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Next level lash affair

Jayne is ready to perfect your peepers with a revolutionary new technique that promises an ultra-lush line of fluffy, soft lashes plus she uses her brand new product line created and designed by the lash aficionado herself. With the festive season, winter weddings and New Year’s Eve upon us – it’s the perfect time to ramp up those lashes with some extension love. Since 2009 Jayne has used high-end One-by-One Semi-Permanent Lash Extensions to achieve spectacular results, removing the need for falsies and mascara altogether, yet felt certain client’s lash potential were limited due to the number of natural lashes present. After all, you can only work with what you’ve got right? Wrong. Introducing Russian Volume Eyelash Extensions, an innovative technique that allows up to eight individual feather-light lashes to be applied to one natural lash.

Ideal for women with sparse lash lines, or for the true lash addict that craves super volume – the expert finish is a much softer, precise and multidimensional look, perfect for the everyday or special events and occasions. The application can take up to one and a half hours, and your look is completely customisable. With Russian Volume Eyelash Extensions, you can choose a specific curl, length or how voluminous or natural you want the look to be – or you can leave it up to expert Jayne and her nine years of professional experience to create a totally bespoke look, individual to you. Another bonus to this all new lash system is their tremendously light weight, one set is known to last much longer than the classic style, with touch ups recommended once a month. To add to Jayne’s repertoire is her new line of five-star professional products, available online and to lash artists worldwide. After nine years in the business, Jayne felt the products available around her did not reach her high standard of quality and set out to design her own.

Today she produces her own range of deluxe lashes, EU certified adhesive and accessories. Features of the collection include the Premium Velvet Russian Lashes where up to eight lashes are equal to or lighter than one semi-permanent in weight and are oh-so-luxuriously soft. Her specially designed adhesive is FDA approved, professional grade and produced in the EU plus her new oil free Lash Maximiser is perfect to promote the appearance of beautiful lashes naturally. By using the serum along the lash line daily, the potent blend of unique ingredients condition, moisturise and strengthen resulting in longer, darker, and fuller lashes in just two weeks. And that’s not all! The advanced lash artist and product manufacturer is now offering one on one training courses to learn the basic and advanced skills of individual semi-permanent lashes and Russian Volume Lashes to those interested in getting into the industry or for those wishing to advance their technique. Jayne resides on the island year round and is available to perfect your lashes out of her San Jordi studio.

2016 – Looking back

As the sun goes down on 2016, many of us take the time to reflect on the year that was. As with most years, there were highs and lows, ups and downs, changes and losses, but as I sat down to write a ‘year in review’ style blog about 2016, what struck me most about the year was that the losses we experienced were extraordinarily impactful, spanning countries and generations. With that in mind, I would like my final blog of the year to extend beyond the white isle and pay tribute to those who were so special to so many of us and taken too soon – lest we forget. There are stars whose radiance is visible on Earth though they have long been extinct. There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark. They light the way for humankind. – Hannah Sensesh, poet, playwright and paratrooper, as referenced in Carrie Fisher’s 2011 memoir Shockaholic.

We grow up thinking our heros are indestructible, so when one of them is taken from our midst, it can serve as a reminder of our own mortality. While many of us have surely experienced own unique grief, sorrow and loss in our personal lives throughout the years, 2016 has been a year of fallen heros. The phenomenon of mourning celebrities is quite a new-ish thing thanks to the internet and TV and one that has hit us hard in 2016. It can feel weird. It can feel wrong. It can feel silly. It may be mocked or looked down upon – as are many things that can’t be explained. But it makes sense and it’s OK. There is no shame in mourning someone (or indeed, someTHING, as Space Ibiza closing here in Ibiza proved in October) who affected you through their art, music, work or creativity. I woke up this morning to the news my childhood and grown-up hero, Carrie Fisher, had passed away after suffering a major heart attack earlier this week.

As I type, I am surrounded by a pile of snotty tissues because  I can’t stop crying at the thought she is no longer in this world –  had been checking the news reports every hour over the past few days, praying 2016 would not claim the world’s favourite princess. My first instinct when I woke up was to Google her name and my worst fears were realised. Now my my nose is swollen and my eyes are red (thank goodness for eyelash tinting, at least they’re not streaming with black mascara) and I feel sick to the stomach. I didn’t know her personally, yet I feel like she has been with me through every step of my life (as Tina Fey once said, like every woman my age Princess Leia occupies 60 percent of my thought space) right up until last week, when (SPOILER ALERT!) her younger self beamed out of a cinema screen to me in the final scene of Rogue One. What an unexpectedly poignant final performance.

I cannot bring myself to open my Facebook account or Instagram feed today because I know it will be filled with an outpouring of grief via images of Princess Leia and the very thought of seeing those donut buns or that bikini fills my eyes with even more tears. What a woman. She was a role model in both her youth through her strong character portrayal and later on through her own humanity regarding her addictions and her mental illness. She was funny, self deprecating, sharp, irreverent, witty, honest and of course, beautiful – I will always feel grateful that I grew up with Carrie Fisher to look up to. She doesn’t need the force to be with her – she is and always will be a force in her own right.

It was like sadness upon sadness, as only two days ago, we woke up to the news that the amazing George Michael had passed away in his sleep – after celebrating his Last Christmas (you know he’d want us to make that joke – the man was truly hilarious!) – at the very young age of just 53. So much of George Michael’s life was famously documented, from the amazing body of music he created, through to the brave opening up about his sexuality in a time when it wasn’t ‘the done thing’ for a heartthrob pop star (not to mention the son of a deeply religious Greek family) to be gay, to the sex and drug scandals that ultimately saw him spend time in prison and withdraw from the spotlight. What wasn’t as widely spoken about was his generosity, humility and kindness of spirit. Until now. A natural born philanthropist, the self described ‘singing Greek’ donated much of his wealth to charity – from donating 100-percent of the profits (which ran into the millions) from his single Jesus to a Child to Childline to smaller, random acts of kindness such as leaving a cheque for 25k to a girl crying in a cafe about her debt (after he’d left of course) or to a couple who couldn’t afford IVF, to performing a private concert for NHS nurses after they had cared for his dying mother, to volunteering anonymously in a homeless shelter.

The internet is now awash with people coming forward to credit him with selfless giving, as he’d wished to remain anonymous in life. A truly inspiring human being and one we here on the island always feel a strong connection to, after Wham! filmed the iconic Club Tropicana film clip at Pikes. Thanks to his music (and videos!) there is no doubt George Michael will always live on. The world also mourned the loss of Prince back in April, with even the notoriously snooty French lighting up their Eiffel Tower in purple in remembrance of the musical genius after he passed away. An innovative one-of-a-kind soul who lived by his own rules and refused to be put into a genre or defined by society, he created an incredible body of music, one of the most iconic 80s flicks of all time, developed his own flamboyant style, won countless awards and encouraged his legions of devoted fans to be themselves. Everyone was accepted in his purple world and his fans were treated like royalty, with private shows, after parties, invitations to his home – always on Prince’s terms. Most recently, he cancelled a tour as soon as he realised tickets would be resold at a higher value than the cost price via resale websites run by the ticketing agencies. It was always about the music, and never about the money, as Prince’s career-spanning problems with contracts and labels will attest. And once he had his own money, he was a generous benefactor to many (though as a Jehovah’s Witness, this was something he never spoke about), including his own Minneapolis community and far beyond. His acts of kinds included anonymous donations to ensure the the first full service library for African Americans in the USA in Louisville remained open; anonymously paying off the medical bills of drummer Clyde Stubblefield when he was undergoing cancer treatment; supporting the Rebuild the Dream charity which trains 100,000 low opportunity adults for high paying careers in technology and helping poverty stricken children in Harlem. A silent angel and an unforgettable icon.

Losing David Bowie in January was perhaps the worst way to start off a year. It seemed the entire world was united in grief for this incredible man – from the streets of Brixton and the clubs of Ibiza to the beaches of Mustique and the high rises of New York. I cried as much then as I am today. Every note from one of his songs is still enough to illicit tears in his honour. It was Bowie who made anyone who felt a little weird, alienated or unusual be able to recognise, accept and celebrate their uniqueness. Thanks to his many personas, we knew it was OK – and in many cases, perhaps even better – to be different. A modern day storyteller, his vast body of music never seems to grow old, giving Bowie a sense of immortality. He was a singer, a songwriter, a painter, a philanthropist, an actor – but he was so much more than those simple labels. An artist, for sure. A pioneer, for so many and in so many ways. A creative genius, yes. A fashion icon, without a doubt. It’s impossible for someone like me to put into words what David Bowie was (and still is) to the world. A space oddity? Something out of this world, that’s for sure. In life, and in the afterlife, as a lightning bolt shaped constellation of stars was fittingly named after him, ensuring his name will live on, long after his generation of fans have gone. And there were so many more…

The great Muhammed Ali, onscreen super villain and real life nice guy Alan Rickman, iconic musician Leonard Cohen, comedy legend Gene Wilder, supermum Mrs Brady aka Florence Henderson, Pulitzer Prize winning author Harper Lee, glamour queen Zsa Zsa Gabor, my wonderful feline best friend Buffy (ok, she wasn’t a celebrity but to me she was all that and more) – the list goes on. While browsing Facebook yesterday, I read something (and you know, if it’s on the internet it must be true) that put an interesting spin on this year’s spate of celebrity passings. That a bunch of aliens had been sent to earth over the years and in 2016 they would be called home. As kooky as that sounds, I thought to myself at the time, well isn’t that a nice thought, that someone out there is gifting us with incredible human beings (whether well-known celebrities or just regular folk like you and I) to share their art, creativity, personalities and souls with us. The world was definitely a better place for having them in it and we’ll never forget 2016 as the year that seemed to take away our childhoods in a cruel 12-month sweep. But in the end, despite all the sadness, I think it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. May the force be with them. Normal blog service will resume next week – thanks for indulging me if you’ve read this far!

Meet the Blakstad team – Xavier Blesa

In the company’s stylish San Lorenzo design office, you can find Xavier focused on managing and coordinating all the various projects underway while allocating the array of resources needed. Xavier explains he’s a project manager who is very hands on. “I am very involved personally as a director or I assign the other experienced architects to complete and carry out tasks as needed; nevertheless, I am always informed of what happens in each project to maintain and ensure a high quality of standard across the board.”

This type of dedication comes from the vast experience gained in all aspects of architectural design while developing his career in Barcelona. Having earned a Master in Architecture from the Technical school of Architecture in 2006, Xavier put his sights on project management and was certified by 2012. “I learned to think of projects from every point of view, understanding the creative process behind a design, which is a mixture of knowledge, technique and intuition.” Xavier’s favourite element of working with the renowned Blakstad design firm is the philosophy in which they work and the pride that comes with it, “We build traditional Ibicencan architecture updated to modern standards without destroying the essence of the island.” Of course, unexpected obstacles and challenges may rear themselves in the design process, and Xavier is well prepared for them, “The level of professional standards represented in the office speaks for itself. I love working with clients in an ever changing environment and having the ability to overcome challenges and any problems that may arise.” With a passion for everything creative going on underneath the roof at Blakstad Design Consultants, Xavier’s work has led him to believe that the most important aspect that characterises his profession, “Is the ability to survive in a constantly changing environment. The projects begin and end in relatively short time periods and involve so much creativity.” Committed to ensuring each project is efficiently completed Xavier believe it’s important to be proud of what you’re doing in each moment, “All of our projects are special because they are designed specifically for each customer with their own special requirements. This makes you feel proud of each project that leaves the office.”

Visit the White Ibiza house and garden guide to read more about Blakstad Design
Miss W’s blog: Christmas dinner – Ibiza style

Miss W’s blog: Christmas dinner – Ibiza style

The Christmas period is without a doubt one of the most wonderful times of the year, no matter where in the world you may be spending it – but I have to say, here in Ibiza it is particularly magical (though I am biased). And to many of us, Christmas dinner is definitely one of the highlights of the whole occasion (along with presents, obvs). But when you’re away from home, as many expats and travellers are during the festive season, all of a sudden the options are endless when the time comes to decide what you want to do for Christmas dinner. You’re not limited to family traditions or obligations; suddenly, the choice is yours. Here in Ibiza, there are a multitude of options for those who find themselves seeking a Balearic Christmas experience. Having tried a multitude of Christmas dinners in Ibiza over the years, I thought I would take this opportunity to share some of my favourites with you, in case you’re in need of inspiration.

A luxe, traditional style lunch in one of Ibiza’s best restaurants fuses the best of both worlds for me. You get to tuck into a classic Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, with all the indulgences of eating out – great service, lovely views, a beautiful setting and best of all, you don’t ever have to help with the washing up! You can also usually choose your favourite type of meat, be it a traditional turkey, a honey glazed ham or delicious roast beef or pork, which is great for picky eaters like me, and there’s always an option for the vegetarian in your group too, rather than just lumping them with extra roast veggies. There’s always a waiter at hand ready to top up your wine glass when you need it (much more appealing than those knowing glances you get from family when you’re topping yourself up for the fifth time) and the booze never dries up, which means you don’t have to switch to icky old port when you’ve run out of Baileys. There are many great restaurants open on Christmas day in Ibiza in 2016, serving up traditional dinners to those without a home to go to, or this who simply prefer to be pampered rather than hot, flustered and sweaty in the kitchen! Visit the White Ibiza Christmas Calendar to check out the best selection of island eateries open for Christmas – as it’s a set menu, reservations are almost always recommended to ensure the chef orders enough produce to feed the troops come Christmas day.

Another wonderful way to do Christmas dinner in Ibiza is DIY. Gather a group of your best island friends – you can keep it as intimate or make it as grand as you like- and make a day of it. This option usually works well if you have access to an amazing villa with a professional grade kitchen – the more space, pots and pans the better. I say this from experience, having twice had hilarious attempts at preparing Christmas dinner in an ancient apartment and ramshackle home – the first which saw the oven run out of gas once all four hobs and the stove had been alight for more than an hour (with nowhere open to buy a replacement gas bottle on Christmas day of course), and the second which saw the power cut out about once every 15 minutes when more than two appliances were on the go in the kitchen. While the dinners were definitely not the best quality I have ever eaten, I have to say the overall experiences were simply hilarious –  which could have been due to the copious amounts of mulled wine we were drinking to cope with the drama. Anyway, I digress. Cooking your own Christmas dinner is a bit of a rite of passage for those who are spending their first year away from the family or their homeland and the best thing about it is you can do everything your own way! This is also a great way to do Christmas for families and friends from abroad who wish to have their traditional Christmas experience minus the cold weather and grey climes of the rest of Europe. My advice here is to be prepared. Unlike the UK, the US, Australia, Germany, France and the like (oh, just about anywhere that has great supermarkets), adopting for Christmas lunch or dinner ingredients in Ibiza requires  serious plan of action. There is no one-stop shop for everything you need. You will be able to find everything you need eventually, but foresight is important. You’ll need to order your cuts of meat or turkey especially from a butcher a minimum of a week in advance (and sometimes even earlier), you’ll probably need to visit at least one greengrocer and one supermarket for your fresh produce and herbs, as they never all have everything in one place, specialty items will most likely be found in the Brit or German supermarkets and delis, while baking goods are the hardest to come by, usually requiring a trip to specialty cake shops, the aforementioned Brit and German hotspots plus a few of the roadside supermarkets or even an order from Amazon. Table decorations and Christmas decor can be found in all the best homeware stores, but usually sells out long before the big day, so you’ll need to be stocking up in advance. That’s life on an island for you, but it makes the end results even more satisfying.

Las but definitely not least, is what I like to call the unconventional Christmas. After all, just because it’s Christmas day doesn’t mean you have to eat turkey or drink mulled wine. Why not get into the Spanish spirit and tuck into fresh seafood, paella or grilled meats on the beach on Christmas Day? Our friends in the southern hemisphere have been doing it for years and when the sun is shining in Ibiza, the beach always beckons. As with the above example of dining in a restaurant on Christmas day, you get all the goodness of great service, professionally prepared cuisine and unlimited vino and you can order a la carte to suit your tastes. The Spanish tradition is to celebrate with a feast at home on Christmas Eve, so many of the best Spanish restaurants on the island are open on Christmas day, serving up the best Mediterranean fare you could dream to indulge in. Our White Ibiza Christmas Calendar also showcases our favourite local restaurants for those looking to explore new tastes and cuisines for Christmas – we’re spoilt for choice! Photography by Ana Lui. Styling by Cristina Di Giovanna of Le Jour du Oui. Decor courtesy of CoCoq Ibiza and La Galeria Elefante – view more here.  

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Time to nest

Interior design is an ever changing, constantly evolving world and much like fashion, it follows seasons and is usually one step ahead. With Ibiza being such a hotspot for architecture, design and décor, it’s important to have a trusted on-the-ground interior design advisor to help inspire and enliven your Ibiza home or villa updates – be it a warming winter overhaul or pre-summer preparation. Meet TANIS Ibiza. If you’re not already familiar with the chic interior design showroom on the road from Ibiza to Santa Gertrudis, think calm, uncluttered interiors combined with warm, neutral colours, tactile textures and industrial chic designs and you’ll start to get the picture. Much like your favourite clothing store, the TANIS Ibiza showroom is constantly bringing in new collections and one-off pieces to help spruce up one’s home. The luxurious showroom is currently featuring an array of new home furnishings, including contemporary armchairs in a variety of colours, handwoven Tunisian rugs, artisanal ceramic tableware and gorgeous new sets of glassware. There are also low hanging wicker ceiling lights, plus hand-woven wicker baskets, fluffy blankets and marble coasters and tapas plates – just in time for holiday entertaining. Chic lighting fixtures, iron statues, African designed chairs and stone door stoppers have also recently arrived. If you have been in the mood to give your home a complete overhaul you’ve come to the right place. TANIS Ibiza founders and designers Tatjana Berger-Sandhofer and Nick Lording also offer a full interior design service from concept through to completion – and there’s no better time than now to start planning and preparing for the season ahead. The showroom is just a glimpse of what is possible with TANIS Ibiza at the helm of your project, as the expert design pair can source much more than what they show in the shop, working to your precise brief. Whether it’s a small piece you’re looking for to add a little new life into a room or you’re ready for a revamp, with the arrival of the winter collections at TANIS Ibiza, there’s no better excuse to nest! Photography by Dario Sanz

Ibiza Christmas shopping dilemmas

When it comes to work, I’m a super organised person. Lists, deadlines, time tracking, meticulously labelled files, almost photographic memory, always on time – if it’s nerdy, I’m on it. But when it comes to my personal life, I am the polar opposite. I procrastinate like it’s an Olympic sport, I forget things, I’m messy and always late. So you can imagine when it comes to Christmas shopping, I am a last minute girl – we’re talking a 6pm on Christmas Eve type retail hurricane. But this year, thanks to the construction work in Ibiza town causing many of my favourite gift shops to shut down for the winter season, I need to plan way ahead. Of course, there are plenty of other boutiques, shops and concept stores across the island – I just need to make a plan of attack to get to them in good time. I’ve decided if I think of the task like work, it should be easier to execute.

The following is my Christmas shopping timeline and I think I can easily nail it in just one day. First stop: IBZCODE, on the road from Ibiza to Santa Eulalia. This is the one-stop shop for girlfriend gifts, whether you’re looking for a small trinket, unique jewellery, gorgeous scarves, luxe leather accessories and so much more. A pit stop here should cover off most of the ladies in your life – my biggest problem here is that I tend to have a habit of ‘one for you, one for me’. Tough break. Take two: CoCoq Ibiza, further up the same road, just after the turn off to Santa Gertrudis. This place is full of absolutely everything – from the littlest stocking fillers to huge statement gifts like art, décor and high fashion. For me, it’s a great stop to buy thoughtful gifts for your colleagues and clients – think coffee table books (in most languages), candles, quirky wall signs and more.

Third time lucky: Double back and turn down the main road to Santa Gertrudis and make a pit stop at my absolute favourite shop in Ibiza, La Galeria Elefante. I like to think of this little finca as a whimsical rabbit hole – a maze of rooms showcasing wonders from all around the world, suitable for all ages and tastes. IT’s a fab place to pick up one-of-a-kind gifts for family members, whether it’s a cashmere scarf for mum or a framed dragonfly for dad. Jewellery, candles, fragrances, homewares, art… there is absolutely no end to the Christmas shopping inspiration here. Speaking of the big day, it’s also the best place for Christmas cards and decorations – one for them, one for me… again! Stop number four is just a little further down the road, where you’ll spot a field full of fake cows. This is your sign to turn right and head into the wondrous, cavernous showroom of Sluiz. If you’ve got a ‘secret santa’ gift to buy, this would be the place as it’s chock-full of quirky, funny little gifts, alongside some incredibly stylish and amazing pieces, be it fashion or homewares. But you can’t go wrong with a stop here – plus, they ave a café for sustenance, because right about now, I know I’m going to be feeling hungry (my tip: try the fish and chips – it’s worth writing home about!).

The last stop in this neck of the woods is found within the village of Santa Gertrudis. Es Cucons la Tienda is my favourite place to buy presents for the littlest people in my life, as they have a super cool room full of kid’s games, toys, arts, crafts, stickers, musical instruments and more. There are also rooms full of beautiful accessories for men and women and it’s almost impossible to leave without buying something for your home! My final pitstop is actually back home here in Ibiza town, which is why I leave it until last – maybe I can still get that thrill of a last minute shopping buzz on Christmas Eve after all! reVOLVER is a treasure trove of stylish, well-thought out gifts, especially for the man in your life. Fragrances, wallets, sunglasses, footwear and of course, clothing – if you can’t find a gift in here then perhaps it’s time you just stopped shopping.

I realise a lot of you may at this stage be thinking, but why doesn’t she just shop online? After all, I spend most of my life working in the online world so on paper (or in a Microsoft Word document to be more precise) it makes sense. But, dear readers, the fact is I live on an island. And the postal service here is just about as reliable as a coconut wireless. Recently I paid a premium for five-day express delivery (we’re talking an envelope here too, not a parcel). It arrived 18 days later. I ordered another product for myself – this time with five-to-seven day delivery – and 22 days later, the tracking number shows the product is still yet to depart the UK. A pair of yoga pants coming from Germany have been allegedly sitting in the Madrid sorting office for three weeks now. And then when the products do eventually arrive in Ibiza, the couriers and postal delivery workers don’t ever bring them direct to your door. They just leave a slip saying ‘we tried to deliver but you weren’t home’, which is always a blatant lie, as I work from home and am always here, all day, every day! Sigh. Relying on last minute online gifts is just not an option here in Ibiza – but I’m not complaining. A dodgy delayed postal service is a small price to pay for 300 days of sunshine per year and the opportunity to call this island home. Now – less blogging, more shopping!

Weddings in Ibiza – Anna & Matthew

The love story of newlywed couple Anna Dunstan and Matthew Spencer began in the late 90s, while the pair were studying for their degrees at university. Little did the UK couple know at the time, nearly 20 years after their schoolyard romance began, they would be saying ‘I do’ at a seaside ceremony on a beautiful Mediterranean island.

Ibiza had entered both the bride and groom’s lives at the same time – with each visiting the white isle for the first time in 1996 prior to getting together, and then returning regularly as the years went on. After Matthew popped the question in 2011, the couple decided it would be the perfect location to exchange their vows. “We just love the feeling you get when you arrive onto the tarmac and step onto the island,” Matthew says.

The duo took on the task of planning their own Ibiza wedding themselves, choosing stylish Ibiza beach restaurant Experimental Beach Ibiza on the island’s south east coast for its bohemian beauty. “We wanted to get married by the sea,” says Matthew. “Experimental Beach Ibiza was very bohemian and relaxed.” On the rocky coastline of Cap d’es Falco, the official blessing took place with stunning blue skies and the azure blue sea as the backdrop – a picture perfect Ibiza wedding. Enlisting the services of Gypsy Westwood Photography to capture the day’s magic on camera (“They were the best company on the island,” says Matthew without a shadow of a doubt), the couple created a boho-chic wedding that was at once romantic and rustic, fresh and natural – with backgrounds in interior design and fashion, it was always guaranteed to be a super stylish affair. Ibiza wedding photographer Sofia Gomez Fonzo turned her talented hands to capturing all the moments of the day as day turned to dusk.

In keeping with the theme, Anna chose a bohemian halter dress, made from delicate lace with hand embroidery by Spell and the Gypsy Collective from Australia. Gorgeous straps crisscrossed over the open back with a small lace train falling behind. Made Up In Ibiza gave the bride loose, cascading curls for the occasion and styled the look with a fresh, handmade flower crown designed by El Ramos De Flores. Anna’s look was the embodiment of a Balearic princess bride. Matthew looked every bit as dapper as his bride, sporting a cobalt blue tailored suit from ASOS paired with a bespoke Liberty shirt made by his best man, shoes from Hammond and Co and a white ceramic Nixon watch to polish the look off. Anna’s creativity shined in all corners of the wedding, having designed and made each of the bridesmaid dresses, plus her son’s shirt and flower girl’s dress.

Fresh flower arrangements by El Ramo De Flores decorated the tables, as did classic place settings, elegant candles and turquoise glass adornments. On each place setting, the couple left a beautifully embossed leather luggage tag as a gift to thank their family and friends for joining them on the island for their celebration of love. Catering came courtesy of the venue, with a mouthwatering menu of Mediterranean gastronomic delights including refreshing lobster and watermelon summer salads, freshly caught fish and seasonal vegetables plus a decadently rich chocolate mousse for dessert. As to be expected, Experimental Beach Ibiza’s expert mixologists were also hard at work serving up their signature cocktail concoctions all evening long.

The celebratory feast was followed by music courtesy of ECC Ibiza’s talented resident DJ, who had friends, family and the bride and groom alike dancing and grooving as the sea swallowed the sun and a glittering star-crossed sky encapsulated the night. It was a night to remember with people they’ll never forget in a place they hold so dearly to their hearts. Following their island nuptials, the couple travelled back to the UK for two weeks before emigrating to Denia in Spain, making Ibiza their new not-so-far away neighbour. “We’re only a boat ride away,” says Matthew, who says finally getting married after all these years together was the highlight of his day. “We plan to pop over to celebrate our anniversary in 2017.”

Is Ibiza the town that stole Christmas?

If you’ve visited Ibiza town of late, you’ll have noticed a couple of huge gaping holes where Vara de Rey and Plaza del Parque used to be. By day, the soundtrack is one of jackhammers, trucks, hammers and workman whistling and shouting. By night, it’s a gloomy ghost town atmosphere full of eerie emptiness, as the normally busy streets are all closed off with green scaffolding and the cafes and bars have all shut up shop for the winter due to the renovations. Which leads to one big question. What’s going to happen to Christmas in Ibiza this year? Vara de Rey is normally the epicentre of festive fun, with its quaint Christmas market, kids fun fair and the big tree presiding over the square, while Plaza del Parque is a buzzing social hotspot – the place for pre-party get togethers, post-market mulled wine or hot chocolate and the legendary oyster and champagne bar at Hostal Parque. With all the renovations, reformations, digging, construction, mess and rubble – is Ibiza the town that stole Christmas?

Of course not! The party capital of the world wouldn’t let a little thing like town planning get in the way of having a good time, and good news is the Christmas festivities have simply been moved just a 10-minute walk away to the square of Plaza Antoni Albert i Nieto – that’s the big pedestrianised block up near the disused bus stop and Ayuntamiento for those who don’t know. The lights on the big tree will officially be switched on at 6.30pm on Thursday December 1, 2016 (tomorrow – woo hoo!) and the market stalls (which range from artisanal goodies, hippy chic homewares, fashion and jewellery to food and drink, not to mention festive decorations!) will be open for some serious retail therapy business. The square is surrounded by cute cafes, bars and restaurants and looks set to step in for the Plaza del Parque crew by offering locals a place to hang out over the winter months, complete with big outdoor heaters and fab food and drink offerings. For those with kids in tow, the new location makes it easy to walk between the neon-blazed fun fair (behind the National Police Station and the Diario de Ibiza building) and the Christmas markets and tree, meaning it’s possible to do both activities in one night! Bad news for me is, now it’s not within a 200-metre walk of my front door, I won’t be able to eat endless Nutella crepes or gorge on the 1€ cheese and wine combinations every night unless I make the effort to walk a little further (on second thoughts, perhaps that’s good news for my figure!).

But the market, fun fair and tree are not all there is to get excited about. The biggest, best and most awesome news about Christmas in Ibiza in 2016 (to me, anyway!) is the launch of Ice Park Ibiza in Plaza Reina Sofia. It’s a temporary, intimate ice skating rink set up right below the fortress walls of Dalt Vila, under cover of some protective white tents (after all – we’re not in New York’s Central Park – ice would melt in our Mediterranean climate if we had it in the open air). This is my Ibiza winter dream come true – after attending a truly disastrous version of an ice skating rink in Ibiza a few years back (where slabs of white plastic-like material were placed on the ground as fake ice), I have been dreaming that this exact part of town could be transformed into a ice capades-like winter wonderland, and now it has! It’s just a two minute walk from my house (and much better for me than Nutella crepes), and it’s only 5€ for a 25-minute skating session, so I expect to be an Olympic level figure skater by January 8, when the rink shuts up shop for the season. I have my sparkly dress, ear muffs and woolly mittens at the ready for tomorrow night’s opening event. Well, while it’s not technically an ‘opening party’, I say why not dress the part anyway? Ibiza on ice!

Can someone turn up the heat please?

Can someone turn up the heat in Ibiza please? I’ve been writing numerous blogs, feature articles and social media posts of late singing the island’s praises for its sun-drenched, high temp winter and, errr, this week it feels like Ibiza just didn’t get the memo. The weather is proving me wrong. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, it’s really, really cold. And grey. And wet. And windy. Apologies for being smug in my previous blogs. I feel like I may have brought this cold snap on myself.

In all seriousness, I know the sudden drop from 20 degrees Celcius to 10 is nothing in comparison to the bitter early winters of London, New York or Berlin, but bear with me. For islanders like me who have been wearing summer clothes and flip-flops up until just seven days ago, this is a bit of a culture shock. There was no transition with tights, scarves, long sleeved tops and layers easing you into the winter wardrobe – it was more like BAM! Coat! Woolly socks! Chunky scarf! Ugg boots! Didn’t I tell you just recently we only have two seasons here? From summer to winter, overnight. The beauty of these cold bursts in Ibiza is that they don’t tend to last too long. A week of rain here, a few days of icy winds there, some cool foggy mornings, or an afternoon of overcast skies and then it’s back to the blissful winter sunshine. And rainbows! Let’s not forget the rainbows – did anyone else see the flurry of Facebook posts when we had a double rainbow last week? It’s like we have nothing to talk about except the weather here in the off-season (ahem). But I digress… back to the weather! The funny thing about these mini pockets of bad weather is it throws our lives and schedules into complete havoc, despite years of experience and many winters lived on the island. Every year it’s the same thing. Smugness followed by confusion. And for those newbies, settling in for their first Ibiza winter it’s a total shock – I’ve been asked ‘Is this normal?’ more than once this week by our newest White Ibiza recruits. I assure them the good days are just around the corner…

What happens is we’re (and when I say we, I mostly mean me) reminded of that leak in the ceiling we never got around to fixing last year (because the rainy season was so short, it just dried up and we forgot), and once again we’re plugging it up with towels and hoping for the best. We hit the hardware stores in desperate need of dehumidifiers to cure the damp in our old Dalt Vila apartments or ancient countryside fincas only to discover they are dramatically overpriced on the island because there’s such a big market for them – thank goodness for the competitive prices of Amazon and its free delivery options! And after we finally get ourselves a dehumidifier, we remember that the electricity in our aforementioned abodes can’t cope with having three heaters, a dehumidifier, the laptop TV and the washing machine all on at the same time. Unless of course you’re lucky enough to live in a beautiful new villa or apartment with luxe underfloor heating with all the mod cons and a big fireplace… and then you discover that all of a sudden your less fortunate friends want to spend a whole lot of time hanging out with you. At your place. Obvs. We find there’s no time to drop our winter coats (that have been sitting in a pile of clothes that need alterations all summer but we were too busy) off at the tailor to have those missing buttons sewn on because it’s simply turned too cold overnight to go without them. We realise there’s no easy way to navigate muddy caminos between our cars to houses. We buy umbrellas from the bargain stores in emergencies and then soggily sigh as they’re whipped inside out by the wind in an instant. We toss them unceremoniously in the trash, as we did with their brothers and sisters last winter and think, must remember to buy a decent brolley soon…

But there are other things we’re once again reminded of that make all these little inconveniences so worthwhile. We watch the island turn back into a lush, green paradise, after finally receiving the rainfall it’s been craving. We see those dark, moody skies create dramatic deep purple sunsets over the horizon. We seek shelter inside some amazing Ibiza locations, where the big old wood fires are crackling and the most simple grilled Mediterranean meats and red wine give us the ultimate in comfort eating experiences. We realise it’s actually really pleasant to step inside a hot yoga studio in comparison to being outdoors. We embrace the art of cocooning complete with Netflix (finally!) and our winter duvets. We spend hours on Pinterest, looking for soup recipes – possibly longer than we spend cooking and eating them. We embrace these moments and feelings because we know that in a few days the sun will be back and we’ll be out and about again enjoying the island’s winter vibes. We whinge and we moan (and once again, when I say we, I mostly mean me) but we secretly love it. I for one wouldn’t want to spend my winters anywhere else.

Little house in the campo

Spontaneity is something that that Selina and Jurjen van Hulzen have absolutely no trouble with. While most people go to great lengths to plan a move to Ibiza, it was a much more fluid process for this family. The architect and interior designer and his teacher wife came to the island with their two children for the first time in 2014 to visit friends and decided right then and there to move. While a heavily pregnant Selina waited in Amsterdam Jurjen returned to find a place to live – almost signing a lease on an expensive villa.

Back in Amsterdam he received a call from a friend telling him there was another place he simply had to rent and quickly. So, sight unseen he signed the papers and a few months later the family arrived in the middle of the night to a house on a hill in the north of Ibiza. By now baby Ziggy had joined his big brother Mads and sister Lou and when they all woke on that first morning they stepped out onto the terrace to be greeted by the most amazing view across the Morna Valley to the distant sea. They had arrived home.

It wasn’t long before Jurjen started to take a more critical look at the house he had signed up for and his architect’s mind started to whir. The first project was to convert a disused and rather dirty storage area into a guesthouse. It was a small place but through the decades thick grime Jurjen had a vision and coming from living in Amsterdam in a 60-metre square apartment with three kids, his concept of transforming small spaces is nothing short of magical. The project soon became a way for Jurjen to showcase his metier and the brands he works with closely through his design company Ibiza Interiors, his design and architectural firm Standard Studio and his specialised furniture store Modern Vintage. “I’m always looking at spaces and thinking about what I can do with them,” he says. “At first the plan was to do something simple and cheap to host guests here, but then I started to think about it more and… well, I am a perfectionist and I became a little bit obsessed!”

Obtaining an interior design degree followed by studies at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture led to a job at prestigious architectural firm Concrete Architects. There, Jurjen designed hotels worldwide with projects in New York, London and Paris. One challenging project was the CitizenM hotel chain. The brief was to design a luxury hotel room that was only 14 metres square – the result is masterful and shows his fixation on perfectionism regardless of the constraints. “I can never compromise on functionality, that’s the architect in me,” Jurjen explains. “When you design interiors, it’s for five, maybe ten years and then you change it again. But in architecture it’s for 30 years or a hundred years and that’s how I approach it. Even with my design work, I approach it with the mind of an architect.”

Jurjen’s perfectionism is evident in every aspect of the guesthouse. Oversized iroko wood and glass doors open on to a double height dining and living space. A ladder reaches up to the loft bed where a super luxe Coco Mat bed awaits. Jurjen is the sole distributor of these luxuriously comfortable all-natural beds in Ibiza. Through a small passage is an Eginstill kitchen, a friend’s brand he also represents on the island. Being both designer and client was an interesting experience for Jurjen. “I could have chosen a cheaper wood for the door frames, but I just couldn’t,” he says. “I have to tell my story. You know, I couldn’t just put an Ikea kitchen in here!” The result was well worth the perfectionism.

Some discoveries were made along the way that Jurjen adapted and incorporated into the final design. Rustic stone walls were concealed by old plaster and a long, arduous process of cleaning and re-grouting them ensued. The ancient stones then required a change to the original colour pallet and Jurjen put in a black, steel kitchen to act as a counter balance to the warm stone and woods. Brushed cotton curtains introduce the expansive sky outside into the living space. Furniture is mid century with a heavy Danish influence – two Eames rocking chairs, a long wood dining table and a stunningly curated selection of objets finish off the space. Unlike most guesthouses in Ibiza Jurjen’s is also a concept store – everything inside is from a brand he respects and represents and everything can be purchased.

Inspiration comes from all corners of the globe. “I am really interested in different cultures,” Jurjen says. “I love to look at abstract things, to mix things, to develop a global style or taste. I think with our generation the whole world is open to us. Some projects I’ve done in Amsterdam could be in New York or Japan because they are individual and authentic. And yet, not every project can be universal, because the location and context is so powerful.” Ibiza has clearly influenced Jurjen’s choices for the guesthouse, where he has melded traditional architecture and the ancient landscape seamlessly with a modern a sensibility.

Next, the main house will experience a full overhaul followed by a slew of other projects Jurjen is in the process of dreaming up on the rest of the property. But a lot of that will have to wait, because he’s heavily booked to design other people’s homes as well as continuing to run his businesses in Amsterdam and represent several Dutch design brand here on the island. For now the van Hulzen family are happily ensconced in their island paradise, taking full advantage of a much more outdoorsy existence – and while the kids soak up the sun and fun, Jurjen sits back on the terrace and dreams of design.

Visit the Ibiza Interiors website here. Photography by Ana Lui – Interiors shot on Fuji Film using a medium format Contax 645.