Coffee and photos

Tiararama's Snow Queen Crown, Snow choker and bracelet with Rosey Ring, Gown by Vikki Lafford (www.liliia.co.uk)

There really is nothing nicer than sitting down on a cold November afternoon, looking through some photos and drinking a nice cup of coffee. And that is exactly what I have been trying to do (the "trying" bit will become clearer in a minute!).

The lovely photos in question relate to our photoshoot at the end of October. As a designer of quite unique and theatrical bridal tiaras and accessories it is often difficult to take good product shots of pieces which are very big and complex and still get across the beauty of the design. So the best way to show them off is to show them being worn and the best way to do that is to organise photshoots. And I also wanted some fantastic images for my next round of advertising in the run up to the National Wedding Show at Olympia in February which I will be exhibiting at. And I also want some great images to take with me to the show so that I can show how wide ranging my design skills are.

Tiararama's Snowstorm comb with Snow Choker and bracelet with Rosy ring, gown by Vikki Lafford (www.liliia.co.uk)

The trouble is once you have done your photoshoot and you have had your 250 images from the 1300 taken sent to you, it is never an easy task choosing images because what is a fantastic product shot might not look good in advertising and what might look good in advertising might not look good as a product shot and what might look good in a frame, might not look good as a product shot or as advertising. All very time consuming and frustrating but in the end when you have your handful of images it's all worth it.

Tiararama's Raquel tiara

The three images in this post are those which will be used in various adverts over the next few months but there are some more images which will be used at The National Wedding Show or included on our new and improved website which will also be launched by the time of the exhibition - so watch this space! To see the rest of the images please click here

Now of course you might think that the "trying" part of this blog post was about choosing images. But the trying part is actually refers to the coffee. You see the reason we are improving the website is because as of next year Tiararama is changing a little bit. We are improving our collections to be more wide ranging and we are also making more of a distinction between the collections and our designer service. Not only will it be easier to understand but it will be truly couture.

But when you offer a service like this you also have think about what kind of things could be done to improve the quality of the client's consultation experience as well as the design process. I decided it would be a nice touch to be able to offer a choice of coffees and teas at consultations. So an espresso coffee machine has been purchased for Tiararama Towers(it is also a good way to get your other half to agree to something you have wanted for ages too!).

I thought to myself "how hard can it be to make a lovely cup of coffee?". Well today I have found out how hard it is and have a new found respect for those who work for Cafe Nero and Costa! I am still a long way off producing a lovely cup of coffee but each attempt is improving. Like everything I do for my clients it has to be perfect - I just hope I can get it right soon before I overdose on caffeine!

Once again many thanks to Sarah at Assassynation for her hard work with the images.

And if you are looking for fabulous couture and designer tiaras and accessories for your wedding or just find yourself at a loose end between February 19th and 21st 2010 come and see us on stand C31 at The National Wedding Show London Olympia.

Another sneaky peek

I'm sure there will be alot more of these blog posts over the next few weeks but here is the first (or was yesterday's the first?) sneaky peek at some of the images from Saturday's photoshoot. They've only been quickly edited but there are lots more to come.

These images feature pieces from our new Snow Collection - the fantastic Snow Queen crown made from columns of Swarovski white pearls, each bound in wire studded with silver lined seed beads,together with the opulent Snow necklace with its 4 strands of Swarovski pearls finished with Swarovski snowflake pendants and matching 4 strand bracelet. This is accompanied by our Rosey ring (not part of the Snow Collection). The Rosey ring is a wonderful cluster of pink freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystal - absolutely stunning.








I really can't wait to see the final edits from Sarah (www.assassynation.co.uk) and I'm looking forward to seeing some more images from the shoot and sharing them with you. And obviously once we get the final edits and decide which images we will be using in our latest promotional work and on the website, I will blog the images for you all to see.

So until next time.....

It's a washout!

Our model Laura wearing Philomena by Tiararama with pink freshwater pearl cluster bracelet and ring with gown by Vikki Lafford

Just a quick blog update about the recent goings on at Tiararama Towers.

Well following the glorious weather of last week I was really looking forward to my latest photoshoot in the parks of Ealing on Saturday. Even the weather forecasters were indicating that we would have a lovely sunny day to shoot in the autumn leaves. However, when Vikki (www.liliia.co.uk) and Sarah (www.assassynation.co.uk) arrived from Oxfordshire with our model for the day Laura, at 8am on Saturday the weather was decidedly foul. It was dull, grey and most disappointingly raining so even if it did clear up we didn't want to risk ruining Vikki's beautiful gowns by traipsing them through muddy grass and leaves.

Not the greatest of starts but after we decided to shoot indoors (and after much furniture moving) we got some fabulous shots in various parts of the house. All I can say is thank goodness we live in an Edwardian house with a lovely fireplace and boring cream walls!

The picture attached is one that I took on my little camera but it gives you a taster of the style of shoot. Obviously by the power of photo editing, a far better camera and a much more talented photographer the real images will be alot better! We got some great pictures of my Philomena crown and some of the pieces in my new Snow Collection. I can't wait to see Sarah's work and I am really excited about using them in some of my upcoming promotional work. Obviously once I get the real images I'll be blogging them for you.

The next few months will be filled with lots more work for the National Wedding Show in February and we've scheduled a headshot shoot for December when all my new collections will be ready for exhibiting and going on our revamped site in the New Year. It's all very exciting and I'm really looking forward to sharing my latest creations with you.

So until next time......

I'll have a consonant please.....

OK sorry tenuous Countdown reference there (oh I do love a bit of Countdown...!) but really my blog today is all about some of the big countdowns that I am facing over the next few months.

OK first one is Christmas....how many weeks is it now? Actually before that it's my birthday but that's getting a bit depressing (although I will still require pressies to cheer me up!).

The second is a very exciting countdown to January 29th 2010 when my sister's baby is due. I am so happy for her and her husband and of course the proudest big brother in the world, my lovely nephew George but as much as this arrival is incredibly exciting, it also heralds another imminent event concerning my baby, Tiararama.

You see there is another countdown. 3 weeks after the latest arrival to my sister's family, Tiararama will be exhibiting at The National Wedding Show at Olympia. OK so in many respects and to many this is nothing compared to the birth of a new baby but to me this is when my baby, my business begins to take it's first big steps into a whole new world. And to me this is very exciting!

When I set up Tiararama back in 2005 I set out a 5 year plan. Year 5 is nearly upon me and I have no idea where the time has gone! But in year 5 of my plan I had that I would be at the National Wedding Show and here I am all signed up and planning furiously for the last step in this stage of my business' life (of course I now have a year 5 to 10 plan - that is full of so many challenges I am quite beside myself with excitement!).

So what have we planned so far?

Well we have another photoshoot planned for the end of October and I am frantically planning my new showcase designs for the show in readiness for headshots and arty shots in the park as well as working out which bread and butter pieces will be available to purchase over the weekend. I think I have planned the furniture for the stand and the finishing touches (just a few things I need to clarify first), I've got the printing quote and then I just have to build the stand in our back room to make sure that everything is absolutely perfect. Oh and of course I need to create all of my designs as well. Doesn't sound alot does it? Well it will be consuming every available moment I (and at times my husband), have between now and the show. I am so looking forward to this challenge and showing off my designs and service to all those lovely brides. I'm sure that the late nights, the early starts, the sore fingers and the frayed nerves will reap some great rewards!

So as I countdown to the arrival of the latest member of my family, I will also be working to help Tiararama on the next stage of its life at the same time. All very exciting, all very nerve wracking but all very worth it!

And I can't really leave you without giving you a picture. Alas it isn't one of my new designs (they haven't been made up yet) but designed back in November 2008, our Danielle design has received quite alot of attention in recent weeks and I have been asked to customise it by a number of brides in the last few days. It is a beautifully encrusted headband style where the decoration encompasses all of the band. This means it looks fabulous around an up do or it can be worn as more of an alice band with short or long hair. Wonderfully textured with lovely sparkle it is easy to see why this design is now so popular.

Danielle by Tiararama

Final Cotswold Shoot Images

Stephanie tiara by Tiararama

Well finally Vikki and I have decided on our official photoshoot pictures from May. I know it has taken an age but between us this has been a very busy wedding season (and we can't complain about that now can we?). There is still a bit of touching up to be done on them but these are the images.

And of course I am pleased to say that Sarah, my old customer, Vikki's sister in law and our photographer for the day has turned her hobby into something a little more serious. She hasn't given up the day job (yet!) but this shoot gave her the push to set up a website to profile her work and since this shoot she has done lots of edgy and exciting shoots. Her new website is Assassynation and is well worth a look.

But here for your delectation and delight are the images that will most certainly be used on my website and will be popping up all over the place in advertising. I would love to hear what you think about them and I'll be more than happy to pass on any comments you may have for Vikki and her fab gowns at Liliia.

The picture above features the lovely Sammy in a beautiful mauve/lilac bridesmaid's gown with mulberry sash and Liliia's distinctive floral adornments walking through a tree lined dell. This coupled with our Stephanie tiara made from looped and twisted sections of wire interspersed with quartz crystal is the ideal fit. Sweet and feminine, classic and elegant but with a fantastic contemporary twist.

Double Maria headband by Tiararama

This image again features Sammy in the mauve/lilac bridesmaid's gown but this time she is waiting mischievously by a door. This time we have coupled the gown with our Double Maria headband with its wonderful textures in Swarovski crystal and pearl. This gives the ensemble a cheeky feel whilst still retaining its elegance and poise.


Un Fiore asymmetric tiara, Rosa corsage cuff and triple icicle drop choker by Tiararama

Of all the precarious poses Sarah asked our models to do on this shoot, this was one of the most precarious! This shot features Samita in Vikki's gorgeous white bridal gown with floral and butterfly embellishments. The accessories we chose to team with this gown were our Un Fiore asymmetric tiara which features one of Vikki's fabulous flowers and the lovely delicate but funky Rosa cuff with its wire and crystal corsage. Then to finish the sleek and funky triple icicle drop choker. I just love the textures in the shot - the beautiful dry stone Cotswold stone with the grass peaking through behind the gate and the lush leaves of the tree. And the gown and accessories are all about texture too.


Un Fiore asymmetric tiara, Rosa corsage cuff and triple icicle drop choker by Tiararama

This shot really shows Un Fiore and the Icicle Drop Choker off beautifully. I love the texture of the grass in this Sepia version of the shot as it really helps to make Samita and the gown and accessories stand out.


Liberty half crown and triple icicle drop choker by Tiararama

The colours and textures in the shot are also fab. The ruins at Minster Lovell and the early evening sun added a great backdrop and light to these shots and really helped to make the heavily encrusted Liberty tiara sparkle without being too blinding. And the embellished detail of the gown is also shown off very nicely.


Racquel tiara by Tiararama

As we all know the same gown worn by two different people can make the same gown look completely different. And this is exactly what happened when Rachel modelled the same gown as Samita. So to show this we used our Racquel tiara to add a different dimension to the ensemble and also I knew it would look fantastic against Rachel's fantastic red hair. I love the simplicity of this shot and love the way the ironwork on the door looks almost vine like.


Jadis crown by Tiararama

Until very recently Jadis was my very favourite design. Originally it was designed as a concept piece and there were very few who were brave enough to even try it on. So as soon as I knew we were going for a photoshoot I was desparate to get it on Sammy's head? Why you may ask! Well look at how fab her hair was in this shot. It was the hair that I envisaged when I designed Jadis and here it was being worn in an amazing setting on a fantastic model wearing a beautiful floaty, sleek gown. I love the way Vikki paints and dyes her fabrics to make a simple gown very special. I just love everything about this shot.


Corset by Angels Carrying Savage Weapons with Sarah's tiara by Tiararama

This is a lovely shot of Clair wearing Sarah's (the old customer, Vikki's sister in law and our photographer)gown and tiara. I loved the fact that we were able to use this fantastic gown and tiara again and this shot shows the tiara off beautifully.
And just for you here is the tiara being worn by Sarah at her wedding


I love these images for so many reasons and I look forward to getting the edited versions and being able to get them on the website. And we are in the process of organising an autumn shoot so expect some more images soon. And fear not I will have those images sorted out alot quicker than with these images as I will be taking them with me to The National Wedding Show at Olympia next February. But in the meantime I'd love to know what you think of these images. So until next time....

Remembering Miss Miles

For those of you (and it will be most of you) who didn't go to my school you will not have a clue who Miss Miles is. Well Miss Miles was my headmistress. Quite strict but very fair - she was the kind of headteacher that you have the utmost respect for even when you are not really old enough to know what it is to respect someone.

At least once a year in morning assembly she would mention the statue of the greek god of Opportunity, Kairos. She would tell us that every depiction of this god was of him running or on the wing. Now when you are aged between 11 and 18 and you've heard this story a few times, I fully admit the yawn factor kicked in. But even though at the time it usually went in one ear and straight out the other it must have stuck in there somewhere because I found myself remembering this story and contemplating its meaning a few weeks ago when I was approached by my friend Vikki to submit some pieces for a photoshoot.

It started off as a "I've got a friend of a friend" approach which we soon realised was a bit bigger than first thought. Initially I was a bit reluctant to do this because I am right in the middle of wedding season and at this time of year I am at the beck and call of all my lovely customers. The shoot was being done because the photographer wanted to broaden his portfolio and wanted to get into high end editorial work as well as the fashion shoots and art photography that he was doing, so it wasn't as if the shoot was being done for my benefit! At first it sounded like he would be using Vikki's dresses and my pieces for a Snow Queen themed shoot. Then it turned out that designers like Basia Zarzycka were involved as well and the shoot was going to be held at Chiswick House. This was far bigger than we thought it would be and suddenly I had a vision of Miss Miles stood in front of us all saying "the reason that statues of the greek god of opportunity were made to look like they were running is because if you do not grab an opportunity when it is in front of you it will escape you and will not necessarily come your way again". So I fully intended, no matter how busy I was, to grab this opportunity with both hands.

I was asked if I could provide a few of my designs. One of the first pieces to be requested was Jadis (named after the white witch in The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe).

It was lucky that Vikki contacted me on the day that she did because Jadis was about to go off to tiara heaven on that day but I thought I would let her have one last moment of glory!

And as I found out more about the shoot I remembered one of the concept pieces that I was working on. Again another crown at the time of the request it was nowhere near finished but even the state that it was in attracted some interest.
Philomena before

I was then asked if I could finish it so that they could use it in the shoot and from the incomplete concept version it turned into this

Philomena has fantastic texture and the combination of crystal and freshwater pearl strands draped over a twisted wire frame make this piece quite soft and ethereal despite the fact that it is so big.

To complement Philomena I also put together a 5ft beaded chain in quartz, crystal and freshwater pearl called Elfina.

The beauty of long beaded chains such as this is that they are so versatile. You can plait them into long hair, you can wear them like a circlet, you can drape them around your hair loosely or you can encircle a bun with them. They are very soft so they can accentuate an Elven, fairytale or grecian style in an elegant and not too specific a way. And then you have the advantage of either using the piece again after the wedding or you can have the piece converted into an actual necklace and bracelet so you are almost recycling your wedding accessories into more wearable everyday or special occasion pieces.

So was it worth it? Well unfortunately neither Jadis or Philomena were used in the shoot in the end but Elfina was. But that doesn't mean that the experience was wasted. I will get some fantastic images to use on my website and there is potential for some high end magazine coverage and who knows where that will lead. And I finished Philomena who has been "WOWing" everyone who has seen her since she was finished and she will be coming with me to another photoshoot in October and to the National Wedding Show in February. The point is I didn't let the opportunity slip by and opportunities lead to more opportunities even if you don't know where they will be coming from.

So thank you Miss Miles for your inciteful and wise words all those years ago. They obviously didn't fall on deaf ears even if we tried to make out we weren't listening!


Oh and for those of you who are interested we picked the official images from our last photoshoot on Monday so as soon as we have them edited and fiddled with, I'll be blogging them.

Shooting in the Cotswolds

All gowns by Vikki Lafford. Samara wearing Tiararama's Stephanie tiara and Sadie bracelet.

It is funny how certain events and meetings lead to great things and never was this truer than when I was approached to design a tiara for Sarah Williams' December 2008 wedding. It was quite auspicious anyway as she was getting married on my birthday and lives in God's own county of Gloucestershire (I know I live in London now but I'm still a West Country girl at heart). But what was fantastic about this wedding was that it had so much character and so much scope for creativity. And one look at the designs for Sarah's dress showed that it wasn't just me that was being creative. Sarah's soon to be sister in law, Vikki had designed her dress which incorporated a beautiful corset from Angels Carrying Savage Weapons. The dress was so beautifully embellished with hand dyed and crafted floral motifs and leaves that it created wonderful textures and colour combinations. And upon seeing this two thoughts struck me. Firstly "WOW" and secondly "I can see those flowers in my designs". And from that moment, sprung a very useful collaboration.

Quite early on we had discussed the possibility of doing a photoshoot together. Sarah is also a very keen photographer and has done many of Vikki's shots for her website and offered to do the photography for this shoot (we were also assisted by Vikki's boyfriend - another keen photographer) and Sunday May 31st 2009 saw the first of hopefully many more photoshoots to come.

We decided to do this first shoot in Oxfordshire/Gloucestershire as the Cotwolds at this time of year provides a beautiful backdrop. You have the meadows, the rivers, the quaint Cotswold stone buildings and fabulous old architecture. Absolutely ideal for romantic and picturesque summer weddings.

We really couldn't have asked for better weather either. Even at 8am when we left London we could see it would be a fab day! Upon arriving at Sarah's house (our base of operations for the day) we met our models for the day (although we had picked Samita up - an upcoming RnB artist - on our way) we met our other models Samara and Sarah's friend Clair who we managed to persuade to dress up for us too! After a much needed brew we went scouting for locations.

Having looked around for a while we came across Kelmscott Village Hall. The building itself was a typical Cotswold brick building and initially didn't look that interesting. But on closer inspection there were fabulous wooden doors, interesting windows and a great run down Cotswold Stone wall, some cute nooks and crannies as well as a lovely grass meadow behind. It was certainly the kind of one stop location that could yield some great things. We also decided to use the ruins at Minster Lovell which provided an incredible backdrop with wonderful textures and colours.

It was an incredibly successful day with some fabulous shots taken. I would like to thank Sarah and John for taking some great pictures, Vikki for the fabulous dresses, the models, Samara, Samita and Clair and of course Kevin for giving up his Sunday to traipse round the countryside with models! (no I didn't hear him complain either!).

I will be blogging the official shots for you to nose at as soon as we have decided on them (I know it's taken ages for us to decide but......). But in the meantime here are some of the unofficial shots taken by Kevin (& one I took!) of the day.

At Kelmscott Village Hall (and surrounds)

Samita wearing Tiararama's Un Fiore with Icicle Drop crystal choker and Rosa corsage cuff

Well a photographer can't ask a model to get into awkward positions if they're not prepared to do the same can they?



Samara is wearing our Double Maria headband

Minster Lovell Ruins

The lovely ladies (and Kevin!)


Samara wearing Tiararama's Jadis and Marietta bracelet

Samita wearing Tiararama's Liberty


Clair wearing Sarah's bridal gown which was designed by Vikki, the corset by Angels Carrying Savage Weapons and the bridal tiara by Tiararama.

And here are pictures of all of our pieces used in the shoot close up.

Jadis
Un Fiore
Double Maria
Stephanie
Sarah's Tiara
Liberty
Marietta
Sadie
Rosa Cuff
Icicle drop choker

Some websites for you to nose at:
Vikki Lafford's site Liliia
Sarah's new photography site Assassynation
For fabulous corsets Angels Carrying Savage Weapons
To listen to Samita's work click here