Gloves

Love these antique gloves from the Field Museum that have a map of London on them, so you need never get lost.

Found via musie.wordpress

Topiary

I love topiary and if I had a garden I would definitely have a lot of it.

This is Levens Hall in Cumbria, which apparently has one of the best topiary gardens in England and dates from the seventeenth century. I'd have a peacock, a crown like above

and perhaps even some elephants! This modern topiary art was created by Steve Manning

and Owlpen Manor in Gloucestershire. For a more complete list of where to visit in England click here

Birmingham Spring Fair

We are busy preparing for the spring Fair. We have so many new things!

So if you are a trade customer, please visit us at Hall 3 Stand T45 at the Birmingham NEC. We look forward to seeing you there!

Bombay Electric

Bombay Electric is a great store that I visited some time ago in Mumbai and I just noticed that they now have an online store too, see here Choose from these Ravi Varma antique lithographs (above is Lakshmi the goddess of wealth and good fortune)

this Rakhi clutch,

this anupaama block printed pashmina scarf,

and this Royal Peacock Peti box

Or pay a visit to the shop itself. Above is Priya Kashore the owner of Bombay Electric who is as cool as the shop!

Very much looking forward to..

this changing

to this! Photographs by Myoung Ho Lee, see more here

18th century hair

I love these 18th century illustrations of hairstyles, most of which are by M Darly in a book from 1777, except for the one above by J Lockington. Most of them are funny exaggerations, but real life versions not least those favoured by Marie Antoinette would often be 3 feet high and adorned with numerous objects including model ships or pineapples.

Anyway must dash, I have an appointment at the hairdressers...

Carlos

We now have a man working in the office! His name is Carlos Domeque - please be kind to him girls!

A chanel life

Wow it seems that, much like Hello Kitty, there isn't anything Chanel doesn't turn their hands to. You could practically live a Chanel life if you wanted. You can spend Chanel Euros,

ride a Chanel bicycle and now even brand your skin with Chanel with their new range of transfer tattoos.

Roses

So nice to have these roses, tulips and hyacinths from the tradeshow on my desk whilst I paint today.

Paul Costello

Love these photos from Paul Costello. See more here

Anzu trade show

Apologies for the radio silence, but we have been very busy with another trade show - Top Drawer. I am pleased (and relieved!) that my new designs went down as well as they did and can't wait to post a few on this blog soon.

It was certainly busy, and really nice to be able to have a little 10th Anniversary celebration and raffle (for the painting below). Celebrating with a glass of champagne with all the buyers who have helped us on our way was very special.

Thank you to everyone that could make it. Next stop - Birmingham!

It is possible!

Look how much work you can fit in a little suitcase? This practically looks like a mini office!

And this certainly does (the Mayfair steamer secretary trunk from Restoration Hardware).

Meaning that you can ditch the cold and work from here after all!!

If anyone knows where the top image is from, please let me know.

How lovely is this?

Following on from my hothouse post, I discovered these images of Heather Cameron's greenhouse via mondemateriel (and as featured in Country Living). I love it!

Colour wheel

Imagine having a colour wheel of Ferragamo shoes! We are busy here preparing for a trade show this weekend, and have lots of new things coming in including some additions to our Patent range of cards (a rainbow of high gloss cards with embossed text).

These are from the current range, and I can't wait to see (and show you) the new ones which are due in this week!

The idea came from traditional colour wheels and the association of colours and emotions. Below is a colour wheel based on Jung's personality types - which colour are you?

City guides

I hope you like our new look blog! An addition we're excited about is our City guides. Each guide is written by people who know that city inside out and we will be adding many more. Start by checking out our Istanbul guide.

Thank you to Refik for giving the recommendations and also for pointing me to these stunning pictures of Istanbul in the 1950s by Ara Guler (click here for more information).

Images courtesy of Ara Guler, lens culture

Gorgeous cars

I don't even have a driving license, but it doesn't stop me wishing I was driving into work in one of these...

Above, the Porsche 356. I love the leather straps.

A 1938 Bugatti

A 1936 Mercedes 50K

A Ferrari California

and our Anzu Convertible card.