Archive for September, 2009

A while ago I promised some continental news from the Paris design show and now we’re post chicken pox, I can deliver. We ate croissants morning, noon and night (Granny, Wilf and I) and ended up sharing a bed in our tiny rented Montmartre apartment which was interesting with a fidgety 20 month old, but all in all it was fun and enlightening. It is a vast show with too many beauties to put on one blog post, so here are some treats from the Belgium contingent for starters…

Everything about Domani’s stand was inspiring – products, display, lighting, even the giveaway sweeties were well received.

Ateliers Bodart & Vange had some innovative products too, in particular Christian Desile’s folding chair and the slinky style bench by Charles Kaisin.

Atelier Vierkant’s creations are bold and beautiful, perfect colour and form. Oh to have a huge garden and an even bigger budget.

Happy birthday Dad. Thanks for bringing me up to be batty enough to swim in the bracing sea with you at the weekend – once submerged, it was bliss. x

A snap of the new studio – ‘Hansel & Gretel meets Hitchin’. Admittedly I feel less romantic about the view of the car park but it is handy for loading heavy boxes. It is brilliant to have more space, plus there is a great pub opposite for after hours Leffe.

I’ve started a new category called ‘laughs’, any suggestions are very welcome. I’m not slacking you understand, just taking a break for some creative inspiration. Top of the list is this classic from the Two Ronnies, I’m smiling just thinking about it.

A wee snippet from this month’s issue where our ‘Tress around Britain‘ print is featured.

The studio music has a big impact on my work rate. I was on a go slow last week with the Fleet foxes and Bon Iver, never again. Thankfully I’ve turned a corner with Roxy Music and T-Rex today and I’m probably burning off quite a few calories too with all my joggling about. That’s one good thing about working on your own, you’re safe from ridicule. This one is also a guaranteed productivity booster for me, plus there is a quirky accompanying video which reminds me of Scooby Doo adventures.

Just flagging this up in case you are at a loose end this week. The London Design Festival covers all bases… Making the Future shows 42 of the country’s top furniture designers, ‘Made it’ has London based contemporary ceramics on display and there is even an exhibition on hair at the London College of Fashion – Cuts, Curls and Crimpers. The list goes on… almost for too long, I started to feel a bit confused.

Getting warmed up for the Johnny Cash tribute act at the local tomorrow. Hello Ron and everyone else at the Barleycorn in Hitchin. I was at the pub quiz there on Tuesday, did you know that the dot on a letter ‘i’ is called a ‘tittle’ or that India has the most beehives (not the hairdo) in the world? No, me neither, I think that is why we consistently feature in the lower ranks. Anyhow, back to the wonderful Johnny Cash, this track always tickles me and this old footage is well worth three minutes of your time – what a performer.

I saw these a while ago, I cant remember where, I hoped that they were crockery that you could buy. Sadly  they’re just porcelain colour tests for a ceramics range by Dutch Artist Hella Jongerius. They’re missing a trick, Hella please produce them! I’d love a set of crockery with scribbles and colour wheels, especially the big bowls with colour splodges.

Hello to all those with reassuringly achy limbs who ran the Bedford 10k yesterday, we certainly made the most of the free tea and cake afterwards. Thanks Adrian for the pre-race pep talk and setting the pace! It has been a few years since my half marathon days, but thankfully I managed to get round in 50 minutes, didn’t want to set the bar too high for the Standalone 10k in October (yeah right!).