Off it goes to a happy home......

I think it's because the leaves are changing..........

I don't like red, but I loved this one and I especially loved the hand-dyed (ginger tea) silk backing.

Floral Inspiration - Carolyn Quartermaine

Who isn't inspired by her? I think that anyone who is interested in design, is also usually madly, passionately in love with flowers. Carolyn Quartermaine's book although over ten years old is still my favourite design book and I have literally carried it all over the world.

I know we are going into Autumn, however my mother ( who is an amazing gardener) has been telling me about all the new life springing up in her garden in NZ. Daffs and freesias ( my sisters' favourite ) are popping up everywhere and her irises, although not flowering yet, are pushing their way north. I wish I could be there with her.

Curate - Potters

Potters, ceramics, earthenware – it doesn’t really matter. The thing that excites me about ceramics is that it’s usually used for cooking, eating and most importantly sharing. What better feeling than to be passing plates and platters of food around with your family, or old or new friends. Eating and talking together is a tradition we should continue to embrace and hold on to tightly. Eating alone is no fun.
There are surely thousands of exceptionally talented potters. Here are a few I’m particularly fond of.

HEATH CERAMICS

Heath Ceramics has been hand-crafted since 1948 . They create classic, modern and functional designs. New owners have revitalized Heath whilst keeping true to their roots. Simple, functional and beautiful. Also found in the permanent collection at MOMA. Not to be sniffed at.

MUD

An Australian company where I’ve had the pleasure of visiting the workshops. Organic shapes and stunning earthy colours. Built for sharing and a joy to present.

BILLY LLOYD

A young potter working out of East London. Simple, hand-thrown pieces and a talent to watch. You can buy Billy’s cups and jugs from Few and Far. If Priscilla Carluccio is stocking it, then he must be destined for greatness.

RACHEL CARLEY

Something completely different and I love her work. Saturated pastels and retro feminine shapes. Her colours are the ‘dirty’ side of pretty which makes them so much nicer. Much loved in her home country, New Zealand, Rachel is an architect turned potter.

JOAN PLATT


Probably my favourite out of all ( always save the best till last! ). Joan Platt has been fashioning in her studio in N.Y elegant simple ceramic tableware where every piece has been handcrafted – so every plate is slightly different. Unfortunately I can’t find a website or retailer for her anywhere. Note Joan is 72 and didn’t start potting until 25 years ago.

Thought for the week

One eye sees, the other feels

The above quote from Paul Klee is a bit of a mantra for me. Seeing without feeling can be fairly point-less and just a little bit disappointing.

Sight is our dominant (and some say our most important) sense and yet isn't it our mind that really sees?

For better or worse,  because we are unique we therefore all ‘see’ the world differently. Without the assistance of our other senses. – smell, touch, taste, hearing, our sight can actually only give us essentially an abstract view of the world – a detached observer as it were. No rush of blood to the head or heart, no desire to touch, nothing...

Our sight is also invariably selective in what it finds beautiful and compelling. Because we are constantly overwhelmed by high volumes of images (a 30 minute walk through Soho this morning was pretty interesting), we may miss the point of a Rothko and be completely unmoved, or find an installation of ceramic butterflies highly emotional. What you find beautiful may mean nothing to your neighbour.

Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. Is that good or bad?

There are a few room images above – which one do you truly see?

Artisan no. 1 – Sarah Cihat of Rehabilitated Dishware

Yes we are in a recession, but out of this recession is coming a most exciting time. Whether by financial necessity or just from frustration, there is a burst of creativity on the horizon. Even better is the rise of the new artisan. Making things that last are desired again. As is taking the idea of traditional craft (it’s not a dirty word) and giving it a modern spin.

Rehabilitated dishware by Sarah Cihat is such an enterprise. Sarah finds used or unwanted ceramics, adds quirky new designs and re-glazes them in contemporary colours. Each is unique and a truly lovely way of recycling.

She calls it an exercise in sustainability . I think its genius. Unfortunately only available in the States, her website www.sarahcihat.com is still worth visiting. Beautiful and thought provoking.

Friday flowers

 

A little crisp on our walk this morning . The first trees are changing but still a few pink roses are hanging on. The damson plums are weighing the branches but the grass is still burnt from the sun. 

Its blue skies, warm sunshine and the likelihood of a visit to Borough Market. 

And - it's Friday. A perfect day don't you think?

Chocolate Cake

It's film night tonight. Lily and I jump on the bus up to Julia's house. There, a bunch of girls meet, eat and watch movies from the 80's. Top Gun, Pretty in Pink - all so very very bad, but fantastic. I bake. I fear I cannot stop this as it just wouldn't feel right. Tonight  - the chocolate cake that is a favourite in our funny little family. Not too chocolatey and doesn't require a trip to the supermarket if you have a normal pantry ( don't feel bad if you don't have one ).

175g butter, softened
1 t vanilla essence
1 3/4 C sugar
3 eggs (room temperature)
1/2 C cocoa
2 C plain flour
2 t baking powder
1 C milk

Cream butter, vanilla essence and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift cocoa, flour and baking powder together.

Add to creamed mixture alternatively with milk ( I must admit I put it all in together, but if this is your first time, follow the instructions to the letter, until the day you can make this cake with your eyes closed).

Pour mixture into a greased and lined 22cm round cake tin.

Bake at 180C for 30 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched.

Leave in the tin for ten minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

When cold ice, or dust with icing sugar ( I'm going for the second option tonight as girls and cake.... well... )

Ta da!

Recipe from me, image from the lovely Donna Hay

Thought for the week

Floral Inspiration - the last of the hydrangeas

 

This mornings walk was still warm, albeit with cardigan. The streets are full of hydrangeas turning this colour. The last turn of brilliance before they leave for the year. I love them as much as when they are fresh and pale pink.

Image from here - thanks!

For the love of pets

I read recently, that owning (read loving) a pet, can add ten years to your life. It is well known how a much loved dog or cat can add to the family unit - teaching a toddler respect, or comforting a teenager who is in the middle of some form of ‘angst’. I had a seven year gap where I didn’t have a pet in the house. It wasn’t possible and sometimes I was lonely because of it.

Above is my Lily. A joy to all that know her, the best company I could ask for and now, can't imagine living without.

Pets, whether a bird, rat, dog or cat, bring comfort and contentment into a home, hospital and work place. Perhaps ‘pets in offices’ could be a way forward to reduce stress, invoke proper conversations and to gently remind us what makes us content?

Something for the weekend - to be idle!

As I child (maybe a teenager also) one of my favourite ways to waste an afternoon was to sit on our front fence sucking honeysuckle. Could be me on my own, me with a sister, me with the dog and a biscuit, me with a neighbour etc etc. The point is, it's easy to be idle as a child ( and a teenager). It's not easy as an adult. Idle pleasures seem a little frivolous, naughty or terrify one of being judged as being lazy.

Wouldn’t it be lovely to enjoy doing nothing for five, ten or (god forbid) thirty minutes and then, if you must, run around madly catching up.

The last of the summer weather is here and it’s sunny. Find a patch of grass, lie down, don’t speak, stare at the clouds and think of nothing.

You’ll feel better for it, I promise.

super image from www.blue-a.deviantart.com

Thought for the week

First few items in our store!

The first few things are in our store here. A little random at the moment, but will be running like a (handmade) factory within the blink of an eye.