The Pineneedle Collective

Friday, 6 February 2015

Being an Ethical Shopper & Peng Chau Pier / Ten Percent of the Brain

dress is Liz Lisa | cardigan is from Hong Kong (id:c) | socks are from market stalls | shoes are Naot | necklace is handmade from Hong Kong (HKID gallery)

I'm actually amazed that I ended up with enough decent photos to make this blog post, because it was SO cold and windy while we were taking these photos on Peng Chau pier that 90% of the photos ended up like this:

Good look there, Annika.

I had such angst about purchasing this dress. There were many pros: it's the cutest damn dress I've ever laid my eyes upon, from one of my favourite Japanese brands who own a store in Hong Kong AND it was half price!

But the angst was caused by a number of cons, which included the following: one, it's made out of really thick material and is NOT suitable for Sydney summer. Two, I'm pretty sure it's actually a top because it's hella short - although I can always wear it with cute shorts underneath, and pretend that it's a dress anyway. However the most troubling thing about this dress, and the thing that stopped me from buying it immediately, was that I had no idea where it was made - which could have meant that it was made in a sweatshop.

Cue 4 long hours of research to find out where the dress originated (that entire saga is documented on my instagram feed). Basically, though, I'm 99% positive that this dress was made in a decent factory, and 100% sure that it was NOT made in a sweatshop. Same goes for the piano cardigan. And I am so happy. Because this dress is now the cutest thing that I own and I can't wait to wear it all winter long in Sydney!

Also - location shot! These photos were all taken on the gorgeous Peng Chau island, just south of the busy city. Peng Chau has the most adorable villages with kitsch buildings and gardens galore, and many small, secluded beaches! If it hadn't been so cold, it would have been paradise - but it was still a fun place to explore, nonetheless.

So I'm both very excited and nervous to share this all with you - myself and my partner Luci (who has appeared on my blog exactly once previously) have started a podcast! The podcast, called Ten Percent of the Brain, is all about examining popular misconceptions in science, biology and the body. We really enjoyed making this and want to do more in the future! Have a little listen to our first episode (or subscribe in iTunes!) and please let us know what you think of it - as this is a new thing we're just trying out, your feedback would mean the world to us! And if you have any pieces of received wisdom that you're a bit suspicious about, then please feel free to suggest them as a topic for a future episode.

Much love, and I hope that you're all having a gorgeous day,

Sunday, 1 February 2015

Book of Deer

Dress c/o Book of Deer | ring is thrifted | socks are from markets | shoes are from Asos

Photos were taken by Leila, in Mui Wo on Lantau island

Last Tuesday I was able to meet up with the designer of the dress that I'm wearing, Book of Deer's Eilidh in Hong Kong. It unexpectedly ended up being one of the best days of my travels so far! If you haven't heard of Book of Deer before (somehow I hadn't until Eilidh contacted me and suggested that we meet up), I highly suggest that you go and follow the brand on all of the social media. Not only are Eilidh's designs pretty much the cutest/most adorable of all time, she is also a genuinely lovely and thoughtful person, and manages to run Book of Deer all on her own. Eilidh took me to an independent creative designers space called PMQ, but I honestly didn't end up looking at much while I was there because I was having such a good time chatting to Eilidh about fashion design, blogging, ethical manufacturing, factories and life in Hong Kong and the UK. It made me realise how much I wish I had more real-life friends who were into this whole fashion thing (apart from my bestie Katie, of course!)

When we were parting ways, Eilidh gifted me this super cute dress - how lucky am I?? It was so gorgeous that I had to wear it immediately, even though it was still totally creased from being wrapped up! (p.s. please excuse the grainy phone photos!)

Eilidh told me that she just really wanted to give me a dress & didn't expect me to promote the brand - so this isn't at all a sponsored post! I just genuinely think that Book of Deer is such a cool brand (and this is also a truly gorgeous dress), so I really want everyone to go and check it out!

- I also had to make a little collage of what I think would be the cutest outfit ever (it's bear-themed!) using some of Book of Deer's items:

Velvet Pullover | Grizzly Skirt | Bear Hat

Today I'm taking myself to Hong Kong's medical science museum, to try and get out of this being-uninterested-in-science-slump that I seem to be in right now. I hope that I'll come back totally reinvigorated about science and also be able to bring you all some interesting facts!

Until next time,

Friday, 30 January 2015

Hong Kong Travel Vlog #2

I stumbled across this incredible part of Hong Kong the other night - a total vintage-lovers, kitschy, DIY-er's paradise! While I had only planned on showing this area as a small segment of one video, as I explored it and realised how amazing it was, I decided that it needed to be its own entire video.

The area encompasses Granville Road and Kimberley Street in Tsim Sha Tsiu, Kowloon. I hadn't heard about this particular area in any of my research for cool places to visit in Hong Kong, hence my reason for really wanting to share it!

I hope you enjoy the video!

Tuesday, 27 January 2015

Bloomin' Science

SO - Hong Kong. Flip. I have been having the best time - I have accumulated around 50 gigabytes of video footage and photographs so far! As soon as I get some down-time (which, to be honest, may not be until I'm back in Sydney! Hehe), I am going to post ALL OF THE THINGS! I have been discovering the most amazing markets, shops and places to visit and I can't wait to share them. I've also been having a great couple of days of meeting Hong Kong locals, such as designer and illustrator Eilidh from Book of Deer! I love that my blog has allowed me to meet so many cool people from all over the world, who I would otherwise have never known about. Can I give a shout-out to the internet?

Top is DIY | necklace is handmade (Hong Kong, HKID gallery) | skirt is vintage | shoes are from Asos (sold out) | belt is vintage

Also - you might have noticed that I haven't posted any science news/facts/tidbits on here for a while. I've been having somewhat of a mini-life-crisis, thinking, "maybe I don't like science anymore?? Maybe I just want to do sewing/fashion/design and make videos forever??" - until I realised that I actually just dislike exams (who doesn't) and it was the stress of two super difficult biochemistry examinations that put me off science for a while. But last night I started watching SciShow again and remembered that I do actually love science. Because you can use it to answer both every serious and ridiculous question that you might have. Like "why can you see your breath in the cold?" and"do you REALLY only use 10% of your brain?" (the answer is no.)

I wanted to share one of my favourite videos from SciShow, to try and get back into the habit of blogging about science more regularly again! You should totally watch this, even if you already know the answer:

Much love!

Saturday, 24 January 2015

This is where I live now / Cheung Chau

Yesterday we explored this amazing island called Cheung Chau, and I wore what I decided to call my "flirty grandma" outfit - complete with a functioning harmonica necklace! (I will forever embrace the granny chic aesthetic). I couldn't help myself but go back to Me & George - the lace top, skirt and cardigan are all pieces that I picked up there on my second trip (all together they were HK$100, which is about US $12.90!)

It wasn't exactly beach weather, but it was the perfect temperature for cycling around exploring the beautiful fishing town.

I also made a dorky video of me cycling around (I had many people laughing at me for using a selfie stick while cycling, which was fair because I'm sure I looked somewhat ridiculous):

It's so pretty here. I wanted to cry when we had to leave.

Top, cardigan and skirt from Me & George (vintage) | socks are from Japan | shoes are Naot Kedma's | jewellery is thrifted

And this is Leila's outfit (isn't she a babe?). Her skirt is also from Me & George. It's our favourite place.

Until next time,

Thursday, 22 January 2015

Hong Kong Video/Vlog/Vintage Haul!

Hello! I promised I'd show you all the *amazing* vintage haul that I made the other day at a shop called Me & George - and so I made a video. I tried to make it different to your typical haul video where people just sit there holding up clothes and yakking about the things they bought (although I reserve the right to do that in the future - filming this took quite some time). I hope that you like it!

p.s. if there are any Hong Kong locals who read my blog & would like to meet up, get in contact!

Love love love,