I'm a cover girl!

My home , all decked for Christmas, 

featured in HomeStyle magazine

Photo credit : Olly Gordon  for Homestyle magazine

EEEEEk!!

How exciting...I can finally tell you all!! 

I've been featured in Homestyle magazine, and I even made the front cover of their December issue!!

I can't tell you how hard it's been to keep this a secret....

But way back in july, I had the wonderful people from Homestyle magazine around to shoot the house for their Christmas issue!

Yes...That's right: Christmas in July!!

With a tree and mince pies and all!!

To say it was a bizarre experience would be an understatement, but a thoroughly enjoyable one at that!!

But even more bizarre, was the feeling of seeing myself on the front cover of a magazine!!

And of course seeing pictures of our home in print and reading about myself....Oddly fascinating!!

Sitting in my kitchen with a cup of coffee, whilst reading about my kitchen....

I have to tell you, as odd as it feels, that t was a truly enjoyable experience having the team from HomeStyle around, and as nervous as I was on the day, having spent the week putting up all my Christmas decorations, they soon made me feel totally at ease....Although the posing for the cover shot felt utterly awkward!

I was fascinated to see how they worked, with the stylists and photographer deciding on each shot, then spending ages tweaking the frames...

I learned a lot about styling and interior photography that day, and I am still trying to incorporate these lessons when I shoot my own photo's...although not quite to Olly Gordon's levels...

In the article the focus is, as it has been here on the blog, about the creative solutions I've had to come up with to achieve the kind of home that I wanted on a budget....I even share a couple of DIY's in the magazine:

The December HomeStyle issue, with me on the cover, is now for sale in the shops, so if you'd like to see more from my Christmassy home, run and buy!!

Or you can see a little preview here!!

And you can read more about my experience of being the HomeStyle cover girl and see more pictures from my home here

I guess this means ....yep Christmas is coming, and there is no denying it now!

Expect more Christmassy stuff on the blog in the coming weeks!

Small shop focus: T&Shop

Continuing on with my mini series of posts putting small, independent shops in focus, to encourage you all to shunt the big chains for your Christmas shopping this year, and instead choose to support local, creative and alternative businesses , I am today putting the spotlight on one of my stockist, Emily Grace wright's little lifestyle shop:

Emily serves loose leaf teas, locally roasted CARAVAN coffee, nutritious & delicious food & home baked cakes in her Newington Green premises situated in the stretch between Highbury, Dalston and Stoke Newington...But more than that she also sells  homeware, jewellery, textiles, ceramics, furniture & accessories sourced from emerging British based designers/makers who celebrate craftsmanship & share a minimal functional aesthetic in store and on her online website T&shop.

  emily is passionate about sourcing  hand crafted items, by emerging designers and UK based artisans producing small batches of unique and hand made products for the home. She has formed a collective of creative people, showcasing emerging design talent and in this way supporting small independent makers like myself.

Her carefully curated collection of products display her minimal functional aesthetic,with a slight bohemian feel, as well as her keen eye for unusual and unique design.

I am so proud to be part of Emily's stellar line up of start up designers and artisans, and her commitment to supporting creative people was cemented when she took her eclectic collection to Design junction in September this year...

All the images in this post is from her stall at the exhibition in Victoria House.

This is just a small selection of her eclectic mix of home wares and lifestyle products available in her East London tea-store and her online shop:

From the unique hand crafted ceramic organic vessels by Daisy Cooper , inspired by the Scottish wilderness,lovingly hand carved kitchen utensils made from reclaimed timber by Grain and Knot, and

the organic, yet modern laminated birch ply plates designed by print maker Krysta Batryn...

....the quirky and unique, multi functional hand thrown Diamond pots from London based Swedish ceramicist Stine Dulong of ScandiHus, inspired by a love for Scandinavian design in which beauty is radiated through light colours,

to the elegant and functional,charmingly tactile handmade hardwood contemporary homewares by Cotswold based artisan Brian Watson Wright marrying the natural beauty of hardwoods with the warmth of copper. ...

I adore the playful and fun design of the Clack! candle sticks in hand turned wood with copper from  Nice to be Nice ,a London based design studio, (pictured below with my own Hand cast Origami Concrete candlesticks)...

Hackney based Sophie and Gemma , the design duo behind Nice to be Nice also designed the gorgeous Stacklet modular shelving system Emily used to display her goods at design junction, cleverly combining Oak, Powder Coated Steel, Marble, Copper.... 

Perfect for displaying the gorgeously luxurious Cashmere knitwear Emily stocks from  ​Makeda Matheson​ . Responsibly & ethically made with locally sourced cashmere wool , then machine or hand knitted, but always finished by hand...

And Emily's beautifully eclectic range of jewelry from designers and makers such as NODO, Custom made and Wild Fawn.

As well as knitted, functional design accessories from Pluckd, Their Urban Wear hats and mittens made from innovative reflective wool, sourced from British makers, mills and suppliers.... 

T&Shop also sells handmade natural vegetable oil soaps from London Fields Soap company, natural scented soy candles from Earl of East London....

...as well as these funky geometric glass plant display's by Monti By Monti (shown above with cacti and succulents in marbled concrete planters by  Daniela Rubino, and above again). 

 Each piece is designed & made by Dee Monti ​in Hackney using locally sourced materials. 

Daniela Rubino ​designs concrete & metal products, such as the beautifully simplistic wall shelf pictured, above.

Daniela's choice of materials is based on their high compressive strength, sustainability & of course industrial aesthetics. Her designs are simple & bold, focusing on the beauty of the material. . 

The minimalist wall clock, above, is from JollySmith Design, a creative brand based in the North of England offering well designed British made gifts for any home or occasion.

This is just a small selection of Emily's beautifully curated collection of decorative, unique home wares and functional lifestyle products for sale at T&shop...Please visit her web shop for more inspiring Christmas gift ideas...or maybe just to treat yourself to something special..

Or if you are in East London, visit her tea shop for a coffee with a delicious treat whilst perusing her eclectic stock....you could even end up buying the chair you sit on...because EVERYTHING is for sale, so that you can have Emily's lifestyle and aesthetics in your own home...

How is that for a unique selling point??

Small shop focus: The Future Kept

With only 8 more weeks until Christmas (!!!) I am starting to turn my thoughts to organizing this years holidays...And a big part of this is obviously planning my Christmas present purchases...

And this year I've decided to, as much as possible, shunt the big retailers, and buy my presents from small, local and independent shops.  

Being a self employed maker myself, I know how important every sale is to me, and without the people who buy my stuff, I would not be able to keep going...So I think it is so important to support all those little shops and makers that have been brave enough to follow their passions and set up a business in a world dominated by corporate consumerism.

So I urge you all to support your local shops: The fantastic local florist down the high street, The bakers who sells homemade cakes, the markets and fairs... and the neighbor that sells handcrafted jewelry online....lets give our hard earned money to individual people, and not feed the multi national companies money making machines...

Of course I realize that in this day and age, a lot of us (my self included) , with our hectic working , everyday lives, will be buying most of our Christmas presents online. 

But we can still apply this principle and support the little people, and with this thought in mind I thought I'd do a mini series of blog posts in the run up to Christmas, and  put the spotlight on some of my favorite small independent online shops, that offers hand made, locally sourced and unique products...

....in my mind the perfect, out of the ordinary Christmas gifts!

So, I am going to kick it off today, by introducing you all to an online shop that I feel empitomises this ethic entirely:

The Future Kept is an online purveyor of well designed, durable, meticulously chosen goods for you to cherish and keep, run by husband and wife duo Jeska and Dean Herne.

Based on the south coast of England,they design and carefully source items from independent designers, makers, artisans and entrepreneurs who are creating products that are better for our world, becoming part of your life story, forming an intimacy between you and your belongings. 

Jeska and Dean, image courtesy of The future Kept

I met Jeska and Dean yesterday, as they are currently to be found at West Elm, Tottenham court road, where they are having a 4 day residency pop up shop. So if you find yourself in the London area over the weekend I highly recommend that you visit them there to see their lovely curated collection of lifestyle products... 

With beautiful and unique products such as the hand thrown ceramic mug and coffee dripper, made exclusively for TFK by Scottish ceramist Julia Smith (Top picture), the gorgeous smelling , naturally crafted perfume oils from Swedish company Vilda vexter (pictured above) and Hand crafted wooden kitchen accessories from London based Forest and Found (pictured , below)....

The Future Kept's range of products focuses on creating a simpler life....where the quality of the product we surround ourselves with on a daily basis adds to our lives in a more meaningful way... Things that are lovingly made to last, and will not fuel the throwaway nature of the modern world.....Things that you are proud to own.... heirlooms of the future!

"Our primary goal with The Future Kept is to lead and inspire more people to think carefully about the items they have in their lives, by putting together a collection of best in class products all with a story to tell."*

With beautiful British handmade throws, (two pics above),vintage pottery (pictured above), eco friendly , washable paper storage bags (above and below) , hand printed bags by French artist Amelie Mancini (below)....

...recycled vintage china necklaces by British designer Stay Gold Mary Rose and quirkily pretty little limpit shell dishes made by Oxford based ceramist Katie Coston of Illyria Pottery (Both pictured, below) ...there is a unique gift for anyone available on The Future Kept website....

But the Future Kept is much more than just a quirky online shop...They promote the kind of slow paced life championed by the lifestyle magazines they stock, such as Kinfolk , focusing on life quality and enjoying each moment....

Image from A Future Kept on instagram

"Creating and seeking beautifully considered, functional items for others to enjoy is our passion, by sharing these items that we celebrate, we aim to connect and form relationships with like-minded folk, whilst having a positive impact on the environment.

We hope to inspire a curiosity and desire within people to make more sustainable and ethical choices. "*

Have a look at their gift collection for more inspiration for your Christmas gift shopping this year, and make this the Christmas where your gift choices really makes a difference!

*Extract from the Future Kept website

Urban jungle bloggers

{ O c t o b e r }

Plants and Flowers

"The soul needs Autumn.

Let what's dead fall.

Let the wind sweep it up and blow it away.

Your colors are changing; it's so beautiful.

Don't be sad, it was a part of you and now it's gone.

some things have to die. 

It's their season.

You can't hold on.

This is your season to let it all fall.

Shed what's dead.

Be free, Stand tall.

There will be a time to bloom again...."

Unknown

I'm keeping it short and sweet this week and this is my entry for the Urban Jungle bloggers October challenge...This months topic was Plants and Flowers...Make sure you check out the other entries here, for some blooming beautiful plant inspiration... 

Easy Halloween DIY: Cat eyes string light

Here's a quick and easy DIY for Halloween for you all... Jazz up some string lights with some black card Cat faces to create some Spookily cute Cat Eyes to set the mood in your home this Halloween...

All you'll need is some A4 black card, some scissors and of course some String lights...

I've made up a FREE pattern for you, that you can simply download then print out on your black card.

Download the black cat string light template here.

Then you just cut out the cat faces....

Pierce where the eyes are indicated on the template (I used a sharp craft knife for this).

Then simply push the bulbs on your string light through the holes.

C'est ca!

I love how simple these are to make...and don't they look great??

This will probably be my last DIY post this year, as I have some big news to tell you all about very soon... but you can see more of my previous Halloween makes in my DIY Tutorials gallery or you can have a look at my Halloween Pinterest board for more inspiration...

...And of course, if you're planning a Halloween party, You should really check out my Classy Halloween Party ideas post , to see my picks of quick and easy creative ways to hold a sophisticated but spooky party...