mayfair report 2012

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Dubai Burj Al ArabThe world’s most luxurious hotel.

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18 - About Us

19 - Introduction We have Advanced Forward like Never Before

25 - Lease Re-Gear:We have Saved Admin-Re £20 Million 26 - Lease Advisory:Million Ask-re Makes its Marc!

32 - Business Rates:Revaluation Delay until 2017 36 - Crossrail ReportThe Unknown Impact in London 38 - Business ExpandsSingapore and Dubai

40 - AMV BBDODuring The Olympic Mayhem

48 - Sisley Cream for GoodThe Cosmetic Company Partner with Children’s Charity, Kids Company

52 - Love Art Wear ArtDon’t Miss These Limited Edition Shoes!

56 - Caroline Bucci’s Must-Have Charm BraceletsThe Italian Designer’s Stunning Jewellery Collection

58 - Tim Walker At Somerset HouseEnter The Imagination of Photography’s Mad Hatter

64 - Xmas Beauty setsFor beauty junkies everywhere

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About UsAsk-re is one of the UK’s most effective property consultancies and was founded years ago by like-minded hands-on property people. Since then, the company has provided business-driven real estate consultancy and service delivery to about 800 unique clients within the UK. We provide national reach, transferable skills and local delivery.

We are the standout firm for unlocking the most complex and difficult real estate problems and converting problems into benefits, reducing cash outflows and liabilities, in order to make financial gains out of adverse situations.

Our unique approach combines strategic property and business knowledge, all designed to add value and reduce the cost of commercial property, occupation and to advise ownership. We cut cost and create value.

Our client-facing team is made up of a combination of property and business professionals all focused on delivering excellence through creative and effective advice. These factors are underpinned by the utmost integrity and close relationships, as well as applying embedded specialist real estate and negotiation skills. Our results and our creative skills are outstanding in our sector, as happy clients frequently tell us.

We believe in always working cost-free and leaving no loose ends to snag the client’s future needs. Our unique selling point is that Ask-re always makes monetary gains for our clients and will never be a net cost, only a net benefit. No other consultancy of similar stature can offer this, or think and act as effectively and beneficially.

Read our ‘Mayfair Report 2011’ featuring Harvie & Hudson

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WHAT WE DO We are the standout firm for unlocking the most complex and difficult real estate problems and converting problems

into benefits, reducing cash outflows and liabilities, in order to make financial gains out of adverse situations.

Our unique approach combines strategic property and business knowledge, designed to add value and reduce the cost of commercial property, occupation and ownership.

We cut cost and create value.

CONSULTANCY WITH CLIENTS Corporate Real Estate Services (CRES) is industry

jargon for the special skill set for corporate occupiers of commercial properties. We match our skills-set to occupier issues and needs, producing bespoke solutions driven by

purely individual needs and limited only by what the tenure and property conditions allow us to achieve.

Our skills are particularly valuable and relevant during periods of downsizing or growing, whether disposing or ac-

quiring, whether refinancing or releasing embedded assets. In addition to these more generalised scenarios, we offer specialist advice in matters such as capital allowances, lease restructuring and corporate finance either directly or

with partners, as well as the embedded property specialists here at ask-re.

OUR SERVICESExpert Witness Reports incl.

ArbitrationsCorporate Real Estate ServicesInvestment in Property Assets

Investment Property Asset ManagementBusiness Space Leasing/Disposals

Rent Reviews, Lease Renewals & ValuationsBusiness Rates Appeals & Tax Savings

Planning and DevelopmentDilapidations Negotiations

Building ConsultancySmartspace (www.smartspace-uk.com)

Globe/Reactive (www.globefacilities.co.uk)aedis (www.aedis-uk.com)

Any Business Property Issue ? Please Just Ask!

[email protected]

ASK-RE BOARDChairman - Andrew Smith

Commercial Director - Parminder Dhap Executive PA - Marisa Ciccarello

Head of Assets Management - David GilderHelen Cooke | Anthony MurphyChris Mountfort | Diana Banks

Graham Driver | George Owen-Smith

SALES AND MARKETINGSales, Marketing & PR Consultant - Susan Ephgrave

Sales & Marketing Manager - Frances Dennis

GRADUATE PARTNERSCherelyn Elbourne | Jon Ho Lee

Shivani Pankhania | Alex Housego

EDITORIALEditor-in-Chief - Alexandra ZagalskyDeputy Editor - Sophia Hélène Price

Monica Spysznyk | Sabina Ventriglia

CREATIVEAmrol B. Miah | Sahr Maningo

WEB DEVELOPMENTHead of IT & Development - Juliano Araujo

Senior Web Developer - Joe PriceApprentice - Mohamed Aden

OFFICE MANAGER & SUPPORTLauren Freeman | Alex Wells

Louisa Shindle | Asma Sonabara

We Have Advanced Forward Like Never Before!

A very warm welcome to Mayfair 2012. This year, our work with client

business has taken us from Mayfair’s high fashion through the West End fash-ion, style and celebrity hot-spots, all the way out East to ‘Singapore and UAE’ (Dubai) when we now have representative offices and local clients. The Club and Restaurant businesses con-tinue to thrive in London

with seemingly insatiable demand meeting the freshest and brightest design, food, media and entertainment London has to offer its visitors and residents. It’s all here! And we had the Olympics!

There’s so much to cover we can only touch on a few people, businesses and pieces of work, which we’ve done together. We really value all of our business friends and contacts and look forward to a blisteringly hot ride in 2013, whether in the Ask-re bricks and mortar real estate world or in the glitzy, glamorous fashion, celebrity and lifestyle world of Beautifulyou.com, which connects all women everywhere.

Kind Regards

Andrew SmithChairman

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EDITORIAL

Alexandra ZagalskyEditor-in-Chief

Sophia Hélène PriceDeputy Editor

Sabina VentrigliaBeauty Contributor

CREATIVE & PUBLICATION

Amrol B. MiahCreative Director

SALES AND MARKETING

Susan [email protected]

CONTRIBUTION

Helen [email protected]

David [email protected]

Chris [email protected]

Jon Ho [email protected]

Anthony [email protected]

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Andrew SmithChairman

Parminder DhapCommercial Director

A: 3rd Floor, 2 Gees Court, St. Christopher’s Place, London, W1U 1JA | T: +44(0)20 7616 0100 |

F: +44(0)20 7616 0101 | E: [email protected] | www.ask-re.co.uk

Somerset House18 October 2012 - 27 January 2013

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Ask-re’s Mayfair ClientsOur range of services provides extensive, encompassing everything from investment sales and

acquisition to advising on all aspects of commercial property to help our clients realize the true value of their real estate.

Building Consultancy | Business Rates | Commercial Agency | Corporate Real Estate | Property Investment | Investment Asset Management | Planning & Development | Rent Reviews, Lease

Renewals & Valuations | Property Tax Specialist

A: 3rd Floor, 2 Gees Court, St. Christopher’s Place, London, W1U 1JA T: +44 (0)20 7616 0100 | E: [email protected] | W: www.ask-re.co.uk

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Lease Re-Gear:We Saved Admin-re £20 millionby Helen Cooke

With our help and expert advice, we saved Admin-Re A substantial amount on their Rent

Ask-re was a p p o i n t e d to advice on the future

occupational requirements for Admin Re and devised a suitable Property Strat-egy Plan for the future. With an approaching break option at one of their sites in Hitchin, we were requested to report on the relevant impacts and issues; review all options and the possible risks and benefits arising from the implementation of strategic actions relative to Hitchin in particular.

The Hitchin site compris-es three office buildings of circa 80,000 sq ft: demised under one lease for a term of 25 years from 2002. Following changes within the business and with staff numbers reducing over re-cent years, the space was clearly under-utilised.

Ask-re assessed the total occupation costs of rent/rates/ utilities/ day to day site operation costs plus previous and planned maintenance to assess to true cost of the site to the occupier; currently run-

ning at nearly £3 million per annum.

Working closely with the client to ascertain projected staff numbers within the future business plan and with space planning analysis, it became clear all staff could be accommodated in one main building of approximately 45,000 sq ft. Hence, we were able to demonstrate the opportunit for significant savings going forward.

Result:

New lease agreed at existing property but Future property expenditure reduced to £1.5 million per annum. Over the remaining 15 years of the term, this produced savings of over £20million for the client.

No relocation costs – just vastly reduced overheads.

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Lease Advisory: Ask-re Makes its Marc!by David Gilder

Our client, Marc, a well-known restaurant op-erator run by Marlon Abela Occupies this

discreet Michelin starred restau-rant in Mayfair.

The restaurant is probably unique in Mayfair in being ap-proached through a private gar-den. This factor alone became very contentious when our client was faced with an extremely compl ica ted rent review i n v o l v i n g a main lease and four supplemental leases.

The client was faced with a huge increase with the landlord proposing a revised rent equating to 160% of the passing rent.

The landlord relied on rental growth in Mayfair and it was

soon apparent that only the most robust of negotiations would succeed.

The landlord was also attempting to argue that the premises are unique within Mayfair because of the garden approach which would result in a premium rental value.

It was further apparent, that by sticking to our honest opinions and doing the best for our client, there was no

option but to refer the matter to an Independent Expert for deter-mination.

As part of our investigations, we conducted an extensive search of restaurant evidence through-out the West End although through our ongoing activities

in the sector, we were already in possession of most of it.

Extensive evidence was put before the Independent Expert with our opinions, arguments and rental valuation.

In the end, all the hard work was worth it. The result was that the Independent Expert primarily agreed with our case and deter-mined a rent that resulted in less than a 3% increase above the passing rent. It is also almost one third below the figure that the landlord was seeking.

This review was also an important result bearing in mind the potential knock-on effect upon our client’s mode of continued operation at the site. It could also have had a knock-on effect on our client’s rating assessment.

Resulting from our efforts, we

“faced with 160% rent increase”

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are now in discussions with the landlord to extend the lease on preferential terms bearing in mind that our client is now pay-ing a rent which is much less than current rental levels.

SKILLS

• Rent Reviews• Expert Witness work -

independent Expert• Rating• Corporate Real Estate

Services

ACTIONS

• To secure a result substan-tially below prevailing rental levels.

• Enhancing the value of our client’s occupational lease-hold interest.

• Protect our client’s other interests on properties.

• Save our client almost £½ m until the next review.

RESULTS

Our client’s interests protected and much money saved.

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Business Rates: Revaluation Delayed Until 2017! by Chris Mountfort

At a time when businesses are still struggling and many shops around the

country remain empty - and just as another star name goes bust - the government’s recent announcement that the 2015 Revaluation will be deferred to 2017 only adds to the pain of business rates costs.

The postpone-ment means that commer-cial property occupiers and landlords of empty retail and leisure properties will be forced to continue to pay exceptionally high Rates which are based on pre-recession 2008 rents; whereas many shop busi-nesses have been trashed and Rates should be reducing.

Whilst businesses in Mayfair will not be affected to the same extent, other locations and especially those outside of London will not see the benefit that a 2015 Revaluation would have provided, where rates bills would be based on much lower 2013 rents, reflecting the voids and the economic malaise hitting shops and retailing generally.

Formal appeals against the current 2010 Rating List are now of even more significance as any

reduction in rateable value will now be effective over 7 years. Appeal rights are very limited, so that appeal must be done right!

With “transitional relief” being phased out of many rates bills over the next few months, and thus accelerating rapidly, most retail businesses should be looking to challenge their rates assessment if they have not done

so already. And be look-ing for any chance of get-ting tempo-rary and other allowances on top of perma-nent reduc-tions.

This is a very specialist skill area of property taxation and results can be cru-cial to business survival. It’s your money so please just Ask us to get it back for you!

For more information, or to discuss an appeal against your rating assessment, contact:

Chris Mountfort

E: [email protected] T: +44(0)20 7616 0100 www.ask-re.co.uk

“landlords of empty properties will be forced to continue

to pay exceptionally high rates”

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Crossrail Report: The Unknown Impact in Londonby Jon Ho Lee

What is Crossrail?

Crossrail will be the largest single addition to the transport network in London and the South East for over 50 years. It will be a new high-frequency railway from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, through central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.

Crossrail will provide up to 24 trains per hour in each direction during peak periods and will in-crease the public transport rail network capacity in London by 10%, thus cutting journey times and relieving congestion on the existing networks.

The central tunnels run from a por-tal west of London Paddington Station to Whitechapel, with fur-ther tunnelling to Stratford and Canary Wharf. There will be new stations at Paddington, Bond

Occupiers located close to the Paddington and Royal Oak Stations are likely to suffer from a range of disruption includ-ing congestion, noise and dust. Buildings may be subject to dis-ruptions in the next few years and some of the properties are most likely to be demolished to make way for the Crossrail development. Tunnelling work is currently happening on East-bourne Terrace and will travel West towards the East.

Bond StreetThe arrival of Crossrail in 2018 to Bond Street will no doubt increase growth of numbers using the station. It is anticipat-ed that over 220,000 people will travel in and out of this station daily. In order to cater for the increase, two new ticket halls are being constructed: A western ticket hall at Davies Street and an eastern ticket hall on the corner

2012 © Crossrail Ltd | Crossrail.co.uk

Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street and Whitechapel. Due to the size and positioning of new platforms, some will be directly connected to multiple underground stations.

PaddingtonBuilt in the Victorian times, Paddington creates a fantas-tic sense of arrival and evoked the excitement of rail travel. The existing station is Grade 1 listed, meaning that Crossrail cannot interfere with any part of the listed structure without prior permission from English Heritage.

The Paddington Integrated Project is a collaboration between Crossrail, London Underground, Network Rail and Transport for London to create a truly integrat-ed station that offers a superior passenger experience with easy interchanges.

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of Hanover Square.

Occupiers in the close vicinity of Bond Street Station are likely to suffer from a range of dis-ruptions including congestion, noise and dust. Currently all the buildings on Weighhouse Street and St Anselm’s Place have been demolished. Hanover Square and Stratford Place have also been under heavy development.

Tottenham Court RoadHaving been constructed over 100 years ago, Tottenham Court Road was not designed to cater for the 150,000 passenger journeys made through the sta-tion daily. The existing station is being upgraded to meet the expected rise in demand for this key central London station for years to come. Crossrail is build-ing a new station the length of three football pitches and a new street level ticket hall will also be constructed at Dean Street, with the station box continuing five storeys underground at the depth of around 25m, thus providing access to the new Crossrail plat-forms.

Occupiers located close to the Tottenham Court Road Station are likely to suffer from a range of disruption including conges-tion, noise and dust. Most of the construction work is around the station and in Soho Square.

FarringdonOnce completed, Farringdon Station will have over 140 trains per hour running through it as it will link the London Underground, Crossrail and Thameslink services. It will be the only station from which

passengers will be able to access all three networks and will become one of Britain’s busiest stations.

Occupiers located close to the development are likely to suffer from a range of disruption including congestion, noise and dust. Works is taking place in Farringdon Road and are likely to cause even further disruptions.

Liverpool StreetCrossrail’s Liverpool Street Station will serve the City of London providing interchanges with the Nothern, Central, Metropolitan, Circle and Hammersmith & City Lines. It will also have connections to Stansted airport and National Rail services. The Crossrail Station will be located below the existing Liverpool Street and Moorgate Stations. At the eastern end of the station, a new ticket hall will be constructed below Liverpool Street towards the Broadgate development. At the western end, a further new ticket hall will be built by developing the existing Moorgate Station ticket hall. Finsbury Circus has been temporarily acquired during the construction of Crossrail to enable the construction of the platform tunnels and to accom-modate construction facilities.

Occupiers located close to the development are likely to suffer from a range of disrup-tion including congestion, noise and dust. worksites is around Finsbury Circus and Blomfield Street.

How can Ask-re help?

RelocationsSome occupiers have been given just three months’ notice to relo-cate their business. Here at Ask-re, we combine professional skill with market knowledge to find the right solution and deliver the right result for our clients.

Business RatesWhilst all premises are valued for rating every 5 years there are frequently changes during the intervening period that may affect the value of the premises or interfere with occupier’s en-joyment. The Crossrail work are likely to cause these disruptions to their occupiers.

We’ll use our professional skill-sets to deliver the right result for our clients. We have highly professional and experienced specialist rating consultants, dedicated to advising clients on their business rates liability and identifying opportunities for making savings.

To discuss relocation or business rates services, or if you require additional information please contact:

Jon Ho LeeE: [email protected]: +44(0)20 7616 0100

Parminder DhapE: [email protected]: +44(0)20 7616 0100

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Business Expands: Singapore and Dubaiby Marisa Ciccarello

Acouple of months ago Ask-re was invited by Ronnie and De Cruz Solicitors to

the Singapore Grand Prix which gave us the opportunity to meet a host of fantastic people, that one wouldn’t normally meet in-cluding current pop sensation, Katy Perry, backstage, fol-lowing her live performance.

We were brought to the most fascinat-ing locations and came away full of exciting new business proposals, of which the possibility of exploring ex-pansion into the UK market with the launch of international brands such as Diane Von Fürstenberg and Alice Temerley, the poten-tial to invest in London’s resi-dential real estate market.

Similarly, some of our important contacts are also keen to branch out, with original British clubs, restaurants, fashion retailers and luxury goods hoping to move into the rapidly growing Singa-porean and Malaysian markets.

As a result of these projects, we now have a representative local

office in Singapore, in Associa-tion with Ronnie Tan, as well as in Dubai where we have part-nered with Sultan Al Hadsi.

Ask-re is not only a highly ex-perienced business consultancy specialising in Real Estate and brand and business develop-

ment, we are now able to give back to our clients much more than traditional property cost cutting and profit release, including rent reviews, busi-

ness rate appeals, purchasing and selling business spaces, fit-outs, lease re-gears amongst others.

As an example of this we are proud to announce our joint ven-ture in the forthcoming launch of a brand new high class Asian food chain ‘Shukran’ which caters specifically to halal-re-quirements whether this be for religious reasons or taste pref-erences. We are confident that Shukran will be one of the big success stories of 2013. Or, could it be you? Maybe Byoutifulyou, another of our new business creations. Take a look!

“We came away full of exciting new

business propos-als and ideas for

expansion”

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AMV BBDODuring the Olympic Mayhemby Anthony Murphy

The London 2012 Olympics has come and gone and certainly team GB felt the

excitement in the city, as London was on edge of one of the biggest spectacles in London sporting history….

However, many of London businesses in Central and Greater London tensions were growing. There have been ‘umpteen’ press releases from various sources, including Transport For London, stating that tubes, buses and roads will be nothing short of may-hem which can only mean one thing… well, a num-ber of things, but in this case “stress!”

Commuting to and from work will be warped for between 6-8 weeks due to the sheer volume of additional people travelling around during rush hour. Travel times are set to increase mean-ing employees are late – which is a problem for any company and could cause company’s major finical loses!

AMV BBDO a digital and commercial advertisement agen-cy approached ask-re with a dilemma which could potentially affect their business and clients

alike since their main operations is taken place near to one of the Olympic key areas.

AMV BBDO were concerned with a few major projects they were undertaking and wanted to know the best possible approach in working around during the Olympic Games without causing major disruptions during their business operations!

We at ask-re, love to solve problems…. A solution: to built and tested an acquire number of temporary satellite offices around London, away from the various congested ‘hotspots’, in locations easily accessible

for employ-ees based on their person-al commute… In good and safe locali-ties… “That’s

a GREAT idea” someone said… So we did it!

We successfully acquired two satellite offices in Wands-worth and Aldgate to provide a company-specific solution for all employees that would be affected by delays when commuting to and from the AMV BBDO head office based in Marylebone as well plan client meeting and various business operations. By creating a personalising alterna-tive traveling options, provided real-time updates and practically assisting each personal through the specifically built website,

we at ask-re have helped AMV BBDO and many of their clients, show the intelligent, supporting and caring force of “the management” in help-ing people de-stress and giving options to cope. How good is that?

“Ask-Re put in an Olympic effort both working with our data to isolate perfect locations and in managing the rental process from start to finish. They negotiated hard on our behalf securing excellent deals and they even delivered a comprehensive website to use for internal l a u n c h purposes w h i c h was as r e a l l y g o i n g the extra mile”

Gary Grant(Board Account Director,AMV BBDO)

“helping peoplede-stress and giving

options to cope”

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Sisley’s Cream For GoodThe Cosmetic Company Partner with Children’s Charity, Kids Company by Alexandra Zagalsky

If you work in central Lon-don, you may have spotted one of its most colourfully dressed denizens, Camila

Batmanghelidjh, the turban-clad larger-than-life founder of Kids Company, a charity com-mitted to helping the capital’s most vulner-able chil-dren. Camila is more than a charity founder, she is a cam-p a i g n e r , fundraiser, psychotherapist, au-thor and one of Britain’s leading voices on children’s care issues.

The Kids Company operates through two street level centres as well as the Heart Yard Therapy House, a Victorian townhouse in South London which serves as a therapeu-tic sanc-tuary for ch i ld ren in need of inten-sive emo-tional and p s y c h o -l o g i c a l suppor t . These are ch i ld ren who have su ffe red the most unimaginable abuses and traumas, who desperately need a ‘normal’ environment full of love and laughter.

The Heart Yard really is a house like no other, for as well as pro-viding a safe haven, it also rep-resents a as providing a safe ha-ven, it also represents a colourful and fun place for the children to relax and just be kids, thanks to its amazing team of carers and

t h e r a p i s t s as well as a beaut i fu l ly tended gar-den, family kitchen and p l a y r o o m . Childhood is

celebrated here with all sorts of activities including cookery les-sons, yoga and special activity clubs.

The Kids Company supports a staggering 11,600 vulnerable children, and although it has re-ceived government funding, it

needs to raise £9 m i l l i o n a year to con-tinue its i n c r e d -ible work w h i c h spans all a s p e c t s of child-care from h e a l t h -care and

education to therapy, welfare support and emergency housing.

Luxury cosmetic brand Sisley

has stepped in, and as well help-ing to raise funds towards the 2012 running costs of the Heart Yard, it wants to broaden aware-ness of the charity by encourag-ing people to become a Friends of the Heart Yard, through so-cial media, special events and the sale of two of its best-selling products.

The company will donate 10% of the proceeds of all sales of its best-selling Sisleÿa Global An-ti-Age and Sisleÿa Eye & Lip Contour Cream from 1st Sep-tember to 31st December 2012 at Sisley counters nationwide. This represents a generous dona-tion for the charity, especially when you consider that one sale of each amounts to £20 a time.

You can also donate online www.kidsco.org.uk and do check out the charity’s wonderful shop, with super cute T-shirt prints de-signed by some of the children it has helped through its services.

For more informarion on The Kids Company or how to get invloved vist kidsco.org.uk

“The Kids Company supports 11,600

vulnerable children”

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Love Art Wear ArtDon’t Miss These Limited Edition Shoes! by Sophia Hélène Price

There’s nothing I love more than stepping out in gorgeous new heels! Despite having spent a

fortune on shoes, I’m always on the lookout for my next pair and was so excited when I discov-ered the stunning collection of shoes from Love Art Wear Art. I caught up with the designer behind these beautiful creations, Nicole le Grange, to find out more about the brand.

As we get together for a much needed coffee, Nicole tells me she studied graphic and web design before deciding to go into shoe design.

‘I wanted to do something more hands on. I’ve always loved fashion so I decided to do a course in shoe-making which was absolutely brilliant because I literally learned how to make shoes from scratch,’ she says.

Nicole then spent several years working for different retailers before launching her own brand, Love Art Wear Art. Each shoe within the range is beauti-fully handmade using top qual-ity materials and every pair is numbered with a little metal banner on the outsole as part of a limited edition.

‘I really wanted to fill the gap for people who want something unique but can’t afford to pay a mortgage for a pair of shoes,’ she explains laughing.

‘Another thing which is key to

my brand is the fact that I do these limited ranges so depend-ing on the materials I’m using for the design there might be 30 pairs or 70 pairs of each style and I think it’s something that makes people feel special. I want the brand to be the best gift that you can buy yourself and when you receive the package it’s all about the ribbons, the pretty box and the little charm. Shoes are one of the things that can last many, many seasons. I think clothes come and go but shoes can be timeless.’

I couldn’t agree more and ask whether Nicole is as obsessed with Christian Louboutins as I am but her taste in designers is much more specific!

‘For me it’s not necessar-ily I about the brand but about the style that they are doing at the time. For embellishments I love Miu Miu! No one does bling like they do but for quirky minimalism I love Marni. I love all the wood that they have and then for your more timeless el-egant styles I really like Manolo Blahnik and also Chie Mihara which has that quirky Spanish feel. I really love her stuff and I think it’s really comfortable so it’s really about the shoe I see and whether love it or not.’

Well I already have my eye On

Nicole’s burnish an Saidia shoes and am keen to know whether she has any plans to branch out

into new pro-jects.

‘I like hair accessories!’ she tells me.

‘Not that I could do it

myself but the concept of my website is really to have independent designers selling their products. I myself wouldn’t be into hat-making sud-denly because it’s all about skill and you need to know what you do but I think it’s quite possible that in the fu-ture I would have some other bits on the site. I think I would stick to accesso-ries though rather than to go down the clothing road... there are a lot of people that do that really well,’ She says laughing.

Discover Love Art Wear Art AW12 collection visit www.loveartwearart.com

“shoes are one of the things that can last many, many

Seasons”

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Carolina Bucci’s Must-Have Charm BraceletsThe Italian Designer’s Stunning Jewellery Collection by Sophia Hélène Price

Over recent years, charm bracelets have become an absolute fashion staple and

the more mod-ern and origi-nal the design, the better. Well you need look no fur-ther because we’ve discov-ered some absolutely stunning creations from Italian jewellery designer Carolina Bucci who has been featured in the most chic magazines from Vogue, Harp-er’s Bazaar and W Magazine as well as being awareded a position in Vanity Fair’s Annual Power-ful Player list for the jewellery industry. Her designs are just beautiful in their modern and effortless sense of luxury, it’s no surprise really

that Carolina has a big follow-ing of A-list celebrity fans such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Nicole Kidman, as well as top

fashion editors and journal-ists who can’t get enough of the silk string and gold chain blend brace-lets, each

featuring it’s own little charm which represents a different quality such as happiness, ener-gy, friendship and passion.

The Lucky Charm Bracelets actually became the fashion industry’s must-have piece when it was spotted on Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw (she wore the bracelet for the entire last season) and suddenly fashionistas everywhere were desperate to own a Carolina

Bucci design. Needless to say, the brand is very much a high end label, Carolina has a strong background in jewellery, and the Lucky charm bracelets don’t come cheap.

The gold styles are £550 with some designs going up past £1000 but Net-a-Porter have two exclusive silver editions for £150 (one of which donates 100% of the sale to Great Ormond Street Hospital for children) and there are also three gorgeous red styles, also £150 each, with 50% going to (PRODUCT) RED www.join-red.com available from Astley Clarke London.

Take a look at the full collection online at Carolina Bucci www.carolinabucci.com or shop now on Net-a-Porter or Astley Clarke London

“Carolina has a big following of

A-list celebrity”

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Tim Walker At Somerset HouseEnter The Imagination of Photography’s Mad Hatterby Alexandra Zagalsky

Years ago I used to work as a fashion PA for an agency that managed some of Britain’s

top stylists and fashion design-ers. The agency roster included Katy England (then working at Alexander M c Q u e e n ) , and Venetia Scott (styl-ist at Marc Jacobs). It was a job that required nerves of steel, for this environment was incredible fast paced, with photo shoots to be organised, flights to booked and egos to be massaged. Needless to say it wasn’t for me, but I did extract some important insights into the world of fashion and photography.

I remember vividly the excite-ment that reigned in the office whenever Tim Walker was confirmed for a job. The fash-ion photographer is regarded as one of the most imaginative of his generation, famed for his elaborate sets and fantasy sto-rytelling. He really is the Mad Hatter of this elite milieu. Stylists (many of them famous in their own right) would liter-ally shriek with joy if they were asked to work alongside him.

I refer to him as the Mad Hatter since each of his images looks like an Alice In Wonderland mise-en-scene, juxtaposing exquisite costumes with oversized props and breathtaking landscapes as backdrops, with tongue-in-cheek

humour infused into every pixel. A famous self portrait shows him in bed, in his stripy jim jams, surrounded by hundreds of cream cakes. No image better personifies his sense of fun and adventure.

He has fea-tured Lily Cole perched like a bird of paradise in a decadent room

full of earthquake damaged furniture, Lily Donaldson crashing into a stately home in a Spitfire, Stella Tennant in a pink cloud among the rhodo-dendrons of an English country garden... his absurdly wonder-ful images know no bounds, and these are just the models.

Tim Walker’s celebrity portraits are no less carnivalesque. Famous sitters include everyone from Patrick Moore to Scarlett Jonahsson (who in Tim’s world appears as an eerie Betty Davis-like zombie in a Louis XIV wig!

The exhibition at Somer-set House coincides with the publication of a new Thames & Hudson book called, Story Teller by Tim Walker, which features 175 images by the photographer, many of which are on display at the show.

As well as the pic-tures, the

exhibition provides visitors with the chance to inspect some of his extra ordinary props, such as giant dolls, swans and that famed Spitfire. It really is an inspiring way to spend an hour and a rare chance to feel like you are gazing through the window of Tim Walker’s (somewhat deranged) mind.

Until 27th January 2013 in the East Wing Galleries, Somer-set House

“one of the mostimaginative of his

generation”

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Xmas Beauty setsFor beauty junkies everywhere by Sabina Ventriglia

Make-up is not an easy choice as an Xmas present, get the wrong shade of blush or a new mascara and you may get a disappointed reaction. There is a way of making sure you please, and that’s by getting her everything! Here are some of the best make-up sets around, including Tom Ford’s £1000 treasure chest... a girl can dream!

1) Butter London Holiday Glitter Nail Lacquer Trio - Another great stocking filler for beauty queens. Be the belle at any ball with this on - rend trio of glitter polishes in Shambolic, Jack the Lad and Scuppered. Harvey Nichols, £30.00

2) YSL Beauty Eye Gift Set - Brighten your eyes with this amazing set by YSL consisting of Touche Eclat shade No1 (the

original highlighter) and Top Secrets Eye Wake Up Roll-On plus two complimentary mini products:

Mini Top Secrets Eye Makeup Remover and a mini Luxurious Mascara Shocking Volume in Black. yslbeauty.co.uk, £49.50 (spend £60 and receive a YSL Complimentary Fashion-Inspired Organiser for your makeup! Simply enter YSL Code YSLCHRISTMAS at the checkout).

3) Tom Ford Luxury Vanity Case - Exclusive to shoppers of Selfridges, this

is a dream gift to find under the tree for any beauty addict! A beautiful set of black travel

cases full of everything you need to start (and end) the day. Includes: five

Makeup Brushes and 20 cosmetic products. A crazy price but

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what a gift! Exclusive to Selfridges, £1,000

4) Bobbi Brown Pretty Powerful Party Collection - This makeup set is everything you need to look party perfect for the festive season. Not only does it include Bobbi Brown’s Bare Sparkle High Shimmer

Lip Gloss, Black Intensifying Long-Wear Mascara and Mahogany Mini Long Wear Eye Pencil, but you also get the award-winning Sandstone Shimmer Brick all packed neatly away in a cute gold make-up bag. Exclusive to Harrods, £62.00

5) Estee Lauder The Makeup Artist Professional Colour Collection - This collection allows you to become your own makeup artist with a huge range of products including lipsticks and cheek pallets, tools

and more. Worth £250 but can be purchased for just £50 if bought with an Estee Lauder fragrance! £250 – unless bought with an Estee Lauder Fragrance, then £50. House of Fraser

6) Illamasqua Black Christmas Gift Set - This Limited Edition Illamasqua Black Christmas Gift Set would be perfect for all beauty geeks. Not only is it packed with nine of their best selling products, but you also receive step-by-step tutorials on how to create four beautiful makeup looks. On top of that, one lucky Gift Set owner will win the Black Winning Tickets to have a personal consultation with the Illa-

masqua Product Development Director, David Horne! Selfridges, £95.00

7) bareMinerals Box of Gems - As an exclusive to John Lewis, bareMinerals have created this beautiful col-lection of lip and eye products, infused with shades of platinum and gold with the added sparkle of diamonds. The pigmented eyeshadows leave an intense finish while the lip colours have a diamond finish that help enhance

the fullness of your lips. Perfect for when you find yourself under the mistletoe… John Lewis, £79

8) BECCA Mini Brush Set - Any professional makeup artist will tell you that in order to create the perfect makeup look, you must have the perfect tools. BECCA Cosmetics have put together a set of five pro-fessional grade mini brushes, three of which are double-ended, meaning you actually get

eight different styles of brush to enable you to create the perfect makeup. All encased in a portable brown zip-up wallet. BECCA Cosmetics £65.00

9) NARS Andy Warhol Silver Factory Set - Inspired by Andy Warhol’s Silver Factory studio, this Lim-ited Edition set offers shades and products suited to glamorous rebels, perfect for the urban street trend to be huge in 2013, Nars Cosmetics, £150.00

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