Filed under: Art, Etsy, Fairytales | Tags: Art, cartoon, drawings, Fairytales, fantasy, female, mythology, pictures, prints, women
Ever the head-in-the-clouds romantic, I always fall for modern portrayals of Fairytale or mythological themes, so am quite naturally head-over-heels in love having discovered the work of Dublin based Italian artist, Chiara Santillozzi.
There is something to particularly admire in artists who convey characters while still retaining a modern simplicity, I think. That clean sweep of a brush or bold line can say so much in the right hands.
I especially like her use of mainly black and white with a great swathe of perhaps one vivid colour bringing the picture to life.
She really manages to capture personality, don’t you think? I really love this portrait of Frida Kahlo, proving that she’s equally able to portray people in the real world, as well as fantasy figures. Her work manages to be both gently humorous while poignant and completely conveys the mood of each scene or person within it.
They all look like they could be the illustrations from a lost book of Fairytales, I love them all and would certainly like to have some gracing my home. They truly are stunning, and at under £11 for an A4 print, I think they’re absolute bargains, too!
I definitely think this artist should be snapped up for all sorts of book covers and immediately commissioned to illustrate new additions of Angela Carter’s entire back catalogue, don’t you agree?
Chiara, though born in Italy and living in Dublin, has traversed afar, having also made her home in Venice and Japan. I really think she is very talented indeed, and am sure you’ll agree. You can see the work currently available in her online shop, Makissima.
Filed under: Accessories, Art, Etsy, Fashion, Modern Victorian, Print, Rings, Shoes, Shopping, Trinkets | Tags: Bioshock, crochet, designer, Etsy, Fashion, Jewellery, photography, salvage, Treasury, Victorian
Being an eclectic magpie by nature, one of the features I most like about Etsy‘s website is the ‘Add to Favourites‘ heart button. It basically serves as an “OOOOH! SHINY THING!” bookmark. Once you’ve registered, you can set about quickly building up a list of stuff you ♥, with time to go back later and peruse at your leisure.
Recently, I took the [protoype] Taste Test and found a whole new batch of tasty morsels to smack my lips over. I found the most successful way (after taking it a few times) was to keep hitting the option to “show different items” until I found something I loved, rather than just liked. It’s not fail safe, but I think it’s a fun way to browse and was really impressed with the choices it threw at me. I made a Treasury (curated selection) of some of my absolute favourites, and shall explain what drew me to them, below…
You Are My Favorite mini print in red, by Fifi du Vie: $9.00 (£5.77)
I often tell DT (the fiance) that he’s my favourite. And you know what? He really is. I think this would splendid over his desk, and would be something for him to look at, smile and feel grateful for every day. By the way, Fifi du Vie‘s shop has loads of great prints. I especially like the “Darling, let’s be adventurers” one.
Dalia jacket by Laura Galic: $120 (£89.71)
Just exquisite tailoring, very feminine shape but with a nod to masculine style – I was obviously going to love the Victorian inspired shape, but I also really like how they’ve styled it here. I posted a comment on Twitter that I wanted one of everything in Laura Galic‘s shop – and I do! Totally my cup of tea.
Ampersand Wedding Decor by Old New Again: $32 (£20.50)
Not only would this be cute at as a top table wedding decoration (in between the bride & groom) but this wooden ampersand could be put anywhere in the house for that shabby-chic style statement ‘not trying too hard’ look. On a shelf, in a window, hanging from a plate rack – I really like having letters/typography characters around. They have a certain geeky charm.
Juliet shoes by Palmy: $74 (£48.06)
These Juliet shoes by Palmy are sturdy but sexy. I love the retro look to them – quite 1940’s-ish I think – and the fact that they look comfortable. This is the major factor for me buying shoes these days, I’m afraid, dear hearts. Having been in retail for the last 15 years, and spent more hours than I can count on my feet, the ol’ tootsies aren’t at their best. Most of the styles at Palmy are made with heel and arch supports. Magic words to those of us who stand all day, I tells ya! Palmy is a talented graduate of the Footwear Diploma of London College of Fashion course, and I have added lots of their items to my favourites!
Hand Stitched Shawl by Crochetelle: $135 (£86.16)
This hand-stitched shawl is something of an heirloom for the future, though I would certainly wear it over a maxi dress or just slung over jeans and a camisole to add some instant elegance. Crochetelle learned to crochet when she was a little girl, then picked up the hobby again.
“I recently was living in a very stressful, dirty city and felt the need to create something beautiful and I picked up crocheting again. Basically, it’s like learning to ride a bike – you never forget it! And after searching around on the internet and seeing all the beautiful, modern patterns that are available now I plunged right into it again and have been going non-stop.”
The shop really has some really beautiful designs and Crochetelle also welcomes custom orders.
Vanitas print by Kate O'Brien Creative: $75 (£47.87)
Look closely at the above picture. It’s obviously inspired by Old Master’s still lives, but if you can believe it, it’s actually not a painting at all – it’s a photograph! I love everything about this photo – the lighting and the layout of the props just perfectly capture the mood of those old paintings. Kate O’Brien explains how the picture came to be:
“I got to thinking about the works of the Dutch masters and the kinds of fruit they used in their paintings. I live in a tropical climate, but for obvious reasons, they weren’t painting a whole lot of Mangoes and pineapples back in the middle ages. So I set off to my local fruit and veg store in search of some more “classical” choices. This image is the result of that trip!”
Kate is a professional photographer and stylist from Australia, and looking through the rest of her shop, I’m really impressed by Kate’s work, the way she uses colours and plays with historical imagery. Definitely a new favourite!
Waiting for You Necklace by Garden of Sypria: $24 (£15.32)
There’s something quite plaintive about the little bird waiting on a wire – you can put any picture you like in this circular glass locket, but I’d be quite tempted just to keep this one in it, it’s very sweet but sort of heartbreaking. There, that shatters my ice-queen image once and for all. Not that I had an ice queen image – I can be turned into a blubbering wreck at the drop of a hat and am really quite awfully sentimental. Hard to believe, I know.
Anyway, yes, this necklace by Garden of Sypria is very much my sort of thing and I like the battered looking silver frame, it looks like it has survived a few things. Maybe the bird has, too.
Heading Home print by Philippe Fernandez, philippesarts: $18 (£11.49)
I was immediately drawn to the style of Philippe Fernandez‘ work, it has that fairytale quality of being darkly foreboding yet simultaneously comforting – a soft-edged air that is often found in children’s story books, as, indeed, this picture shall be.
I painted this painting for a very special children’s book that I plan to be published late this year. This specific painting is when Ponteia found her dear Mr. Kats very weak. Ponteia knew something was wrong. “My goodness!” she exclaimed. Ponteia was outraged that anyone might of hurt him. “Who did this to you, dear Mr. Katz?” With great care she scooped the cat up. Very gently, she raced home with him snuggled softly in her arms.
Wicked Witch Bookmark by Ianscafe: $5.75 (£3.67)
This is one of those really simple ideas, beautifully executed, and it works so well. What an absolutely perfect little gift for a fan of the Oz or Wicked books, too. Your book becomes Dorothy’s house, and those iconic black & white striped legs and ruby shoes stick out helplessly, beneath. “Things just haven’t been the same since that HOUSE fell on my SISTER!”
Hyphae Ring 3D-printed nylon, by Nervous System: $28 (£17.87)
3d-printing is one of those jaw-dropping we’re-living-in-the-future technologies, don’t you think? I love that artists and designers are exploring the use of this technology beyond that of engineering, for which it was originally designed.
Nervous System is a design studio that works at the intersection of science, art, and technology. We create using a novel process that employs computer simulation to generate designs and digital fabrication to realize products. Drawing inspiration from natural phenomena, we write computer programs mimicking processes and patterns found in nature and use those programs to create unique and affordable art, jewelry, and housewares.
The studio consists of Jesse Louis-Rosenberg and Jessica Rosenkrantz who met as undergraduates at MIT where he studied math + computer science and she studied architecture + biology. They live together in a house by a stream in a forest in Western Massachusetts.
These pieces of jewelery by Nervous System are at once strikingly modern and very organic in design – like pieces of coral or the model of a cardiovascular system. The story of how the designers met and what they studied totally makes sense when you see these wearable pieces of art. It’s the symbiotic relationship of nature and modern technology. Gorgeous, I love them all. P.S: I’d just like to add how very well done their photography is, and how beautiful the model is! I want to look like her. 😦
Losing My Way skirt by The Simpson: $48 (£30.63)
There are so many designs of clothes I would like to own in this shop – they look so cool and comfortable, and all of them look to be partly inspired by historical designs, which I like very much, as you can imagine. These are simple, clean-cut pieces to wear and love every day, and this red maxi skirt is particularly appealing. I’d wear it just with a little silk chemise top and beaded sandals for the summer, and with Victorian style boots and velvet jacket in the winter. Something which is both very ‘now’ and yet trans-seasonal.
Vintage Eagle Industrial Lamp at Earth Sea Warrior: $120 (£76.58)
Now you might find this odd, but I am very drawn to rusty things. Slightly decayed looking salvaged items that look as though they have been pulled from a ship wreck. When these items are placed in the context of a modern setting, together with the comfort and clutter of everyday objects around them, they take on a certain beauty – like museum pieces placed on a breakfast table, but in reverse, if that makes sense? Their ugliness is made beautiful by the oddity of their surroundings. That applies to two pieces in my selection of new favourites – the industrial lamp (above), which I love because it looks like something from Bioshock; and the old wooden/metal drawer, below.
Vintage Wooden Metal Drawer at Glass Panic: $28 (£17.87)
This drawer is pleasing both for its battered exterior with mysterious wording “half surface” stenciled on the front, and the fact that it can still be jolly useful. I see this in a kitchen, enjoying its later years in the comfort of a home, used to store balls of twine, kitchen scissors, favourite cookery books or pots of fragrant herbs.
Ember necklace by Therapy: $55 (£35.10)
Now, this little necklace probably isn’t going to cut the mustard as a perfect bridemaid’s gift (depending on your choice of bridesmaid, of course) or something to hang on the Christmas tree for your future Mother in Law; but I happen to adore these pieces made from reproductions of old brothel tokens that would have been given to their best customers. Certainly a talking point at dinner parties, I think we can agree. 🙂
Vintage Printers Blocks at Salvage Nation: $87.50 (£55.84)
Again, my liking for these old printers blocks stems from my love of typography and to be surrounded by words and letters – appreciating them as works of art in and of themselves, not just the means to an end. These would definitely have pride of place on the mantelpiece, or on a shelf along with my favourite books.
Art Deco Inspired necklace by C Henry: $130 (£82.97)
This necklace by Caroline Henry is just breathtakingly beautiful – I gasped when I saw it as a suggestion in the results of my Taste Test – it’s just so perfectly balanced, simple, elegant yet with a real dramatic presence. I would certainly wear this on my wedding day – it is very Deco in design, but timeless, too. Totally lust-worthy, as are so many of the pieces in this talented designer’s shop.
Well, I do hope you have enjoyed this amble through my latest favourites – perhaps in exploring their shops, you may find some to add to yours, too…
If you want to see all the items grouped together in my Treasury selection for Etsy, please click on the pictures below to be whisked to that page.
Until next time, dearies,
Miss Nightingale
x
Filed under: Art, Etsy, Vintage, Zombies | Tags: Altered Art, Antique, Beat Up Creations, Plates, portraits, Recycled, Upcysled
Could there be anything more appealing than a pretty, if somewhat kitsch, antique plate made all the more desirable by the careful placement of a zombie portrait?
Lucy the Zombie Girl - Serving Platter by Beat Up Creations: $69
Well, can there?
I happen to think not. Well not much, surely, can compete?
Look at the close up of the serving platter…
Lucy the Zombie Girl Serving Platter Close-up
I am madly in love with the idea of serving cake to the vicar on such a platter, and the altered portrait picture slowly being revealed with each slice. I am also supposing the vicar wouldn’t come back to tea at my house.
Zombie Contessa - Beat Up Creations: $25
I suppose it might not be to all tastes, but this collection is very much my cup of tea. I love art and fashion which looks to be traditional and twee but, on closer inspection, turns out to be vintage with a definite twist in the tale.
Princess Hipster Altered Antique Plate - Beat Up Creations: $39
Beat Up Creations is an absolutely brilliant shop which I have just discovered, and already I covet many of their pieces. Many. 🙂
Tattooed Lady Circus Plate - Beat Up Creations: $69
It’s run by a lady called Angela, who rescues “unloved, thrown-out and abandoned” pieces which she transforms into delightfully quirky portrait plates.
Zombie Contessa Altered Antique Platter - Beat Up Creations: $69
I really like the idea of recycling orphan pieces of crockery, pottery and porcelain and having them re-made into items that new owners will love.
I’m especially fond of the vintage portrait series, as you can tell, but Beat Up Creations also create mad sculptures using broken & forgotten ornaments, art prints and fantasy terrariums.
The entire shop is well worth exploring. J’adore!
Filed under: Art, Decadence, History, Perfume | Tags: Art, Ballet Russes, Dance, Diaghilev, Eau de Parfum, Fragrance, Fragrantica, Roja Dove, V&A
Recently, I had the pleasure of being invited to the stunning Haute Parfumerie in Harrods, in order to gape open-mouthed at the wonders it contains (it truly is a must visit destination for any fragrance lover) and also to sample some of their latest wares, for an article I was writing for Fragrantica magazine.
I can honestly say that my favourite new perfume, introduced to me that very day, was the deliciously refined warmth of Diaghilev. Although I reviewed the fragrance for the article, I thought I’d go into a bit more detail that the length of the piece allowed.
Top Notes: Bergamot, Lemon and Orange
Heart Notes: Rose de Mai and Jasmine.
Base Notes: Oak Moss, Orris, Patchouli, Vanilla and Vetiver.
Now that Autumn [my favourite season, hurrah!] is here – and the wonderful Diaghilev exhibition at the V&A this perfume was created for is now open – Roja Dove’s Diaghilev fragrance really comes into its own: a golden fragrance inspired by the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes.
Diaghilev is limited edition Eau de Parfum and the magnificent result of a fruitful union between Roja Dove and the Victoria and Albert Museum, paying homage to that Golden Age of the Ballets Russe, and in particular its founder, Serge Diaghilev.
Diaghilev’s extraordinary company, which survived a twenty-year rollercoaster of phenomenal successes and crippling problems, revolutionised ballet. As importantly, Diaghilev’s use of avant-garde composers, such as Stravinsky and designers such as Bakst, Goncharova, Picasso and Matisse, made a major contribution to the introduction of Modernism.
Portrait of Serge Diaghilev with His Nanny, by Léon Bakst (1906)
Diaghilev’s dramatic performances transformed dance, reawakening interest in ballet across Europe and America. Celebrating the company’s key period of activity, this major exhibition reveals Diaghilev’s enduring influence on 20th-century art, design and fashion and includes more than 300 objects including giant theatre cloths, original costumes, set designs, props and posters by artists and designers including Léon Bakst, Georges Braque and Natalia Goncharova. These tell the story of a company which began in the social and political upheaval of pre-Revolutionary Russia and went on to cause a sensation with exotic performances that had never been seen before.
Roja has always loved Art Deco and was very much inspired by this period in his creation of Diaghilev. He explains that “the movement captured the changing views of society. This Chypre scent I have created, I hope, reflects all the sentiments of this time.”
Roja Dove’s Diaghilev also manages to pay homage to the great Chypre perfumes created during this period, the years between 1909-1929. And yet this perfume is not in any way a mere history lesson. Just like the Haute Parfumerie itself, Diaghilev is a balance between great respect for the past, and lively, modern interpretations.
The perfume is exclusively available at Roja Dove’s Haute Parfumerie in Harrods, and the V&A shop (which you can also visit online, here).
“One of the pleasures of working with one of the world’s most prestigious brands is finding others who lead in their respective fields, with whom to collaborate. Having worked with the likes of Vivienne Westwood, Betty Jackson and Paul Smith, Roja Dove follows in that tradition.” – Jo Prosser, Managing Director, V&A Enterprises.
Once my piece on the Haute Parfumerie was published in Fragrantica, I received a really uplifting email from a member of the Roja Dove PR team, telling me how much Roja had enjoyed reading my article.
I was thrilled, of course but, imagine how loudly I squealed with joy when I opened a parcel a couple of days later, only to find a thick cream envelope, sealed with wax, inside, a lovely thank you note in flowing, purple script from Roja Dove himself, and my very own bottle of Diaghilev!
Excuse the awful picture, taken on my phone! How kind is that, though? It really made my day.
I do hope you get to try Diaghilev for yourselves, I’m pretty sure you’ll fall headlong for it, as I did: love at first sniff. 🙂 I am so hoping to go to the V&A exhibition, it sounds amazing, doesn’t it? My mother would be fascinated to visit it, too, as she used to dance with the Ballet Rambert.
I should tell you that I had ballet lessons when I was a little girl, but let’s just say that I didn’t exactly show a natural aptitude, and I still can’t dance to save my life. ;p
Filed under: Accessories, Art, Etsy, Fashion, Russian Dolls, Spring | Tags: Chanel Accessories, Chanel Matryoshka, Chanel Russian Dolls
I have always loved Russian nesting [also known as Matryoshka or babushka] dolls, but can’t quite pinpoint why, exactly.
Many designers have seemingly gone Russian Doll crazy, too, and I am currently lusting after Chanel’s range of Matryoshka accessories. Particularly this darling little necklace…
Chanel Russian Doll Necklace
…but the price is most distinctly not darling, and so, with a heavy heart yet a skip in our step, we shall seek out other darling designs we may actually be able to indulge in!
Matryoshka (Nesting Doll) Card by Letterpress: $4
Those be-rouged faces are certainly a popular theme this Spring/Summer – in fashions, homewares, stationary and art – all over the place…
Lavender bags, Matryoshka style by Beaky: $10 each (you choose the colour)
Perhaps it’s the naive folk-art cheeriness of their smiling faces that appeals so much to designers, or maybe the incredibly satisfying sensation or image of opening one to find another, smaller, nestling inside.
Russian Doll Alphabet Poster by Creative Neesh: $40
There is even a distinct childhood memory I have of the smell of the wood, the sound the tops made when you took them apart, the feeling that you had found a kind of secret treasure when you came to the smallest of the dolls.
Laptop Bag (custom sizing) by Track and Field Designs: $48
These Matryoshka dolls are very like the ones I had as a child, with their distinctive red lips (ha, maybe that’s where I get my love of bright red lipstick from?)
Matryoshka Dolls by Merchant of Kismet: $24
They can take many forms, however, and in recent history the design has also been used as a political or philosophical metaphor.
Darling Matryoshka Doll T-Shirt by Handmade Bliss: $34
I’m going to stick with the traditional, though, as it’s just so cheering and both the image and colours feel very suitable for Spring somehow.
Matryoshka Nesting Doll Fabric, 1 Yard, from Spice Berry Cottage: $14
I do hope you will enjoy browsing the rest of my hand-picked selection below, dear hearts!
Direct links to items shown, left to right:
1st Row: 1) Track and Field Designs, 2) Beaky, 3) Handmade Bliss
2nd Row: 1) Juju Treasures, 2) Letterpress, 3) Merchant of Kismet
3rd Row: 1) Mew Paper Arts, 2) Chickadee Supplies, 3) Paper Pumpkin
4th Row: 1) Spice Berry Cottage, 2) Naked Tile, 3) Creative Neesh
Filed under: Art, Authors, Bags, Brooches, Christmas, Cupcakes, Etsy, Fripperies, Gift Ideas, My Chemical Romance, Necklaces, Paris, Peacocks, Pearls, Trinkets, Vintage
It is often around this time of year that we hear the phrase “It’s the thought that counts” bandied about. It usually takes the form of a cringing hand-over of shoddy gifts with seemingly no thought behind them whatsoever.
Here, then, I hope to include some gift ideas (last-minute, I grant you!) into which I have put a lot of thought… but as my revoltingly swingeing pay check currently restricts gift buying to immediate family this year; they must, alas, remain a lasting thought.
I have been inspired by particular people for this series of gift guides, and they are particularly inspiring!
The first in the series is for my dear friend Hester – a lady blessed with immaculate taste, a bawdy sense of humour, and the ability to make people swoon with her notoriously wicked chocolate cupcakes (AKA: “dirty, dirty porn cakes” *cough* – because of the sounds people make when eating them!)
Direct links to items shown, left to right:
1st Row: 1) Tilly Bloom, 2) Jade Rose Designs, 3) Dog Bone Art
2nd Row: 1) Revival House, 2) BeadzNBling, 3) Clutch That
3rd Row: 1) Teacup Design, 2) Mes Peintures, 3) Oak Hollow Primatives
4th Row: 1) Chris Smith 22, 2) Little Voices, 3) Jenny’s Bake Shop
Hope you enjoy. 🙂
Until later, cupcakes,
Miss Nightingale
x
WHY wasn’t I previously aware of the beautiful artwork of Madame Talbot’s Victorian Lowbrow? You are possibly aware by now that I am somewhat obsessed with most things Victorian – particularly the darker, seamier side of the period, and all of their fabulous posters fit the (forgive the pun) bill!
Laudanum Poison Poster by Victorian Lowbrow, $14.95
Mutter Museum Poster by Victorian Lowbrow, $14.95
This particular piece (below) reminds me of the type of illustrations found in the somewhat disturbing books of stories I so loved as a child. In fact, all of Toxic Ink‘s prints look like they have been plucked from a vintage Annual and are just waiting for their stories to be told.
Temptation Art Print by Toxic Ink, $20
Startled Art Print by Toxic Ink, $20
Sarah Blank‘s artwork is just heart-breakingly beautiful but still with that unsettling, creepy undertone I crave. I would love to look like the subjects in her paintings: all come-hither eyes, glacial composure and bee-stung lips. The descriptions she gives some pieces just add to their mysterious allure…
Seafaring Heart Print by Sarah Blank, $17.50
The Bumblebee Sisters Buy a Bird Print by Sarah Blank, $17.50
There’s a faintly sinister feel to some of Andrea Kett‘s burlesque, vintage fashion-illustration like artwork, but with a wry humour, too. I love the Fifties-esque feel to the first print below (and would totally love a dinner party with a dressed crab who was actually dressed in a tuxedo! This is likely why we don’t have more dinner parties…) Great leer from bunny-ears chap!
The second print has a definite Marie Antoinette costume feel to it – just divine. I really like the cruel twists to each picture that prevent them from seeming overly twee (the arrow through the fox draped around her shoulders, the fact she’s simultaneously smirking and smoking)…
Dressed Crab (6x8 inch) Print by Andrea Kett, $10
Arctic Fox Print by Andrea Kett, $28
These intriguing pictures by Swan Bones are very reminiscent of those blood-chilling little books of old fairy stories you are sometimes lucky enough to come across in antique bookshops.
Three Seekers Print by Swan Bones, $29
A Single Light Print by Swan Bones, $19
I want to gather together as many such prints & artwork as I can find, place them in mismatching, eccentric looking vintage frames and group them haphazardly together on the same wall.
Creepy? Possibly. But incredibly pleasing. Exactly the kind of style I like best. 🙂
Until later, kittens.
Miss Nightingale
x
Filed under: Art, Authors, Etsy, Fonts, Fripperies, Newspapers, Press, Print, Trinkets, Writers
Q: What’s black, white and red all over?
My dad told me this riddle when I was a little girl. It cracked me up. I appreciated the play on words and I am sure it went some way to starting the fire below my burning passion for typewriters, newspapers and, particularly, the beauty of fonts.
For a little while, I was the sub-editor for a local magazine in Brighton, here in the UK. It’s probably the happiest I have ever been at work.
I got to circle other people’s copy in red pen, I got to play with fonts and buy fonts and introduce other people to fonts… glorious! For a while, I couldn’t read any other magazines, though, as I saw with a creeping sickness the old familiar press releases used word-for-word in place of an actual interview, I saw glaring mistakes that should never have made it past the subs.
Horrid.
Took me years to get over.
I used to proudly reel off all the fonts used in any publication you cared to mention. I couldn’t do that now. I kind of miss being a font nerd!
In praise of font nerds and writers everywhere, then, a selection of goodies I heart:
Direct links to items shown, left-to-right:
1st Row: 1) Barrel of Monkeys, 2) Pop Goes the Print, 3) Tilly Bloom
2nd Row: 1) Whisker Graphics, 2) Plastique, 3) Citrus Tree
3rd Row: 1) Golden Prim Hollow, 2) Cosmo Fashion Slave, 3) Design Sugar
4th Row: 1) Heather Jeany, 2) Creations by Kara, 3) Nan Lawson
Until next time, dear hearts,
Miss Nightingale,
x
Filed under: Art, Autumn, Books, Cosy, Etsy, Fairytales, Fall, Hounds of the Morrigan, Knitting Pattern, Literature, Pat O'Shea
Hounds of the Morrigan, by the now sadly departed Pat O’Shea, was 10 years in the writing. It can be classed as a children’s book, but I have been reading it on and off since I was 11 years old, and it still remains one of my favourite books in the whole world. Such imagination, dark humour & a great cast of characters – I just had to honour it with a blog post and – of course – a selection of goodies inspired by fond memories of the novel itself…
Direct links to items shown, left to right:
1st Row – 1) Levan’s Photography, 2) Earthworks Journals, 3) Maclancy
2nd Row – 1) C.D. Childs, 2) Madrin Photography, 3) Propellers
3rd Row – 1) Nesrin Dugan, 2) Tuscany Studios, 3) Shop Greyhounds
4th Row – 1) Pern Circlets, 2) Short Girl Designs, 3) Lee Imagery
The story is the age old battle of Good v Evil, in the same rich vein as Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising sequence; but it’s really the cast of characters and the adventures they have together that always brings me back to the world Pat O’Shea created.
I always, always wished for another book from her, a continuation of the story, the chance to meet old friends. There is a tantalising glimpse of what might have been in her obituary, printed in The Guardian newspaper:
The few brilliant chapters of the unfinished sequel are almost worth publishing alone: a Christmas card scene, candelit shop windows, carol singers and a robin… and into this cheerful scene rides the great Irish witch the Morrigan with her wild sisters, bringing mayhem and magic and mischief.
*sigh* How selfish it is of us voracious readers to wish someone alive again merely so they could finish/begin a sequel. It’s all a bit Kathy Bates in Misery for words, but I do sort of understand that constant, gnawing wish for more.
Of course unfinished sequels always hold a power that a published book can never have (much as we mourn the loss of new songs from our favourite recording artists who died too young, or the films we’ll never see of actors who went before their time).
It’s an aching void always begging to be filled with new material from rambunctious upstarts or delving into the classics to see from whence your favourite sprang… but you have to get over it each time the craving begins, or that dreadful self-pitying kind of mourning for what might have been starts to spread, like little spores of black mould in a damp bathroom.
Relish the tangible, that’s the cure!
With this in mind, I feel I must very soon curl up in a cosy nook…
Cosy Reading Corner by Homes and Gardens
…wearing something scrumptiously soft & a good pair of thick bed socks…
1940's Jaeger Bed Socks - Free Printable Pattern by V&A
…heaped with blankets and cushions, drinking hot chocolate [possibly with a slug of something wicked in it] and reading The Hounds of the Morrigan for the umpteenth time!
Oh, and don’t get me started on Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones – another of my all-time favourites which I hold to my bosom and treasure like a rare jewel. And OH MY GOD – HOW did I not know that she’s written a [proper] sequel?! Ordered it immediately, of course. I may return to this to wax lyrical at length…
Ah, Howl, my first literary crush.
House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
Whatever your favourite cosy read is, I hope you have time to snuggle up with it, soon. I truly believe it’s balm for the soul, and most especially at this time of year, don’t you think?
Girl Reading by Fragonard
Do share with me your favourite cosy reads – or the books you keep coming back to throughout the years – I’d be fascinated to know!
Filed under: Art, Berlin, Castles, Decadence, Etsy, Fashion, Fripperies, History, Marie Antoinette, Necklaces, Palaces, Royalty, Trinkets
As promised in yesterday’s post – Rococo a-gogo – today I shall continue wibbling on a bit about my recent visit to Berlin’s beautiful palace of Schloss Charlottenburg.
My Hardy Travelling Companions
From the left, my darling be-ringleted fiance, his best friends – the mad & lovable Tucker, the irrepressible JJ, the suave Mark and his girlfriend Leah.
Behind them, a man on a large ‘orse. Actually, it’s one of Europe’s most important equestrian statues and was commissioned by Frederick III to honour his father, the “Great Elector” Frederick William of Brandenburg. Four slaves are chained to the base, and these represent the four humours, and also the enemies his father vanquished.
Below is representation of the meeting of three kings in Potsdam and Charlottenburg, 1709: Frederick I. in Prussia — August II. (the Strong), King of Poland and Elector of Saxony — Frederick IV. of Denmark. I love this painting because they look like quite perturbed, as though having been caught out having a little dance on a solemn occasion. Bless.
King's Meeting - Samuel Theodor Gericke, 1709
Read yesterday’s piece for more about the history of the place. Today I shall be concentrating on the hugely impressive collection of paintings to be found there. Some as part of the original furnishings and commissioned by the various royal inhabitants; others saved from historic buildings damaged or lost during the second world war, and now housed in Charlottenburg for safekeeping, and also because they so well complement their often painstakingly restored and sympathetic contemporary settings.
Gersaint's Shop Sign - Antoine Watteau, 1720.
This is an interesting painting which you can read a much more in-depth history of here. Watteau died shortly after its completion, and it says much about the transitory nature of Art itself – how tastes change, how art styles and subjects go in and out of fashion.
The lady in the pale grey silk dress, leaning on the counter to the right of the picture, is examining a mirror – a very costly and showy piece at the time, and it is up to the viewer to decide if she is admiring the object itself or her own reflection.
The couple behind her are examining the large classical-style painting – the gentleman on his knees peering (leering?) very closely at the naked figures of the ladies in the painting, whilst the lady at his side inspects the putti higher up.
On the left we have a painting of Louis XIV being packed away in a crate – making way for the newer, more fashionable paintings gracing the walls. In this way, Watteau makes a wry commentary on the transitory nature of a nation’s love – or otherwise – for a King.
Detail of Gersiant's Shop Sign by Watteau
The picture was intended, and eventually used for, a shop sign (at one point being cut in half as the format was changed). Completed in just eight days, the artist claimed he painted it merely to “loosen up [his] fingers” but as we can see, it appears to be highly ironic and mocking view of the Paris Art scene following the death of Louis XIV. Rather more elaborate than your average shop sign, certainly!
It was acquired by Frederick II in 1745 and still hangs in his Concert Room today at Charlottenburg, in exactly the place he originally intended it should be hung.
Frederick II was much taken with the charm and grace of the world famous Italian dancer, Barbara Campanini, who was known as La Barbarina.
Portrait of Barbara Campanini - Antoine Pesne, C.1745
This particular painting was originally to be found in the King’s private study in the Berlin City Palace – one imagines he gazed at it quite longingly, as he persuaded her to join his court so he could see her dance whenever he so wished. She joined the King’s ensemble at the opera house on the Unter den Linden – still a wide and much-used avenue, today full of expensive shops, art houses and theatrical establishments.
Ms Campanini is pictured in the very epitome of the Rococo landscape – a fairytale park, surrounded by Art and holding a tambourine – all the elements a Rococo-loving King would want in a painting (along with a lovely lady, obviously!)
Her dress is quite exquisite, and of course would have been obscenely costly – she appears to be wearing leopard skin, too – incredibly exotic and another costly item. Flashing a bit of the ol’ well-turned ankle can’t have harmed the King’s liking for this portrait, either…
Queen Elizabeth Christine of Prussia - Antoine Pesne C.1740
Having led a fairly carefree life before marriage, Queen Elizabeth Christine to endure public humiliation by the almost complete neglect of her husband, Frederick II [my GOD they really loved the name Fred, didn’t they? It gets quite bewildering on the audio tour, I can tell you!] He basically refused to have anything to do with her, and their marriage remained childless. Rumour had it that the King was homosexual (so Voltaire claimed, anyway).
Queen Christine was surrounded by eight incredibly beautiful Ladies in Waiting, who she had painted by the court artist, Pesne (who painted her portrait, above, and that of Barbara Campinini).
These painting were hung in a room known as The Gallery of Beauties, which today is the Blue Ante Room of Frederick the Great’s First Apartment. These paintings are undeniably sensuous and really hold the viewer’s eye. the sumptuous, rich fabrics shimmering with a luminescence that cannot be captured by viewing them online, or even reproduced in a book.
I could happily have spent all day in that room, just gazing at their costumes, the elaborate hairstyles and exquisite jewels displayed. These paintings show the Frederican Rococo ideal of Beauty as well as signaling to the world how astoundingly rich the ladies of the court were – and how much power the court itself wielded.
Sophia Maria, Countess of Voss - Antoine Pesne
I really wish I could find a better image of this painting online – it’s quite large in real life and was my absolute favourite of the Beauties. Her costume is just stunning – she was depicted in a riding habit (her favourite pastime) just after the hunt has finished. She’s looking quite pleased with herself and is holding a gun – we can see the spoils of her day’s work laying behind her.
I love her jaunty hat and the nonchalant scarf around her neck. Also, that jacket, oh I could have just fainted clean away!
At the age of 15 she became a maid-of-honour to Queen Sophia Dorothea, the consort of Frederick William I. She remained her loyal companion, and until a very great age remained the chief Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Louisa, and even wrote a book of memoirs about her experiences, entitled 69 Years at the Prussian Court. Apparently it’s a very revealing document of the age. I’m sure she saw a few interesting things in her time!
Queen Louisa aged 26 - Josef Grassi, C.1802
Louisa is so incredibly sweet looking, here. She was renowned not only for her beauty and grace, but also for her complete commitment to Prussia’s rescue from Napoleon at Tislet in 1807. She adored Charlottenburg and in a letter to Tsar Alexander I, dated May21st 1806, she writes:
“I very much wish you could be here, my dear cousin, and could enjoy the magic of enchanting Charlottenburg, and judge it for yourself. My beloved balcony, which you unfortunately saw covered in snow and ice, is divine again, and I hereby invite you once more to take breakfast with me here. The tea will be excellent, and the eggs quite fresh. If that were possible, how happy I would be!”
Patina of Stars Necklace, $64 by Sweet Ruin
Marie Through the Looking Glass Necklace, $62 by Sweet Ruin
Rococo Bloom Earrings, $95 by Eclettica
Beyond the Pale 