mirrormirror

Things I Am Loving: The Secret Garden

 

Pssst. Don’t tell the Minx, but I just bought her a colouring book for our plane ride at the weekend.

 

 

Well, to be more accurate I’ve just bought myself a colouring book, as I’m sure she would probably prefer to be plugged into an electronic device of some sort.

But honestly, who in their right mind could resist the intricate and magical pen and ink drawings in Secret Garden by ‘ink evangelist’ Johanna Basford?

 

 

 

Twelve hours on a plane doesn’t seem nearly so long now. (Check out this review from the Guardian, which includes some printable pages to download).

Speaking of The Secret Garden, which remains one of my favourite children’s books of all time, check out these beautiful clothbound keepsake editions of children’s classics from Puffin, designed by the amazing Daniela Terrazzini.

 

 

As the mother of an utterly voracious and rather advanced reader I’m the finding the classics to be one of the best ways of giving the Minx age-appropriate reading material. I understand from the Internet that these beautiful books can be hard to track down, but we found ours at the weekend in Seattle’s wonderful Elliott Bay Bookstore. Some are also available on Amazon. (There are some more boy-friendly options too.)

I, er the Minx, can’t wait to read them.

Things I Am Loving: Forms in Nature

 

This sort of stopped me in my tracks when I saw it yesterday.

 

 

Created by artists Thyra Hilden and Pio Diaz, this ‘light sculpture’ entitled Forms in Nature is designed to cast spooky shadows reminiscent of a wild forest all round the room.  I have long been fascinated by the beautiful shadows cast by chandeliers and I love how they’ve taken this to the next logical step and made the shadows the star of the show.

 

 

At the moment it is still a conceptual artwork, but according to their website they are looking at putting this into production.

 

Project 52: Red Balloons

 

So last week’s assignment was simple. A concept shot inspired by “Red Balloons’. 

Because I wanted to do something a bit different, and because blowing up balloons makes my cheeks hurt, and because I’m trying to improve my food photography, I decided it might be easiest to just whip up a bunch of cupcakes.

 

 

In that I was almost certainly wrong.  Trying to organise and tame that ridicuously curly gift ribbon with tiny bits of sticky tape into strands that might possibly look like they were floating through the air tested my patience to the very limits.  Food and product stylists everywhere, I salute you.

I was worried that the photo above might be insufficiently conceptual, so then dug up a photo I had of a tiny Minx chasing balloons.  I used my still extremely crappy Photoshop skills to turn her into a Brush and included her in the picture.

 

 

I wasn’t entirely happy with this shot either as I couldn’t help wishing that the Minx had been stretching up towards the balloons, and the composition just didn’t look right. The Minx thinks it’s fabulous though, so I think I’ll make a canvas copy for her toyroom.

In the end I decided to use the same conceit but have the cupcake balloons wafting in front of the Space Needle.

This involved taking a photo of the Space Needle, converting it to a Brush and then using a mask to reveal the bunch of ribbons.  My Photoshop ‘skills’ pretty much exploded at this point.

 

 

To be honest, I think this is my least favourite of the Project 52 images I’ve produced to date, and I’m not sure that red flying cupcakes look particularly appetising, which, after all, is the point of food photography.  But it was a fascinating creative exercise and certainly tested my Photoshop skills, such as they are, to the very limits and beyond.

 

HOW TO CONVERT AN IMAGE INTO A BRUSH IN PHOTOSHOP

You can convert any image into a brush in Photoshop which gives it an interesting flat effect and means you can colourise it, move it about, multiply it, turn it, stamp your photos with it and do all sorts of jiggery pokery (note use of correct Photoshop terminology).  In fact do all the things you can do with the standard Brushes, but with a photo.

- Use your preferred selection tools to select the area of the image you wish to use.  (I had trouble selecting the Minx as you can see, the Space Needle was much simpler).

-  Go to Select –> Inverse and then delete the areas of the image you don’t want to use, so that you end up with your image on a transparent background.

- Convert the image you want to use to black and white, remembering that grey areas will show up in the brush but white areas will be transparent.

- Adjust contrast etc. to get a good strong B/W image

- Draw a box around the image with Rectangular Marquee Tool and go to Edit –> Define Brush Preset. And that’s it, you’ve created a new fancy Brush!

- If you want to save your brush permanently go to Window –> Brush Presets –> click on the Brush Presets Icon (second from left along the bottom) and Select the Brushes you want save. Then save them in a named set.

If you want to download some groovy premade Brushes for your digital artwork, check out Brusheezy or TwoPeasinaBucket.

And if you want to see how Photoshop Brushes can be used to make all sorts of crazy and inspiring art then check out this CreativeLIVE course with the incredibly bubbly and charming Khara Plicanic, which was one of the most fun courses I attended at Photoshop Week.

I spent the last couple of days at CreativeLIVE again, doing a course on Photoshop Working Foundations with ace photographer and Photoshop guru Ben Willmore.  My only regret is that I wish I’d done this course before Photoshop Week as I would have got so much more out of all the other courses I sat through. 

I can’t recommend this course highly enough if you want to get the basics of Photoshop – selections, layers, masking, adjustments etc. down pat. One of the most useful courses I’ve ever done and it would be a great purchase if you are fairly new to Photoshop.

Things I Am Loving: Doodle Bowls

 

I’m sitting here gently blogging to the sound of banging, the odd crash, and builders noisily chatting about skateboarding.  Yes, the kitchen remodel is underway.  We spent a glamorous weekend taking a huge mountain of STUFF out of our upstairs kitchen and making the downstairs kitchen one where actual food can be cooked (until now we’ve most used it to make breakfast). 

I knew I had a lot of kitchen paraphernalia, but seeing it all boxed up is rather mindblowing. Anyway, onwards and upwards. April 26th can’t come quickly enough as far as I’m concerned.

Just time for a quickie today.

 

 

Saw these wooden Doodle Bowls and Plates from HappyDoodleLand on Pinterest (where else) and loved them. Unfortunately the artist doesn’t seem to be selling them at the moment (though her prints are also super cute).

But wouldn’t it be nice to be able to doodle as creatively as Flora Cha?

 

Things I Am Loving: Studio Mela

 

As it’s Cyber Monday and I’m awesomely well-organised (haha! :- Ed), I’m sitting at my desk gently shopping for Christmas presents for the Minx.

 

 

Since she is now almost eight years old (how the heck did THAT happen?) I ‘m trying to get her a few more things which will still be very much loved and appreciated, but don’t fit into the ‘plastic tat made in China’ genre of presents.

 

 

First up are these gorgeous prints from Studio Mela. I love how artist Shelli Dorfe’s charming illustrations are ridiculously cute, colourful and inspirational enough for any small girl, but never quite make it across the borderline into twee.

 

 

Just the thing for the discerning girlchild in your life.

 

Here is the Studio Mela Etsy shop, which is offering free shipping this Cyber Monday.

Art Yulia

 

Here’s a bit of lovely to start your week. Yulia Brodskaya is a Russian paper artist and graphic designer who now lives and works in London.

Her amazingly intricate and stunningly beautiful artwork made from coiled strips of coloured paper has been commissioned by a number of big brands.  I’m intrigued to see where it will end up next.

See Yulia’s entire portfolio here.  All images by Yulia Brodskaya.

WTF Friday: Prada Spring 2013 Shoes

 

 

Here are Miuccia Prada’s latest shoes.  Apparently the ‘socks’ are soft leather booties to which you can strap different shoe platforms. I’m not sure that makes them better or worse.

I have to admit that though my first reaction to these was ‘WTF?’ as I’ve been putting this post together I’ve come to appreciate them more as, I dunno, performance art or something.

And if I were very tall and very skinny and very rich, I might be tempted to wear the pink ones with skinny jeans and a simple cashmere sweater.

What do you chaps think?

Food Stylings: Charlotte Omnes

 

What are you having for lunch today?

I was thinking of ham, cheese and mustard on white.

 

 

Or possibly cheese with mustard, mayo and ketchup or ham and mustard.

Followed by a selection of juicy citrus fruits.

 

 

I love it when food stylists do things a little bit differently.

All photos by ace food stylist Charlotte Omnes.

Hanging on the Telephone

 

Hot on the heels of London’s Faberge’ Easter Egg Hunt comes Artbox. 

You know the drill by now. 85 iconic telephone boxes are decorated by local artists, placed around London and then auctioned off for charity. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

They sure look pretty though.

 

 

My faves are the Clash one above and the Twitter one full of birds below.  Which is yours? Anyone in London seen these?

 

 

And not to be out done, here’s a view of Canoe Island, here in Washington. 

 

 

Here’s the full Artbox phone box gallery.

The Story of a Cloak

 

I didn’t mean to write any more about the Queen’s Jubilee outfits – I’m sure you’re all Jubileed out by now – but we were discussing  the cloak the Queen wore at Monday night’s concert in the comments below and it sent me down a delightful little Internet rabbit hole, from which I emerge with these pictures.

Here is the Queen on Monday night wearing a very elegant black wool cloak over her sparkling gold cocktail dress.

 

 

It reminded me of the famous Annigoni portrait of the Queen as a young woman wearing the robes of the Order of the Garter.

Here is the portrait in question with the stark dark blue of the robes throwing all the attention on her delicate pale skin (goodness that woman has a flawless complexion) and the wistful expression on her face.

 

 

Apparently Annigoni was inspired to paint it this way when he was with the Queen making preparatory sketches for the portrait and she said casually, in French, ‘"You know, when I was a child, I used to spend hours in this room looking out of the windows. I loved watching the people and the cars down there in the Mall. They all seemed so busy. I used to wonder what they were doing and where they were all going, and what they thought about outside the Palace." And as she spoke her face lit up with the exact expression – youthful, almost child-like – which the artist sought.

I then discovered that Cecil Beaton (who had taken her coronation pictures) deliberately tried to recreate the Annigoni magic with this 1968 photographic portrait. He wanted to show the Queen as a person without her jewels, costumes and fancy regalia, and so asked her to wear a simple admiral’s boat cloak, to enormously striking effect.  Recognise the cloak?

 

 

Finally we have a picture from the infamous Annie Leibovitz photo shoot in 2008, where the Queen was apparently in a rather grumpy mood, even if she didn’t in fact storm out as was rumoured at first.

This was the last picture of the day (Leibovitz was only allotted 25 minutes of the Queen’s time – imagine the stress!) and the Queen, after being pictured in various sumptuous evening gowns, pulled on the simple black cloak once again.  The resulting image was then digitally superimposed over a brooding picture of the palace gardens taken the day before. 

Yet again it’s enormously arresting, though was famously called ‘vampiric’ by one critic. There are other spectacular photos of the day with the Queen in full rig, but it is in this one, without her tiara, jewellery or furs, where she looks most fearsomely majestic.

 

 

One simple cloak. And one fascinating story. Which portrait do you like best?

Things I Am Loving: Laser Cut Nori

 

Speaking, as we were, of lace effects in unexpected but obvious places, I just wanted to share my love for these award-winning nori sheets (found via JeannieJeannie).

 

 

Ad agency I&S BBDO Inc in Japan was asked to create an online campaign for the Umino Seaweed Store, a company producing nori (the sheets of seaweed used in making sushi) that had been badly affected by the tsunami.

Unfortunately, and particularly in a Japanese context, nori is a very boring product to advertise, so the company looked for ways to differentiate the product and get it some online buzz. 

Remember I did a certificate in Online Marketing last year?  Well, we were told again and again that original and persuasive content is the key to online campaigns that work, so the agency’s strategy of  tweaking the product itself in an original and beautiful way was utterly inspired.

Because of the horrible circumstances of the tsunami, the agency looked to traditional Japanese designs for longevity, good fortune, hope, happiness etc. to create a positive vibe around the product and the campaign has since won many awards.

 

 

After poking round the Internet, I discovered that Seattle’s very own Food Geek had also had a very similar idea (and made some beautiful photos). Feast your eyes on these.

 

 

 

 

Can someone please produce these commercially? They would make such beautiful onigiri.

The London Faberge Easter Egg Hunt

 

Because I am a glutton for punishment, I like to torture myself by including as many UK-based Instagrammers in my Instagram feed as possible.  So each morning I get big dose of homesickness while I feast my eyes on pics of every day British architecture, or gardens or foods.

 

 

 

Over the past few weeks my feed has been full of eggs – more accurately some of the two hundred giant eggs decorated by famous artists, designers and other creatives, such as Zandra Rhodes and Mr Brainwash - which were part of the Faberge Big Egg Hunt which has been taking place all over Central London. Although we had a Nutcracker March in Seattle a few years back, I believe this is the first time a similar event has happened in London.  I so wish we’d been there for this – the Minx and I would have been all over it.

So now that your weekend of egg decorating and egg hunting has drawn to a close, here’s a look at how the professionals do it.

 

 

 

The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt from we are fallon on Vimeo.

Did any London peeps get to go egg hunting? Was it as fun as it looks?

Update: Many thanks to reader K for pointing out that there was a Cow Parade in London a few years back.  That one completely passed me by.

Pinterest Take 5: Multicoloured Polka Dots

 

This week on Pinterest we’ve got spots before the eyes.

DIY tags with transparent polka dot stickers from Tokketok via Cinzia Ruggieri.

 

 

Iphone wallpaper from Gallery Hanahou via Ricki Mountain

 

 

DIY tablecloth from Oh Happy Day via Cinzia Ruggieri

 

 

Funfetti Layer Cake from Sweetapolita via Grace Kang.

 

 

This idea for pre-sorting your laundry is INSPIRED.  I just wish I had an empty closet where I could do this in our house.

From Brick City Love via Shauna Christensen.

The Story of Bloom by Anna Schuleit

 

I was so incredibly moved by this art installation that I came across recently.

There’s something about the beauty of the flowers in such a bleak space, and the hope they represent in a place that must have seemed devoid of hope for so many people.  Art can sometimes be so incredibly powerful.

 

 

In 2003 Anna Schuleit was asked to create a commemorative art installation to mark the closure of the Massachusetts Mental Health Center.  She noted that psychiatric patients are rarely brought flowers, so she used old hospital records to calculate how many people had passed through the facility and decided to commemorate each one with flowers.

 

 

The 28,000 potted plants and green turf were spread throughout the building which was opened up to the public, including former patients and staff, for four days.  Then the plants were distributed to patients in care homes throughout the region (which is why Schuleit insisted on using potted plants instead of cut flowers).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read more about it here. {Images by Anna Schuleit}

Pinterest Take Five

 

This week on Pinterest we’ve been getting ziggy with it.

Source: Chevron iPhone case from Society6 via Leah Dent

Source: Faux Feather Neon Aztec Earrings from lovesexton via Marcia Prentice

Source: Design Crisis via Hammocks & High Tea

 

1. Paint the canvas all crazy like 2. Use painter's tape to create a herringbone pattern with some missing  3. Paint over the canvas in white 4. Remove tape and voila!

Source: Cozamia via Melanie Hernquist

 

 

Source: Pattern of the Day from Karina Maranin via Poppytalk

 

Oh and have an extra one this week. You guys are so SPOILT.

 

Source: How to Make a Chevron Pattern in Photoshop from Ashli Nixon via Uncle Beefy.

Go Love Your Room: Circles, Rectangles and Stripes Edition

 

One of the things we talked about at the weekend was the idea of constantly exploring and questioning and thinking about your aesthetic and why you are drawn to certain things – using your blog as a way to explore your own creativity and as a catalyst to live your best life.

I saw this apartment a few weeks ago, and it really resonated with me, so I thought I might try and work out WHY I like it so much.

 

This room is gorgeous.  The beautiful focal point of the paintings sort of goes without saying, but the designer has also used texture subtly and cleverly–  the smooth table and hard metals contrasted with soft leather rug and pouffe and the natural wooden floor. 

I’ve noticed in my photography that I’m really drawn to complementary shapes and I love how the designer has used  the large square art pieces to emphasise the rectangles of the doors and walls, while the circle of the ceiling rose is echoed by the cylindrical light, the round table, the cylindrical pouffe and even the spots and circles on the paintings.

 

 

Pull out into the lounge area and you’ll see more use of shape and texture.  More rectangular pictures, more circular tables and a Tord Boontje metal light shade (which I don’t think is quite big enough).  You’ll know through all my ‘Go Fug Your Room’ rantings that I don’t like uncomfortable chairs, and I think the seating in here could be a little more cosy (and maybe a rug would have helped), but my goodness, it’s still a lovely space.

 

 

Looking in the other direction the stripy art picks out the lines of the floorboards (love how they go in opposite directions), and echoes the stripy art and crib slats in the nursery. I also like how the curved top of the mirror reflects the curves of the Eames rocker and stops everything from feeling too square and boxy. And there’s a most beautiful stuffed owl with circular owly eyes.  And we all know how much I like those.

 

 

Rectangular shelves, a round stool and a stripy rug complete the nursery and there are more circles and a whole family of round-eyed owls in the entrance hall.

 

 

 

More stripes in the bed cover and through the kitchen cabinets and more circles through the art, the cushions and in the Nelson coat rack.

Wow. To be perfectly honest, I hadn’t noticed how thoughtfully the designer had organised the shapes in the apartment until I was half way through writing this post.  I thought at first it was the colours everywhere speaking to me, but I think it’s the underlying sense of organisation that is making my soul happy (unfortunately this is not reflected in my own home).  This house makes me want to tidy up and buy art.

What do you guys think?  Do you like it or is it too structured and sterile for you?  Does anyone know who did those amazing paintings or where I can buy those FABULOUS owls?  And where do the people who live here put their stuff?

This apartment belongs to Norwegian jewellery designer Stine A. Johanssen. More details are here, translated from the Norwegian.

Cute or Creepy? Maroquinaris Zoologicae for Louis Vuitton

 

I don’t normally feature designer labels on the blog.  I’m not a label hound and they’re covered by thousands of other blogs in much greater depth than I ever could. Personally I find Louis Vuitton stuff particularly ugly and never imagined in a million years that it was a brand I’d end up writing about.

Having said all which,  I saw these fabulous animal sculptures chez Tom and Lorenzo and had to talk about them.

 

 

British artist Billie Achilleos was commissioned to celebrate Louis Vuitton’s 100th anniversary by cutting up a ton of bags, belts and other small leather items (nice work if you can get it) to make a menagerie of small animal friends.

I have to admit upfront that the fur elements weird me out a lot, and not just because they’re presumably made of real fur, and I’m not entirely sure how many of these I’d actually have in the house. But some of them, particularly the super cute squirrel and owl and the multi-colored armadillo and rooster are seriously imaginative and  lovely.

 

There’s a fascinating video which gives more insight into their creation here

 

Bilie Achilleos for Louis Vuitton

 

Billie Achilleos’ blog is here.

What do you think? Are these cute or creepy? Would you have them in your house?  Do they make you want to cut up your old Louis Vuitton bags? Does the thought of all these destroyed LV bags make you want to cry?

Beautiful British Food

 

Funnily enough, given that I was brought up by, and learned to cook from, an Italian woman and cook in a very Italian way myself, I have found myself being a bit of an unofficial ambassador for British food here in Seattle, where it’s as much maligned as it is everywhere else on the planet.

I tend to make classic British dishes for potlucks and gatherings (people are so surprised that British food can actually taste good) and really want the Minx to grow up understanding her culinary heritage in the land of mac 'n’ cheese and pumpkin pie.

New Zealander Joel Penkman moved to the UK and started painting beautifully detailed portraits of classic British foodstuffs which make me want to weep with nostalgia.

Every British kid grew up on these biscuits.

 

 

No trip to the seaside was complete without a stick of rock to take home.

 

 

My favourite ice lolly.  At least until they invented Magnums.

 

 

No kid’s birthday party was complete without Fondant Fancies, though my mum had enough of a fear of food colouring that we never had them at home.

 

 

Custard tarts.  Always hated those.

 

 

And pork pie. One of the top five things I miss most about the UK here in Seattle. I think I would cry if I had this picture on my kitchen wall.

 

 

Joel’s website is here. Buy her prints here.

Sweet View

 

These Sweet View prints by artist Jack Noel are really resonating with me this morning.  Over the last couple of years I’ve been gently researching my family tree on my father’s side and it seems I’m a Londoner as far back as I can trace – at least seven generations to silkweavers in Spitalfields and Bethnal Green; chairmakers and cabinetmakers in Brentford and bookbinders and stationers near the Strand.

This series of prints shows London as it’s lived by Londoner -  not the hackneyed tourist images but ‘views of the crossroads, markets and hidden squares that provide the true backdrop to a life in London”. So far he’s done six of the inner London boroughs, with another six to come later this year.

 

Hackney  The view shows St Leonard’s Church in Shoreditch (the famous ‘Oranges & Lemons’ church) – generations of my family were christened and married here.

 

Tower Hamlets (Columbia Road Market)

 

Westminster (I love how this is a corner of Trafalgar Square without a view of Nelson’s Column)

 

Southwark (Borough Market)

 

Wandsworth

 

Lambeth

 

Really hoping he does a view of Notting Hill for Kensington & Chelsea.

They Draw And Cook

 

As you know, I aspire – with varying degrees of success – to do a little food photography. To my mind recipes just aren’t complete without pictures.

On They Draw And Cook  Nate Padavick and Salli Swindell. a brother and sister team, together with sundry other wonderfully talented artists, have put together the web’s biggest collection of illustrated recipes. Aren’t these exquisite? Looks like there are some great recipes too.

Photography suddenly seems very passé.

 

{via Helen at Countryside Wedding}

Help the Sun Rise Again

 

Like everyone else I have been watching events in Japan unfold and have been alternately horrified by the extent of the tragedy and destruction and amazed by the resilience, grace and charm of the Japanese people.

Many people throughout the design and crafting community are doing their bit to help the relief effort and here’s little round up of some of the most beautiful products available to purchase, with at least a portion of the profits going to disaster relief.

 

 

Jacob Cass from Just Creative Design is making the above image free for people who want to use it to create artwork and products to the help the relief effort. More details here.

 

 

thispapership is donating 90% of the proceeds on the above print to the American Red Cross

 

 

The Rusted Chain will be donating $10 from the sale of every ‘Blessed’ necklace to www.worldvision.org

 

 

 

Once these limited edition Land of the Rising Kitten block prints have sold out $1,000 will be donated to disaster relief.

 

 

100% of the proceeds from sales of the above tee-shirt will go to help the Salvation Army’s relief efforts in Japan.

 

 

Cassia Beck is donating 50% of the proceeds of her photographic prints.

 

 

All profits from the sale of the above poster to disaster relief.

 

 

All the profits from this limited edition lavender cologne “For Them’ by Parisian perfumer Libertin Louison will be donated to disaster relief. The cologne is dedicated to the town of Minami Sanriku which disappeared after the tsunami. Details here. Buy it here. 

 

These are just a few of the things I’ve come across over the last week or so. Please feel free to add links in the comments if you spot other beautiful products being sold to help the disaster relief or if you’re donating a portion of the profits from your own shop. 

Things I Am Loving - Aviary Wallpaper

 

Phew! I think I’ve just about got the Oscars out of my system.  I was on the brink of comparing Nicole Kidman to an armadillo, but stopped myself just in time.

In other news, Liberty London Girl just tweeted about the fabulous wallpaper in the bathrooms at the Soho Grand Hotel in NYC.

 

 

It’s called Aviary by F Schumacher, and the pattern was designed by Saul Steinberg, who was a cartoonist for The New Yorker in the 1950s.

Here is is in situ at the Soho Grand.   I may have to stay here next time I’m in NYC, just so I can sit in the bathroom.

 

 

 

 

This wallpaper needs to be in my life somehow as a matter of urgency.  Time to work on the downstairs bathroom? It’s also available at Decorator’s Best.

{Found via Liberty London Girl’s Tumblr.  Additional pictures via Remodelista and Tea For Joy}

When Acrylic Looks Good

 

A lot of knitters can get very snobbish about acrylic yarns, and having been knitting since the days when most yarn had a high acrylic content, I’m not exactly a fan of the squeakiness and dayglo colours.

Valerie Anne Molnar, however, makes fabulous use of acrylic yarn and acrylic paints to create stunning knitted art installations.  Certainly one way of using up your yarn stash.

 

 

 

I love the clever colour transitions and the randomness of the knitting – what fun to just go where the spirit takes you instead of following a pattern.

I also love the the work on the right is entitled ‘Smoked Ham Risotto, Pea and Mint Salad with Shaved Black Truffles’.  Of course.

{via Design for Mankind}

Things I am Loving – Living Dolls House

 

Once up a time Canadian artist Heather Benning, then the local artist-in-residence in Redvers, Saskatchewan, decided to create a real-life dolls house art installation.

She acquired a derelict, isolated farmhouse on the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border, rolled up her sleeves and set to work.

 

 

She had the interiors painted in 1960s pastels; furnished the house with vintage 1960s furniture from the time when the house had last been inhabited and loved; and had huge plexiglass windows installed to one side.

 

And created the house of many a grown-up little girls’ dreams (except perhaps for the huge Plexiglass windows).

                                                    THE END

{From the Jealous Curator, via sfgirlbybay’s Tiwitter}

Things I Am Loving – Mary Katrantzou Spring 2011

People often say that what’s seen on the catwalk will show up pretty soon in interiors, but it’s not so often that interiors inspiration shows up on the catwalk.

Greek designer Mary Katrantzou gave her first stand-alone collection at London Fashion Week, taking as her inspiration old pictures from The World of Interiors and Architectural Digest.

 

 

Katrantzou heightened the colour and symmetry of the images in creating her digital prints, ending up with surreal but stunning patterns, colour combinations and abstractions.

She then went a step further by embellishing her prints with interiors-inspired accessories – chandelier necklaces, pelmet shoulders and curtain-like drapery, though it does start getting a bit silly when she goes into lampshades-as-skirts.

I adore these to pieces and would wear one of those little suits in a heartbeat if I were much taller, younger and skinnier and had been invited to a swanky gallery opening or some such. I’d also love to be able to buy the prints themselves to hang on the wall, or maybe made into separates or bags. And I bet Katy Perry is wetting her knickers just looking at these pics.

Magical stuff.

 

 

 

The whole collection is worth looking at here. I first found it on my beloved TLo. {All images by Yannis Vlamos / GoRunway.com via Style.com}

Oh and it’s lovely to see from all the London Fashion Week reports, that the old Eurostar terminal at Waterloo is being put to good use. I loved that architecture.

Things I Am Loving – Crochet Covered Stones

 

 

Stones and beaches and kids and summer go together, like well, stones and beaches and kids and summer.

Everytime we hit the beach supposedly ‘beeyootiful’ stones get delivered with regularity to my beach towel. The heaviness of my bag is due not just to the sunscreen and goggles and bags full of cherries I carry everywhere but also to the stones I keep finding in the pockets.

A collection of large stones from French beaches even found their way into the Minx’s little roller suitcase to take back to Seattle, though, since we are cruel parents, these were surreptitiously removed from her bag and left in the hotel room and have remained studiously unmentioned ever since.

So, you can imagine how delighted I was to find a beautiful project requiring smooth round stones – heck, the next time we go to the beach I’m even going to send the Minx off on a stone hunting expedition. 

 

 

Artist and photographer Margaret Oomen crochets little covers for her stones which make them look like sea urchins reimagined by a Victorian grandma and sells the stones themselves (though they disappear quickly and still-life photographs of them on Etsy.

 

 

 

Now you can make them too as she has put a tutorial up on the Purl Bee to make a basic version of her stones, though I would imagine that any number of doily patterns (Ravelry link) could be adapted for the purpose, once you’ve go the hang of the basic concept.

 

 

Will definitely have to try this at some point. I’m just wishing that there was more knitting/crocheting time in the day.

Cakespy HQ

 

For a spy Cakespy really isn’t very discreet. Jessie Oleson was the toast of Seattle society last week as she opened her new gallery and shop featuring some fabulous indie art together with her own original ‘Cuppie’ artwork and a variety of other cute dessert-related products.

 

 

We went along to the opening party last Saturday and the place was heaving with partygoers, spilling out onto the pavement outside in the evening sunshine.

There were custom cupcakes from Trophy  featuring edible artwork by Jessie, her husband Danny’s band Exohxo played a fabulous set and we got to see Jessie’s new mural in person.  The Husband and I hung out with Megan Not Martha and Carrie Cupcake in the upper gallery, while the Minx, wearing her best cupcake-themed sandals for the occasion, mingled with the partygoers below and got very indignant when we went down the stairs to join her, telling us in no uncertain terms,  ‘Go away, I’m talking the grownups.’

If you didn’t get to the party, I highly recommend that you check out Jessie’s shop which is a very sweet addition to Capitol Hill. All details and Jessie’s online store are here at www.cakespyshop.com.

 

Salty Knits

 

For the three or so readers who care about my knitting projects, I am still knitting.  I’ve just been totally bogged down in a sweater project,though I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel. I’m currently sewing it up and hopefully will have pics by next week. I bet you can’t wait.

Some people have, however, been knitting up a storm in West Cape May, New Jersey.

{All images from Salty Knits Facebook page}

 

The mysterious people behind Salty Knits creep out at night and put up the most fabulous ‘knitted graffiti’. Calling themselves ‘mystery knitters who are sick of knittin kitten mittens’, they’ve got a very active Facebook page too.

Unfortunately, as fast as they can knit, someone has been taking all the knitting down, as they’re legally entitled to do since it’s on public property. 

But c’mon, it looks GORGEOUS, doesn’t it? (Apparently the town has been getting the best press it’s ever had too).  Would love it if someone did this in Seattle.  Maybe next winter I’ll make some tree tubes for the small dogwood in our front garden. (Actually really intrigued to know how they get the tubes on the trees, they don’t appear to be stitched.)

500 Pencils – Social Designer

Like Happytape, these have probably been all over blogland several times already, but it’s the first time I’ve seen them and they make me spectacularly happy.

500 Pencils from Social Designer is a subscription service where you’re sent 25 coloured pencils a month over a period of 20 months, which builds up into this incredible collection.

They also sell acrylic display cases, because of course you wouldn’t want to use these pencils, just gaze at them in awe and wonderment and gently rearrange them. They even have five hundred beautiful names (my dream job would be naming paints, or lipsticks or nail polish or something). I’m trying to persuade the Husband that, in comparison with most art installations, they work out to be incredibly cheap.

Spread a Little Love

 

This is so inspirational I just had to share.  If I can be bothered to get the tape and the cutter (which is admittedly quite a big ‘if’), the Minx and I might just go out and do this round the nabe.

This is the sort of thing that Brooklyn-based street artist Katie Sokoler gets up to in her spare time.

 

{I’ve just discovered (via Whorange) her crazy wonderful blog Color Me Katie and it is FABULOUS}

Amy Ruppel for the Working Proof

 

Writing grumpily about ghastly interiors is actually quite exhausting, so let’s move on to something altogether more charming and uplifting.

 

You know what a big fan I am of Amy Ruppel.

Well she has just produced a beautiful print for The Working Proof, an online print gallery and shop with the mission of promoting both art and social responsibility through a series of limited-edition prints.

Amy was inspired by the forests near her home in Portland, Oregon to produce the above print.  Buy it from the Working Proof for $45 and 15% of the proceeds will be donated to American Forests.

The forests of Washington and Oregon are so very beautiful. I feel like getting the above print for the Minx, who will, I’m sure, miss pine trees enormously if and when we get back to the sparse, deciduous forests of southern England.

Too Incredibly Cool

parkour motion reel from saggyarmpit on Vimeo.

I like the music as well.

Minimalist TV Posters

 

I think these are great.

From here.

The World of 100

Or if the world were a village of one hundred people.

Graphic designer Toby Ng has produced a set of 20 posters, each conveying a simple statistic about the state of the world.

 

 

Which I’m finding to be very thought-provoking as I sit at my spanking new computer on my overweight, college-educated butt…

See more stats and realise even more how lucky we all are here.

Pearly Kings and Queens

One of the main things that really drew my eye to the Lulu Guinness spread was the magnificent Pearly Queen of Dalston  wallhanging above the banquette. I love everything about it – its wit, the fact that it’s made of buttons, its quintessential Englishness, the colours – and it seemed like just that sort of thing an expat Londoner would hang over her Seattle sofa.

I even vaguely thought about commissioning one, but it soon became clear from sculptor Ann Carrington’s website that it would be way out of my league – it’s apparently a fairly important piece, purchased by the Rothschild collection in honour of the Queen’s 80th birthday, and doesn’t belong to Lulu Guinness at all, it merely served as the inspiration for her limited edition ‘Stamp Jayne’ handbag (shown to the left of the banquette picture and seemingly no longer available through her shop).

Here it is in more detail

And here are some other works by the artist, both made using thousands of tiny pearl buttons.

 

I wonder, though, if American readers are getting the cultural reference?

Pearly Kings and Queens are the heads of certain families in London’s East End, descended I think from Victorian costermongers (street sellers?) who decorate their black clothes with thousands of tiny buttons and do tons of work for charity.

  

If you like the look then these cushions here are pretty special.

Seeing Things – the Surreal Line

What I like about art is that sometimes it teaches you to look at things with a different perspective.

In my life I must have spent thousands upon thousands  of hours commuting backwards and forwards on the Tube in London, but never once did I think to look for these surreal juxtapositions of Tube trains/passengers and the huge ad posters which are posted on the other side of tunnels from the platforms.

Genius stuff. By Yusuf Ozkizil.

 

 

 

And now these pictures have got me all nostalgic for the Tube.  Who knew that I would think of those days of being crammed in like sardines with one’s nose stuck in someone’s smelly armpit with such fondness?

Packing Tape Art

Feeling inspired to create but can’t afford the materials?

Yes, paints and stuff are expensive, so go and rescue that sad and lonely reel of packing tape you’ve got stuffed in a drawer, pick off the bits of fluff and get to work.

Here’s the sort of thing you could be making.

The above are made from layers of tape stuck to plexiglass with light shining through. 

All images by Mark Khaisman. 

I came across this fabulous art via Flavorpill’s Daily Dose, where my post on Charlotte Mann’s wall art was also featured {via a mention on Fashioncopious.com).  As a result my blog stats have gone through the roof and it’s been fascinating to watch my post go slightly viral, with people blogging about it, linking to it on Facebook, Tweeting it and posting it on other social networking sites.

Such things don’t normally happen round these parts, though I suspect it has slightly more to do with Charlotte Mann’s fabulous art than my sparkling prose.  Anyway, thanks all for the mentions and I do hope Charlotte is getting some nice juicy commissions as result.

Plates with Holes – Andrew Tanner

Not terribly practical if you’re chasing your peas round your plate, but I do like the way these wall plates with holes subvert the whole plate as practical item concept.  And look nice too.

All details of British designer Andrew Tanner’s Silhouette plates are here.

Scribbler on the Wall – Charlotte Mann

Feeling down because you can’t afford the latest must-have chair, your partner is allergic to the cats you love, or the view from your window is less than stellar?

Why not just grab a black marker and paint the things you crave on your white walls instead? That’s what London artist Charlotte Mann does, which has garnered her a spot on the shortlist for the British Design Awards 2009 in the Surface Design of the Year category.

Image of journalist India Knight’s house from October’s Elle Deco

All other images from www.charlottemann.co.uk

Engraved Upon My Heart

 

Like everyone else in the world, I do like a good Moleskine notebook.  Portland-based company Engrave Your Book  produces beautiful reuseable leather Moleskine covers, laser engraved with artwork by up-and-coming artists and graphic designers, including Amy Ruppel.

Aren’t these just fabulous? I might try and get some of these in the shop. Currently available here.

Amy Ruppel for Engrave Your Book 

And speaking of owls…

…I’m very much loving the new bamboo owl mobiles from one of our favourite suppliers Petit Collage.

For UK peeps we also have her beautiful wooden owl collage for sale on mirrormirror.

Lorena at Petit Collage has also brought out a couple of fun owl-y packing tapes

Must think about getting all these in the shop.

Amy Ruppel – State Animals

One of my absolutely favourite artists is the incrediby prolific Portland-based Amy Ruppel (I just wish we could afford something nice and big by her).

Her latest endeavour is a limited edition run of pictures of the official US state animals (no, I didn’t know until I moved here that every state had one either). If you don’t manage to nab one of the originals, she’s also making prints.

Here are a few of my favourites – clockwise from top left Virginia, Arizona, Utah and Washington.  You can buy them here.

Washington’s state animal is apparently the orca, though after going on not one but two fruitless 'whale-watching' trips, we are convinced that orcas are just a figment of the Washington State Tourist board’s imagination.

After Party - Laura Letinsky

I'm feeling very inspired today by these pictures by American photographer Laura Letinsky, who is currently exhibiting in London until May 30th.

Letinsky has put together tablescapes showing after-party disarray, with crumpled tablecloths, spilled wine, half-eaten cake, fading flowers and the dregs of drinks. Her spare compositions and pretty pastel colours give her images an inner stillness and wistful beauty but intrinsic to all is morning- afterish sense of melancholy, emptiness and decay - the party is over, the people have gone and only the washing up remains to be done.

Gorgeous.

Cakespy

 

I've recently come to know Jessie Oleson of Cakespy. She is a Seattle-based artist and illustrator who does cute watercolours showing the adventures of Cuppie, an anthropomorphic cupcake, and  also writes the blog Cakespy, where Jessie hunts down various cakes and desserts.  At which point I fully understand if you've all fled there en masse and are no longer reading this post.

As part of this month's Wallingford Art Walk Jessie was exhibiting at Trophy Cupcakes showing pictures of Cuppie in various Seattle locations.  Given my borderline obsession with Trophy anyway, wild horses couldn't keep the Minx and I from attending.

I did buy a couple of little watercolours which Jessie will be sending to me. In the meantime the above is the promotional postcard for the event, which the Minx absolutely adores and which I will probably also frame for her. She particularly likes the 'Mummy and Minx buying a box of cupcakes' (yes she is fairly familiar with the appearance of a Trophy box) to the left.

If you're in Seattle, Jessie's work will be on display at Trophy through to June 1st.  She's also exhibiting at Schmancy in downtown Seattle on Friday evening.  For all non-Seattleites, her work is available online here. 

Public Service Announcement - Matte Stephens Giveaway

When we were talking paint colours recently (still dithering about that and waiting on a couple of samples) a couple of you mentioned my little Matte Stephens painting, which I picked up when Matte gave his talk at the Lab last year.  It was originally intended for the Minx's room, but I've decided that I love it far too much to waste it on her.

I bought the picture because, although it's supposed to be a picture of Matte's wife Vivienne, it reminds me of the Minx, and the fir trees and umbrella are just SO Seattle.

Those of you who spend a lot of time in the American blogosphere will certainly have seen Matte's work before - much of his talk at the Lab was about how he had been quietly plodding along with his art for years, before becoming something of an overnight sensation, with lots of interesting projects in the works.

However, for those of you who don't know him so well he has an Etsy shop here full of prints, and a blog here. You can also buy original works here at Velocity. And as of today he is giving away these three new pillows on his blog. 

I hope you appreciate how much I love you, as by telling you this I am severely impacting my own chances of winning.

Here's Matte and Vivienne at the Lab last year

 Just updating to say that, just in case you're not lucky enough to win, the pillows are on sale at Urban Outfitters at a very reasonable price.

Happy Clouds

 

 

Oh please, London readers, tell me you saw these. What were they like? How did they make you feel? Did you kidnap one and take it home with you? (Despite the grey skies and general doom and gloom coming out of the UK, they made me very nostalgic for London today).

London artist Stuart Semple wanted to cheer people up, so he released 2057 pink smiley faced clouds made of helium, biodegradable soap and vegetable dye into the sky. After 30 minutes they dissolved in the air. More deets here.

Love - the Watts House Project

Tula alerted me to this fun project down in LA where local artists are trying to enhance the community through art and architecture.

Artist Alexandra Grant wants to create this giant Love structure on a family home and is selling necklaces to raise funds for the project.  The necklace is available in both gold and silver here.

Living very close to the Fremont area of Seattle, which prides itself on its many quirky works of public art, I know very well how much they can engender a sense of local pride and just raise a smile on a grey day.

Stacked Neon

As you know from Matthew Williamson's house, I do love a bit of neon, though I've got none in the house and I'm not entirely sure how I could get it to work in a turn-of-the-century craftsman (though it would be fun to try with the multicolored lamp below).

So I made a note to write about neon artist Roger Borg when I saw his lamps on Kanye's blog (yes, I LIKE Kanye's blog) and was delighted when the man himself then contacted me.

Here's the person to call when you need a huge neon installation in your stairwell.

 

Photography, Fashion or Art?

 

Patrizio di Renzo is an International fashion photographer from Switzerland. {via Kanye's very cool blog}

Mini Ornaments

Aren't these cute?  Little artworks on porcelain by Ashley Goldberg.  Get them at her Etsy shop.

{via Simpatico - the new blog from the lovely folks at Velocity Art and Design}