A Fete Worse Than Death

Hello hello one and all,

And how are we this miserable Wednesday afternoon? I have once again been foiled by the weather and have got my outfit totally wrong. Yesterday too hot. Today too cold. I have had to steal some old socks I found in a drawer (possibly from a look book shoot as I think they're a little too glittery to be Squat's although I could be wrong...) Well in any case I am now sporting a rather fetching thonged sandals, knee high socks combo. Not very fashionable I'm afraid but I've never felt the need to suffer for my art.

Ok that's not entirely true, I have worn some pretty ridiculous things in the past.... I don't know if anyone remembers a little TV programme called Clarissa Explains It All. Hmmm well I went through a pretty awkward stage of dressing like a cross between Clarissa and Liam Gallagher. Oh god and then there was the semi-grunge stage, DMs a Fido Dido T-shirt and a string vest style jumper over the top. Oh well, you can't win 'em all right? Right?!

Still onto things far more fun than my fashion faux pas..... a fete worse than death!

Some of Squat's clever friends are organising a series of "summer" (I use that term very loosely) fetes, starting this Sunday 16th August at The Queen of Hoxton here in our very own fair city.

So what's it all about? They've taken all the best bits of a Village Fete and combined it with fun and games, a roof terrace, barbecue, local designers (like us) and djs. Pretty good huh. Yes, I rather thought you'd agree. You're so very smart like that.

Now I know not everyone lives in London, but if you do, or you have friends that do, then jolly well pop down I say! Follow the link and find out all about it for yourselves.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=127677131293&ref=mf

It's going to be lots of fun I promise PLUS you get the chance to get your hands on some billy bargains from among others, the one and only, Ghulam Sakina! Woo hoo. I know. So bring your wallet, bring an appetite and bring some friends for goodness sake. It's the perfect Sunday afternoon filler.

Onto some rather more glum news - for you, not me - I'm only going on bloomin' holiday tomorrow aren't I which means no more ramblings for over a week. Ahhhhh how will you cope? Goodness knows but stay strong my friends. Eat cake, shop online and if you get the chance to watch My Monkey Baby on More4 do that. It is WEIRD.

Ohh ohh ohh and if you're feeling in a theatre mood go and see "The Girlfriend Experience" at The Young Vic. It was written by another one of Squat's very clever friends Alecky Blythe. We went to see it last night and it was phenomenal. It's funny, touching, poignant and gives the audience an incredible insight into a world we often try to forget exists. I give it a full 2 thumbs up.

http://www.youngvic.org/whats-on?action=details&id=2756

Anyway my dears enough from me. Don't forget the fete and get your bums down to the theatre. I'll speak to you all very soon. Oh oh oh and don't forget about the Cake comp!!!!!

Much love as ever xxxxxxx

G2 Ad AND a Brand New Competition!

Hello hello hello,

Exciting times are upon us. Not only have we taken our online sale up to 80% off (on selected items of course) but we've also gone and launched another blooming competition in The Guardian G2 today haven't we!

It is almost too much excitement to handle. Shall I tell you all about it? Ok well it goes a little something like this.... (and yes that was a reference to the dance CLASSIC "It's Like That" for those of you cool enough to remember it)!

Anyway... as you may know, it's our 10 year anniversary coming up this Autumn. And yes, we are planning something fun fun fun to celebrate. But what of the competition I hear you scream?

We're asking you wonderful and fantastic people to design a...... BIRTHDAY CAKE! Design and cake has there ever been a better combination. I think not.

The deadline to send in your entries is October 31st 2009. If you want to make a cake and send us a photo then you can, or you can just draw a design and send that to us instead. Whatever you want really, as long as it represents 10 years of Ghulam Sakina!

Send your designs along with you name, address, email and contact telephone number straight to our studio!

Ghulam Sakina Ltd

Studio One

Fairmule House

27 Waterson Street

London

E2 8HT

Of course if you have any questions or queries then don't hesitate to get in touch. We love hearing from you! Email us at: info@ghulamsakina.com.

I'm so excited! Big kisses to you all.

OH I totally forgot to say, I went to see Hamlet last night - the production starring Jude Law. It was AMAZING. I've got to admit that after Alfie and the whole Sienna thing I'd begun to lose faith but his performance is spell binding. Nice one Jude.

Enough.

xxx

Open Sailing

Ahoy there mateys!

I have an interesting proposition to put forward to you all. Squat's good friend Cesar is embarking on an extraordinarily wonderful cultural voyage. Cesar is studying Design Interactions at the Royal College of Art in London. As part of his degree course Cesar is developing software and hardware which will be used in the construction of a future International Ocean Station. Exciting? I know!

So this may all sound a little weird and wonderful at the moment but it's an incredible concept that he and his friends are trying to turn into a reality, and guess what - he needs YOUR help!

If any of you happen to be good with you hands - oh please don't force me to make a terrible joke here - or your heads then Cesar needs your help!

Carpenters, seamstresses, physicians, accountants, graphic designs, lawyers, mechanics, cheerleaders. Workers of the world unite and come together to get this concept off the group and into the sea.

For more helpful information about this project then check out Cesar's Gumtree ad:

http://www.gumtree.com/london/85/40179585.html

It really is a wonderful thing so even if you can't spare the time to help then have a look and learn all about what this talented young man's project is all about!

xxxx

Dresses and Jackets and Jumpsuits, Oh My!

Heydi-ho campers!

I hope you are all wonderfully well despite the somewhat erratic weather we're experiencing down in London Town. It's playing havoc with my wardrobe. But enough about me (for now).... it's Su-su-studio news time.

The last couple of weeks have been a complete blur here. Our Spring/Summer 2010 collection is nearly ready to head out to India for sampling and it is looking wunderbar. Hannah and Liz have worked wonders, cutting and sewing and cutting and sewing again to get everything together and I am getting increasingly excited.

I'd like to think that I provided Squat with most of the inspiration for the collection, but sadly that would be a lie! He is always very kind of me though and lets me have my say so I can pretend I'm designing too. I don't know how he does it but it's a lot of fun to watch! We've got toiles all over the studio and we've all been trying them on to see what looks best. So, essentially what I'm saying is we've been playing dress up. Great.

That all sounds like a terrible amount of fun I know but I can promise there has been PLENTY of hard work going on. We've added some more stock to the website so more people can get there hands on our goodies. Oh and I've been trying to learn about Twitter and Flickr. Now, I'm a simple girl so these things confuse me somewhat so it would be stupendous if you lovely people added us as a friend or start following us on Twitter. As you can imagine, the thought of having to condense what I say into only 250 character frightens the life out of me, but I'll endeavour to give it a jolly good go!

Pics and tricks to follow soon my dears. Until then, enjoy the sale and enjoy the sun that I've just started to see peeking through the clouds - yipee.

Much love as ever xxxxx

London Calling

Woo hoo it's Friday. Not that work hasn't been a treat this week, but with the sun trying to shine and an imminent trip to the seaside for me, I'm keen for the time to pass quickedy quick. But before I get too carried away lets have a quick round up of this week's Ghulam Sakina fun and games.

Pablo has joined the team as our new production intern. What a dear he is. Harking all the way from Spain we're now feeling very multi-cultural here in the office! We've now representing Wales, America, Canada, Spain, England, Ireland, India and Pakistan (admittedly some of those are cross overs but still, pretty impressive huh). 

Squat and I had the pleasure of going down to an amazing new 'pop-up' type bar in Battersea called..... The Doodle Bar! You can literally draw all over the walls! How great is that? We met Jasmin from Squint/Opera who helps run the bar and although I don't want to give too much away, we are planning something pretty special with Jasmin's help to celebrate 10 whole years of Ghulam Sakina in the Autumn! Very, very exciting stuff. 

You should all check out The Doodle Bar, the gang from Vivienne Westwood hang out there after work on Fridays apparently so if it's good enough for Viv, it's certainly good enough for me! Here's a link to the website, it really is such a genius place and they don't just serve drinks, oh no, they hold lots of different events there so go ahead and have a looksey for yourselves:

http://www.thedoodlebar.com/

Squat and I also headed up to Angel this week to check out the New Designers Exhibition. What fun, what talent, what a treat! I was a bit jealous seeing all these bright fun things but it was all very exciting and inspiring. There are too many people we liked to mention them all but here are a couple of people that particularly caught my eye:

Sarah-Jayne Guest is a very talented print designer whose colourful, eccentric prints displayed on a whole host of different surfaces really stood out. Have a look at her website:

http://www.sjguest.blogspot.com/

We also LOVED Chloe May England's beautiful surface designs.  Think the Nightmare Before Christmas with a sort of girlish, almost Victorian twist and you start coming somewhere close to this lovely lady's weird and wonderful offerings. My favourite is 'The Mime' but you can choose your own by heading to:

http://www.redshedtextiles2009.co.uk/gallery.php?id=128&section=3&img=560&rand=9118297

If, like us, you're a bit of an embroidery nut then check out Phillipa Spiller's inspired stitch work. Delicate and detailed, Phillipa's subtle artwork has an incredibly tactile quality and is simply a joy to behold. For examples of her work copy and paste this link:

http://www.contemporary-textiles.com/students/view/25

And finally have a little look at Jodie Byrne's printed textiles. Colourful, carefully considered, slightly naive illustrations with a really wistful edge there's something very special in this girl's work. See for yourself:

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1268110466626835211

As you may have guessed I seriously advise you to try and get down to the Business Design Centre on Upper Street for Part 1 this weekend. (Part 2 starts next week and will feature a whole new host of young designers which we're also really looking forward to seeing). 

One more thing - if you do head to the show don't forget to pop by the Selvedge stall. Selvedge is one of very most favourtist magazines in the whole wide world:

http://www.selvedge.org/

Polly, Beth, Rebecca and the rest of the gang are not only selling back issues of the magazine for very cheap prices, they're also selling a plethora of wonderful books. And if that wasn't enough Polly and her kids have only gone and made some delicious little cakes to help keep you sweet! What a woman. Oh and they've just opened up a shop. Bloody brilliant!

Ok I must get on with some "real" work now. Have the most wonderous weekend one and all and I'll be back next week with more offerings from the wacky world of Ghulam Sakina.

xxxx

Doodle Winner!!!!!!!!!

Hooray and hurrah we have FINALLY chosen a winner for our Design A Doodle Competition!So from all of us here, we'd like to wish Carrie Hill from Bath an enormous Ghulam Sakina congratulations! She's won herself £750.00 worth of GS goodies. Pretty wicked I think you'll agree.

I would like to say that I spied Carrie's design right from the start. It's perfect! Fun but not too fancy which sums us up perfectly I think, and with the website logo written in there too - what a clever lady!

Anyways we loves it and can't wait to get it made into a print to use on a........ Yeah right, as if I'd tell you lot what we're going to use it for. You'll just have to wait and see I'm afraid chickadees. 

Also, I want a fun and perhaps slightly patronising way of referring to your Ghulam Sakina lovers. You know, like the Ally Capellino gang we call the Capellino's and the Tatty Devine beauties we call, yep, you guess it, The Tatties. Ingenious I know. But what can I call you lot of reprobates? Sakina's? Ghulamites? Suggestions to info@ghulamsakina.com please.

Squat and I are off to the Young Designers Exhibition tomorrow afternoon in Angel to say hello to our friends at Selvedge and meet some up and coming bright new things. I'll be sure to mention anyone that catches our eye on this here blog. We're also planning to send out our intrepid new intern Alison on a sight seeing tour of London town to give us a new look at our fair city. (She's from America you see dears so it's all wonderfully new to her). so many more pics and tricks can be found here in the not too distant future.

Ok I'm tired now and I think you've all probably had enough. Try not to get hit by lightning!

Much love xxxx

Hot Potato, Iced Coffee

Hello friends, family and fans,

I hope this post finds you well. We are near melting point here in the capital city, struggling on bravely sans air conditioning, and surviving on a diet of iced coffee and lime squash.

The exciting news for all of you of course, is that we have gone into sale! Yippee. And what great timing now that the weather has picked up (albeit a little too much for my liking). Grab yourself a floral grandad shirt or a light jersey dress to soak up the sun in before they all disappear!

Still, we are yet to decide upon a doodle winner, for which I apologise profusely again! I promise, with hand on heart on MY life (seriously), that we WILL decide next week. You have all been very patient and for this we love and adore you all. Thank you.

Squat is in the process of designing Spring/Summer 2010 which is very, VERY exciting. We're bringing back some classic Ghulam Sakina shapes and injecting them with beautiful new prints and vibrant colours. But of course there will also be some fantastic new styles to shock and amaze you all. It's busy, busy, busy here but there's light at the end of the tunnel!

Oh we also have some really super new interns who I am a little bit in love with, in a totally un-creepy way. They are Hannah, Ola, Alison, Liz and Pablo (who I haven't actually met yet but I'm sure I'll love).  Anyway they're fab and I wanted to give them a little "shout out" (are people still saying that) and say a big, big  THANK YOU for all their hard work.

I have the day off tomorrow and I'm going to see Blur in Hyde Park so if you're doing the same, do say 'hello' if you see a short bottle blond floating about in the heat and singing along to songs she doesn't know the words to. (I'm a huge fan, I just never remember song lyrics).

So that's it kids. I'll be back sooner than you want no doubt for more ramblings. Until then, enjoy the sun sensibly and have a wonderful weekend!

Much love from all of us here at Ghulam Sakina, (but mainly me), Gemma xxxx