Not Long Now!

Not long until the launch of SOUK .... here's what you can look forward to!!!


:) Shopping for fantasic, unique items from fabulous designer makers!


:) A huge range of gorgeous eco-fashion!


:) Free workshops - make a corsarge brooch with Antiform, or decorate vintage bunting with Rebecca Downes!


:) Models of Diversity scouting for REAL models!


:) Enjoying the hotel's happy hour!


:) Treat Me Sweet selling bathroom goodies to raise money for Malawian charities!


:) Free entry!

I look forward to seeing you there!


Sam xxxx

For Immediate Release

Time to start writing the press releases ......

SOUK – Fashion & Lifestyle Bazaar is a new style of shopping event being launched in York next month. SOUK’s debut boasts over twenty of the area’s creative minds to present a bazaar that oozes the latest fashion and lifestyle concepts. The fabulously talented designers include Antiform, an eco-fashion label, short listed for a Marie Claire Fashion Award and Bo Carter, an independent designer who has shown her collection at Fashion Weeks around the World.

SOUK is my passion and indulgence; having my first child while at university I quickly went from a carefree shopaholic  and serial clubber, to mum. However, 14 years on and having the opportunity of living in Dubai and Singapore I have reignited my inner fashionista!

Once my children got older I finally had some time for myself. Still creative and passionate about trends, I started designing and making jewellery. While looking for a suitable outlet to sell my jewellery I attended many local fairs and found that they weren’t attracting enough of my genre, so I decided to organise my own.

Not only does SOUK give shoppers the opportunity to buy unique products and labels from up and coming designers, but it also gives designers the opportunity to sell their products in a city centre location marketed at their customer profiles.

SOUK has brought together the fashion conscious of York like no other event, and I have found the journey extremely rewarding. Not only have I been amazed by the interest I’ve had in SOUK from day one, but I’ve been touched by the amount support and encouragement I’ve been given.

Another highlight of organising SOUK is working with Alex Claydon the brainchild of York’s brand new vintage fair - ‘York does Vintage’. The joining together of SOUK and York does Vintage, secures York as a true fashion destination on the 5 March.

What’s next for SOUK … whatever the fashionista demands, though one thing is for sure the ripples will stretch beyond the city walls.

Saturday 5, March SOUK Fashion & Lifestyle Bazaar at Park Inn Hotel,
and York Does Vintage @ St Williams College.

http://www.souk-fashion-bazaar.blogspot.com/

-END-

Autumn/Winter 2011

My favourites so far from New York's Fashion Week.

If your name's not down ...

I've created a facebook event for SOUK!

Social media is slowly taking over my life!!! At lunch today, Alan passed me a Times supplement of the top 100 Influential Tweeters. I flicked through it, then put it down, joking "I'm not in it!" To which he responded "It's not a list of people who spend the most time on Twitter!!!"

Anyway, I best go, I've got to update my facebook and twitter, then check my analytics, before I do the school run :-)

Click here to put your name on the list! Hope to see you there.

Sam xx

Upcycle workshops

Upcycling is taking something that would normally be thrown away and using parts of it to make something new and FABULOUS!

At SOUK we are running two free dropin workshops. Drop by and make a corsage brooch with the highly acclaimed Antiform or decorate vintage inspired bunting with talented Rebecca Downes.

The Hatastic Story!

This blog post is courtesy of the gorgeous, talented and inspirational Chloe from HATASTIC!

I'm absolutely thrilled to be taking part in SOUK in York on 5th March – so exciting, and I can’t wait to see all the other fabulous designers there will be on the day.

However, I can already hear you cry…so who or what is ‘Hatastic!’? Well it’s an eclectic range of unique handmade hats, fascinators and hair accessories inspired by the beautiful bits and bobs sourced from remnant boxes and junk shops.

I like to think they are elegant, witty and timeless - everything a hat (and a woman) should be!

So, in plainer English, I upcycle the rejected offcuts of fabric and leather, broken bits of jewellery, old bags, shoes, belts…pretty much anything that I think could have a new life in one of my pieces.

My unique debut collection ‘Recreation’ is the best example of this, as my 10 pieces collection was made out of old games! I first showed it at Alternative Fashion Week and was lucky enough to be featured in The Times and Cosmopolitan as a result. I then took it to Brighton Fashion Week, where a piece was filmed for a BBC show shown last Summer…all very exciting!

I have made a Ready to Wear collection of hairclips of Jigsaw Kirbys, Dice Kirby and Diamante Domino Hairclips which are really fun too.

The collection I will be bring to SOUK this year, is TOP SECRET, however, I can tell you that its’ pallet is sherbet and fresh, but it’s a romantic and rich look. They will be more hats than headpieces, so much more desirable for the race season…or even a Royal Wedding perhaps?! Each design is made from an old hat that’s shape is a little old fashioned or even if its’ damaged in some way, I would like to think I’ve given it a new lease of life…

If you have an old hat that you would like some ‘oomph’ put back in it, or you have some some old jewellery that you would like to incorporate into a new piece, do bring it along with your ideas, and we can discuss the many possibilities!

Look forward to seeing you!

Chloe and I would like to thank Juliet from  www.julietlemon.com for the fantastic photos.

The Simple Solution!

As promised I have some more details from the charity ‘Treat Me Sweet’ run by sixth form students at the Grammar School at Leeds. Written by my very first guest blogger Chessy.

"All the products are handmade in the UK and we then package them uniquely ourselves. The scents are all lovely and we have tried to cater for a wide range of ages and tastes by including more tradition rose and musk scents and also fruity and sweeter scents like strawberry.

The charities we are raising money to support are:

1)The Open Arms Orphanage in Malawi which has two orphanages who care for children from 0-5. At 5 years old they are transferred into one of the 'families' which are financially supported by Open Arms. These families are a trained foster mother who will have up to five orphans for whom she cares for full time.

2) Mary's Meals- this is an incredible feeding scheme which buys maize from the local farmers and then gives one full meal a day to the village children provided they have attended school that day. This tackles the problem of under education which often occurs because families want their children to work in the fields to ensure they have enough to eat. Just £6.15 will feed a child for a whole year! This idea began in Malawi but has now spread all over the world"
 

By Chessy from Treat Me Sweet.

Thanks, Chessy I’m looking forward to relaxing with my lovely bath goodies after a busy day at SOUK.  Sam xx