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You know what I'd be doing if I was in London today? I'd be making a beeline to Liberty to create a customised friendship bracelet by La Môme Bijou. Isabelle Prat, the founder and designer of the Parisian company will be working in the Jewellery Hall until Saturday as part of Liberty's Jewellers En Residence program.
The super-sweet French bracelets come in myriad hues - including a rainbow of neons - and feature rose gold vermeil charms engraved with various slogans such as ''yesterday is history", "tomorrow is mystery" and "today is a gift". A bespoke bracelet, using your choice of colour, charm and design is £89, and Isabelle makes it for you while you wait. I'd be running, not walking ... but maybe that's because I've been starved of exciting retail events - and unique products - at Australian department stores.
Liberty
Great Marlborough Street
London W1B 5AH
Tel. 0207 734 1234
Nearest tube: Oxford Circus
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
6 Comments
It's British, it's birdy and it's really rather beautiful - check out Matt Sewell's new book, Our Garden Birds: A Bird for Every Week of the Year (£4.50, Amazon). Naturally, I'm excited and delighted for Matt as his popular 'bird of the week' blog posts were the genesis for this compilation of his charming watercolours.
Accompanied by his inimitable observations of each bird's distinctive character, Sewell has created his own quirky field guide to Britain's most beloved birds. It would make a marvelous present and it's gone straight to the top of my wishlist.
If you like Matt's work, check out the wooden birds he made exclusively for the V&A here.
38 Comments
Have you been watching Offspring? Are you as obsessed as I am?
This season has officially got me hooked, and when I'm not angsting about Nina and Patrick's on-off relationship, I spend quite a bit of time perving at her apartment. (My sister, meanwhile, is obsessed with Nina's casual-bohemian wardrobe, and if you also want to get her look, I heartily recommend Styling You's excellent series of posts, 'So you want to look like Nina Proudman'.)
I adored Nina's first apartment (which was destroyed by fire in the first episode of season three), especially the extraordinarily beautiful white pressed metal feature wall. I was so taken by it that I hunted down the Melbourne-based manufacturer, Pressed Tin Panels, and bookmarked their site for future dream home renovations.
This led me to hunt down some of the key pieces from Nina's new apartment, especially her bedroom, which features quite a few things by independent Australian designers. I love that the stylists and set dressers have sourced many things from Melbourne, which is where the show is set. Way to keep the show real.
In a tribute to Styling You's original Nina posts, here's how to make Nina Proudman's bedroom your own:
1. I love Nina's lamp on her bedside table, which was a gift from Darcy when she moved into her new flat. It's made by Melbourne-based design studio Pierre and Charlotte. The bleached and limedBaby Tree Light is AU$630 plus GST and can be ordered via their website.
2. Nina's distinctive cushions match the quilt which was custom-made for Offspring by Melbourne-based accessories label Nancy Bird. The Fish Scale cushions are AU$150 each, from Nancy Bird. (Nancy Bird's other cushion designs also feature on Nina's couch.)
3. Nina has a chrome floor lamp on the other side of her bed. Get the look with the Alpha Floor Lamp, $299 from Freedom.
4. Nina's room features a French provincial farmhouse-style dresser or buffet. Get the look with the HEMNES chest of eight drawers in white from IKEA, AU$499. For a similar antique French sideboard, check out Sydney's Country Trader as well as this Cancun white-washed three drawer console table, now AU$499 from Freedom. I also like this gorgeous fishing boat buffer from Rustique, which would also look great in Nina's apartment.
5 and 6. I spy some luxe Jo Malone candles and cologne on Nina's dresser, and I reckon the Wild Fig & Cassis fragrance is very Nina. Jo Malone is available from David Jones stores in Australia. Jo Malone Wild Fig & Cassis home candle, £38 and Wild Fig & Cassis cologne, £76, both from Selfridges.
7. The distinctive painting over Nina's bed is by Australian artist Rosetta Santucci.
8. It looks like Nina has an oak candlestick on her dresser. If you're after a similar design, look at these French Oak candlesticks, from £110 from Katherine North Design. Otherwise, get the look with the ÅRYD candlestick, AU$17.99 from IKEA.
9 and 10. It wouldn't be Nina's bedroom without an owl. While most of her collection perished in the house fire, it looks like she's restrained herself in her new apartment with just one small ceramic owl on her dresser. Get the look with this owl ornament, AU$12.95 from Domayne. I also love this image of an Have You Met Miss Jones horn owl lamp, which is also very Nina and features a white pressed metal wall in the background - just like Nina's old flat.
11. Here is Nina's actual quilt which was custom-made for Offspring by Nancy Bird. They've since been inundated with requests so they've put the digitally-printed design into production. The Fish Scale Queen size quilt cover is available in Queen and King sizes from $650.
12. Nina's dresser features a group of plain white pillar candles in various sizes. Get the look with the HEMSJÖ unscented natural block candle, AU$2.99 for a pack of four from IKEA.
13. I've spotted a classic Bentwood chair next to Nina's bedside table. You can get a replica Thonet No 18 Bentwood timber chair from Matt Blatt for AU$195.
14. There is an arrangement of various clear glass bottles and carafes on Nina's dresser. Copy the look with IKEA's LÖNSAM carafe, AU$2.99 and PS BJUDA Carafe, AU$15.99.
15. Nina's dresser also features a white bone china bird on a pedestal. I'm pretty sure it's by Australian designer Have you met Miss Jones, for AU$24.
Do you watch Offspring? What's your favourite thing in Nina's room?
11 CommentsOh, YOU greeting card from Perch Paper Company.
Sorry about the lack of posts on Wee Birdy recently. I've been sick. Mr Birdy's been sick. Baby Birdy's been sick. And now I think I'm getting sick again. Gah! It's really getting a bit boring now. Many of the clothes I've been wearing over the past three weeks don't have waistbands. Or darts. And if there is a waistband, it's strictly drawstring. Also, I don't think I've worn a bra for three weeks.
Sweary pencils from The Carbon Crusader.
In the meantime, I've been making a daily appearance on either Instagram (totally addicted), Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook. So if you need a quick Wee Birdy fix, come over and say hello. Let me know if you need an invitation for Pinterest. I'm loving the guts out of my Pinterest boards.
I've also been blogging about stuff for kids over on Kidspot. This week I've rounded up 12 clever projects to make with small plastic toys. You might also dig the 10 display shelves I found for little toys and figurines, too.
Type case display shelf from Retro Villa.What's news with you? Are you on Pinterest or Instagram? And do you also take off your bra as soon as you get home?
You know what I'd be doing if I was in London today? I'd be making a beeline to Liberty to create a customised friendship bracelet by La Môme Bijou. Isabelle Prat, the founder and designer of the Parisian company will be working in the Jewellery Hall until Saturday as part of Liberty's Jewellers En Residence program.
The super-sweet French bracelets come in myriad hues - including a rainbow of neons - and feature rose gold vermeil charms engraved with various slogans such as ''yesterday is history", "tomorrow is mystery" and "today is a gift". A bespoke bracelet, using your choice of colour, charm and design is £89, and Isabelle makes it for you while you wait. I'd be running, not walking ... but maybe that's because I've been starved of exciting retail events - and unique products - at Australian department stores.
Liberty
Great Marlborough Street
London W1B 5AH
Tel. 0207 734 1234
Nearest tube: Oxford Circus
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
