9th of December

Courage

2012-01-31T18:25:00.001+11:00

The world works in mysterious ways. Whilst having dinner with some live conga tunes play in the background, in the midst of contemplating life and thinking of the future... I look up to see this message in a framed picture... I had to write it down so I never forget it...

Moonlight & Shopping in Hawaii

2012-01-25T18:49:00.000+11:00

After the sun sets, torches light up along the beach enhancing the tropical island vibe. I was lucky to be there during a full moon. The view from 15th floor of the Ohana East hotel was stunning. My excitement reached peak levels when I discovered all the shopping boutiques on the main street in Waikiki. Hours went by viewing and trying on all the goodies. I was soooo much fun!

Hawaiian Magical Vibes

2012-01-18T19:42:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year everyone! I'm starting off 2012 with some highlights from a trip I made to Hawaii in November. It was a last minute holiday full of surprises, unexpected encounters and breathtaking natural beauty. After spending 11 days there, I understood why people fall in love with these islands. White sandy beaches, turquoise waters, a relaxed vibe with romantic sounds of the ukulele, make for some memorable magical moments.

The Colour Magenta = Harmony and Emotional Balance

2011-10-17T22:12:00.000+11:00

Spring is in the air! The flowers are in full bloom, trees beaming with fresh leaves sprouting from their branches. My fascination with colour is at an all time high as I walk through the streets seeing vibrant colours in nature, fashion and all forms of visual communication.

The colour of this week is Magenta, it encourages common sense and balance in all forms; spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. It's a colour of peace and joy. Here are some magenta inspired images to bring out all the positive qualities this colour represents. Enjoy!

Australian artist Shannon Crees' artwork in my studio

Bursts of light from the sun setting on Gardeners Road, Eastlakes in August, 2011

An illuminated eagle image inside the Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

Feather window display of Shop 59, Strand Arcade, Sydney

Naomi Rider 'Creamy Kiss' Magenta Pink Cushion
www.naomiryder.bigcartel.com/product/creamy-kiss-cushion

For those interested in further information about colour meanings, I found this great website written by an Australian with 25 years of observations on colour www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com

Live Body Painting Session

2011-09-06T23:06:00.000+10:00

As part of the Chic Petite Presents event, a live body painting session took place before the Sydney Fashion Hour styling talk. Chinese artist Amber Liu decorated model Janine's back with a stunning floral and butterfly design. It looked fantastic, I was extremely impressed, it was like a work of art. I want one of those designs on my back ;-)

Check out this video of the session:

body art from SHEILA FERNANDEZ on Vimeo.

Chic Petite Presents... Creatives Event With Love Atiara Accessories Installation

2011-08-09T03:04:00.005+10:00

Love Atiara was invited to participate in the Chic Petite Presents... Creatives Event held at Queen Street Studios in Chippendale on the 26th July. The event showcased up and coming designers with a fashion parade along with an art gallery exhibition and fashion accessories installation. We were the only accessories label featured with a special section beside some fabulous works of art by Australian artists. The night was lots of fun, the drinks we flowing, music playing and models strutting their stuff. Unseen TV documented the event, I had my first official interview and dose of media training, yikes! An overwhelmingly positive response to the resin bangles on display made my night complete. The clutches were also a hit, the girls loved them - yay!!! Encouraging comments from the ladies and gentlemen attending warmed my heart with joy.

A big thanks to Sharon Garrard for her support, enthusiasm and continued efforts in elevating the profile of up and coming Australian designers xox

Clover Love artwork www.cloverlove.com.au

Artist Expressions of Buenos Aires - Street Art & Paintings

2011-08-03T22:41:00.000+10:00

I spent one month in South America this past February sourcing handbag manufacturers for my label. Most of my time was dedicated to the vibrant city of Buenos Aires. The intricate details of the architecture distracted me each day as I was going from one place to another for meetings. The delicious pastries displayed in bakery windows also caught my attention =) Splashes of creative artistic expression add to the enchantment of this city. I'll be posting more pics from my trip in the coming weeks to share the beauty of Argentina.

Love Atiara Featured in Harper's Bazaar Vietnam!

2011-07-28T21:08:00.000+10:00

Harper's Bazaar magazine is now available in Vietnam with Love Atiara accessories featured in it's first ever issue!!! This is soooo exciting as it's my labels first feature in an international fashion magazine!!! Super stylist Lorena Perez Lira commissioned two head pieces to be included in this incredible shoot titled Tzarina Excess. They looked great teamed with Alex Perry numbers, a laced black jacquard dress and a lilac tulle couture gown. It was a day filled with high fashion, opulent pieces of furniture and homewares fit for palaces in the most exclusive locations around the world! The shoot took place at Royalty Prussia in Surry Hills, Sydney. The chandelier in the first shot, the biggest I've seen in my entire life is worth a modest $50K! The day was complete with a fabulous team including Lam Tran's photography, Peter Avalon's hair styling, Dave Reid's make-up, the gorgeous American model Dani Seltz, Lorena's superb styling along with my styling assisting and Ha Viet Bui as our photographers assistant.

The two head pieces in the shots below are the commissioned Love Atiara creations in shot number 3 and 8.

Photographer: Lam Tran www.lamtrancit.blogspot.com

Fashion Stylist: Lorena Perez Lira www.perezlira.com

Hairstylist: Peter Avalon

Make Up Artist: Dave Reid

Model: Dani Seitz / Chadwick Models

Photographer Assistant: Ha Viet Bui

Stylist Assistant: Vanessa Espinosa Cofre

Shot on location at the Royal Prussia showroom www.royaltyprussia.com

Official Love Atiara Logo!

2011-07-26T10:16:00.003+10:00

Hay everyone, I'm back! Geez time's gone by flying with so much going on since my last post. I have lots of exciting news to fill you in on. One piece of news which I'm beaming about is the unveiling of my logo! Now all the legalities of registering it are complete, I can officially introduce you to the Love Atiara logo! Voila, here it is... This logo was designed by the incredibly talented graphic designer, Noelina Alvarez Arribas who is now based in Barcelona.

The main image is a back to front outline of a woman looking up to the sky smiling gently as she absorbs the energy she's receiving from the sun. The rays from the sun are shining through her as projects the light she's receiving. This captures the essence of the label, the accessories are like a ray of light, illuminating the life of the individuals who use them.

The word Atiara means ray of light in Tupi Guarani, an indigenous Brazilian language. So as you can see it's all about spreading the light and love!

Visions of a legendary man

2010-11-27T20:16:00.000+11:00

Pink Hairspray Breakfast Event!

2010-11-09T23:34:00.000+11:00

The delicious pastries donated by St Honore Bakery in Mosman

Edwina, Amy and Melinda enjoying the festivities

My friends and I started a group called Pink Hairspray last year. The aim was to raise funds to buy a wig for one of our dear friends who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 27. Thankfully she's recovering steadily, enough to arrange the inaugural Pink Hairspray Breakfast, in order to raise money for this important cause.

The breakfast was a hit! Everyone had a wonderful time, soaking up the live entertainment along with all the scrumptious offerings for all taste buds. Raffle prize donations were made from Sony, MAC, Kenwood, Novotel Sydney, St Honore Bakery Mosman and my label - Love Atiara! I hand made a collection of resin bangles with the help of my dad, in the traditional Pink Hairspray colours of cream, mauve and, yes you guessed it Pink! The winner of the bangles is a fabulous local artist who immediately put them on, wearing the specially made collection with pride!

I did an impromptu photo shoot at Centennial Park with the bangles the day before, so I could show you guys the designs. I think I'll need to go back to the bakery for part 2 of the pain au chocolat's, they were so good!

'Pink Hairspray' Resin Bangles

My next collection titled... Illumination...

2010-10-06T22:43:00.000+11:00

I've been back in the studio working on my next collection titled 'Illumination'. I was looking for a subject close to my heart, something to touch, inspire and bring a moment of joy. After a few trips to Maroubra beach to meditate on the theme, the word Illuminate came to mind.

It's a fascinating topic as one can feel it in many different ways but what does it look like? The images below begin to describe it. The colours of the sky, rays of the sun and the moon personify illumination in my world, along with the feeling of a kiss from another precious being. I'm uplifted, my breath taken away by the beauty projected... the combination of elements to produce natures light show, on the interior and exterior of the body.

The 'Illumination' collage with some of the many incredible images I found

Ionized gas in the Lagoon Nebula, a star forming region 5000 light years distant in the constellation Sagittarius

A close up of my favourite images

Live Like It's Heaven On Earth

2010-09-14T11:00:00.001+10:00

Artistic expression on the foreshore of our famous Bondi Beach

Searching for the perfect violet

2010-09-08T20:58:00.001+10:00

The two main colours selected for the logo of my label are canary yellow and violet. After many revisions, we finally selected a yellow possessing depth without being too bright. The quest for the perfect violet was another story. My first point of reference was the Pantone book, familiar to graphic designers, artists and anyone in the printing industry.

After much frustration over trying out several 'violet' colours the infamous Pantone book had to offer, I decided a standard stock colour wasn't the way to go. After all this label represents the colours of the rainbow, the brilliance shining out from the sun, as if we would go with a standard colour! I was pointed in the direction of a brilliant website, my logo saviour =) The vast array of colours on offer was like a being a little girl in a lolly store, heaven! Check out www.colourlovers.com. I started off liking the first colour story below featuring the violet purple, then I came across the winner!

Color by COLOURlovers

Kirribilli Street Art

2010-08-10T22:10:00.002+10:00

Walking through the main shopping area in Kirribilli today shocked me as I saw the first piece of street art in the area! Perhaps Kirribilli is getting down with the artistic flow? Bring it on I say.

Date with Richard Branson!

2010-08-05T20:34:00.000+10:00

Richard Branson is one of those people who ooze charisma. He's a self made billionaire constantly breaking boundaries challenging the status quo. I'm super excited to be attending the 'Ultimate Success Summit' being held over 2 days in September. Advanced success strategies will be shared directly from the world's leading entrepreneurs including the main man himself Sir Richard B. I've placed my tickets in a secret hiding place as they're worth gold to me, let hope I don't forget the location. I'm counting down the days until I'm in the same room as someone who believed in himself, overcame physical illness then went on to rock his world.

I'll follow up with a debrief of my learnings from the event. I'm sure there will be plenty!

Motivational Images - For Focus and Daydreaming...

2010-07-27T23:01:00.002+10:00

These are some collages I have created around my desk at day job # 1. In order to make this dream come true I currently have 2 "official" jobs, yeah I'm a busy girl. My teams area is the brightest and most colourful I've seen around the company. I'm fortunate to have great colleagues who are each creative in different aspects, making life there quiet interesting. We have a magician, two artists, an innovation guru, budding photographer, shoe designer and then there's me representing THE crucial accessory of any wardrobe - handbags =)

My Love Story - some of the women who inspire me - Muccia Prada - Fashion Designer of Prada and Entrepreneur, Tamara Melon - Co founder of Jimmy Choo, Cathryn Wills - Creative Director of Mimco, Kim Michaelides - Creative Director of Spencer & Rutherford, Wen Zhou - CEO of 3.1 Phillip Lim and John Haigh from Haigh Chocolates... I had a small gap at the bottom and their chockies are delicious!

Piece of the week - Newtown, Sydney

2010-07-15T20:47:00.000+10:00

As I was walking through the streets of Newtown, I came across this piece which stopped me in my tracks. It was off the main road King Street. The combination of colours and blending of the elements make this a standout piece of the week. There's something about the freedom of expressing ones art on walls which makes it so appealing. Stay tuned for more funktified street art from around the world. We're going international on this one, representing worldwide baby... yeah! =D

L'Inspiration du Jour - Inspiration of the Day

2010-07-07T17:21:00.004+10:00

Striking clouds over the horizon. These were taken on the 30th May, 2010 from my balcony. We see the most amazing patterns created by the clouds from my place. As the sun goes to sleep, it's rays illuminate them in shades of pink, purple and orange. This moment lasts for a few minutes, never to be repeated again. Everyday brings something different. Sunset is my favourite time of the day =)

Independence Day

2010-07-06T22:49:00.002+10:00

Sunday 4th July marked a major event in my handbag designing career, which was previously kept alive in my mind since 2006. It was the day my creations were manifested into actual samples to be featured in a fashion photo shoot, yay! The two weeks beforehand were a mixture of concept briefing, designing, purchasing of materials, pattern making, confusion, sewing, frustration, more confusion then voila - success! It was a huge relief to have 2 completed samples in front of me at 5am Sunday morning, 1.5 hrs before the shoot call time! Phew, I finished just in time! The shoot took place on the grounds of Centennial Park, Sydney, Australia.

Reflections in the stunning grounds of Centennial Park

Dream Catcher Bag

The crew preparing the model

Super Stylist 'Pasion' on location for shot #1

Priestess Luna Clutch, affectionately known as 'Lulu'

Textures on the tree trunks in the forest

Photographer Tiffany in action with our gorgeous model Gina Mendoza from Colombia