Horse heads part2

Forgot to add in this new sculpture at Marble Arch that suddenly appeared just before I went on my holiday. I was on my daily commute to work and happened to look out of the bus window and had to frantically search in my bag for my camera! Its a 27ft statue by artist Nic Fiddian-Green and looks pretty spectacular.

Horse heads

The past couple of weeks I have had some strange encounters with horses (my favourite animal since I learnt to ride when I was young).

First I went to see War Horse at the New London Theatre for a birthday treat, which featured amazing puppets that looked and behaved like real animals - even down to their breathing and moving ears. The following evening I went to see the shaman-artist Marcus Coates perform at A Ritual for Elephant & Castle, and rather than his usual badger or deer taxidermy accessories, he came out on stage with a huge horse's head - which was both fascinating and a bit alarming!

The other day, I came across an image from the recent Venice Biennale of a horse attached to the wall, minus a head - what is going on?!! All these images remind me of the gorgeous little fabric horse head on a frame I picked up in Tokyo last year that is hanging up in my flat.

A new trend???!!!......

Holidays

Back from Frankfurt, now off to Wales for a week on a canal boat to celebrate my birthday. I would have liked to have had time to put up a few more images from Frankfurt but I have run out of time and have a train to catch. I have lots of inspiring and interesting ideas from the tradeshow and surprisingly, quite a few good shots of things I just found while roaming the streets in the sunny evenings, like this gorgeous lace curtain off-set with peachy walls.

Please come back and visit my blog in a week when I will be posting lots more. x

Goodness Greatness

Check out my interview on Goodness Greatness to find out how I got to where I am now! I feel very privileged to be next to Danny and Anita, and look forward to reading about more of my friends as they are posted.

I'm off to Frankfurt at 5.30 in the morning for the technical textiles show Techtextil so won't be posting until Friday. I'll try and get some inspiring photographs in between searching for new innovations and sustainable solutions...and having a crafty beer!

Weekend indulgence

I've had a really lovely weekend hanging out in the sunshine with the girls, buying handmade gifts from the Cockpit Arts open studios and contemplating where a letterpress might fit in the flat! I really loved the way one of the designers used an old typewriter for visitors to leave their contact details - there was some discussion about the fact that it had a '@' symbol, which we tend to associate with computers and technology. 

We indulged in almond croissants for brunch at a gorgeous little organic cafe on Lamb's Conduit Street, found it hard to resist Pimms at the studios and later in the evening, Tamara came round with a batch of cupcakes in new flavour combinations for us to sample. Yum!

Creative friends

I went along to the private view of my friend Danny Sangra's exhibition 'The Season of the Witch' last night on Lamb's Conduit Street.... see an interview with him on Goodness Greatness (another friend's fantastic new blog that aims to bring lots of creative people together). It was really lovely to catch up with friends over a beer on a warm June evening, and everyone seems to have lot of exciting new projects on the go.

As well as being inspired by Danny's work, I really loved the colour and pattern clashes of everyone's clothes...oversized bows and etched wooden letters (Anita's own label Bena), paisley and accent yellow hardware, coral against cherry against aqua against turquoise, and a rainbow of layered checks from the boys.

Bicycles

Beautiful Danish bicycles from a trip to Copenhagen. I love the way the bikes become part of the colour-washed walls, merging into the graffiti or framing the layers of torn patterned posters.

Homegrown

The first crop of peas from our balcony, and rhubarb given to us by the lovely ladies in the allotment behind our house....which has now become rhubarb crumble for our Sunday dinner with friends. A little bit of country living in the centre of London.

The Papered Parlour

I visited the launch of The Papered Parlour, a new independent craft venue in Clapham, South London. It is a fantastic space that combines artists studios, cafe and gallery and also runs craft classes such as screen-printing and book-binding. Gorgeous cakes, vintage teacups, reclaimed furniture and upcycled textiles and wallpaper....what more could a girl ask for?! 

Colour flash*

A shoe for every step

Another image from my friend's new flat. I love the idea that each pair of shoes represents the mood of the person on the day they were last worn, and how far up the stairs they have gone before realising they still have them on.

Leftovers

Leftovers from lunch at a friend's new flat in Croydon. I knew it would be good when he opened the door with dough on his hands (homemade pizza and loaf of bread) and I brought a tin of fairy cakes that are becoming my (only) speciality. I had a sudden spark of inspiration just as we were leaving and took these shots - I love the colours, textures and composition.

Studio shots

I was around my friend Paul's house the other day, and his house is so inspiring. He invited me round for a Sunday roast and I couldn't resist taking my camera.  Paul's house has a huge studio on the lower ground floor (he's a sculptor), and the interior feels like a museum, with quirky objects, taxidermy and historical furniture. I love the dusty bottles, weathered upholstery, splattered floorboards and piles of (beautifully styled) rubbish.

Covent Garden colours