19 February 2014

Schneeglöckchen and saffron


No snow, but snowdrops and lots of rain here in Yorkshire. Yesterday was sunny for a change and all the crocuses in our garden opened up. I love these first harbingers of spring.



Did you know that the spice saffron is dried stigmas of crocus sativus, which is also grown in England.
My crocuses are a different variety, but I am tempted to experiment using them for dyeing textiles.

14 February 2014

Freitag's Links


Thomas Vailly and Laura Lynn's 20 Minutes Dresses.
Beautiful 3-D effects archived by applying glueing stretch fabric together. Made me think of a project I did once. See image below.

★ Färg & Blanche stitch wood together to form furniture.
That's harder than it sounds. A friend of mine has tried. I stitched metal together and that was hard enough. 

★ New flexible paper sculptures by Li Hongbo. Made me think of the absolutely stunning Alabaster heads by Jaume Plensa I've seen a t the Yorkshire Sculpture Park a few years ago.


 Growing out bangs, or a fringe as it's called in the UK, or Pony in German, one of the things I dreaded before I had dreads. Found on thebeautydepartment.com, one of the most beautiful beauty blogs I've ever come across.

 People in Vienna dancing to Happy by Pharrell Williams. Made me miss Vienna, but also made me smile.


Have a lovely weekend! 

Happy Valentines Day


"The Heart Machine is an alarming little machine to demand the attention of the one you love."

I love this wonderful machine by our friend, kinetic sculptor Martin Smith. It would make the prefect Valentines present, no? See more of his work here

photograph copyright Martin Smith

02 February 2014

Freitag's Links


 A very personal essay by Grace Bonney, founder of Design*Sponge. State of the Blog Union: How the blogging world has changed and what that means for us.

I love how she managed to turn all the difficult challenges into something that fuels her and inspires us.

 Art Installation Featuring Twenty Miles of Ribbons Suspended in San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral
on Laughing Squid


 Successful parenting without spending money: a mothers story on The Telegraph
Read the Blog Free Our Kids here. 

 According to Scientists, This is The Most Relaxing Tune Ever RecordedThe song can make one drowsy and hence should not be heard while driving.

Have a lovely weekend!


01 February 2014

Mood Boards and Interior Design

I've been watching The Great Interior Design Challenge on the BBC iPlayer and now feel totally inspired to paint some walls and move some furniture.

Though before rolling up my sleeves and getting out the paint and brushes, I'll use scissors and glue to create a mood board. Especially after reading this article in the Telegraph: Interiors: use a mood board to pin down the right look,  with quotes by the lovely Holly Becker from decor8, Will Taylor of Bright Bazaar and others.

I always loved creating mood boards, but haven't made one for a while. This one I made years ago for a project with Dorma. They loved it and invited me round, but I couldn't make the appointment as my exchange course was finished and by the time I came back to the UK the woman who ran the project had left the company.



Trivia: I used to live in the amazing house [top right] when I worked in Vienna.



But back to the show:

Novice interior designers have to re-design a room, to the homeowners brief, over three days. They are given a budget of £1000 and the help of a builder.


The designers are judged by Sophie Robinson and Daniel Hopwood. I like the way they back up their decisions and explain why some things work and others simply don't. This turns a contest into an insightful program. It's also a very entertaining show, where designers have to work around problems, struggle to stick to schedules and budget and confront emotional home owners with their re-designed rooms.

It's presented by architecture and design critic Tom Dyckhoff. Houses from different areas, eras and architectural styles are introduced. You learn about the history of architecture as well as picking up tips and tricks for styling your own home and getting an insight into how interior designers work.