Miniatures

I procured a pair of bucolic silhouettes from a boot fair in Gloucestershire, I am in pursuit of more diminutive masterpieces. There is something so innately precious about an intricately painted portrait or landscape. A beautiful artist friend of mine: Alice Instone, has painted a series of Lilliputian portraits and charms. A tribute to the sombre yet romantic Victorians who would treasure such keepsakes of a beloved within a locket or a coat pocket for the rest of their mortal toil.

I Heart Ferrowatt.

I have always been moth like in my tendencies: often drawn to things that glimmer and flicker in the dark. The Ferrowatt bulb is a jewel for your home, a miniature, flaming beacon of amber gold, smouldering sensuously and casting seductive shadows in a hall, stairwell or boudoir. Thomas Edison would be so proud of his humble little invention if he were to see it igniting the banqueting suite of many a boutique hotel and luxurious dwelling. I urge you to hunt these bulbs down before I plunder the net for a personal stockpile.

Graced

I was introduced to the works of U.S artist Grace O'Connor by a gallerist friend, Paul Stolper, he showcased her "Tinkerville" collection a few years ago, I have been an avid collector since. I have always favoured photo realism and the figuritive over the abstract, for me the language and sentiment is clearer. Her inspirations are pooled from her own small town, misspent adolescence and being a band groupie.

Skater dudes and floppy haired Casanovas stare out from the canvas expressing that all too familiar suburban ennui and youthful insouciance. These are prized butterflies encased within a glass frame, once transient now an indelible memory.

The detail and tonal softness of the paintings render each subject with his or her own ethereal and mesmeric beauty, in spite of the ordinariness of their surroundings. Up close you can almost smell the Budweiser and bubblegum on their breath.

Oddities

Meticulously designed spaces have always been a little too contrived for my liking. There is a freshness and spontaneity that goes with 'slap dash' styling, something I enjoy immensely. Do not be fooled by this turn of phrase, 'slap dash' is an art in itself, requiring an open mind and masses of conviction.

A selection of sepia printed postcards tacked haphazardly onto a wall and a mantlepiece laden with treasures add instant nostalgia and edge to any room. I have amassed a fine collection of busts, mannequins and milliner's blocks which are perfect for draping necklaces, scarves and hats or as a focal point for a cabinet or chest display. Such touches are inexpensive and enjoyable to procure, I often marvel at how throw away our culture is, I once came across an entire crate of Amish stars in an (N.Y.C) East Village dumpster , I felt like a lottery winner!!

Accidental Beauty

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Fuel for the imagination lurks everywhere: a bizarrely curated shop front, discarded boxes, faded wallpaper denoting a bygone, gilded era and heartfelt urban scrawls.

Hell Yes!!!

Hell's Kitchen was the somewhat insalubrious setting for a Flea Market forage on Sunday. It delivered yet required generous lashings of stamina and focus, a feat in this piping hot stew of a city. A sumptuous pile of linen and lace satiated my spending urge, I was also drawn to a collection of candid 'naked beach babe' photographs taken throughout the 1970s and 80s, compellingly voyeuristic and Newtonesque.

OBSCURA

Pounding the pavements of NYC's Lower East side is a wholly different experience these days, it still maintains an elusivity and edge yet pockets of the neighbourhood have developed into a bustling antique, curios, gastronomic and design mecca. Lula's Vegan sweet apothecary on east 6th sits next to dive-bars and questionable saunas. It is this dichotomy that makes any area a delight to explore.

Obsucra on east 10th is a den of oddities. I wavered between fascination and repugnance as I leafed through a pile of Medical diagrams, depicting the various atrophying states of Venereal disease. Bell jars containing actual shrunken heads and a dizzying array of prosthetic body parts live in giant museum cabinets within the store. I settled for an embroidered 'sacred heart' keepsake and an oil painting of a nude, mustachioed male circa. 1970.

Tassels and Fringing

Maybe I am a showgirl at heart because I have always had a penchant for tassels and dangly, spangly fringing of any sort. I bought this lampshade from junk shop in West Hampstead for a humble tenner. It looks like it belongs in Sybil Fawlty's boudoir yet would not be out of place in a Parisien Salon du The. It is a veritable object of beauty, from its faded mustard hue to its decadent and ruffled edging. A perfect bedside companion sat upon a mirrored console or simply on its own lending any space an incandescent glow. Rescue them.

Ressurection

I have a true hoarding and rescuing sickness. If like me you choose to furnish your life with flea market and skip rummaging finds then allow me to offer a few key "rummager" tips and point you in the direction of some of my fave salvage hotspots:

1. Be an opportunist, look out for house clearances, boot/garage sales, surf ebay, rubbish tips and strolling up and down your local or any residential street can be a rich source of material, I have chanced upon many a brass door knob and cane chair whilst walking the dog. This has to be my preferred and the most satisfying method of salvaging.

2. When walking past a house renovation do not be afraid to ask the builders if you can pilfer through their skip, do not just take, salvaging etiquette requires you to always ask first.

3.Be outlandish and imaginative: dismembered dolly parts can become part of your own art installation if displayed en masse or beneath a bell jar.

4. Always enquire about the provenance of certain pieces, it is such a delight when an original piece tells a story. "Victorian hospital lights salvaged from an asylum" sound macabrely more desireable than plain old "Victorian hospital lights".

5. Taxidermy is fiercely on trend at the mo. My little sis did a bit of D.I.Y taxidermy for a my birthday present, she acquired some bunny ears off ebay, dried them out and coated them in glitter, they now sit pride of place on the mantlepiece at home, I am toying with idea of turning them into a necklace.

Shops :

Retrouvius
020 8960 6060

Polly Morgan

Baileys home and garden
01989 561931

Trainspotters uk
01453 756677

Glasgow Architectural Salvage
0141 958 1113

Ibizan Eden

I lost a week in an Ibizan idyll. Set up high in the enchanted hills of Santa Eulalia, equidistant between the north and south of the island is Les Terrasses. It is not signposted but land marked by a cobalt blue, Yves Klein Stone, it surely lives up to its elusive and glamourous air.

Starting out as a humble finca, it was purchased by Francoise Pialoux in 1981, then whitewashed and embellished with North African and Gallic objets d'artes. It resembles a truly lived in Artist's abode yet functions as a sexy and contemporary boutique escape. The Gardens are nearly all edible and evenings suffused with the scent of jasmine. The Couscous nights on Tuesdays are worth booking weeks in advance if only to dine al fresco beneath bijoux chandeliers fit for a fairy Queen.

We slept in stone casita 'quatre', replete with singing Geckos, gorgeous linen and vivid dreams. Bliss, bliss, bliss.