Merry Christmas!!!

Oh Little Town of Bethlehem @ The Joy Exchange 03.12.11 from The Joy Exchange on Vimeo.

please feel free to share this video with your friends and family to share the festive Joy!!!

"Oh, Comely"....a new magazine obsession

On my way home from London last weekend after the Joy Exchange, I stopped off in WH Smiths in Victoria Station to pick up some literature for my journey home. I was aware of Oh, Comely magazine, but had never bought it before- my financial situation often dictates, and I've had to limit myself to a subscription of only 3 magazines a year...or attempt to, at any rate!
What caught my attention this time was the fact that the night of the Joy Exchange, we had received a tweet from @_agatha_a about the event, which we initially found exciting because it meant that word of our project was getting around- a total stranger, who was not only aware but interested in what we were doing!!! Our excitement quickly dissolved into....more excitement when we realised that Agatha is part of the Oh, Comely team- my curiosity was substantially fuelled to purchase issue eight of the magazine on the way home, and see what these guys are about.





Why had I never picked up this magazine before?! By the time I reached "what we listened to" on page 11- a playlist of songs that, in the writers' own words, "made the issue", I was totally, irreversibly, catastrophically, head-over-heels-over-head-again in love.


in case you're interested, the playlist is this:
"tell me something I don't know"- Herman Dune
"take ecstasy with me"- The Magnetic Fields
"don't move"- Photogram
"yes, yes we are magicians"- The Crookes
"a week away"- Spearmint
"streets of your town"- The Go-Betweens
"by your hand"- Los Campesinos!
"tigers"- Stephen Malkmuss and the Jicks
"too young"- Phoenix
"i'm gonna haunt you"- Fabienne DelSol
"coast to coast"- Twerps
"blackout"- British Sea Power
"antique love"- Built Like Alaska
"the lion's roar"- First Aid Kit
"twigs and stones"- Siskiyou
"summer fades"- Smoke Fairies
"chelsea hotel no.2"- Leonard Cohen
"i have never loved someone"- My Brightest Diamond
and if you want to have a look at other songs Oh, Comely loves you can check out their Spotify profile here


Filled with beautiful photographs and illustrations throughout, along with wonderful letters from readers (this mag obviously has a VERY dedicated fan base- I'm not talking a bog standard letter here, or emails as you might find in other magazines, but handwritten notes on beautiful notepaper, often accompanied by illustrations!) postcards, and even responses to the question asked in issue seven: "who would you give your clay heart to?"

I don't want to reveal the entire contents of the magazine, as I highly recommend investing to have this wonderful, wonderful magazine in your lives! (Obsessed? Me?!) However, there was one more feature of issue 8 which I wanted to share with you: "Four-legged meditation, scenes from walks with my dog" , 4 pages of beautiful words and delicate illustrations depicting a dog's perspective on life. Being a HUGE dog lover myself and having had the lovely chocolate labrador Paddy in my family for ten years, this was something that I could not only relate to, but I actually found it quite emotional- perhaps something only other dog lovers will understand...but beautiful words nonetheless (even if you're a cat person..!!)

So I'm now on the hunt for issues 1-7.... and have so far managed to get my hands on issues 1 and 4, courtesy of the online store of the magazine. If anyone can give me a hand locating any others, I would be hugely appreciative- I NEED these magazines in my life!!!

if you want to find out more about the magazine, you can visit their website here

Love, Sian xox

The Joy Exchange

Since July I have been lucky enough to be a part of a wonderful project called the Joy Exchange, set up by my wonderful friend Jonny Swales. The Joy Exchange is a community of artists and musicians who aim to change the world using their art, and by spreading a little joy.
When we did the first event back in July, I don't think any of us had any idea how big this would become, and what an important part of our lives it would be. Aside from anything else, WE HAVE SO MUCH FUN!!!

Currently based at St Mark's Church in Wimbledon, we have so far held 2 events: the original Joy Exchange back in July, and our Christmas extravaganza last Saturday. All profits from each event go to the Music Room project, giving kids and young people the chance to learn and become involved with music where they normally may not of had the chance.

I highly recommend you check out the amazing musicians that are involved with the Joy Exchange: Josh Flowers and the Wild, Roo Panes, Sally Archer, We Play Parties, Tir Eolas, Tom Morley, and The Wooden Chairs. We also have a Live Art section of the event, led by Christy Balfour, who has had her artwork exhibited at each event:





if you want to find out more, visit the Joy Exchange blog which I follow over at wordpress

(and at this point I DO PROMISE to be more dedicated to my original blog...I promise!!!)
You can also follow @thejoyexchange on twitter, and like us on facebook, and if you want to get in contact, drop me an email at sian@joyexchange.co.uk
xx