.”
The St Ives Tote bagexploring curved edges and smooth metallic leathers
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.
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.
Hit by the tough economic downturn as well as recent unrest there seems to be quite a big divide in opinion when it comes to Paris: It’s beautiful- it’s dirty, it’s exciting- it’s dangerous, it’s cool- it’s run down, it’s delicious- it’s full of fast food
I Paris hop regularly and am never 100% sure how I feel about going these days, when the sun is shining I think ‘OK, it will be fine’ but when it rains I wonder ‘what on earth am I doing going there in the first place?’
For my most recent mid-April trip I left Kings Cross International ‘armed’ with my lovely ‘The Brewer’ travel holdall, now that on its own (I confess) is enough to put me in a good mood.
A couple of hours later I arrive ,Paris is kind and greets me with sunny skies. I set off on my mad schedule, I certainly know how to pack in a full day’s work made easier by the fact that I’ve been so many times that making a B line from the station to my favourite haunts is second nature.
Say what you will, there is always something new and exciting to discover here and that is what really makes Paris so unique.
So a quick run-down of what excited me this time:
An amazing cheese shop caught my eye, the large milk urns leading to the door and the outdoor cooled fridge packed with cheeses .Even though I didn’t buy or try any it was just spectacular.
It’s asparagus and strawberry season and all the green grocers have them out on display, they just look so good and they display them so beautifully
In a little corner café I take the ‘dish of the day’ which turns out to be the most delicious home-made ravioli and green salad. I just love it that in France it is completely cool to wipe clean the sauce on your plate with your bread, how good is that!
The flats in Central Paris, especially the buildings that taper into a corner are beautiful.
The independent clothing boutiques are the best I have seen anywhere, absolutely and without a doubt. But even the larger Dept stores embrace fashion in the grandest of manner. So Spring has hit Printemps and you just can’t miss the buzz, large floral rabbits included.
As I step out of Printemps the heavens open, hailstones the size of golf balls followed by a heavy downpour. I head on back into Printemps and the quiet oasis which is the Cojean café in the lower ground floor. White and silver minimalism, healthy alternative snacks and salads, vegan cakes and lots of lovely teas. My tray looks great on the table top and my The Brewer holdall looks even better hanging from its under table bag hanger- how thoughtful of them to do this. Any bag designer and bag lover reading this blog will totally get this,surely this is what life is all about.
Back at the Gare du Nord I regroup my thoughts, the intention was to go to Paris armed solely with my Brewer travel holdall which is very spacious and to fill it up with a few bits and pieces bought on the way and that’s it.
Did I stick to my plan? Why of course not, too many things to buy in Paris!!
After a challenging couple of months, I finally got to fully relax this past weekend. Sunday brought with it London spring sunshine, glorious! I headed straight out to my winter battered garden, time to clear up, discover what survived the cold winter and get the garden ready for planting new arrivals.
But the real, REAL treat was Afternoon Tea at Edith’s House. I guess in some ways this newest arrival to North London’s Crouch End is simply bonkers but in fact it is absolutely perfect.
Step in through the front door, back in time, into your Auntie or grandma’s house, kitsch galore, melamine furniture in abundance, lace, wallpaper and bygone knick-knacks.
SO WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR TEA SERVED?
The dining room or the parlour?
Sat on the bed in the bedroom or perhaps in the hallway?
No tables left? How about the toilet then?
Décor aside (and that was pretty good) the scones are top notch, hot, fresh ,tasty, different and the tea and coffee are Superb ( I opted for the Cinnamon scone, yum!)
Last but not least, the house pooch Roux, trying to convince you to share some of your food…
One thing I know for sure is that I’m most definitely coming back!
HAPPINESS IS… seeing the beautiful AILYN PEREZ with her red ‘The Cut’ clutch bag!The fast rising star of the Opera world, Soprano Ailyn Perez Currently Violetta in The Royal Opera House production of La Traviata and promoting the release of her much awaited duet album with husband Stephen Costello. Talented, beautiful and sweet she even took a few minutes of time out to pose with her new clutch, our red, Nadia Minkoff London The Cut/SE1 … thank you, made my day!
Hope you all had a nice weekend (we had a long one here in the UK!)
Today I revised the magazine contact list again. It seems like everyone in the fashion journalism industry changes jobs every fortnight, as the contact info I’ve found is usually outdated.
Nadia helped me edit my press release as well. As I said, it was my first attempt at it so it needed quite a bit of help, especially in targeting it to the intended audience. My version sounded a little too descriptive and wasn’t selling the bag as much it should have, whilst the edited one makes you want to run out and buy it (which you should all do anyway). I’m doing another one this week though so I’ll be sure to let you know how that’s going.
Check out some pictures from the weekend on Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter, and let me know what you think in the comments below (please actually do it so I don’t end up like this meme):
Also, Nadia blogged yesterday about this cute little library she spotted, it’s worth a look!
I’ve finally got my own regular feature in a magazine I really like, how cool is that? It took me a while to get going, having agreed to the column I suddenly had writers block, followed by prolonged hesitation and a lot of doubt. My monthly feature ‘musings of a bag lady’ is really just that :bags, more bags, accessories, trends and I’m guessing yet more bags! But I hope to share with my readers a mix of ‘inside’ knowledge from the industry and my personal take on what is currently trending and why.
Please have a read through the first one ‘ to have and to hold’ and let me know what you think, would love to have your feedback.
Also, you can bag yourself ( excuse the pun) one of our lovely St Johns Wood tote bags in dark Navy, Women Talking are running a competition for this bag and the details are on the page. It’s a very , very lovely bag so be sure to enter!
Nadia Minkoff London, St Johns Wood tote in Navy Blue leather
If you love fashion and are in London on Sept 14th 2013, here’s your chance to win a ticket for you and a friend to see our London Fashion Week catwalk with Nico Didonna in central London. just email us at enquiries@nadiaminkoff.com or tweet us @NadiaMinkoff and let us know your names. You’ve got till midday Wed Sept 11th to enter so hurry, hurry!
Nadia Minkoff London 