Love London Studio Couch by Ercol

Love London studio couch by Ercol

Earlier this week I received a press release about this fabulous new sofa. Launched at Interiors UK this week, the Love London studio couch by Ercol sees the 1950s classic given a whole new look. The seat cushions are covered using the fabric  from the Love London design collection by Digetex. The black and white imagery of London contrasts beautifully with the pops of red that are added by the red telephone boxes and the red cushion trim.

The Love London design collection is drawn from Barbara Chandler’s Love London book, which features 180 photographs of England’s capital city and is published by Batsford. Ercol, one of Britain’s best- loved furniture manufacturers, is the latest brand to join the existing Love London partners: Digetex and New English.

“Ercol is the perfect partner for us,” says Barbara Chandler. “Such beautiful designs, so beautifully made, and so thoroughly British.”

Tags: Barbara Chandler, Digitex, Ercol Studio Couch, Love London, New English

BlogTourNYC 2012

This post about BlogTour is long overdue but I wanted to wait until I had more details before I actually announced it to the world, although I’m sure for many of you this will come as no surprise as there has already been so much buzz about it on Twitter.

It all started for me back in August, when my blog was nominated for a poll that was run by Modenus, the online hub for design enthusiasts and manufacturers of architectural and home design products. The poll asked the readers of Modenus to nominate their favourite interior design blogs. I was overwhelmed to find out that I had not only been nominated but that I was in the top ten. My blog was shortlisted along with some really amazing blogs that I have been reading and have been inspired by for years including, Freshome.com, Decor8, Design*Sponge, Apartment Therapy and Design Milk. I was even more surprised to learn that after voting closed I had come in the top 3 along with Hannah Coleman, another fantastic British blogger who blogs over at DreamwallStyle.

Image Courtesy of Modenus

 I was happy enough to have received such amazing recognition, but Hannah and I then found out that there was even more good news. Veronika at Modenus had come up with an absolutely fabulous idea that would allow bloggers like myself access to some of the most amazing design shows and events around the world.

BlogTour is a sponsored event where a select group of design and lifestyle bloggers is invited to join Modenus on a five-day trip to an international design destination. The bloggers then blog, tweet, post on Facebook, Pinterest, Instgram, and any other social platform they may be using so that their readers can experience these major design events as well. The idea is to generate a huge buzz for all involved: event organisers, sponsors, bloggers and of course Modenus.

The first BlogTour took place in September when Modenus brought a group of American and Canadian bloggers over to London Design Week. The next BlogTour is taking place in March and I am extremely happy to announce that Hannah and I, because we won the poll, will be taking part along with a fantastic group of bloggers from the UK and US, which includes:

Andrew Dunning – APD Interiors
Arianna Trapani - Arianna Interiors
Carole King - Dear Designer
Cecy Brooks – CECY j
David John – You Have Been Here Sometime
Emily Peck - ACHICA Living
Kate Baxter – The Fabric Of My Life
Katie Treggiden – Confessions of a Design Geek
Kelly Morisseau – Kelly’s Kitchen Sync
Marilyn Russell-Grant - Design Magnifique
Pippa Jameson – Pippa Jameson Interiors
Toma Clark Haines - The Antiques Diva
Will Taylor - Bright Bazaar

And the good news is……BlogTour is taking us to New York City!!!!!

Image: Destination360

Thanks to the fantastic BlogTour Sponsors : Blanco America, Du Verre Hardware, Miele USA, Poggenpohl US, Samuel Heath, Scholtes America and Spirit of Sports we will be flying out to New York in March to report live from the Architectural Digest Home Design Show 

We will also get to visit the Poggenpohl, Blanco & Miele showrooms, which I’m very excited about. And towards the end of the week we will be taking a trip to Brooklyn.

If you want to experience the trip along with us make sure you subscribe, follow and visit all the blogs taking part and don’t forget to follow us all on Twitter so you can keep up with the action as it happens. Also the official Twitter hashtag for the tour is #BlogTourNYC

On behalf of all the bloggers involved I would like to thank Veronika at Modenus for organising BlogTourNYC as well as all the sponsors, without whom the tours would not be possible.

Tags: Architectural Digest Home Design Show, Blanco, BlogTourNYC, Du Verre Hardware, Miele, Modenus, New York, Poggenpohl, Samuel Heath, Scholtes, Spirit of Sports

The Creations of Textile Artist Ptolemy Mann

Lunba with Chromatic landscape by Ptolemy Mann

Ptolemy Mann is a textile artist who graduated from The Royal College of Art in London in 1997. Her collection includes both works of art and bespoke textile designs all of which explore her fascination with the transition from one colour to another through the dye technique known as IKAT.

Textile Art by Ptolemy Mann

Man works in partnership with architects, art consultants and interior designers to produce unique hand-dyed and Woven Textile Art pieces to commission for specific domestic, corporate and public spaces.

Cushions for Ercol at John Lewis by Ptolemy Mann

Using an upright ‘Dobby’ loom she creates carefully stretched, three dimensional panels that bring dynamic colour and geometric form to interior spaces. Her designs are inspired by colour theory and are reminiscent of the Bauhaus school where colours become three dimensional and vibrate next to one another.

Fabric by Ptolemy Mann for Christopher Farr

Mann also offers a bespoke textile design service and has a portfolio of vibrant geometric designs available for licensing. She has recently designed a series of exclusive flatweaves for Christopher Farr, which form a new collection alongside a digitally printed linen furnishing fabric called ADRAS, available in four colourways.

Adras Chair with Code rug by Ptolemy Mann

Mann’s first solo retrospective exhibition – The Architecture of Cloth, Colour & Space – started at The Ruthin Craft Centre in November and will tour around the UK finishing at Gloucester Cathedral, presented by Stroud International Textile Festival in Winter 2012.

Cushion for Ercol at John Lewis by Ptolemy Mann

The exhibition will feature work from her diverse studio practice including rugs designed for Christopher Farr, printed and woven lengths of fabric, collaborative projects with John Lewis, and furniture designer Kristian Stringer, a tapestry woven chair by Marina Dragomirova, exquisite Ikat dresses by Eloise Grey and a series of architectural facade drawings to name a few things you will see in the show.

I certainly wouldn’t mind having one of those gorgeous pieces of Art on my wall. How about you?

Tags: Fabrics, Ptolemy Mann, Textile Art, Ikat

Interview: Petit Miracle Interiors

Elisicia Moore of Petit Miracle Interiors with Daniel Khan, CEO of the National Open College Network

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you have all had a great weekend! For today’s post I thought I would feature a really inspirational story. At the moment we are inundated with doom and gloom and sometimes that can get us down a bit. But there are also some absolutely fabulous things going on out there, it’s just that we don’t often hear about them.

Well, not so long ago I heard about an amazing story on Twitter, when I was contacted by the lovely Elisicia Moore of Petit Miracle Interiors. Elisicia runs a registered charity organisation that uses interior design training to  help increase the employability of people who are economically inactive, specifically vulnerable women, long-term unemployed and those who have experienced homelessness.

When I heard Elisicia’s inspirational story I couldn’t wait to have her on the blog. Now if you read my blog, odds on you love interior design and it has probably made a huge difference to your life in some way. But it probably doesn’t even come close to the extent that Petit Miracle Interiors is helping people to change their lives. Elisicia kindly agreed to answer some questions for us so we could find out more about the great work she is doing.

Tags: Charity, Homelessness, interior design training, Long-term unemployment, Petit Miracle Interiors

Kosha Reading Space by Claudio D’Amore

Kosha reading space by Claudio D'Amore

Like most other interior design nerds, I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking longingly about my dream home. What  it would be like, how much space there would be, what furniture I would fill it with, the colours, patterns and textures I would use to decorate with etc etc.

Kosha reading space by Claudio D'Amore

Earlier this year, I wrote a blog post about home libraries and the overwhelming desire I have had, since my early childhood, to have a room in my house solely dedicated to reading. I often imagine what this room would look like and what furniture would be in it.

Kosha reading soace by Claudio D'Amore

Then I came across this fantastic piece of furniture by designer Claudio D’Amore and I knew that this would take pride of place in my dream home library. Kosha is an impressive sculptural object and the ideal place to retire to be alone or in the company of a good book.

Kosha reading soace by Claudio D'Amore

It consists of 33 strips of wood, individually machined and assembled by hand. It features 10 niches, which provide spaces to store your favourite books within easy reach.

Kosha reading space by Claudio D'Amore

I can well imagine myself lounging on this beautifully sculptural and ergonomic piece of furniture whilst losing myself in the story line of a good book. I might even snuggle up in a duvet just in case I were to drift off into the land of nod.

Kosha reading space by Claudio D'Amore

What do you reckon? Isn’t it just fab? What would you read here in this gorgeous space?

Tags: Claudio D'Amore, Home Library, Kosha, Reading, Reading Nook