Best Believe ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

The quintessential English emporium; Liberty of London has a series of videos on You Tube on how to style and wear ‘the scarf’ including; the chiffon knot, the Plait, the Head Scarf and as above the Pussy Bow.

Platform from platform on Vimeo.

Bright Space recruiting youth bloggers for new arts and social media project

 Bright Space is launching a new and exciting social media project entitled Platform (www.projectplatform.org.uk) for 16-19 years olds living in Birmingham. Platform will be a blog featuring articles, reviews, events listings and much more, written by young people for young people and will represent a unique perspective on arts activity in Birmingham.  Bright Space is now looking to recruit 15 young people who are interested in reporting, reviewing and attending the many cultural events in and around the city. This includes theatre, dance, exhibitions, launches and gigs. Deadline for applications is Monday 19^th July 2010.

Successful applicants will receive a £200 bursary and the opportunity to attend a week long intensive summer school, which will highlight the many techniques and skills they will need to become fully fledged Platform bloggers. During the week they will take part in workshops led by industry experts including; journalists, photographers, bloggers and film-makers.  Subjects covered will include:

• Journalism, writing, reviewing and interview techniques
• Podcasting with audio and video
• Photo blogging and social media tools
• Events management, promotion and marketing

 The Platform bloggers will then organise a live launch of the website to their peers, parents, friends and mentors. The group will meet regularly throughout the project with continued access to and mentoring from industry professionals who will support them in creating content, researching articles and building their on-line readership.

The core group will improve skills in; ICT, literacy, independent learning and critical thinking. The  project will also support those wishing to pursue a career within the creative and cultural industries.

The aspiration for Platform is to amplify young people as unique, dynamic, cultural commentators that successfully communicate, inspire and engage other young people, while at the same time propose significant debate about their cultural offer.  It is also hoped that Platform will become a vehicle that cultural organisations, venues and promoters connect with to ensure their programming reflects the breadth and individuality of young people in Birmingham.

How to apply:

• Applicants need to write a 200 word article on a creative passion that they have
• Include their name, address, date of birth and contact details
• Send the completed article with all the necessary contact details to: Bright Space, Studio 222 The Custard Factory, Gibb Street, Birmingham, B9 4AA

 Bright Space (www.brightspace.org.uk) is committed to developing and encouraging activity that helps young people find creative progression routes in and beyond the arts. Bright Space works actively to encourage sustainable cross-sector partnerships that broaden the horizons and opportunities available to young people.

For more information about Platform, please contact me – Amy Martin on 0121 772 6932 or email: amy@brightspace.org.uk

FOR over 60 years, the Vogue Talent Contest for Young Writers has been one of the UK’s most prestigious writing awards. Many established journalists started their careers after entering the contest, and recent winners have gone on to become successful poets, playwrights, authors and members of Vogue’s staff. So, what are we looking for? Journalists who can identify a story, and know how to tell it with pace and creative flair. What’s the prize? £1,000, plus a month’s paid work experience at Vogue, with £500 for the runner-up.

How to enter – you must complete all sections:

1. Write about a personal memory. This could be a memory of an extraordinary event, place or person, or simply something that resonated deeply (800 words).
2. Write a short feature article – a contemporary cultural review or a fashion trend (500 words).
3. Write an opinion piece or polemic. This could be about a person, or on current affairs or social issues (500 words).

Accompanying your entry should be a passport-sized photograph of yourself, attached to a sheet of paper listing your name, permanent address, telephone number, date of birth and occupation. The judging panel will include Vogue’s editor Alexandra Shulman, senior members of the magazine’s staff, guest editors and writers. Finalists will be invited to a lunch at Vogue with the judges, after which the winner will be decided.

Closing Date: April 9, 2010.  – Please note this competition is for under 25s only.

For all the info check here

This is very exciting! On Thursday 4th March The Electric Cinema will be screening Beyond Biba a portrait of the life of 1960s fashion legend Barbara Hulanicki. All information can be found here with tickets available from The Electric.

Our first screening in Birmingham. We’re screening for one night at the Electric Cinema, Birmingham. The cinema is the oldest working cinema in the UK first opening on December 27th 1909. The building is now home to luxury sofa seating, waiter service and a full bar.

There will be a post screening Q&A with Director Louis price and Producer James Collie, which will be hosted by Tom Lawes, owner of the Electric Cinema.

Special edition DVDs signed by Barbara Hulanicki will be available after the screening.

Had a little heads up from my glamorous pal Alex about this Birmingham based fashion blog. Betty Who? aka Isabel Beresford makes gorgeous bespoke dresses – you could call it Kings Heath Couture. Gorgeous. Peep here.

I design each dress to be totally unique – I never make the same dress twice. betty who? dresses are made with love and care and I hope you like them! If you see something you like but its not in your size I will always do my best to create something similar for you, made to fit! x x x

Here is a collection of alternative Christmas gifts available from creative folks in and around Birmingham. Firstly a Christmas type mix of records from me. Feel free to wang this mix on whilst wrapping your presents or mulling your pies… enjoy!

At the top of the page we have the infamous Spinwell Bobble Beanie – which had almost sold out from this Birmingham based cycle blog, before the delivery had even arrived. Thankfully some are still available and now in stock ready for Christmas, very reasonably priced at £15 a pop. You will look hot when you are cold.

Spinwell Projects No.1 will be the Spinwell Bobble Beanie. Limited to 30 pieces and available in two colour options – Red/Grey/White and Grey/Red/White ( unfortunately not the colour pictured, this is my special sample! ).

Current State is the work of Birmingham based designer and illustrator Jane Anderson. Current State do lovely bold prints and are often feature in Fused Magazine. You can purchase postcards and Eco bags from Studio 4 Gallery aka The Framers along with a whole bunch of other stylish prints, postcards, bags and stickers from other artists and designers. Picture of Current State’s Eco Bag below - online shop and information here.

Mouldy Loaf is an independent company and brand which stocks the best in men’s and women’s wares. We have created an innovative and alternative brand which provides a great change to mainstream, high street fashion.

I say amen to that! Mouldy Loaf also run We Create* in Oasis Market. To go peep their wares just head down to the Custard Factory or look online here.

From mouldy bread to tasty and mouldy (if you so please) cheese! I love cheese and I love this shop! Newly opened in Kings Heath with a tasty collection of cheese, deli goodies and chutneys.

Capeling and Co is a specialist cheese shop and delicatessen on York Road, Kings Heath. We sell a large range of artisan cheeses, charcuterie, olives, antipasti, chutneys, vinegars, oils and lots more!

You can find out more here and become a fan on facebook. Support your local independent cheese retailer!

Merry Christmas!

Best Believe xx

Said with a face full of fashion-irony…” This is what you need to be looking at…”

Über Brum is Birmingham’s first and only street style blog. The aim is to find the beautiful people of Brum and document their style for all the world to see.

Peep here.

Whilst rummaging on tinterweb I came across this gorgeous blog, by the name of Coral Stars, written by the lovely Leah from Birmingham.

Here she talks to Best Believe about her aspirations and gives us an insight into the world of Coral Stars.

My aim in blogging is to document my inspirations and thoughts within the realm of fashion, diy + art. Coral Stars lives to serve as a place for my witterings, creative experiments and other things of that ilk.

Hello, hello! I’m Leah – an 18 year old currently living in Birmingham, I like fashion, sewing, knitting, drawing, writing, photography and generally dabbling in creative endeavors.

My blog, Coral Stars, would best be classed as a fashion blog. It’s my second blog, so I’ve actually been blogging since 2006. The focus on this blog is more diy, personal style and independent craft. I have a slight leaning toward vintage fashion, mostly because I view fashion as cyclical – but am not wholly opposed to mainstream fashion!

I started reading blogs as a way to keep up with the happenings in the fashion world and started blogging to keep a record of my thoughts, creations, obsessions and so forth. I’ve wanted to be a designer for a long time now, so this may explain why a little better!

I like sewing, knitting, generally making stuff, drawing, “thrifting” (to take the american word), music (like most), reading books, writing/blogging, photography (or at least, ‘taking pictures’), learning stuff about history, visiting galleries/museums… and a whole lot more.

It would seem that Birmingham could be the Vintage Fashion capital of the Midlands with the arrival of the new (but old) ‘Vintage fair‘ which is already successfully running in Sheffield and Manchester, making my count of vintage enterprises in the city to more than 8. The vintage movement is a way for us fashion forward folks to put a middle finger up to the relentless high street brands that keep rearing their ugly heads in Birmingham City Centre -  more commonly known to outsiders as ’shoppingham’. Vintage lets you embrace a unique and individual style, not to mention a more ethical approach to apparel too, as you are giving new life to the threads of yesteryear.

With Spring/Summer 2010 catwalk shows revealing 80’s silhouettes and 1940’s floral numbers, vintage fashion has wedged itself firmly within popular culture and does not seem to be showing any signs of retiring. Your body shape can determine which eras and styles suit you best. Slender boyish types look amazing in 20’s and 30’s styles, and voluptuous hourglass ladies are incredible in 50’s outfits. 40’s looks tend to emphasise the shoulders and waist, as does the 80’s but look fabulous on a range of body shapes.

At this point I would like to point my male readers over to my boy Kevin at Proppergander – a Birmingham based style blog that features many an article on men’s fashion.

So here is a round up of all the places in Birmingham that you can get yourself fully hooked up on a purely vintage tip.

Vintage Fair // The Library Theatre at Custard Factory – Starting 21st November – ‘The Vintage Fair now in our 2nd year hold exciting vintage fashion fairs in Sheffield, Manchester & soon to be Birmingham! Our vintage fairs are crammed with stalls of affordable vintage fashion from the 1920s – 1980s, reworked, handmade and eco clothing, cool jewellery , yummy cupcakes and much more from local to national designers and traders! So come and join us for some affordable shopping, a vintage tea party, offers on the bar and some vintage tunes whilst you shop’.

General Stores // Custard Factory - General Stores houses a collective shopping experience including spaces hosted by Diamond Togs, G & B Creative, Nattys Vintage, Coco Black Vintage and veteran-vintage-vendor Urban Village.

Cow // Digbeth High Street - The big yellow place – good for accessories.

Top Banana // York Road, Kings Heath- Good for man gear.

Vintage Fair // Hare & Hounds (Monthly) – ‘XMAS VINTAGE FAIR Ladies & Men’s clothes, accessories & jewellery FAB INDIVIDUAL PARTY DRESSES AT LOW PRICES UNUSUAL XMAS GIFTS FROM ONLY £1 AT THE HARE & HOUNDS PUB HIGH STREET, KINGS HEATH B’HAM. B14 7JZ 11am – 4.30pm FREE ADMISSION ON SATURDAY 7th NOVEMBER 09 SATURDAY 5th DECEMBER 09′.

Flea Market // Custard Factory Flea Market (Saturdays) – ‘The Custard Factory Flea Market is offering a free stall for 6 months to entrepreneurial university students in Birmingham. Birmingham based students are being asked to submit a business plan explaining their creative talents what they want to sell at the market. If successful The Custard Factory Flea Market will provide the five candidates with 6 months free stall rent worth over £500′. For more details read here.

Rag Market // Birmingham City Centre – ‘A place with all genres of taste and fancy, from women’s clothes, fabric stalls and even those lusted after magazines you can’t justify purchasing, just for a pound. A market that has been through Birmingham’s best and worst since the start. Pay it a visit and keep the Bullring’s true roots alive!’.

With London Fashion Week starting this weekend, Birmingham is also celebrating fashion with ‘Style in the City’.  Which looks like a right pile of crap, heavily endorsed by TV stylist Gok Wan, and his desperate attempts to get everyone in girdles and whack jersey wrap dresses.

However there are two ways to give a sultry respectful nod to London Fashion Week here in Brum. Firstly you can go and see ‘ The September Issue ‘ the new docu-drama about Anna Wintour at The Electric Cinema (see the Events page) and secondly is to go check out the Pop Up Style & Fashion shop which is an opportunity for independent fashion designers, independent retailers and boutiques from Birmingham to preview their work.

Pop-Up In The City will be on Corporation Street from Thursday 24th to Saturday 26th September (the old Jade shoe store next to New Era).

The shop is open from 10am-6pm each day and will be hosting designs from the following designers & independent retailers;

Chatterbox Boutique, People, Top Banana, The Wedding Club, Steel & Jelly, Rachel Simpson Shoes, Benjamin’s, Honey’s Lingerie & Terry Terry Accessories

Moseley and Kings Heath town centre manager Nikki Carr has developed the project along with the city council’s leisure, sport and culture chief, Martin Mullaney.

This is a good opportunity for independent fashion retailers to take pride of place in Birmingham’s city centre (where they should be) and to make pretty just one of the many empty shops in the city.

Apparently..

Council regeneration bosses are already working with art students to turn empty shop windows into temporary galleries during the recession and although unable to offer free selling space to businesses they are looking to help with the refit…

Coun Neville Summerfield, a Kings Heath businessman and the Cabinet member for Regeneration, said: “We are discussing what we can do with our empty shops and this is just one of a number of initiatives.”.

The Birmingham Mail

So for an alternative shopping experience check out this temporary shop and support the individual.

“Birmingham isn’t just one big Primark”

Best Believe September 09