This Week's Best Bits

We've trawled the web for this week's best links, and landed a prize catch! Happy reading, folks...

We loved Lala and Bea's post about their experiences at Bubble - from being awarded a 'Laura Loves' tag, to finding an international stockist. Well done, guys! 

Little Spree were also in attendance at Bubble this season - and, while Nicky helped to judge our Rising Star Competition, Sarah explored the show. You can read more about what they wore for the occasion here.

We really enjoyed reading this post from Kid Style Junkie's Suzanne Peters - who, by her own admission, is the 'opposite of an earth mother'. Her first for The Huffington Post, it's candid, funny and unflinchingly honest. 

Congratulations are also in order for The Pud Store, which has opened a new outlet in Nottingham. Read all about it over at CWB.

Have a lovely weekend! 

70s Chic

If, like B&S, you've spent the past few days poring over dispatches from LFW, you'll know that 70s styling is set to be big in AW15. Think flares, faux fur and fun, retro-inspired prints - all of which were in abundance at Bubble London this season!

1. Mr Uky's A/W15 collection was inspired by the bright colours and bold prints of the 1970s. These dapper corduroy and wool pieces can be mixed and matched. 

2. Barbeline's beautiful Liberty prints were a subtle nod to the '70s. 

3. We loved Lala and Bea's Merino wool bobble hats, which are available in a range of retro-inspired colours and patterns. 

4. More Liberty prints from Homegrown brand Woolshed.

5. Belgian label Saints and Bullies creates fun, comfortable childrenswear, featuring unique prints and retro-inspired details. 

What do you think of the 70s trend? 

Rachel Riley for Start-Rite

Here at Bubble and Speak, we love a collaboration - so imagine our excitement when we heard that Rachel Riley was launching an A/W15 footwear range with the iconic Start-Rite...

The 'Rachel Riley for Start-Rite Collection' features high-quality shoes for infant boys, and girls aged 0 - 7. 

Traditional Start-Rite designs have been given a luxe, modern make-over; think sparkly buckles, oversized bows, polka-dot leathers and Mary Janes in soft metallic suede. We love that leopard print! 

There are boys lace-up brogues with a removable fringe, and classic, unisex t-bar shoes (as worn by Prince George!) in soft camel and baby blue.

Rachel Riley unveiled the collection at Bubble this February - and we can confirm that it's every bit as lovely as it looks! What do you think? 

This Week's Best Bits: Bubble Special

If there's one thing we love here at Bubble and Speak HQ (apart from 'Bacon Sandwich Friday', of course), it's reading all about your trips to the show. We've stumbled across some great Bubble-related posts on the web this week - take a look!

The wonderful Alex and Alexa shared a great post about their buying trip to Bubble A/W15, which saw them catch up with Rachel Riley, Molo and B&S favourite Project Jelly. 

We loved reading this post from ethical brand Darlo, which unveiled its second collection of organic cotton comfies at the show. Co-founder Chloe even crossed paths with a rather special celebrity visitor! 

Elsewhere, Smudgetikka shared its top ten cool kids picks from the February 2015 edition - while Kid Style Junkie's Suzanne Peters got her fashion fix from Billybandit, Lola Beau Design, and our Rising Star winner, Oh...My!

And who could forget our collaboration with Out of the Dark? Upcyclist's Antonia Edwards shared this post about creating a unique kid's chair for the auction. We loved her 60's-inspired piece!

Have you put together a blog post about your trip to Bubble? We'd love to read it!

Images: Sarah Mason Photography

Sophie Crichton Illustration

Do you remember Sophie Crichton, who created this wonderful chair for our Out of the Dark auction? 

Aside from being a dab hand with a paint brush and staple gun, she's also a talented illustrator - and we couldn't wait to share her work with you!

London-based Sophie has been drawing 'for as long as she can remember', after catching the bug from her illustrator dad. 

"Wherever he went he always had a sketchbook with him and sometimes he would draw pictures for me and my friends and I would colour them in," she explained. "I remember painting the landscape on holiday with my first set of watercolours. I must have only been about 5 years old."

Sophie went on to study at Kingston University, before becoming a freelance illustrator. Her commissions ranged from artwork for a production house, to editorial illustrations for The Guardian. 

We love the way Sophie uses drawing to document each new adventure - whether it's teaching in Thailand (where she also worked on a school colouring competition for the Phuket newspaper), or falling pregnant with her daughter, Olivia.  

"Having Olivia has been so far one of the most enlightening things I've ever done," She said. "Her little personality that develops daily fuels many a doodle in my sketchbook!"

That might just be the cutest pregnancy announcement we've ever seen!

Now back in England, Sophie has been working on a series of colouring and activity books for Usbourne Publishing. And, when she's not sketching - or jotting down ideas for her own picture book - she also runs upcycling blog Deco Dolly. 

"Home for me, where I live and work, play a big part in my creativity," She added. "When I have time away from work and being a mum, I can be found wondering antique and charity shops, grabbing wooden bargains and painting them up in bright and beautiful colours."

Little wonder people were clamouring to snap-up this talented mum's OOTD chair!

Keep up-to-date with Sophie's doodling over at her blog - or learn more about her work here. 

B&S Meets...Sarah Mason Photography

Drum roll please...we're delighted to introduce Bubble London's S/S16 campaign image! 

It's the work of talented local photographer Sarah Mason, who you may have read about here - or here. 

Sarah is based in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, where she runs Sarah Mason Photography with her partner, Suzi. Bubble and Speak are big fans of her beautiful, atmospheric and often candid images - and we wanted to learn more about this season's campaign shot (not to mention Sarah herself! That's her on the right, if you're wondering). 

Sarah, could you tell us a bit more about Bubble's new campaign image?

This session was from last year, on the summer solstice. I’ve been photographing Phoebe & Mabel (two sisters), for a few years now. The family enjoy camping in their bell tent, so we decided to have a camping themed shoot in a beautiful meadow above Hebden Bridge.  There was much merriment, twirling and racing through the tall grass! Then Mabel just stopped in her tracks for a ponder, and that’s when I took this shot. It was a really beautiful evening.  Mabel is very pleased that her photo has been chosen to front the campaign!

We're glad to hear it! When did you begin taking photographs? 

I’ve always been interested in photography and I loved to borrow Mum & Dad’s camera when I was young to take photos on family holidays, pictures of my friends, and around Grassington where I grew up. I loved the anticipation of taking the roll of film in to be developed, getting the little slip, and going to collect them a few days later. It’s a lot more immediate these days, but I’ve been going back and trying film again lately.

What's your earliest memory of photography?

I think it’s probably of my Granddad taking photographs on our annual family holidays to Loch Awe in Scotland.  He loved to take all the grandkids out sailing on his boat.  Unfortunately I didn’t feel the same way, and most of the photos are me sitting in the boat with an oversized lifejacket on, either crying or looking very grumpy about the situation!  He had a really good eye for a shot though, and there’s a picture of me & my Mum he took that I absolutely love.  As a family, we’ve always loved getting the old photos out after a meal and looking back at all those memories (and all those fashion disasters!)

We love that red hat! So, when, where and why was Sarah Mason Photography founded?

I set up my own business in 2009. Before that I had been working in film & TV in London.  I’d been taking night classes in photography with 2 really inspiring tutors called Karl Grupe and his partner Julia Massey Stewart (http://www.themangolab.co.uk/). A hobby quickly became an obsession. I was eating, breathing, sleeping photography. An opportunity arose for us to move back up North to Hebden Bridge and we haven’t looked back since! I was called Zebra Photography back then as I used to take a lot of black & white images. But my style changed, and I outgrew the name.  As it was just me back then, it just seemed to make more sense that I called it after my own name, so I rebranded in 2012. Two years ago, Suzi joined the business. She’s a fantastic photographer, and she helps with the day to day running of the office.

What inspires you?

Meeting people and hearing their stories. I’m passionate about storytelling in my photography, I love documenting those beautiful family connections. I take photographs that make me happy! I love natural light and the way it falls, and nature & the changing seasons never cease to amaze me. On my shoots when the light is perfect and there’s a beautiful moment, these are the ones I crave. I get excited when I watch a good film or listen to a piece of new music that gives me goose bumps. I have regular walks with my friend Hannah who I also share studio space with in Hebden Bridge. These walks are really important to me, stomping through the woods or climbing the hills, talking about new exciting ideas for our businesses, and being inspired by our surroundings. Creating something that didn’t exist before, that feeling always excites me!

What's the key to good children's photography? Are kids easier to photograph than adults?

Sometimes adults can be a little more self-conscious. I’m the world’s worst at having my photo taken so I speak from experience! It’s important that everyone feels at ease and our shoots are very natural and relaxed. It’s important to us that the kids be themselves. For our family shoots, we’ll always ask what they like to do, and we’ll incorporate this into the session. I tend to find that once the kids have got to know me a little, they have lots of fun and enjoy the shoot! The same goes for our commercial photography with kid’s clothing brands - it’s about capturing the essence of childhood for us. Working with brands is a natural progression for us from our family photography, and we’re really excited about developing this area of our commercial work this year! 

You can learn more about Sarah and Suzi's work over at their website, www.sarahmasonphotography.co.uk - or, follow them on Facebook, twitter or instagram. Fancy a photo shoot of your own? Contact Sarah on 07912 325 833. 

Bubble A/W15's Best Bits

Months of careful planning, hours of preparation, hundreds of expectant visitors - and then, just like that, it's all over for another season!

We're talking, of course, about Bubble London A/W15, which took place last weekend. It was a huge success - not to mention one of our most action-packed editions yet! Here are a few of our favourite moments, as captured by the wonderful Sarah Mason...

Everyone was blown away by the standard of this season's Rising Star entries. Nevertheless, there could only be one winner - and that honour went to luxury girl's occassionwear label, Oh...My! Read more about our A/W15 Rising Star here. A huge thank you to judges YCW, CWB, Dinky & Dandy and Little Spree - and congratulations to runners-up Panda and the Sparrow and Jam! 

Child-friendly nail bar Dinky Do Dah popped up at the show again - and, this season, they were using Nailmatic Kids. Did you spot the Parisian brand's nail varnish vending machine? We might install one at Bubble HQ!

11-year-old entrepreneur Henry Patterson brought the house down with a fascinating seminar, which touched on everything from launching a brand, to naming his new puppy (Martha or Ralph?) Elsewhere, we hosted our first ever series of 'perfect pitches' - complete with a colourful demonstration from Holly & Beau!

Our Out of the Dark silent auction also got off to a flying start. Held in aid of the High-Wycombe charity, it saw visitors bid on eleven unique school chairs, which had been upcycled by some of our favourite bloggers, magazines and creatives prior to the show. The auction closes on Monday 9th, and you can place a bid here. All the chairs are still up for grabs - including Bubble and Speak's!

And who could forget the real stars of the show - our amazing brands! 

A huge thank you to everyone who made Bubble London A/W15 such a success!

What were your highlights? We'd love to hear them! 

#BUBBLELONDON is...

How would you describe #BUBBLELONDON ?

Rachel Riley

Kat Revill, Bubble 

From left to right: 

Little Chook, Piccalilly, Bubble London, Old Soles

Aden + Anais 

Kids Arcade 

Darlo

Yosi Samra

From left to right: 

Braveling, Poppy, Bubble London, Raspberry Plum 

The big boss says…

See plenty more #BUBBLELONDON is... on Instagram and Twitter. 

Oh…My!

Oh…My! has been crowned winner of our A/W15 Rising Star competition. 

Despite incredibly stiff competition from a host of talented finalists, the girlswear label has wowed this season's judges with their quintessential British occasionwear collection with an elegant twist. 

A massive thank you to this season's judges: CWB Magazine, Little Spree, Dinky & Dandy and Your Children's Wardrobe. 

Oh…My! will be back at Bubble London on 12 & 13 July 2014.