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‘Olivia Rose’ Nicola Woods, founder and creative director of Beautiful Soul London, named the AW:12 collection ‘Olivia Rose’ after her two grandmothers and drew inspiration from the love letters they each wrote in code to their sweethearts (Nicola's grandfathers) whilst separated during the war. As a sign of remembrance to Olivia and Rose, the unique Beautiful Soul London print this season, features the poppy which was a favourite flower of both grandmothers and a symbol of the British Legion campaign which they both supported.



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Nicola Woods, founder and creative director of Beautiful Soul London, named the AW:12 collection ‘Olivia Rose’ after her two grandmothers and drew inspiration from the love letters they each wrote in code to their sweethearts (Nicola's grandfathers) whilst separated during the war. As a sign of remembrance to Olivia and Rose, the unique Beautiful Soul London print this season, features the poppy which was a favourite flower of both grandmothers and a symbol of the British Legion campaign which they both supported.

‘Summer Breeze’ SS:12 draws inspiration from the scenic English summertime and vintage kimono fabrics from Beautiful Soul's archive of Japanese kimonos. The brightly coloured houses of Notting Hill, tree blossoms and the exuberant energy of summertime, serve as inspiration. The unique vintage style prints have been produced in-house, in London and incorporate splashes of the bright, vivid colours that Notting Hill is known for.

‘Summer Breeze’ SS:12 draws inspiration from the scenic English summertime and vintage kimono fabrics from Beautiful Soul's archive of Japanese kimonos. The brightly coloured houses of Notting Hill, tree blossoms and the exuberant energy of summertime, serve as inspiration. The unique vintage style prints have been produced in-house and incorporate splashes of the bright, vivid colours that Notting Hill is known for.

We had a really lovely visitor at the studio this morning, Laura Bailey.

Laura loved our collection of vintage kimonos, the new retro print and also our little film, Believe – SS:11.

We are currently making her a piece, made from a gorgeous vintage kimono (that she selected personally) and I will tell you all about it once its finished!

We love visitors.
Nicola, Beautiful Soul September 15th, 2011

It has been such a busy couple of months at the studio, preparing Beautiful Soul’s new collection Believe – SS:11.

Unfortunately, we haven’t had the time to update our Blog for a while and we promise to make a mends!

New for SS:11, we have introduced a capsule Menswear collection and also a Ready to wear line, which will sit comfortably along side our exclusive ‘vintage kimono’ pieces.

We have also re-branded with a new visual identity and have created an exclusive film to celebrate our new collection and inviting you into the world of Beautiful Soul.

I hope you enjoy it ...

Believe – SS:11

The film was such good fun to make and I drew together a wonderful team of creative’s. We each take full credit.

Director: Oliver Prout
Produced by: Nicola Woods
Illustration: Zarina Liew
Stylist: Rivkie Baum
Make Up: Michaela Sporkova
Hair: Amber-Rose Peake
Models: Samantha at Profiles and Simon at Sapphires Model Management
Music: Gabby Young & Other Animals

Oliver Prout also made a short film to document the journey of Believe. I am really camera shy, but this film is incredibly special, as it captures the energy of the studio and the team... and considering we went days without any sleep, I am so happy with the results.

The Making of Believe – SS:11

Until the next time,
Nicola, Beautiful Soul xxx

We are really happy to be taking part in our first ‘Pop up Shop’ and although it doesn’t officially open until Friday 1st October 2010, we went to set it up today.
Lucy Tammam , from House of Tammam has made all of the arrangements (she is *incredible*) and has invited Beautiful Soul to be part of it.

www.tammam.co.uk

It’s in a gorgeous period shop, just off Euston Road in Bloomsbury (London) and will be open for 3 weeks until the 17th October 2010.

I will take lots of pictures to share with you all and if you get the chance to come and say ‘Hello’, I will be there personally on Friday 1st October 2010 (and will be joined by all of the designers involved, as it will be the Official Opening and Press Day) and also Friday 8th October 2010.

Please do nip by and say ‘Hello’.

For full details, please check our Events Page.

Hope to see you there!
Nicola, Beautiful Soul xxx

Dearest all,

I hope that you are all smiling?

It has taken a little longer than I thought to get my studio up and running, partly because I relocated both my home and studio to London at the same time! ...Wow, soooo many boxes! I also had to spend some time decorating my studio and getting it organised. I am finally feeling more settled and officially opened the doors to Beautiful Soul’s Studio last week. IT IS WONDERFUL!

When I started Beautiful Soul I had to turn my bedroom in to my studio and I lived without a bed in favour of storage/work space for well over a year! Starting your own company is made up of sacrifices and to finally display my fabrics on shelves and have my collections on display, is an incredible achievement. I am totally inspired and the demands of the rent will drive me forward. It’s daunting, but I have the energy to make it work. Read the rest of this entry »

It has been a month since writing my last Blog and what a month it has been!

Miss Butterfly-SS10 is now stocked at the V&A, with several pieces proudly on display at the entrance of their gift shop. I am told that the Rei Coats and Satoka Coats are receiving positive feedback and the V&A have re-ordered twice this month, which is fantastic news and such an achievement.

I have made a bespoke piece (personally) for Lily Cole (made from a gorgeous deep purple vintage kimono) and Beautiful Soul has relocated to a London based studio, overlooking the fabulous Portobello Road. This is the perfect location for our clients to come and visit and select their own Japanese vintage kimono personally; Read the rest of this entry »

Firstly may I apologise for the lack of entry’s. Beautiful Soul has been keeping me very occupied!

As an emerging British Fashion Designer, I am happy to give an insight in to the world of Beautiful Soul and the journey of a new fashion label; designing and tackling issues with a compassionate outlook.

A brief introduction: I remember writing to ‘Jim’ll fix it’ to make me a fashion designer, but life has twists and turns and I found myself caught up in the rat race. The lifestyle it provided seemed to outweigh my lack of passion for my work (Insurance Broking). Something was missing, but I didn’t know how I would cope without the next pay rise. I was stuck in a rut and the security of payday seemed to mist the way. How could I possibly cope without my luxuries? Read the rest of this entry »

Wow, it has been a *crazy* time preparing ‘Miss Butterfly’ (S/S 2010) ready for London Fashion Week, but all the hard work paid off and we made it with the help of our friends! It was a proud moment when my family and friends visited ‘Beautiful Soul’s’ stand (No 3; my lucky number!) and I think they could fully appreciate my enthusiasm to be there!

Being part of Estethica was such a *fabulous* experience and I have a husky voice from talking so much!!! Read the rest of this entry »

...a quick message to say a huge ‘THANK YOU’ to everybody involved in ‘Miss Butterfly’s’ photo shoot. I am *extremely* happy with the results and I am confident that it will contribute to the success of ‘Beautiful Soul’. Read the rest of this entry »

It gives me the greatest *pleasure* to introduce my ‘brand new website’ and debut collection ‘smallprint’ (a capsule range produced from vintage Japanese kimonos). Over the last couple of months, I have been working closely with my website designer and together we have produced a site that I am truly proud of. Read the rest of this entry »