Reunited with my Moleskine!

It's been too long since I've opened my moleskine sketchbook and drawn, finally today I was in the mood to get something down on paper!

I love the image, its taken from Denny W on Lookbook, check the link out here http://lookbook.nu/look/1176467-PEACE-LOVE-AND-GAP

I chose this image myself, I just liked the image..simple but great!

Its been a while Blogger..

I've realised I haven't posted anything for a while now but it has been a busy time.
The highlight of my summer has been going holiday to the Philippines. It had been 10 years since I had visited last and even though my stay was a very short 2 weeks I loved everyday of it. Being surrounded by family surprised me how much it can affect happiness and over there. Despite being a third world country with a lack of money in everyday life, having family around you can make life so much happier and easy going. It is such a totally different way of life to London, here so many people just live to work without being able to go home at the end of the day and truly relax with family. Whilst in Philippines I wondered why people can't be relaxed like this in London despite earning a salary per hour of someone who earns the same amount in one day in Philippines. Being surrounded by so much greenery and open space was lovely too, it felt so much more fresh than a concrete clad London! I don't know why I left it so long to visit Philippines but I definately know it is a country close at heart that I want to go back to for many years to come :)

Hidden Valley, Philippines

Flower at Hidden Valley, Philippines

Taal Volcano, Philippines

I'm a Sneaker Freaker!

Ok, so I'm in my final stages at uni and underway with stack loads of work to do. Ive been looking into trainers as a concept for a design project since it's something I love, but it's also torture at the same time because there's so many beautiful trainers I want to buy! The great thing about researching into trainers is that I've learnt so much about the history of trainers and feel like I know what I'm buying in terms of what models are classics and the story behind the different brands, which may I say are very interesting. I was surprised by what the oldest trainer brand actually is.
Yesterday I went to size? in London and the array of trainers is fantastic, all the brands you could expect, plus more, including vintage, retro, customised and exclusive editions. I was finally able to pick up some trainer magazines too, which I was beginning to think were non-existent in shops! I picked up the latest edition of Sneaker Freaker which retails at $10 and Sole, retailing at $7.99. size? were selling both for £4.99 so it was a reasonable price. Sneaker Freaker is a quirky little magazine, showcasing a whole breadth of trainers for the sneaker connaiseur with interesting interviews with collectors and new launches. Sole is a dedicated basketball trainer magazine with lovely photographs of trainer details and plenty of interviews with basketball stars. Looks like i'll be heading back to size? more often to get my issues...not to mention a new pair of trainers too :)
On a quick note, my asos satchel bag that I've been wanting for so long is back in stock at last! Snapped up that straightaway, so cant wait to get it in the post :) Loving the new free delivery aswell, makes it all the more tempting to shop there now...

My Website!

Finally have my website up and running thanks to a helpful and talented someone! It features some of my work that I've done within fashion. Hope everyone can enjoy it!


Check it out:  www.nataliecarfora.co.uk

The thing about menswear...

Since I was younger, it had always been about designing clothes for women..dresses, skirts..all things pretty and feminine. However, once I delved into my first menswear project, this all changed. I always thought menswear would not appeal to me, I had this pre-conceived idea that menswear should be designed by men, since it's men who would wear it and know what's good or not. But that's never really been the case and I've been proved outright wrong! Menswear is about detail, shape..the attention to finer things. I've actually become so much more drawn to design menswear than womenswear because of this. However, having done my final major project on womenswear I am tugging between the two, which is frustrating! But the advantage is that I appreciate womenswear in a different light, so rather just having body clinging silhouettes, there is room to explore for more loose relaxed fitting clothes. The effect of menswear also has me buying much more looser relaxed clothing, something I used to totally avoid! Not to mention it's more comfy aswell! I cannot say whether it's mens or womenswear that I enjoy working with more, but I do know that menswear is like the dark horse. It may look like it is simple to design but with clever thought and attention to detail, it can be more successful than womenswear. Maybe it's about time we give more credit to menswear designers...?

Recently...

Haven't posted anything up here for a while now, been super busy all day and every night! Just a quick post to talk about the iPod classic I bought a few days ago, its a 120gb to replace my 8gb which at the time, I thought 8gb is more than enough, but 2 years later, it proved me wrong! I LOVE my new classic, its massive capacity is going to keep me happy for a good few years, I've found some podcasts of catwalk shows and adding my favourite tv show to keep me occupied on those boring train journeys...One Tree Hill! =)  I love this show, the music, storyline, actors (cheesy at times ) , well pretty much all of it lol. Peyton's artwork which is actually done by Helen Ward is always a bonus of the programme too, wish I could have her bedroom. Maybe I should start drawing on my walls too..? *_^

Pen to paper...

I've had SO much uni work to do lately I haven't had any time just to sit, relax and chill out. Every day is a late night working till the early hours and waking up midday, but still exhausted! I always thought doing a fashion degree would involve mostly hand drawing but it seems that a lot of computer work takes over. I miss just being able to sit, chill back with some music while drawing..it probably sounds really lame but I love to draw! ^_^ I guess it's my little escape where I'm free doing what I like. The last time I really had a chance to do this was last summer, thats way too long now! I have a pocket sized moleskine book that my brother gave me and I vow to fill it up with all kinds of drawings..even if it takes me a long time lol. Here's what I've done in my moleskine so far, I really love drawing the body as it's full of different shapes. I took life drawing classes at college which is where my fascination probably started for drawing the body, I had about 15 finished drawing pieces but never got them back from my teacher after marking which I'm still bitter about! grrr! :( I was actually really proud of some of them, maybe I should hunt her down to get them back hmmm. Heres the sketches I've done so far in my moleskine, for these sketches I focused on shapes created by the hands...

A Blogging Newbie..

So I've just set up a blog page after debating it for a while, and hope to share thoughts and intrests with a whole lot of people! I'm currently in the last few months of my fashion degree so my mind is always spilling with creative ideas, sometimes at inconvenient times like when you just want to sleep! Let's see what blogging has in store for me!