Model Aymeline Valade after Balenciaga.
p.s. Hope everyone had a wonderful, safe Christmas wherever you were in the world. And, as always, I want to thank my awesome blog readers and especially all the people I have photographed over the last year- without all of you, my blog would be, well, non-existent! Thank you ever so much, and I wish everyone a very happy, healthy and exciting New Year. Bring on 2011 :))
MY-Management Christmas Greeting
This includes my portrait of Rankin above
See http://www.my-management.co.uk/
Thanks to Lee Pycroft and Corinne Martin
Eye Candy: Delphine Diallo Captures The Modern Queens Of New York
Written By: Nani Hapa—Artist Delphine Diallo first dazzled critics and art connoisseurs alike with her richly textured photographs layered with patterns extracted from the textiles, totemic animals, and plants. Armed with impressive credentials (Delphine is a graduate of the Académie Charpentier School of Visual Arts) and innate creativity, Delphine has worn many titles including, director, filmmaker, photographer and video editor, among others, and worked with an array of clients in the entertainment and other industries, including most recently, Les Nubians. (Delphine shot the Fall 2010 double covers of MIMI featuring soul sisters Hélène and Célia Faussart.)
Now, Delphine is dazzling the art world once again with her new photography project Queen(s) of New York, a stunning collection of modern photographs reminiscent of vintage colonial posters.
Delphine shares about Queen(s) of New York:
"Once upon a time in New York city, there were Queens. Coming from Africa, South-America, Europe or Asia, they are a new generation of women that inspire me. They represent the diversity, the mix of cultures and the energy of the city. More than just aesthetic portrait, it was an outward manifestation of their identity and their inter-relatedness with their natural and spiritual power. I use the graphic design of the so-called exotic postcards and I subvert them, My queens are not a colonial dream. I shoot Laura, Katie, Mengly, Monica, Dina, Azza, Keeya … They are my peers."
To see more from Delphine's stunning portfolio, featuring the Queen(s) of New York collection as well as other new works, visit Delphine's official website www.delphinediawdiallo.com as well as her blog, www.delphinediallo.wordpress.com.
(Photo Credits: © Delphine Diallo)
Olubunmi Akindebe: Queen Of Hearts
Written By: Lola K.—In a few short years, registered nurse by day, fiction author by night, and full-time wife and mother Olubunmi Akindebe has created a niche for herself writing African romance novels under the pen name Lara Daniels. Olubunmi, who grew up in Nigeria, began writing in high school where she wrote short fictional stories. In college, which she attended in the United States, Olubunmi honed in on her craft, and published her first work in the United States, Love in Paradise (available at www.Amazon.com), in the summer of 2009. (I can't help but like Love in Paradise because the female protagonist is named Mimi.) This summer, Olubunmi followed up with her second novel, Love at Dawn (available at www.Amazon.com), which picks up where Love in Paradise left off. Olubunmi says about the novel:
"Love at Dawn is a romance-suspense novel set in a fictional African country called Zamzudan (based on my experiences in living in several hilly cities in Western Africa). It is a country that also incoporates the Swahilian language and at times, rests on the culture of Swahili speaking countries. The novel features a major beloved character from Love in Paradise, Tory Da-Silva. Many readers, after reading Love in Paradise wanted to read a love story of Tory, and it took approximately a year for me to figure out her own happilly-ever-after. While I hope readers will love the story of Tory Da-Silva and enjoy the suspense I worked so thoroughly hard to achieve in the novel, I still will enjoy this moment, realizing that it is mine to cherish and savor after a year long of work."
For more about Olubunmi (or as she's better known to her readers, Lara Daniels), visit www.laradaniels.com.
(Photo Credits: © Rapid Eye Media / iStockPhoto)
Indie Inspiration: Yummi Kouture
Written By: Jamelia Mmari—If you're looking to make a dramatic statement with your jewelry, look no further than Yummi Kouture, a newly launched independent label offering handmade jewelry inspired by Ghana.Read more »
An Exclusive First Look At Aya Morrison's S/S 2011 Collection Which Will Be Released Tomorrow
Written By: Lola K.—Tomorrow, one of my favorite accessories labels, Aya Morisson, will debut its Spring Summer 2011 collection online, which will be available for purchase at www.ShopAyaMorrison.com. Here's an exclusive first look at what's in store tomorrow courtesy of über fabulous designer Helena Aidoo-Morrison ...Read more »
Happy Christmas and have a fantastic 2011
Thanks to my assistant Luke Freeman for all his continuing help and support
See http://lukefreemanimages.blogspot.com/
See http://lukefreemanimages.blogspot.com/
Tea Room of the week-The Brasserie Max at The Covent Garden Hotel
Rating: Milky medium
Crockery by Wedgwood at http://www.wedgwood.com/
See http://www.firmdale.com/
Photo's taken on Casio EXILIM Camera
Crockery by Wedgwood at http://www.wedgwood.com/
See http://www.firmdale.com/
Photo's taken on Casio EXILIM Camera
Dio Illustrated-Rene Gruau & The Line of Beauty exhibition at Somerset House
See http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/
Many thanks to all the staff for there help while French filming going on!
Photo's taken on Casio EXILIM Camera
Many thanks to all the staff for there help while French filming going on!
Photo's taken on Casio EXILIM Camera
Making A Difference: Turning Bullets Into Beautiful Jewelry
Written By: Jamelia Mmari—Lovetta Conto was born just before she was forced to leave her home country, Liberia, because of a civil war. Lovetta fled to Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire, before settling in a refugee camp inn Ghana, awaiting the end of the war. During this time, she was spotted by Cori Stern, founder of The Strongheart Fellowship and subsequently met by other members of the Strongheart team who chose her as the first-ever Strongheart Fellow. Through her fellowship, Lovetta created a jewelry line, Akawelle, that creates pieces from spent bullets. Watch her inspiring story below.
My (True) Fairy Tale from Strongheart on Vimeo.
Studio Shots
AWA Jewelry By Awa Kamara
Written By: Nani Hapa—Designer Awa Kamara works with wood, shell, camel bone, vinyl records, recycled glass, clay, gemstones, brass, silver, hypoallergenic 14K gold-filled metals and leather to create handmade jewelry fusing her own personal cultural fusion—African grace (Sierra Leone is Awa's ancestral home), Austrian conservatism (Awa was born in Vienna and grew up in Salzburg) and a twist of New York eclecticism (Awa studied at at Parsons The New School for Design in New York).
In addition to being utterly fabulous, Awa Jewelry donates a portion of its web sales to the following organizations: (1) Shine On Sierra Leone (a foundation focused on creating sustainable development, healthcare, literacy, education, technology and microcredit programs to promote thriving self-sufficient communities in Sierra Leone); and (2) The New Hope Movement (a campaign aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality in Sierra Leone).
For more information about Awa Jewelry, visit www.awakamara.com, and shop the collection at Awa Jewelry's Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/people/awakamara.
(Photo Credits: © Awa Kamara)
Discover Urbantopia Books And Read An Excerpt From Urbantopia Books' Metamorphosis By Ola Laniyan-Amoako
Written By: Nani Hapa—Frustrated by the disconnect between black and minority ethnic readers and writers, Nigerian author Ola Laniyan-Amoako launched her own publishing house, Urbantopia Books to bridge the gap "for the urban voice" by bringing more books that tell the stories of black and ethnic minority readers.
Read an excerpt from her self-published book, Metamorphosis, which she describes as "a poetry infused, humorous novel about four individuals and events in their lives which force them to morph into new characters. When Sade, the semi racist, finds herself unable to share distressing news from her ex with her black friends, she turns to a white colleague at work and from there she begins grow, mature and morph. Fun loving Olu finds himself in a complex place when the mother of his son tells him she is getting married and moving their son to America. A part-time father he may be, but he’ll do anything to keep his son close.....The question is how far will he go? Young , cute Donna turns confident. Why? Love, passion, the affair. The transformation from mistress to Mrs...A long and twisted tale of life and growing up." Read Metamorphosis below.
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Read more »
London and New York Fashion Weeks SS 2011....Ruby
Hands down my absolute favourite model to photograph, Ruby Aldridge. Okay, yes she is beyond gorgeous but she is just so super nice as well. I even overheard her in Milan trying to help one of the other photographers catch some of the models before they left for the next show (it gets REALLY crazy once a show finishes).
And Cool. Without. Even. Trying.
After Jason Wu in New York:
And Cool. Without. Even. Trying.
After Jason Wu in New York:
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