OUT OF AFRICA

I have recently been working with a Kenyan tea company on a branding project for them - as you do! This has led to lots of research into African textiles and prints for inspiration - and boy have I been inspired! African prints are certainly pretty ubiquitous at the moment, especially in fashion but they are yet to make much of an impact in the World of interiors.

Above - A selection of the amazing fabrics I have stumbled upon.

I suppose this is because they are a pretty 'strong look', but I think the mix of pattern and colour is really fresh and a nice step on from the graphic prints and geometrics which are everywhere at the moment. I love the fabrics with political figures on them - interesting to see such a serious subject approached in a decorative medium.




I've found some great images that show how African prints and pattern can be incorporated into a modern interior in a way that is fun but not overwhelming.
















I especially love this last one which is totally mad but equally fab.

Sloane Street Seduction

Working in Interior design I obviously have an interest in the finer things in life but this has never extended to designer clothes and accessories. While I have no problem shelling out hundreds of pounds for a giant hindu statue ( totally happened ) there is no way I would drop the same amount on a pair of Prada trainers ( not ever ).

This being said I have always had a weakness for a certain Mr Ford and not just his brooding good looks but actually his products. I've long been a Tom Ford aftershave devotee and always had a sneaking suspicion that I might be prepared to abuse one of my credit cards to own one of his suits.

Well that suspicion was confirmed this week when I took myself off to visit his newly opened London store. Normally the thought of spending time in a Sloane Street store having my bank balance mentally sized up by the staff is my idea of hell, but I was too determined to have a good look around to be put off by such things.

I breezed through the door with all the confidence of a person with a Centurion Amex in their pocket and headed for the fragrances - a safe place to start. There was a hilarious moment of confusion when both of the sales associates drew a blank when I said I was looking for aftershave; some quick explanation that I meant Tom Ford aftershave finally hit home - evidently I was the first person to have asked for the cheapest item they stock.

By now I had realised that I was the only customer in the store - just me and about 25 impossibly well dressed and good looking associates who all said a rather surprised good morning as I circulated round what is quite frankly the most beautiful retail space I have ever been in.

It's pure Tom Ford; dark, luxe and a little bit disco - disco as in the hedonistic glamour of studio 54 not school disco. The whole atmosphere is of seduction and I'm afraid that like a true floozy I was seduced. I even found myself, normally totally anti fur, having a conversation about a Beaver coat that only Richard Burton could carry off, and thinking 'well there are lots of beavers, aren't there?'

It was time to make a hasty exit with my aftershave and my credit card only slightly burned. If I had stayed longer I have the most terrible feeling I would have ended up compromising my credit rating and my morals to buy something much more extravagant. 

Don't get me wrong though, I'll be back to run the gauntlet of gorgeous things vs my financial ruin. Foolish perhaps, but thanks to Tom Ford being bad has never looked so good.