Jubilee Goodies

Image from Jubilee Pinterest page

Image from Jubilee Pinterest page

Image from Jubilee Pinterest page

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee is now upon us & here is a selection of images that I've been gathering on my Pinterest board. Click here to see them all. I think its great ow every one has got into the spirit and created a great range of products to mark the occasion.

Mini Moderns Festival Range

Festival Porcelain - Tea cup set, image from Mini Moderns website

Lovely packaging, image from Mini Moderns website

Interior brand Mini Moderns has teamed up with design studio Magpie to create a range of porcelain tableware to celebrate the festival of Britain's 60 year anniversary. The range "Festival" features highlights of the 1951 festival and includes some of the iconic landmarks and geometric shapes of the era. I might be adding the range to my wishlist.

Sarah Thorne

Mulberry AW11 show invite, image from Sarah Thorne website

Mulberry AW11 stickers, image from Sarah Thorne website

Backstage Elle invite, image from Sarah Thorne website

Topshop Make-up S/S11, image from Sarah Thorne website

Vogue Show, image from Sarah Thorne website

I've always wondered who was responsible for the lovely Topshop make-up packaging and I've recently discovered that its Graphic Designer Sarah Thorne. Sarah specialises in print & packaging for the fashion & beauty industry which is clear to see from her website. Her work ranges from glamorous invites for Mulberry to backstage invites for Elle and installations for London Fashion Week.

Print for Love of Wood

Something Blue Wedding Letterpress Print Image from Etsy page £15

Vintage Bake More Cake Letterpress Print Sky Blue. Image from Etsy page £15

I spotted Print for Love of Wood at the Saltaire Arts Trail a couple of weeks. The owner's, Jacqui Sharples, stand really caught my eye as I wandered through the crowded venue. She had brought along a press and displayed her pieces in old suitcase, there was a very vintage / make do feeling about it all. I really like letterpress and the quality it can give to an image or piece of type. I love the textures it leaves on different boards and the colours look amazing. I've post a couple of pieces that I loved on the day and you can purchase them via her etsy shop, they are really reasonable for prints, great ideas for gifts, especially for wedding season approaching.

Clerkenwell Design Week

I'm quite excited about visiting Clerkenwell Design Week next week. I've not been before and when I've seen it advertised in previous years I've always wanted to visit. The 3 day event sees the creative spaces & businesses in the Clerkenwell area open their doors to their fellow creative's. I think it'll be great to have a wonder through the various studios & practises, meet some interesting people and listen to some of hot topics in the talks. I'll share some of my favourites next week.

Lazy Oaf

Lazy Oaf Bonjour Bebe Card

Lazy Oaf Party Beard Card Ginger

Lazy Oaf Intimate Card

Lazy Oaf Squeeze Card

I really like Lazy Oaf's range of cards (just one string to their bow). I love the sentiment, illustration & colour (where applied), the cards are really silly & funny, if you know my sense of humour you will know that I've giggled reading all of them. I think H will especially like the bonjour card at the top. Lazy Oaf also produce t-shirts, accessories and lifestyle products. The brand was started over 10 years ago on a market stall in East London but its now grown and they sell their work in over 150 stockists worldwide.

Finest Imaginary

Badger Necklace £11

Lists Shield Printed Moleskin £4

Pattern Printed Moleskins pack £10

I spotted Finest Imaginary at the ReetSweet craft fair in Leeds a couple of weeks ago. I thought their products looked really cute, with nice graphics & colours and with very realistic pricing. I'd be more than happy to pay £10 for their quirky necklace or £4 for a notebook. Check out their website to see their full range, they also do cards and homewares & have some jubilee themed products.

A Good Friday

Mr P crossing the bridge

The Wildlife walk

Gibson Mill

Marking an adventure

Finished with a treat

Me (Laura) & Mr P spent Good Friday exploring Hardcastle Crags near Hebden Bridge. Its part of the National Trust and you can spend a few of hours walking along the various routes or stop for a cuppa & explore Gibson Mill, a unique sustainable building. There was an Easter themed hunt for the kids to take part in and the different terains makes it accessible for all. And after a few hours outdoors we treated ourselves to some Easter treats, mmmm.

Helen Carnac's Enamel Works

Each Other by Helen Carnac

Each Other by Helen Carnac

Each Other by Helen Carnac

When I first saw these vessels by Helen Carnac I thought they had been decorated with a beautiful ceramic glaze, but after closer inspection (and a bit of reading) I've discovered they are works of enamel on steel. The designer/maker combines an exploration of materials & process, combined with deliberation & reflection to produce wonderful pieces of design. I enjoy the uniqueness of each piece and the different details & patterns in all of them, I'd be happy with one or two in my home. 

Skyline & Chimney

Chimney Range

Skyline & Rooftop

Following my post below by the Oslo trio I thought I'd share some of my product designs. Helena & myself meet at Uni whilst studying 3D Design, Furniture & Fine Product and above are a few of my creations from my final year. The Chimney Range was a collection of vessels for storage in the home, they developed into tea & coffee pots. The shapes of the vessel create a hierarchy by using different sized polygons as a base, starting at 6 sides jumping up to 12. The change in base size altered the shape of vessels from short & open to slender and enclosed. I wanted to play with materials and created the prototypes from powder coated sheet metal & a resin lid - if the pieces ever made mass production I would like to combine sheet metal & ceramic or introduce wood into the lid & handle components. 

The Shelves are based on the skylines of cities and the rooftops of towns. Their construction is very simple, they are made from sheet steal and bent into shape and finished off by being powder coated, I've opted for Red, Black, White & Purple in my range. The shelves were designed to contain your things in a controlled manner, we often place items in shelves in a messed up & chaotic nature, often stuffing books into holes and spaces. I hope you like them. 

The shelves are available for sale if you are interested please drop me an email. 

British by Design

Gulliver's Travels by Spineless Classics

Envelope Mail Holder by Goodwin + Goodwin

British by Design is a website managed by Design Event (founders of a North East design festival). The website celebrates & supports British Design by British designers / makers & manufacturers. The products range from prints, furniture, homeware & textiles. I've had a good scourer and there are some great pieces for the home. A worthy cause to support. 

Signs for Homes

Signs for Homes does exactly what it says. The company manufactures painted, metal & bespoke signs here in the UK and they track down vintage classics too. Above is a selection of my favorite ones, I like the scale, font, colour and finishes, if only I owned my own house then I could mount them on my walls. I think they add a bit of stylized typography to everyday settings.