I’ve been meaning to ask your opinion on the recent collaboration between West Elm and Patch NYC. What do you think about them teaming up with design duo John Ross and Don Carney? I personally think it was a good move on the part of West Elm and I hope that they continue to go in this direction by bringing more small firms under their wing to not only diversify their range but to spotlight the work of talented designers out there who may be interested in taking that next step to become more of a household name. John and Don are so talented, they got started in 1997 and have been producing hats, scarves, handbags and jewelry ever since. Their new home collection for West Elm is quite nice I think… Here are their designs as prints, pillows and plates.
I imagine bringing on Patch NYC for a limited time was a big move for their brand but it’s a smart choice and I think it’s fun to see a collection that merges the talent of Patch NYC with the clean, modern aesthetic of the West Elm brand. I hope that this is the start of more collaborations in the years ahead; I’d like to see them work with other small to mid-size names.
From the Patch Blog about this collection John says, “After many months of design and development, we are very excited to introduce our first collection of home accessories created exclusively for West Elm! We worked from Don’s ink drawings to create a cohesive group of new designs: small rectangular dishes and serving platters, metallic silkscreen on linen pillows and letterpress prints in lacquered frames.”
What do you think about this collaboration?
(images: patch nyc & west elm)
Welcome to a new week of decorating ideas and eye candy! Before we get started, how was your weekend? Did you accomplish all you had hoped and more? I hit the flea market and found a few pretty things, and I bought some new inline skates and a tennis racket for Spring! I did a bit of organizing but ended up spending so much time outside of the house that I didn’t quite accomplish all I had hoped to indoors. Oh well. I guess I will just to have chip away at it again in the week to come! I found these beautiful images this morning on the Die Frau im Haus blog that I thought were just lovely — I love the entryway of this blogger who lives in Vienna. It’s quite nice, don’t you think? A nice “welcome” to a new week, too!
I also like this nook in her kitchen, she shows it before and then after some rearranging below. Aren’t her tiled floors a dream?
And finally, I love this shop tour of Mutterland in Hamburg. Hamburg is just an hour from me so I have to go to this shop when I’m there in May to see Sia with my friends.
So friends, welcome to a new week — things to do, places to see and inspiration to be found!
(images: Die Frau im Haus)
Did you have a nice week? Was it a productive one or do you feel a bit behind? Let’s make a deal. Whether you had a good week or a not-so-good one let’s agree to make this weekend great, okay? Find some time to play with your children, mend a hem, watch a film, paint something pretty, doodle in your journal… but let’s all carve out some time to give something back to ourselves and to be kind and caring to those we love, maybe even a little extra. I will organize my little house as living in such a small temporary space takes constant editing — the moment I have extra things around it starts to feel as though the walls are closing in!
I can’t wait until we find a permanent place to live but for now we must continue searching and exercising patience, something I don’t have much of so I assume this is good training for me. He who holds his breath the longest wins, or so the German expression goes. I personally think that he who holds his breath the longest turns blue and collapses! ha ha! And that is sometimes how I feel as I’m a bit obsessed with this whole house hunt. But this past week I’ve decided to just let go and make the best of my current home until a better one comes along. I plan to do a lot of measuring this weekend because I know I could be utilizing this space much better than I am and since it could be months before we find a place, even a year, I need to still live my life in the interim so I’m planning to do some shopping for a few new pieces that will better organize our nest.
I also plan to spend time with my friends and to enjoy the final weekend in March reflecting on the winter behind me and the spring ahead. April should be a relatively low-key month for me, I have plenty of work to do but nothing crazy but then once May rolls around I will be running non-stop until November at least and I’ll be going into detail later on what I’m up to in the months ahead but it will include travel and lots of weekend spent working so I’m going to bask in the still of April and enjoy every drop — because it won’t stay calm for long. I recently signed on to a spa nearby where I’ll go in April for the month — I won’t be staying there but simply visiting for a few hours in the early morning to exercise, take a sauna, lay on the deck and read (if the weather permits) and do some yoga. April for me is all about restoration and building up my health and energy so that I can be 100% come May.
You know what I did the other day? I bought some beautiful little olive trees for my windows to celebrate spring and now I’m on the hunt for some kitchen things… a blender, a hot water “cooker” as they are called here, and I need a few flower pots for my pretty trees. So in addition to organizing things, I plan to do a little shopping in the morning at the flea market and also in the city.
What will you do this weekend? I do hope you enjoy yourself. I’ll see you on Monday…
(image: holly becker for decor8)
Paul Barbera is primarily an interiors photographer who travels for assignments and while on those adventures he makes it a point to look up artists and other creative types as he is inspired by how they live and work. His visual compilation of their environments on his site, Where They Create, is fantastic for the curious like me. This man needs a book deal so if you’re in publishing take note of his work because he’s pretty much the interior version of The Sartorialist. Don’t believe me? Here have a look… Then please go and have another look at his client work. You may hug me. It’s that stunning!
I particularly like his Where They Create project. It’s interesting to see spaces in Hong Kong and other faraway places and to see people using many of the tools that I use in my daily life here in Germany and that no doubt you use in your part of the world. There is this feeling of, “we are all in this together”, when I view those photos — they are just filled with mood and feeling but also there’s this connection. His portfolio is so diverse – great range — something for all to enjoy. And the cupcakes, oh yes, we must not forget the cupcakes.
What a nice way to begin the weekend…
(images: paul barbera)
Hello Friends, it’s Leslie with Color Me Pretty and I am really happy to be back here! I just wrapped up a 7 week teaching assignment alongside Holly for Blogging Your Way which is why I’ve been missing. Now that the session has ended, I’m back with my column each month around this time to share more color inspirations with you. A big thanks to Holly and you all for having me back.
This time around I am inspired by Spring-time and all the blooms available at the markets and with that, I opted for a pastel palette. There really is nothing like the soft yellows, pinks and lilac tones of early spring. I enjoyed combining these colors with a soft craft paper brown and some milky whites. Here are the results.
It is a nice time of year to get inspired with cleaning out our work-spaces and our homes for the months ahead. Sometimes a good “spring clean” can do decorating wonders as it clears our heads and helps us get a clearer vision for what we want in our lives. New ideas seem to flow when we have a fresh clean space. I like to get my craft supplies sorted and ready for new project ideas. My little mood-board got a spring makeover too as it reflects some of my new interests and ideas.
I would love to hear any spring-cleaning or organizing tips you have. We all can use the inspiration! I hope you enjoyed this color story and I look forward to seeing you back here next month.
Take care and hope you’ve enjoyed this view of spring today! xo, Leslie
If you are new to decor8 and would like to see more Color Me Pretty posts, please click here.
(photographs: leslie shewring)
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