Benchairs

I recently got an email from a Clare a reader and asking if I knew anything about a mid-century furniture manufacturer called Benchairs Stoe, she had recently bought a lovely chair on ebay, take a look at it on her blog Devon Red Bags. To be honest I hadn't heard of them until this point but tried to find out a little bit more information for her. There are two options, they could be based in Shropshire I found an address based in Whitchurch, but no website, or they were based in Yugoslavia. So if anybody reading knows any more info please get in touch, because frankly I am now intrigued! Below are a few more examples of these lovely chairs I found on ebay. I think I might even have to keep an eye out for them on ebay. Thanks to Clare for pointing them out.

(Image from Devon Red Bags)

(Images from ebay)

Wolfgang / Naked and Famous

Just a quick note to say I went to a fantastic gig last night at ARU in Cambridge. Two bands WOLF GANG and The Naked and Famous were playing. They were both really good live, I'd heard about The Naked and Famous through Radio 1 through their BBC sound of 2011, but their support band were equally as good. It was pretty packed, I think partly due to them winning an NME award the previous night. Check out their recent singles 'Young Blood' and 'Punching in a Dream'. Their album Passive Me •Aggressive You is available from the 14th of March. The album artwork is pretty cool too.

I have a new girl crush, Alisa the lead singer of The Naked and Famous, her voice is a wonderful mix of Bjork and Natasha Khan from Bat for Lashes.

(Image from The Naked and Famous)

Nathan & MissPrint

If you're a regular reader of my blog you'll realise I have a fascination with mid-century furniture especially Ercol. Another fantastic producer of retro furniture is Nathan, established in 1916 and still going as strong today. They have recently teamed up with MissPrint,  a vintage wallpaper and fabric company based in East London. They have upholstered their wonderfully shaped Monty chair in the fantastic Dandelion Mobile fabric in Sunflower Yellow with White. I'm in love with the tapered legs. However, if this chair is not your thing check out the rest of Nathan's wonderful products such as their Citadel21 range.

(images from Nathan)

Lisa Stickley Bedding

The Independent recently did an article on artist/designer Lisa Stickley. She has created quite a name for herself, since starting up her own business after graduating from the Royal College of Art in 2003. She produces bags, aprons, tea towels, kitchen linens, ceramics and stationery for big high street names such as Liberty, Selfridges, Debenhams and Fenwicks. The images below are from her new Bed and Bath collection for Heal's. The colours are wonderfully bright and make you feel like warmer and sunnier days are just around the corner. I'm a big believer in brightening up your home in time for spring, and these bedding designs would be a great starting point. check out more of her designs here.

This is Lisa in front of her Clapham flat and Shop

(Image from The Independent)

(Images from Heal's)

Sophie Gallo Stationery

Papercrave one of my regular blog reads wrote about Sophie Gallo who produces wonderful die-cut stationery sets. Not only do the cards have pretty die cut shapes but the envelope liners are decorated in lovely retro patterns. If you ever need any ideas on how to make your everyday stationery a bit more interesting then check out her shop.

(Images from Sophie Gallo at Etsy)

I absolutely love the petal style folding card (3rd image down). I'm wondering if once I get my silhouette machine I can produce stuff like this. I feel another project coming on!

Illustrated Wallpapers

It's hard not to notice, as you flick through the interiors magazines a trend for illustrated Wallpapers. Harlequin's identity range includes two fantastic designs. The Acacia design is based on famous lighting designs, including the artichoke lamp by Poul Henningsen, in beautiful retro colourways.

The Brighton wallpaper is a wonderful collection of Victorian house fronts, naively illustrated but with the odd punch of colour in retro hues. As you can see both of these wallpapers fit perfectly with the Eames and Sarrinen furniture that I love!

(Images from Harlequin)

Little Greene also produce a wonderful monochrome version called Hampstead shown here in Ink, If you fancy a bit of colour, they also produce it in 4 other shades - Cloister, Cool Grey, James Blue and Yellow.

(Image from Little Greene)

If you're interested, the desk shown in this image happens to be an Ercol for John Lewis design called Treviso created by Matthew Hilton.

If you're interested in modernist architectural illustrations then take a look at Mini Modern's 'Festival' wallpaper shown here in the Concrete colourway, designed as a celebration of the enduring influence of the 1951 Festival of Britain. It features abstract drawings of the The Royal Festival Hall, the iconic Skylon, the Dome of Discovery and the Transport pavilion. It also comes in 'Bunting Blue and Red' and 'Stone' colourways. This wallpaper would add a lovely modernist look to any home.

(images from Mini Moderns)

Paper + Craft

The Paper + Craft book has been created by married creative team Minhee & Truman Cho. I found a link to their website Paper Cup Design through one of my favourite blogs Decor8. They produce wonderful stationery, journals and personalised invitations from their New York based studio, check out their blog. This fantastic book contains 25 DIY projects with paper including how to make giant flowers, cone wreaths, keepsake boxes and many more things to keep idle hands occupied. Personally I love little projects like these, it's always good to have something to do on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

(Images from Paper Cup Design)

Wedding Inspiration

I am currently in the process of designing my best friend's wedding invites and have been trawling the world wide web for inspiration. I came across some websites that are just too good not to share. So if you happen to be planning a wedding take a look at these. Oh So Beautiful Paper is an invitation design website created by Nole in Washington DC, catering for people who want something slightly different and quirky to send to their guests.

(Images from Oh So Beautiful Paper)

The people who brought us Anthropologie have created a wedding site BHLDN which includes stunning gowns, bridesmaid dresses, jewellery, shoes and everything else you might need for your big day. If your budget won't stretch to some of the wonderful things on this site the photography should be inspiration enough. There are some wonderful colour combinations used.

(Image from BHLDN)

Robin Day Polo Chair

I have been lusting after one of Robin Day's polo chairs for as long as I can remember. My idea is to have six white dining chairs but each in a different design, a Harlequin set as my mum calls it. I already have a Eames DSW chair with a white base and maple legs from The Conran Shop.

(Image from The Conran Shop)

So the next purchase which my lovely school friends are getting me for my 30th is the Polo Chair with White polypropylene top and chrome sled base available from Loft International. Originally designed and 1973 Loft, based in Leeds Yorkshire, now manufacture these chairs entirely in the UK using local materials.

(Images from Loft International)

It is also available in 8 other colours including Eco which is completely made up of recycled materials. As you can see they are designed to be easily stacked. I would love one in each colour (they look so fantastic stacked) but I'm not sure I would ever need that many chairs! Shame!

Inspiring Photos

These wonderful photographs are by Graphic Designer/Shop Owner debee(art). I found them featured on the Decor8 blog but if you go to her Flickr pages she has so many more inspiring shots.  So if you're looking for inspiration for pretty spring colours or styling techniques, look no further. Her photos are also featured on her blog and her Etsy shop where you can but haberdashery and scrap booking items.

(Images from debee(art))

Valentine's Cards from Rifle Paper Co

I discovered Rifle Paper Co through Papermash where I recently bought one of their heart prints for my husband for valentine's day. They are a boutique stationery brand based in Winter Park, Florida and the designs are created by husband and wife team Anna and Nathan. They produce wonderful invitations, prints, stationery and greetings cards using traditional letterpress printing techniques. They also have some very pretty valentine's card designs that I wanted to share with you. So If you fancy getting hold of some of their products take a look at Papermash.

(Images from Rifle Paper Co)

Mibo 2011 Calendar

If you're anything like me, it takes you until now to decide on what Calendar to buy. So I was delighted when I discovered one on Mibo. You can download the design for only £2.50 and then print off 2 months per A4 Sheet (card is probably best) and then hang using a bulldog clip as below. It features wonderful stylised illustrations but crucially there is plenty of space to write those events and key appointment dates (especially birthdays as I always seem to forget them, terrible I know!).

(Image from Mibo)

Fabric Valentine Hearts Garland

One of my favourite bloggers is Jessica Jones of How About Orange. Her craft projects are always so simple but seriously effective. This Fabric Valentine Hearts Garland really caught my eye and would make a great decoration for Valentine's Day or even just to brighten up a little girls bedroom (see the link above for full instructions).

(Images from How About Orange)

This and other projects by Jessica have been produced using a Silhouette SD cutting machine including butterfly invitiations, heart garlands, heat transfers and vinyl decals. I'd never heard of this machine until I started following her blog but I am now contemplating getting one, it would be a seriously useful piece of crafting kit. It can cut even the most intricate of shapes from paper, card stock, vinyl and fabric transfers. They are available in the UK from Crafts U Love.

(Image from How about Orange)

Laura Ashley Colinton Chair

I previously posted about the Laura Ashley Colinton Chair in a soft white room setting with splashes of citrus. I was flicking through the March issue of Living etc and spotted it again used in this 'High Street Finds' article. It is seen here in the Hortense Zinnia fabric which helps it retain it's wonderful retro feel. The legs can be stained in an Oak or Dark wood colour to match your fabric. Personally I would love it upholstered in the same Lucienne Day inspired fabric as this Dinky armchair from Heals.

(Image from Living Etc)

(Image from Heal's)

Orla on Everything! continued...

I received the March issue of Elle Decoration yesterday and after my blog a a couple of days ago about Orla kiely products I saw this advert for the new Citroen DS3. It includes designs by Orla Kiely in everything from the signature patterns on the leather interior to the roof panel. There a 4 options in the range "Green Acorn, Spot Stem, Multi Acorn and Multi Stem all featuring Orla's signature prints and colours.

(Image from Elle Decoration)

(Image from Citroen)