Purple Haze

Happy Champagne Friday! Let's celebrate with a Purple Haze.

Selected items from the Fanantique boutique:  Vintage purple wool coat with mink collar, Comer & King purple regency chair, Vintage Vogue print, Organza flower brooch and purple wool felt hat.

With now less than one week to go until the highly anticipated (especially by me) Tim Burton exhibition opens, I am indulging my adoration of him and of anything with a slightly Gothic edge. I have been digging through my old folios and drawings and I can see that his influence on me is very obvious through my work.

Catwoman, pen & ink, photoshop. from greeting card series 2004

Business Card Design for Gina McCauley, Texta, Photoshop 2005

 

Fashion Design Project for Domus Academy, Milan. 'The Global Garment" this was a fashion project where designers from around the world came up with a collection that reflected their country's heritage in some way. I considered our convict past when completeing the project. This is one page of the work.
Pencil and Pen Illustration, 2000

 back in the day..me with my friend Anthony of the Goth/Glam rock band The Redresser (often mistaken as the hairdresser)

But even before I discovered Tim B, I loved the color purple, and I mean loved. I was very lucky that my parents were happy with me to express my creativity (within the confines of my bedroom) and allowed me to paint my walls and furniture purple...and not a light lavender or a poor excuse for purple, but a deep real purple. (I also adored Prince...another lover of purple, but that's another story)

 Sorry! Couldn't resist adding this!

Now, I still like purple but my obsession has ended and I am enjoying other colors too, but for old time's sake I have selected a few of my favorite purple pieces from the store as well as some of my illustrations to share with you. Oh yes, and being 'Champagne Friday' I also threw in a purple cocktail. This one- 'Purple Haze" (this is a nice easy one- less time mixing more time drinking I say!)

Purple Haze
old fashioned glass

45ml Vodka
15ml black raspberry liqueur
splash of cranberry juice

Shake vodka and liqueur with ice. Strain into old fashioned glass over ice and top up with juice.
Enjoy!

recipe taken from Cocktails & Rock Tales, by Jane Rocca

Selected accessories from Fanantique

Gorgeous framed print, art by Jennifer Gordon. In store at Fanantique.

Champagne Friday - "Drunk Chocolate"

Happy Champagne Friday!
This week I have decided on a Russian theme for 'Champagne Friday'. Last night I enjoyed one of my favorite treats , first introduced to me by my lovely Russian friend, Lana. It's simple really, we all love Champagne and we all love chocolate, why not combine them?! Such a simple idea, I can't believe I didn't think of it myself. One day as I sat with her drinking Champagne, she dropped a square of premium dark chocolate into our glasses,  she seem taken aback by my look of surprise and confusion .
"Vat ? You have never had chocolate in your Champagne?!" she questioned me. "well....no..I haven't."
but I knew she could be onto a good thing (this is a lady I used to work with, she would call me out into the back room for sneaky sips of cognac....she also introduced me to Russian Vogue..amazing fashion, gorgeous women and beautiful furs, oh so wrong, but oh so gorgeous!) So I knew when it came to taste, she was an expert. She had actually invited me for Champagne and a viewing of her designer shoe collection, but I digress.

"Take a sip." She insisted (like I needed encouragement!)
mmmmmm as I brought the glass up to take a sip, the bubbles danced around my nose carrying with me the delicious aroma of chocolate. This sensation made Champagne drinking even more exhilarating than it already was. But this was not to be the best part, as Lana told me, "Ven you eat zee chocolate it is drunk!" mmmm alcohol infused chocolate..how marvellous.
And so to Lana, a toast , "To the woman who brought my two great loves together, I applaud you!"

A Russian Champagne advertisement, " IN VICTORY YOU DESERVE CHAMPAGNE, IN DEFEAT, YOU NEED IT" truer words were never spoken.

To celebrate Lana, I will be making a 'Russian Double Agent' cocktail. (taken from Cocktails & Rocktails once again)

RUSSIAN DOUBLE AGENT
large old fashioned glass

30ml espresso coffee
30ml tia maria
dash of sugar syrup
30 ml cream
30 ml vodka
3 coffee beans to garnish

Combine espresso, tia maria and sugar syrup in one shaker. Combine cream and vodka in another shaker. Shake both then strain coffee mix over ice into large old fashioned glass. Layer cream mix ontop and garnish with coffee beans.

Enjoy!!