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/

Decorate-It-Yourself

Well, thanks to the clever minds over at Jonathon Adler you can now design your own cushion covers, rugs, throws and totes from a huge range of gorgeous patterns and colours. It's so much fun and really easy to use! I actually thought there was perhaps too much choice - it took me ages to decide on sharing this little trio...


If it weren't for the unaffordable designer price tag, fit for Gwyneth Paltrow and the like, I would kit my flat out immediately. Well at least it's provided me with some harmless fun for half an hour - now back to work! humph.

Summer brights

It seems a bit old news to write about summer seeing as we should be well on to Autumn/Winter trends now (or Christmas for us Stylists!) - but I can't help recognising these punchy summer colours Leslie Shewring has styled. As always her work is the look of military coordination...

I hereby salute you Leslie, as the queen of colour palettes, moodboards and cute DIY details!

To me this fusion of aquamarines and citrus tones conjures up thoughts of fresh mint mojitos... or perhaps a fresh mint tea seeing as it is only lunchtime!




I think this colour palette would be most suited to a conservatory space or compact/balcony garden - with painted pots and garden furniture in limes, blues and yellows, and cushions or seat pads in ikat patterns.

Green Ikat Napkins by Horchow

Lifestyle images from Homes & Gardens magazine, with Photography by Tom Leighton