Now We Are 3!

Hello my friends, it’s 3 years ago this very day that I started sharing my inspirations, thoughts and “the day job”with you here on my little bit of the internet! Thank you so much for stopping by and for you patience at times when posts have been somewhat sporadic!

I’m packing my suitcase today and heading off to shoot in Poland for the rest of week which should be exciting. I’m not sure if I’ll get a chance to stop by so I’ve been super-duper organised and pre-posted some of the shoots I’ve been up to recently and some of the things that have caught my eye so stay tuned! But for now Happy 3rd Birthday Whole Lotta Lovely!

If you like the ceramic scissors and #3 Cross Stitch in the above snap then pop over to our online store The Shop At Number 57 to check them out and to see lots of other really nice stuff!

 

 

Friday Fancies {on A Saturday}

Better late than never that’s what I say! Here are a few Spring inspired things that have caught my eye this week…

1. Beautiful shots from Le Dans La blog 

2. France in glorious candy colours via Francois Rachez

3. Hand – turned bowl by Elin Green

4. I’m sure you’ll all have been swooning over the Spring issue of Sweet Paul {what’s not to swoon about!} I love it all but this spread felt particularly apt with Mothers day here in the Uk this weekend.

Happy Weekend my friends x

Silk Screen Printing with Clarissa Hulse & Dalani

If you’ve not yet heard of Dalani it’s worth taking a little look here and signing up. Dalani is a new online homewares and lifestyle site that offers it’s members {it’s free to join} access to time limited sales from designer homewares brands such as Content By Conran, Jamie Oliver, Alegra Hicks and Clarissa Hulse.

Last night I was invited (along with a handful of other lovely bloggers) to join Dalani at Clarissa Hulse’s studio for some fun with silk and paint! And oh what fun we had! It’s been about 10 years since I last tried my hand at silkscreen printing. I had forgotten just how therapeutic and gratifying it is. We were all given the opportunity to print our own cushion using one of Clarissa’s famous designs. What a treat! I’ve long been a fan of Clarissa and to meet her in person and print in her studio was amazing.

Of course I chose a Turmeric colour silk {with new home in mind!} and mixed a charcoal ink, opting for Clarissa’s Rue design. We left the designs drying and in a few weeks a cushion will magically appear on my doorstep!  Wanna see some pics of the action?

For Christmas last year I bought Simon a silk screen and accessories so he could have a bash at hand printing some of our designs from Number 57. As yet it remains untouched because space is such an issue – but bring on a new house with studio space and I can’t wait to get set up. Right meet you back here later for this weeks Friday Fancies??

Heart Home Magazine {Featuring our Home!}

The 3rd issue of Heart Home goes live today and if the cover is anything to go by it promises to be a good one. I’m particularly excited about it because back in January the team came to photograph our home. Since buying our place almost 6 years ago it’s undergone major transformation {it was deemed uninhabitable by our local council when we purchased it!} over those 6 years  {due to “the day job”} it’s constantly been evolving and changing. We’ve been lucky enough to be featured in several magazines in that time but this final incarnation is the one I’m most excited about because this little chapter will be coming to and end soon. This little house is simply too small for a stylist & her props, a husband with more printers than you can imagine and a rather lovely  letter-press machine thing! ; one miniature sausage dog and a shop full of stock. We are simply bursting at the seams. So time will soon be here when we wave goodbye to our first home…and a new chapter will begin. We put an offer in  a a place yesterday – it’s a long shot and to say a huge project would be an understatement! Wish us luck!

Photography, Andrew Boyd

The Shop at Number 57 {Is now open for business}

I know – I can’t quite believe it either but we are finally live!!! It’s been a long time coming but we are opening our “virtual” doors! So if you are a fan of quirky homewares; vintage treasures and ephemera then might I persuade you to take a little peep by clicking here.

 

I’ll be writing a Number 57 blog too, with product news, styling ideas, inspiration and Dudley Dog’s hound about town feature! Fear not I’ll still be posting here about all of the things I come across during the “Day job”!

We’ve stacks more products to add to the site over the next few weeks so this is just the beginning. If you’d like to be kept up to date with our latest news and products remember to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Twitter. If you like what you see, why not tell us and become our friend on Facebook!  

New From Ikea

It’s all go over at Ikea at the moment with the launch of lots of exciting new products. I love these patterned Vilmar Dining chairs, how great to mix and match the designs around the table, and at £29 each you can afford to have a spare stack in the corner too!

The second product that’s caught my eye of late is Rskog – an industrial style little trolley, I love the hard-edged black but for those with a softer look it also comes in a pale minty aqua shade too. Perfect for the kitchen or even the bathroom. I’m thinking I might have to get one for my new studio / office space (which obviously I don’t have yet!)

In other Ikea news….. on May 1st Ikea stores across the Uk & Ireland will launch the 7th IkeaPS collection of 46 new products. So you can’t get your hands on them for a few more weeks yet but here’s a sneaky peep at my fave products…

1. Ikea PS 2012 Pendant Light.  2. Ikea PS 2012 3 seater sofa. 3.Ikea PS 2012 Coffee Table.  4.Ikea Ps 2012 Easy Chair 5.Ikea PS 2012 Glass Door Cabinet.  6. Ikea PS 2012 Dining table. 7. Ikea PS 2012 Chair With Armrests 8. Ikea PS 2012 Chest Of Drawers.