Farm-inspired lettering

A great collection of handpainted fonts, stencilled lettering, posters and farming equipment from the Guernsey Tomato industry. Seen at the Folk and Costume Museum.

Swooning over Louboutin

Any thoughts I had about this being "just a collection of shoes" was dispelled as soon as we walked in and I was completely blown away by one of the most glamorous, inspiring, atmospheric and theatrical exhibitions I have ever been to. Merry-go-rounds, light bulbs, shells, music, shadows, showgirl holograms, glass bell jars, hand-drawn fonts, and mirrored surfaces that accentuate the huge heels and flash of red.

I love this quote: "The principle of craftsmanship is that it is a living process, a constant evolution".

Such a shame that no photography is allowed - images from the exhibition have been sourced from various websites. Christian Louboutin is showing at the Design Museum, London until 9th July.

Dot patterns

A little plate inspired by the Obliteration Room exhibition at the Tate Modern (see my post here). A cute Romanian plate (20p charity shop find) covered in Yayoi Kusama-designed sticky dots, and accessoried with L's yellow polka dot hairbands.

Some new art

We visited the Pick Me Up contemporary graphic art fair at Somerset House and bought some new art! I could have come home with a hundred pieces if I had the money (and wall space) but in the end we chose three cute prints for L's room by Alice Hoult, featuring a cheetah, hippo and elephant. I LOVE them!

Sticky dots

For a little girl who has become a little obsessed with stickers, I think this was her favourite exhibition EVER! Part of the current Yayoi Kusama exhibition at the Tate Modern, the Obliteration Room began as a completely white space, where visitors are given a sheet of sticky dots (the size, colour and finish were all chosen by Kusama) and free to just stick them anywhere they want (even on the toy cat!). It was a great place to let the kids have some crazy play time and oddly, it also felt quite relaxing and calm in there.

Making friends

Lily has found some new friends (beside the fish) at the Horniman Museum...she runs around the display cases saying "hiya" to the monkeys, birds and big cats, and particularly loves the creepy collection of dogs heads. I can't work out how to tell a 15 month old that they don't have any bodies!

Colour play

I came across this fantastic exhibition today at the Hauser & Wirth gallery on Savile Row while I was cutting through Piccadilly to see the new kids department at Liberty (gorgeous!). I fell in love with the simple colour-blocked and woven chairs (would look great in kids rooms), and the bold canvases in unusual blocky shapes that flowed across the gallery walls. 'Visions, Waves and Roads' by Mary Heilmann is showing until 5th April.

"Heilmann's practice overlays the analytical geometries of Minimalism with the spontaneous ethos of the Beat Generation and the influences of American pop culture" - press release.

Faberge Big Egg Hunt

Some of my favourite designs from the Faberge Big Egg Hunt - over 200 eggs created by artists, designers, architects and jewellers that have been hidden across London and will be auctioned for charity. I'm hoping to visit some of the 12 Egg Zones over the next few weeks and hunt them out for myself.

(left to right, top to bottom) Danny Sangra, Luke Irwin, Clare Bassett, Rebecca Sutherland, Physical Pixels, Jane Morgan, Rob Ryan, Susan Entwistle, Emma Clegg, Silken Favours, Joanne Holbrook, Josh Stika, Louise Dear, Julian Brown.

Bronze rocking horse

I'll definitely have to try and make a trip into central London to see this bronze sculpture that was unveiled on the Fourth Plinth at Trafalgar Square this morning. Designed by Scandinavian duo Elmgreen & Dragset, the sculpture portrays a young boy on his rocking horse and celebrates future and the heroism of growing up.

Textural transformations

Two of my favourite images from the current exhibition at the Horniman Museum. 'Mummers, Maypoles and Milkmaids' displays 50 photographs by Sara Hannant that look at English rituals, traditional dances and costumed processions.

*Texture *Fabrics *Layering *Colour *Conceal *Transformation

Pattern overload

Another excellent MM-organised trip to the Saatchi gallery to see 'New Art from Germany'. Massive pattern overload, rich use of colour, detailed decoupage and thick layers of acrylic, abstract imagery and intricately-painted overgrown garden scenes. Plus a couple of interesting sculptures made from stretched canvas and lacquer. See Mothers-Meetings' post here.