Day of Death and other Exploits...

Ooh iya!
So ever since my first foray into Pere Lachaise in Paris when I was 15...I have liked visiting cemeterys allllll over the world...and I always try to whip in to a one when I'm in a different country...
My most memorable cemetery/death orientated fiascos involve....

• Getting lost in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn...NEAR CLOSING TIME!
• Standing in line to see Chairman Mao's corpse in Beijing whilst thinking I'd just been robbed of all my worldly possessions by a guy dressed up in a fake police uniform!
• Getting caught up in a funeral procession in Delhi where they carried the body through the street....I was simply trying to haggle for trinkets at a side stall when we became embroilled.
• THE WORST...St John in the Wilderness Church in Dharamsala....we waded in through a hole in a gate....were having a nice look around when 2 BIG/HUGE/MASSIVE/GINGER baboon/monkey creatures appeared...we pegged it pronto....this was the best picture I could get of the incident for fear of getting ripped apart.....

So anyway...back to Whirlers....Hayley was here to visit so we first went to see the Catacombs underneath Stephansdom Cathedral...I will NOT be going back....
I'd first terrified myself by reading some reviews online which stated they were pretty hardcore and you were literally stepping on bones with your shoes....
therefore....when we went on the underground tour, I was constantly waiting for it to get worse. I mean it was super dark and scary...and I have had nightmares since of skeletons and the likes...but these other people exaggerated!
A worthwhile trip for only 4.50 Euros....but be warned...DARKENED UNDERGROUND PASSAGEWAYS AND BONES GALORE...
Sorry...folks....no photos....STRICTLY FORBIDDEN for obvious reasons of respecting the dead and all that jazz....although if you google it there have been some renegade snappers out there!

Our next port of call was to Zentrafriedhof in Simmering which is one of Europe's largest cemeteries....divided into 4 sections....It was pretty impressive and soooo huge....you could easily get lost, especially in the Sleepy Hollow style section. Lots of famous composers are buried there...Beethoven, Mozart (well he's not really there...only his headstone is) Strauss... It was FREEZING. (it then snowed the next day...)
Anyway back to nicer topics other than Six Feet Under (which is my all time favourite TV series as Peter Krause is SOOOO HOTTT..and it's amazing....
So....it was also party times AKIMBO....and we threw a 90's themed bash followed by "Pling Plong" club at Fluc...which was awesome...
Some choice photos for your perusal....


In other news.....
Finally upon recommendation we hit "CAFE CORNY"....it was like an Austrian Social club....we got to play games involving hammers and nails taught to us by nice local boys wearing corduroy and suede...we got cake too as we totally gatecrashed someone's Birthday Party...


Over and out....
Love and Schnitzel,
Emma
xxxx

Oooh the Cover of FALTER!

Gruss Gott...(that's what they say here....for 6 weeks I've thought people are shouting "BISCUIT" at me!!!)
Would you believe, here in Whirlers Central...it's SNOWING!!!I'm here with a super limited wardrobe...and I am FREEZING!
Anyway...I was excited that my work was featured on the front cover of "Falter" which is one of the hottest weekly publications here in Vienna! Wooo! You can see it above there!
In other news....you may or may not have noticed that my website has received a much needed revamp recently.....all by the wonderful skills of Will Adams...
You can check his shizzle too by CLICKING HERE!!!
It's still in the process of being updated but you can go and see all previous collections etc on there! GO AND HAVE A LOOK www.emma-bell.com
Love and DINNERTIME!!!
Emma xxxxxx

Sunday Times-Style in the City!

Oooooohhh iyyyya!
The Sunday Times presented "Style in the City" in Birmingham a couple of weeks ago! Last year's event saw 10,000 people flocking to the city to get in on the fashion action!! Wowzers!
This year visitors could get involved in a string of fashion and beauty events and it was hosted by celebs including Myleene Klass and Emma Willis!(I love Myleene...I still have my Hear Say album!)
Catwalk shows...make-up masterclasses....shopping....beauty treatments.....oooh WHAT A TREAT! Sponsors included; MAC, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, M&S....a real JUICY selection!
My clothes were shown as part of the catwalk shows! How exciting!You can see a sneak peek picture above!
Love and Biscuits
Emma
xxxxxxx

STOP!HAMMERTIME...BRATISLAVA!

Guten Tag!!!
So my friend Hayley is here to visit....we took some time out to go visit Bratislava....
I was sooooo excited! Ever since watching Eurotrip (like 50 times) I've wanted to go....The heel slashing incident in 'Hostel' however did put me off! (it also meant I couldn't walk properly for a week for thinking about it and cringing!)
I was expecting to hear MC HAMMER on every corner....sadly this was not the case! But I LOVED Bratislava...Slovakia rules...we had such an awesome time...and ate some really great food and walked for miles to see special churches and castles! I also nearly tripped over about a million times....damn cobbles!
I was also excited to find a Tescos in Bratislava...selling Tesco Value and EVERYTHING!
i'm going to leave you with a few hot pictures of our very own Eurotrip....










Ok...that's it....
Over and out....
Love and Miami Vice
Emma
xxx
oooh and once last thing...
here is my favourite Bratislava scene from Eurotrip.....

Long Night at the Museum.........

Oooh helloooo!
Ok so just a quick one...I just got back to Vienna from a trip to Slovakia! I have my friend Hayley visiting and we went to Bratislava...it was awesome and now I'm super sleepy...but just wanted to show you these pics and tell you the tale of last week's events!
Last weekend saw me hosting my first WHIRLERS style house gathering....more civilised from previous soirées as no cans of K Cider were involved...
Then on Saturday we went along to the extravaganza that was 'Lange Nacht Der Museen'.....in which a squillion galleries all over the city were open for a late night special!
Sooo much fun! We were a bit too over ambitious....we planned to hit all the weird ones with our pass that we wouldnt otherwise go to....
We wanted to go to the funeral museum...the chocolate musuem....the abortion museum.....the schnapps musuem.....yes a lot.
However I spent too much time moaning about searching for Topfenstrudel (my new favourite variety) so eventually we managed to visit:

• The Torture Museum
• The Marzipan Museum
• The Albertina

Ok...Torture Museum AKA FOLTER....SUCKED BIG STYLE.....queuing for an hour for a couple of shitty statues and being squashed in a bomb shelter like sardines. And there wasnt too much to see....a few chains and that and it was a total BUNFIGHT to actually get out. Needs a major RE-VAMP.



Ok, so we were on a tight schedule...and most of our original plans had to be scrapped....we were passing the Albertina so went in to check out the "Body and Language" exhibit which features an awesome collection of contemporary photography from people including Erwin Wurm and Helmut Newton....Word on the street is there are some Rubens lurking about upstairs....I would have LOVED to go and see them...but I'll have to save them for my next visit as the MARZIPAN MUSEUM was calling!

Yes Please....the Demel Marzipan Museum was last on our hit list....and we totally saved the best till last....Marzipan is one of my FAVOURITE THINGS EVER....so I was in mega-awe at the spectacular creations made of MARZIPAN!Love it!
Wish we had more time as it was a race against the clock to see everything we wanted to...and Ideally I would have liked to go to 80 musuems....
Bedtime is calling...and a new copy of 'Take a Break' arrived for me here in Whirlers yesterday from the UK...so I'm off to indulge in some shit real life drama!
Love and Marzipan
Emma
xxxxx

Real World Laboratory-MQ!!!

Salut!!!
I'm ill...I wish someone would bring me grapes....but I can only find grapes with seeds here in Vienna...and I don't like those as someone once told me the pips can cause appendicitis....
So anyway the other day we hit up the launch of Freiraum International Quartier21's latest exhibition...."REAL WORLD LABORATORY"...It was complete with pretzels and chocolate muffins with flags in them...
So the exhibit...it is a conceptual showcase for experimental design and industrial production showing a marriage between two contrasting design attitudes. The works are brought from six central European countries; Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia and combine the disciplines of art and technology and beauty meets functionality.
Some of my favourite pieces....
SEE YOU is a piece produced by Ivanka -a Hungarian company. The piece is a concrete tomb that holds water in the shape of a cross. The idea is that the water reflects the surrounding environment and aims to involve the living. So basically family members can hang out there and reflect and that it sustains itself through nature...so even if it is left with no visitors it grows all pretty and mossy!

Another favourite of mine was the work of Dejana Kabiljo titled PRETTYPRETTY- I loved this as I liked the humour that went with it....special barstools with hair...(and I saw hair.... so I thought of my little perruche...Le Mindu and how much I would like to drink some Earl Grey and make a dance video with him right now...JUMPSTYLEEEE)
The concept is that it stirs up an element of vanity over who has the hottest hair...the sitter or the stool...(the chair would totally win right now if I sat on it...as my roots are soooo bad!) and also generates feelings of nostalgia like...playing with dolls or getting a super bad haircut!
There you go...also I liked the muffins too....


Love and Hello Kitty,
Emma
xxxx

Whirlers CRIBS and STYLEAUT Launch!

Oohhh iyya Little Schnitzels!
Good afternoon...so as I said hectic week post Vienna Fashion Week and all....
Tuesday was crazy busy with me hosting an open studio, presenting my work at the Styleaut launch, a TV crew rocking round, a press conference AND the opening of the new "Real World Laboratory" exhibition!!! Wowzer....hectic-a-rama! I wanted to sleep forever afterwards....but we still found time to enjoy some drinks in the MQ and be harrassed by a tramp that spoke a million languages!
ORF....which is Austria's answer to the BBC popped into my studio to film...CRIBS STYLE ...(oh and one of the camera crew's Dad was a Geordie!!love it!) as part of a day totally dedicated to the wonderful work of Quartier21...the programme that are supporting my stay and project here in Vienna!
Later on we attended the press conference before opening up our doors to press and public and hosting an open studio!
One of my fellow artists in residence also held a presentation in our lobby...


This is Eva Kotatkova who is a Prague based artist whose bases her work around her environment and the "basic" structured communities of household, family and education and their natural mechanisms. Her ethos is to present these institutions in a new context by reflecting her personal position within them.
So the final stint of the day saw the opening of the new Styleaut boutique here in the Museums Quartier, owned by director Boris Berghammer. Styleaut is also my amazing cultural sponsor representative here in Vienna...and they have an online store....click here!
The concept store also hosts a gallery space in which some of my work was displayed for the launch event! It's still there now...so go and have a look!


Ok...there you go! A very exciting week!I'm off for a shandy and to sew....
Love and Radler
Emma xxxxx