Still on the look out for nice nursery curtain fabric, I stumbled across Fabric Inspiration which is host to a terrific collection of original (I think) fabrics from the 60s and 70s. Some crazy patterns going on here which I’m finding very inspirational. Even if I can’t use these for curtains I’ll buy some anyway and then think of a use later.
Here are a few that really caught my eye…..
I’m looking for some cute, slightly retro and not too girlie curtains for the nursery. I knew Etsy would be the place to find such a thing and I think Melbomba from Australia has just the thing. I love this simple yet cute bird pattern and may select the orange, though they are all yummy colour options!
All I need to do now is find someone who will turn them into big curtains for me.
Happy New year readers! Sorry to have abandoned you for so long - I’ve had technical issues which have made posting impossible but I’m back and I promise to try to keep things updated abit more!
Just look at these beauties! Screen printed oak Soul Birds by Sanna Annukka, soon to become available via her online store. I’ve got to get me at least one - they’re gorgeous don’t you think!?
I was unaware that I was given a plug until I received 2 very sweet messages from complete strangers saying they had found me via this most respected of design blogs. My web stats rocketed immediately and a few etsy sales have come about because of it, so thanks to Holly at Decor8 HQ!
Hurrah! at last my long lusted-after Gocco printer arrived, all the way from Japan. The seller, printaddictjapan - as found on Etsy, actually dispatched the item very promptly. It arrived in the UK almost 24hrs later but there were hold ups once it was in the hands of ParcelForce over here. Luckily that was all resolved pretty quickly and today it landed.
I’ve unpacked everything and read and re-read the instructions so I think I know what to do but am scared I’ll break the thing - it’s all plastic but you need to use quite a bit of force down onto it when printing. These things are becoming pretty scarce too so it wouldn’t be so easy to repair or replace. The fools at Riso, who manufactured these, stopped production last year so I’m now stocking up on all the consumables that are needed. One search on google for Gocco shows you there is a lot of demand for these simple home printing kits but I guess it didn’t make enough money for Riso and they will eventually die out altogether.
I hope to soon get started on new prints with this little beauty and will update you with my progress!
Some of my earliest memories are of the picture books I was absorbed in as a small child. On my latest visit to my family home I rummaged around in the loft and found a few of these books. It was a bit like being reunited with an old familiar face as I poured over the same pictures that fired my young imagination and then featured in some trippy dreams back then. Being a child of the 70s, alot of the illustrations are in pretty vivid colour schemes and looking at them now, with an adult/ illustrators perspective, I see the quality of drawing wasn’t always that great.
There is an exception though and I wanted to share a few of the gorgeous illustrations with you here. The Bowerbirds isn’t one I remember for it’s story - though it is really charming. I loved the elegant watercolour/ pen and ink images by Margery Gill. A little bit of research reveals she died quite recently at the age of 83 and though successful, maybe didn’t receive the recognition she deserved during her career.
Enjoy my scans - in doing these I’ve broken the yellowing tape of a repair job from years ago. The images following them are from various vintage kids books sites. I may well track down a few copies for myself, purely for the illustrations!
If you check out Dessert Girl’s quirky blog today you’ll see a recipe and images by yours truly. This blog is for those with a sugar craving and provides scrumptious recipes for you to try at home. She also invites creative folk to submit their favourite recipes so when I was kindly invited to join in I also added some images.
Puddings and illustration - a sensory overload!
Being a fan of art from the 1950 sand 60s, I had seen some of these incredible images before but I hadn’t made a note of the name until now. The vivid designs David Klein produced for TWA posters really represents the visual language of this era and perfectly captures the thrill and novelty of jet air travel at this time. You can read a full biography and many more examples to drool over here. For now I’d like to share just a few of my favourites with you.
I have decided that all proceeds from my etsy sales will now have to go towards purchasing one of these! I think they are all simply beautiful.
Geeez, I’m going a bit crazy with the blogging today (procrastinating you could say) but I just found these guys and their work has got me excited like I haven’t been for ages!
Lab Partners are a creative duo based in San Francisco who work wonders with the gocco printer. They sell their hand printed wares on etsy though as I type, their shop is being updated. I’m very fussy when it comes to buying contemporary art but I simply must have these 2 prints below…..they have captured the 50s modernist aesthetic perfectly and by keeping the images just about understated enough - they could be mistaken for mid century originals. I love it!
If ever you should take a fancy to one of my patterns you now have the option to download a file to brighten up your pc/mobile or any other type of screen or digital display. Digital Bloom provides a quick and affordable way to personlise your gadgets with digital artwork.
I shall be updating my images this week so do check in again if you can’t find what you want just yet.
