Emma Dolan's Tweed Tea-Cups

Tea-cups AND textiles!? I did a happy twirl when I read about British textile designer Emma Dolan's gorgeous fabric tea-cups, hand crafted using beautiful, heritage Harris Tweed fabric over on Do What You Love last week. Aren't they wonderful?

Emma uses various techniques such as needle felting, printing and stitching onto and into the Harris Tweed, to replicate the many wonderful design classic tea-cups she collects. Her design inspiration ranges from Charles Rennie Mackintosh to Clarice Cliff to TG Green Cornishware and you can view a selection of her work in the gallery section of her website. I love the polka dot ones, and her nursery collection that features transfer prints of vintage childrens' illustrations - these would make such amazing keepsake gifts for a new baby!

I can only imagine Emma's excitement at holding a workshop at the V&A this November - what an accolade! I wish you all the best with this Emma and that your dream of travelling across America with your family, teaching Harris Tweed tea-cup workshops comes true very soon!

You can register for Emma's tea-cup making workshop at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London on Saturday 12th November right here (oh, I wish I could go!)

And please pop over to Do What You Love to read the full interview Beth did with Emma right here - you have to see the 19thC converted schoolhouse Emma lives in with her family up in Yorkshire, England; it's idyllic!

Don't know about you, but I quite fancy a cup of tea....

Lisa x

{images by Beth Nicholls via Do What You Love and Emma Dolan via Emma Dolan used with kind permission - thanks ladies!}

Home to Roost

I'm heading back to the UK tomorrow morning for a cheeky visit with my family. Apart from being excited about spending quality time with my nearest & dearest (Christmas was a whirlwind tour!) I am also looking forward to some retail therapy

I love to hit the charity shops when I'm back in the UK - this is where I source many of my materials for the Get Smitten collections. It's so important to me to make the effort to reduce the amount of textile waste the Western world produces with its quick & easy, high turn around fashion culture. More about that another time though! Plus it's nice to support the charities too. I also love to scout for interesting items to use when I'm styling - be it books, vases, vintage patterns or kitschy ornaments. Here's a quick run down on what I'll be hunting for this trip

• retro sewing patterns
• vintage crochet patterns
• odd balls of yarn
• suitable jumpers to unravel for the yarn
• retro bedlinen
• cut glass vases
• books with interesting covers
• vintage sewing/haberdashery notions

 Mum & I are heading to the Victoria & Albert museum - to see the much talked about Quilt: 1700-2010 exhibition. I adore the V&A and am beside myself at the thought of seeing all the amazing quilts they have on display. I have spent many hours checking out the textiles at the V&A  over the last 20 years, although mostly in darkened rooms through flat glass plates, so it will be a real treat to see them in their full glory. You can find out all about the exhibition here

And lastly, I will be making the most of my trip to London by swooning at the gorgeous items in Anthropology. Can't wait to see what they have done for their displays - I totally LOVE their visual merchandising

There's always such a comfort in a trip back to see family - having lived abroad for so many years now I really treasure those moments of laughter, reminiscing & unconditional love. I have several items back there that I want to photograph so I can tell you about them in future posts here. I want to dig out my old ballet shoes so that I can take a dance class here. I want to find my A-Level copy of Pride & Prejudice - the one with all my course notes in. I want to look through the old photo albums of when we were kids. I want to feel that feeling you get when you're surrounded by your favourite people in the the whole world. Home is where the heart is. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to pack!

We HEART Liberty!

A trip to ye olde city of London isn't complete without a visit to Liberty - the building is beautiful & oozes history, the window displays (especially at Christmas) are a joy to behold & inside is a rabbit warren emporium of wonderfulness.

For me though, Liberty is epitomised by the fabrics - there is just something quite special about those delicate prints, sophisticated colour palettes and drape & quality of the fabric that I find almost mesmerizing. I have been collecting bits of Liberty fabrics now for many years - they are not that easy to come by & are usually a bit pricey, but hey, the FEEL of them is so worth it! I recently made a series of paper organisers featuring a Liberty fabric covered button so that it added a touch of quintessential British vintage glam to my desk & all those mundane bills & invoices that needed tackling. I guess the aim is to one day have enough to incorporate into a divine patchwork quilt.

Talking of which, I am so very tempted to book a flight back to London just to feast my peepers on this new exhibition at the V&A (that's Victoria & Albert Museum for anyone that isn't sure - my most favourite place in the UK). Quilts 1700-2010 runs from 20th March until 4th July 2010 and features this beautiful Liberty Jack quilt (above) by Janey Forgan. *swoon* I need to see this exhibition!

Fabric lovers & patchworkers take note; to celebrate the Quilts 1700-2010 exhibition, Liberty Art Fabrics and the V&A Shop have collaborated on a limited edition collection of 18 printed cottons featuring designs from quilts in the V&A’s collections. All fabrics are 100% cotton and sold by the metre making them perfect for quilting, dressmaking and patchwork as well as homewares and many other craft projects. Prices start at just £3.50 for a fat quarter and can even be ordered online Yay! The V&A totally have this covered & you can even follow the behind the scenes action of the exhibition at the curators blog.

The big news of the moment is that Liberty have collaborated with US giant Target to offer an affordable range of fashion & homewares launching on March 14th. Luckily for us Brits the range can also be bought online from Liberty.co.uk and will be in the store itself from April. The designs will feature the Liberty's iconic micro-floral prints on bedding, gardening items, piggy banks, lamps, candles, storage boxes, ceramic and melamine dishes, and even a bicycle! Hello summer, riding through the park! And as for the dresses, well, check out the sneak peak video clip here... be warned, they are exceptionally gorgeous!

"I am thrilled by the way Target has interpreted the flower power of Liberty by mixing, in a very modern way, our heritage prints with the widest ever range of products from lingerie to design chairs to bicycles," said Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye, chief executive of Liberty, in a release. "The collection is a very youthful interpretation of the love and rebellion values that Liberty of London stands for."

Confused & bemuddled at the choice of prints to get your mits on? Try the Patternality test on the Liberty of London & Target Facebook page. I took the test and they decided my pattern of choice is Mark. Personally I think I love the Sixty print most.

"You are a little arty and a lot delightful. Hopping into the convertible with your three-ring binder and your shoes off—it's splendid
And so it is with pride that Liberty of London can lead you to the fab paisley wonderland that is Mark. Dive in—it's wonderful in here."

The top snapshot of the Liberty building was taken on my last trip back to the UK at Christmas, down Carnaby Street. How delish is that!? I'm not sure if the building is always like that or whether it was part of the 60's vibe they had going on down Carnaby Street but I'm so glad I got to see it with my very own eyes!

Did you know that Liberty offers craft workshops? No, neither did I! But you can sign up a week ahead of each class and learn about sewing, knit, crochet, colour theory. Their current schedule can be found here

And finally, here's a little history...
Arthur Lasenby Liberty first opened his Regent Street store in London in 1875, selling ornaments, fabric and decorative objects from Japan and the East. In 1885 he expanded the location and added carpets and furniture. In the 1890s, Liberty built strong relationships with leading English designers of the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau movements and incorporated the styles into the shop. Over the decades, Liberty of London grew into a destination emporium for eclectic renderings of contemporary and traditional designs in fabrics, homegoods, furniture, accessories, gifts and apparel.