Category Archives: Portraits

2023 Art to See – Tartan, V&A Dundee, London

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2023 Art to See – Tartan, V&A Dundee, London Opens 1st April

A radical new look at one of the world’s best-known fabrics. The exhibition explores the history and global story of Tartan. It goes beyond the Scottish Highlands and investigates how this woven pattern has influenced architecture, fashion, art, film and products around the world.

Tartan celebrates the global story of a unique pattern, and how the rules of the grid have inspired creativity from the everyday to the sublime.

Cheddar Gorgeous in a suit designed by Liquorice Black, 2017 Courtesy of V&A

This must-see exhibition tells this story through more than 300 objects including iconic examples of fashion, architecture, product design, film, performance and fine art. Tartan is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland, as Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns.

Picasso on Tartan, Fife Arms

TARTAN has connected communities worldwide, a cloth of unity and dissent, inclusivity and diversity, ritual and rebellion, both adored and derided. Inspiring great works of art, as well as playful and provocative design, it has a complex, rich and sometimes painful history.

An extravagant, exuberant experience featuring loans from around the world, including Chanel, Dior, Vivienne Westwood, McQueen, Tate, V&A, National Museums of Scotland, Fashion Museum Bath, the Highland Folk Museum and many more. The exhibition also incorporates ‘the People’s Tartan’ – a changing selection of objects owned and sent in by the public who responded to our appeal to share your tartan treasures. For several centuries, tartan remained part of the everyday garb of the Highlander. Whilst tartan was worn in other parts of Scotland, it was in the Highlands that its development continued and so it became synonymous with the symbol of clan kinship.

This is the first major exhibition curated by V&A Dundee, with Jonathan Faiers of the University of Southampton, and celebrates the 5th anniversary in 2023.

Legacy Travel – Wander with our Travel Tribe

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Eighteen years ago, when I founded Lifestyle Management, my primary goal was to curate bespoke Journeys focused on creating lasting memories and experiences. Legacy Travel.

Travel is all about making a dream come true, whether it is the dream of adventure, relaxation, or education. We’ve been creating lasting memories for our exclusive clients and their families all this time. In the last week, a few clients shared their compliments, I am glowing!

We designed a summer Scotland excursion for a lovely East Coast client who traveled with her not quite as athletic dad. Fife Arms was the perfect starting point with our exceptional guide and raconteur, Simon, a local land steward for over 20 years. Accessing the Balmoral Royal grounds, he designed the perfect relaxed hiking day suitable for Dad and with a peek and picnic on Royal grounds for the daughter, a Royal loving and very able hiker! On to Edinburgh, with our exclusive guides tailoring the touring to please two diverse travelers. She designed a beautiful photo collage of their Scotland Journey for her dad for Christmas!

History Buff Kids Scampering in Normandy at Château Gaillard

Two exceptionally diverse trips, the second Journey was for a fun and intrepid local family of four, whose kids have seen much of the world with their parents. Despite being slayed by flu in London, they carried on to Stonehenge, private history, and art tours and onward to France to explore D-Day battlefields and an outing to Versailles. From the parents: ‘We’ve been watching movies recently featuring London and Paris, and our boys love that they can recognize the sites that we toured, with your help. Such wonderful trips with you this year, and we’re looking forward to many more! Amar, Prabha, Ishaan, and Akaash.’

My Mantra from day one was to create Legacy Travel, putting the ultimate touch on Journeys designing distinctive experiences of a lifetime, unique authentic wanderings.

Travel creates a teaching environment, we learn, we are challenged; I find travel the absolute essential antidote to everyday routines. Fresh vistas, foreign languages, interesting foods, curious customs, and people in indigenous dress – seeing places I’ve never seen before. A pleasing adventure of searching new locales for client travel, the pursuit never gets old.

It’s a new year, will you linger longer, prioritize family time, volunteer in a foreign country, fill your passport pages?

Beyond grateful for our delightful Travel Tribe! Our greatest compliment is very happy clients.