Barbara Hepworth retrospective – and how to buy her art for £75

I'm a little breathless about yesterday's news that a big Barbara Hepworth retrospective is coming to Tate Britain next year. 

I saw Hepworth's work some years ago, in a show at Tate St Ives (in the town so dear to me): the Tate Britain show promises to be very good indeed, but the Cornish branch was possibly the most spectacular building in which to view her curvaceous, earthy work – and not just because it was the mid-century sculptor's adopted home and workplace.

If you've been to the beach-side gallery, you'll know the central plinth inside the front of the building, beyond which you can see the waves crashing into Porthmeor Beach beyond, sand, sky and water lit up with that unique, luminous St Ives light. Imagine now looking at that view not just through the circle of the windows, but also through the void in the middle of a giant Hepworth artwork. Magical.

The Tate Britain show, opening in Summer 2015, will be the first Hepworth retrospective in London since 1968 and will feature more than 70 works, including rarely exhibited pieces, pre-war carvings that survived the bombing of her studio and the artist's use of photography and film. (Random fact unconnected to Hepworth, but connected to St Ives and the war: my dad was a small boy in the 1940s and, while in St Ives visiting his grandmother, had to hide behind rocks on the little beach next to Tate St Ives as enemy planes flew overhead and shot at him and his father.

I'm digressing wildly. And this isn't just an excuse to publish images of some of my favourite pieces of her work. If you can't wait until 2015 to come to the big smoke and get your fix – did you know that John Lewis is currently selling a collection of beautiful reproduction Barbara Hepworth prints (pictured above and below)?

They're £75 each and are exclusive to John Lewis as part of the celebrations of the store's 150th anniversary.

The artworks were chosen because one of Barbara Hepworth's sculptures, Winged Figure, commissioned by John Lewis and installed in the early 1960s, adorns the exterior of the flagship London branch. You can see and read about the interesting story behind the six-foot sculpture on the excellent My Friend's House blog.

But don't go yet – you can also see some of Hepworth's rarely-seen drawings in this archive post by contributing ed, Abi.

Happy weekend all – and I'm off for a couple of weeks, partly taking little break in the sun and partly obsessing over what DIY chores around the house I can get stuck into. That's just how some people relax. You of all people should understand...


The Barbara Hepworth retrospective takes place at Tate Britain next summer; also part of the Tate's 2015 programme are major exhibitions including Jackson Pollock, Frank Auerbach, Marlene Dumas and Alexander Calder, kinetic sculptor and inventor of the mobile. 

Images: John Lewis, Tate.org and Hepworth Estate for the photograph of Barbara Hepworth in the Palais studio in 1963 with unfinished wood carving Hollow Form with White Interior, taken by Val Wilmer.

Post by Kate

Father's Day gifts

Last week, I wrote a thing for the Independent about the difficulty of finding good house-y man-gifts – what with father's day (June 16) looming and all, it's chap-friendly one could be a thing to consider. 

There wasn't room to publish all of the nice things I found in my research. So I thought I'd share the lot with you here. 

For snap-happy chaps, or just fans of lovely looking antique gadgetry, Type in east London have a small range of these lamps. Each one is different as they’re made from real vintage cameras. £125 to £195, Type East

Interiors-themed things for fathers, sons, brothers and the others aren't perhaps an obvious choice – since browsing through the average gender-geared ‘gift’ section at online interiors shops, the impression you're left with is that men like their homes exclusively filled with leather, gadgets, golf ephemera and whisky glasses. 

Yeuch. Poor chaps. Even in some of the most stylish shops, there’s room for this naff, derivative theme. It’s as if there was no middle ground between pretty vintage perfume bottles and leather-clad decanters. With some hunting, of course, there’s lots to inspire – it just takes a bit of hunting down.

And Father’s day is a great prompt to scratch beneath the clichés and find good homewares and furniture that any design-appreciative man (and, indeed, woman) can appreciate.

Some classic shops or brands that specialise in the decidedly ungirlie side of design include Folklore, House Doctor DK, Pedlars, Labour & Wait  – or the new contender in that ilk, Objects of Use in Oxford. All good for a preliminary browse. Or perhaps one of our pick of objects will be man enough for the job…

This practical, industrial-style stool by Danish designers, House Doctor DK, is essentially a solid slab of wood and some sturdy metal legs (choice of five colours). A nice office or workshop perch, or a side-table for a cuppa. Each also has “have a seat” stamped into the wood. Sweet.

£79, Bodie and Fou

This award-winning solid steel “Bull Trophy” bike rack comes in different colours and finishes, and looks just as good as décor when the bike’s in use.

£79, Outline Works Ltd

Swedish illustrator, Ingela Arrhenius specialises in bold, graphic prints with a midcentury flavour. What well-dressed man could resist this chap? £18.95, Hus and Hem

I've written about this lovely lampshade company before. And the idea behind their Tee Lights is simple: take his favourite old band (or other) T-shirt – and get it turned into a beautiful, bespoke “Tee Light” lampshade. The one pictured was made for a fan of the late hip hop producer, J Dilla. (Each is a one-off.) £250, Belle & Videre 

Tala’s pleasing retro metal measuring cups don’t just include the better-known baking ones. This display-friendly Thali Measure comes in two shades (“coriander” and “tumeric”) and includes a recipe booklet, too. £15.95, Divertimenti

Echoing the classic plastic 1960s Uten.Silo by Dorothee Becker, this metal wall-tidy for bits and bobs has a pleasingly industrial edge. Designed by Danish company, House Doctor DK, it is good in any room for stashing everything from dressing table bits to nails to kitchen clutter.

£169.99, Bodie & Fou

British designer Nick Munro has created a range of homewares for the RNLI. Using the flag system pioneered by Lord Nelson, his two colourful tea-towel designs spell out ‘wet’ or ‘dry’ (and proceeds go to the charity). £10, RNLI Shop

A classic, framed, Getty Images print – if you can find the perfect, personalised image – is a stylish gift to give. John Lewis stock an inspiring range: this one – a 1967 shot of Eric Clapton’s Cream – could be good for guitar geeks. £200, John Lewis

The range of literary prints by Spineless Classics is a simple but excellently executed idea: a cult tome is turned into a work of art – by using the full text of the book to create the graphic. From £39.99 unframed, Spineless Classics

This beautiful cheese board is made from sycamore wood and colour blocked with white painted edge. It features a leather strap and comes with an aesthically-pleasing blue wooden semi-circle that can be fixed to the wall to act as a hanger. £150, Shop Folklore

Things to LOVE today

With no particular theme, here are some things this week that have made me smile...

Abigail Brown exhibition at the Lion Street Store I first saw Abigail's work at the London Design Festival a couple of years ago; her stand was permanently crowded with people interested in her beautiful fabric bird sculptures.

They are visibly painstakingly constructed pieces of art and, as such, rightly not cheap. Abigail also makes other creatures, as you can see, and some new ones from papier mache (like the nice bear, below the deer directly below). I love birds and I love Abigail's birds, but these are really, really special things. And good news, if you, too, can't afford them – and happen to live close enough to East Sussex to visit – because there's an exhibition just opened at the Lion Street Store, in Rye.

Failing that, you can enjoy the highlights at the store's (very nice) blog or browse the full collection at Abigail Brown's online shop.

'The Man Who Cannot Visualise a Horse Galloping on a Tomato is an Idiot' print, from The Hambledon Contributing editor Abi alerted me to the letterpress artwork of Stephen Kenny at A Two Pipe Problem a while back.

I had been going to feature this print then, but when I emailed Stephen he said it had been discontinued and directed me to his lovely new prints, but my heart had been set on this. So how marvellous to find that The Hambledon sells it. It is a quote by the father of Surrealism, Andre Breton. It is excellently and suitably absurd – and yet also an eminently sensible comment on the dullness of a limited imagination.


The print measures 32 x 46.3cm and costs £32

John Lewis bird tray My boyfriend is moving in shortly, and we've decided we must have a home bar to celebrate. Just a tray of serious bottles on the sideboard will do the trick, so he can come home wearing a sharp suit and I, in a cocktail dress and full make-up, can greet him with a whiskey.

The reality will, of course, be vastly different (I don't think  I've ever seen him wearing a suit, and I'm more likely to be wearing big socks, and buried in my office reading Jezebel.com to even hear him come home). But. It's a great idea. And the bar part is the easy bit – especially now I've seen this rather brilliant bottle-sturdy tray with suitably old-fashioned birds on it. Love the turquoise and gold edging, particularly. Now all it needs is something harder than that lemonade on it. The Brissi bird-print tray is from John Lewis and costs £22.

Love poster Oh. Go on then. A VERY SMALL concession to it being Valentine's day.

This sweet Japanese poster with Swedish text ('karlek' means love, in case the guy eating hearts didn't give it away) is also from The Hambledon.

It measures a generous 50cm x 70cm (also, handily, meaning it fits into a standard frame), and it costs but a mere £14.95.




Happy Valentine's. Cynical bugger? Go on an online shopping binge! Hope this helps...

How to... fill a big blank wall

Alun is a man. And his flat has been declared “too manly” by his
new flatmate, who is very female in her Calamity Jane makeover
scene urges (Doris Day’s spartan cowgirl shack gets a girlie gingham spruce-up). The main concern? Bare walls. BIG bare
walls. Small budget. Tips?

Wall of me Wall of me: clockwise from top left: the home-made art at the Saltoun Supper Club; BHS's chic, cheap standard lamp;  a V&A botanical prints; Deborah Bowness 'Books' wallpaper; 'Pottery' wall stickers from John Lewis; Scandivis 'Raven' clothes hangers.

Stand tall Forget attaching things to your walls. A giant plant and a stylish standard lamp (to create interesting shadows) will go a long way. Love the Elin floor lamp, just £35 from BHS (top right in collage image above).

Stick 'em up I've gone off wall stickers a bit, on the whole I think they've jumped the shark. However, I have long loved the shades-of-green vase-shaped 'Pottery' ones from John Lewis, £19.

Shelve it To fill a whole bare corner in my house I had some wonky box shelves built – different sizes and depths (there they are, above). Painted to match the wall the effect is quite sculptural and, MDF-made by a builder (not a specialist), cheap too. Or try Cubit.


Portraits of you Think you can’t afford a huge portrait? Try Paperface – from £299 for a quirky collaged commission.


Hang up Dangling pretty dresses or giant bits of jewellery from your walls is instant and free (if you already own them, of course). Love the Raven wooden bird clothes hangers, £39 a piece, at Scandivis (see collage image at top).

On the tiles Away from the kitchen/bathroom, tiled walls are a striking statement. Mismatched = more affordable, so pick odd tiles (one colour but different thicknesses) or mix patterns in the same palette. The floral Welbeck Tiles vintage range (above) is gorgeous (thanks, Flowerona, for the tip-off).

Wall for one A papered “feature wall” can look passé. The “books” wallpaper from Deborah Bowness, however… wow. £173 per (generous) drop. Or make a patchwork of favourite samples – again, limit the palette. If you're crafty – or inclined to become so – the lovely, and super stylish Papered Parlour in south London do screen-print-your-own-wallpaper classes. You can see their own design in the PP studio, above. 

Collage days Use what you have: Odd plates, favourite old record sleeves, or cherished postcards and photos. For the latter, frame them using the same types or colours of frame for cohesion, and build a grown-up collage. Love the wicker baskets (above) covering a brick wall at the chic Saltoun Supper Club.


Take art Paint your own: Stylist Pippa Jameson suggests using a giant canvas and painting a loose, random pattern in favourite colours. “The bigger the better: this type of painterly effect looks great in really large spaces,” says Jameson.


Flower power V&A Prints sell gorgeous repro antique botanical prints from £15-£100. Create your own wallpaper by pasting a selection to your wall for the ultimate girlie makeover (see collage image at top). 

Last-minute Christmas decorating!

Been meaning to post this shoot of my festive-ed up house up since it was published, last Sunday, in the Independent's New Review magazine.

It's a piece about how to decorate your house for Christmas at the last minute. There are some seriously low-effort, time-poor suggestions in it - though not one of my favourites which there wasn't room for, as suggested by Sarah Dare, from John Lewis, who came to share her expertise and some lovely Nordic style festive furnishings:

No tree decorations? Cut up some tinsel in the same colour into little snippets, and simply chuck it at your fir. Genius.

Photos by the lovely Rachael Smith

Christmas makeover coming soon

I've just had my house made-over by a department store for Christmas for a shoot. I'm writing about the experience for the Independent on Sunday (look out for it in the magazine next weekend). It was a weird experience but in a house that doesn't usually bother with festive festooning, but this year has a need to, it was actually rather inspiring. Above are a couple of shots you won't see in the feature - Reggie the dog posing with a Christmas tree shaped cushion, £20, on the sofa, and a sweet little wooden tabletop (or, as here, shelftop) tree, £13. Both are from John Lewis.

Now I'm feeling all festive, I've had my radar on for other nice decorating bits and pieces...

Love the glittery fawns at Paperchase, £2.50 – they come in white, pink, green and gold as well as the purple colour above. They also do fully-grown reindeer, families of penguins and lots more sweet stuff. Also love their funny knitted tree decorations shaped like teacups, £5 for four. 

Drift Living - which specialises in Scandi-tinged products - has a clean-looking angel choir mobile for £12.50. An unusual idea that could look good in a pale, minimalist home.

And what a brilliant idea from utilitarian design mecca, Labour and Wait - fir-scented incense, £5, "to give any home a wintry log cabin feel". And what gorgeous packaging. 

And with last posting at the weekend, you might just make it in time to get your hands on some of Kitty Nation's original vintage greetings cards (or you could always stock up for next year). this Santa and Rudolph one is from 1960 and costs £1.69.

This "Merry" sign (below) by Johnny Egg, £40 at Heal's is rather brilliant too. And this sleek red glass Christmas bird, left, £5 from Marks and Spencer (3 for 2 as you can see) is just like a non-festive blue bird I recently bought in Habitat for a little more cash...