How is your creativity? I was reading an interesting post by artist and illustrator Lisa Congdon about what she describes as the ‘Skill Gap’ between our vision and our ability. It totally jibes with how I’ve been feeling under lockdown, thinking about starting a new project and then hitting a wall when I actually give it a try. And I love how she explains that it’s okay to be shitty on the path to greatness. Wise words indeed.
Cheers, Arren
First up, two projects that caught my eye. Both from entirely different parts of the world, both with a different and equally fab point of view, and both using Kelly Wearstler’s Graffito wallpaper. Why do they work??? And what is it about KW’s trademark handpainted pattern that is the boffo touch in both interiors?
Well, if you ask me, it’s the abstract vibe. The theatricality. The DRAMA that this edgy pattern gives. Its become a bit of a classic, no?
Australian designer and stylist Jono Fleming used it to add that oomph on his parent’s place. I’m looooving the modern desert vibe the pattern in Salmon Cream gives, layered against all those soft blushes and naturals in the palette. See the full room shot here, as well as the rather grungy ‘before’.
Design/Styling: Jono Fleming. Photo: Kristina Šoljo
Then MONIOMI Design, out of Miami, amped up an already peppy and pattern filled bathroom with a wall in the Onyx Beige colourway. Taking the space from polished Art Deco to something much more current and crush-worthy.
Design/Photo: MONIOMI Design
I’m such a fan of BTS shots of how a stylist actually lives, playing around with the things they collect themselves, and snapping and sharing the results.
Sania Pell is definitely one to follow on Insta for softly poetic and moody assemblages of things found and collected over time. The shot below is a fave of mine, with its monochrome mix, texture and almost-clutter-but-not thoughtfulness. Not to mention the PATINA!
Styling/Photo: Sonia Pell
Let’s finish up today with vases. But, ya know, not just any old glass or ceramic vessels. Nope, these ones are knitted. Yes, knitted, by Amsterdam-bases textile wunderkind Charles-Antoine Chappuis. Each of his fantabulous Soft Amphorae series has different coloured sides to max out your hot shelfie lewks, and can be turned upside down, holding water on either end using found glass objects. Knit of linen and recycled yarn sourced from textile factories, the handles are malleable, allowing you to add extra swerves and shapes to a piece as the mood takes you.
Just think how killer a slew of these would be, sitting odd but pretty on a surface. Want your own? Check out the whys and wherefores of where to find them here.
Photo: Charles-Antoine Chappuis