Category: 2017
Impact x
8 simple artworks the create impact.
Laters, Kate x
Brainstop..
So the husband asked me what sort of doorstop I’d like for the new crittall doors – I said a round one of course!
He looked at me like I’d suddenly grown donkey ears but it’s not such a stupid idea…the inspiration came from cannon ball doorstop at my parent’s house in Greece: heavy enough for purpose but round enough for cheeky aesthetic pleasure. So he searched the internet and found this, a cannonball doorstop handmade in Dorset by Sam at Millin Metalcraft and I couldn’t be more delighted!
Sam makes them in three sizes – from heavy (£25), to even heavier (£35)…to very heavy (£45) (which is strong enough to hold back a barn door..)
And they are all that you could want: resonance, authenticity and practicality.
But Sam’s talents don’t stop there – he does a beautiful line in metal sculptures like these alliums…
And is up to be challenged for anything metal related. Minion stove anyone?
Ours in situ. Made by hand by a proper, loving, skilled craftsman – it’s simple, effective joy.
Laters, Kate x
Design Classic x
Camilla Lundsten is a former designer for Ikea who then published a highly successful series of childrens books’ based around a little red elephant called Littlephant.
Demands from friends and family persuaded her to launch of her own homeware/toybrand…and the making of this drool house and future design classic.
Her philosophy presses many happy polka dot buttons: ‘To simplify everyday life with long-lasting objects that are practical and as eco-friendly as possible’.
Combine that with the alchemy of faultless design, iconic textiles, hours of play, rampant imagination and the urge to make more yourself just to add to the ongoing joy…and it’s product made in heaven.
(All pics from Littlephant.com)
Bella doesn’t get a look in. I want.
Laters, Kate x
Tunnel Vision x
There is nothing worse than saying someone is likeable, but not enough to care. It’s what I though when I first saw duck boots – practical, but not for the streets of London. Now I’ve changed my mind.
It’s an ugly name but surprisingly apt and they’ve been sneaking into peripheral vision for a while: Instagram pictures from NY, at the airport, on the slopes..even in an episode of Fortitude last night during a boxset binge (and if they’re the go-to shoe for those extreme conditions they must be doing something right).
They get a further tick for being unisex (well, at least some of the brands are) which is an itch itself that really needs to be scratched – tell me why can’t there be shoes with just the choice of wide or narrow to accommodate the whole population rather than only ever appealing 50%? The division of the sexes is too often a marketing ploy to separate us..and our hard earned money. I believe changing this simple thing would be a huge step forward (literally) in equality and world peace…
(All pics from Pinterest)
On a lighter note, when you really think about it, duck boots are the living proof that the skinnie will never die. Deep.
Laters, Kate x
The New Art Piece x
The nostalgia of vintage is that magic of re-discovery, the knowledge that with a tiny twist, anything can be re-invented so it doesn’t lose character but effortlessly slips into something more avant garde.
That veil-lifting moment when something previously scorned suddenly turns into a fully fledged, royal owning swan.
I’m having that rush with live edge coffee tables: What once was regarded as seventies back of the throat kitsch is now looking the wobblies du chien.
Naturally (no pun intended) the biggest, gnarliest trees produce the best slabs and if colour and size are what you want then purchasing from the States is your best bet. But this isn’t a cheap option – the cream sell for thousands of pounds because these are natures own works of art, cultivated at the pace of a snail over centuries of toil.
But there are other ways.
(All pics from Pinterest)
The creative alternative is to make one yourself, like this blogger did: A large cut of native wood carefully chosen, combined with hairpins legs readily picked up from Ebay and a bit of elbow grease.
How hard can it be?
Laters, Kate x
Snow Babies..
I’ve read that personalities can be divided into two camps – cowboys and farmers. The cowboys are the restless ones, always roaming and seeking new pastures whilst the farmers solidly plough the same field over and over again. Our ski holiday embraced everything cowboy: Constantly on the go, incredible scenery, crisp air, the smell of wood smoke, peace (piste…and pissed as well) as well as a true sense of wonder.
A fusion of manmade and natural – an icicle chandelier.
We were in La Rosiere on the French side of the Aosta valley, ski-able into Italy. And by all accounts, were lucky to have snow.
They were using snow cannons when we first arrived, but as the runs were in full sun it still made for great conditions. And then it snowed.
I’ve never seen this before – three rainbows, one on top of the other, made by the sun refracting through ice crystals in the air.
It always amazes me how slopes look flat in pictures!
We decided Charlie is really a secret snowboarder!
And what did I wear?? John’s old two-piece from the eighties! Maybe not quite pure vintage swagger, but on a ski slope..the joy is no-one cares!
And now I suppose it’s time to return to farming…and wrestling with the Einstein quote that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
The silver lining is our holiday proved that perfectly decent wheels can aways be reinvented..
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 