Spring

Spring is here and it is time to inject a little colour into our lives - throw out those drab greys and Melbourne blacks and embrace the vast spectrum of colour that this season offers.

Want to be here NOW!

Fashion wise prints are massive again this season - colour and prints - a perfect combination to brighten any day. Here are our faves

Romance Was Born

Romance Was Born

Romance Was Born

Romance Was Born

Ginger and Smart

Ginger and Smart

 If you are not ready to dive head first into this new trend just grab one of these gorgeous scarves from Nancybird's new range http://nancybird.com/ ............

Gorgeous Scarfs from Nancybird

........or a stunning piece of Leoni & Vonk jewellery online soon at http://leoniandvonk.bigcartel.com/products

Sterling silver and silk cord pendants

.........or add some colour to your homewares with the new Sorbet range from Dinosaur Designs http://dinosaurdesigns.com.au/

Lifeinstyle is over!

We had a fab 4 days at the the Lifeinstyle trade show last week, meeting lots of lovely stockists both old and new.

Our stand looked amazing - even if we do say so ourselves! and was right opposite the cafe - very handy indeed!!!

Our new Sacred Journey collection will be in stores in the next couple of weeks and online very soon. Here is a taster of the best sellers at the show.

We are having a little sale over at our online store http://leoniandvonk.bigcartel.com/category/on-sale

 and at www.hardtofind.com.au Pop over and have a peek.

Let Your Spirit Fly Bracelet RRP $187 now $118

Lifeinstyle Melbourne 2012

We are nearly Lifeinstyle ready!

The last few months have seen us busy creating our new collection entitled Sacred Journey and we are very happy with the results. The collection will be launched at Lifeinstyle next week at its brand new venue at the Melbourne Showgrounds - for all the details click here We are stand 5008 in Pavillion D.

Here is a taste of the new collection - hope you like!

Ametrine drusy pendant

Aventurine wolf's head pendant

Ocean Jaspar Buddha head pendant

We will also have a selection of gorgeous limited edition pieces on show on a first come first served basis. These include necklaces made from stunning natural stones like the drusy pendant in the blog heading above and antique and vintage treasures we have collected as seen below.

We hope to see all our lovely retailers next week!

Sindy - nearly 50 and off the shelf!

For all those who grew up with Sindy - "the doll you love to dress".......she's nearly 50 and on the market!

 The fashionable girl about town, doll of the 1960's and 70's is reaching her half century and on the look out for a buyer to save her from toy extinction. As recently reported by the BBC "Wholesome, demure, Sindy was the fashion doll created as a British girl-next-door alternative to the rather more glamorous and sexy American Barbie. She was the UK's most popular doll with about 80% of the fashion doll market at her peak in 1985"

However time has not been kind to poor Sindy - she was given a questionable makeover in the 1980's as an attempt to rival her more brazen, American cousin, Barbie which resulted in a long and drawn out legal battle with Mattel (Barbie's makers). Mattel argued that Sindy had indeed become Barbie - too much plastic surgery perhaps! The closure of British High Street store Woolworths in 2009 meant that sadly Sindy disappeared from the shelves altogether and her maker's Pedigree Toys are now looking for a saviour to bring Sindy and her fashionable lifestyle back to life ....any takers?

Here are some of our favourite images of the gorgeous Sindy .....

How would you dress the lovely Sindy today?

Read the full BBC news article here

The Voice

The Voice has been crowned and we will all miss the show.

We loved every aspect of The Voice -  Joel's hyper antics, Seal's creepy outfits, Delta's fake tan and stunning outfits and Keith's flash of Calvin Kleins and of course the amazing singing! Eliza Cracknell from Madison Magazine has written a very witty and observant roundup of the show - check it out here Australia's Voice

Joel Madden sitting still for once!

Seals VERY dodgy shirt

Delta looking gorgeous - just for a change!

One of our highlights - Keith's Calvins

 Karise was fantastic and was the well deserved winner - what a raw talent! We hope that her talent is nutured and that she has a great career ahead of her.

Damien Hirst at The Tate

I have just spent the last hour or so wandering around the blockbuster retrospective of Damien Hirst currently on show at The Tate Modern in London - all from the comfort of my sofa on a particularly unpleasant, rainy day in Melbourne. Although I would of course rather be in London seeing the works in person I stumbled across the Damien Hirst app on the Tate Gallery website and was hooked!

The app clearly takes you through the main themes of the work on show in the exhibition using images, interviews and video - often interspersed with Hirst's own voice explaining the methods and meanings behind his work.

Here is just a taster of the exhibition

 

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, 1991

A Thousand Years, 1990

The Anatomy of an Angel 2008 with Doorways to the Kingdom of Heaven 2007 in the background

The man himself in front of I Am Become Death, Shatterer of Worlds 2006

For The Love Of God 2007

Always controversial Damien Hirst ".... is either the presiding genius of contemporary British art, justifiably making a fortune by thrilling audiences with his memorable reflections on life and death. Or he is an empty con artist, making a fool of us and raking in millions from buyers with more money than sense" (Mark Brown, Guardian Arts Correspondent see the full article  here)

Whatever your feelings towards this artist and his challenging, thought provoking work if you don't have the luck to be visiting the exhibition in person I would recommend grabbing the app (if you are an iphone or ipad user) and learning more.......

Queenie

Back in good old blighty everyone is partying on down to help The Queen celebrate her Diamond Jubilee. Although we are not quite this excited.........

....we could not let the momentous event pass us by without sharing a few of our favourite photos of Queen Elizabeth 2nd

Congratulations Queenie!