With thoughts looking ahead to Summer holidays, vacations and travelling I felt inspired to put together an Etsy Treasury. Click through to see the treasury and individual items.
I have recently come across the wonderful illustrations of Stanley Chow and just had to share some with you all. What do you think?
Chow is a UK based illustrator and graphic artist who creates playful portraits of actors, celebrities, pop culture icons, musicians and sports stars.
Somewhere over the Rainbow by Stanley Chow
I’ve picked the illustrations below for their links to the past and vintage-style aesthetic, but Chow also creates artwork of very contemporary figures and characters as well.
John and Jackie by Stanley Chow
His style, although colourful, is very sleek and clean with minimal lines and is quickly becoming popular across the internet.
Mr and Mrs Von Trapp by Stanley Chow
Chow’s website displays a vast portfolio of work and many of his images can be purchased as prints through his online shop.
I wanted to share these 1920s French Glass Cloches by Restoration Hardware with you tonight. I came across the top image via Uncle Beefy of The Bedlam of Beefy on Pinterest.
Although I’m not a big fan of the animal skulls on the wall, I do love glass cloches and the way they have been styled hear with collections of books.
A cloche is a bell jar used to protect and display cherished objects – as described on Restoration Hardware – they have been used to house a variety of objects from rare orchids to antique pocket watches. I like the use of manuscripts and books above – these objects (meant for reading and touching) are held, fixed in time and space as objects of interest. The viewer can no longer interact with them in the same way – now treating them as sculpture, to be admired for their aesthetic values.
Good day all. I’ve another fabulous artist to introduce. I recently came across the wonderful work of Melanie Roseveare and absolutely had to share it with you. Melanie is a Canadian-born designer and lives in West London where she creates her range of upcycled vintage ceramics – Melody Rose.
Modern Surrealist Upcycled Porcelain Tableware
Melanie takes pretty pieces of antique bone china and breathes new life into them by adding new and vintage images then re-firing the china in her kiln. Once forgotten ceramics are transformed into new hip tableware.
Rock N Roll Upcycled Porcelain Tableware
I got in touch with Melanie to find out more about her work and inspirations…
* Melanie I love your work and use of reclaimed materials. When did your love of vintage and antique ceramics begin?
“My dad was a mildly eccentric collector and liked to collect pieces such as Toby jugs and mad majolica plates. I used to love to play with them when I was really young so I think that’s probably where it all started.”
* And is your home filled with lots of vintage finds now?
“Yes, it is. My favourite piece of furniture is huge old wooden post office ‘pigeon hole’ unit which takes up one whole wall in our living room. It’s filled with ceramics, books, music and wine.”
Urban Nature Upcycled Porcelain Tableware
* So what inspired you to combine vintage images with antique ceramics?
“I like the juxtaposition of the images I use against the original piece. I like to draw attention to the beauty of the original pieces, sometimes transforming and changing the context. I love the way something can be completely transformed with just a small intervention.”
Rock N Roll Upcycled Porcelain Tableware – Pin Up
* The images you use on your ceramics are fun and quirky – where do you find them and what makes you choose them?
“I wanted this collection to be fun, tongue in cheek. I like images that make people smile and laugh or stop in their tracks. I’m constantly looking at new ideas and I often have friends and family giving me books and images to choose from. Deciding on having three themes: Rock and Roll, Urban Nature and Modern SurRealist in the collection helped me stay focused so the images fall within themes.”
Modern Surrealist Upcycled Porcelain Tableware – Butterflies
* Where would you like to take Melody Rose next? Do you have new designs in the pipeline?
“I am constantly working on new designs and I’m planning on adding to my current collection with new designs this spring. I’m also working on a limited edition series which will be out this summer.”
That sounds exciting! Lastly Melanie , (just for fun) if you could be anything other than a designer what do you see yourself doing?
“I love my work and it certainly doesn’t feel like a job at all. The only thing that could budge me would need to involve food…”
Thanks Melanie!
I hope you like Melanie’s work as much as i do! To see the full collection hop on over to Melody Rose.
Have you heard about this? My mum just told me about this great blog called Yarn Bombing (Knit Graffiti). I urge you to check it out. It’s not about interiors or even anything vintage, but it totally appeals to my fun/artistic/handmade side!
It’s been around for a couple of years but this is certainly the first I’ve heard about yarn bombing. Wikipedia describes the artform as such:
“Yarn bombing, yarnbombing, yarnstorming, guerrilla knitting, or graffiti knitting is a type of graffitior street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted cloth rather than paint or chalk.
While yarn installations – called yarn bombs or yarnstorms – may last for years, they are considered non-permanent, and, unlike graffiti, can be easily removed if necessary. Nonetheless, the practice is still technically illegal, though it is not often prosecuted vigorously.
While other forms of graffiti may be expressive, decorative, territorial, socio-political commentary, advertising or vandalism, yarn bombing was initially almost exclusively about reclaiming and personalizing sterile or cold public places. It has since developed with groups graffiti knitting worldwide each with their own agendas.”
What a great way to bring some colour to your streets?!
Yarn Bombing, the blog, is written by two knitters, Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain, who live in Vancouver, Canada. The pair met at a knitting group in 2005 and have since set up their blog to chronical their research into knit graffiti groups around the world.
The blog contains some brilliant images and stories from yarn-bombers and Mandy and Leanne have even published a book based on the blog: Yarn Bombing: The Art of Knit Graffiti - Arsenal Pulp Press
I hope to see some Oxfordian knitters getting out on the streets – I quite fancy seeing some multi-coloured bike racks or gargoyles in cardigans!
Photographs by Suzanne Tidwell, via Yarn Bombing
I love this video from Recycle Now on Vimeo. It shows the making of a Christmas tree using recycled cardboard. What a lot of hard work went into creating this! The Recycle Now website is full of useful tips on recycling and projects for making more of your waste.
This week’s Etsy Focus is on The Rehatchery – a shop full of wonderful upcycled creations by Kerri R. Klein.
Geometric Christmas Card Ornament
I recently stumbled upon The Hatchery and instantly fell in love with the delicate paper and scrap felt ornaments, as well as the paper beads – perfect for your own jewellery project. The above ornament would make a great alternative Christmas decoration if you loved a vintage or neutral decor – or perhaps for a second smaller tree in a child’s bedroom.
Vintage Handwritten Note Paper Beads
These paper beads would make a beautiful delicate necklace or could be used to form a decoration for your home. Kerri writes of these beads:
“These beautiful vintage yellow notepad paper beads come in a set of 12, and have a great vintage aura about them with their aged look and handmade pen marks.
These beads were cut from notes my grandmother took for a speech she gave on the Gold Standard in the 1960s. Instead of storing the paper until it disintegrated and/or letting it get thrown away I thought I could make something beautiful with something she’d touched.”
This pretty garland is made from subtle pink and grey toned scrap felt – repurposed to create a ribbon of coloured diamonds – ready to spruce up a little corner of your home.
The Rehatchery is currently offering a 15% discount on items purposed before December 15th in time for the holidays – so scoot on over there now to take advantage!
Hi, I'm Sophie and this is my blog - Hidden Blossom - where I unveil creative interiors, styling ideas and vintage finds.
Head over to my 'About' me page if you want to know more about this blog.
