There’s something noble about working with wood. I came across the work of husband and wife team, Wilkinson and Rivera and was immediately inspired. The couple work mainly with English ash and oak and create pieces that are quiet, and yet playful. I love the soft curves of the sun petal stool, and the wiggly lines in the Windsor chair add pure whimsy. Have a look at their work; it may inspire you, too.
Calling all linen fanatics! Once Milano‘s beautiful sheets, pillow cases and throws pay homage to Venetian handcrafted linen. Think bold colours edged in macramé, beautifully monogramed pillows and cozy handmade quilts. I have my eye on this wavy blanket in stone blue; perfect to curl up in on lazy Tuesday.
The Oxford dictionary defines “normal” as typical, usual or ordinary; what you would expect. There’s much about our daily life that is just that. Granola for breakfast. A sandwich for lunch. An evening walk around the neighbourhood. Then there are the many ordinary activities ––shopping for groceries, visiting the dentist, standing in line at the bank –– that still feel anything but normal. Unusual degrees of caution, discomfort and distress continue to stretch our systems as we wait for a ticket at the butcher or walk into a coffee shop to pee. On the flip-side, once otherwise ordinary activities such as lunch with a friend or a drinks on a patio now feel positively special. Last night, over lobster rolls and kettle chips in our neighbour’s kitchen, I thought to myself, this isn’t normal, this is better than normal; this is normal with gratitude. This is normal with relief. This is normal with appreciation. So, I’m not sure that normal is so ordinary, after all. Normal is fraught. Normal is hard. Normal is beautiful and amazing.
Can you believe that in all my years of clay I’ve never attempted a mug? I’ve been wanting to try my hand at espresso cups. Their diminutive size seems less intimidating than a mug. Small pieces require intense focus. New shapes require room for ideas to move freely. Who knows, my espresso cups could turn into mugs, or egg cups. But with two of my three children away for another week, this seems like a good time to try something I’ve not tried before.
August is when the wasps come out. August is when I get stung. Last year, it was my left foot, and yesterday it was my right thigh. The little devil flew right up my dress. Unlike bees, wasps can sting over and over again. I’m sure I felt it sting me twice. Here is Gerald Murphy‘s painting titled Wasp and Pear. I like the proportions, the blocks of colour and the overall cubist feel of the work.
“We fulfilled people’s fantasies. We gave them a chance to experiment, to escape their ordinary lives. The aeroplane backdrop was particularly popular.” The black and white portraits of Sory Sanlé.
Joanna Powell’s fabulously madcap ceramics.
Gautier Paris 2001 fringe eyewear.
Summer fruits by Josef Frank.
A bathroom with two sinks, wonderful. A bathroom with mismatched sinks, why not? In this case, one is a very organic looking and made out of limestone and the other is concrete, modern and sleek. The rough edged San Marino marble backsplash ties the two sinks together, as do the beautiful wall mounted brass taps. Don’t get me started on the PVC vinyl vanity skirt in daffodil. It’s all so utterly cool.
Good golly, there’s nothing I don’t love about this Christopher John Rogers “Strawberry” dress. One fabulously original girl chose it as her wedding dress which only makes me love it more. The sash, the giant bow, the tulip shaped skirt, the clashing colours –– it’s all so wonderfully whimsical. The world needs dresses like this one to remind us of the fancy, the frivolity, and the sheer joy of life.
Minus thumbs –– I’ve never been into thumb rings –– I love to see every finger stacked with a hodgepodge of metals and styles. It’s a look that some women pull of with aplomb. Here’s looking at you Frankie Bergstein. The jewellery of Ariana Boussard-Reifel is beautifully stackable. And mixable. I think you could weave her sculptural designs into any combination. Boussard-Reifel grew up on a Salish an Kootenai reservation in Western Montana, and is deeply inspired by tribal and Indigenous cultures. Personally, I adore the Raissa ring –– it’s simple and bold. Several stacked together look like vertebrae.
Very few people can do the butterfly. And even those who attempt it (ahem, the arrogant man at my local pool who creates more splash than a Humpback whale) do it poorly. Unless they’re Olympic athletes, in which case it’s said to be easier than racing crawl. “Of great interest to swimmers at the moment is a new stroke, reported to be becoming popular in the United States and picturesquely described as the Butterfly stroke,” the Guardian reported in 1935. Although some say the stroke dates back as early as 1911. Either way, it’s a stroke that to this day asks us all to step back in wonder and awe when we see it masterfully swum. I held my breath yesterday, as I watched the 100 metre women’s butterfly in Tokyo. The metamorphosis from woman to fish is kind of extraordinary to watch. The speed, the fluidity, the exquisite grace.
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