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Saturday, 5 May 2012
Présentation est tout. .(scribbled at 15:00 )
I’d rather not reveal how materialistic I can be at times,
but much of my Wednesday morning happiness determines on whether or not I
manage to grab of copy of that week’s
Stylist
Magazine on my commute to work.
Last Wednesday was one of those rare occasions when there was not
a smidgen of anything in relation to ShortListMedia in sight, so I had to get
my fix online. I came across this beautiful article penned by Cherish Finder,
head pastry chef of The Langham, illustrating the importance of presentation
when baking.
 |
| © STYLIST |
This in turn got me thinking about well-designed crockery. For those who read the occasional trashy
women’s magazine, it crops up everywhere that good quality underwear is everything to a woman (apparently it
boosts confidence, makes your outfit look 100x better etc. etc.) Well, with
that in mind, I think the same rule of thumb can be applied to baking… I know
there’s that shit saying that a good worker would never blame his tools, but
having good quality bake ware really does make a difference! Cheaply made tins
can affect the cake’s end result, so it’s worth investing in a product that’s
totally heavyweight and durable. Brands are of little importance here; I’ve
sought many a good quality bun train from Sainsbury’s!
It's also great to indulge in quirky one off pieces too though, so when pay day approaches this month, I am most definitely purchasing this beast! Created by
Williams Sonoma, it's a brilliant conversation starter during afternoon tea...
and in celebration of the Diamond Jubilee, Topshop started retailing this cupcake accessory pack earlier this week, although having just checked its website, it's now sold out...
and from John Lewis...
Am suddenly getting urges to bake for good ole' Lizzy!
V x
Labels: Bakewear, Baking and Patisserie, Cherish Finder, Cupcakes, Jubilee Baking, Stylist Magazine, The Langham, Topshop Cupcakes, Williams Sonoma Giant Cupcake
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
HAPPY SHROVE TUESDAY. .(scribbled at 04:30 )
Due to lack of lemon, syrup and ice cream in my kitchen, the delights of this year's Shrove Tuesday consisted of 30 vanilla cupcakes, iced with a soft chocolate butter icing.
I opted for this light buttery icing as opposed to the usual frosting they use on cupcakes, as it delves into the realms of being too sickly (and FAR too time consuming to decorate 30 cupcakes anyway! )
Et voilà.
Did you know Silver Spoon retail their own Strawberry flavour chocolate buttons?
GENIUS.
Labels: Baking and Patisserie, BBC Good Food, Buttercream Icing, Cupcakes, Fairy Cakes, Strawberry Chocolate Buttons
Friday, 17 February 2012
Wall text: Giclée print. .(scribbled at 00:13 )
A mere 2 days later after arriving into London on Sunday
night, I was heading off to Birmingham in pursuit of other art related
adventures.
Prior to the opening of Ikon Gallery’s Hamish Fulton and
Sarah Browne’s exhibitions, I spent the afternoon in an artist studio in
Digbeth.
This is a tiny sneaky peek of Alexi K’s studio which is not
too far away from the old Minerva Works. It’s a really cool space, with masses of
natural light illuminating the room. We ended up talking about conceptual art
for about 2 hours, and then went onto a rather lengthy discussion about whether
or not the medium of painting has completely vanished from today’s art scene. I was quite gutted
afterwards really, because the day I went back to London they held a discussion
on this very subject at Eastside Projects.
I hope Alexi won’t mind me putting this photograph on too…
 |
| I covet this painting. SO much. |
After wolfing down the last remaining handcrafted cupcakes
we shared, I went along to Ikon’s exhibition opening. I didn’t get round to
seeing much of Sarah Browne’s work, as I spent most of the evening admiring
Fulton’s work on the top floor.
I really like Fulton’s work. Born in London in 1946, he
actually didn’t commence his long
walks until 1971. This work created for Ikon is rather outstanding, but I’m
quite big on his early practice too. There’s this notion of walks being
incomplete, which is rather odd to be honest (how can a walk be incomplete?). I
came across this little snippet of a conversation between him and an interviewer
from many years ago:
Interviewer: What is the connection between the walking and the photographs?
Fulton: The connection is that they are
opposite, the walk is the country and the artwork is the city
I’m still musing over what that means…
P.S, I’m going on a walk with Hamish Fulton on Easter
Sunday. Wee bit excited already.
Labels: Alexi K, ART DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE, Cupcakes, Digbeth, Eastide Projects, Hamish Fulton, Ikon Gallery, Painting Show, PV, Sarah Browne, Walking
