COLOURFUL ART @ THE GALLERY @ THE GUILD

Working @ The Gallery @ The Guild today in my hometown Chipping Campden ( England). A cooperative of local artist. Here ceramics by Alice Shephard & painting by Catherine Hope-Jones. (www.thegalleryattheguild.co.uk)

BRITISH DESIGNERS COLLECTIVE @ BICESTER OUTLET

Yesterday I went to Bicester Outlet in Oxfordshire and found this pop up shop, British Designers Collective. A collaboration between The British Fashion Council and Bicester Outlet Village. This is happening for the third year and you can find upcoming great English Designer such as Marios Schwab, Jonathan Saunders, Emma Cook, Peter Pilotti, Nicholas Kirkwood, Preen.... What this means is that Bicester Outlet Village certainly has become a credible shopping destination for fashion snobs. Just look at this fancy exterior with fake greenery and turquoise cherub!

To greet you at the entrance was this magnificent dog in porcelain and the funny painted rococo furniture! Inaugurative!

The whole interior was quirky, modern and done with class on a not too high budget. Impressive. A lovely shopping experience in this village which mainly host well known and high street brands from Mulberry, Prada and Jimmy Choo to Ted Baker, Jack Wills and Jigsaw etc. I bought nice bargain shoes at Clarks! A lot for my 14 year old son but found some awesome wedges for £34 for me! If you are into the big brands, here you get last seasons leftovers for nearly half the price! You can go by train from Marylebone Station in London or take a bus from Victoria or Marble Arch every morning (www.bicestervillage.com)

And guess who was there but famous fashion blogger Susanna Lau (Stylebubble). In high trend pleated skirt and citric coloured Nike's!

Ted Baker is one of my high street favourites. They have done a nice job of there outlet shop! I got myself the citric yellow bag above for my weekend trips to London etc...

There are several places for a snack, lunch or dinner. Carluccio´s (Italian), Pret a Manger, Villandry and Jaime Olivers Fabulous Feasts. If you are lucky the weather is as nice as it was yesterday!

SPRING PENSEÉS AND SLOWCOOKED SPRINGLAMB

Last Sunday was Mothers Day in the UK and we went to Burford Garden Center in Burford! Very nice place with lots of plants, shrubs, roses, interior and exterior design and Country Clothes. Saw this lovely multicoloured Pensé and thought about the Interior Design Display I saw at Designers Guild the week before! See below!
The day before we slow cooked some lamb shoulder, recipe below.
Nice display @ Designers Guild @ Kings Road in London.
Slow cooked lamb shoulder, very easy and super tasty.
You need
1 lamb shoulder
1 whole garlic bulb
4-5 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Flaky salt and freshly milled black pepper
Olive oil

Put the oven on full heat!
Sprinkle some olive oil in oven dish, add a sprig or two of rosemary and half of the garlic cloves.
Rub the shoulder with olive oil, salt and pepper. Put on top of the garlic and rosemary, fat side up. Put the rest of the garlic and rosemary on top.
Cover tightly with aluminium foil and put into the oven. Drop the temperature right away to 170 degrees Celsius and cook for 4 hours!

Make a gravy/juice from the lovely juices in the pan and serve with mashed root vegetables and greens.
This recipe also works well with pork shoulder. Serves about 6!

ANIMALPRINTS, CITRIN YELLOW, SILVER AND PINK AT CHELSEA DESIGN WEEK AND SPRING FASHION DISPLAYS AT HARVEY NICHOLS AND TOPSHOP

Last week in London, Interior Design and Fashion, Spring is here!. Chelsea Design Week was on at Chelsea Harbour and Kings Road and the windows at Harvey Nichols showed spring colours like Citrin from Christopher Kane etc mixed with pleated shirt in silver!
Zara home mixed the tougher yellow with flowers and pink, Nice!
At Designers Guild a quirky mix of Scandinavian vintage, citrin and lime with a background of monochromes! Fresh.
Warmer colour mixes, a bit more Mediterranean. Designers Guild.
Classic patterns at Osborne and Little which made me think of Manuel Canovas during the 1980-ies!
Tough pastels at Topshop. I think they are extraordinary at the moment!
Spring greens at Heal´s. Nice and fresh!
Velvet is back! It was never gone but now in modern fresh colour waves and mixed with stripes and other patterns. Zoffany at Chelsea Harbour!

Tricia Guild in Citrin yellow this morning

Tricia Guild showed off her new collection and blue & white china in her flagship store in Kings Road this morning. Very nice breakfast as usual.

Think Pink

More pink today & The Shop @ Bluebird, Kings Road, London. Made me think of a bubblegum pink Courrege inspired dress I had when I was 14! From HM in Farsta (Stockholm, Sweden) .

PInk @ Chelsea Harbour Designcenter

I was expecting Citrin (tennis ball yellow) to be the big colour @ Chelsea Design Center but it was pale & chocking pink! Fresh & very springlike.

GARDENING IN BLACK AND YELLOW

Spent all day gardening! Look @ these lovely Primulas in black!

VINTAGE CHIC FROM MIO IN BROMMA (STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN)

Yesterday I went to Mio (furniture chain in Sweden) in Bromma. Fairly new this Mio Shop had a nice welcoming roomset with a vintagefeel to it. Armchair about £500.
Inviting table setting! Mix linen placemats with cotton runners and glass! Giant candle holders gives it an extra elegant touch.
Old wooden boxes (here new! but looking old), vintage looking cabinets and a nice sideboard. Mix with glass and metal to get the right vintage look. Mio (www.mio.se). Nice "botanic" wallpaper gives the right final soft touch.