I start and end my day on Instagram scrolling, taking screen shots, emailing my latest finds to my designer, children and Stretch. Often I get no replies or at least not as quickly as I would like. ie THIS IS URGENT- DO YOU LIKE THIS CHAIR???

Sometimes they surprise me and do respond quickly, ie for the above:

No

Who needs to read about China and  Iran, when you can look at the latest in chandeliers and bookcases? It’s just a different kind of news.

Before I brush my teeth in the morning, I check to see what my new ‘friends’  are up to.

What’s Remy Renzullio posting? Ahh, rocking the rattan…

Where could this Voutsa wallpaper work (minus dog)?

Can I copy Connolly’s King’s Yellow?

Oh, what a glorious shade of pink!

Here she is working the Kyle Minogue look- design addicts are famous for going off piste.

And here’s our story –

the Insider’s Guide to London with a spotlight on design. You can never have too many chandeliers. Talk about a subject dear to my newly obsessed heart. I would have done it for free- which I basically did. Lol

When I visit people’s houses/apartments, I often ask to use the bathroom. Then I sneak off and take an ‘inspiration snap’. Again, my designer, children and Stretch are likely to get random photos from me 24/7 when I spot something I like.

A cool pink resin table? How did I not think of that?!

I sometimes write articles for regional magazine Connecticut Cottages & Gardens – basically looking at strangers’ pretty houses, a legitimate form of snooping. In one interview I fall in love with a woman’s jewel box of a house on Belle Island off Rowayton Ct. Sigh. I can so easily see myself in her big fluffy bed, waking up to views of  Long Island Sound. She tells me how she feels like she’s on a permanent vacation. I nod. That’s so what I need in my life right now.

Sometimes, she adds, she gets up in the morning and goes kayaking. I forget that I am meant to be interviewing this woman. Instead, I picture myself – maybe about ten years ago when I was more carefree and going outside didn’t involve 100 degree sun block, a huge floppy hat and a Sunbrella kaftan – anyway, I am  carefree and kayaking off into the horizon with suntanned, toned arms.  This house is so me.

Stretch called me the other day and found me in a state of bliss.

I have spotted the most gorgeous piece of material at Guy Goodfellow’s.  I’m going to make it into a throw and hang it on our living room sofa. Excuse me Miss, does this come in a wallpaper? God, this is great.

Stretch is a patient man. He must be hoping that when these projects are finished, I will return to the person he once knew- a person who read the newspaper, novels, had opinions about what was going on in the world beyond the current craze for all things rattan.

Maybe I’ll look for my local Interiors Anonymous group. Imagine all the other design addicts I will meet.  I promise we will NOT talk about the latest in chandeliers and bookcases.

May 2019

The post A Woman Obsessed appeared first on Elena Bowes.

Young Bright Things (YBT) which opened last night and runs until May 13th features ten artists – a mix of  sculptors,  jewellers,  graphic, textile and fashion designers. Above are Petra Palumbo, Annie Morris and Jordana Yechiel. Ages range from 19 year old potter Tancredi di Carcaci – who was influenced by a trip to Cordoba,  icons of the Virgin Mary and 18th c. Baroque decorations …

– to the cool and coquettish 32 year old shoe designer Charlotte Dellal. Mondrian, Lichtenstein and Picasso give Dellal’s Charlotte Olympia brand heels an arty kick . The painted velvet tote bag is also by  Charlotte Olympia.

All the works in the show are either one-off’s or limited editions for David Gill

W’s Contributing European Editor and curator of  YBT Gianluca Longo says the show is about craftsmanship.

I come from Italy and I love stuff that is hand-made with a lot of passion and history behind it.

He adds that the idea for the show came to him and gallery owner David Gill at a wedding.

David and I were at a wedding last year surrounded by young creatives. He said ‘Oh my God, I would love to have them all in my gallery’. And I said, ‘Why don’t we just do it? And that’s how it started.

Pretty straightforward? Only if you can overcome dealing with chilled millennials.

Oh, you need it now? imitates Longo of his relaxed participants. ‘But I’m skiing in Gstaad’ or ‘But I’m with my grandmother.’

Luckily, Longo prevailed, the artists delivered and the show looks fab.

Fresh-faced illustrator and textile designer Luke Edward Hall

created a dinner set for six inspired by Greek mythology …

Longo with Palumbo below who makes hand-painted inspired embroidery for her family label Tapisserie. She collaborated with artist Rhys Coren and designer Francis Sultana to make these stools below.

Longo with Tudor-mad jeweller Yechiel …

Yechiel’s JY Shields get a  Rock n’ Roll twist

I love the Tudor period, the court life, the richness, the extremities. They were so bling, these women with their outfits, their dresses and bodices. It was just so decadent…Shields are not only protective armour, but symbols of who you are and where you come from.

Or go for something softer, delicate and very wearable with Noor Fares’ delectable chains below …

If a modern take on a classical marble bust is your thing, Nick Hornby is your man….

Walk around the bust and observe the different profiles as they appear.

Going to a show of Post-Modernist works? Brazilian-American designer Alexander Lewis’s lilac PoMo sweater is  the one to don.

Be bold with this pigment stack sculpture by Annie Morris …

Or blow your friends away with a hand-blown sensual work by  French-Lebanese artist Flavie Audi …

April, 2016

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