Lovely Pigeon

Hello there; it's Abi posting today while Kate's still dusting off her her stetson and catching up after her recent trip to Mississippi. It's all about the very lovely Lovely Pigeon today though.

Lovely Pigeon is one of my favourite websites and it's not hard to see why. There are gorgeous prints, delightful stationery and even a smattering of vintage wares for sale. I found Lovely Pigeon when I was searching for Christmas presents for friends of a design persuasion and came across these pretty prints of birds and other things.

There's also a small but perfectly formed range of stationery featuring the eponymous lovely pigeons but also cute animal sets and a newly introduced range of geometrically influenced notebooks.

Lovely Pigeon is the creation of Kirsty Thomas who started producing the Mr Pigeon lino prints in 2009 from a studio in her home in Cellardyke on the East Coast of Scotland. Kirsty is a designer, illustrator and, as she puts it "an occasional shopkeeper". She makes all these lovely things (and jewellery too) and sometimes opens a shop to sell her wares and showcase the work of other Scottish and UK makers.

Kirsty is inspired by many things that we here at YHIL also like: “I love block colour and geometry, mid-century design, flea markets and typography," she says. "I am inspired by people like Charles and Ray Eames, Charlie Harper and Lucienne Day and their eclectic and inclusive approach to design. I am also passionate about interiors and my house and studio sees an ever-changing collection of vintage chairs and weird ceramic dogs.” And, below, you can see the space where she channels her inspirations...

But why the name Lovely Pigeon? “I didn't really have an opinion on pigeons until I set up the company," she explains. "But I've since developed a fondness for them – there are some good-looking country pigeons round here! The Mr Pigeon lino print was one of the first pieces to be launched and I still love it – he has a twinkle in his eye and is now the 'face' of the Lovely Pigeon brand.”

My favourites are these gorgeous blue bear and balloon set of two prints (£14) and the copper foiled Anstruther limited edition prints (£40). In fact, many of Kirsty's hand-pulled prints are produced in limited edition runs and are a very affordable way to kick start your own artcollection. There's also some brilliant upcycled teatowel cushions featuring holiday destinations that are as bright and bubbly as a pitcher of sangria (£18-£25)

And Kirsty tells me: “Lovely Pigeon is all about making people smile." I think this is probably why I want pretty much everything that's for sale at Lovely Pigeon...

Abi's guide to art collecting on a budget

Welcome back to Your Home is Lovely's new contributing editor Abi Zakarian. This week she's all about building an investment art collection without an investment banker's salary. Over to Abi...

I love art. To quote the fabulous Hedy Lamarr (I don't go in for fancy-pants thinkers): “A good painting to me has always been like a friend. It keeps me company, comforts and inspires”. Unfortunately I don't have the resources of a certain Mr Saatchi but that doesn't mean you can't build up a lovely collection of original works on a budget. Here's how I got my own personal gallery going.

Always visit the gift shop Lots of galleries, both national and privately owned, now sell limited editions of artists' work. This Ken Adam print (above) is of one of his sketches for Kubrick's 'Dr Strangelove' and was produced to coincide with the Serpentine Gallery's retrospective of his work in 1999. I fell in love with the original but this was a slightly more affordable £125.

My lifelong love of Peter Blake's work began when I first visited Tate Britain aged 14 (back then it was just plain old Tate Gallery; yes, I am 104 years old). Many years later I discovered the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester were opening their new wing and commemorating this with a new work by Blake entitled 'Bobbie Rainbow'; printed on tin and produced in an edition of 2,000, they cost just £35. They now sell for upwards of £750. Bobbie was a companion piece Blake created to go with his earlier seminal work 'Babe Rainbow' (1967) – this was one of the first examples of an artist creating 'art for all'; a print run of 10,000 sold for £1 each (see both, above top). And an usual addition to our collection is this fab set of pop art badges (above); from the Pallant's excellent shop and still available on their website for £50.

Paul Catherall creates beautiful geometric works that retail at upwards of £500; but his 'British Architect' print (above, top) is only £65 from an edition of 250. Other artists have created objects too; I'm currently coveting the Nina Saunders 'Little white chair' – an edition of 200 for £60 (above).

Be friends with (or marry*) an artist I'm willing to bet you've got a friend or a friend of a friend who is a creative of some type – they get everywhere. So become a patron of their work – the work will be reasonably priced because the artist is starting out and you get to help them create more art by funding their creativity, plus their work gets seen by all your friends, some of whom might want to know where it came from, and thus helping to create the growth of the artist. Our lovely friend Ali Rabjohns gave this picture (above) to us a good few years ago; I love it because it reminds me of Marc Chagall's paintings. Ali is now a fierce felter and makes strange, wonderful pieces of art; one of which I hope to own soon.

And this artwork (above) is by my husband – it's one of his set designs for a production of 'Les Miserables'. No charge, thanks to marriage vows and all that.
*I don't really advocate marrying an artist to get free art; I just got lucky.

Get an interest free loan I bought this John Macfarlane for my husband. It's an original painting and would usually be way out of my price range but with the Own Art scheme you can take out an interest free loan for 10 months to purchase any piece of art by a living artist from £100 up to £2,000. Also, there's no limit on how many times you use the loan scheme so you can gradually add to your collection.

Use your imagination There's a cute little Rob Ryan print hanging in our bathroom – that didn't cost a penny because it's a screen-printed carrier bag from his shop in Columbia Road (above, top). The small Peter Blake collage  (above) is a preview card from a show he curated at Liverpool Tate (bonus points because he signed it for me).

Consider photography Many photographers produce prints of their work in low edition runs; if you see a photo you like in a magazine, news article or even on a website it's worth contacting the photographer and asking them to produce a print for you; ask them to sign and date it too. It's a great way of finding art you love and, again, champions new artists. I'm on the verge of ordering one of Lena Konstantakou's gorgeous prints of Cuba (above, top) after seeing an exhibition of her work and I love Andy Paradise's black and white work; I used to work with Andy in my days as a picture editor and this beautiful photo of his (above) now graces my wall.

Don't dally If you see it, love it and have enough in your purse – buy it. Don't wait, it'll sell out and you'll be left kicking yourself. I still cry a little bit over the Paula Rego and Cindy Sherman prints I missed out on because I faffed about over what was the price of a months worth of take-out coffee. I now know Art feeds the soul more than any flat white can.

More excellent art: Outline Editions' Stoke Newington pop-up

A quick post today as I'm not technically here – but just wanted just to let you know about phase two of the Outline Editions pop-up shop, opening tomorrow in London's Stoke Newington and stuffed full of sexy, affordable art by some of the UK's hottest illustration talent. 

Of course, you could just buy online at the Outline Editions website. Anyway, for the northeast London-bound, here's what you need to know...

Postcards: tacky and otherwise

Postcards are one of the cheapest and quickest way of sprucing up a corner. I've just found some that I really love, more of which below, but first: how to display them?

In my friend's place in Berlin, that I did up for him earlier this year (and which I will do a full post on soon) I bought some teeny-tiny bulldog clips and drew a very straight line on the wall, using a spirit level. I hammered in some little nails, pointing upwards slightly, to make a 'V' shape with the wall (so the bulldog clips don't slip off) and then clipped and hung a set of cards from them. Simple, but I quite liked the effect.

Washi tape, which you can get on Amazon, looks good too (see a creative way to use that on Grace Bonney's ever excellent Design Sponge blog) and string hung vertically from a nail, or looped horizontally like bunting, with cards pegged along its length, is another of many ideas to try.

The cards were from the excellent bumper box set of Penguin postcards, £14.99 for 100, you can get as classics (like these ones) or as Ladybird or Puffin book covers (see below, same price) the children's imprints.

I'm also very partial to a classic old 60s or 70s John Hinde postcard, below, which you can pick up on eBay for a few quid a-piece. 

But generally, I just can't resist a good new card. And this set of 1960s, 70s and 80s Royals postcards from Thorsten Van Elten really appealed. 

 

Yes, you could probably get them from a dusty old kiosk in Piccadilly Circus, at the back of all the William and Kate wedding ones – but here they are, hand-picked for their sheer oddness and packaged as a fivesome. There are 250 originals available in total, and when you buy it works as a lucky dip. £4.95 for the set. Brilliant, aren't they?

Postcards from a painter

I came across the artist Oliver Dorman, and his unusual and excellent project, earlier this week – thanks to the creative agency, Margaret London who were talking about him enthusiastically.

With ‘Postcards from a Painter’ Dorman is inviting anyone, from anywhere in the world, to send (or even just describe) a postcard-sized picture – of anything – to him, and he will transform it into a painting on a postcard-sized canvas. 

It is the build-up to his exhibition of the same name, where all the postcards will be shown – after which the people who sent in the images for each of them can take theirs home. Prices to have Dorman do you one of his tiny, bespoke paintings start at £10, rising as the project progresses. 

Below (and above) are some of the ones he's already done...

 

You can watch a video about the project on his website, and for details of where to send your image.

Oddities

"It's a bit weird, but I thought you'd like it," said my friend yesterday, on giving me this funny little ceramic owl, below. She knows me so well. I think he's fantastic, and fantastically freaky.

I love to have odd bits and pieces in my house; they usually tell a story, or start one by becoming talking points (even if the start of the conversation is "What is that?").

So in celebration of freaky home accessories, I've rounded up some other love-and-hate bits and bobs that you can buy. Meanwhile: what's the oddest thing in your home?

I love how these baby head shaped indoor planters are just the last thing you would expect to have greenery growing out of. And how the plants become very strange looking hair. They are for sale on Etsy by their Brooklyn-based designer, Danielle Spector, for around £35 each (original price is in US dollars; the seller posts to the UK for around £7).

I have a bowl of wooden fruit in my living room. People often pick up one of the hard apples and look at me quizzically: "It's wooden. Why do you have wooden fruit?" Why indeed. Because it looks good? And it's a little bit odd. Mine comes from my mum who used to have it in her house; though on a holiday in Brazil several years ago I found some more and found it impossible to resist. And now I'm looking at these striking hexagonal beauties, made from wood and reclaimed leather, I'm wondering if I could do with some more... Buy them from CultureLabel for £8.50 each.

I have long admired my friend Rose's Obama fabric, which is printed in Ghana. Now she's turned it into cushions (with 'Yes We Can' embroidered on the back), for sale via her Facebook group, Rose Repose, at £20. You need to order early this week as she's bringing a batch over with her from Senegal, where she lives, on Thursday.

This is almost horrible. Which is what I love about it. This digital reproduction mini print of George Condo’s Pop Queen produced to accompany the exhibition Mental States at the Hayward Gallery. It measures 28cm x 36cm and costs just £5 from the Southbank Shop online.

Four seasons trees from Our Workshop

You can't have too many trees in your house. Something the people at Our Workshop knew when they designed these beautiful prints of trees through the seasons. 

Clockwise from top left, you have: Spring Tree (cherry); Summer Tree (orange); Autumn Tree a (oak) nd Winter Tree (fir). Each print costs £15 (small, 175mm x 235mm) or £30 (large, 297mm x 420mm) and they come unframed.

The small sizes are thin on the ground I'm afraid, as the limited edition prints went on sale a while back – and I only just spotted them while browsing the online store because it currently has a temporary closing down sale on (25% off many nice things... just so you know, while they revamp the shop). But large sizes are still plentiful.

Or if you can't stretch to a set of full-size prints – they also have postcard packs; a set of eight for £9, based on the same designs. Send four, and you still have a full set to frame.

Affordable oil portraits

I've been hankering after a great portrait or few for my home ever since I saw the incredible Seventies Scandi-style Nottingham home of Tim Rundle, below, in Emily Chalmers' Modern Vintage book... 

And now I've just found a purse-gentle way to get my portrait fix...

The Separation

Kai Samuels-Davis is a fine artist based in North California who sells – ta-da – high quality prints of his stunning oil paintings through his Etsy shop, Windy Lane Studio. Each signed print measures 11" x 16" (or 13" x 19" including the border, which personally I'd hide), and comes on museum quality, archival, 100% cotton rag fine art paper, and is reproduced digitally with high quality archival inks. The price? Just £32.50 (or $50), plus £8.08 ($12.50) for UK postage.

Aren't his paintings (above and below) beautiful? And while it's not the same as having the original canvas, it's a pretty top notch second best. Or you can splash out and invest in an original from Kai's studio; prices range from around £130 up to roughly £1,800.

Together Alone

Disappearing Boy

          

Kai also sells a selection of his paintings in sets of 5, 10 or 20 postcards, from around £3.50 to £10.99 plus postage.

I discovered Kai's work through the Etsy blog post about the beautiful home he shares with his wife Clare.

You can see more pictures of it here.