Hello friends!
Recently a Swedish wall art company called Photowall reached out to me to collaborate, so here we are. They very kindly offered to send me a product to review, and I chose this stunning butterfly mandala canvas*. There was such a huge selection of wallpapers, canvasses and posters it took me a long time to decide, but I was drawn to this one for it's unique design and bright colours!

Before I ordered,  I checked the environmental efforts of Photowall and I was pleased to see that they work with Vi Agroforestry, planting 5000 trees each year around Lake Victoria. They also print-to-order to avoid discarding unused stock, and their printing inks are biodegradable as well as free from hazardous chemicals. Sounds good to me!

I ordered my canvas on a Wednesday evening at 7pm, so I was surprised that my parcel arrived by Friday at midday! Safe to say that I was very impressed, as it had been printed and delivered from Sweden in less than two days.
I was also pleased that there was no unnecessary plastic packaging, as the canvas was wrapped and padded with paper. If you are trying to be completely zero waste it is worth noting there were plastic zip-lock bags for the screws- but personally these are handy and I will reuse them!

As you can see, the canvas arrives rolled up, with all the pieces you need to assemble your art at home. Clover clearly looked confused, but the instructions were really easy to follow, and I also used Photowall's 'how-to' video. I'm pleased to say that it was simple to put together and if I can do it, anyone can!
Above is the canvas in my lounge, and I love how it looks above the fireplace! The bright design makes a great impact on a plain coloured wall. If you like more subtle colours however, then this ocean mandala design was a close favourite of mine.
Below is the canvas styled in my bedroom. The colours and quality are brilliant, I've noticed  from other companies that larger prints can lose quality, but that's definitely not the case here!

Last week I had the opportunity to visit Bristol Fashion Week, held in the Mall Cribbs Causeway and presented by Denise Van Outen and Mark Heyes. With my blogger pass clipped on, I attempted to look as professional as possible, as this is the first big fashion event I've attended to photograph! It was all a little bit surreal- when we were lining up outside the show a couple of people asked to take my photo which was really flattering, but I couldn't help feeling a little camera shy (hence the wallflower bit of my blog name!).  I wore my maxi cardigan, burgundy hat and velvet skirt, green top, knee high socks and heeled boots- if you'd like to see what all the other bloggers were wearing as well, pop over to The Mall's Facebook page here to see the street style snaps.

On arrival we were greeted by a rainbow of mocktails, juices and popcorn at the bar, plus a little eye-candy display of The Great Gatsby style outfits to gaze at whilst we were waiting for the catwalk to begin. Classic tailoring, faux furs and black evening wear made plenty of appearances throughout the evening- brilliant for all of you vintage lovers out there!

Above: High Shine scene with fashions by John Lewis, accessories by Accessorize and designer sunglasses from Sunglass Hut.

Above: Just an Illusion with Fashion from Oasis and Menswear from River Island.

Above: Heritage Update with fashions from New Look, Faux fur coat by Hobbs, Children's fashion from River Island and Sunglasses from Vision Express.

Anyone who knows me well will know I'm a complete magpie for sparkly things, so seeing the next dress from Phase Eight was just amazing- it was so elegant and shimmery it could easily have been from Elie Saab. The photo really doesn't do the dress  justice because when the lights got brighter it also had some bottle green and blue tones, which were completely beautiful.
Classic mens tailoring is a definite go-to this season, so there were lots of dapper styles on the catwalk, ranging from suits and ties to quilted coats, brogues and hats. Frank Sinatra would approve, and so do I!

Mens tailoring provided by Topman, Animal, River Island, Marks and Spencer, Austin Reed, Crew and Moss Bros.

I hope you've enjoyed my snippet of the catwalk and the new high street collections, which ones are your favourites?  

Long time no see! My AS exams are finally over, so I'll have more time to blog over the coming months with exciting content. To begin with, this post is about last weekend where I paid my first visit to The Dig for Victory Show, a 1940's themed festival on the North Somerset Showground (and if that sounds good, I can assure you it was even better in person!)
First up, the Victory tent. It may seem quiet, but this was just before opening time on Saturday morning once we'd set up our tent, so we were the first customers. The attention to detail in decorating was divine: bunting, vintage crockery and fresh flower arrangements made me feel at home right away, and the staff were so friendly and dressed up too. My parents and sister chose scones, Sam had a slice of New York cheesecake and I had a slice of classic Victoria sponge (it was agreed that they were all delicious!)
Throughout the day there was so much entertainment, from the Military Wives Choir to history talks and live music, the volunteers really pulled out all the stops. One of the highlights was a fashion show by Blitz Buddies- the commentator and all the models were so fun and enthusiastic about their clothes, many of which were originals with some modern reproduction garments. Vintage Gal did a lovely detailed write up with close ups each of the outfits, so be sure to check out her post HERE.
In the evening, Sam and I dressed up ready for the Victory Dance, where we had an hour of basic dance steps followed by music from The Marionettes, DJ UXB, The Goodnight Sweethearts and Ricky Hunter. The soundtrack of the night featured the likes of Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole- right up our street in music taste! Despite never having properly danced Swing or Lindy Hop before, we gave it our best go and had an absolute ball (excuse the pun) even though we tripped over each others feet and were out of time to the music quite a bit!
Around the showground there was plenty to see, from craft demonstrations, vintage stalls and classic cars and tanks. It was very interesting to see the progression of styles, but of course my particular favourites were the fellow Morris Minors and also this little cream Austin *sigh*.
On the field we also watched the tanks and skirmish, where actors dressed as soldiers and showed the audience how an attack would take place in World War 2. It was so noisy when even just 3 or 4 guns were firing at once, I can't even imagine how awful it must have been in reality. The whole weekend was very thought provoking and really made you think, not just about the fashions and 'vintage' aspect but also the reality of rations, war and make-do-and-mend which really wasn't as glamorous and come films make out. As well as this, the show raised £4,000 for Army Benevolent Fund and the Children’s Hospice South West last year and is run entirely by volunteers, so I really can't fault the weekend at all- the set up, entertainment and atmosphere was all brilliant.