WALNUTS FARM

It was a total treat and I set off with a slightly guilty backward glance at my desk which is currently weighed down by bills, forms that need filling, emails unanswered and so much other paper work that I can barely find my computer….I have now pushed it all aside so that I could post, with sheer delight, one or two images from my lovely morning at Walnuts Farm.

A morning tour followed by lunch was the agenda and I was rather pleased that the tour wasn't a 'look this way, look that way, watch out you'll miss this'…but more of a 'take your time and soak up our lovely surroundings'…  Walnuts is first and foremost a home and a way of life, belonging to Bella and Nick and their two daughters.  They were literally opening their doors to their life and what a lovely one it is too.  Beautiful surroundings, a productive garden, duck, geese and fowl, a few lambs a couple of pigs; not too much, but just enough to keep them really busy and I should think really satisfied.

We dined on delicious cake and coffee and then lashings of pea and garlic soup for lunch - completely yum and immensely wholesome - the whole morning was.  It really was the dream come true, idyllic, inspiring, but I think to Bella and Nick an ongoing challenge, extremely hard work and I shouldn't think they sit around much like we did today as there must be a constant TO DO list - a bit like I have at my desk, so here are the pics - I am getting back to work!

PRINTING GURU - No 3

Emma Bridgewater is currently everywhere, well in my mind she is anyway.  I am reading her new book Toast & Marmalade downstairs and an earlier book written about her by Steve Jenkins in my bedroom - not only that, but she was in almost every Sunday supplement last weekend and then when I was up at Chelsea Harbour there was her new wallpaper and fabric collection being promoted by Sanderson…..I hadn't really been especially interested in her before, but now she is my latest guru and I feel that the method of spongeware is so close to block printing that she fits nicely into my category of 'Gurus'.

I LOVE her new range of fabrics and papers - I wonder why she never did it before - it makes sense and works remarkably well.  Here are some images of the new collection, all based around the English dresser and classic English home.

Classically English, comfortable colours with a  touch of fun - just what I aim for….so she has now become an inspiration and next time we visit the in-laws I will certainly make a trip to her factory in Stoke on Trent. 

Spotting her collection at Sanderson fell in timely with my own visit to a showroom there.  I rather timidly took my fabrics in hope that the lady would be desperate to stock them.  She was kind, full of advice and flattering about my fabrics, but not throwing offers of 'I must have this'….I left feeling rather sheepish and down in the dumps about it all, but passing Sanderson lifted my spirits and immediately I felt renewed and inspired again.  This sponge ware approach is similar to printing with a block and with the finish often being in one colour I feel that Emma is kindly lending the way to making this style fashionable just at the time I am starting to show the world what I have done.  So lets hope there is a subconscious placing of style into peoples mind and that they soon come clammering at my door for hand printed designs that are classically English, comfortable colours with a touch of fun…. !?!?

INSPIRATION IS SO CLOSE TO HOME

Maybe it was the coming out of the darkness into this beautiful Spring light that we have been so blessed with over the last few days, but I suddenly saw my home in a new light today.  By home I mean where I was born, where I was married, where I grew up…where I have known for 38 years now and where very little has changed in this time.  This is a comfort, a feeling of safety, a very good thing.  I took a stroll with my little boys this morning and couldn't resist documenting the short journey around the gardens.

How lucky I have been to have had this as a constant in my life.  And then having felt inspired the journey took me inside and I realised where so much of my inspiration comes from….its all around me, always has been, my mothers creations (the arty stuff), my fathers creations (the stuffed animals!!), all the ephemera that they can't bare to be parted with!  I could barely put my camera down.  Here is that visual journey….

PRINTING GURU no2

MARTHE ARMITAGE

Chiswick based artist Marthe Armitage creates and hand prints her wallpapers from lino blocks in her studio.  This makes it sound so simple, but what she does involves serious dedication, time, patience and an awful lot of standing.  Marthe started producing papers in the 60's and used to stand on her large lino printed designs to print them on to the paper.  She now uses a lithographic press, which she winds by hand, with the help of her daughter for each colour that is used on each design.

I went to meet her once, she was so friendly and took me to her studio to see the printing process.  I was so surprised by the simplicity of the studio, it was just big enough to house the press, a table for mixing the ink and a chest to store all the delicious samples she had.  I wonder why I always imagine one needs so much, particularly space, when actually you just need what you need and then you get on with it.

Here is a lovely video that will bring her process alive, followed by some lovely images that shows of her work.

I wrote to thank her for allowing me to visit and asked a few questions that I had wished I had asked while I was there.  She amazingly, replied, I will treasure her letter forever, here are a few little extracts;

'warm the lino with a table lamp as you cut' - why didn't I think of this, it has changed my life!!!  no more slipping of the tools...

'inevitably one makes mistakes, but I suppose one gets better at disguising them' - thank goodness, its not just me, even the best recognises that mistakes can happen, but really - look close at her designs, there really are NO mistakes….

'keep the hand that is not wielding the cutter behind the one that it is' - a very important safety tip for all untrained (me) lino cutters out there…..those tools are seriously sharp!!

She is a complete and utter inspiration.  She is of a different generation, yet her wallpapers are so timeless, would fit into any home of any generation.  Her colours are divine, but what is most amazing is that each design is painstakingly rolled onto the paper, littlum by littlum….

Amazing.

BLOCK PRINTING GURU no1

TOBIAS & THE ANGEL

I have some real inspirations out there and one of those that I have particular respect for is Angel who taught me all about block printing, how it is not lucrative, but how it is an art to be enjoyed, how you need to really enjoy it to be able to do it and how you have to take your time and be patient to get the result.  This is a useful lesson that I try and apply to my life in general.  Things are hectic with 3 children under 6, a house that is a working project and a business that I really want to see grow.  Its too easy to dispel this thoughtful way of producing, literally by hand, and if I want to be commercial some sacrifices will have to be made, but she is always there in my mind to be bring me back to what its all really about.  I really enjoyed this little article in the Telegraph that emphasises her dedication to each element of the fairies that she makes through out the year....

Meet the artisans behind your Christmas baubles and cards

The ruthless commercialisation of Christmas is undeniable, but not universal. These artisans are working to create some of the finest handmade seasonal essentials

Angel Hughes works year round to produce her handmade Christmas fairies Photo: Benjamin McMahon

7:00AM GMT 01 Dec 2013

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The angel maker (main picture, top)

Tobias and the Angel, the popular home store in Barnes, south-west London, is well known for its hand-blocked textiles and custom-built furniture. But for the vast majority of the year, its owner, Angel Hughes, and her team of ‘two and a half’ are also hard at work preparing for the shop’s busiest time: Christmas. Hughes’s handmade Christmas decorations include fairies, stars and fabric-covered baubles. ‘I have to start in January,’ she explains. ‘It’s a monumental job and isn’t something you can catch up on.’

Hughes is passionate about Christmas decorations. ‘I think it all stems from being brought up in Düsseldorf, where my father worked for the British Council,’ she says. ‘German Christmas decorations are so beautiful.’ Hughes says that the detail-heavy pieces she creates are part of her drive towards authenticity. ‘You could take the coats off my angels if you felt so inclined,’ she says. She is referring to the ‘glamorous angels’ that she has been making and selling each Christmas for more than 20 years. Handmade by Hughes and her team, these 10- and 11in creations are intricately and beautifully dressed in outfits made almost exclusively of vintage textiles, of which Hughes is an avid collector. ‘Finding a bit of trimming on a card long enough for me to do something with is really exciting. And I’ve already found some lace to make the fairy skirts out of next year.’ She says the vintage cloth she finds is far more beautifully made than modern fabric, making it perfect for the angels and their richly layered outfits.

Each takes between two and five days to make. (‘that’s if you’re really at it constantly’). And to keep a certain level of exclusivity, no more than eight of each is made. ‘Making them kills me,’ she says. ‘And they’re hardly a money-spinner. I can only afford to make them because I own the shop. But I love doing it.’ Hughes first introduced the angels, which start at £225, a few years after the shop opened in 1986, and says they’ve become ever more glamorous as the years have gone by. ‘Some of this year’s really are a bit over the top,’ she says, laughing. ‘But I like that; I think Christmas is a time where you can put something out there that’s as good as you can make it.’ Siân Ranscombe.