0046 Paris and beyond

We left you a couple of months back on the verge of taking borne to Paris Fashion Week for the first time, and we've only just managed to catch our breath! Its been quite a ride since we touched down at Orly airport in late September, here is a little diary of what went on.

We set up camp in Le Marais, it was the first time we'd lived and breathed this area of Paris properly and waking up to the sun rising over the Pompidou was not a bad way to start our day.

On a rare free day we took advantage of the gorgeous weather to wander the streets and check-out some of the other shows that had already started at the Jardin des Tuileries. A fascinating first taste of Paris Fashion Week.

Soon setup day was upon us and we introduced ourselves to our new home for the next few days at the Garages Turenne. As the name suggests, when we arrived it was literally an empty garage but the natural light was amazing and the space had a unique buzz to it as everyone got to unpacking their collections.

After getting well acquainted with the steamer we soon had the whole collection on the rails for the first time since the photoshoot in July, what do you think?!?

After an early night we returned for Day 1 with nervous anticipation as to what to expect. Luckily we were surrounded by some great talent and if nothing else it was going to be a fantastic opportunity to meet other designers and swoon over their collections. However the early trickle of people coming in soon turned into a steady flow, and it wasn't long before we were busy introducing borne to buyers from all over the world!

The three days passed in a blur and we took a lot away from the experience, including a few orders on our freshly printed borne pads, which was the icing on the cake. We had some amazing help from Grandma and Grandpa who were drafted in to Team Borne for the week to look after Max. Leo stayed with us on the stand, probably the most patient and well-behaved two month old on record.

Next week we'll let you know exactly where you will be able to find borne for Spring / Summer 2012, until then we'll keep you guessing!

0045 Les vacances

In the middle of the whirlwind which was August and September the borne family managed to find a few days to get away from it all and enjoy a mini-babymoon along the South coast of France.

Big old French houses, wind-swept beaches and breakfasts you could eat all day made for a good balance of work, rest & play. Here is a taste of our petit vacance...

Home grown figs and the longest lawn in Marseillan at La Bellonette

A rare family portrait on the shores of the Etang de Thau

Lots to fall in love with in the narrow streets of Ramatuelle

The sun setting over Port Grimaud

The never-ending beach of Le Barcares

0044 Getting comfortable with Marie Claire

Our capsule knit collection for Autumn / Winter 2011 is probably the most comfortable set of knits you can get your hands on this side of Christmas, always nice for Marie Claire to agree though!!

FOREST GREEN SPATZ JUMPER - C. £200

AVAILABLE FROM YOUNG BRITISH DESIGNERS AND SKIRT BOUTIQUE

0043 The Metro takes to First Flight

Anyone reading the Metro the other day might have recognised a familiar face....

Not quite sure how we got roped in to promoting the new Samsung phone, however we're definately not complaining about a whole page spread!

For those who are interested in the clothes rather than the phone, our Autumn / Winter collection "First Flight" is now available in a store near you (or online for that matter)!

0042 A summer of NEW for Borne

This summer has been all about the NEW for Borne; a new sample collection for Spring / Summer 2012, piles of beautiful new AW11 garments ready for delivery and most exciting of all a new baby boy!!

However, it has been preparing the sample collection for SS12 that has been the most complicated because on top of introducing lots of "NEW" from a design perspective our wholesale lineup has grown to welcome two more members to Team Borne!!!

So, this time round the new collection will not only be spending time in London with Studio 13, but it will also be making its way to Madrid, Singapore and Paris...

In Madrid we have signed MadMad Showroom to be Borne's exclusive agent in Spain. MadMad represent a tight selection of complementary brands which include amongst others L'Autre Chose from Italy and Pyrus from the UK. Our SS12 collection will be available to view in Madrid for the whole of September, when Flaminia and Natalia (below) have returned from the beach!

On the other side of the world we have found a match made in heaven with Rouge World, who we have signed as the exclusive distributor for Borne across South-East Asia. They represent an envious selection of fast growing brands from the UK and the rest of Europe including Bolongaro Trevor, Handwritten by Tanya Sarne and Atalanta Weller to name a few. We've always thought that Asia would be an important market for Borne and so we're extremely excited about building a presence there with Rouge.

On top of these showroom additions, for the first time we are also going to take to the road ourselves, to Paris to be precise at the beginning of October for the Capsule exhibition during Paris Fashion Week. We will be meeting buyers for the first time, and it will be nerve-wracking, yet fascinating, to get uncensored direct feedback.

Here's our invite to Capsule which gives you a sneaky peek at what SS12 holds in store for you, just remember "In every beginning dwells a special magic..."

0041 borne at Changing Room Barcelona

Last Saturday we took our first tentative little step into the world of retail, by setting up shop in Room 11 of the Chic&Basic hotel in Born, Barcelona for Changing Room 10. Along with 24 other designers we took over the hotel for one day to sell our wares and spread the good Borne word!

In what turned out to be a loooong but enjoyable day we welcomed the great and the good of Barcelona through our little white door to meet our Little Seres. As you can see from the pictures below our room wasn't huge but we made it home, and lubricated by the free beer our pitch got better as the day progressed....

The highlight was definitely selling a piece of the collection to Nora Navas, the Spanish actress who was the special guest for this edition - thats her jumping up and down on the bed in excitement.

It was brilliant to see so many people there, so thanks to all those who came down to say hello. For those who didn't, Tendencias TV have made a little video so you can see what you missed out on, we've added it at the bottom - see you at the next edition!

Changing Room 2011 from tendenciastv on Vimeo.

0040 A little bit of Grazification

We lost our Grazia virginity last week, providing a little bit of Grazification with our CORAL KONIG TROUSERS - just flip to p.84 and head for the bottom right hand corner, or click on the pics below to enlarge.

CORAL KONIG TROUSERS - £235 - AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM MELANIE BOUTIQUE IN BARNES AND BORNESHOP.CO.UK

0039 Borne's first concert

Last month our DOMPFAFF TOP became the first borne piece to officially go to a concert.

We don't get to go to a lot of concerts you see as we are slaving away under heavy machinery but Eliza Doolittle does lots of them, including this one for The Carphone Warehouse. Apparently it was the first Facebook only concert, who knew?!?

Anyway, the DOMPFAFF TOP looked amazing as did Eliza!

DOMPFAFF TOP - AVAILABLE SOON FROM ASOS

You can even see a short video about the concert here;

Eliza Doolittle Facebook Concert for The Carphone Warehouse from Threefold on Vimeo.

0038 Borne in Barcelona - L'Armari de Sant Pere

We caught up with our stockists in Barcelona last week to see how the season was going and check whether all our Little Seres had safely found gorgeous new owners to take care of them.

While we were at it we thought we would do a little illustrated guide to "Borne in Barcelona", starting with L'Armari de Sant Pere - a gem of a store tucked away on a beautiful square in the medieval barrio of Sant Pere right in the heart of Barcelona.

L'Armari is run by Kathy and Mayra, who know their clients inside out and back to front, always useful that!

So begin your tour by walking to the end of Sant Pere Mes Baix, and opposite a grand, wood panelled pharmacy you will find...

Mayra is on the left and Kathy on the right - guapas!

L'Armari de Sant Pere - PLACA DE SANT PERE - +34 933 150 463

0037 Borne in Barcelona - RooM

RooM is a beautiful tienda hidden down a narrow street in el barrio Born behind the new entrance to the Picasso Museum.

Calle Flassaders is full of fascinating boutiques but RooM stands out from the crowd, painstakingly curated by Maria Roch who stocks her own label alongside other designers she handpicks.

There is also a wide selection of jewellery, accessories and shoes, while even the antique furniture that has been sourced from far and wide can be taken home!

RooM - CALLE FLASSADERS 31 - +34 932 689 655