Since i have been given the very honourable task of writing the first blog entry i should probably say hello, nice to meet ya, thanks for reading and all that goes in between! For those of you who don't know who we are, we are the staff that work in a shop in Temple Bar called Urban Outfitters. We sell clothes, music, books and many other novel and exciting treats. We decided to get on this blog malark as we all thought it would be wicked to do something together that did not involve copious amounts of alcohol. I work with a very interesting, creative and even a little strange group of people and i hope you will find them as great as i do!
Phew, well now that the niceties are done and dusted lets get to it.... Let's just say recently many people have not exactly been at the peak of there happiness, ya know due to these recession times and all that. I see this alot, i guess working in a shop were you are meeting lots of people all the time. I have started to get slightly fed up reading and talking about it, but i have been thinking, and i want to tell you all a few things that have made my own happiness levels go off the radar!
I will start with the most recent. As i write this i am recovering from a Friday night in Dublin. Now usually we end up in the same old places and i was starting to get slightly tierd of the Dublin night scene, however last night was different. I decided i would go out but only if we went somewhere new or to a place were i haven't been in a while. My first stop was the apartment bar (well i think that's what it's called, one cannot be sure as it didn't have a name and i have heard several names for it in the past few weeks.)which is located beside Hogans. I love it there as they have a great outdoor smoking area that's lovely to sit out in esp when the weather is relatively warm which it was last night. There were no seats so we just had a quick drink as after 8 hours on my feet in work the last thing i fancy doing is standing all evening.. We left and decided to go to the Sheebeen Chic on Georges street. I had only had a drink there once and had liked it. Upstairs the place is full of odd bits n pieces like mis matched chairs and old lamps, clothes line hanging from the ceiling it has a cosy feel to it. It was quite quiet when we arrived which was nice as yes we could get a seat. As it got later it filled up and at 10.30 they opened up the downstairs part. It is amazing, that's all i can say. I loved it. We were about to go, but decided we would just have a peak downstairs and my golly was i surprised. They were playing a great mix of music, all quite 60's. The atmosphere reminded me of a dance hall from times gone by, with boys and gals bopping to the best set of tunes i have heard in a long time. I spent so long just dancing and everybody was so friendly and up for a laugh. While i had one of the best dancing experience's i have had in a long time, my friends wanted to go somewhere a bit bigger, as it is very small. I didn't want to leave and they literally had to pull me out the door (that's not a lie) as i just wanted to stay and dance and talk to my new found friends! I cant pinpoint what film i felt i was in but the place really reminds me of some movie i have seen. I was just delighted to find a new spot that i really love. Its a place i don't think i will tire off for a long time.
Secondly i am delighted that Urban are stocking the new album by the Fleet Foxes. It is a really great album, i cant get enough of it. It would make me exceedingly happy if they would come and play a gig for us. On the subject of Urban there are a few books in there that have made me sweat with joy lately. I usually don't get alot of time to read any of the books as I'm in work, but the other day i was in for a wee shop (it was finally payday!) and started to look at all the books. I am a bit of a book fiend at the best of times, but i guess because i see the books everyday i kinda take for granted out book section (tututu). Anyway yeah the other day changed all that as i was there for about three hours sitting on the sofa reading them. I found two i am going to snap up. One is Skins and Punks by Gavin Watson. We have had this book for a while and i never read it, but it is a really great book, right up my street. Watson captures two of the most iconic subcultures as they come to life in the dreary climate of 1980s Britain. As This is England director Shane Meadows comments in the foreword, 'What makes Gavin's photos so special is that when you look at them, there's clearly trust from the subject towards the photographer so it feels like you're in the photo rather than just observing'. Taken when Watson was only 14 years old; the stories behind these photos will make you laugh, cry, gasp and more.
The other book is the Stephen Sprouse book compiled by Rodger Padilha and Mauricio Padilha.
Stephen Sprouse brought the 1980s fashion scene to life with his bold and playful day glow designs; the originator of a look that is still inspiring other designers two decades later.I really like his work, he was known for mixing fashion up a bit, making it less conventional. He mixed graffiti and punk with high end fashion. Highlights include images by Andy Warhol and photographer Steven Meisel, and interviews with famous Sprouse friends Debbie Harry, Iggy Pop, Anna Sui, Kate Moss, Marc Jacobs, and Baby Jane Holzer. Its just a awesome book to read and some of the images are never seen before and just great.
Myself and my sister have set up a new free magazine called
limehouse Magazine. It has taken over my life recently. the first issue was launched on good
Friday in Urban, we had a great party with beers and The
Hotsprockets did an amazing
gig at it. We decided to set up the magazine as we wanted to do something together. We knew so many talented people and thought why not get them all together and working on something fun and creative. I think Dublin and the world needs more free stuff in it. While it had been a very insane to produce, it has been so much fun and we have such a laugh making it. I
especially love the late night sessions were you start to go a little crazy. We both end up getting really giddy and just falling around the place laughing at the most stupid things. The next issue will be out on the 28
th may so keep your eyes peeled.
http://www.myspace.com/limehousemagazineThere you go, the main things keeping me busy, happy and entertained at the moment. Ok, I'm sure you are now sick and tired and bored of listening to my ramble, enjoy it though and keep watching out for more goings on.
Besos x
Katie
Aye up, its a right old knee's up down in Temple-bar with a shed load of arty tings goin on!!
