Lucinda Chambers fashion trail at the National Portrait Gallery

Mary English - portrait by William Armfield Hobday

Picked up a leaflet by chance at the National Portrait gallery - Lucinda Chambers, fashion editor at Vogue, has chosen paintings that particularly inspire her to create a 'Height of Fashion' trail. What a great idea. Click here to find out more. 

"I often find myself turning towards the National Portrait Gallery always in the knowledge that I will discover something new to me, that will both stimulate and inspire," she says. "As a fashion editor, I think people expect me to be pretty obsessed with clothes, but, I would say that for me they are a small part of what engages me, they are a piece of the puzzle. I’m far more interested in the pictures: pictures of how men and women are portrayed; how the world sees them and how they see themselves. "

We're continuing to do work on needlework and embroidery - if not fashion (but who knows what may come next). Katrina Williams will be running our next embroidery session at the Masbro Centre, Hammersmith, in October.

Skate shop hit by flash floods

Really sorry to hear from Tom Hudson of Roots Skate Shop in Camborne that his shop was hit by flash floods earlier this week. We're working with Tom on our competition for new skateboard design. 
Luckily he didn't lose any stock - but the carpet was soaked and the whole place will take ages to dry out.
For all interested skateboarders - the shop will be fully open again next week.
With rain like this - no wonder there was a flood.

Sewing sketchbook

This is a good idea. Our volunteer Katrina Williams who has been leading sewing classes at the Masbro Centre has started a sketchbook with ideas for designs (inspired by a notebook designed for the purpose that she found on Chiswick High Road!).
Any notebook would do, though...
Katrina is very skilled at this kind of thing - will put up some photos, too, of her travel sketchbooks.

A 1918 diary from Cornwall

A fascinating (and cool - the temperature in London is in the high 20s again) morning at the Imperial War Museum reading the diary of a Miss Bennett, who was closely involved in recruiting and running the Land Army in west Cornwall during World War One.
It proved quite a tough battle to persuade farmers to take on women to help them. There are more than a few complaints. Miss Bennett covers dozens of miles on her bicycle in the hope of keeping up numbers and ensuring the quality of work is good.
We'll be throwing a spotlight on this diary in our exhibition, Heart of Conflict, opening in December at the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, Cornwall.

Wrapped jamjar

Still looking out for ingenious ways with fabric - this jamjar in the café at Camborne station is tied up with ribbon. We're still working with needlework and embroidery - our volunteer Katrina Williams will be running the next sewing workshop at the Masbro Centre, Hammersmith, on 11 October 2016.  Click here to see photos of the workshop we did there in May.

More photos of Gida - new African art collective in Brixton

A few more photos from Gida, the new African art collective in Brixton, just a stone throw from Brixton Jamm.
Our partner in the competition for an African headwrap design, Jos Brient of Azawala, has developed this with friends.
It's only just opened  -but it's a fabulous space.
Don't forget  - there's still time to enter our competition. Click here to download an entry form.

African headwrap design competition - extended

Need inspiration to enter our design competition? There's lots here at Gida

We're extending out competition for new African headwrap designs until 31 October 2016- so there's still time to start thinking creatively. We want this to be YOUR chance to say something about your life.  The competition  is called I'M STILL HERE. It's free and open to everyone in the country.
 Download the entry form here.
"You don’t have to be African – or a fashion student – or a print maker. You just have to have a voice and want to tell us about your life and experience,” says Jos Brient of Azawala, the Africa art specialist. We've developed this competition in partnership with Azawala.
Jos has moved from Elephant and Castle and just opened Gida, a brand new venture in Brixton, just a short walk from Brixton Jamm.  Watch this space for more news about this fabulous new collective. Gida means 'home' and artists involved want this to be a space where you can hang out and spend time while looking at brand new art, design and fashion.
Gida is at 55, Loughborough Road, London SW9 7TB. Opening times: Tuesday to Saturday 11am to 7pm. Free wifi! To find out more, call 0203 5836387 or email gidacollective@gmail.com.