Merry Christmas And A Very Happy 2014

This year all our Christmas cards are hand printed by Hanna (3).

It's official: Yorkshire is one of the best regions in the world.

Seriously, why was everyone so surprised when Yorkshire came third in Lonely Planet's ”Best in Travel 2014 - the best regions”, just after Sikkim in India, and The Kimberley, Australia.

It may have been unexpected, but it is not unjustified. 

Just look at this picture I took the other day, with my iPhone, out of a moving car - stunning, no?

This is how the press reacted to Lonely Planet’s choice:

By 'eck Lonely Planet! What's so chuffing great about Yorkshire? [The Guardian]

Yorkshire – it's even better than we thought!  [The Guardian]
Lonely Planet Reveals The Best Cities And Regions To Visit In 2014 Including - Wait For It - Yorkshire [Huffington Post]

But hey, Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide publisher in the world. They must know, right?

Babbling Fools - the rock and roll dub

In case you've missed it last week at the Oblong Theatre in Leeds, here it is online:



It's strange to watch the film nearly 5 years after working on it. I still remember all the lines, as I heard them over and over while John was editing.

P. S.: This is me at 8:00, stirring the semolina.

Don't invest in fashion, but invest in the world

"Buy less. Choose well. 

Make it last. 

Quality, not quantity. 

Everybody’s buying far too many clothes."

"Kaufe weniger. Wähle bewusst. Gebrauche es lange. 

Qualität, nicht Quantität. 

Alle kaufen viel zu viele Kleider."

Dame Vivienne Westwood

To my readers who understand English, please listen to this powerful talk by this amazing, inspiring Lady:

Und für meine deutschsprachigen Leser hier absolut lesenswertes Interview mit Vivienne Westwood.

Hier zwei Filme, die sich mit den Auswirkungen unseres Textilkonsums beschäftigen: Im ersten Film auf das Leben der Menschen in Fernost, wo unsere Kleidung produziert wird und im zweiten Film auf das Leben in Afrika, wo unsere Kleidung landet, wenn wir sie nicht mehr wollen. 

Der Preis der Blue Jeans

Die Altkleiderlüge - wie Spenden zum Geschäft werden



"Die meisten glauben, dass die hierzulande gesammelten Altkleiderspenden direkt in die Katastrophengebiete der Welt gehen. Was sie nicht wissen: Der größte Teil der gespendeten Bekleidung wird weiterverkauft - zum Kilopreis. Einige Hilfsorganisationen platzieren oft nur ihr Logo auf den Sammelcontainern von Altkleiderfirmen.

Ein geringer Teil der Kleidung wird direkt in Deutschland an Bedürftige ausgegeben. Die besten noch brauchbaren Sachen gehen nach Osteuropa und in die arabischen Staaten. Sechzig Prozent der heimischen Ware gelangt nach Afrika. Doch was passiert dort mit den Altkleidern? Die Reportage-Autoren Michael Höft und Christian Jentzsch haben in Tansania nach Antworten gesucht. Ihr Fazit: Nicht nur deutsche Firmen und einige große Hilfsorganisationen verdienen gut an den Kleiderspenden, auch für viele Händler in Afrika sind Altkleiderspenden ein lukratives Geschäft. Selbst die Ärmsten der Armen müssen dafür bezahlen. Die Billigkleider überschwemmen die Märkte des Landes und zwingen die afrikanische Textilbranche in die Knie."

 - Die Reportage, ARD und NDR

Colour of the Year 2014: Radiant Orchid

Pantone announced: "Radiant Orchid blooms with confidence and magical warmth that intrigues the eye and sparks the imagination. It is an expressive, creative and embracing purple—one that draws you in with its beguiling charm. A captivating harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid emanates great joy, love and health"    Read the full press release here.

Above image of an Orchid on my kitchen windowsill was taken in natural light with my Nikon D200, focal length 35 mm, aperture f/4,5, exposure time 1/80.

For online text I use the HTML value B163A3.
Here's how you can find it in your colour systems.
RGB: R 177, G 99, B 163
CMYK: cyan 33 %, magenta 72 %, yellow 0 %, black: 0 %
And finally Pantone: PMS 18-3224

Don't get it mixed up with Radio Orchid ;0)

Babbling Fools

If you missed it last time, BABBLING FOOLS, a film I worked on with my partner John, has been voted best film at Oblong Cinema - so they're showing it again, tomorrow, 7:00pm Thursday 5th Dec. Oblong Cinema, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds.

A dress from the printer

Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg of Nervous System are using 3D-printing in a very clever way.

The jewellery and garments they've developed has articulated joints so they transform their shape when removed from the printer. They call it 4D-printing as they are doing 3D printing in one shape that is intended to be in another shape and can transform without manual labour. They are currently working on a dress, that'll unfold and unravel into it's shape when lifted out of the tiny space inside the printer.

They named the process Kinematics. Exciting stuff. Watch the video.


"4D-printed" shape-changing dress and jewellery by Nervous System from Dezeen on Vimeo.

via Dezeen 

Blogging Your Way

Over the last few weeks I've been taking part in an online course run by Holly Becker from decor8.

I learned about intention and style and feel very inspired by my teachers and fellow students.

Here are some images I shot for my homework. Yes, we had to do homework, but this was fun!

When the kids are in bed - or have grown up and have gone to university - I'll have more time and will post some more closeups, and write about camera settings and set up.
Fellow students, please leave a comment or send a message to let me know you've been looking at my blog. It's always good to hear from you. x

P. S. Yes, it's the same sofa as in the painting in the post below.