Our first spring in our new home in the little West Yorkshire village of Marsden has officially begun with arrival of the cuckoo last weekend. This eccentric festival celebrates a local legend that the arrival of the cuckoo into the village co-insides with the arrival of spring and the better weather.

We were spoilt with some beautiful weather as we followed the giant cuckoo around the village together with a precession of musicians and dancers - we took part in the duck race too but sadly lady luck was not on our side/duck.

As we left the festival goers behind, we took a path up into the hills for a breezy walk along the moors where we could still hear the bands playing in the village. We had a lovely time welcoming the cuckoo to Marsden and we’ll be back again next year, but before that we have the Marsden jazz festival to look forward to in October.

We’ve spent an amazing week in Shanghai this month with our Rag Makers consultancy hats on. We headed out there for the Shanghai Intertextile fair and to spend time with the local textile mills we’re working with, designing and developing collections for the UK market.

To say the fair is huge is an understatement, the staggering size of the exhibition centre itself is impressive, let alone the thousands of exhibitors and tens of thousands of visitors that attend from across the globe – lets just say the queue for the tube at the end of the day is an experience!

During the week we were able to spend some time in the mills, seeing all the aspects of fabric production – from spinning yarns, weaving and finishing fabric to the garment factories where the finished product comes together. I always find it incredible to see the effort and energy that goes into producing fabric and garments for the retail industry on a commercial scale. Generally the whole process is hidden from the consumer but when you do you see it, it really makes you view your clothes in a different way.

We always look forward to the food on these trips and this time was no different, amongst the noodles, rice and veg were some super tasty breakfasts which included steamed dumplings and Jianbing which was new to us. A Chinese take on the traditional French Galette with egg, spring onions, hoisin sauce and chili – just delicious.

Next stop Paris in the spring.

We heart NYC!

The attention to every detail is inspiring + the food is just amazing. We're leaving thoroughly inspired.

A week of the most beautiful museums + galleries has left us with a need to cover everything in gold foil + roll around in olive oil.

So nice to follow in some family footsteps too. 

Hello Barcelona. 

A flying visit to this vibrant city, perfect to explore in the early morning when its cool. Nearly eaten my own weight in calamari.