Showing posts with label Brazil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brazil. Show all posts

23.10.09

lovely links: chain gang



Last Friday after meeting a friend for a coffee & chat on Portobello Road, I was wandering round the stalls and came across Astrid's stand, Da Lata (she shares it with a friend doing great stuff, too: more about him later). I was drawn to these bags because they remind me of some beautiful little chain purses I got from my maternal grandmother, Anna, from Belarus, who died just two weeks after I was born.



Da Lata bags tick all the boxes for me: they're glam, they go with everything, metallics are so on trend, and they're SO socially conscious. They're handmade in Brazil of recycled and sustainable materials, under the guidance of a wonderful woman named Pretinha, who coordinates a group of very disadvantage women from cooperatives in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.



It was their first day when I ran into them - for those of you in London, it's at the top of Portobello Road, near the large market, on the left. For everyone else, there's the website. (I don't get a kickback for any of these posts, by the way: I just love the bags, and think Astrid is so nice!)

12.8.09

floral dV F auna



We were in Southampton (Long Island, not England) the other day and met Mariella. I asked where she got her lovely floral frock and she pointed across the street and said 'Diane Von Furstenberg, where I work!' She just looked like the happiest girl, and without even asking I could tell she clearly endorsed the product. I've always loved DVF, ever since I was a teenager and an ex-boyfriend's older brother's girlfriend was allegedly best friends with her, and I love her website.



It's funny, Vik @ Magpie Girl just recently posted on florals ('flora V fauna') which inspired my (somewhat lame) title. (What can I say: it's late, I've been swimming all day, and I'm missing watching the Jonas Brothers DVD with Scarlett). Vik's had some health problems recently and I'm glad she's home and getting well, and I agree: in summer, I can never get tired of floral frocks. This one on Mariella is perfect on her, and I love it with her blue suede sandals that she got 'somewhere in Brazil.'