LUA JEWELRY {the blog}: Interview with The Swelle Life

Monday, July 5, 2010

Interview with The Swelle Life

Posted by Unknown

I had the fabulous opportunity of interviewing

Denise Grayson

from The Swelle Life. She likes cupcakes, Paris and all things beautiful!

Who’s behind The Swelle Life?

I'm Denise Grayson, a Canadian living in England with my husband and four year-old daughter. I'm a freelance writer who loves to take pictures and I just opened an online boutique called Swelle Boutique www.swelleboutique.com. I need to laugh every day and I struggle to keep my side of the bedroom clean despite my propensity to have everything else looking just so!

This morning, you woke up:

On the couch at 5 am! I was exhausted yesterday and fell asleep watching TV at 9 pm. My husband knew better than to try to wake me!

How would you describe your style?

Quite ladylike and put together, no matter how hard I try to just throw things on. I think it has to do with my collection of proper coats and jackets, and I usually wear some kind of hat.

Who or what has been your greatest fashion influence?

I think it must be the way women dressed pre-1960. Whenever I see a woman from the 30s, 40s or 50s my heart swells. They always looked so feminine, so polished, and that resonates with something in me.

Biggest achievement:

Marrying the right guy and raising a wonderful daughter. And after leaving my advertising/marketing career behind, finally deciding what I want to do with my life!

I’m obsessed with…

Textures. Colour. Flowers (the most beautiful combination of the two). Dreamy dresses. And stunning interiors and exteriors. Anything that makes me feel happy to look at it.

A phrase you use far more often:

I'm almost ready! (Also could be filed under 'most frequent lie')

A city:

Paris

A book:

I love my Mark Rothko books, he's my favourite artist. The Legacy of Mark Rothko by Lee Seldes is a fascinating and heartbreaking account of what happened to Rothko's body of work after he committed suicide in 1970. His three most trusted friends betrayed him swiftly and completely. Anyone who loves Rothko's work will find it especially unsettling.

A quote:

"All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be" - from Pink Floyd's Breathe, Dark Side of the Moon. It's so true, do whatever you can to travel and make a point of doing meaningful things!

A fashion advice?

Don't over-accessorize! Focus on one great piece and let it do the talking.

You would never leave your house without? Underwear! And sunglasses and some kind of lip colour. I do tend to leave my house without keys sometimes.

Anything else you want to share with us?

My new online shop www.swelleboutique.com is all about dreamy and romantic clothes that are one-offs or limited edition collections. The designers I collaborate with worked hard to create really beautiful collections and I'm so proud.