Tuesday 31 March 2009

Love Domino Style-How did you Domino?

Happy Turtle


Hello Domino loving readers,

Can you recall the excitement of getting your copy at the newsagents'? Or did you subscribe?
Did you open your copy on a bus? At the nearby coffee shop? On your desk at work, perhaps?

Did you carry it everywhere with you, sipping sneak picks whenever you could?


Did you run home
or did you hide it like a bone to read it later?

with good company.

Did you keep your copies, too?


Photo credits: with thanks to citizen c, redhearts, champagne chic, shannalee, sunnygirlwi (mocha+magazine=bliss) and laurie:liquidpaper (domino: my drug of choice), via Flickr.

Blog of note-English Muse


I loved today's Blogger Blog of Note. English Muse is making it to my reading list.
Domino mourners go check this post.
Style mavens check this one (life is too short to have sore feet might as well be my mantra). Obama fans, this one.
Nature lovers this one.
Interiors daydreamers this one.
God speed.
(btw, pine trees are my childhood view, perfume, sadness, joy. lovely pic)

Saturday 21 March 2009

The Spring Post

Open the door, feel the Spring air, let the Sun shine upon you. Spring is here.





Happy Spring to all!

(With thanks to the following people and places
A Fanciful Twist (lost and found you again. Now I need to find our cherries!)
Brida das Fadas (cute soulmate)
Trine Thorsen and Tom Leighton via Desire to Inspire).

Thursday 19 March 2009

Another {painting} turtle

Who knows what turtles walk about cyberlandia? I found this one today.



Primitive, esoteric, idiosyncratic. Visit Lulu's Etsy shop here and her blog here.
(Also, till March 21st, buy 2 prints, get the third one free).

Wednesday 18 March 2009

New Designers Guild Fabrics



This is SO exciting! I love this time of the year, when new stock comes in. We received today the shipment of our new Designers Guild fabrics. Three large parcels of brown stock paper covered sample books. I have been wanting to open them as soon as they arrived. I'll probably begin tomorrow and finish placing them over the weekend.



Classic with a twist, that only Designers Guild can achieve.


And her perfectly balanced modern.

I shall post photos of the new fabric, wallpaper and trimmings collections here, so stay tuned!

Tuesday 17 March 2009

U a Barbie girl?

Barbie has just celebrated her 50th birthday with a real party. Her 350m2 Malibu villa, was decorated by Jonathan Adler. Have a look.



More pictures here. I am sure you'll find many pictures reminiscent of many trendy homes!

Friday 13 March 2009

Bike embelishment



Anyone for a ride? Click here for directions! So fun!

Tuesday 10 March 2009

Happy Turtle

Hello, style lovers,
Today I am going to take you on a tour to a beautiful Athens home, courtesy of a Domino Greece article. It is the home of one of my favorite Greek fashion Designers.
Vassili Zoulias, an 80s stylist and fashion editor turned fashion designer, creates shoes and handbags, which form the backbone of his collection, to which he has added over the years sophisticated dresses and coats, sold from Old Athens shop, in the fashionable Kolonaki district of Athens.

Here he is outside his shop.

At home, a 110m2 apartment overlooking the Athenian Riviera, the atmosphere is one of classic elegance with a fresh twist, sprinkled with childhood nostalgia.



(Look at that floor. It could feel old but it so now.)

Visual prompts and samples of his good taste are to be found everywhere in little niches of perfectly styled bric-a-brac.
As he readily admits, his late mother and the glamorous style of Athens in the 1950s and 60s, is for him the main source of inspiration.
Soft pastels, grey, pistachio, yellow and pink, color the tapestry of the designer's airy and refined universe at home.


.
I hope you enjoyed the tour! See you soon for more beautiful home tours.

Saturday 7 March 2009

New and old, at one of my favorite concept shops in England.






Thursday 5 March 2009

Vassili Zoulias’ Old Athens



The ’50s were amongst the most influential decades in fashion and style. Whether followed and copied to an iota or being parodied by inventive designers in search of their own identity, one must admit that fifty years ago, fresh from the rubble of the devastating World War II, women in Europe discovered a hidden identity that made them feel comfortable with the power they had acquired while men were away fighting their heads off.

Greece came out of the war a pile of rubble, suffering the worst casualties per total population than any other country. However, women will always be women, and Greek women were determined not to be left behind. The new world order was being formed while the new ruling class of wealthy merchants and young scientists were traveling the world, bringing in new ideas and habits, and making local womenfolk green with envy.

Fifty years later nostalgia knocks our doors as we recall the heavily scented boudoirs of our young and pretty to a string of hair, mothers. Yes, we may have declared our revolution living within our jeans and having our hair loose over our shoulders, but visions of Grace Kelly-esque mothers, aunts, grandmothers and other influential figures in our lives become all the more important as we are rapidly draw closer to their age.

Enter Vassili Zoulias, a stylist of the rebellious 80s, who has discovered his raison d’etre in his late mother’s wardrobe. The talented stylist is experiencing unashamed fulfillment riding his admittedly very stylish mother’s old stuff, finding inspiration for his increasing line of shoes and bags, recently clothes and probably one day soon objets d’ art.

Even though I do now own any of his pieces, I am a big fan of his. I believe he is very talented, with an understanding of female vanity and an eye for translating the old into the most perfectly new. He has recently opened an atelie in a 1957 apartment block in the center of Athens, itself the work of Kapsambelis, a renowned architect of the time. I had met Kapsambelis’ wife through my mother, and I have to say that I still recall her long, lean figure in perfectly tailored clothing that was flattering as it was unassuming. She was a perfect lady, indeed.

Zoulias’ creations pay tribute to an era of promise and hope that we desperately try to emulate in search of our own identity and our own hope among a world that falls apart morally, esthetically and physically. In his work we see reflected the taste of a time when there was time for everything, when life was more carefree, when time was not an issue. We look for the certainties of our peers in the hope of getting in touch with a hidden side of our fast paced lives that is called femininity. It takes a man to point us to it.

Sunday 1 March 2009

New books on the blog-o-sphere

Following her home-family-crafts manifesto, The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections mom/crafter/blogger Amanda Soule recently announced the publication next August of her new book.

The new book builds on the previous one, making crafting suggestions for the entire family. It will include thirty-three projects made by reusing and repurposing materials—from vintage feedsacks to old sheets and towels—and including some projects that children can help with, all of the items here offer a practical use in the home.

The book, Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures, adds to a stream of blog-inspired books. Last year Anna-Maria Horner wrote Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing, Alicia Paulson published Stitched in Time: Memory-Keeping Projects to Sew and Share from the Creator of Posie Gets Cozy.

They all build on the tradition of Jane Brocket and her wonderful book that started the housewife/crafter/blogger/author revolution,The Gentle Art of Domesticity: Stitching, Baking, Nature, Art & the Comforts of Home. It was followed by the uniquely satisfying Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer: A Golden Treasury of Classic Treats.

Ms Brocket's new book, promisingly titled Ripping Things to Do: The Best Games and Ideas from Children's Books is also available for pre-order.

Happy reading for 2009!

Best buys