London Craft Week 2016

Do you like arts and crafts? We at The Amazing Blog sure do, and we are definitely going to attend London Craft Week. Join us at Craft Central and experience the magic of craftsmanship and true creativity.

From 3rd to 7th of May, Craft Central will be showcasing exceptional craftsmanship from around the world through a journey-of-discovery program, featuring hidden workshops and unknown makers alongside celebrated masters, famous studios, galleries, shops and luxury brands. Discover and witness how world’s most respected makers and artists develop scents of famous fragrances, polish and cut diamonds, hand paint porcelain and shape silver. Meet renowned ceramics, glass engravers, violin makers and see Chinese calligraphy being performed live!

All arts and crafts enthusiasts are surely going to enjoy five days full of imagination,individuality and passion being performed live across Central London from 3rd to 7th of May for free! . For more information on the event visit London Craft Week's website.

Chelsea Art Fair

The Chelsea Art Fair is turning 21 this year! We at The Amazing Blog are quite big fans of the arts, so we will definitely be making our way over to Chelsea Old Town Hall between the 21st and 24th of April.

The fair will feature 30 UK and International galleries showcasing the works of leading and emerging artists including paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, and ceramics. With no ceiling on the price of the works, this fair is sure to have the most exceptional pieces.

If you’re looking for a special new piece for your home or a limited edition print, head over to Chelsea Old Town Hall. Admission tickets are priced at £6. Be sure to see their website for more information!  

Style Me in Seconds

Rachel Mann Photography

A special event is popping up next week at Old Street Underground Station! This is something that all of us here at The Amazing Blog and any fashionista will be sure to attend. From April 4th to the 10th you can get a personal styling makeover by professional stylists who have dressed Victoria Beckham, Emilie Sande and Professor Green.

Rachel Mann Photography

The Style Me in Seconds pop up event is offering free styling sessions to demonstrate the uniqueness and versatility of charity shop clothing. For those of us who don’t often have the patience to rummage through rails of clothing at charity shops, this event is a great way to see the endless creative possibilities of charity shop fashion. While it might be easier to buy off the peg than to rifle through the rails, charity shops can be a treasure trove of unique and vintage pieces that can set your wardrobe apart from the rest. Professional stylists can help you experiment with new looks or add a unique twist to your existing outfits.

Rachel Mann Photography

To get a taste of what charity shops have to offer, check out the Style Me in Seconds website for more information.

Mother's Day Guide

Here at The Amazing Blog, our Mums are the most important women in our lives. Every year, we try to take advantage of Mother’s Day to show our Mums just how much they mean to us. We know you’d like to do the same, so to help you out we’ve come up with a few ideas for you to show your appreciation.

South Place Brunch

Delight your mum with a three-course menu for brunch this Sunday. South Place Hotel is offering a specialty menu for Mother’s Day Brunch from 12noon - 4pm. The event features the best of British seasonal ingredients, with dishes like fillet of stone-bass, honey-glazed chicken wings, and celeriac risotto with a wild mushroom sauce. Alongside this scrumptious meal you’ll be entertained by live jazz from the Audioguide trio.

South Place is also offering a complimentary neck and shoulder massage for mums, plus a hand-picked goodie bag of treats from the hotel’s partners including Butterfly and the Bee, East Wick, and James Heeley.

The Mother’s Day Menu at 3 South Place is available for £30. Visit the website here for more information and to see the full menu.

Katherine Elizabeth Millinery Masterclass

Is your Mum the classy, fashionable type? Does she enjoy DIY projects as well? If that’s the case, Mother’s Day might be the perfect opportunity to surprise her with a voucher for a four and a half hour hat making masterclass at Katherine Elizabeth Millinery.

You and your Mum will love soaking up some of award-winning Katherine Elizabeth’s skills and techniques, and you’ll walk out with a few new headpieces as well! The classes are taught on Thursday evenings and some Wednesdays depending on availability from 4.30pm - 9pm.

See here to purchase a voucher for a Katherine Elizabeth Masterclass at a discounted price of £48.

Orchidya

We think that there is nothing better than to give our Mums an orchid plant – it is a symbol of love, luxury, beauty, and strength. Not forgetting to mention that compared to roses or cut flowers, Orchid plants will last for weeks. Try ordering some flowers from Orchidya, the only florist in the UK that’s dedicated to the exotic blooms.

Historically, orchids have been imported overseas to UK suppliers, making it difficult to create larger arrangements. However, this isn’t a problem for Orchidya, as the majority of the orchids are grown right in their glasshouse in Lincolnshire. Having this UK based supply means Orchidya is free to be more creative while being priced competitively.

If you’re interested in picking up some flowers for Mother’s Day, visit the shop in Bloomsbury or visit the online shop here.

English Wine Tasting Tours

Here at The Amazing Blog, we love a nice glass of wine at the end of the week, but as the Christmas season is upon us, we felt it was appropriate to kick it up a notch in the tipple department. English Wine Tasting Tours makes the perfect gift for a loved one who appreciates a good grape. And with next year’s tours starting in May, it’s sure to give them something to look forward to when those post-Christmas blues inevitably set in.

We all have someone near and dear who probably considers themselves a bit of a wine connoisseur, so why not treat them to a tour next year, where they can opt for a jaunt in either the Kent or Sussex countryside. They’ll be able to taste some delicious, authentic English wines and ciders whilst eating gastronomic treats, away from the city smog and traffic, on a unique and authentic day out that I’m sure they’ll wish to repeat every single year.

Leaving from London Bridge, the Kent tasting tour has two main stops: the Hush Heath Estate, producer of the Balfour Brut Rose’ and the Chapel Down Winery, which specialises in sparkling wines and Curious beers & cider, much appreciated by the likes of Gordon Ramsey and Jamie Oliver. With 18 different wine and cider samples to sip on, and a pitstop at the Goudhurst Inn for a tasty lunch and a selection of English cheeses, they’ll feel spoilt rotten.  Of course, no two grapes are the same, so they may prefer to taste what Sussex has to offer. The Sussex tour journeys to the Bolney Estate vineyard, famous for it’s environmentally friendly ethos, where not only great grapes are welcome but even butterflies, rabbits and dragonflies. Not too far from Bolney, they will get to know the Bluebell Vineyard and its love for traditional English sparkling wines as well as tasting delicious hand harvested grapes, nurtured with as little herbicide as possible. The day finishes in a nice gastro pub for a hearty meal that perfectly pairs with a newfound favourite wine. As an added perk, English Wine Tasting Tours offer a 10% discount to customers, so they can grab a bottle of the best wine England has to offer for a little less.

Give the gift of wine this Christmas, with Sussex and Kent tours costing £89 each, from here. Or take the stress out of guessing and grab a gift voucher, here, and your loved one can pick the perfect date for them.  And if you can’t wait until May, check out these videos from the tour to tide you over in the meantime!