New Design Museum

I love the old Commonwealth Institute. It was built in the nineteen sixties on the edge of Holland Park and off High Street Kensington in London. Having lain neglected and unloved for a number of years, this grade 1 listed building  it is about to be refurbished and will become the New Design Museum in 2014.

Letter-Bench-by-Boex-Brothers

I just saw this on  design-dautore.com it is so lovely i just had to upload it.

An elegant and witty piece of design

close up of Bench

Supporting Excellence in British Craftsmanship

Sewing Made Simple – book review

Child's craft apron

Sewing made simple is, as it says on the cover.

It is an inspiring and enlightening introduction to an incredibly useful and enjoyable skill. It manages to demystify the subject and provides a wealth of know-how that will give you the confidence to make and customize clothes and home furnishings.

The first half of the book introduces you to the tools, equipment and materials needed for sewing success. The second half of the book shows how it’s done with projects to make. The basic skills and techniques you need to sew are covered, such as sewing on buttons, appliqué, using piping, mitering corners, enclosing seams and adding darts.

Quilt

There are twenty projects to make including a baby quilt, child’s craft apron, bolster, customized tee shirt, table-mats and many others.

This is to sewing, what Delia Smith is to cooking, a basic fool-proof guide that you will go back to time and again for reference.

Lavish Habit

I have written about Lavish Habit before, they are a cafe/boutique in Balham South London.  They  have a quick turnover of interesting stock including clothes, vintage pieces, newly upholstered chairs, books, lamps and jewellery. The tables and chairs change from one week to the next as they get sold.  They also make  delicious food.

This time they had some lovely lace like lamps, that look Moroccan, above their counter as well as painted tin ware from Pakistan and Mexico.

Brightly coloured painted tin ware

In the basement were other treasures a glass bench with a newly upholstered seat very nineteen seventies, and a child’s oven made from recycled lids from tins and a large oil can.

70's wrought iron, perhaps telephone glass bench

When I went to the loo and saw this  cheeky 1940′s inspired line drawn

wall paper I had to take a photo of it.

More Paris!

Today I am going to show some more of the lovely items from  Paris. At  Moline Mercerie they sell bold stripped fabrics in a variety of widths plus header tape with pole sized eyelets. This comes  in two varieties, the sort you can sew on to your curtain length and  another that one can Velcro onto the fabric.

They also sell exclusive Japanese fabrics

The next stop is the Belgium designer shop ::
Emery & Cie – Articles de décoration : carrelages, zelliges, peintures …
www.emeryetcie.com/
In the areae Bastille-Saint Antoine, métro Faidherbe Chaligny or ledru Rollin

This shop is full of such beautiful artifacts tiles, paints, papers, lamp shades, ironmongery. I took a few photo’s on my small camera but it is better to go to their web site.

Tiles

Wall paper

Window blind

The next stop was Hermès new shop in the old swimming pool : 17 rue de Sévres. Metro Sèvres Babylone I blogged about this on 28th January if you wish to look at images.

Next stop: Bon Marché département store with its famous food section : La Grande Epicerie
great food with its affordable café offering good value snacks and healthy food for lunch.

Salad

A day out in paris for anyone interested in the visual arts and textiles

I was lucky enough to be taken by a friend to some of the more interesting places in Paris. If you are interested in fine arts, good eating, textiles, exhibitions and general fun here is the itinerary.

The fabric district :
iconic shop (5 floors) :
Dreyfus (Marché Saint Pierre)
2 Rue Charles Nodier

On the other side of the road is ‘Reine’ with a great section for bridal fabrics and its miniature  mannequins wearing costumes then : Moline /Au bonheur des Dames, Rue d’Orsel for exclusive prints and embroidered silks.

Exclusive Indian silks

Just across the street, at the foot of Montmartre :

Avoid the tourist cafés
A quiet retreat for a drink and to rest tired legs (and for art) :
Halle saint Pierre, old market turned Museum of naïve art (povera, folk…) nice quiet café and library

Currently is an exhibition of Ray Caesar digital art

www.raycaesar.com

Plus dozens of fabric shops around this area

Métro Anvers or Abbesses (one of the last Art Déco marquise metro entrances in Paris)

then

L’Ebauchoir, resto bistro gourmand

www.lebauchoir.com/
L’Ebauchoir 43, rue Citeaux – 75012 - Paris 01 43 42 49 31

In the same street there is a nice new boutique hotel :

http://www.colordesign-hotel-paris.com/

Another lovely company found at Maison et Objects

Lodish  were at ‘M et O’ and they produce many different kinds of interior products.

Lodish cushion

More cushions

I love this fun coat stand that looks like enormous knitting needles.

Olika

Another gem from Maison et Objects plus the Hermes shop

I particularly like hot colours and Lisa Corti from Milan does them splendidly wwe.lisacorti.com

Day bed and Cushions from Lisa Corti

Hermes have purchased and restored a derelict Art Deco swimming pool and turned it into a splendid emporium, just don’t purchase a cup of tea there unless you are feeling very wealthy.

view down the stair rail

Maison et Objects in Paris

I have spent the last couple of days with   a french friend going round the largest  interiors show in the world. It has  everything and anything for the home. One particularly exciting and excentric company is called ibrides. They create trays and furniture with metamorphosed animals www.ibride.fr

rabbit tray

Front of hidden book shelves

In complete contrast to this elegant french ware,is Artlantique  rustic tables and chairs made from old fishermen’s boats.

enormous spoons

Tables