Famille Summerbelle

Eames Plastic Chair

With wood or metal legs, the Eames Plastic Chairs edited by Vitra have become iconic pieces in many homes. We have the white rocking armchair in the children's bedroom that I have used so many times to rock Lucien to sleep when he was a baby. It was a wedding present from Simon's mum and was our first designer chair to furnish our flat in London.This is a selection of Eames chairs from my Pinterest board:
1. Black with wooden legs from La Maison d'Anna G.
2. Mint rocking chair from the French designer Caroline Gomez.

3. A mix of earthy colours from Alvhem Mäkleri & Interiör.

4.White with wooden legs from Remain Simple.
5.White with metal legs from Emmas Design Blogg.

White rocking chair in the Italian home designed by architect Fabio Barilari. What a view!

Yellow with wooden legs from Bourbon Daisy.

48h in London

I should do this more often. Go to London just to party. I had a fantastic weekend with 12 girlfriends and my sisters to celebrate my (male) cousin's engagement. It was a sort of 'stag weekend' with girls!
Sorry I cannot share the photos of the party ;-) instead I'll show you some great photos of street art typo by Ben Eine in East London on Ebor Street and Hackney Rd (FS) and some of my favourite fabric shop The Cloth House on Broadwick Street, Soho.

Un Dimanche à Paris

Our new collection Un Dimanche à Paris including fine bone China mug, birch wood tray, cotton tea towel and wallpaper is now available on our website!

A Map of the World - Book

We are so happy to have our paper cut City maps featured in the new Gestalten book A Map of the World - The World Seen by Illustrators and Storytellers

A Map of the World is a compelling collection of work by a new generation of original and sought-after designers, illustrators, and mapmakers. This work showcases specific regions, characterizes local scenes, generates moods, and tells stories beyond sheer navigation. From accurate and surprisingly detailed representations to personal, naïve, and modernistic interpretations, the featured projects from around the world range from maps and atlases inspired by classic forms to cartographic experiments and editorial illustrations.

Martin Haake.
From left to right: Cruising Around Africa, Wine in Suedtirol, Service Plan in Munich.

Masako Kubo.
From top left to right:
Tuscany Italy, Samany & Erimo Green Map, Kyushu Japan.

Julie Marabelle.
Top left to right:
Paper cut Map of Paris, Map of San Francisco, Map of New York City.

London Map.

The book is available to purchase on Gestalten website and selected bookstores.

Maison et Objet - Part 3

It was a nice surprise to see so many different products by Dutch designers Stefan Scholten and Carole Baijings at the show (Scholten & Baijings Studio for Design). I am a huge fan of their minimal design with always this selected palette of bright colours and fine details.
For the Danish brand Hay, they designed a new range called Colour Tape, Colour Note, Colour Glasses with gradient colours for water glasses and gold lines for the champagne glasses.
Hay had an impressive stand at the show. The structure was made of natural wooden sticks with a mix of vivid colours from their entire product collection.

1. Hay stand in the hall 8.
2. Wooden Wonderland blocks designed by Lee Storm.
3.Colour Tea Towels and Bed Linen designed by Scholten & Baijings.
4.Mirror Shapes designed by Sylvian Willenz.

Colour Glasses and Colour Notes by Scholten & Baijings.

1. Hook Gym designed by Staffan Holm.
2 & 3. Wooden Wonderland by Lee Storm.

Office accessories by Hay.

Match boxes designed by Shane Schneck + Clara von Zweigbergk.

Scholten & Baijings also designed ceramic tableware for Thomas Eyck. The background stripy wallpaper is from Irma Boom.

This collection from Scholten & Baijings for Japanese company Karimoku New Standard was my favourite. The wood of the dotted table and stool was so soft and details of the lines and colours were so beautiful!
1. Colour Stool.
2. Colour Platter.
3. Mix of different products and Karimoku stand (Photo by Agence Violette)
4. Colour Wood table and cushion.
All products and furnitures by Scholten & Baijings.

Isabelle Gilles and Yann Poncelet founded Colonel in 2010. This was their forst collection at Maison et Objet. This fresh and colourfull collection was inspired by outdoor furniture aesthetics (think beach and camping). It is a contemporary re-reading of this universe mixing colours and patterns.

Brightly coloured geometric shapes were everywhere at the show, from Tom Dixon Eclectic candle packaging (3 - btw, gorgeous smell!), to the foldable cardboard stools for children (2) and the Alpaca wool blackets by Lucky Boy Sunday(3).

And... I had to mentioned the oh-so-famous Missoni geometric patterns. I love the oversized lampshades!

That's it for Maison et Objet. The next time i'll talk about it will be in September...now i'm off to pick up the children from school :-)

Macro knits and stitches. Maison & Objet - Part 2.

Since the Aran rug knitted with large needles and thick wool by Dutch designer Christine Meindertsma (a post I did back in december 2009), it seems that the trend of macro knits has taken over in our interiors: from the Phat knits by dutch designer Bauke Knottnerus, to the beautiful Knit stools by Irish textile designer Claire-Anne O'Brien to the Serpentine Chair by Eléonore Nalet for Ligne Roset.

This trends continues with the Mangas Collection for Spanish company Gan designed by Patricia Urquiola. The original idea was inspired in the look of hand-woven sweaters and the results is the most original.

Same very unique design but this time with macro stitches by Charlotte Lancelot. Gan has launched a new concept called Gan Spaces. The rug is the starting point and then you have the option to elaborate in its design by adding coordinating cushions, poufs and accessories.

Maison et Objet - after show review. Part 1

Hi! Bonjour! We are back to our cosy studio after 5 days exhibiting our collection at Maison et Objet in the north of Paris. For a lot of people it has been rather difficult to get to the show as the airport closed down for a few hours, flights and trains were delayed due to the heavy snowfall. But despite the bad weather, we had a great time catching up with old friends and meeting new people.

This time we had a corner stand (they are highly sought after!) and we were surrounded by fantastic companies such as Engel , Oeuf be Good, Laurette and Anne-Claire Petit.
These are a few snapshots from our stand that I took with my phone so I apologise for the poor quality of the photos!

I made a little display of our beautiful photos styled by Aurelie Lecuyer.


We presented our new mug and tray from the collection Un Dimanche à Paris. The new products will be available on our website next week. Also on display are our new tray and mug from Morning in Manhattan collection and the book from Edition Paumes Be Creative with Famille Summerbelle. Our tea towels and cushions are nicely packed in this new brown card and white triangles packaging.


I made 2 wooden swings with bright neon pink strings to hold our promotional cards. Behind are hanging the colourful paper honeycombs by our Dutch neighbour Engel.

Over the next few days I will pull together photos to show you my favourite brands and products I spotted at the show.

Maison & Objet 2013

This week we are setting up our stand at Maison et Objet trade show in the north of Paris. We are very excited to go back as exhibitors for the second time around (our first show there was back in September). We have a bigger, corner stand (hurray!) so if you visit the show, come say hello!

Apologies for not posting much while the show is on. I'll be back very soon...

Coloured resine tables

By Japanese designer Jo Nagasaka of Schemata Architecture Office. The table smooth and colourful surface is achieved by pouring coloured epoxy onto the uneven surface of the wooden table. The colour of the resin is more or less intense depending on the varying depths of the wood across its surface. Isn't it beautiful?

Embroidery of the World

Happy new year to you all! I hope you had a wonderful time during the holidays. We are just back from London where we spent 4 days partying, drinking (tea!), relaxing and visiting friends and family. Now we're back in Paris and sadly the sky is as grey as it was in London...
To start the year I wanted to share with you this beautiful book Embroidery Design of the World I bought it when I was in Japan back in September. Embroidery is not usually my thing, but I was so fascinated by the drawings, patterns and colours that I needed to have it on my bookshelf! I often flick through the pages to find inspiration.

The best of 2012

Looking back, 2012 has been an amazing year.
We've launched 2 new collections The Perfomers and Morning in Manhattan, a book, paper cut maps, screen prints and I enjoyed working with Issey Miyake on the World Map collection.
We also had plenty of relaxing holidays in France, Copenhagen and Japan. Ophelia learnt to read and write in Franglais (French & English). Lucien turned from a toddler to a very funny little boy, making us laugh a lot but also making us crazy at times being so cheeky!

I wanted to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who've been reading the blog this year. We've had a lot of fun sharing all the things we love with you and look forward to continuing in 2013.
Thank you for supporting us and for spreading the work of Famille Summerbelle. Your lovely encouraging messages really mean a lot to us.

Enjoy the rest of your holidays and see you in 2013!

Julie & Simon xx

*Inspiring colours at Maison & Objet.

*Launch of our City Maps Paper Cuts Originals and the making of San Francisco map.

*We went away to relax in the Alps to recover from a nasty flu...
*Vintage finds at the Brocante de Chatou.
*The art of screen printing our City maps.

*In April I was really loving the colour Yellow.
*Photo shoot at home with the team of Edition Paumes for the preparation of our first book Be Creative with Famille Summerbelle. Ophelia enjoys posing in front of the camera!
*Easter break in Ile de Ré.

*Long weekend with the family in Copenhagen. We loved it and cannot wait to go back.

*We enjoyed Spring time in Paris (my favourite time of the year) while working on two new collections The Performers and Morning in Manhattan.

*Ophelia turns 6!
*Simon completed l'Etape du Tour, a stage of Le Tour de France in the Alps.
*Launch of our first book Be Creative with Famille Summerbelle.

*The launch of the World Map collection with Issey Miyake.
*Time to switch off and relaxing in the South West of France with family and friends.

*First day of school for Lucien (not even 3!)
*Launch of The Performers at Maison & Objet.
*Voyage in Japan for an exhibition of Famille Summerbelle in Tokyo and the book launch Be Creative with Famille Summerbelle at the Galerie Doux Dimanche.

*Launch of Morning in Manhattan.

*Lucien blows his 3 candles.
*Working of the Little Houses project.
*Start thinking about Christmas while making the advent calendar.

*I am enjoying time at my mum's ceramic studio to make little stars, houses and xmas trees.
*Prepping for a Christmas photo shoot at home.
*We're all in the mood for Christmas, decorating the tree, making sablés and watching xmas movies...

Merry Christmas

This is a little selection from my Pinterest Christmas board to wish you all a wonderful, relaxing and joyful time with your loved ones over the Christmas holidays.
This year we are staying in Paris celebrating the French way on Christmas eve with family around a festive table (opening presents at midnight)...and the English way on Christmas day with a yummy breakfast while the children will open more presents followed by a late lunch. For desert we will have the traditional Christmas pudding and the French Bûche de Noël (a chocolate iced cake shaped as a log).
For the rest of the week, we will take it easy!
Images from top left:
Sparkles on reindeer. Carol- Oh yei!
Merry Christmas. The House That Lars Built.
May your days be merry and bright. Jan of Poppytalk.
Antique glass trees. Plenty of colour.

Hannah Waldron

I recently came across the work of London based designer Hannah Waldron and I was blown away by her bold yet delicate geometrical shapes of rooftops, buildings and intricate Cityscape.

Wallpaper design for Pizza Express.

Hand printed paper created for The Poundshop.

Screen printed posters.

Textile design for R. Newbold of Paul Smith.

You can also view her latest hand weaving series on Tumblr.

Textile walls

Inspiring colourful textile walls by Dutch artist Wies Preijde.

Demond Meek

The series of derelict homes from the East coast of America by photographer Demond Meek are a real inspiration for my current project on houses. Check his Slumbeautiful site, and follow him on Instagram here.

Making Christmas

More on my latest ceramics.This weekend we made lovely biscuits with Ophelia, and we ate them all in in a day!

My ceramic Christmas trees

This is another fun side project I've been working on lately at my mum's ceramic studio in Paris.

I have also made a series of little houses, mushrooms and a snail which I will show you very soon...Vive Noël!

The making of the stars & the Christmas tree

This year we decided to make the decoration to go on the Christmas tree. The children and I started about a month ago to make stars from clay, it became our favourite activity of rainy Sundays! Ophelia helped to shape the stars and Lucien to paint them afterwards. We added a little bit of pink and glitter, just because we like it... Hope you like it too!

Countdown til' xmas...

Last night while the children were asleep I was setting up their advent calendar I secretly made over the past few days. I got some little things like crayons, hair clips, Kinder chocolates, some Playmobiles toys and other silly things. I used a gold crepon paper to make the little houses and pinned them to the wall in the shape of a Christmas tree ( I actually got inspired by similar advent calendars I saw on Pinterest).

My best present was this early morning when the children walked out of their bedroom. The first reaction I could hear was Whooouaaaaa! Then they were jumping screaming 'yeah! c'est bientôt Noel! Merci maman! T'es trop gentille! T'es la meilleure maman du monde!
It's nearly Christmas! Thank you mummy! You are so nice! You're the best mummy in the World!.
Happy happy morning.

Weaving materials

We Make Carpets is a Dutch collective who mixes traditional skills to make unusual carpets with a critical view of the consumer society. At first you see a beautifully crafted carpet, but with a closer look you discover surprising items like soldier figurines, band-aids, or plastic forks cleverly assembled to create colourful graphic patterns.

Seen on Plenty of Colour.