Musée de la Mode & Lunch in Albi

I was spoilt rotten yesterday as my girlfriend took me to Albi as a treat for my birthday. Started off with a glass of champagne J  followed by a duck salad which I have to say was fantastic. We then held a mini competition as to who could talk the most and to be fair we both won.

We then walked to the “Musée dela Mode” walking round drinking in the creations of Guy Larroche, Dior, Chanel, pure eye candy. We then popped into the shop and met Monsieur Miraille himself, he was 19 when he started his collection and 30 years on he is as enthusiastic as he was then, and had he been with us at lunch he would have won hands down for talking. Have a look at the website pictures are far better than mine. I have added the facebook page for you if you want to go check it out, he would be delighted to see you. I will certainly be going back and the great thing is he changes the theme each year and it's right on my door step.... lucky me :)

We were so full after lunch that we never got our desert and so Sue happened to mention a place that does wonderful icecreams, slight understatement  Sue... I had the After Eight and Sue had Cherry Amaretto. I could hardly move after that I can tell you.

Now I still have this to open and it is killing me having to wait till tomorrow, wonder what it is? Thank you so much Sue for such a 

fabulous day xxx

Angélique Marguerite Le Boursier du Coudray

 Firstly, I have to thank Mister Finch for drawing my attention to this remarkable French  woman Angélique Marguerite Le Boursier du Coudray, who invented the first life-size obstetrical mannequin, for practicing mock births. 

It was usually called “The Machine”. Each machine cost about three hundred livres to construct. They were usually made of fabric, leather, and stuffing and on occasion they would use actual human bones to form the torso. Various strings and straps serve to simulate the stretching of the birth canal and perineum, to demonstrate the process of childbirth. 

The head of the infant mannequin has a shaped nose, stitched ears, hair drawn with ink, and an open mouth (with tongue) into which a finger could be inserted to a depth of 5 cm. This detail was important, as it allowed the midwife to put two fingers into the mouth, to facilitate the passage of the head in case of a breech presentation.

These mannequins were very detailed and also very accurate^. The invention is often attributed to Englishman William Smellie, but the French Academy of Surgeons approved Du Coudray's model in 1758 giving her prior claim on the invention.

In 1759, King Louis XV  commissioned her to teach midwifery to peasant women in an attempt to reduce infant mortality. Between 1760 to 1783, she travelled all over rural France, sharing her extensive knowledge with poor women. During this time, she is estimated to have taught in over forty French cities and rural towns and to have directly trained 4,000 students. She was also responsible for the training of 6,000 other women who were taught directly by her former students. She has also taught about 500 surgeons and physicians, who were all men.

Source

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ang%C3%A9lique_du_Coudray

I Actually Won Something...

I saw this lovely giveaway and thought I would enter as 1. I thought they were well cute and 2. I have a friend who is having a little boy in the near future, so I did just that and entered :) and yes I won yipee...and Today my postie delivered this adorable little fellow.

He is so beautifully hand stiched, tiny little stiches all around the edges and has French knots round his head, you can tell it was made with love. Thank you Dotty. Just wanted to show you a few more of her beautiful creations before I go, and if you click on Dotty it will take you to her page, if you do visit, tell her I said hello xx  

Dottys Hampsters from left to right Chloe, Harriet, Elvis & Hamilton

Elvis!!!! The extrovert

Generally Just having a good Time

Been a fun couple of months, a visit from my son and family which was fabulous,  making peg bags, Kimono shoes, various headbands, Dolphin key rings, also found time to respray an old table and chairs (not overly happy with the blue) tarting up a chair, dyeing various materials. Sharing delicious wines and good food, and generally having a good time.  Happy weekend

Copycats are at it Again

I recently had an enquiry re some goldtone Flaming bomb vintage buttons I have, and my customer asked if I had any more or if I could source more for them. So off I went and did a search and found a picture that I knew instanly was mine and was most surprised when I followed the link to find this site http://www.lnbbc.com.cn/vintage-button-cufflinks-flaming-bomb-p-8975.html  not only are they offering my cuff links they have also used my description word for word, but the difference is that they must have a minimum order of 50.

I took the following paragraph straight from their site....  grasp the market!!!! more like Steal, made me Flaming Mad!!!!!

"Our creative team not only have the abilities to grasp the market、the demand of customers 、the design and innovation 、the material and technique ,and hold rich production resources. In addition, we also focus on design and customers’ feelings and develop marketable products according to various sale-channels, to increase the added value for the products and greater Competitiveness and profits for the enterprises."

I am not alone as I have seen many other handmade products on this site and they are blatently copying and reselling our work. I sent them a mail but doubt very much that I will ever get a reply. 
CufflinksOEM.com
custom made cufflinks manufacturer & wholesaler:lnbbc.com.cn

Vintage Button Cufflinks - Flaming Bomb

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• Model: BE-0528095701

• Payment Terms:T/T,Western Union,paypal
• Place of Origin: Guangzhou,China (Mainland)
• Minimum Order Quantity: 50 Pair/Pairs
• Delivery Time: 7-10 work days for sample order, 20-35 days for mass production.
• Productivity: 30000 Pair/Pairs per Month
• Unit Price/Payment: 40% Deposit,60% Balance Before Shipping
• Transportation:by Express DHL, FedEx, UPS, TNT or EMS...
• Standard: Per Customer Request
• Export Markets: North America,South America,Eastern Europe,Southeast Asia,Africa,Mid East,Western Europe
• Price:Get Latest Price

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Ardeche in Sepia Mode

On a trip to Ardeche  where the weather was not playing nicely, however, I decided to get a few snaps in all the same, and as they were a bit washed out, the sepia gave them back the old worldy look. The town was virtually destroyed during the religious wars and has since been rebuilt but there still remain a few of the original houses. Situated South east of the centre of France and named after the river Ardeche. I found it very atmospheric and the people were extremely friendly.