There is something elemental and timeless about sipping wine from stoneware wine cups and I had planned to feature a selection of them. However, I have only found one set I really like. Most that I looked at would have been fine for sitting down to dinner at King Arthur's Round Table or taking part in a Lord of the Rings convention but were less apt for domestic use. The
You've got to love an artist who claims his initial paintings were inspired by garden sheds in the Argos catalogue. Stefan Bottenberg was born in Germany and raised in Belgium. He studied Gravure in Brussels before studying printmaking and photomedia at Central St Martin's in London. He took part in many installation shows in London and was a member of the 'then' art group. Drawn to paint the suburban Belgian
'Less mass, more data' is the slogan of Unto This Last, a Brick Lane furniture maker set to change the way we buy items for our homes. The company's aim is to provide the quality and originality of the craftsman's workshop at mass production prices. The 'D' chair above is just £90 and the 'LP' shelves below start at £60. Pieces are made on site using a special ply composite
Heartbroken at the the thought of the thick, richly fragranced oak of old whisky barrels being sold for firewood or, worse, sent to landfill, Jackie Dunsmuir and her team at Recycle Fife have created Barrel Crafted, a unique range of furniture and home accessories which includes cabinets, candleholders, benches, wine racks, stools and even birdhouses. The idiosyncratic collection, handcrafted to last in Lochgelly, is inspired by the contours and hues
There may have been times in your life when you have felt the need for a website with a name like Ikeahackers for venting your flat pack fury. Instead this website leaves you in awe at the skill and saintly levels of patience of the contributors who seem to find the Swedish instructions too easy – they go beyond the instructions …and then some to repurpose or 'upcycle' those Lack
Fun and happiness are noticeable by their absence in the world of design. Designers talk of clean lines, simplicity and functionalism but the other 'f' word and the 'h' word are usually missing from their lexicon. American designer Jonathan Adler spotted this gap in the design market and recently brought his brand of 'happy chic' to Britain with his first shop opening in London. His maximalist interiors take inspiration from
Husband and wife design team, John and Linda Meyers took inspiration from the 1970s for their home in Portland, Maine. Their sophisticated mining of the decade for the more stylish and often underated trends is featured here. John Meyers explained 'If everything was 70s it would be overwhelming. It's a more bohemian look – one of our biggest influences is Terence Conran's 1974 classic, The House Book. It shows the
Debunking Jon Savage's 'The decade that taste forgot,' (The Face, February 1988) is a book by Dominic Lutyens and Kirsty Hislop, 70s Style & Design. This book has rescued the decade from parody and presents it as a vitally important period in the creative arts. So forget the cliches of avocado suites for the bathroom and crimplene flares, this book argues that today's design owes a great debt to the
These brilliant 'critters', like the cushions below, are made from recycled ski sweaters. Check them out along with lots of other clever ideas on By Elke, one of the most charming crafting blogs around. Elke Bergeron, who is based in Colorado, makes amazing things from wool and fabric and is also a talented textile designer. The cashmere animals below are just asking to be hugged close… By Elke is full
Swedish interiors store, Svenskt Tenn must have missed the Ikea campaign telling us to 'Chuck out the Chintz' because they have been busy importing floral fabrics from Britain since the 1930s. Above left, is Magnolia Black Linen from British company, GP&J Barker. The colourful pattern on the right with illustrations of wine, hops and tobacco plants is called 'Poisons'! Not an import from the UK, this was designed by the