merry christmas, friends!
i am in odense denmark staying with my aunt, uncle, and three cousins [ages 26, 15, 14]. all i do here is sleep, eat, play cards, and laugh. we are all clowns. my uncle almost recieved a full outfit for christmas. a horn comb [from me], a jumper, a shirt, and a pair of socks. he is missing pants and shoes. he threatened to change into his new outfit. my cousin, jan, got two blenders, one from his parents and the other from a friend. they are both exactly the same. he loves to make smoothies. we went to see australia tonight. has anyone seen it? what is the reaction at home? what do indigenious australians think about it? i pretty much cried the whole way through and really loved it. i cannot tell if it is my homesickness talking or not. i was not expecting to like it, you know, it being cheesier than a four cheese pizza, but i totally got into it, melodrama and historical inaccuracies and all. what do you think? can we still be friends?
i am visiting copenhagen on saturday with the family. yeah! i have never been there before. oh uber danish design and fashion shops, here i come! today is my payday and you know what that spells, trouble! i cannot wait to go to the henrik vibskov store or this one called woodwood. die!
i went to st john bread and wine with stefan on monday night. it looks like a modern canteen [white with high ceilings, open kitchen, wooden tables and chairs] filled with bears and check shirt wearing designers [but do not let that stop you]. the food is very simple and hearty and british. delicious! if you come visit me, i will take you there. we were having a date-off with the couple at the next table. well, not really, but we were definitely seated in dating diners lane.
umm what else? oh 50 cent was filming something on the end of my street last weekend. one of the little boys i live with kept running out the door, pointing and yelling "gangsters! gangsters!". there was nothing gangster about it, but it was very amusing! i am still in love with my work and i hope they sponsor me when the time comes. fingers crossed! thanks to millie, my new favourite dessert to make is banoffee pie. so easy! look it up! it has been a hit both times i made it. i apologise for the lack of photos accompanying these emails. i think i am still broken after the polaroid project i did in 2005. i was thinking about it the other day. i loved the idea of instantly capturing a moment in time only to have it fade eventually. right now i have the same experience but a lot cheaper, it is called memory. haha! hehe!
lots of love
o
26 December 2008
15 December 2008
sniffle sniffle from london [part twenty-three]
hello!
i am typing to you from bed, the most luxe experience available to me right now. i am sick, the covers are drawn up over my lap, and the macbook is acting as a hot water bottle. do you think resting a macbook on one's lap can make one infertile? sometimes i do wonder about that. it is very annoying being sick right now because this is everyone's last week at work before we break for christmas and there is a lot to do and i do not want to take a day off. sigh.
so instead of typing about my rollercoaster romances, i will entertain you with my observations of english people.
01/ english people say the weirdest things. they are always asking "you alright?" or "you 'right?" and i say "yes!". that one confused me for weeks. why are they asking me if i am alright? what they are really asking is "how are you?". when i had my first london flu ever i called richard nicoll's studio to say i could not come in because i was sick and heather [the design room manager] said "oh that is rubbish" and i was mute for words. what to say? i really was sick, no lies! but what she meant was "it is terrible news you are sick". strange, huh? we are speaking the same language but are oceans apart in understanding.
02/ it is winter here and very cold. one has to be prepared to face icy winds and meat freezer conditions when one steps outside. on the bus home i catch a whiff of coconut butter on a passenger and i am half crying because she is such a tease and half laughing at her optimism. londoners are funny like that. rain does not keep them at home. a little bit of sun and their shirts come off. you know the weirdos sunbathing in hyde park? they are english.
03/ i heard the best line on the tube the other day. i was waiting on the platform next to a man for the train. he elbows a woman out of the way to get onto the packed compartment. once on, he pushes past a businessman who takes immediate offense. "hey no need to push!" says the businessman. "hey no need to stand there like a pillar!" retorts the other. i love it! who says "pillar" anymore!? so old school!
04/ oh the other thing the english say that is weird is "rammed". the train was rammed this morning. topshop was rammed when kate moss' collection came out. rammed, as in packed. i always thought "rammed" was a gay term, but not here. i have to suppress a giggle whenever someone uses it. the other thing they say is "shattered". i am so shattered! shattered, as in tired.
05/ my biggest grievance about london so far has been the supermarkets. you know how australian supermarkets devote half an aisle to canned tuna? i am lucky to find even a few cans of it here. fish is the only meat i eat! do people think it is a delicacy? why is there hardly any of it available? sigh. the other thing they do not have is a deli section. without fresh full cream ricotta, how am i supposed to make roast vegetable pizza or spinach and ricotta cannelloni? double sigh. i can buy it at the markets but it is expensive. oh one more weird thing, a lot of the fruit and vegetables come prepackaged. they purposefully make it harder to buy fresh produce loose. what is up with that?
06/ but to counter the frustrating supermarkets, london is great for jumble sales. i went to two on sunday. why do i love sorting through people's junk? i do not know, i just do. my best find yesterday was a pair of floral fabric covered heels for £8. bargain!
next monday i am going to dinner at st john bread and wine. i am so excited! it sounds so grown-up. i am taking the boy on a counter-date to afternoon tea at the wolseley after christmas. he leaves for hamburg the week after. sigh. i am making a poor attempt at not thinking about it too much. he is not even the boy, more like the main squeeze. he came into work today to show mark how to blog and to give me a refresher on running the online store. when he left, he kissed me goodbye in front of everyone. blush!
love
o
i am typing to you from bed, the most luxe experience available to me right now. i am sick, the covers are drawn up over my lap, and the macbook is acting as a hot water bottle. do you think resting a macbook on one's lap can make one infertile? sometimes i do wonder about that. it is very annoying being sick right now because this is everyone's last week at work before we break for christmas and there is a lot to do and i do not want to take a day off. sigh.
so instead of typing about my rollercoaster romances, i will entertain you with my observations of english people.
01/ english people say the weirdest things. they are always asking "you alright?" or "you 'right?" and i say "yes!". that one confused me for weeks. why are they asking me if i am alright? what they are really asking is "how are you?". when i had my first london flu ever i called richard nicoll's studio to say i could not come in because i was sick and heather [the design room manager] said "oh that is rubbish" and i was mute for words. what to say? i really was sick, no lies! but what she meant was "it is terrible news you are sick". strange, huh? we are speaking the same language but are oceans apart in understanding.
02/ it is winter here and very cold. one has to be prepared to face icy winds and meat freezer conditions when one steps outside. on the bus home i catch a whiff of coconut butter on a passenger and i am half crying because she is such a tease and half laughing at her optimism. londoners are funny like that. rain does not keep them at home. a little bit of sun and their shirts come off. you know the weirdos sunbathing in hyde park? they are english.
03/ i heard the best line on the tube the other day. i was waiting on the platform next to a man for the train. he elbows a woman out of the way to get onto the packed compartment. once on, he pushes past a businessman who takes immediate offense. "hey no need to push!" says the businessman. "hey no need to stand there like a pillar!" retorts the other. i love it! who says "pillar" anymore!? so old school!
04/ oh the other thing the english say that is weird is "rammed". the train was rammed this morning. topshop was rammed when kate moss' collection came out. rammed, as in packed. i always thought "rammed" was a gay term, but not here. i have to suppress a giggle whenever someone uses it. the other thing they say is "shattered". i am so shattered! shattered, as in tired.
05/ my biggest grievance about london so far has been the supermarkets. you know how australian supermarkets devote half an aisle to canned tuna? i am lucky to find even a few cans of it here. fish is the only meat i eat! do people think it is a delicacy? why is there hardly any of it available? sigh. the other thing they do not have is a deli section. without fresh full cream ricotta, how am i supposed to make roast vegetable pizza or spinach and ricotta cannelloni? double sigh. i can buy it at the markets but it is expensive. oh one more weird thing, a lot of the fruit and vegetables come prepackaged. they purposefully make it harder to buy fresh produce loose. what is up with that?
06/ but to counter the frustrating supermarkets, london is great for jumble sales. i went to two on sunday. why do i love sorting through people's junk? i do not know, i just do. my best find yesterday was a pair of floral fabric covered heels for £8. bargain!
next monday i am going to dinner at st john bread and wine. i am so excited! it sounds so grown-up. i am taking the boy on a counter-date to afternoon tea at the wolseley after christmas. he leaves for hamburg the week after. sigh. i am making a poor attempt at not thinking about it too much. he is not even the boy, more like the main squeeze. he came into work today to show mark how to blog and to give me a refresher on running the online store. when he left, he kissed me goodbye in front of everyone. blush!
love
o
7 December 2008
hello from london [part twenty-two]
hello kids
how are you? i am having the best time in london right now, she is treating me very well, no longer the tough mistress she once was. i wonder what will happen to balance out these good times. the other night i recognised i am replicating my sydney life here. i have a great job, i love my bosses, i like where i live, i have [some] disposable income, my good friends all live within walking distance, there are adventures galore to be had. we look for comfort in the familiar? even my room feels the same as it does in sydney, only much smaller.
i had an awesome week, i know you want to hear all about it.
there are little pockets of vietnamese restaurants and grocers in east london. i get kicks going to the grocers just to buy packets of instant noodles. they always have a vietnamese soap opera blaring from the tv. i am a food snob when it comes to vietnamese. i went to dinner with the boy on tuesday night and he took me to a place called song que on kingsland road. oh lord, i knew i was in for a treat as soon as we got there. first, the decor is very much as a vietnamese eatery should be. potted plants by the door [i could not tell if these were plastic or not], mostly pastel green interior, a certain percentage of the lighting is neon, paper tablecloths, waiters in white tee shirts. you get the picture. i think i came close to embarrassing him with my glee. the traditional vietnamese food [yellow pancake, vermicelli with spring rolls, rice paper rolls] was fresh and cheap. my mother is the biggest vietnamese food snob on your side of the hemisphere. i will not be afraid to take her here if she comes to visit. the place is so good, i ate there twice. actually i was very naughty this week and ate out thrice [the other place was the japanese canteen]! oh i am so living beyond my means!
at work we are in serious production mode, allocating fabrics and trims to manufacturers. aki said i had two days to get two packages ready to send, ok fine. but if i do not get them ready to send by monday morning, we will both have to come in on saturday. oh ok. well i got them ready in record time. she is one tough production manager. she has already told me off twice. i kind of dig how challenging aki is. at lunchtime she is hilarious telling us stories about her kid and husband, but outside of that, work is work. in my first week we bonded over summer heights high. gold!
our work christmas party is tomorrow night. monday night! how does anyone expect us to function the next day? we are going to sketch. some people say it is fancy, others wanky. hopefully i will not make the same mistake i made at the peopke christmas dinner at est where i drank on an empty stomach, embarrassed myself, and had to go home early. fingers crossed!
i had a great treasure finding day yesterday. i having been looking for fresh full cream ricotta for weeks. you know how you can buy it at the supermarket at the deli? you cannot do that here. i finally found it at broadway market. it cost a pretty penny but oh roast vegetable pizza and spinach and ricotta cannelloni, here i come!
the other thing i bought at the markets is a domino set. it is made of lightweight plastic. i got to the markets fairly late in the day, i cannot believe it had been sitting there all day with a £2 price tag and no one was interested. there was a jumble sale at the art gallery on my street. i got there as it was closing and everything was 50p. i bought a grey marle jumper and circular adidas bag and picked up some old vogue magazines for free. such a good day, no?
you know how i sometimes like to wear a stick-on mustache and brows? i am not sure what people think about it when i tell them. hopefully they understand it is a type of creative release. my friend found these and thought of me. lots of boys here sport a 'tache, it is very east london to do so.
love
olivia
how are you? i am having the best time in london right now, she is treating me very well, no longer the tough mistress she once was. i wonder what will happen to balance out these good times. the other night i recognised i am replicating my sydney life here. i have a great job, i love my bosses, i like where i live, i have [some] disposable income, my good friends all live within walking distance, there are adventures galore to be had. we look for comfort in the familiar? even my room feels the same as it does in sydney, only much smaller.
i had an awesome week, i know you want to hear all about it.
there are little pockets of vietnamese restaurants and grocers in east london. i get kicks going to the grocers just to buy packets of instant noodles. they always have a vietnamese soap opera blaring from the tv. i am a food snob when it comes to vietnamese. i went to dinner with the boy on tuesday night and he took me to a place called song que on kingsland road. oh lord, i knew i was in for a treat as soon as we got there. first, the decor is very much as a vietnamese eatery should be. potted plants by the door [i could not tell if these were plastic or not], mostly pastel green interior, a certain percentage of the lighting is neon, paper tablecloths, waiters in white tee shirts. you get the picture. i think i came close to embarrassing him with my glee. the traditional vietnamese food [yellow pancake, vermicelli with spring rolls, rice paper rolls] was fresh and cheap. my mother is the biggest vietnamese food snob on your side of the hemisphere. i will not be afraid to take her here if she comes to visit. the place is so good, i ate there twice. actually i was very naughty this week and ate out thrice [the other place was the japanese canteen]! oh i am so living beyond my means!
at work we are in serious production mode, allocating fabrics and trims to manufacturers. aki said i had two days to get two packages ready to send, ok fine. but if i do not get them ready to send by monday morning, we will both have to come in on saturday. oh ok. well i got them ready in record time. she is one tough production manager. she has already told me off twice. i kind of dig how challenging aki is. at lunchtime she is hilarious telling us stories about her kid and husband, but outside of that, work is work. in my first week we bonded over summer heights high. gold!
our work christmas party is tomorrow night. monday night! how does anyone expect us to function the next day? we are going to sketch. some people say it is fancy, others wanky. hopefully i will not make the same mistake i made at the peopke christmas dinner at est where i drank on an empty stomach, embarrassed myself, and had to go home early. fingers crossed!
i had a great treasure finding day yesterday. i having been looking for fresh full cream ricotta for weeks. you know how you can buy it at the supermarket at the deli? you cannot do that here. i finally found it at broadway market. it cost a pretty penny but oh roast vegetable pizza and spinach and ricotta cannelloni, here i come!
the other thing i bought at the markets is a domino set. it is made of lightweight plastic. i got to the markets fairly late in the day, i cannot believe it had been sitting there all day with a £2 price tag and no one was interested. there was a jumble sale at the art gallery on my street. i got there as it was closing and everything was 50p. i bought a grey marle jumper and circular adidas bag and picked up some old vogue magazines for free. such a good day, no?
you know how i sometimes like to wear a stick-on mustache and brows? i am not sure what people think about it when i tell them. hopefully they understand it is a type of creative release. my friend found these and thought of me. lots of boys here sport a 'tache, it is very east london to do so.
in a moment of heightened pretension and silliness, i stuck on my fake facial hair and took some pictures. i do not know who i am trying to be but it is definitely some sort of man woman.
love
olivia
30 November 2008
wheee! from london [part twenty-one and a half]
hello. are these half episodes getting ridiculous? maybe. but i just have this one thing to tell you. my most fun london experience happened to me today. it was so sweet. my friend bahbak and i were hanging about the house, we were waiting to go to lunch with some [of my] friends. bahbak had his bike with him and told me i should get on the front and he will pedal the both of us to lunch. really? we were going up the street to arnold circus to a kitchen that makes the best hot chocolate on this side of the sea and the most perfect fried eggs with sage, about a ten minute ride away. i am feeling a bit nervous but he urges me on with a series of playful nudges. ok! i am sitting like a lady in the space behind the handlebars but in front of the seat. bahbak is behind me, his arms are squishing me into place. we take off, cold wind in our hair, i am squealing like a kid. i feel so free! we zigzag through lazy sunday afternoon traffic, praying for green lights all the way, and i am begging god for no mishaps, hoping my shoes do not fly off. as he pedals, our thighs brush, our warm cheeks are touching and his beard is scratchy. it was so romantic. we could tell people waiting at the bus stops [along the way] were jealous, they all wanted to be us.
sigh.
love
o
sigh.
love
o
29 November 2008
hello from london [part twenty-one]
hello friends
how are you? i am well. i have lots of news to tell so i will get straight into it.
01/ when i was organising the e k sample sale, aki asked me how much stock i was taking to the sale and i said 40 [as in £40,000]. she asked me how much i think i am going to sell and i said 15. at the last sample sale they made 10, and you know me, i wanted to make more than that. she said realistically we will probably make 8. do you know how much we made? 18! is that not great news? that is more pounds than my annual wage. e k will definitely have to keep me now! you know how i like a tidy shop? i really had to let that go at the sample sale. ladies are hungry here. you would think they do not know what a credit crunch is. they probably think it is a chocolate bar. we had a packed shop most of the first day. it took them a hour to obliterate the space. i really had to restrain myself from tidying because it would have been a waste of time. they bought up big so it was all ok.
02/ i went to see lykke li last night. she is truly amazing [in a swedish pop sensation way]. she is touring australia at the end of the year, you should see her. you know how lykke li, mgmt, and vampire weekend represent a specific time in my life from earlier this year? she covered vampire weekend's cape cod kwassa kwassa. it was so exciting! her show is full of surprises. she starts a song you think you know then she twists it and sings something else. she talks about bad boyfriends [her words] and you know everyone is on her side.
03/ you know the sex-related documentaries shown on sbs at 10pm on a friday night? i watched an english one about three severely physically disabled men who travel to spain to lose their virginity at a brothel that caters for clients with special needs. there i was outside camden town tube station waiting for two friends when a man walks past and i know i have seen him before, but where? oh yes, he is one of the disabled men from the documentary. so random! i wanted to say something to him but i could not think of anything appropriate.
04/ you know in sydney when you go out you are surrounded by kids in their teens to early twenties? it is not like that here. when i go out people are my age or older. at vampire weekend it was like that, same with lykke li, games nights at the bethnal green working men's club, the ponytail magazine launch, everywhere so far. i really like it. it feels good to mix with people who are not teenagers.
05/ warning! this next point is about a boy, stop reading now if you do not want to know about it. my square from last week is now a line between two points. it is a pretty sweet deal. sort of. the universe is totally getting me back because the boy is moving to germany in january for work. is that not cruel? double sigh. at the sample sale aki told me mark asked her if something was going on between the boy and i. she totally caught me off guard. i could not help but smile sheepishly. aki laughs and warns me not to say anything to mark because [in her words] he meddles. she said he will claim matchmaking points. we both laughed.
lots of love
olivia
how are you? i am well. i have lots of news to tell so i will get straight into it.
01/ when i was organising the e k sample sale, aki asked me how much stock i was taking to the sale and i said 40 [as in £40,000]. she asked me how much i think i am going to sell and i said 15. at the last sample sale they made 10, and you know me, i wanted to make more than that. she said realistically we will probably make 8. do you know how much we made? 18! is that not great news? that is more pounds than my annual wage. e k will definitely have to keep me now! you know how i like a tidy shop? i really had to let that go at the sample sale. ladies are hungry here. you would think they do not know what a credit crunch is. they probably think it is a chocolate bar. we had a packed shop most of the first day. it took them a hour to obliterate the space. i really had to restrain myself from tidying because it would have been a waste of time. they bought up big so it was all ok.
02/ i went to see lykke li last night. she is truly amazing [in a swedish pop sensation way]. she is touring australia at the end of the year, you should see her. you know how lykke li, mgmt, and vampire weekend represent a specific time in my life from earlier this year? she covered vampire weekend's cape cod kwassa kwassa. it was so exciting! her show is full of surprises. she starts a song you think you know then she twists it and sings something else. she talks about bad boyfriends [her words] and you know everyone is on her side.
03/ you know the sex-related documentaries shown on sbs at 10pm on a friday night? i watched an english one about three severely physically disabled men who travel to spain to lose their virginity at a brothel that caters for clients with special needs. there i was outside camden town tube station waiting for two friends when a man walks past and i know i have seen him before, but where? oh yes, he is one of the disabled men from the documentary. so random! i wanted to say something to him but i could not think of anything appropriate.
04/ you know in sydney when you go out you are surrounded by kids in their teens to early twenties? it is not like that here. when i go out people are my age or older. at vampire weekend it was like that, same with lykke li, games nights at the bethnal green working men's club, the ponytail magazine launch, everywhere so far. i really like it. it feels good to mix with people who are not teenagers.
05/ warning! this next point is about a boy, stop reading now if you do not want to know about it. my square from last week is now a line between two points. it is a pretty sweet deal. sort of. the universe is totally getting me back because the boy is moving to germany in january for work. is that not cruel? double sigh. at the sample sale aki told me mark asked her if something was going on between the boy and i. she totally caught me off guard. i could not help but smile sheepishly. aki laughs and warns me not to say anything to mark because [in her words] he meddles. she said he will claim matchmaking points. we both laughed.
lots of love
olivia
22 November 2008
hello from london [part twenty]
ok peeps, today you are all honourary girl friends because this new installment of hello from london is about men. if you do not want to know about this aspect of my life you should stop reading now.
ready?
i have a penpal who is american but lives in london [we only exchanged two letters each so we are not really penpals anymore but that is how i think of him]. when i got here we arranged to meet and i was very excited to finally match the letters to a face. he is handsome creative and young. we all know what that spells. trouble. we had a one-weekend-only opportunity and it was fun. except, you know me, i really liked him but it did not work and i was left a bit broken. after that i was not interested in anyone for weeks. i was so over it. i did not want to get involved. it has been two and a half months.
did you know i am going to run the eley kishimoto online store? our website producer, let us call him s, came in last friday to show me how the online store works. he snapped my resolve in two, i fell off the wagon. tall, red hair, stripe tee, the best smile ever. after the briefing he tells mark eley i am very bright. oh my, thank you! on sunday i made dinner for my friend, b. whenever i go over to his house we make dinner, drink wine, play board games. it is a sweet set up. i have known this boy for eight and a half years and we are the best of friends. at dinner he mentions s. i ask how he knows him and he says his friend, k, is s' housemate. i met her once at a club. she is a stylist and the friendliest person one could meet on the mean streets of london. i squeeze him for more details and apparently s told k he finds me funny and intelligent. oh oh oh!
love
o
ready?
i have a penpal who is american but lives in london [we only exchanged two letters each so we are not really penpals anymore but that is how i think of him]. when i got here we arranged to meet and i was very excited to finally match the letters to a face. he is handsome creative and young. we all know what that spells. trouble. we had a one-weekend-only opportunity and it was fun. except, you know me, i really liked him but it did not work and i was left a bit broken. after that i was not interested in anyone for weeks. i was so over it. i did not want to get involved. it has been two and a half months.
did you know i am going to run the eley kishimoto online store? our website producer, let us call him s, came in last friday to show me how the online store works. he snapped my resolve in two, i fell off the wagon. tall, red hair, stripe tee, the best smile ever. after the briefing he tells mark eley i am very bright. oh my, thank you! on sunday i made dinner for my friend, b. whenever i go over to his house we make dinner, drink wine, play board games. it is a sweet set up. i have known this boy for eight and a half years and we are the best of friends. at dinner he mentions s. i ask how he knows him and he says his friend, k, is s' housemate. i met her once at a club. she is a stylist and the friendliest person one could meet on the mean streets of london. i squeeze him for more details and apparently s told k he finds me funny and intelligent. oh oh oh!
love
o
9 November 2008
hoot hoot from london [part nineteen and a half]
hello [again]!
i hope you do not mind this extra communication. it is sunday night and my housemate pippa and i were just down at our local, the dove. there is a lot of talent there if you know what i mean. nudge nudge wink wink! my new favourite drink, after vodka and cranberry, is pear cider. so good [if you like your drink sweet]! i can feel my face is one big spot of blush.
what is new, you ask? let me tell you! i bought art and craft supplies today to make a thank you card for the tatty devine team [because they were fun to intern for]. i feel my creative drought has broken!
i hope you do not mind this extra communication. it is sunday night and my housemate pippa and i were just down at our local, the dove. there is a lot of talent there if you know what i mean. nudge nudge wink wink! my new favourite drink, after vodka and cranberry, is pear cider. so good [if you like your drink sweet]! i can feel my face is one big spot of blush.
what is new, you ask? let me tell you! i bought art and craft supplies today to make a thank you card for the tatty devine team [because they were fun to intern for]. i feel my creative drought has broken!
i made them an owl card. be warned, i am on an owl card making spree so do not be surprised if you receive one for christmas [even though it is blatantly not christmas-themed]. super knee-melting, no?
now that i am sobering up, i do not have much more to say.
these are of two tea cosies i saw today.
now that i am sobering up, i do not have much more to say.
these are of two tea cosies i saw today.
a cupcake!
a pineapple!
the wind is making a whooshing sound down the chimney and out the fireplace into my room. you should see my bed, it is a mountain of doonas.
right now, i miss you and no owl can make the ache less.
love
o
the wind is making a whooshing sound down the chimney and out the fireplace into my room. you should see my bed, it is a mountain of doonas.
right now, i miss you and no owl can make the ache less.
love
o
hello from london [part nineteen]
hello everyone!
it has been a bit quiet on the east london front. i work monday to friday, come home, eat, read my book, sleep. on saturday and sunday i scour the markets for treasure. amelia groom stayed with me last weekend, my first visitor from home. we had an amazing market day on sunday. we wondered down a side street off brick lane and stumbled on an open warehouse that looked a bit rough.
it has been a bit quiet on the east london front. i work monday to friday, come home, eat, read my book, sleep. on saturday and sunday i scour the markets for treasure. amelia groom stayed with me last weekend, my first visitor from home. we had an amazing market day on sunday. we wondered down a side street off brick lane and stumbled on an open warehouse that looked a bit rough.
we ventured inside and found a great stall that sold 1950s 3d porn magazines [complete with 3d glasses] and charles and diana commemorative mugs. gold!
back on the street i found a mirror with a very kind message [great for the mornings].
we went to a little tea house called a time for tea. it is all wooden and dark inside with dance hall records playing and bric-a-brac for sale. it looks like a tea house from post-war london times.
after a luxe session of sipping and eating, we had another flea sale rummage down the street at the george and dragon. the bar is dank and musty with hand-written letters, buttons, and clothes strewn all over the floor and little round tables stacked high with knic knacs. the place looked like it had just been robbed. i think if i ever settle again in sydney i want to run a place that is a flea market, bingo hall, disco, tea house, and life drawing class all rolled into one.
in the corner of the pub were two small boys, joe and duke, with their own stall. amongst the mess were six glass animal figurines. one of the boys announced they were £60 for the lot or £1 each, also some of the things on the table were free. oh those boys are shrewd businessmen!
i am still in love with work. sometimes i feel i am a bit quiet and they might think i am boring. oh slowly slowly! this week i sent off all the patterns to the grader and now i am organising a sample sale for the end of the month. aki is letting me organise it all by myself. do you know what that means? i am the first to go through the eley kishimoto archive and excess stock. oh die! heaven! but i am being restrained and sensible, setting myself a spending limit because i just blew my first london pay on a bernhard willhelm dress. so naughty! i have to live poor for the rest of the month now.
my very exciting news for today, though it may bore you to tears, is that i bought an emerald green woolen beanie that has a turban knot in the front for £4.50 that looks exactly like a balenciaga one i have been contemplating buying for £115. i found it in a vintage shop. bargain central!
now just a quick word on music. at work we listen to commercial radio, it is very repetitive. i know all the words to the hits of beyonce and rihanna. karaoke, watch out! but what i am really loving is old broken social scene [especially gang bang suicide] and new port o brien [who are currently calling themselves port obama and are touring sydney in december and you should go see them]. hackney central library is a strange place. the person who buys their music must be a real indie kid because there are lots of cds there i would not expect to find in a local library, like cocorosie, bright eyes, broken social scene. it is goldmine! but i went there today looking for the diary of anne frank and two librarians did not know what it was or how to find it on the database [which made me really sad] and one person waved me to children's non-fiction. i could not find it there either. sigh. i am seeing lykke li play on 28th november. wheee!
ok just one more funny story. i need to have a dance so bad! amelia needs a dance too. someone help her! we were at a second-hand warehouse called beyond retro and they were playing some dirty hip hop song and we were both trying very hard to keep the dance moves contained. we looked at each other and giggled knowingly. i went there today and tried very hard not to start dancing between the rails of clothes but a toe tap and some shoulder managed to escape. where is good to dance here? i look on timeout and there is nothing! i follow djs home and there is nothing! help.
lots of love
olivia
i am still in love with work. sometimes i feel i am a bit quiet and they might think i am boring. oh slowly slowly! this week i sent off all the patterns to the grader and now i am organising a sample sale for the end of the month. aki is letting me organise it all by myself. do you know what that means? i am the first to go through the eley kishimoto archive and excess stock. oh die! heaven! but i am being restrained and sensible, setting myself a spending limit because i just blew my first london pay on a bernhard willhelm dress. so naughty! i have to live poor for the rest of the month now.
my very exciting news for today, though it may bore you to tears, is that i bought an emerald green woolen beanie that has a turban knot in the front for £4.50 that looks exactly like a balenciaga one i have been contemplating buying for £115. i found it in a vintage shop. bargain central!
now just a quick word on music. at work we listen to commercial radio, it is very repetitive. i know all the words to the hits of beyonce and rihanna. karaoke, watch out! but what i am really loving is old broken social scene [especially gang bang suicide] and new port o brien [who are currently calling themselves port obama and are touring sydney in december and you should go see them]. hackney central library is a strange place. the person who buys their music must be a real indie kid because there are lots of cds there i would not expect to find in a local library, like cocorosie, bright eyes, broken social scene. it is goldmine! but i went there today looking for the diary of anne frank and two librarians did not know what it was or how to find it on the database [which made me really sad] and one person waved me to children's non-fiction. i could not find it there either. sigh. i am seeing lykke li play on 28th november. wheee!
ok just one more funny story. i need to have a dance so bad! amelia needs a dance too. someone help her! we were at a second-hand warehouse called beyond retro and they were playing some dirty hip hop song and we were both trying very hard to keep the dance moves contained. we looked at each other and giggled knowingly. i went there today and tried very hard not to start dancing between the rails of clothes but a toe tap and some shoulder managed to escape. where is good to dance here? i look on timeout and there is nothing! i follow djs home and there is nothing! help.
lots of love
olivia
27 October 2008
hello from london [part eighteen and a half]
hello peeps
this is only half an update because i do not have much news to report, more a question. i am not meeting my parents in vietnam for christmas anymore [you know, credit crunch and all] but i can use my return ticket to come home for christmas for two weeks instead. half the reason would be to see everyone, the other half would be to get some sun on my face, go to the beach, eat good food, and to cram as much of my stuff [sitting in storage] into my second suitcase as possible. i am going to umm and ahh about it until friday. i do not feel i have been away long enough to be visiting home already but oh oh oh i do want to! will anyone be in town from 20/12 to 03/01? fingers crossed one of you will be [like a certain someone with a baby]!
i went to see vampire weekend last night. they played an amazing show! each song was a winner, no duds. but let me tell you about the english audience. jon explained it to me like this, they want to be entertained. they are not there to encourage or lend support, they want their monies worth. and it is true! the two support acts finished their sets and everyone is buzzing waiting for vampire weekend. we are all clapping encouraging them to come on and then people in the crowd get bored of this and start booing very loudly instead. the band come on straight away and i mean straight away. is that not strange? and then some idiot in the front throws a bottle at the keyboard player and gets him on the head but he does not miss a note. then someone throws a bottle at the lead singer but he dodges it. the band are so cool about it. they did not mention it once, just kept on playing a great show. also they are very friendly and talked to the crowd.
on saturday night jon and his housemates hosted a very trashy halloween party. you had to come dressed how you died.
liz and jon were pecked to death by birds,
pete died at the blade of a chainsaw,
take care, you.
olivia
this is only half an update because i do not have much news to report, more a question. i am not meeting my parents in vietnam for christmas anymore [you know, credit crunch and all] but i can use my return ticket to come home for christmas for two weeks instead. half the reason would be to see everyone, the other half would be to get some sun on my face, go to the beach, eat good food, and to cram as much of my stuff [sitting in storage] into my second suitcase as possible. i am going to umm and ahh about it until friday. i do not feel i have been away long enough to be visiting home already but oh oh oh i do want to! will anyone be in town from 20/12 to 03/01? fingers crossed one of you will be [like a certain someone with a baby]!
i went to see vampire weekend last night. they played an amazing show! each song was a winner, no duds. but let me tell you about the english audience. jon explained it to me like this, they want to be entertained. they are not there to encourage or lend support, they want their monies worth. and it is true! the two support acts finished their sets and everyone is buzzing waiting for vampire weekend. we are all clapping encouraging them to come on and then people in the crowd get bored of this and start booing very loudly instead. the band come on straight away and i mean straight away. is that not strange? and then some idiot in the front throws a bottle at the keyboard player and gets him on the head but he does not miss a note. then someone throws a bottle at the lead singer but he dodges it. the band are so cool about it. they did not mention it once, just kept on playing a great show. also they are very friendly and talked to the crowd.
on saturday night jon and his housemates hosted a very trashy halloween party. you had to come dressed how you died.
i died in my sleep,
liz and jon were pecked to death by birds,
pete died at the blade of a chainsaw,
and so on!
take care, you.
olivia
22 October 2008
hello from london [part eighteen]
hello friends!
now that i have this full-time job, i miss you even more. when will i see you again? i have to come back sometime in august because i bought a return ticket [i thought i would only last a year here]. i think i will visit for three weeks, you all better still be there! let us countdown til then? august feels very far away. you feel far away! sometimes it makes me very sad to think about it. the other night i could not remember what my old bedroom looked like.
i started work at e k on monday and it looks like my lucky run of dream jobs is continuing. who knew? not me! it feels so good to be working in industry again. i am already in love with my direct boss. she is very easy to work for [super calm and collected] but the true test of our work relationship will be during peak production when we are both under pressure to [in the end] deliver on time with the least number of problems. i cannot wait! also, just for the ladies reading, i found out today i have a clothing allowance per season [at wholesale price]! i seriously had to control my face and stop my eyes popping out when i was told. i have already placed an order for a skirt, two pairs of shoes, seven pairs of socks [as surprise gifts for peeps], and a pair of stockings [for you know who]. what have i been doing to earn such a perk? so far i have gotten all the spring summer samples ready for the press office, double checked sales orders, and packed samples for an exhibition in japan next week. it almost does not seem fair [for them].
what are you doing this weekend? lazing about on the beach? eating at the night noodle markets? generally basking in sydney's greatness? oh you spoilt people! i have three days left at liberty and then the weekends will be mine again! i am going to a halloween party on saturday and seeing vampire weekend on sunday night. yay!
feed me news! feeeeeed meee! feeeeeeeeed meeeeeeee!!!!
love
olivia
now that i have this full-time job, i miss you even more. when will i see you again? i have to come back sometime in august because i bought a return ticket [i thought i would only last a year here]. i think i will visit for three weeks, you all better still be there! let us countdown til then? august feels very far away. you feel far away! sometimes it makes me very sad to think about it. the other night i could not remember what my old bedroom looked like.
i started work at e k on monday and it looks like my lucky run of dream jobs is continuing. who knew? not me! it feels so good to be working in industry again. i am already in love with my direct boss. she is very easy to work for [super calm and collected] but the true test of our work relationship will be during peak production when we are both under pressure to [in the end] deliver on time with the least number of problems. i cannot wait! also, just for the ladies reading, i found out today i have a clothing allowance per season [at wholesale price]! i seriously had to control my face and stop my eyes popping out when i was told. i have already placed an order for a skirt, two pairs of shoes, seven pairs of socks [as surprise gifts for peeps], and a pair of stockings [for you know who]. what have i been doing to earn such a perk? so far i have gotten all the spring summer samples ready for the press office, double checked sales orders, and packed samples for an exhibition in japan next week. it almost does not seem fair [for them].
what are you doing this weekend? lazing about on the beach? eating at the night noodle markets? generally basking in sydney's greatness? oh you spoilt people! i have three days left at liberty and then the weekends will be mine again! i am going to a halloween party on saturday and seeing vampire weekend on sunday night. yay!
feed me news! feeeeeed meee! feeeeeeeeed meeeeeeee!!!!
love
olivia
17 October 2008
hello from london [part seventeen]
hello peeps
how are you? i am well. i had the best day yesterday. i called in sick at tatty devine and did cultural things instead. i had lunch at borough market with my friend, pete. it is a fresh organic fruit/ vegetable/ food market. i had a haloumi pattie on a bed of three salads. yum! for dessert was a slice of toffee and pecan cheesecake. die! then we went to the british film institute to see the all-seeing eye [a visual art work by michel gondry and pierre bismuth based on the concept of memory and memory loss]. i wanted more than a room with a video projection, good thing it was free. then i made a very big mistake and went to b store to see/ touch/ fawn over the new bernhard willhelm autumn winter range. i tried on a dress, looked at the price and started stamping my imaginary feet again. oh so unfair! i completely bored poor pete's ear off about it on the way home calculating how i would have to not pay rent or eat for a month to afford it. i think i am allowed one 'it' dress per season. oh london, why so mean! but everything was better again because we went to the winter entertainments club in bethnal green and played bingo, conkers [a game where two people try to break each other's nuts and whoever does it first wins. hehe haha! you people are so rude!] and we all vied for a raffle prize. i went home with a book on classic craft. london is very much into the wholesome night out, not like sydney where everyone has to be drunk all the time.
the venue! the people! the place looks like a church hall from the outside but a den of gambling and bingo inside.
these were the raffle prizes. the young gentleman is joseph and he djs.
umm, what else? oh yes. are you ready for it? are you are you? i got the job! yes i did! you are looking at eley kishimoto's new production assistant! yay! hurruh! high five! i know it is only production work but it means so much more than that [like i can keep paying rent, eat, buy that bernhard willhelm dress just kidding]. it is a foot, even a whole leg in the door! you know that means they like me enough to possibly sponsor me. can you believe it? i rolled around on the floor crying after i read the email. now i am going to run around the park, kick piles of autumn leaves, and chase squirrels. people will think i am crazy but really i am so happy! i am going to hand in my notice at liberty too. yay!
ok now to the photos.
this building is across the road from liberty. i looked up at it and thought it looked like a giant christmas bauble but in the shape of a building.
there are news and magazine stands like this one littered through town. i love the organised mess of it. you always see these in the movies. i know for sure i am in the big smoke now.
save your dollars and come visit me! i am stuck here a year now!
love
olivia
how are you? i am well. i had the best day yesterday. i called in sick at tatty devine and did cultural things instead. i had lunch at borough market with my friend, pete. it is a fresh organic fruit/ vegetable/ food market. i had a haloumi pattie on a bed of three salads. yum! for dessert was a slice of toffee and pecan cheesecake. die! then we went to the british film institute to see the all-seeing eye [a visual art work by michel gondry and pierre bismuth based on the concept of memory and memory loss]. i wanted more than a room with a video projection, good thing it was free. then i made a very big mistake and went to b store to see/ touch/ fawn over the new bernhard willhelm autumn winter range. i tried on a dress, looked at the price and started stamping my imaginary feet again. oh so unfair! i completely bored poor pete's ear off about it on the way home calculating how i would have to not pay rent or eat for a month to afford it. i think i am allowed one 'it' dress per season. oh london, why so mean! but everything was better again because we went to the winter entertainments club in bethnal green and played bingo, conkers [a game where two people try to break each other's nuts and whoever does it first wins. hehe haha! you people are so rude!] and we all vied for a raffle prize. i went home with a book on classic craft. london is very much into the wholesome night out, not like sydney where everyone has to be drunk all the time.
the venue! the people! the place looks like a church hall from the outside but a den of gambling and bingo inside.
these were the raffle prizes. the young gentleman is joseph and he djs.
umm, what else? oh yes. are you ready for it? are you are you? i got the job! yes i did! you are looking at eley kishimoto's new production assistant! yay! hurruh! high five! i know it is only production work but it means so much more than that [like i can keep paying rent, eat, buy that bernhard willhelm dress just kidding]. it is a foot, even a whole leg in the door! you know that means they like me enough to possibly sponsor me. can you believe it? i rolled around on the floor crying after i read the email. now i am going to run around the park, kick piles of autumn leaves, and chase squirrels. people will think i am crazy but really i am so happy! i am going to hand in my notice at liberty too. yay!
ok now to the photos.
this building is across the road from liberty. i looked up at it and thought it looked like a giant christmas bauble but in the shape of a building.
there are news and magazine stands like this one littered through town. i love the organised mess of it. you always see these in the movies. i know for sure i am in the big smoke now.
save your dollars and come visit me! i am stuck here a year now!
love
olivia
15 October 2008
hello from london [part sixteen]
hello peeps
this getting-a-job business is a long process. thank you for coming along for the ride. on monday i was well prepped to talk shop with mark eley but all he wanted to do was get to know me. he let slip five people [from two hundred applicants but i do not know how many they actually interviewed] were called back for a meet-and-greet. he asked me what i do on the weekends, if i drink, do drugs, who is my favourite musician/ artist/ designer. he completely caught me off guard and i had to turn on the charm. we had a good conversation about bernhard willhelm, going red after a few drinks, and gossiped about sydney people. i am not sure how well i won him over because he talks a lot and only gave me two seconds to respond to questions but he won me over completely. do you know he describes designing for cacharel as his money job to fund his baby, eley kishimoto? i love that. i want this job even more now! we joked about sponsorship. he said it was not an issue because if they employ me i can set up their online store and fund my own sponsorship. he even suggested setting up a sponsorship fund in the office, next to the credit card machine. i swear, if i get the job i will probably make them lots of money just from buying excess stock. they could half pay me in clothes! damn i should have said that.
but if i do not get the job [i find out on friday], what will i do? i aimed pretty high getting an interview with the #1 company i want to work for in london. sigh. i found a job asking for creative people to ice biscuits. i am thinking about going for that or i could start a retail career at liberty [even though i hate it there] and work my way up or i could beg richard nicoll/ b store/ tatty devine for a job. double sigh.
enough doom and gloom! the weather is doing a great job of being gloomy all by itself. do you want to know what else is going on? you have to check out the bethnal green working men's club, which night should i go to? i am definitely going to the winter-themed games night tomorrow and i love the idea of the birthday party on friday night. i have a dinner date with my friend, bahbak, on friday [i am making roast vegetable pizza] and i hope he wants a birthday party for dessert! on saturday i am seeing my friend, corey [of arch m fame], play the ica [the sydney equivalent is the mca] on a night called tv party. i cannot wait for tomorrow to start!
this getting-a-job business is a long process. thank you for coming along for the ride. on monday i was well prepped to talk shop with mark eley but all he wanted to do was get to know me. he let slip five people [from two hundred applicants but i do not know how many they actually interviewed] were called back for a meet-and-greet. he asked me what i do on the weekends, if i drink, do drugs, who is my favourite musician/ artist/ designer. he completely caught me off guard and i had to turn on the charm. we had a good conversation about bernhard willhelm, going red after a few drinks, and gossiped about sydney people. i am not sure how well i won him over because he talks a lot and only gave me two seconds to respond to questions but he won me over completely. do you know he describes designing for cacharel as his money job to fund his baby, eley kishimoto? i love that. i want this job even more now! we joked about sponsorship. he said it was not an issue because if they employ me i can set up their online store and fund my own sponsorship. he even suggested setting up a sponsorship fund in the office, next to the credit card machine. i swear, if i get the job i will probably make them lots of money just from buying excess stock. they could half pay me in clothes! damn i should have said that.
but if i do not get the job [i find out on friday], what will i do? i aimed pretty high getting an interview with the #1 company i want to work for in london. sigh. i found a job asking for creative people to ice biscuits. i am thinking about going for that or i could start a retail career at liberty [even though i hate it there] and work my way up or i could beg richard nicoll/ b store/ tatty devine for a job. double sigh.
enough doom and gloom! the weather is doing a great job of being gloomy all by itself. do you want to know what else is going on? you have to check out the bethnal green working men's club, which night should i go to? i am definitely going to the winter-themed games night tomorrow and i love the idea of the birthday party on friday night. i have a dinner date with my friend, bahbak, on friday [i am making roast vegetable pizza] and i hope he wants a birthday party for dessert! on saturday i am seeing my friend, corey [of arch m fame], play the ica [the sydney equivalent is the mca] on a night called tv party. i cannot wait for tomorrow to start!
this cat lives next door. it likes to sit in the back garden and sun itself. it is very moody but so cute! look at those eyes!
the wall is at edgeware road tube station. i like the lines.
i have the flu and can blow my nose for a very long time and stuff still comes out. it is very bizarre. where am i storing it all?
i have the flu and can blow my nose for a very long time and stuff still comes out. it is very bizarre. where am i storing it all?
i will write to you on friday. oh oh oh the suspense! will there be tears of joy or disappointment? oh!
lots of love
olivia
olivia
8 October 2008
would you like to a liberty loyalty card with that? from london [part fifteen]
hello friends
it is a beautiful day outside so i will keep this short and sweet. i really should be out there doing something cultural.
i started my job at liberty yesterday. i work on the christmas floor, it is filled wall-to-wall with glass baubles and decorations. the christmas food shop is next door and it is a candy wonderland. i have never been so excited about christmas before! the floor is very festive and happy and there are many lovely decorations to buy [the customers gobble them up like glass candy]. pretty pretty pretty. but i feel like i have made a mistake and i hate my job already. did you know i worked in myer once? i quit on my fourth day. i really have to stick this one out if i want to pay the rent. there is no sense of job satisfaction and my supervisor is a witch. oh cry! but the floor staff are friendly and funny and i do a lot of unauthorised visual merchandising to keep myself entertained. if i have to put a bauble back and i cannot find its place, i put it on one of the christmas trees. yes i am seriously giving it to the man with that one.
my other news is eley kishimoto called to ask me to come in for a second interview. monday 5pm. wheee! the design room manager said they liked me as a candidate. hurrah! i do not have a plan b so they better give me the job! but they are concerned about my visa [i can only work for a year], i am going to research sponsorship and sell it to them. fingers crossed, everyone!
on saturday night jon and i hit the streets of shoredith looking for a dancefloor worthy of our moneymakers. i chose a place called straight to video [they only play music from films]. it is called straight to video for a reason, it was a dud. we want madonna! 80s! something pop to dance to! so back out on the street, we spy two boys. one is holding a dj case, the other is dressed in a bright kaftan and printed leggings. we look at each other, we are thinking the same thing. if anyone knows where to go, these two do! they start walking, we start walking. we follow them through hoxton square, down a few alleys, past a mixed business that claims to have the best food in the world [i took a picture of this but it was blurry]. do you know where they went? home. yes we followed them home. embarrassed, we turn back and call it a night.
love
olivia
ps i know i ask for this often, but any news from home? i am greedy for news! tell me!
it is a beautiful day outside so i will keep this short and sweet. i really should be out there doing something cultural.
i started my job at liberty yesterday. i work on the christmas floor, it is filled wall-to-wall with glass baubles and decorations. the christmas food shop is next door and it is a candy wonderland. i have never been so excited about christmas before! the floor is very festive and happy and there are many lovely decorations to buy [the customers gobble them up like glass candy]. pretty pretty pretty. but i feel like i have made a mistake and i hate my job already. did you know i worked in myer once? i quit on my fourth day. i really have to stick this one out if i want to pay the rent. there is no sense of job satisfaction and my supervisor is a witch. oh cry! but the floor staff are friendly and funny and i do a lot of unauthorised visual merchandising to keep myself entertained. if i have to put a bauble back and i cannot find its place, i put it on one of the christmas trees. yes i am seriously giving it to the man with that one.
my other news is eley kishimoto called to ask me to come in for a second interview. monday 5pm. wheee! the design room manager said they liked me as a candidate. hurrah! i do not have a plan b so they better give me the job! but they are concerned about my visa [i can only work for a year], i am going to research sponsorship and sell it to them. fingers crossed, everyone!
on saturday night jon and i hit the streets of shoredith looking for a dancefloor worthy of our moneymakers. i chose a place called straight to video [they only play music from films]. it is called straight to video for a reason, it was a dud. we want madonna! 80s! something pop to dance to! so back out on the street, we spy two boys. one is holding a dj case, the other is dressed in a bright kaftan and printed leggings. we look at each other, we are thinking the same thing. if anyone knows where to go, these two do! they start walking, we start walking. we follow them through hoxton square, down a few alleys, past a mixed business that claims to have the best food in the world [i took a picture of this but it was blurry]. do you know where they went? home. yes we followed them home. embarrassed, we turn back and call it a night.
love
olivia
ps i know i ask for this often, but any news from home? i am greedy for news! tell me!
4 October 2008
hello from london [part fourteen and a half]]
i am at jon's having dinner with his friend ameena. i made a moussaka [thanks dave, it has been a winner every time] and salad. we are drinking snowballs [an egg yolk drink with lemonade] and ginger ale with rum. i am a little bit tipsy, we are going dancing after. so jon is showing ameena and i moves to get out of a rape situation and how to deflect a knife attack using ju jitsu. ameena is on top of jon between his legs and strangling him and he is explaining step-by-step what to do. you grab onto the wrist from around your neck, palm the person in the face, roll your body away, swing your leg onto their neck and get them in a head lock. jon is demonstrating this but ameena will not let go and i am on the floor laughing because it looks like a sexual position i have never seen before. this situation is so wrong right now.
over and out
olivia
over and out
olivia
hello from london [part fourteen]
hello friends
how are you? i am well. i know it is boring to talk about the weather, but it is so icy here i have already broken out the bernhard willhelm coat. i shudder to think what winter will be like. if one more person mentions the hot weather sydney is having, i am going to cry.
how did the interview with e k go, you ask? i feel good about it but it is difficult to tell what they [the production manager and design room manager] think of me. i wowed them with my production knowledge and they like that i previously worked for a company of a similar size. i had a small fan moment at the end when they asked me if i had anything to ask them and i said the position is very exciting and i know i can fulfill it, i would love this opportunity to work for a company i admire blah blah. what i really wanted to say was i love eley kishimoto! this is the #1 company i want to work for in london! if you do not give me this job i do not know where i will go from here! please please please! but i bit my tongue and smiled instead. i find out on thursday if i get a second interview [with mark eley, oh i will have to keep my fan moments in check]. ameli, one of my bosses at mad cortes, has already briefed me how to wow their socks off at the second interview with impressive descriptions of how i can save them money with my skills in quality control resolution or something like that. i will have to memorise the lines the night before. the only down point was when i explained how my visa works, that i am here for two years but i can only work for one and if they like me, they will have to sponsor me after that. i could see the wheels turning in their eyes and i could not help blurting out “but i am worth it!” and i am. i hope they give me the chance to prove it.
earlier on thursday i organised an interview with liberty, for out-of-towners, it is a beautiful department store [the merchandise is evenly spaced out, it has polished wooden floor boards, french music with an ethnic twist is piped through the store, it is a bit posh]. i applied for a christmas casual job and i got it on the spot. i told the h r lady my particular skill is in gift-wrapping and she was well impressed. she said she will mention it to the christmas floor manager. did you know gift-wrapping in a department store is one of my life-long dream jobs? i am serious! but for what they are paying me, that is all i am willing to do. the minimum wage here is £5.25 per hour. i am getting £1 more, it only covers rent and food. sigh. my poepke days are definitely over. i have mixed feelings about this liberty job but at least i can support myself.
i made the mistake of going down to the womenswear floor and trying on clothes for fun. i do not know how much longer i can keep the hungry hungry hippo who wants to buy clothes at bay! when i was still in sydney and trying to save for this move, i was telling andy how proud i was of myself for not buying anything new. he asked how i was doing that and i said it was because i am too poor to afford anything. he said that was nothing to be proud of. that moment still makes me laugh. when i was browsing the sale shoes i got very angry at why i was too poor to buy anything. this is so unfair! this would not happen at home! i was stamping my imaginary feet. for a second i resolved to find myself a sugary papa and he can buy me shoes! now! sometimes i cannot believe i am twenty-seven, such a baby. actually no one believes i am twenty-seven. a few weeks ago jon and i went to the corner store to buy cigarettes for a friend who was minding our spot in the park. the man behind the counter eyes me and asks if i am old enough to buy these. i say yes i am twenty-seven and he does not believe me so jon has to buy them.
this is a my owl family.
how are you? i am well. i know it is boring to talk about the weather, but it is so icy here i have already broken out the bernhard willhelm coat. i shudder to think what winter will be like. if one more person mentions the hot weather sydney is having, i am going to cry.
how did the interview with e k go, you ask? i feel good about it but it is difficult to tell what they [the production manager and design room manager] think of me. i wowed them with my production knowledge and they like that i previously worked for a company of a similar size. i had a small fan moment at the end when they asked me if i had anything to ask them and i said the position is very exciting and i know i can fulfill it, i would love this opportunity to work for a company i admire blah blah. what i really wanted to say was i love eley kishimoto! this is the #1 company i want to work for in london! if you do not give me this job i do not know where i will go from here! please please please! but i bit my tongue and smiled instead. i find out on thursday if i get a second interview [with mark eley, oh i will have to keep my fan moments in check]. ameli, one of my bosses at mad cortes, has already briefed me how to wow their socks off at the second interview with impressive descriptions of how i can save them money with my skills in quality control resolution or something like that. i will have to memorise the lines the night before. the only down point was when i explained how my visa works, that i am here for two years but i can only work for one and if they like me, they will have to sponsor me after that. i could see the wheels turning in their eyes and i could not help blurting out “but i am worth it!” and i am. i hope they give me the chance to prove it.
earlier on thursday i organised an interview with liberty, for out-of-towners, it is a beautiful department store [the merchandise is evenly spaced out, it has polished wooden floor boards, french music with an ethnic twist is piped through the store, it is a bit posh]. i applied for a christmas casual job and i got it on the spot. i told the h r lady my particular skill is in gift-wrapping and she was well impressed. she said she will mention it to the christmas floor manager. did you know gift-wrapping in a department store is one of my life-long dream jobs? i am serious! but for what they are paying me, that is all i am willing to do. the minimum wage here is £5.25 per hour. i am getting £1 more, it only covers rent and food. sigh. my poepke days are definitely over. i have mixed feelings about this liberty job but at least i can support myself.
i made the mistake of going down to the womenswear floor and trying on clothes for fun. i do not know how much longer i can keep the hungry hungry hippo who wants to buy clothes at bay! when i was still in sydney and trying to save for this move, i was telling andy how proud i was of myself for not buying anything new. he asked how i was doing that and i said it was because i am too poor to afford anything. he said that was nothing to be proud of. that moment still makes me laugh. when i was browsing the sale shoes i got very angry at why i was too poor to buy anything. this is so unfair! this would not happen at home! i was stamping my imaginary feet. for a second i resolved to find myself a sugary papa and he can buy me shoes! now! sometimes i cannot believe i am twenty-seven, such a baby. actually no one believes i am twenty-seven. a few weeks ago jon and i went to the corner store to buy cigarettes for a friend who was minding our spot in the park. the man behind the counter eyes me and asks if i am old enough to buy these. i say yes i am twenty-seven and he does not believe me so jon has to buy them.
do you know who is getting me through this london experience? the cure! they are so good! if my skill is gift-wrapping, theirs is writing pop songs. i borrowed their greatest hits from the library and i feel i am listening to them for the first time.
ok if you have read this far, maybe you can read one more story? on the way to richard nicoll’s studio in shoreditch, i walk past a shop that sells beds. outside there are bedheads on display leaning on the shop front and signs that read “rad covers”. for weeks i thought rad covers meant, you know, radical bed covers. sometimes i am tempted to go in just to see how rad these covers really are. i finally worked out what rad covers mean. do you know? radiator covers! oh the english are weird! they do not know what a capsicum is. they call it a pepper! pants are undies here. if you say “i like your pants” it means you like their undies.
ok ok just a bit more.
this is a my owl family.
the little one is mine, the two medium owls are for my landlady's shop down the street, and the big one is for jon's friend.
just for the ladies, i bought the three tatty devine bangles for £13. jealous?
i raided their bargain bin. i can have a look in the bin for you too if you want.
did anyone else notice i missed hello from london [part ten]? old news now.
love
olivia
29 September 2008
hello from london [part thirteen ooh scary]!
hello friends
ok i have a few observations about london for you.
01 people throw their garbage bags straight out onto the street here on rubbish day. it is very gross. next time i see this i will take a picture for you. i was talking about it with a friend who lives in north london and she said only people in the hackney borough do this, everyone else has garbage bins. really?
03 london is a city for loved-up couples. there are so many couples here, it almost makes me ill. every eye candy boy i see has a beautiful girl on his arm. in london fields they are always making-out or lying on top of each other. if i am still here next summer, i am going to build a huge mattress and just roll it out in the park. it is make-out city all the time.
04 boys are not afraid of the mustache here, or of skinny jeans that are a bit too short. they wear sand shoes with coloured socks, tee shirts, and cardigans. you know the look. girls wear black stockings with a short floral dress, cardigan, and flats. that is the uniform. i have no such clothes here.
05 people love a good jumble sale, oh lordy! the hospice at the end of my street had an attic sale which was advertised to start at 10am. i got there at 10.10 and the place was packed! i could hardly breathe! but everything was £1 or less and i got caught up in the rush and dropped pounds like they were hot. clothes shoes handbags books music china knic knacs! you name it! people were walking out of there with garbage bags of stuff [myself included, you know, when in rome and all].
are you ready for some random stories?
ok i have a few observations about london for you.
01 people throw their garbage bags straight out onto the street here on rubbish day. it is very gross. next time i see this i will take a picture for you. i was talking about it with a friend who lives in north london and she said only people in the hackney borough do this, everyone else has garbage bins. really?
02 londoners need little excuse to whip their tops off. i am not talking about the ladies, i mean the pasty white men. the weekends have been ridiculously warm of late and when i go down to london fields with rebecca for a lie down in the sun, we are greeted by a sea of white. sometimes it is hot, sometimes not.
03 london is a city for loved-up couples. there are so many couples here, it almost makes me ill. every eye candy boy i see has a beautiful girl on his arm. in london fields they are always making-out or lying on top of each other. if i am still here next summer, i am going to build a huge mattress and just roll it out in the park. it is make-out city all the time.
04 boys are not afraid of the mustache here, or of skinny jeans that are a bit too short. they wear sand shoes with coloured socks, tee shirts, and cardigans. you know the look. girls wear black stockings with a short floral dress, cardigan, and flats. that is the uniform. i have no such clothes here.
05 people love a good jumble sale, oh lordy! the hospice at the end of my street had an attic sale which was advertised to start at 10am. i got there at 10.10 and the place was packed! i could hardly breathe! but everything was £1 or less and i got caught up in the rush and dropped pounds like they were hot. clothes shoes handbags books music china knic knacs! you name it! people were walking out of there with garbage bags of stuff [myself included, you know, when in rome and all].
are you ready for some random stories?
06 on friday night i went to a ping pong tournament at the flea pit with my friend, pete. it was in the back room of the pub and for £1 you get a paddle and two sweatbands. there are twelve people in each game and everyone runs around the table and hits the ball. if you miss your go, you give your sweatband to the referee. after both sweatbands are gone, you have one more chance and then it is over. i missed all my goes. the thing i love about london is that you can have a cheap entertaining night out without the need to get completely smashed. people are really into having simple fun here.
07 the other thing i love about london is that everyone understands what a difficult city it is and if you are having a hard time, people will buy you dinner [and dessert]. tonight i went to dinner with my friend, rys, and her main squeeze, matt. we went to the garlic restaurant and shots bar in soho. everything has garlic in it, they even have garlic beer [but they ran out of it tonight]. there are pots of parsley on the table to mask garlic breath but it is not very effective. on the way home, i did not have enough money on my oyster card to get me back but the bus driver, once he found out my vietnamese-ness, let me ride the bus for free but only if i kept him company. he is vietnamese too! that was too easy. a few stops from home a french man gets on [i can tell from his accent] and he is struck by me [not in a violent physical way] and tells me how cute i am [which i hate] and i tell him he has had a long night. but he still wants to talk to me and i think ok maybe i can make another new friend. he asks if i am a designer and i say i work in fashion. i ask him what he does and he says he draws pictures and people buy them. i point to his neckerchief and say "you are an artist?" but he does not get my joke. i get off at my stop and wave goodbye to my two new friends.
07 the other thing i love about london is that everyone understands what a difficult city it is and if you are having a hard time, people will buy you dinner [and dessert]. tonight i went to dinner with my friend, rys, and her main squeeze, matt. we went to the garlic restaurant and shots bar in soho. everything has garlic in it, they even have garlic beer [but they ran out of it tonight]. there are pots of parsley on the table to mask garlic breath but it is not very effective. on the way home, i did not have enough money on my oyster card to get me back but the bus driver, once he found out my vietnamese-ness, let me ride the bus for free but only if i kept him company. he is vietnamese too! that was too easy. a few stops from home a french man gets on [i can tell from his accent] and he is struck by me [not in a violent physical way] and tells me how cute i am [which i hate] and i tell him he has had a long night. but he still wants to talk to me and i think ok maybe i can make another new friend. he asks if i am a designer and i say i work in fashion. i ask him what he does and he says he draws pictures and people buy them. i point to his neckerchief and say "you are an artist?" but he does not get my joke. i get off at my stop and wave goodbye to my two new friends.
08 jon lent me his digital camera and i have been very snap-happy. this might take a while, but bear with me here.
the all-important wardrobe
rebecca looking like a total babe on saturday
the all-important wardrobethe fireplace and mantle [my most favourite part of the room]
i bought the lambs at the attic sale [50p for all three]
rebecca looking like a total babe on saturdayi am standing out the front of my house with a rain hat i bought for doris at the attic sale
09 last but not least, my interview with eley kishimoto is on thursday.
love
olivia
ps how did i miss dazed & confused september 2007 issue 154? does anyone have this issue?
09 last but not least, my interview with eley kishimoto is on thursday.
love
olivia
ps how did i miss dazed & confused september 2007 issue 154? does anyone have this issue?
24 September 2008
hello from london [part twelve]
hello!
this is a short and sweet one, just two bits of good-ish news.
01/ i started my internship with t d today. i am downstairs in the slave labour camp, oops i mean with the other interns. we clean all the perspex jewellery before it goes out to the shops. think about it, your piece of tatty devine has been polished by hand. it is an intense six step process. who knew! ok i will quit complaining because the studio is super cute. it is candy feast for the eyes! i can barely walk past the wall of available stock without melting at the knees. we all polish the jewellery around a table and talk trash and drink cups of tea. how do you get pikachu on the bus? pokemon. say it aloud, it is funny. everyday two people make lunch [soups in winter, salads in summer, all ingredients provided] and we eat together. it feels like a co-op in there. are you ready for the really good news? i get 50% off the retail price of all tatty devine from next week. yay! when converted to australian dollars, it is still cheap.
02/ guess who is shortlisted for an interview for the production assistant position at e k? huh huh? that is right, shortlisted! i feel like i am in the running for a book prize. i called them on tuesday and they remembered me. i am so happy! this is the furthest i have gotten so far. oh london, why so tough? just give me something! i find out this week.
miss you!
olivia
this is a short and sweet one, just two bits of good-ish news.
01/ i started my internship with t d today. i am downstairs in the slave labour camp, oops i mean with the other interns. we clean all the perspex jewellery before it goes out to the shops. think about it, your piece of tatty devine has been polished by hand. it is an intense six step process. who knew! ok i will quit complaining because the studio is super cute. it is candy feast for the eyes! i can barely walk past the wall of available stock without melting at the knees. we all polish the jewellery around a table and talk trash and drink cups of tea. how do you get pikachu on the bus? pokemon. say it aloud, it is funny. everyday two people make lunch [soups in winter, salads in summer, all ingredients provided] and we eat together. it feels like a co-op in there. are you ready for the really good news? i get 50% off the retail price of all tatty devine from next week. yay! when converted to australian dollars, it is still cheap.
02/ guess who is shortlisted for an interview for the production assistant position at e k? huh huh? that is right, shortlisted! i feel like i am in the running for a book prize. i called them on tuesday and they remembered me. i am so happy! this is the furthest i have gotten so far. oh london, why so tough? just give me something! i find out this week.
miss you!
olivia
21 September 2008
hello from london [part eleven]
hello peeps!
how are you? i want sydney news. you know, who is doing what [or to whom], gimme something! i have two stories for you. one funny, the other i just have to get off my chest.
there is a flower market on columbia road [within walking distance from my house] on sundays. it is always packed with people selling flowers and people buying them. on the end of the street is a vintage crockery/ tea set/ kitchenware shop. it is very twee. there is a tea house at the back with tapestries on the wall. the one i like is a small one of a sparrow in a tree. two weeks ago i asked if it was for sale and how much, the lady says £7.50 [not too terrible]. i go back this week and ask a different lady how much it is and she says £12 and i tell her what the other lady said, maybe she could check the price for me? this lady made me cry telling me she has never had such an offensive customer and she did not like my implication of her cheating me. wowzers. it did not matter what i said after that, i was the most vile thing ever to her. ok. well i bought it at £7.50 anyway mostly to spite her. maybe we hurt each other's feelings?
how are you? i want sydney news. you know, who is doing what [or to whom], gimme something! i have two stories for you. one funny, the other i just have to get off my chest.
there is a flower market on columbia road [within walking distance from my house] on sundays. it is always packed with people selling flowers and people buying them. on the end of the street is a vintage crockery/ tea set/ kitchenware shop. it is very twee. there is a tea house at the back with tapestries on the wall. the one i like is a small one of a sparrow in a tree. two weeks ago i asked if it was for sale and how much, the lady says £7.50 [not too terrible]. i go back this week and ask a different lady how much it is and she says £12 and i tell her what the other lady said, maybe she could check the price for me? this lady made me cry telling me she has never had such an offensive customer and she did not like my implication of her cheating me. wowzers. it did not matter what i said after that, i was the most vile thing ever to her. ok. well i bought it at £7.50 anyway mostly to spite her. maybe we hurt each other's feelings?
this second story is a lot funnier. ready? rebecca and i went out friday night to a basement bar my friend bahbak djs at. we were outside drinking £1 beers, classy. rebecca likes jesus-types and you know, being her friend and all i try to help her out. i point to one and say "what about him?", she retorts with a "yeah, if jesus were gay", ok. i point to a less attractive but obviously straight jesus-type and she says "he is jesus enough", takes a swig of her beer, "he will be jesus in a minute". oh i have never laughed so hard.
i relented and bought a cheap disposable camera from the supermarket today.
eley kishimoto are calling people this week for interviews. wish me luck!
lots of love and missing you heaps [all of you]
olivia
i relented and bought a cheap disposable camera from the supermarket today.
eley kishimoto are calling people this week for interviews. wish me luck!
lots of love and missing you heaps [all of you]
olivia
17 September 2008
hello from london [part nine]
hello friends
i am having an i-am-miserable-and-i-really-want-to-come-home moment.
01/ the #1 fashion label i want to work for, eley kishimoto, posted a position for a production assistant last thursday. i nearly wet my pants! i went down to their studio and handed in my cover letter and resume on friday. their london fashion week show was yesterday. i am going to call them tomorrow to show how keen i am. i want this job so much!
02/ no news on the paid work front. i expressed interest in doing sewing and embroidery work for an artist who is planning two major works for a show next year. it involves embroidering patches like the ones girl scouts wear. i think i can do it! i like that it is for a creative project [and it will be paid]. jonathon is paying me to make curtains for him. if all else fails, i could be a freelance seamstress.
03/ richard nicoll's show was this morning. yesterday i was at his tailor's house helping with the hand sewing of the internal structure of the jackets from 9am to 11pm. none of the interns left the studio until 1am. we were all back there this morning at 5. is that not intense? it was a beautiful show, some people even cried it was so lovely. it was awesome to see the whole range together, on models, to music [he used laurie andersen's o superman, i swooned]. the hard work definitely paid off but i feel empty.
04/ you should all be jealous you are not seeing the viktor & rolf exhibition. it is amazing! they are geniuses. i love that each season is structured around a specific concept. i am a terrible storyteller, but if you are interested visit this, it explains everything.
05/ a boy i like is seriously confusing me and i should leave him alone. sigh.
but enough of this doom and gloom, let me tell you the fun things that have been happening. to tell you the truth, i am only unhappy because i am not working and have zero pounds coming in.
06/ from next week i will be interning at tatty devine. i went for an interview to get this internship. their studio is the most creative space i have ever seen. it is laser-cut heaven!
07/ jonathon and i went to have a drink down shoreditch way and we ended up at the bethnal green working men's club. you know how burlesque is very traditional in sydney? well this burlesque night was trashy and dirty in the best possible way. it was so much fun! the floor was strewn with different names for the vagina [jon took one home and surprised his flatmates], each segment of the show was introduced by a sexually dysfunctional man and woman on video [high on the production value and fun aspect], and the acts involved a dominatrix reciting poetry and a girl making fun of pixie geldof. hilarious!
08/ london had a very sunny saturday and sunday last week. i spent most of my time lying in london fields with jonathon and rebecca. jon taught me to hula hoop and do a trick. while the hoop is going around, i lift it off my waist and it keeps spinning in my hand above my head, then i lower it back to my waist and keep hooping. it never stops or skips a beat. it took all afternoon to perfect. i think if i ever do a burlesque act, hooping will be my drawcard.
09/ last but not least, i am making a real effort to become a proper londoner. i joined my local library, i am a loyal customer at the local supermarket earning points for purchases, i registered my oyster card [card one puts money on to pay the fares for the tube and buses], and i get excited when people ask me for directions.
right now i wish i was home so i can feel some love and be surrounded by the familiar. i miss everyone very much.
lots of love
olivia
i am having an i-am-miserable-and-i-really-want-to-come-home moment.
01/ the #1 fashion label i want to work for, eley kishimoto, posted a position for a production assistant last thursday. i nearly wet my pants! i went down to their studio and handed in my cover letter and resume on friday. their london fashion week show was yesterday. i am going to call them tomorrow to show how keen i am. i want this job so much!
02/ no news on the paid work front. i expressed interest in doing sewing and embroidery work for an artist who is planning two major works for a show next year. it involves embroidering patches like the ones girl scouts wear. i think i can do it! i like that it is for a creative project [and it will be paid]. jonathon is paying me to make curtains for him. if all else fails, i could be a freelance seamstress.
03/ richard nicoll's show was this morning. yesterday i was at his tailor's house helping with the hand sewing of the internal structure of the jackets from 9am to 11pm. none of the interns left the studio until 1am. we were all back there this morning at 5. is that not intense? it was a beautiful show, some people even cried it was so lovely. it was awesome to see the whole range together, on models, to music [he used laurie andersen's o superman, i swooned]. the hard work definitely paid off but i feel empty.
04/ you should all be jealous you are not seeing the viktor & rolf exhibition. it is amazing! they are geniuses. i love that each season is structured around a specific concept. i am a terrible storyteller, but if you are interested visit this, it explains everything.
05/ a boy i like is seriously confusing me and i should leave him alone. sigh.
but enough of this doom and gloom, let me tell you the fun things that have been happening. to tell you the truth, i am only unhappy because i am not working and have zero pounds coming in.
06/ from next week i will be interning at tatty devine. i went for an interview to get this internship. their studio is the most creative space i have ever seen. it is laser-cut heaven!
07/ jonathon and i went to have a drink down shoreditch way and we ended up at the bethnal green working men's club. you know how burlesque is very traditional in sydney? well this burlesque night was trashy and dirty in the best possible way. it was so much fun! the floor was strewn with different names for the vagina [jon took one home and surprised his flatmates], each segment of the show was introduced by a sexually dysfunctional man and woman on video [high on the production value and fun aspect], and the acts involved a dominatrix reciting poetry and a girl making fun of pixie geldof. hilarious!
08/ london had a very sunny saturday and sunday last week. i spent most of my time lying in london fields with jonathon and rebecca. jon taught me to hula hoop and do a trick. while the hoop is going around, i lift it off my waist and it keeps spinning in my hand above my head, then i lower it back to my waist and keep hooping. it never stops or skips a beat. it took all afternoon to perfect. i think if i ever do a burlesque act, hooping will be my drawcard.
09/ last but not least, i am making a real effort to become a proper londoner. i joined my local library, i am a loyal customer at the local supermarket earning points for purchases, i registered my oyster card [card one puts money on to pay the fares for the tube and buses], and i get excited when people ask me for directions.
right now i wish i was home so i can feel some love and be surrounded by the familiar. i miss everyone very much.
lots of love
olivia
10 September 2008
hello from london [part eight]
hello friends
how are you? i think about home everyday [still]. i am well.
01/ it is wednesday and i do not have to go to my internship today. london fashion week is next week, richard's show is next wednesday. we have almost finished the range, there are less than five styles to make. i am very surprised at how calm the studio is at this point. there are many show collaborators traipsing through the place and lots of activity, but everyone is cool as cucumbers. richard got me an inside connection at dover street market. the way he told me was quite humourous. i have to take my c v to the third floor of the store to a woman named electra [who is expecting me] and she will make sure it is on top of the pile of applications. ooo-ah!
02/ i do not have much to report, but i will try. i received an email yesterday about a quality control job i applied for last week. it was about my salary expectation. i told him what i wanted and we negotiated my pay over three emails and then the man says thanks he will keep me on file. what a tease! i had already spent half of my imaginary pay at this point! sigh. but it did make me question whether or not i want to work full-time. it is the same dilemma i had in sydney. should i work monday to friday 9 to 5 for the money, or be a shopgirl for three days and work on my projects the rest? i know the point of moving here was to work in industry but what is the point when the fashion industry is exactly like at home [except there is more intern exploitation in london] and does international design work really make that big a difference on my resume? i want to come home and start a label already but at the end of the day i am here and i better make the most of it. anyone else need a pep talk?
03/ i am really going to the barbican to see the viktor & rolf show today, i have promised myself. i could not go last time because i did not have enough money but i saved this week. it is so sad but everyone complains about money and the lack of here, even my landlady [she collects rent and owns a toy shop]! i am going to apply to be a librarian at the tate modern [you know how i feel about librarians], if that does not work out, i can always be a volunteer.
01/ it is wednesday and i do not have to go to my internship today. london fashion week is next week, richard's show is next wednesday. we have almost finished the range, there are less than five styles to make. i am very surprised at how calm the studio is at this point. there are many show collaborators traipsing through the place and lots of activity, but everyone is cool as cucumbers. richard got me an inside connection at dover street market. the way he told me was quite humourous. i have to take my c v to the third floor of the store to a woman named electra [who is expecting me] and she will make sure it is on top of the pile of applications. ooo-ah!
02/ i do not have much to report, but i will try. i received an email yesterday about a quality control job i applied for last week. it was about my salary expectation. i told him what i wanted and we negotiated my pay over three emails and then the man says thanks he will keep me on file. what a tease! i had already spent half of my imaginary pay at this point! sigh. but it did make me question whether or not i want to work full-time. it is the same dilemma i had in sydney. should i work monday to friday 9 to 5 for the money, or be a shopgirl for three days and work on my projects the rest? i know the point of moving here was to work in industry but what is the point when the fashion industry is exactly like at home [except there is more intern exploitation in london] and does international design work really make that big a difference on my resume? i want to come home and start a label already but at the end of the day i am here and i better make the most of it. anyone else need a pep talk?
03/ i am really going to the barbican to see the viktor & rolf show today, i have promised myself. i could not go last time because i did not have enough money but i saved this week. it is so sad but everyone complains about money and the lack of here, even my landlady [she collects rent and owns a toy shop]! i am going to apply to be a librarian at the tate modern [you know how i feel about librarians], if that does not work out, i can always be a volunteer.
04/ i finally met my pen pal, corey. he is shy and awkward but super cute. yay for instant friend!
05/ i went to a life drawing class called "drawn to you" last thursday. i usually find life drawing boring because i hate having to sit there for twenty minutes studying the same pose, drawing in light and shade, but this one-off class was so much fun! we drew each other and drank wine. you draw someone for twenty minutes, they draw you, then you swap partners. you can see two of my best illustrations above my mantle above my fireplace [not pictured].
05/ i went to a life drawing class called "drawn to you" last thursday. i usually find life drawing boring because i hate having to sit there for twenty minutes studying the same pose, drawing in light and shade, but this one-off class was so much fun! we drew each other and drank wine. you draw someone for twenty minutes, they draw you, then you swap partners. you can see two of my best illustrations above my mantle above my fireplace [not pictured].
06/ i know what i am going to go as to p i v [costume party from the last update]. a few of you may have already seen this ensemble but i let me tell you. i am going to glam it up in a short black strapless dress but confuse people with my stick-on eye brows and mustache. i cannot wait to rock the fake 'tache! now if only doris will send me the dress in exchange for a present...
07/ my new favourite thing to do is to type to you from my bed on my macbook [the best purchase i ever made]. go, mac, go! ok when will i start getting paid for endorsements? just joshing.
lots of love
olivia
07/ my new favourite thing to do is to type to you from my bed on my macbook [the best purchase i ever made]. go, mac, go! ok when will i start getting paid for endorsements? just joshing.
lots of love
olivia
3 September 2008
hello from london [part seven]
hello! i know, two updates in a row! feeling lucky? just kidding. i hope i am not annoying anyone with these updates. i only have a handful of friends here and i need to tell someone these things! you only need to know about two of them.
01/ i am going to the viktor & rolf exhibition at the barbican tomorrow. jealous? you should be! check it out here.
i hung out with my friend edwina today, just walking the streets of east london, more specifically old street. we are going to a free drawing class tomorrow night with her man. apparently we draw portraits of each other. sounds fun! her housemate puts on parties and she has one called p i v. do you know what it stands for? penis in vagina. so rude! but it is supposed to be a very fun costume party. i cannot wait to go [sometime in mid september]! hopefully i will have a camera by then.
02/ the felt face badges got a write up on the v magazine blog. are you rolling around on the floor squealing? i am! it certainly makes it difficult to type. i am so happy, i cannot describe how much. i would like to thank god, my parents... just kidding, but i am very humbled and excited.
lots of love
olivia
01/ i am going to the viktor & rolf exhibition at the barbican tomorrow. jealous? you should be! check it out here.
i hung out with my friend edwina today, just walking the streets of east london, more specifically old street. we are going to a free drawing class tomorrow night with her man. apparently we draw portraits of each other. sounds fun! her housemate puts on parties and she has one called p i v. do you know what it stands for? penis in vagina. so rude! but it is supposed to be a very fun costume party. i cannot wait to go [sometime in mid september]! hopefully i will have a camera by then.
02/ the felt face badges got a write up on the v magazine blog. are you rolling around on the floor squealing? i am! it certainly makes it difficult to type. i am so happy, i cannot describe how much. i would like to thank god, my parents... just kidding, but i am very humbled and excited.
lots of love
olivia
hello from london [part six]
hello friends!
how are you? i have much to update you on. are you ready?
last weekend i went down to brighton with my friend jon to visit his love, neel. we hit up the trash and treasure markets big time. on saturday the boys bought me a lovely old singer domestic sewing machine from the street market. too kind! it came with one condition, i have to make them four costumes a year [they did not specify four in total or four each hmm]. deal! i made jon one on sunday for a music festival he is going to called bestival. apparently it is the biggest costume festival in the world [with amy winehouse as one of the headliners]. he is going as an abstract shape [pyramid on top, cocoon on the bottom, hoop in the middle] made of mismatched bed doonas. it looks good! saturday was a very hot day, it felt like summer, all 23 degrees of it! we walked down to the 'beach' [it has large pebbles instead of sand and no waves] for a splash. it hurts to lie down on pebbles [i learnt that the hard way, no pun intended]. we danced our way through the early hours at a gay night called super dynamite boogaloo. it was okay, i do not mean to be a snob or anything but gay bash [for you out-of-towners, a gay club] was much better. right now, sydney poops all over london. on sunday there was a car boot market and i picked up goodies galore! a tall fifties teapot in teal, two cards of old buttons [one lemon yellow, the other emerald green], and a chunky yellow resin necklace. all for under 10 pounds! neel cut my hair, it is back to its old lopsided shape [as in one side is longer than the other]. a haircut is as good as a holiday, i say!
you know how my room is big enough for a bed, sitting room, and work studio? well it is lovely and all but it is too large for me and i am moving to the room next door which is the size of a shoe box. sure that is a major downgrade but it is 40 pounds less a week [as in aud $80!] and it has a single bed, my favourite kind of bed [double beds are for married people]. it has a small desk and wardrobe which suit me fine as i do not have that much stuff to start with [and i really should not accumulate more]. there is a fireplace in my room with a sweet little mantle for knic-knacs, photographs and my corkboard of inspiration. i just have to remind myself i am saving money this way. there is money flowing out, but none in so far.
the main reason i am writing to you is to report on the jobs front. i know i complained about my internship at r n in the last post but i take it back. sure it is not uncommon to work a ten hour day for no pay [like i did yesterday with five other interns] but it paid off. how? let me tell you. richard is so kind to me. everyday he asks me if i am settling into london okay. yesterday i sewed a toile for him and he fitted it on the house model in his office. he comes out to the kitchen and waves me over. i am thinking "oh no i must have sewn that thing wrong!" and he can tell what i am thinking and says "no you are not in trouble". phew! he is just checking in and asks me what i want from london. he promises to keep an ear open for any design or production assistant jobs. then today he asked me who i want to work for and i say "eley kishimoto!" and he says "alice used to work for them". who? only his patternmaker who really likes me! oh wow it pays to be the best intern ever! for the last two days i have been helping alice fix patterns and she thinks i am a star. she is going to call her boss at e k tomorrow and talk me up. it will probably result in another internship, but at least it is a step closer in the right direction. richard is going to call his friends who just happen to be the owners of b store and and know people at dover street market and talk me up there too [because i desperately need a money job]. oh lucky day! the moral of the story is definitely who you know will get you a long way. i guess a bit of luck and hard work does not go astray either. i was so happy about the alice and e k connection, i nearly peed my pants with excitement.
fingers crossed, everyone!
tomorrow i am going to follow up on all the jobs i have applied for so far and maybe take a trip down to the tate modern. i just know the gift shop is going to be trouble. i totally blew my budget in brighton [mostly on the return train ticket and the almost-sydney-quality japanese restaurant there yum]. i am back to living on 5 pounds a day [not including rent]. i actually like the challenge of living on the cheap. it is so different to my life at home. i have not bought clothes, shoes or any luxury items yet [my moisturiser cost 79p or aud $1.58]. if you think that is impressive, you should all send me a dollar! just kidding.
take care! love you lots! tell me something new!
olivia
how are you? i have much to update you on. are you ready?
last weekend i went down to brighton with my friend jon to visit his love, neel. we hit up the trash and treasure markets big time. on saturday the boys bought me a lovely old singer domestic sewing machine from the street market. too kind! it came with one condition, i have to make them four costumes a year [they did not specify four in total or four each hmm]. deal! i made jon one on sunday for a music festival he is going to called bestival. apparently it is the biggest costume festival in the world [with amy winehouse as one of the headliners]. he is going as an abstract shape [pyramid on top, cocoon on the bottom, hoop in the middle] made of mismatched bed doonas. it looks good! saturday was a very hot day, it felt like summer, all 23 degrees of it! we walked down to the 'beach' [it has large pebbles instead of sand and no waves] for a splash. it hurts to lie down on pebbles [i learnt that the hard way, no pun intended]. we danced our way through the early hours at a gay night called super dynamite boogaloo. it was okay, i do not mean to be a snob or anything but gay bash [for you out-of-towners, a gay club] was much better. right now, sydney poops all over london. on sunday there was a car boot market and i picked up goodies galore! a tall fifties teapot in teal, two cards of old buttons [one lemon yellow, the other emerald green], and a chunky yellow resin necklace. all for under 10 pounds! neel cut my hair, it is back to its old lopsided shape [as in one side is longer than the other]. a haircut is as good as a holiday, i say!
you know how my room is big enough for a bed, sitting room, and work studio? well it is lovely and all but it is too large for me and i am moving to the room next door which is the size of a shoe box. sure that is a major downgrade but it is 40 pounds less a week [as in aud $80!] and it has a single bed, my favourite kind of bed [double beds are for married people]. it has a small desk and wardrobe which suit me fine as i do not have that much stuff to start with [and i really should not accumulate more]. there is a fireplace in my room with a sweet little mantle for knic-knacs, photographs and my corkboard of inspiration. i just have to remind myself i am saving money this way. there is money flowing out, but none in so far.
the main reason i am writing to you is to report on the jobs front. i know i complained about my internship at r n in the last post but i take it back. sure it is not uncommon to work a ten hour day for no pay [like i did yesterday with five other interns] but it paid off. how? let me tell you. richard is so kind to me. everyday he asks me if i am settling into london okay. yesterday i sewed a toile for him and he fitted it on the house model in his office. he comes out to the kitchen and waves me over. i am thinking "oh no i must have sewn that thing wrong!" and he can tell what i am thinking and says "no you are not in trouble". phew! he is just checking in and asks me what i want from london. he promises to keep an ear open for any design or production assistant jobs. then today he asked me who i want to work for and i say "eley kishimoto!" and he says "alice used to work for them". who? only his patternmaker who really likes me! oh wow it pays to be the best intern ever! for the last two days i have been helping alice fix patterns and she thinks i am a star. she is going to call her boss at e k tomorrow and talk me up. it will probably result in another internship, but at least it is a step closer in the right direction. richard is going to call his friends who just happen to be the owners of b store and and know people at dover street market and talk me up there too [because i desperately need a money job]. oh lucky day! the moral of the story is definitely who you know will get you a long way. i guess a bit of luck and hard work does not go astray either. i was so happy about the alice and e k connection, i nearly peed my pants with excitement.
fingers crossed, everyone!
tomorrow i am going to follow up on all the jobs i have applied for so far and maybe take a trip down to the tate modern. i just know the gift shop is going to be trouble. i totally blew my budget in brighton [mostly on the return train ticket and the almost-sydney-quality japanese restaurant there yum]. i am back to living on 5 pounds a day [not including rent]. i actually like the challenge of living on the cheap. it is so different to my life at home. i have not bought clothes, shoes or any luxury items yet [my moisturiser cost 79p or aud $1.58]. if you think that is impressive, you should all send me a dollar! just kidding.
take care! love you lots! tell me something new!
olivia
30 August 2008
hello from london [part five, i think]
hello friends
how are you? what is new? i am well. i started my internship with r n yesterday [thank you, juliet!]. my first day was very tough. i forgot what it was like to do work experience and i did not like it. it is so strange to go from being a big fish [as big a fish can be being a design assistant bossing work experience people around] to a little fish being bossed around. i guess i felt i was too good for this when, really, this is the path i chose for myself moving to london. fashion week is in two weeks time, i hope to make more contacts then. this move has made me question whether or not i want to pursue a career in fashion. maybe it is better to be open to multiple design disciplines? fashion is narrow in that respect.
realisation number two, i cannot wait to work for myself even if it means making fat owls with bells inside [which my landlady has agreed to sell in her toy shop] all day, it is so much more satisfying that slaving away for someone else. there are lots of kids doing unpaid work here. it is definitely a cut-throat industry.
three, the fashion industry here works the same as in sydney. why did i think it would be any different? i almost want to come home just to work on my own projects.
enough doom and gloom! i treated myself with a trip to ikea the other day and kitted my room out with a new rug, bed covers, and table cloth for my studio space, and all under budget yay! after tesco [cheap supermarket chain, like franklins], ikea is my next favourite shop.
i went to the martin margiela store on wednesday and it is definitely a winner in my books. i do not necessarily like the clothes and i sort of poo-pooed it before i went but i did go and i am in love! the shop has wooden surfaces painted white, the whole fit-out is white. the ground floor houses womenswear, there are staircases on both ends of the shop that take you upstairs to menswear, and there is a little hothouse for shoes and bags. the layout is very humourous but the funniest thing is the shop staff wear white lab coats. when i went upstairs a shop person was telling two fashion students [complete with pens and notepads] about martin margiela and his design philosophy. it was such a funny little scene. it looked like a bespectacled scientist explaining something complex to two very interested students. i handed in my resume straight away. if i do not get to work in that shop, i will cry! i also like browns focus, but only because the high-end labels and the snooty sales staff kind of appeal to the very superficial fashionista in me. their sense of cool was very intimidating, like they were part of an exclusive club.
tomorrow i am going away for the weekend to brighton [with my friend, jon, to visit his boyfriend]. i am going to help neel make a costume for a music festival called bestival [funny!] and he will cut my hair in exchange. i am thinking i will go boy short again. i cannot wait! brighton has a trash and treasure market on sundays, i think that will make me stop missing rozelle markets for a bit.
i miss you! a lot!
love
olivia
how are you? what is new? i am well. i started my internship with r n yesterday [thank you, juliet!]. my first day was very tough. i forgot what it was like to do work experience and i did not like it. it is so strange to go from being a big fish [as big a fish can be being a design assistant bossing work experience people around] to a little fish being bossed around. i guess i felt i was too good for this when, really, this is the path i chose for myself moving to london. fashion week is in two weeks time, i hope to make more contacts then. this move has made me question whether or not i want to pursue a career in fashion. maybe it is better to be open to multiple design disciplines? fashion is narrow in that respect.
realisation number two, i cannot wait to work for myself even if it means making fat owls with bells inside [which my landlady has agreed to sell in her toy shop] all day, it is so much more satisfying that slaving away for someone else. there are lots of kids doing unpaid work here. it is definitely a cut-throat industry.
three, the fashion industry here works the same as in sydney. why did i think it would be any different? i almost want to come home just to work on my own projects.
enough doom and gloom! i treated myself with a trip to ikea the other day and kitted my room out with a new rug, bed covers, and table cloth for my studio space, and all under budget yay! after tesco [cheap supermarket chain, like franklins], ikea is my next favourite shop.
i went to the martin margiela store on wednesday and it is definitely a winner in my books. i do not necessarily like the clothes and i sort of poo-pooed it before i went but i did go and i am in love! the shop has wooden surfaces painted white, the whole fit-out is white. the ground floor houses womenswear, there are staircases on both ends of the shop that take you upstairs to menswear, and there is a little hothouse for shoes and bags. the layout is very humourous but the funniest thing is the shop staff wear white lab coats. when i went upstairs a shop person was telling two fashion students [complete with pens and notepads] about martin margiela and his design philosophy. it was such a funny little scene. it looked like a bespectacled scientist explaining something complex to two very interested students. i handed in my resume straight away. if i do not get to work in that shop, i will cry! i also like browns focus, but only because the high-end labels and the snooty sales staff kind of appeal to the very superficial fashionista in me. their sense of cool was very intimidating, like they were part of an exclusive club.
tomorrow i am going away for the weekend to brighton [with my friend, jon, to visit his boyfriend]. i am going to help neel make a costume for a music festival called bestival [funny!] and he will cut my hair in exchange. i am thinking i will go boy short again. i cannot wait! brighton has a trash and treasure market on sundays, i think that will make me stop missing rozelle markets for a bit.
i miss you! a lot!
love
olivia
25 August 2008
hello from london [part four]
hello friends
first, i really miss you. it feels so strange that everyone i know and care about is on the other side of the world. i miss having a drink down at the cricks, games nights with the girls, lounging about with d at home, dumplings and noodles in chinatown, working with only the best shop girls ever. right now feels so foreign. i know it will pass. i think i feel strange because second, i found a place! it is a huge room in a very homely house right next to london fields [major park with lots of eye candy bicyclists] and broadway markets [a foodie market on saturdays]. the room is big enough for a bed, a little salon area, and a studio space, and it is within budget [mostly]! my landlady owns a toy shop, i am going to ask her if she will sell my big felt owls with the bells inside. i know, i have to stop being precious about them. i have been staying with my friend jon and his two very funny and lovely housemates. i have felt like one of the gang since i got here but now oh! all out on my own! the good thing is i am just moving around the corner and am a ten minute bus ride from my two other sydney friends. quit complaining, too easy! third, umm i think that is about it. just lots of little things like the uk has the trashiest tv shows ever. i got a real education last night watching "super botox me". google it, it was sort of sick. my sleep routine is as follows, sleep at 9pm, wake at 6am. i can live on less than 10 pounds a day [excluding rent]. so proud of myself! oh and london water is recycled. apparently it has been through twenty bodies before it gets to you. i like the idea of recycled water but one can definitely taste the difference. hmm tasty!
any juicy sydney goss? tell me!
lots of love
olivia
first, i really miss you. it feels so strange that everyone i know and care about is on the other side of the world. i miss having a drink down at the cricks, games nights with the girls, lounging about with d at home, dumplings and noodles in chinatown, working with only the best shop girls ever. right now feels so foreign. i know it will pass. i think i feel strange because second, i found a place! it is a huge room in a very homely house right next to london fields [major park with lots of eye candy bicyclists] and broadway markets [a foodie market on saturdays]. the room is big enough for a bed, a little salon area, and a studio space, and it is within budget [mostly]! my landlady owns a toy shop, i am going to ask her if she will sell my big felt owls with the bells inside. i know, i have to stop being precious about them. i have been staying with my friend jon and his two very funny and lovely housemates. i have felt like one of the gang since i got here but now oh! all out on my own! the good thing is i am just moving around the corner and am a ten minute bus ride from my two other sydney friends. quit complaining, too easy! third, umm i think that is about it. just lots of little things like the uk has the trashiest tv shows ever. i got a real education last night watching "super botox me". google it, it was sort of sick. my sleep routine is as follows, sleep at 9pm, wake at 6am. i can live on less than 10 pounds a day [excluding rent]. so proud of myself! oh and london water is recycled. apparently it has been through twenty bodies before it gets to you. i like the idea of recycled water but one can definitely taste the difference. hmm tasty!
any juicy sydney goss? tell me!
lots of love
olivia
23 August 2008
hello from london [part three]
hello peeps
just a quick note to say i have skype up and running and if you want to talk to me, my username is aspectofraptor or you can enter my email, childrenwakeup@yahoo.com.au. it would be super to hear and see some familiar faces.
lots of love
olivia
just a quick note to say i have skype up and running and if you want to talk to me, my username is aspectofraptor or you can enter my email, childrenwakeup@yahoo.com.au. it would be super to hear and see some familiar faces.
lots of love
olivia
21 August 2008
hello from london [part two]
hello peeps!
i hope you are well. only a few new things to report.
01/ my bank account is set up and ready to go [bring on wages!] and i made my first deposit today. yay!
02/ i applied for a position at agent provocateur as a production assistant [spiffy cover letter and everything]. wish me luck! free lingerie, anyone?
03/ dave, you better come visit me soon because i got hit on again today! twice in two days. husbandless ladies, london is the place to be! sure, the young gentleman was a manager at a sky tv booth and he ushered me around the corner to talk but he was very friendly!
04/ having sworn to never eat a pre-packaged sandwich, i broke and ate one today. a tuna and sweet corn baguette for one pound ninety. cheap! i was so hungry, it did not matter.
05/ also a teen was killed in the backyard of the flats i am staying at [with my friend jonathon]. we have been talking about it all day. the kid who died stabbed someone in the block of flats adjacent to ours. the police came and he jumped out the sixth floor window to escape and died. there is a tent outside marking where he landed. there is a lot of gang-related violence here but it is mostly gangs of teenage black boys which makes it sad and such a waste.
over and out.
lots of love
olivia
i hope you are well. only a few new things to report.
01/ my bank account is set up and ready to go [bring on wages!] and i made my first deposit today. yay!
02/ i applied for a position at agent provocateur as a production assistant [spiffy cover letter and everything]. wish me luck! free lingerie, anyone?
03/ dave, you better come visit me soon because i got hit on again today! twice in two days. husbandless ladies, london is the place to be! sure, the young gentleman was a manager at a sky tv booth and he ushered me around the corner to talk but he was very friendly!
04/ having sworn to never eat a pre-packaged sandwich, i broke and ate one today. a tuna and sweet corn baguette for one pound ninety. cheap! i was so hungry, it did not matter.
05/ also a teen was killed in the backyard of the flats i am staying at [with my friend jonathon]. we have been talking about it all day. the kid who died stabbed someone in the block of flats adjacent to ours. the police came and he jumped out the sixth floor window to escape and died. there is a tent outside marking where he landed. there is a lot of gang-related violence here but it is mostly gangs of teenage black boys which makes it sad and such a waste.
over and out.
lots of love
olivia
19 August 2008
hello from london [part one]
hello peeps!
how are you? i hope everyone is well. so here i am roaming the streets of london. i have been to topshop, agent provocateur, b store, tried to find eley kishimoto, and stood out the front of zoton to zai. you will be proud, i have not bought anything yet but the bare essentials, like an oyster card [for public transport], phone credit, and a falafel roll. to buy bernhard willhelm here is very expensive. sigh.
how are you? i hope everyone is well. so here i am roaming the streets of london. i have been to topshop, agent provocateur, b store, tried to find eley kishimoto, and stood out the front of zoton to zai. you will be proud, i have not bought anything yet but the bare essentials, like an oyster card [for public transport], phone credit, and a falafel roll. to buy bernhard willhelm here is very expensive. sigh.
i had a very brief romance on my flight over. the boy next to me [he is twenty-three and plays volleyball professionally, that is all you need to know] accidently brushed my thigh with his hand and we swapped glances. hehe! that was the most exciting thing that happened on the flight, even more so than my hot vegetarian meals.
tomorrow i start looking for jobs and a permanent place to stay. i wish i had a digital camera on me, you should see the front of a store called ppq, it has three giant paper cats in its window and they have gold stripes. oh too cute, words cannot describe it!
take care! lots of love!
olivia
take care! lots of love!
olivia
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