Collaboration with Pebelle and Kennel Helsinki!!!

Hello Hello!!!
It's been a while...I've been all wrapped up on being back in the UK after my long globetrekking jaunts alongside a couple of projects I've been working on so I'm finally getting around to updating my blog!
So thought I would share a couple of images from a collaboration I worked on a while back... I teamed up with my good friend and awesome textile artist Petra Kraeutner of Pebelle for our collaboration with Finland based film production company, Kennel Helsinki.
We worked with photographer Wolfgang Steiner in producing a series of images which feature pieces from both my work and Pebelle's.
So here's a couple of pictures from the collaboration!!!
Love and Sparkles,
Emma
xxx

'My Friend the Mosquito'

Hiya!!!!
As I've been banging on about it....I can now finally unleash my latest pieces of work created as a result of my project in Taiwan. Over the past few months, whilst based in Taipei, I have been working on both research journals and a small collection of garments which come together to form my most recent series of work titled, 'My Friend the Mosquito'. Another purpose for locating myself in Taiwan for a while was to have the opportunity to work and collaborate with a new bunch of creative talents as well as get to grips with the art and design scene in a different city. This selection of images was the final stage of my mission in Taipei in which I joined forces with a local creative team on location at Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, a major landmark within the city.

Before I stop droning on, this is the official speile about the collection in case you want to peruse...
'‘My Friend the Mosquito’ is an off season collection of works developed and designed in Taipei, Taiwan 2011 as part of Emma’s position as Resident Artist at ‘Dream Community:Culture & Education Development Foundation’. The series of pieces present a juxtaposition to Emma’s previous collection focusing on camouflage and disguise techniques used by insects. The garments embrace pattern formations influenced by the features of moths native to Taiwan translated into surface embellishment and appliqué in exaggerated, saturated hues using holographic features. Other themes are inspired by the translucency and iridescence of mosquitoes alongside the idea of storytelling and methods of the heart drawing upon the concept of transformation taken from the Taiwanese folk tale, ‘The Tigress Witch’.
The collection also features a garment influenced by the annual lantern festival, which is constructed out of paper, bamboo, plastic and cotton.'

Image Credits:
Designer: Emma Bell
Photographer: Ching aLittle
Hair and Make-Up Artist: Chunyen Lee
Model: Queenga @ New Face Model Management
Assistant: Ouson Lee
And that's that....!!! Hope you like the new work!!!
Love and Sparkles
Emma xxxx

Farewell Taiwan!!!

Hello Hello!!!!!
So last week I waved farewell to Taiwan after spending 3 months working on my project over there!!! I made it back to the UK in time for the AMAZING Royal Wedding and have been mainly sleeping off the exhaustion of recent events and doing 'British Things' since my return...by that I mean I have been doing stuff like eating beans on toast, cooking indoor BBQ's as a result of the rain, going to the beach, baking cakes and watching a whole lot of 'Jersey Shore' with my cat Tango! Then it's back to cracking on with my current projects as of the end of this glorious Bank Holiday weekend!

In a few days I will show you the results of my new series of work created in Taiwan so hold your horses for that....
In the mean time a quick round up of how my final few days in Taipei rolled....
There was plenty of scrumptious dinner dates and farewell extravaganzas in the mix....lots of last minute shopping and 'situations'...gossip sessions with Sharon and Ann, Oolong Tea ice cream, ordering too much food, packing dramas, laugh crashing by people who look like they should be on MTV....
On my final day in Taiwan Winnie, who I met during my project at 'Growth Lily', kindly took me to the 'Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines' as well as up into the beautiful mountains of Yangmingshan National Park for milk tea and strawberry waffles! Oohhh and as I was leaving I got the BEST PRESENT EVER from John and Yili, a lovely couple who live at Dream Community...A HELLO KITTY PANCAKE PAN?!!?!?!?!?AMAZZZZIING!!! I'm soooo excited to use it this week!!!


And now I come to the end of my exciting Taiwan chapter!!! Well....there's still my project to be unleashed but, no more tales of Asian antics and the likes....
Anyway....off for a bit of Earl Gray!!!
Love Emma xxxx

Hello Kitty Cafe!!!

Afternoon from Taipei!!!
This week has been by far my FAVOURITE week since I've been in Taiwan! It's been super busy, productive and sooo many fun times!!! Yesterday marked the final chapter of my project here and I was working with a local creative team, on location, shooting all of my new pieces! It was awesome to collaborate with a totally new bunch of talented people and I'll be posting updates and images all about that soon! Aside from that I've been squeezing in a tonne of exciting meetings in the last few days before I leave for the UK as well as drinking as much green tea milk as I can and doing a ridiculous amount of shopping! There's been lots of catching up with friends and seeing as much of the city as I can before I wave farewell to the island!

A few nights ago I finally got to do something I've been waiting to do FOREVER! We went to the Hello Kitty Cafe!!!! This gem is in Xhongxiao Fuxing in Taipei and is called 'Hello Kitty Sweets'!!! It was the best place I have ever been and I totally want to live in there! Everything was Kitty themed with rhinestones and sparkles everywhere and AMAZING cake!!! We went there for dinner so also saw some savoury action... they don't have an English menu in the cafe but, they have staff who could tell me what they could do for a vegetarian option! I ended up with some juicy pizza which I was happy about as my cravings for Western food are at the pinnacle right now!!Yayyy!

Obviously we had to sample some of the special Hello Kitty cakes which was the hardest decision ever because they ALL looked amazing and ludicrously cute!!!

The shop front is impressive....total Kitty Land....clearly I would have preferred to have taken a nice photo without the piles of garbage bags and the annoying car blocking the view...but you get the idea!!!

And now I own a special Hello Kitty toast cutter that I discovered in the SOGO Department store nearby...it goes without saying that from now on I will be making kitty toast for breakfast EVERY DAY!!!!
And that's the run down of the past few days!!! I only have a few days left here in Asia which I plan on being action packed and I'll be posting images from the shoot and my new work ASAP!!!
Love and Hello Kitty Dreamzzzz.
Emma
xxxx

Day Tripping it up to Maokong!

Good Afternoon...
The joys of yesterday warranted a post of their own...Sunday started off with a bit of drama in that for some reason my alarm failed to go off and I totally slept in...eek! Me and my friend Ann waded up into the hills to spend the day in beautiful Maokong...it was such a treat! The downside was it rained like a bitch allll day.....but we took the special 'crystal cabin' gondola into the mountains which had a glass floor and that was pretty awesome!

It was all misty and magical the whole place smells of tea as it's growing up there! We went to Zhengda Teahouse for the most GOURMET lunch EVER! Rice with tea leaves, sweet potatoes, tofu...EVERYTHING!!!They had a bunch of vegetarian stuff which was amazing! Then we went onto the cutest cafe for Afternoon Tea....glorious cake and matcha latte...I was so happy! Anyway...here's some photos from the day trip of dreams!!!



Love and Tea Leaves
Emma xxxx

Burger Situations and other Tales...

Good Evening from Taiwan!
So things have been all over the place this past week or so! I'm frantically preparing for the final leg of my project which will take place later this week and also I've been wrapping up the last of all my workshops etc... I can't believe I've been here in Taiwan almost 3 months now and soon I will be whipping off to yonder UK so with so little time I've been trying to squeeze in all I can of Taipei!
The past week has been particularly eventful... alongside some late night sewing sessions and playing the new Britney album on repeat there have also been scenarios which include; 'The Burger Situation', a venture into Taipei's nightlife, the mysterious case of the loaf of bread, an annoying game of 'Space Invaders', Night Market shopping trips and an excursion to the National Palace Museum to see the Chagall exhibition.
I also spotted a BEAST of a Mukade which gave me flashbacks to the Japan days and today I saw a worm so big I thought it was a snake... I found a few soldiers lurking around Chiang Kai Shek which I loved and also I purchased a hot new ring and some amazing Barbie pink shoes in the market...additionally I'm being eaten alive by mosquitoes.
That's the news....so now I'm prepping for my project with a local creative team that will kick off in a few days time and hoping to fit in as many theme restaurants as possible before I say farewell to Asia once again.... Some photos below 'innit....




Love and Sparkles
Emma xxx