~* all those new moonbeams *~

My new treasures:

*

~*♥*~

Read Full Post »

~* Bohemian Moonbeams Collection *~

A treasure box came from Barcelona, full of handmade wonders worthy of a Goddess…

Silver Mauve Shooting Star Feather Earrings.

I was so excited that I didn’t even make it all the way home from the post office, had to open the parcel STRAIGHT AWAY… So we popped into a café nearby, hot chocolate for the kids and scissors for mama.

And WOW what the packet held inside… A golden beige Aphrodite lace dress…. A mauve lace faery dress (purrrrrrrfect with these earrings by the way) and many, many other dreamy treasures… I’ll photograph them for you later, promise.

I had to gather all my willpower not to start a fashion show right there in the café but we did make it home for that.. Boys were impressed by the fact that mama’s latest fashion statement  now is feathers in her ears .

All the beauties in my parcel are handmade by the lovely and unique Faery Princess Oona Elena Kassila. You can find her treasures at Moonalia etsy shop. A new collection, Faerlica Alliance, a collaboration between Oona and her man Mo Puccino, is on it’s way… And you can just feel the love of these two people, in each of the pieces they’ve crafted together.

Beautiful, and beyond.

~*♥*~

Read Full Post »

~* Vintage Turquoise Marcasite Teardrop Sophistication *~

Tresors found from Portobello Road… My Hippy Lady Turquoise Marcasite Earrings:

Beautifullllllll teardrop shape turquoises, surrounded by shimmery marcasites… These earrings are a rare combination of bohemian vintage sophistication – I absolutely love them. And best of all, with them they carry a memory of Portobello Road, one of my favorite places.

And as always, turquoise makes me dream of faraway places.

By coincidence – or irony of life – as I was writing this a friend of mine just informed of her out of the blue desire and decision to climb to base camp  Mount Everest, after which she plans to make her way for a little visit to Tibet. Knowing the energy level of this lady, I’m rather convinced she’ll actually make it.

Now I’ve heard Tibet calling me throughout my life in so many ways, in so many places, that I just feel one day I’m going to make that journey as well – and this is not just the earrings talking. Twice, I’ve gotten so, so close… First, some 15 years ago when I spent time in Kathmandu – oh it would have been so easy… That time, my travel companion was not interested and I didn’t dare to leave him alone as he wasn’t too experienced with exotic places. Second time, during our world tour Serge and I raffled about it but he wasn’t too keen on Tibet… Grrrrrrrrr I let it go again.

Next time, when opportunity knocks, I’m not going to let it pass me by.

PS. Suski my dear, do you want a travel companion… Admittedly, one with drop dead altitude sickness.. But a bad-ass attitude to battle it. I did once hike my way to Machu Picchu, be it almost crawling, but still..

~*♥*~

Read Full Post »

~* from a friend *~

Somebody special sent me and the lovely Oona Elena this picture… It had made her remember us… Made my day ♥.

~*♥*~

Read Full Post »

~* Liberty London *~

An absolute must, Liberty is the oldest department store in London, one that I shamefully discovered only 25 years after my first visit to London. Packed with old-school charm and character, an antique jewellery collection, wooden floorboards, rare fragrances, flowers, royally gorgeous stationary, divine vintage boutiques (yes, several!), original staircases dating some 100 years back… If a department store can have soul, Liberty’s is the one.

I instantly fell in love with this beautifully beaded 1920′s Charleston dress… An original piece, yet in such pristine condition that you could just hop dancing on tables wearing it…

Immediately after, I found myself unfaithfully drawn to this spring green emerald vintage Valentino gown… Luckily, it wasn’t my color as it wasn’t quite my budget either.

Swooooooon.

A summer garden party, anyone?

My little stroll in the vintage boutiques got worse and worse – well better and better actually. I could just see myself strutting towards the beach somewhere in the South of France next summer in these soft, comfortable, pretty little kitten heels below… Stopping for a glass of rosé on the way perhaps… Grrrrrrr. Again, it was budgetary matters that separated me and these rosa sandals from our summer romance.

*

I’ve always wanted a bedside table made of old suitcases piled on top of each other. This one would have been perfect on my bedside… Packed with all those books on my to-be-read list, waiting for bedtime…

And… For the Modern Vintage Bride. What a wow factor just shoes and gloves can create. This one’s not for me, but perfect for somebody.

So, my dear readers, next time when in London, don’t make the mistake of missing Liberty’s. If you’re even a little bit of a fool for rare beauties with character, it’s guaranteed to make you swoon too.

Kisses from your very own

LadyBohemia

~*♥*~

Read Full Post »

~* Bohemian Princess Rose Cradle *~

This one is pure girly stuff…

My darling friend Oona Elena Kassila flew all the way from Barcelona to Helsinki for the last fitting of the Bohemian Princess Rose Cradle Dress I had requested her to design for me. The following day the dress flew to London to attend the London Fashion Week… AND got photographed by Vogue, among other adventures…

Dear readers, welcome to the making of my most beautiful dress, ever:

*

*

Mmmmmmm…. Some refreshments were required and shall I say earned, with all those sleepless nights spent while making this dress divine…

Oona worked on the dress for 80 hours, before she stopped counting… Every single silver chain, each pearl, every bit of vintage lace is personally sourced and chosen with love and care, then the dress itself… Handmade in Heaven.

Oona’s artwork. She rocks my world and you can see why.

*

*

I can not tell you how much it means to me, how fortunate I feel,  to have been involved in such creative and artistic process – not to mention how much fun we had – but maybe these photos tell their story more poignantly than I could..

*

Details details… This dress is filled with secret details all around.

*

Luxury dupino silk, French velvet in brocade as the slip… Too beautiful and absolutely unique.

If you’re into treasures and wonder, Oona’s clothing and her partner Mo’s jewellery can be found at Moonalia etsy shop.

**

*

Life.

It can’t possibly get more Rita Hayworthesque than this…

And…. Swoooooooooooooooosh!

All photos by the one and only, Pipsa Lagus ♥.

~*♥*~

Read Full Post »

~* The Shabby Chicness of Portobello Road *~

This divine little vintage shop along Portobello road was actually so small and so full of treasures that they were able to only let a handful of customers in at a time! I’ve never seen that before… People would ring the doorbell and wait outside in a queue .

Most of the treasures came from France, as did Emmanuelle the owner, who kindly took these photos. Thank you Emmanuelle!

Look at that lamp shade! Art deco?

One pair of vintage silver and marcasite earrings left home with me – an even more beautiful pair than the one above – as well as the antique 1920′s shawl in shimmery old rosa velvet below… The shawl carries so much charm with it that photos just won’t do it justice ♥.

Huh, outside you had to hold on to your hair, with all the wind… The funny silly thing about Londoners though, is that they warm up the cafés and restaurants outside to such a temperature that you can (sometimes have to!) take your coat off! Midwinter! We even had to ask them to put the heat down, several times, as it was simply too hot to handle.

And inside, those Brits keep the heating so low that all the time I spent in my hotel room was spent in bed, strictly under a feather blanket. Two feather blankets, actually.

*

Bags, bags, authentic vintage bags in pristine condition… Rare. I’ve hunted beaded vintage bags from France for years but never found so many, such flawless ones (and actually vintage/antique instead of Far Eastern reproductions!).  The rosa leather one is mine and the knitted one with  silver decoration from the 20′s became mine, with a very reasonable price. The beaded one was soooooo lovely and cute, every pearl attached… But not my color.

For the treasure hunt I wore Jasmin Santanen Paris velvet trousers, Zara lace shirt, long burgundy gloves by Designer’s Remix, bag by Carroll France and a fur by Ajatar.

Hope you enjoyed this little walk down Portobello road with me!

Thank you for reading.

You make me happy, just by being there ♥.

~*♥*~

Read Full Post »

~* LadyBohemia InWonderland *~

Sara Kietzmann was also photographing the FreshEst exhibition and happened to capture me in full swing. Thank you Sara!

Finally, I’m back!

I’m so sorry for not having kept you posted on my London experiences. There are so many photos, so many stories to share… But you see. The wi-fi at the hotel didn’t work.

And sometimes a girl is just too busy living her adventure, as opposed to tracking down netcafes to write about it.

But here I am, back in my own bed, wrapped in my down feather duvet, with my LadyBohemia PC on my lap. Where to begin…

Yes. With this photo from Kristina Viirpalu and FreshEst’s award winning exhibition at Horse’s Head in Soho.

It was our first night in London. And I was soooooo happy, so much in my element, that I was flying.

~*♥*~

Read Full Post »

~* Designers, Godmothers & Business Angels *~

February is hugely busy month for a blogger… There are photoshoots, fashion shows, discussions with magazines, fittings with designers, advertising and media agencies… A launch of something mindblowingly beautiful, yet very hush-hush, in the cards… And of course, the main event of the season; the London Fashion Week. But don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining.

I’m loving every second of it.

Yesterday, it was brainstorming at Godmother advertising with Godmother extraordinaire, Annika Di-Chiara, and the lady with magic on her fingertips; designer and artist Oona Elena Kassila.

*

We got even Lele thingking…

The creative process absolutely requires cupcakes.

*

With a happy full tummy, the ideas just swing & fly…

Barcelona Ateljé! Workshops! Goddess Dresses! The magic of Oona and Mo.

The question of the day was: “What is your dream?“

Once that’s crystal clear, the rest will come. Sometimes through nights of no sleep, tears, self-doubt, even moments of despair.

But it will come.

And these boots… They’re made for walking.

Ready. Steady. And then Darling; Go.

Fly High ♥.

~*♥*~

Read Full Post »

~* Art deco antique earrings *~

Have I mentioned that my friend Pipsa is a Sweetheart? She is.

She dropped by at our place for a glass of champagne before we headed for the movie premiere on Wednesday… And before she even made her way inside she had pushed a little box into my hand. Explaining that it was nothing… Just a little something old…

It turned out that her nothing were these divine silver and marcasite antique earrings.

Huh, I was so touched that all words escaped me. So thoughtful, so poignant, so unexpected was her gesture… How she already knows how much I love all things adorned with charm and history.

From now on, every time that I wear these beauties I shall be escorted and surrounded by the warmth and kindness of a true friend.

And that feeling is as priceless as these earrings are beautiful.

~*♥*~

Read Full Post »