Category Archives: News

Firm Foundation

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We’ve been collaborating. Fantastic fashion and homeware shop Foundation approached us to design their shopping bags and packaging for a range of scented candles. Nice job! They’ve just launched a new area in their Cheltenham shop where they’ve mixed in clothing by British designers, such as Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Nicole Farhi etc., our Bold & Noble prints, furniture by Pinch, wallpapers by Deborah Bowness, plus other items such as Branksome pottery etc… And it is all British! We’re delighted to be rubbing shoulders with the noble designers of this land!

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Doing our bit

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We recently got involved with the Kambia christmas appeal which raised enough funds to establish a Maternity Waiting House at a hospital in Sierra Leone. It means expectant ‘at risk’ Mums can stay at the hospital in case of complications when they go into labour. Brilliant, we’re delighted that our prints could help generate some much needed funds!

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1 yesterday!

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Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to… Received a text today telling me that it is a year since we launched Bold & Noble. Blimey, it feels like about 10 years – in a good, well established way! Any excuse for a tipple, I’m quite into Harveys Bristol Cream at the minute, I know it is a grannies drink but I used to drink it with my Nana and Grandad at Christmas and it makes me feel all nostalgic… Raise a glass to Mont and Renée, I know they’d be proud of our design venture.

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Victoria & Albert Museum

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I flipping love this place and it seems to consistently find ways to weave in and out of my life. I used to come here as a wide eyed student on day trips before I moved to Newcastle, when I was employed and living in London my wonderful boss (Lynda) would send me on inspiration afternoons here (what a job!) and it was in the cafe here that the fluffy ideas about starting Bold & Noble were cemented. And now, cue drum roll, we’ve actually got something tangible under their roof, as of next week the V&A shop will be stocking Bold & Noble prints.

This is big stuff for little people like us!

The new collection

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It is a big day. After three months of late nights, early mornings and inky aprons, the new collection is ready. We’d love to hear from you if you have any comments, maybe ‘sheer slate’ should be called ‘blue slate’, perhaps that big flower should be a bit smaller or maybe you don’t care. Either way, we hope you like the new designs, here goes…

One degree of separation

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Who needs six?

We’re in there with Barack and Hugo and all because of a book.

Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent, was ranked 54,295 on the sales charts of bookseller Amazon.com back in April but it has since risen to number two. Why? Because President Chavez presented the book to President Obama at the Summit of the Americas.

Savvy UK publisher Serpents Tail immediately snapped up the UK rights and we were asked to create the cover at high speed – quick work Wardle!

Atlantic Crossing

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This felt very strange – seeing one of our prints framed and on someone’s wall on the other side of the world, on the design sponge blog no less. It shouldn’t have taken me by surprise because we send prints all over the place, half our sales are outside the UK… but when you actually see them nestled into their new homes it still sets your heart aflutter.

Design Sponge is one of the top US design blogs, you could loose a few hours there easily without noticing – it is like a secret garden. They have all sorts of creative titbits, plus a section where readers upload ‘before and after’ pics from their homes. And that is where we come in, Michelle Smith giftware designer and founder of Rock & Shop Market was displaying the results of her labour.

So thanks Ms Smith, there has been a flurry of transatlantic activity ever since. Love your dining chairs too Michelle, not unlike my treasured g-plan ones that came from my super stylish Nana Munn!

Wayne Hemingway

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We’ve got a lot of time for Wayne and not just because he selected our prints as one of only a handful of his favourite eco homewares. Wow-wee! Oh yes, the wonderful Observer newspaper dedicated a whole magazine to all things lovely and green, including Daryl Hannah (actress, turned eco warrior), David Attenburgh, Ben Okri da di da… and there were we, on page 54, rubbing shoulders with the great and the good (albeit accidently). What a lovely Sunday morning surprise!

Clothkits is back

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In Lewes (near where I grew up) was a shop selling the 70s ‘must have’ fashions. ‘Clothkits’ was pretty unique, selling kits so you could cut and sew your outfits in the comfort of your own home. So while I was dreaming of Olivia Newton John style black spandex leggings, my Mum was eying up the floral print corduroy dress. Hey-ho.

Anyhow, now that I’m a Mum (and black spandex is no longer an option) I can appreciate just how wonderful their designs are. After a period of hibernation, Clothkits is back and they’re selling cutting edge designs for us to make at home. So in the true spirit of Make Do & Mend, here are some of the top picks from their current collection.