Kitten heels for xoJane

Meow! How'd you like my badass new photoshop skillz?  As you can probably tell I'm rather chuffed with them!  Anyway, last week I wrote a feature for xoJane about my love of kitten heels.  In recent years I've become increasingly fed-up with the rising height of high heels (and with it my rising inability to go an entire night in a pair).  It got to the stage where I had to admit defeat and bow out gracefully, and so for the past couple of years I've been wearing lots of flats.  Sometimes you just need an extra little bit of lift and elegance though, and that my friends is where the kitten heel comes in.  Anyway, don't let me ruin the feature for you; to read my top 5 reasons for loving kitten heels and see my pick of this season's crop click through to xoJane here.

Jo Hayes Ward for Hunger TV

Jo Hayes Ward's pale citrine ring 

I've been at it again - interviewing another inspiring up-and-coming jewellery designer for Hunger TV.  I've been interested in Jo's work since I first saw it (and very briefly met her) in the Rock Vault tent at LFW a couple of seasons ago.  Her pieces are immediately striking, but in a subtle, gentle, take a closer look as opposed to an in-your-face visual assault kind of way.  Jo uses rapid prototying (a kind of 3D printing) to create her jewellery - a process I've been wanting to know more about ever since she mentioned it to me a year ago.  Above is a pic of Jo's pale citrine ring - my absolute favourite piece of hers. This picture doesn't even begin to do the ring justice, it really is the most incredibly beautiful, intriguing piece of jewellery I've ever seen.  The citrine is a pale yellow colour and has been cut so it gently domes and when you look into it you see hundreds of tiny squares.  It works in perfect harmony with the pixilated body of the ring, and the combination is utterly mesmerising.   Sadly at £3,500 it's slightly out of my price range at the moment (although if anyone happens to have a spare £3,500 lying round, please feel free to buy it for me)!  

Anyway, here's the Hunger TV interview - I hope you enjoy it, and as ever, would love to know what you think!

Jo's signature structural rings

Stacking rings (I think they make fantastic wedding bands!)

Kyle Hopkins for Hunger TV

Ring from SS13 Material Girls collection

Last week I interviewed one of my favourite young jewellery designers, Kyle Hopkins, for Hunger TV (Hunger Magazine's website).  Kyle's jewellery is really bold, exciting, and sometimes challenging (gold cast ear pendant anyone?), and is about as far away from the traditional idea of jewellery simply as adornment as you can get.  Although I'm not sure I'd personally wear some of his pieces, he's so passionate and honest and thoughtful it's impossible not to believe in his work and his creative vision, and I'm sure there are great things ahead for him.  Anyway, so here's the interview - would love to know what you think of Kyle's work, which pieces you love and why.

Finger print ring from AW12

Kyle's signature Citizen ring

The real stars of Cannes

As I sit here in my house clothes (oh the glamorous life of a freelance writer), just over the Channel the rich and famous are guzzling champagne on ostentatious yachts and generally living it up at the 65^th Cannes film festival.  Not one to be bitter, I thought I’d get in on the action by writing about the real stars of the Cannes red carpet aka. the mind-blowingly extravagant jewellery (all courtesy of long-time Cannes sponsor Chopard).  Sante!