Clockwise from top left:
Botanical Leather Notebook from Natural History, Teacup and saucer: Botanic Garden (March) from Portmeirion, Meadowland and Wildflower Cornfield Mixed Seeds from Victoria & Albert shop, The Paper Garden: Mrs Delany Begins Her Life’s Work at 72 by Molly Peacock, Suzu Top from Toast, Botanical Etchings Square Tile from Marlborough Tiles, Honzo Zufu [Blue Flower] by Kan’en Iwasaki from Kew Gardens shop.
I came across A space of my own by Caroline Clifton-Mogg the other day. It is full of photographs of home offices, craft studios and studies with lots of inspirational ideas for lighting, storage and furniture. There is everything from small office spaces under stairs to large artists studios and case studies from desginers and stylists (where to get to have sneak peek inside their studios). Below are some of my favourites…
All images are scanned from “A space of my own” by Caroline Clifton-Mogg, Ryland Peters & Small (2011)
Clockwise from top left:
A Little Bird: Only what we Love: - This blog was set up by two Ex- Vogue girls Daisy Garnett and Francesca Martin.. its a brilliant guide to what’s on in theatre, art, film, dance, music, tv, food, beauty and shopping.
Cream canvas printed bag with grey birds and light turquoise eggs
size 33cm x 42cm approx from Thornback and Peel
Swallow and Pebble Cushion made from 100% cotton cambric cover. From Sanderson
Designed by Felicity Hall this Bird and peony clutch bag kit allows you to create a quirky clutch bag by stitching in the pattern yourself. featuring metallic wool, making it perfect for day or evening. From Liberty
Small blue bird print metal bowl made from stainless steel, avaliable from Liberty
Hummingbird Notebook: Printed on fabulous natural-coloured leather and finished with a black satin ribbon, the illustrations for these notebooks are taken from an 18th century encyclopdeidia. Avaliable from Natural History: The Origin of Style
An exhibtion currently on at Tate Liverpool focuses on Lewis Carroll’s two novels, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. The exhibition provides an insight into the inspiration they have provided for artists through the decades, concluding with a selection of works by contemproary artists.
The exhibtion starts off with Carroll’s own drawings and photographs, including those of Alice Liddell (a family freind of Lewis Carroll) who became the inspiration for Alice (see photograph below). There are also illustrations by John Tenniel including his preliminary drawings for the first edition of the novel. Below are a few of his illustrations from my own copy of Alice in Wonderland…
The exhibition runs until the 29th January, 2012
Alice Liddell by Lewis Carroll
The V&A is a must if you are interested in fashion, decorative arts and sculpture. They have recently re-opened their photographs gallery which includes key works by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Man Ray and Afred Stieglitz. The V & A is also the home of the beautiful National Art Library which houses a huge selections of fine and decorative arts reference books. Look out for their Friday Lates events and the shop is a must (one of the best places to pick up interesting gifts!)
V & A – Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL.
Camden Arts Centre is a contemporary arts space with an exciting international arts programme. The shows are often thoughtful and intelligent within a relaxed atmosphere. There is a good little bookshop and a café that holds barbecues in the Summertime and various art eduation courses. Despite its name, Camden Arts Centre is actually closer to Hampstead than Camden so can be combined with a walk on the heath
Arkwright Road, London NW3 6DG. tel – 020 7472 5500
The Hayward Gallery is one of London’s largest contemporary exhibition spaces. Recent and future exhibitions include Pipilotti Rist, David Shrigley and Jeremy Deller. Located within the ‘Brutalist’ Southbankcentre it is worth stopping off at the Concrete café/bar which serves coffee, seasonal stews and soups and freshly made cocktails (happy hour is from 5-7pm)
Hayward Gallery, South Bank, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. tel – 020 7928 4123
The Serpentine Gallery is located in the attractive Kensignton Gardens in Hyde Park. There is an exciting rolling programme of contemporary exhibitions with the addition of a Summer Pavillion (where every year a different architect is commissioned to deisgn a pavillion in the adjacent gardens) The bookshop, Koenig Books , is small but brilliant.
Serpentine – Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, London W2 3XA. tel – 0207 402 6075
Petersham Nurseries are situated between Petersham Meadows and Richmond Park. It is an idyllic setting considering it is only a few miles from the centre of London. The nurseries are compact but beautiful, everything is organic – including the plant pots that are made from biodegradable coco fibre and the fertilisers that are based on seaweed from the Scottish coasts.
Our visit co-incided with lunchtime which meant that the Petersham Cafe was full to the brim with ladies lunching! The cafe and restaurant are based in old greenhouses, which make for a pretty setting surrounded by garden furniture, plant pots and verdigris stone sculptures. Skye Gyngell uses a wide array of preparations and ingredients of Mediterranean and Oriental influence including fresh herbs (collected from the nurseries), mixed spices and organic vegetables (also grown on site). I have a few of Gyngell’s cookbooks, including A Year in My Kitchen (based on the seasonal menus at Petersham) and which contains some lovely recipes from Chilled Almond Soup to Walnut and Honey Tart. There is also a beautiful shop selling everything from dining room furniture to trowels!
