TWINKS BURNETT~ RAINBOWWW STYLING!!!!!!!!!

Hello from festive Seoul!!!
Been meaning to share this picture for a while now of super talented UK stylist and designer, Twinks Burnett wearing my embellished leotard from my 'Hives of Lepi Spomini' collection. The piece was designed as part of my wearable art series produced whilst based in Slovenia working as part of the 'GuestRoom Maribor' artist residency project.
I absolutely love Twinks' vision as it's so colourful and magical... so I was SUPER happy when she called in my pieces for an awesome shoot!!!
The fruits of this rainbow fandango are still under wraps....but I look forward to unleashing these beauties as the shoot was totalllllly dreamy and of course as gloriously colourful as you can imagine it would be!!!
So keep those eyes peeled and in the meantime check out her wonderful work: www.twinksburnett.com 
Love and Sparkles!
Emma xxx

Slovenian TV and New Shop Items!!!

Ooooooh Hiya!!!
Just a quick one to update on a couple of bits and bobs on this chilly, rainy afternoon!!!
So currently there are a few new products available on my online shop....these include the 'Lucky Meow' cotton tote bags, embroidered shirts and also the 'Lucky Boobs' unisex T-Shirt is now back in stock weeeee! 
You can find all  of these and more by clicking HERE!!!!!
As I'm mentioned before there are more size variations that will be available coming soon! All items include FREE International P&P to all corners of the magical globe!
The new shirts titled 'SNACK ATTACK' and 'HELLO DOLLY' feature embroidery and applique detailing and of course plenty of sparkles!!! 
So here are a few snaps of the new items!!!!

In other news the exhibition that my work was showcasing at earlier in the month in Maribor was featured on national Slovenia TV... the wonderful team at Guestroom Maribor presented a retrospective of their hosted artists at Velika Kavarna/ Casino building in the centre of the city, featuring the works of 23 international participants of the programme....here is a cheeky shot of my pieces from my series 'The Hives of Lepi Spomini' putting in an appearance on the Slovenian telly.....
You can watch the full episode HERE (presented in Slovene only) which includes interviews with the curator, Maja, and one of their current artists in residence!
Alright....so with that it's back to the sewing machine.....I'm super excited as tomorrow I'm of to CH CH Czech out Prague.....wahhhhhhh can't wait.... looking forward to churches made of bones, honey cakes, dumplings, hot souvenirs etc etc..... As ever, I have still not packed, or dyed my hair...the usual situation!!!
Anywayzzz....
Love and Sparkles,
Emma xxxx

Exhibition Opening at 'Velika kavarna'!!!

Dober Dan!!!
Just a quick one to give anyone who happens to be in Slovenia, the heads up on an exhibition that I will be showcasing my stuff at as of tomorrow in Maribor!
As you know I was based over there as artist in residence and now the programme, 'Guestroom Maribor', will be presenting a retrospective of works that were developed from all of the international artists that they have hosted throughout the past year.
To date they have supported 23 artists/collectives from all over the world in collaboration with Pekarna Magdalenske Mreze and European Capital of Culture 2012. 
I will be showing elements of my collection of works, 'The Hives of Lepi Spomini' that I produced whilst in Slovenia with the project.
The exhibition opens at 8pm tomorrow evening (Thursday 29th September 2012) in the GLORIOUSSS former 'Velika kavarna' building on Glavni trg 1, so if you happen to be in Maribor, then pop along!
Love, Sparkles and Gibanica,
Emma xxxxx

Weaving and Updates!!!

Hellooo!!! Ooopps so it's been a while....I've been tucked away working on a couple of cheeky projects which has basically taken up alllll my time, hence my lack of updating my blog... thought I would share this picture from one of the side projects that I worked on during my position as artist in residence in beautiful Maribor, Slovenia....
A main feature of the concept  of my collection 'The Hives of Lepi Spomini' was the idea of physically utilising both the aesthetics and actual space of my environment in Maribor. '16th Century Wall Weaver' was a developmental installation that I carried out within the gallery space with the aim of progressing this exercise into a final garment. During my time working on the programme I was based in the studio in the Koroski 18 Gallery, a 16th century built building in the heart of the city. The concept was to physically embrace the space by turning the archways into a board loom and using fabrics produced in the local textile industry to create a woven garment that was both showcased at the 'Call Me Human Torch' exhibition and as part of the photography collaboration with Iris Aman Cara. 
Post residency I have been continuing developing the project and taking the collection further from my documentation and research carried out in Slovenia. I have since designed a piece of graphic artwork which has been digitally printed on fabric here in the UK featuring aspects of all things Lepi Spominiiiii! The project will be used as part of a collaboration with a creative team in London next week which I'm super excited about!!! I will be shooting with the wonderfully talented photographer, Yuji Watanabe, who I had the pleasure of working with whilst I was based in Japan!!!weeee exciting!
In other exciting news.....I shall be launching my online shop in the upcoming weeks which will run via my website...I will be gradually adding more pieces over the next few months ranging from ready to wear items, one off pieces and occassional wearable art garments from recent projects and collections....Coming up pronto is the London Skyline dress featured at the 'Fish and Chips Twice, Please?!' exhibition in Vienna aswell as spotted on popstar Cher Lloyd on ITV's the 'Xtra Factor' and not to forget worn by the awesome Alexis Knox on Swedish 'Mi Lajki' TV....Also in the mix are items featuring the brand new digital print from my recent collection that I just mentioned and other delights....so watch this space for updates on that!!!!!
Ok, so it's back to the old sewing machine- sequins and rhinestones galore today!!!
Love and Sparkles,
Emma
xxx

The Hives of Lepi Spomini!!!!!

Zdravo.....
So the past few weeks have been amazing and I have enjoyed enough magical and unforgettable memories to last me a lifetime and a half.... woaaahhh cheesy!!! As you know (because I've talked about it wayyy too much!) I've spent the past few weeks working in Slovenia living as a faux-Mariborian... doing things such as sewing in a creepy yet amazing 16th century ancient gallery with ghosts....posing as a pretend professional gingerbread maker....sampling every cake on offer....having a near death experience with a wayward umbrella....and too many antics to mention....

My reasons for being in this lovely city were to carry out my projects as part of my artist residency which was something I had been working in preparation for, for several months prior to touching down in Magical Maribor....so finally it is awesome to see it all come together! One aspect of my work there was the development of the pieces for my collection which is titled 'The Hives of Lepi Spomini'- Lepi Spomini is a Slovene phrase that translates as 'nice memories'...now if you click HERE this will take you to the project text on my website which basically gives the full low down of the concept, influences and all of the info about my new series of works- as it's a bit too long to pop onto the blog! So please check it out!!!
Another element within my work in Slovenia was to interact and collaborate with creatives who are working and living in Maribor to involve their input and creative ethos into my projects. I had the honour of working with the wonderfully talented, local photographer, Iris Aman Cara, as part of a collaboration which was also showcased at our 'Call Me Human Torch' exhibition... these are a few images from our shoot and of course you can see the full line up HERE!
So that's the deal with my latest works... and of course there was the exhibition that opened last week in which I was presenting my work alongside awesomeeeee visual artist, Jérôme Souillot....it's been A.M.A.Z.I.N.G to be able to work alongside Jérôme for this past few weeks as he's super talented and also finds things like musical lollypops funny....

It's been such an incredible experience working with the Guestroom Maribor programme and all of the wonderful people who have supported and worked with me along the way... I totally fell in love with the city and it's been awesome to work with so many new ideas, influences, creatives and medium...  I've put further info about the project and my activites HERE!!!
Ok, so this blog post is turning into a book...so I shall wrap it up.... be sure to check out the full low down on the new collection and project on my website: www.emma-bell.com....
I was sad to wave farewell to Slovenia a couple of days ago as the whole thing was so much fun and offered so much food for thought for my upcoming projects.... I still have a zillion photos from my final days there so I shall savour those for another post!!! HUGE HUGE thanks to all of the team at Guestroom Maribor and for the wonderful support of the project partners.... super duper thanks to Jérôme for the ongoing entertainment and special memories involving burnt toast etc.... Massive thanks to Iris and the photoshoot team, Katra and all of the lovely people that helped make my time there so great!!!
Alright...so image credits for the photoshoot: 
Photographer: Iris Aman Cara.
Make Up Artist: Mateja Skočir.
Hair Stylist: Luis Roldan.
Models: Urška Lipovž & Tanja Popovič.

Right with that....I'm off the watch the Queen's Jubilee concert....

Love and Sparkles,

Emma xxx 

'Call Me Human Torch'- New Exhibition!!!!!

Ooohhhh Hiya!!!!

Weeee super excited that now we can unleash the info on our upcoming exhibition here in Maribor, Sloveniaaaaaa!!!...I'm the cat puppet with the pink hair and green eye make-up of course!!!!

On May 28th 2012 myself and fellow artist in residence, Jérôme Souillot, will be opening 'Call Me Human Torch' at the gallery KOROŠKA 18... the exhibition will showcase our projects created in partnership with Guestroom Maribor, Pekarna Magdalenske Mreže and MARIBOR 2012:European Capital of Culture. Yayyyyyy can't wait....and as the poster says, 'secrets, cakes and gossips welcome' so we won't complain if you turn up with treats or some juicy scandal!!!.... If you happen to be in town then pop in and check it out!!!!

Finally, I shall leave you with the GLORIOUSSSS view that I had the delight of clocking as I walked home over the Drava River this evening, with my bag full of buns and wool.....

Love and Sparkles,

Emma xxx

Presentations, Theatre Trips and BIG CAKE!!!!

Hello from Maribor!!!!
So, it's been a busy past few days....Earlier in the week we hosted an artist presentation in the gallery which was a great chance to share our 

work with the local community and fellow creatives in the city. I showed some slides and film from previous projects and discussed my upcoming work here in Maribor....there was also a chance to go to the opening of French culture week here in the city which was mucho fun!!!!
On Wednesday night I went to the see the world premiere of Jan Fabre's performance with Antony Rizzi called 'Drugs Kept me Alive', at the theatre which was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G ....Loved it!!!! It's a really beautiful theatre so was great to get the chance to go...lots of sparkles and awesome chandeliers!!!! 
Also in the mix have been too many trips to the second hand store....simply because they have wayyyy too much good stuff!!! I expect I will have a major problemo with excess baggage when I leave here!!!
I've mainly been locked up in the studio working on my new pieces so, now there is a nice carpet of glitter beneath my desk!!!!

 Last night I ended up going on an impromptu road trip to the nearby town of Celije to check out a new photography exhibition at Galerija Plevnik Kronkowska which was fun....and in other news I ate the best ice cream of my life....DELUXXXE cherry and chocolate flavour!!!!
The cake situation is getting out of hand.... there are just too many swirly creations to sample!!!I'm going with the excuse that it's for 'research'!!!! Other goings on include punnets of mutant strawberries, suspected ghosts, homemade cake deliveries, obsessions with the vegan fast food kiosk, climbing church towers and a vending machine that specialises in only milk!!!!
So yeah, it's been pretty action packed.... It's a really awesome city and I LOVE IT so, I'm hoping for plenty more gossip and extravangazas...but for now it's bedtime!!!!
Love and Curly Cakessss,
Emma
xxxx