Shopping: Guest ed Abi's picks

Today another guest post from guest editor, Abi.

I thought I'd ease myself back into blogging here by sharing some good things I've discovered recently while pottering around shops, the internet and various fairs, markets and exhibitions. It's an eclectic bunch – just lovely stuff that I'd like to put in my home. Maybe you might like some of it too. So here goes...

Yellow pouffe, £65

Now, I'm not a design snob – if it's well made, gorgeous and a reasonable price I couldn't give a fig where it's from. And this beauty – yes, a big, yellow, knitted pouffe – happens to be from Matalan. Aside from the fact that there exists a piece of furniture rather brilliantly called a pouffe this is just fabulous. Bright and bold and £65.

Wooden letters, £3 each

These little wooden letters, also from Matalan, are just three pounds a and offer a world of design possibilities. For under a tenner I could have a quirky name tag hanging above a coat hook.

Paint drip mug, £10

Giving good gift is an art. And being able to find unusual, stylish, and useable ones for around a tenner these days is pretty hard. But this is a winner: an artist paint drip mug from Tate shops, Design created by the creative agency Designers Anonymous. I love the quirkiness of it – and it's practical, too.

The whole range is rather brilliant, although prices rise up to £22.50 for the tray, below.

Paint drip tray, £22.50 


And now for the really quite extraordinary and fabulous ceramics of Katharine Morling. I came across her work at the Cockpit artists studios in Deptford and just love it. 

Pot of scissors £190

Tape measure £165

The pieces are beautiful and odd and unsettling; really eye-catching artworks. My favourite is the pot of scissors (top image). 

Butterfly drawers £330

They're not cheap (prices start from £110) but considering each piece is made in a series and is handmade, painted and signed by the artist I think they're well worth it. You can catch Morling at Decorex later this month, part of the London Design Festival. 


From one tactile wonder to another – these cushions are just so...squidge-able.

Pebble cushion, Silversoles, £88

Made from black welsh wool felt, these are the work of felter Emma Jackson. Again, not cheap but all handmade and unique and a welcome change from the millions of printed cushions out there at the moment. I'd like to chuck one of these on my Robin Day sofa among the more traditional cushions and wait for the squeaks of delight you'd get from people as they came into contact with it. Visit her work at Silversoles.


Bird prints are a bit ubiquitous aren't they? Once you've seen one groovy bird pic you've seen them all. But that's why these little beauties caught my eye: HATS. Brilliant.

Jamie Taylor Blue Tit print, £20 

Jamie Taylor Robin print, £20

I'd hang both the fat little robin with his flat cap and the posh blue tit in his bowler side by side. Jamie Taylor paints animals, both real and fictional (his unicorn is pretty magical) in bright, splashy watercolours. As well as the titfer-tastic birdies his stag and bumblebee are things of beauty too. 

Heron string dispenser by Matt Nicholls, £20

Now for more birds, by another Cockpits artist is Matt Nicholls. And I just love this 'Heron' string dispenser – stylish and cute it's one of things every kitchen needs (well, I need it in my kitchen). Each painted wooded box comes with string and scissors (choose between red, yellow or blue) and can be wall mounted (fixing plate supplied) or free standing. 

Scottie dog light, The White Company, £42

And finally: I love a bit of kitsch me; usually to lighten up all the more stylish midcentury stuff I'd fill my house with if possible. And this little chap is right up my street... In my extended absence from this blog, I've managed to acquire a gorgeous little Westie called Monty (bonus picture below) so how could I not include this lamp from White Company? So what if it's sold for kids – stick it on a sideboard and let the kitsch commence I say. Plus it's down from £70 to £42 at the moment.

And to round things off; the promised pic of Monty. Showing off his design credentials by snoozing on our skip-saved Robin Day chair. But he's not for sale I'm afraid...

Real homes... kitchen trolley suggestions?

The top of this kitchen trolley in my house has been a design conundrum for years. It was originally acquired to provide a side table for the kitchen bench. 

For various reasons that never happened, and now – since the dramatic kitchen table relocation – it isn't really necessary either.

The trolley, due to its generous surface area, immediately became a dumping ground for downstairs clutter – bills and letters, to-do lists, nice things that temporarily have no home, instructions for things and spare bits of other things.

The bottom shelf became the place where a mountain of newspaper cuttings and recipe supplements (and denial) lived. The arrival of the dog, who found the newspaper pile to be a cosy retreat, gave the bottom shelf a better use and it evolved into his official, non-papery bed. The dog is also a reason not simply to ditch the trolley entirely. Where else could he loiter in comfort, waiting for someone to drop something edible?

So what to do with the thing? I've dreamed of creating a glamorous bar area, perfect for a trolley top, but that doesn't really work when said trolley is butted up against a radiator. Any kind of box attracts more clutter. I've been toying with giant ornaments, something with height to balance the tall radiator, but have yet to find anything. Or big lamp? Though that wouldn't take up enough space to remove the temptation of re-filling the trolley top with toot.

And what about a new cushion cover for the Jack Russell? The dirty grey cover in situ should probably get an upgrade... I fancied monochrome chevron, but possibly not the immense clash of fabrics.

There's some progress afoot: the trolley's woodwork is now painted black. It looks much better – don't you think? And the clutter is contained. But the toot box doesn't need to live right there, and the rest – well, it just could look better. Any clever suggestions?

Post by Kate

Bitossi re-editions at the SCP Design Department Store

SCP, the beautiful east London and online homewares shop, threw a little do last night to celebrate the opening of their Design Department Store – where you can get a first look at some brand new designs from some of their favourite creative associates and brands. 

The shop-within-the-shop is also there to celebrate the opening of the London Design Festival 2012, which officially kicks off at the end of this week.

SCP doesn't, exactly, fall under the 'affordable' tag of this blog, but it nevertheless makes for an inspiring visit – and you can always stick to the excellent Kiosk range, particularly good for gifts. And you can get in on the action from Saturday, when there will also be free crepes for all visitors who print out this voucher on the SCP blog. If the fantastic snacks going on last night are anything to go by, get in quick...

But I digress from what was meant to be the point of this post: Bitossi. I love the long-running Italian ceramics company, which has been going since the 1900s and is still run by the same family. Their 1950s-1970s designs include some of my particular favourites – which was good last night, as part of the SCP goings-on this month includes  showing and selling a selection of reissued vases, above, from this very era, originally created under the art direction of former Bitossi art director, Aldo Londi.

Bitossi horse riders, 36.30; SCP's Bitossi animals range starts at £24.80

I have a Bitossi sausage dog, below, part of the Rimini Blu range, above, from the 1950s. Mine actually came from another lovely store, the Lollipop Shoppe, for about £30. You could also try Pip's Trip for originals.

And here are gratuitous close-ups of some of those re-issued Bitossi classics for sale at SCP. Be warned, though, unlike the Rimini Blu animals above, these babies start at £250 and rise sharply. Nice to look at though...

As for the other lovely things in the Design Department Store at SCP, you can have a browse here. I'll try to post up a few other products and designers that caught my eye last night shortly. But in the meantime, look out for Mark McGinnis' thought-provoking and colourfully graphic take on religious icons and cultural stereotypes, Fort Standard's lovely wooden knobs, Kay and Stemmer's stunningly simple wooden furniture.

Dog prints

Did you know that the excellent Design Milk has a sister site, Dog Milk, dedicated to dog-related design? Me neither. Niche. But I do find a bit of dog / home paraphernalia, well-done, hard to resist.

And these clean, graphic canine breed prints, by US artist, Josh Brill – which I discovered there – definitely fall into that category.

They are part of his Flora: fauna range, which also features birds and mammals. I like that the sales page for each dog type (and there are seven) has a snappy breed description. Nice touch.

Clockwise from top left: limited edition (x100) German Shepherd, Jack Russell, Beagle and Pug prints, $25 (10" x 7") or $60 (17" x 12") each.

In other dog / interiors news – Ikea has started a "dog parking" facility in its Berlin store. Excellent – but what about Croydon?

Dog dinner

Pug salt and pepper pots: what's not to love?

They are £20 from CultureLabel, and designed by Maiden, whose weird but (I think) wonderful animal egg-cups I've previously featured.

How much is that dinosaur in the window?

I've already shared one unexpected beautiful discovery from my chore dash at the weekend (see post below)...

But, as I wandered home through another bit of the market – or, rather, battled through the through the tourist throngs that now congregate every weekend – I saw this little doggie in a window...

He is for sale at 2'6, along with this equally endearing (I think...) illuminated dinosaur.

But as I am already the owner of a trio of these mini bunny lights (which you can see in situ half way down this post), I might need to hold it down on the illuminated animal front. Then again, if they're still in the window next week...