In 2017 I decided to venture out of my comfort zone and exhibit at The Most Curious Wedding Fair in London . I tend to avoid wedding fairs like the plague but Most Curious was different, far more creative, far friendlier, far less Cadbury purple , far fewer diamanté - far more scope for Pompom Blossom !
I chose to decorate a larger inspirational space rather than a standard stand/table area as I had big dreams... Months and months of planning and designing went into the space and along the way I managed to find two vintage mannequins. Each one was nearly 7 feet tall and I have to admit originally I didn't quite know how I was going to incorporate them into the space. As they had last been used for a GCSE project, painted in garish colours and had seen far better days, Glenn set to work- sanding them, filling the cracks and repsraying them...
In the four years I have been hand-dyeing silk , my silk ribbon and fabric has primarily been used for weddings but I've also seen it used to adorn Christmas wreathes; to replace the degraded silk ribbon on a pair of shin quards belonging to a Japanese Samuari armor suit in a museum in the USA; to create a miniature Marchesa gown for a doll exhibition in Orlando Florida- and more recently to dress a show home in Atlanta and also the Country Living Magazine Christmas Show- but also many metres of silk fabric have been sold to designers and dressmakers to create their own wedding gowns.
Which sowed a seed...
And so with some trepidation I decided to approach Jennie...
Jennie Adamson is a bespoke tailor and pattern cutter who does freelance work but also creates for Gieves and Hawkes Savile Row. She was awarded the QEST scholarship for Excellence in Craftmanship 2016, the central Saint Martins Innovative Pattern Cutting in 2016 and was a Golden Shears Finalist in 2011 and 2013. So one very talented and extraordinarily gifted tailor - who just also very luckily (for me at least!) happens to be my niece!
Jennie very graciously agreed to design and make a silk skirt for me to dress my rather tall mannequin, why?! I'm not entirely sure - but I will always be forever grateful! After many conversations back and forth, I dyed and sent over 29 metres of silk chiffon satin and silk habotai to Jennie's studio - Cockpit Arts in London . Slowly but surely a skirt began to take shape , although it presented a few challenges in that the sheer silk habotai was impossible to cut with tailor's shears!
I began to receive tantalising sneak peeks of Jennie's progress ..
On the day before The Most Curious Fair began , I collected the completed skirt from Jennie and was absolutely blown away by just how beautiful it was - Jennie's skill, her talent and her craftsmanship are second to none - and the skirt was beyond anything I could have imagined .
The skirt took pride of place at the Pompom Blossom inspirational space at the wedding fair over three days and received many , many compliments, was photographed countless times and was featured on many blogs too!
It was whilst I was exhibiting at the Most Curious Wedding Fair that Lotte from Lamp Productions approached me, Lotte was in the process of setting up an inspirational space at Marylebone One- The Wedding Gallery -the world's first luxury wedding 'department store' and in due course Pompom Blossom became one of the suppliers fortunate enough to be represented at The Wedding Gallery - the opportunities that I have been afforded from meeting Lotte that day have been phenomenal and Pompom Blossom has gone from strength to strength as a consequence . Thank you Lotte and thank you Most Curious !!!! Which brings me to the the shoot with Brides Magazine...
Through Lamp Productions and The Wedding Gallery I was invited to collaborate on a shoot for the Lookbook in The Jan/Feb 2019 issue of Brides Magazine - I was utterly over the moon that Jennie's silk skirt was deemed perfect for the brief and Lucy Davenport photographed the skirt on a gorgeous model- Charlotte Godfrey . Lotte teamed it with a corset top by Suzanne Neville and heels by Emmy London - the results speak for themselves!
Many , many thanks Jennie , I always hoped to get the skirt photographed and to one day do it justice, and through the invaluable collaboration with Lamp Productions, Brides Magazine and Lucy Davenport I hope we achieved that! xxx
Magazine - Brides Magazine Jan / Feb issue @bridesmagazine
Styling and planning - LAMP Productions @lamp_productions with @theweddinggalleryofficial
Venue - Horniman Museum @hornimanmuseumgardens
Photographer - Lucy Davenport @lucy_davenport
Florist - Paul Thomas Flowers @paulthomasflowers
Furniture - Greathire - @greathireltd
Technical Production and bespoke Build - Box Productions - @boxproductions_uk
Cakes (Large copper / teal / sugar flowers) - Unique cakes by Yevnig - @uniquecakesbyyevnig
Cakes (calligraphy cakes / smaller sweet treats) - Monannie - @monanniecakes
Calligraphy - Second Star Lettering - @secondstarlettering
Stationery - Cutture - @cutture
Cocktails - The Cocktail Service - @thecocktailservice
Ring Boxes - The Mrs Box - @the_mrs_box
Rings - Monarc Jewellery - @monarc_jewellery
Earrings - Laurence Coste - @laurence_coste
Embroidered napkins - Extra Special Touch - @extraspecialtouch
Cake stand with birds and dinner plates - Anthropologie - @anthropologie
Tableware - Couvert - @couverthire
Ribbons - PomPom Blossom - @pompomblossom
Candles - Jo Malone - @jomalonelondon
Hair and Make-up
Hair - Louis Byrne - @louisbyrne
Make-up - Kyra Valentina - @kyra.valentina
Wedding dresses
Suzanne Neville - @suzanneneville
Sassi Holford - @sassiholford
Temperley London - @temperleybridal @temperleylondon
Jennie Adamson jennie_adamson for Pompom Blossom - @pompomblossom
Shoes - Emmy London - @emmylondonofficial
Menswear
Casely-Hayford - @caselyhayfordbespoke
Shoes - George Cleverley - @georgecleverley