festive fair finds!

ahhhhh...today is the first saturday in about a month where i'm not either at a Christmas fair or planning for my next one! i'm still in bed and it's delightful (except for the fact i have a nasty cough and cold). i enjoyed all of my markets (for different reasons!) and wanted to share some of the work of the amazing designers i met whilst exhibiting across the last 3 weeks.

Made In Clerkenwell

i was located in the basement but i was surrounded by 10 other fantastic designer-makers with a great selection of goods. 

i have a soft spot for ceramics and instantly fell in love with Sally McGill's new collection - bold blue and coral on white...right up my street!

another great selection of ceramics were on offer from my show neighbour Jane Sarre - i'm always a sucker for that olive colour, and putting it on beautiful vases...well, i'm not sure how i resisted! 

and of course Katie Victoria was my very lovely and very Welsh neighbour for the show. gorgeously bright and bold knitted scarves, cushions and a rather lovely bobble hat i had my eye on all show!

East London Design Show

hosted for the second year at the Truman Brewery there were over 100 stands selling homewares, jewellery, prints, furniture and...ping pong games!

the stand to catch my eye the most was from the lovely Winter's Moon, a combination of mid-century finds and new retro inspired prints on an array of homewares - my ultimate weakness!

i caught up with Sophie Home who i first met at the Wimbledon Art & Design Fair earlier this year, once gain selling her yummy geo knits

winner of the Best Stand was Reclectic, a company that sources vintage furniture to hand paint with imagery inspired by that era. we happened to be opposite so could gaze at it all day!

The StockMKT

i'll be honest - this was by far my favourite market - the atmosphere was just amazing and the dj's and live Voodoo Love Orchestra were bloody fantastic! the first time it has been held at Spitalfields but it went down a treat.

now unfortunately i was so caught up in the dancing that i didn't actually take any photos! but probably a good thing otherwise i'll end up giving away some of the Christmas presents i have bought people!

christmas delights

i was very lucky this christmas and was spoilt by my friends and family. i got lots of lovely things - some crafty items, some designer maker goodies and i even found some vintage treats for myself. i thoughts i'd share some with you...

...a couple of days before christmas i discovered a vintage shop and OMGoodness what a lot of finds! some fabric, a nice new blankie, belts, and a special war time edition of monopoly complete with cardboard counters and wooden pieces...awesome!...

...a lovely Charley Harper calendar to see me through 2014...

...my new Orla Kiely folder, my new Ellen Giggenbach cushion, and my secret santa gift - a bird whistle in a house to hold my keys which also doubles as a whistle!...

...but i think my favourite present must be my two Holly Sharpe prints...just need to get some lovely frames to put them in now...

...i also got the Orla Kiely 'Home' book, a tribal print scarf, and some flowery PJs from Thailand...love it all, so lucky - thank you everyone!!

...oh and pre-xmas i sent off lots of lovely cards from a selection of designers - Elle Jane Designs, Jessica Hogarth, Jo Clarke, and Hello Paper Moon...

i hope you all had a WONDERFUL christmas whatever you may have done and now looking forward to celebrating everything good from 2013 and are ready to welcome lots of exciting new things in 2014...see you there!

a perfect village wedding!

my best friend got married a couple of weeks back - hoorah!  'twas a delightful day and the perfect wedding for her and her new hubby. i wanted to share with you a few snaps from the day of all the lovely decor, flowers, dresses, cake, and of course stationery...

my brief was to produce a 'save the date' and invitation for a spring village wedding. (note: this later grew to an 'order of service' and thank you cards!). tea and cake imagery needed to play a part as there was going to be a pre-wedding-ceremony get together in the village hall with lots of delicious baked goods and vintage tea cups for a good brew. 

my 'save the date'

...and here's my invitations (2 x double sided postcards):

so the day started somewhat differently with the tea & cake reception and as it was such a lovely day weather wise we actually got to enjoy it outside on the haystacks. the bride and the 2 bridesmaids (myself and the brides sister) had mismatched floral print dresses made especially for us by soho mode...they were beautiful!

our beautiful bridesmaid (and pre-wedding) dresses

the ceremony itself was just lovely - a simple and relaxed church wedding with the most adorable flower girl! 

the last page of the 'order of service'

on the topic of flowers, alice has asked if i could do her bouquets and button holes being that i had taken a floristry course. i jumped at the opportunity - we were going to pick lots of flowers from blooming green flowers and make some beautiful accessories. then i realised it had actually been 6 years since my course and got a bit nervous...

...but it all turned out a-ok! ta-dah!

yellow for the boys to match their ties and socks

tulips, ranunculus, and ummm...other pretty flowers

and then it was back to the village hall for further celebrations, photos and of course the food and dancing! it was decorated in almost 100 paper lanterns in the colours of the all important colour palette (and to think, some people actually didn't understand the importance of the colour palette. tsk tsk...that's pain to a designers ears!!)

lots of yummy cakes baked by guests for the pre-wedding tea  & cake 

and then it was all over [insert sad face]. i received my very pretty 'favour' of a pansy in a vintage teacup (with matching saucer and tea plate) and 'thank you' spoon'. and i have just had my thank you card through the post (in normal circumstances this would have been a lovely surprise but as i designed them i knew it was coming!!) 

my beautiful 'favour'

a 'thank you' from me to them and Back again

as a last note i might as well take this opportunity to get a little shameless self promo in - if anyone is interested in wedding stationery please do get in touch - mail@melsmithdesigns.com

ta-ta for now!

guest blog from decorque - post 2 . . . emerald green!

welcome to the first blog post of 2013 on mel smith designs! but i'm still in holiday mode so we have someone else providing the work (hehe!)... today the post is brought to you by decorque, their second guest blog post here...read on!

Hello again, we are delighted to be continuing our partnership with the fabulous Mel Smith Designs, and cannot believe this is our second post already.

One of the hottest topics last year in the design world was Emerald Green 17-5641 being chosen as Pantone’s colour of year 2013. So our post is on this “Lively. Radiant. Lush” colour which according to Pantone is a “colour of elegance and beauty that enhances our sense of well-being, balance and harmony”.

In Ancient Rome it was the colour of Venus the goddess of love and beauty, and today it still has a special position in many cultures and religions. It is the Holy colour of Islam and is featured on the flags of many countries, as a symbol of unity and faith.

The gemstone Emerald has always been a favourite of ours due to its luxurious and sophisticated appearance. Its faint bluish tint compliments colours such as mustard, turquoise, cream and plenty of other green hues. Its intensity never fades as it has a quality of freshness that remains interesting to the eye.

Emerald appears in trends from interiors, to fashion and stationery. Visual inspiration and sources have allowed us to create this rich, opulent and varied mood board, showcasing the colours presence on bright cut glass, in fabrics and it’s use in patterns, such as our Tropically Toucan Art Print or Tropical Leaf placemats.  Emerald can make a statement on its own as the main, or an accent colour, combined with lighter tones it defines and strengthens creating statement designs.

Where ever Emerald is used, it is clearly a powerful and universally appealing colour, its versatility translating into any market. So the question is, will you be including the “Harmonious Emerald" in your interiors or wardrobe this season?

Links:

Main site link: http://www.decorque.com/

Blog site link: http://blog.decorque.com

Twitter link: @decorque

Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/Decorque

Pinterest link: http://pinterest.com/decorque/

Moodboard image references/links:

Emerald Green Cut Glass Jar via Pinterest 

Emerald Accents via Pinterest

Pantone Swatch via The Design Tree

Trends We love: Emerald Green by Layla Grayce on The Backroom Blog

Tropical Forest Plastic Placemats by Decorque

Vintage Australian Stamp 

Ting Seat Belt Cushion 

Emerald Green Ikat fabric via Elle Décor 

Teacup colour by Design Seeds

Donna Karen Atelier by Style Caster 

Emerald tones by Of Beauty & Love 

Emerald Green references via Design Magnifique

Tropically Toucan Art Print by Decorque 

Feeling Green Colour Inspiration for Sitting Room via Signet Rings & Preppy Things

A Colour Story by Magnolia Rouge

Lives Less Ordinary Green Glass Decanters 

'last stop christmas shop' at spitalfields market

hello all, i hope you've all had a fabulous christmas with family and friends, eaten loads and shared lots of gifts!

i thought i'd share with you all a quick post in my second spitalfields market experience...

i met michele conroy of THE LAUGHING BUTTERFLY at my last spitalfields stall in october and decided to join her for the 'last stop christmas shop' market on 22nd december. we met at 9:15 and struggled down the street with all of our goods, we were in good spirits eager to get set up. but uh-oh. our name isn't on the list when we arrive. there's been a mix-up and we are told we have to wait until all the stalls but one are taken and then 'that must be ours'.

i don't think so.

we end up waiting for close to one hour to be given a stall and the have to wait for a table top as spitalfields have apparently run out! anyhoo, we finally get set up after a few more difficulties and away we go!

the market was adorned with lots of christmas decorations to bring the festive spirit out, the only thing missing was some christmas tunes to sing along to. we couldn't play our own so the next best thing was to crack out the Xmas hat...

and then down came the rain!

it wasn't as busy as we had hoped it would be but there was a steady crowd. a good mixture of products sold as well, no one standing out more than any others - earrings, gift-cards, hair pins, magnets...

 

i went for a few little trips around the market and found lots of glorious things...

i shared my stall with michele conroy of THE LAUGHING BUTTERFLY, great company throughout the day and she had lots of variety to her stall. but her most popular item was - by far! - the scrabble cufflinks...

i was back-to-back with POLLY PURL gorgeous handmade jumpers and scarves with lots of christmassy designs...

also in our little block was a lovely lady selling lots of vintage stamps reused to make quirky earrings and necklaces. but i have misplaced her business card and can't remember her brand name...doh! if anyone knows can you let me know so I can add here in please!

i met ANNA WISCOMBE again and got to drool over her beautiful wooden birds and owls. they are just delightful...as is she!

it was my most successful market so far (hoorah!) which was a lovely thing to end on right before christmas :) i think i may do more markets in the future, they are a great experience - even just the wandering about and meeting like minded people is great...recommended to anyone who is thinking about doing one!

christmas a-z . . . Z!

Z is for...ZIB TEXTILE
supercool leggings are on offer in this store - cute characters pretty florals or funky geos will give you amazing legs!

Z is for...ZINNIA DESIGNS TC
simple but fun designs fill this shop including lots of christmassy decorations and accessories...but i think the dog is my favourite :)

Z is for...ZOE MURPHY

and ending on my favourite find of the year. i first saw Zoe's work at tent. now i know furniture is not really a stocking-filler-type-gift but i had to share...but there are a few smaller gifts in her shop

and that's it...all done...phew! hope you enjoyed some of my finds and it inspired you to buy more handmade goods...have a merry christmas everyone!! x