I dream of...

Italy is full of surprises, and it continues to grow on me I'm trying to nurture and love it a little more everyday, it especially helps when you discover something that you didn't expect to find.

Nestled in the foothills of Monto Baldo near Lake Garda there's a 15th century home which we now know is CasaPiu B&B. This is such a special place that I kinda want to keep it my secret, but then it is a place that needs to be enjoyed and shared with people you know will fall in love with it too. 

NB Plan a long relaxing weekend here with fresh breakfast under the sails & chandeliers.

Dolce Vita...or just work?

My first visit to Roma and it had to be for work, unfortunately I didn't get to see anything, ate the same food for 3 out of 4 meals...hotel...venue...hotel...restaurant...hotel...venue...train station,  I'm sure Roma has got more to offer than that! I'll just have to save it more my next visit.

We presented our new SS 2010 line...first stop was Roma for Design presentation and catwalk....then on the train to Firenze for Pitti. Prepared stand for Pitti then got out of there before all the fashionistas turned up.

I do love what I do.

Thought I give you a sneak peek as to what I've been up to at work today...somedays it's just fun.

It's getting close now to the end of our season SS10....samples are arriving...some looking beautiful, others disappointing and not quite we expected, but that's part of the process particularly when working in Italy and with Italian suppliers, it's a strong learning curve for me, especially when coming from Abercrombie, where communication, structure and process were fundamental...words which are now being used a little more often since the Brit arrived!

Any how I am very excited about a new mini collection that we've called 'Artist Studio' it's a slight departure for Franklin from it's graphic driven, athletic line but still within vintage, it's allowed me to create a product that I am personally very passionate about and that I hope can really inspire a new direction for the Franklin woman....

Sunday

Sunday consisted of newspapers, brioche and snoozing.