La Muse

I've been in Switzerland over the last few days and finally had the opportunity to visit our newest stockist, La Muse in Geneva. It's a lovely store on a picturesque street in the old town. The owner, Viola (pictured below), showed me some of the beautiful pieces she stocks by other British brands such as Lara Bohinc and Nicholas Kirkwood as well as some highly covetable dresses in technical fabrics by new Swiss brand Huber Egloff.

We chatted over coffee about Viola's philosophy for her boutique and her buying strategy - she doesn't follow trends or allow herself to be distracted by bestselling pieces, but instead buys from the heart and goes for what she really loves. She understands her customer and knows that they expect exceptional quality from independent brands with a strong story behind them.

I took the opportunity to deliver Viola's SS14 order in person (including the Brighstone cardigan & Springvale t-shirt) and also gave her an exclusive preview of the new AW14 collection.

Latest coverage: Sur La Terre magazine

We're very pleased to see our Marcella fringed cardigan on the cover of the latest issue of Swiss magazine, Sur La Terre! Buy yours at Wolf & Badger in Mayfair, or La Muse in Geneva. See the magazine in full here.

A new fan on E! News

We're delighted to see our Alison top has had no less than two outings across the pond in the last week, sported by E! News presenter Alicia Quarles who has recently interviewed Will Ferrell, Bruce Weber (a personal hero of ours) and Janelle Monae, to name a few. Last week she styled it simply, with a skirt and heels shown below, just before filming. Yesterday she made an appearance in the same top (bottom image), worn over a sheer blouse with tartan trousers. We love her style.

The Justine cardigan #2

We just wanted to share these great shots of two lovely ladies enjoying their Justine cardigans over the last couple of weeks.

Below: Hannah Rochell, Junior Fashion Editor at InStyle, wearing hers in the office and broadcaster Anita Rani, filming in Russia for the BBC, wearing hers over several other layers to keep out the freezing cold.

To find out more about how the Justine cardigan came about, read our blog post from earlier this year.

Latest coverage: The Guardian

It's National Wool Week, which always gets us a little overexcited here in the studio, as we're big supporters of the British yarn industry. We were delighted to be contacted by the Guardian for a quote on the subject of yarn in the UK and were name-checked in their article on this yesterday.

They then went on to feature our Marcella fringed cardigan in their round-up of best British designs. Not a bad start to the week!

The 'Osborne' and its namesake

The 'hero' piece of our SS14 collection is the 'Osborne' beaded jacket. Inspired in part by a Japanese kimono, its almost regal status within the collection was what inspired us to name it after the tiny private beach at Osborne, which was once royal residence to Queen Victoria.

The jacket itself is a heavy piece constructed using a British blend of silk and wool, with a foil coated yarn running through the panels, which gives it a structural quality. The opening edge has been adorned with rows of silver plated beads which have been hand-crocheted on, taking several hours.

On a more personal note, Osborne House has a great deal of personal significance: when my family & I moved to the Isle of Wight in 1996, we started attending their open air concerts and went every year until they stopped them two summers ago. It became such a family tradition that we miss our annual picnic on their vast lawn! More importantly, I love it there so much that my fiancé and I decided it was the perfect spot for our wedding reception in just over two weeks' time.

Recent coverage: The Dalstonist

We're one of the Dalstonist's top five fashion labels. Read the article here.