A little bling..

Love these bling necklaces over plain white shirts/tees - the perfect way to get some daytime sparkle.

The Anzu Sun chains birthday card would be perfect for this look!

Images: unknown, diva malaysia, Anzu, ivannascloset blog, therightfits.com

Teddy boys

Working on some concepts for a new Men's range and loving these images of Teddy boys. Some are original 60s ones, some are new. Lolling around on street corners,

or in Italian cafes,

or in dodgy nightclubs in Edwardian suits 

with an attitude of rebellious insouciance.

Alex Turner from the Arctic Monkeys makes a pretty convincing modern teddy boy.

I like this logo, and the video below features some modern day Teddy boys doing some pretty interesting dancing!

Preparing for summer

As the weather gets warmer, if you're anything like us thoughts inevitably turn to Mojitos (above Anzu Mojitos card), hammocks and lazing in the garden. Being a London dweller, I personally love to see roof gardens; spots of greenery amidst the grey, sky high oases with views and creativity stretched from limited small spaces.

Roof garden at the top of Hermes, Paris!

The incredible Biba roofgarden on top of their Kensington store, which although still exists, must have been incredible in it's prime complete as it was with penguins and flamingos.

Whatever the size, and whatever your gardening skills there is always something that can be created!

Images: Anzu card, Hermes, unknown, Alwoch via fancy, Eastside Bride, Unknown, Biba, Unknown

Madame Butterfly

Each product that Anzu creates starts with a thoughtful hand-illustration. When painting this design, I was thinking of a cartoon idea of Japan and of Madame Butterfly.

However cliche it might be, I still love Japanoise and western images of an imagined Japan fairytale world.

One of ladies in kimonos, lacquered screens, fans,

cherry blossoms,

and of fairytale landscapes. So the charms I added to the bracelet were a butterfly, fan, cherry blossom and a palm to represent the tropical landscape of Kyushu, Japan's most southerly point.

Perankan Museum, Singapore

If ever you're in Singapore, do drop in the Perankan Museum, a fascinating and pretty Museum about the lives of the Perankans, or early Chinese immigrants.

With portraits and small details of daily life,

beautiful furniture such as this wedding bed,

stunning embroidery and costumes (these two are wedding clothes)

traditional Malay clothing Kebaya,

Perankan porcelain ware with their distinctive green, yellow and pink phoenix, peony and butterfly designs,

and beautiful jewellery, amulets and headpieces it makes for an inspiring trip.

The Museum is beautifully laid out. Even the loo signs are good!

To read more about the Museum and the distinct Perankan syle click here and here

Paradisa

After such a long, cold winter we wanted to share some of the warm inspiration behind our Paradisa candle. Inspired by a romantic Tuscan summer,

Renaissance paintings of a vision of Eden,

grand Italian villas with lots of gold detailing

and the rolling green hills of Tuscan countryside was the mood we wanted to create. The perfume created is a wonderful blend of

the freshness and leafiness of green fig combined with warm honeyed tones of honey and cedar wood, creating a romantic and uplifting scent.

The Anzu bespoke for Harrods Paradisa candle is currently available in Harrods Bed and Bath.

Ingatestone Hall

Just wanted to share some photos from Ingatestone Hall, a historic Tudor mansion which is still a family home and dates from 1566. This is not a grand stately home like Blenheim or Knole, but Ingatestone Hall has history, charm, and quirkiness which make it really special.

The family was traditionally Catholic, and inside the house are two priest holes where priests were hidden during the Reformation. One priest hole was hidden under the stairs and was only discovered when a child dropped a toy under the stairs in 1855 and the floorboards were removed. The other was hidden behind a bookcase and was only discovered in 1930! Makes you wonder how many other secrets are hidden in these amazing historic houses.

The lovely cafe had lots of lovely Spring treats - elderflower cupcakes and traditional Easter cakes.

Loved this little flower detail on the entrance gate. To visit click here

In the post

It's always lovely receiving things in the post and the finished products for the Anzu gift-wrap and notebook range finally arrived in the studio today. It was so exciting unwrapping it all!

As you can see it was unwrapped in a bit of a frenzy.

Rollwrap, nests of boxes, notebooks, tissue paper

decorated with diamond bows, hummingbirds, dragonflies and watches

and finished with silk ribbons, flitter, and gold foil. A luxurious range. We can't wait to wrap our presents in it! If you would like to stock it or find a stockist near you please email us at info@anzu.co.uk for further information.