Sprucing it up

Just came across the Texas based Sprucehome on Etsy where two pieces in particular rattled my cage : the "Dragon Slayer" sofa above (not cheap to own but free to admire and swoon over! I love the bright, oriental-inspried fabric of the back cushions - would be great in embroidery for anyone nimble-fingered!) and the "Midnight Jasmine" chair (below.) The back has been upholstered using a recycled Indian sari blanket and the effect against the blue velvet is stunning.

Stylish vintage furniture from Holland

Neef Louis is my find of the week. Collecting and selling vintage furniture, this Dutch outfit also offers items for rent, so if you're putting together a set, this could be a good place to know. Pieces are one off so if you like it, get in quick - it might not be there further down the line!

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.

Love at First Sight (or how to revamp your furniture the Australian way...)

Last year there was a fantastic exhibition at the Fondation Cartier in Paris called "Né dans la Rue - Graffiti" ("Born in the Street - Graffiti") which celebrated street art and the birth of tags in New York in the 70's. It has to be one of the most vibrant and popular visual art forms out there (didn't Barack Obama and David Cameron this year exchange paintings both of which were forms of word art?), which is why my jaw dropped at this fabulous sofa by Love at 1st Sight in Australia.
Re-vamping antique and/or discarded items, the group produce unique pieces, giving up-beat colour to retro design. Similar to Bulle in Paris (see the Poppy Club post of June 16th "Bulle") and Zoe Murphy in the UK (see the Poppy Club post of April 26th "Viva Margate" ) they combine recycling with hip design to staggering effect.

My first crush of the autumn!

Bulle

Bulle are probably the people I've posted about that are located geographically the closest to me! They are based in a workshop in the 11th arrondissement of Paris - a district with a long tradition of furniture manufacture and retail. Not dissimilar in their approach to the UK's Zoe Murphy (see "The Poppy Club blog post "Viva Margate" for info), Bulle renovate and re-design old pieces of furniture found in flea markets and sales. They will also adapt your own items or hunt out something specific for those with a particular idea in mind. I like the use of uniform bright colours and will certainly be at their next open day which takes place on June 26th, 27th and 28th.

Viva Margate - How the seaside town gives new life to old furniture

Zoe Murphy

Zoe Murphy's tag-line "loving what belongs to you" could not be better chosen. Re-cycling old furniture and injecting into it some Margate pazzazz, she combines a love of her home town with an ethical ethos.

"Margate imagery" may sound dodgy to some (chip shops? candy floss on the pier?) but the combination of her bold drawings and flair for revitalising abandoned cast-offs makes for great results! She evn manages to use silk from an old wedding dress in her cushion covers!

What's even better, is that she takes on commissions - so if you have something that you'd like to see re-invented, why not give her a bell?

There's more to South Africa than football...

With the World Cup now only just around the corner, it's time to turn our eyes to South Africa as there's a lot more than football going on there! Using traditional embroidery, crochet and even upholstery techniques, the Casamento team produce award-winning pieces of furniture that achieve a fabulous neo-vintage look. Some pieces yes, are born again originals, but most are produced from scratch.


Achieveing what they describe a s a "marriage of old shapes and new ideas", Casamento only use natural fibres in their chairs and sofas which are not only better for the planet but are also guaranteed to be non-allergenic! The ideal place to park your behind for a few hours in June (more comfy than a stadium seat I'm sure!)

It's all in the mind - the skull in home decor

The Paris museums seem to be in a rather dark mood this spring: the Musée Maillol's Vanités exhibition looks at the skull and its representation in art through the ages, whilst the Musée d'Orsay has just opened its' Crime et Chatiment exhibition, examining the notions of evil, sin and retribution in the last 200 years of art. Both on my list of must-see events.

At the The Poppy Club, we like to keep it light, but in honour of these two great exhibitions, we thought that a little look into the darker side of home decor was in order. And we've come up with some fab skull-themed pieces to share:

The English Beware the Moon wallpaper designers (sold at Wallpaper Collective ) produce an exquisite range of products all printed on FSC approved paper. A father/ daughter partnership, dedicated to traditional craftsmanship and the production of "visually inspriring, thought provoking" goods, their works are oustandingly beautiful, combining daring motifs with sleek sheens and textured finishes.

(For other skull/skeleton wallpapers see The Poppy Club blog post of March 20th : "The Collection" ).

Sarah Cihat at "Rehabilitated Dishware" runs a project promoting sustainability. Discarded ceramics are re-claimed, re-designed, re-fired and re-glazed - re-born in fact as a new, vibrant ready to use works. The designs below are just two of a whole series of bright, exciting creations.

In Holland, Vladi Rapaport has designed this sensational skull chair in wood. Gorgeous to look at and in fact it looks pretty comfy too!



The American furnishing team of Bradley Hughes sell a collection of fabrics designed by the artist Phillip Barlow whose cushions and upholstered chairs below have an edgy Rock and Roll feel to them:


And to close, the ceramics of Meredith Host , who craftily switches the crossbones for cutlery bringing a witty kitchenware twist to this murky tale.

A bookworm's dream - an armchair and library in one!

My flat is too small for storing anything much, so ingenious, elegant storage solutions are always welcome. The Italian company Nobody&Co have come up with the brilliant idea of storing books in the armchair itself - so lazy readers don't even need to get up to reach for the next volume!
There is even a "pouf" version for more exotic tastes. Cunning, eh?

New at Missprint

I've posted about the wallpapers and lampshades of UK's MissPrint before and was overjoyed recently to notice that they've brought out a brand new range of cushions and vintage furniture as well as a some gorgeous new lampshade designs.
The cushions take up many of their popular themes (Saplings,Dandelion, Catkin, Box Bush, Panache) and include an entirely new "Central Park " range:



The new lampshade designs include the below and come in a variety of sizes and beautiful colours : The vintage furniture is as yet quite limited, but the combination of stylish chairs and commodes with MissPrints signature prints is a real wsinner ! Feast your eyes on the McIntosh sideboard!

Sitting pretty in South Africa

It's great to be able to post again about South Africa - this time with some lovely pieces of furniture that are at once beautifully designed and and strikingly oiginal.
This chair by Haldane Martin in Cape Town, is smoothly elegant and is part of a range of products all designed and produced locally.


The South Africans Mary Slack and Fraser Conlon are behind Amaridian , a project aimed to "bridge a new idea of Africa with America through the arts". They bring together artists and designers and provide a platform through which their works can be shared. What really caught my eye was this Ségou chair, by Cheick Diallo, which is produced in collaboration with highly skilled local weavers. I just love the bold colours and sensual curves!