Shopping for Weird Props

My friend Janice is over from the UK at the moment, we are going to Lapland to see the northern lights and go husky sledding tomorrow. But, before all the happens, we have have just been doing some shopping for props for photoshoots.
We went to Stadmission second hand shop which always has a great selection of weirdness...
let me introduce you to the ugliest doll I have ever seen!...

Needless to say, I didn't buy that! But I did buy this doll. You never know when you might need a bit of retro creepiness for your photo-shoot...

I also saw a pair a fab boots, just had to have these. I don't normally buy secondhand shoes but these had hardly been worn and were a perfect fit, just had to!

One of the cute things about Stadsmission is that, as charity shops go, it's pretty swanky, no smell of wee, and if all the shopping gets too much you can have a quick 'fika' (coffee and cake break) in the tea rooms...very civilised.

We saw some great furniture, needed to be recovered ofcourse, but look at that carving!

Janice takes the pics for my catalogues amongst other things, she is also a great interior stylist and has a 9 page spread and front cover on the January 2015 UK magazine Homes & Antiques, which just so happens to feature one of my cushions...

More from me when I get back from up north!

For all Dog Lovers...My very handsome Dog Mr Boycie

I am a dog lover, and if it was up to me, my house would be full of them, and a bunch of other furry wee fellows. But, half my family are allergic to most animals so I have to content myself with my darling Mr Boycie...for now... though I'm thinking about getting a wee pig...little snuffly pig! What's not to love?
Did you know that when I was growing up, in a family of animal lovers, we owned 3 dogs, 3 cats, a horse, 5 chickens, 25 ducks, a rabbit, 2 sheep, 2 ferrets and a possum. Yes, it was a right old zoo and I loved it so much.

I have a lot to thank my dog for. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't do hardly any exercise but he gets be out of the house and moving. Thanks to those walks I've developed a much deeper love of nature and my own neighbourhood. He makes me feel safe at work. And his ears are like velvet, which is a bonus.

My dog delights me everyday, makes me laugh...makes me shout too, because he can be a right little naughty!
He loves attention, even being made to look like a right idiot by my daughters... I once came into my bedroom to discover this...

I think he looks rather pleased with himself!

Anyway, I had to immortalise him in a design and my Mr Boycie cushion has been one of my best seller.

I'm going to get a tattoo by the very talented Tracy D working out of Kings Cross Tattoo and I think I might have Mr Boycie, along with a bunch of other steampunk nonsense... I'll keep you posted on that....

Wings in Interior Design, Jewellery and Trends

This blog is, in great part, about the things that inspire me, things I think are beautiful and ideas that trickle down into my designs.

This time it's wings and I can't help but notice how, despite all the fantastic technology around us and the endless possibilities of modern, man made design, we often go back to natural forms for our inspiration. I know I do, insects, birds, flowers, forests...No one does it better than the grand designer..you know who I mean!

Wings have been a huge trend in tattoos, interior design, jewellery design etc... I love them, they are beautiful and this blog is dedicated to the natural beauty of wings...

I first came across the work of Roza Khamitova a year or so ago and I just love her scarves. She has a etsy shop which is a must see if you are a scarf junkie like me...

Check out this furniture! I couldn't find the makers but think these are just lovely

One of the easier ways to get the wing vibe into the home is to mount some on the wall and there are lots out there to choose from...

Or get the look with my winged cushions from the Winged Relics Collection

And then of course there are the lovely wearables... I found this beautiful Siberian Eagle Owl necklace by Windfalcon on Etsy and just love it!

and of course I have used lots of wings in my own jewellery...

sadly I don't have time to make jewellery anymore or hats, I used to make lots a crazy hats although none so crazy as this one... photographed by John Farrar. I don't know who made the headdress but at a guess I would say Miss G who makes some of the most beautifully bonkers head gear I've ever seen!

Beautiful Bugs in Trends, Art, Interiors & Jewellery

A friend shared something with me on Facebook recently and it got me thinking, about bugs, about how wonderful they are in interior design and jewellery etc... There has been are really strong trend for insects over the last few years and not just the pretty ones like butterflies and dragonflies but also the beetles and ants and all sorts of creepy crawlies. So, I thought I'd take you through my favourites and show you how much I've been inspired but them and share some scuttley stories.
Lets start with one of my latest fabric designs called Beautiful Bugs...

Butterflies and dragonflies have been popular on jewellery since folks started making jewellery but none did it better that René Lalique and here is my favourite piece

There are lots of interesting treasures to be found on Etsy and here is a pretty necklace I rather fancy to own...

Bugs have been used in lots of beautiful art too, here's a fantastic assemblage by Kathy Moore

How I would love to snip my threads with some of these beauties although they look more sacrificial than hobby related!

So, back in my early 20's, in the days of mattresses on floors, I awoke to a weird tap tapping, very near my head. My mattress was against the radiator and it sounded like something was tapping the radiator. I picked up the pillow next to me and there was the most enormous stag beetle, tapping the radiator in beetle morse code for 'I'm trapped under this pillow, get me out!' I jumped back in surprise and the big fella took this as his queue to take a short flight out of the room into the hallway. So then I had a massive beetle on the floor, I was in a hurry to go to work so I made the impulsive decision to put a cup on him and deal with him when I got back. I wonder about this decision to this day...it baffles me why I didn't put him outside, but I think I was very frightened or something...anyway, when I got home he had escaped the porcelain prison! He was so strong he lifted the cup! Amazing!

This might not be a stag beetle but no selection of my favourite things would be complete without something by  Magnus Gjoen 

Here is another gorgeous thing by artist Mab Graves.. I like so much of what she does too..

And these Litter Bugs by Mark Oliver are also wonderful, such great detail...

Now we are going to get into the slightly icky territory. I love this Gilded Invertebrate tiara by Gil Haddi but it wouldn't be to everyones taste..

And when does a statement piece get too big? ...Um...now I think...

 I do love pretty porcelain and especially these kind of home madey type ones...

But perhaps these by Evelyn Bracklow are going a bit far... 

Could be very confusing at picnics! More likely to put you off your food really... 

yes, that cucumber sandwich doesn't taste quite so good now...

How about this amazing bed? This is a sphinx moth bed built in 1904, part of a photo tour of a French magistrate's home shared by Alexandre Prévot

I am having a really obsessive blue phase right now and love the colour of the walls! But also think that Timorous Beasties Bee blinds are pretty cute too...

Blair Harris Interior Design / wall colour!

But here is by favourite interiors insect themed thing...just look at these doors Oh my word!!

Mews 04, in London's Hyde Park

Trends & Style Picks from Top Drawer tradeshow

I've just got back from UK and my launch at Top Drawer London. It has been an amazing few days meeting great people, lots of new shops discovering Van Asch and being inspired by the seminars I went to and the cool stuff I saw.

So let's get started with a wee pic of me on Day 1

I loved the smells on the Heyland & Whittle stand, just around the corner from me, and bought some fantastic smelling sandalwood and oud oil with rattan reeds. The oil is really strong so I suggest using just 1 at a time.

When I used to have a shop, years ago in Gamla Stan Stockholm, I used to sell lots of stuff from the next company and I'm pleased to see them still going strong. Lunn Antiques make gorgeous vintage bed wear and I did make off with this lovely silky morning robe!

This next item didn't quite make it back to my wardrobe, apart from the fact that is was made for  a very very tall person, it was also eye wateringly expensive... Doesn't change the fact that it might just be one of the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen, well done Michal Negrin.

And this one was pretty pretty too...

Day 2 with an outfit change of course, here is Isabelle and I wearing our matching Ester Elenore chiffon outfits and lots of blingy jewels from Rock By Sweden.

I was too busy on the first day to look around but during the first hour on Monday I had the chance to unearth some treasures... Silver Service did a range of sterling silver and brass jewellery, really rock n roll, lots of hearts, wings, skulls, guns, deer heads, so gorgeous I had to get some bits!

So what about the trends then? There are still too many fabric owls out there, naive cute fabric owls, you know the ones...they are everywhere, they are taking over. It should stop. They were cute once, now it's just sinister...

Lots of animal things, especially deers and dogs...still deers and dogs...this is not new, but clearly everyone likes them a lot there's plenty about. I like deers and dogs so it's all good.

Day 3, the last day and I got to meet Tracy D! Tracy is the fabulous tattooist that drew the beautiful designs I incorporated into my latest collection. She was so lovely...and tall.... Even in my silly platforms I'm still a shortarse compared...anyway, she was lovely and I'm going to get a nice big tattoo on my bodily person by her very talented self. The Tracy D collection will be available to buy online soon....

Sent from my iPad

Beauty...It's All a Question of Perspective

I was wondering past one of my favourite spots in Stockholm today, on my way to visit a stockist. I thought how funny it is that sometime we can see beauty and possibility in the most unlikely of places...

but this was the location for a photoshoot with photographer Ivan Da Silva earlier this year and just see how atmospheric it can be!...

It's all a question of perspective and attitude...and well, you do have to ignore the stench of wee in there, but aside from that, I just wonder how much beauty we overlook because we are not looking at things with the right attitude and perspective.

I realise that I haven't done a blog for ages and the irony is that I've never had more to tell you about and share with you, it's just that because I'm doing all this stuff, I don't actually have any time to tell you about it! It's quite frustrating!

I'm going to give you a quick catchup blog, the edited highlights, type of thing...
So I did a fab photoshoot with Janice Issitt. We used lots of Annie Sloan Chalk paint on the walls and furniture and used some really strong colour combos like deep red and dark marine colours which always makes me think of mad Victorians, so that's good.

We also travelled down to Norrköping, to a fantastic castle, to do the shoot for my latest catalogue...

Then it was time for some summer holidays part of which was spent in Umeå, and if you didn't know it, it is the cultural capital of Europe this year! I was very impressed with the totally mental sculpture park, funnily enough, in the grounds of an old mental asylum. How fitting! Some of the art pieces were inspired by the asylum, such as the super creepy metal baths, something to do with the hideous treatments provided for the patients...

The tree huggers were also rather creepy... but I like creepy so it all worked for me...

After the summer holidays, I was right back into it because I had a stand at Formex, Scandinavia's biggest interiors and gift trade show. I introduced some new cushion and fabric designs...

But there is lots of new stuff still to come including a range of affordable but fabulous furniture...more on that later.....
Lastly, I've got right sucked into the world of instagram and I post pics up there most days. I'm a more visual person than a wordster so it fits me perfectly. If you just want to look at pretty stuff I post up there then please follow me @vanaschstockholm

Kisses XxxX