What's in a name? Emily & Clare?

We love our trips to London to visit Liberty's. 

It's always exciting flicking through their fabrics, as we look for new prints for our collections.

 It was love at first sight when we spotted this print. The detail in the print is beautiful. 

Then we had a look at the name - Emily & Clare

 It was named after Emily (Mary's daughter) and Clare, 

so we had to have it in our collection.

We Love - The Coffee Counter

Only in Brighton will you find the cutest coffee shop, with mis-matched furniture balancing carefully on the kurb edge, with an antique centre attached to it! I fall more and more in love with this city everyday!

Well done Brighton you have done it again!

They currently live in Vine Street, Brighton and go and follow them HERE

We Love: Eliza

This past weekend was just gorgeous, and no better excuse than to wear this Summers staple piece for a picnic in the park. I look the part setting up with my hamper and tartan rug before relaxing in the evening sun before the sun went down. I can't wait to wear it throughout the summer, as long as the sun holds out :)

I am wearing Eliza in Blue.

Don't forgot for first time orders just add  HELLO at the checkout for 15% off

We love the Dorset Fashionista

We love discovering new blogs and the other evening whilst surfing the web on our iPad, we spotted The Dorset Fashionista talking about how she had spotted our Orla dress in Yard in Poundbury and how it was the perfect dress for Summer.
So we gave her a call to see if she fancied reviewing our dress.
The answer was an immediate YES please….. so if you want to know what she thought, head over to her blog The Dorset Fashionista and to tempt you further she has an exclusive discount code.

West Bay - Dorset

Out and about

Hope you enjoy the read - it's worth heading over to see the gorgeous pictures of West Bay.

Clare & Mary

Summer is nearly here...

...well it is showing peeps of it down here in Brighton, and oh my does it make us happy. We are already imagining our summer outfits and how we will spend our weekends. There is also lots going on in Brighton at the moment with the Brighton Festival and Fringe festival until the end of May!

What does everyone have planned for the new season?

We love Hub Dot

We love discovering something new at Allium B, so we were intrigued when we got a call from Hub Dot to see if we fancied telling our story in 60 seconds  - yes 60 seconds.

So who is Hub Dot, I hear you ask? We had heard stories of coloured dots and glasses of wine, but that's was it, so we decided to investigate and we liked what we found.

The idea is very simple - it's a community of women of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities who all believe the best personal and professional connections happen in real life, not cyberspace. It's about sharing stories and ideas whilst having a glass of wine with friends old and new. 

We were intrigued, so last Thursday we headed up to London and the wonderful MADE studio in Notting Hill Gate for "Connecting through a love of Fashion" and we had a wonderful time. It was one of those evenings when you bump into a couple of old friends, hear some inspiring stories and give a little advice along the way. It's very relaxed and most of all it's fun. 

Hub Dot have events popping up around the world (Napoli, Barcelona anyone?) but the next 2 UK events are in Cheltenham and London - so if you fancy a night out, head over to their website to book a ticket. It's one of those evenings you could do with friends or solo.

Let us know what you think.

Clare & Mary x 

So what about the dots?

When Simona hosted the very first gathering of what would become the Hub Dot London community, she used a really simple system of five coloured dots to help her guests quickly find someone like-minded, even if they had never met before. They are used as an icebreaker when you first meet.

RED – “I’m established (in my career/business/motherhood); feel free to ask me more”

YELLOW – “I have an idea, can anyone help?”

GREEN – “I’m here to be inspired”

BLUE – “I’m here to socialise and shop!”

PURPLE – “I want to tell you about… (my story/my work/my charity)”

Sprinkles Cupcakes Los Angeles

We are jumping stateside for this weeks cakes fix  - I told you we have a thing about cakes at Allium B HQ. Whenever we visit the states we always head to the popular Sprinkles in Beverly Hills. It's either join the queue or head to the cupcake ATM, but we were happy to wait to get served properly. We have had many a great cupcake in our time, but sprinkles has to be up there as one of the best we have ever had. They are so good, we headed back the next day :)

You can now find Sprnkles all over America
For more info and locations click here

The Breakfast Club

This could just be our favourite breakfast drop in off all time. Okay that might be a bit extreme, but there is nothing better than catching up with friends, having a laugh and tucking into mountains of food alongside everyone else on a Saturday morning. Be warned you may have a small queue on your hands, but there are a few dotted around London, so the choice is yours - Soho (the original), Hoxton, Angel (Clare's old stomping ground from Uni) and Battersea.

Find all info over on their website

We Love: Catwalk Cakes

In true Allium B style, we are bringing you yet another cake shop in Brighton (yes - we are just a little obsessed), but we do think it's our duty to go out there and test it first hand.

So let us introduce you to Catwalk Cakes located in Bond Street, Brighton. With it's cute decor and all those yummy cakes in the window, you can't help but be drawn in.

And the best thing about it? You can stay for afternoon tea!



 

Find them at 22 Bond Street Brighton and Follow them on twitter here

Our first 2 years

For years we talked about starting our own brand and then one sunny day over coffee and cakes at our favourite coffee shops in Brighton - Coffee@33, we decided it was now or never, Clare resigned from Topshop and we started developing Allium B. 
 Trips to vintage fairs and India followed as we worked hard to design our first collection.

After a couple of cold but thankfully sunny days on the beach and streets of Brighton in February 2012 shooting our first campaign, we were ready to launch our first collection.

It was at this point we agreed never to shoot outside again 
until we could afford to head somewhere warmer!!

On the 15th March 2012 Allium B launched with parties in Brighton and London

Some great press followed

and our dresses were spotted on several celebs

and some celebs wore our dresses (Adele), but we never got a photo.

The next 18 months flow by 

Autumn Winter 12

Spring Summer 13

Autumn Winter 13

Then out of the blue we were nominated for a London Lifestyle Award 

more press followed

Spring Summer 14

Along the way we have had help, support and love from some truly amazing people

Sarah Cresswell, Susana, Elvira, Julie, Chris, Ruby, Kenny, Dee, Sofia and Susan

and not forgetting Jez and Russ, 

who have put up with us working long hours and the odd tear along the way.

and now is time to celebrate our second birthday with a glass or two of bubbles.

Clare & Mary xx 

Eliza

Our sold-out Eliza sundress is back in a selection of gorgeous new Liberty S/S 14 prints. Beautifully cut with a sheered back panel to help give a perfect fit and straps wide enough to hide your bra. Contrast piping and pockets give a retro feel – this is a dress to pack every summer for the beach whether it’s Camber Sands or Cannes. 

Buy now

We Love: Breeze Brighton

The Brighton Laine's are bursting with cafes and restaurants and it's always hard to know where to start with it all. So last week we tried Breeze situated in Trafalgar Street on the edge of the laines. Hopping in from the rain, we ordered brunch quickly, Eggs Benedict for me and a fry up for him, we relaxed with a cuppa until we were full and satisfied. 
I will be going back for that brioche bread for sure.

Breeze // 98 Trafalgar Street BN1 4ER Brighton

Hannah

1. Allium B - Hannah - 2. Hummingbird Necklace by Jana Reinhardt.

Love theme

1. Make that little gift
2. Bake that special treat
3. Add these for your sweetheart
4. Just because...

Valentines colours

It's officially February the 1st, and really it feels like a new year. Valentines is just around the corner, we are ever closer to summer and hopefully this rain will stop now?

With our SS14 collection launch in the pipeline and lots of exciting things happening with the blog we are more than happy to say hello to February.

What does everyone have planned?