colourliving

a day of good design with ilse crawford

Everyone that reads my blog or who knows me personally won’t be surprised to know that i love creativity, emotional and intelligent design, slow living, well-being and authentic food. I go on about these often enough!

I don’t follow groups, religions, trends, am not a groupie and don’t have many role models. There are very few people that i identify with on many levels and who inspire me. One of them is ilse crawford!

I first came across ilse when i bought my very first issue of elle decoration, back in 1990, a year after she founded the british magazine, hailed as an international decorating bible. Ilse is often credited with teaching the british to love modern interiors.

My interest was piqued and i started following her career. After a short stint in new york (working for donna karan), she came back to the uk and in 2000 became the editor of a new magazine – ‘bare’, a stylish, but very much ahead of its time, bible to well-being. I loved it but it was short-lived!

Then came the position of head of department for man and well-being at design academy eindhoven in holland (regarded by many as the best design school in the world) and ilse had also started her own design studio and consultancy: studioilse.

For those of you who are not familiar with studioilse and its DNA, it’s very much based on the fact that it gives a human perspective to design which is emotional and intelligent. Really quite different to your usual interior design practice. I don’t like calling them that anyway. They are so much more! Studioilse once described their values as:

“we are fascinated by what drives us, brings us together and ultimately makes us feel alive. The studio manifests this through brand development, concept creation, interiors, furniture and products – design that can provide a frame for life”

For me they design a blueprint to entire environments, from thinking about the human experience, to creating a unique identity which can then evolve and morph into its own, thus adding meaning to our lives. They’ve done this with soho house, new york, babington house and with every single project undertaken since. Some further examples: high road house, kettner’s in soho, the electric cinema, the olde bell.

You wouldn’t think that with all this there is much time left to write books. But, hey, we all know women are great at multi-tasking and ilse is a pro at it! I urge everyone of you to obtain a copy of both, the sensual home and home is where the heart is.

Apart from beautiful, they both illustrate ilse’s philosophical approach of seeking the emotional needs before tackling the design side of an environment or space! This was a huge influence for me when designing my own home. It was more about how i navigate my space, how i like to sit, eat, lounge, entertain, over the pure colour, look or style of a piece of furniture or where to place it so it fits within the design parameters . It’s a philosophy that has enhanced my daily life at home and is contributing to my overall well-being.

So, i was delighted when i first read that ilse crawford joined the school of life (TSOL) faculty. I’ve been a huge fan and supporter of TSOL since their launch in 2008. I had missed out on the very first ‘a day of good design with ilse crawford’ back in 2011 so was super excited to get on the list for this second event last saturday!

Our group of 20 people met at her lovely apartment and although i had seen many photographs in magazines, there is nothing really like seeing something in real life and getting that ‘sense’ and ‘feeling’ of it. It’s full of personality and personal touches, lots of keepsakes, invites, postcards and a multitude of books! It is exactly how i imagined it to be. A ‘real’ home lived in by people (ilse and her columbian husband oscar pena angarita) who understand their needs and habits – a truly ‘human’ space. I didn’t take any pictures of the apartment as after brief introductions we went straight up to the studio, but also i didn’t want to intrude in their private space!

The studio, up one flight of stairs from the apartment is filled with daylight, and has this wonderful ‘creative’ feeling you get in a space where many talented people come together to work on brands, buildings, furniture and products. All white, including the wonderful eames chairs and wästberg lights, it seems as if the plain backdrop helps with the creativity. Colour is introduced through magazines, books and magazine tear sheets, used as mood boards. Sitting there you get a real sense of being part of the outside. It’s quite magical.

Ilse was incredibly generous with sharing about her business, her design principles, how projects are tackled, the different phases of a project and the good, the bad and the ugly! The main points were that with every new project the team first analyses context, background, history and the surroundings of the building. Then they look at the needs of the people using the space. Now the process begins with getting the client to agree while also liaising with the architects. Studioilse likes to use local tradesmen. Private projects can take between 2-4 years. Commercial ones take less and always need to be rushed. Few clients understand design and the impact it can have. Studioilse prefers to head a project from its initial conception, rather than being called in as an afterthought and often to remedy a project gone wrong!

Ilse talked us through a recently completed project. Ett hem. They converted a 100-year-old house in stockholm into a boutique hotel. Designed and intended to be used like staying in a friend’s house, ett hem has a number of communal spaces where guests are encouraged to mingle. You can “sit in the kitchen, have a drink in the sitting room, pick up a book in the library or snuggle down by the fireplace.”

Ilse also introduced us to the precious collection studioilse did for denmark’s biggest design brand georg jensen (see below). My favourite was the mama vase. Watch the video that supports this collection here.

The collection “brings a renewed sense of ritual to enhance our everyday habits”. Water is a basic need and ilse, as well as consulting on an ongoing exhibition, 1% water is also writing her third book on this subject.

I was happy to see the studio as they’ll be moving to new premises to accomodate more staff. It was a real honour to have been given the opportunity to see the space where so many wonderful designs have originated from, a really special treat for me!

We left for our next destination. The wapping project. Although i’ve been there a couple of times before, it’s years since i last went and hence it felt like the first time. Impressive, full of history and depth.This was our destination for lunch and we also got treated to an interesting and uplifting talk by founder and curator jules wright (a personal friend of ilse crawford). I will blog separately about jules and the wapping project as it’s such an amazing story and she’s an incredible woman.

Suffice to say, lunch was superb! The food at the wapping project is simple, delicious and fuss-free. Ingredients are carefully sourced and the service was outstanding!

From there we went on to the garden museum, based in the deconsecrated parish church of st mary-at-lambeth adjacent to lambeth palace.  The museums main gallery is the main space for their collection of tools, prints, photographs and library. You’ll find insight into the social history of gardening as well as the practical aspects of the subject. The museum covers the whole range of gardening, from royal gardens to allotments. In the early 1980s, a 17th century style ‘knot garden’ was created in the churchyard, planted with authentic plants of the period.

We stopped off for afternoon tea and a talk by alun jones of dow and jones architect.

Alun jones talked to us about their award-winning design in transforming the museum into a centre for exhibitions and events through the construction of contemporary gallery spaces.

” The garden museum is housed in a listed former church. We designed a two-storey structure that wraps around the aisles of the existing building. The new structure creates new galleries for the permanent collection and for temporary exhibitions, and an education room”

They are about to go into phase 2, where they’ll double the space for display of the permanent collection, 95% of which is in store, and create extra space for schools and community outreach work, in addition to a bigger café and modern visitor services.

From there, we took a short stroll along the river to vauxhall where our next stop was lassco, brunswick house. I blogged about it here and here. This was a perfect ending to our day. A great space that had nothing done to it and yet it lives and breathes through the fantastic objects and artefacts it sells. It’s success comes from the ever changing unique stock and the way it gets displayed and moved around. Every time you walk in there you feel as if you’re in a different space. It’s like an aladdin’s cave.

We all had a rummage around and then congregated in the café for a drink, a little chat and our good-byes.

For me, it was the perfect day. The sun was shining and i got to spend time in the company of a woman who’s been a great influence on my own design and well-being philosophy. There is so much more i could have asked ilse.

More importantly, she is even nicer than i expected. Warm, unassuming, intelligent, softly spoken, thought-provoking, vulnerable, strong, generous and very wise. She has an incredibly calm aura and what struck me most were her impeccable communication skills.

“Ilse is also an influential author, international public speaker and has been named one of britain’s most influential women.” MONOCLE

Yes, all of these are true, but ilse understands that people and teams are at the core of the most wonderful visions and without them very little of any significance can be achieved. Having met phil and janis on the day, it is evident that ilse leads with heart and mind, empowering her staff and allowing them to flourish in their own rights. Ilse is definitely the face for studioilse but i think in her mind it’s all about the people around her, her brood, her (maybe) biggest achievement to date.

Thank you to clemmy and mary (TSOL) for organising this wonderful day!

This post will stay up till next thursday.

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pick me up – somerset house

The embankment galleries at somerset house have been, for the fourth year, transformed into this vibrant art and design event. Pick me up is a 11-day festival of contemporary graphic art, design and illustration from around the world. It runs until the 28th april and i popped in last thursday for an hour or so to take a peek and get you the lowdown.

As you enter you immediately see ‘pick me up selects’, featuring 17 international up-and-coming illustrators and graphic artists that have been specially selected by a distinguished panel from the graphics world. The designers range in experience, style, and focus and i’ve selected some of my favourites for you.

Wild cats by tom edwards. I particularly liked the lion.

Some doodle-bombing by hattie stewart (self-professed professional doodler), where she draws over the covers of influential fashion publications.

American born ping zhu works primarily with gouache on paper and cites charles harper and henri matisse as stylistic and colour inspiration for her work. I found her illus­tra­tion style exciting with expres­sive brush­strokes that bring so much life to each image. Judge for yourselves.

Daniel frost graduated from the royal college of art in 2012. I really loved the imaginary worlds and characters inspired by the strangeness of everyday life. The mix of originals and 3d creations are from his forthcoming children’s book ‘a day in frostville’.

Damien florébert cuypers graduated in 2006 in lyon, france. His small format crayon illustrations appear weekly in the french grazia magazine, as well as the new york times t magazine. For the past 2 years damien has been producing one minute portraits in crayons.

Damien will be available on thursdays, saturdays and sundays from 2-5pm throughout the event to create live one minute portraits. To commission a portrait, book a slot with damien. £25 per portrait. Aren’t these great?

Damien in action.

Upstairs you’ll find art collectives and galleries, my favourite part. It’s vibrant, alive and interactive and you need to check out the daily events that are on offer. Walking through, it feels more like visiting their art studios. It has this lived-in feel that lends the event this vibrant atmosphere. There’s food, drink and people get involved in printing, gaming and talking to the artists and designers. In the past years i did spent much more time and really enjoyed it. There was far too much to photograph and write about, so here’s just a snippet of what you’ll find!

Loved this bus by charlotte mei. A worthy addition to any ceramics collection!

Human After All presents #FaceStamp, an ink-teractive art experience that lets you create faces using ink stamps. Participants can choose their favourite stamps from the face stamp! collection and create their own unique works of art.

A highlight for me was meeting some of the girls that belong to the zombie collective. For this event they came up with this rather ingenius ideas machine. The collective is made out of joely brammer, rebecca jay, alice lickens, maggie li, frann preston-gannon.

How much fun is this? Once you spinned, this draw would open and you can pick up your present. Fab!

Every year there’s a studio in residency for the whole event. This year they’ve invited back print club london. This year, it’s all about the graphic designer bob gill. They’ve invited 10 illustrators to use bobs hand coloured screenprints as inspiration and produce new pieces in their own styles. You can get involved and print and colour-in your own. Magic!

See nelly duff‘s area. A series of pablo delgado originals and screen-printed editions, as well as unique paste-ups created especially for the exhibition are currently on display.

This is the first year there’s a online shop. Apart from that you can buy pretty much everything on display. Prints, limited-editions, one-offs, everything can be ordered at various checkpoints and picked up when you exit. A lot of the art is very affordable which makes this a popular event to go to.

In the gallery shop you’ll find everything from books to magazines to prints, artefacts et cetera.Here i’ve picked 2 pieces that caught my eye but are more expensive.  Mark ward is a graphic artist & art director living and working in london. His work is fuelled by an adoration of americana that is fragmented through his british perspective. These cost £1500 each.

I hope that some of you have already been or are maybe planning a visit. There’s a lot to see, a lot to buy and you’ll come away with tons of inspiration.

I seriously could get used to the weather we had over the weekend. It was just magical. I’m also glad that the marathon was incident free and that they paid tribute to the lives lost in the boston bombing. I hope you have a good start to the week and will see you back here on thursday.

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the monocle café

It’s finally here, well sort of. The monocle café has arrived in london. You’ll find a soft opening at the moment until the doors officially open on monday 15th april at 7am. This is their second café, it follows on from the success of the first one opened in tokyo at end of 2011.

The café’s great location just happens to be near the monocle HQ. Chiltern street is a perfect spot as it’s round the corner from foodie’s haven in marylebone high street, only a few minutes walk from the monocle shop and very close by to selfridges. Perfect!

I arrived at the end of the day, near closing time. Instead of a calm and quiet, not yet fully opened café, I found a heaving place already very much alive and lived in. Why was i surprised? It’s a monocle venture after all! Judging from the photos i’d seen in the press, i thought i might not connect with the space in the same way i connect with the magazine. Well, how wrong can a girl be? It’s every bit as inviting and stimulates your senses. On reflection, it did help that it was full of handsome men. But seriously, the place oozes personality and as soon as I walked in, I definitely felt I entered the monocle world that I’ve grown to love, from its magazine to the radio show, the shops, the products and all other offerings that so seamlessly encompass their brand.

I was scheduled to see stewart, the lovely café manager, for a little interview but as mr tyler brûlé himself was in the house, i didn’t get to spend more than 5 minutes with him as all staff were running around tyler while simultaneously serving everyone. But hey, they haven’t officially opened yet and as we’ve come to expect from the monocle brand, detail is key and tyler is the master at it. I did, however, get a chance to spend a couple of moments catching up with the boss himself. I must say, he was looking very dapper! (don’t worry, i told him so).

Back to the two-floor café, as I was saying, it already looked very much lived in and that’s mostly due to the brilliant design, furniture and materials used throughout. I particularly liked the lighting, which lends the atmospheric ambience. The black ebolicht pendants lights from manufactum are robust and perfect for the upstairs space. Although very japanese/scandinavian in its design, normally associated with minimalism, the café feels somehow sumptious and abundant.

Monocle’s in-house design team, led by yoshitsugu takagi, worked with edo design and construction, a trusted band of 12 japanese architects and joiners, based in london. The tasmanian oak tables, stools and barstools are from onethird, a young australian design firm of tasmanian craftsmen.

At the back of the ground floor you have a salon/living room where they’ll be broadcasting live on monocle 24. There you can relax on the feather upholstered japanese oak sofa and ottomans from truck in osaka.

Throughout the café there are back-issues of the monocle magazine and there’s wi-fi for subscribers.

Downstairs, available for hire (exclusively to subscribers) you can hold meetings and presentations. Kitted out in vintage ercol chairs and tables from local store, century. Don’t you love the le klint pendants? One wall is adorned with framed prints, all featured in monocle magazines.

You won’t be surprised to know that the coffee and food has been meticously sourced and selected. Coffee comes from allpress espresso, the new zealand suppliers. As of 15th april, there’ll be daily deliveries of fresh macarons, green tea roll cake and strawberry gateau, curteousy of japanese chef masayuki hara. Food will see the likes of a range of dishes, including their swiss-inspired bircher muesli, a rich and cheesy monocle toasty and their own midori salad, made with seasonal ingredients. I believe, these are some of tyler’s favourite snacks. For now, until they open, you can find cake and these..

The staff, of course, wear special aprons, each one hand-made and sewn by master craftsmen with yarn canvas.

Let’s please not forget another important part. The bathroom, as monocle likes to call it. Oak-panelled and installed with a toto washlet and hand basin, it wraps up the entire monocle philosophy.

For me, it was like walking into a familiar world. As a fan and long-time monocle reader i pretty much loved everything about it and cannot wait to return when it officially opens. It feels like a small version of a membership club (without the membership), where you can have a coffee and read the papers or actually stop for some lunch. On the other hand you might want to lounge, do some work and listen to live broadcasting of monocle 24 or maybe you just want to meet up with friends and business colleagues. Its warm, friendly and inviting and i believe it’s everything tyler wants it to be. Go and see for yourselves.

The Monocle Café opens 15th April at 7am
18 Chiltern Street
London W1U 7QA
Please check for opening times.

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attendant espresso & food café

Oh, you know i like a good story. Boy have i got a good one for you today!

Sometimes this morning, just as i was about to publish my latest blog post I saw a tweet my friend mr walnutgrey put out. He was also going to alert me personally of a post he read on this new discovery of an underground 1890 victorian gentleman’s toilet converted into an espresso and food café, called attendant! They opened their doors on 18th February 2013.

I took one look and was hooked. I simply had to go down there and see for myself. A quick change of arrangements, a phone call to see if the owner was present, 30 minutes later, wet and cold from being on the vespa in snowy conditions i had arrived! (the things i do for my readers:-) I don’t know why but something drew me there….

Look at this beauty (peter, the owner calls it his shop front). This was 9 months in the making. Apparently it took numerous coats of paint to get the ironwork looking like this! It is literally stunning, do you agree?

Oh, i already started fantasising about the spicy carrot soup. Yum!

Yep, you see correctly. You can pull up in your ride, ring the bell and they’ll serve you curbside. Genius!

Look at that entrance…mysterious, full of anticipation and excitement. What awaits me downstairs?

In i went and was greeted by a warm and welcoming space, full of little details and wonderful smells (NO, not the smells you’re thinking of:-) Funnily enough, 2 people today told me that they weren’t sure they could eat in a place that once used to be a victorian gentleman’s toilet. Really? What about living in a house that used to be a petrol forecourt? I could go on. I tend to see these matters as historic anecdotes, nothing more and nothing less. I was so taken by the design and finish of the place that it never even crossed my mind once!

The door is the anchor to it all. It stems back to 1890 That’s where the attendant’s office used to be back when it was a gent’s loo. I LOVE that although it’s been converted  into a kitchen it’s been left as it is and although the staff go in and out of the door into the kitchen and serving area, the fact that it stops mid height brings with it an air of openness and transparency and a little humour.

Meet peter tomlinson, the brainchild of this most unusual venture. Although extremely busy and not stopping even once while i was there, he kindly answered all my probing questions and satisfied my curiosity. A fellow scooter rider, i think he appreciated i zoomed right down with the purpose to blog about ‘attendant’.

So, the story goes that peter and his mate ben, who used to live in new york, were sitting in the pub above attendant and discussing how cool it would be to open a coffee shop. Originally from sheffield, peter worked in PR and marketing. After a few beers and a couple of meetings they saw a ‘to let’ sign just outside the pub. Yes, it was a former public toilet but in 1989 had been bought by a Mr. S to turn into a design studio. Unfortunately, it didn’t take off and the site was boarded up till recently when Mr. S died.

On the market for 12 months, albeit with a lot of interest from people, the licence was only meant to allow for a sandwich and coffee shop. Bingo! Peter and ben were the lucky applicants!

The results are staggering. Being down there i completely forgot about the spaces’ history. Tiled throughout, they’ve placed a lot of importance on lighting. From ceramic lights on the ceiling, to vintage lights and mercury lights from a beachfront shop in LA. They have tolix chairs and the café still features the 1890s doulton & co. urinals. Don’t fret, now they’re being used as dividers for seats with the victorian hand dryer still being placed above. Trust me, you soon forget about them as urinals but rather will look upon them as a design statement. I think it’s genius and beautiful! Feast your eyes….

Now to the food and drink. As i was chatting to peter it daunt on me that their philosophy is one of caring for the environment and for our wellbeing. They carefully source all their produce and peter is very proud of their choices. Coffee, after much research comes from caravan, the organic milk is sourced from ivy house farm milk. They have 120 jersey cows on their farm. You can have an almond milk porridge. The brown bag crisps are hand cooked in olive oil (the only ones in the uk to do so). They use bread from the bread factory and what impressed me most was that they had reverse osmosis water filters build in to maximise on the taste and health properties of any drink made with water. I wish more places would do that!

I believe that attendant are the first café to use these ‘perfect cup’ in the UK, if not europe!

These posters hang in pride as you walk in the door!

Everything is considered and thought through. Here’s my lunch. Delicious and beautifully presented!

I knew something made me drop everything and rush there today.  To me this is a winning formula of kick-ass concept, great design with some gorgeous details and an admirable philosophy in how to serve food and drinks. I truly loved it and will be back often.

I asked peter what kind of marketing and PR they did.  He said they had agreed on a ‘people discovery strategy’. Well, rest assured, the whole world will soon know about this and i wouldn’t be surprised if it won’t be used as a case study in business and marketing courses.

Thank you peter for your time and thank you to your utterly charming staff. Sorry if i was in your way! See you soon!

I know i’m late with my blog today but i hope you’ll agree that it was worth the wait. I urge you to go and visit! Have a great weekend. Let’s not talk about the weather. See you monday!

Attendant
Downstairs, 27a Foley Street,
London W1W 6DY

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lassco – part 2

Who is looking forward to the easter break? C’mon, don’t all shout at once:-)

As promised, here’s the second part of the LASSCO post. If you missed the first one, here it is again. So once you’ve admired the outdoor offerings, you can either enter the doors leading to the brunswick house café or first go and be mesmerised by the offerings in the main house.

We are starting with the main house. Come on through. You’ll find a roomy georgian interior, divided into many rooms and floors.

It’s impossible to photograph all, so i picked out what i thought were interesting salvaged curiosities. What do you think?

They have quite a few horn trophys. In my last post i showed an oryx hunting trophy.  I know antlers are really in fashion right now, but why not have something that’s far more unique?

I fell in love with this east asian carved wooden horse. A mere £1400;-)

A ngaady helmet mask from the Kuba tribe. At £485, not too shabby.

A yoruba tribe mask. Yours for £420.

A large ‘white maiden’ helmet mask…. £675.

Oh, he’s not for the faint-hearted. A face mask made from fibre glass and spray painted gold. Around £300.

I really fancied these stained and painted glass panels. Prices vary.

This cheerful fella was an unusual educational plaster cast of a male torso, with detailed map showing the meridians of acupuncture. C. 1918. To be had for £1400.

The following room had much more recognisable items. Here you can find alphabet letters and numerals, door knobs, coloured flex etc.

These enamelled watering cans are gorgeous. I wanted the copper one.

So, through the house you can also get to the wonderful café. What i like best about it is the informal atmosphere. Here you will find staff that love their job. Everything displayed in the café is for sale, which makes it a pretty fantastic space. While i was there, some of the guys were busy taking down some stock exchange clocks that had been sold. When i returned an hour later, some wonderful print was hanging from the ceiling in the same spot. It’s vibrant, fun, eclectic and full of inspiration. Why not go and have a drink or meal while looking at beautiful artefacts and furniture?

These bar stools had my name on it. I really want them, so off to inquire!

The front room of the café is more interesting. You will find many mix and match seatings, beautiful lights hanging from above and lots of desirable prints.

This is the back room and seating is a little more uniform. But look at the luscious and fantastic lights displays.

Well, i hope you enjoyed this little tour of LASSCO. I urge anyone to take a trip there as no pictures or story reflects the true beauty and uniqueness of this place. Of course, their wonderful offerings come at a price. Personally, i’d rather have a unique item that will be with me forever. The question is why can LASSCO command their prices? The answer: because you’ll probably not find such interesting curiosities elsewhere and therefore they simply just can! I’m a fan!

LASSCO & Brunswick House Café
30 Wandsworth Road
Vauxhall
London SW8 2LG

Happy Easter everyone. Have a great time and enjoy yourselves. See you monday, hopefully, with another dose of vive la différence.

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lassco – part 1

It’s monday. It’s freezing. I’ve spent most of the weekend in bed nursing a cold. Happy to report i’m back on form!

A few weeks ago, when there was a hint of spring in the air, I hopped over to what is ‘the prime resource for architectural antiques, salvage and curiosities’. LASSCO, a mansion nestled in midst the vauxhall roundabout crossing and once the home of a duke, is now a vast space where reclaimed furniture and vintage paraphernalia sit alongside and share the rooms with beautiful antiques. There’s also a patio garden and the wonderful brunswick house café. And to be clear, everything you see there is for sale (bar the staff)!

There’s too much to show you in one post so i decided to split them into two. Today is all about the outdoors. Come back on thursday for some real interiors gems.

Have a look at these garden ornaments. All i needed was a big van and lots and lots of money and i would have gladly bought them all:-)
Which one do you like? Oh, go on, pretend it’s spring, it’s hot and you have a garden or roof terrace and, an unlimited budget.

I love this period fern and blackberry pattern cast iron and wooded slated garden bench. It’s £3,500, but hey, we said we won’t worry about price!

These ornate railings are beautiful. I particularly like the first one with the repeating birds and scroll design.

This planter, here below, had an incredible patina and thankfully was already sold!

Who doesn’t love an old street sign?

And now here are two heart breakers. Aren’t their expressions just wonderful? I was standing there imagining what names i would choose….

On the theme of ornaments, i thought i would include two further pictures of what you can expect to find inside LASSCO.

These last two were just a teaser. Hopefully they’ll get you excited for thursday’s post. Part 2 will show you what i found inside LASSCO and the brunswick house café. Hope to see you then:-)

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meettheblogger – london design tour

Over this weekend a whole bunch of european and some international bloggers descended on london to attend the meet the blogger event. After a day filled with talks and workshops, it was my turn to design and lead this sophisticated lot around a walking tour of design shops and businesses around portobello and notting hill.

We met at our first destination, the tom dixon shop, where we were each given one of their fluoro bags. This turned out to be a life saver as it was dead easy for me to shepherd them around and quickly spot the whole group.

Next on the list was the eclectic goldborne road, where we visited phoenix on goldborne and les couilles du chien. I want to give a big shout out to ben, who works at les couilles du chien for especially coming in to open up on a sunday (as a favour). I owe you chocolates:-)

Walking down the very long portobello road.

Despite the cold, the bloggers were cheerful, excitable and ready for the next adventures. One of them brought their mum. Now, that’s lateral thinking on mother’s day!

Pedlars welcomed us with open arms. We were given coffee & tea, goodie bags and sophie kindly gave us a talk on the brilliant concept. Thank you so much guys, we had a blast and everyone loved it.

Naughty but nice!

Ceramica blue was another highlight of the tour. Not known to most, the bloggers flocked in and devoured all the beautiful displays. Lindy, thank you for the generous discount and for making us feel welcomed!

SCP was next on the list. A huge thank you to duncan for coming in especially to give us a talk on how it all started. It was fascinating. Thank you also for the goodie bags and nibbles. I think no one wanted to leave. Your shop/showroom is beautiful and cosy.

Our last stop was at made.com Their beautiful showroom on the 9th floor is definitely worth visiting. Thank you james for taking the initiative and amy for the talk. I think everyone was so comfortable and greatful for the drinks and nibbles at the end of a rather eventful weekend. It was the perfect ending!

I would like to thank everyone who attended the design tour for your dedication, high spirits, support and for hanging in there despite the cold. I certainly had a blast and hope you had fun, came away with lots of inspiration and some goodies. A big shout out to all the mummies who somehow managed to free themselves, it’s very much appreciated. I do hope everyone got home safely and that you enjoyed the whole weekend.

Thank you mary-ellen and kelly for your support throughout the weekend and for my lovely flowers.

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ycn

Today i’d like to introduce you to a wonderful ‘space’ that is all about creativity and is often on my radar when in shoreditch.

It’s not a shop per se but a space, a creative hub, a community for designers. Instead of me trying to ‘awkwardly’ explain this creative venture, i thought i’ll rope in the lovely jennie, who as the shop and library manager is far more equipped to tell the tale. Handing you right over:

Can you explain a little about YCN and the shop/library?  YCN’s space at 72 Rivington Street is a shop, library, exhibition and events space all rolled into one. It’s a hive of activity upstairs too, with the YCN talent agency, design studio and the YCN awards all operating out of the top two floors. YCN is a company very keen on meeting people and having actual conversations, as opposed to email contact in an enclosed office, so it’s great to have an opportunity to do just that with the shop space on the ground floor. We have a series of talks, workshops, exhibitions and the YCN summer school that all takes place in the shop. You can see more here.

I love your current window display of hot air balloons and golden mountains. How long is it on for? YCN’s current window display of hot air balloons and golden mountains is by the makerie studio. They’re a paper craft duo based across london and milan, aka joyanne horscroft and julie wilkinson. They’re represented by the YCN talent agency that I mentioned earlier. The window display will be up until May and at the moment I’m working with the artists to create a ‘Make Your Own Balloon Kit’. I’m the guinea pig for the instructions! They should be available through YCN by the end of the month.

These city map below is in the latest ideas illustrated issue. What’s the artist called? The artist behind the map series is owen gatley, also on the talent agency. There are four in the series; london, paris, new york and copenhagen.

Everyone loves a herb lester map, right? The herb lester maps are a very popular item in the shop.

How do you decide what to stock for the shop? Everything in the YCN shop should be interesting and inspiring, it is important to us that our products have a story. As YCN is a member-based creative organisation, we curate the shop with a selection of products made by our members, like our slingshots by christopher jarratt or pocket squares by joe cruz.   In addition to this we stock a few magazine titles that we find especially inspiring, like the gourmand and the plant journal. I want every nook and cranny filled with exciting, colourful and design-led items to surprise and delight!

Which issues came before ‘the luck issue’? I believe i also have ‘the money issue’ The current issue is number five – ‘the luck issue’. Previously we’ve had ‘the money issue’, ‘the relocated issue’, ‘the happiness issue’ and the first self-titled issue. They’ve all been successful and a great way for YCN to showcase and support all our artists and collaborators.
And it’s all supported by our ideas illustrated blog, which involves sharing great ideas and creating images to match.

How does membership and lending from the library work? This year YCN has been getting back to its roots and embracing the idea of membership, which is an idea we put at the heart of YCN when it launched in 2001. At the new main YCN.org website anyone can now become a member of YCN for free. Members can keep in closer contact with YCN, access lots of great creative programmes, content and resources online and get the chance to come to YCN events in the real world if nearby.

The YCN library is what I like to call ‘small but perfectly formed’. Though it only takes up a little corner of the Shop; it is filled with a wide selection of books on subjects ranging from art, design and typography to travel, home-brewing and cats! We invite suggested reading lists from inspirational folks like john hegarty, quentin blake and sir paul smith and we’re always adding to the list of titles. It’s free to join and all you have to do is come into YCN and fill out an application form.

Glad i’m a member then… anything new in the pipeline? We’re soon to be launching a new program of YOU CAN NOW talks, a series designed to inspire and empower creative talent, so keep checking the website!

Jennie, thank you so much. See you soon. Oh, yes, need to return the book i borrowed to your library:-)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I’ll be enjoying the meettheblogger event! See you monday.

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you don’t bring me flowers

Today i’d like to introduce you to a very special place, a favourite of mine, a little hide-away that i wish i could transport to be my local. Unfortunately it’s too far for me to visit sporadically and i have not been there for ages. Over the weekend, while visiting friends in Kent for lunch, i made a special de-tour to go and take pictures for you.

Let me introduce you don’t bring me flowers. Hither Green (SE13) is not far from lewisham, so if you ever are in that area, maybe to visit aladdins cave, do make a small detour and go and treat yourself to this bijoux florist and café, filled to the brim with charismatic detail. A real feast for the senses!

Meet lynne. Unassuming, gentle and definitely practicing the slow living movement, she does not own a computer. When i asked her whether she would mind me taking some photos so that i can blog about her place, she simply said yes. Thank you lynne.

You don’t bring me flowers (named after the neil diamond song) started life about 9 years ago. I first discovered it around 2005 and every time i needed a special bouquet of flowers i would head there. Fortunately over the years i have managed to find flower shops that sell wild flowers a little nearer to where i live. But, hand on heart, it’s never the same. There is something magical about the way lynne does everything and she just has that magical touch!

A knitwear designer with a fierce eye for styling and vintage pieces, she has created this unique space in an extraordinary manner.

Let’s begin with the gorgeous blooms! It isn’t just the flowers. It’s everything around them too. Living in central london, i’m surrounded by celebrity florists selling the most predictable flower bouquets at hugely overinflated prices. They always leave me cold and uninspired. Take a look at these!

I would kill for that tap!!!

Home-made and locally sourced produce take care for an authentic café menu, all part of the charm. You’ll find tea paraphernalia and all sorts of produce for sale.

I particularly like this big pinboard of cards.

While you’re enjoying your stay, vinyl records are played throughout the day. It’s as far from the digital chaos as you can get.

A few more delightful details for you.

I just had to show you the various lights dotted around the place. Beautiful, no?

There are two floors. Downstairs you’ll find the florist, a few tables, art on the wall. Upstairs is like an intimate and cosy living room with the most charming vintage decor. It was packed so not really conducive to photographing.

You don’t bring me flowers also hosts monthly writers nights, some film nights and other events. For more information contact them directly.

You must all know the saying: ‘je ne sais quoi‘. That fits perfectly to describe lynne and her effortless way of having created this unique space, right near the station. Even after 9 years, it has not dated and, for me, is one of the coolest and inspiring cafés/florists around. Bravo!

You don’t bring me flowers
15 Staplehurst Road
Hither Green
London SE13 5ND
Tel: 0208 297 2333

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heathrow terminal 5

I often bang on about my love for terminal 5, also known as T5. Last week, on my return from a short trip, i decided to snap a few pictures to show you the wonderful architecture and explain myself.

You see, i’ve always been a fan of british airways. I know that they mess up from time to time, i know about the union strikes, the lost luggage scenarios and that shumbles of the BA ethnic livery back at the end of the 90′s. Who could ever forget that fiasco? 

And yet they are the first website i visit upon booking a flight. Please understand that i like many airlines, both the national carriers as well as the budget ones (maybe with the exception of ryanair:-) but my preference is always BA when it comes to european flights, which is mostly what i take! I think it’s the wonderful crew and ground staff that do it for me. Always knowledgeable, professional and helpful!

So, it came as no surprise that i rejoiced at the news of a dedicated terminal for my beloved airline. Opened in 2008, it is designed to handle 35 million passengers a year. The building’s leading architects were richard rogers partnership. The building cost some £4 billion and took and astonishing 19 years from conception to completion, including the longest public inquiry in british history. Welcome to T5.

Listening to my parent’s stories of air travel in the 50′s, it conjures images of elegance and sophistication. A friend of mine was actually a stewardess back in the days for BOAC and i love listening to her stories of serving the glamourous celebrities.

Today, the world of flying is open to all of us (thankfully) but i still believe that a little sophistication, less stress and a good flying experience go a long way. For me that combination is flying with BA from T5.

As soon as you get to departures, you see this (below). An incredibly beautiful and well-designed hall which encourages ease of navigation with clear signage and atmospheric lighting throughout. I’ve never seen it much fuller than this. It often looks empty, but not for a lack of passengers departing. It’s simply the fantastic layout and design thinking behind how to best deal with the millions of people coming through this space.

Honestly, every single time i’ve flown from here it takes no more than 10 minutes to get through security allowing for enough time to visit duty-free, various shops and get something to eat. It’s a sheer breeze, a true pleasure.

There’s so much glass and i’m always fascinated by the reflections in this building. Take a look.

Once you land you’re ushered towards passport control, mostly only a couple of minutes walk away from disembarking the plane.

Again, a well-designed and signage strong place which gives you the feeling no-one is ever there.

Best not to photograph too much while waiting to show your passports…  when getting a close up of this light, i suddenly decided to put away my camera with massive lens for fear that i would be stopped and questioned;-)

Baggage claim. Hello Yoda! Now, throughout the terminal you have very big screens displaying digital advertising. The screens are so beautifully designed and minimal that all advertising looks good and simultaneously lends you some atmospheric lighting. Genius!

The arrival hall is cleverly colour coded and once again you’re in and out within seconds, helped by the outstanding signage.

Here are just a few more shots showing some of the wonderful architecture, but if truth be told, i was tired and just wanted to get home.

There cannot be a colourliving post without a proper pop of colour! This machine is designed to screen outsized baggage. Love the red!!

And finally if you’re going into london you can either take the tube…

or the heathrow express, a bus or like me, you simply wait for your car being delivered to the terminal by valet parking! Done! Home sweet home, not long now!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my mini-tour around T5. Personally, i have high hopes for the new terminal 2, due to open in 2014.

Of course, the debate continues around heathrow’s 3rd runway, to be decided by 2015. Britain needs at least one new runway in the south east by 2020 to compete with the rest of the world. To put some perspective here, china built 33 airports between 2006 and 2010 and another 45 are planned to be in use by 2015. I say, britain get your skates on!

Have you been through T5? See you monday!

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