One of the first people I started talking to on Twitter was Kerry 'Lou Lou' Milne. She was selling her fabulous range of vintage inspired pieces on Folksy at the time but has since gone independent and set up her own website Lou Lou's Luxuries. To celebrate the launch Kerry agreed to spill the beans a little on her inspiration and aspirations...So, Kerry, how long have you been making jewellery? Why did you start?
I've
always loved making things, my mum has countless cross stitches, pillow
covers, plaster casts and bracelets that I've made since I could
tie a knot but I never thought I'd do anything remotely crafty in
the future. It wasn't until last year when I had some time off from the
day job and started playing around with beads and vintage bits and
bobs. Low and behold...a couple of months later Lou
Lou's Luxuries was born! And she's here to stay (I hope!).
Where do you find inspiration?
My
Jewellery is definitely inspired by history, nature and fashions of the
past. I've always been a bit of a history geek and funnily enough one
of the first ever books I borrowed from a library was a fashion through
the ages book. I love
the style and sophistication of the Victorian era - especially their
love of pearls! I'd love to think that my style encapsulates the feminine style of a by-gone era.
Can you describe a typical Lou Lou's Luxuries customer?
Oooh
let's have a think! The typical Lou Lou's Luxuries customer is someone
with a love of vintage fashion, someone who loves to feel feminine and
beautiful with simplistic but beautiful accessories. Probably someone
with a lot of shoes too!
Any plans in the pipeline you can tell us about? What does the future hold for Lou Lou's Luxuries?
That's a secret ;)
Describe your style in 6 words
Vintage, feminine, sophisticated, luxurious, beautiful, wearable
Apart from making jewellery are there any other arts/crafts you practice or any you would like to learn?
I
have tried my hand at lots of different things over the years! I've
tried card making (nope...not very good at it!) I've made soaps, I've
done some wood work, cross stitching and I'm also not too bad at
knitting :) Although I only seem to knit in the
winter and every year I have to buy new needles because I loose them
during the rest of the year! But watch out...I may add a line of
knitted luxuries to the website in about November hehehe.
What would be your perfect day?
Hmm...my perfect day would probably happen on a Sunday :) And a perfect
Sunday doesn't start until about 11:30am. That's about the time to
move from bed onto
the sofa and await a delicious bacon sandwich from the other half,
followed by a gallon of coffee and and film snuggled up in front of the
telly. Squeeze in a bit of crafting and then a Sunday roast and that's
the day sorted! Oooh and if there could be some
sunshine and the scent of fresh cut grass coming in through the window
then that's a bonus.
Many thanks to Kerry for taking the time to answer my questions, your website looks lovely!
Now, lovely readers, here's your chance to get hold of your very own Luxury from Lou Lou.
Kerry is giving away a fabulous and bang-on-trend flower ring!
Measuring an impressive 45mm across, this stunning deep red cabbage rose ring will certainly get noticed and would look gorgeous with this seasons rich, autumnal colours.
Set on an Art Nouveax inspired, gold coloured filigree base that can be adjusted to fit any size. Supplied in it's own little pouch so it would make a lovely gift for someone special, if you can bare to part with it!
So how can you get your hands on this little luxury?
First of all visit loulousluxuries.co.uk and have mooch around. What's your favourite item? Perhaps you like the cute Bouquet Dreams earrings? Or the stunning peacock freshwater pearls of Depths of Beauty necklace.
Next, leave a comment here, tell us which Luxury you would love to treat yourself to. (don't forget to include a way I can get hold of you if you are the lucky winner - email or twitter name is fine)
And that's it!
For extra bonus entry you can like this blog with GFC in the column to the right - and leave a comment to say that you have done so.
If you are on twitter tweet the following for another bonus entry "I want to win a little #luxury from @loulousluxuries and #TalesfromMountPleasant http://bit.ly/ommMkl "
The giveaway ends at 10pm on Monday 12th September and is open to UK residents only. The winner will be drawn by a random generator (ie - my other half ;) )
Good Luck everyone!!
This giveaway is now closed. The winner will be announced at 9pm Tuesday 13th Septempber.
