Design Inspiration. Planet Stencil Library.

Liberty and Little Fish

I spent a lovely morning at Crystallized and The Crystal Lounge then crossed the street to sample the delights of Liberty. The windows were a visual feast.
This time I thought they had very much the same vibe as Rachel's yellow lounge on the top floor of our house. See what I mean?

  There were stencilled room sets inside the store. Behind Liberty is Carnaby Street resplendant with candy coloured Christmas trees, hearts and pink reindeer. I then wandered along Regent street and was apprehended by fairy tale characters outside Hamleys toy emporium, they admired my hair and I admired their outfits and bubble guns.

 
The gunman gave me his weapon and invited me to fill the street with bubbles whilst he took photos of me.  I had huge fun with the bubbles but his pictures of the event were hopelessly out of focus, too much laughing I think.

That evening I scurried to the tiny, Finborough Theatre near Earls Court to see the musical Little Fish.
It was packed.  It was also the last night so don't try and get a ticket, but do look out for it in the future.  The set had been designed by my husband's niece Bec Chippendale.  Bec has been responsible for creating and helping to create many a fab set for stage and screen. I have just spent an interesting half hour reading about the various productions to her credit. I thought the Little Fish set was a perfect example of how to pack a heck of a punch in a tiny space. All those doors, flaps and drawers pulled out to reveal a major prop in the progress of the story.  I was worried that the ushers would eject me for taking pictures so I sneaked this one.  I enjoyed the performance hugely but was just as fascinated by what the scenery was going to offer us next. This is an excerpt from just one of the wonderful reviews praising Bec's work.

'The most striking thing about this production is Bec Chippendale’s pale blue grey set which starts as flat pack before opening out into many different three dimensional locations with everyone of the many scene changes. This very dynamic and versatile set becomes a locker room with a number of swing out picture frames, a flat with the unlocking of a flap to reveal a fold out table and lit cupboard, a bed slides out from nowhere and a glittery bar reveals itself behind another flap. This is just some of the many reveals the set unveils as the plot unravels. Chippendale makes the production flow with ease and her set compliments the musical on so many levels. It is in short a triumph.'

Written in Fringe Review by Skye Crawford.

The rest of the day's adventures can come in another post.  Anthropologie and the ruby slippers

Helen.

How to create wow factor walls. Join me for a web chat.

House to Home,  IPC magazine's splendid shelter blog invited me to host a web chat with them.  IPC includes LIving Etc and Homes & Gardens amongst others.  As yet I am not exactly sure what a web chat is but I am sure they will instruct me

Their title is 'how to create wow factor walls' so of course I will be sharing my enthusiasm for stencils.  I will also chat about, fabric, wallpaper, canvas, stickers and any other decorative wall related subject that participants may throw my way.  So please join me, think of some interesting questions and help me out as I have never experienced one of these before.  Here is a link to the page on housetohome.com which tells you about my forthcoming chat and you can sign up for an email reminder from them.  It is scheduled for 1pm on Thurs 10th of December. That's lunchtime (Europe), late evening in Australia and early morning in USA. Blog friends if you are so inclined please spread the word for me.

Helen Morris

PS I had to use the 'desaturate' button on my portrait, that hair was way too vibrant. I'd just had my roots done.

Missing Domino Magazine...Try this

My sister recently sent me an old issue of Domino magazine that she had been saving to pass onto me.  Flicking through the pages, I realised how much I missed it.  But now there is something to fill the gap:  Lonny (short for London, New York) magazine.

It is an online magazine that looks like a traditional magazine in that you can turn the pages on screen.  It has the added advantage of being able to link directly to the featured products from each page.  It was started by an editor from Domino magazine and a freelance photographer which is why it has a similar style to it.  I will admit that it is not as easy to look through as a real magazine (thought the navigation tools are brilliant), but given that times are tough and it is expensive to produce a paper magazine, this is a great alternative.  A new issue comes out every two months.

Have a look and let us know what you think.

Rachel

Final Runner Up in the Crown Jewels 2009 competition: Antlers

This year, we have been producing the stencil designs of winners of the Crown Jewels competition - a collaboration between Crown Paint and the Royal College of Art students.  The winner was "Image Furniture" by Kyu Seon Lee and the other two runners up were "Cinderella Goes Shopping" by Maureen Hung and "Baroque Cats" by Alex Mattsson.  

 
Here is the work of the final runner up, Bronwen Marshall, called "Antlers".

'Antlers'  are three different antler stencils, available individually or as a set.  They are perfect for re-creating an on-trend gothic look. 

 
As Bronwen says, "I chose antlers because they are really relevant to the mood of fashion at the moment.  Designers and artists are feeling inspired by the dark romanticism of taxidermy and skulls, from Damien Hurst to Alexander McQueen.   My stencil designs are an inexpensive way for people to modernise their homes without having any real antlers on their walls!"

Next year we will be featuring the winners and runners-up from the 2010 Crown Jewels competition so keep in touch with our blog to see more exciting stencil designs.

Rachel

(photos courtesy of Crown Paint)

Pilates Of The Caribbean

I was there on a fitness holiday, hence the dreadful pun in the title.  I promised myself a leaner fitter version of me and went to Le Sport, St Lucia to help me find her. Chips came with me.  I could have spent my days surveying activity from a hammock, many others did.

But no, I had come here to zip through the rain forest,

climb hills

see dolphins,

(click to enlarge the image, you'll see them)

eat scones.....no that was not part of the deal, but they were the best I ever had.

The yoga and Pilates classes were great, I was shocked by how unfit and unbendy I have become.  I attempted archery, golf and tennis. I was appalling at all of them.

I tried a class in circus skills. Chips and the camera came with me. It was forty years since I last sat on a trapeze.

When I was ten, I was pretty good with one.....funny how you lose those life skills.

The warm up was pretty fierce but the rings and trapeze were quite a calming experience....

..just not a flattering one.

This was the first time I had ever tried any thing with gym rings I was thankful that most residents were tucking into breakfast and missing this spectacle.

As classes finished each evening I would visit the beach to toast the sunset.

 Some were watery,

some more punchy.

As the sun disappeared the fairy lights glowed and when all was dark fire eaters danced to steel drums.

The resort offers a daily treatment at their spa. I had the ache soothed from shocked muscles.

 

We left the resort to take bus and boat trips around the island. At the organic cocoa plantation I saw pods

and beans

... and ate the end product. Noooo that is a picture of the beans.  Our Prince Charles and Camilla visited here recently as they too are organic farmers.

I bathed in the sulphur springs that originate from the volcano. We all smelled of hard boiled eggs on the bus ride home.

I felt very grateful that I had the health and the savings to experience this holiday. It was a privilege. I met some lovely people too. On my return to England I signed up for slimming club and fitness classes so that my fortnights efforts would not be wasted.  I now need several months good sales so that I can return for yoga month in June.   Pleeeeeeease.

Chips spent most of his vacation in a hammock with several good books.   I need a holiday to recover this one.

Helen.

Free stencil of the week

Fancy a stipple? Of course you do and one of this week's give away is the one in the background to this picture of Rachel's old bathroom. The one that we are offering has stencilled something in black as you will see from the photo.

It may have been used on some window boxes but I can not remember.

Rachel used iridescent paint  when she stencilled her bathroom, it is gorgeous paint that shimmers in a lovely mother of pearl kind of way.  It has been discontinued by the manufacturer. We have a few  colours left in the shop. See the stencil and paint on a brown background.

and here on a pink one....that still manages to look brownish.

Notice how the intensity of colour varies from left to right.

Our other offering is a gothic pattern GMT43  

Again I have no idea what we stencilled with it.  It appears to be only lightly used which rules out this sisal carpet that I stencilled with the same design.  To read that project click here.

When new, the combined retail value of these stencils is £120.00.  If you would like the free, used stencils be the first person to get their comment on this blog post.  They  will be air mailed to you but you will need to pay the postage.  This pair of stencils are light so if you want to order any paints brushes or stencils from The Stencil Library I can put it in the same postal tube and save you paying another shipping charge. 

There are many other stencils like these in our Gothic Medieval and Tudor range of stencils, if you would like a new unused version of either of this weeks designs, this collection is where you will find them.

Another free stencil will be posted next week.  To know more of the 'hows' and 'whys' of the free stencils read the earlier posts on the side bar under FREE STENCILS.

When leaving a comment do not leave your postal address.  If you are to be the recipient of the stencils  will email you for postal details.

Cheers. Helen.

The Yorkshire Coast

Another of the many reasons to visit Northumberland is that Yorkshire is next to it.

This time last year my mother and I realised that we knew little of our neighbouring county so we packed the Stencil Library van with duvets, pillows and bags of fresh fruit and set off to explore the Yorkshire coast.

For much of our three days it poured with rain and the van roof leaked, in between the showers we took walks and photographs and these are some of the places that we saw.

The cliffs at Bempton, home to thousands of gannets,

Bridlington before it opened for business.

Ponies,

and donkeys.

  The walled garden at Helmsley.

Narrow twisty streets in Robin Hood's Bay

and Whitby.

It was a brilliant couple of days.  Just our cup of tea...or cocoa.

"We must to this again" I offered.  We did... last month  This time Mum treated me and we stayed at a spa. Once again we had a brilliant couple of days in Yorkshire, it still rained but this time our roof did not leak.
Helen. 

Emma Hack revisited

Last year, I found a newspaper in a bin in Paris. It bore a photo of living wallpaper from artist Emma Hack.

 This is the colour version of the picture that I retrieved from the bin, ironed and scanned for you....  And here's some more via the site Wallpaper Weekly.

You may have to look hard for the model that Emma has painted to blend with the wall.

I found these at Lunatica Desnuda blog 

Emma Hack is a body artist, photographer, sculptor and so much more. Visit her site to see more of the story.

Helen

Crown and shoes for a princess

Crown Paint Releases Third Royal College of  Art Stencil by One to Watch, Maureen Hung…

 

This year, Crown Paint and the Royal College of Art embarked on an exciting and unique collaboration to design the Crown Jewels – modern, stylish and inspired wall stencils for the home, to be painted directly onto walls using Crown paint.  After the successes of the first two designs, ‘Image Furniture’ by Kyu Seon Lee, and ‘Baroque Cats’, by Alex Mattsson, Crown present the next exciting instalment in the series, ‘Cinderella Goes Shopping’, by Maureen Hung.

Having recently completed her MA in Womenswear at the RCA, Maureen is generating a strong buzz within the fashion world with her impressive graduate collection. Her previous experiences assisting design powerhouses such as Dior Couture and Hussein Chalayan have set her in good stead for an illustrious career in fashion.

Manufactured for Crown by the Stencil Library, ‘Cinderella Goes Shopping’ comprises three elegant shoe designs that will add a stylish insouciance to any living space.  Inspired by the idea of the fairytale princess developing a shoe fetish in the years of her happily ever after,the stencils are a perfectly playful way for all fashionistas to ensure their walls are as well dressed as they are!

Pattern on Pattern revisited

Regular readers of ours will know that I have written about pattern on pattern a few times before.  You can read them here, here and here.  I was reminded of the idea when I heard about a collaboration between Hermes and Liberty of London.  Hermes have screen printed one of their famous designs onto one of Liberty's equally iconic fabrics to create a range of limited edition (and budget conscious) scarves.

 
  
I have always loved the idea of pattern on pattern as it is fun and a bit irreverent.

Helen saw these and was reminded of a cushion I made from stencilling our retro chanteuse design onto a piece of 1930's printed flour sack fabric. 

I liked the way the fabric pattern can still be seen through the paint on her dress adding another dimension to the finished project.  This is probably not quite as classy or iconic as the Hermes scarf, but I like that we are thinking along the same lines.

Rachel.