Rock & Roll Carpentry & Fabulous Posters

I usually blog every Friday afternoon but had to miss this Friday because I was loading up a truck with all my goodies for Formex. That is Scandinavias biggest interiors and gifts trade show. I've been doing it for about 8 years and it starts on Wednesday so I had lots to do. Not least because I decided on a last minute stand display idea the day before load in. The result of that last minute decision meant lots of painting and rock n roll carpentry. When I say 'Rock & Roll' carpentry, what I mean is shoddy rubbish hasty bashing together of bits of wood, filling in all the obvious gaps and cracks with chemical wood filler and hoping that the result will be acceptable. There is some measuring going on, but not much. It's too boring. Same reason I was always really bad at making curtains.... Anyway, I digress... I hope it will all look good after the final paint job.

I am starting to get quite excited about the show now as I love launching my new cushion and fabric designs but I also have a new product, posters. I only decided to get them made last week, also another last minute decision, so was very happy to get delivery on Thursday and they look super!

Here is one of the designs and there will be lots more and bigger sizes too...

I won't be blogging next Friday because I'll be at Formex but I'll do a bumper one the following week with all my top picks from the show and a recap of the  trends as I see them....

The Majesty of Nature Vs The Majesty of His Majesty

Sorry there was no blog last Friday and that is because I was away on holiday up in the mountains of Sweden, in Jämtland. It was a wonderful week of hiking and nature appreciation...
We have been going to the family cottage up there for 10 years and still there are new things to discover.
I was totally blown away by the Fröå Copper mine. There was a 90 meter deep hole into the ground, straight down, with a water driven pump, pumping out the water so that miners could go beneath the water table to get out copper. An incredible engineering achievement and unbelievable working conditions. They went down there in pitch blackness with burning torches! This is pre electricity times don't forget... What a job! The whole site was peppered with cute buildings and had the most fantastic food in the cafe. A must see if you are ever near Åre in the summer.

This is the view from our cottage. We were given the most incredible display every day by Mother Nature including rainbows galore!

Another thing we discovered was the lake called Blankstärn. It has totally crystal clear bright turquoise water. Breathtaking! We had to go on a 12 kilometre round hike to see it, but it was worth it

The sheer scale up there and the vivid colours and changeability of the weather was very inspiring, so much that I designed my new collection whilst on holiday... well, in my head. Now I have to actually make it all, but the ideas are there...

When we got back to Stockholm we decided to have a day out at Drottningholmsslott Castle, where the King and Queen live. There are 2 floors open to the public and we had a great wander around. I loved all the blue and gold colour combos..

But all that gold twirly stuff made me feel like I had visual indigestion. I couldn't help but compare the majesty of nature, which I had so recently experienced, to the majesty that the castle interior designers were trying to achieve... Nature wins hands down. It made the interior seem a bit silly somehow. I can't really explain it.

Anyway, my holiday is nearly over now, the kids will soon be back at school... I've seen so much art and exhibitions, amazing things and places that I feel full to the brim and can't wait to start this next season, with lots of creative energy...