An A-Z of Sisters Guild: Q is for Quirky

quirk  (kwûrk)
n.
1. A peculiarity of behavior; an idiosyncrasy:
"Every man had his own quirks and twists" (Harriet Beecher Stowe).
2. An unpredictable or unaccountable act or event; a vagary: a quirk of fate.
3. A sudden sharp turn or twist.
4. An equivocation; a quibble.
5. Architecture A lengthwise groove on a molding between the convex upper part and the soffit.
[Origin unknown.]
quirki·ly adv.
quirki·ness n.
quirky adj.

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This is part of our 'An A-Z of Sisters Guild published every Friday. See also A is for adventure, B is for bedtime, C is for colour, D is for discovery, E is for exuberance, F is for Feminine, G is for glorious, H is for home , I is for imaginative , J is for Joie de Vivre, K is for kin  ,L is for Love , M is for Maternal , N is for Nurture  O is for Oneiric and P is for Play

We also publish other series in our blog including our Monday Makery, Tuesday brings 'The  Story Behind Our Collections' inviting you to take a closer look at the designers we house and why we chose them for the Sisters Guild boutique.  Wednesday we show you our favourite seasonal pieces and Thursdays is dedicated to the 'Art of Living' in which we share ideas and inspiration from places to visit, things to see and articles about things that enrich our lives.

The Art of Living: Festival Fever

This is the time of year when people like to gather in a field and celebrate, with music, dance and food.  Festivals bring out a community spirit and draw on a primitive instinct to gather, share and connect.  It's one of the best family activities and the UK now has some amazing festivals that are such a key part of British culture.

For Carla and I festivals have always been part of our family calendar.  For children it's the best kind of camping, an outdoor holiday with entertainment. For adults it's liberation from the normal routine, time spent with friends and getting back to nature.  I've always enjoyed coming home with the feeling of being 'festivaled' - weary, windswept and in need of a bath, but with plenty of good memories and that great feeling of having breathed fresh air for 3 days (I won't mention the smell of festival loos!!)

image courtesy of www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

We won't be at Glastonbury this year as tickets are so hard to obtain (very envious that our brother is going - with wellies at the ready), but we shall be listening to the radio coverage and maybe even having a little campfire and a dance in Granny's garden!

Later this summer we shall be heading to the Just So festival in August for some family fun.  The Just So Festival is a small weekend-long festival of creativity aimed at children, with the very best UK arts activity for families, from theatre to dance, classical music to storytelling. Set in 65 acres of ancient English woodland in Staffordshire, you can immerse yourself in the beautiful natural landscape and stumble across amazing light installations, music and play in a woodland clearing, try out some messy art, or even run into the Gruffalo! It's in a part of the country I haven't explored before so I'm just as excited as Gabe.

And some exciting news.....
The Sisters Guild Boutique itself will be setting up shop at LOLLIBOP in Regents Park 5-7th August, which we are so thrilled about as we will get to meet lots of customers and be able to share some of our collections which you can feel and try and play with!  Come along for some fun and meet the whole Sisters Guild family....along with Rastamouse!  Find out more about LOLLIBOP here

Enjoy gathering this summer and feel the festival spirit!

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This is part of the Art of Living series of posts that bring you all the things we are passionate about and the things we discover in our lives as mamas.

In our Wednesday Woo blog post series we present a selection of things from the Sisters Guild Boutique.

We also have a Monday Makery with ideas for things to make yourself.

And for a glimpse behind the scenes of Sisters Guild we have the A-Z of Sisters Guild here

The Art of Living: Brighton Festival 2011

It's Brighton Festival time of year and the city of Brighton & Hove will be full of entertainment and celebration.  There is an exciting programme of cultural events in celebration of this year’s Guest Director - Aung San Suu Kyi and her passionate plea for peace in Burma. You can see Aung San Suu Kyi's message here

Brighton really does become a sight to behold with art, music and installations everywhere you turn.
Walking through our park St Ann's Well Garden today we saw a big team of people including the company Firefly Solar setting up some amazing constructions that will become a Fire Garden, a Jardin Flambeau by the French outdoor alchemists Compagnie Carabosse. We shall be going along to witness this amazing spectacle this weekend (Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th May).

I am very fond of this park and looking forward to the St Ann's Well Gardens Spring Festival on Saturday 21st May.

'Brighton Festival has been at the forefront of this renaissance (‘of British Arts Festivals’)... An arts festival that makes connections with the real world'  THE TIMES Fri 18 Feb 2011

Other festival events for kids include the Children's Parade, and for theatrical entertainment there is The Owl & the Pussycat and Draw me a Bird.  I also spotted that on the seafront there's a FREE event The Iron Man which will be good to catch.

Then there's the Brighton Festival Fringe  which is full of even more amazing Cabaret, Literature and Visual Art as well as more events for children

It makes me so proud and excited to be living in this city.

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This is part of the Art of Living series of posts that bring you all the things we are passionate about and the things we discover in our lives as mamas.

In our Wednesday Woo blog post series we present a selection of things from the Sisters Guild Boutique.

We also have a Monday Makery with ideas for things to make yourself.

And for a glimpse behind the scenes of Sisters Guild we have the A-Z of Sisters Guild here

An A-Z of Sisters Guild - C

colour (NAmer color) /'kulə/ noun 1 a visual sensation, eg of redness, blueness, etc, caused by the wavelength of preceived light. 2 a hue, e.g. red or blue, or such hues in general, esp as opposed to black, white, and grey.

colour (NAmer color) verb trans 1a to give colour to (something). b to change the colour of (something). 2a to misrepresent or distort (something). b to influence or effect (something).

Sessi: Imagine if all the world was pink. It wouldn't be very interesting would it.

C: Oona what colour are your wellies?

Oona: Red!

C: What colour is the sky?

Oona: Red!

C: What colour is the moon?

Oona: Red!

B: I remember learning to read the crayola colour names as a child - Aquamarine, Dandelion and Shocking Pink - and later became fascinated by oil paint colour names too - Cadmium Yellow, Cobalt Blue, Cerulean Blue, Viridian.  I just love the way they sound.