Pass the Pattern

That’s a bit flash

New to the Lomography store is this Diana F + Zebra, a beautiful camera that looks as cool as the pictures you can capture with it.

If you haven’t tried your hand at lomography, why not give it a go? Below is the sort of image you might be able to create.

This year, the old analogue signal for TV will be switched off but you can keep it lo-fi with a lomography camera.

Find your nearest Lomography Gallery Store, visit: http://microsites.lomography.com/stores/

Images © Lomography

Making it mini

Nicky at From Britain with Love just told me about Jeska Hearne’s Matchbox Challenge and I thought it was something you’d be interested in hearing about too.

Jeska runs the beautiful and stylish Lobster & Swan and each day in February, she will be challenging herself to make a tiny artwork from her collection of vintage matchboxes.

Each mini work will then be sold at Jeska’s Etsy shop to raise money for Oxfam, the charity her husband is running the London Marathon for.

You can also take part in the Matchbox Challenge yourself with Jeska suggesting some themes to help you out. Once you’re done, you can upload pictures of your creations to the special Flickr page.

With January really-nearly-over (I will not miss it), this is a great way to welcome February and kickstart your creativity.

Find out more at: http://blog.lobsterandswan.com/
All images © Jeska Hearne

Wallpaper with a wow

I’ve been blogging for Natural History for quite some time now and always keep a lookout for products that are inspired by the natural world.

This wallpaper (called Columbia Road) from Custhom is hand screen printed – and while at £198 per roll it’s not for those on a budget – it is a work of art.

The Columbia Road range also features a gold hand foiled wallpaper (shown above) at £32 per metre which, could make plain walls really rather special.

Custhom teach wallpaper printing courses at The Papered Parlour so if you’d like to learn some of their tricks, book on to one of the popular courses quickly!

Image © Custhom

I have not seen either The Vaccines or British Sea Power live, but I am loving these gig posters from Telegramme Studio. With a limited run, these two colour screen prints are something really special and even more so if you were at these gigs.

To buy these or other prints, visit: http://store.telegramme.co.uk/
Images © Telegramme Studio

Three of the best – decorative doilies

Doilies. It’s a weird word. The more I look at the word, the weirder it becomes and doilies themselves could also be considered strange – obsolete even.

However, last year saw a rise in doily sales which may explain why there are so many of them around. If you like them, here are some ideas.

Tread softly
This rug might look fragile but it is made of cotton so a great choice if you want to add a homespun touch to your floor. It’s currently on sale for £35.
Buy it at Urban Outfitters; Image © Urban Outfitters

String them along
A simple way to use doilies is to string them up like this. Martha Stewart can show you how, over on her wedding website.
Visit Martha Stewart Wedding Inspirations; Image © Martha Stewart

Use your loaf
These doily patterned loaf cases are super cute and perfect for tea time. Personally, I think my banana cake would look lovely in one of these.
Buy a Dotcomgiftshop

Donna Wilson talks about her latest exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It features knitted trees and limited edition prints which quite frankly, makes my heart sing.

*Thanks to Knitting magazine for posting about this on their Facebook page.

Images © Donna Wilson

Go tell it on the mountain

Over the hills and far away, in Paris (to be precise) you’ll be able to get a first look at Missprint’s new wallpaper Mountains, when they exhibit at Maison et Objet.

Taking place from 20-24 January, Maison is the ultimate interiors showcase and features the best talent including of course, Missprint who you will find in Hall 7, Stand E148.

Find out more about Maison et Objet at: http://www.maison-objet-editeurs.com/

Image © Missprint

Where there’s a quill

Sabeena Karnik is a talented designer, illustrator and artist who creates paper sculptures like this one, pictured above.

Based in Mumbai, Sabeena’s portfolio can be view at Behance.

I remember learning to quill paper at school and this has inspired me to give it another go. I’ll let you know how I get on!

Image © Sabeena Karnik

Where have all the pattern writers gone?

If you love knitting then you’ll know the importance of a good pattern – but have you ever wondered where all these patterns come from?

Sadly, it has come to the attention of the Knitting magazine team that professional knitting pattern writers are now in short supply. And they are not the only ones who are concerned. Many knitwear businesses are dependent on pattern writers to allow them to produce the volume of patterns, and indeed garments, we have come to expect.

Find out more about this in the February issue of the magazine (out next week) and follow @knittingmag on Twitter to share your thoughts

Bubbles that won’t burst

This necklace made of glass spheres is one of MoMA’s best sellers and I can see why. Carefully sculptured in Italy, it is designed by Marina and Susanna Sent whose family has produced Venetian glass for generations.

Obviously delicate, it is definitely not an item for the weekly food shop but for something special, why not?

I visited MoMA in October and had a fantastic time but I doubt I could have got this item home without breaking it.

Visit the MoMA store to find out more.

Thornback & Peel pop up shop

I’ve just heard that Thornback & Peel (makers of handprinted homewares and gifts) will be popping up in Clerkenwell this month.

From 16-21 January, visitors to 21 Clerkenwell Green will be able to get discounts of up to 35% on products including wallpaper, tea towels, notebooks, cushions and hankies.

Personally, I think it’s time we reinstated the hankie as the elegant alternative to tissues!

Pretty prints

Laura Ashley have been producing pretty prints since the 1950s and last year, the company launched a new blog featuring behind the scenes news, creative ideas and interviews with inspiring individuals who work for the brand.

I was quite excited then, when I got an email from Laura Ashley’s social media manager inviting me to do a guest post. The post will see me getting creative with some of this season’s wallpapers in ways you might not have previously considered. If that sounds good to you, keep your eye on http://blog.lauraashley.com/ for my upcoming post

Image © Laura Ashley

More Ercol

This holiday, we were visiting friends in central Exeter. We’d gone round for breakfast and the host needed some maple syrup for the pancakes, so I offered to go and find some.

That could be the end of the story but of course, it isn’t.

Maple syrup in hand, I walked back looking forward to a stack of pancakes when I become distracted by four chairs in the window of a charity shop (this is normal behaviour). I ran into the shop for a closer look and sure enough, they were Ercol chairs and at £5 each, there was no time to ask ‘is there room in the car?’.

And then, if that wasn’t enough…I was told there were two more out the back!

Needless to say, they made it back home (thanks to OkJo) and here they are.

Je Vous En Prie

I was browsing the directory on From Britain with Love and came across Je Vous En Prie who design and make bespoke furnishing fabrics including Elise shown here. Available in five colourways, the fabric is constructed of 60% silk and 40% cotton so lends itself well to decadent home accessories including lampshades and cushions.

New year, new project, new apron

I just spotted this apron by Snowdonia-based Peris and Corr over at Folksy and thought it would be the perfect present to give to yourself. Hopefully, putting this on will give you the boost you need to start that new craft project.

The design is hand printed onto organic denim and would certainly look very smart indeed – while keeping your clothes clean!