Cut & Cloth and a welcome return.

Well - it's been a while!
I've missed this blog, it was my baby for a long time, and without it I've no doubt I would still be a happy amateur photographer.  But it's kind of been a victim of it's own success and I now live in a wedding shaped world.  I've been overwhelmed with how everything has taken off and couldn't be happier - but I do miss this old girl and have decided it's about time I gave her the love she deserves.  I'm going to find the time to blog once a fortnight (more if I can, we'll see) - whether it be a whole story or even one shot, I'm making the effort to keep this one alive.  I do have a photographic life outside the marital kind (don't get me wrong - I LOVE the wedding side of things) and it'll be fun to air some of it.  So why not :)


First up, a handful of shots from Norwich Fashion Week (yes, believe it!).  I was asked along by Flint hair to cover their part in the Cut & Cloth show - a collaboration between local hairdressers and independent clothes stores - and love working with this team so much I was happy to join in.  With hair by Flint and Flamingo Amy, make up by the lovely Emily at Love Moi Makeup, clothes by Dog and Catfish, and an after party at the Birdcage, why wouldn't I...  ;)

The team wanted a group shot so I asked them for their best vogue face - Flint owner Conor kills me in this photo!!

(not Cat or Dogfish outfits - but what's a fashion show without a little local 'couture'...)

Ah, feels good to be back xx

House music

Regular readers may remember my first blogpost feature on Cherry Cherry (RIP). Whilst I was there I came across a beautiful papercut, and vowed to follow up it's creator.  As is natural in Norwich it didn't take much investigation... me: "kate, who did this?" kate: "that'll be Su Owen, would you like her number?".  And with that I thought I had a feature on a crafter on my books.  What I didn't expect was to get a returned call from Su saying that she'd jacked in her teaching job and set aside her papercuts to set up a new Home!  So a few months on and House cafe 52's doors are open, the license is in place, the menu is expanding and I thought it was time to let you in.

House is a home from home. All the furniture and crockery is sourced from boot sales and secondhand shops, ie: worn in and comfy.  The walls are lined with local art to be bought and books waiting to be read.  This is the kind of cafe where you feel comfortable to come alone, buy tea (there's lots and lots of tea, tea is Su's speciality) and just hang.  I went along with a couple of friends for a quick brew, bought toast and peanut butter for breakfast, settled on the sofa, and ended up buying a fish finger sandwich for lunch 3 hours later!

Kids are not only welcomed, but encouraged - Su is a mother of 3, god knows where she finds the time - and has catered not only with food but also activities.

And now her evening license has come through the fun has only just begun. Regular evenings are popping up such as Freestyle fingers, an arty evening for both relaxed and serious crafters, and - on the night I popped along - Tunesday Record Club.  A night for dusting down your old vinyl (anything, I repeat anything, goes...) and taking your turn on the decks...

Set just yards from the Art Centre on St Benedicts this is the perfect pre gig bar, it's cosy, lively and has some great tunes...

Oh, and in case you're interested, I couldn't go down without taking something to slot on the decks myself... so what did I take?  An old fav of mine... Je Suis Un Rock Star of course!

Don't knock it till you've tried it!! 

Dinner time - a venture into music...

A little fun here.  Thought I'd try my hand at some stop motion for a music video.  Sargasso Trio needed a quick and fun video for the release of their new single Dinner so we came up with the concept of a never ending dinner party.  Naively I thought we could knock this up in an hour, though the reality (and more importantly the constant rain) meant it took the best part of two days.  I now think Nick Park must be the most patient man in the world....

However, the end results are fun - and the song is bloody great!

Enjoy x

Sargasso Trio

Sargasso Trio, where do I start? Firstly, they are good friends of mine, so it may sound as though I'm biased, but honestly truly I'm not. Both my partner and I have worked in or around the music industry on and off for years and met more musicians and bands than I care to mention. But on all my travels, for these guys, I hold a torch.

I don't know whether it's their totally eclectic mix (couldn't even begin to categorise them), their versatility - they switch instruments and singers on nearly every track, their talent - and they are very very talented, both as songwriters and musicians, or the fact that, however good their recordings, they blow it out of the water on stage (which has always been a personal benchmark of mine).  Whatever it is, I can't praise Emily, Ben, Pete & James enough.  Being a big fan of the Ian Dury school of song writing, the line "she thinks he loves her for her mind, he thinks he loves her for her bum" is pure genius!

These few pictures, if truth be told, were taken some months ago whilst they were rehearsing for their second album. I've also shot them in the recording studio and in a wood, but the pictures don't really matter.

What matters is that album number two Get To Grips (following the fantastic Burnin' Burnin' Burnin') is finally out on July 4th.  And if you want a taster, the launch night at Norwich Art Centre is on July 2nd where you can pick up some pre release copies! 

Oh and if I haven't sold it to you yet...  Listen and turn it up!