I Need a Cat Need

I would never describe myself as a cat person. The first cat I ever held scratched me which hasn't helped plus my mum has always been allergic so cats have never been a big part of my life. 

However this all changed when I discovered these Exotics, a breed of Persian cat that I found at the Cat Need Cattery which is located in Foshan, China. 

With short fluffy coats and unrealistically massive eyes, they're like a cat version of Boo the famous Pomeranian and look like they have come straight from a manga cartoon. 

Exotic by name, exotic by nature, I suspect these cats come at a price, a price one day I might be willing to pay. 

I think this black male is my favourite, you can hear what a cat judge has to say about him by clicking here and watching the video. 

www.catneed.com

Where I Want To Live: The George Tavern

Last weekend I spent the day hanging out in one of East London's finest and most historic public houses The George Tavern on Commercial Road for a photo shoot I was doing at work. 

After visiting the pub for a film night a couple of years ago, I thought it would be the ideal location for a photo shoot so was really excited when the manager gave me the thumbs up. 

The pub has been standing for 700 hundred years and for over a decade, owners Pauline and Toby have transformed it into an arts, music and performance venue while still maintaining so much of its original character. 

Above the pub itself is a theatre room followed by a three storey house where the owners work and live. I was most taken with the attic bedroom , I met the man who was lucky enough to live in this room during his teens although these days it is more like a museum of curiosities. 

A table in the attic room was filled with what I believed to be a large collection of objects that had been found in the pub throughout the centuries including a mummified rat below. Gruesome. 

Hanging up in one of the rooms were a collection of singed knitted jumpers all from BHS. I want to try out this technique to my jumpers. 

One bedroom had been transformed into a dressing room with rails of the most enviable vintage and fancy dress clothes include these paper mache masks. 

The bar was home to this incredible pair of Spice Girl-esque platform trainers. After trying them out for size, I put them next to Maria's modern day flatforms to get the full effect. 

The George Tavern is open daily hosting film night on Monday, quiz night on Wednesday and gigs, exhibitions and vintage fairs throughout the weekend.  

The George Tavern, 373 Commercial Road, London E1 0LA, nearest station: Shadwell DLR or Whitechapel Underground. 

www.thegeorgetavern.co.uk

When I Grow Up I Want To Be: Cachetejack

A couple of weeks ago I attended the preview of London's number one graphic art fair and exhibition Pick Me Up at Somerset House. It was here that I had the pleasure of discovering Spanish illustration duo Nuria Bellver and Raquel Fanjul better know as Cachetejack

Combining whimsical hand drawings with witty, ironic statements, Cachetejack's work is seriously funny while being very easy on the eye. 

Taken from their illustrated manual Procreating is About Making Decisions, the above image, specifically How Men See Women, caused me to break down into tears of pure joy. I like how it's fearlessly matter-of-fact but completely ironic at the same time. 

What do you want to be when you grow up is an adults version of what we would have read at school and couldn't be more relevant to modern society where the majority of us are still asking that question at the age of 25 (what me?). 

If all prisoners looked like the chap above then I think girls would be trying to get themselves arrested left right and centre. Yes I know prisons are single sex but you know what I mean. 

I fancy this guy which I fear is a bad thing as he represents hipster style . I like the fact his face is blurry, I feel drunk just looking at him. 

See what else I liked at Pick Me Up on the Lazy Oaf blog. 

www.cachetejack.com

Top Shop: Kitsch Kitchen

I've been to Amsterdam a couple of times in my life but it wasn't until my trip last year that I realised how great it was for home ware shopping. A perfect example of this was Kitsch Kitchen on Rozengracht discovered by mum, who always has a keen eye for kitsch. 

The two storey supermarket is home to a mixture of Dutch and Mexican folk art inspired products that look like they have come straight from a Day of the Dead procession. 

Living up to its name, the store is packed full of plastic kitchen accessories, colourful toys, painted pottery and   fake flowers making it a total breath of fresh air compared to your average home shopping experience. I was in my element, so much so that I went back twice. 

It was impossible to miss the unbelievable selection of pinata's that filled the ceilings. I certainly wouldn't want to be whacking any of these with a stick. 

This satin shark cushion reminded me of this ornate Great White Shark Coffin from Ghana. I'm regretting not buying it. 

There was no way I was leaving empty handed, in fact my mum, sister and I bought so much that I decided to get it all out and photograph it back at our holiday home!

My favourite purchase were these neon orange and pink plastic flowers that now sit in the window of my flat. 

Visit the Kitsch Kitchen store at Rozengracht 8-12, Amsterdam and find out more at www.kitschkitchen.nl. 

Face Fixation: Hope Sandoval

Some people have faces like magnets that pull you in like a force of nature. One of those people is Hope Sandoval, the lead singer of dreamy early nineties band Mazzy Star.

Her voice is equally as captivating as her face, my favourite track is the haunting Halah from the bands 1991 album She Hangs Brightly, check out this beautiful live rendition on the roof of London's EMI .

Having not released a single in fifteen years, Mazzy Star reformed in 2010 and will be playing at London Field Day Festival this June. See you there.

Meadham Kirchoff's Secret Garden

Admittedly this post is VERY out of date, nearly a year to be exact. These fluorescent flower photos were taken at Meadham Kirchhoff's Secret Garden pop-up shop in Oxford Circus' Topshop back in May 2011. 

I'm just totally mesmerised by the rich array of colours, that are not dissimilar to Meadham Kirchhoff's AW12 collection. 

        

Floristry at its finest.