Tim Walker.

I went to Turkey in May, and on my return was facing having to pay about £50 for excess weight on my suitcase and my hand luggage. So, first to go were the toiletries, then I put on tens of items of clothing, jewellery and accessories. Donned in every colour of the rainbow, I then contemplated getting rid of my Vogue (they weigh about the same as me, but it is blasphemy to throw a copy away). So I tore out my favourite pages to take with me - an article about Tim Walker. I love his fantastical view on life, photography, and fashion. He says in the interview, "Fashion allows fantasy, and I'm a fantasist. I love beautiful clothes - but I couldn't give a monkey's what's on the catwalks". His photography is just charming and so beautifully shot - I'm so very jealous of all those who got to see his exhibition in London recently (it's reet grim up north).

The Family.

I love this ident for the "fly on the wall" style documentary of family life by Channel 4.  (My friend Loui did something very similar for a recent project!) It starts off as a perfect cross-stitch and soon unravels, perhaps showing how family life can be hectic and can so easily go into disarray, with even the best laid plans unravelling and not going to plan. All in all, I just like it!

Helmut Newton Photo Machine.

In the 70s, famous fashion photographer came up with "The Newton Machine" where fashion images could be taken without the photographer being present. It was originally created to capture the subject as they see themselves. Topshop recently employed the Newton Machine for a promotional event, at which I happened to be present! So, this is the resultant photograph! I just think it's a real novel idea, and some of the photographs on the website are good to look at - I had a bit of fun, and got to take home very own photograph!

Have a look at some of the outcomes at www.newtonmachinetopshop.com

This is what Helmut Newton said about his invention:

“I had a photo-machine built, a camera fitted with a motor and a timer that can be adjusted by the model who can decide whether to work fast or slow. A mirror behind the camera allows the model to check the pose. Before every shot, a bell goes off, and then a strobe light flashes. The whole system is devised to heighten the tension of the modelling session and to catch the model at the peak of each pose.

Carefully I explain the system to my models. I tell them, It’s up to you to control the whole sitting, you will decide when to stop, the entire responsibility is with you. Of course the lighting has been set up and a cross where they must stand has been marked on the floor.”

Gustav Klimt.

Thanks to Liverpool's status as European Capital of Culture 2008, us Scousers (yes, I do include myself in that bracket) have had quite a few privileges. One notable blessing was Klimt's long stint in the Liverpool Tate. My friend has a fair few books documenting his work which I browsed through before I went; and on flicking through them I wasn't too impressed. I liked them, but were they really worth the rave reviews so many people give them? The answer is undoubtedly, "yes". The gilt masterpieces were so beautifully executed, with such mastery and they were so emotive on seeing them in the flesh, actual size, and in their full glory - I just fell in love. Mind you, I am a magpie when it comes to gold (being a Scouser an' all), so find out for yourself, and maybe you too will fall in love with Gustav.

Rome wasn't built in a day.

Italy was just beautiful. Rome was superb, with just so much to feast your eyes on. The first day, I took photos of near enough everything I went past, believing it to be one of the most beautiful things I'd see on the holiday and that I daren't miss it. Hundreds of photographs later, I soon learnt that ... that was just Rome. The place is decorated with architectural delights on every street, every corner, every square; from the smallest of marble fountains, to the monumental Pantheon and Coliseum - it just doesn't cease! Moreover, what makes it all the more phenomenal is that it was achieved so very long ago when they had no JCBs to do the heavy lifting. The care and effort that has gone into Rome is just stupefying. You've got to give the Romans their dues, it's a truly stunning place. And trust me, you've got to see it to believe it.

Mario Schifano.

I went to Italy, and of course did all the usual - the Pantheon, the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican, the Spanish Steps, and after a few days, walking without the aid of pain killers was merely impossible (wine was sufficient). And although it was initially awe-inspiring and jaw-droppingly spectacular, I regret to say it began becoming slightly..

. "samey"?

We went to the Modern Art Gallery in Rome, and it was a true breath of fresh air. Mario Shifano's, graphic and simple (yet considered) work filled the entire gallery, and it was just what I needed after meticulous oil paintings and perfect, serene marble sculptures. A lot of them involved text, and had I been able to continue photographing his work James Bond style (obviously I got caught), I would have put up some of my favourites of his humorous musings within his art. His choice of language and content remind me very much of the whimsical, and somewhat silly, daydreaming copy that is used so frequently at the moment; and of course, Schifano was turning it out decades before now.

So here are some of the pieces I could photograp

h in secret, before having to put my spy camera away (please excuse the 

poor photography, I was undercover).

Laura Ashley.

As much as I try and fight my love for everything sickeningly "girly", I just can't do it. Since I was about fourteen, I would visit sites like Laura Ashley's, and ogle the duck-egg fabrics, powder pink scatter cushions and most of all - their fabulous wallpapers. I know it seems rather sad that such things would interest me at such a young age (I still managed to maintain a healthy following for boy bands, of course), but I just loved everything about it. It's a fusion of French and British traditional and girly styles and I just can't wait to have a bit of dollar (and a home) for an excuse to buy it all. I can just picture it now - sipping my Earl Grey from my Laura Ashley crockery, along side my home made cakes placed on a Laura Ashley cake stand, taking my elevenses in the drawing room, decorated in Laura Ashley's "Summer Palace" wallpaper; but at £25 a roll, I think I'll have to wait just yet.

www.lauraashley.com.