Musical Interlude: "Small Hours"

Two years ago the music world lost of of their best. This is my opinion at least. It's not like when John Lennon or Michael Jackson died, there was no audible gasp of shock from around the world, there wasn't days of documentaries on the TV or anthologies played on the radio. It all happened remarkably quietly.

John Martyn, was a folk legend and an innovator for his use of delay and echo pedals. The musicians musician, who almost slurred rather than sang, died of double pneumonia on the 29th of January 2008. He was 60.

I say Martyn slurred. His vocals were expressive and emotional, often the lines melding together to create a unique sound somewhere between his folk roots and blues. However his life was plagued by alcoholism and drug abuse, leading to the breakdown of his marriage and eventual amputation of his right leg. It also changed his voice and added to the emotional delivery of songs such as Hurt In Your Heart. Music being his catharsis.

John Martyn's music has been in my life since I can remember. It's a major part of ever MP3 I have owned, every iTunes library I've created and mixtape I've made for my friends to listen to. I'm not trying to be morbid celebrating the anniversary of his death. It was purely coincidental that when I was on his website a few days ago, looking for lyrics, I noticed that the date was a year before I started my blog. So just for you guys, I've made a playlist on Spotify which I think I've worked out how to share with you! If you don't have Spotify, there is a list below, YouTube the songs because they are wonderful.

John Martyn Playlist:

1. Small Hours

2. Hurt In Your Heart

3. I'd Rather Be The Devil (Devil Got My Woman)

4. Solid Air

5. Cocaine

6. Sweet Little Mystery

7. Glory Box

8. Goodnight Irene

9. Run Honey Run

10. Rolling Home

11. One For The Road

12. Couldn't Love You More

13. Head And Heart

14. Dancing

15. Back To Stay

16. The Man In The Station

17. You Don't Know What Love Is

18. May You Never

19. Fairy Tale Lullaby

20. Certain Surprise

Listen to his music and make up your own minds, but for all his faults - stropping out of gigs being a regularity - his music is wonderful.

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Listening: John Martyn - Small Hours

Happy 1st Birthday Blog!

Today is Snow in a Teapot's 1st Birthday!

One year on, I have:

...posted a pathetic 139 times and have apologised for not posting in 138 of them.

...blethered, babbled and rambled my way through every post.

...created 24 mood boards.

...redecorated my front page 3 times.

...made it snow whilst whinging about the snow.

...gained 15 lovely followers.

...lost 1 (but that'll teach me to post more often.)

So, this is Happy Birthday to Snow in a Teapot and thank you to everyone who's stuck around thus far. You are fantastic people for putting up with my sporadic posting methods and rambled comments on design.

Now I have twelve months to up my game! Maybe this time next year I'll be back up to 15 followers! Or maybe if I'm really lucky a couple more.

Love,

Em x

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Listening: The Beatles - Birthday

Monday Mood Board: Peach, Gold & Teal

Row 1: Home is Where the Bag is by Jo Meesters via Velvet Palette,

Origami by Calexico7,

Confetti System's Studio via Artessen

Row 2: Iridescent and Bronze Glitter via Pinterest,

Sparkles via Bijou and Boheme

Admittedly I was at a bit of a loss for inspiration for Monday's mood board*. I've been trying to give myself a more inspiring space, i.e. I've been tidying/rejigging my room so I can actually think rather than just switch off to ignore the mess. So initially, as I'd resurrected my lava lamp, I considered basing a board on a Bokeh photo of the glitter lava lamp variety, thus explaining the two images at the bottom. The lamp image however looked rubbish in the mix, so I decided on what we have, Peach, Gold and Teal. An odd mix perhaps, but it's actually quite a pretty combination.

You may have noticed these mood board are all rather colour based. I've always been kind of obsessed with colour. Maybe it's the dyslexics hatred of black and white, or the fact that I am drawn to the bright colours, but it's always something my jewellery has lacked. Despite resins and enamels being an option, I've never really embrace my colourful side. So maybe these will give me a little incentive.

I also love the image of Confetti System's studio, the photos I've seen of it - a few I may post once I've lurked around their site a bit - show a really busy, bright and joy filled studio. Which reminds me of uni. Apart from the fact that it's missing the panic, but I'm almost certain it's there. It's the kind of studio I would like to work it, so maybe I need to go into full on window design or making decorations.

Sorry for being a bit lacklustre again, like I said I've been trying to sort my room and the most progress I make, the more mess I'm making. Plus windows and more knitting for more windows. Fun.

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Listening: Howie Day - Collide (Acoustic Version)

*Incidentally, I keep calling them Monday Mood boards even on Tuesday or Wednesday purely so if someone searches for them on here they'll all appear. Also it means that my LinkWithin widget actually groups four of them at the bottom which looks pretty. When I don't add the Monday they don't appear. Which shouldn't bother me but it does a bit.

Monday Mood Board: Yellow & Charcoal

Column 1:

Sasha from Liebling Shoes,

Mia Maestro by Robert D'Este,

Column 2:

DIY Love Headboard by House Tweaking,

They say, that you should be out on a plain field during a thunderstorm... by Philipp Klinger,

Column 3:

Cate Blanchett via Pinterest

Owl Wall Hanging by KitschCafe

Cobbles by Dave Gorman

Yellow and Charcoal is a colour combination I am currently rather obsessed with. I keep seeing the two flung together in textiles and clothing, homewares and home decorating. It's everywhere which means it's either been in vogue or is about to come into it. Needless to say I think it's a damn pretty combination.

Happy Monday!

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Listening: Billie Holiday - I'm A Fool To Want You

Musical Interlude: "Limit To Your Love"

"Limit To Your Love" by James Blake...which is being obsessively played around the house at the moment.

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Listening: James Blake - Limit To Your Love

Cuppa Luck

Tea Set meets Scratch Card, for those of us who can't resist scratching off that silver surface.

Cuppa Luck is a concept design by Jo Westrop and it plays on the randomness of chance and the excitement people feel at playing scratch cards. Each piece of the tea set has an unknown pattern lurking beneath the silver scratch-off coating, which includes an eclectic mixture of patterns inspired by British culture.

Westrop's design work is based on escaping the confines of what she considers 'safe' minimalist design via the use of serendipity. Therefore if you're lucky, you end up with a design which you like on the tea sets actual surface, if you're unlucky, one you don't, and in the end everything is left up to fate.

Takes out the dilemma of choosing a pattern at least!

Off out to sweep up last nights snow. Please let this be the last for at least a little while.

Link - Jo Westrop

via - Urban Taster

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Listening: The Maccabees - Toothpaste Kisses

Monday Mood Board: Macro Snowflakes

Row 1: Snow flakes BW by Yamiyalo, Snow Macro by Shannon Bjorgaard,

Macro Snowflake by Kitty_and_Bear

Row 2: Snowflakes by Sindarelf, SnowFlake by Karl Wagner, .snowflakes. by Candymax

Row 3: Fresh Snow by Sam Javanrouh, Single Snowflake by Erica Marshall

It still amazes me that this is what snowflakes look like close up. I even read how to preserve them using microscope slides and superglue. [Tutorial]

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Listening: James Blake - Limit To Your Love

Monday Mood Board: Star Light

Row 1: You were brighter than the stars in the sky: explored! by Kelly Webster,

Sequin Wallpaper by Tracy Kendall, Stars by Gaiakiyarae

Row 2: ! by Bonjour Celine!, Stars...Stars...Stars... via Pinterest, Glass Glitter Stars by MemrieMare

Row 3: Star Gazing by Kittyrogers, New Years Eve Glam via Pinterest, Hanging Stars via Pinterest

Had an odd thing happen last night. I was lying in bed, trying to get to sleep and noticed that the little battery operated star lights I bought at Christmas were randomly flashing on and off. It was only very dimly, but I swear they were off and still flashing. It's very distracting watching for little stars flashing in the dark as you try and sleep...which means I keep glancing up to see if it's still happening.

I'm going to post two boards tonight, the reason being as I was looking for star imagery I kept coming across pictures of snowflakes and since we've got more looming overhead I thought I'd throw something together as they do have a very star-like quality.

Doubt we'll be seeing stars for a while.

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Listening: Alexi Murdoch - Orange Sky

Brain The Size Of A Planet...

Oh. My. God.

Mü-bot headphones - Marvin the Paranoid Android as headphones! This has made my day!

Thank you Google image search for finding this. A little robot who you can clip onto your clothes and pull his little arms out, which, instead of being used as a fake gun à la Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (2005), turn into the headphones.

I wonder if he'd complain: Here I am, brain the size of a planet, and they ask me to play music. Call that job satisfaction, 'cause I don't.

Yeah. Miserable git probably would.

via - Besnob

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Listening: James Vincent McMorrow - Wicked Game

Not On The Walls

When I was little I was given two books, one called "Emily's Paintbox" the other "Emily & the Purple Paint". Both you can probably deduce involve little girls called Emily who like paint and you just know that that can only spell trouble.

In Emily's Paintbox, Emily goes around painting everything! Walls, houses, trees, animals and then decides when everything else is done, to mix all the colours together and paint the sun black. And everything goes dark until it begins to rain.

In Emily and the Purple paint a similar plot line occurs. Emily doesn't want to go to nursery school, but is interested in the paint the other children are playing with. So mummy makes red, yellow and blue paint and Emily decides to mix them into a beautiful purple colour...then mummy turns her back for a little too long and a trail of incriminating hand, feet and nose prints lead to Emily who now can't get the purple off her nose.

The reason I bring these up is that the moral of the stories is that you shouldn't paint where you're not supposed to. So this Slastic Coat Rack allows us as adults to disregard the moral, as well as everything our mothers once told us not too when it comes to drawing on the walls. Designed by Ana Mir and Emili Padros for Made in Design, every time to deposit a piece of clothing or a bag onto the coat rack another series of pencil markings are made on the wall, the weight of the item obviously determining the spread of the design.

But if you have kids...wouldn't this encourage them to draw on the walls?

Just a thought.

via - Urban Taster

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Listening: Dario Marianelli - Come Back

Tapi Tap

Tapi by Dreamfarm is a curiously simple little design. Just a little rubber funnel to slip over the end of your tap, which turns it into something incredibly useful - a drinking fountain.

It's that dilemma, how do you have a drink out of the tap without getting a glass, without cupping your hands and impersonating a cat and without that awful hunched over moment where you try and get a drink straight from the tap, without letting your hair get wet or water boarding yourself?

Okay, so most of us manage it. We occasionally get water everywhere, soak our hair or clothes or get it up our noses, but generally we've worked out how to get around these issues. But who doesn't love a gadget which solves simple problems?

For something which resembles a cut of balloon or a little rubber udder, it's clever. All you need to do is pinch the base of the Tapi and the water explodes from an alternate hole at the top. Thus transformation from traditional tap to drinking fountain has happened. It's dishwasher safe, fits most straight spout taps and is made of water safe rubber which doesn't change the taste or colour of your water. So if it's coming out brown it's your water...don't drink it!

What's really good to see with Dreamfarm is that they use strictly reusable packaging and for every product sold they'll plant a tree to help towards offsetting CO2 production and replacing any materials they have to use. Which is nice.

Link - Dreamfarm

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Listening: Tim Minchin - Canvas Bags

On the 12th Day of Christmas...

...this blog gave to thee...

...twelve bands a playing...

...eleven creative spaces...

...ten words for reading...

...nine balloon dresses...

...eight resolutions...

...seven pretty shoesies...

...six party dresses...

...five gold rings!..

...four collared hangers...

...three Mad Men...

...two hedgehog gloves...

...and a house to dunk into your tea.

1. I Feel Better - Hot Chip

2. Go Do - Jonsi

3. Only Girl (In The World) - Rihanna

4. Fuck You - Cee Lo Green

5. Someone Like You - Adele

6. Time To Pretend - The Divine Comedy

7. Becoming a Jackal - Villagers

8. Radioactive - Kings of Leon

9. Stay Too Long - Plan B

10. Ivy & Gold - Bombay Bicycle Club

11. Heavy In Your Arms - Florence + The Machine

12. Bad Romance - Lady GaGa

Twelve song from last year, mostly released, a couple not yet but I heard them first last year...so to I thought I'd include them. I thought given the twelfth day is drummers drumming a few musical interludes might be appealing.

And that's it! The last day of my 12 days of Christmas. I think if I do it again next Christmas I'll start planning a little earlier, but I'll definitely do it again. Hell, if iTunes can manage it, I can.

Now the decorations are down, the tree has gone and all is returning to normal for another 12 months. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year and here we go, 2011 and a lot of resolutions to fulfil. Including lots more blogging!

Night Night.

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Listening: Plan B - Stay Too Long

On the 11th Day of Christmas...

...this blogger gave to thee...

...eleven creative spaces...

...ten words for reading...

...nine balloon dresses...

...eight resolutions

...seven pretty shoesies...

...six party dresses...

...five gold rings!..

...four collared hangers...

...three Mad Men...

...two hedgehog gloves...

...and a house to dunk into your tea.

Thought a few creative spaces might give some inspiration towards 2011's New Years Resolutions. Personally I'm liking lots of blackboards, inspiration washing lines, crate shelves and novel storage solutions such as clogs for knitting needles. But lots of good, inspirational clutter! Never let anyone tell you your work space is a mess, if it works for you, it just does. Though if it's genuinely just a mess, start the New Year properly and give it a tidy. If only to stop the comments!

Links below to take you to the bigger images:

Row 1:

A Little Blue... by Dottie Angel,

2006 Loft by GIGI Interior Design

005 by Sercollection

Row 2:

Leo Burnett Singapore Office by Ministry of Design

Egotistical Work Space via Pinterest

Random Chalk Board via Pinterest

Newlookstudio by Paula Mills

Row 3:

Inspiration by Victoria Smith

Colour my Workspace... via Pinterest

Open Studio Tour: A View of Paris with Memi The Rainbow via Etsy

Happy New Year! Part 12 and our final day of Christmas tomorrow...

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Listening: Call An Ambulance

Monday Mood Board: Pantone Colour of the Year

Row 1: Fitting The Nutcracker [...] by Kelli Jo, 6 by Coco+Kelley, Good Fortunes 3 by Sam Foley

Row 2: Sabine Villiard for Marie Claire via Dustjacket Attic, Tickle Me Pink by PJ Taylor Photo

.

It's been announced over the few days since the New Year that the Pantone colour of 2011 is Honeysuckle 18-2120. Can't say it's my favourite kind of pink, it's a little bit My Little Pony for me, however I thought it warranted a mood board to prove it can actually be very pretty.

As a note, it's actually a lot nicer a pink on my sisters Mac than my PC. Yes for once teeny I am agreeing that Mac's may have the upper hand.

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Listening: Peter Gabriel - Down to Earth (I missed Wall.E, so it's in my head)

On the 10th Day of Christmas...

...this blogger gave to thee...

...ten words for reading...

...nine balloon dresses...

...eight resolutions

...seven pretty shoesies...

...six party dresses...

...five gold rings!..

...four collared hangers...

...three Mad Men...

...two hedgehog gloves...

...and a house to dunk into your tea.

Okay, maybe not ten words, there's a lot more, however here are ten lovely cloth covered Penguin editions designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith.

Aren't they beautiful? Simple - though I admit not as simple as the Penguin classic cover which I am very much enamoured of - but they are elegant and understated and you've got to appreciate a repetitive dual tone pattern.

One of my pet hates is when they start using film and television art work to flog books. So it is genuinely nice to see covers which neither conform to the stereotypical artwork of simpering girls in bonnets, painterly scenes or the poster of whichever adaptation has most recently graced (or indeed disgraced) our screens. Why not keep it simple?

Bickford-Smith bases each of her designs on the same basic grid formation, a design element which would help unify the covers and create a recognizable in the 23 book series. This also allowed for the repeating motif to be a representative of individual title. For example, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde plays on the theme of vanity and superficiality, so the motif is a peacock feather, which is supposed to symbolise these qualities. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë on the other hand has a motif of a chestnut leaf, which refers directly to the Chestnut tree which was struck by lightening, and is a symbol of the relationship between Jane and Rochester throughout the book. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is covered in pink flamingos, which rotate and tumble down the length of the cover, representing the croquet mallets used in the Red Queens court and Alice's first descent into Wonderland. And Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is covered in scissors, showing the sacrifice Jo makes of "her one beauty" to earn enough money so her mother can travel to be with her ill father.

Each design motif either links directly to a symbolic part of the text, or the overriding theme of the book, though in many ways it is done so subtly that unless you've read it, may not be aware and merely think it was an attractive pattern. Which is no bad thing. Even if you don't enjoy the contents, the covers and spines all lined up neatly together on your shelves (as above) would give a degree of enjoyment.

Coralie Bickford-Smith was interviewed by Design*Sponge in October 2009. This interview gives an insight into her design process for these books, how she chose her patterns, colours and the process of binding. Certainly worth a read.

Happy New Year! Part eleven tomorrow...

Link - Coralie Bickford-Smith

via - Penguin Clothbound Classic via my sister, Sarah. Thanks love. x

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Listening: Will Young - Golden Slumbers

On the 9th Day of Christmas...

...this blog gave to thee...

...nine balloon dresses...

...eight resolutions...

...seven pretty shoesies...

...six party dresses...

...five gold rings!..

...four collared hangers...

...three Mad Men...

...two hedgehog gloves...

...and a house to dunk into your tea.

"Rie Hosokai is the worldy appreciated balloon artist. Her significant technique and exquisite sense of fashion were proven by winning the international balloon dress competition "Milleniumjam Fashion Award" two years in a row and many other major balloon art contests. She is the most desired artist performances continue to entertain men and women of all ages." - Rie Hosokai.com

I hadn't intended to post twice about dresses, however, I saw these and I was a little smittened.

Rie Hosokai aka Daisy Balloon is a creative designer who began her artistic career bending and twisting balloons into flowers, before graduating to full blown ball gowns. Hosokai's artwork is humorous and incredibly intricate despite the medium. Each gown is designed in such a way that should a rogue nail hit it or any element be pressed too firmly and burst, the integrity of the dress will remain and none of the other balloons be affected. But she is the first to admit it is a stressful and difficult medium, which she fell for whilst working as a florist when she was moved from flowers to balloons.

There's fate at work for you.

Happy New Year! Part ten tomorrow...

Link - Rie "Daisy Balloon" Hosokai

via - Design Fetish

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Listening: Regina Spektor - Us

On the 8th Day of Christmas...

...this blog gave to thee...

...eight resolutions...

...seven pretty shoesies...

...six party dresses...

...five gold rings!..

...four collared hangers...

...three Mad Men...

...two hedgehog gloves...

...and a house to dunk into your tea.

I've been debating what to post today. This being January 1st 2011. And in the end I've decided to go with a relatively obvious post and that is eight resolutions. In my head I usually make a few for myself, and this year I have done just that, but I'm hoping sharing some of them might make me more likely to uphold them. I've also thrown some in to do with my blog. So here they are:

1. Blog more. I expect you to hold me to that one! And badger me if I disappear.

2. Be a designer. In 2010, I let everything drop because from the very start of the New Year, I was depressed and let myself stop trying. Then not designing/making made me more miserable and when I'm miserable, apparently I can't design. Or at least not consistently or in my mind well. So that needs to stop. Might take a while, but hopefully resolution one will help this part.

3. Seriously consider moving my workshop to work. It came up just before Christmas and then again today...it's a serious possibility and would certainly benefit me during the winter. I've not been able to go out since the snow came as I can't get the temperature up. (I have some downed tools photos and a new piece to share post 12 days of Christmas.)

4. Start a sketchbook. Now and write, draw and stick things into it every day. It's time to be a visual journalist again and prove there's still a designers brain lurking in the darkness. It will help my design work, my research & my blogging. So there's three good reasons.

5. Write. It's weird. I always hated writing essays, until I was able to hone in on certain areas I was interested in. Not to say I didn't still hate writing essays, but I kind of miss it too. On my blog I have taken a very informal style to my writing, mostly because I wanted my blog to be approachable and friendly and about enthusing over design, craft etc rather than lecturing about it. But I do want to try and write in a more structured style too. Just to keep a toe in.

6. Get back in touch. Said depression/designers block I keep banging on about has pushed me towards life as a hermit and I've not been in touch with my friends much over the last six months to a year. I am a bad friend, but I feel a little more like me now.

7. Get a haircut! Just a personal one here, but it's been nearly two years since I last had it cut and while I like it long, and intend to keep it that way for a while. It's time to at least ditched the split ends. They're getting ridiculous!

8. Be Happy. I say this one every year. It's usually my only resolution. I go through phases as everyone does. But I feel happier at the start of 2011 than I did at the start of 2010. So maybe by this time 2012 I'll be happier again.

So that's it. And to all my lovely and patient readers I wish a very Happy New Year! Hopefully 2011 will be filled with successes and happiness and kept resolutions. Part nine tomorrow...

Kiss - Explored!!! via Flickr|Coopet Photography

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Listening: Death Cab for Cutie - The New Year