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