Earth fire and water

I'm getting quite into pottery at the moment spending Tuesday evenings up to my elbows in clay. Hunting around for awe-inspiring models and sources or unattainable inpsiration I came across the following potters who all do amazing things in terms of shape and colour.

My absolute favourite has to be Samantha Robinson , who tucked away in her studio down-under, produces these absolutely sublime pieces. I just melt at the delicacy of her work and the audacity of the mix of colours. Swoon...















In San Fransisco, Diana Fayt designs pieces of more earthy style, combining rough shapes with bold colours. I particularly like the stripey cup and saucer, which is sort of naive and yet cheeky. I also like the etched flowers on the vases - pretty!

And to finish, a Danish pair of potters

Meyerlavigne who play on our childhood associations of paper plates, or old-fashioned tea parties, to produce fine china of quite unique style and decoration. True originals.

Fabrics that take your breath away

The Print and Pattern blog recently posted about Ursula O'Connor and her breathtaking fabric designs. I absolutely have to add my voice to the general acclaim as her designs are just out of this world. Below is a selection from her website, but there are many, many more just as beautiful - the site is an absolute treasure.

Pins and Needles

I'm constantly hunting for fabric for cushion covers and the like and keep coming back to Reprodepot Fabrics , which is where I found the material for the cushions below last year. The zig zag is vintage Marimekko. I wonder now if I shouldn't have put the pattern on the diagonal...




I don't think that either of these fabrics are now in stock but the site is still a great source for material and constantly changes it's offer. Below are a few currently available:



The other great place that I've discovered is good for fabric is Ikea . Not always what first comes to mind when we think of the Swedish giant but they have a great range of inexpensive material that is machine washable and can be bought by the yard/metre:

Prized ceramics

I've been wanting to post for a while about these lovely ceramics by Misa Tanaka. They have been in the "Design News" (so to speak) quite a bit since October when they won a prize at the celebrated Takaoka craft fair in Japan. I think that the delicate fusion of glass and white porcelaine is just so exquisite and unusual I had to inlcude a post about them.

While we're at it, Catherine Gray from Bristol in the UK, combines digital photography and traditional ceramics to make these striking vases, which won the "Best Homeware" prize at the "Top Drawer" trade fair this autumn. They are being sold on-line by Pedlars amongst others and will be available from feb 2010.

Meet "Envelop" - cushions to order

Envelop is a Belgium based project born out of the desire to promote the design and sale of printed textiles. With a consciously green ethic behind every aspect of their production, Envelop invite designers to up-load their creations and then allow web users to order those they like. That way, these 100% cotton cushions are all made to order and no un-wanted products are produced. Cunning eh? Below is just a sample of the many great designs on offer, but there are heaps more on the site, as well as pinnies, oven-gloves and runners. Thanks Bloesem for the introduction!

Reka Kirali (Heksinki)
Bart Aalbers (Holland)
Kerozen (France)
Pol&Mik (Switzerland)
Camille Reynders (Belgium)

Floral armchairs - I'm getting hooked!

OK, at the risk of overkill I'm posting again about flowery chairs, these two more affordable and easy to obtain. The Habitat "Daborn" armchair has a straight back and pretty rasberry coloured design.
This one is from Ikea and is aptly named "Stockholm". It also comes a more autumnal version in browns and beiges. Both are fabulous and certainly easier on the pocket than many of the others on the market!

A finer type of frenzy

Ummmmmmm, it's hard to do justice to the extraordinary originality of these wallpapers by P van B . Subtly combining the delicate themes of classical wallpapers with futuristic colourings and metallic sheens the results are quite fabulous. Bold and daring they have a vitality and energy about them that race out of control yet remain refined and elegant. Hugely beautiful - a real treat!

Check out the Chairs

I spotted this funky chair on the Japanese Cocca website and love the cushion design. The site is in Japanese so if you're a non-speaker you might need help to to do more than admire the designs but they're so edgy and sharp it's a fun visit in itself!














Irish designer Orla Kiely is perhaps best known for her range of handbags, lampshades and textiles. Her creations go much further though, including clothes, wallpapers and furniture, such as this chair sold via the British store Heals.