Maroon

Maroon chucks

Isn't this so cool? Colours and textures are so rich. Have a look at more interesting photography by Shelagh Duffett of Broomhill Pictures

Liberty

This store in London is one of favourites. The Liberty store stands out in London's west end mainly because it is the only Tudor building for miles! It has a fabric, haberdashery and yarn section which I aways go straight to. It also has a great collection of fashion accessories by both established and upcoming designers which are always fresh and interesting. Of course there are many many other departments but these are my favourite.

The history of the store and the building are quite interesting. One of the things I found most fascinating was that the timbers used in the building where salvaged from two ships HMS Impregnable and HMS Hindustan. Imagine that! Talk about recycling.

The store was the creation of Arthur Liberty started in 1875 and stands where it has always stood. Definately worth a visit if you are in London.

Kylie

'I believe in you'

I don't know if I should admit this publically but I love this Kylie song. Enjoy!




By the way, if anyone is in Manchester this weekend you should go to Urbis and check out all the fantastic fashion on display and for sale at the Manchester Fashion Weekend. Be sure to check out Unique Boutique who stock yours truly!

James Burleigh

This is the Waldo 45 by James Burleigh a London based furniture company.

I saw this set at the 100% Design exhibition last year and love the simplicity as well as the fact that the colour is so 'catchy'. They are available in quite a wide range of colours and edge finishes. I think I'd love one in slightly rusty dark orange.

Not that I have anywhere to put it! It's okay to dream.

Indigo

Adire is a tie and dye fabric made in southern Nigeria mainly by the Yoruba tribe. It uses the natural indigo dye from plant extracts to achieve the blue colour. Interestingly blue is not a colour that is occurs often naturally.

Indigo dye was also used in the production of denim for jeans so I thought it would be interesting to bring these two fabrics together in one item. One is quite modern and the other traditional and both are from very different parts of the world.

The dyeing techniques are quite interesting as they involve threading, stitching and tying the fabric similar to the Japanese Shibori methods of tie and dye.

A Northern Japanese Indigo Dyed Shibori Juban, originally uploaded by Sri Threads.

Looking through books and images, there are so many similarities between some of the traditional Japanese fabrics and the Nigerian ones I grew up wearing. I really like the patterns and colours of traditional Japanese fabrics and their design ethos in general come to think of it. I will be looking more into their traditional design culture in future posts.

Are you a fan of blue or indigo? If so, please share some links. Thanks!

Ice Blue neckwarmer

Blue neckwarmer, originally uploaded by Urbanknit.

This is one of many. All of which are in a chunky knit. I love chunky and textured knitting, its the instant gratification I think.

I've been experimenting with new stitches and textures for this season. I have so many colour combinations and more stitches I want to try. The list is endless but its all fun.

Again, the neckwarmer like the scarflette is for those that do not want a long scarf that gets in the way but stays firmly put round your neck and keeps it warm and cosy. I've been wearing my sage green one everywhere (even when it does not match my clothes!)

It's September. I'ts London. It's cold!

Hello!....London

THE URBAN CRAFT STARS

FLOCK & ROCK AT LONDON’S CARNABY STREET

The ‘Nu-Craft’ movement hits London’s West End for the first time. Kingly Court, Carnaby Street will be hosting a showcase of British designer-makers who will be displaying and selling their own, hand-crafted and vintage-inspired designs in the ‘Urban Craft Stars’ pop-up shop.

The craft look is definitely back in fashion and in the current credit crunch many consumers are moving from mass-produced and ikea to a locally created and hand-made aesthetic when it comes to interiors and original gift items.

The Urban Craft Stars will be ‘popping up’ for a limited period only (till 31^st August) but all the designers are also available through online craft hub etsy - where they met and the idea was first seeded by organiser and littlechook founder Karin Duguid - or through their own websites.

Everything from furniture recycled from old tube maps to organic printed kid’s tee shirts, funky hand-knitted scarves, photography and pretty leather purses will be available to buy at competitive prices.

Carnaby Street is best known for swinging sixties fashion but Kingly Court just off the main thoroughfare has been cultivating smaller labels and vintage boutiques for over 10 years and now hosts some of the best original design talent in London.

Urban Craft Stars, 1.4 Kingly Court, Carnaby, London W1

The shop is open daily from 11am – 7pm, Monday to Sunday

See www.carnaby.co.uk for further directions

And the ‘stars’ are:

Littlechook
www.littlechook.co.uk

Urbanknit
www.urbanknit.com

Peppermint Twist
www.pepperminttwist.co.uk

My mum’s a hippie
www.myspace.com/mymumsahippie

Bombus
www.bombus.co.uk

Ryokan Art
tel: 07974 319 488
e-mail: tim@morue.co.uk

Gidan Nodza

Please please please have a look at this lady's shop. You can just see the amount of time and care and passion that goes into each of her pieces. She is based in Lagos, Nigeria and I am a fan for many obvious reasons.

Need I say more, take a look for your self!

Gidan Nodza

House of Nodza

Fatboy

I have got a Fatboy and I think everyone needs one in their life. They are basically huge bean bags designed by a Finnish designer called Jukka Setala. You can sit, lie, sleep on them and they are surprisingly very comfortable and so much fun too. You squeeze a 'you' shaped space in them and enjoy the cosyness that is formed all around you.

It was love at first site and I have got a white one as I wanted everything in my flat to be white. It was..... and then I moved but that is a different story.

The name couldn't be any better too. Just imagine my conversation when I ordered it over the phone at work (during my lunch break of course).

me: 'Hi, I am calling about the Fatboy I want to order.... I saw it on your website. Do you have them in white?'... thats great..... how long does shipping take, can I pay over the phone?

work colleague: errmmm, I couldn't but over hear your converstaion on the phone.... is that legal?

Ha!

Have a great week

www.fatboy.nl

erinzam

'I See You'- by erinzam


Erin is a graphic designer who also enjoys illustration, painting and making books. For more of her work- www.erinzam.etsy.com

She also has a beautiful and very informative blog