where I've been and the exciting times ahead!

On our flight to Vancouver over the Canadian Rockies!

Firstly apologies for being absent over here! - its all for a reason I promise - Ive had 3 major life developments (which have been super time consuming) and of course like buses they came all at once!

1) I suppose I should start with the huge life changing development first - Im moving to NYC temporarily! Now if you have been following me and the blog for a while you'll know just how important and huge this trip will be for me! Now even though (for now) this will be a temporary move I will be seeing this as a taster for moving over there permanently. Its been a dream of mine for years and I'm so grateful that its even been able to happen! Testing the waters this summer will be a great way to decide whether its something I can do forever OR (and there is every chance of this happening as i have never lived on my own properly before) that missing my family, boyfriend and friends is so overwhelmingly crippling that I come back and take the 3 months away as an incredible time to explore an amazing city and do the whole 'eat pray love' thing. So as you can imagine I have been seriously busy organising and packing - I mean how I've even managed to pack my whole life in a suitcase is a miracle! You can keep up with my NYC via Instagram and will be trying my hand at vlogging while I'm out there so keep an eye out! Which moves me swiftly onto the 2nd exciting development - before NYC I will be holidaying in Vancouver Canada for two weeks - which as you can imagine is super exciting and also something else i've had to consider while packing! As I write this I'm sitting in our Vancouver apartment - which is INSANE. Vancouver is a stunning city with views that are to die for! Again i'll be blogging about this and doing some serious Instagram stories so stay tuned! We are here for the boyfriends best mates wedding in Whistler which I'm totally stoked about!

In our huge 4X4 jeep which Andy was super chuffed about driving!

When you're apartment is just off Drake Street #youknowyourincanadawhen...

Went to have dinner at a place called Earl last night! The tacos I had were a must and did I mention the garlic and coriander fries?!? TO. DIE. FOR! Andy was over the moon as every dish had a GF option which were delicious so naturally he went for a burger the size of this face!

3)  Now as if that wasn't enough to organise (and I never thought id see this day coming after how long its taken to get there) I HAVE FINISHED MY FIRST COLLECTION. I have been working really hard alongside Megan - who has beautifully embellished three styles from the collection.We have worked tirelessly to get the collection completed in time for me to take them away with me. I can't wait to share them all with you when I'm back from NYC where I'll be having a launch which you will all be invited to! If you've been following my @madebykirenmodi instagram you will have been lucky enough to see some sneak peeks of what I've been up to with the collection while i've been making them, and would have seen what colour schemes I have gone with and some of the exclusives I have been working on. I was also lucky enough to fit in a quick product shoot with a great photographer before I left and I have been in talks about a website which is all coming soon and very exciting!

The Traveling Notebook of Shoe Makers

Chapter 2: Elizabeth Dunn

I first met Elizabeth when I took on a design course at the I Can Make Shoes studio about a year and a half ago, I was eager to learn and completely immerse myself into the footwear world. I asked her endless questions about the industry and how she got into footwear I was mesmerised by all she had achieved so far. (Making shoes to be later worn by Lady Gaga is a huge acomplishment) Low and behold  a couple months later, I was interning in the very studio she worked from and I was able to see her process from design to an actual pair of shoes. I enjoyed coming into to the studio because there would always be a new product on the horizon that we could all admire. Her design skill and craftsmanship was inspiring,  so when she said she was leaving for NYC I was filled with joy and sadness at the same time, she was so lovely to be around, her personality brightened up the room instantly but I was SO excited for her to be able to fulfil her dreams of moving to NYC to carry on with her own brand and label. (My life long goal too - ONE DAY!!!) So on my trip to NYC I obviously jumped at the opportunity to be able to catch up with her in Williamsburg which is where she now lives and works. The Brooklyn Shoe space based in Williamsburg too, is where Elizabeth produces most of her creations now and I always look forward to seeing her new collections, it makes it all the more worth while knowing she has made each piece herself. Head to her website for more.

Elizabeth's latest collection.

I loved these!

A commission Elizabeth made for a client

Gorgeous handmade Wedding shoes!

Lizzy making a pair of her sandals from her latest collection

Walking around the Studio! I loved this space!

You can imagine what caught my eye! MERMAID LEATHER

The first time Ive seen a skiving machine! 

Lizzy wearing her handmade handbag and sandals!

LOVE!!

#WIW ...on holiday

Since this wasn't a beach holiday I had actually packed outfits that could both be worn during the day and jazzed up by night. Even though I have already posted some of these outfits on Instagram I thought I'd give you a little break down of where I bought them from. In the first week I quickly realised while being there that for the first week the outfits would have to last almost all day even dinner since we were staying around 40mins away from downtown Washington (no point in travelling all the way back to come back in for dinner) which is where we were spending most of our time. It was absolutely boiling so i was able to pull out all my favourite summer outfits, some new and some classics. The second week in NYC was still very hot but definitely had a noticeable chilly wind so there were a few days where it felt more than necessary to wear jeans. At which points I chose my new flare jeans which I sported with a cute white bardot top. An ensemble Im mad about at the moment and cant wait to whip out when the sun decides to come out in London. For most part of the holiday, I ended up wearing a pair of last minute wedged espadrilles that my aunt had bought me from Tesco for £12 with most of my outfits. (They come in blue black and the brown Im wearing)

One piece from River island, Shoes and earings from Primark and vintage leather bag

Top from Petty Coat lane Market, Necklace Zara, Jamie Jeans TopShop, Bag from Spain and Shoes from Tesco

Zara Top, Sainsburys Denim Skirt, Zara Clogs, Vintage Bag and choker from my friend who makes them!

I actually bought this whole outfit from H&M in DC and, all for the bargain price of $10 in the sale! Tesco Shoes...Again

H&m Dress with those Wedges!

News

Killer Heels Exhibition - Brooklyn Museum NYC

About a month ago my very thoughtful boyfriend surprised me to a 5 day trip to NYC for my birthday. Anyone that knows me will know just how much I love everything and anything NYC related. Infact one of my dreams would be to eventually move out there. So you can just imagine the ball of tears and shock I was in when he told me at Heathrow departures that we were infact going to NYC and not Rome (which is where I thought we were originally going) Little did I know he had pretty much planned half of the trip with things that I have always wanted to go and see. As fate would have it there just happened to be an exhibition on heels and of course that also got placed on this list. So on day one we headed out early just to do that - the Killer Heels Exhbition at the Brooklyn Museum. (I know girls I’m on to a winner with him!!)

The exhibition was an absolute must see for heel obsessed women. Eastern Parkway is the nearest subway station to the exhibition and takes you practically straight to the front door of Brooklyn Museum. The building itself is beautiful, and just what you would expect of a museum. We paid $15 each, but this was optional. You can pay nothing or as much as you like. The suggested amount at the counter was $16 each.

Brooklyn Museum

The exhibition took you through the ages of the shoe, starting off with the development of the heel through to the present day heel, and just how far they have come in terms of design, conventionalism and pure crazy ideas for heels that can be adapted to look like art work on your feet. The best part of the exhibition was physically looking at a shoe that I had seen in the media but not managed to see in person. The use of visuals and digitial media made the exhibition varied so it wasnt just shoe after shoe which for even a shoe addict like me can get slightly repetitive and dull. There were tiny snippets of recordings throughout the exhibition showing the creative process of a shoe with the designer developing their ideas of a shoe design, designing the ‘last’ that the shoe will be moulded around through to it being put together. This for me was very insightful, I love to watch and follow how other shoe designers develop their work and how they record their work so that I can better mine to.

(Sorry the Images are blurry, the whole exhibition was super dark, so some images I had to take on my phone instead of my SLR and I couldn't use the flash within the exhibition - Typical!)

Architecture and Shoe design was a section of the exhibition that really caught my attention, having an architecture degree I have always noticed a connection between architecture and shoes but was never able to really define what made them so similar untill reading a caption in this particular gallery. It gave my thoughts about the relationship between fashion and architecture some perspective; 

"Architecture and shoe design share some concerns: enclosure and protection; The relationship between structure and facade; and the expressive harmony of solids, voids, and contours. The consideration of stress points, loads, flexion, and achieving elevation makes the comparison even more compelling when it comes to high heels"

sorry its blurry!

I ended up purchasing the 'Killer Heels - The Art of the High Heeled-Shoes' book that was dedicated to the exhibition and set me back around 30$ but when you are a shoe and book collector its pretty hard to turn away especially when you have already flicked through the book. The book features a number of shoes from various designers that were exhibited and some extras just to add to the collection within the book. A good buy if I do say so myself. Most definitely a coffee book but for me a source of inspiration from some of the top footwear designers in the world. 

I was completely seduced by the display of shoes within the exhibition and don't think its confined to just mad shoe lovers either, it makes for pretty light viewing (I went with my boyfriend and even he didn't find it to strenuous to go through) and I would recommend having a visit if you are in NYC.