Ciate: Truly Innovative Nails

Interview with Charlotte Knight, owner of Ciate London, Luxury Nail Company

With a host of celebrity fans, a huge range of exciting, exclusive products and a love of innovative, bold ideas, Ciate is really making a name for itself in the nail, hand and foot industry. 
What drew our attention at Lolo & Galago to Ciate was their constant strive to create products that continuously make new ground in their industry, much as we do in jewellery.

So we wanted to catch up with founder and owner Charlotte Knight to learn more about the brand – how they come up with ideas, what makes them tick and what inspired Charlotte to start her company up. Read on to learn more about her fabulous company.

1. There’s so many nail brands out there but yours has really stood out and won over the press. Is this purely down to the originality of your products or is there something more behind Ciate? 

We focus on injecting Innovation in all of our products, which is one of the reasons editors really pick up on our products – they tend to really pop off the page and create a real buzz of excitement!

2. Innovation and extraordinary are two of the words used to make up your namesake. How do you consistently come up with ideas for new and exciting products when there is so much out there? Do you have a whole team of researchers?

I forever challenge the team to look for inspiration beyond the realms of beauty – they do research in the traditional sense of magazines and trend forecasting sites, but we like to have creative days out to keep pushing the boundaries making our collections as fresh and exciting as we can!

3. Let’s talk Caviar! We normally have it with crackers and butter (our founders are Russian!) but we understand you’ve got a whole product line based around it. Tell us how you came up with this idea?

How very decadent! The caviar manicure came about on a photoshoot where I decided to experiment with micro pearls and the whole crew loved the look so much I knew it had potential to be huge, I never expected it to be quite as huge as it became!

4. Charlotte, it’s always inspiring to hear stories about entrepreneurial women who do so well for themselves – tell us yours!

For me it’s about following your dream and overcoming challenges, no matter how huge they may be! My little girl Gracie keeps me grounded and she has been the inspiration behind a number of our products – she even has a Paint Pot named after her, ‘Amazing Gracie’ a beautiful ballet slipper pink. 

5. What does the future hold for Ciate? Do you want to move into other product lines or are you happy focusing on nails and hand/feet accessories?

2015 is going to be a huge year for the brand, as we are diversifying into colour cosmetics. Keep your eyes peeled!

6. At Lolo & Galago we create timeless designs from current trends. Do you think it’s important to follow particular ‘trends’ in the nail industry? Or do you prefer sticking to a look that works for you?

I think nail offers a great way to dip into trends without a great deal of commitment - so rather than buying a whole new wardrobe for Spring, you can wear a LBD with a hint of that seasons ‘It’ shade on your nails and you’ve made a classic look current and relevant.

 

7. Let’s hear it from the lady in the know… what nail trends do you expect to see in the coming season?

If you’re looking to experiment with nail art, the ‘negative space’ manicure was all over the SS catwalks and is an amazingly simple way to make a real statement with your nail colour. General nail shades trending right now are nudes and soft pinks as they are super flattering and timeless.

8. Let’s wrap up the questions on a high and end with your proudest moment for Ciate.

Being chosen as an Allure influencer and having a photoshoot with the amazing Patrick Demarchelier is something I’ll never forget!

We can't deny how impressed we've been at the level of innovation at Ciate towards their products. It's something we strive for in all our designer jewellery as well, and we truly appreciate originality when it comes to exotic design. 

Contemporary art: Is it actually any good?

What is contemporary art? And is it actually any good? As the Turner Prize 2014 exhibition kicks off at the Tate Modern, we weigh into the debate about what is worth it…

Artist, RA, CBE and Turner Prize-winner Grayson Perry once described contemporary art as ‘rubbish’. ‘Although we live in an era where anything can be art, not everything is art,’ he claimed in a lecture for Radio 4 last year (you can listen to it here). It seems an odd statement from someone who is probably, by definition, a ‘contemporary artist’, but we are inclined to agree.

It’s a tough question: what exactly constitutes ‘art’? These days it seems that anyone can make anything, give it a back story, and call it ‘art’. It was the theory behind a hoax this September wherein fictional artist Lana Newstrom sold ‘invisible art’ (Read about it here).

Artnet.com forgave people for falling for the hoax, saying that ‘to be fair, in this day and age, it’s hard to tell what news is real and what is satire’ – but can’t the same be said of art itself? Surely it’s gone too far, when you walk into a gallery and you’re not sure if the light switch is really a light switch or if it’s an installation?

But at the same time, art has to move forward. It can’t remain in the realm of the great masters forever. When the impressionists began painting, it wasn’t considered art; when the modernists started creating, it wasn’t art  – etc etc … So how do we define what is and isn’t worthwhile?

We are in the boat with Perry – you can call it art, but that doesn’t mean it is art. Art should provoke a response, not just shock and awe – or confuse. Art, whatever it is, should be about emotion. It is about engaging people, encouraging them to think about something in a different way and getting a response from them. It fails when people think ‘meh, whatever’. Or don’t think at all. We might not understand a lot of art – we might not like it – but if it is making us think, making us consider the world differently, then for us, it is art.

However, we’re not so fancy as to think that art has to be serious all of the time. It was announced earlier this year that David Shrigley will fill the fourth plinth with a giant thumbs up in 2016.  National Gallery director Nicholas Penny described is as ‘a big joke’. But we like it. Shrigley said to the Guardian that the sculpture will ‘dissuade social unrest, help the economy and decrease rates of absenteeism in state schools…It’s a paradox. On the one hand it is kind of ridiculous to suggest that this giant sculpture will bring an upturn in the economy. At the same time, maybe it isn’t. I mean it lightheartedly, satirically, sarcastically maybe – but I kind of believe it as well.’

It makes us smile - it makes us think. Art doesn’t have to be serious to be effective. But it should provoke a response. Of course, there is also talent. A lot of classical paintings have stood the test of time because of the sheer talent expressed within them. Perry’s own contemporary art shows a master potter at work. But it is more than that - it shows thought, creativity, innovation. They are not just pretty pots, but, as the Saatchi Gallery describes them ‘incongruous: classic Greecian-like urns bearing friezes of car-wrecks, cell-phones, supermodels, as well as more dark and literary scenes often incorporating auto-biographical references.’

That is also the power behind a lot of Old Masters. We don’t stand in front of a painting of a pastoral scene for half an hour just because it is pretty, but because it stirs something within us, whether we know what that is or not. That’s why Tracy Emin’s ‘My Bed’ just sold for £2.2m. Whatever the art is and however it is made, if we are talking about it and thinking about it then surely it is just that – art.

Which side do you sit on – Old Masters with Nicholas Penny, or contemporary all the way with Charles Saatchi? Is contemporary art even art at all? Does it have to have a serious message to make it thought-provoking? Is £2.2m a ridiculous amount for some dirty old sheets? Let us know your comments.

The Fashion Trends in 2015

A Sneak Preview into Fashion Trends and Accessories in 2015

At L&G we can’t help ourselves but to give you a sneaky preview of the Fashion Trends in 2015. The catwalk shows are now all finished for the year and we wanted to reflect about the future and what to expect in 2015.
Well, the future is bright! Colour statements are in and we see it is a time for transitioning from the nude shades seen so much this year into the more intense tones and colour bursts.

Looking at fashions next year in 2015, the colour palette consists of reds, greys and pale onyx fused with fiery prints with animals and geometric patterns.

In terms of menswear there is a real vintage look topped with sophisticated style. Coral, sand, mustard yellow and midnight blues transcend into the picture with sea green shades a key trend.

One to note is after the long run of gold, which still continues, icy silver and white are back in conjunction with smoky grey shades which will become a strong fashion trend in 2015.

The Crimson Wave has arrived – purple, brown, maroon, burgundy – very berry is the colour of fashion choice in all shades and will dominate autumn fashion trends in 2015. It has already been seen on the highstreet and this fashion trend will continue into 2015.

We also saw that boldness with a sense of modernism is a key trend. Pink blends into purple and there is a futuristic 80’s look with strong pop and punk style taking centre stage.

Finally, if there is one colour you need to have in your wardrobe next year it is pink. It is going to be big for men and women’s fashion in 2015. Pink, Punk Pink, Fushia Pink – pink is here in all shades so start working your 2015 look now!

Credits: www.patternpeople.com, www.patone.com, www.weconnectfashion.com

The Healthiest Diet in the World

Recently, yet another study has come out attempting to determine the location of the World’s healthiest local diet. Unsurprisingly, the winner was not London. The victor this time round is the Netherlands, who, according to the results collated by Oxfam, won by some margin thanks to a combination of low food prices, better nutritional diversity and low levels of diabetes.

But this is just one study. And it seems like every few months we are presented with a different one telling us which nation has nailed the best gastronomic balance. With the UK at number 13 this time round (we would be interested to see where London would place, given its luxury restaurants), we decided it was time to look beyond a specific country and instead try to find the similarities in the so-called ‘best’ diets. Is there a country that we can truly crown as king of healthy living? We just had to find out, because surely Edam cheese cannot be the cornerstone of healthy living… 

Our first task was to trawl through many scientific pieces to discover where the acknowledged top diets were, and, unsurprisingly, the usual suspects kept appearing – Japan, Italy, Greece, Spain and the Nordics regularly topped the charts of healthy living. Despite visiting many exotic countries to help inspire our designer jewellery, this was the first time we've looked at their diets.
The problem is, every time one such study is carried out, the measuring stick for what counts as ‘healthy’ differs. For some, it is obesity levels (in case you are interested, Japan has the lowest at 1.5% and Nauru the highest at a whopping 76%). For others, it is to do with availability of food, or the average nutritional value. We were surprised at the wide variety of methods used. 

In fact, there is a serious problem with all of these lists: No one really knows what we should be measuring. It’s difficult to tell how much of people’s health and life expectancy is down to the diet and how much is down to the healthcare system of that country. Just as it is difficult to differentiate whether health issues are a cause of a lack of quality food, or simply a lack of food. (9 out of 10 of the ‘unhealthiest’ places in one study were sub-Saharan African nations – we’ve no doubt much of their diet is healthy but this research focused on nutrient deficiency which, if that country struggles for food, will be high even if its traditional food is high in nutrients).   

What is interesting, however, is that although the number 1 spot has varied dramatically with each study, the top 10, in general, see the same nations occupy the pinnacle; namely Japan, Mediterranean and Scandinavian countries. So we think it does better to look at what these all have in common, rather than try to determine by our own measurements which is most effective. We’ve found a few similarities, which we think, if followed, should improve health and lifestyle. 

1. More veg, less meat
The Mediterranean diet is primarily vegetable based – most meals have meat as an accompaniment rather than the main event. This is echoed by Scandinavia, which, although often serving ‘hearty’ meals, involves a lot of fish. Japan, too, relies much more on seafood and fish as part of its diet than red meats.
Plant based diets reduce cholesterol and the antioxidants found in fruit and vegetables drastically improve health and immune system. 

2. Whole grains
Most white bread contains ‘insoluble fibre’- whereas soluble fibre, often found in rye bread in Scandinavia, lowers cholesterol and causes less glucose in the bloodstream. Another good alternative to white bread is whole grain -whole grains are eaten much more in the Mediterranean diet as well, which many studies cite as being a big benefactor to improving health.  

3. Soups
A similarity between Japanese and Scandinavian cuisine is the regular use of broths/soups. We’re not talking the creamy kind here, but the thinner soups such as Miso, used often to start a meal and – in Japan – often eaten three times a day. Soups are a great way of filling you up without piling on the calories.

4. Take your time
One interesting fact we came across is that it takes twenty minutes for your brain to register you’re full. That’s 20 additional minutes of eating time you might not need! The Japanese phrase ‘Hara hachi bu’ means ‘eat until you’re 80% full’ comes to mind. In France, the average meal takes 42 minutes and on the continent meal times are regularly taken at a more leisurely pace. Doing this helps ensure you only eat what you need, not what you need to finish the plate.  

  6. Fish is king

Japan, Scandinavia and the Mediterranean all have the common characteristic of high fish diets, thanks to their proximity to the sea. Fish is a fantastic alternative to meat, with its healthy oils and low/zero fat content. 

So, whilst we do not believe there will ever be one country who can crown itself the healthiest, we do feel that there are certain traits necessary to create a healthy diet. 

We’d thoroughly recommend all of the above methods to help improve your diet – and in doing so, perhaps enjoying a more worldwide taste of cuisine.