My Own Private India

'People have been drawn to India for centuries for reasons that still excite travellers today; for legacy, for colour, for the opportunity to stand before something that is bigger than yourself.  When EM Forster wrote that India is “not a promise, only an appeal,” he summed up something that Hunt herself acknowledges implicitly. “Be brave,” she says, “but be careful.” The beauty is in exploration but also in reserve. Fresh from her latest trip to the country, Hunt spoke to us about India’s siren-song appeal and its particular relationship with Jac+ Jack.' 

I interviewed Jac + Jack designer Jac Hunt about her own private India for Brace magazine. You can read the whole article here. One of my oldest friends is in India now, having the time of her life. I want to go, I want to go, I want to go. 

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dancing in the moonlight

Is this what all weddings ought to be like? Bathed in the dusky glow of northern beaches summer, tinged with a rich, heady red-wine wash, tasting like the best days at bread & circus (which is to say, every day), played out against the strains of gentle waves lapping the sand? So good, so right, so perfect, that the bride - the beautiful, beautiful bride, in her beautiful, beautiful dress - couldn't help but jump out of her seat to spread her arms wide and smile a silky, ecstatic smile and sing at the top of her voice when the talented band strung up this song. Such a fine and natural sight. As far as evenings go, it's going to be pretty hard to top this one.

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well read

Out-takes by Rachel Kara for Brace . See the full article here.

Working with RKB is always a dream. There's an instinctiveness to the way she shoots that makes her the ultimate partner in crime; who would you rather have driving the getaway car? The person who asks you if it's time to go or the one who's had the engine running since you ran into the bank? This piece we shot for Brace Digital with Brenda, the creative director behind my favourite Australian label Benah, was my favourite kind of work. Friends coming together, talking about nothing but books, bottomless pots of tea and wishing hopelessly for cake. I feel like I always say this when Rachel is involved, but if only it could always be this good.

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saturdays are for love

Who would have thought that we could have pulled it together, after cancellation after cancellation, and all of it a SURPRISE? Only for you, RKB. A kitchen tea for the ladies, at our favourite place, with our favourite people, just before you get a(nother) ring put on you. Who would have thought we could have done it - betterthanchiswick lamb, nigel's mistress chicken, a coconut dream cake, and pavlova with all the trimmings, just the way it should be - and all with maximal minimal stress. We pull out the stops when we do it for love. Afternoons like this are the ones that make the working week worthwhile, the ones that you get up every morning at 6.45 for. They're the ones that never end, even when the rain starts to drizzle down mere metres away and the staff start to get out the mops and clean up around you. Lucky we have friends in high places that let us linger, eh? If only it could always be just like this.

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in the kitchen

freunde von freunden

The first time I went to the Nordic Bakery I didn't care about cinnamon buns or prawn sandwiches or elderflower tea. I was meeting Stevie for the first time and was so excited and so cold and (so) late. Happily, so was she, and we spent a couple of hours chatting about nothing and keeping warm. I remember Stevie tried to get a sneaky picture of the girls in their aprons (and cos she loves a good pinnie) because they were just that cool. Seeing these pictures of chef Soli Zardosht in London brings it all back. This is how all aprons ought to look if they possibly can. Thick straps, low armholes, big pockets, and a slip-into-it pinafore quality. I'm a messy cook - aren't we all? - and I need an apron. I need an apron to keep a tea towel in, to protect my clothes, to wipe my hands on when they're sticky with the residue of peach juice or tomatoes or olive oil, to leave on when you have to dash down the road to buy more golden syrup, to let the straps slip comfortably off your shoulder. But I want an apron because they're just that cool.

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cinematic style - goin' to the chapel in various

Rachel McAdams in About Time // Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama // Andie Macdowell in Four Weddings and a Funeral // Keira Knightley in Love Actually // Amanda Seyfried in Mamma Mia

Soon a few friends will be goin to the chapel, cos they're gonna get married. Excited doesn't even begin to cover it. All good things in life end in weddings. Also, three richard curtis movies? It must be time to watch Notting Hill again...

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kinfolk

Olivia Rae James

Next week me and Rachel are going to a kinfolk lunch. Are we excited? Oh yeah. Are we ready? Ready for new friends at a shared table, for Kangaroo Valley in all its sweet simplicity, for the picturesque, for the exquisite, for the spectacular, for the kind of afternoon that we dream of? Oh yeah. We were born ready.

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giggling

 source // January Morning by William Carlos Williams

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ps. don't forget to enter my Gatsby giveaway!

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