Work in progress paper cut garlands.
Kaleido trays by Hay.
Hand dyed fringes necklaces made by my sister Coralie.
My sister's necklace hanging from a pig's head in my bedroom.
Seen on By Fry.
Birds from the Animalerie Quai de la Mégisserie, Paris.
Ducks from the village fête in Cahors (South West of France).
When Ophelia comes back from school she often comes to my studio and ask to do stuff with me (like drawing and making things). I had a dozen of Posca (water based paint markers. They are very easy to clean with window cleaner product) on my desk in front of me, and don't ask me why but I thought it would be fun to draw on the windows in the kitchen while Lucien was eating his goûter (4 o'clock snack). Ophelia was of course very excited as we usually never draw on the windows. We had a nice time making web shaped stars and leaves and other random drawings...
On saturday we will be at the airport to welcome Simon's brother and his 2 daughters who are coming all the way from Blenheim in New Zealand to visit us for few weeks. We haven't seen the girls since we went to New Zealand in 2008! Ophelia is super excited to see her cousins. The rest of the weekend will be enjoying eating chocolate! Enjoy your break.
The bunny was hand cut for the occasion. We went to the woods next to our home with my son Lucien to pick up sticks and we painted each one with different colours. Our son is loving bringing back home lots of wooden sticks at the moment so I thought it would be a nice thing to decorate them!
Few shots details of our home after a big Spring clear up last week...
Nous avons fait un grand rangement de Printemps la semaine dernière et avec ce beau soleil la maison est resplendissante de couleurs....
Oh yes! and it has been a pretty good one last week as well. I am very much enjoying working with a couple of creative people who are doing a project on Famille Summerbelle. Can't say much for now, but I will keep you informed before the Summer.
This is a photo of the mood board in my studio. I am really into bright colours at the moment. It must be thanks to the sun shinning outside.
Chatou is a place to the west of Paris where the Impressionists used to come and paint on the charming banks of the river Seine. Twice a year (March and September) a huge flea market La Foire à La Brocante et aux Jambons is set on the Ile des Impressionnistes. I recommend to have lunch at the nearby Maison Fournaise (where Renoir painted the famous painting Déjeuner des Canotiers). Sellers comes from all over France with exquisite (and often rather expensive) antique treasures. Mix with all the happy odds and ends you can have a little break at the many stands selling smoked hams and a selection of wine. As Chatou is very near to where we live I always try to go as I love flea markets and this one is quite exceptional. Unfortunately I often leave empty handed as it is so expensive but I feel so happy to have seen so many nice and inspiring things!
Have a nice weekend...
Detail from a large embroidery map of France.
Her paintings caught my eyes when I saw them hanging on the wall of the Design Files Open House. Kirra Jamisson is an Australian artist who grew up in Byron Bay and is now based in Melbourne. Oh! I'm in love with the colours...
Have a nice and sunny weekend les amis.
I love the retro furniture cabinet and table by Charlie Crowther-Smith, a Bristol based furniture designer. He will be exhibiting his range of furniture and lighting at Tent London in September.
Two Halves. A cabinet designed in collaboration with illustrator Christian Taylor.
Nightlight table designed with Richard Bannister.
Brrrr...I've never been so cold this morning when I took Ophelia to school: -8 degrees! The snow is not ready to melt with this ongoing temperatures below zero. I am longing for Spring to arrive!
To warm up a little with bright colours here is a selection of desk accessories from Danish brand Hay:
Geometrical trays.
By Eléonore Nalet and distributed by Ligne Roset. A delicate metallic chair dressed with long and comfortable cushions. I tried it and it's indeed very comfy!
I was very pleased to see the colourful throws and cushions by Scholten & Baijings on the Thomas Eyck stand at Maison & Objet. The quality (80% wool, 20% cotton) is impeccable and the colours so vibrant. Thomas Eyke is the publisher and distributer of beautifully selected design products. He commissions carefully chosen designers to work on a series of products each year. Material and techniques are chosen with the utmost care.
Under the cushions is the Aran rug by Christine Meindertsma.
Geometric neon art blocks by Sketchinc.
Miami airport walkway. Seen on Plenty of Colours
Kaléidoscope by Maud Vantours.
Paper sculpture by Maud Vantours.
2012 planner calendar by Julia Kostreva.
The other night I got lost the web looking at the amazing window displays from Anthropology (see my previous post). This one really caught my eyes...last Spring, Anthropology design team collaborated with the Cork Forest Conservation Alliance to create stunning one of a kind window displays. In an effort to raise awareness for the preservation of the Mediterranean cork forest, they donated 2.5 million corks to Anthropology, who used them to create these unique recycled displays...
Via Bubby and Bean, Natural Home & Garden.. View the making of here.
At the end of December last year, Simon and I went to NYC for few days. We stayed in the Meatpacking District very close to the Anthropologie store. I remember being very impressed by their window displays. Apart from the beautiful colours and visual layout, it was their attention to details and the hand made feel that I liked most.
The window displays I'm featuring below are not from this season but from Fall last year.
I love the geometrical shapes made from dyed fabric, paper and cardboard. It was nicely inspired from the Clouds from Kvadrat designed by the Bouroullec brothers.
Series of ambient lights designed by Dan Yeffet and Lucie Koldova. Hand blown glass and oak wood bases.
Manufactured by Brokis s.r.o.
Seen in Linea Studio.
Cristian Zuzunaga is a Spanish born artist/designer living in London. Zuzunaga studied a BA in Typo/Graphic Design at the London College of Communication, followed by an MA at the Royal College of Art.
Originally a student of biology, he was fascinated by the microscope and the way in which it enabled one to magnify an object to break it down into its smallest parts.
Though the biological studies did not last, the practice of magnifying did and to this day, breaking down patterns and images into their infinitesimal components remains at the core of his work.
This is a selection of his work for different projects using the designer's trademark pattern.
Cushions Squaring of the Circle for Kvadrat.
100% silk scarf designed for Colour Chart Exhibition at Tate Liverpool.
Special edition Pixellated fabric upholstering Springfield two seater sofa designed by Patricia Urquiola for Moroso.
Bed for Swedish bed manufacturer Hästens.
The Crimean pinecone lamp consists of 56 plates of slightly transparent wood held by screws. Boards are held together without an internal skeleton, this means that light passes through the gaps, producing a soft, warm glow.
By Russian designer Pavel Eekra.
I'm a big admire of the textile work by Elisa Strozyk. I did a post about her wooden textile back in 2010 and I was so pleased to see one of her piece in a shop in Eindhoven 2 months ago. Elisa uses a combination of wood and textile to create multi contoured surfaces for her new coloured wooden rugs.
