Object of the Day: Dutch StoryTiles part II

I was excited, last year, to discover StoryTiles, a collection of hand-made tiles, some based on traditional Dutch 16th century designs given a modern twist, others just about the modern twist.

The tiles are designed and made by Marga Van Oers, who has just launched a new collection of tiles in collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. As you'll see, she's taken one of the artist's most familiar works and given it her trademark dose of surrealism...


The series is called ‘The Sunflower Expedition’. 

On the Swing 

On the Lookout 

Taking the Lead

The miniature ceramic works of art start at around £18 each for a 10cm x 10cm tile and each comes with a little wall-hanger on the back. 

The complete tableau of all the tiles, pictured below, is around £ (all prices are originally in Euros – you can ship them from Holland or try Brixi, owned by the very stylish Emy Gray, if you happen to be in south London). 

You can see more Storytiles in this previous post.

The other half of the Van Gogh Museum collaboration is Van Oers' 'Van Gogh’s Garden' series, pictured above and below.

I've recently developed a great warmth for Van Gogh as, most days, I cycle past the house in south London where he lived (see the snap, below).

There's also a very lovely modern street nearby dedicated to him, featuring raised beds with quotes from the great man about flowers and walking and, of course, a good few sunflowers. It's a pedestrianised street and every day this summer, without fail, I've encountered some configuration of loved-up elderly couples taking in the warm evening air, large youths playing basketball, but being careful not to trip over the tiny youth out for a toddling walk with a parent, dog-walkers or just neighbours, hanging about. There's even a miniature free library, where you can leave a book and pick up a new one from a brightly painted glass-fronted box on a wall. It's quite magical – proper street communities in London are few and far between.

Moving on from the great painter, there are also more new season designs outside this range from StoryTiles. Feast your eyes on just a couple, below.

Floating 

Happily Ever After 

Hide and Seek 

Catch me if You Can

It's dark out now as I type, but when it's not I'll share a photo of the StoryTile I bought for my boyfriend's birthday in situ. It's nice.

Meanwhile, check out the StoryTiles website, I'd direct you to the Brixi website too but (as its owner would I'm sure be the first to admit) it's not that useful. You'd do better following the shop on Instagram @brixi7