All Hail the Queens of Granny Chic

Its unlikely, even if you have been hiding under a damp stone, that you've missed the fever pitch excitment about the iminent launch of Granny Chic- crafty recipes and inspiration for the handmade home from Dottie Angel and TedandAgnes.


from Granny Chic Published by Kyle Books 2012 Photographer: Catherine Gratwicke

 The rather unlikely You Magazine gave more than a sneak peak of some of the bestest projects on Sunday under the rather amusing title Gran Designs. And of course the Aunty to the Bloggers publication Mollie Makes has wisely chosen to feature the showstopping Patched and Pierced lampshade project in their latest issue.


from Granny Chic Published by Kyle Books 2012 Photographer: Catherine Gratwicke
reproduced in Mollie Makes Issue Twenty

Now don't for a minute think that if you've seen the above that there is no need to buy the book. Believe me it is full to the brim with LOTS more lovely ideas. My favourites include the recipe for making your own vintage decals....

Vintage decals from Granny Chic Published by Kyle Books 2012 Photographer: Catherine Gratwicke

.....and the handy dandy jars.

 from Granny Chic Published by Kyle Books 2012 Photographer: Catherine Gratwicke

Above all else however it's the styling of this book that sets it apart. We'd expect little else given the perfection of Tiff's photography for DottieAngel's adventures and the sheer exuberance and flair of Rachelle's home with TedandAgnes. But my oh my did the girls push the boat out on this one....I have scoured pretty much every page now and I tell you there is not a shot where the attention to detail is not 100%. Every little nook and cranny of their beautiful homes oooozes Granny Chic style.

From the little things eg gorgeous homemade fabric tape holding postcards to the wall....

from Granny Chic Published by Kyle Books 2012 Photographer: Catherine Gratwicke

from Granny Chic Published by Kyle Books 2012 Photographer: Catherine Gratwicke

to the grander schemes like marvellous Maude's liberty print makeover.

With so much attention to detail does it not feel over styled, unliveable in? Nope for as the girls point out Granny Chic has all embracing ways - nothing is perfect ...just perfectly placed to make the most of each other's best bits.

I am most flattered to have supplied a few bits and bobs for the new book of which more later .....go get yourself a copy ordered first - its out in less than two days - and we can scan the fabulous details together.

Ceramic Swans Rock!

Where do you keep your toothbrush? I confess to having kept mine for sometime now in a granny pink ceramic swan.

My ceramic swan tooth brush holder

I'm mighty pleased with the arrangement. Not only does he do a fine job of keeping my toothbrush out of harms way but he's a great place to sneak away my floss etc.

Despite him having done such a sterling job for so long i am afraid to say I have never bothered to find out anything about him. Lucky for great design lovers Trish Scorgie is not as lackadaisical as I.

Trish is the founder of VolpeandVolpe and is on a mission to bring a slice of our ceramic heritage back, put them into a modern context, make them relevant again, trace them back to their original owners.

Volpe and Volpe

With the demise of so many Stoke On Trent potteries and the rise of cheap import markets lots of great peices have been forgotten. Now thanks to VolpeandVolpe the swans are back in six magnificently moodly colours: goose grey, matt black, natural, pistacchio, heather moore and gilbert green.

What is more they have friends. A fox string holder .....

Fox string holder from Volpe and Volpe

and (my husbands Christmas present to be) a too cute Mole string holder.

Mole String Holder from Volpe and Volpe

Fabulous.

This weeks Shoplocket 40% off bargain

Carry on lighting...with Babs

This afternoon I have come to a momentous decision. It is a decision driven by the heart and not the head. One which will no doubt create many hours of measuring and fiddling and re-measuring and bending and quite possibly some bad language.

I have fallen in love with Babs. She's pink, she fills out her  cover to bursting and she's very, very curvy. here she is:

I am ignoring the horrid beading around her middle and the hair raisingly horrid feel of the crimpolene cover. She is definately not from these shores as her fittings are most definately European and this adds to her appeal. What is more........

....she has a sidekick. Mini-Babs who sits atop a rather dashing Saarinen/tulip style lamp base.

Definately worth the long process of templating their wire frames me thinks. Hopefully if we all keep our fingers and toes very tighly crossed we might have some Babs shape wire lampframes to re-cover or paint in a few weeks time.

oooh Matron.

30% off Barkcloth Bonanza

Its Barkcloth Bonanza week at DonnaFlower.com and Donna and I have joined forces with a very special offer to chase away the onset of any winter blues.

DonnaFlower.com

You know how it is getting harder and harder to find and prices are souring. Donna has made some amazing discoveries of late - real corkers.



DonnaFlower.com



Of course they'd all make fabulous lampshades. You don't need huge fabric pieces. 1/2 metre is plenty for even the bigger shades. The bigger the shade the wider the fabric panel needs to be. If the fabric is non-directional ie the pattern looks equally good even if its on its side you'll need even less.



DonnaFlower.com

Choose your barkcloth fabric from DonnaFlower.com and enter FOLLY - must be in capitals- at the checkout and you'll receive 15% off. What is more send me a request at hello@follyandglee.co.uk for me to turn it into the lampshade size and style of your choice and I'll give you £15% off the price of the shade too! As a guide prices start from just £12 plus postage for a 20cm Diamater table lamp.

30% off a bespoke vintage barkcloth shade - what you waiting for?



Meet the Neighbours: The Paper Engineer

One of the best things about moving out from the kitchen table and garage into my studio at UpperLodge is the comradery and inspiration from all my lovely neighbours. This is never more true than when sharing their triumphs and achievments - big and small.

This week is a biggy for Corina the paper engineer and our landlady. Today see's the launch of Discovering Kings Cross: A Pop Up Book published by Cicada and Corina's off to town to celebrate with amongst others Michael Palin who wrote the forward and Dan Cruickshank who wrote an afterword. No wonder she's grinning!

Cicada Books

Now having grown up in Northamptonshire I'm a bit of St Pancras girl myself and I love a bit of gothic. KingsCross to me always seemed a rather brutal far less exciting space. This lovely book charts the history of what lay behind those 1970s extensions. The illustrations are really charming  - they are the work of Lucy Dalzell who has brilliantly captured the human story behind an iconic buildings evolution.

Corina is one of the most experienced paper engineers in the country. A group of professionals as rare Corina says as "hens teeth". Using little more than a a ruler, scalpel, cutting mat and a Mac she worked from the plans and elevations of John Mcaslan + Partners, the architects of the spectacular new concourse, to create a single enormous popup that brings the station as it is today to life. Its such a great way to be able to appreciate the scale and the detail of its amazing regeneration.

It would appear there's no stopping Corina now as more crossover work for architectural publishers beckons and with it more complex and delicate pop-ups to engineer to satisfy the largely adult audience. I'm happy to report that Corina has definately not left the world of children's pop-up books behind.

I caught her earlier playing happily with the tractor from her other new book published this week - Playbook Farm. From the fabulously named publishers Nosy Crow this is an ingenious novelty package comprises a pop-up storybook, which then unfolds and transforms into a 3D farmyard landscape playmat, with cut-out cardboard animals and the tractor all illustrated by Britta Teckentrup.

Corina and Co: Windmill from Playbook Farm Pulished by Nosy Crow

You have to go watch the YouTube video here  and when your done pop over to Corina&Co and download and make your own paper windmill from the book.

Cowboys or Roses

Cowboys or Roses .......well I could never choose between them. Maybe its having Dallas back on our screens? Maybe its because I can't face a rainy day without a squirt of my favourite scent? Well anyway now you don't have to choose.

RodeoRose Patchwork Lampshade

A super stylish patchwork lampshade - 20cm Diameter and perfect for a small table lamp.

Barkcloth selection for custom Folly&Glee Lampshade

Next up a patchwork request for something in orange and turquoise. Lush.