on mothers, daughters, & mermaids

Speaking of mothers and daughters, this is my friend Carry Sommers and her delightful daughter, Sienna (top), at the WEBA awards (read about it on Carry's blog, here). I wish she'd won, but how could she compete against two nice women who created an organic lubrication product for women's, err, intimate parts?
It was a great event, tho, at really cool church in Shoreditch, with yummy canapes that Sienna & I kept scarfing down, but it was quite dark inside. I shot it without flash. Sienna was such a star. I asked her to stand very, very still, which she did, but just my breathing could have blurred it. (I've got a lot of really good ones of them both, shot outside in the still bright summer evening light, which I'll post another day). Had to post these, tho, because I love the colours: green/blue/indigo/purple palette of a tropical underwater scene. The colours of our living room, growing up. Okay, now I miss my mom. Gotta go book a flight to the beach house asap! Can't wait for my brother and sister to come out there with my nieces, and be mermaids with them in the pool, or in the sea.

Have a lovely, summery weekend, wherever in the world you are. And if you happen to live in the Southern Hemisphere, hope it's so tropically warm that it's endlessly summer for you.

fair trade

Just when I started thinking 'I've got enough friends' I've discovered that one of the best - no, truly, the best- things about doing this blog the past few months is the astounding number of real friendships I've formed in such a short time. Some with people - fellow bloggers - I haven't (yet) met, due to geographical logistics, but others - like Carry Sommers, shown here - who, with her husband Mark, below, and a friend, have been literally mobbed at their stand last week at the Chelsea Flower Show. I'm glad my husband met them both, too - we all just got on so well.


I first met Carry & their daughter when I shot her at Spitalfields market last month and we became instant friends: one of those generous spirits who you just feel you've known forever. If you compare the two photos you'll see a great example of true style: she's wearing a different dress, cardigan, even different red shoes, but this is a woman who stays true to her personal style.



As for the hats: they were literally flying off the shelves at the show. It was a feeding frenzy and difficult to get a clear shot of the couple. I can't wait to buy mine, I'm going to wear it with everything this season: floaty nude dresses, everything. (I knew hats would be huge this spring, even before I shot Peony in a fedora last March.)


Pachacuti hats are fair trade, ethical, made in the Andes, classic, stylish, and beautifully made. They're perfect for staying cool in the much anticipated and eagerly awaited heat wave in London: thank you, global warming. We're all set.

keep strong and carry on

Another fabulous example of the strong, bold ethical/ethnic print dress is here on Carry, who has a truly impressive company called Pachacuti that imports fair trade Panama hats and also men's and women's hats in felt and leather. She's won all sorts of awards, met the Queen.. take a look on her site or blog. I ran into her in Spitalfields market and love everything about her look, which feels very much her, and not just some trend she's trying to follow. Her dress is by her friend Katherine Bramwell Cole, a potter. Funny old world: my husband loves & collects modern British pottery, and he's now discovered someone he's really impressed with, too. I love a man in a panama hat, and now I know where to get it!