The Organopónico Eddoe Experiment ~ Day 84

Just a quick and final update on the The Organopónico Eddoe Experiment. The eddoes have been planted out in the garden for the last month or so and are putting on a decent rate of growth with leaves getting larger and larger and new leaves appearing every 5 days or so. I'm growing them organically so all they've been fed is a little home made fish fertiliser and regular drinks courtesy of the water butt. The outcome of the experiment is that £8 worth of eddoe tubers will create around £100 of lush tropical planting (if purchased in the above state from specialist garden centres) and I should be able to harvest a crop of eddoes for eating and growing on next year.

Ashburton Cookery School

The reason for my bloggy absence has been down to attending a 4 week Diploma Course at Ashburton Cookery School. Amazingly this top culinary school is one of the best in the country so I'm lucky to have it pretty much on my South Devon doorstep. I habitually seek out organic, local and sustainable produce so the school is a kindred spirit in that regard--in most cases provenance is just as important as the recipe itself and execution of it. Above, my organic Chelsea Buns with organic sultanas, currants, candied fruit, locally produced butter, Riverford Organic milk and Doves Farm flour of course.

The Diploma Course is made up of 10 students and 4 chef tutors who are exceptionally knowledgeable, experienced, charming and inspirational. It's fun to be a student again and to be challenged not only with fab recipes but getting my hands on exceptional local produce as well--venison, live crab, lemon sole, hand dived scallops, free range organic duck and chicken--the list goes on. I thought I knew a thing or two about pastry before the course but seemingly overnight I've grown in skill, ratcheting up my ability to produce !WOW! factor meals eaten previously for fancy money and now I can reproduce it confidently at home. Above, shaped teardrop of dark and white chocolate filled with raspberry mousse and served with raspberry coulis.

My fellow students are a great gang who all have varying reasons for being away from home just to concentrate on cooking in what is to me the best place in the UK--South Devon--for seafood, dairy products, quality meat and game etc. The only shame is that Ashburton isn't known to have any fabulous places to eat nor drink...which is odd!!! Ashburton is a pretty town surrounded by lovely countryside and peppered with quality local food producers so there is no excuse for the numerous mediocre restaurants, bistros and cafes dotted around the place. Ashburton Cookery School is open pretty much open 365 days of the year to transform the mediocrity.

Above, smoked haddock and leek quiche with summer salad.

Above, wild Scottish salmon, petit pois and saffron risotto

Above, Treacle Tart with raspberry coulis and clotted cream

Sushi Nori with soya sauce, wasabi and ginger pickles

Natural Button Showcase

The timeless elegance of natural shell buttons really suits ethical fashion because it fuses tradition, beauty, quality and sustainability into a tiny, functioning, rare detail. The modern lust for 'the bottom line' on garment manufacture has different types of seashell and rivershell (above), bone, antler, horn (below), wood, tagua nut and coconut buttons giving way to the monotony of plastic. Natural buttons are slow to produce, something actually has to grow in order to be punched into a button--coconuts drilled, antlers sliced, bones polished, tagua nuts picked on tiny plantations etc. And then when modern buttonhole machines came along to lash buttons to garments, well, the naturalness of natural buttons just could not stand up to the rigours of blasting buttons like bullets through the button-holer during mass manufacture. They turned to dust.

Photos on this blog are taken from the button stock at the Quail studio. Buffalo horn buttons from India (above). They are not plastic. They glow at certain angles. Natural buttons are ordered by 'the piece' or per button. Plastic buttons tend to be ordered by the kilogram.
Coconut is certainly a sustainable material (above). A food by product and the million and one ways to use the coconut palm in the tropical economy. Coconut buttons are tough as nails, standing up to any washing machine and probably the most obvious looking eco-button.

Thicker shell buttons (above) tend to be sourced from marine shells as freshwater shell (very top photo) ends to be thin, elegant and with a mother of pearl essence attributes which are favoured for ladies fashion or by the Pearly Kings and Queens of East London. Buttons that men can get hold of are thick seashell, wood and coconut. Not many buttons can be punched from an individual shell whether it be a marine or not--a fact worth pondering. I suspect that technically speaking some shell buttons on the market might actually be, er, snails. Nothing wrong with that, I'm sure they are very beautiful.

No one handsews buttons these days...or do they? Yes, we do. Eleven thick shell buttons on Quail's weekend mens shirt.

Real Furniture: Drawing Boards

Husband and I collect industrial furniture. Being both design driven (He's a cartographer, I'm a Quailer) it makes sense to have some decent, workable icons around the studio such as drawing boards. Mine is an antique Admel drawing board, a quintessential piece that we picked up from an ex-Rolls Royce factory in Filton, Bristol. The hardwood top has an attractive worn front edge with ink marks more common on the righthand side and sunbleach stains from where clips held down papers on the other. (Presumably the chap who owned it had a decent window seat and was right handed?) Cast iron feet, weights and mechanisms makes it a hefty piece of furniture but it operates smoothly and easily with the foot adjustment and presumably would suit designers of any stature. It's a practical, comfortable, beautiful, historical item.

Summer Day

Today was an example of why I do what I do. After a bit of time in the studio taking care of orders, Twittering and tidying up for the weekend I heard a little tune that reminded me of a cute summer song from the 80s, Perfect Way from Scritti Politti. It was then time to get outdoors and enjoy another great summer day. I flitted around in the garden watering my favourite tropical plants and herbs--basil is doing awesome in this heat--and then sat and read a great book listening to birds twittering all around me.

Chap Shirts...it's purple but what kind of purple?

Colour naming, especially for menswear is a struggle for me. As founder, owner, operator, manager and marketer of all things Quail I am going with 'Lavender' as a colour description for this shirt. 'Pale Purple' is too much of a tongue twister, maybe even patronising. 'Lilac' is conjures up images of grandmother and cottage doorways (though romantic) but I wonder if men know about lilac in the non-gardening sense. 'Heather' is a possibility and I'm also tempted by 'Thistle'.

For the Shortsleeved Weekend Shirt I chose a plain blue contrast for the inner yoke and collar but have also used the aqua paisley by request of a retail customer and then went on to produce a seven sizes set for a shop in England's Peak District which worked really well.

Limited edition Kimono Top

Bolts of traditional Japanese kimono fabric are little over 40cm wide--which is a key consideration when doing the pattern cutting for Quail--to construct a garment using incredibly narrow strips.

Print designs for kimono are hugely diverse but I'm a particular fan of the geometric designs which are distinct, exotic and funky! Vintage kimono bolts are often little more than 15m long and in the case of this particular pattern I had 2m x 45cm to work with!

The nearly-black navy blue kimono geometric print used in the above kimono has been married with royal purple organic cotton. Our model, Heidi, loves this particular one! This kimono top is a one off and is available to purchase as a limited edition via the website link above.

Summer Kimono Tops

Quail's Kimono Tops are available in two colourways, Merlot (Top) and Saffron (Below). Designed and made in England using organic and Fairtrade cotton.

Available in UK Sizes 8-20.

Shirt Pattern Archive

After a successful run of the Box Pleat Shirt, Quail will retire the pattern for awhile. Fans can still procure one at a special discounted price, some colourways and sizes have sold out but once the stockroom is empty Quail will down tools on this particular pattern and add it to our archive.

Quail Summer Photo Shoot

Emily Dress in beautiful blue shweshwe fabric.

The Organopónico Eddoe Experiment ~ Day 45

I promised an update on my eddoes! Read the history here. Firstly, I ended up bringing my 15 pots of eddoes to a large windowsill indoors because I realised they really needed some warmth to get a proper start and the coldframe really was too ambicious. Although I am based on the soutwest coast of England (Devon) and bananas, canna lillies and calla lillies do well, it's still not exactly tropical!!! I read that eddoes take a long time to get going which is certainly true. The tubers have to chit (form growing buds) and be coaxed to life by warm, damp soil in a sunny position. Here we are on the 27th May and 15+ eddoe tubers were planted 13th March. Visable signs of growth has only taken place in the last week or so. Weeks earlier I was impatient so I dug up a few eddoes to check what was happening below the soil: the tubers were beginning to send out roots and in some cases 'eyes' were forming, which turned into horns that poked through the soil and a tiny leaf bud appears (above).

The leaf quickly unfurls in a couple of days before it puts on another growth spurt (above and below) with another leaf stalk forming at the base of the first (below). What these three photos represent is the 45th day of the Organopónico Eddoe Experiment.

I have 15 pots on the go, some with 1-3 tubers each. Five or so are already forming the beautiful, lush, bright green, tropical leaf effect that I am striving for, four more pots have 'horns' poking through and the others have probably at least formed a root system. I have one rotten casualty! The weather in the last couple of weeks has really proved we're in summer growing mode so expect more beautiful surprises from the eddoe experiment in the future.

Fistral Tunic cut on the bias

The Fistral Tunic has proved to be Quail's pick of the lot during Whitsun long weekend. The bias cut is more obvious in the striped cotton (Raspberry and Magenta striped available) but is is available to order in every conceivable Quail colourway by request.

Brixham Colours 10

It's Brixham Heritage Week which means that the pontoons are stacked up with beautiful heritage working boats including those from Trinity, which are based in Brixham and the Vigilance of course which we saw today under full sail. Other classic boats were visiting including the FY357 from Fowey, Cornwall (above).

Victorian Cotton Mills and Fashion ~ Part 2

Queen Street Mill Textile Museum in the Harle Syke district of Burnley, Lancashire, England was one of the filming locations for the internal shots of the working cotton mill seen in 'North and South' (above). Considerable research on filming locations has been compiled by a fansite here which doubles as an interesting itinerary for anyone interested in textiles, the Victorian era and the Industrial Revolution. An insight into a working cotton mill, work conditions etc can be seen here.

Victorian Cotton Mills and Fashion ~ Part 1

Elizabeth Gaskell's 'North and South' is an English novel published in instalments in 1853-4 and a much coveted TV adaptation from the BBC starring Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe. Set in a fictional northern mill town of Milton this socially historic novel is most definitely a restrained love story plus it offers a contrast of middle class and working class lifestyles bridged by the emergence of the successful Victorian merchant. The North and South cultural division of the Industrial Revolution (centred largely centred in the industrial north of England) vs the assumed richer, lighter south offers the reader and viewer an insight into the daily realities of a Victorian cotton mill worker and employer and inevitably, the cotton consumer.
Gentlemen wore white starched shirts with simple, stand up collars and simple, tied cravats, usually black. Hair was short and beards made way for a clean-shaven look with accompanying long sideburns. Watch North and South here, buy it here or borrow it here.

Eat Local, Buy Local, Grow Local!

Poster design by Chris Silas Neal.

Quail flies into the Peak District

Eco Eco, in England's gorgeous Peak District, is now stocking a variety of organic cotton shirts for men and key pieces from Quail's ladies collection in the village of Hope, Derbyshire. As well as selling other Fairtrade and environmentally conscious brands of clothing, jewellery and accessories, Eco Eco has a second 'Home' shop nearby where they stock beautiful things for your house and garden, including eco friendly cleaning products and non toxic paints, bird feeders and organic cosmetics and body care. The two Eco Eco shops are owned and operated by Alison Jackson-Bass and both are located in the lovely village of Hope supplying the local community and holiday makers with eco/ethical products which have gained Eco Eco a Peak Distrct National Park's Environmental Quality Mark and are members of Ethical Junction. Both Eco Eco shops are open Tuesday thru Sunday.

Eco Eco Ltd
The Old Bank
2 Castleton Road
Hope, Derbyshire
S33 6RD
Tel: 01433 623113
www.eco-eco.co.uk
Google Map

Organic Cotton Shirt Offer

Splurge on an organic and Fairtrade cotton Box Pleat Shirt from Quail for an amazing price of £18.00 including P&P (Non-UK customers welcome: £20.00 including P&P). Available in White, Aquamarine, Poppy Red, Merlot, Grape, Coral Pink, Saffron and Sand. Mussel shell buttons, two pleated patch pockets, cowboy yoke and box pleat to back. Cut on the bias!!!

A nice nod from the GIN Lady

The GIN Lady has had some very kind things to say about Quail's collection of mens shirts. The GIN Lady herself is Under the influence of Green, Independent & Natural brands.

Summer music: Penguin Cafe Orchestra

The Quail studio is a great place to work and listen to music. A bright-ish sunny Devon day today meant that listening to a spot of Penguin Cafe Orchestra was in order. The music of the PCO may mystify some folk but I assure you that you must have heard and loved their music before--somewhere. "Telephone and Rubber Band" or "Music for a Found Harmonium" are tunes you may have heard before but I love "Ecstasty of Dancing Fleas". Both are what I would describe as 'cute music'. I mean what song isn't cute when a ukulele is involved! And don't you just love the artwork on their album cover? (Emily Young, album cover artist ) Listen here and here or see them at Glastonbury or other dates on their Summer Tour, details of which are on the PCO homepage.

What is Slow Fashion and what does it mean to Quail?

Slow Fashion is a movement where clothing is produced in such a way that proper value is added when producing a garment by way of design, raw material, ethical manufacture and marketing. In Quail's case, Product Provenance (please read) is something that illustrates Slow Fashion in practice. Organic, non-GM cotton grown, ginned and handwoven under Fairtrade conditions is the start of the process of Quail's Slow Fashion ethos. The process continues by way of design and manufacturing. Just as people recognise ‘Local’, ‘Home grown’, ‘In Season’ and ‘Organic’ food, there ought to be a rejuvenated pride in fashion ‘Made in Britain’ or any country for that matter. In the UK, fashion colleges continuously churn out graduates every year. Where on earth are those graduates working now? Answer: Often for mainstream high street labels—labels which all too often exploit textile workers and garment manufacturers in developing countries—and often fashion designers, pattern cutters, pattern graders and textile designers end up working in less-creative, fashion-related jobs such as clothing buyers, clothing retail, fashion education and lecturing. Starting from scratch, Quail commissions British fashion graduates and uses small, independent cut, make and trim units in Devon (southwest England) to manufacture small lines of high quality fashion. Light and creative manufacturing ought to be the backbone of the countryside, creating rural employment for men and women of all ages, innovation and products with real local significance.

Romping Organoponico

Last year I established my herb organoponico and this year I am able to properly harvest and use my kitchen garden without fear of overgrazing! Mint is my favourite herb at the moment because it is absolutely romping away--growing inches within days it seems--which is conveniently coinciding with my homemade tzatziki fix. All the herbs are doing well in fact and I have already had a few wild rocket salads and chopped the chives twice this week alone. Earlier this year I added four additional rocket plants to my rocket patch because last year I harvested rocket salad 2-3 per week and this year I want more, more, more!!! Considering how easy wild rocket is to raise from seed and that it is slug resistant and a great candidate for 'cut and come again', I wonder why packaged rocket at the supermarket is so expensive. This year no plastic packaged salad or herbs will be passing over my threshold, instead my organoponico will keep Husband and I in the green stuff.

Quail as Folk

I stumbled upon Quail Diary today, a well-written, humorous blog about the life and times of seven quails belonging to a London downsizer (photo from Quail Diary owner: Pottingshedder, above). The residents of Quail Towers at times perplex their fledgling human owners with mysterious overnight monk hairstyles, neibourhood wildlife encroachment and even a sex change of a quail called Dick--Quail Diary is a bit of a quail soap opera really. Meanwhile my own busines of operating a sustainable clothing label called Quail has lead to gamebird keepers up and down the land and across the world to stumble upon my blog looking for answers...namely how to 'dress a quail' in the edible way! Quail keeping is something I have considered but wonder if it might be bad karma to consume...one's self!!! Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) can be ironic at times!!!

Bramley Apple Chutney

The quintessential British apple is the Bramley and my personal favourite. Husband and I only buy British apples and we enjoy Bramleys all winter long to make pies, apple sauce and apple crumble. 2009 marks the Bicentenary of the Bramley apple, which has a fascinating history. Visit the official website for the Bramley apple and read about the fascinating history and try some great new recipes. Here is my recipe for Bramley Apple Chutney. This recipe makes about seven x 350ml jars of fantastic homemade chutney. It's a leisurely all day affair to make chutney with plenty of chopping and stirring therapy, but well worth it in the end because friends and family never, ever refuse a handout.

1.5kg Bramley apples (about 5 or 6 large ones)
500g onions
500g sultanas or raisins
750g sugar (Demerara perhaps)
500ml of white wine vinegar
Zest and juice of two lemons
1 small chilli
1 t ground ginger
1 t ground allspice
½ t cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves
½ t sea salt
8 peppercorns
1 T of mustard seed

To sterilise jars place in a cool oven – 130oC for 15-20mins. Do this step shortly before you want to pour your chutney into your hot jars.

You'll need your largest pot with at least 3 litres of volume. Peel, core and chop apples into 1" cubes and add them to the pot and turn the heat on high. Finely chop the onions and add them to the pot. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved, then reduce heat. Simmer very gently with bubbles barely breaking the surface, for at least 4hrs and keep an eye on it, stirring your chutney every half hour. If there is too much heat, your chutney will scorch and burn on the bottom of the pot...spoiling the flavour so make sure the heat isn't too high. When you first start timing your chutney it will seem quite syrupy and thin--don't worry the next 4hrs is all about the reduction and melding of all those vibrant flavours. The raisins will balloon and caramelise--gorgeous! The chutney will gradually change colour from gold to dark chestnut during the cooking process. Your chutney is ready when you can draw a spoon across the surface and it leaves a definite track. If your jars are not yet freshly sterilised and hot, do this step now. Ladle or funnel your hot chutney into hot, sterilised jars with clean plastic-lined lids. Label your jars and store in a cool, dry place and leave to cure for at least 1 month--perfect at 3 months. You can cheat and have a ploughmans lunch with a bit of your spare chutney tomorrow and dream of a great chutney future!!!

Amelie Top Offer...slightly imperfect but still cute

From time to time I have seconds for sale, or items of clothing which are perfectly brand new but have some sort of small flaw or defect. I have one green Amelie Top in Size 8 (pictured above) available at the bargain price of £9 down from £49 -- a saving of 80%!!! It has a small fabric flaw on the back shoulder blade which has been repaired. If you are interested in this bargain send an email using the Quail By Mail profile page here. Price includes postage. This offer is available within the UK only.

A Bureaucracy Too Far

I discovered by shock horror that my Canadian passport is getting close to its expiry date so I have set aside an entire week to attend to the hoop jumping. The timing could not be worse seeing as one of the forms I require: Form PPTC 132, 'Statutory Declaration in Lieu of Guarantor' is currently in the news as being a contentious issue marred by slight scandal. The form should be downloadable from various Canadian passport office websites but links have been disabled. This sort of came to a head this week, right when I am in the middle of collecting all my bits and bobs of bureaucracy, such as that photo of me (above) which must be done in a photographer's studio to precise 'face size' measurements, photopaper weight, austere expression etc etc. I honestly do not mind collecting the paperwork and doing the necessary but when necessary forms are made unavailable, it really is a bureaucracy too far.

Lemon Shortbread Biscuits

Prince Charles' Duchy Originals brand do a very lovely lemon shortbread biscuit. This is my recipe (pictured above). Made from beautifully simple organic and Fairtrade ingredients, my biscuits are sort of Duchy-esque! I made simple round biscuits but there are some funky and festive cutters out there in bake shops to temp you. I think the zest of one lemon is the minimum requirement, so would be wonderful with extra zest. Orange zest might be worth a try too!

175g plain flour (Doves Farm, organic)
1 lemon, zest only (Fairtrade) (Keep the lemon juice)
110g butter, softened (Yeo Valley, organic)
50g caster sugar (Traidcraft, Fairtrade)

Preheat the oven to 180 c/Gas 4. Put flour, lemon rind in a large bowl and rub in the soft butter with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and bring the mixture together with your hands to form a dough. Try your best to get the dough to form a ball but you can cheat by adding the smallest sprinkle of lemon juice. Roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/2cm and cut into shapes. Place biscuits on a baking tray--they won't spread much so can be put close together. Bake in the oven for 6-10mins or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before lifting biscuits off with a palette knife. If you fancy a refreshing drink put the lemon juice in a tumbler, sprinkle of sugar, mix and fill the glass with cold water and stir well. Delish!

Brixham Colours 9

I took this photo at Breakwater Beach in Brixham today and a few kids were even swimming! Not exactly Summer weather yet but it has been lovely and warm lately.

Wild at Heart does a bit of Shweshwe

Shweshwe fabric rarely appears on TV but I spotted the housekeeper on British ITV's 'Wild at Heart' wearing various shweshwe outfits in blues and browns. South African actress Nomsa Xaba (pictured above) plays the housekeeper 'Nomsa'. The series which recently aired in the UK stars English actor Stephen Tompkinson who plays a veterinarian working on a game reserve in the South African bush.

Quail Mate: Andrea's "Unsung Sewing Patterns"

Today's Quail Mate feature is a blogger from Oregon State in the United States. Andrea is a lady who 'sews and shows' in her Unsung Sewing Patterns blog. As it happens Andrea, who runs a parallel blog called At the Blue Door, found Quail By Mail, so it's that reoccuring theme of being discovered by fellow bloggers who also appreciate vintage sewing patterns and austere fashion detailing, methodology and style. Andrea's 'Unsung Sewing Patterns' has the strap line of: The less fashionable side of home sewing. She specialises in getting hold of antique sewing patterns for utilitarian ladies and menswear from the 19th & 20th centuries and has a go at making them at home--a home with an actual blue door. Andrea sews quite a few house dresses (example of one of her projects above). She's also a cook and a gardener--an impressive cultivator of 8sqft of flat leaved parsley in fact, and is an owner and wearer of snowshoes (!). Quail Mate.

What my town is like

Husband and I have been living in Brixham (Google photo above), a traditional fishing village in England's south west coast for about 18 months now and we're coming into our favourite seaside season: An already great Spring, with the promise of a great Summer. Brixham is a smallish town where multi-generation Brixhamites have to put up with a steady influx of wannabe seaside town dwellers--city folk fed up with the city, retired folk wanting sunnier climes, entrepreneurs interested in impressive broadband speeds--that sort of influx. Mind you, the 'newcomers' have been 'taking the air' in Brixham since Victorian times so I suppose the Brixhamites are pretty used to it. For a newcomer to the seaside, one has to get used to living amongst seagulls. At this time of year they are enamoured with each other which means that nest building and chick squawking isn't far off. I am one with the gull but Husband is not sure. He calls them pterodactyls. I have a thing for tall ships and heritage boats and there's plenty of those, and I also think it interesting to see the freighters anchored in Tor Bay and the greater Lyme Bay pivoting back and forth in the currents. There are more of them than usual as they are probably waiting around for freight in this freight-scarce recession. Brixham has a Napoloneonic Fort, which is all very Hornblower-ish. When we renovated our cottage our born and raised local electrician had a thing for parrots, which seemed a cliche but befitting of a probable descendant of Privateers. Brixham has a very upmarket deli as well as a reputable and deserving bistro with a talented young chef so cappuccinos and fresh hummus are consumed within the town limits. I like that fisherman walk around Brixham in steel toe boots, that there's a resident RNLI Lifeboat, real yachts and yachties and that there's not one but two lighthouses. This is what Brixham is like. Seaside towns shouldn't always be about 'sweetness and light' and pastel perfectly-painted cottages but rather real life, real jobs and real community which is why we think Brixham is a better place to be than Padstow or Salcombe which are too posy and perfect.

New ribboned swing tags for Spring

Behold Quail's latest swing tags in mustard and aqua. I've been having a love affair with the colour mustard for years now which might never end.

Brixham Colours 8

A little white peace bird.

The Guardian recommends Quail...again!

Today The Guardian online kindly mentioned Quail on the front page of their Fashion section and updated details about Quail on their Ethical Fashion Directory, for a second year in a row. The Guardian is a leading British newspaper and just happens to be the world's largest liberal newspaper. Read more news about Quail here.

Dr Hans Rosling I Presume

Husband has turned me on to the enthusiasm of Professor Hans Rosling, a Swedish medical doctor who has reinvented statistical PowerPoint presentations into animated graph candy. Facts and statistics otherwise taken for granted or obscured in statistical geekism are displayed in such a way which gives a slight smack upside the head. Dr Rosling is concerned about the welfare of human beings the world over and presents stark facts in such a humorous and human way to wake the world up and for The West to stop making assumptions about The West. '200 Years That changed the World' is a good video to start with which is available from Gapminder, Dr Rosling's forum for publishing videos of his presentations.

Finally! A visit to the Eden Project!

Husband and I have been meaning to visit the Eden Project for years and considering we now live in the south west of England, sort of ridiculous that we left it so long. I have a thing for Mediterranean and tropical gardening so the contents of the biomes was a bit of a who's who of my favourite plants. Lots of native birds twittering too. Click the photo below to see the finches.

I would have liked to see more variety of plants. I thought the displays repeated the same species and some of the main specimen plants looked no more awe inspiring than a trip to a quality garden centre. There were also a lot of large empty spaces in the biomes with plantings due to appear at some scheduled date. A highlight for me were the flowers on the above agave which had two charmingly tame finches enjoying the nectar.

Chicken Families for Easter

Since the world deserves more Chicken Families plenty more colours are now available on the Quail website. These adorable things are so irresistable to shoppers that people head straight for them when they see them in a shop, pick them up and start playing with them. Adults especially then start grappling with an excuse to purchase one! And a special thanks to Megan Baldwin of New York's and London's Refinery29 for loving them too and giving Quail such an egg-cellent review!

Quail flies into Cornwall

Sand, a new independent clothing shop opening in Wadebridge, Cornwall 1st April 2009 will be stocking Quail's entire collection as well as selling other Fairtrade and environmentally conscious brands of clothing, jewellery and accessories. Sand is owned and operated by Coll Faragher, and the shop is aimed at young and active women with a penchant for an 'off the high street' look with an eco/ethical twist. Located near Padstow, Wadebridge is a year round Cornish town with a real sense of community and buzz. The Sand shop is located in Foundry Court, a beautiful cobbled courtyard which contains a number of interesting independent shops including the reputable Relish cafe and deli which serves excellent organic and Fairtrade coffee.

Sand
Fairtrade, Ethical and Environmentally conscious clothing
Unit 3, Foundry Court
Wadebridge
Cornwall
PL27 7QN
Tel: 01208 814947
www.sandshop.co.uk
Google Maps

Grape hyacinths on the back steps

I planted this little terracotta simpatico of grape hyacinths last autumn and are currently to be found decorating my back steps. They have been in bloom for the last couple of weeks and the rich blue gets slightly paler as they age. Grape hyacinths are adorable, easy to grow, inexpensive, long lasting and I'm pretty sure they multiply quickly too. I love the complementary colours of the blue flowers against the terracotta.

Brixham Colours 7

Georgeous blue sky days lately. Blue and yellow boats with a hint of pink. BM47 is an example of a 'Hull Identity Number' or 'Fishing Boat Registration Number' for Brixham. Dartmouth is DH, Falmouth is FH etc. Every country has their own system, for example the Portuguese use the first and third letter of the home port as their registration number.

More Raspberry and Extra Magenta

The lightweight fabric I use is certainly more suited for Spring/Summer garments and Quail's Lucy and Emily Dresses are all about the stripe. I'm selling out in some colourways. Luckily I have recently taken delivery of bolts of raspberry and magenta stripe complete with the Fairtrade swing tag attached. Being a hand loomed fabric the variation from roll to roll is evident such as the thickness of the raised striped cording and the spacing. Obviously these variations are put there by the loomers themselves making for a much more beautiful product than machine made fabric which is mass produced and mundanely uniform.

The Organopónico Eddoe Experiment

If you are unfamiliar with the word 'organopónico', check out my link below. I've been itching to get cracking in the garden. My herb organopónico, which was largely established last summer, is now full of useful perennials and shrubs. The chives, wild rocket and fennel are surging ahead and 'Old Lady' (my huge rosemary) is in flower and 'Huge Mother' (my huge oregano) is putting on lots of new growth after been pruned hard last Autumn. Anyway--about the Eddoe Experiment. Eddoes are edible tubers, common in Asian, Caribbean and African cooking. Eddoes have a nutty taste a bit like a sweet potato but must be peeled first as they have a tough, shaggy coat. I picked up mine (shown above) from an Asian market. Known officially as Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum, or Elephant's Ear by gardeners, eddoe plants have numerous different cultural names. I'm planting them because they'll evoke an exotic tropical look to my sun terrace amongst my courgettes as double act plants which look beautiful but can be eaten as well. I potted up 15 individual eddoes, covering each tuber with an inch of compost, a light watering and then popped them into a cold frame as they may like a bit of heat to get started. I'll keep you posted on the Eddoe Experiment. I unfurled the plastic sheeting from my banana plant this week and there was already a bright new green leaf waiting to bust out.

Nuovomondo // The Golden Door

I often stumble across excellent indy films whilst flicking channels and tonight I had the good fortune of enjoying "The Golden Door". Being an Italian film, it's also known as "Nuovomondo", (with English subtitles). Set in rural Sicily in 1904 a quirky family (headed by Vincenzo Amato) sets off to America and meet a mysterious Englishwoman (Charlotte Gainsboroug) onboard their steamer. The film is rich with costumes--serviceable homespun garments to admire as well as being a wonderful showcase of exotic tradional costumes from early 20th century Eastern Europe. 'Salvatore', the humorous but grimy Sicilian peasant scrubs up handsomely for some immigration romance. You'll love this film so look out for it!!!

Fairtrade is feminine

It takes one lady in the Fairtrade co-operative in K V Kappam, southern India to hand loom 3m of fabric. Approximately 3m of fabric are required to make this:

Many of the tailors and cloth finishers are women and as their earnings are equal to the men their income allows them to provide for their families. In Devon, where Quail manufactures clothing from the imported fabric, four lady machinists are employed on a contract basis. Quail is now listed in the new Torbay Fairtrade Directory.

Indie Quarter kicks off Fairtrade Fortnight

Jenny from Indie Quarter has kicked off Indie Q's Fairtrade Fortnight theme by featuring Quail! Fairtrade Fortnight is all about the super-promotion and celebration of Fairtrade products. In the downturn of the economy Fairtrade food sales is still going swimmingly but Fairtrade cotton is very inter-connected with the retail market, which is suffering. Read more about Fairtrade Fortnight here.

Slumdog Latika Yellow

From the start, Latika appears in a yellow dress. Rubina Ali (front) plays Youngest Latika in "Slumdog Millionaire" with co-stars Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail (left), Youngest Salim and Ayush Mahesh Khedekar (right), her enduring love interest, Jamal.

Romantic early scenes with a yellow glow.

'Older Latika' in yellow. Actress Freida Pinto in the beautiful but tragic railway station scene where she sees Jamal after a long separation.

Latika in a yellow hajib.

Dev Patel finally gets with Freida (above). Husband took me to see 'Slumdog Millionaire' for my birthday on Friday and I loved it. India is awash with incredible colours. I now have an urge to order some organic cotton handloom in a bright, hot, spicy yellow.

Brixham Colours 6

I interrupt my normal Brixham Colours series to bring you Padstow Colours 1.

Death by Swatches

Swatches and scraps are taking over the studio. This is my current filing system.

The Pet Shop Boys are Outstanding

Tonight at the BRIT Awards the Pet Shop Boys put on an awesome show, having received the "Outstanding Contribution to Music Award". Their clever pop music is still relevant and fresh today as it was in the mid-80s. I suspect tonight's showcase of songs will cause a spike of interest on iTunes. Love them!

Spitalfields Shirt for Women

A classic, long sleeve shirt from Quail at last! Now available from Quail's retail site, the Spitalfields Shirt has already proved popular with wholesale customers who have had a sneak preview. I think the contrast stitching creates a sporty look but it's certainly smart enough for the office. The name Spitalfields is certainly relevant to me on many levels. Spitalfields is in my blood. My maternal family history is in the City of London with great, great, great grandfathers being proprietors of mens tailoring houses near Spitalfields back to the mid 1700's. Spitalfields is still known as a fashion design honey pot with a thriving alternative market of excellent new design and innovation from fashion graduates. I spent many years working on Bishopsgate and witnessed the transformation of Spitalfields from crumbling original homes and shopfronts into a rescued treasure. Thanks Dan Cruickshank!