A new year...

And just like that we all moved into a fresh, new year...

I particularly like the beginning of the new year. The summer heat lends a languid tone to everything; rushing feels impossible, lounging is the only sensible activity for the long afternoons and perspective seems an easier concept than ever.

I've never been one for resolutions (I spent part of my New Years Eve talking to a friend about resolutions as opposed to goals and whether there is a *real* discernible difference between the two...). The only one I ever made a few years ago - to drink more champagne - was quite done in jest, yet really did colour every social occasion in 2011 with a sparkling effervescence! More so than anything else I spend January feeling reflective and thoughtful.

The La Luna SS2013/14 collection was our most successful by far and as I start sampling for the Winter collection and designing the next Summer collection I have been considering how far the label has grown over the years. As a designer I have more and more confidence in my ability to create and feel a new-found belief in the customers who I create for.

'Riverina' Dress in Blanc, from La Luna, SS2013

I have in the past felt some panic over the fact I don't cater for everyone; i don't do skirts above the knee; that tailored designs aren't particularly forgiving; that everything I will ever EVER make will be high-waisted; that all my jewellery could be roughly characterised as 'dainty'; that my necklaces are always long; that nothing I do seems to reflect current trends...

For the first time I feel completely at peace with the fact I create clothes for tall women with hourglass figures, with nips and tucks at the waist and more buttons than zips. I recognise my products aren't for everyone and that as various eras of fashion fall in and out of favour, the vaguely 'vintage'-ish look of my designs will oscillate between being interesting or naff to the large majority of people.

'Bird on a Wire' headpiece in Emerald from Buttermilk Sky, SS2009

This October will mark the 5 year anniversary since I released the first collection of headpieces 'Buttermilk Sky' under the Ginny & Jude moniker; which seems like a fairly important milestone in a small fashion house. I already have some spectacular plans percolating away for this year, kicking off with a complete website redesign (which will be ready for launch in a weeks time...) and I feel genuinely excited for the challenges that lie ahead.
Excitement tinged with just a pinch of panic mind you!

And even more exciting; if everything does indeed go to plan, I get to take a month off to gallivant around the globe with my Love in the Spring. Hurrah!

Happy New Year everyone!

rabia
xo

Three Cheers...

Today would have been my fathers 70th birthday; I am in Melbourne, staying with his wife in their home to celebrate regardless. There will be much laughter and gladness through the tears, along with copious cake and champagne.

At the Yarra Boathouse in Melbourne, 2008

My father passed away last September; just shy of his 69th birthday and not a day passes by where he doesn't slip into my thoughts at some point. As he was a musician, my family and I and every one of those who loved him (and there were many) are fortunate to have the most beautiful and resonate mementos to remember him by. His poetry put to music remains behind on this earth forever; tender wisps of a life that was.

As a young session musician before the beard and long hair, 1960s

In those last days before he dropped the body, his dear friend Guy Blackman of Chapter Music (you can read his heartfelt tribute in Mess + Noise here) was a constant bedside companion finalising the details of what would become a posthumous retrospective of collected recordings from a lifetime of songs; In The Doorway of the Dawn. It is an immeasurable comfort to have these to conjure him beside me at any time.

In the EMI Studios in 1970 aged 27, recording with his band Tully

Grief is a curious emotion. It seems foolish to revel in sadness, but in the sadness of remembering is the unmitigated joy of memory. And so I do find myself going for long walks listening to his music and remembering.

... that he loved Anne of Green Gables, telling me only a few years ago that there really was no better instructive work for young women than Anne... helping my brother and I try to save many an injured sparrow found on our walks by the Cooks River and the heartbreak of so many not making it through the night... his getting up before dawn to collect the songs of the elusive Blackbird in the back streets of Melbourne...  our tramps through the overgrown weeds beneath some overpass beside the Yarra River, trying to find those elusive dandelions he loved so dearly to uproot and take home... practicing violin in my grandmothers garage and the look on his face as he clapped, overjoyed that I had finally mastered the tricky Bach Allegro from Book 8... our jaunts around Melbourne chasing the best piece of chocolate cake... the elaborate rigging of traps along the most vulnerable areas of our childhood home in the hope of ensnaring unsuspecting intruders... singing to us as we were trying to sleep as children... that in the past few years we had begun to inexplicably greet each other in French 'bonjour papa!' bonjour ma fille!...

Kidding around at dinner with me, 2008

Nobody cast a shadow quite as long, or commanded a room with as much panache. Many will remember and cherish his warmth; his big hugs, his considered wisdom, his quiet authority. 

And so today on his 70th I remember him again - three cheers papa!
xo
rabia

A New Year...

Happy New Year everyone!

2013 is upon us, with all it's bright hopes and shiny new possibilities. 

I always start of the year with many big plans and hot-air balloon-type dreams and as the year marches on manage to whittle them down into something realistic and do-able. 

So here's to 2013!

My resolution last year was to drink more champagne - a resolution which I managed to keep with ease!

This year I am resolved to read more books...

The dream library...one day!

 Any recommendations?

xo

rabia

{All images sourced from the Ginny & Jude Pinerest boards where they link back to their original source}