Beauty journalists and founders of Getthegloss.com, Susannah Taylor and Sarah Vine, are VIP guests at this week’s Brushes with Greatness beauty event. This Wednesday, the two beauty aficionados will be holding limited one-on-one consultations where they will aim to troubleshoot and discuss all your health and beauty dilemmas with their wealth of experience and unbiased advice. Join the pair again from 6pm for a special Barefaced Beauty masterclass and group discussion where they will share their insider tips together with rum cocktails and exciting goodie bags!

Getthegloss.com was launched by Susannah and Sarah on the principle that you can have beauty and brains! Edited by  themselves, it’s an all-singing, all-dancing directory of the best products and services in the industry with great writing, expert advice and recommendations seven days a week. The website enables you to explore everything from the latest breakthrough products and answers to your burning beauty questions, to watching industry professionals in action on their TV pages and interacting with handpicked experts in live web chats.

As part of Brushes with Greatness, our week-long beauty insider event in store, Sarah and Susannah have plucked their favourite products straight from the Liberty beauty hall in a special edit that could change your skincare and beauty regime for life.

Weleda Skin Food – £8.95

“This celebrity favourite is one of our regular go-tos. Skin Food indeed, this product is not only nourishing and hydrating it’s also incredibly soothing even for the driest of skin. Use as an overnight mask to revitalise a dull, lack-lustre complexion.”
Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer – £52

“The best primer we’ve ever tried, not only does this little gem have a super silky texture and oil minimising properties (which actually work), it also helps make-up stay budge-proof all day. Plus, it minimises pores, fine lines and wrinkles as well as having an SPF.”
Le Labo Rose 31 50ml – £95

“A modern classic and a firm favourite with the ‘Glossy Posse’, this bewitching scent is a combination of Centifolia Rose, spicy and woody notes.”
REN Moroccan Rose Otto Bath Oil – £30

“A cult, best-selling bath oil that smells as lusciously indulgent as it sounds. Deeply hydrating, it leaves skin soothed and nourished with one of the most exquisite rose scents on the market.”
JAO Goe Oil – £32

“An all-natural treatment oil, this is one of those products that’ll have you wondering how you ever lived without it. Its multi-purpose properties means it wears many beauty ‘hats’, from the ultimate skin emollient (it soothes even the most dry, chapped or rough skin) to an eye make-up remover or a hair styling cream – the possibilities are endless.”
Kiehls Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Whipped Body Butter – £36

“This luxe body butter is lightweight yet deeply hydrating, leaving skin super soft and hydrated for 24 hours. With such an addictive comforting scent it’s hard not to keep reaching for more!”

Anne Semonin Botanical Body Oil – £71

“A firm favourite of beauty professionals, this body oil combines many soothing, protecting essential oils to create a formula which is as revitalising and nourishing as it is hydrating. Super soft, beautifully fragrant skin guaranteed.”
Essie Nail Polish in Luxedo – £10.95

“Channel your inner Daisy Buchanan with this charming plum black; the new Rouge Noir.”
Decléor Aroma Sculpt Firming Gel Cream – £43

“A multi-tasking body cream, this product is designed to firm, tighten and nourish the skin whilst boosting cell renewal and skin elasticity. What’s more it imparts a really natural-looking sun kissed tan for disguising the most pallid of skin tones.”

As a beauty editor and stylist, Sophie has worked with numerous high profile titles and brands, leading her to work with the very best make-up and beauty products in the industry. Her opinions, tips and insider knowledge are second to none. Sophie has also worked with cancer support charity, Look Good… Feel Better, and having recently recovered from cancer herself, she knows all about the power of make-up and what it can do for a woman’s confidence. You can read about Sophie’s personal journey on her blog, sophiefeelsbetter.blogspot.co.uk, and all about her passion for beauty in the pages of Elle UK.

Discover which amazing products from the Liberty beauty hall are inside Sophie’s make-up bag:

Le Labo Santal 33
“The ultimate unusual concoction of 33 ingredients, including my favourites (leather and smoky wood), make this a reliable compliment-fodder. What else do you need from a fragrance?”

Ellis Faas Mascara
“A beauty insider’s secret – this blackest black formula does all the lengthening, separating and beautifying I could ever want from a mascara.”

Hourglass Liquid lipstick in Icon
“Some kind of lipstick wizardry. Goes on wet and glossy, dries to a velvet matte in seconds with the best colour pay-off and longevity I’ve found.”

NARS blusher in Lustre
“My perfect blusher/bronzer hybrid. A sort of coral taupe that sculpts and plumps at the same time (down to the clever shimmer to colour ratio).”

Laura Mercier Oil Free Tinted Moisturiser
“No BB cream can eclipse this iconic classic for me. The tint and medium sheer formula corrects all sorts of flaws so I only need a light dusting of mineral powder over the top.”

One of our visiting experts is fashion model and writer of cult beauty and lifestyle blog, A Model Recommends, Ruth Crilly. Having modelled for over 10 years, working with high profile brands such as Swatch, Olay and Myla Lingerie, and appearing on various shoots for magazines such as Elle, Vogue, Glamour and Grazia both in the UK and all over the world, Ruth has acquired first hand experience that enables her to offer unbiased, truthful tips, secret tricks and insider beauty knowledge that you can usually only find in magazines and through working within the industry.

As a model, Ruth needs to have perfect skin, hair and nails at all times, and as a result she has developed a genuine and deep interest in skincare, cosmetics, diet and body maintenance. She is constantly on the prowl for bigger and better products that will lift, tone, brighten, polish and enhance; if they make the grade she writes about them on her blog and if they don’t work out she discards them.

If you’re dying to know what’s inside a model’s make-up bag, look no further – Ruth has shared with us the contents of hers:

Shu Eyelash Curler

“I bought mine ten years ago and haven’t ever needed to buy another. That’s what I call an investment! In terms of make-up tools, it’s the one that makes the most instant impact – even before mascara, curling my lashes really makes my eyes look awake and wide.”

Shop >

Chantecaille Just Skin

“A beautiful texture with a sheer, healthy colour. I depend on tinted moisturisers for most “off duty” days and I want them to do more than just even out my skin tone. I like to know that I’m getting some skincare benefits too.”

Shop >

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder 

“This is a relatively new find for me but it’s incredible! I use it as a finishing powder to give a veil of glow over the surface of my skin, and it’s unbelievably light so I don’t feel that it’s adding another layer.”

Shop >

Laura Mercier Radiance Primer

“Frequently reached for on days when nothing else will work to hide dull, tired skin. This is mega-watt; it beams through even fairly heavy foundation! I sometimes add a small amount to foundation too, if I want to limit the wattage of the glow.”

Shop >

NARS Tinted Moisturiser in Alaska

“An excellent base. Very dewy and glowy but it doesn’t sit heavily on the skin at all. It blends easily and comes in a good range of shades to suit both yellow and pink undertoned skins.”

Shop >

We caught up with this multi talented textile artist to find out how she got started, and how she went from sewing enthusiast to published expert. After winning a competition in Leicester last year she now runs workshops offering lessons to all different levels, from school and community workshops, to one to one teaching.

“My fascination with the techniques started when I worked in the Victoria and Albert Museum and ran guided tours of the fashion galleries. I wanted to know how the extraordinary pleated decorations on 18^th century Mantua gowns were created, so I experimented with fabric, studied and admired many costumes and read a lot of books. Since then I have specialised in fabric manipulation and have been using a wide range of techniques to create my own textile artworks. Fabric manipulation includes the art of folding, stitching, cutting and layering fabric to create amazing textures, patterns and effects in fabric. These skills can be used to turn a two dimensional piece of fabric into a three dimensional art form that can be used as wall art decoration, or added to garments and accessories for embellishment.”

Ruth is an advocate of the endless possibilities with folding, stitching and embellishing fabric and teaches us how we can sew economically with no wastage.

“I’m always keen to be environmentally-friendly in my sewing and hate to create waste that won’t be used. I put all my fabric leftovers into a scrap box at my studio for people to use when I run various workshops. If you can up-cycle an existing garment or home product and give it a new lease of life by embellishing it with your creations, then you have achieved two sustainability goals in one go.

One example of adding an item to a garment is this origami-inspired corsage (shown above). You will need to make six aeroplane folds as shown here, each made from a 7cm square of fabric. If you don’t like fraying edges then use fusible webbing to fix two layers of fabric together then cut out the squares, or finish the raw edges with pinking shears or fray check.

To assemble the corsage, stitch all six aeroplane folds to a small circle of felt, points to the centre then add a vintage button on top. This can be made into a brooch by sewing a pin on the back, or you can simply stitch the whole corsage onto a top, dress or cardigan. It could also be used on a bag or a hat for an instant revamp, or use several joined together to make a cushion cover!”

Trish McEvoy has long been a popular resident in our beauty hall, but now the cult American beauty brand is available to buy online in just a click!

If you’re not familiar with Trish McEvoy cosmetics, then let us introduce you to the  iconic US make-up artist. An innovator and driven entrepreneur, Trish launched her eponymous brand at 25, turning it into a global success by the age of 30. She changed the face of beauty through  teaching the ‘Power of Make-Up‘, creating a set hand-shaped brushes and tools for professional results, and developing her infamous Make-up Planner and medically designed skincare systems.

Known for her high quality products and merging science and beauty with her technical genius, Trish McEvoy has changed the way women apply make-up all over the world, a power that has made her one of the most prominent women in the beauty industry and of a generation. Trish is often called upon by many of Hollywood’s biggest stars, such as Angelina Jolie and Dame Judy Dench, as well as various popular US TV shows, to share her make-up expertise and talent.

We caught up with Trish to find out about her most popular products, how to get started with her make-up essentials, which three make-up pieces she can’t live without and discover her tip for effortless summer beauty.

For those of us who have never tried Trish McEvoy before, which product should we start with?

I believe beauty begins with great looking skin, and my skincare line is dermatologist-designed out of my New York medi-spa to be easy-to-use, results-oriented, and deliver immediately visible results. For a woman who has never tried my brand, she should definitely start with my Even Skin Beta Hydroxy Pads for the exfoliating step in her skincare regimen. She should also try my Beauty Booster Serum made with the maximum percentage of hyaluronic acid which enables skin to attract and retain maximal moisture while enhancing any moisturiser’s performance. If she wants coverage and skincare in one, my tinted moisturiser and Beauty Balm deliver beautiful coverage, anti-ageing treatment benefits and advanced sun protection in one.

Your Make-Up Planner system is a signature of yours, why does every woman need one?

Oh my goodness…my Makeup Planner is the difference between having a million compacts jumbled together in a cosmetic bag, and having a streamlined, permanently refillable book of makeup. The patented magnetic pages designed to hold pans of colour make it totally customisable and eliminate excess packaging so you fit way more into much less space. With secure brush sleeves you are able to literally keep all your make-up and tools in one place at your fingertips and visible at-a-glance. It zips up like a tidy binder and is equally serviceable at home and on-the-go. The benefits are endless.

Tell us the 3 beauty products you can’t live without

Concealer— I’ve had dark circles since I was a little girl and they make you look tired even if you’re not!
Foundation— Even Skin is the foundation for healthy, youthful beauty.
Mascara— if you have nothing else, a full lash line defines the eye and instantly perks and dresses up the face.

Can you offer a tip for easy summer beauty?

Here’s two:

Dot a waterproof liner like my pencil form gel liner, Intense Gel Eye Liner, between the lashes (not on the waterline). It gives a look of totally natural definition and will not budge through sport, swim, anything, until you deliberately remove it.

In summertime you just have to have coverage, shine control and SPF. Summer is all about quick fixes and a natural look. My Beauty Balm does it all in one step and improves your skin while you wear it.

We’re delighted to have Trish McEvoy here in the Liberty beauty hall – what do you love most about Liberty?

Where to begin? Liberty is pure class with a modern edge. The service is magnificent and totally in line with the customer care approach I have sworn by my entire career. Liberty is beautiful inside and out, and I’m so excited for my first personal appearance with you this fall!

Shop from 200 + Trish McEvoy products online today!

Wednesday 15th May marks the start of our beauty colour week, Brushes with Greatness. We have over seven days of exclusive make-up and colour events, including special workshops and the chance for one-to-one with VIP guests such as hair stylist Josh Wood, model Ruth Crilly, GetTheGloss.com founders Susannah Taylor and Sarah Vine, Pixi Woo, Hourglass founder Carisa Jones and various other make-up artists.

Learn about springs hottest colours and make-up trends, pick up ingenious tips, have all your make-up queries answered by a panel of experts, prepare for the big day with a bridal make-up masterclass with Bobbi Brown‘s Amy Conway and enjoy exclusive workshops from various make-up brands’ make-up artists.

There will be a chance to WIN the ultimate make-up kit filled with Liberty’s most loved products worth over £1000! Plus,  receive a goodie bag worth £100 when you spend over £100 in our beauty hall. *While stock lasts.

Our Beauty Skincare Week held in March earlier this year was a huge success with every customer and workshop attendee taking away with them some of the most valuable beauty insider knowledge available.  Don’t miss out on joining us for Brushes with Greatness and book in for your chosen event in advance to avoid disappointment, spaces are limited for certain workshops and one-to-ones.

View the full schedule of events here.

Pre-empting Autumn/ Winter 2013‘s stripes and textures trends, our expert style service team has hand picked this fresh outfit to wear on days when the sun isn’t shining as brightly as it should be. Mix hot pinks in angora and suede with a contrasting duck egg blue and black striped biker to toughen, and inject with light accessories to complete this playful look. These white heels are pretty and clean lined for day, but by night turn into a futuristic glow in the dark statement that will have your ensemble popping.

Acne Mape striped leather biker jacket – £1,100; Acne Micah angora sweater – £170; 3.1 Phillip Lim suede skater skirt -£795; Alexander Wang Glow in the Dark Agata heels – £670.

Nike X Liberty is back. After the success of several past collections, the collaboration between the sports power brand and famous British print label has returned in a NIKEiD first. The collection sees classic Nike silhouettes such as Nike Air Max 1, Blazer and cult favourite Roshe Run reupholstered with two of our iconic floral prints, Capel and Pepper.

These archival prints are two of our most popular designs. Originally created in 1978, Capel features a looser, larger floral available in pink and cream or navy and cream colourways. Pepper, first printed in 1974, is a more compact, multicolour design in a delicate violet shade. Find out more about the collection here.

Liberty has specially pre-designed these styles which are available in store and online. Freshly pick yours today!

You will need: some fabric, stuffing, glue, paper, card, scissors, flat topped ring, sewing thread and a needle.

We’ve selected one hero product chosen by each editor below, but you can view their full selection by reading our Spring/ Summer Beauty bible online here.

Kim Parker, Beauty Editor at Red: Aromatherapy Associates Revive Evening Bath & Shower Oil

“No matter what kind of day you’ve had, a warm bath liberally sprinkled with this deeply fragrant, restorative oil blend will pick you right up again.’”

Sophie Beresiner, Beauty Director at Elle UK: Molecule 01 by Escentric Molecule

“This scent never fails to secure me a compliment. It’s become my trademark, but it never lasts very long since my immediate office neighbours nick a spritz whenever I wear it.”

Newby Hands, Beauty Director-at-Large at Harper’s Bazaar: Dr Sebagh Supreme Maintenance Youth Serum

“I am obsessed with serums and this one has the highest levels of active ingredients that I know of.”

Katy Young, Beauty Editor at Telegraph: Essie Nail Polish

“For the best nail wardrobe it has to be Essie, not just because its rainbow of colours is always the hottest, but because the lacquer lasts so long.”

Find out which beauty must haves are coveted by our buyers here.

You can use fabric from either the Bloomsbury or Stile collection. Whether it’s painstaking large projects or a smaller one made from scraps, Instagram it using the hash tags #LibertyLifestyle and #BundleGiveaway  and leave your your comments. Use the many filters and frames to give it the look and feel that works best for your project.

Be interactive by including on the social sites you love to share on. If you have smart phone but not yet the app, download it now and give it a try! Email us your Instagrammed projects to lifestylefabrics@liberty.co.uk using the hash tags as your subject and you could be one of five lucky winners to receive a Lifestyle fat quarter bundle. Look out for your work on The Liberty Craft blog at the end of the month.

Good luck!

British jewellery designer Alex Monroe was recently in store as part of our Get Stoned jewellery week. His private workshop, held in our elegant heritage suite, was a chance for fans and aspiring jewellery makers to learn from Alex about how he launched his small and friendly brand, how it has grown and how he manages it, while giving them a demonstration on how he carefully hand crafts his much-loved, whimsical pieces.

Nature has always served as Alex Monroe’s greatest inspiration. Growing up in the beautiful Suffolk countryside, his love of crafting things from metal started from a young age when he and his brother would cast things from the lead roof tiles of buildings in their village. For him it’s all about a love of creating something from scratch and being creative with materials that are to hand. With such a creative spirit, Alex told members of the workshop how he had decided it was best he went to art school, which lead him to study at St John Cass School of Art in London. Here, he discovered that he was actually better at making and crafting things from materials than creating pure art with paints and canvases. One of Alex’s teachers happened to be a jewellery maker and this inspired him to go on a jewellery making course where he worked hard and learned all the skills he uses today.

Alex explained how he enjoys every aspect of being a jeweller. Not just the designing and making elements, but the actual selling too. In his world, the selling is less about how much money he can make from sales and more about sharing the stories and love that goes into each design with every one of his customers. People from all over the world, of all ages, buy Alex Monroe pieces and, although it is classed as fashion jewellery, there is a timeless beauty to every design that gives it the longevity to by-pass seasonal trends.

Workshop attendees were keen to learn how Alex goes about creating a new design. Alex explained how each design must be pretty, wearable, well priced and have a distinctive British charm. An idea can come from anything – wildlife he spots while on a walk or a historic story he’s researching. Sometimes a particular charm may have several elements to the story behind it and a story of how it came to be part of his collection. But always, Alex insists, customers have their own personal connections and stories that make each design meaningful to them.

Alex then gave his visitors an opportunity to see how he crafts his jewellery pieces with  a live demonstration. Set up at the front of the group was one of his wooden working desks, complete with tools and implements used to create his detailed designs. Taking the group through a step-by-step, Alex explained what each tool was used for and how a piece is first created to perfection by himself and his assistant using real silver, before going on to be made into a cast to recreate more of the same design. Fun and educational, the evening was a huge success with every visitor taking away with them valuable information and tips from a successful, renowned jeweller.

In celebration of his 25th anniversary, Alex Monroe has designed a series of lovely commemorative pieces, each with a specially engraved tag. The collection includes some reinvented classics, such as the little sunflower pendant, the witty Hooray necklace with a white solitaire diamond and a delicate three diamond twisted flower ring.

Discover the collection in store and online today.

Susie Rushton, editor of The Independent Magazine and the book Fashion Now 2, had her first child last year. She’s just returned to work so we caught up with her to find out how she’s coping and what her top 10 Little Liberty picks  would be for her daughter.

You’ve just gone back to work, how are you feeling and managing?

I’m feeling good! The first week was tricky, but I think the point is that we spend years working, then a few months on maternity leave, so the return to work quickly becomes the new normal. I put a lot of effort into finding the right childcare, so that’s made a monumental difference.

How has life changed since having a baby?

The day starts at 7am, whether I want it to or not. But thereon in, it’s fantastic.

What is your perfect mother-daughter day?

The weather is fine enough to be outside and we both have pasta bolognaise for lunch.

How do you find time for yourself?

It’s not about that anymore!

Susie shares her 10 picks for baby girls and boys from the Little Liberty collection online.

1. Hooded jacket, Stella McCartney Kids 2. Boidley diamond print bloomers, Caramel Baby & Child 3. Floral pleated dress, Liberty London 4. Cashmere trousers, Liberty London 5. Tiger print T-shirt, Stella McCartney Kids 6. Bahar houndtooth trousers, Gold 7. Polle dot print sunhat, Gold 8. Willows garden print swimsuit, Liberty London 9. Appledor knitted cardigan, Caramel Baby & Child 10. Chive print trousers, Liberty London.

With the glorious sunshine we’ve had in London this week, it’s got us thinking about spending more time outdoors. But why waste time sunbathing when you could be out doing something more productive? There’s no finer time than summer to don some pretty gardening tools and plant up the flower beds, pots and window gardens that surround you.

1^st May marks the start of a very special gardening event. Guerrilla gardeners all over the world join in planting seeds in neglected, overlooked areas of their native cities, in the hope that come August they’ll have bloomed into a colourful floral array. Why not join in the fun and arm yourself with some organic ammo from our new Outdoor Living department on the 4^th floor. A one-stop destination for all your outdoor needs, it’s the perfect place to invest in fun gardening equipment: from rustic pots to printed trowels, stylish furniture to colourful garden dining accessories and ready-to-plant seed packs.

Today’s guest blogger is Guerrilla Gardener and planting crusader, Richard Reynolds – the man behind the inspirational blog GuerrillaGardening.org. He explains what it means to be a rebel gardener in an urban landscape and how you can join in their growing campaign.

“It’s a hot August afternoon. You’re still in the city. But at this moment your head is somewhere much further south, a sniff away from the Med, with the wind in your hair as you cycle past fields of sunflowers. And then it hits you; right in the middle of the pavement is a huge clump of sunflowers. Where gravel, grot or at best a dandelion would usually grow, you spot sunflowers towering high and thriving in the street. That’ll be another successful hit from a guerrilla gardener. A seed sown in Spring, discreetly, illicitly in a public place that has now flourished.

Last year was a golden season with clumps thriving in London at Denmark Hill, Old Street roundabout, Hogarth roundabout, Elephant and Castle and Lambeth North. As chief enthusiast, cheerleader and commandant, I write my blog, GuerrillaGardening.org, to rally other keen gardeners to get them outside and beyond their usual urban boundaries, sowing plant life in the very streets they live on. The time is now.

1^st May is International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day. This annual event of optimistic seed sowing is celebrated with one of the prints included this season’s Liberty Art Fabrics Guerrilla Gardening collection. “May Rose” is a floral pattern, not of roses but of abstractly hand drawn sunflowers and named after the glorious blooms that rise from the ground because of the organisation’s seed sowing on this date.

The troops are in preparation. Over 1,000 have signed up to our Facebook event so far, committing to popping out at some point to plant somewhere beyond their garden fences and balcony ledges. You can feel the momentum building every day online as the day approaches. People are reaching out to find partners-in-crime (yes, technically it’s criminal damage, though trouble is of course rare). Seeds are being despatched – I despatched 2kg to Gabeau in Paris yesterday and a Fresno guerrilla tweeted me an image of his emergent seedlings. The Guerrilla Gardening HQ has a lot of free sunflower seeds available for the event on 1st May. If you’d like to plant some of your own please send a stamped address envelope to Richard Reynolds, 76 Perronet House, Princess Street, London, SE1 6JS and I’ll post you some.

On the big day itself, my wife, Lyla and I will be busy sowing in Italy, starting at Praiano on the Amalfi Coast and finishing in Rome. We encourage gardening fans everywhere to join in wherever you are. Perhaps take inspiration from another seasonal Liberty Art Fabric; “Richard and Lyla” shows two towering sunflowers in a central London landscape with my wife and I attending to our guerrilla gardens. The print shows a psychedelic vision of London that is not so far from reality, especially if you join us in planting it with colour. This August, as you cycle through the city, it’s there you’ll want to be rather than anywhere else.”

The sun has finally decided to grace us with its presence and we’ve definitely got that summertime feeling here at Liberty. The only problem we’re having, now that the hot weather’s here, is how do we go about baring our skin after months spent wrapped up in woolly knits and thick tights?

Our expert beauty buyers have the essential remedies needed to get us feeling pretty and fresh in the flesh. Find these magical products in store and online here.

GUAM Fanghi D’Alga Cellulite Seaweed Mud

Melt away cellulite with this seaweed mud wrap designed to tighten, firm and remove excess water trapped in fatty deposits in the skin. Fast, easy to use and safe, expect to see noticeably smoother, more supple skin from the very first use.  Those pins will be out in no time at all.

MARGARET DABBS Intensive Hydrating Foot Lotion

Award-winning foot specialist Margaret Dabbs created this astonishing foot lotion to target specially dry feet. The lotion moisturises, replenishes and revitalises the skin, leaving feet refreshed and light. The results go beyond expectation, and even the most low maintenance of us will be sandal-ready by morning.

LULU ORGANICS Lavender and Sage Hair Powder

From hot, sticky tube journeys to lazy afternoons in the park, well groomed hair doesn’t stand much of a chance in the summer. But with the help of an organic, talc-free hair powder, it will do! This silky powder is perfect for on-the-go styling and masking greasy roots, while leaving your hair smelling fresh as a daisy (or rather, of lavender, sage and jasmine).

Shop more Beauty Must-Haves and discover the summer’s most coveted products in the Spring/Summer 2013 beauty bible.

We take a closer look at some of the prints from the second and latest Lifestyle collection, Stile and discover where some of the inspiration for the prints came from. Our in-house designer delved into our archive department for inspiration around the Art Nouveau period, which Liberty was much involved in at the time. Working with designers such as the famous William Morris, architect, furniture and textile designer Charles Voysey, and textile and wallpaper designer Harry Napper.  After searching our database for artworks our designer chose to research the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and visit iconic buildings such as the Glasgow School of Art, the Willow Tea Rooms and the Hunterian Museum where they have reassembled the interiors of Mackintosh’s Glasgow home. Both subjects meshed together and evolved to create many of the prints in the second collection.

We have chosen three of the eight prints from the collection Cranston, Rennie and Wells. There are thirty-two prints in total with four colour pallets: a group of bright pinks and yellows, a group of navy with cool shades of blue, pastels and an autumnal group of rich reds and browns.

Cranston

Cranston was taken from the Liberty archive and is based on a floral trail of carnations originally designed by Bianchini who also designed for Balenciaga, Chanel, Dior and Givenchy. The print was developed with more of an emphasis on the background of spots offering a contrast between the two. The  pastel colour palette is shown below with a mix of apricots, corn flower blue and yellows.

Rennie

This print was originally called ‘The Linton’. The simplicity of the design was developed by our Lifestyle designer to make a pattern of repeated columns in foliage and florals. The pattern echoes the structured formal spirit of the Willow Tea Room in Glasgow, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1904.

Wells

Wells was based on a silhouetted all-over abstract floral, originally designed by the Silver Studio in 1933. The textile design studio founded by Arthur Silver in 1880, existed until the early 1960′s, in which time there were over 40000 designs produced. They were renowned for their Art Nouveau style and supplied to companies both in the UK and abroad.

Using the original design, elements and colours were added to give a more interesting and vibrant feel.

The full Stile collection can be viewed here.

This week our Great Marlborough Street windows have been transformed into interactive art installations. In place of our traditional, fashion inspired displays is a series of curious materials representing 10 lavish products sold in store and online. Each pane of glass features an intriguing clue accompanied by a QR code which, when scanned by a code reader app on your smart phone or tablet, reveals the answer and story behind the product.

More than a simple ‘scan to shop’ method, our window displays are shrouded in mystery until the moment the code is scanned.  Immediately you are taken to a luxurious online brochure, filled with sumptuous images, videos and detailed stories on the origins of each product. It’s an experience and a way for the passer-by to dip-in and discover more about the treasures that lay within our vast emporium.

Our famous window displays feature new and artistic designs each month. Every detail, from the planning and sourcing of materials to the building of the installations is carried out by our talented visual merchandising and window team. Designing engaging and creative displays is part of our heritage and what makes our store as unique and particular as it is.

Discover the mysterious products by reading our online brochure here, or visit our Regent Street store until 12th May to scan the code and unlock the answer in person.

It’s here! The greatly anticipated collaboration between two power brands Levi’s and Liberty has officially launched in store and online. The 15-piece capsule collection is the first by the iconic US denim label and original print giant, and is as honest, frank and earnest as the path that brought the two brands together.  A true story of Americana style with a twist of quintessentially British design, it marries Levi’s archival silhouettes with two unique Liberty prints: Carlin – the colourful floral hero print, and Kerr Bandana – a subtle pointillist floral with a Western bandana style.

Learn more about the collaboration and prints here.

As well as the iconic 501 jean short, the collection includes a Trucker jacket, boyfriend skinny jeans, a bustier, covetable summer dresses and a small selection of dreamy accessories. Fun and energetic, the collaboration marks the beginning of a summer of nostalgic, carefree dressing.

Shop the collection online.

To celebrate the Levi’s X Liberty launch, our famous scarf hall has been overtaken by a wild and psychedelic installation. Suspended from the ceiling of the central atrium are two iconic vehicles, a classic black London cab and San Francisco Bug spray painted with 70s logos and slogans. The collision sparks a colourful floral explosion from which the Levi’s garments meet the bright Liberty print.

The installation beckons customers and fans to take a wonder up to  the first floor Denim and Casual room. Here, the collection sits on a greenhouse fixture with American loft style elements, with the Levis batwing logo on top filled with flowers and surrounded by a grass base.

Learn more about the installation here or visit us in store to share in the fun for yourself –  don’t forget to bring your camera!

Don’t miss out on up to 20%* off selected items in store and online at the Liberty Loyalty event – ends midnight Sunday!

Simply present your loyalty card at any till point in store or enter your loyalty card number at the checkout online to qualify for the discount.

Exclusively for Liberty Loyalty members.

Shop with us in store Friday until 8pm, Saturday 10am – 8pm and Sunday 12pm – 6pm.

Not a Liberty Loyalty member? Join today to instantly enjoy the savings.

Be inspired by some of our hottest buys below:

1. Marc by Marc Jacobs Light Blue Lily Dot Jeans – £195 / £165.75 for Liberty Loyalty members

2. Clover Canyon Floral Stripe Top – £195 /  £165.75 for Liberty Loyalty members

3. McQ by Alexander McQueen Mineral Print Dress – £225 / £186.75 for Liberty Loyalty members

4. Acne Mape Cropped Biker Jacket – £1000 / £800 for Liberty Loyalty members

5. Joomi Lim Rose Gold Spike Chain Bracelet – £90 / £72 for Liberty Loyalty members

6. Etro Butterfly Floral Print Scarf – £315 / £252 for Liberty Loyalty members

7. Kenzo Orange Leopard Print Cross Body Bag – £250 / £225 for Liberty Loyalty members

8. Monica Vinader Small Chrysoprase Siren Stacking Ring – £65 / £58.50 for Liberty Loyalty members

 9. Penfield Floral Print Gibson Jacket – £125 / £106.25 for Liberty Loyalty members

10. Oliver Spencer New York Special Shirt – £100 / £85 for Liberty Loyalty members

11. Natural Selection Narrow Alpha Washed Jeans – £165 / £132 for Liberty Loyalty members

12. Carven Men’s Herbal Print T-Shirt – £120 / £102 for Liberty Loyalty members

13. Ally Capellino Dean Waxed Canvas Backpack – £225 / £191.25 for Liberty Loyalty members

14. Moscot Tortoiseshell Grunya Sunglasses – £195 / £175.5 for Liberty Loyalty members

15. Saint Laurent Monogram Spot Silk Tie – £85 / £76.50 for Liberty Loyalty members

16. Uniform Wares Brushed Steel 302 Series Wristwatch – £625 / £558 for Liberty Loyalty members

17. NARS Larger Than Life Lip Gloss in Coeur Sucre – £19 / £17.10 for Liberty Loyalty members

18. Escentric Molecule Molecule 01 – £64 / £57.60 for Liberty Loyalty members

19. Dr Jackson 01 Skin Cream SPF20 – £80 / £72 for Liberty Loyalty members

20. Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer – £52 / £46.80 for Liberty Loyalty members

21. Miho Unexpected Things Birdhouse – £38 / £34.20 for Liberty Loyalty members

22. Emma Bridgewater Black Splatter Half Pint Jug – £26 / £23.40 for Liberty Loyalty members

23. House Doctor Fauna Dragonfly Glass Bottle – £75 / £69.05 for Liberty Loyalty members

24. Liberty London Collections Felix Raison Print Cushion – £95 / £85.50 for Liberty Loyalty members

Discover more fashionable savings at the Liberty Loyalty event.

As the largest designing trade show in the world, the 52nd International Furniture Fair didn’t fail to please as designers harnessed functionality and innovation between 9th and 14th of April in the Italian city. The Milan Furniture Fair not only gives artists and designers a chance to display their creativity, but a chance to network as a community in one of the most beautiful cities on earth.

Senior buying manager for Home, Julie Hassan, recently returned from the prestigious fair, newly inspired and excited by the sights and designs that surrounded her. Here she recounts her first day of events, with visits to stunning lighting exhibitions, run-ins with Rory Dobner and a special British exhibition at the Vivienne Westwood boutqiue.

Wednesday 4.30am (London)

Up bright and early (although I’m normally up by 5.30am to get the kids ready for school and check any emails that sneak through during the night). After a quick check of today’s itinerary and a very strong coffee, I’m in the car to Heathrow to meet Liberty’s Head of Visual Identity Maxine Groucutt and Senior Press Officer for Home and Lifestyle, Simon Midgley. After check-in, we jump onto a flight bound for Milan’s famous Design Week. This, out of the many Design Weeks held worldwide, is one of the busiest with events all over the city. Hotels and flights start filling up almost a year in advance, so it’s important to plan ahead and book early! I recommend two to three days minimum to ensure you have enough time to take in the many activities and exhibitions happening throughout the week-long event.

11am (Milan time)

A quick bag drop at the hotel and we’re on our way to our first destination, the Wallpaper Handmade Exhibition at ‘Lecletico’ – a beautiful interior design studio. The exhibition brings together some of the world’s finest designers, craftsmen and equally renowned manufacturers to design a series of unique and stunning products. Bethan Gray’s handmade collection of tabletop pieces made from solid marble and crafted by stone specialist Lapicida were a favorite. The detail and vitality of the patterns really grabbed my attention.

12.30pm

Our next stop is a visit to Vivienne Westwood’s shop on Corso Vanezia, where this year the store is hosting an exhibition entitled ‘The New British’. The store has been transformed by an eclectic collection of products from British designers, all with a strong ethos for creating sustainable and functional products without sacrificing the beauty of their design. It’s great to see Donna Wilson’s SCP collaboration; Donna’s animated plates and cushions have recently gone on sale at Liberty, her designs are perfect for cheering up the home.

1.15pm

Time for a quick lunch stop. Poor Maxine ended up with a bottle of water thrown over her by a waiter, but every cloud has a silver lining as Simon and I benefited from the delicious sweet treats which were sent over by way of apology!

2pm

Next up we’re checking out the stunning lighting at the ‘Baccarat’ exhibition. The sheer size and detail of the lights on display was breathtaking! Baccarat is known for combining tradition and innovation and the pieces on display represent this perfectly. Phillippe Starck’s contribution, which included a glass deer head, was just divine!

3pm

It feels like the end of the day is veering ever closer, so we quickly make our way to Fornasetti where a fantastic ‘1913 to 2013’ exhibition is on display. It represents a century of history from the birth of Piero Fornasetti to the present day. I’m a big fan of the designs (new and old). We have a great selection of the homewares at Liberty which will soon be joined by Fornasetti’s renowned wallpapers.

We then quickly make our way to one of our newest suppliers, ‘Discipline’, which showcased a number of beautiful, simple and versatile products from its 17 designers. Cork was a big theme here and the look and tacit nature of the material was an interesting alternative to the wood and ceramics we had seen throughout the day. Discipline’s Re-Turned birds have just arrived at Liberty this week, they make the perfect house warming present as well as having a lovely provenance being made from recycled wood.

4.30pm

Whenever I visit Milan, which must be close to 30 times by now, I always try to fit in a visit to Rossanna Orlandi’s eclectic and mesmerising store. This year I have even more of an excuse as Liberty favourite Astier de Villatte is there showing off the latest of its beautiful collections. The recent collaboration with Patch NY is a perfect marriage of art and craftsmanship. The chandelier was also breathtaking. I love being able to walk around such detailed and delicate masterpieces, even if it is a little nerve racking!

6pm

Another stunning shop filled with the latest designs from all over the world, ‘Corso Como’ is next on our hit list. It’s here we bump into our good friend and designer Rory Dobner. Rory has recently acquired his own area on the 3rd floor of Liberty which with his giant pink neon sign, which can’t be missed. Rory’s detailed brushstroke designs translate perfectly onto the plates, cushions, tiles, candles and various home accessories which are available to buy in store and online.

8pm

Dinner time! We went to ‘Ristorante Delicatessen’ a fantastic Italian restaurant recommended by the Telegraph’s very own David Nicholls. We were lucky enough to get him all to ourselves for the evening and shared stories and tips on things to look out for the following day when we tackle the enormous furniture fair.

11.30pm

Time to finally unpack and rest, it’s another early start tomorrow and Milan waits for no one!

Shop the latest arrivals of home and gifts here.

“At primary school in 1985, while the boys were out playing cricket, I was delighted that the girls were gathered in a cosy attic classroom where we were taught to make a reversible shopping bag with a wooden hoop handle.  I think the quiet concentration that fell over the room and the sense of making something three-dimensional and useful out of what were once a few flat lengths of fabric, completely captured my enthusiasm for sewing and it’s never really left me.

I’ve learnt to avoid using prints that aren’t designs I’d realistically want in my own home, as it leads to either having drawers full of neglected handmade items or things that look out of place with the rest of our house. The same goes for dressmaking. I think that’s why I adore working with Liberty prints - they have a timelessness to them and the faded black outline to the flowers and shapes lends a sophisticated soberness to even the more pastel-coloured prints. The often tiny scale of the designs mean that, even when sewing intricate pieces, the print of several fully-formed flowers can be seen rather than abstract forms which sometimes become lost in larger scale prints. Designs are now being printed on a quilting weight cloth and offer a versatility that can be used to make more utilitarian items, such as bags, where before Tana lawn may not have been substantial enough.

Most recently I’ve been looking at the patchworks of the late Lucy M. Boston (writer of The Children of Green Knowe), who was sewing well into her nineties. She had a stunning patchwork curtain hung up at her kitchen door and I’d love to create something similar to hang from the French doors in our dining room. I like fairly traditional quilt designs so I tend to look backwards for inspiration, as well as to friends from around the world who favour a similar style. It sparks so many ideas of my own that I have a constant feeling that one lifetime is unlikely to be enough to sew all the things I’d like. I think that’s a common feeling amongst sewing obsessives.

I started writing a sewing blog nearly six years ago and, soon after, opened an online shop and began taking on custom orders. I loved the unusual things that I was asked to make and enjoyed the challenge of drafting patterns for clients. But as I became busier I found it was taking too much time away from my children during school holidays. Eventually, I wound things down and instead began writing up some of my sewing patterns, which I now sell through my blog and online fabric shops.

My husband and I both work from home and most days I also spend some time working for his business, which is designing children’s educational iPad apps. We spend a lot of time discussing the structure of how things should work or talking through ideas and I always tend to have some hand quilting or English paper piecing which I can do at these times. So even when I’m working on other things, sewing often finds its way in!”

Fancy a new summertime project? Inject some brightly hued print into accessories with Florence’s easy step-by-step guide on how to make a classic shopper.

This grocery bag has a strap that’s just the right length for carrying on your shoulder or in your hand. It has a boxy base that will hold plenty without distorting the shape of the bag and a small outer pocket, piped with a contrasting fabric. I used a fairly sturdy interfacing to give the bag strength and to allow it to stand up unaided. For the fabrics I chose some of the beautiful china blues from the new Stile collection.

Ingredients list:

¾ yard (68.58cm) of outer fabric

½ yard (45.72cm) of lining fabric

1 yard (91cm) of medium-weight crisp iron-on interfacing

3 yards (2.74m) of 1” wide webbing for the handles

8” (20.32cm) length of ¼” pre-made piping, or piping cord with a scrap of material for self-made piping – used to pipe the top edge of the external pocket

Piping is optional as installing it will require a piping foot for your sewing machine. Many machines come with a piping foot, but they’re also available to purchase relatively inexpensively. An invisible zipper foot, which allows you to sew very closely to a raised edge, can be used as a substitute if you are keen to use piping – although it may not give quite as good results.

Cutting list:

From outer fabric

Cut two with iron-on interfacing applied: 14” (35.56cm) wide x 16½” (41.91cm) high (main bag pieces)

Cut two with iron-on interfacing applied: 14” (35.56cm) wide x 2” (5.08cm) high (upper bag lining)

Cut one: 6” (15.24cm) wide x 10½” (26.67cm) high (outer pocket)

From lining fabric

Cut two with iron on interfacing applied: 14” (35.56cm) wide x 15½” (39.37cm) high (lower bag lining)

Cut one: 6” (15.24cm) wide x 10 ½” (26.67cm) high (pocket lining)

From 1” wide webbing

Cut two: 48½” (1.23m) long strips (bag handles)

From a fabric scrap to making piping

1¼” (3.18cm) wide x 8” (20.32cm) long – fabric used to make piping is usually cut on the bias grain of the fabric (at a 45 degree angle from the selvedge) to allow it to curve around corners easily. However, as our piping isn’t trimming any corners or curves, if you want to be more economical with fabric you may cut it on the straight grain.

All seam allowances are ½”

Making the piping (Optional -  if you are omitting the piping, skip to the step entitled ‘if you are not using piping’ and continue from there. If you are using pre-made piping, skip to the step entitled ‘inserting the piping.’)

Taking the fabric you’ve set aside for making piping, place this wrong-side up. Rest the piping in the centre and fold the fabric around the piping so that the edges meet. Using the piping foot on your machine, sew the fabric in place. Your stitches should be only a fraction away from the enclosed piping.

Inserting the piping

Take the outer pocket and pocket lining fabrics. Create a sandwich of fabric, with the piping in the centre. To do this, place the fabric as follows:

Pocket lining right-side up

Piping with raw edges aligned with the top, short edge of the pocket lining.

Outer pocket fabric right side down, with raw edges perfectly aligned with the other fabrics (make sure the sides of the lining and outer fabrics line up perfectly too).

Sew these layers together along the top raw edge, once again using the piping foot on your machine, butting your stitches up against the side of the encased piping. Once sewn, flip both sides the right way out and press with an iron. Trim off any piping overhang at each side.

If you are not using piping, place the pocket lining fabric and the outer pocket fabric right-side to right-side and sew along the top short edge with a 1/2” seam allowance. Once sewn, flip both sides the right way out and press with an iron. Trim off any overhang at each side from the piping.

Attaching the pocket to the outer fabric

Place the pocket you’ve just made on one of the main outer-fabric bag pieces, just as you want it to look on the finished bag with the right-side facing up. Place it centrally (there should be exactly 4” to either side of the pocket), aligning the bottom edge of the pocket with the bottom edge of the bag. Stitching just a fraction away from the edges of the pocket, topstitch it in place along three sides, leaving the top edge unsewn (as you’ll want to be able to use the pocket).

Attaching the handle

Now take one of the pieces of webbing. Align one short raw edge with the bottom of the bag. If your webbing is 1” wide, as per the ingredients list, then you should place it so that the outer edge of the webbing sits 3.5” away from the side edge of the bag, leaving the raw edges of the pocket covered completely.

Pin the webbing in place until you are 4” away from the top of the bag. Now, making sure there are no twists in the webbing, start again on the other side of the pocket at the bottom of the bag. Once more align the bottom edges and making sure that the webbing sits 3.5” in from the outer edge of the bag, covering the raw edge of the pocket. Again, pin in place until you are 4” away from the top edge of the bag.

At the point where you are 4” away from the top, draw a square a little smaller than 1” on both pieces of webbing with chalk or some other removable marker. Now draw two diagonal lines going from corner to corner inside each square.

Sew just a fraction in from the edge of the webbing, all along the outer edge of one side of the webbing. Stop when you reach the top of the square and now sew on the lines you’ve marked. This square of stitching will give the handles extra strength when carrying heavier items. Now sew all the way down the other side of the webbing until you have reached the bottom. Repeat at the other side of the pocket.

Attaching the second handle

Take the second piece of outer bag fabric and repeat the above process to form another handle. There will be no pocket to negotiate on this side, so just remember to align both bottom edges, keep the handle untwisted and to position the outer edge of the webbing 3.5” in from the sides of the bag. Sew in place.

Sewing the outer bag pieces together

Place both sides of the bag with right sides together and sew around the perimeter of the bag using a 1/2” seam allowance, leaving the top edge unsewn.

Creating the boxy base to the bag

Now look at one of the bottom corners of the bag. Take this and pinch out the fabric on both sides of the bag so that they stand apart. As you do this the side seam will drop down so that it’s in line with the seam that runs along the bottom of the bag and the corner will now look like a triangle.

With side seam and bottom seam aligned, draw a line across this triangle 1.5” in from where the stitching comes to a point (where the side seam and the bottom seam join). Now sew along this line. Repeat on the other bottom corner of the bag.

Turn right side out. You should now have a nice, squared base to your bag.

Making the bag lining

Take one of the main lining pieces and one of the outer-fabric lining pieces and place them so that the 14” edge is aligned along the top edge of the main piece. (If your fabrics have a directional print, place the main fabric piece with the print running in the correct direction and the smaller piece right-side to right-side with this with the print running upside down, in the wrong direction).

Sew along the 14” edge with a 1/2” seam allowance. Open and press with an iron. Repeat for the two remaining pieces.

Sewing the bag lining together

(Place the lining pieces right-side to right-side and sew around the perimeter with a 1/2” seam allowance, leaving the top edge (the top is the narrow band of outer fabric) open and unsewn and a 7” gap unsewn at the centre of the bottom of the bag (this is so that you can turn the rest of the bag through this hole later).

Creating a boxy base for the lining

Now repeat the earlier step to create the boxy base to the bag: pinching out the fabric from either side of the bag; aligning the side and bottom seams; and creating a triangle. Again, draw a line 1.5” in from where the stitching comes to a point. Do this for both bottom corners. Do not turn the bag the right way out when you have finished this step.

Joining the lining to the outer bag

You now essentially have two bags – a lining and an outer bag. Place the outer bag (right side out) inside the bag lining (right-side in), so that the fabrics sit right-side to right-side. Align the side seams and pin at each side. Now pin all the way around the top edges of the bag, pinning the outer and the lining together.

Put over the arm of the machine and sew all the way around the top edge of the bag using a 1/2” seam allowance.

Under-stitching the lining

You are now going to under-stitch the hem of the lining and outer bag fabric to the upper portion of lining – this means that the fabric won’t roll over giving you an indistinct top edge to the bag. Pull the inner bag out, so that you have a large tube. Put your hand inside the bag through the turning hole, until you reach the lining and outer-fabric seam. You will be able to see two hems relatively near to one another. The one you need to under-stitch is the one on the outer-fabric side of the bag (you can see which side this is easily as the stitching lines you made to attach the handles will be visible), pull the hem toward the lining side of the bag (the other side with no handle stitching lines visible) and pin in place all the way around the bag. Place the bag over the arm of the machine – to do this you will need to put the arm inside the bag, through the turning hole in the lining. Now stitch through this hem, a scant 1/4” from the line of stitching that is already there. This stitching will be visible on the inside of the bag so make sure your thread is matched to the fabric colour. You can see in the picture how the under-stitching will appear on the upper lining of your finished bag.

Sewing the lining closed

Now place your hand through the turning hole and pull the outer fabric through the hole and turn the bag out the right way. Fold in the unsewn hem in the bottom of the lining and top stitch it closed on your machine.

London-based brand Antipodium is a known favourite of the fashion pack, artists, photographers, DJs and celebrities. Their cool contemporary cuts, addictive prints and arty influences are what make them the go-to label for the hottest trends and seasonal wardrobe staples. This spring summer 2013 the brand continues its playful yet sophisticated aesthetic, with creative director Geoffrey J. Finch‘s imaginative take on futuristic feminism; ‘How to Affect Robots and Influence People‘ – taking inspiration from technology, taboo subjects such as cosmetic reconstruction and the humanisation of science. Focussing on five wardrobe power classics, the collection refreshes each one with luxurious fabrics, unexpected textures and all the signature Antipodium wit and wearability.

We caught up for five minutes with Geoffrey to find out more about the spring summer collection, his three signature pieces and discover that Dolly Parton would be his ideal dream client.

What inspired you to design your Spring Summer 2013 collection: ‘How to affect Robots and Influence People?
The resort 2013 ‘Emoji’ collection was all about synthetic emotions and it got me on a techno-bent. I became obsessed with “affective computing” (robots with emotions) and plastic surgery delivering android-like perfection. The spring summer 2013 collection looks at these colliding worlds of perfection and malfunction.

There’s a sense of androgyny about the collection with the hard lines, shirt collars and tailored blazers. Was this intentional, or does this play into your theme?
This season I really wanted to examine alpha garments – the white tee, the blazer, the party dress, the biker jacket – and then reboot them and really play with their proportions. Call it Siri’s spin on sartorial classics!

One of the features of the collection is the surgical markings on two of the shirts. Why did you decide to use these, and do you think this is a message that will strike a cord with women?
We’ve had a marvellous response to the Markings print! Every season we collaborate with artists on our prints and this season it was all about artists of different varieties. This particular gem is by the genius, Dr Tim Goodacre, president of BAPRAS (British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons). In a big, bad Kardashian world why not look at plastic surgery, and its impact on our society, in greater depth?

Which are the three signature pieces of the collection?
I love the Vector dress in orange – it’s bold, modern colour and texture play at its best, the Facet skirt – a pencil skirt with a built-in fanny pack, and the Pointillize twinset – a delightfully wrong-but-right mix of lurex check jacquard and perforated cotton knitwear.

If your collection had a soundtrack, which three songs would feature prominently?
The lovely Lauren Laverne curated the music for our show. Check out these gems:
Sunbeam Melts the Hour – RM Hubbert
Her Fantasy – Matthew Dear
Do You Remember – Ane Brun

Who would you most like to dress and why?
Dolly Parton. Who wouldn’t want to dress the woman behind lines like “I’m old enough to be that boy’s lover”?

Do you have any tips for dressing this spring summer?
Expand your fabrication horizons. Embrace washed foil with nappa trim, silk Crepe de Chine and nylon power mesh, permanent pleat georgette and patent leather – you’ll feel all the more modern for it.

What are you loving in Liberty right now?
I’m a sucker for the men’s sock department.

Can you give us a hint at what to expect for Autumn Winter 2013?
My techno-bent turns towards surveillance cameras, social media and Sharon Stone (of course) with ‘Sex, Lies and CCTV’…

Shop the spring summer 2013 collection in store, and online here.

Leaping Fish, bronze – limited edition of 12

This month our shop front window displays have been paying tribute to Henri Rousseau, taking inspiration from Memphis design and Africa along the way. The presentations combine some of the latest fashion and homeware trends now available in store, and celebrate the beautiful pieces from our newly opened Arts & Crafts and Eastern Objet & Antiquities departments on the 4th floor. The result is a modern and highly graphic recreation of Rousseau’s work that has married the similarities of kinship, coloured patterns, layering and wild animals with vivid effect. An artistic display that highlights our flagship store’s arts and crafts history and connection to eastern wares.

One of the artists featured in our avant-garde window displays is sculptor and illustrator Joseph Paxton. The Welsh-born designer is known for his pensive cast bronze animal sculptures and charcoal illustrations, which he uses to evoke human emotion through focusing on each of the creature’s characteristics and movements that appeal to him. After originally getting in touch with Liberty for the 2010 Best of British Open Call, he suggested working with our talented window dressers to create a truly enthralling display that would reach out to passers by. We spoke with Joseph to find out more about his work and the inspiration behind it, who he’d like to collaborate with and what’s hot on his wishlist from Liberty.

Giraffe, bronze – limited edition of 12

What inspired you to use animals for your sculptures and illustrations?

I grew up surrounded by farmland on the borders of Wales, so I suppose I have always been around animals and nature. I instinctively depicted the living creatures I saw around me in my art as a way of expressing what was a large presence in my life, something very familiar to me. Understanding and observing nature in this way has almost become a part of who I am; depicting the living form and capturing its energy in both sculpture and drawing is now so ingrained I think it would feel strange not to do it. I find that trying to capture the energy and dynamism of a creature with a piece of charcoal or plaster feels very natural, like humming a tune. Maybe it’s something that’s innately human, interpreting and recording the sights and sounds we see around us as a way of processing our emotions and harmonising with nature.

How do you go about creating your designs, from conception to completion?

In terms of the sculptures, this is often a fairly haphazard process for which I can’t say there is any real formula. Sometimes after an undefined period of subconscious and conscious thinking, and the piecing together of various forms I see, I create an image in my head of the ‘perfect’ form of say, a hound, which I want to create. I start gathering various images that express all the elements of that form as I envisage it in my head.

I am, if you like, creating a hybrid form that expresses the movements, weight and lines that I see as the essence of that certain animal, or its defining characteristics as I see them. I look for the emotion it expresses to me most strongly through its form and behaviour.

My sculptures then usually start with a welded steel framework (armature) which is pretty complex and detailed. This allows me to draw out the form in space, almost like a line drawing in three dimensions, before I start sculpting over the top using plaster and straw. The complexity of the frame allows me to build up the plaster and straw loosely, which maintains energy and dynamism in the piece whilst giving the work enough strength to support its own weight. Nearly all of my sculptures are cast into bronze, giving some permanence and strength to the fragile nature of the original sculpted material and creating a counterpoint between strength and fragility.

What materials do you like to work with?

For drawing I have always liked materials with which I can create bold and expressive lines. Charcoal has been an obvious and easy material for me since I started creating art at school; I love the variation of mark and line that can be created simply by using charcoal and a rubber. A rubber is a great drawing utensil once you have a layer of charcoal to work over. I also love to use Indian ink, using either a pipette, a sharpened stick or sometimes making my own rough version of a quill using feathers. The haphazard quality of line you get with these drawing implements gives great energy to the work, which helps the piece to take on a life of its own.

To sculpt with, I like plaster. Once mixed it dries fast and becomes solid, forcing me to work very quickly and to make bold gestures and decisions. This energy transferred from me into the material is in essence then frozen in time and becomes visible in the surface texture of the sculpture. Like molten lava that cools in motion and leaves evidence of its turbulent past.

Hang Dog & Lurcher, bronze limited editions

Growing up, did you keep any pets of your own?

We always had dogs and usually chickens which would roam free. There were doves as well as swallows which would come back from Africa every year to nest in the barns; I loved seeing the swallows coming back for the first time each year and thinking how far they had flown across the world to end up in a woodshed in Wales. Probably one of the largest influences on my love of the dog form as a subject was Mulligan, the dog who I grew up with from birth. He was an English Setter and an amazing animal.

Have you used your designs for any campaigns or worked with anyone on a project?

In 2010 I had the opportunity to design and create one of the elephants for the Elephant Parade London; London’s largest ever public sculpture exhibition. My creation, ‘Julia’s Elephant’ was outside the Royal Festival Hall for the summer before being auctioned off by Sotheby’s to raise money for the Elephant Family – a UK charity working to protect the Asian Elephants. Then in 2011 I created a work on canvas for HAIRraising, a fundraising appeal founded by John Frieda to raise money towards building new operating theatres at Great Ormond Street Hospital. My work was auctioned off by Christie’s alongside the other creations by artists such as Tracy Emin, Marc Quinn and Terry Frost.

This year I created artwork for a book project with Friends of The Earth which contains works by 20 other artists, including Turner Prize artist Jeremy Deller, Quintin Blake, poet John Hegley and comedian Stuart Lee to name a few, and will be launching some time during 2013.

I really enjoy the opportunity to work to a given brief as it’s a little different from the way I usually work. It is fun to be set a task and to give oneself new challenges out of which all sorts of ideas and processes can blossom.

Owl – original charcoal drawing

Who would you most like to work with if the opportunity arose?

I am very interested in the merging of creative processes and collaboration between artists, designers, musicians, architects and really any creative or design field. In one way or another we are all influenced by the physical world around us and I think by blurring the boundaries of our craft, we can come up with some really exciting results. I would love to work with a fashion designer to create textile prints using my dynamic charcoal or ink animal drawings, and would be interested in working with an ethical designer with a flair for bold patterns and print.

Sculpturally, I would love to work with the Southbank, placing works in locations on buildings and architectural spaces. My vision is that the works are placed just out of reach of the public as if on the edge of things, not quite in the human realm but looking on, observing, bringing a new dynamic to the space as an ‘other worldly’ presence.

If I get the chance, I would love to work alongside Japanese and African artists as I think I could learn a lot from their strong, stylistic heritage and the techniques they use in their art. I love the simplicity and economy of lines used in Japanese painting and drawing techniques.

Will your future projects involve the animal form, or is there another shape you would like your designs to take on?

Now that I live in London I do not have that same connection to the animal world and have less opportunity to observe animals in my daily life. I have found recently this has changed the way I work with the subject. I am really interested in blending the human and animal form; taking the instinctive movements and behaviours they both have, looking at their shared attributes and characteristics to create non-specific creatures. I feel that I am becoming more interested in stripping the work right back to create something more abstract, more reduced and more simplistic in its ability to portray an essence or meaning.

Hound Over Stag, limited edition print

How did you get involved with designing one of our window displays?

I first got in touch with Liberty about a year ago when they were advertising for the Best of British open call. I have always been interested in showing my sculptural works in interesting settings and environments not just the traditional white walled gallery space, and it struck me that Liberty might be interested in collaborating with a sculptor to create one of their unique window displays. It would be promoting another area of British creativity and the arts, whilst adding a unique angle to the window scheme. I like the idea of bringing art to new audiences who ordinarily might not get to see it in galleries. Originally, we had planned to use more of my large bronzes in the display. Sadly, however, we ended up having to change plans due to the large scale of my works and the limited size of the window spaces.

Where can people view and buy your work?

My sculpture ‘Sight Hound III’ is currently on display outside number one Grosvenor Square in London for another month. I have bronzes in an exhibition at a gallery in America at the moment, and until last month, I was exhibiting bronzes and drawings at the Royal West of England Academy in an international show called ‘Reigning Cats & Dogs’. All my works, including limited edition prints for sale, can be viewed on my website at www.josephpaxton.com where you can also find information on projects events and exhibitions.

Wet Lurcher & Fleigh, limited edition prints

Name three things hot on your wish list from Liberty:

I think it would have to be a few things from menswear to smarten up my act when I am not in the studio and covered in plaster and dirt. So number one would be a new watch, because I don’t even own one, I like the Rose Gold Finish 152 series wrist watch by Uniform Wares. Secondly the beige O’Hare Woven Cloth Canvas Tote bag by Want Les Essentiels de la vie – I am quite into African print and design at the moment and I think this bag is pretty cool. And thirdly a dark red Owen print scarf from the Liberty London collection because then I would have at least one thing with Liberty’s own unique print design!

If you were an animal, what would you be?

I suppose given that such a large part of my work to date has focused on hounds, I should have a go at being one myself. Perhaps a Wolfhound, they look very cool, seem pretty amiable characters, are fast, get to play outside a lot with their friends, do a lot of resting and plenty of eating. It sounds like a dog’s life to me.

Joseph Paxton’s designs are available to buy from www.josephpaxton.com or by emailing paxton.joseph@gmail.com. Those wishing to join his mailing list and to receive invitations to exhibitions and can also email this address with the subject line: ‘Joseph Paxton Mailing List’.

Follow Joseph on Facebook and Twitter.

Last month, Liberty was invited to take part at a very special event in New York celebrating the very best of British. For four days only, Visit Britain and British Airways hosted “The Big British Invite”, taking over a 15,000 square foot space in the heart of Soho, Manhattan and giving New Yorkers an enticing glimpse of Britain’s finest cuisine, fashion, nightlife and cultural establishments. Amongst a host of notable British brands, including five star English afternoon tea experts The Sanderson Hotel, Liberty provided a brilliantly British experience with its renowned scarf styling tutorials. We caught up with Liberty scarf stylist Hannah Matthews, who was lucky enough to represent the store at this exciting event.

“When I first came to Liberty and learned to style scarves over three years ago, I never would have dreamt that one day I’d be sent across the world to give New Yorkers a taster of the Scarf Hall experience. It was a real honour to be asked to go, but I didn’t quite realise how incredible the event was going to be until I got to the Soho address, welcoming everyone in with a red carpet entrance! As guests arrived at the warehouse space just off Broadway they were greeted with a cocktail and boarding card, before being invited to try out the British Airways First Class cabin. Soul star Estelle then called guests to departure, and they began their journey through the myriad of British delights with delicious refreshments along the way.

After stopping for a carrot meringue at the Sanderson’s Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea, a whisky cocktail at Worship Street Whistling Shop and a dance in the Silent Rave Room, New Yorkers were more than ready to learn some scarf styling tips with us in our beautiful Liberty space. We transformed our area to capture the essence of our infamous Scarf Hall and flower entrance, complete with antique features and the delicate scents of wild flowers. In fact our home-grown visitors, including Estelle, fashion icon Alexa Chung and Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens commented on how our Liberty space made them long for home!

Upon arriving at destination Liberty, visitors were invited to try some of our famous styles, including “The Liberty Bow Tie”, “The Liberty Head Scarf” and “The Liberty Wrap”. However, the clear favourite among the famously fashion savvy New Yorkers was the flamboyant “Rose” styled as a headband. Even the men seemed to prefer this style above all others! So confident were the visitors in learning the styles, that they were soon freestyling, with some very interesting results…

I felt so incredibly lucky to be involved in such an innovative and fun event that represented modern Britain in a truly refreshing way, and Liberty couldn’t have been more at home alongside its fellow British pop-ups. New Yorkers experienced Liberty’s rich heritage, our unrivalled prints, and signature styling, amongst a variety of wonderful British highlights. A perfect showcase for Liberty’s offbeat yet luxuriously quintessential Britishness.”

Liberty’s Managing Director, Ed Burstell was chosen by The Big British Invite as one of the campaign’s launch ambassadors. Watch the video of Ed inviting visitors over to visit London and our historic store below.

Belgian fashion designer Dries Van Noten began selling Frédéric  Malle’s Editions de Parfums collection at his Modepaleis store in Antwerp in 2002. The designer then opened his first Parisian store in 2007, and for the first time the French perfumer’s collection was sold outside his Editions de Parfums boutiques. But it was in 2010 that Malle had the idea of becoming a link between perfumers and artists specialising in other disciplines. He wanted to create a collection of fragrances that translates the essence of a talented individual into a unique scent – and so, XXXX par Frédéric Malle was born. The approach was pure and uncompromising; the process was focused on the perfume itself, instead of marketing and consumer tests, and without the restraints of time or cost. This new collection is also Frédéric Malle’s answer to the many requests for bespoke perfumes that he has always refused, and is a series of olfactory portraits of extraordinary individuals.

Find the fragrance in store now, or online here.

Watch the interview with Frédéric Malle and Dries Van Noten on the creation of the first edition in the French perfumer’s second collection.

Find the fragrance in store now, or online here.

Stylist to the stars and the fashion elite, George Northwood is our resident top hair stylist at Atelier Liberty. Regarded as one of the most influential hairdressers in the industry, he has been dubbed the ‘go to’ man for the ultimate cool cut. He is the man responsible for Alexa Chung’s ever-evolving, closely followed tresses, counts Rosie Huntington-Whitely as a loyal client, and regularly works on shoots for titles such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle. George’s cutting skills have earned him high praise and a hefty star-studded following, leading him to work closely with the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, Mila Kunis, Jennifer Garner and Stella McCartney. It’s safe to say that when you book a cut and style with George Northwood you’re in well experienced, trusted hands.

We caught up with George at Atelier Liberty where he told us more about his passion for styling,  past hair disasters and his recommendations for the easiest way to update your hair.

How did you get started in hairdressing?
Watching my nan doing ladies’ hair at home, I sensed hairdressing was about a lot more than just looking nice. When I was 12, I opened a ‘salon’ in my parents loft and permed all the girls’ hair in the street. I just knew it was what I wanted to be the absolute best at. I gave up a good job in hotel management, went to hairdressing college and worked my fingers to the bone. It’s paid off.

What do you like about working here at Atelier Liberty?
It’s central and happens to be my all time favourite store, especially for menswear – ouch! The clients that come to Atelier Liberty are so diverse; I get to meet all sorts, which is one of the best parts of my job.

Who’s the best person that you’ve ever styled?
Alexa Chung and Rosie Huntington-Whitely will always be my favourite as we’ve worked together for so long, but Gwyneth Paltrow is an all-round inspiration. I worked with her on a Goop.com project and just loved the way she is so smart, professional and down-to-earth.

Do you have a speciality when cutting? Why should people book in with you at Atelier Liberty?
I make people look and feel how they want to. I have a high standard of technical training but I look at the person, their style, the ruts they’ve got into and I sculpt the hair into a shape that makes them look amazing all the time. I want my clients to have hair that looks like they have been to see me every day.

Most ridiculous haircut you’ve ever had yourself?
I can’t lie as there are photographs, but when I first got into hairdressing there was a lot of experimenting. I had a severe mullet in the early noughties, and to accentuate it I had extensions put in at the back. There may have been some bold blonde stripes involved as well. Cringe.

What’s the easiest way to give your hair a makeover?
Get a regular trim, it always brings the colour back to life and makes it feel and look fresh. Also, change the way you style your own hair; a fringe, a loose bun or investing in a good waving tong will prevent you getting bored of your own look.

Can you suggest a new catwalk style which anyone looking for a radical change should try?
There was a lot of dual texture stuff on the catwalk right now. For a style change, try blow drying your hair out then creating more of a wet look at the roots by adding some gel and leaving to set. Cut-wise, girls are getting braver. I think short and sharp is such a strong look on women that can carry it off. If you dare go short, it’s liberating, zero maintenance and you’ll stand out in a crowd.

George Northwood is available for appointments on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays at Atelier Liberty. To book an appointment with George or one of the other stylists please email reservations@joshwoodcolour.com or call +44 (020) 3393 0977.

A block is made up from several pieces of fabric pieced together using a paper template. Patterns can be as simple as stripes or as complex as making a landscape scene. Very Kerry Berry a previous guest blogger has made a storage tray from a  button design. Patchwork blocks can be made into a quilt, framed or turned into something practical the uses are endless.

Follow the step-by-step instructions here.

Download the pattern template here.

We spoke with the stitching fanatic to discover how she turned her love of sewing into more than just a hobby.

“I have sewn since I was a little girl. Sewing has been a friend of mine through my childhood, my teens and now as an adult. I decided to turn my passion into a business and set up Sew Over It in May 2011. We are a sewing cafe where you can drop in and hire machines while enjoying tea and cake. You can also take over 30 different classes, from dressmaking to soft furnishings and leather bags, or buy one of our kits or patterns to take away and sew at home. We like to think of ourselves as a one-stop sewing shop, where you can find anything and everything related to sewing. We are based in Clapham North and are hoping to open another shop north of the river soon.

Liberty fabrics have always been up there with my favourites. Tana Lawn has been a popular choice for my dressmaking projects over the years. I now have my own mini collection of clothes made from Liberty fabrics in my wardrobe.  So I was thrilled when I heard about the Lifestyle fabrics collection, and that there was going to be a new range suitable for quilting and more home based projects. Since they launched, we have used them in our café projects for cushions, bags, quilts, lampshades and lots more. The colour range are reflective of  ‘Sew Over It’ colours – bright and cheerful!

Today I am sharing with the Liberty Craft Blog readers the same instructions for the Liberty print lampshade I made for the Alan Tichmarch show. The idea of a patchwork lampshade came from Dominique Davant, one of our teachers at Sew Over It. Dominique shares my love of Liberty fabrics and showed me a sample she had made for herself out of scraps of fabric. I decided to do strips of fabric that are then sewn together in a patchwork, but anything works. Regular or irregular, they always look fab! Read on for Lisa’s quick and easy to follow steps for a pretty lampshade that will instantly transform any room.

Patchwork Liberty print lampshade

1. Firstly measure the height of the lampshade paper and cut your fabric intro strips to this measurement. The width of the strips was random- varying from 6cm wide to 16cm. I wanted to use 5 different fabrics with some appearing twice and others just once. Using a rotary cutter, cutting mat and quilting ruler cut your strips into desired widths.

2. Then lay your strips in the order you want them.

3. Taking the first two strips, place them right sides together and stitch with 1cm seam allowance. Then take the third strip and add that in the same way and so on and so forth for the remaining strips. In the end you will have one long strip of fabric.

4. Press open all of the seams. Now peel back the paper from the adhesive card and slowly press onto the fabric, aligning the edges of the fabric with the edges of the card.

5. Turn over and smooth out any wrinkles. If you need to you can peel of the fabric in places and re-stick.

6. Then take the double sided tape and place a strip on one end of the card, within the scored lines. Then place the tape all the way round both rings, making sure it wraps round the edges.

7. Fold the top and bottom edges of the card along the scored lines. This should crack and then peel off to reveal a border of fabric. Remove the plastic from the double sided tape. Starting at the un-taped end of the card, place the plain ring on the top edge of the card and the ring with the bulb attachment at the bottom (facing upwards).

8. Slowly start rolling them together. It helps if you have a spare pair of hands for this step. When you get to the end peel the plastic from the tape off along the card edge and press firmly down, overlapping the fabric side of the card.

9. Roll the fabric border round the rings – this should stick to the double sided tape. Then using the triangle tool push the extra fabric in between the ring and the card. Cut off any frayed threads. Place on a lampstand and admire! This is a standard fitting so it should fit most lamps.

Feeling inspired and fancy adding that personal touch to your home?  You can buy the full lampshade kit here.

Making a hot return for Spring Summer 2013 is the laid-back sportswear trend, this time featuring modern updates in the form of foiled metallics, playful textures and tailored separates. Think 80s style sports luxe jackets mixed with collared shirts, structured skirts and high end jogging bottoms, off-set by glittering embellishments.

This latest look from our Private Suite Style Consultants is a multi-separate ensemble that’s dressy enough to get you noticed, while remaining understated and edgy. Blending Antipodium’s futuristic and doll-like foil skirt and surgically marked shirt, gilded accessories and graphic footwear with a retro-style bomber nonchalantly thrown into the mix, it’s sweet femininity toughened up. Perfect for partying or as fun Friday night bar attire, wear this look with minimal make-up and plenty of attitude. Jacket £215, Filippa K; shirt £230 and skirt £195, Antipodium; socks £11, Falke; shoes £365, Dries van Noten; bag £1260, Lanvin.