NEW Bold & Noble calendars SIGH

Surrounded by baubles and tinsel, I eventually found my keyboard (buried beneath a heap of half-eaten mince pies) and decided to interrupt the madness that is ‘Christmas in July’, to bring you some VERY important news. Bold and Noble (our letterpress pals) have made the wise decision to print some lovely calendar wall charts. Drum roll, purlease…

Hurrah. They’ll be £43 each and online soon. But which to choose…?  – Ellie

Wood’s Ware at Paperchase

Ah, Beryl. What a name. Perfect for an iconic British tableware range. Wood’s Ware ‘Beryl’ china has become a designer classic. Mostly green (are we calling it mint?), it still fills dusty kitchen cupboards in village halls, Scout huts and churches up and down the country. It’s become a symbol of 1940s, utilitarian, chic. I once bought a whole set of Beryl Wood’s Ware in the rarer primrose yellow colour (officially, it’s called ‘Jasmine’ I think) for next to nothing at a car boot. It reminds me of having tea with my grandparents…

Lovely photos here from vintage shop, Patchwork Harmony…

…anyway, this is all very lovely, but what’s the actual POINT?! The point IS, Paperchase has just released it’s AW11 collection and I was chuffed to see some rather splendid Wood’s Ware cake stands and clocks, made from ‘upcycled’ Beryl plates. How very exciting. The clocks are made from tea cups and plates, and I spent an unhealthy amount of time admiring them at the press show. They’re going to start at around £35 and will be in store around September time. Of course, I would never suggest that you learn how to safely drill a hole in a vintage plate, buy some clock hands cheaply from HobbyCraft or Clas Ohlson, then make your own for £3. That would be very cheeky indeed. – Ellie

HOT SHOP: BLUESUNTREE

Yes, it sounds like a Chinese takeaway, but bear with me…

It all started with a mild case of Eames DSW chair obsession. One day, I noticed that my ‘OFFICES TO OGLE’ desktop folder had begun to fill up with desks that had Eames DSW chairs in front of them. (The one above’s a new AW11 White Company shot. sigh.) Things got worse when I renamed the folder: ‘THE CHAIR I MUST OWN’, and I knew it was serious when, one drizzly day in a Croydon department store, I sat in a DSW for 53 minutes to ‘test’ the seat before being dragged away, tearful, confused, clutching at legs, wailing about my miserable bank balance. Ah me. An iconic mid-century Scandi-style chair with minimalist maple wood legs, black metal struts and a crisp white curved seat doesn’t come cheap. In fact, each chair is £302. Ouch. So, if you want six, that’s, (erm, calculator please, thanks) £1,812. OH THE PAIN AND THE INJUSTICE OF IT ALL.

So, imagine my delight, dear reader, when I discovered the most random-yet-useful Leicestershire-based website ever: Bluesuntree. For (ignoring the peculiar company name), me hearties, here be treasure. Treasure I tell thee!

Bluesuntree is THE place to go for designer-style buys on a budget. There are coffee tables. Sofas. Rugs. Mirrors. And Eames DSW style chairs for just £51 each. And honestly, you can’t tell the difference. I should know, I’ve sat on a few. In an ideal world I’d invest in the original and own an iconic design blah blah blah…but until then, this is the next best thing. – Ellie