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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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Owls Have More Fun

I was recommended by a friend to go to the opening night of Owls Have more Fun, and as soon as I saw the show's title I couldn't agree more, I just had to go! Owls Have...is Lisa Grue's solo show in NYC, at gallery hanahou. The show runs from 25th February - Friday 26th March 2010.

For the show the Danish artist mixes bold neon colours with images of nature (and of course owls a plenty) to create beautiful designs for the home such as a very large rug; 80 one off hand-printed porcelain plates and an enormous custom made wallpaper mural allowing you to submerge into her fantasy world.

I adored the wallpaper and rug but I'd have to say that my favourite was the hand illustrated and printed plates. The contrast of owls, words, nature, neon pom poms with the black and white imagery is just fab. There is also something about seeing objects en masse that I just love.


"Lisa, known for her playful and sometimes shocking illustrations that mix girlishness with feminism, puts her spin on owl and nature motifs, surrounding viewers with a magical world via domestic objects...Lisa's powerful and fun illustrations remind viewers to never forget the magic in everyday life. In addition, they make a statement to girls and women that wisdom and beauty go hand in hand." - gallery hanahou

Lisa's works isn't all owl focused, she has designed many pieces for graphic design, illustration and fashion magazines and labels. However she chose owls as her subject for this show as she wants to encourage women and young girls to "take pride in being clever in general, instead of acting like stupid bunnies to get attention."

Lisa was recently honored as one of the new design talents of Denmark, with a grant from the National Art Foundation of Denmark. To see more of her work check out her website and her blog.

Alexander Girard - Grandfather of textile design

Even though NY born Alexander Girard died in 1993, there seems to have been a huge revival of his work everywhere from Urban Outfitters to V&A; from House Industries to Magma bookshop and even bike shops...
He was born in 1907 and was raised in Rome, Italy. He later returned to the USA to work for Herman Miller in the 50s to the 70s. He is best known for his timeless textiles with their heavy folk art influences. He bought to life the furniture designs of George Nelson and Charles & Ray Eames through colour and funky modern textile patterns. Girard and his wife, Susan, were avid accumulators of folk art, toys, textiles and many worldy folk artifacts. Eventually their collection got out of control so they donated it all to the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, who since then are proud owners of the worlds largest folk art collection.

Girard never liked to self-promote it was only people in the know, like interior designers, who recognised his work. When he died máXimo became the official agents of his estate and are the ones answerable for awakening the world to Girard's designs and making them accessible again.

Through the Looking Glass - Bergdorf Goodman window displays

Every Christmas it's traditional for the 5th Ave stores to compete against each other via their window displays, and the Bergdorf Goodman A Compendium of Curiosities holiday window displays are a spectacle to be seen.

The theme is based on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass. Of course it's no coincidence that Bergdorf have chosen this theme as the hugely anticipated Tim Burton film Alice in Wonderland is due out early next year.

This years window display was created by Bergdorf’s Senior Director of Visual Presentation, David Hoey, and his team of artists. The windows are spectacular; complete decadence, nods to Carroll's characters and not and inch of empty space. The team at BG have perfectly captured fantasy through their looking glass displays and they submerge you into imaginary worlds of dreams, luxury fashion and products. Curiouser and Curiouser...

My personal favourite is the paper/stationery window.

Jan Constantine, cushion Queen!

I've been an admirer (I guess more distant window shopper) of Jan Constantine's beautiful cushions for a long time now. I've always wanted one, but could never justify spending that much on a cushion. Luckily for me, one of my best friends bought me one as a leaving present when we left the UK, more of a memento to remind us not to forget Blighty! And I was hugely touched. It now sits proudly in the middle of our HUGE American sofa. I don't have the photo of this at the moment, but here is the cushion (as always, click on the images for more details)...



They are expensive, but totally worth it. Each felted wool cushion is uniquely hand embroidered with cross stitch and blanket stitch detail. The central appliqued heart adds the Constantine touch. Jan Constantine has many other colour and textile variations of cushions, pillows, blankets, tea cosies, handbags etc. Not to mention they are all created with natural dyes and yarns. They sell a good selection of them at the V&A.

British born Jan has a design background in fashion, interiors and styling, which comes across in her collections. She has gathered most her inspirations from her grandmother and great aunts, who taught her how to embroider. I really appreciate hand crafted items and the importance of keeping skilled traditional crafts alive, which is why I like her work ethics especially as she has employed a team of talented craftspeople in Cheshire. She hopes that her items will also get handed down the generations and become heirlooms, I will do my hardest to look after mine, and keep it out of the cat's reach!

Her style also reminds me of Paul Smith's 'Love Too' needle point wall hanging (made from hand spun wool, designed by Paul Smith for The Rug Company) which for those of you SATC fans, you will have spotted it in Carrie Bradshaw's newly decorated apartment from the first film. Delicious!!

Geneviève Gauckler

I first noticed the work of Geneviève Gauckler in Magma (yes that shop again!) and of course there were the adverts for the cosmetic brand, Bourjois, where you couldn't get away from her lovable characters!

For some reason I missed her when I did my French illustrators week (see postings from 6th July), but there are so many talented French artists that I couldn't have showcased everyone! I think her style is extremely likeable with her simple, colourful, somewhat innocent and playful pieces and translates well commercially as she has proven with her vinyls, mirrors, t-shirts and endless other merchandise. She is much in favour of the fantastical world and placing it into reality. Although I really like her work, I have to say that I'm not as keen with some of her photo montage pieces (I've shown the one I like the most), but she definitely does draw the child within from me.

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.