TOP SIX: Children’s Cushions
KAREN HILTON’S CUSHIONS (left and below right) aren’t meant for kids. “I’m sure they would rather be playing than thinking about home furnishings!” says she, making a very good point. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t perfect for children’s rooms. Their combination of quirky and humorous (plus quintessentially English - all those super bright hues and British motifs are inspired by pop art and punk), with simple cut out shapes and brilliant colours, means they will bring any rather dull child’s room to life.
Younger ones may or may not get the slightly subversive air of the Queen’s profile or the Union Jack in anti-establishment colours (”I hate red and royal blue together, which is why I changed its colours,” explains Karen, who originally studied model making at Bournemouth. “When I did I realised I liked the flag design as a pattern on its own merit.”), but they’re likely to appreciate the joie de vivre of Karen’s handmade cotton and felt designs. Pictured cost from US$68 at Karen’s Etsy store.
JEWELLERY: …. And Old Lace
WE COULDN’T HELP but fall for French stylist Emma Cassi’s intricate, textile-based jewellery. For us (as seen on London-based Emma’s webshop - we are especially hankering after her gold lace bow corsages, and bead embroidered lace and silk ribbon necklaces), and her first collection for them (sold at Little Circus shop), from 35-50 Euros. Emma made her first piece for tiny ones when creating a christening bracelet for her goddaughter two years ago. She continued making wooden bead necklaces, like the one pictured left, until she finally formalised an entire collection for babies and girls earlier this year.
So if your little girl is going to wear jewellery, you can now make it the real deal in vintage lace embroidered with silver thread (on the bracelets for babies), glass or wooden beads, antique sequins, and vintage fabrics, all fastened with tiny mother of pearl buttons. Parfait.
*www.emmacassi.com. **See Emma’s son Anton’s bedroom here…
Posted 3 November 2008 in Textiles
TEN QUESTIONS, TEN ANSWERS: Absolute Zero Degrees on Mini Moderns
Together Mark Hampshire and Keith Stephenson of Absolute Zero Degrees, a graphic design outfit based in south London, produce Mini Moderns, a homesware label for kids with more than a little adult appeal too.
They have ridden the wave of the new market in children’s interior design, and have become, within 4 years of their launch, one of the world’s most inspiring design companies for children.
Mark, 41, (shown right in the picture on the left) from West Yorkshire, holds a degree in English literature and loves New York, Negronis and Radiohead. He dislikes red sports cars. Keith, 42, from North Yorkshire, has a degree in graphics, used to work with Wayne and Geraldine Hemingway at Red or Dead, and loves Autumn, gigs, The Festival of Britain, and the Amalfi Coast (ED: but then who doesn’t?). He hates prejudice, heights and laziness. Here they talk design, eco issues, and being online uncles to their growing legion of fans….
LittleBig: Most people turn to design for children when they have kids themselves, and become frustrated or disappointed at what is on the market. You don’t have that justification so what’s your reasoning for Mini Moderns?
Posted 25 October 2008 in Decor, Designer Profiles
TOP FIVE (ACTUALLY SIX): High Chairs
THE HIGH CHAIR seems to have become a vehicle for manufacturers and retailers to charge hundreds of pounds for what is usually a joyless and necessary purchase. (Where’s the fun in buying something that will end up daubed in dried food deposits?) The following are neither joyless, nor completely outrageously priced high chairs that seem to offer solutions to the hard-to-clean, unattractive, non-décor enhancing feeding chairs littering high street stores and homes. In fact our top marks go to Lula Sapphire’s K2 by Kuster - for its foldability, its detachable tray (not everyone has a dining table or wants to feed in the dining room), and mostly its price-point. Click on the pictures below to enlarge.
Best for Classicists and older kids: Stokke’s Tripp Trapp. Okay, so it’s a little ubiquitous now, but that’s because the Tripp Trapp goes with most decors, and lasts until your child, is ooh, an adult, if they’re so inclined. The down sides are having to buy separate accessories, which bumps up the price, and a lack of tray, which generally means more fallout on clothing and floors unless you have a table handy. Lovely new colours. From £115 - £165, Stokke, www.stokke.com; 0800 051 7036 (UK).
Posted 21 October 2008 in Eating / Drinking, Furniture
Organic PJs: Gossypium
FINDING NON-CARTOONY, non-itchy, non-nylon-y pyjamas is one of this writer’s holy grails. Once kids grow out of cutesy babygrows, they’re nigh on impossible to find. Certainly Nula Shearing of Noolibird, the Lewes-based textiles design company, whose mother Anne Kennedy originally founded the famous Clothkits DIY clothing brand in the 1970s, Read the rest of this article
Posted 8 October 2008 in Textiles
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