LAMPSHADES

We were tempted to title this post '50 shades of colour' after that book but as there are only 20 shades and 5 different colours we resisted! We have spent the last few days working hard on these in preparation for the Makegood Festival at Selfridges in London which starts on Thursday - go take a look :)

WOW MAGAZINE

We are really pleased to be featured in this month's WOW magazine, a monthly guide to arts and entertainment in Kent and the South East. We are showcased along with some of the other businesses which will be exhibiting at the Makegood Festival in London from 30th May to 1st June. Follow the link for further information.

GREENWICH POP-UP SHOP

Last weekend we had the opportunity to show some of our lampshades, cushions and wallpaper in the Greenwich Market pop-up shop.

The event was to celebrate their Craft and Design Focus weekend and to highlight the skills and diversity of makers in the area.

The shop looked great and with the glorious weather we enjoyed it proved to be a great success!

SWEET DREAMS

A trip to Heals a few weeks ago not only resulted in us purchasing some super stripy candlesticks (see facebook or twitter) but was also a chance for us to get some fresh inspiration on display for a few upcoming exhibitions we have in the pipeline. I had intended to write a post about all of this inspiration but instead I feel compelled to share with you my love of texture and a few examples from my past as a Surface Textile Designer.

In a departure from the Clementine & Bloom norm this is probably our most neutral coloured blog post EVER! And although I absolutely, whole heartedly love colour (and I mean real colour not an accent piece or a variation of an off-white) I much prefer my textures in muted colours allowing for the surface to speak for itself.-

The top two pictures are from the window display in Heals, Tottenham Court Road, for their 'made to order' mattresses. These beautiful, repetitive and organic textural forms would have easily found their way onto my old moodboards, hoping to inspire a new collection of manipulated fabrics.

The images below are of my early samples made in silk, organza and leather and bring back memories of playful days spent hand painting dyes, hand stitching, free machining, scoring, cutting, burning and even baking fabrics in an endless cycle of producing more and more texture.

 

Even then the dream was to start Clementine & Bloom - a mother and daughter design collaboration sharing our love of colour and luxury interior accessories. We would love to hear about your dreams and how you are working towards making them become a reality...

ANECDOTES AND HONEY BEES

On Saturday we drove down to the scenic town of Folkestone to celebrate the opening of the brand new Anecdotes Design shop and workshop. When we arrived the wine was flowing and there was a gentle buzz from the local customers and fellow designer/makers piled into the light and spacious showroom. The space looks amazing and is the perfect place to highlight their beautiful refurbished furniture, hand made leather bags and original home ware ranges (annoyingly my battery died before I could get any photos but do visit the website)

We also met Deborah, a busy lady running not one but two businesses, who had just bought our orange silk Archive lampshade and vintage Jersey pottery base. She informed us that her name in Hebrew means 'bee' so she couldn't resist the shade!

She kindly sent us some photos of her lamp in pride of place on an old drinks trolley next to her bed.

We think it looks really lovely in its new home!

BACK TO SCHOOL

On Sunday we were fortunate to be exhibiting at Decorfest, a brand new interiors event at King's College School in Wimbledon. This is a lovely area of south west London and the Great Hall, where our stand was situated, with its soaring ornate windows and Headmaster's portraits did not disappoint.

The day began with champagne and croissants (this really should be requisite at every trade and retail show!) 

There was a great mix of textile designers, furniture makers, purveyors of vintage goods and much more with fabulous room settings displaying work from many of the exhibitors.

Our wallpaper attracted a lot of attention and proved a big hit once again...

as did the silk swatches displayed in our beautiful picture frame like a fabulous artwork.

We had a busy yet wonderful day and want to say a big 'thank you' to all the Decorcafe team who worked hard to put together such a great show. We look forward to next time!

FRAMED

We recently took possession of this huge and fabulous picture frame.

We're loving the swirly details on it and can't wait to put it to good use. 

More photos to follow...

TOP TABLE

Here are the pictures of our table runner as promised. 

We think it looks great!

DECORFEST 2014

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed the Decorfest badge on the side of the blog and we are pleased to announce that we will be exhibiting at the Decorfest 2014 show at King's College School, Wimbledon on 23rd March.

This promises to be a great event with fabulous designer/maker stands, demonstrations and activities for  all the family. For more details and to buy tickets click here and to read our interview with the Decorcafe team follow this link. 

AND ON, AND ON, AND ON...

We were commissioned to make a table runner for a special events dinner in London recently and as we love to make one-off pieces and bespoke items, we jumped at the chance.

We like a challenge and with a table measuring 6.7m x 1.2m this was going to require a lot of space!

With such a vast amount of fabric for the main body we decided a little embellishment was needed at each end and so we made a simple patchwork trim in coordinating Entomology fabric.

We took these photos to try and show the scale of the project (much longer than your average pair of curtains) and turning the finished sewn runner inside out was interesting - a bit like a snake trying to wriggle out of its skin!

And here is the completed table runner in all its glory. We're hoping for a photo to share with you of it in its rightful place and finally open at full length.

EDOUARD MARTINET

On Thursday we made our way to the Sladmore Contemporary gallery in London to see an exhibition by French artist Edouard Martinet. As lovers of all things insect related plus an interest in art inspired by found materials this show was a 'must see'; we weren't disappointed!

Image courtesy of Sladmore Contemporary

Each piece was perfectly crafted and beautifully detailed - it was only as we looked closely that we realised old spoons, typewriter keys and bicycle parts were individually pieced together to form each sculpture. If only we had a spare £10,000+ and they weren't all already sold we would love to have brought one home with us.

The exhibition finished on 31st January but we would urge you to seek him out and and view his amazing sculptures for yourself if you get the chance.

Image courtesy of Sladmore Comtemporary

Image courtesy of Sladmore Contemporary