Carmen - a lover or a fighter?

This'll have to be quick-sticks for me, since I'm about to slap some fresh-caught Chinook salmon on the grill and uncork a lovely red - It's been that kind of day. I did want to taken a sec to share my favouritest (I know, it's not a word) lamp that I spotted at the ICFF a while back. It's Carmen from FontanaArte, and comes in the lovely table version below, as well as a pendant option too.

I think it's the witty shape, and the crisp lines in white powder-coated steel that make me just love it so. Funnily enough Héctor Serrano, the designer behind Carmen, was inspired by medieval armour, but if you ask me I see more of a frilly bathing cap thing happening. To each their own I guess. Oh, and I also scored a snap of Serrano's notebook with his initial sketches for the line. Don't you love getting a peek into the creative process?

Oh, Bitossi...

While on one hand I'm seriously considering a clean sweep and tossing out every last bit of clutterbug collectibles I have hanging around the house, on the other hand I'm jonesing for these Bitossi vases from DWR. Yes, they're limited edition, hand-thrown, embossed and painted by hand (click here to watch a clip of all that in action). Yes, they're by the masterful Italian artist and ceramist Aldo Londi and yes, they were first produced back in the '50s and '60s. So basically it's a win, win, win, except perhaps for the price, which puts them into the realm of serious collector, rather than where I'm at, which is more on the vintage store rummager end of things. Shucks.

Wash and brush up, Italian style

Phew. This has been quite the barmy few weeks, wrangling everything from styling gigs for romance novel covers, to working on super cool celeb filled projects for the Toronto International Film Festival. So, let's make it a quick one the, shall we?

I first saw Falper at the Cersaie bathroom-a-palooza trade show last year in Bologna, Italy, and totally fell for their whole look. So, once I got my hot little hands on their catalogue I thought I should definitely share a few fave shots. These just happen to be all black and white interiors - though as you know I have nothing against colour - and everything, right down to that last styling detail, is mah-vellous!