HANDMADE IN BRITAIN 2014

We are exhibiting once again at Handmade in Britain at the Chelsea Old Town Hall, London from 14th-16th November. Tickets are available here and also available to purchase on the door. We would love to see you there and do please come over and say hello!

BARCELONA

With the mad rush for Christmas just around the corner we resolved to embark on a last excursion abroad and decided upon Barcelona. We were welcomed with blue skies and temperatures in the 20's so were able to dust off our flip-flops one last time.

The architecture of the city is stunning with ornate iron balconies and carved stone facades at every turn.

We fell in the love with the Gothic Quarter - narrow winding streets with colourful bars and restaurants full of lively music and fabulous tapas, tucked behind discreet doorways.

This amazing shop with its beautiful wooden curved shelving displaying everyday food products was just one of many that caught our eye; what a lovely place to do the shopping!

Of course no trip to Barcelona would be complete without visiting Park Guell designed by Antoni Gaudi. It was intended to be a park with houses scattered within it but the business venture never took off and was shelved. A show home where Gaudi lived can be toured but the best part for us was his stunning bench decorated in a mosaic of broken tiles and in his signature organic style.

Barcelona is a very stylish city but in a relaxed 'not trying too hard' kind of way, it was wonderful to wander through the streets and spot something of interest every time. There was plenty that we didn't get to see however so a return visit is on the list for the future - watch this space!

DAY TRIPPERS

Living so close to the St.Pancras International station we thought we would hop aboard the Eurostar for a day out in Paris last week.

We did our usual haunts starting off with the patisserie for a selection of pastries for breakfast (obviously!)  No trip to Paris is complete without returning to the holy grail of inspiration Deyrolle, then of course the piece de resistance, a three course menu du jour for lunch and a rather lovely house red!

In between living like a local we did add a few new landmarks to our tourist map.

Firstly the Louvre; quite how on earth I have visited Paris at least one hundred times and never made it to see the Mona Lisa I will never know. But officially been and seen now. Yes, the queue was horrendous and the room totally over crowded and yes, you do leave thinking is that it? It's a postage stamp in comparison to some of the other artwork on display.

Well worth the trip however were the Napoleon III apartments, stunning French decadence at its finest and totally makes me want to redecorate and go OTT on gold and chandeliers (a difficult task seeing as my flat is the Mona Lisa of London flats aka the size of a postage stamp!)

We also headed to Gallerie Lafayette to gaze at the most amazing stained glass domed ceiling. It really is well worth a visit, just be sure to avoid the sales as we were attacked by hoards of women clutching an unhealthy amount of carrier bags at the entrance. Well worth battling through them though, wouldn't you agree?

BEETLES DANCING ON THE CEILING

We wanted to share this image sent to us by a customer of our Dancing Beetle lamp shade hanging in her lounge. It is a large 45cm shade but as the room has a high ceiling it is the perfect size. We love it!

RECOVERING

We came across these two campaign chairs whilst we were on our travels, they are beautifully made but covered in tatty old canvas.

After a little work with the hammer and some muscle we removed the cover and tacks to reveal the wooden frame; this just needed to be cleaned and lightly rubbed down as we wanted to retain the age and patina of the furniture. Love the shadows it casts across the steps!

Here are the finished chairs recovered in our cotton Waggle Dance canvas as before. The only thing missing now is a nice gin & tonic :)

FOLKESTONE

On Sunday with a desire enjoy the last of the sunny weather we made our way down to Folkestone, a favourite spot of ours. The town, which is in the process of regeneration with a buzzing creative quarter, has a quaint old fashioned feel to it but also loads of independent shops selling unique art and artisan work - a perfect blend of old and contemporary.

Next weekend is the start of the Folkestone Triennial, a three month festival which allows artists to use the town as a canvas for their work. We spotted several huge pieces as we wandered round and we're looking forward to returning when the project is in full swing.

Diane Dever & Jonathan Wright courtesy of Folkestone Triennial

Gabriel Lester courtesy of Folkestone Triennial

We finished our day with a fabulous meal at the celebrated Rocksalt Restaurant which not only serves amazing local produce but also has lovely views over the harbour. Perfect!

HOMES & ANTIQUES

We just wanted to say a quick 'thank you' to the team at the Homes & Antiques magazine for the feature they did on us in June's issue when we attended  last year's Contemporary Craft Festival at Bovey Tracey. We had a great time there last year  and definitely look forward to exhibiting there again in the future.

LABOUR OF LOVE

We have had a very enjoyable time recently refurbishing these two lovely vintage deck chairs. They're covered in our latest Waggle Dance design - a gorgeous rich yellow with aubergine honey bees, perfect for those long Summer days we're all waiting for!

They are both heading to our next event, the Wealden Times Midsummer Fair on 5th June at Hole Park, Rolvenden in Kent. The show is a wonderful collection of antique, craft and food stalls selling local produce so for more details of a great day out click here.

PAYPAL

Just wanted to say 'thanks' to Imogen and the team at PayPal for featuring us on their blog.

It's been great to meet you at the Makegood Festival :)

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.