Green Tea Design, a decor8 sponsor, offers beautiful Asian-inspired design and wants to extend a 10% discount to decor8 readers from now until March 31st. Whether you visit their Toronto storefront or phone in your order, just mention that you read about them on decor8 and you’ll receive a 10% discount off your order total.
As someone that loves an eclectic interior, I’m relatively open-minded when it comes to design and merging various styles. I could easily incorporate some of these peices into a more contemporary space, especially the wood panels (above left) – paint them a bright coat of teal (see this post for inspiration or this post for an idea) and display them on the wall or in front of a window. Or, add legs and top with glass and you have a sofa table. The red bench shown above would look great with a customized cushion – use a print like the modern Japanese floral or these terrific circles + squares pilows from one of my absolute favorite designers, Florence Broadhurst (sold at Weego Home) and you’ve bumped the bench up to that glamorous Hollywood style that’s so huge right now in the world of interiors. Imagine how gorgeous an entryway would be with her wallpaper and a table from Green Tea Design…
Pillows from Weego Home.Even some of the papers shown below, from Walnut Wallpaper, would work with many peices from Green Tea Design. You can even go a little outside of the lines with this and purchase an ornate table, like the above piece shown in red, and paper the wall behind it with the dotted ovals from Neisha Crosland or Kelly Wearstler’s updated trellis pattern. Mix and match styles, have no fear!
Wallpaper that works with this style.There’s more to Asian than meets the eye, so explore the ideas and be careful not to limit yourself to seeing Asian only in one way, in a completely Zen den way. Flip through the pages of Elle Decor magazine, look through the portfolio of Kelly Wearstler, Asian furnishings can blend in beautifully in an array of living spaces.
Interior inspiration from KWIDThanks so much Green Tea Design for extending this special discount to all of us. We really appreciate your generous spirit! To learn more about them and to tour thier showroom, watch this video. Green Tea Design offers worldwide shipping, too.
Interior inspiration from KWID(images from green tea design, weego home, domino mag, and walnut)
I hope every single person reading this purchases the Independent London Store Guide by Moritz Steiger & Effie Fotaki. Joy first tuned us in to this great read, and Danielle received her copy over the weekend and seems to love it to, because she’s been blogging a few of her favorite stores from this amazing guide over on the Style Files. With over 165 shops featured, from furniture to art, food to fashion, this is the best London guide ever. My copy arrived this past Saturday and I finally had a moment to look it over last night. Brilliant!
One store I found through its pages is Maiden, a very laid-back approach to home decor with a focus on natural materials, French and Swedish country style, and items that display a sense of character – that worn charm that we all love. I adore the images on their website and that you can shop them online. As I looked over the site, it was no surprise to learn that owner, Anna Unwin, is both a stylist and a interior designer.
I really like Maiden’s decorative accessories, especially the handblown glass baubles. Even more than that, I love how these baubles are displayed, casually strung together over a wooden hanger on a doorknob. What a great idea. It would even be fun to do this with lightbulbs, especially those slim candle bulbs meant for chandeliers.
Isn’t this original Swedish dresser gorgeous? I love the color and the drawers – so much storage – this would work so well in a home office to tuck away files, art supplies, and such. What really has me drooling though is this handmade Moroccan wedding pillow. I don’t really want the pillow, but to see it reminded me of something I’ve lusted over for at least 10 years already (or more). I’ve always wanted a Moroccan wedding quilt, in this exact natural color palette. I absolutely love them and hope that someday, if I ever get over to Marrekesh to visit my friends Maryam and Julie, I will find one at a local bazaar or something… I actually dream about the day that I have a Moroccan wedding quilt on my bed. Maybe I’ll write to Anna and see if she can point me to a resource.
Do you have a similar fixation on something? Please tell me about it so I don’t feel alone in this. I know it’s a material object, but I really have to own one…
(images from maiden)
Annette Meurer is the talent behind Wechselstelle, her amazing design studio based in Hannover, Germany. From there, she creates textiles, art, products made from silicone, and fashion.
I want everything in the above two images, the sofa (love the textile), the dog painted on the wall, the art, all of it. Love this.
Everything has a fresh, happy vibe – I absolutely love her technique, so spirited! I first discovered her at Frau Zimmer last year and have been checking her site for updates ever since. I’m hoping that someday, I’ll see Wechselstelle products available somewhere online or in American boutiques because everything would fly off the shelves – seriously, her work that good.
I love the sporty illustrations, the pugs, the deliciously preppy colors, all I can say is fresh, fresh, fresh! I own a few of her silicone tiles, they look gorgeous pressed against a window where I have mine displayed, and I think I only paid $25- Euro for both. They’re the size of a standard drink coaster, with vibrant colors and the best illustrations ever. Mine have a single face on them, one of a man, the other, a woman. Available as circles or squares, sold as a set of two, in a single box (see below).
Even the silicone oven mits stick to the wall, window, appliances, glass…
You can view her work here, and if you’re a store owner or you simply want to inquire about her work, email Annette at kontakt{at}wechselstelle{dot}de. When I’m in Hannover again this Fall, I hope to arrange a meet-up with Annette because I’d love to see her entire collection and shop, of course!
At this time, Wechselstelle appears to only be sold at Frau Zimmer in Hannover, so if you happen to live there, lucky you!
(images from annette meurer)
I’m passionate about shop ownership. Owning a small business with a constant stream of foot traffic, whether that be a restaurant, creative firm, or a retail storefront, is hard work. Freelancing from home in your jammies is one thing, but when you have a storefront, you have to be on your game from the moment you turn the key in the morning to the second you step foot into your home that night. It’s not all ice cream and cupcakes, unless of course, that’s what you happen to sell.
Camp on Perry, NYCYou may notice on decor8 that I often write about indie stores, many with mini tours of their space so you can see what they look like even though you may live thousands of miles away. I come from a family of business owners, right down to my parents, who once had two restaurants and a day spa. And although I’m charmed by the whole experience of small business ownership, especially a retail storefront, I know that reality is much different than the dream of being a shop girl. That’s why I write about these stores, to show my support and to hopefully stir a need in you to either shop small businesses more, or at least, refer your friends and support local stores when you can. I shop both large and small, but in the end, it’s the corner shop experience that I enjoy the most.
London and Paris are my favorite shopping destinations. As the British Pound grows stronger, London becomes less attractive from a shopping standpoint, but I still shop indie when I’m there for the sake of supporting shop owners and walking away with a bag of rare finds. A large part of the appeal of such cities is the local arts scene, and along with that, these privately owned boutiques give them their charm. Boutiques keep the tourists coming back for more. Why cities aren’t more supportive of independant retailers is beyond me. Replace them all with CVS and Dunkin’ Donuts, and let’s see how many tourists drop by in the years to come.
Unfortunately, high rents are driving so many indie stores out, only to be replaced by retail giants or expensive housing. Nowadays, a good shop is increasingly hard to find. Let’s face it, when your city becomes trendy, your section of town the ‘next big thing’, it’s as scary as it is exciting. Some people I know say that when the big developers start coming in, they know they’re screwed. Sounds a bit harsh, but that may be true. If you’re a shop owner just making the rent, and suddenly your lease isn’t renewed because the building is turning into condos, or it can be renewed for several hundred dollars more a month, your life can change overnight. When rent soars, your area becoming the next big thing suddenly lacks appeal. As the money moves in, creatives can feel a bit uninspired to do anything more than return to their 9-5 to sustain a ‘normal’ life, giving up shop ownership and their dreams. But this isn’t meant to depress you, so let’s look at the options. You don’t have to close up shop.
Camp on Perry, NYCI ask you shop owners, is there a way to maintain an independent store amidst the clone wars? Let’s see what others are doing.
Storefronts alone are so expensive to rent that some stores have to double up with others to afford a single space. Tivoli Home in Brooklyn sells gorgeous Scandinavian wares both online and at the popular DUMBO General Store Cafe & Bar. This is how owner Kenneth, keeps his dream alive. And owner Holly Waterfield of Camp on Perry in the West Village shares space with real estate agent, Richard Florke of The Rural Connection. Where there’s a will, there’s a way…
Continue this series by clicking here or simply scroll to the next post: Frau Zimmer (Shop Owner: Collaborate)
Formenreich in Hannover, Germany leases a space in Galeria Kaufhof, a popular German department store. All three partners (Rike, Mareike, and Anette) are fashion designers and wanted to bring their designs into a retail environment, so they approached the big box retailer about a dead space they noticed adjacent to the music department that appeared to be used only as storage.
To their surprise, the massive retail giant supported their indie store plans and approved their lease for a trial period of one year. Excited, yet no doubt fearful, these ladies jumped in and created Formenreich, a collaborative effort where they, along with other up-and-coming fashion, jewelry, and accessories designers from Germany and other parts of Europe, share this unique space that offers soaring ceilings, tons of natural light, a workspace, and a prime downtown location. They even have access to one display window on street level near the Kaufhof entrance.
I guess their mentality is that if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Join ‘em as long as you are still doing your thing that is… And these ladies are. I think it was such a smart move on their part to see an opportunity and then to actually do something with it. That’s an inspiring story, isn’t it?
Formenreich overlooks old Hannover and a beautiful church dating back to the 1100′s. Of course, without the support of other designers who pay a small fee to rent space in the store, it may be difficult to make it work – but with their creative colleagues on board, these ladies found a way to turn their dream into a reality.
I visited them in their store this past November and met with Anette and Mareike, and they told me their story along with some very good news – Galeria Kaufhof extended their lease and they’re now in their 2nd year of business. I can’t wait to visit them again this Fall to see if they’ll be signing on for a 3rd year. Fingers crossed!
Continue this series by clicking here or simply scroll to the next post: The Derby Store (Shop Owner: Get Online!)
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