DIY with postcards!

A friend of mine have made these really nice pieces of art from postcards: Such an easy, beautiful (and cheap!) idea! These are postcards of book covers (she is an author and journalist). These specific postcards you can order from Amazon.com, but of sourse you can use any postcards you like.

Living Etc interior tour

The interior magazine Living Etc arranged an interior design tour of private homes around London Friday which a friend of mine was lucky enough to get tickets to –and invited me along!

In an area of London not precisely known for exquisite taste and glamour, was the most amazing house. I could move in and stay any day! Every room was decorated with carefully selected and sourced antiques, mixed with new modern funky things. Look at these very inspirational pictures!

 I actually have the small mirrors in my home too, they come from Umbra.

The wall paper below is actually hand made!

I would love to enjoy breakfast here!

The woman living here also had these shoes made of delicate fabric in a box,quite similar to the paper shoes I have, made by Jennifer Collier.

And here are my shoes made bu Jennifer Collier:

I went to eight other houses on the tour as well, but in most of them we were not allowed to take photos, and none of the houses were nearly as good as the one above.

Some more pics from the same house:

Would love to do this tour again next year!

Favourites of the Affordable Art Fair; In Battersea Park until Tomorrow!

Went for a quick visit to the Afordable Art Fair in Battersea Park yesterday and today. Here are my favourites!

At the gallerist Bernard Chauchet I found these delicate trees, about 20 cm tall, made by Lebanese artist Nayla Gabriel. They are made of thin wire and cut out tiny tiny leaves. The tree above has leaves made of flags, the one below is called "The Wealth Tree" and has leaves made of dollar bills.

You can also get a "generation tree" with names on all leaves. The leaves ón the ground symbolising passed generations. The dollar tree costs 2500 pounds. I´m not surprised since there are many many hours of work behind each tree. They were really beautilfully made, the detail and quality was amazing. When you get close to the tree the thin branches and delicate leaves starts to vibrate from your movements. Beautiful!

A very clear trend at the fair was hologram art work. This piece displayed in Hicks Gallery was my favourite, I would LOVE to own it!! Check it out, it´s a film: 

I WANT!

The super-cool Marilyn Monroe piece is made of Martin Richardson, the professor in Modern Holography at De Montfort University. It is very well made, it actually looks like you are watching a short film clip of Marilyn. If I would pick one piece to invest my money in at the fair, it would be this one, for sure!

Recycled and Upcycled exhibition in Chiswick

Visited one of my favourite shops today, The Old Cinema on 160 Chiswick High Road. It is a large place with loads of antique, really funky furniture. I want it all! Now and until Sunday 25th March they focus on not only recycled things, but UPcycled. Meaning upgrading and putting a modern edge to something old. Saw some lovely things, like Lucy Turners furniture. She laminates chests of drawers with mothern patterns. Looks really cool!

There was also a lot of furniture made of scrap metal, like old aeroplanes. Not sure I like it, but If you´re in to aeroplanes, I´m sure it´s fascinating. Here is an old emergency exit door that is now a mirror frame. Made by Stephen Burrows.

Andy Bridge metal art work

I just found a new artist I need to keep my eyes on. Andy Bridge makes illustrations for book covers etc, but also makes really interesting original pieces in wood, metal and wire.

This is a shooting gallery with dictators and other "badies". If you shoot, they actually flip back, just like at the Fun Fair!

I really like this one, a Travel Box with all you can think of reminding you of your travels. Have not seen it in real life, so I´m not sure about the size, but if that passport is real size, the box would be quite big.

Art that makes me happy is the best art! Who would net get happy with a wheel of Fortune on the wall! You can actually spin it! 
Check out Andy Bridges other stuff at http://www.andybridge.com/

Glass Cathedrals

"Sweet dreams"

detail:

I think art should make you happy. It should be inspiring to look at, over and over again, and preferably have some humour. One artist i really-really like who´s art ticks all my boxes is Lisa Swerling. She found "her thing", and her thing is making beautiful glass boxes made with love and humour. Or as she puts is herself: "Lisa Swerling’s Glass Cathedrals are a series of artboxes containing brilliant tiny worlds, each making their own small statement on our complicated lives."

"Faith in Superglue"

Detail:

I bought "The Night Job"a couple of years ago:

Detail:

And this one would be great as a wedding gift:

It is customisable; haircolour, gender, age, children. letters etc can be of your choice.

Take a look at Lisa Swerlings web page: http://glasscathedrals.com/

In case of dullness, blow.

Robert Ryan is cutting edge!

At the Affordable Art Fair a couple of years ago I came across some delicately cut paper artwork made by Robert Ryan. He is not only very good with the scissors; he also has a very nice way with words, very romantic!

He has a studio and shop in East London, on Colombia Rd. His shop is only open weekends, just like the beautiful flower market on Colombia Rd. At the shop you can get cushions, postcards, tiles, mugs etc with his prints. They make the perfect gift for Valentines day or why not for Mothers day coming up soon!

I don´t own any original work, but I did frame two laser cut post cards in an IKEA-frame. Not an original, but it looks good for a fraction of the price!

Pregnant? Tell your partner in a different way!:

...And a different message..:

For more info on Robbert Ryan visit http://www.misterrob.co.uk/ or his blog at http://ryantownshop.blogspot.com/

The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt in London

Go for a Charity Art Egg Hunt in London! There are over 200 large hidden eggs all over London, each one about 50cm tall and designed by a different creative person/artist/designer. I was in town yesterday, and saw some really nice ones. It´s a lovely way to spend a couple of hours! The egg hunt is spread all over London and divided into 12 zones. Get the map for your chosen area here. If you fall in love with a particular egg, you can place a bid for it in the charity auction on line (rangeing from 300 pounds upwards).

 Here is how it works: http://vimeo.com/37750418