Sunday, 27 September 2009

Swell bloom

Hello everyone!

How have you been? I hope you've had a lovely week. Mine has been ever so busy!

On Monday I went to The Sartorialist book signing with the wonderful Reena of Fashion Daydreams - it was absolutely insane! Never have I seen so many immaculately turned out people in one room. Nor have I seen so many people queuing for a book signing! It goes to show how powerful and influential members of the blogging world can become. He signed my book to "Franke", which I thought was rather amusing!

My very clever friend Mark Pavey also popped over to show me the features of my soon-to-be live, newly improved version of my website! It's looking really, really good, and I can't wait to show you all. I'm even going to have my very own web shop, which I've very excited about. If you ever need any design work done, I highly recommend Mr Pavey. He's a bloody genius.

I've also been working on some new pieces recently. Here is one of my latest ones:




This corsage bracelet is made from a vintage brooch, linked on vintage chain. I'm really pleased with how it's come out - it's pretty bold, but so easy to wear. I've also found a great new place to photograph my jewellery in my flat! My housemate has this amazingly huge chinese cabinet, which is so easy to hang pieces from. I love the rustic background.

Oh, and I apologise for the extreme paleness of my skin. The sun is definitely not my friend.

Lastly, speaking of my flat and the sun, there was the most incredible sunset tonight:


I love living in London.

So what do you think of all of my pictures? I'd love to hear.

Until next time, my lovely friends! Have a great week.

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

Sunday, 20 September 2009

Swell minx

Happy Sunday, one and all!

I hope you've had a lovely weekend. Mine has been very pleasant, made all the more enjoyable by an interview with me going live on The Sassy Minx!

This interview was so much fun to do, and the lovely Lisa of The Sassy Minx was ever so kind! I feel thoroughly honoured. If you fancy having a read, click here or on the image below.


Incidentally, this is one of my favourite photos from the shoot I did a little while back. Rosey looks absolutely amazing in this striking Mint Siren number, and the pocket watches look pretty cool too! You can buy the gold tone one from mygreenlipstick.com, and the silver tone one from my etsy shop. Don't forget, the amazing photography was done by the wonderful Joanna B.

I've got some exciting stuff coming up, including a little makeover of my website (Mark Pavey is a bloody genius). I will tell you all about it very soon!

Anyway, enough about me. How are YOU?

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

Sunday, 13 September 2009

Swell lipstick

Hello again, my dear friends.

Have you had a good week? I hope so.

This one has been extra good for Swell Vintage - we've got a new stockist! mygreenlipstick.com is a brilliant website that encapsulate effortless chic and modern elegance while supporting a more sustainable lifestyle, and I'm not just saying that because they're now selling Swell Vintage. You can find all sorts of wonderful ethically-produced goodies there, including work by designers such as Jo Wood and Enamore.

I have done four exclusive pieces for mygreenlipstick.com, all of which are one-of-a-kind. You can browse these in the Swell Vintage section of the website. My personal favourites are:


It's about time! A vintage pocket watch reworked as a necklace, hung on vintage brass chain & adorned with vintage faux pearls.



Chain of Fools! Varying lengths of differing vintage chain, adorned with a vintage prism & freshwater pearls.

So what do you think? It would really mean a lot to me if you popped over to mygreenlipstick.com and had a look. It really is a great website, and I'm so happy to be working with them.

How was your weekend? Tell me lots of exciting stories, please.

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

Sunday, 6 September 2009

Swell shoot

Hello again!

How are you all? Have you had a lovely week? I do hope so.

So the other night I went to my lovely friend Joanna B's house and she took a few photos of me wearing my jewellery. Being in front of the camera rather than hiding far, far behind it was pretty weird experience. It's given me an insight into how hard "modelling" actually is! When the camera started shooting I froze up and hardly moved at all! I don't know if I'd do it again, but it was lots of fun. It was so nice to catch up with Jo and to finally meet Jo Saville, who kindly did my make-up. They are both such wonderful and talented ladies.




So what do you think? I'm definitely no model, but I'm really pleased with how the photos have come out. I can't thank the Jo's enough - thank you, ladies!

In other news, I saw The September Issue last night - have you seen it yet? I really enjoyed it. Initially I thought that it was going to be a fluffy Disney-style look at Vogue, attempting to lay the "Anna is an Ice Queen" stigma to rest, it was actually extremely honest. Anna Wintour is such a fascinating (albeit terrifying) creature, but it was actually Grace Coddington that really stole the show for me.


The shoots she styled were out of this world, and her feisty 'no-nonsense' attitude shows just how strong you need to be to survive in the Vogue universe. She truly is a flame-haired inspiration. What did you think of the film? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

That's all for now. Let's all go outside and enjoy the Sunday sunshine!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

Tuesday, 1 September 2009

Swell days

Hello there, lovely readers of blog!

How have you been? Things have continued to be pretty busy for me, but the good news is I've actually managed to be more productive recently. I even made two new pieces last night, which was a lot of fun. I'll get some pictures on here soon, as I always love hearing what you all think of them.

The main reason for this blog post is to talk about an interview I did recently for the wonderful Queens of Vintage. I had the very (very very very) great pleasure of interviewing the devestatingly handsome Joseph Gordon-Levitt, star of the brilliant new film 500 Days of Summer!


I was always a big fan of Third Rock from the Sun and I loved Brick, but I had no idea just how well he'd grown up! The interview was a lot of fun and he was a joy to talk to. It's a miracle I managed to get through the whole thing without visibly dribbling or begging him to marry me out of pity.

If you'd like to read the interview, you can! It is now live at QueensofVintage.com. Click here to check it out!


So what do you think? This is my first proper big celebrity interview, so any feedback or suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated - I want to learn!

500 Days of Summer is out tomorrow (2nd September), and I highly recommend it. It's definitely my favourite film of 2009 so far, and I defy anyone to see it and not fall in love with it. That's right - DEFY.

That's all for now! Enjoy the rest of your week and have lots of fun, ok?

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

Sunday, 16 August 2009

Swell apologies

Hello hello!

Right, my lovely friends - I'm going to start this post with a massive apology. It's actually more of an apology to Swell Vintage than anything else, as I have been MASSIVELY slack with making new pieces since moving to East London. I've also gotten ever so far behind with my blog roll, so if you've been wondering why I haven't commented on your blog recently, it's because I've been rubbish. So here comes the apology, as promised:

I'M SO SO SO SORRY!!!

But I'm also going to make a promise to sort my life out and start giving Swell the time it deserves. I've come to realise just how important Swell Vintage is to me, and how much I enjoy the world of blog, so expect much much more in the coming months. And if you see no difference in my behaviour, you have my expressed permission to give me a swift kick in the shins.

In other news, there is now a Swell Vintage facebook page! I debated whether or not I should make a facebook page because I was worried that no one would become a "fan", but fortunately everyone has been really great about it! I now feel a fool for not doing it sooner. If you want to get involved, here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/swellvintage.

Also, as mentioned in a previous post, I am now getting more involved with the brilliant Queens of Vintage. In fact, I am currently covering for Lena as acting editor of the whole site! It's a little bit terrifying, but fingers crossed I don't break the website in her absence. I'm really enjoying my work with them so far. I even get to go to a screening of 500 Days of Summer tomorrow, staring my current girl crush Zooey Deschanel. I also might be doing something VERY exciting on Friday....but more on that later.

I also want to say a BIG thank you to the wonderful Dream Sequins for featuring one of my necklaces in her Wishlist Wednesday: Statement Jewellery post.


This is my 'Shielded' necklace, and it's currently for sale on the Swell Vintage etsy shop. It really is such a great blog, and I'm over the moon to have been featured! If you fancy checking it out, click here.

So I think that's all for now. Thanks for reading, it means more than you could ever know to me.

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

Sunday, 9 August 2009

Swell bridal

Hello there, my lovely friends!

So I've been massively slack on the blog front - sorry about that. But the good news is that things are going really well at the moment. I will reveal more when all is 100% confirmed, but let's just say that the Swell Vintage word is spreading nicely. I am very excited about it all. Please keep your fingers crossed for me! I have big plans.

In other news, I recently worked on a commission for a friend of mine who wanted something special for his bride to wear on the big day. I really like doing bridal pieces, and you may well see a Swell Vintage eco-bridal range coming soon!

Here are photos of the bracelet I made for him:



This bracelet is made from freshwater pearls and features a vintage faux-bone rose. As with all of my pieces, it's one-of-a-kind. I'm really pleased with how it came out, and so is my friend - everybody wins!

I apologise for the very short post. I promise I'll be back with a vengeance soon!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x