A NEW ADDITION

Last week we spent three busy days exhibiting at a new trade show called Craft at Earls Court. We had a great position on a corner plot next to the entrance to Home - another section of the show. 

We put together a different set up to previous events and also introduced a colour wall displaying the range of silks we make our lamp shades in for bespoke orders. There was a lot of interest in this and it proved to be very popular.

                           

Also on display properly for the first time were our latest print, Waggle Dance, and our newest product - wallpaper.

The Gigantic Beetle wallpaper will be printed using traditional methods in the UK in gorgeous teal, cream and aubergine colours and will be available to buy in the Spring.

We decided 2014 was going to be a year of making the most of all the opportunities for Clementine & Bloom and it already seems like we are off to a flying start!

ANECDOTES DESIGN

We are pleased to announce you can now buy a selected range of Clementine & Bloom's products at a very lovely interiors shop in the Old High Street in Folkestone. The shop is called Anecdotes Design and is run by Barbara and Steven in the Creative Quarter of the town. It is a beautiful shop full of upcycled vintage furniture, art and homewares by independent and often local designer/makers and Steven's own range of hand crafted leather bags.

This area of Folkestone has recently received a massive overhaul and is now full of boutique businesses run by creative people plus some amazing restaurants. Do go and check it out!

STARTING THE YEAR WITH A BANG!

Happy New Year!

We celebrated the arrival of 2014 in London with this fabulous firework display. There's always such a great atmosphere up there - definitely worth making the effort for. And as it's a brand new year we have changed the blog banner to a selection of the vintage lamp bases with our shades that we currently have in stock.

We have some events lined up for this year, the first of which is Craft and takes place at Earls Court from 12th-14th January. This is a new trade show organised by the team at Handmade in Britain and runs alongside Home and Top Drawer so we are hoping for a great event. Right now we are working hard getting our stand ready and as we have some exciting new products for 2014 it already looks set to be a very busy year!

WORK & PLAY

With Christmas just around the corner preparations here at Clementine & Bloom HQ are beginning to take shape. We were lucky enough to be placed near to the very talented Anya Keeley at Handmade In Britain this year and so have added two newcomers to our collection of her gorgeous tree decorations.

                                

Then when we were exhibiting at the Wealden Times Midwinter Fair last month we picked up this lovely stripped vintage bauble.

And if you follow us on Facebook you would have seen our very own handsome Luigi modelling with a huge purple bauble - this one is definitely not meant for the tree!

We have been working hard too - we spent a great day last week knee deep in lampshades and cushions taking product shots with photographer Ian Marriott-Smith.

It was so good to work with a professional photographer, he made the whole day run very smoothly so do go and take a look at his website. Now we can't wait to get the final shots out there for everyone to see.

WHAT A WEEK!

What a great week we have had!

First we were invited by the team at the Decorcafe to participate in their evening discussing the latest trends and designs in fabric. It was really great to be able to bring along samples and sketchbooks of our own ideas and have the opportunity to talk about the design process from conception through to the finished product. We met some lovely people and made new friends and will definitely be looking out for Decorcafe's future events. Click here for photos and more information. 

On Wednesday we packed up the van again with stock and our display boxes and headed to Bedgebury Pinetum in the middle of the Kent countryside for the Wealden Times Midwinter Fair.

This large event was held within the walled garden and certainly proved to be a great start to the Christmas season - mulled wine, Christmas carols and plenty of stands packed with gift ideas. 

We had a great time and also managed to spend a considerable amount of money but are already looking forward to their Summer event next year!

TOWN & COUNTRY

We have been exhibiting at Handmade In Britain for the last few days which is why we've been a bit quiet - you know all those little prep jobs you think will only take five minutes and then the actual show itself. We had a great time though and had some very positive comments about some new product lines that we were showcasing there (more on that at a later date!)

And we have more exciting news as we will be exhibiting at the Wealden Times Midwinter Fair which takes place from 21st to 23rd November. This will be our first time attending this event but we've heard so many lovely comments about it we hope it will become a regular date in our diary.

If you haven't come across the Wealden Times magazine we recommend you take a look. Every month they explore the interiors of two local homes which are always beautiful and original. We're very pleased to be featured this month in their gift supplement along with fellow exhibitors and as you can see there is something for everyone from foodies to crafters and everything in between. Do mark it in your diary and we hope to see you there!

BIG BLOOMS

This weekend I snuck away from the studio for a quick bit of rest and relaxation and there was no better place to indulge my love of colour and texture than Columbia Road Flower Market.

Normally I am not a particularly big 'flowers girl'. The other half stopped feeling the need to buy them a long time ago and now I just pop the odd bunch into my supermarket trolley to brighten up my day. However in this instance I couldn't resist...

I now have these spectacularly large hydrangeas and brassicas in the hallway. I'm planning to dry them out and maybe make a Christmas garland with (I know, optimistic as I continually suffer from not having enough time to do all the things I need to do let alone want to do!)

These flowers in my antique jug don't require any water! Perfect for busy people and the colours and foliage are just right for Autumn.

In total I spent £25, more than I normally would on flowers but then as it was my first visit I couldn't help but go a little crazy. I would absolutely recommend it for a lazy Sunday stroll; next time I will definitely go early as it was very busy, maybe stroll around the lovely little shops first and then buy my big bouquets!

HANDMADE IN BRITAIN '13

Our regular followers will know that we debuted our Entomology collection at Handmade in Britain last November. Frightening though it seems that a whole year has flown past already (but what a good year it has been!) we are now preparing to return to Chelsea Old Town Hall from Friday 8th - Sunday 10th November for the 2013 showcase.

It is a wonderful event, perfect for buying Christmas presents or simply treating yourself to something handmade. We would love to see you there and if anyone would like 2-4-1 tickets then simply sign up to our newsletter!

BESPOKE BLUE BUTTERFLIES

A few weeks ago we were approached by a customer who was looking for some lampshades for her bedroom but wanted something luxurious and a little different from the usual high street options  - well she had come to the right place!

She wanted them to pick up the other colours in the room so swatches were sent, discussions took place and the final colours were decided upon.

They are two bespoke Papilio lampshades in a beautiful rich azure blue silk with silver and navy accents. We loved them so much we chose them for our new blog banner!

We love taking on commissions so if you would like us to create something entirely unique for your home then contact us via info@clementineandbloom.com and don't forget you can always browse our website for inspiration www.clementineandbloom.com

PERIOD LIVING

We seem to have hurtled into a new season at an alarming rate and although the weather is very pleasant at the moment Autumn has definitely arrived. With this in mind we felt it was time to refresh our banner and wallpaper. The banner is a glimpse of the latest commission that we have just completed (proper reveal to come soon) and the wallpaper is Polka Dot Beetle, one of our favourites.
                                             

We are really pleased to announce our inclusion in November's Period Living magazine (yes, that really is us at the bottom of the page!) Our Aubergine Butterfly and violet silk Archive cushions are featured in the editor's picks section and we are very chuffed as it happens to be one of our all time favourite home mags.

This week we started our business course which we hope to blog about soon but for now we are going to curl up on the sofa with a nice cup of tea and read the rest of the magazine. Enjoy!

TO BLOOM IS TO KNOW YOUR ROOTS

At Clementine & Bloom we have been very busy, not just beavering away in our studio producing all our lovely products but we've been busy trying to do the right thing. We are two creative people who love nothing more than to make a cushion or a lampshade but there comes a point in every creative company's life when things have got to get serious. And we think now just might be that time for us!

Starting next week we have enrolled at The School for Creative Start-Ups, an amazing opportunity to learn all the things we need to know in order to grow our company. As creative people the business side of working often gets pushed to the bottom of the 'to do' list - it's too easy to just make something because you love it, but as Christmas rapidly approaches we are looking at forecasting sales, planning a marketing strategy and dare I say it adding a few new lines!

So it's time to step away from the studio and back into the classroom for this mother and daughter team. A scary thought until we saw this little poem on the side of a construction site (hate to say it but we forgot to take a snap of who wrote it), the words seem particularly poignant at the start of this very new chapter for Clementine & Bloom. We will keep you all posted on our progress and as always we would love to hear from anyone else on the course or taking a similar big leap!