Artwork · gilhoolie loves... · Inspiration

gilhoolie loves… printmakers

Okay, so I don’t have any new year’s resolutions as such but I do know that I want to be more creative again this year. I’m reading a positivity book for my ‘other job’ and one of the things that I liked the sound of was doing more activities that give you ‘flow’. They can be anything you enjoy doing that help you escape and lose yourself. So it could be walking, drawing, swimming, writing, knitting, reading, or even work if you’re really lucky! For me I really escape when I’m drawing, or making a lampshade, or teaching a workshop or doing some machine embroidery, or writing this blog. So that’s why I intend to do more of these things in 2014.

Sometimes it’s just hard finding the time to be creative, but I thought I’d start with a look at my favourite printmakers to get some inspiration. I already have a piece of lino and some tools so I’ll be having a go really soon, it’s just deciding what image to print – always my stumbling block (that and aiming too high to start off with – I want to be as good as these straight away, wow, I love them!!)

I think there’s a common theme in terms of subject and colours I seem to be drawn to which is good, now my turn… (You can get to all the links for these via my Pinterest page).

Inspiration

Happiness message in every tub…

Last week I opened an ice-cream tub to discover a message inside the lid that kind of summed up my first week back making lampshades after a long summer break.

So there I was, eating my ice-cream and apple and blackberry pie with the family, when I read:

“The three grand essentials to happiness in this life are: something to do, something to love and something to hope for” (by Joseph Addison, born in 1672)

Joseph Addison

Okay, so it’s not just making lampshades that makes me happy but after a glorious summer holiday my first week back couldn’t have been better. In amongst catching up with friends, I made and posted off a lampshade at the beginning of the week for a company who make kids curtains (Kids Curtain Company). Then, after making the most of the last day of summer, I made two beautiful silk drum lampshades for a client in Maidenhead. It’s always nice to hand lampshades over in person and Gill was thrilled with her lampshades as she had struggled to find some to match her newly decorated lounge. The butterscotch coloured 100% silk she chose matched the curtains and finished off the room a treat (the photo doesn’t do them justice, they were gorgeous!)

User comments

So, I’m really looking forward to more lampshade making and I know I’m incredibly lucky to do something that makes me happy. Oh, and I’m wondering when I can buy another tub of ice-cream to discover another happiness message inside! 🙂

 

Inspiration

Whistle-stop Home visit…

I managed a really quick visit to Home at Earls Court yesterday and thought I’d share some of my favourite finds with you. There were certainly lots of talented people exhibiting; very inspiring indeed!

Look out for website links after the images so you can go and see for yourselves. Enjoy…

Website links: Kauniste, Skandium, SCP, Bob & Brace, New House Textiles, Another Country, Sarah Heaton, Anorak, Gray & Turner, Natasha Lawless, Mibo, Mary Kilvert, Jessica Hogarth, Isak, Maxine Sutton

Inspiration

Hello 2013!…

It’s time to look back at the last twelve months at gilhoolie and make some real plans for 2013. Sometimes I can’t believe some of the events below only happened a matter of months ago and I have to say, I’m really looking forward to more fun and learning in the next twelve months.

So, goodbye 2012, when gilhoolie (kind of in order)…

gilhoolie in 2012

1. …drew lots of retro kitchen drawings that I later machine embroidered onto tea-towels; I still have my favourite ones on display in my kitchen and you can buy them on etsy

2. …learnt how to make hand-stitched lampshades at Homemade London. I was taught by the very lovely and incredibly talented Angela Constantinou from Cocoon Home. I think this was a real turning point for me in terms of where I wanted gilhoolie to go…

3. …taught my first lampshade workshop which was featured in From Britain With Love coursenotes. I now teach regularly at Make & Do in Caversham and will be teaching at Hands on Art Adventures in Old Windsor this year too. I taught a lot of 1-2-1 lampshade lessons at my house in Maidenhead in 2012. I love it; it’s so nice to be with other people and see their faces light up when a lampshade comes together looking beautiful!

4. …felt ready to change my logo to represent what I wanted to do with gilhoolie. I still like it a lot, luckily, it’s very me!

5. …dabbled with machine embroidery a bit more, to give my drawings another dimension – I really want to do more of this soon…

6. …made my first big hand-stitched lampshade commission for an Interior Designer in Maidenhead. This was very exciting, if a little nerve-wracking but it turned out amazingly after an awful lot of hard work and dedication…

7. …made lampshades from wallpaper and comic books including Tintin and Spiderman…

8. … drew lots and lots of house pictures for various people – more on those soon…

And hello 2013 when gilhoolie plans to…

…make a collection of big hand-stitched lampshades to sell on my website

…improve my website to make it more professional but carry on blogging too

…continue working with Interior Designers to make beautiful lampshades that match a room design

… do more of the following – drawing, teaching, sewing, machine embroidery, decorating my house

… learn a new skill – can’t wait for my crochet workshop at Make & Do later this month!

So you see, still lots to do and lots to learn in 2013, Happy New Year everyone!

gilhoolie loves... · Inspiration

gilhoolie loves lampshades and… Bath

Just thought I’d share with you some gilhoolie loves from my recent, extra special birthday visit to Bath (thank you James xxx)…

I love Bath…

1. I was over the moon to discover Atmosphere Bath on Broad Street an amazing fabric shop with an incredible range of quality French and Belgian fabrics

2.  A new find this time; if you have a couple of hours to spare for cocktails during happy hour, there’s a great atmosphere at Pulp on Monmouth Street and they do cocktail mixing lessons too

3. For me, a trip to Bath isn’t complete without a meal at the scrummy Demuth’s vegetarian restaurant on North Parade Passage – they run cookery lessons too

4.Tired from all that shopping? Then have a well-deserved rest, a cuppa and some cake at the lovely Society Cafe on Kingsmead Square

5. What a treat to stay right in the centre of Bath, at the stylish, boutique Harringtons Hotel on Queen Street, loved it, especially when my feet were aching from all that shopping!

6. I’ve heard a lot about the ever so crafty Makery Emporium in Northumberland Place – so it was great to visit at last, crammed full of fabrics, buttons, trimmings and more, be prepared to spend lots!

Inspiration

Anyone 4 tea?…

Birthdays come and go but I wanted this year’s to be special and it really was, not because we did anything flash, more because we kept it simple and everything fell into place. (Plus it was a ‘significant birthday’ but we won’t say any more about that, the clues in the heading…)

We decided to catch the train into town for a spot of shopping. I have to say, it was a very successful trip for the following reasons:

  1. I bought a new outfit to wear when we go out to dinner with friends on Saturday within the first half an hour! I was very happy
  2. Followed by a quick browse round Liberty to look at their lovely wares, always puts a smile on my face
  3. Then, after wandering around lots of amazing (and one slightly dodgy!) side streets, a scrumptious lunch at a veggie cafe in Soho called Beetroot – even if you’re not veggie you should give it a go, very yummy food and lots of it!
  4. Next I realised (doh!) we were on Berwick Street – lots of incredible fabric shops, so of course I had to have a look in those too. I just had a search for some information on them and came across a lovely blog called Tilly and the Buttons – makes me want to make my own clothes, I definitely need a morning to read this more over a cuppa and take the plunge!

That was all in the space of a few hours – pretty impressive eh?! I love it when a day turns out that way, especially if its a special occasion too!

All of the above was during school hours (including the train journey to London and back!) and of course was followed by yummy home-made birthday cake at home with the boys and several visits from lovely friends, what a day… and more surprises to come on Friday and the weekend, am a tad excited…

Anyway, here is a collage of just a few of the best bits from my day and things that caught my eye along the way. Thank you to everyone who made it special in every way! (Do I sound like a cheesy birthday card?!)

My birthday board

1. Miho’s quirky and decorative range of wall-mounted deer heads and bird houses in Liberty

2. Felicity Hall contemporary needlepoint kit to make a clutch bag (in Liberty) – never seen these before and I don’t think I have the patience but they’re rather nice

3. Kate Spade New York coasters – how cute

4. My birthday cake – lovingly made by James and the boys – didn’t last long!

5. Absolutely beautiful Danish cross-stitch picture made by Auntie (!) Tina – really chuffed to get a hand-made present

6. Lisa Stickley make-up bag from James – love the pattern and the colours too

Inspiration

Handmade in Britain12

Last Friday I visited Handmade in Britain with a friend. I’ve never been before so it was good to go and have a nose around (and visit Heal’s and the Conran Shop afterwards!) I have to admit, I didn’t see that many stalls I was really drawn to but here are a few I did like.

We came across Anya Keeley’s work towards the end of the visit; always good to save the best until last as her work is stunning. We stood and stared for a few minutes, always a good sign I think. It’s hard to explain what she does but her website says:

A compendium of curious creatures & whimsical wonders discovered during explorations and adventurings. Prepare to be bewildered, bamboozled & beguiled. Here you will find mischievous mammals, botanically bemusing birds, frolicsome fairies, mesmerising mermaids & much much more. All specimens are one-off artefacts using wire, reclaimed and found objects.

We were both really mesmerised by her duck sculpture but I can’t find any images of it so here’s a picture of Henry the Puffin instead, isn’t he adorable?!

Henry the Puffin by Anya Keeley

As usual there were a few lampshades dotted around, nothing inspiring unfortunately, although I did like Offkut’s bare bulb lights for their simplicity.

Offkut corset cage light

In terms of textiles, I really liked the colours and style of this print by Michele Oberdieck.

Michele Oberdieck fabric – like the chair too!

Oh, and the embroidery on Ekta Kaul’s cushions (this one is a section of a map of Chelsea) and you can buy it from Miratis.com:

Ekta Kaul Chelsea map cushion

Finally, just because I love looking at old buildings, I thought the architectural models by Chisel & Mouse were pretty clever, especially the one of the Art Deco Hoover Building in London.

Hoover Building by Chisel & Mouse

We did see some lovely jewellery too and were particularly tempted by a ring by Sonia Cheadle, shame they start at £25,ooo!!!

gilhoolie loves... · Inspiration

gilhoolie loves lampshades and…tea

midwinter tea cup and saucer
My latest find…

Lately, I find it hard to walk past a charity shop or antique shop without having a look to see if they have any vintage crockery worth getting my hands on. I recently bought some 1960’s Midwinter china. I really love the colour and simple lines, I just need to find a display cabinet now to show it all off.

So, this week it’s all to do with tea and some of my favourite things…

gilhoolie loves lampshades and... tea!
gilhoolie loves lampshades and… tea!

1. Tea-towel from Skinny laMinx (one of my favourite textile designers) 2. I’m not sure who this is by but I just liked the relaxed drawing style 3. Tea-cup covers by Lucy Anne Harding 4. Handz Art for Kitchen poster picturing a Stig Lindbergs Bersa tea pot          5. Family Favourites tea-towel by Charlotte Farmer (really like her drawing style)             6. Hand-painted teapot from Room for Emptiness (love the simplicity) 7. Vintage cups and sugar bowl from Kiteless (sold unfortunately)

gilhoolie loves... · Inspiration

gilhoolie loves lampshades and…chevrons

I’ve been meaning to start a regular picture feature on my blog for a long time where I can just post some images with links of things I like and that inspire me. So here it is. Not much chat, just lovely pictures.

Starting with chevrons – I don’t know why I like this simplest of patterns so much and I’m not sure I would be brave enough to have anything too bold in my house but I’m always drawn to them (and these colours, I’ve realised). See what you think…

gilhoolie loves... chevrons
gilhoolie loves… chevrons

1. Creativity takes courage art print from Bubby and Bean on etsy 2. Yellow chevron purse from Oktak on etsy 3. Laugh, dance, sing, love art print from Vint Print on etsy   4. Chevron print pear art from DigitalCS on etsy 5. Ipod covers from Plum Street Prints 6. Chevron bag from Cindymars7 on etsy 7. Chevron utensils eat art print from Paperfinch Design on etsy 8. Chevron painted floor from House Beautiful 9. Cool tights from Lottie Loves blog