clever offcuts

I have started my Christmas shopping at last. First stop was Unto This Last, a furniture showroom and workshop at the top end of Brick Lane where they turn out furniture and lighting on site using plywood and coloured laminates slotting together like giant dolls house furniture. Nothing is wasted, scraps and offcuts are fashioned into small accessories including mats, coasters, candle holders and animals, everything under a tenner.

Mini Christmas sale in my shops - up until 19th of December there will be 10% off purchases in both my online and etsy shops with this code SIMPLE10

It's the last day for Airmail to Western Europe on 12th December and for UK first class mail 20th December.

stocking up

This was one of my first products ever, back in the days when I had two screens and a kitchen table. My Icelandic Christmas stocking comes out every year and I always sell a few. This year they are selling as fast as I can make them, must be the triangles. Quite a few are heading over to USA and Australia where 'holiday' shopping seems to have kicked off early (is it early? maybe not). The elves are going to be busy this weekend.

Available in my etsy and online store

Still time to enter the great logbook giveaway! just leave a comment for a chance to win. You can also follow me on twitter (please leave a comment here too so that I know) for two chances to win. Ends Sunday at 6.00pm UK time.

new broom

Yes, I have a thing about brushes, useful, tufted, and their sole purpose is to improve or transform.
I wandered into brush heaven this week, Brodie & Middleton on Drury Lane. Brushes for every creative purpose, flat, wavy, stiff, pointy, soft, so many! I bought a wide copper bound beauty which I use for brushing around my desk and ridding myself of tiny annoying bits of stuff.
I have also renewed the household brushes, sweeping leaves is just a bit better when you use a brush with a fish on it (from a Harringtons, a splendid hardware shop in Broadstairs) and a proper broom from the local high street bucket shop. Also quite handy for getting from A to B.

On the subject of flying, I am off to Spain for a week. I may blog, I may tweet and I aim to get to grips with Instagram and Pinterest. Or I may just take time out from all of that and do very little!

spain 5 ... shopping

fantastic tomatoes, local bread, red espadrilles, dip dyed wrap from the market (now an all over grey colour, should not have put it on a hot wash) back to school books, spanish paint brushes with copper trim, really looking forward to painting round corners.

diamond planter

I found this fashionably faceted white planter in a local secondhand shop, here it is on our balcony containing a fab hole-free hosta (the snails haven't found a way up there yet). The planter was originally from Habitat, first brought out a few years ago in the '90s which just shows how on trend Habitat was, I really miss it from our high streets. The planter is on sale on the Habitat Website but seems to be out of stock.

p.s. I seem to be over-using the phrase 'on trend' it's really annoying! my excuse is having a daughter in the PR biz where being on trend is all important!

tea time

When we are in Spain tea is always served in these cast iron Japanese teapots and I have been looking for one for a while now. I finally found it in Wing Yip the fantastically massive Chinese supermarket that brings a hunk of the far east to lovely Croydon! At the moment it is festooned with paper lanterns and decorations ready for the Chinese new year and makes a refreshing anitdote to a trip to nearby Ikea!  I really love looking at the packaging and pots, and I particularly like their bright yellow shoppers. I bought the teapot as a birthday present for my sister - but it is so beautiful from every angle that I am going to have to keep it (sorry Clare!) n.b. thats a tiny teacup and jug not a huge pot!