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It's been ages since I've done one of these posts. We've been so busy that I forget to pick up the camera. I really want to change this though, because if nothing else, I want the memories to look back on in years to come. Here are a few things that we've been doing lately...
1, 5 & 6. Admiring the buildings at the Royal William Yard in Plymouth. 2. Making friends with watering cans. 3. Spring cleaning. 4. Smiling and growing. 7. Exploring the garden.
The new issue of Kinfolk magazine has just been released and it has a tasty ice cream theme. Those of you that know me, know that I have a close relationship with this subject as I used to own and run a vintage ice cream van! More on that later... Anyway, the new issue of Kinfolk looks delicious. It celebrates spring and focuses on shared loves which bring us together: the enjoyment of food, friends and family, and time spent in company whether around the table or out of doors.
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I am always excited when a new Toast catalogue drops through my letterbox and this spring/summer's House & Home collection didn't disappoint. Here are a few of my highlights.
1. I love this bed and its wonky sunray headboard. What a shame it's not for sale. Happily the washed linen bedding is though. 2. This three-legged dipped ash stool is just the kind of simple furniture that I like best. The woven rug underneath it is not too bad either. 3. These ceramic storage jars with sycamore lids are lovely. 4. You can never have too many cushions. Especially when they are charming, hand-stitched artisan-made cushions like these. 5. More cushions - as I said you can never have too many! This time in hardwearing herringbone linen.
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Donna Wilson's designs always bring a smile to my face. They are fun, bright and more often than not, fuzzy. I particularly like her knitted creatures, so I was excited to see that she has a new kids craft book out called Donna Wilson's Creative Creatures, which gives step-by-step instructions on how to make lots of fun toys and games. My favourite projects include Big Ted and Wilbur's Mitten Kitten, Charlie's banana bunting and Olive Owl's Kite. The book is also presented in a really fun way as each project is photographed as a jolly diorama, so even if (like me) you don't have a lot of time to make things, it's still a good book to look at. Donna has also started a new kids blog called Birdie and Bear, where you can follow her adventures with her beautiful new baby boy.
I know that most people like to have a plain white bathroom these days and that white is considered neutral, non-offensive and clean but I have to admit that I find it deadly boring. I love coloured suites and am particularly taken with my friends' new pink bathroom. Inspired by Morelli's ice cream parlour in Broadstairs, Kent, their Art Deco washroom is truly delightful. For coloured bathroom suites to work, I think it is important that the pieces are good quality. This is a particularly solid ceramic set that looks and feels luxurious. If you are intrigued to see more of this beautiful house, I will be featuring a full tour here in the next couple of weeks.
Lilly Marthe Ebener is a fashion editor and stylist, based in Paris. She also designs beautiful handmade knitwear. Lilly designs for adults and children but I think her babies' collection is the best. It features vintage ski-inspired sweaters, ponchos and woolly trousers all hand-knitted from 100% alpaca. Her accessories collection is pretty cute too with pom-pom trimmed boots, bonnets and mittens in lovely shades of fox brown, cream and crimson. For more information and stockists, please check out Lilly's website.
Inspired by Charleston farmhouse, I once spent a considerable amount of time designing a stencil for my bedroom walls. For some reason, I never actually got around to applying the stencil, but it is still a project which I hope to return to one day. I wish I had known about The Painted House back then as if I had, I would almost certainly have patterned walls by now. Claire Bosanquet stumbled across these unusual patterned paint rollers in a market in Romania and was so excited she bought the whole lot. She has now adjusted the traditional rollers for use on both walls and fabric and sells a choice of eleven different designs in her etsy shop. I love this idea and would definitely like to have a go with one. Perhaps those bedroom walls will get done after all.
I always say that I like to see traditional techniques used in contemporary ways, and this building pushes that idea to its limits. This shop and office complex designed by Dutch architects MVRDV is disguised as an old farmhouse, but its walls and roof are actually made from glass. The building, called Glass House, is in the market square of Schijndel, a small Dutch town where MVRDV partner Winy Maas grew up. The town suffered damage during World War II, and Maas has been campaigning since the 1980s to replace a destroyed structure in the center of the square. Thirty years and six failed proposals later, he has has finally realised his dream by creating a glass structure printed with images of traditional local farmhouses. Using a fritting technique the architects were able to print the images straight onto the glass, creating the illusion of brick walls and a thatched roof. The actual windows and doors don't line up with the printed images, so entrances look like they pass through brick walls and windows appear as semi-transparent blobs. The building is also out of scale with the original farmhouses, so it appears to be two storeys high rather than three."When adults interact with the building, they can experience toddler size again," say the architects, "possibly adding an element of nostalgic remembrance to their reception of the building." What do you think? Do you like the building? It is certainly a unique way of overcoming the many planning restrictions in rural conservation areas.
I am loving the new spring collection from Misha and Puff. It features shrunken sweaters, pixie hats and romper suits, all hand-knitted with two-tone organic cotton and silk yarn in a chunky seed stitch. The shapes are just right for playing in and the choice of yarn gives the pieces a modern edge. The collection is also very unisex, which I am all for.
Misha and Puff was founded in 2011 after owner Anna's baby son spent his first winter keeping warm while swaddled head-to-toe in her handmade knits. She then set to work on creating a collection of thoughtfully designed and handcrafted, long-lasting heirloom pieces. Each piece is hand-knitted in New England and designed to be purchased a little big then worn until just a tad too small. Perfect for ever-growing kids!
Here is a new house tour that I just published on Apartment Therapy. This garden flat in Dalston belongs to Mike Reid, a good friend of mine. It is fairly sparse and minimal as Mike doesn't like clutter - I only wish I could keep my own house this clean and tidy! To see the full tour, please click here.
I am on a brief holiday in Scotland at the moment - visiting family, but I wanted to let you know about a new magazine that I am intrigued about, which celebrates fatherhood. Through essays, interviews, editorials, art and photography, Kindling Quarterly aims to highlight creative individuals whose work and lives are inseparable from their role as a parent. This is a welcome discussion, as men who are active caregivers are no longer a novelty in today's society and thankfully, the magazine does not present them as such. Instead it provides a thoughtful dialogue about fatherhood that is frequently missing from our current cultural landscape. While the subjects of Kindling's stories may be fathers, each issue is also designed to appeal to anyone interested in art, creativity and community, as the magazine playfully assesses and celebrates the multitude of experiences that form contemporary fatherhood. The first issue is out now and I am looking forward to seeing many more.
Rae Jones designs beautiful well-crafted shoes and bags, so I was delighted to get the opportunity to photograph her house for Apartment Therapy. Rae lives in East London with her husband and toddler, in a classic Victorian townhouse decorated with a considered collection of vintage furniture and accessories. I love her house and wish my photos had done the place more justice. I have come in for a bit of flak in the comments section of Apartment Therapy for not capturing it very well, but what can I say? I will try and do better next time! What do you think? Do you like Rae's house? To see the full tour, please click here.
I first discovered Rachel Eardley, a couple of years ago just after my daughter Wren was born. She cuts illustrative details from old coins and re-works them into delicate jewellery. Rachel uses lots of different motifs - from kings and queens to penguins and pineapples but I was most drawn to the wrens (taken from old British farthings) which often feature in her work. On that first meeting, I felt obliged to buy a piece. After all, one day my little girl would grow up and inherit it! Since then, I admit Rachel's jewellery has become a bit of a habit of mine. I started with a necklace and now I have a ring too. What I would really like is the magnificant multi-coin nature necklace (pictured above) but unfortunately that is going to require some serious saving!
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These images were shot by Olga Bennett for Peppermint Magazine and show the lovely home of Andrea, founder of Stampel, which sells very bright playful accessories. I like her spray painted, faceted wooden vases and braided necklaces. By contrast, Andrea's home is fairly quiet, with white walls, lots of green house plants and a nice mix of furniture and textiles. I am fond of this kind of interior at the moment - it's not too shouty or overly designed - it's just a very calm and simple, comfortable looking space.
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I am so excited about this new film about Ina May Gaskin and The Farm. I loved reading Ina May's book Spiritual Midwifery before I had both my children and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in birth, children and seventies counterculture. Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin & The Farm Midwives tells the story of Ina May and her spirited friends, who began delivering each other’s babies in 1970, on a caravan of hippie school buses, headed for a patch of rural Tennessee. With Ina May as their leader, the women taught themselves midwifery from the ground up, and with their families, founded an entirely communal, agricultural society called The Farm. They grew their own food, built their own houses, published their own books, and, as word of their social experiment spread, created a model of care for women and babies that changed their generation’s approach to childbirth. The film is currently being screened internationally and will be released on DVD in the spring.
Where I Was From is a new online vintage store based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Inspired by classic androgynous style, they offer a selection of unisex items, as well as simple, pared back men’s and women’s pieces. Claire Lampert and Darroch Putnam founded the shop after many years of acquiring vintage. Their goal was to create a store with a translatable aesthetic, which shows vintage items worn in a modern way. The styling and photography of the clothes works perfectly, my current favourite pieces being the kilim bag and cape coat pictured above.
I am fascinated by documentary photographs, particularly by those that manage to capture the everyday so beautifully. That is why I am excited to hear about You Are My Wild, a new project which brings together fourteen photographers, each taking a weekly portrait of their children. This is the first week and new images will be posted every Tuesday. I look forward to following and seeing how the project evolves over time.
Images above by Rebecca Conway, Meaghan Curry, Ryan Marshall & Shelby Brakken.
I am still hung up on wall hangings, so here are four new textile weavings from Mimi Jung of Brook & Lyn. Somewhat unusually, they combine palm tree bark with yarn and copper. I love the contrasts of colour and texture and would be delighted to see one hanging in a modern interior.
For a behind-the-scenes look at Mimi's weaving process, you can follow her on instagram @brookandlyn.
1 & 2. Fuzzy and blue at the beach. 3. Bude beach huts. 4. Drawing in the sand. 5. Wren reading the Biggest and Best Storybook Ever while Fred sleeps. 6. Teasles.
I confess that I have never actually been to Norfolk but it has long been on my list of places that I would like to visit. I particularly want to go to Holt, home of Old Town, Byfords and now the Cold Press Gallery. The gallery is housed in an old Methodist meeting hall and sells an expertly curated range of paintings, ceramics, sculpture and furniture, all selected by Kate and Ben Lawrence. The couple founded the gallery after working in the London art world and now living in the depths of North Norfolk, they admit that several of their relationships with the artists, including American Kai Samuels-Davis, have been conducted almost entirely through email. A situation they describe as being "like having an old fashioned correspondence". The gallery's signature style of tactile, natural materials, rural craftsmanship and faded neutrals reflect the local landscape, making that trip up to Norfolk seem even more tempting.