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

duette design

Two fabnulous Parisian designers,Helene Georget and Rachel Peloquin have teamed up to form "Duette Design", an illustration and textile design studio. I just love the elegance of their creations. Making t-shirts, bags, cushions and other decorative items, they have a smart, modern eye, that combines snappy colour with natural mtoifs. Check them out at the Atelier Beau Travail in Paris!

Retro furniture for tots!

One of my favourite types of furniture these days, are old pieces that have been revived, restored and re-invented. Avid readers will have noticed posts about Zoe Murphy , Bulle and Casamento , who all recycle forgotten treasures to make funky new things. The newest add to this list, is France's Sophie Emilie, who re-work children's chairs and desks producing hardwearing, good-looking items with an ecological and social ethic.

New designs by Celine Saby

Celebrating the autumn - the time of falling leaves and mushrooming, Celine Saby's New Collection of lamps are light and airy, reminding us of life's simpler pleasures.

My favourite has to be the series of  "I can think everything" designs:  

"I can't do everything, I can't say everything, but I can think everything".

 Don't we all feel a bit like that from time time?

Murakami at Versailles

Finally got chance to see the Murakami exhibition at the Château of Versailles this weekend and thought I'd share a couple of his palace furnishings : happy happy lamps and a carpet that would have the French kings spinning!

Right honourable wall tiles

Wall tiles are one of the things I find hardest to decide upon. My kitchen has been waiting for ages for me to commit but I can't quite manage to take the plunge. My latest find are these designs by Munchausen, sold by Saint Honoré  in France. They reproduce the style of 18th century Toile de Jouy fabrics, using hot contemporary colours that are dastardly striking. They are what I would term "saucily debonair": refined and elegant, with a touch of the Marquis de Sade - or am I getting carried away?

Egg

                                        

Egg (or "Oeuf" as they say over here!) is the code name for the gorgeous ceramics brought into the world by France's Nathalie Choux. Like characters from a fairy tale, the wide-eyed figures she depicts on her bowls and vases are innocent and dreamy - not surprising really since Nathalie has also illustrated several children's books including a version of Red Riding Hood ("Le Chaperon Rouge"). See her web site for more beautiful examples of her work : Nathalie Choux

Growing it slow

Now that the weather in Paris is finally reaching gorgeous summer temperatures, it's time to take a look at the great outdoors! Few of us in the city are lucky enough to have gardens, but if you look up, there are a fair few terraces and balconies with great views and endless possibilities for decoration. I recently came across the French group Slow Garden , who are essentailly "exterior designers" specialising in creating fabulous patios and outdoor spaces. Below are a few examples of their work, but for more info see their site. I like their use of rich, sunny colours and the attention to original detail that gives each space a quirky, individual feel. Just wish I had a large enough space myselft o experiment with!

Strange Things

Les choses bizarres translates roughly as as "Strange Things" into English and goes some way towards describing the unexpected creations of Audrey Pellegrini. Born and raised in the coastal city of Marseille, her designs reflect a love of nature and passion for the visual image  - she has a self-confessed love of photography and recording the world around her, its' "colours, lights and forms". Making bags, wallets and baby bibs, the pieces I like best are her cushions, which are drole and adorably naive,often juxtaposing apparently incongruous images or styles. The results are great!

Petals in Print by Bloomsong

I was strolling along the Canal St Martin this week and came across these pretty homewares by the French company bloomsong at the Espace Beaurepaire. Their tea towels, cushions and homewares, printed with line-drawn dandelions, peonies and poppies are simple and attractive and can be bought on-line at Big Cartel and Etsy. Naturally charming!