Some rug design research that I’m working on at the moment…….
Filed under Design, photography, Texture
Another trip away, further north this time, to the west of Scotland to a small village called Gairloch. Quiet and relatively remote, with the most beautiful views of Skye and gorgeous beaches, YES beaches! I popped into the local museum there to find an exhibition on Textiles and Fashion by Katherine Butler called ‘Into the Wilderness’. A graduate from Fashion and Design specialising in knitwear. With a focus on traditional techniques such as hand-spinning, hand-knitting and hand-sewing her mixed use of fleeces, felt and furs were beautifully presented. Her use of the above and natural ‘highland inspired’ tones and colour I liked very much as well as the cut of garments and silhouettes, encompassing the nature of the Scottish Highlands. It was a lovely hour spent looking at a jammed packed portfolio of research and development, it brought a lot of my own Art School days back to me! I purchased a few hand made gifts also. Enjoy the few close up pics I took.
N x
Beautiful cut section to a dress!
Another lovely hand woven knit.
Mixed use of fabrics, photo of garment on mannequin.
I spent last week in Barcelona, a city soon to be my new home. Beautiful, full of people, noise and gorgeous architecture (a post on Gaudi’s finest ‘Sagarada Familia’ will follow soon!) and here is what I saw………
N x
The blue sky, along with Barcelona’s contrasting lines and buildings of new and old made me a little snap happy…..
Filed under Design, photography, Texture, Uncategorized
I went for lunch yesterday to the Missoni Hotel, which opened in June 2009 on the corner of George IV Bridge and the Royal Mile, in the heart of the old town of Edinburgh, Scotland. I have to say I am happy to see it replace the ugly, old office government building that once stood in it’s place. We dined at the hotels restaurant Cucina and the Missoni trademark of print and bold colour lived up to my expectations. The table setting was punchy to say the least and it made me feel a little like I was playing at a children’s ‘tea party’. Nevertheless the meal was lovely, the service was good and the company wonderful, with people coming and going for their midweek lunch and glass of wine. Missoni has always been at the forefront of their industry in fashion and now more so in interiors. As a print designer who admires and finds inspiration from such a prestigious brand, it was exciting to sit and look at all the beautiful fabrics that lined the restaurant. The black and white tiled entrance in contrast to the multicoloured table settings and large sculpture, a giant bobbin of thread was unique. It was a shame that the painted blue walls in the restaurant distracted me from the colour and fabrics mounted on the wall. The decor continued throughout the toilet however I found it far to overpowering in a much smaller space. I must admit after spending two hours inside I was very pleased to get a break from all the pattern. This is a personal opinion and I am sure many will disagree with me but on a whole I would rather have seen a more understated approach to the decor to really appreciate this amazing archive of fabrics. You will love it or hate it. Next time I would like to be checking into a room so I can elaborate on this experience, their website shows a more subtle approach to the bedroom decor, so we will see. For the moment though, my most memorable of it all was the door man and his uniform- a Missoni tartan kilt and matching flashes! Very stylish and fitting quite rightly so, into the surrounding environment!
N x
Missoni hotel
Cucina restaurant
Cucina table setting
Missoni trademark fabrics and kilt!
Hello all, sorry for being slack on updating the blog. I hope you like the next few bits and pieces, I am still going through loads of images. Here are a few more delightful objects that I find pleasing to the eye.
I will begin by telling you a little about the following object, ‘Mateo’. We bought this object in Argentina. It won the Argentine Design Innovation Award back in 2009, if you want to have a look at a few more check out their website, http://www.matemateo.com/. It is made from 100% silicone and I find it to be a delightful piece of design. Yerba Mate is a bitter herb, a beverage, the plant and leaves are broken down and steeped in hot water, this tea can be enjoyed with friends and is quite a common practice in South America. We have a few from Chile in our household! The metal straw that you see is what you would use to drink through, there are small holes at the bottom of it which act as a filter. The Mate can be used for cold beverages also. If you are into your tea then look out for it, I am sure you can purchase straight of the website, have a nosey and enjoy.
N x
Yerba Mate
I bought a few fabrics while we were in the north of Chile in a place called San Pedro de Atacama. There was a beautiful market, every textile enthusiast would be in their element here. The people were lovely, different crafts left, right and centre. If you ever have the opportunity then you must visit the area. It is amazing! Nature and a culture of the best kind. Here are a few pictures to get a better feel of this small town quietly developing in the vastness and driest desert in the world, the Atacama….
While we are on the subject of markets, It reminds me that during my time in Chile I came across many of them, all selling different things. Whether it was food, drinks, cleaning products, furniture, they all had one thing in common- Colour! I walked through them in the blistering heat and as you will see the amount of produce piled high within these stalls made me smile.
I recently went on a souk crawl in Dubai searching for beautiful things. It was a scorcher of a day with 35+ degrees, shop vendors bartering left right and centre while taking in the endless amount of fabrics on sale, playful embroidered cushions, printed scarfs and much much more. I purchased a few and took some more snaps of the colourful surroundings, followed by a taxi boat ride across the creek to walk in-between the bustling streets towards the Gold souk, I did not last long though as the heat got the better of me. Nonetheless, I had a lovely morning and picked up a few goodies along the way.
N x
Filed under Texture
jazzberryjam 
