Ready to be inspired by a pattern and color-filled industrial meets feminine loft? Oh I bet you are, open space, clean lines, bursts of color, industrial meets girly with loads of white… oh my stop! I’m getting all tingly! When Crystal Gentillello from Rue magazine sent in some gorgeous images to share with decor8 readers today I couldn’t refuse — this is a special sneaky peek of their gorgeous issue #2 which will release on Sunday, November 21st right here.
This loft is super amazing and I thought it would be fun to share some glimpses to whet your appetite for the magazine so here’s my favorite home from issue #2, in fact this homeowner (you can find out who she is later today when the issue is live) has a very similar look going on to what I’m pulling together in my own house currently (which is why I have been traveling so much, to collect!). She has several things that I’ve purchased already on my past few trips to Istanbul and Marrakesh and so for me to see her space in my inbox this morning (I got to see the entire loft, full room views, just wait — you’ll die when you see the issue) I felt so encouraged and motivated to finish my own home.
Love the dessous! Love the back of that gorgeous chair! This is a great space in my gushing opinion. So what do you think? Amazing right? To see full room views and to learn all about the homeowner, be sure to visit the Rue website on November 21st when issue #2 goes live.
(images: emily anderson)
It’s time to share five of my most recent favorite Etsy shops! There are many beautiful things to enjoy that are handmade with love by some very talented creatives out there. Handmade is the big holiday theme this year, have you noticed? Interiors magazines from Australia to England, the Netherlands to the US, Germany and beyond are all a-buzz about handmade – no doubt due to the influence of bloggers who have been heavily promoting handmade arts & crafts for years now. More on that below my finds…
Peggy Wolf - This German artist is one I’ve shared before but I can’t take my eyes off of her gorgeous watercolor-y collages of lovely ladies. Great prints, fun colors, adore!
Blushing Pearl – Custom design and letterpress cards, tags, business cards, wedding ephemera and more!
White Owl – This sister duo makes some of the most feminine yet edgy pieces of jewelry with lots and lots of vintage charm (and charms!).
Sweet Harvey – A design studio that prints their designs on textiles, papers… so many sweet things to choose from!
Helkat Design – More union jacks! This studio run by two textile designers in England churns out gorgeously tactile hand printed pillows and others that show a combination of both hand print and applique work. I love seeing these two techniques combined.
Handmade crafting as a trend in holiday decor is all the mainstream rage this season. If you cannot make things by hand yourself due to limited time or perhaps you are self-conscious about your work, you can try a craft that is relatively easy but still fun and somewhat challenging – use a kit or try a DIY exercise online from one of your favorite websites or blogs. Remember, the more you make things and practice, the better you will be become and with each accomplishment your self esteem grows and soon you’ll be making beautiful things completely on your own.
Of course, time is always an issue and some simply don’t have extra moments to sit down and take time to learn a craft, especially during this hectic season, and if that is the case then you have thousands of talented sellers to buy handmade products from. Be on the look out for indie craft fairs in your local city, or when you travel try to find them because cities like Boston, New York and London (to name a few) usually have many arts & crafts shows this time of the year.
Of course, you can also scout for handmade products online through your favorite blogs and online marketplaces, like Etsy, DaWanda and so many others…
See anything that you love this week? Any etsy shops that you’d like to share with us in the comments section below, including your own? Will you be attending a handmade market this season in your season or elsewhere? If so, please put a link to it below!
(images: linked to their sources above.)
I love AphroChic and I’m sure all of the blogs will be buzzing this week with announcements of their latest collection — because it’s positively awesome on a stick! There are pillows, you can select from fun new wallpapers, and you can buy tabletop linens and big bonus: shower curtains! Check this stuff out. Oh yeah!
Congrats to Jeanine Hays, creator and founder, for launching such a beautiful line for this season – great work! I love seeing where you will go with this and what you’ll roll out next, and I’m so proud to see your collection growing and doing so well.
(images: aphrochic)
I spotted these gorgeous pillows today from Barbara Coupe, a textile designer in London who specializes in hand-embroidered goods that are made in England, and had to share them. The typography-as-decor continues to be a strong trend here on this side of the pond — in fact, it has enjoyed quite a long run both in parts of Europe and in the US. Certain trends definitely have staying power and end up running a lot longer than others, which is of course largely due to supply and demand so if consumers are drawn to a certain trend and don’t tire of it easily, it can endure for some time — and rarely, though it has happened, even becomes a classic style, a must-have in every home.
Other trends disappear forever once they’ve had their run, but then others circle back — like the revival of wallpaper. After it’s popularity waned in the 1990s, it made a huge come back about five years ago and today it’s a staple in some of the most drool-inducing rooms in the world. With growing options from hand-blocked to hand-painted, eco, and beyond wallpaper seems to have staying power so if it is does start to lose its mass appeal in a few years, no doubt it will circle back again for the next generation of young designers to embrace as a hot new trend all over again.
I find trend watching quite fascinating, especially now that I live abroad, because lots of what we see over here makes it to the states a year later but also vice versa as the US starts many trends on its own — like the whole blogging trend and handmade market trend — I credit them mostly as being largely promoted in the states before the rest of the world caught on so it’s not always Europe dictating movements in fashion, art and design like so many assume, America plays a huge role in up-and-coming trend movements as well.
But back to lovely Barbara Coupe, who made these stunning cushions that definitely have anglo-appeal. Many people, even those who have no English ancestry, love the Union Jack as a motif and of course this has been a trend in decor as well hasn’t it? I’ve seen Union Jacks popping up in design for some time now. I don’t think we have a US-equivalent using the flag, if we put a US flag on anything it is usually attributed to either the Fourth of July, being a fan of the New England Patriots or associated with the Ralph Lauren/Polo brand. To me anyway. It would be cool if a designer could modernize the US flag somehow, if that is even respectful to say, and make it more interesting to show in the home because currently it just doesn’t seem to find it’s way to sofas in our favorite magazines as cushions or wall hangings like the Union Jack, does it?
Lovely work, Barbara!
I’d like to thank new blogger, Emily Peck, for writing about Barbara Coupe and pointing me to her blog today – it was nice to hear from you! Thank you for the tip!
(images: barbara coupe)
I have to show you some peeks of Jonathan Lo’s zine, At Your Leisure, that I just received in the mail today. It’s amazing! I love it and highly suggest that if you like small, unique publications with interesting articles, beautiful photography and snazzy layouts then you’ll adore lifestyle zine At Your Leisure. Jonathan is an editor (Happy Mundane) and an art director (J3 Productions) and has the most exquisite taste — he should be doing magazines and books for a living in my opinion because he has such a great eye and there just isn’t enough great stuff on the newsstands these days that is by men that doesn’t include the typical man-fare out there (gummi-boobs, blood and gaming). Ha ha!
Jonathan Lo has such a unique vision, it’s very forward and his zine doesn’t duplicate what you already see a million times but it raises the bar. When I look at his work through the pages At Your Leisure, I see a very fresh, forward-thinking guy who isn’t afraid to take risks and I like that. Nothing about it says mainstream snooze-fest and that, these days, is quite an accomplishment.
Jonathan I applaud your efforts, adore your blog (for years now) and love your zine – the second issue is just great and I can’t wait for the next, and the next and so on! I hope everyone who reads it “gets” your vision and loves it as much as I do because seriously dude, your rock.
P.S. Hottie Alert! The man candy in this issue (shown also above) is model/actor Joshua Kloss. He is in the Katy Perry video, Teenage Dream, in case his face looks familiar but if you’re like me… well, I didn’t even notice his face… :)
To get a copy of At Your Leisure, click here.
(images: j3 productions)
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