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I'm not a fan of wallpaper, in general, especially when a room has been wallpapered floor to ceiling. I've seen too many wallpaper disasters in my time. But if you must wallpaper, then an accent wall with a stylish pattern is always welcome. For me wallpaper should make you want to look twice which is why I love Dan Funderburgh's designs - which are available to buy here. He also designed some Moleskine covers which you can buy from Engrave Your Book.

Another wallpaper design that definitely makes you look twice is Paper Voyeur's flora and fornication range - as Lascivious so perfectly put it; this wallpaper imbues "European eroticism with a sprinkling of English reserve, these wallpapers nod to the florid romance of Mucha or Beardsley - an outline of the idea without the pink bits."

This unique collection of wallpaper was designed by the British design studio, DED and is popular with stores such as Agent Provocateur and Coco De Mer. Enjoy!

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Scott Campbell - illustration exhibition in London, 4th March

There are a few things I miss about London, one of them being the cool illustration exhibitions. I'm sure that there are plenty in this creative hub of an apple, I mean I live right in the gallery district, but I'm talking the small intimate cool exhibitions. Anyways enough about me, let's talk about Scott Campbell.

Scott is a night owl (well I'm presuming he is) as he finds time to create these adorable illustrations as well as holding down a day job making video games! I'm certainly not the only one who likes his stuff as the London Miles Gallery are exhibiting his first European show in March and he'll be doing 2 comic workshops there on the 6th March (from 12.30pm - 4.00pm).


Scott C. (how he also likes to be known) is from San Francisco and now lives in NYC. A man of many talents: international comic book artist, painter, illustrator, and computer game designer...to name a few, will be showcasing over 100 of his watercolour paintings.

His style is light-hearted, often-humorous and his imperfect lines create supernatural creatures.

So go see the Scott Campbell solo exhibition: Everybody, all the Time, Thursday 4th March 2010 from 6pm @ The London Miles Gallery, 47 Mowlem Street (Off Vyner street) East London E2 9DR.

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P.S. Also happening in London is the Oliver Jeffers: In Conversation with Martin Salisbury exhibition with the AOI @ London College of Communication - 19th March 2010 at 2.30pm, Main Lecture Theatre, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SB.

'This is a rare opportunity to hear the award winning children’s book author, illustrator, artist and New York resident Oliver Jeffers talk about his work and new book The Heart and the Bottle in conversation with children’s book expert Martin Salisbury. The event will comprise of a presentation by Oliver followed by a discussion of his work with Martin Salisbury then the floor will be opened for questions. Tickets will be limited so BOOK NOW.'

If You Could - Exhibition

If you are in London this weekend then go and check out the If You Could...Collaborate exhibition at the A Foundation Gallery, Rochelle School, London E2 from 15th — 23rd January 2010.

If you could is the brain child of art directors Will Hudson and Alex Bec and this is their 4th annual exhibition. There are some amazing and hugely talented designer/illustrator partnerships and I'm absolutely gutted to be missing it, especially as Craig's work is being exhibited. Here are some of the great collaborations (there are about 33 in total):
Craig Ward, Sean Freeman & Alison Carmichael / Oliver Jeffers & Aaron Ruff / Fontaine Anderson & Deanne Cheuk / Mario Hugo & Micah Lidberg / Anthony Burrill & John Griffiths / Marion Deuchars & Margaret Calvert / George Hardie & Leonardo Sonnoli & Sara Fanelli / Rob Ryan & Michael Marriott / Jim Stoten & Andy Rementer...to mention a few!

The exhibition is a chance for creatives from all four corners of the world to partner (with a person of their choosing, regardless of their discipline) and get out of their comfort zones. It has no doubt challenged the way the artists usually work. There was no brief for this project, except to design something a little unexpected. I can't wait to see photos but here are a few tasters of the Ward, Freeman & Carmichael collabration - a type triptych of laser cut wood...

Check out the If You Could website for more photos.

Artmongers - update

On 10th August, I posted about the Artmongers and the public art they do around SE London. The day before we flew I saw their customised wheelie bins in New Cross...this project was called 'Moo Cross' Cowbins - a pilot in collaboration with: Lewisham Council, Source Communication and Taylors, to read more click on the link Feed the Cows. I think they are fun, but they missed a trick - they could've painted the underside of the bin in pink for the udders! That would have been funnier.

Tea & Make {a great British fete}

Yesterday we went to the Tea & Make event which is a celebration of regionally-made craft and making-do from South East London.

There were some lovely stalls there with a variety of things from local honey to ceramics to jewellery and toys. There were also free workshops such as how to make your own monster, learning how to felt and making mini kites. They had a small but great variety of some of the best designer-makers and creators working in Britain today.

My personal favourite was Cornelia O'Donovan who made such fabulous toy animals. She teaches print making at Middlesex Uni, and uses many of her designs on fabrics and incorporates them in her soft animals.


I also very much liked the creations of Polly George as she specialises in intricate homeware ceramics. Very lovely!

Central Perk café

The most famous coffee shop in New York (actually the world), Central Perk, is coming to London! The pop-up café from the equally famous Friends TV series is opening for just two weeks at the end of September and I'm going to miss it...boooo...

It is opening in celebration of the shows debut, 15 years ago! Warner Bros. is releasing a box set to mark the 15th anniversary and it will contain never-seen-before footage. A replica set of Central Perk will be in central Soho and will be filled with actual props such as Rachel's wedding dress; Joey and Chandler's "best bud" bracelets; a bar of Mokolate; Phoebe's 'paintings' etc. It's rumoured that the grumpy barister, Gunther, will also make an appearance.

In my mind the coffee shop was a character in it's own rights and being a huge Friends fan I had to go and visit 'it' earlier this year. Of course the series was actually filmed in California, however the exterior shots of Monica's apartment is in Greenwich Village, NYC at 90 Bedford Street to be exact. To my delight, there is even a lovely restaurant where Central Perk should be called The Little Owl...(no relation!).

Central Perk is at 67 Broadwick Street, London W1, from Thursday 24 September to Wednesday 7 October. Let's just hope they don't play the Rembrandt's non-stop!

Brockley Key

This weekend just gone, we went to visit friends who have just moved to Brockley, SE4. That was when I noticed a trompe l'oeil (French for 'trick the eye' which involves a 2-D image that's been stretched, which when looked at from different angles gives the optical illusion of being a 3-D object). So in actual fact this key lies flat on the house wall.

The key can be found on Brockley Road above the restaurant, Toad's Mouth Too. The anamorphosis is a creation of Artmongers who are a group based in South East London. Artmongers create public art (such as this wind up key) to brighten up people's days. They love the idea that you can find artworks unexpectedly in the most banal objects and in every day life. This piece is called 'Brockley Key' Mural, Brockley 2005.

Cupcake van

I saw this van in Charlotte Street and thought what a lovely idea it was! It's a great alternative to an ice cream van, yummmm....

Peggy's Cupcakes is run by a lady called Rosalind (Peggy is her mother's name and influence). She is a graphic design lecturer at Central St Martins and in her spare time she sells cupcakes in her travelling cupcake and tea van called time for tea and cake.

Oskar Pink

Last night on my way to the iTunes Live London Festival 2009, to see the Friendly Fires (amazingly fun gig) at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm N1, this lovely looking hairdressers caught my eye.

Oskar Pink signed up Inventive & Co. to re-brand his boutique salon. I love the way they have iconised the tools of the trade – scissors, hair brushes, water spritzers etc – and made that the basis of the shop window. I think it’s stunning and definitely draws the eye. What I like even more is the fact that Inventive & Co. created the window graphics using scissors and paper to give it a unique identity. It’s refreshing to see hair salon with a creative look rather than the usual generic clinicy salons you see littered on every high street. I think they have just recruited another consumer...

Scratching the surface

The current show at the Lazarides gallery on Rathbone Place, W1, is a must see. This month showcases the artist Vhils, aka Alexandre Farto, with his exhibition Scratching the Surface.

This is the Portuguese artist's first solo show in the UK. The show features a series portraits of unknown faces, that are inspired by his native city of Lisbon, at a time of revolution. He turns the outdoor ad spaces into unconventional urban decaying canvases. He uses unusual techniques and materials such as acid and bleach which eat into the surface layers to expose what is underneath.

My favourites are the works of art where he actually scratches amazing portraits directly onto the naked walls. The exhibition runs from 3rd July 2009 to 1st August 2009, so no excuses go and see it. Admission is free.

Studio AKA

BAFTA award winning and London based animation production company, Studio AKA, have created some of my favourite TV advertising such as the National Lottery's Big Win and Lloyd's TSB For the Journey series.

I love the innocent feel, vintage style and grainy texture of these beautifully animated ads and the music is a perfect marriage to the 'look'. The characters have a very French style that I have seen many (French) illustrators capture.

Incidentally, last year, Studio AKA also animated Oliver Jeffers book Lost and Found and Helen Ward's Varmints into 24 minute shorts. They both translated very well into animations.

Snowden Flood

I've mentioned the shop Magma before (It's my fav bookshop). A year or so ago they opened a product shop a couple of doors up from their Covent Garden shop. So naturally if I'm in the area I can't resist but to go into both of them!

They have lovely nik naks, toys, homewares and illustrated books by Kate Sutton and many others. But it's here that I cast my beady eye on these lovely plates by Snowden Flood. Snowden Flood is an interior accessories designer based in London. She celebrates urban and rural landscapes and likes to reflect this in her work of souvenirs and keepsakes.

The first 6 plates are from their River series and the last two are from the Urban Landscape series.