At sunset (a bit after?) with a lot of street lights from behind on the atlantic beach of Vila Nova de Gaia, along the "linha azul".
Exterior of Sunset
At sunset (a bit after?) with a lot of street lights from behind on the atlantic beach of Vila Nova de Gaia, along the "linha azul".
Everything's coming up roses!
Well, here we are at the end of May! I don't really know where the last month has gone to as it has been a whirl of activity here at the cottage and at the Vintage Home website. Lots of exciting things have been happening here including some re-decoration, quirky purchases of the vintage-type and chance meetings with some wonderful people. I promise I will elaborate on all of this, and more, throughout the coming months! I'm also hoping to spend some relaxation time in the garden during June, appreciating the many flowers; isn't that rose a beauty? After several days of wet and dreary weather, it was a treat to be able to get outside and photograph the signs that Summer really is on its way!
This is a nice little spot, don't you think? I look forward to sitting here with a cold drink and a good read.
We have lots of these wild gladioli growing the garden, such a pretty colour...
One of my all-time favourite cottage garden flowers, the sweet william...
Here are the geraniums in the greenhouse, they are just about ready to plant out into their terracotta pots.
Despite the recent wet weather, we have been out and about gathering together lots of vintage stock for the website. There are some pretty additions which reflect the season ahead; this delightful green and cream basket is so sweet...
...these stunning curtains are covered in carnations!
This pretty lamp has a wonderful floral shade...
...and this 1950s chair is covered in gorgeous roses!
This is the star of the show though; a Victorian prie dieu with original fine hand embroidery - exquisite roses, of course!
A really big thank you to every one who has recently purchased from the shop and I hope you enjoy your browse at the latest goodies. I think I might have that little sit-down now - have a wonderful weekend and week ahead!
Nyko's Charge Base 360
The 360 version is slightly different in that it comes with two special rechargeable battery packs with contacts that charge when docked into the charge base. from Nyko's Charge Base 360
Pop Light
Created by the lighting gurus over at Mathmos, the Pop Light is crafted in mouth-blown glass and encloses a chrome metal 'bulb' which, thanks to internal LEDs, comes to life when you switch it on. But where's the switch, we hear you ask? Well that's the thing; the über-hip Pop Light doesn't have one. You simply push down its 'shade' and the mesmerising light show begins. from Pop Light
FBTO health insurance: BokitoViewer
Advertising Agency: DDB, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Creative Director: Martin Cornelissen
Art Directors: Chris Sant, Marco Sluijter
Copywriters: Dieuwer Bulthuis, Jeroen de Korte from FBTO health insurance: BokitoViewer
Creative Director: Martin Cornelissen
Art Directors: Chris Sant, Marco Sluijter
Copywriters: Dieuwer Bulthuis, Jeroen de Korte from FBTO health insurance: BokitoViewer
Zoo Safari
Agency: DDB Brasil
Client/Product: Zoo Safari
Creative Director: Julio Andery and Rodolfo Sampaio
Art Director: Christiano Neves
Copywriter: Antero Neto
Photographer: AGB Photo from Zoo Safari
Client/Product: Zoo Safari
Creative Director: Julio Andery and Rodolfo Sampaio
Art Director: Christiano Neves
Copywriter: Antero Neto
Photographer: AGB Photo from Zoo Safari
Psycho Buildings
As the highlight of The Hayward’s 40th anniversary season, ten artists from around the world have transformed the entire gallery in PSYCHO BUILDINGS.
The Hayward’s huge spaces have been filled with artist-designed architectural environments, which spill onto the three outdoor sculpture terraces, radically altering the interior and exterior of the gallery. Inside a village made from over 200 dollhouses and a room frozen in a moment of explosive disaster are amongst the installations that both enchant and disconcert visitors. Outside on the Gallery’s sculpture terraces, installations including a boating lake, a transparent dome and a working cinema have altered the exterior face of The Hayward. Visible from the surrounding area and across the Thames and illuminated by night, they add a significant public dimension to this major exhibition.
The ten artists are: Atelier Bow-Wow (Japan), Michael Beutler (Germany), Los Carpinteros (Cuba), Gelitin (Austria), Mike Nelson (UK), Ernesto Neto (Brazil), Tobias Putrih (Slovenia), Tomas Saraceno (Argentina), Do Ho Suh (Korea), Rachel Whiteread (UK).
Borrowing its title from a book by the artist Martin Kippenberger, the exhibition brings together the work of artists who create habitat-like structures and architectural spaces that are mental and perceptual spaces as much as physical ones. The exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a series of eleven atmospheric, enthralling and unsettling installations. Combining architectural and artistic design with the use of light, colour and smell to trigger responses, these dynamic constructions actively encourage viewers to become adventurous participants. The scale and ambition of the exhibition meant the artists spent weeks working in the gallery in order to realise their installations. from Psycho Buildings
The Hayward’s huge spaces have been filled with artist-designed architectural environments, which spill onto the three outdoor sculpture terraces, radically altering the interior and exterior of the gallery. Inside a village made from over 200 dollhouses and a room frozen in a moment of explosive disaster are amongst the installations that both enchant and disconcert visitors. Outside on the Gallery’s sculpture terraces, installations including a boating lake, a transparent dome and a working cinema have altered the exterior face of The Hayward. Visible from the surrounding area and across the Thames and illuminated by night, they add a significant public dimension to this major exhibition.
The ten artists are: Atelier Bow-Wow (Japan), Michael Beutler (Germany), Los Carpinteros (Cuba), Gelitin (Austria), Mike Nelson (UK), Ernesto Neto (Brazil), Tobias Putrih (Slovenia), Tomas Saraceno (Argentina), Do Ho Suh (Korea), Rachel Whiteread (UK).
Borrowing its title from a book by the artist Martin Kippenberger, the exhibition brings together the work of artists who create habitat-like structures and architectural spaces that are mental and perceptual spaces as much as physical ones. The exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a series of eleven atmospheric, enthralling and unsettling installations. Combining architectural and artistic design with the use of light, colour and smell to trigger responses, these dynamic constructions actively encourage viewers to become adventurous participants. The scale and ambition of the exhibition meant the artists spent weeks working in the gallery in order to realise their installations. from Psycho Buildings
iHome iH41B dock
The iH41 is specifically designed to take advantage of the iPod Touch’s variable aspect screen. Place the iH41 on its side to watch widescreen video and the clock display will adjust to match. Compatible with most docking iPods.
o Wake and sleep to your iPod music or movies
o Change orientation to watch videos
o EXB™ Expanded Bass and Reson8® speaker technology for great sound
o Charges iPod
o Stylish space-saving design fits any decor
o Battery backup maintains time/alarm settings during power failures
o Aux/MP3 line-in jack for non-docking iPod models, MP3/CD players and other audio devices from iHome iH41B dock
o Wake and sleep to your iPod music or movies
o Change orientation to watch videos
o EXB™ Expanded Bass and Reson8® speaker technology for great sound
o Charges iPod
o Stylish space-saving design fits any decor
o Battery backup maintains time/alarm settings during power failures
o Aux/MP3 line-in jack for non-docking iPod models, MP3/CD players and other audio devices from iHome iH41B dock
Surf Chair
The Surf Chair® has been developed in collaboration with fellow student Leif Sørensen for the 'Internet Collection' competition at the Scandinavian Furniture Fair 2000. Among 15-20 other designs from the Internet Collection talent zone it was nominated 'Best Product' and covered in several Danish and international magazines and news papers; Danske Møbler (DK), Politiken (DK), Form (S), Shotenkenchiku (J), Wohnen (A) among others. For further details please have a look at press section. from Surf Chair
Griffin's PowerDock
Does your family own a family of iPod or iPhone models? Can you only find one charger when all of you need to recharge? Call a cease-fire with PowerDock, a charging base where every iPod and iPhone in the house can get together to charge its batteries.
Just slip your iPod or iPhone into place to safely charge. Models available with two or four Apple Universal Docks built into a single charging base. Substantial brushed aluminum with a grippy rubber base stays put on countertops and desktops. Includes a collection of Universal Dock insert adapters to ensure that every iPod and iPhone in the house gets a place at the table. from Griffin's PowerDock
Just slip your iPod or iPhone into place to safely charge. Models available with two or four Apple Universal Docks built into a single charging base. Substantial brushed aluminum with a grippy rubber base stays put on countertops and desktops. Includes a collection of Universal Dock insert adapters to ensure that every iPod and iPhone in the house gets a place at the table. from Griffin's PowerDock
Summer savings and loans...
photo: Butik Sophie
So... that's my take on the cost of summer. Sure, we all pay in sunburns, too many calories, and insect bites, but what really takes a hit is our bank accounts. Camping is not cheap, a Sunday drive is not free if you stop for five ice-creams, an outdoor project always costs more than you imagined, and the power used to run your pool pump and/or heater does not add up to savings in home heating costs. Those are the facts. Now... go hang your clothes on the line and fire up the barbeques for some $2/pack of hotdogs. Now that's cheap!! 
Who said summer was less expensive than winter? Sure, we save on heating costs, don't have to shop for Christmas presents, and can eat more hotdogs...but it certainly isn't cheap!! In between trips to the grocery store to stock up on ice-cream and barbeque fixings, jaunts to the local nursery for perrenials and annuals, and family vacations in our gas-guzzling vehicles, summer can drain the pocketbook like no other time!!
Progress on Sophie's playhouse continues, a project that my husband has now labelled "the money pit"...not quite the whimsical name I had envisioned for it!! 
Still, he is right; most of the summer projects we all undertake involve handing money over fist. We opened our pool for the season, and just that cost $100 - even before purchasing the summer supply of chemicals we will need to keep the pool sparkling clean (no cost for my labour, of course...). We have discussed building planters, trellises, finishing details on the pool deck, even tossed around options for the driveway. My enterprising hubby is actually considering pouring his own concrete driveway and walkway (with his dream team of like-minded buddies). When I piped up about wanting to do something a little different with the walkway (i.e. stamped, coloured concrete to mimic flagstone), my frank husband cocked his head, furrowed his eyebrows and casually replied, "You can't afford different!"
Still, he is right; most of the summer projects we all undertake involve handing money over fist. We opened our pool for the season, and just that cost $100 - even before purchasing the summer supply of chemicals we will need to keep the pool sparkling clean (no cost for my labour, of course...). We have discussed building planters, trellises, finishing details on the pool deck, even tossed around options for the driveway. My enterprising hubby is actually considering pouring his own concrete driveway and walkway (with his dream team of like-minded buddies). When I piped up about wanting to do something a little different with the walkway (i.e. stamped, coloured concrete to mimic flagstone), my frank husband cocked his head, furrowed his eyebrows and casually replied, "You can't afford different!" So true...nothing like a good bucket of cold water thrown onto me every now and then to remind me that I'm not Linda Rockefeller...!!
In fact, I like being who I am. I come from blue-collar roots and you can't beat them out of me. Sure, I like pretty things; but I get the greatest thrill from doing or making them ourselves. In fact, I just finished helping one of my best friends make-over her living room. She spent a total of $300, which included slipcovers, seagrass ottomans, a new light fixture, and paint. We had so much fun putting the final touches on the room, and we share a love of getting a great look for little money. She has no airs about her and was happy to accept some of the decorative items I was no longer in need of, which we put in the room. It turned out beautifully, with a wonderfully beachy feel like the rest of her home, and that is what really matters.
So... that's my take on the cost of summer. Sure, we all pay in sunburns, too many calories, and insect bites, but what really takes a hit is our bank accounts. Camping is not cheap, a Sunday drive is not free if you stop for five ice-creams, an outdoor project always costs more than you imagined, and the power used to run your pool pump and/or heater does not add up to savings in home heating costs. Those are the facts. Now... go hang your clothes on the line and fire up the barbeques for some $2/pack of hotdogs. Now that's cheap!!(ice cream photo: Matthew Mead Style)
Office Pets by Hella Jongerius
For Vitra Edition 2007 Hella Jongerius designed three curious wheeled objects - Office Pets - combining worlds of difference. The underside, the wheels and the material used make each object seem at home in the context of corporate identities. But at the point where you would expect seats and armrests emerge semi-abstract shapes which allude both to Jongerius’ vases and animal figures. These strange office creatures combine rationality and imagination as if they were quantities which always and self-evidently belong together. from Office Pets by Hella Jongerius
Dominic Wilcox: Anti-Theft Bike/Car Device
These rust and scratch stickers are designed to make your beautiful bike/car look rusted and scratched so that passing thieves assume it's not worth stealing due to its apparent shabbyness.
Note. This anti-theft device is not guaranteed to work in any way.
However I have stuck them to my shiney new red bike and can confirm it hasn't been stolen yet. 13 days of not being stolen in London probably equates to 7 years of non-stealing in the friendly countryside. from Dominic Wilcox: Anti-Theft Bike/Car Device
Note. This anti-theft device is not guaranteed to work in any way.
However I have stuck them to my shiney new red bike and can confirm it hasn't been stolen yet. 13 days of not being stolen in London probably equates to 7 years of non-stealing in the friendly countryside. from Dominic Wilcox: Anti-Theft Bike/Car Device
Bed Snake Bat
The Bed Snake is found throughout the world and it's favoured habitat is the bedroom. For much of the time it remains dormant, but don't let this wrinkled reptile deceive you! On being approached it will be roused into action, and its fearsome venom has few known antidotes.
Now, utilizing cutting edge technology, we have created the remarkable contraceptive device, the Bed Snake Bat. from Bed Snake Bat
Now, utilizing cutting edge technology, we have created the remarkable contraceptive device, the Bed Snake Bat. from Bed Snake Bat
Plana Seating
Feiz Design Studio was founded in 1998 by industrial designer Khodi Feiz & graphic designer Anneko Feiz - van Dorssen from Plana Seating
sports furniture
The sports furniture collection is primarily intended to maintain physical fitness at home but is at the same time a furniture collection that easily blends into the living space. The collection symbolizes the personal fitness and satisfies the again fashionable drive for movement. The postfossil age will enhance the personal energy consciousness and we are in search of a more efficient and healthy way of interacting with our environment. This path is being supported by the design as well as the choice of materials. The forms are reduced and limited to the essential. The materials are of natural origin and traditional techniques are combined with contemporary design. from sports furniture
Volume Control Children's T shirts
Volume Control
Inspired by the urbanity of London and the technology that surrounds us, Kit n Kin came up with this line of guilt free, trendy garments that are a fresh alternative. The shirts are made from the softest cotton which is produced in an ethically sound environment. Their designs are witty and fresh and are guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a bit of street style for your little ones. from Volume Control Children's T shirts
Inspired by the urbanity of London and the technology that surrounds us, Kit n Kin came up with this line of guilt free, trendy garments that are a fresh alternative. The shirts are made from the softest cotton which is produced in an ethically sound environment. Their designs are witty and fresh and are guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a bit of street style for your little ones. from Volume Control Children's T shirts
‘XMM.003.02’ lighting by .PSLAB
beirut based design studio .PSLAB was recently awarded a red dot design award with an honourable mention for
their ‘XMM.003.02’ lighting system. the family of lights all feature a metal structure and a moulded fibre-glass
shade. each piece of the series is unified by the relation of the shades edge to the silver coating on the
incandescent bulbs from ‘XMM.003.02’ lighting by .PSLAB
their ‘XMM.003.02’ lighting system. the family of lights all feature a metal structure and a moulded fibre-glass
shade. each piece of the series is unified by the relation of the shades edge to the silver coating on the
incandescent bulbs from ‘XMM.003.02’ lighting by .PSLAB
Pre-Fab Addittions.
ReadyMade Magazine is available for viewing completely online. I found this fantastic article about pre-fab creative spaces. I am drooling over these. Check out the article for more info. and links.
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