Natural toothbrush holders.

See more of my natural vessels for JB Est 1979, HERE.

Stevie Nicks: Self Portraits

Who knew Stevie Nicks was Queen of the selfie, before the term was even invented?! These self portraits of the (my favourite) singer were taken at home and in hotel rooms throughout the mid-seventies. They have just been released from the shoe-box under the bed, to the public for purchase through the Morrison Hotel Gallery; signed by Stevie!  I love the capturing of make believe in real time; what is more significant to the viewer- the dress up aspect or time and place? It may seem frivolous, but how wonderful to have this strange chronological collection of moments.

Here's what she has to say about the work:

"Some people don't sleep at night - I am one of those people. These pictures were taken long after everyone had gone to bed - I would begin after midnight and go until 4 or 5 in the morning. I stopped at sunrise - like a vampire... I never really thought anyone would ever see these pictures, they went into shoeboxes, where they remained. I did everything - I was the stylist, the makeup artist, the furniture mover, the lighting director. It was my joy - I was the model..."

A girl after my own wild heart; this makes me feel even better now about my floral crown photos!

Interiors Round-Up: Get your drape on!

Terence Conran's 'New House Book', 1985

my latest interiors collection of draping your furniture, walls and even your ceiling, is up on JB Est 1979, check out more HERE.

I heart Nice.

Nice was more than nice.  It took me a couple of visits to get into its groove, but when I did - it was L O V E.  I found it a bit hard to figure out at first; it seems really ritzy and grand, but I was looking for a bit of soul. That is what I stumbled upon along the Cours Saleya on a Monday- the antiques market of Nice- ooh la la. If you're into treasure hunting, you could spend all day at these...I wish I had!  Bascially anything you could ever imagine to find, you will probably come across at these vast markets. The worst part is that most of the objects I wanted were large furniture items, which you have to just admire and not take home. The best part about these markets stalls

I heart the South of France - from Eze to Monaco.

I know what people mean when they refer to 'The South of France'; it's more than a beautiful place, it's a feeling.  I fell in love with this land of the purple bougainvillea in a heart beat.  The water is so crystal clear blue and at the end of May when we went, it was perfectly crisp.  We stayed in Eze bord du mer, but you could stay in any number of spots along the coast and be happy...overjoyed, even.  Stay in a place up in the hills if you can, so you can have that quiet away from the beach and get the best that this place has to offer.  You'll need to rent a car, which is quite expensive, but worth it; we went with Hertz from the Nice airport.  Go to Eden at Plage Mala to treat yourself for the day on a sun bed with ice cold rosé- I didn't even like rosé until this trip, but in this region of France it is magnifique!

3 Creative ways to actually use that hammock!

Photography: Fiona Galbraith

I love thinking of creative ways to use or re-use objects, especially for the home.  Check out my latest project for JB Est 1979 and find out how you can bring your hammock indoors, HERE.

lust list: Lena Dunham & Missoni for Target.

Hero to all GIRLS- Lena Dunham- has written a book (and was given a 3.7 million dollar advance to do so...just quietly...).  Alexa Chung's book I was happy to flick through at the shop, but this I want to READ!  

Also, I'm not even sure how to contain myself over the anticipation of the Missoni for Target collection coming to Australia- Ladies, please, please save something for me!!

I heart Antibes.

 

I haven't posted about my trip to the South of France yet, because it was TOO good!!  I just haven't even known where to start.  That all ends here, because I've decided to go with the beachside village of Antibes.  It was one of my favourite stops along the Côte D'Azur.  There was something quite quaint about it, with a slow and easy quality compared to some of the other bigger cities along the coast.  If you only have a day, all you need to pencil in is a trip to Picasso's studio turned museum (you immediately understand why he chose to call this place home. *keep in mind that the musée closes between 12-2pm) and then park yourself on the beach.  I would choose this spot above at Juan Les Pins; it was a gorgeous cove that was tucked away from the main coastal strip. I had the best baguette mixte (ham and cheese) of my trip in Antibes, so be sure to get yourself one of those too!

Weekend Project: creative gift wrapping.

For this weekend's project, I decided to add another creative gift wrap idea to this board on pinterest. Rorschach or ink blotting is such a simple way to make pretty wrapping paper for girls or boys, young and old. I stuck to three basic colours, but you can use any hued drawing ink you find at your local art store.  I used a clean glass dropper (from an old bottle of facial oil) to drop a little bit of ink into the centre of the paper.  This is just done on printer paper, which is easy to manipulate, but very messy!  Make sure you put down something under your work that can get ink allllll over it; your hands will get some colour action too (but it washes off!).  Once you've added your drops to the paper, fold it in half ink side in and smooth the ink out.  Open it up to reveal your pretty design!  You'll love it, I guarantee, and it's SO simple!

Beyond the standard gallery wall.

Photo by: Jeremy Greive 2013

check out my latest round-up of creative ways to dress up a gallery wall in your home for JB Est 1979, HERE.

I heart San Remo.

While vacationing in the South of France, we popped over one Sunday to Italy for lunch- crazy, I know! We headed to the seaside town of San Remo, which was only about an hour from where we were staying in France- Eze Bord Du Mer.  It was amazing to watch the scenery change almost instantaneously as we crossed the border from France to Italy.  France was more manicured, clean and ritzy, whereas in Italy there seemed to be more farmland, clothes on the line, colourful buildings in muted tones; a little rough around the edges, just the way I like it.  We parked along the coast where all the kitsch little beach clubs are set up.  It was a dark and moody day, which I think almost added to the charm. I didn't catch the name of the place with the red and orange umbrellas, but I am aspiring to one day sit up on the little rooftop and look out to the Mediterranean.  I loved the colours of all the signage and the attention to detail- wrought iron gates in the shapes of clouds, sunshine (you'll see this motif a lot along the coast of France as well) and zig zagged waves? A ziga ziga ah! Because it wasn't exactly beach weather

spring has sprung.

here

we welcomed the first day of Spring Down Under and it really gave us a show- bright blue skies and warm weather. I'm actually a winter kind of girl myself, but I do love a change of season (and crave it to be like at home, where it's a significant change in smells, air, everything), so I appreciated the sunshiny atmosphere yesterday.  I hope everyone is still enjoying their end of summer long weekend at home! #lineinthestone

Take Your Bed Outside!

Photo by: Fiona Galbraith

before you head out for the long weekend my friends of the North, check out my post for JB Est 1979 and see more of this beautiful outdoor bed project, HERE. Happy Long Weekend; wish I was there!!!

Missoni X Converse.

Missoni high top Chuck Taylor's?  Yes please!!  I'm coveting the far left, though I'd be happy with the far right (or any in between). I actually thought I would treat myself to a pair, but alas there are no size 6s left in either. Cute though, right? 

Face The Foliage X Moda Operandi.

my homegirl Justina Blakeney has been featured on Vogue.com this morning with her #facethefoliage series collaboration with Moda Operandi. she's always doing little things, big things, beautiful things, but this is h u g e! i consider her a mentor in a way and it has been so wonderful to observe her journey and growth and success- hooray! without having to make a conscious effort, she has encouraged me to push my own creativity and grow my brand (I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels this way). she has been so generous towards me, today I am very glad to share her with you!

5 ways to dress up your front doorway!

because this isn't the prettiest of interiors posts, I'm calling it an 'ideas post'. what can you do to jazz up your front doorway when you live in an apartment block? believe me, the first thing I would do is paint my front door if I could (I have already painted the inside half of it a buttercup yellow). I have re-arranged quite a few things in my rental, but I feel that painting the outside door would just be drawing too much attention to the many other changes I've made inside...which so far...no one has said anything about. phew! even if you have a drab coloured door that you have to live with, it doesn't mean you can't do wonderful things around it to make it more welcoming for yourself and your visitors.

seasonal floral crowns.

Photography: Fiona Galbraith All crowns made by: Nicole Valentine Don

four seasons have come and gone since I started my floral crown series; I thought it would be fun to look back at some of my favourites. the top 3 images are winter, then 2 for each season thereafter (even though we technically did more). which one is your favourite?  i think mine are still the cherry blossom antlers, but they wouldn't fit in the grid!  

daydreaming of a canopy bed.

here

check out my latest post for JB Est 1979; 6 canopy bed ideas, HERE. dream town.

flying houses.

i have long been a fan of the top image of the flying circus tent, but always assumed it was a Tim Walker photograph. when I stumbled upon these additional 'Flying Houses' by Laurent Chehere, I knew they would have an interesting reason for being.

Search For A Stylist contest.

well, the cat is out of the bag- I was announced last week as the WINNER of Inside Out magazine & The Home's Search For A Stylist contest!!!!  Lucky me!!  As the winner I get a job as Head Stylist at The Home, to style a real cover of Inside Out and $1000 dollars to spend at The Home, which I intend to entirely put towards french linen!!! I was very unsure when I first heard about this whole thing (I think it was shock...), but I made it through my first week of work and it was w o n d e r f u l. such a lovely team and so many creative ideas being pitched and produced on a constant basis- I am over the moon, truly. I will be sure to share some of my favourite projects on here with you all; stay tuned.

*above is the winning mock-up cover photo I styled, shot by: Guy Bailey, whom it was an absolute pleasure to work with.


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