Quaint & Rustic in Italy

I am preparing for a ten day's art class in Umbria, Italy this fall. (More on that when we return). Here is another place - Albergo Diffuso in Sextantio S. Stefano, I've been contemplating for another art course in Italy. It's VERY rustic, and reading the visitors comments on TripAdvisor, many of the beautiful rooms have very small windows and are poorly lit, so they may very well be too dark to work in, should the weather be bad. What do you think? Would you stay in a quaint Italian village & hotel like this? 

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LASTING TREND - Craft is the new Black

Top left - design by Benar Venet and Marie-Andrée Côté

By Katakuchi-Hachi (right)

By Mozambican carvers. Brooch (right) by Kaori Zuzu

By Barbara Gilhooly (left)

By Africa Craft Trust (left) 

Top right: pendant by Julia Turner (right)

Below left: by Peter Bauhuis

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Rethink your table settings

Bringing nature to your table via wooden plates and cutlery may not be the most practical, perhaps? But it is very trendy. Very right now. At flee markets you may still find beautiful wooden items for almost nothing. Prefer new ones? Check out british designer Gary Allson's wooden plates, bowls and cutlery below. More at Gary Allson Design

Below: plates of wood and clay from Mollys Cafe Istanbul in Istanbul:

DIY ORIGAMI - Beautiful Paper Ornaments for Christmas

Looking for something new to decorate your home or office this Christmas? How about these origami decorations? As window dressing? Or Christmas tree decorations? All these beauties are by GoOrigami. If you plan do fold something like these beauties, I guess you have to start practicing NOW! I know I will. 

Go here for lots and lots of inspiration. 

Old Disused Stoneware Factory come to life again - Wallåkra

I recently visited Wallåkra, a small village in the south of Sweden. I came to see an textile/embroidery exhibition, and found an 150 year old, disused Stoneware Industry turned into a Cultural Center. I instantly fell in love with the old brick buildings, and the beautiful surroundings. What was once an old Industry, using the clay and coal in the ground, is today the studio for four ceramic designers.
The area also include a small restaurant, a shop and coffee bar, a "stage" for concerts in the summer, and much more. Here are a few of photos of what you can find at this must-see place, just outside Helsingborg in Skåne. More info at their Facebook page and website.

Some info in Swedish, based on an article in the Swedish newspaperHelsingborgs Dagblad 13 juni 2014:
Ugnen går fortfarande varm på en av Sveriges sista stenkärlsfabriker, Wallåkra Stenkärlsfabrik i Helsingborg. Med 150 år av traditioner i ryggen har keramikern Åsa Orrmell (se videon nedan) skapat en inspirerande mötesplats för både turister och lokalbefolkning. För några år sedan fick hon Svenskt kulturarvs eldsjälspris. Och när fabriken behövde renovera den gamla, uttjänta ugnen fick hon engagerade människor att ställa upp och bidra.
Verksamheten på Wallåkra består idag av keramikverkstad, butik, restaurang och en livaktig eventverksamhet med bland annat ljusstöpning och drejning. Varje sommar har man även uppskattade grillkvällar med levande musik. Läs hela artikeln här.



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Rustic and raw living Wabi Sabi Style

I love visiting my friend's old farm in Östersund, in the north of Sweden. There are all together eight houses on the land - three of them are homes, dating back to 1710. The big house (above left) was built 1816. As you can see from my photographs I can't get enough of all the naturally aged materials. Wabi Sabi living, if ever there was one! I will show you more images from this wonderful farm in coming days. Until then - enjoy the holiday season wherever you are.  

Above: love the way someone has practiced his signature on a piece of paper found in the house. Below: the view from the train of the passing Swedish countryside

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Swedish Design in the Front line

One of many favorite design firms, are the (many times over) award winning Swedish design team Front. I have blogged about their work before, and they keep coming up with new unique designs. With a twist.... 

Remember the Blow Away vase? Here are a few examples of what they'd done since. 

First, the Axor shower system for Hansgrohe. In their own words: We were inspired by water pathways in their most original form. We wanted to draw attention to the hidden aesthetics of technology in a particularly elegant way, turning pipes, joints, valves and funnels into a new shower set.  

The chair Collage (above and below) is part of a series of furniture, that has its origins in the archives of this 150 year old Swedish firm Gemla. Throughout the design process, tools and shapes from the past have been re-used, enhanced and complemented. 

The Elle Deco Winner chair (above) is in the shape of two joined arches and made of wood and upholstered leather. 

The Mikado Cupboard (below) for Porro, is an a transparent structure made of olive ash. The result is a piece of furniture somewhere between a vitrine and a cupboard... 

This year the London Design Museum nominated the Surface Tension Lamp (above) for the Designs of the Year 2013.  

The striped mattress (below) is made for the Italian firm Morfeus 

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