Frame that fabric!

Hooray! I just found a home for my hoards of vintage fabric scraps... such a pretty way to jazz up a dull, painted wall.

http://pinterest.com/hopipola/love/

Falling in love with Paris... & its antiques

Breaking free from the tourist guide book - last weekend saw my trip to Paris turn into an antiques jaunt (not that I’m complaining.) Who needs the Louvre when the streets of Porte de Vanves hold as many treasures as these?

 

I loved the way that trinkets & bric-a-brac were strewn all over the pavement. From decorative glass bottles to beautifully hand painted crockery, the fact that you had to rummage amongst old wooden wine crates only made me more curious to see what could be found...

Fancy-free stall holders steered clear from decorating their selling space, adding a more authentic vibe to the place. With art deco mirrors hung on tree trunks and gold gilt frames displayed on industrial metal fencing, the juxtaposition between the old and the new; the inside and out, is probably what inspired me the most about Marché Puces Porte Vanves. So, if you’re ever wanting to avoid the crowds of the Eiffel tower, this is definitely worth adding to the itinerary on a Parisian city break.

The Caravan of Love: Hi Summer 2012 @ Next

If the Next Hi Summer 2012 press show didn't entice its visitors to go on a staycation this Summer, then I'm not sure what would!

The caravan of love was indeed the star of the show, fully decked out with the key home collection of the forthcoming season, Cream Tea gives more than a nostalgic nod to all things British - with strawberry prints taking over everything from deck chairs to picnic hampers. Union jack cake stands and felt-embroidered bunting are sure to play a part in the country's Jubilee street parties, whilst the red, white & blue theme carries over into the Olympics, with London applique cushions and red telephone box lanterns - this really is the time to celebrate being British!

"Oh I do like to be beside the seaside..."


The coastal theme couldn't have leant itself better to children's wear, with key outfits housed in Next's very own garden sheds (cleverly painted up to look like cute, Norfolk inspired beach huts.)

Bold, vegetal brights are even more dominant than they were for SS12, with rainbow chinos and colour block dresses being the staple to the Colour Pop trend throughout the whole of the kids collection. As for keeping totes looking cool on the beach, the shoe collection has to be one of the most exciting yet. With primary coloured patent wedges for older girls and neon coloured jellies for their younger sisters; boys can have a pair of espadrilles in whichever colour they prefer!

www.next.co.uk/press
http://web.mac.com/ryancsullivan/Photography_website/Home.html
http://ksht.co.uk/

Designer bark

Today's post sees me reminisce back to my degree show (back in July 2010.) Seeing the geometric patterns printed onto the shades below reminded me of my friend, Rosie Moss' http://iamyarnandglue.blogspot.com final project - proving that graduate shows really are the place to spot future trends.

                   Design Bark                           Rosie Moss

For me, it is the contrast between the bold, symmetrical patterns against the natural grooves of the bark, which make the shades by DesignBark http://www.designbark.co.uk not only eco-friendly, but innovative. Whilst Rosie's designs echo her own individual style, with her love for muted, earthy colours, Design Bark have chosen a punchier palette which again juxtaposes the notion of the elemental with the manmade.

Colour in those January blues

To sum up the past few weeks, my inspiration for today's blog post comes from tears that I collected a while back now. Styled by Good Homes magazine's lovely Emma Clayton, this vivid showcase of colour really does scream Hi-Summer - something, which we are busy prepping for at Next HQ.

We may not even have said hello to Spring but I am already excited for the tropicana motifs, neon wired lanterns and Moroccan inspired accessories which form part of the brand new Hi Summer '12 collection. All are sure to turn anyone's weather-beaten back garden into an exotic retreat. So, forget the January blues. Embrace bold & brash colour like I have with fabric & doodles, and get set for Summer!

Portobello Road: Tile tales

Portobello Road has to be the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Amidst the festive stalls selling mulled wine and roasted chestnuts, these 1920s tile hooks immediately grabbed my attention. With unusual colour combinations and symmetrical floral designs, Chloe Alberry antiques have definitely concentrated on a niche market by transforming these hand painted ceramics into something new for the home.

Focusing on the painterly designs, I even dug my old sketchbook out – digitally adding hints of the muted colour tones to my black and white linear drawings...

www.chloealberry.com

Time for tea with Pip Studio

Getting into the festive spirit, this week has seen me hit the fairy-lit streets of Oxford Circus. Yes, I too thought I must be mad! However, I had a surprisingly calm run of the high street on Friday evening. It would seem that whilst some of us were stocking up on gifts, others were more concerned with hitting the pub for post work drinks. Tip for all!

Whilst hunting down the perfect present for my favourite people is enough to get me excited about the month ahead, I have to admit that I found just as many treats that I would love to receive myself. So, just in case Santa is listening - my wish list has to start with Pip Studio... her entire collection will do!

I just love the vibrant colour combinations, along with the playful print compositions. The use of graphics is inventive; combining florals, stripes, birds and polka dots - the designs conjure up a real sense of twee delightfulness, whilst still managing to tell a tale of the unexpected. In my opinion, nostalgia and innovation have never been combined so masterfully as they have here.http://www.pip-studio.co.uk/

Upholstered Loveliness

Moving flats has seen me take even more of an interest in treats for the home this month, although I've found myself far too busy to log the delights that I've stumbled across (I'd like to say because I've been decorating, painting and restoring finds from the junk shop, but the reality revolves more around the mundane practicalities of sorting utility bills & hammering in picture hooks.)

So, to spread some cheer on this foggy, mid November evening - I thought I'd share the patch-worked side table below, which I absolutely fell in love with on a trip to a string of random home stores yesterday... If only more inanimate objects could be upholstered - the world would be transformed into a much prettier place.

Stitched Up Home

Hello blog... it's been a while!

Greek getaway - tick. New flat - check. After being slightly preoccupied over the last month - it's finally time to get back to blogging, and I couldn't think of a better way to kick start my October highlights than with folkloric upholstery and soft furnishings - which are most certainly on their way back. Think Bokja, Designer's Guild and Rochebois and ouila! Our homes needn't hibernate in the dreary colours of Autumn. Instead, save the plums, olive greens and mustards for your wardrobe and let your abode do the talking!

Seeing this heavily embroidered, Turkish inspired chair in River Island, has to be the last place that I would've expected to find such a beautiful piece of furniture. Alas! Despite us being on the cusp of bitterly cold days - this chair actually fitted in well with the Aztec prints and Moroccan colours in and amongst the fashion collection. Although the garments weren't as vivid and bold in colour, this chair speaks for itself and is sure to beat those Winter blues.

Moving away from talk of the impending snow and dark days, we have been busy prepping for our SS12 press launch at Next HQ and we too, seem to be embracing heavily embroidered surface design. If the cushion pictured is anything to go by, then I'm hopeful that Next Home will be full of cultural inspired treats, in time for the New Year!

SS12 - Clashing Florals!

Another of my favourite trends from the SS12 catwalks has to be the clashing, mis-matched florals that were dominated by Ashish. From over-sized placement embroideries, to all-over prints - the exuberant colour palette screams Summer! In a stark contrast to the pretty pastel palettes, Ashish and Christopher Kane both embrace multicolour and prove that you needn't look further than the English Garden for inspiration!

SS12 catwalks - Long live muted pastels!

Softly does it - SS12 is upon us & to my relief, the girly pastel palette that dominated much of SS11 (& my final graduate collection) has been given a new lease of life by a fabulous array of designers. Powder puff tones are given a chalkier edge, offering a more subdued, sophisticated take on last Summer's overly pretty candy tones. Block colour is no longer just about audacious shades of cerise pink & orange as subtle combinations of lilac, mint & salmon pink are carefully combined by the House of Holland. Likewise, Preen have mastered the art of carefully constructed randomness by placing watery hues alongside unexpected pops of canary yellow & pillar box red.

Reminiscent of fifties silky night dresses and lingerie - I love the overall vintage feel of the minty turquoises & pale, washed out pinks & so, I'm glad to see that pastels are staying put, at least for the coming season!

A fantastical collaboration - Mulberry AW11 campaign

Autumn. A season of change - a season that is quite simply brought to life in this fantastical collaborative campaign by Mulberry, Shona Heath & my all time favourite photographer, Tim Walker.

Set in a beautiful English manor house, Oxfordshire's Shotover House is transformed into a whimsical masterpiece by the acclaimed set designer Shona Heath. From oversized owls, birds and foxes, to three-dimensional feathers & hatched eggs - scale is experimental, conjuring up a dream-like setting that showcases a colour palette so rich, it makes the viewer want to reach in & feel the sumptuous silks & herringbone tweeds, whilst sinking in to the velvet chairs and admiring the decadent walls.

Embracing all things traditionally British - Mulberry display their brand's heritage impeccably & imaginatively - I only wish I could've been a part of the making!

Tactile Typography

Fabric fonts are becoming a favourite trend of mine at the moment. Although this isn't a brand new phenomena, I've definitely noticed an increase in tactile typography in and around London. Prettifying words can never be a bad thing, especially when they are designed to promote a lovely boutique or craft workshop. In fact, if I had my way, the textile alphabet would replace all signage throughout the country!

Superiority Complex - Incidental Interiors by Tim Walker

Indulging in my daily dose of Twitter feeds yesterday morning, I was not expecting to see a tweet from Shannon Fitzgerald (@canadashanf) entitled - 'Your Daily Tim Walker Photo(s) - Interiors'. If only I'd discovered these months ago, every morning commute might have been as much of an inspiration as yesterday's was,

I forgot quite how much I missed trawling through Walker's fantastical, oversized books in the Art & Design university library, until I saw his latest interior shots...

The End of Summer? Not at Next's new Shoreham store!

Waking up to the 1st September was never going to be a good feeling for me, but today's press trip to the new Shoreham-on-sea Next superstore certainly made the official end of Summer a lot more bearable!

In fact, today could well have been the very height of British Summer as the sun shone more than it has done for the whole of August - making the brand new array of Next branded plants and flowers seem even more appealing! For the first time ever, Next have merged Home and Fashion, with the addition of DIY & gardening - which is introduced to the customer in a fabulously styled shopping experience.



Moving the indoors outside has never seemed so easy, as garden retreats offer the perfect solution to that spare room, you've been meaning to get planning permission for. Meanwhile, garden sheds have never seemed so attractive - from decorative tool organisers to printed watering cans, being green fingered seems almost glamorous! Garden walls need no longer be plain either as outdoor decorations take on a rustic feel, with wrought iron planters and bird baths; cut work lanterns look too good to keep outside.



For me, the ultra girly patio set has to be my favourite. With the pastel coloured bunting and sorbet paint shades (a range which Next have also extended, especially for the store) - this is surely the right kind of look for a garden by the sea!



Of course, there's plenty more I could write about the whole venture - however, I'll leave this to the professional bloggers (all of which came armed with more than just their Iphone to take snapshots!)

Having spent the afternoon with some of our key press - including Elle Decoration, House Beautiful, Good Homes and many more inspirational titles, freelances and bloggers, the response to the store (along with our four course lunch at Brighton's Pub Du Vin) was outstanding and so, fingers crossed, there'll be plenty more where this one came from!

Urban inspiration

After a super long bank holiday, which included a lot of relaxing and leisurely browsing time at numerous charity shops, I thought it necessary to blog about just a few of the things that have inspired me over this past week.

Usually, I'm not one for stopping & staring at graffitied walls - but a stroll from Columbia Road to Broadway Market did just that last week. There was something about that stroll that felt very characteristic & almost like I'd stepped into a public doodle pad with walls transformed into over-sized collages that didn't quite fit together - I think it was the incongruent nature of these two particular murals that caught my eye. Again, like the peeling paint work of the London Underground, it's the layers and the idea of different spaces of time being merged together which inspires me.

In short, I love the cut & pasted visual elements... Perhaps I should get more into decoupage!
x

Absolute Vintage!

How to spend a free weekend in London? Simple. Brick Lane's Sunday Up Market has it all - from independent makers selling hand-crafted paper pom poms, to jewellers selling found trinkets as re-worked pendants. Just being in the Shoreditch district on a Sunday is enough to rekindle your creativity!

Although, when you are desperately trying to avoid spending those pennies - I'm not sure Absolute Vintage is a good place to stop by (it definitely wasn't for me anyway!)And I think the below images are enough to show why...



Fabulous prints, brave colour combinations & exaggerated shapes - the rails are an actual dream! As for shoes - there is little wonder that I spent over 2 hours rummaging around in this place... x

The art of the everyday...

Time for a random post which is, oddly enough, about my daily commute back from Tottenham Court Road...

Everyday I stand & look at this space on the platform & think to myself how interesting & oddly beautiful it is, so I figured it was about time to record it. Of course, you might not agree with me here but what grabs my attention is the random mark making & negative space which takes on a narrative of its own. As adverts have been continuously torn down, it has left what should be an eye sore, yet to me this is like a little piece of history which looks like a 3D collage - layers of paper and concrete are peeled away to reveal little sections of brick work. The result? A flawed piece of the underground that stands as a piece of art in itself.

There, I've said it now x

York's Antique Treasure Trove

After graduating from an Art & Design course - I vowed never to try & draw again (even though, according to my ever optimistic tutors, I had mark making ability... just in more of an abstract kind of way!) This has been the only place that I have visited recently which has sparked even the thought of getting out my sketchbook again...



Crammed full of interesting compositions & quirky objects, I hadn't visited York's treasure trove of antique furniture & interior relics for over a year & so, popping in yesterday felt like a brand new experience all over again. From spindle legged chairs and cabinets, to elaborately upholstered chaise longues - this is the only place you will find horse saddles hanging alongside one-of-a-kind glass chandeliers.



Retro crockery stacked upon framed tapestries; ornate brooches are presented amongst war memorabilia whilst vintage telephones are set amongst kitsch ornaments on glass shelves. There is simply something for everyone in Banana Warehouse and it only makes me even more excited about dressing up my house - when I eventually own one! x

New Vintage at Next (yes,really!)

Whilst I usually like to use my blog as an outlet for my own inspiration - today, I thought I'd share with you a press release that I put together at work for this week's Miss N Weekly News. I can't tell you how excited I was to see a piece of furniture which looked so authentic in the new Autumn/Winter 2011 collection & so here I am shouting about it! x