By Tim Hayes, founder of Peach

We humans are clever; brilliant at finding ways to be unhealthy and even better at avoiding ways to change. We all know the usual suspects but, are we aware of how work travel could be causing a lot of damage to our health? Upgraded to business class – downgraded to flabby.

Let’s start with those trays of reheated processed food and those tiny bottles of booze served up mid-flight. Not exactly a balanced diet, is it? Poor nutrition, combined with a general increase in alcohol and the lack of exercise while travelling, mean frequent travellers present a higher risk of obesity. That frequent flyer fat can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. And we haven’t even mentioned hotel room service and the mini bar.

All that jumping between time zones can age us too. Scott Cohen, from the University of Surrey’s School of Hospitality and Tourism claims that flyer fatigue and jet leg disrupts gene expression that influences ageing, speeding up the process faster than Concorde, while weakening the immune system.

Cohen’s research also confirmed what we’ve all suspected for quite some time: breathing in the same re-circulated air for hours at a time, exposes business travellers to more airborne viruses and bacteria than your average person. When we add the general lethargy associated with running to and from office to airport lounges, our ability to fight off these germs is firmly back in economy class.

Before moving on to the good news, I am afraid I have a little more of the bad ones. Travelling is a lonely business. Days and weeks away from our families, friends and routine can also impact our mental wellbeing. Back to back meetings, stress and anxiety can often leave frequent flyers feeling isolated and depressed.

There are of course, lots of ways you can decrease the negative and ageing effect of the air miles racked up by your body. The easier ones to follow are:

Pack your gym kit
This may seem fairly obvious but a pair of trainers in your carry on will encourage you to keep in shape while away in business trips.

Workout in the morning
Plan your diary with 20 minutes allocated in the morning to go through a simple routine in your hotel room. You’ll feel energised, de-stressed and ready to take on those client meetings.

Laptops aren’t just for PowerPoints
If you are too busy to even think about a routine then get the hotel wifi code and search for quick workouts on Youtube. A set of abs is a great duty-free souvenir from any trip.

Find a hotel with a gym
Do your research and book accommodation that has a gym. If you can’t, then taking the stairs to your room instead of the lift is a good start.

Book a trainer
Peach is an app that connects busy people in London to elite personal trainers. Like the Uber of fitness, they’ll come to you at your hotel, gym, office, or meet you at a local park and train you according to your specific mood and level of fitness. When we have busy schedules it’s easy to quit. They key thing to remember is to stay moving. Even if it’s just a walk around the block, or getting the lift to the bottom of your hotel and walking back to the top; business people are natural problem solvers, so wherever you are, for however long, create your own gym and make a contract with yourself to keep mobile. You and your body are in it for the long haul.

Whether putting in a 9 to 5 at the office or working remotely, it is proven that people who exercise on work days are more productive, happier and suffer less stress. Researchers at the University of Bristol found that employees who enjoyed a workout before going to work, or got the lunges in on their lunch break, were better equipped to handle whatever the day threw at them.

That time to sweat out the stress is something employers should take more seriously according to the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR). They reckon that, while the easily tracked scourge of absenteeism costs the UK economy around £18bn annually in lost productivity, it’s nastier, stealthier sister presenteeism could be even worse. Presenteeism, that is, employees staying late, working longer hours, often just to save face (you know the type) could negatively impact productivity somewhere from two to seven times as much as absenteeism, per person per year. Hanna Leahy, wellness business development manager at Sheffield Hallam University likens the issue to an iceberg: “Absenteeism sits at the top, where it’s fully visible and easily measurable. But there’s a huge hidden cost just below the surface that can’t be seen or quantified,” she claims.

However, while presenteeism might be hard to detect, it can also be alleviated – just like absenteeism – by improving employee wellness and health. More and more employers are taking steps, including offering mental health days on top of usual paid leave, offering corporate gym memberships and providing in-office yoga classes.

“All the underpinning science shows that productivity is related to health levels,” says Leahy, “by investing in employee health and wellbeing, employers will see a ROI in reduced absenteeism and presenteeism. The only question is to how to deliver the physical activities – as one size does not fit all and people’s needs and abilities are different.”

About Tim Hayes
Tim Hayes, founder of Peach, has run multiple successful personal training companies globally. He has extensive experience in coaching other trainers and, over the years, has worked with athletes, Royals, presidential families and a number of leading model agencies.

www.getpeach.com

by Lavinia Dickson-Robinson

From his humble beginnings at Barnardo’s, Bruce Oldfield rose through the ranks and left St. Martin’s School of Art to critical acclaim in 1973. He started his own label in 1975 and became one of the leading couture designers in the UK, dressing some of the most beautiful women in the world, from Princess Diana to Faye Dunaway, Queen Rania of Jordan and the Duchess of Cornwall among many others. With his charisma, charm and warm smile, it is easy to see why he is the favourite of so many outstanding women.

In our interview at his Beauchamp Place boutique, we started talking about his work for Barnardo’s, of which he is Vice President, a role in which he is very much involved. It was Barnardo’s support and the love of his wonderful foster mother that gave him the chance to become the man he is today.
Bruce went on to say that at present they need all the help they can get. “It’s a huge organisation. People think of Barnardo’s as just a children’s home, but Barnardo’s is so much more than that! It’s looking after and caring for children; and it’s all done through outreach and helping local authorities resolve problems. Barnardo’s nowadays are campaigners for a lot of issues that other people won’t touch. They were very lucky to have Diana as president and now we have HRH Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall as our patron. All my life the Queen has been patron of Barnardo’s and The Queen has handed that role over to the Duchess of Cornwall, who is a very hands-on patron and a very good client.”

I asked Bruce if supporting Barnardo’s was his way of saying thank you and giving hope to kids who have had a difficult start in life. At the end of the day, he is living proof that they can get to the top. “You must be very proud”.
“Oh yes I am very proud of my involvement with Barnardo’s and the fact that they ask my advice on a lot of subjects, I also very much enjoy the fundraising I do with the Duchess. It is a very rewarding role.”
Moving onto the business side of things, I asked about his collection for John Lewis, which gave many women the opportunity to fulfil a life-long dream: to wear a garment designed by Bruce Oldfield. He answered candidly: “It is always nice to meet new clients from all walks of life, it’s good to talk and find out what women want. Obviously it’s a bit different from what we do here at Beauchamp Place. Here I can give my clients individual time to create a look that fits into their life style, the time in life they are at; I believe I used that knowledge in my collections for John Lewis. To me, every woman is important and should be made to feel beautiful.”

In general though, Bruce has always kept himself very exclusive. Many other fashion houses have become practically high street brands, but not his. I asked him if this had been an active decision or just the way the business developed. “To me”, I couldn’t help but adding, “small is beautiful.”
He laughed with that baritone tone of his and replied “Yes and no. I kept myself small because it costs so much to get bigger. Whenever I have expanded my business it has kind of gone pear-shaped and I have had to re-track and re-establish myself all over again. I believe in quality not quantity.”
I was curious about how Bruce has been diversifying his collections, so I asked him about past rumours I had heard about him going into interior design, even homeware design.
“I am very keen on that and always have been,” He answered wit yet another disarming smile, “I think I’ve had better coverage for my home and garden in recent years than for my clothes. To me it’s an obvious step on, or to the side if you prefer. I will always of course keep my couture -it is after all my core business, and one wouldn’t want to throw the baby out with the dish water.”

I added “So you won’t be doing up houses anytime soon, will you?” and Bruce chuckled. “No, I am not interested in doing up whole rooms, fretting about the colour of a pelmet; I want to be able to create one or two pieces that can enhance a room, or a wardrobe. Actually, last November I launched a collection of beautiful cushion throws, a small group of scarves and stoles, and handbags. Imagine, what do you do with a stole? If you get a big one, you can either wear it or throw it on your bed. I like the idea that it has a double life, a double purpose. I think accessories for a woman -both clothing and home accessories-, can really enhance your home and your wardrobe. It’s like wearing a fabulous cashmere scarf in a flattering colour that will brighten up your look.
For the leather pieces, I have been working with Venetian leather craftsmen, artisans who believe that craftsmanship, hand stitching each piece and thus, making them totally unique is the only way to work. I found them through a dear friend of mine; they keep to the old style of leather craftsmanship and preserve it to a very high standard. That is exactly my style: true craftmanship of the highest standard.”

Actually I was lucky enough to attend the launch of this wonderful new collection and was blown away. There are very few men that can create something so simple and yet so clever and beautiful.
The piece that caught my imagination most were the cross Gold/Mercury Knightsbridge tote. Here is a wonderful example of summer into winter, day into night, sunset into moonlight.
Bruce’s cashmere stoles made me long for my parents’ house in Perthshire, my black Labrador Daisy, and a roaring log fire. I could so see myself wrapped in such luxurious and soft material!
But between you and the siren in me, I am just longing to find that custom-made red crepe full-length wrap evening dress laid out on my bed with a matching cashmere throw for my birthday.

Nowadays Valentine’s Day is seen as a time to lavish the object of our affection, whether we feel like it or not. Many will be aware of how Hallmark (yes, the card company) took full advantage of it and started producing Valentine’s cards in mass back in 1913, thus sealing the fate of this celebration to being kind of “love by command”.

The true origins of St. Valentine’s Day celebrations are not really known, but it is believed that it comes from the celebration, by the Romans of the feast of Lupercalia, which took place between the 13th and the 15th of February. This was a pagan celebration in which men sacrificed animals, whipped women (it was believed to be good for fertility) and indulged in a sexual matchmaking lottery, in which men drew the name of women from a jug and then be coupled to that woman for the duration of the festivities.

In the 3rd century A.D. the figure of St. Valentine came along. Two men by that name were executed by the Romans on February 14th under Emperor Claudius II. Their martyrdom was honoured by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine’s day. To add confusion, the Normans celebrated Galatin’s day (Galatin means “lover of women”) around the same time. Finally in the 5th Century Pope Gelasius I confused things even further by rolling St. Valentine’s day and Lupercalia all into one to get rid of the pagan rituals.

Middle Ages and Renaissance authors like Chaucer and Shakespeare help romanticize the holiday through their work, and hand made paper-cards became popular in this day. Factory made cards were being made already in the 19th century, at the heart of the industrial revolution. If you like celebrating by entertaining and lavishing your beloved, we’ve put together some suggestions we hope will be of your liking. If you are more the kind that would rather celebrate as the Romans did… you may have to go to a different website.

Our first pick is a bespoke Poker Box by Alexandra Llewellyn. The edgy skull design is hand-drawn by Llewellyn and executed using traditional techniques of marquetry, with more than a thousand pieces of individually cut pieces of wood. The wood is a mixture of sycamore, walnut, oak, Masure birch and 4,000-year-old bog oak. The box measures 35cm x 35cm x 35cm and is edged in the elegant features of the male Lady Amherst pheasant. Limited edition of 15 boxes. £11,520

www.alexandralldesign.com

The new Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris is as captivating as the original Memovox Polaris from 1968. The dial architecture combines a mixture of finishings on three concentric circles: a Memovox Polaris-inspired center with a sunray finish, graining on the outer circle with the hours and minutes, and an opaline finish on the rotating inner bezel. The Jaeger-LeCoultre logo is applied, as are the classic Arabic numbers and the contemporary trapezoidal indexes. The hands are large and filled with Super-LumiNova™* for excellent visibility in low light. Historically black, the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris is offered in a black or ocean blue dial. £9,600

www.jaeger-lecoultre.com

If you want to get really serious, this spellbinding ring by Adler, called “satellite of love”, will certainly do the trick. Available in white and rose gold, the delicate ring is set with diamonds, above which hovers an exceptional pearl. This design is not only clever, but truly pure in its beauty. POA.

adler.ch

Colourful, warm and full of sparkle, this Mosaic necklace designed by Jason Wu for Atelier Swarovski, plays with a kaleidoscope of Swarovski crystal cuts and colours to create a piece full of refined glamour and timeless elegance. £849

www.atelierswarovski.com

It is still pretty cold, so I can’t but recommend considering a cashmere scarf from Bruce Oldfield’s new capsule collection. Made of 100% luscious cashmere, they come in a range of flattering warm colours and look fabulous casually thrown over the back of a sofa or on your bed, or even better, simply wrap it around your shoulders and laugh at the bitter February weather. £585

www.bruceoldfield.com

The new Bamford Mayfair, with its pink dial and personalisation options is playful and fun. The dial itself is available in 12 options and with 18 different straps to choose from. The watch can be further personalised with an engraving on the back of the case. The case is 40mm matte black with a hi-tech matte ceramic bezel with embossed numbers and a Bamford dial. £425.

www.bamfordlondon.com

By Lavinia Dickson-Robinson

Originally from New York, Koo Stark is a multi-faceted artist, having studied, taught and worked in the performing, literary, fine and applied arts. She is a writer, teacher, actress and most importantly, a photographer. She is also a lifelong practitioner and teacher of yoga, and a long-time student of HH the Dalai Lama, who gave her an insight into the spiritual and philosophical nature of Buddhism. It was this friendship and his teachings that gave Koo the insight to meditate on the potential of capturing the beauty of life through photography and using the medium as a means of non-verbal communication.

I met Koo Stark at San Lorenzo. She arrived looking radiant, what didn’t surprise me since it was the morning after the opening of her third photography exhibition in London in a year, after a gap of 23 years. Koo is a woman of style, grace and shy warmth. As an artist, her perception and use of light is unique and each of her photographs has a story to tell.

I started by asking her how she got into photography. She looked down for a moment and took a deep breath. “In the 80s”, she said, “I was constantly hounded by paparazzi; I had no privacy, no peace. I felt I was being stalked constantly.” I can imagine how she felt. At one stage, there was a price on her head for one photograph of her – solo and relaxed- for £250k. She turned down a written offer of £1million in 1983 to be interviewed. Koo went on the tell me that she even had paparazzi from Paris Match trying to climb into the window of her home to capture a photograph of her in the bath. She added: “It was terrifying. Each day, I did everything I could to try and conceal my face, maintain my silence and preserve my privacy, but the more I resisted the higher the price became. They even raided my doctor’s and lawyer’s premises to steal personal documents about me. I had nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. It was chequebook journalism at its worst. Some of my documented experiences were instrumental in changing laws on copyright and privacy. I still hold the dubious distinction of having received the highest libel award. This hounding was not only unbearable but also morally and legally wrong.”

One day, in 1982 this unwilling celebrity decided to turn the lens back on the paparazzi.  She described how it happened: “I just picked my old Polaroid camera and photographed them back.  It was a practical way to hide my face and it developed into an exploration, a form of homeopathic therapy and healing. By nature I am a very private, gentle person but these attacks were unbearable. So, in 1987, completely out of character, I went to court to protect myself and others´ right to privacy. It took many years and much convincing for the law on privacy to be created. In 2015, the Levenson enquiry eventually started to enforce privacy laws.” A glimpse of a smile illuminated these last words.

Koo has always seen photography as an art form as well as a craft. It was her dear friend, the wonderful Norman Parkinson, ‘Parks’ as she likes to call him, who taught her the fascinating craft of photography. “The greatest thing that Parks ever taught me was to understand light”, she commented, her expression full of meaning, “the camera is merely a recording tool, it’s your eye that needs training; it is your use of light that captures the moment.

“the camera is merely a recording tool, it’s your eye that needs training; it is your use of light that captures the moment”

Parks was a father figure to me and my mentor. He taught me to understand the importance of light. He said that a photograph was either like an assassin’s bullet or could put you on cloud nine. He impressed upon me the importance of studying old masters like Caravaggio, making me write essays to justify my choice of lighting, which remains daylight or tungsten, direct, indirect and reflected. Parks said that without studying the Masters I would never truly appreciate the subtle innuendo of light. He was very strict. On one occasion, while on a shoot for Condé Nast in his home in Tobago, he made me go and eat my lunch in the corner as I had forgotten to put film in the camera.”

Another profound influence on Koo´s work was Graham Green. Of this genius of the 20th-century literature she fondly recalled: “I had known him since I was seventeen, having worked with him as an actress. When I went to see him in the south of France at the height of my paparazzi harassment, he asked: ‘what is this I am reading about you in the press? This is not the Koo that I know.’ He was a tower of strength and was very concerned. He thought I should start a journal and brought me the most beautiful Smythson journal, a box of pencils, a dictaphone and a torch. He encouraged me to write down my everyday feelings and thoughts. He said one day I should turn these notes into a book or an autobiography.” Koo said that is the one thing she hasn’t ever done. When I asked her if she would ever write a book she answered: “My thoughts and my journals are very private to me. I wouldn´t just publish them. There is a different discipline required to write a coherent book, and if one day I felt confident enough in my skills to write my autobiography, I think it would be a great personal achievement, but first Nosce te ipsum (know thyself ).”

“My thoughts and my journals are very private to me. I wouldn´t just publish them. There is a different discipline required to write a coherent book, and if one day I felt confident enough in my skills to write my autobiography, I think it would be a great personal achievement, but first Nosce te ipsum (know thyself ).”

I asked her if she felt that women photographers have not always been fully recognised. She smiled and said: “If we look at the work of Helmut Newton for example, it was his wife Alice Springs who chose the models and styled them; and it was Lee Miller who accidentally discovered how to solarise prints, although annoyingly, it is Man Ray who remains credited for his muse´s discovery!” I mentioned the famous saying that behind every great man there is an even greater woman and she smiled again.

My next question moved our conversation onto the photographs in her current exhibition. I was very flattered that, as she went through each photograph, she asked me where I thought the light was coming from. I felt she wanted to impart and share her knowledge and it really opened my eyes, making me more able to recognise the beauty of her photography… and probably of art in general. Thank you Miss Stark. Her passion was evident as she spoke. She is a great believer in preserving the art of film photography in this digital age, where many moments are lost and never seen. The photograph that caught my imagination the most was the one of Simon and Yasmin Le Bon; it was true beauty – it reminded me of Romeo and Juliet.

When asked about what she would like to do next, she replied: “I hope to encourage, inspire and teach people to see photography as an art form, to start photographic collections of their own.”

Koo Stark
KINTSUGI PORTRAITS
GALLERIA SAN LORENZO
22, Beauchamp Place. London SW3 1NH
www.koostark.art

Until February 15th

Cover image Koo Stark by Terry O’Neil © 1987 Cover for Stark Contrast book published 1987.

A breath of fresh air. By Lavinia Dickson-Robinson

This stunning new jewellery company has filled a niche in the market that we never knew we needed until they burst on to the scene last summer with its modern, stylish and wearable jewellery. Coco & Kinney is the brain child of two very talented young women, Emma Mactaggart and Venetia Cohen. They first met working for a small online jewellery company and soon realised that they shared a common dream it was to make stunning chic and affordable jewellery …It’s been a success story ever since.

Emma had an early start into the world of fashion having been scouted at 15 at Paddington Station…like a little bear we know. She went on to model for Elite for 6 years, fronting campaigns for Abercrombie and Fitch, Trilogy and TopShop to name but a few. When I asked Emma why she gave up her very successful modelling career she answered without hesitation. She said she had to grow up very quickly and work with very challenging people. “I was grateful for my years working in the industry but it was never a job I loved. I am a creative person and missed using that”.

Emma grew up in the Bahamas. It was her love of scuba diving and snorkelling that inspired her, particularly the way light reflected on the corals and the colours of the fish that she saw. “I suddenly realised that all this could be translated into my jewellery designs; the way light catches the stones and make them sparkle is beautiful. Many of mine and Venetia’s designs are based on coral and my memories of the sea.”

Emma went on to tell me that she had been designing and selling jewellery since she was 12 and still wears some of her original designs today! Venetia has a family background in jewellery. Her grandfather was a prominent collector of Georgian jewellery. He passed on his passion and knowledge of gemology to his daughter, and Venetia’s mother passed it on to her daughter. And thus, a wonderful journey began.

Venetia moved to Paris after getting a degree in English Literature. She was lucky enough to work for an amazing family whose mother was in Louis Vuitton. This confirmed her desire to be in retail and fashion. She explains that she just needed an outlet and a way to combine her passion for gems and fashion. Venetia explained that being surrounded by French fashion and their individual sense of style and chic helped her create Coco & Kinney’s al a monde style. It was after Venetia’s return to London that she met Emma and Coco & Kinney was born. I wanted to know more about how they chose their stones. Both Emma and Venetia are obsessed with colour. They feel that in this day and age there is far too much grey in the world, too much grunge and sadness. They want to create beautiful jewellery to reflect each woman’s personality, bring colour and beauty into every woman’s life. They believe that you can tell a lot about a woman by the jewellery she wears and it should bring happiness.

Coco and Kinney have designed a beautiful variety of pieces, from the very practical and low key to stunning, vibrant statement pieces that ooze glamour.

The stones are all sourced by Venetia and Emma on their many travels as far as India and Thailand; They go at least twice a year to find stones and to visit artisans that make the jewellery for them. These trips are indispensable not only to make sure that their stunning designs are up to date but also to support and nurture these small workshops. By supporting small communities in India and Thailand they are providing work and preserving these beautiful crafts which otherwise would be lost.

The wonderful thing about Coco & Kinney’s creations and what makes them so unique is the fact that many of the pieces are detachable, interchangeable or reversible making them perfect accessories for today’s busy and fashion conscience woman about town. With Emma and Venetia’s close friendship and individual talents they are able to keep constantly up to date their collection pushing the boundaries of tradition with fashion and style.

cocoandkinney.com