folk style

its always best to go with ones own style in a personal little store like mine, so now the question is, how do i translate my folk style?!

what to do when you are torn between styles

the cute and fresh look

the vintage look

the raw pared down look

retro

what do i do with my new store when I am so torn between styles? i love the 'raw minimalist' look, as well as the vintage packrat look, the mid century look and the cute look.....i feel that a shop must have an overriding theme and so i'm asking you to help me decide!!! take a look at my new shop space below and let me know if you have any ideas for me!

my tiny new shop space

spotlight on orla kiely

irish designer, orla kiely, has her fair share of design stalkers worldwide. her happy retro and vintage inspired designs and her savviness never fail to amaze. best known for her handbags, stationery and wallpaper, where her beautiful prints can best be appreciated, orla also branched out into fashion. i think this talented lady can't put a foot wrong! i love everything that she has created, with her ceramics and dinnerware being a firm favourite.
read an interview with orla here and be sure to salivate over her website here.

the pared down look

i'm really loving the pared down look at the moment. but i also love the cluttered collectables style and the mid century modern style and the......and the.........well, i'm loving this style today. i don't know if it has a name, but i like to call it 'raw minimalism.'

newsflash

moxy crocheted cushions will soon be in store, thanks to the lovely laura agreeing to beautify my store with them.

more sa talent...

a colleague from a previous copywriting job, sent me a link to marisa girardi presents, to look at the cutest little plush toys. marisa is yet another talented local capetonian designer....there must be something in the water here! take a peek at more of her creations here

toasty interiors

....and their blue accents and interiors somehow manage, most probably with a little influence from their stylist, twig hutchinson, to delicately sidestep any notions of being too pretty or tired in evoking serene rustic beach house scenes. how do they do it????

warm and toasty

in my previous post i mentioned how i'd struggled to find beautiful images using ink blue to its full potential in fashion and interior styling, but i happened upon one of my favourite stores, 'toast' and am loving their use of this brilliant colour, teamed with yellow.

inky blue

image taken from stylist kim gray's website

inky blue colours are beginning to surface slowly as trend forecasters predicted. i found some influences in fashion images from websites in the u.k. and the states but i've found little yet amongst handmade websites and interior styling or products. i love the combination of watermelon and inky blue, for that daring colourful edge.

a little more about stanford

here's an article i wrote about stanford last month. i'd not seen the published version until now, its looks pretty smart!

A Long Weekend in Stanford

“It is only in the country that we can get to know a person or a book” – Cyril Connolly, The Unquiet Grave, 1945

Described as the place that time forgot, Stanford Village in the Overberg, is only one and a half hours from Cape Town, yet is worlds away. Its dusty roads and weathered historical cottages seen from the high road on the way to some place else, are only a misleading facade, for this quaint village evokes the poet in every weary man’s heart and stills the roaming.

click here to find out more about this beautiful little town that time forgot...

beatnik bazaar is relocating to stanford

i've decided to move my shop to stanford where it will be in a beautiful space surrounding a willow tree courtyard and a coffee shop. wish me luck!

saarinen replica table and chairs for sale

beatnik bazaar is also selling a set of two saarinen replica chairs with a dining table for R2750. please contact us on 079 519 4979 if you're interested! the set seats 5 comfortably and is in good condition. the chairs will need to be recovered but i can suggest a great reasonably priced place to go.

oak cabinets for sale

sale sale sale, 2 oak cabinets for sale. come have a look at the oak cabinets i'm selling from my store for R650 each. they are brilliant for small spaces.

gwen loves harold

whats not to love about 'gwen loves harold dolls?' nicky, the talented crafter behind these gorgeous dolls will be supplying beatnik bazaar from this week, so be sure to pop your heads in to coo coo at them!

returned from holiday

my laptop has returned from holiday a few days later than i and now i can finally create a new blog post. my son, my friends and i had the most wonderful holiday in hogsback and in the knysna forest after all the hard work at the grahamstown festival and now i'm back home and moving into a new cottage today! i'll take a few pics when i'm all set up there, with my beautiful little things from beatnik bazaar scattered about of course! take a look at my holiday pics, of the two forests i stayed in.