this week in and out of the studio

Sometimes its hard juggling what feels like too many balls! we have decorex coming up in a couple of weeks and at the same time (well the week before) my daughter is doing her 11+ - its such an awful pressure for a 10 year old. We are really trying not to make her feel that it is super important and be really calm (my husband who is a teacher is much better at this than me and i have to go and have a secret panic in the studio!) so i will be glad for her when its all over in a couple of weeks! 

with this in mind i liked this quote this week - Miss B this is for you x

we have been busy working with local company Scumble Goosie on some new product and took a few photos of their chairs - they will soon be available on our website in either raw state ready for you to paint, or painted with a seat cover in one of our fabrics - we love the little baby version too!!!

i was really thrilled to learn that my good friend Julia Brendal is going to be exhibiting at Decorex this year and we will be neighbours - on the same row at the show - it will be nice to have a friendly face to chat to! Have a look at Julias website she produces the most exquisite woven fabrics and also stunning accessories - tablecloths and scarves - they are gorgeous.

I was delighted this week when not one but 2 lovely friends dropped by with big bags of plums from their garden. I have made a massive batch of chinese spiced plum sauce - i am in good company as Nigel slater is doing it in this weeks observer food.

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we have had masses of lampshade orders lately so its with great pleasure that i am handing over some of our drums to my friend louise from lolly and boo, who makes fabulous lampshades in a huge array of fabrics

 I found my old iPod case that i made for our van travels a couple of years ago, and it perfectly fits my iPhone - which i was rather thrilled about. I had forgotten how much i liked them, so i think we will add them to the website this week as part of our autumn / winter accessories collection. what would be your most favourite design/colourway ?? join our mailing list here and comment below and you could win one in a fabric/colour of your choice .

lovely little box art

while perusing pinterest last week i came across a lovely picture with art in a box. It was instantly recognisable as one of viv from Hens Teeths creations


which led me inevitably on a clickathon and i found a really lovely little board of art in boxes.

i am always inspired by unusual creative goings on so here are some pictures to inspire you too!

all of the original images can be found on my art board on pinterest and they will take you back to the original source.

this week in the studio

another busy week here in the studio while we are gearing up for decorex - a very prestigious London trade show for interiors, where we will be showcasing some new fabrics (a sneaky peek of those soon!) heres one of our new stripes in colour "damson and greengage" - quite an apt name for the distinctly autumnal feel of the moment.

Going on holiday always puts things in perspective for me and so when i saw this quote this week it made me smile, it sums up weeks when you feel like chucking in the towel but something makes you carry on!

i have had a thing about neon pink this week - especially with grey!

we seem to have been making lots of bags in the studio this week , our shoppers are still one of our most popular products, but we have done a few custom orders this week with longer handles for over your shoulder and a soft clutch bag.

our autumn winter collection of accessories have started arriving, which is always exciting!

i feel i have got my cooking mojo back a bit - i got rather lazy in france as i didn't have my huge store cupboard of exciting spices and there isn't the same vast choice as we have here (which in a way to is much more healthy to be governed by the rhythms of the season but green beans wear thin after a month!!!) so i have been making lots of yummy salads - recipes here.

clockwise from top left green bean salad from plenty by ottolenghi

chopped thai salad with sesame garlic dressing from a pinch of yum

summer slaw

rainbow salad with greek yoghurt ceasar dressing from scaling back

hope you all hd a great week!

 

back in the studio

Its always hard getting back into work mode (especially when the children are still off school!)

i have been clinging to the last vestiges of summer and reminding myself of all the yummy food in the market in ile de re - we had such delicious camping lunches

 i am inspired to keep it going now we are back with lots of salads from our garden!



and it seems as though so has everybody else has been hanging on to the last days of summer too - as our nauticals have been really popular this week.

the gorgeous  cushions in the bottom left picture are made by my friend Ceri at White Mulberry soft furnishings - have a check out of her website.  we will be featuring some more of ceri's lovely work in a forthcoming post!

I dont think any working mums find life easy - and its often difficult to get the balance right! 

so in between working this week we have been to giffords circus (a wonderful event and if you are in the cotswolds in the summer time it is well worth a visit - its a really traditional beautiful old fashioned show and i LOVE it every year!!)

However I have had design ideas pouring out of me this week, so i have been trying to get those down on paper at the same time as colouring our new designs for decorex and sorting out new product / accessories samples which have been arriving for christmas!

its nice to be back on my mac and indulge my pinterest passion!

this quote was one of my favourites of the week!


Ile de re colours

We have just returned - filled with inspiration from our travels around france.

Lots of lovely food and some interesting brocanting! 

I thought i would share with you some pictures of Ile de Re, one of my favourite places -we go back most years, it has similar light quality to st ives. Big skies, billowing drifts of wild fennel, and wonderful chalky coloured shutters on all of the buildings, which always inspire me for colours in our designs! 

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the Island is a spit of land off the coast of La Rochelle, famed for its salt, oysters and little buttery yellow potatoes. Everyone cycles everywhere which is lovely and makes it blissfully quiet. 

 

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the beautiful soft chalky paint colours of the shutters always a source of inspiration!

above majolica stripe

a busy week

its been a ridiculously busy week here , making jams for the school fete.

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finishing new designs for decorex 

and sorting out bits and pieces for our summer travels in the camper van - do say hello if you happen upon us in france (more of where we are going in a later post)

we joined instagram and you can find us here

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this week i discovered Meera Sodha via instagram and then her gorgeous website here, and i can't wait to cook these coconut prawns her new cookbook will definitely feature on my xmas list.


I also found my chum Holly on instagram (Holly was my beautiful assistant for Decorex last year and i am hoping she will  join us again this year.) She is finishing her textile degree and writes a fab lifestyle blog at the same time .


friday 5 QUOTES

Most of you will know of my addiction to pinterest! i LOVE IT!!

Anyway this friday 5 is all about quotes, there are some fab ones that pop up on pinterest and here are 5 of my favourites - some for the words and others for the beautiful nature of the styling!

and this one because it makes me smile!



inspired by art

I dont often get chance to paint these days - other than the artwork for my designs, but i thought i would take my paints on holiday with me this year and hope to come back with a creation or two! 

Though i don't think i will ever be a true fine artist as even when i paint for pleasure they always come out looking a little bit surface patternish!

here are some current favourite paintings 

charlotte hardy

charlotte hardy

elaine pamphillon

elaine pamphillon

charlotte hardy

charlotte hardy

charlotte hardy

charlotte hardy


linen and lavender

……..and a new dress!

i seem to have been obsessed with purpley blues and fuchsia this week,

images from  pinterest and sarah hardaker

images from  pinterest and sarah hardaker

and with the arrival of three big rolls of our ever popular old sheets fabric, it has been linen and lavender all the way!


i have also had a little splurge on one of my favourite clothing brands - the australian fashion brand one season, and bought 3 dresses….all in shades of blue!


and here is a lovely inspiring collage from one of my favourite bloggers snippet and ink in shades of pink and lavender blackberry and quince!

Retailer spotlight ROOMS WITH A VIEW DISS

One of the nicest things about this business is getting to meet - either personally or virtually a wealth of talented people. Be they designers, curtain makers, shop owners or members of the general public who just love fabric, we really enjoy chatting and working with them.

Debbie Down at Rooms with a View in Diss in Norfolk is a strong supporter of British design talent, stocking the smaller British designers alongside the big boys of interiors! Debbie stocks Authentico paint and lots of gorgeous painted furniture, and a wide array of design led gifts.

Debbie has a lovely shop in the town of Diss, and also owns a fabulous cottage - called hollyhock cottage , with stunning interior decor by Debbie, available to rent here. It is a perfect weekend romantic retreat.

friday 5

Hello folks - long time no speak!

iIthought i might start an irregular series of 5 good things - i will try and post them on a friday - but can't promise!!! they might not be the 5 best, but they are 5 that i like!

Anyway i am dissatisfied with my walls - i have a lot of pictures but can never get them quite properly arranged. So i am kicking of friday 5 with 5 good things  for picture display, they are all from pinterest and you will find the links to the original post by clicking on the pic.

Happy friday one and all!

 



finishing touches

We are putting the finishing touches to the inside of our new studio today in time for opening our doors for Stroud International Textiles open studios. Currently it is a beautiful white cube and i am almost loathed to fill it up with all of my boxes and bits and bobs - Mr Hs hair rather stood on end (what there is left!) after I suggested that perhaps i keep the existing studio in our attic as a storeroom and only partially move in to my beautiful inspiring white space!!

if you are able to pop over and see us over the next 2 weekends it would be lovely to meet you. there are some fabulous designers and makers opening their studios all over the stroud valleys.

Here are a few of my favourites

Polly lyster - there is a lovely blog post about her here 


Matthew Harris

If not  then you can watch me and some of the other artists talking about craft in our practice here.


Dream studio

it's been a long time coming, but I am finally going to have a studio in the garden. A lovely oak clad light filled studio for Jo and I to work in.

Because we are  in an AONB here in the Cotswolds we had to go through planning, I was hoping that the studio would be fully finished in time for STroud International TExtiles festival open studios trail, but we won't be fully clad and beautiful, though we will be open.  ( more details to follow) 

Our current studio has a hotchpotch of hand me  down furniture and shelving and I wanted the new studio to be as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside so I have spent the last year following boards on pinterest which feature beautiful workspaces.  What I find funny in pinterest is that when you have been pinning for a personal project over time, you can really see a theme developing, I think my theme is natural wood and white - unusual for me as I never normally go for clean lines and I am definitely a girl of colour, but I keep going back to these lovely white and wood spaces. Here are some of the inspiring workspaces I have found on pinterest. If you have an inspiring workspace send us a picture we would love to feature it. 

all images are from pinterest and can be found here  and here where you can click through to their original locations 

Stroud international textiles

We were thrilled this year to be invited to be part of the STroud INternational Textile trail. So we will be throwing the doors of the studio open and inviting you in to have a look at our  (new) studio on the weekends of 10/11th and 17/18th May. If you pop by expect to see me designing some of our new fabric range and making our accessories, we will have a remnant rummage and our very popular scrap bags and fat quarters will be for sale, along with lots of cushions and accessories.

we will be demonstrating lampshade making, machine embroidery, cushion making and lots more over the two weekends. 

Not a lot of people know this but I actually trained in embroidery so there will be some of my one off pieces for sale as well.

we will also be available to help anyone with a decorating dilemma  , so bring your photos and we can offer you any advice from colour to curtains!!

we hope to see you there. 

a lovely chaise for sale

My friend Jo Smith  who is a fabulously talented upholsterer is selling one of her beautifully upholstered pieces in a bid to raise money for an animal rescue charity. Jo fosters rescue dogs from Spain who have had a really appalling start in life.  100% of the selling price of the chaise will go to Jo's fundraising efforts.

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This is a late victorian chaise, upholstered in natural linen and trimmed with duck egg pompoms and is £350 ,  Jo is even offering delivery within 100 miles of her studio in Gloucsetershire, but the chaise can be couriered anywhere in the UK.



blog loving

hello all, 

Its been many years since Jo and i started blogging over at Hardaker and Pope.

When we started we were really insured by a number of bloggers and without a doubt our favourite then , and my favourite still is Lobster and Swan.

Written and curated by the very talented Jeska Hearne. (I am waiting for her to write a book!! or open a B&B!!) Lobster and Swan is a visual treat. Colourful, stylish, and warm, one of my favourite places on line!

 

all of the beautiful images below are from lobster and swan

loving a little zip of citrus

With the launch of our new indienne range, we have added some lovely new colours and one of my favourites is citrine, a sort of citrus limey yellow. We have used it in orissa, atasi and latika and i love it !

orissa in citrine(top) and faded duck(bottom)

orissa in citrine(top) and faded duck(bottom)

latika cushions

latika cushions

What i love most about it is how just a tiny shot of citrus or any sharp colour brings a zip to a room or scheme. 

and i love combining it with dark tones of grey, indigo or teal.

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