Down the Rabbit Hole

My apologies for the lack of blogging recently but if I tell you that in the last two weeks I've been to a certain famous Swedish furniture store twice and assembled a lot of flat pack furniture I think you'll understand. Going to Ikea is like tumbling down a rabbit hole and arriving in a world where time moves at a different speed. You wander innocently through the revolving doors, set off around the mock rooms and find yourself, six hours later, walking out with boxes you're not sure will fit in your car (luckily they did) and wondering where the time has gone.

All this activity is because we've been re-vamping our work area. This is the before shot. As you can see, this part of the room was a mish-mash of bits of furniture and storage, which made it very difficult to keep a track of everything. I don't normally have all those books out but I'd begun emptying cupboards before I thought of taking a quick photo.

Things always have to get worse before they get better when you're doing this sort of thing right? This was the mess that ensued while going through our stuff and before the new storage went in.

At last, the after shot - two weeks later, with new storage units, reorganised desk area and a very compact dining table.

Now we can see where everything is and have new storage boxes for the Etsy shop and plenty of room for my crafting supplies too. I especially love the little dining table and chairs, which were a bit of an impulse buy but finish off the space very nicely.

Our guinea pig salt and pepper shakers, Bogey and Bacall, look right at home next to my thrifted Serpentine table lamp with its new Ikea shade. It was a bit of an effort but well worth it and now we can sit back and relax over the extended holiday weekend. Phew.

Car Booty

I had a very successful trip to the local car boot sale yesterday and thought I would share some of my finds with you. I found a beautiful hairbrush and clothes brush set with embroidered flowers, and this cream beaded purse and pearl choker necklace. I think the silver bowl would be a beautiful way to display flowers - I may keep that for a while and try it out.

  

I also found another gorgeous leather document case with a decorative front, some old photographs and a postcard book from Carcassonne. I love wood, so I couldn't resist this unusual candlestick - it's beautifully made and once the layers of dust were removed and a bit of beeswax applied it came back to life.

A set of wonderful shabby chic place mats in a minty green with bright roses and a silver 1960s/70s clutch bag that still had a ticket inside for a 1971 Ball.



Best of all though was this pencil sketch.

It caught my eye while passing the stall but it was in a dull looking frame and behind glass it looked like it was a probably a print. However, on looking closer I started to wonder whether it wasn't a sketch and it was so skilfully done I just had to have it. When I got it home and took the back off the frame I discovered that, sadly, someone had folded over the edges of the sketch at some point. Still, it would have been worse if the edges had been cut off! This close-up shows a little more of how the sketch was done. I particularly like the little figures under the archway that form the focal point of the picture.

There are two names written on the bottom but I can't tell whether one is the artist and one is the name of the place and if so which is which! If anyone looking at this has any idea please let me know.

The town looks Italian or French to me but I'm going to need to do some research on this as I'd love to know more about the artist and where this was made.

Altogether a very good trip out yesterday - and it didn't rain!

Happy Holiday Weekend!

If any of you live in England you'll probably appreciate a bright, sunny picture to cheer up your Bank Holiday Weekend. We've been sitting under a blanket of grey cloud for several weeks now and even going into May hasn't brought about any change. We're famous for talking about the weather in England - which isn't really surprising given its unpredictability. March was hot and sunny (most unusual), April was grey and wet (instead of sunny and showery) and May has so far been chilly and damp (instead of sunny and warm) and is apparently likely to remain that way.

Mind you, we needed some rain - we had already been told that hose pipes were banned in many parts of the country and the drought that has brought our rivers and reservoirs very low looked like continuing. So as much as I dislike the grey skies, the rain was much needed and is bringing out the beautiful fresh new leaves on the trees and encouraging the grass to sprout lush and green. Even if it rains for the whole of May, we will still need a steady drizzle throughout the summer to end the drought. Whatever we have coming - I hope you enjoy some photographs of sunflowers that I took last summer to remind you of the colour of sunshine. Have a happy weekend!

Streamline Moderne

I've always been very drawn to the Art Deco period and fancied myself living in one of those white stucco houses with curved walls and clean lines. Or in a smart apartment building like the one at Florin Court, London, built in 1936 and used as the fictional residence of Hercule Poirot in the TV series.

A design movement that came out of Art Deco was Streamline Moderne (or just Streamline). Designers stripped Art Deco of its ornament and created sleek, modernist lines, drawing inspiration from the aerodynamic shapes of the aviation and motor industries.

Buildings of this period tended towards modernism and often had parallel lines, curvy chrome fittings and a light, airy feel. The De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, built in 1935, is a wonderful example. It's on our list of places to visit this summer.

Parallel railings, straight lines and curves reminiscent of ocean-going liners, create a very pleasing effect and all that glass reflects the seaside light even on a grey day. Beautiful light fittings in the curved stairwell display the love of Machine-Age workmanship.

Given my love of this era, I was really thrilled to find this gorgeous bracelet recently. Dating to the 1930s, it beautifully evokes the design motifs of Streamline Moderne style. Simple, curved links with parallel lines are joined together by smaller curved links with channel-set green stones, to form a sinuous gate-link bracelet. The style is restrained beauty and elegance without effort. 

I've just listed this in my Etsy shop and I hope you agree it's a real gem. 

Happy weekend!

There's been a lot of activity here at English Rose house over the last couple of weeks. Lots of new treasures have been hunted down and quite a few are already for sale in my Etsy shop. It's been a lot of fun and we've got some great items waiting for a little more research or photographs to be taken. I still don't get things listed in the shop as quickly as I would like but, hey, there has to be time for snuggling on the sofa with a long cool glass of wine and my hubby!

Anyway folks, here's a taster of what's on offer - have yourself a jolly weekend!

Champagne Cocktails

Aaahh, Champagne Cocktails - how did I ever live without them?

Now a tradition on high days and holidays here at English Rose house, the Champagne Cocktail is intoxicatingly divine. I don't know why it took me so long to discover them but now I have I'm making up for time!

Here's how to knock up a wow of a cocktail at the drop of a hat ...

Drop one sugar cube in the bottom of your champagne glass and add to it about six drops of Angostura Bitters.

Add to that a tablespoon of brandy.

Then top up your glass with champagne (Cava will do but champagne is better).

Then tuck in - preferrably with a close friend - but beware - they're potent stuff!



Not Little

I read something a couple of weeks ago that's been niggling at the back of my mind ever since. I'm afraid I can't remember the original source now (sorry I can't credit you) but whoever it was said their pet peeve was people who describe their creations, shops, blogs or whatever, as "my little shop", or "my little business", etc. They went on to say that we should be proud of our achievements and own them and not dismiss them as somehow unimportant. It made me think. I'm always describing what I do as my little blog, or my little shop. Why?

By calling my blog or my shop 'little' am I saying it doesn't really matter much and isn't really terribly serious or important to me? That certainly isn't the case. I'm not sure if its a wholly feminine trait but something makes me think this relates to being a girl. I grew up in the 60s and 70s when little girls were supposed to be modest, not pushy, considerate of other people's feelings but not particularly able to express their own, especially if those feelings weren't considered very feminine. Having a naturally reticent and shy personality I've continued to go through life giving off a slightly apologetic vibe. Little me.

I guess I've been living a bit of a lie. This shrinking violet is at heart pretty ambitious, with strong opinions, and can be very passionate about things. My shop is small, yes, but it matters to me, I spend a lot of time thinking about it and I love finding things to put in it. My blog matters to me too. We all know its not nice to be arrogant or too pushy but this came as a timely reminder not to go too far the other way.

Be proud of what you do - and if you catch me describing anything as 'little' again tell me to stop!