Wishi washi wonders & a light bulb moment

I love finding new craft and design finds. I’m no crafter, mind (or designer, for that matter), but I do have an appreciation for aesthetically pleasing pieces that also have a purpose and a function.

So discovering the useful yet pretty wonders of washi tape was one of those kinda finds. I’m pretty sure designer-makers and general craft super stars will probably have been making good use of washi tape for some time now but you know me, I’m always a bit late to the party (it doesn’t help that my working hours are filled with PR gubbins that take me away from the finer things in life) but that said, I do try keep my eyes peeled for fanciful new finds, ideas and inspiration.

I found four rolls of washi tape on Papernation (which is now apparently closed until next year – oh – but you can find it in lots of other online stores) and promptly got to work cutting and sticking:

I have quite a few prints, postcards and torn out pages that don’t warrant framing but which do deserve a place on my office wall in order that I can appreciate them more. So a little neat strip of washi tape along the top and bottom of each piece seemed a great way of affixing said pieces to said wall. Washi tape is a bit like fancy masking tape so it doesn’t peel off paint making it safe to use pretty much anywhere:

('scuse the poor 'phone camera quality of this one)

As well as wrapping presents, it’s also nice and nifty for labeling too, comme ça:

What do you use washi tape for?

On a separate note, we received a very exciting delivery last week from that brilliant company in Mytholmroyd I told you about, Urban Cottage Industries, with all our fabulous lighting paraphernalia. I just thought I’d share with you their stripped-down-but-still-very-cool packaging which betrothed our light bulbs and lighting accessories. For a packaging geek, it was a very happy moment:

All we need to do now is pick a colour to paint the hall and landing walls and then we can install them. So tempted just to put them up now but then if I got paint on the red cable, I’d be mortified. Patience will have to be my virtue!

Home improvements: lighting paraphernalia

2012 is the year of home improvements at Barraclough towers. We’ve lived in our Victorian terrace (so, not a tower by any stretch of the imagination) in Ilkley for nearly two years now and it’s time to put our stamp on our abode. We’ve done bits and bats to make it more water tight, less drafty, less damp and more secure which is all great but aesthetically, there’s not much to show for our efforts. So, we’ve got a list of things to accomplish this year which I hope will help make our house look all kinds of ace – well, that’s the plan anyway.

So, I thought I’d do a few posts along the way about our DIY endeavours detailing some of the cool finds we come across.

First up, Urban Cottage Industries.

While searching online for some light fittings, we came across this little company based in Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, only 40 minutes away from where we live. Urban Cottage Industries is an umbrella brand for six other brands which each make (by hand) super awesome interiors products, plus some mighty fine stationery too.

We’re looking for two light fittings at the moment: one for the bottom of the stairs and one for the landing at the top. We like industrial lighting styles and have decided to go for (big boy) bare bulbs hung from colourful fabric cable. One of Urban Cottage Industries’ companies, Fabric Cable, sells a whole range of eye popping coloured cable at really good prices too. We sent off for a sample of said cables, et voilà, this is what they sent us:

If we lived in a converted mill or barn or a bare-bricked loft apartment, we’d totally go for a whole load of different cables and bulbs but as we’re in a relatively modest terrace, we’re going to play it safe(ish) and just go for two lots of the plain red cable.

At the end of each cable, we’ll have this bulb (12cm diameter x 15cm high) from Filament Lightbulbs which should look the part:

We’ll then attach the bulb to the cable with nickel lightbulb holders and then nickel glands will attached the whole thing to the ceiling – both from Historic Lighting:

Everything above is from Urban Cottage Industries companies and everything (two bulbs, two lots of red cable, two lightbulb holders and two ceiling glands – all handmade) has come to under £90.00. I’m pretty impressed with that.

Here are some other products from this darn fine collection of companies:

Look, they even sell embroidered overalls too!

*Click on images for source.

Hiatus highlights

It’s been five long months since I blogged – that’s a big fat blogging hiatus. My last post was in September in the midst of one the busiest times I’ve ever had. Being busy is great, especially working for myself, but when work starts to occupy your every waking hour, it’s time to take stock and make some changes. Work is important but health and happiness are what really matter.

At the end of October, after two major events and a host of other projects had been put to bed, I was finally able to resume some kind of normality. Little things like not getting up at 6am every day to scoff porridge hurriedly in front of my laptop while simultaneously writing press releases, obsessively updating to-do lists and basically trying to hold my shiz together. Now, I get up a little later and I don’t even turn my laptop on until I’ve walked the dog and taken at least 20 minutes to eat my porridge in front of Bill and Sian. I’ve just learnt to take charge of my time better instead of letting it get rugby tackled into smithereens.

So, as I was saying, at the end of October, my life was my own again and what better way to herald the start of this new lease of life than a trip to California! On 5 November, Mr B and I jetted from Heathrow to San Fransisco where we spent two weeks road tripping along the west coast and ‘living’ in the Mission in awesome San Fran: a city we have completely fallen head over heels in love with.

So our California holiday formed the first part of my blogging hiatus and here are the highlights:

The first stop on our trip was Santa Cruz where, if the surf's up (and it was, quite a lot), every man, woman and child would be out chasing those waves.

Pelican spotting in Capitola, a pretty seaside town just below Santa Cruz.

Colourful little beach front homes in Capitola.

In Santa Cruz, we stayed at a serene and beautifully decorated bed and breakfast called the Adobe on Green Street. Click the pic for a link.

A serious message fronted by a cuddly grizzly in the Adobe on Green Street's study.

Route 1 from Santa Cruz to Sonoma via San Francisco. Coastal views ahoy.

After SC, we headed up the coast to Sonoma where we stayed at Beltane Ranch: a stunning working ranch and vineyard just off Sonoma Highway. Click pic for link.

Wine time on our ranch veranda. By the way, before this trip, I wasn't a fan of Chardonnay but the Californian vintners make it gooood - lovely and buttery.

This is Lucy, Beltane Ranch's adorable Golden Retriever who could understand sign language. Cute and clever.

Looking pretty speshul here but we had fun trotting round the Kunde Estate on Douce (me) and Pluto (Tim). Riding organised by Triple Creek Horse Outfit.

Next up was the big one: San Francisco. Our first morning was spent at the Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building in awe of the fresh, seasonal and colourful produce.

Bit of a tourist trap but definitely worth a gander (and a sit down at the top): Lombard Street.

Looking down over North Beach from the top of Lombard Street.

Bit of severe pruning going on in front of City Hall.

You sure do SF, you sure do.

Stumbling across a pop-up craft and design museum in Hayes Valley was pretty awesome.

The Two Man Gentleman Band: bow tie-tastic.

Under and over the Golden Gate: a pretty impressive feat of engineering, it's got to be said.

I added an SFMOMA mug to my MOMA collection here. Mugs aside, this gallery is ace.

All smiles with Mr B. It's amazing how two weeks away from the hum drum can lift spirits and make everything seem OK again.

LOVED this holiday so much and I came back feeling re-energised and ready to take on anything – which just so happened to be…Christmas. Joy. So eventhough work was back to a manageable level after SF, Christmas get-togethers with friends and family, eating Stollen and drinking sloe gin basically occupied my time from late November to, well, last week really.

I’ve got my work groove back (I no longer want to become a florist or a window dresser just so I never have to see another press release in my life again!) and I’d also like to think I’ll soon be getting back into the swing of blogging too. I’ve missed it. I enjoy writing for me and sharing ideas, design finds and happy times. So here’s to getting that old ‘work/life’ balance back in the bag. Hopefully.

The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair

I think when I first started freelancing three and a half years ago, if I could have picked a dream client to add to my wish list, the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair (GNCCF) would have been way up there. Being a craft and design appreciator (although not being adept in *actual* craft, at all), the show always looked like so much fun and a fab way to discover emerging design-makers.

Well, despite still being all fingers and thumbs with a needle, I’ve taken a step closer to being part of the contemporary scene by taking on the PR for GNCCF which will take place at Spinningfields in Manchester from 20 to 23 October. It’s pretty awesome to be working on something that, on a personal level, is something I’m massively in to – in my line of work (and in this climate), that doesn’t happen very often.

So, I thought I’d share a few sneak peeks with you from some of the brilliantly talented designer-makers that are exhibiting at this year’s show. Quite frankly, I could have included bloomin’ hundreds of pieces (there are some really beautiful images taking up residence in my laptop) but here are just some of the works that I’ve got my crafty eye on:

Metal work by Kate Lulham

Textile jewellery by Yu-Ping Lin

Ceramics by Piret-Eve Kandler

Earrings by Linda Lewin

Porcelain jewellery by Rose Ellen Cobb

Silver bowls by Adrian Hope

Brooches by Jane Blease

Embroidered objects by Sarah Greaves

Necklace by Dot Sim

Leather satchel by Soda Kitsch

Cacti pin cushions by &made

Rings by Tamara Gomez

Necklace by Ulli Kaiser

Cushion by Katie Mawson

I could go on, I really could. Best thing to do is get yourself to Manchester on Friday 21 October or come over the weekend on 22nd and 23rd to see it all first hand, chat to the makers and buy direct.

If you’d like more deets on the show, go to www.greatnorthernevents.co.uk

A ‘before & after’, a cushy number and origami in the pub

Sometimes, it just takes the tiniest of tweaks or the smallest of changes to transform a room that might otherwise be grating on your inner interior designer self. There are a couple of rooms in our house that still have lilac undertones (make the OVERtones) and some which just aren’t quite ready to be featured in Livingetc (a girl can dream). But, without a big budget (well, any budget at all for that matter), I’ve been trying to come up with ways to change the feel of a room without spending big bucks.

The first DIY project was a do’er up’er. We found this old bistro style chair in a local antiques shop (Antiques in the Mill in Cullingworth for anyone in West Yorkshire) which we bought for £10:

With a lick of beech wood polish, some elbow grease and a few hours routing around online for some suitably awesome fabric, we happened upon this little beauty which now sits sweetly in the corner of our bedroom:

The next little addition was in our spare bedroom. We recently installed an actual bed in our spare bedroom (crazy talk I tell you!) but with plain white bedding, it needed a little ‘pow’ to bring it to life. Step forward sewing queen Lisa aka Mathilde heart Manech aka my bestie. I had two old cushion inners lying around in the basement and I also had a few metres of Ikea fabric which we’d bought to make a curtain for the hallway (a project for another day!) and handed the two over to Lisa to fashion some bright new cushions. And here are her super cool creations:

Thank you Lisa – they’re blooming marvellous.

My last little item isn’t something from our house but our local pub, Bar t’at. They are raising money for charity (forgive me, I forget which one it is) but they’re asking each customer to make an origami crane to decorate the ceiling – they’re aim is to get to 1,000 cranes and I think they’re nearly there. Something pretty with your pint, non?

Well, it might not be my living room but I love the delicate bursts of colour and they look great wafting in the summer breeze too.

Cheers to nifty DIY fun!

Thankful Thursday

My oh my these last few weeks have been pesky. I won’t bore you with the ins and outs of life chez moi but needless to say, it’s all been a bit of a marathon keeping up with everything. What with work being really hard work n’ all and then family fun not being all that much fun, it’s certainly kept me on my toes!

Anyway, eventhough today isn’t really any different to any of the days from the past month or so, I feel like a weight has been lifted. So rather than being in my usual mallard mode, I decided this afternoon that I’d write down all the things I’m grateful for and that make me happy. They’re things that I sometimes take for granted and that need a moment in the spotlight every now and again.

First up, my super fantastic husband. Ever the optimist and always the voice of reason. Thank you for helping me stay sane:

Secondly, family – you can’t choose ‘em but they’re always ace and know what’s best:

Mama, me and grandpops

My awesome in-laws

Boris – for always being overjoyed to see me and never running out of cuddles:

Home. I don’t have any new pics of our house but I love our little pad. It’s a character-filled Victorian terrace that came with just the right amount of work to do. I can’t wait to shape it over the coming years into our dream home.

Home is also Ilkley. I feel completely settled here – we have a local where they know our drinks and know the name of our dog (and Boris is always happy to chill out in the pub thanks to the regular supplies of Bonios courtesy of the lovely manager). There are great shops too and the place has an enormous sense of community. The town’s famous moor always mellows me:

Friends. I love my mates to bits. Ah, the memories. My bestie, Lisa, who runs the marvelous Mathilde heart Manech, really helped to cheer me up yesterday when things were pretty pants:

Moi et Lisa (taken in Manchester on my hen night - fun times)

Holidays. OK so my holiday this year is STILL three months away but the mere thought of it is keeping me chugging on. On 5 November, Mr B and I are going to California. We’ll be spending four nights in Santa Cruz in this delightful looking eco-style bed and breakfast . We’re then driving up to Sonoma Valley to stay on a RANCH! Yee-hah! This will be home for another four nights. Finally, we’re wrapping our Californian dream up in the awesomeness that is San Francisco. We’ll spend seven nights in an apartment in the Mission. I’ve heard that the Mission has its own little micro-climate – it tends to be a tad warmer and less foggy than the rest of this amazing city. Yay for that but to be honest, I don’t care if it chucks it down for seven days and nights, we’ll be in SF and that in itself will be all kinds of fabulous.

So, anyone who knows me will know that I like a PLAN. I’m not one for winging it and seeing how it goes. I like to know what’s happening, when and what the best things to see, do, taste, drink, watch, listen, buy, gawp at, dream of etc will be. I’m still piecing together my research (it’s like I’m revising for an exam or something – Mr B despairs) but I feel this pic will sustain the inspiration for the coming months:

Via WeHeartIt.com

So despite things being a wee bit out of my comfort zone lately (minor understatement), I have a shed load of things to be thankful for. On that note, it’s time to get back to work!

Lately…

I cringed when I looked at exactly how long it’s been since I last blogged: two months, that’s how long. I’m ashamed and saddened by that as I enjoy writing my blog and the fact I ‘haven’t had time’ is something I regret.

Anyway, I wanted to get it all going again – summer’s here, the colours are bright and Mr B and I are on a DIY mission! I won’t blog entirely about DIY, that would be dull and uncharacteristic for Folly and Bloom, but I will start by showing off our newly decorated living room, one of the things I’ve been working on lately.

When we moved into our Victorian terrace in Ilkey just over a year ago, the only work that needed doing was the decorating. But we wanted to do it right and not crack open a can of magnolia to just ‘get it done’. So we put up with the four different colours on our badly painted living room walls and ceiling for 14 months and then decided to be bold and brave and choose our new colour: Steel Symphony 4 by Dulux. Admittedly, it’s not exactly the most daring colour in the world but it’s a colour nonetheless which is something we’ve never gone with before. So it’s Steel Symphony on the walls and then pure white on the skirts, picture rail and ceiling to break it up and add light.

Here’s how it looks:

So you know how it goes, you do the decorating and then everything else in the room looks shoddy in comparison. Well, not everything, but in our case we now need new curtains, a lampshade and a rug.

Over the weekend, we actually sorted the curtains – an absolute bargain from Laura Ashley: perfect colour, weight, style etc but they need shortening a tad so can’t be hung just yet.

Rug-wise, I’ve got my eye on this, also from Laura Ashley (please believe me when I say I’m NOT trying recreate a Laura Ashley catalogue here, it’s just their sales are bloomin’ good!).

I’d quite like a contemporary lamp shade though – something that’s big and imposing that pops with colours perhaps. The search continues…