Lovely Things

Daily Telegraph House & Garden Fair 2007

Coming up at the end of June is this year's Daily Telegraph House & Garden Fair. Attractions include the 'Clouds of Scent' concept garden by designer Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, featuring a series of giant floating shapes hanging from the ceiling, workshops on interior colour schemes, lighting and gardens run by the KLC School of Design, plus a spotlight on contemporary young British designers and their work as part of the ISOS Collection. I'm impressed by the promo motif design they've gone with this year - half flower, half lamp ('Supernova' by Ferruccio Laviani for Foscarini). Gorgeous! See the show at London Olympia from 27th - 30th June and book tickets through the site.

Spirit of Christmas Fair

Now I've made a promise that I won't start posting about Christmas-related items until November, but as this show starts on the 1st Nov, I thought I'd better give you a bit of advance notice. The Spirit of Christmas Fair runs from 1st to 5th November and hosts a wealth of Christmas shopping opportunities, plus celebration and decorating ideas. There's also a cookery theatre to give you tips on how not to burn the turkey (and probably a few other things), and House & Garden will be running seminars on festive flowers, mixing cocktails and dressing tables. The show is located at Olympia in London and tickets are £15 in advance.

London Design Festival starts today

Don't miss this year's London Design Festival - celebrating all things design at over 150 different venues.

There's a huge number of participating events including 100% Design showcasing contemporary home products and interiors including lighting, accessories, walls and floors, kitchen and bathrooms and furniture.

There's also lunchtime and breakfast Design Talks to attend, design-led discussions hosted by London Design Festival and Blueprint Magazine at Somerset House and T2 at the Truman Brewery.

New for this year is the I Love Design show at the FuseUK studio, an exhibition showing pieces from 20 up-and-coming designers from the UK. The show features new furniture, ceramics, interior and exterior home products and lighting.

If you work in the design industry, check out the new community launching at Designersblock on 20th September, DesignersAreWankers.com. It aims to be a "place where people can communicate, pick up the necessary skills to further their careers, learn from industry gurus and showcase their portfolios".

The festival starts today and runs until the end of September. There's absolutely loads to see and do, so pick up your festival guide from one of the participating venues.

Autumn Top Drawer show

This week I visited Top Drawer Autumn at Olympia in London to have a nose around what's new.

The link between interior and fashion trends was very clear from looking at the monochrome theme of many of the stands. Lots of black and white, and black and silver - very elegant and understated with a vintage feel.

I hope to show you a selection of products in the next week, but due to photography restrictions, there's going to be a bit of image research needed. One display of products I'd love to show you was Christmas baubles and decorations (yes it's coming up!) from The Original Winters' Tale as their gorgeous baubles were strung on ribbon and hung in curtains or bunches and looked stunning. Unfortunately, the company doesn't allow any photography of their products (even for retail marketing) to protect against design copying.

House & Garden Fair next week

There's nothing like having a good session ogling pretty things for your home and garden! Next week the Daily Telegraph House & Garden Fair comes to Olympia in London with ideas and inspiration for interiors, outdoor living and garden, entertaining and gourmet food and wine.

Show areas include Women on a Roll - the innovatively titled installation featuring the talents of female wallpaper designers Lyn Randall, Deborah Bowness and Claire Coles.

Other attractions include International Designer Rooms where the best of the UK's architects and designers respond to the theme of 'responsible design', and Henrietta Green's FoodLovers Fair featuring specialty UK produce and gourmet goods.

The show runs from the 29th June to the 2nd July and tickets cost £15 in advance or £16 at the door. All visitors booking in advance will receive a free bag and fair directory not available to to those just turning up on the day.

Fired Earth rug sale & offers

Fired Earth is having a rug sale with 30% off their Tribal range. According to their website, each rug is unique and woven by 'nomadic tribes'. They don't say which nomadic tribes exactly, and they do have a typo on the page - but as their products are generally delectable, we'll forgive them this time won't we?

The rug sale starts tomorrow 27th May, and is in-store only. You can also take advantage of other Spring offers including printable discount vouchers for tiles, paint samples, kitchens and garden furniture until 30th June.

Zara moves further into home

This summer successful international fashion brand Zara will be cementing its move into the homewares market with the launch of it's first UK standalone home store Zara Home in Regent Street, London.

May's Fashion Extras reports that the store will be three floors of interiors glory offering Zara's entire home range including linens for bed, table and bathroom, plus tableware and decorative items.

However, the Zara Home website notes that home items are already available at the Brompton Rd store.

Grand Designs Live in London

Just a heads-up about a show next week: Grand Designs Live. Based on the successful Channel 4 TV series in the UK, the exhibition this year has five main sections covering interiors, gardens, home building, kitchens and bathrooms and a shopping arcade.

As well as visiting the exhibitors, you can attend design, decoration and gardening seminars presented by Kevin McCloud, Naomi Cleaver and Diarmuid Gavin, get advice from members of the British Interior Design Association and RIBA Chartered Architects, and find out how to help the environment through your home with WWF's One Planet Living feature. (That's the group formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund, not anything to do with some sort of 'smackdown' - just in case you were confused).

The show's at Excel in east London from 2nd to 4th June and is open from 10am each day. You can book tickets online or by phone and prices are £12 in advance, or £16 at the door.

Chat with Naomi Cleaver

The iVillage Home, Garden & Hobbies board is hosting a 'chat' with TV presenter Naomi Cleaver tomorrow (23/05/06) at 11am. You can post your DIY and design questions before then for Naomi to answer. The blurb on the site reads:

"Having problems renovating your property? Don't know where to start with redesigning a room? Perhaps you've had a DIY disaster? Naomi Cleaver will be on hand to answer your questions.

Naomi Cleaver is the presenter of popular prime-time series on domestic design and decoration for Channel 4. Credits include 'Other People's Houses', 'Britain's Best Home' and Naomi's latest series for Channel 4, 'Honey, I Ruined the House'.

For over ten years Naomi has been instrumental in the success of private and commercial projects across the UK, Europe and the USA ranging from BAFTAs newly refurbished Piccadilly premises to the 10,000 square foot flagship London branch of Manchester United's favourite bar and restaurant, 'The Living Room'."

So it begins...

Welcome to Lovely Things.

After many years spent gawping at gorgeous things for the home (and the rest of life), I think it's time to share my lovely discoveries with others. Nothing like oohing over something that someone else aahing over too.

So after much time spent 'getting around to it' it's finally here, in its very simple glory, just in time for Pulse at Earls Court in London next week.

I'll be bringing you the best of the show, from the comfort of your screen. Can't wait!

...note to self...wear flat shoes...