I’m a sucker for anything that conjures summer, which is why Stevie Michael’s ocean inspired ceramics are high on my wish list. Her vases are adorned with swirls and waves, while sea creatures crawl across her simple white plates. The multicoloured ‘millefiori’ details on her glassware remind me of schools of fish swimming through the sea. The whole collection has me dreaming of al fresco suppers on the water. Pass me the Campari, won’t you.
As a potter, I can tell you that function gets in the way of my fun. The minute I start measuring asparagus stalks, I lose my groove. I prefer to make a piece, and then figure out its use. And I think if we’re creative with our vessels, we can find a function for all of them. Tomatillos? Tea bags? Diamonds? I’ve got a bowl for you. I’m also very happy to fill my home with impractical objects that look beautiful and bring me joy. That’s it. Their only function. This week, I’ve made a series of platters that are just that. Someone might use them for shells, marbles or anything tiny and collectible, but I rather like them as they are. Circles within circles; fun over function.
It’s a lovely palette this, soft and soothing, with colours drawn from the earth. The walls remind me of a rich Italian ice cream, and I love the dusty rose of the linens. There’s something to be said of a decor that mixes natural wood tones, with stone and cream and subtle greens. It’s grounding.
I stumbled upon Sophie Wilson’s ceramics today, handmade at home, and fired in a kiln in her laundry room. With so many makers painting, pinching, rolling and weaving at their kitchen tables these days, I’m always delighted to see what’s being made. Wilson’s work is really charming. It has a vintage feel, and could just as well have graced the tables of a 19th century mercato delle pulci. Inspired by “Matisse and the quickness in the way he painted”, Wilson’s surface decoration is light and whimsical. Have a scroll through her Instagram page; you’ll see what I mean.
In search of the elusive snow leopard.
The stones of Stenness, Orkney, Scotland, 1906.
Molly Mahon’s marigold wallpaper.
Exquisite ceramic flowers by Kaori Tatebayashi.
Humour from Hermès.
There’s a joie de vivre to Abel Macias’ work that I’m instantly drawn to. Macias’ Mexican heritage shines through every brushstroke. His murals are exuberant; think swirly trees, Otomi birds and multi-coloured cacti. His paintings of rocks, rainbows and desert scenes have a childlike simplicity that’s hard not to love. There’s an inherently positive vibe that runs through his work. Just what the world needs right now.
When I read that Helle Kaarem had a background in stained glass, it made so much sense. A deep appreciation of colour and light as expressions of emotion sweeps through her large scale abstract paintings. Her layers of irregular jewel tone shapes look like sea glass that’s washed up on a beach. I love how the colours are both clean and muddy, opaque and translucent, and how somehow, they all work so beautifully together.
On his wet and slushy day, I bring you a garden in full bloom. Geraniums, dahlias and zinnias, galore. It’s one of my favourite things, mismatched pots stuffed full of summer blooms. And look, they’ve even got colourful fairy lights nailed to the eaves. Only a month and a chunk to go, before daylight saving time begins.
As a little girl, I had a pair of screw back pearl earrings that I wore all the time. I vividly remember loosening and tightening the screw in the back, and how sometimes, they’d squeeze my ears too tightly. Even though I never wear them, I love pearls, particularly baroque ones that aren’t perfectly round. My grandmother wore pearls often, reams of them, beneath a crisp white collar. Pearls can be classic, and avant garde. I do love how this Melanie Georgacopoulos’ baroque ring looks like iridescent liquid. These tiny pearls, in all their weird and wonderful shapes and sizes, are a tiny glimpse into the sheer variety out there. And that they all come from the bowels of mollusks.
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