“Upscaling” is the next step up from recycling.  It means taking something old or broken or molecularly challenged or unfashionable and re-inventing … Continue reading →

  I got an awful fright in September; it was all over the Irish news that Clery’s department store in Dublin was going into receivership and part of the company’s holdings, Guineys on Talbot Street, was closing down.   Originally … Continue reading →

  When our children were small we parents swapped around clothes and toys and paraphernalia.  I cannot remember how many of the group’s babies were wheeled out in a red pram (but no doubt Martin can! [Naoise, Catriona, Lucy, Maddy…….?]) … Continue reading →

Woody Guthrie’s centenary, steel guitars and talking blues, freedom and freight train whistles and the Dust Bowl mentality which has replaced Ireland’s Celtic Tiger bravado lead this restless mind to John T Davis and frocks.   Its called polygenesis. Himself … Continue reading →

                      My New Year’s Resolution for 2012 was ‘More Culture, fewer shoes.’ “Why Belle?” Because I have so many boots and shoes, sandals and slippers that I have lost count … Continue reading →

        Victoria Beckham was a singer known as ‘Posh Spice’ with the band “The Spice Girls” before (and sadly, after) marrying the celebrated English footballer David Beckham. They are a grand young couple, each with their own … Continue reading →

  I have always had a soft spot for Frida Kahlo – she and I are the only women I know of who got married lying down – and not just her story and her art are of interest, I … Continue reading →