Biscuits For Breakfast

Whilst browsing my favourite blogs over breakfast I came across these curiosities by Debra Broz. Aren't they peculiar, but intriguing. I really do quite like them! ♥

Crazy Collectors

Just look at these dolls I came across on Sunday at the French Flea Market. What a crazy collection! ♥

The Pitt Rivers Museum

So can you imagine the look on my face when Miss Saskia took me to The Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford... I didn't quite know where to start! There was so much (too much in fact) to take in for a first visit there. I was instantly overwhelmed.

For people like you and me it was quite simply heaven on earth. Case upon case filled (jam packed full) of exquisite objects, textiles and curiosities collected by early anthropologists, colonial administrators and explorers of far distant lands in days gone by.

Hawaiian feather cloaks in brilliant shades of red and yellow, a fine group of early masks worn by actors in Japanese Noh dramas, more masks from Africa, Melanesia and North America. Sculpture from all over the world in wood, pottery, metal and stone. Boats ranging from full-sized sailing craft to model canoes, baskets in all possible shapes and sizes, pottery from Africa and the Americas. Costumes, jewellery and body decoration, locks and keys, tools and weapons and musical instruments... And the list could go on!

So these are just a few snaps I took whilst in there as the light was so dim it was pretty tricky to capture a good shot. I didn't want to leave. I hope to visit again soon. Now I'm going to start sketching as I'm full of inspiration and motivation! ♥

Unfiltered Unicorn Tears

... Puts the sparkle in suffering! ♥

Flying The Nest

... A week today! ♥

Image via Besotted.

Salvage Yard Saturday

The sun is shining and I'm heading out with friends to see what finds I can salvage on this glorious Saturday morning. Happy, happy, happy! ♥

Whimsical Wonderland

Stephen Johnson explores less obvious facets of design. His work centres largely on how design can exist for the cognitive, as well as our more commonly perceived physical needs. Through a love of ornamentation and kitsch he considers design as fulfilling emotional needs like humour and nostalgia. He lives and works in London.

Johnson's storybook candlesticks completely intrigue me. They are the perfect Christmas treat! Fashioned from antique figurines, traditional and familiar shapes of damsels, bunnies and birds are combined to produce wonderful surreal statements in a matte black or snow white finish. ♥

Miniature Marvels

Drawing inspiration from the Modernist era, Annina Günther shares her Brighton based home with four dollhouses, which she stages for photographs that she posts on her blog. Far from pristine representations, Günther aims to include the everyday objects that characterize modern living. "I am not creating dream places," she said. "I want to show the reality, the grit and the mess of living in the city." ♥

Be Very Curious

Luna & Curious, created and nurtured by the collective mind of it's eight founders presents a range of unique, beautiful, exquisitely finished objects and clothing. Creativity and originality are the driving forces at the heart of the Luna & Curious adventure, the antithesis to the mass production we have become so wearily used to, Luna & Curious offers you a world of delights...

Iridescent feathers swing from your neck, whilst porcelain butterflies watch on. There are angry dogs and strange creatures, a treasure trove of lost antiques and embroidery that skips the surface, there is the beautiful and the odd, a wardrobe filled with riches and a little something for the sweet tooth...

Be very curious. ♥

Le Chien Et Moi

An emporium of the unusual and beautiful, Le Chien Et Moi houses both old and new objects with a touch of nostalgia. How I miss the wag of Mulberry's (Le Chien herself) tail and chats with Pip (the proprietor) on my weekly visits to this shop when I once lived in Nottingham. ♥

Fly Away With Me

Oh my, I need this ring in my life pronto! I don't know how I have quite managed to survive without it. I feel incomplete, a half not a whole. Like gin without tonic or a dog without a bone... If it were possible I would snap up Sowat's entire collection, but for now I can only dream that one of these little beauties is flying its way over from France to me. ♥

A Hint Of Superstition

There is a place like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery and danger. Some say to survive it you need to be as mad as a hatter!

I can't wait for Tim Burton's version of Alice In Wonderland to come to our screens next month, but for now I have my eyes on Suzy Lee's version of the tale.

Floating between a mixture of illustrative print and haunting photography this book explores the realm of illusion and reality. Suzy lee's hybrid creations successfully play on size and scale. Each scene contains an eerie, slightly sinister quality, instantly transporting the viewer to a lucid and superstitious wonderland. ♥

Heart & Soul

Bizarre and beautiful paper cut designs by Elsita from The Heart Of Papercuts.

Ps. A BIG thank you to my dear friend Katy over at Fison-Zair for her lovely post about my work today. It was a very nice suprise! Thank youuu. ♥

Porcelain Pooches

Puglets, Boston Terriers and much more recently the French Bulldog are three breeds of pooch I simply adore. Their little faces are just so squished and ugly I find them too cute to resist.

I especially like Katie Parker's collection of ceramic dogs, each produced from porcelain, china paint and a plaster base. My favourite is the first covered in a glossy red coat. This vivid hue totally transforms the piece. I also love the polka dots, creepy crawlies and floral elements.

There is something very attractive about the surreal elements within Katie's work. Curious pieces indeed! ♥

French Fancy

Miniature studies of animals, plants and organisms create a strange and superstitious universe within the work of French artist Lyndie Dourthe.

Filigree florals merge alongside stuffed creatures great and small. Fabric specimens, internal structures and carcass remains are combined in visually exciting and highly unusual compositions. Each object is organised, labelled and sorted into boxes or housed within glass domes, all the more emphasising the delicacy and minute scale of each piece.

Once complete I like to imagine the designs are stored within a giant cabinet of curiosities in Lyndie Dourthe’s atelier waiting patiently to be sold to a lucky new owner! ♥

Curious Creations

Wow! This collection of magnificent life size designs to lighten up your home are by Front for Moooi and will be sure to catch even the most conservative eye! However they don’t come cheap, no no no! A black Rabbit Lamp of your very own will cost £329, while a giant Horse Lamp will set you back a whopping £3624! ♥