Very Pleased To Meet

 colour, decorative, fun things, illustrators, nice things, paper, product design, shops, stationery  No Responses »
Apr 172013
 

PleasedToMeet Very Pleased To Meet

I spotted this company’s products in various hotspots around New York and liked their style instantly. Pleased To Meet is the lovechild of two German designers, Daniela Könn and Marcel Hornung, who met and fell in love whilst working in New York. Founded in 2004, they now have a lovely range of simple and charming designs spread over a variety of paper-based goods, contemporary eco ethics with a hint of mid-century style illustrations. Good colour choices too. They do have stockists worldwide but they also do international delivery so no need to panic. Here are my top-picks.

1.) I Love You wrapping paper, €2.60, 2.) New York wrapping paper, €2.60, 3.) Fawns wrapping paper, €2.60, 4.) A Good Catch wrapping paper, €2.60, 5.) Flying Birds notebook, €5, 6.) Lovebirds notebook, €5, 7.) Travel Journal, €19, 8.) Paris notebook, €7, all available from their website.

Monochrome Stripes Ain’t Just For Zebras

 Art, collaborations, colour, decorative, events, exhibitions, fun things, illustrators, inspirational, interiors  No Responses »
Apr 112013
 

Patternity Monochrome Stripes Aint Just For Zebras

This show is a visual feast, both close up and as a collective whole. The power of monocrome stripes will never be denied again. The two pattern-lovers behind the blog, Patternity, Anna Murray and Grace Winteringham, have curated a powerhouse of all that falls under the category of stripe- be it fashion, art, craft, science, architecture, design or environment. The three rooms of the gallery space on Redchurch Street, have been divided into separate entities looking at research, collaborative efforts in design and finally a interactive learning and events space, dedicated to film and the philosophy behind pattern and the stripes of everyday life. No gallery would be complete without a cafe, and this cafe has Guinness, Pomp de Franc cakes and they’re serving (black) tea in Richard Brendon‘s tea cups. There’s even a gift shop, needless to say it’s a specially-curated black and white Darkroom concession gift shop. With lots of events running until the end of the show, from yoga and crafts to discussing pattern with neuroscientists and psychologists, entertainment and learning is guaranteed. Everyday’s a (glamourous) school day.

1.) a screen shot from the wall-sized projection area especially commissioned films, 2.) the flooring of the event area in Room Three ‘It’s Everywhere We Go’, 3.) the dazzling play of perpective and pattern on the gallery wall, graphics by BAF graphics, 4.) The strength that is Room One ‘Seeing Pattern Everywhere’, 5.) black coil pot by artist, Glen Wild, 6.) Plumen bulbs and Richard Brendon’s ‘Warp’ and ‘Reason’ teacups complete a sriking table made by Patternity

Half-drop, Brick, Tossed

 Art, collaborations, colour, decorative, illustrators, pattern, textiles  No Responses »
Feb 152013
 

Pattern foundry Half drop, Brick, Tossed

You lot sniggering in the back row those are names of types of pattern and the formulation repeat of those patterns, nothing naughty or rude. This website is worth a quick squizz for a variety of nice printed textile design on The Pattern Foundry website, it won’t take you long as it’s not very comprehensive, but still nice. It’d be great if it had been extended and updated, it appears that it hasn’t for a number of years, which is a shame for it has great scope for hours of visual pleasure. Alas, this is our lot, still, some lovely patterns and a good mix. Enjoy them.

Le Silence Sous L’écorce

 animation, Art, colour, fun things, illustrators, nice things, pattern  No Responses »
Dec 102012
 

the silence beneath the bark / le silence sous l’écorce from joanna lurie on Vimeo.

I can’t quite decide whether I find this totally weird and creepy, or just funny and quirky. Granted their smiles are slightly sinister but there’s something quite sweet about them too. I wanted a video filled with snow and it’s certainly that. Le silence sous l’écorce means the silence beneath the bark and it’s a video about just that. The soundtrack is non-stop creaking. But what really appealed about this were the colours. The smudgey midnight blues of the trees against the orange and reds of the creatures, both of which are almost smothered by the white of the snow are fantastic. It’s a long video so you might want to wait until you get home to watch it. I would hate to be the cause of trouble at work, lord knows I have to tell myself off often enough for getting sidetracked. Funny little video, but the colours are marvellous and are used beautifully to tell the tale. Enjoy this eery but heart-warming winter wonderland.

Animation by Joanna Lurie

Our Feathered Friends in Print

 animals, Art, colour, decorative, Designer-Maker, illustrators, interiors, nice things, paper, texture  No Responses »
Dec 062012
 

Fanny Shorter Our Feathered Friends in Print

Another favourite from Cockpit Arts has to be these splendid little bird prints by illustrator and printmaker, Fanny Shorter. They are printed to scale using silk-screens, and represented here are some of the world’s smallest birds, and gosh, aren’t they teeny tiny? Bless ‘em. Makes the Finch look like a right little porker. The birds are printed in coloured layers, so each little bird comes alive after 5 or 6 different pulls of the squeegee. Their feathers are represented with different patterns making these truly lovely works of art. Utterly charming.

Get in touch with Fanny Shorter for a full list of birds and prices on 07890 920136, or via email at fannyshorter at gmail.com

Alternative Wrap

 Art, collaborations, colour, decorative, Designer-Maker, illustrators, London, nice things, paper, pattern, shopping, shops, stationery  No Responses »
Dec 052012
 

YCN wrap1 Alternative Wrap

On a post-lunch stumble with my jolly good friend Elias from Social Nesting, he took me to his new favourite treasure trove, YCN. Oh hello. A lovely mishmash of stuff, all beautifully designed and presented, you’ll be finding yourself craving all sorts of things you never knew you wanted. I think that’s the best sort of shop. I like to be surprised and fear predictability like I fear getting old. If you’re on the look out for some tasty wrap, and I don’t mean lunchables, then here’s the place. Three different designs by three different designers, you’ll bound to coo over at least one of them, if not all. I love ‘em all. At the top is ‘Cyclists’ by Evgenia Barinova, in the middle is ‘Stationery’ by Jamie Brown, and last, but not least, is ‘People & Animals’ by Daniel Frost. Lovely stuff.

A single sheet of wrapping paper is £2.50, A2 in size and printed on a 130gsm Cyclus Offset stock, available on-line and in-store at YCN, 72, Rivington Street, London.

Manolito’s Dream Palette

 animation, Art, colour, decorating, illustrators, inspirational, interiors, nice things, shopping, shops  1 Response »
Nov 212012
 

Manolitos Dream Manolitos Dream Palette

I’m still watching the animation that I featured in Monday’s blog post, Manolito’s Dream, and enjoying it so much that I’ve done a little interiors paint blog post to accompany it. The colours are marvellous in it, as are these, and whilst you may not use them all in one room (god forbid), they look pretty spectacular here all together. So, please enjoy the short and I hope you don’t all have nightmares of living in a room painted in all of those colours at once. Crikey, just think, D.I.S.C.O.

1. Heat, £30.50, Little Greene, 2.) Crown Paints’ Seville Orange, £23.98, B&Q, 3.) Rubberband, £34, Colour Makes People Happy, 4.) Washed Denim, £30, Mini Moderns, 5.) Blue’s Blue, £POA, PaintLibrary, 6.) Mid-Century Colours’ Garden City, £31.50, Fired Earth, 7.) What’s That Got To Do With The Price of Pork, £34, Colour Makes People Happy, 8.) Mist, £25, Habitat , 9.) Dulux’s Beeswax, £9.73, Homebase

Manolito’s Dream

 animation, Art, fun things, illustrators, nice things  1 Response »
Nov 192012
 

Manolito’s Dream from AllaKinda on Vimeo.

This is one to warm the heart on this chilly Autumnal day. Perfect when we’re all struggling to wake up of a morning and harder still to do anything but build a warm, wooly cocoon on the sofa. Manolito’s Dream comes direct from an animation studio based in Barcelona, called Alla Kinda. There is nothing fancy about this animation, but adorable it is from storyline to the gloriously delicious colour palette, it is naively drawn, though by that I mean no disrespect. It has a simplicity to it that nods to early 1950s style cartoons with a wholehearted goodness of all fairytale childhoods complete with lollypop-licking big bad wolf. You’ll start grinning about halfway through and the smile will remain etched on your face way past the end of your second viewing. Watch, and be warmed.

Strike a Pose

 Art, collaborations, colour, decorative, illustrators, nice things, shopping  No Responses »
Nov 132012
 

Tom Frost Strike a Pose

My dad used to collect matchboxes amongst other things, so not only do I view them nostalgically but they are now an area of enjoyment today for both of us. There is some smashing artwork on matchboxes, something that is made as much now with the decreasing numbers of smokers. Tis a shame, in a way but fear not, as screen printing illustrator Tom Frost has endeavored to bring the pleasures of matchbox art to the fore in his collection of limited edition prints for St. Jude’s. It would appear that some of the ones that I’ve featured above have already sold out, so if you likey likey, get onto the website pronto and snap up one of the few remaining prints.

screen printed matchbox art prints from £35, St. Jude’s Prints

Kitty On A Plate

 animals, ceramics, Designer-Maker, fun things, homewares, illustrators, kitchen, nice things, shopping, shops  1 Response »
Nov 082012
 

Kaoru Shibata Kitty On A Plate

Now, I realise that these might have been a bit more apt last week, but hey, better late than never. Never has a plate seen a cuter moggy than these Japanese felines. Cute without being cloying, these ceramics decorated by Japanese illustrator, Kaoru Shibata, are currently available to buy here in the UK and I could merrily consider making these my pets. Fab featured the mugs earlier on in the year, and are currently selling the plates as a set of 5 for £25.50. I have found very little information on Kaoru Shibata on UK websites so this might be a rare chance indeed. All details, including dimensions can be found here.

pixel Kitty On A Plate
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