Tools of the Trade - 4

These are our measuring and counting pins. We made the set here in the studio and use them to mark off metres of fabric. I cannot overstate how useful they are - sometimes it is the smallest simplest things that make all the difference.

And speaking of tools - I love this image by Kangan Arora of the 'Master Scissors Workshop' in Ludhiana. I was over the moon when Kangan gave me a print of the image - it is hanging now next to a painting of damsons by Bridget MacDonald in our house - lovely echoes of deep shadowy plummy colours.

Spick and Span

Just finished dusting our shelves and plumping our cushions ready for our Open Studios. It's a good feeling to see the studio looking so spick and span...

Hope you can make it along this weekend - it's a lovely chance to see behind the scenes in all the studios here in Deptford.

For details on the opening times please see the Cockpit Arts website

House & Garden + Open Studios

Very pleased to have our Peppercorn blanket included in this shoot by Ruth Sleightholme for the July issue of House and Garden.

And a reminder that we have our summer Open Studios coming up at Deptford next weekend - 13-15 June.

We will have our new lambswool throws and cushions for sale as well as limited edition pieces, samples and other odds and ends. All the studios here at Deptford will be open over the weekend and it is a lovely chance to see behind the scenes.

Please see the Cockpit Arts website for details.

Photos:
top - Jake Curtis,
bottom - Kangan Arora

'Couverture ancienne galloise'

Just thumbing through a copy of Ideat from last year and came across our Scallop blanket in Mandarin in the beautiful house of Mark and Sally Bailey. It's a design that we stopped producing in 2010 - so I suppose that strictly speaking it is from our archive. But amusing to see it captioned as a 'couverture ancienne galloise'...

It is thrown over the bench above and on the end of the bed below.

The Farmiloe Building: details

Upon arriving at the Farmiloe Building, host to the Design Factory for Clerkenwell Design Week 2014, we were immediately greeted by a spectacular mural. A collaboration between Johnson Tiles and Ptolemy Mann, this large tiled installation was a colourful delight.

Whilst walking through the show, we were struck by the beauty of the Farmiloe Building itself.

The building interior, once the headquarters of the glass and lead merchants George Farmiloe & Sons, has a number of remaining architectural features and interesting details that give you a glimpse into the building's past and previous use. 

One of our favourite features in particular was the unexpected maze of panelled offices on the first floor. The narrow corridors and little rooms are sectioned by part glass walls. The light through the textured glass creates lovely patterning.

Hot off the Press

We have been lucky to have had a great run of press recently. Here are some of the pieces:

they are - from the top:

Elle Decoration - May 2014
French Elle Decoration - April 2014
Elle Decoration - June 2014
House and Garden - June 2014

Pelikan

Here are Amber and Willem - recent additions to the Pelikan family and beautifully restored and re-upholstered in our Aerial fabrics.

Amber is in our Rowridge Fabric used B side up. Willem comes in two versions - the chair which is in the Totley A side and the sofa which is in the Totley B side.

Pelikan specialize in " ... midcentury sofas, day beds, bed setees, two seaters, chairs and more choice pieces, hand-picked for their design, form and function, in an ever changing collection..."

In their own words "... we get to know all our Pelikan furniture family - we only buy pieces we love. In our care each midcentury piece goes through a transformation, with its original spirit and splendour always retailed...We believe people want furniture with a bit of personality, classic design and great quality, the real thing , but updated, restored. Each finished piece is unique, a midcentury original. we never do the same thing twice..."

 Photos: Pelikan