hello, beautiful...

No, I haven't given birth prematurely, but I have bought a super-large vintage wall chart of lobster anatomy from the lovely Junk Deluxe to indulge myself. It's currently adorning our bathroom wall because it happened to complement the wall colour, and there aren't too many walls big enough in our house to accommodate it. Needless to say, I am in love with it.

 

Like Junk Deluxe on Facebook for most recent stock updates. Wall colour: Hardwick White by Farrow and Ball. The other picture is a screen print by James Brown.

Hope you have all been well. Life is slowing down at my end - I'm counting down the days until I finish my latest project and can finally get on with preparing for the arrival of the little beast currently residing in my belly.

the weekend

It was a glorious weekend here in the UK, even in rainy Wales, with temperatures in the upper twenties and sunshine to bask in. It was kind of sad in a way: like watching the death throes of summer, knowing that autumn - nay winter! - is just around the corner. Today it is bright and windy here, with the unnatural heat and humidity starting to dissipate.

Wherever you are, I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Ours was one to savour - my first free weekend since August. We started off at the new David Nash exhibition at Oriel Mostyn in Llandudno, which was pretty interesting. I'm not a big fan of sculpture, but I like Nash's processes and how his works continue to evolve even after they have been 'completed'.

Photo from Oriel Mostyn's website.

Next stop was Penmaenmawr, from where we hiked up a hill for a lovely walk amidst neolithic standing stones and stunning views of the coast and mountains. We had a picnic lunch overlooking a bay sprinkled with sailing boats, before completing the walk and returning to the village. 

On the main street through Penmaenmawr is an antiques shop called Perry Higgins (the website doesn't seem to be working right now!). Now, I'd heard about this place from some friends, and we passed by it in the car back in May, but nothing prepared me for how incredible it is. It is a warren of a building, with three stories and a warehouse crammed to the rafters with antique furniture, domestic ware and bygones. Everything was beautiful and there was just so much of it that we will have to make a return trip to have a proper rummage through it all. I didn't take any photos, I was so completely overwhelmed, but here are a few photos which I believe are from the website (via here).

We came away with two towel rails, a painted mid-century cabinet which we will use to store linen for now, a pair of bedside tables and a beautiful French bookcase/display cabinet that was a steal for its quality. I may take photos of these things at some point, but you know I'm not very good at that. On top of all this, the owner drove our purchases to our house on the same day! It was all very satisfying.

There. Enough of my jibber jabber for now!

spending...

I still have nothing very interesting to show you! We have been spending money. Lots of it.

I finally cracked about having next to no comfortable seating in the house (fourteen - yes, fourteen - dining chairs and only one sofa?!), and bought this three seater sofa from Blue Suntree.

I also bought this rather girly antique rug to go around/under a bed in one of the bedrooms from Magic of Orient on eBay. I know I can make it work!

Helfa Gelf is going really well - I sold an original drawing on Saturday, which I was over the moon about, although I will be a bit sad that it will be leaving me. I adored the couple who bought it, though, so I am sure it will go to a good home.

office chairs

Sincere apologies for my absence, and the absence of any new work here lately. I have been preoccupied with studio preparations, namely the refurbishment of this beast of a work bench.


Thoughtlessly, I omitted to take photos of it in its original state. Here you can see I've planed off the dark, sticky goo that was deeply ingrained in its top surface. That job took days. I've just finished waxing the top now, and am prepping the base to be painted. It's been a tough job, but it will be such a useful piece of furniture once it's nice and clean!

The other thing that has been preoccupying me at least for the last twenty-four hours is the pursuit of a half-decent-looking office chair. It's a hard life I lead, I tell you. Now I hate most office chairs as a rule but I need something that is adjustable because I have such terrible posture and spend so much time at my desk that I am in danger of damaging myself. So what am I to do? They are so ugly! Of course I like the vintage printers' style chairs, but I wonder if they are any good for your back. I think I need something at least a little more modern.

There is one that I like: godfather of all modern office chairs, the Fred Scott designed Supporto task chair. It looks terribly ordinary in standard 'office' colours of black, grey, blue, but the coloured versions are a joy. I particularly like the low wide back version. Shame that they start at about £800 for a new one, and less for a battered vintage one. Deary me.


Twenty Twenty One, £990


eBay, starting bid £345


eBay, starting bid £125

Image from Supporto.

Image from Spaceist.

DIY lampshade

Remember this post, when we first found our house? I said in it that there appeared to be a George Nelson bubble lamp in the dusty loft. Well, there was not one, but two of them. Sadly, they were not the originals, just some cheapo copy with nasty gilt nipples on the bottom (instead of the chrome ring). They were torn and the wire had corroded inside, leaving a green stain on the plastic. I was loath to throw them away because I like their shape, so after a bit of dithering I decided to strip the plastic off and to find some new way of using them. I'm always advocating the acts of re-purposing and recycling, so to throw them away would have been wasteful.



Now I've stripped them and cleaned them up I'm wondering what to do. I will certainly spray paint them to cover the corroded parts - white is the colour of choice right now, but I also toyed with the idea of using a colour (Yellow? Blue? Industrial black?) and then simply hanging them like cages over some nice bulbs. But then I'm also wondering if maybe I could get a bit more creative with them - covering them in some way - paper or fabric, plain or patterned? I rather like shades like this one (below) from Gong, so I'm wondering, with the right fabric, whether I could make something similar with my frames? Maybe I could even design a fabric and get it printed onto silk by Spoonflower and use that? Now that would be properly bespoke.



Or maybe they can just be the base for something fantastical (by Hutch Studio) or fun.


What do you think? What would you do?

the unmentionables

Everywhere you go you find people with passions about chairs, tables, lighting, desks, sofas. I am one of those people. But today I wanted to talk about the unmentionable pieces of furniture, the ones that everybody ignores because they don't know what to do about them - namely television cabinets and wardrobes. Have you ever met anyone who has a thing about wardrobes? Have you ever found a TV cabinet, or something that can be used as one, that you really like?


We are having a bit of a dilemma about these things at the moment. We are badly in need of a wardrobe or two, with our clothes currently being rammed haphazardly inside suitcases and boxes. But I find shopping for wardrobes really difficult - they are usually too ornate, too bulky, too shallow, too expensive, the wrong wood, too big to get round a couple of tight corners in the house, or any combination of the above. I've never bought a wardrobe before, having had built-in ones in all the places I've lived since I left university. Have I found any that I love? Well, there are the early 20th century gentlemen's wardrobes with sweet labels on the shelves for ties, underwear and hats, but they are often ugly on the outside or too shallow to have a sensible amount of hanging space in the other half of the wardrobe. I do like very simple linen presses, or old school cupboards - I would just have to adapt the interior with a hanging rail. But I also have a fear of too much wood or, if the piece is painted, I get nervous about veering too close to the 'shabby chic' look. Industrial style lockers are an attractive option to me, but I wonder if they are too hard, too dark, too loft-stylee for a farmhouse? I am bewildered, to say the least.

Get this one here on eBay for £420.

The photo below is of the locker we bought the other week in Manchester. It needs a little bit of love, but I was rather taken by the cheery turquoise and those little red triangles on the front. It's currently languishing in our garage until I grow enough muscle to help the husband bring it into the house (or until we can collar one of our masculine neighbours to help!).


The TV cabinet is a different kettle of fish. Firstly, I don't like large televisions and I hate having them in a position where they're the first object you see when you enter a room, I think they are ugly things that should be put somewhere obscure. Secondly, I pretty much hate anything that is purpose-made to put them and their accompanying, multifarious boxes on. It would be OK if any old cabinet would do, but the thing is, you need at least an open shelf or a glass-fronted door so that the magic moonbeams from the remote control can get to the boxes. So annoying! I suppose you could put the boxes to the side or something, but they are so ugly I would rather have them half-hidden at least. Oh, and then of course there's the cable issue - having to have a hole, or to drill a hole if you can bear it, in the back wall of the stupid thing so you can get your cables through. These kind of things should really not bother me so much, but they do. It's how I am.


This haberdasher's cabinet, from eBay, works for me. Shame it's £700!

So. Tell me your secrets. Anyone. Please. Tell me what to do. What have you got your clothes in? What do you stand your telly on? More importantly, does it look good?

Images from various sources: eBay UK, Pinterest, Maisons du Monde, oh Hello Friend, Design Sponge amongst others. Sorry I haven't credited them individually.

the weekend

We had a marvellous, super-long weekend here. I really could get used to a three day working week coupled with a four day weekend. We entertained my family at our new house for the first time on Saturday - it was the most wonderful feeling having my own home again and welcoming guests to it. We spent a good portion of our time sprawled on the lawn in the sunshine and watching my Dad wreak havoc on some poor shrubs with a pair of loppers. He is incorrigible.

The picture above is of me berating the weeds (yes, I talk to plants) in front of the house (actually, I think I was murdering a very junior sycamore). Progress has been slow, given our work commitments and too much time spent in B&Q looking for bolts and screws. God, I hate that place!

On Sunday, we ventured into Manchester to rummage in Empire House Antiques, armed with measurements of every room in the house and with the intention of purchasing some wardrobes and storage. My favourite seller in there was a chap called Andy, who trades under the name of Euro Vintage Industrial (find a small selection of his things here on eBay). I wanted pretty much everything he had, and he kept on bringing out more and more things that I loved. We left, a few hours after our arrival, having bought a set of turquoise lockers, a bookcase from a university archive, two grey industrial pendant lamps, a row of old postal lockers for the kitchen, and - my absolute, absolute favourite - a vintage gymnastics horse like this, but smaller, symmetrical and without the pommels. "What are you going to do with something like that?" Andy asked. I waved my hands around vaguely. "Oh, I dunno, use it in the bedroom for draping clothes over or... just to look at". Read this post on Remodelista to see what I'm getting at. I'm mildly concerned that its base is too wide to fit through some of our doors though! The husband is hiring a van to pick up most of these items this week, so photos will definitely follow.


Image from Alex MacArthur.

If you are in the UK and a fan of Trainspotters, Andy may sell it cheaper. For example, he had some of these lights at a fraction of the price. Contact him via eBay or ask me for his e-mail address.

currently watching on eBay

Industrial wood and metal table from the Netherlands, £599 or best offer.


Vintage German military industrial table £685 or best offer. Ouch!


Vintage painted plaster model of ear, £40 - a good buy, I think!


Another lovely Memlite lamp - Friday's current bid was £1.20. Somehow I think it won't be that cheap for long...


Vintage French school poster £27.50 or best offer - a pretty good price, given how much I've seen them sell for on eBay and in the Paris flea markets! This is the seller.

Sorry, I can't be arsed with eBay links because they expire so quickly, but if you search under the titles I've given the items, they should appear in the listings (unless you're reading this a few weeks after I've posted it, of course!).

Sofa watching again

I have been distracted for the last week with thoughts about sofas, and how I so rarely come across ones that I both like and can afford. Even vintage models are out of my reach a lot of the time once you factor in re-upholstery, but it's that retro, classic look that I seem to be hankering after lately. I know, I know, I've written about some of my sofa favourites before, but I have a few more to add to the list today.

In particular, I seem to have fallen a little bit in love with Ernest Race's unusual, dramatically swooping DA1 chairs, especially the tall armchair (above). What do I like about it? It's kind of tongue in cheek, referencing classic features such as the button back and the wing chair, but with those exaggerated curves and playfulness with scale. These rare chairs and sofas now sell for an arm and a leg on eBay and other online sites. Buy some here, for example.


Ernest Race DA1 sofa from Twenty Twenty One.


Here's one that has a similar tidy, designer feel. This one is a 1920s design, the Round Samsas sofa by Carl Malmsten. It costs just about the same as a second-hand car, though!


Get the straight version for a little less (although perhaps not in the pink!)...

Oh dear.

stuff and nonsense

I've been a bit distracted again this week. I have to get my head down and work my tits off until next week on an animation job I'm doing. Boooo... Now what was it that I wanted to say?

We made an exciting discovery last weekend: Empire House Antiques Warehouse in Failsworth, just outside of Manchester. It is a two-storey warehouse crammed with antique furniture and homewares of all kinds at very affordable prices. We could have bought a whole van-load of things if we'd actually been there to buy - a lovely early 20th Century wardrobe with little labels for ties, collars and shirts on the compartments inside; vintage school chairs and stools; old suitcases; industrial lamps. I was hyperventilating, I tell you.

I have applied to take part in the North Wales Helfa Gelf Open Studios event this September. Foolishly, I don't yet have a studio to call my own, but I am determined to have one set up by September so that I can receive visitors. I've got all sorts of ideas for things to do for it, and I can't wait to start working on new work. Hopefully it will provide an incentive and an inspiration for me to try out new things and meet some other artists too! Now all I've got to do is convince myself that I AM an artist, not just some commercial drudge...

English Rose kitchens

I'm not a massive fan of kitsch-looking stuff, but I recently saw an interiors feature in The Times Magazine, showing a fabulously retro, stripped aluminium kitchen. I had no idea who the maker was, nor anything about it, until I stumbled across English Rose kitchens this morning. They were made in the 1950s by the CSA company, which made the nose-cones for Spitfires during the Second World War, using the excess, post-war aluminium to fabricate the distinctive, curvy kitchen units. They were originally painted in kitsch colours, but I much prefer the more industrial look of the units after they have been stripped, paired with austere tiling and accessories - no pastels, thank you! Here are some images I pulled off the internet today.


Here's a nice cream one, with horrible tiling (IMHO), from Flickr.


This set is for sale via Lassco.


Another cheesy one, but the unit is nice on its own. Via Flickr.


Finally, a stripped and polished one from Source Antiques, the biggest suppliers of these kitchens in the UK. I bet it's a pain in the arse to keep them looking as shiny and un-watermarked as that!

If you fancy some of these for yourself, there is an unrestored set of units for sale on eBay right now, or search Salvoweb for more. John Lewis of Hungerford also make a reproduction version called Crème de la Crème.

a few nice things

This industrial lamp on eBay.


These are rather fun. I would have Brick Lane because I like eating and I've eaten a lot there :-) More here.


These Elsie Dodds alphabet cushions from here or (cheaper) here.


This French zinc topped table from eBay. Dammit! I need a house!

Peace Industry rugs

These lovely rugs designed and made by Peace Industry caught my eye yesterday whilst I was thumb-twiddling between jobs. They are felted wool rugs, made using traditional Iranian techniques dating back to the Neolithic age. They have a Flickr gallery where you can see the rugs in situ - I think they look pretty good with mid-century style furniture (speaking of which, that pendant lamp at auction that had an estimate of £60-90? Sold for £320. Sheesh! And the Eames chair: £700).