2009 - END OF A DECADE

Ok. So I havent blogged for a while. Thats because I’ve been real busy and everytime I wanna get something off my chest I moan to my boyfriend instead….However, to sign off I’ll let you all in on my highlights on 2009 and what I’m looking forward to at the dawn of a new decade…

JAN 2009….
Having met and been inseparable from Greg since Dec 19th 2008, Jan was definitely a time for long walks in the woods, staying in bed and watching a lot of TV. A flippant comment about wanting to open my own nail salon after being annoyed by the local service got our brains ticking….

FEBRUARY
On a trip to Vegas, Greg proposed exactly 2 months after we met!!! YAHOOOOOOO! Definitely the highlight of my year. I have truly found someone, the best one, when I wasn’t even looking….I guess its just like everyone says - STOP LOOKING FOR LOVE AND IT WILL FIND YOU!

MARCH
Featured in Nikes 1948 magazine with all my friends!

For some reason I start wearing brown and I pretty much wear black and brown for the rest of the year….

We launched the WAH Magazine site, with all my fave girls contributing….

WAH Girls after a ed meeting….

APRIL

My desk at Arena Homme +

We find a location for the salon…...the journey begins….

What I thought would be a cool fun thing to do became the HARDEST THING OF MY LIFE! Styling or doing consultancy work or having a website of blog is NOTHING compared to the ridiculousness of a customer facing premises base business….The hoops we had to jump through! The people we had to please! Giving me a headache just thinking about it…but we did it! Without Greg and Meg none of this would have been possible!

MAY
Looking for a wedding location….

My social circle shrinks as the combination of opening the shop, having a boyf who i wanna spend all my days with, and lack of money from pouring it all into the shop means that I can count my friends on my hand….
Greg, Grace, Simon and Meghan are my nearest and dearest. They always make the effort, I’ve known them forever and they always got my back!

And hold tight Suz, Irene, Phoebe, Josey, Lily, Rae, Flora, Dora, Rossana, Louise, Gemma, Jennifer and anyone else who knows where I live….

May 28th - MY 25TH BIRTHDAY! Was pretty low key as I am extremely unorganised….My fave presents were my headphones and my furry Porter bag…

JUNE + JULY

Prior to the salon opening we tested the waters and the super cute gym FRAME STUDIOS…..We had a few nail events there that went down a storm!!!

This picture was the first ever nail art I did….I’m not sure what i was thinking at the time. I just got these new nail pens and the latest Essie Summer collection so I just did this on Meghan in about 25 mins and it basically has become our signature nail design! Its so weird to look back as I wasnt even trying. Before this, believe it or not, I never had leopard on my nails, not even the airbrushed one from the ghetto salons….but this just took off! Hmmmm, now that I think about it I have NEVER had the leopard print on my nails!!!! When you have every nail art thing at your disposal you tend to go pretty plain….

The picture to launch a thousand nails….

I move out of my amazing apartment where I had the best parties and always had friends over :(

Then Gregs house which we were meant to move into flooded so we were homeless til Nov….SUXXXXX

AUGUST 1ST WE LAUNCHED THE WAH NAILS DALSTON SALON!!!
Whoa! A Great and most stressful day! Thought I was gonna die etc…. it turned out amazingly well! It was PACKED and even the chip shop next door stayed open an hour extra to cope with all our hungry customers!! Was super fun and the culmination in everyones hard work!

Check the WAH Nails Blog for more pics…

SEPT….
Recover from the nail manic of carnival!

I start getting ridiculously good at doing nails considering I only started this year! I did these acrylics on myself!

We get some crazy press….Making the Grazia LFW Cool List with a massive full page photo was sooo weird but amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We do nail events for Diesel, Nike, Whistle, nails at PPQ and Nasir Mazar shows…its starts getting crazy! I thought this was gonna be a fun thing to do! Turns out we’re part of a nail zeitgeist that I kinda saw coming for 2009 but I cant believe how much it took off! I start getting stressed out as I need to rethink the business and what I actually want it to be….

OMG ANDDDDD amongst all the press shot i do for various mags I actually got shot by David Bailey for Vogue!!!

OCT

We went to the XFactor house to do their nails….

And prepped for Halloween…

NOV - MEGA STRESSSSSSS!

on Bonfire night we debuted our Selfridges pop up store and amazing and testing experience. Was so insightful to see a new type of customer and forced us to raise our game….Was really exciting and I’m SUPER PLEASED to be going back there in Feb for a longer stay….

the rest of the month involved recovering….

We also went to meet our lovely most beaut nice Amelia in Sweden!!!! Hello little one!

DEC

Got shot by Nick Knight for i-D anniversary issue, very very happy, what LOVELY MAN!
I was horribly dressed and spotty and fat and didnt feel very good but he made me feel nice!

We got the most wonderful dog Sascha, I LOVE HER SOOOOO MUCH!!!!

Christmas was amazing…..I love my tree…..

Nia looking very Xmasssy

ISSUE OF VOGUE CAME OUT…..

Kinda a weird rollercoaster year….......

Now that its over I am SOOO looking forward to 2010….for the following:

1 - Been working on a sports fashion magazine and I’m very excited to be working creatively again!!!!

2- We’re launching WAH Nails in Topshop and Selfridges in Feb 2010! We need to spread beautiful nails nationwide next!

3 - I’m gonna be on Blue Peter! Honoured….

4 - We’ll finally get married! Yahooooooo!

In light of all these busy things I am finally 100% saying goodbye to WAH Magazine! I started working this as a fanzine when I was 19 years old back in 2004 and now that I’m 25 and entering a new stage in my life I feel I should pass the baton onto my WAH Juniors who I love and respect and believe can carry on the tradition of being cool London girls about town! I’ve probably been out once a month this last year and it doesnt make for interesting reading! Rae and Dora, as everyone will know, have been repping WAH since I met them at a Nike shoot I was art directing over a year ago and they’ve been entertaining me ever since! They’ll be completely taking over the site from now on so I’m sure we’ll all look forward to what they’ll be saying!

I’m sure i’ll be blogging somewhere soon….

XXXXXXXXXXX

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VERY INTERESTED IN JAPANESE MEN IN SHARP WESTERN SUITS RIGHT NOW

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OUR NEW DOG

Is an Alaskan Malamute with 1/4 Alsatian…

We’re deciding between the names Sascha, Kiki and Naja

She is lovable and cuddly and she matches the furniture….hahhaa

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SOME THOUGHTS ON SMALL TOWN LIVING….

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NUFF SAID

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BIZZEE BEE

MAAAAAAAN been so busy sorting out this Selfridges pop up salon and sorting out our house (Elle are doing a feature on my closet so need to get house tip top!) and im tired.

PAINT STRIPPING, GREG STRIPPING

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BLACK PANTHERS

THANKS ANDI!

CHECK OUT MY NEW PANTHERS NIKE SWEATER!

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LONG SKIRT MANIA

So as everyone knows ive been on a hunt for a long skirt for a while now. Long skirts aren’t cool so i couldnt buy one in any shops. A quick trip for my local charity shop and lo and behold the most beaut fine jersey Nicole Fahri skirt is calling out at me…I try it on….it FITS! yay!!! This skirt is so sexy with slit up the back and slightly sheer. Its not leaving my ass all winter!

Teamed with my fave Kaws x CDG tee that i cut into a crop top

and my new jacket sent to me by Whistles - thanks Virginia!

GRACE kept trying to get in on the action….

By the way, I’ve had this badge since I first moved to London 6 years ago. I found a nice old desk on the street and in the top drawer was this badge of a Native American. I love it. I’ve moved house 12 times and I’ve never managed to lose it!

That is the story of Saturday nights outfit. I wore this to meet Julien Cahn and Acyde from Nike for post dinner drinks and for a brief passage through Plastic People before retiring to our Aerobed mattress.

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ED TALKS

Tonight i went to see the AMAZING Ed Ruscha give a talk at the Southbank. I was so starstruck! When i was a kid i went to see an exhibition at the Moma in Oxford on a school trip and i saw his paintings for the first time. At such a young age I didnt realise it, but i was in love with LA before i even knew LA was a place and Ruscha cemented this love. I have many of his books and would kill to own any of his works. And he was a handsome thing in his day….

Anyway, getting distracted…..

FIRSTLY - his show opens on Wed at the Hayward - YOU MUST GO SEE THIS IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE! The urban sprawling landscape you now as California (and indeed America) is documented with skill and humour in his work…

THEN SECONDLY….there is a film called THE COOL SCHOOL which i saw at the ICA this summer which is a documentary about THE FERUS GALLERY….the space in LA in the 1950s that launched the careers of many famous artists….check it out on SUNDAY 18TH AT SOUTHBANK! Its free! Info here!

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GYM BUDDY

The sexy Suz P is my gym buddy. We go hard on the treadmill….Hit me up if you wanna join the gym cru

Marc Jacobs bag to match her Nike kicks….

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