thats lovely dear...








Etsy artist Tabitha Emma is from the outskirts of Sydney Australia. The use of pretty pastel colours & 'storybook' imagery in her illustrations are reminiscent of a 'pinky in the air, garden tea party' culture of old, & brings to mind the porcelain treasures our grandmothers would have collected for their glory boxes. These prints (& more) are available from www.tabidesigns.etsy.com and are perfect for all you tea & cup cake lovers!

light up my life


Above are two silk cocoon lamps - chrysalis sky (left) & white space (right) - by british lighting designer angus hutcheson. I first saw this lamp in a muriwai beach bach & was struck by the beauty & elegance of it. it is something you could look at all day & not tire off. The amount of work that would go into creating a lamp like this is mind boggling.

All of angus' lamps are made using natural & renewable material as he aims to draw man & the environment closer together - where man can live with nature in a technological world. These lamps would be a prized possesion in any house.

mugs


coming from a graphic design background i find the combination of fonts in this image gorgeous! while each is so entirely different, they all have a quirkiness about them which makes them work so well together. I would find it hard to limit myself to buying only one or two mugs & would need to purchase the entire alphabet.

hippo on a plate


i found this image somewhere - i have a faint idea where but cant quite remember! i love the way the floral pattern flows off the plate up & over the hippo who appears to gaze up at you under batted eyelids. the inclusion of the patterned table covering & black utensils complete the image & scene.

trixie delicious


great plates for someone with a sense of humour. created by trixie delicious & available from www.toggle.co.nz these plates are the perfect way to take a dig at a friend or that special someone! The combination of the floral motifs with the insult helps to soften the blow & contributes to it's humourous quality - its fine dining with a rough edge. who wouldn't want one?

lost in the woods


the name this jeweller works under 'lost in the woods' reminds me of the hansel & gretel story. each brooch has connotations to the good & the evil - each piece has a sense of darkness & mystery surrounding it while at the same time remains light-hearted & fun.

these 'truly whimsical' brooches are made by a melbourne jeweller who showcases his work on the flickr page of Little Nemo in Slumberland. while sifting through the collection i found it hard to pick my favourites, but in the end i managed to narrow it down to the above three. the workmanship that goes into each brooch is amazing & is something i would never have the patience to do. in new zealand these brooches are available from ikoiko stores located in auckland & wellington.

giddyup horsey!


a modern take on an old favorite - the rocking horse, or in this case the rocking stool.

The 'giddyup' rocking stool by new zealand designer tim wigmore is made from second handle saddles that have been given a new lease of life. the growing concern/issue of sustainability in the design world is addressed by tim through the use of sustainable hoop pine or gabbon marine-grade plywood for the rocking base, stainless steel screws to attach the saddle to the base, & non-toxic (eco-friendly)orange citrus oil (used to polish the saddle). tim says that sitting on the seat is just like riding a horse - it's uncomfortable at first, but becomes more natural the longer you sit on it - so dont be put off! This stool is just plain old fun. image is taken from HOME magazine apr/may 08

hunting trophy


while flicking through the april/may 08 issue of HOME magazine, i came across these 'trophy' hangers by new zealand designer phil cuttance. my first thought was 'where can I buy one?!' they are a quirky/comical take on the traditional deer head hunting trophys that we probably remember adorning the walls of our grandparents houses. in my case we had a bull horn 'trophy' & I remember thinking how ugly it was. these little trophys however are beautiful objects & i would have absolutely no problems hanging a series of these on my walls! my favourite is the 'mouth wide open' hippo & its stumpy hippo body. i love phil's idea of mounting not only heads but bodies as well "when i started cutting the animals' heads off, i didnt want to waste the back ends of them, so thought why not use them too?"- these 'trophys' make me laugh & are a great find for someone who loves the avant-garde & something a little bit weird.
for stockists go to www.philcuttance.com

away

i have been lacking in the 'posting blogs' department for the last 2-3 weeks as I have been away -first i was touring the south island, and now i am in hongkong - i have just been to china. anyway! its back to reality on monday, so keep posted for new blogs in the week to come....

amanda shanley


i have just been on a 10 day road trip of the south island, driving from auckland to queenstown & then back to auckland. while waiting for the ferry in wellington i spied the work of ceramicist (is that the correct word & spelling?!) of amanda shanley in the window of a small gallery, which was unfortunately closed. it wasnt until i was in christcurch, & then again wanaka that i happened across her work again, fell in love & am now the proud owner of two of her beakers! amanda is a recent graduate from the otago polytechnic school of art, & lives & works in port chalmers, dunedin. her ceramic art has won her awards in 2003 & 2004 and her earthenware beakers with drawn decorations (which i own!) have become her signature pieces. im am not sure if her work is available in auckland, however i intend to find out as i need one more piece for my collection!

a way with crown lynn




i am pleased to say that i know stylist anna church (or maybe stylist/artist?) through my job as a designer. we have used her on numerious occasions to style our new product range, & we love her work!

in her first ever exhibition anna has been able to take her own ideas and use her own time frame (without the constraints of a client), to produce a seires of limited edition prints. anna explains that the 'pieces are more about the sculptural assemblage than the photography, but, you can’t really stick the crockery on the wall.' shown above is 'Crowning Glory' which marks the completion of three months spent searching second hand shops throughout NZ for iconic crown lynn crockery; and 'Tiki Lynn' a task she wasnt sure could be executed, however 'It was when I saw the vase that is now the tiki’s tongue that I knew it could be done,” says anna. annas prints are available from momentum gallery on jervois road in auckland or www.momentumgallery.co.nz