From Jo'burg with Love

I stumbled across this unusual toile fabric by South African Kalika Painter this week and was struck by its outspoken originality. Not only does she revive to fantastic effect the toile de jouy designs of 18th France (mentioned not so long ago here at the Poppy Club  - see the the "Right Honourable Wall Tile" blog post for more), but she has done so to produce a new type of cityscape, depicting street scenes and landmarks from her native Johannesburg. Describing the design as being "by Jo'burg lovers, for Jo'burg lovers", Painter is proud of the 100% South African origin of the cloth, it being hand-printed and produced locally. I think the orange version could make for some seriously sriking cushions and seat covers. Something tells me that Toile de Jouy revival will soon be all the rage...
                                             

An Australian Bombshell

In Sydney Australia, Melissa Bombardière hand prints fabrics with 50's flair. Using bold colour and repeating a solid single colour design motif, her designs are snappy, bright and jovial and even better - they are on sale at Etsy! take a look at the Melbomba store for more!

The Cracked Pot

I wanted to share these lovely stoneware cups as much for their delicate design as for the story behind them. Made by the British ceramist, Sarah Malone, the pieces were inspired by a short little story about an Indian water carrier. I won't give the game away, but for a warming tale and more elegant ceramics follow the link to Sarah's website!

PS : I also love this little butterfly cup!

New cushions from Ferm Living

They're at it again! Those hype people at Ferm Living have once again come out with some funky new cushion designs that just can't go unnoticed. Coming in both a blue and yellow version, the "Remix" is made of 100% silk, making it not just snappy to look at, but scandalously sophisticated in substance too!

Little pleasures in white, dimpled dishes...

Dimples really do it. Whether on small children hurling spoons of purée gleefully across the kitchen, or pressed into fine Limoges porcelain to leave a charming, characterful dent, the dimple is one of those cheery little things that just genreally makes life better. And Australia's Little White Dish use it to great effect, adding a trademark smile to many a cup, bowl and jug. Designed by Deb Taylor in Sydney, I love the simple delicacy of the pieces, which all seem to have their own, individual character. The little white jugs below are just adorable!

                               

                               
                                
                               

                                

Imaginative wallcoverings...

I'm head over heels about imgs wallcoverings , an Australian website that features wallpapers and murals by some of my favourite designers, including Claire Leina from France, whose work has featured in the past here at the The Poppy Club. Working with hugely talented designers from across the globe, imgs produce wallcoverings that are made to order and use solvent-free inks printed on non-pvc paper. I have included a few pieces below that caught my eye but there are many many more, so take a tour of the site - you won't be disappointed!

                                                                  Kristian A Howell

 Samantha Hahn

Ximena Escobar

Claire Leina

Marconi

Shanna Murray and Pigeon Toe

Hot off the press : Pigeon Toe Ceramics recently produced these gorgeous little cups, the result of a  collaboration with Shanna Murray. There are very few available as they are a limited edition but they are just so adorable I had to share!

Handmade and Handcrafted - It's "Made a Mano"

Remember my on-going search for kitchen tiles? Well the latest addition to my list of hot favourites is the fabulous handmade tile company Made A Mano. Producing pieces that are both hand-drawn and hand-printed, the company couldn't be better named and the range of tiles on offer is at once elegant and original.Definately my November heart-throb!

They have a number of stores in Denmark and Italy and a stockists elsewhere across Europe.

Introducing the "Tweet Towel!"

I have long been a follower of  "We Are What We Do" - a global movement that aims to change the world through the small, everyday things we do. Working at breaching the gap between generations and promoting a greater social and environmental conscience, the organisation launches fun, easy-to-achieve projects that even the busiest/laziest of us can participate in.
This week they launched a fab new product the  Tweet Towel : a personalised tea towel that blends techy communication with old-school handicrafts. Following the model of Twitter, buyers can have their own 140 character message, embroidered onto a tea towel making a unique and useful Christmas gift. Even better, the money raised will help the charity fund future projects. Stylish innovation - it's the way to go!

Where quirky meets cool - Dovetail

Proving that black and white is still in vogue, the US ceramists at Dovetail caught my eye this week with their funky collection of tableware. I have a thing about insects and creatures in design (see the Poppy Club post about Timourous Beasties "Bring on the Bugs" for wallpapers in a similar vein) and just love the octopus on the vase below (RIP Paul, the world-cup soothsaying octopus who died last week). The other great effect is the slightly wonky positioning of the images and off-centre base to the bowls. Where quirky is decidely cool!