Going underground...

I came across these on the lovely Grain Edit blog the other day and had to share them. I have a childish fascination with buildings/spaces/interiors which are found untouched and hidden - there's some sort of 'secret garden' thing about it all...

Anyway... these beautiful 1950s posters were found in part of Notting Hill Gate tube station when lifts were replaced with escalators and parts of the station were sealed off and abandoned. They look so current it's incredible... or maybe I just surround myself with so many mid-century influences it's seems new and fresh to me!

See the full set of official images from London Underground here.

via mikeyashworth

It also reminded me of another 1950s forgotten space we stumbled across a while back... the Lewis's Department Store's Fifth Floor was recently rediscovered and captured by photographer Stephen King in this lovely book 'Lewis's Fifth Floor: A Department Story'. The entire floor was closed in the 1980s and again left almost untouched whilst it was used for storage. The grade II listed and hand painted tiles on the wall of the restaurant and the colours in the hair salon (which was at one time the world's largest hair salon!) are amazing.

An exhibition of King's photographs from Lewis's is on until 30th August at the National Conservation Centre in Liverpool.

All images copyright Stephen King

As featured in...

What a day! We've been featured on one of our favourite design blogs and we can hardly believe it... Bloesem Kids! We had no idea until etsy orders and messages started pilling up this afternoon. We're so incredibly pleased and touched that lovely people out there like our stuff. It's such an incredible thing to have someone on the other side of the world, who you've never met, big you up!

I'm a tad over emotional about it all, as you may have noticed. Long live the internet!!!

House paint...

Something that C and I have been meaning to get round to since we bought our house four years ago is painting the outside, and on Saturday whilst I sat at our market stall staring out at the lovely Pieminister shop opposite, I was admiring their all black shop front and thinking maybe we should go black on our house. C soon vetoed that plan! But we've since been inspired by other lovely one colour shop fronts. I love the idea of the wall, windows and door being the same shade.

Here are a few of our favourites from some old haunts, Cheshire Street and Columbia Road, in lovely London town - although I'm not sure we'd pull off Shelf's bright orange on a wonky old country cottage!!...

Ryan Town, Columbia Road via etsy

Labour and Wait, Cheshire Street

Ella Doran, Cheshire Street via e-cityvisit

Shelf, Cheshire Street via e-cityvisit

And I love these houses in a nearby street - exactly the look I'm hoping to go for. We'll post some photos once we've chosen the exact shade of blue/green/grey we're using!

via Tour Guide of London

Cake and Craft...

So the Checkout Art Market in Bristol went well... such a sunny day filled with crafts and cakes and lovely friendly people - does it get much better?!

Our stall was next to the gorgeous work of Trigger Editions who made us feel very welcome and made the five hours fly by. The cakes were supplied courtesy of the lovely ladies of Tabletop Cakes and as we were sat nearly opposite their beautiful stand I couldn't hold out for long - they were delicious! We were also sitting facing the stunning work of the SNAP Studio artists who were selling prints and cards and also running a mini screen printing workshop. It was so inspiring and if I were richer (and had not spent all my money on cakes!) I would have been in there buying, buying, buying.

It was also an unexpected treat to put a face to the name behind the lovely Seventy Tree blog... we only discovered it recently but have been hooked ever since.

Check it out...

Oh-so-organised, I'm just posting the poster for this month's Checkout Art Market in Bristol, which is taking place this Saturday! This will be our first stall at the market but there are loads of photos from the first two on either their facebook page or via the Central-Reservation blog. If you're in the area please come and check it out - my I was mightily pleased with that wee pun!!

April 2010 Checkout Art Market

The market also coincides with the Jamaica Street Open Studios weekend which looks to be really inspiring and is all set in a beautiful grade 2 listed building just up the road from the Checkout market - perfect Saturday afternoon activities!

Hope to see you there...

Jamaica Street Studios

Making vs blogging...

I've still not mastered the art of making and blogging. When we're printing and sewing and generally getting ready for markets I'm always keeping the blog in the back of my mind and taking the odd photo here and there of works in progress, but then, what with my last-minute mentality, I never have time to actually post any of them!

So I've had a quick rummage back through and finally got some up here - owl purses and dog toys in progress and another studio shot of my sewing space with owl toys waiting to be stuffed...

Market Day...

It was time for another St Catherine's Artisan Market in Frome again yesterday and this time the weather smiled on us.. yay. After last months freezing wet weather we were relieved it was warm and sometimes even sunny. It went well and we met yet more lovely, friendly, crafty people... there's a never ending supply in Frome! We loved meeting the face behind Treasury as we'd spotted her lovely things through both the market back in April and also as she was featured on Design*Sponge!

Frome is a lovely place, and one we nearly moved to when we headed back west from London four years ago. So here's the poster I meant to post all last week and also a slightly shabby photo of our stall - taken at the end of the market when the wind had taken it's toll on our new felt banner!

We had a bit of a manic week leading up to the market - no matter how organised my intentions are I'm always a last minute type girl. Ah well, we made it and now have a good stock of stuff for the etsy shop and also for another new market we're doing this coming Saturday, 12th June, in Bristol - CheckOut. Can't wait it looks great and its indoors!