Posts from May 2021

let’s polka

May 31, 2021

There’s something about polka dots that we all love, that makes us happy. The more dots the better. “Circles and spheres are the most approachable shapes, with no sharp edges to risk injury. Our emotional brain understands this intuitively and unconsciously prefers round forms over angular ones,” writes Ingrid Fetell Lee in Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness. I recently added polka dots to my ceramic patterns because I know that we all have a magnetic draw to the motif. I think everyone should own at least one item of polka dot clothing. “Research has shown that people implicitly associate curved forms with safety and positivity,” adds Fetelle Lee. Here, Jean Shrimpton sports polka dots with a ruffled hem. It’s a dream dress, as relevant today as it was back then.

cucina delight

May 31, 2021

This kitchen belongs in a doll house. Or in a Wes Anderson film. From the sage green cabinets, to the lovely fabrics, plates and baskets, the attention to detail is perfect. I can’t imagine much more than a maritozzi and a caffè being consumed here, but hey, if you’re in vacanza who needs to cook?

suits me fine

May 28, 2021

A new cozzie is always a good idea, even if we only get to wear it in the tub. The simple cuts and cheerful colours at Left On Friday are right up my lane. I’d like a Peak Suit, and a Party Wave top and matching bottoms to splash about in. Goggles, optional.

sail away

May 28, 2021

I love how this fireplace looks like sails of a boat. I love how crisp and sculptural the lines feel against the softness of the furnishings. Regular readers know how I feel about mustard, and this particular shade of Dijon is my very favourite. The photograph was taken by Stephan Julliard. If you’re into wild and maximalist interiors you may want to have a peruse of his portfolio.

ceramicah

May 26, 2021

With all the millions of glazes out there, it’s the natural, earthy finishes that I am most drawn to. Sand, bone, granite, terracotta. Micah Blyckert’s ceramic vessels are inspired by California’s desert palette. His forms are classic, and his surfaces have a warm, earthy texture. It’s Blyckert’s lamps that I adore, two-toned, and mushroom like in appearance, with hints of brass for the mechanics. His pieces are all wheel thrown in his L.A. studio.

Around and around

May 25, 2021

Sun loungers at Chateau Marmont.

Floral styling and set design by MARY LENNOX.

Illustrator, CECILIA CARLSTEDT’S poppy.

CHIHARU OGURO’S charming ceramic vessels.

CHARLES HOLLIS JONESsmoked lucite “arch” dining chair.

DOROTHEA PRUEHL’S wood, steel and precious metal necklaces.

Fabulous fabrics over at OSEI DURO.

PICASSO’s 90th birthday celebration in Vallauris, 1971.

mellow yellow

May 24, 2021

Skye McAlpine‘s Spaghetti al Limone made me think of my Mum. It’s one of her favourite pastas. I remember going to Harry’s Bar in Florence together in early 1997, and her ordering the Spaghetti al Limone. McAlpine’s recipe calls for cream and egg yolk, but I think it’s just as lovely when it’s dairy free. McAlpine calls it a “bowl of sunshine”, and it really is just that.

green light

May 21, 2021

It’s amazing to me, that over a few short weeks, our city has turned from grey to green. “Where the grey light meets the green air.” What a difference it makes to look out and up and see a canopy of emeralds, sages, olives and mints. The huge Oak tree in my neighbour’s garden turned green overnight –– a shining emblem of what can be achieved in a day.

all in

May 20, 2021

There is a wisp, often much more than a wisp, of everyone we know in us all. The sour faced neighbour who sweeps her porch six times a day, the fastidious co-worker who corrects everyone’s grammar, the flamboyantly theatrical uncle, the self-absorbed brother-in-law, the critic, the complainer, the over-achiever. If you dive deep enough, they’re all swimming in our waters. We’re drawn to people who are like us, share our values, beliefs and experiences because there’s comfort in the familiar. Our choices are validated when we see them mirrored in others. We’re also drawn to our opposites –– the yin to our yang –– because in them we find parts of ourselves that we rarely connect with. The safety girl loves a daredevil. Even people we think we don’t like, whose values and standards contradict our own, speak volumes about what lies beneath the water’s surface. In them, we find ways of being that we don’t allow in ourselves, character traits that we’ve all together squashed. A messy eater is the bête noire of a prissy one. But does some part of the latter wish she could devour a sloppy joe in one bite? We are multitudes, all of us. Arrogant and humble. Effusive and measured. Kind and callus. Sophisticated and base. Human.

climate of change

May 19, 2021

“I consider it my life’s mission to convey the urgency of climate change through my work,” says artist, Zaria Foreman. Foreman travels to remote regions of the world –– Antartica, Nasara and  Svalbard –– to collect images and inspiration for her large scale pastel drawings. “My drawings explore moments of transition, turbulence and tranquility in the landscape allowing viewers to emotionally connect with a place that they may never have the chance to visit. I choose to convey the beauty as oppose to the devastation. If you can experience the sublimity of these landscape perhaps you’ll be inspired to protect and preserve them.” Art communicates in a way that statistics cannot. “My drawings celebrate the beauty of what we all stand to lose.”

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