Mei Mei, sum yourself up and show us what you are all about!
I love Art. I love Music. I love beautiful clothes. I love shoes. I love vintage.
I draw, I sew, I knitted, I listen to good music, I wear beautiful clothes, I wear cool shoes, I always go to vintage shops.
I left Hong Kong to study abroad in France, Nantes. It was, and still is, my dream. I gave up to work for fashion industry because I know it can’t satisfy my creativity-I want to create so many different things. I needed to leave my birth place of Hong Kong for my inspiration. I want to go to England, Germany, Spain and Italy travelling. But I chose France, because It’s cheaper for me…haha…$$$ I am sure Paris is the best place for art, and also the $ problem, I choose to stay in Nantes. Overall France is, the better place for art than Hong Kong!

Who/what inspires you and why?
Everyone can inspire me. When he is singing a song, when she is crying, when she is laughing, when he is talking with me….

What do you love about being a woman in the world?
I LOVE being a woman. It’s sexy. I love being a woman, to having sex!

Where are your five must-go destinations for inspiration, life..?
Bacelona, Slovenia, Dubrovnik, New York and Tibet.

What has been your proudest moment so far?
I can do what I want, I can be what I want to be.

Which five tracks make Mei’s day?
1. La vie en rose-Edith Piaf
2. Friday night saturday morning-Nouvelle Vague
3. Venus- Air
4. Look for the silver lining-Chet Baker
5. Sugar Town-Zooey Deschanel

What are your five must-have, can’t live without fashion and beauty items?
Underground leather boots with buckles.
Photo
Agent provocateur black lace lingerie play suit.
Bourjois Black eyeliner pen and eye shadow.
Vintage Leopard pattern fur coat. (I prefer the faux fur )
Japan Kiss me mascara.

What makes you jump-in-the-air happy?
Blue sky

What is your life Motto?
Life is unfair, kill yourself or get over it.

What is next for you creatively?
Colours. I want some colours in my life, and my creativity.

Quick fire round: What is your favourite?
Shop: Mei Chi vintage fashion shop in Hong Kong
Book: French and English dictionary
Website/blog: http://meimeiman.wordpress.com/
Hang-out: Chinese supermarket in Europe
City: Nantes
Must-have beauty item: Japan Kiss me mascara
TV prog: Little Britain
Food: My mum’s cooking

What does the term Sassy Minx mean to you, Mei?
I love the whole concept of a Sassy Minx-being a woman is a beautiful and valuable thing everyday.

I heart Alice and as it’s the month o’ love, it’s only right and proper that I share the love. Alice and I met in Costa Coffee, she told me I had amazing hair, she made the best hot chocolate in the world AND gave me extra marshmallows – needless to say, it was an insta-mutual girl-crush situ!

Alice is now a blog-girl and chefette, think Nigella, only younger and a whole lot sassier – check out her recipes and cookery goodness at: amourandpsyche.blogspot.com but not before you’ve ooh-ed and ahhh-ed at her prettilicious ways AND baked her V-day cookies – if you do try them, we want to know whether they woo your beau!

Describe yourself in 5 words…
Indecisive, stubborn, indulgent, curvy, happy.

You’re a sassy cook-girl – when did you discover a love for cooking and what made you want to set up a blog about it?
I’ve always loved food, but I really decided that it was what I needed in my life when I was in my last year of school. I came down with glandular fever, and was left stranded in the house miserable! Without cooking programmes I would not have resurfaced as quickly, gone to college and learnt how to be a real chef! I was the first student on my course to ever max out every unit, and strangely enough, I found that I did’nt enjoy a professional kitchen. I recently rekindled my passion when cooking for family and friends, and knew that for me it was part of the passion to give others what I had. From there, Alice Cooks was born, and will hopefully continue to share my secrets for a long time!

What’s your fave dish to cook and why?
Something new! I’m always learning, and love trying out things I’m not so great at.

What’s your fave food to eat and why?
An amazing beef stew with good mash. There’s just nothing that gives you that same warm feeling!

Who are your inspir-o cook types?
OK, obvs. Nigella, but my most fave cooks are exactly that, cooks, not chefs. They are Rachel Allen and Ina Garten. I can’t get enough of those gorgeous ladies!

Tell us about your routine – do you have any cook-girl routines? Like wearing heels and a Cath Kitson pinny? (Or is that just my idea of a dream set-up?)
That is definitely the ideal set up, I have a gorgeous 3-set from Cath, a pinny, oven mit and tea towel combo all in red stars! I like to feel a bit glam when I’m in the kitchen, the more confident you are, the better it gets.

Why do you think girls are getting excited about cooking again?
Because it’s sexy, and is a great avenue for expression.

What do you love most about being a girl in the world?
Right now? Having fun, feeling great in my own skin (a recent development) and doing my own thing. And of course, playing dress up without an occasion

What’s your life motto?
Not to waste time on the things that don’t matter to you.

The Sassy list – what’s your favourite:
Book: I love a book that grabs you by the heart. I’m loving The Host, by authorette Stephanie Meyer writer of the Twilight Saga.
Film: I adore Blade Runner, I’m a major sci-fi chick.
Make-up brand: I love Barry M. and Models Own!
Celebrity: I love my rock chicks, Florence being a fave!
Place to hang: If not my desk creating things, it would be wherever my friends are.
City: London and Brighton are my faves, I have a sister in each!
Drink: Amaretto and coke, no ice *dreams*
Food: Warm winter goodness.

What’s your idea of a Sassy Minx?
Someone who’s true to herself, knows what’s important and fills her days with happiness!

Try Alice’s yummy-scrummy Valentine’s Butter Biscuits to win the heart of your crush….

Prep: 20 mins
Cooking: 25 mins
Makes about 15 biccies

Ingredients
• 150g butter, room temperature
• 225g plain flour (substitute 50g of flour for cocoa powder for a choccy hit)
• 75g caster sugar

To Decorate
• icing sugar
• food colouring
• sugar decorations of your choice

Method
1. Dice the butter into a big bowl. Tip in the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt. Gently rub in the butter with your fingertips and bring the dough together into a ball. Wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for 15 minutes.
2. Preheat your oven to 170 C
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll to about 1/2 cm thick. Cut out heart shapes (or whatever you like) and lay onto a lined baking sheet. Bake for 15-25 minutes, until lightly golden. Leave to cool on a rack.
4. To decorate the biscuits, mix together a few tablespoons of icing sugar with a few drops of water or colouring (you can even use a flavouring essence here) to make a paste. Get creative!

These lovely little biscuits are light and delicious, I hope you go as crazy as I did with the decoration!

Have a great Valentine’s Day chicks and dudes!

Ohh, I love me a vintage ensemble,  pretty, pretty clothes with history – j’adore.

If you, like me, are retro-hearted, then you will dig www.retrochick.co.uk – a swoony-swoon site that helps you discover your own personal style by finding the best in affordable vintage, and ethical fashion and making it work everyday. I’m a total fan-girl and love, love, love creator-girl, Miss Gemma Seager, mainly because she believes in the following:

• Fashion doesn’t have to cost the earth, in any sense
• Style never goes out of fashion
• There isn’t much that can’t be made better by a nice cup of tea
• If you’re nice to people they’ll be nice back.

You love her too now, right?

Miss Gemma – what is it you do exactly?
Mostly I try and get as much sleep as possible. I also sell pre loved and vintage clothing on eBay and write a fashion blog about vintage and ethical fashion under the name Retro Chick.

We’ve got a whole lotta love for the vintage here at Sassy Minx, where and when did your interest in all things vintage begin and how did you turn it into a Retro Chick website of awesomeness?
Ever since I was a teenager trawling charity shops and boot fairs was always a way to get bargain clothes and something a little bit different. I loved the excitement of finding something gorgeous that no one else would have. Buying vintage was a way to keep my wardrobe fresh and original on a budget. I loved that all the pieces I found had a history before me and I felt that they deserved a loving home to take them to parties and care for them like they deserve.

After I left university I ended up in a series of soul destroying office jobs and I hopped around from being a Team Manager in Customer Services, to IT Support and Admin jobs in the hope that finally one wouldn’t make me miserable. Finally in 2007 I realised that none of these jobs would ever make me happy so I jumped ship and decided to stop restricting myself to buying goodies in my size and share my lovely clothes with the world in general.

Is Retro Chick your full-time job?
Yep, I’m Retro Chick 24/7

What five tracks would be on a SV soundtrack?
Oooh I have slightly random taste in Music. My favourite playlist on my iPod is called Happy Happy and it songs that make me feel chirpy, so how about I tell you 5 of those?

1) Candyman – Christina Aguilera
2) I’ve Been to a Marvellous Party – The Divine Comedy
3) I Like Chinese – Monty Python
4) Just A Girl – No Doubt
5) Raspberry Beret – Prince

What era would you like to go back and visit and why? Can I only pick one? If I have to pick one then probably the 1940s. It’s an odd era to pick maybe, seeing as Britain was at war for most of it, but it was a revolutionary time for Women and I’m constantly amazed by how stunning they look in old photographs under such difficult circumstances.

Plus maybe I could pick myself up a nice GI to bring me silk stockings and chewing gum…

Who are your inspir-o girls – people that you dig and admire? I really admire women who’ve made a success of themselves without sacrificing who they really are and women who’ve faced tough times without cracking (or without showing those cracks) My list of inspirational ladies can be a bit random for this reason!

I admire Dita Von Teese for the brand she’s built up around just being her fabulous self and Victoria Beckham for taking all the stick she gets with such grace, and also for being very, very funny. Of course I also think they are both very stylish, polished ladies who make me feel bad when I can’t be bothered to replace my chipped nail polish.

I also admire Margaret Thatcher, not for her politics (which are probably the opposite of mine!), but for what she achieved and Germaine Greer for being a ground breaking feminist.

What a random list! There are so many more amazing women but if I get started I’ll go on all day!

What do you wish you could go back and tell your teen-girl self?
I would probably like to take back some photos of myself now and remind myself I’m not fat. I’d also say “Gemma, it doesn’t matter what other people think”

I probably wouldn’t listen though, I was just as bolshy then as I am now…

What’s your motto for life?
“Everything in life is only for now”. It’s the lyrics from an Avenue Q song that I find strangely inspiring.
Who and what makes you jump-in-the-air happy?
Cup cakes, cocktails and when people send me lovely messages saying they bought something or read something on Retro Chick and it made them happy.

What do you love about being a girl in the world?
Lipstick, high heels and being able to surprise people just by doing perfectly normal things like drinking beer or knowing about computers.

The Retro Chick Sassy List:

Website: http://heartifb.com It’s the best website ever, and made such a difference to my blogging experience
Book: Oooh, this is so hard, there are so many books I’ve read over and over again, I’m a huge reader. I do love Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell by Susanna Clark
Make-up brand: I’m not massively loyal to a brand, apart from L’Oreal Mineral Foundation
Place to eat: My House. I cook a mean Chilli
Beauty item: Moisturiser. Body, face and hands, I cover myself in the stuff. It also works on static hair!
Phrase/saying: Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s day to day living that wears you out. – Anton Chekhov
Current obsessions: Cooking, Hummous, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Shoes I can’t afford.

What does the term Sassy minx mean to you, Miss G?
A Sassy Minx knows who she is and that life’s about the journey, not the destination.

Go visit Gemma at www.retrochick.co.uk and go shop at her ebay shop o’ goodness: retro chick – ebay

I am all over today’s Etsy Love because it’s the creation of Queen Gilda, one of my fave blog-girls. Revasseur – it’s french for daydreamer, dontcha know? – showcases Gilda’s creations o’ fashion fabulousness.

Gilda grew up in sunny Singapore, and moved to Tokyo when she was 20 to go to the best fashion school in the world, Bunka Fashion College. Now she lives in New York, attending Parsons’ fashion design program – yep, she’s officially a fashion junkie!

I LOVE Gilda’s Revasseur mission statement:

“…I’ve been very lucky in my life, and I believe that clothes have been a huge part of that! I express myself best through the way that I dress, and I hope that any item of clothing you purchase from RÊVASSEUR becomes an extension of your personality too!…”

Come meet her, she’s simply fabu!

Gilda, describe yourself in 5 words…
(thinks i’m) funny, shy, daydreamer, ambitious, determined

Who is Queen Gilda and what is it you actually do?
I’m just a regular girl, who grew up in Singapore, complaining about the heat, going out for suppers, and spent most of my teenage years being captain of my school and club’s field hockey team. After graduating from Tokyo’s Bunka fashion college, I moved to new york to pursue a “different” fashion education at Parsons. I’ve always known I to work in fashion, it really didn’t matter what.

You’ve just launched Revasseur – tell us about it – why did you set it up?
I’m still at school, but my fingers got itchy and I just had to start doing something else besides school work. I was bored to death. and worked to death. I figured I had to do something on my own. RÊVASSEUR is providing me with a blank canvas for me to express myself and do whatever I want, regardless of how accepted it is. The way I dress myself is an expression of who I am, of my personality. That’s why all my designs have a little quirk to it. I feel more people need to have fun with what they wear! And I hope my designs will help them do that.

The name means “daydreamer” in french, which describes me perfectly. I spend half of my time daydreaming! Every cloud has a face, every toy starts to look like a hat, and every little thing reminds me of Japan.

How long have you been designing and making kick-ass creations?
I’ve always loved to draw, but I never really had art classes and didn’t know what I was doing! So although I’ve always had ideas in my head, it was all very 3d, and I had no idea how to express it on paper, so I just picked up scissors and a thread, ripped apart a lot of my own clothes and remade them the way I wanted to. That was the start, probably when I was about 15 or 16. It wasn’t ’til I started school at Bunka when I was about 21, that I learned how to do fashion illustrations, and also learned the technical side to designing, where I was able to bring my ideas to life!

What’s your favourite item you’ve got on sale right now?
unfortunately I have a very tiny online store now! More will be added as soon as I have proper pictures for them. My favourite is really the Ziggy Apaulet dress! I love it to bits. I’m quite short and definitely not model-thin, but i feel good in it. It represents my design concept very well, and isn’t too over-the-top and artsy. You will also notice half my garments now are harem pants. I live in them, and have them in just about every fabric out there! My favourite are the sequined harem pants. I mean, come on, who doesn’t love sequins? I get compliments every time i wear them too, which doesn’t hurt!

How do you find time to create, work, breathe? What’s a typical day in the life o’ Queen Gilda like?
When I’m at school at parsons, I don’t get to sleep often. There’s so much work, I usually sacrifice sleep about twice a week. In summer now though, I go out and explore new neighbourhoods on foot; it inspires me. I also love going to the museums when I can. I’ve been on museum trips about 15 times so far this summer. It’s great! A typical day involves me waking up and then going back to sleep, and then waking up again 30 minutes later. I’m on my macbook twittering and checking on my emails, and then I’m sewing! Alright, i lie. Sometimes I sit back on my sofa and stare out of the window and look at clouds. They form nice shapes that sometimes find their way into my sketches. Or I watch these Japanese tv shows that I’ve recorded online. They make me very happy. I usually work at night because my brain doesn’t function in the day.

What are you 5 must-have items?
Family, true friends, a cellphone or computer to communicate with them, lip gloss, and more clothes.

What’s your life motto?
“…today we work hard to go on vacation…”

I didn’t come up with it. it’s from a diesel ad i saw on the street like 10 years ago and took a picture of. It’s followed me from Singapore to Tokyo to New York – I still have it on my wall.

We love to travel – can you take us on a whistle-stop tour of your awesome city – where MUST we go, eat, hang out?!
God, I know nothing about New York! I do love my neighbourhood though. You must go to the museums here I think. The MET, and definitely the frick collection museum. I live in the east village and it’s great. Dingy and dodgy, but great. Food is great too, and I usually go to St Marks place for Japanese food. Whatever you do, don’t come in summer. It’s way too hot, sweaty, filled with tourists, and smells of dead rats and stale pee.

Which creative-types inspire you/do you dig?
People who will do what they do, who are true to themselves, no matter what the nay-sayers say. People who will not travel the beaten path. People who are different from others, people who have a voice, people who have a point of view and a story to tell. People who are brave.

Which era would you love to go visit and why?
The Rococo period. I want to wear cute shoes and powder my hair white. I want to wear crinolines and have boats and feathers in my hair. I also want to wear a men’s embroidered morning coat over a huge crinoline.

Gilda’s Sassy List – what’s your favourite:
Book: Pride and Prejudice - Janes Austen. I’m romantic at heart. HA!
City: Tokyo. period!
Movie: The Sound of Music. I know every song in there and everyone should too.
Way to chill: going for a walk, and then sitting in a park eating ice cream and drinking cold beers!
Shop: the comme des garcons store. in every city.
Website: well my favourite blogs are style bubble and kingdom of style of course!
Make up brand: rmk, anna sui, and MAC.
Food: food from back home! chicken rice, curries, prata, chwee kueh! haha! and anything Japanese!

Visit the fabu Miss Gilda’s creations at: www.revasseur.com and read her blogginz at: www.queengilda.com

If you’ve ever wondered what yummy dishes your favourite silverscreen movie star cooked up while in the Hollywood Hills, wonder no more, because one of my most favourite girls in the whole wide world, Miss Jenny Hammerton – film archivist, author-girl, and one forth of the awesome Shellac Sisters – is recreating recipes cooked by the silver screen stars themselves at www.silverscreensuppers.com – pop on your pink frilly apron and come bake a cake – Jean Harlow style, obv. – with us!

Jenny, I heart Silverscreen Suppers, who/what inspired you to create it?
Many years ago I found a beautiful 1930s book called “Favorite Recipes of the Movie Stars” in a dusty junk shop in Norwich . It was full of wonderful pictures of film stars in their kitchens grappling with mixing bowls and trying to tempt live turkeys into ovens! The recipes were strange and enticing so I decided there and then to start eating like my idols. I created a blog to record my adventures in creating signature dishes of the stars, and to help me remember the huge amounts of fun I had sharing them with friends.

How do you know so much about Silvercreen stars and what they ate?
I trained as a film archivist and old movies have always been a passion. I’m like a terrier when it comes to research and my favourite place for delving is the newspaper library in Colindale. I love ferreting around in vintage fan magazines looking for recipes. It’s easy to get sidetracked as the mags are full of glorious fashion plates, beauty tips and general gossip but when I DO find a recipe I feel like Sherlock Holmes in a frock.

What came first, the love of silverscreen stars or the love of food?
I have three brothers and on Saturdays my parents were both out at work. We took it in turns to choose what to watch on television and I used to endure weeks and weeks of wall-to-wall sport until joy-of-joys it would be my turn and I could watch old movies! So the silver screen stars came first – definitely!

Who’s your most favourite silverscreen star and why?
It has to be Joan Crawford. On-screen and off, I find her life and work endlessly fascinating. Her recipes are so eccentric. She loved to entertain and would serve the most bizarre things at her dinner parties such as Almond Soup and Creamed White Onions in a Red Pepper Cup. I think the word I would use to describe her taste in food would be “fanciful”. I also love the fact that she would have specific outfits for specific tasks – she had certain dresses that were her “writing letters in the afternoon” dresses for example.

And what’s your favourite recipe s’far?
Marlene Dietrich’s Lamb Chops en Casserole is a definite winner. I’m also very fond of Carole Lombard’s Cherry Pie. Oh and Clara Bow’s Vanilla Marlow… And Errol Flynn’s Baked Fish Havanaise… It’s too tricky to pick just one!

When you cook up a silverscreen supper do you dress up like your fave idol-girl too? I love that idea!
Oh yes, dressing up and flinging quotes from the movies around is all part of the fun! If I’m making Greta Garbo’s Swedish Meatballs I make sure to behave all moody and say, “Gif me a whisky, with ginger ale on the side. And don’t be stingy baby” on a regular basis. As a DJ with the Shellac Sisters I have lots of wonderful vintage numbers which I can don to get into the Silver Screen mood. I’ve also got quite a collection of vintage pinnys too – cooking can be a messy business when you are wearing a shelf-bust prom dress!

Have you had any kitchen disasters while making a Silverscreen Supper – care to share?
Oh goodness me, yes. My poor flatmates had to be very polite about Ginger Rogers’ Butterscotch Date Pudding (it had tapioca in it), Pat O’Brien’s Corned Beef Patties were quite frankly inedible and I never could get Jean Arthur’s Chocolate Fudge to set!

I want to cook like a silverscreen goddess-girl, do you have any plans for a book?
Sassy Minxes everywhere will be able to sprinkle stardust around their kitchens very soon! I’m hoping to have a little livre of loveliness out for Christmas 2010. If your gorgeous readers want to be first to know about it I’m setting up a mailing list over at the blog – www.silverscreensuppers.com – just come by and drop me an email. Also currently looking for volunteers to test cook the recipes – there are over 3500 in the collection and 100 have been selected for the book. All test cooks will receive an acknowledgement in the book – which glamour goddess will YOU choose to impersonate in your kitchen Miss Lisa?! - Ohhhhh, I can’t possibly decide Miss J, I’ve got the Clara Bow bob, and am prone to the Joan Crawford diva-like outbursts, but wouldn’t mind baking cupcakes ala Jayne Mansfield either – ohh, decisions, decisions! - Lisa

Who would be your ideal Silverscreen dinner party guests and why?
Joan Crawford (for some outrageous diva style behaviour)
Bette Davis (for some catty comments regarding the above)
Greta Garbo (just to gaze at in awe)
Louise Brooks (for some intelligent conversation)
Clark Gable (for some after-dinner-rolling-around)

Jenny’s Sassy List!
Colour: Black & White – natch!
City: Austin, Texas and not just because cowboys are my weakness… It has the BEST vintage clothes shops and my co-writer and bosom buddy Caroline lives there.
Website: current fave is www.movie-tone.com and I also love www.bust.com – getting a copy of this kick ass sassy magazine drop on my doormat every now and then really boosts my creative energy. I wish the UK had a print magazine like this.
Movie: Currently loving Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard.
Album: I only have 78rpms, albums are far too modern! My current fave 78 is: “My Wife is on a Diet” by Henry Hall.
Book: “My Way of Life” by Joan Crawford shares equal first place with Marlene Dietrich’s “ABC”. Both jaw-droppingly mad.
Shop: My local supplier of fabulous frocks – www.frillseekersvintage.co.uk and the Hammersmith Vintage Clothes Fairs. I can also be known to come over all faint in the kitchen department of John Lewis when browsing the crockery and time saving devices.
Food: Marion Martin’s Peanut and Bacon Bouchees for a pre-dinner snack accompanied by Tallulah Bankhead’s favourite “French 75” cocktails. Constance Bennett’s Spanish Chicken for a main course and Ida Lupino’s Lemon Mousse for dessert. Then a long lie down with a big box of chocolates a la Jean Harlow!

Don’t you just love her? I’m now looking EVERYWHERE for a copy of Joan Crawford’s My Way of Life – if anyone ever see’s a copy, or has a copy I can borrow, PLEASE let me know! Now go check out www.silverscreensuppers.com right now, and come back to The Sassy Minx soon to see and hear from Jenny in her other role as one forth of vintage DJ ensemble, Shellac Sisters – I know, she’s too-cool-for-school, right?!

Meet Eleanor Jane.

She’s a kick-ass photo girl and zine-making queen who lives in an attic and digs making a mess – you love her already, right? Well, wait ’til you actually see her creations…ah-freakin’-mazin’. I discovered Miss EJ a couple of months ago, when I snapped up every issue of her Girl Photographer zine, since then she’s created a new zine, Soul Catch Fire, a story of sorts; of men, muses and slightly mad love. Each 14 page zine features eight mini photographic prints – bee-you-tiful.

EJ – what is it you do exactly?
Well, I’m a freelance photographic artist, based in Newport, South Wales. I used to work out of the living room of my attic flat, but as things have expanded, I’ve started renting a studio on the first floor of a converted stable, right in the city centre and ten minutes walk from home. It’s lovely, all white-washed brick walls and wooden floors permeated with the smell of drying acrylic paints and ground up coffee beans.

I spent a few tiresome days there, alone, in scuffed up old jeans, singing along to the radio, running out of paint, removing doors & dismantling unwanted furniture and now it’s finished and awesome. I use the studio to shoot commercial work, anything from fashion editorials to hair campaigns or band photography. My art work is more observational – it happens by accident as I travel around doing my thing!

Your photography is kick-ass, when did you discover your passion and realise you could turn it into a career?
I’ve been taking photographs since I was small & stumpy and my Nan sent me a mini plastic 110 camera that came free with her gas bill. I took twenty-four shots of my back garden and my Barbie dolls in a fashion show. Only one came out and I cried.

When I was 16 I went to college to study Photography & Digital Imaging where I ate a lot of toast and was at least two hours late every single day. But in amongst being naughty & lazy I did manage to make enough work to get myself in to uni! In 2006 I graduated from the University of Wales, Newport with a first class BA (hons) in Photographic Art. I finished on a high, being the first Photographic Art student to ever win the Welsh Livery Guild Award and with a successful final project to my name. After university ended, I threw myself head first into setting up as a freelancer; getting up each day to sit at my desk overlooking the city, sending endless emails, entering competitions, applying for grants and generally being poor. I joined an artist’s networking & support collective where I met some wonderful people and together we poured over shared copies of the A-N searching for opportunities until we got bored and messed around making things in the market gallery! It was a struggle at first but staying in the company of creative people really helped and eventually it all paid off. It’s the only thing I want to do and it IS difficult, but when you see a project you really put your soul into on the wall of a gallery, or an editorial you’ve spent long days sweating over on the pages of a magazine, the hard work is so rewarding.

Which camera is your favourite and why?
It’s not particularly exciting my favourite camera is my Nikon f80 – a 35mm SLR. I love it so much that when a friend was getting rid of his, I snapped it up too! I switch between a 50mm f1.4 and a 24mm f2.8 lens and will always take this camera out and about with me. For work I shoot on a Nikon D300 using a 17-55mm f2.8 lens as standard and although it is a gorgeous set up, I don’t really use digital for anything other than commercial work. Film is just more fun for me. I prefer the excitement involved in picking up a developed roll from the processors. Plus, it’s what I learned with, what I’m used to and I feel I understand the subtleties of different film types in such a way that I intuitively know when something is working or not. With digital you find yourself constantly checking the back of the camera and I find that disruptive to the creative process.

What camera would you recommend for newbies and how do you suggest we get started?
Most people would probably tell you to get a DSLR as it will work out cheaper in the long run and you can make as many mistakes as you like and just delete the images. But I would always say, learn on film first. Get back to basics. Understand what you’re doing. And anyway, it’s loads more fun! I think a lot of the naiviety and excitement about photography has disappeared, which is a shame. Everyone wants the latest camera, the newest software updates, to master the hottest new editing techniques. Of course, it’s great to be able to learn these things. But people are so concerned with what they can achieve post processing rather than what can be achieved in camera. Although mostly everything I take requires some post processing, who really wants to sit in front of the computer all day long editing pictures?! Not me!

You also make AMAZING zines – tell us about them – how did you start, why do you make them, what do you love about making them?
I was always making silly little books and newsletters as a child that my Mum would stick to the fridge and the family would crease up with laughter over. But it wasn’t until I was about 15 or so that I first became aware of the whole world of zines and the subculture of self-publishing. I suppose I must have stumbled upon them through Riot Grrrl music but back then they were pretty much non-existent where I came from… I saw them as very American, something that happened in artsy cities thousands of miles away from me. I didn’t make my first zine until I was 19 and in my second year of university. It was 1/4 sized, full colour photocopied and called ‘Pushing Twenty,’ a nostalgic retrospective of my teenage years. It’s funny though, since I’ve always created my zines from a ‘fine art’ perspective I don’t always know where their place is in the self-published world. I don’t know what they are! That’s not to say I think they are superior or they take themselves too seriously… just that the process is as important to me as the result. I love to include tiny symbolic references that no-one else will understand, secret messages… they’re very personal. The smallest details are considered and cause me the greatest anguish but nothing is ever without significance. It’s important to me that every detail has purpose, as in any piece of art.

Can you tell us a bit about the zine creating process?
Oh my gosh, zine time is madness! It takes ages for things to fall together and until they do I’m afraid it’s endless nights of biscuit-eating, tea-drinking, sellotape-peeling frustration! But once things do start to work it usually goes quite smoothly. It probably sounds lame but I really enjoy the ‘production line’ way of assembling the zines – packing them in to brightly coloured envelopes, addressing & stamping them up. I don’t feel satisfied until I’ve reached this stage.

Which creative-types inspire you/ do you dig?
Although it might not be obvious from my work, I am heavily influenced by music – a genius lyricist or an emotionally honest delivery does it every time! Sometimes the slightest inflection in someone’s voice is enough to send me into a creative flurry. I like honesty in art work. I don’t like pretension or crazy over the top processing. I like to know that someone saw something in an image, felt something. I also love the way other people’s silly little observations reveal a little about their sense of humour. I like to know about the strange things that pre-occupy the minds of others. David Shrigley, Sophie Calle, Mika Ninagawa, Tim Walker, countless erotic photographers… all people whose work I admire. I love work that amuses or affects me. I like brutal honesty. I like work that was created from injuries of the heart, from a deeper sense of knowing. I’m not sure… I find it hard to explain but there is so much boring as hell photography out there at the moment and very little actually raises any questions I feel need answering. Why are so many people shying away from the human condition when ultimately, it’s the most moving & inspiring thing we have to work with… and we can all relate. I hate work that alienates people.

What makes you jump-in-the-air happy?
Breakfast! Great big delicious breakfasts!

Catching the train & going on day trips. Lazy day picnics with my friends. Sitting on my roof in the sunshine. Long summer evenings in other people’s gardens. Summer Solstice. Festivals. Being outdoors. Accomplishing something. Since I climbed Half Dome in Yosemite last September on my own using pretty much nothing but strength of mind, I’ve been completely obsessed with the idea of climbing mountains! I’m trying to get in better shape now so I can go back there later this year and I also want to climb Ben Nevis. Any lump in the ground really, I want to stand on top of it. Basically I’ve got this idea in to my head that I want to hike Kilimanjaro and somehow it’s become my ultimate goal! Just knowing you’ve accomplished something like that is so elating… I can’t really explain unless you’ve done it. So do it!

What’s your life motto?
I don’t know if it’s a motto as such and it came from the most ridiculous source… but when I caught a plane to the USA pretty much on a whim last year I wasn’t very happy. Some silly film was showing (‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall,’ I think?) and Russell Brand said;

‘I was going to listen to that, but then I just carried on living my life.’

& it really struck me. I had to fiddle with the strange Virgin Airways space-age remote thing attached to the side of my seat to try to rewind the film. I listened to it over & over a few times, jotted it down in my travel journal and have kept it in my head ever since. It makes perfect sense.

Quick fire round – What’s your favourite:
Book: White Oleander – Janet Fitch, Fay – Larry Brown, Yes Man – Danny Wallace… loads really!
City: I’m more of a country bumpkin at heart! I do enjoy London for short periods of time. The only other city I have any real urge to travel to is Tokyo and would love to go back to Paris and New York.
Movie: A Streetcar Named Desire, Pulp Fiction, My Fair Lady and recently I’ve been harbouring a soft sport for Grease 2!
Band: Isn’t this just the worst question in the world?! At the moment I’m feeling quite chilled out so I’m loving Johnny Flynn, Laura Marling, Zero 7, Groove Armada, Dan Auerbach and about a million others. I don’t really have a favourite and I’ll probably be having a metal day by the time this goes online anyway so this list will be irrelevant!
Way to chill out: I rarely like getting up early but every now and again I love to wake up first thing in the morning, get all dressed up, pack a bag with a few essentials, snacks, a bottle of water & my camera and catch a train someplace. I like to go to London, read a book on the train, check out the galleries, eat lunch in a park… just have a bit of time to myself really.
Food: Today I love blitzing fresh fruit smoothies with my mixer, tofu scramble with plenty of tumeric and am researching recipes in an attempt to veganize macaroni & cheese!
Make up brand: I’ve worn the same style make-up for the past ten years; BLACK BLACK BLACK RIMMEL EYELINER! So long as there’s a thick slick of charcoal lining my eyes I’m happy! I like a few Benefit products and get a bad consumer thrill popping to department store beauty counters and coming out with a Chanel or YSL bag of goodies.

What’s next in the world o’ EJ?
Anyone who has known me for a year or two will know I’ve been agonizing over a secret self publishing project that I’ve never managed to finish as I’m being a bit of a perfectionist with it. But hopefully I’ll be done with it one of these days! Otherwise, more zine events (including the launch of an new zine anthology I’m featured in, issue 4 of Girl Photographer, developing the blog with camera mod tutorials and other fun photography thingamies, more photoshoots and more biscuits!

To check out Eleanor Jane’s awesome talent, go check out her website: www.eleanorjane.co.uk

Ohhh, I’m a little bit in heart with Ms Veve.

I know I say that ALL the time, but she’s like this kick-ass, tattoo-ed rock girl who resides in one of my fave cities in the world, Prague and writes in your face fashion, a blogginz all about her fab life, haircuts and love o’ fashion. She’s far too cool for school and is so freakin’ fabulous that she should be on the cover of Nylon magazine or something.

Yeah, I’ve got a girl crush, ‘k?

Describe Miss V in 5 words…
blonde ambition meets complete psycho

So, who is Miss V – care to share?
I’m a 22 year-old Czech girl, a Charles university student and I work in a laboratory of molecular pathology as a lab technicien. (Weird, I know.) More important I’m a fashion freak, writer, a tattooed rock chick and currently dabbing in script writing.

We love you and your blog SO much, for those who haven’t had the total treat of visiting yet, what is it exactly? What’s it all about? When and why did you start it?
It’s a personal blog and a fashion blog in one. It goes from my own style, what I wear and what I do, to things that I love: fashion, literature, art and events going on in Prague. I started mid April of this year cause I needed to let out the beast.

What 5 tracks would be essential to a Miss V soundtrack to life?
Uuu this is a hard one! There’s just SO many great songs out there! At the moment I have “In the Middle” by Jimmy Eat World, “Lasso” by Phoenix, “I’m only happy when it rains” by Garbage, “Painted by numbers” by The Sounds and “Your Mangled Heart” by Gossip all stuck in  my head.

You have effortless style and a kick-ass ‘tude – what’s your secret?!!
Loads of make-up! Haha, noo, but on bad days it does help.. Anyways, I’d say my style is a mix of wearing what I feel like and trying to have the most fun with it. I’m a firm believer that fashion should be fun and a way to express one self not merely to “get dressed” or go along with some trend or another. I love to alter clothes – nothing beats originality.

Who are your style icons?
I’m a big Kate Moss fan and I love Nico from Velvet Underground. And I absolutely love SATC the show. Oh, and Heidi Klum.

What era would you like to go back and visit and why?
Old-time Hollywood – because it was glamorous. Maybe even Barrandov in its peak in the 1930’s. Back then it was the Hollywood of the East…

We love to visit new places – can you introduce us to your city? what would be your perfect way to spend a day there?
Prague – “the city of a hundred spires”. I recommend seeing the city centre, it’s lovely. Where history blends with everyday life, the architecture is just AMAZING. My favorite place is the Prague castle – I even have it tattooed – from there I’d go down to oldtown square taking the “golden street”. Zlata ulicka, it’s this tiny tiny street, where my great great uncle -a rather famous writer – used to live. From old town, after wandering around for a bit, I’d go along the riverside (Vltava river), maybe stop by the Charles bridge – thou it tends to be rather crowded, so I prefer the bridge Most Legii – and then go to see the National Theater. Then I’d stop by one of my favorite bars Ujezd.

Tell us who inspires you/who you admire and why?
My bullterier Buddy – I adore making pop-art pictures of him. Art wise, I’m into pop-art and op-art. Fashion wise, I’m addicted to Elle magazine and Vogue (but there’s not a Czech Vogue so I only buy it so often..). Blog wise, I really like Kristen’s and Val’s style from BleachBlack.

What would you go back and tell your teen self?
I’d tell myself that cutting class doesn’t really pay out in the long run and to stay away from one of my exs. That guy was seriously up to no good.. Ohh! And I’d tell myself not to wear black lipstick – that was a biiig mistake – and not to shave my head into a mohawk when I was 16. Growing your hair back just sucks.

What makes you jump-in-the-air happy?
Hanging out with friends, travelling, shopping, going to the cinema, reading a good book, chocolate cake, strawberries, making people I love happy.

What’s your life motto?
Live it, love it. Yeah, and make it happen.

So what’s next in the world o’ Miss V?
I’m thinking of changing schools – I’m tired with the faculty of Arts – and will try to get into FAMU, the Czech film school. Also planning a sweet vacation with my best friend in Tel Aviv and on the 24th I’m planning on jumping out of an airplane – I’ll let you know how that works out.

Quick fire round: What’s your favourite…
Shop: Topshop, Zara, Stradivarius, Pull&Bear
Book: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Website/blog: Fashiontoast, Bleachblack, The FashionPolice
Hang-out: Harley’s bar
City: Prague, Paris, New York
TV prog: SATC, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charlie’s Angles (the old TV show)
Food: lasagna, Sopsky salad, pasta with parmezan cheese, stuffed avocado, tuna fish quesadeles…

Go visit Ms Veve at in your face fashion, she’s awesome. Fact.

What blogs do you love? Share your favourites here and we’ll feature them in our Blog Love segment o’ fabulousness – bring on the love…