lounging

After a weekend of weirdly warm February weather I am dreaming of lounging in the garden. And here's the chair to do it in - Hogsten in retro woven plastic from Ikea - it's the one for me... and this is the fabric for the cushion, Toccata designed in the '50s by Robert Tierney for David Whitehead, trendy triangles a go-go!

lines

Also from the charity shop, 1960 Arts Council Picasso exhibition catalogue. Black and blue - fantastic!

wild raspberries

Fashionable food seems to take itself very seriously these days, there's a lot of scandinavian foraging and arranging and fiddling. Here's a book that lifts the spirits! I found it in a charity shop for £1.50, Wild Raspberries by Andy Warhol and Suzy Frankfurt. It was first published in 1959 as a limited edition. (This one is a facsimile obviously or I would be retiring to the seaside and living on nothing but piglet and omelet greta garbo for the rest of my life) It is very funny and camp with charming advice and eccentric hand written recipes garnished with fabulous Andy Warhol illustrations.

on the subject of love

My lovely beautiful daughter is at the 'kissing frogs' stage of life and naturally she comes to me for advice. So I gave her this little book 'the trouble with boyfriends' by anon which I bought for myself many years ago, well it used to make me laugh!

my funny valentine

Apart from my husband (obviously) this is what I am loving today. Back in the day this was the ultimate design statement typewriter - the Olivetti Valentine designed by Etorre Sottsass in 1969. Glossy red with orange spools, in its own bucket style carrying case with black rubber fasteners, it is vintage typewriter heaven. I spotted it a couple of weeks ago, it looked rather grubby and the bucket had a mysterious puddle inside but it's all in working order, except the bell, which is a great shame because a typewriter is rather sad without it's ding! However it will make a great prop. I now have four vintage typewriters, I promise this is the last one.

that didn't last long

amazing! the sun came out and melted the snow, our local fox is enjoying a sunbathe

brrr...

It's a bit like winter again today, time for a seasonal silk scarf I think.

new ceramics

The top tiles are a set that I bought from Lubna Chowdhary's studio sale before Christmas. I am a huge fan of her intensely coloured stoneware tiles and ceramics. I have been scouring the charity shops to find a frame to fit them, no luck yet but I found a very useful Thomas teapot and some more studio pottery - a dish with a lovely lazy flower pattern and a teazel tile. 

Valentine's day is on its way (treat yourself, why not!) - until February 14th there is 20% off Lovespoons print in my online shop when you use this code at the checkout: LOVINSPOONFUL