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Just what is Image Consulting? Our
fascination with
personal reinvention is hard to avoid at the
moment.
It seems that every time we pick up a paper
or turn on
the television, we encounter the ugly
duckling to
swan phenomenon. I am constantly asked about
what I do and what Image Consulting involves, so
thought I would share 'a day in the life
of an Image Consultant' with you - I hope it
makes for
interesting reading...
This month we feature five fabulous women who
all
have their own unique businesses that I am
sure you
will want to add to your little black book...
Frances
Bissell, the renowned cook who will turn your
culinary skills into an art; Alison Abrams, the
force behind Fashion Forward and those must have
designer samples; Virginia Grey, the talented
photographer who will capture you at your best;
Valentine Alexander, the make-up
artist extraodinaire who brings us Face Focus
and
Anouk Puper of BioStarlight, the therapist
who uses
light energy and accupuncture points to cure
our ills.
I hope you have a really enjoyable Easter
break and
look forward to seeing you soon.
Louise
PS... you can forward this mail to a friend
by clicking on
the link at the bottom of the page.
Mowbray by Design is an Image and Style
Consultancy. We
specialise in helping both corporate and private
clients from
around the world to develop strong first
impressions,
confidence and success through image, style and
communications development. To discover more,
contact Louise Mowbray on +44 776 800 2840.
| FRANCES BISSELL |
I recently caught up with Frances Bissell who you
probably remember as The Times Cook, at The
Sloane Club, which has been given a wonderfully
stylish makeover by David Linley. Frances is the
club?s food
and beverage consultant working on menus that
showcase the best of seasonal British produce, allied
with Connaught
trained chef Mark Johnson.
The first woman chef to be elected to the Academy of
Culinary Arts, Frances has been guest chef in
some of the world?s leading hotels, restaurants
and embassies across the world. She worked
with British Airways on the introduction of authentic
Afternoon Tea to their First Class service; was
instrumental in the development of a range of
traditional British dishes for Marks and Spencer;
worked with top people?s caterer, Mustard Catering
on menu development; and after consulting for Gozo,
Ta? Frenc in Malta last year, they won the award for
best restaurant in the Maltese islands....
And the best bit is that Frances is available for private
consultation on all your culinary and entertaining
requirements, from a simple dinner party to a charity
Afternoon Tea. She is happy
to talk to small groups about all aspects of ?the
table?... shopping, cooking, planning menus, and
recipe
development, which she considers one of her
specialities.
You can contact Frances on +44 (0)207 435
3536, or e-mail fmbissell@hotmail.com.
PS... watch out for her new
book 'The Scented
Kitchen', due out this summer.
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| ALISON ABRAMS - FASHION FORWARD |
It's that time of the year again and Alison Abrams, the
force behind Fashion Forward brings us designer
sample sales in central London showrooms that you
won't want to miss.
You can take your pick from over 50 designer
collections including Save the Queen, M Missoni, See
by Chloe, Valentino Red and Takada by Kenzo. From
everyday clothes to
exquisite evening dresses, handbags, shoes and
jewellery.
Fashion Forward's annual membership is £60 per year
giving you invitations to over 30 sample sales in
the next 12 months.
Once you join, you?ll have access to the privileged
members-only area of their website with full details of all
sales, showroom locations, collections and sizes.
And if you are still in doubt, you are invited as a guest to
one of their forthcoming sales to 'try before you buy'.
You can e-mail Alison: info@fashion-forward.co.uk or
click on the link below...
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| VIRGINIA GREY PHOTOGRAPHY |
Meet Virginia Grey, the fabulous photographer who will
capture you and your family, or those special occasions,
for all time...
I first came across Virginia's work in Holmes Place
where she had photographed 22 of the Club's staff in
ways that changed my perception of each person. The
result was thought provoking and I immediately
understood that she had discovered more to these
individuals in one photo-shoot than most.
"I came to photography, a little later, by a need to fulfill a
passion. It combines everything my heart desires...
contact and communication; vision and the "eye", and a
chance to create an image that will truly be something
special. My background is colourful and this inspires
me every day".
Virginia operates from her studio in Kensington, London
or on location. She specialises in portraiture and
flowers, and also undertakes commercial work.
Contact Virginia on +44 7976 949896, e-mail
info@virginiagrey.co.uk, or click on the link below for
her website, which features a
collection of her work over the last 18 months.
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| VALENTINE ALEXANDER - FACE FOCUS |
My recent consultation with Valentine Alexander in
London proved to be an extraordinarily eye-opening
experience in more ways than one. Valentine has
spent the past 20
years as a makeup artist for photographers including
Peter Beard and Helmut Newton. She now offers
one-to-one consultations, based on her own method,
Face Focus, a make-up technique
based on light-reflection... and I walked away
enlightened by her mastery.
Valentine tests every new
product on the market, and her mission is to show
women and men how to actually 'see' their facial
structure and
to 'focus' on it in a simple, graphic and refined way,
using the same techniques as
Renaissance portrait painters, adapted for modern
times. You will walk away with a 'face map'
so it is easy to re-create the looks at home.
Devotees include Nicky
Haslam, who says of Valentine: 'She kind of paints a
perfect portrait on your face, and can make any pit
bull into a Brad Pitt.'
Valentine is based in Paris and comes to London every
month to see her clients. To book an appointment with
her, call +44 7956 846 909 or +33 69 963 3410.
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| ANOUK PUPER - BIOSTARLIGHT |
Anouk Puper, the therapist behind BioStarlight suffered
from a bundle of allergies and physical ailments for
many years. In her quest to find a solution, she came
across Bio-Photon Coherency Therapy, which proved to
be a turning point... two years later, and qualified as a
Therapist, she brings us BioStarlight.
Bio-Photon Coherency Therapy utilises StarLight
technology, which is a series of instruments capable
of measuring light emissions from acupuncture points
on the body, using fibre-optic cables and crystal
electrodes. The Starlight measures the oscillations
on each acupuncture point, comparing them to the
oscillations of the most common illnesses, bacteria,
viruses and fungi. The correct oscillations are then
returned to the body, allowing the body to heal itself.
In this age of alternative therapy, healing the body
with light resonates somehow... the StarLight has been
hailed
as a treatment for a multitude of sins, including intestinal
problems, colds and flu, chronic fatigue, scars,
migraines, dyslexia, depression and whiplash, to
mention a few.
To find out more, contact Anouk on +44 7841 876 765,
e-mail anouk@biostarlight.com or click on the link
below.
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| BID FOR CHARITY |
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| A DAY IN THE LIFE OF... |
9:00 Having spent an hour dealing with my mail,
now dashing for Starbucks en-route to my first
meeting. Hail a black cab and
arrive with seconds to spare. A new client in
banking, and a full image consultation begins. We
talk about lifestyle and I get to know a little more
about how he spends his time and whether his
wardrobe reflects this. He has just been promoted
and his new position will thrust him even further into
the public eye. As I learn more he seems to visibly
relax as he
realises that I am not here to critique, only to find
ways to enhance who he is and his roles in life... that
of business leader, husband, father...
We start with the physical and I measure up... we
discuss body proportions, scale, colours and grooming
and how to
create optical illusions that are best suited to his shape.
The great thing about clothes is that we can hide
imperfections and enhance the good bits and for a man
who claims to have no idea, I can see that he gets it.
With analysis under the belt and the solution defined,
we go shopping. I can tell that he is not
keen. He gets into the swing of things once he
realises that we can ignore rail after rail... wrong
colour, wrong shape, wrong style - and head directly
for what we need. Successful purchases in hand, he
declares that he enjoyed shopping for the first time
ever. And I am happy.
We agree to meet again to discuss his
communication skills. He needs a refresher on the
media-training front and his public speaking
skills need a re-vamp. I have also noticed that his
body language is a little
awkward, but feel that this may change after all of the
above.
We decide to evaluate again in a month's time.
12:30 Hail a cab and head for a meeting with leading
communications and branding specialists. We are
collaborating as
companies invest vast amounts on their brands -
personality, values, equity... but often forget about the
people who represent them. We buy a brand
because of what it represents and how it makes us
feel, and if we are then faced with an individual,
whether it's the CEO or a sales person, who doesn't
personify the brand, it creates what I have coined the
'brand
lie'. We talk about how this works across cultures
and markets and how to assist companies to create
'brand congruency'. The next step is to identify those
brands in their portfolio who could benefit from Image
Consulting...
1:30 In another cab on my way to my next meeting
with a builder to discuss floors... I style both people
and
interiors and am revamping an apartment for a
client in Knightsbridge. I receive a call from a client
who has recently
had a baby and we set a date for a full make-over. I
arrange for a haircut, facial,
massage, mani & pedi and a make-up artist. I block
out time in my diary for shopping and wardrobe
management and call her
back with the details.
2:15 A thankfully short meeting with the builder and
really hungry so up to the 5th Floor in Harvey Nichols
for a quick salad. I pick up two dresses that I have in
mind for my next client and head on to
my meeting with her on location, which is in a luxury
retailer around the corner. She is presenting
a new series and we are short of a couple of dresses
for the next two day's filming. She thankfully loves
both of them and we
agree on which dress is suitable for each day. I help
her with shoes, accessories and overall styling for
both and leave
her in the capable hands of the make-up artist as
filming starts.
4:00 Running short of time and I head back to my
desk
to prepare for this evening's presentation. I am
talking
to a business group about men & women's business
styling and cross-cultural business etiquette. First
impressions really do count when language and
familiarity with cultural norms are thin on the ground.
I focus on finding an acceptable middle ground,
whilst maintaining the authenticity that makes us
each individual. It's a subject that I enjoy and with the
final touches to my presentation complete, change
into a suitable suit and on the run for a cab once
again.
5:30 Arrive at the venue and make sure that
technology
will deliver. I mingle with the organisers and guests
and it's an hour later when we start. A good Q&A to
end
with
and I spend time chatting to some really
interesting business minds... we swap cards and
agree to explore further. Another cab and I ask the
driver to wait outside my apartment for a quick
change, then on to dinner with
a few friends at Zuma. I can't tell you how much I am
looking forward to their soft-shell crab...
Louise Mowbray
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