Gary Crozier Dolls

I’ve admired Gary Crozier‘s doll-like portraits for some years, since I was first asked to collaborate on a shoot with him. We have since made contact but didn’t manage to arrange anything so it was a nice surprise to get a message from him, nearly 2 years later, saying he was coming to Manchester and would like to shoot.

I thought his style would lend it’s self well to my new lingerie range, Persephone, which features a mixture of light and dark, delicate and edgy designs.

We shot in my studio and I invited 2 of my favourite girls to join in, Amber and Hannah. If you follow my work you should already be able to recognise them.

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We had our hair tied back during the shoot and at the end Gary took close up pictures of twisted sections of our hair, which he then used to create the crazy, elaborate hairstyles you see in the pictures.

I’m really pleased with the results, I think Gary did a great job with the background and making each model look like an individual character. I really think these would make a good post card set. If anyone fancies themselves as a Gary Crozier doll, you can get a quote and some info here.

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Shooting for Sanctus

I met designer Lucinda Sinclair at clothes show a couple of winters ago and admired her rather cool top. She has since gone on to launch a cult inspired street-wear label called Sanctus.

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A few weeks ago I had the privilege of doing a shoot in some items from the Illuminex collection. Most of them aren’t available any more but feel free to check out the SS13 line, Adramelech.

I also got a change to try out the 5 strand braid I was obsessed with at the time.

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I shot with photographer Nina pang and styled with a variety of interested items I already had, including some pieces from my own label, Eustratia, Richard Ayres and Carly petitt Taylor.

Nina also brought a polaroid camera with her, I think they take great shots.

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Here are the final images:

IMG_3058IMG_3051IMG_3132IMG_3140IMG_3194IMG_3200IMG_3218IMG_3225IMG_3230IMG_3261IMG_3269I really enjoyed wearing these and ended up buying the Cuculatus dress in the end of line sale. It is very comfortable and flattering.

IMG_0182I prefer shopping from independent designers where I can get a unique, quality item, made ethically and with love. I think it would add freshness and challenge the industry if everyone didn’t rely on the same 5 stores for their wardrobe.

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2012 recap!

When I look back on 2012, it has mostly been a year of trying to keep everything going and further establishing my business. I’m grateful to all the amazing people who have shared parts of my journey with me and worked on my various projects.

Photoshoot highlights 2012.

shoots 2012

Faces of 2012

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Inspirational images 2012

inspiration 2012I’m excited about 2013 and hope it will be the start of bigger, better things for me and Eustratia. I’ve never really been a fan of new year’s resolutions but I’ve decided to make a list of goals I hope to achieve this year so can look back on it and see how I’ve done. I think I’m always a bit optimistic when I write lists as most of my projects require more work than I originally realise but I’d rather aim high than low so I’m going to write the full list and see how I do.

  1. Learn to drive.
  2. Launch my first latex lingerie range.
  3. Do at least 5 fashion shows.
  4. Release my first non-latex items (at least 6).
  5. Get t-shirts and tote bags printed.
  6. Design and produce a new jewellery range.
  7. Find at least 2 stockists for Eustratia.
  8. Write at least 3 blog posts a month (this doesn’t sound like a lot but with my schedule it can be hard sometimes).
  9. Post at least 5 tutorials.
  10. Find cool bloggers to send items to.
  11. Collaborate with at least 12 amazing models.
  12. Be involved in at least 5 large scale photoshoots with great themes.
  13. Get at least 2 magazine covers.
  14. Find and enjoyable form of exercise that fits in with my schedule and can be done regularly.
  15. Find and keep a studio that works for my business.
  16. Visit 2 other countries.
  17. Do a fashion show out side the UK.
  18. Dress a celebrity in my pieces
  19. Increase my social media followers to a number I am happy with. (I have a lot of profiles and this varies for each but having over 10k on the Eustratia facebook page would be a start)
  20. Do something cool for the Eustratia 2nd birthday in a couple of months!

If I can achieve all of these to the standard I have in mind I dare say it will be a successful year. I’d love to hear from others who have big plans for the year! What do you guys do to stay on track? I’m going to put up a big notice board and stick notes sketches and inspirational images on it in hope that it will help to keep me focused.

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Visiting the yard

I walked into Bird’s yard to find that things had changed less that I expected. The rooms hadn’t been switched around yet but the third floor was being renovated and machines were so loud you could hardly hear what anyone was saying. There were plenty of staff on as we had expected the new jewellery room to be open so the work pace was quite chilled out.

After cleaning and reorganising my booth I decided to have a look round and take some pictures.

The first thing I noticed was that lovely crayfish had moved some new stuff in. I especially love the day of the dead T-Rex skeleton print, as well as the rounded corner moo cards (of which I have run out).

Pretty much immediately after this I noticed the large mirror and decided I had to seize this opportunity to get a picture of my whole outfit.

I was then asked to look through some magazines and find some interesting images for a collage. I really love this job because it reminds me of the non-stressful part of being at uni.

While looking through the magazines I came across “Fiyah!” a leeds mag I hadn’t seen before.

There was a feature on Bird’s yard inside and the Eustratia booth was visible in the picture.

I don’t think they mentioned individual designers but it was still nice to see.

The lady I was working with that day runs Urban fox. A label that makes the most adorable cushions. She also customises and re-upholsters furniture, there is a specific chain downstairs at Bird’s yard I’ve had my eye on since I first walked into the shop.

I have mentioned Belles Bejewelled on here before but I’d never tried on one of these strand necklaces. I decided to give one a go. It looked kind of cool and messy from the front but I preferred it worn over the shoulder.

One on each shoulder was a definitely strong look with maximum editorial potential. I’d love to wear these for a shoot.

It was Jubilee weekend so I decided it would be entertaining to try on Cloe’s inflatable crown and hold a diamond. I’m not usually the humorous type but this shop obviously inspires!

To finish off the nonsense, after re-pricing all the dresses on one side of the room I decided to try on a vintage wedding dress.

The top part didn’t really suit me but I love the layers of ruffles!

Bella Morte Alt girls feature

This month I was selected to feature in Bella Morte magazine’s Alt girls issue, available to purchase here. They chose a set of photos I shot a while ago, in Chester with Gareth Hickey. There were a few hundred entries and only 20 girls were featured which makes me feel quite good.

They chose a set of photos I shot a while ago, in Chester with Gareth Hickey and gave me a double page spread, which you can view below.

My favourite image from this set and the one I use for my book is the one below but the feature has definitely make me appreciate the other two a lot more.

image by Gareth Hickey, make up by Azzurra