Anti-cacophony

I don’t know about you, but after the cacophony of the last couple of weeks I feel in need of a complete rest and recharge.

Here’s hoping this week’s faves both inspire and help fill your creative spirit.

Cheers, Arren

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I found myself totally spellbound watching Mattea McNurlen at work in this video, painting Moglea’s completely covetable linen bound notebooks. How amazing is that?

Helmed by Chad and Meg Gleason, and based out of their Audubon, Iowa, farm/studio, Moglea’s artful stationery is a colourfully crafted antidote to the blank page. The Swan design is part of their Fall ‘20 collection, but there’s loads more to ogle here, including lots more hand-painted pieces. Love.

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Rough, smooth, modern and organic - Meet Wil & Co. Interior designer Allison Willson recently launched her new lighting collection, and it’s already attracting the right kind of notoriety because, well, it’s rather scrumptious.

Made in Canada of materials that invite you to touch them - think darkly patinated brass, mouth-blown glass in a softly milky hue, and twisted and braided jute - the line consists of five handsome artisan-made fixtures practically begging for the chance to amp up your interior.

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Just breathe.

Nestled in the rocky Tramuntana mountains of Mallorca, with views overlooking the Mediterranean, Mar Plus Ask architects have created a project called The Olive Houses. Literally built into the landscape, the two off-grid houses are finished in a palette of pink and purple stucco inspired by the olive trees on the property.

Between the two, you’ll find a simple and spare kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and living space - all powered by solar panels - which the architects Mar Vicens and Ask Anker Aistrup envision as a quiet refuge for architects, artists and writers around the year. See more here.

To quote Liz Lemon, “I want to go to there.”

Photos: Piet-Albert Goethals

Hot seats and beachside villas

It feels hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk, so thank heavens friends introduced us to Botica’s Spanish Valencian Orange Gin. Poured over lots of ice and served with good tonic (or, in our case Italian mandarin soda), it’s the perfect antidote to this July heat.

Cheers, Arren

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How incredible! Designed as an intensely creative endeavour between Thabisa Mjo of Mash.T Design Studio and South African furniture makers Houtlander, the Hlabisa Bench features a stunningly sinuous pink basketweave backrest woven by Zulu master weaver Beauty Nxongo.

Watch Nxongo at work on the bench here, working in locally harvested palm that is all dyed by hand. Oh, and if pink is not your thing? The Hlabisa Bench is also available in a slightly more sober, though no less graphic pattern - Take a gander here.

Image: Beauty Ngxongo, master weaver of Zulu baskets, and Stephen Wilson of Houtlander

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“A creative village by the ocean where music, art, design, food and wellness play together,” is an apt description of the ace new Potato Head hotel in Bali. Sustainability is the focus, with award winning architecture designed by OMA and collabs on furnishings with big name design talents like Faye Toogood and Max Lamb. There’s a lot to love, but - thanks to the current situation - we’ll have to wait to enjoy it as the project is in hibernation until later this year.

In the meantime, you can ogle some of the fab pieces included in the rooms, like Lamb’s Study Chair. The cool seat is made by local Balinese craftspeople from a confetti-patterned recycled plastic material from Smile Plastics (watch the video below).

Each chair comprises of 833 recycled plastic bottles - seriously stylish and sustainable or, as Potato Head would say, #GoodTimesDoGood.

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We’re dialling in more of those summer vibes with interior designer Alicia Ruach’s take on a laid-back beachside villa..

As Rauch explained to House & Home, “I love the contemporary beach house vibe! The warm wood tones and crisp whites juxtaposed with black accents add a punch of drama and interest. This style is a sophisticated coastal retreat that you would find on the picturesque coasts of South Africa.”

It’s good to dream, right?

Hot seats for summer

As Toronto is about to move into Phase 2, everyone and their best friend seems intent on hitting the barbershops and hairdressers. Me? I’m happy to keep on rocking my homemade haircut for a while longer.

How are things feeling in your part of the world?

Cheers, Arren

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I popped by Augustus Jones this week on the hunt for garden furniture for a client, and took the chance for a masked chinwag with owner Cliff Smith.

I first met Cliff, his wife Yasmin and daughter Amanda years back, when we shot their Toronto home for Flare magazine. Back then Cliff told me about their country property, an old canning factory, that they were stripping back to bare bones. Fast forward to earlier this year, when the house was featured in Objekt magazine looking all sorts of cool, take a gander here.

While at Augustus Jones I was taken by a chair from Tolix. Nope, not the classic and oft copied A Chair from 1925. Instead it’s the Patrick Norguet designed T14 Chair, which feels fresher and more contemporary. A modern classic, if you will. Oh, and if you’re wondering, it sits like a dream, perfect for a long, lazy afternoon with sangria.

Image: T14 Chairs and N Table

Image: Tolix T14

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After discovering the work of artisan Amina Haswell on Insta, I’ve come to the understanding that my life is incomplete without a handmade broom.

Based in Manitoba, Haswell makes her brooms, brushes and whisks (small handheld sweeper-uppers) using a mix of corn broom grown on her property, plus some sourced from further afield. You can order her work, tied in your choice of coloured cord - Twenty different tints to be exact, including a rather jazzy rainbow dipped number.

Check out the full Prairie Breeze collection here, or shop in person at an upcoming Third + Bird urban market in Winnipeg.

Image: Edo Whisk Broom

Image: Sailor Brooms

Image: Whisks and Brushes in Rainbow Cord

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I’m an absolute fiend when it comes to prints and patterns, so it’s obvious that London-based designer Eva Sonaike’s textiles give me major ooh-ooh-ah’s.

Sonaike’s ‘Bringing Colour to Life’ ethos definitely comes into play in the collection’s vibrant West-African aesthetic - Shrinking violets and nervous nellies need not apply. Get some yardage and get happy. What are you waiting for?

Peruse the complete Eva Sonaike collection of fabrics, cushions, lampshades and more here.

Image: Sonaike at work in her studio

Image: The Falomo collection