Best in Show: Christmas Cards

Hello friends.

It seems to be taking much longer than anticipated to show you my gorgeously transformed pumpkins, promised earlier this month! They are coming soon, in the form of beautiful animated Gifs. Myself and co-worker, Malcolm Menzies have been trialling new ways to style/shoot animated images for the evolving technological world we live in! Apple apps is the place to be apparently. As soon as they are complete I shall post them up for you to see :)

In the meantime I wanted to share a few of the best in festive stationery currently hitting our concrete, and abstract (online) high streets.

Papermash is always a favourite of mine (although I did get a job-lot of charity ones this year from paperchase!) - especially this clever and truly stand-out stunning card with 3D pop out winter wonderland!


I love these nostalgic ones too....






Urban Outfitters has a few winners: The limited edition Rob Ryan number is positively electric...
And it would just be cruel of me not to tell you about Christmas at the The Original Pop-up Shop, what with their cuter than cute paper bags with doilies and handmade crochet decorations... Historically the shop is a family run ice-cream parlour, but for 6 weeks of the year it opens as a Christmas Pop-Up Shop. If you're unable to visit (unfortunately I fall into this category) I recommend you visit online! Enjoy x

Love at first sight...

Discovering a new designer, product, magazine, artwork that you just fall in love with immediately can't simply be a coincidence. I was quite obviously meant to stumble upon Anthology. A fall I did. I couldn't be more smitten with my just-this-minute-purchased UK subscription, due to arrive safely on my doorstep in two long weeks.

Here is a snippet of the current issue and a little sample of my new love... organically grown from a little cafe in San Francisco by two clearly talented creatives ~ Anh-Minh & Meg. I thank you.




Another goal for the life-list, I must design, launch and edit my very own lifestyle title before I'm 50.

L x

Painted pumpkins

Just a quick one to share the inspiration for a shoot I'm doing next Tuesday. I love the idea of painting gorgeously shaped objects, and why not make use of the seasonal pumpkin!

US blog Perfectly Imperfect featured these images last month...

Lifestyle shoot for BRIDES

2 months ago I was commissioned to style a lifestyle promotion for BRIDES magazine, showcasing a new Canon product and the gorgeous DIY wedding stationary/accessories it allows you to make!

I'm particularly pleased with the shots featuring By Appointment Only Design's floral creations and Paul Antonio's calligraphy...

ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATO WELTON

And here's the magazine feature...

London Design Festival 2011

[LOVE] Ceila Birtwell's new book

So this year's London Design Festival has been and gone again, and my promise to visit more events and installations this year goes with it. They really need to post listings months before to ensure I get diary space to visit them all - I blame the organisers.... because it's easier. My difficultly is that I get immersed in projects and can't then see the value of taking time out to absorb yet more inspiration. Sometimes I feel as though I'm full to the brim and couldn't possibly take in any more, but maybe I just need to learn to be a better multi-tasker. I hear myself calling...'Muuuuum!'.

Here are a handful of my favourite exhibitors/stands/designs showcased at this year's Decorex...


Ceila Birtwell's New Fabric Collection

Playful and colourful - that's what we like!

Volga Linen

I love Volga's new Herringbone Oatmeal Upholstery fabric - unfortunately I don't have an image to share, only a cutting in my press pack :(


Margo Selby


I was thrilled to meet Margo after featuring her hot-off-the-press and gorgeously graphic Iceni silk cushion (above) in a shoot last month. Hosted by Crafted, a mentoring programme passionate about connecting the skills of those who have built successful businesses with those who have the potential to do so, a seminar slot at Decorex introduced 12 carefully selected candidates who have since reached personal success. Margo is one of these extremely talented and entrepreneurial creatives.

I loved listening to the journey she and her crafty team undertook to develop a stronger, yet equally intricate, weave especially for her new upholstering fabric collection.




Not forgetting Nicky Haslam's incredible under the sea themed installation at the main entrance of Decorex - here are some photos borrowed from his blog...



P.S. Thanks mum for a lovely tea and cake pit stop before I begrudgingly left you to indulge further, while I rushed off to a client appointment Xx

New friends

Although I did come across Baileys website quite some time ago, somehow my memory of it got buried and I forgot about my promise to visit. It wasn't until I happened upon their stand at 100% Design show, Earls Court, this week - most definitely worth a visit to see some of the most innovative and trend setting designers there are in Britain, and internationally - where I met Sally Bailey and her husband Mark. Their stand stood out like a sore thumb with it's rusty and almost grubby looking recycled goods, compared to the super-slick and the contemporary high gloss finishes of surrounding stands.

I love that their fondness of old treasures and battered belongings has a sense of forgiveness and truth to it unlike other vintage collectors I've seen. Not only do they make a living from restoring and reselling old furniture and interesting objects, which there seems to be a growing marketplace for, it is what they love and are visibly passionate about. Like ducks to water - this industry was made for the Baileys.

The stripped back, unfinished, unpainted, look is what Sally and Mark refer to as 'undecoration' - a term they have coined to describe their passion for recycling, and their rather unhealthy relationship with paint stripper. Their home, like a much-loved teddybear, has worn edges and pulls in the stitching. And they wouldn't have it any other way. "We understand that people might not get it," says Sally, "but it's what we like."

From their portfolio of interior 'undecoration' books here are some of my favourite images...

Handmade Home is their latest book to be published by Ryland, Peters & Small Ltd and photographed by the wonderful Debi Treloar, which is available now from Waterstones.

Simple pleasures

Est magazine never fails to impress and inspire. If you enjoy trend spotting and delighting in mesmorisingly splendid photography and styling you must subscribe immediately.

I. Love. it.

May I share 3 awesome creatives Est magazine has kindly shared with me today:

Marjon Hoogervorst / Photography / Hoofddorp, Netherlands

http://vorstin.nl/

Leibowitz & McLachlan / Interior Design / Sydney, Australia

Thanks to a little Spitalfields market mooch I've got a vintage cake stand just like this!
http://leibowitzandmclachlan.com/lm_music.html

Sian MacPherson / Interior Design / Melbourne, Australia

http://www.sianmacpherson.com.au/