We were ushered into the Picture Gallery to be briefed alongside the ‘’Extraordinary ordinary people’’ who had all come together for this strange ritual to receive our awards from HRH Princess Anne. We learned how to turn,bow or curtsey,shake hands and walk backwards. As the two of us, were receiving our awards together a special briefing was required – a left wheel reminded John of his days in the school Combined Cadet Force!

 Knights and Dames get ‘’Speedy Boarding’’ and were whisked through ahead of the rest of us. We waited in five groups of ten to be summoned to the Ballroom where our four children and their grandparents sat patiently. A military band played on the balcony an eclectic range of music. I got the giggles when John described the music to the lovely lady ahead of us as ‘’crematorium tunes’’

 Having met Princess Anne a few years ago, I was amazed at how much she remembered.  I am sure she was incredibly well briefed, but I was very touched by her genuine interest and enthusiasm for what we have achieved. She asked how Annoushka was going and what I was wearing – one of a kind Annoushka pearl drop earrings, a hat by Vivien Sheriff,dress by and Jimmy Choo’s in case you were wondering! When she offers a handshake the conversation ends – it’s the equivalent of Graham Norton’s Red Chair – and it’s all over!

 It was a memorable day, which we celebrated last night with a party for all those we had worked with at Annoushka and before that at Links of London. I made me feel quite emotional seeing so many old faces with which we have shared so much fun.

The rain might have been torrential but inside Annoushka it was all color and warmth, a stronger contrast to the grayness of the English weather than Wendy Yue’s exotic designs would be hard to imagine. Guests nibbled on fresh fruit and granola, Champagne and Hummingbird cupcakes, though with Wendy’s exquisite designs on display, food was second on everybody’s minds.

With no formal training, Wendy started working in the jewellery industry over 20 years ago, and has since then become a master of the art, creating one of a kind jewellery pieces that are minature works of art.  Like, Annoushka, Wendy shares a love of rare stones, however precious or imprecious- and never more so than in this new collection where stones such as green jade, malachite, phosphosiderite  and garnet sit happily alongside pave diamonds, sapphires and rubies. One piece that attracted particular attention from the press was her Garden Party Cuff a stunning piece which well represents Wendy’s creative spirit and wonderful imagination. She explained her inspiration, “In traditional Chinese culture it was said to be very lucky to have 7 children, and each of the children in this scene represents one of the gods of the elements”. They are happily looking out from a diamond encrusted balcony of a Pagoda over a lake where Swans made out of beautifully colour graded diamonds and sapphires swim. Since becoming pregnant with her first child (Wendy now has 4), a number of Wendy’s designs include Pagodas, she explained, “when I was pregnant, I had these feelings of  nesting and houses- and so it was natural that I started playing with the image of the Pagoda”. 

Last Saturday my husband John and I completed everyone of these for the Coeur Blanc challenge 2012. With three friends and our trusty guide Florent Chretien of Elite Ski School we covered 165 kilometres in the process and descended over 15,000 metres – just short of two Mount Everests – in 8 hours 40 minutes! I have to say the thigh burn was intense as we flew down the pistes. It felt like a great achievement to complete the challenge with ten minutes to spare! 

The Coeur Blanc was founded by Rory Tapner and Pierre Taylor in 2008 and in the three challenges (2008,2010 and 2012) has raised over £1 million for charity. This year we were skiing for Skillforce an education charity working with 10,000 young people throughout 150 schools in Great Britain who are in danger of leaving school without the skills and qualifications they need to succeed in life.  Ex-servicemen are employed as Skillforce instructors, drawing on their diverse life experiences to help make a difference to the lives of these young people. The aim is to prevent young people becoming excluded from education, training or employment by working on social and behavioural problems, risk of exclusion from school, truancy, lack of direction, motivation and self esteem and poor educational attainment.

SkillForce has been in operation for 10 years and put 40,000 children through its programmes. It’s a great charity and more information can be found on http://www.skillforce.org/

As always the jewellery halls were filled to the gunnels with precious pieces from every corner of the earth, showing a full spectrum of styles and materials. Loose stones are always a highlight for us, as we love sifting through gems searching for treasures, though we have to try hard to exercise some restraint! Of course we’ve come home with some beautiful stones and are brimming with ideas as to how to make these unique gems into new stunning One of a Kind pieces.

 Though there was no lack of effort, it was disappointing not to see anything that really knocked our socks off at the fair.   We did see a lot of designers making a conscious effort to keep gold to a minimum, as a result of the price of gold having soared to dizzying heights recently. I am sure this has partly fuelled the current trend for lace inspired pieces as picked up by Vivienne Becker in her fantastic piece in this week-ends Financial Times How To Spend It magazine.

 Basel Highlights for us were a quirky display reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland by Rosato, and attending the launch party of the fabulous new Victory wrist watch by English watch brand Bremont.  The Victory watch was created with the National Museum of the Royal Navy, and each watch has original parts of the HMS Victory built into it. Despite no sample being on display they sold over half the edition at Basel alone!  Clearly they are the watch brand of the hour as they also had 14 watches stolen during the launch event….time flies while we were having fun.

               Alice in Wonderland by Roasto                       Victory wrist watch by English watch brand Bremont

5 minutes with… Designer and stylist Avigail Claire. Avigail tells us all about her style, her essential top tips for the red carpet and her latest finds.

What designers do you particularly admire (interior/fashion or other)?
Azzedine Alaia, Jean Paul Gaultier and Christopher Kane are my favourites

What are your top tips for dressing for the red carpet or a big night out?
Always wear diamonds

What is your favourite recent discovery (restaurant/service/shop/hotel/website/anything)
The dry cleaners at the end of my road (ellington street N7) they have just opened and they even do hand dying… love them.

To you, what is style?
To me, style is someone that has a certain flow to the way they dress, not necessarily a uniform, but everything they wear has the same vibe – that’s style. You don’t have to follow trends to be stylish.

Favourite mantra/moto?
If it zips it fits.

What are you currently reading?
Penguins Great Loves series

Favourite beauty tip
Shu Uemura cleansing beauty oil is amazing

Favourite piece or pieces from Annoushka and how you would wear them
I love all the colourful stack rings, I would wear some on every finger, stacked up high and low, and mixed with my other vintage rings.

What would your perfect Saturday be?
Brunch at Les Deux Magots in Paris and then a stroll around St Germain, and a walk to rue Saint Honoré, whilst eating treats from Ladurée picked up on the way.

Style icon?

This year Annoushka and I were again invited to speak at ‘Getting Started’, offering advice on starting up as a jeweller or silversmith, which must be somewhat of a daunting task given the current economic climate.  That said, the atmosphere at this year’s talks seemed to be very upbeat, with a lively audience who were keen to ask questions, and it was great to meet the cream of this year’s graduates and be able to give them an insight into the industry.

Annoushka started both Links of London and Annoushka when the economy was going into recession, a fact which gave these bright young fledglings hope; her determination and passion was obviously inspiring and from the enthusiasm with which they talked about her, they had clearly thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated her talk.

- Liz Olver, Design Director.

What designers are you most looking forward to seeing this upcoming fashion week?
Mary Katrantzou gets more and more desirable every season. I can’t wait for her spring/summer collection to arrive in stores and the collaboration with Topshop looks promising; I’m holding my breath to see whether A/W will be even more exciting. Generally I prefer the spring/summer collections, but Louis Vuitton always does autumn/winter really well and I look forward to seeing how Marc Jacobs turns this season’s Vuitton candy colours on their head for A./W.

Are there any trends in particular that you are forecasting for autumn winter 2012?
I hope that there is plenty of colour in the autumn/winter collections; it’s so important for the Middle Eastern market. I expect that designers will be looking East (hopefully via the Middle East) for inspiration, especially in light of such uncertainty in the euro zone.

What is your favourite recent discovery (restaurant/service/shop/hotel/website/anything?) in Dubai and London?
I recently discovered a wonderful website called Motilo, which was co-founded by a girl from the UAE. It takes the experience of shopping with friends and puts it online. Far more sartorially satisfying than Facebook!

To you, what is style and does it alter between Dubai and London?
As a magazine editor, style is someone’s ability to draw my gaze and keep it there, whether I am looking at pictures for the magazine or walking into a room or down the street anywhere in the world. Such magnetism tends to come from combination of clothes and charisma, and I envy those who have it.

What are you currently reading?
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo. I refuse to watch the film until I’ve read the book.

Favourite piece or pieces from Annoushka and how you would wear them
When you live in the Middle East you come to appreciate the symbolism of talismans such as the Hand of Fatma; Annushka’s Evil Eye amulet in green diamonds is an everyday piece that matches the colour of my own eyes.

What would your perfect Friday be?
Waking up in one of the amazing locations that are so accessible from Dubai, such as Oman or the Maldives. An early morning run, followed by mountains of dragon fruit for breakfast, then it’s competitive waterskiing with my wakeboarding husband (he’ll win), before collapsing onto the sand for a lazy afternoon that slips into night. Bliss.

Who is your style icon?
On a professional level, my ideal cover star for Harper’s Bazaar Arabia is a combination of Jennifer Lopez and Her Highness Princess Ameerah Al Taweel of Saudi Arabia. On a personal level, I long for Blake Lively’s legs, locks and Louboutins.

Throughout my time in the industry I’ve worked with so many fantastic characters and unsung heroes, with who I could not have done this without. From stone dealers who scour the world for unusual minerals in often inhospitable places, to metallurgists and assay markers who create and certify the alloys we work with, to the model makers and the stone setters and other talented craftsmen. I really have to thank them and my team at Annoushka and previously at Links of London for everything they’ve done to support me in my work.

Someone asked me the other day what jewellery one should wear to meet the Queen, which is clearly something I am going to have to give a lot of thought to in the coming weeks! Being awarded this MBE in the year of the Diamond Jubilee, I think it only fitting that whatever it is should be big, scattered with diamonds and colourful.

The Pig would fit well in a world of post-war rationing – a sort of Private Function meets Babe. It is a classic country house hotel which prides itself on its self sufficiency and reliance on a lovely walled garden where all manner of produce is grown – although at this time of the year heavily dependant on poly-tunnels and fleece! The pigs themselves are Gloucester Old Spots living behind the house next to the chickens.

The concept behind The Pig is that not only is the produce organic but that it should be sourced from within 15 miles of the hotel. Much of this is done by James Golding, the chef (formerly at The Ivy) foraging in the Forest. It sounds a very expensive way of running a restaurant but the prices are very reasonable – £125 for a very comfortable room – and about £30 per person for dinner without wine. The rooms are small but beautifully done– the beds are fabulous and our room in the Stable Block had a lovely big bathroom upstairs with a Monsoon shower for two, freestanding bath and a chaise longue. Next to our bed were books on rearing pigs, caring for bees and keeping chickens.

We thought we were coming to a pub – but the only similarity was that relaxed feeling that pubs offer – the staff at the Pig are young enthusiastic and chatty and there’s a really informal atmosphere. The Pig is a smart Georgian House with carefully distressed details – shabby chic – with a great deal of style. I am a great fan of The Pig’s big sister Lime Wood, but I loved The Pig’s imperfections – the exposed brickwork and battered furniture it has a wonderfully “lived in” feel.

I can’t think of a better place to spend an old fashioned Christmas or winter break – heavenly and romantic.

Who do you particularly admire?
Hilary Clinton and Angela Merkel because they are so gutsy and intelligent. 

What is your most prized piece of jewellery?
I am particularly fond of pearl rings Annoushka conceived with sculptor Manuela Zervudachi. The collection they collaboratively produced was inspired by nature and the rings resemble clam shells with pearls suspended from chain. So the pearls move and lend a very pretty extra dimension to the rings. Pearl is my birthstone and so I am always looking for beautiful pearls.

I also have a few great pieces by Luigi Scialanga. He is an exceptionally gifted Roman artist who designs extraordinary jewellery. Every piece is one-of-a-kind and, in the field of art jewellery, Luigi is acknowledged as a visionary.

What is your favourite recent discovery?
Ivanka – a collaborative design brand from Budapest which I discovered at Tent London – an interior design fair which was held in Brick Lane back in October. Ivanka specializes in producing interior design objects from concrete until this year when the brand produced its first capsule fashion collection. The clothes are made of concrete-treated grey cotton. More than anything, I noticed that they were exceptionally cut. I tried on a jumpsuit. It fit like a glove and so I bought it.

What led you to work as a fashion historian/commentator?
Growing up in Toronto in the early 1980s, I was exposed to really great high fashion. My two best friend’s mothers had incredible wardrobes. One wore really groovy clothes by Courrèges, Kenzo and Krizia. The other flaunted Gucci, Chanel and Halston. So me and my friends would dress up in their mum’s clothes when they were out on Saturday nights and the baby sitter was off somewhere watching TV. We’d walk out of the house in Gucci heels and Chanel jackets. That got me interested in fashion. Studying history and journalism allowed me to develop a knack for research. And when I worked at British Vogue (1998 – 2003), I spent a lot of time in the incredible Vogue library digging around. This led me to write historical fashion stories for the magazine and then my first two fashion history books.

What are you currently reading? 
I always have a few books on the go because I’m usually researching some sort of project. One of them, currently, is a short book about Coco Chanel which Vogue will publish next year as part of a series on iconic designers. So I am reading Chanel biographies written by Axel Madsen, Edmonde Charles-Roux and Justine Picardie. Meanwhile, I always have a book reserved as an escape zone – one that I can read for pure pleasure. That one, right now, is Searching For Beauty: The Life of Millicent Rogers. She was an heir to the Standard Oil fortune who became a fashion icon and also a gifted jewellery designer. She had a folkloric flair and would flaunt dramatic Charles James couture with turquoise jewellerey which was made for her by Native Americans in Santa Fe, where she spent her final years. I visited the Millicent Rogers Museum which honors her appreciation of Native craftsmanship and displaying her sculptural jewellery. It is on the outskirts of of Santa Fe and I recommend it to anyone passing through.

Favourite restaurant in London?
J Sheekey. I love the atmosphere. It is always buzzing with theatre people but the service is excellent. So is the food. It is a fish restaurant and I actually don’t eat fish. So I order steak. I usually celebrate my birthday there and other special occasions.
 

Favourite piece or pieces from Annoushka and how you would wear them.
I love Annoushka’s pearls and how she embellishes a classic strand with a diamond charm or a drusy stone pendant. The adornment seems simple yet it is really an imaginative touch which lends a completely modish twist to a timeless jewel.
 

Favourite Designers
For interiors, it is Francis Sultana. His style is flamboyant. He has an extraordinary instinct for colour and for contemporizing classical inspirations. His first collection of furniture – which he produced this year – is Art Deco-inspired but is strikingly modern and sumptuous. For fashion, I favour female designers simply because I like feminine clothes. I love Roksanda Ilincic’s evening wear because it looks effortless, uniquely alluring and fashion-forward. Rosella Giardini – the designer of Moschino – is a long-time favorite of mine. Her clothes are luxuriant and capture an of-the-moment feel in an understated elegant manner. For shoes, I love Manolo Blahnik because his footwear is flattering, fabulous and built to last.