Kaleido

I love these new Kaleido trays from Danish design store Hay. Brightly coloured and geometrically shaped, they are the perfect home accessory. I can see them as a centre piece on a coffee table, maybe filling them up with those bits and pieces that just end up as clutter - sweets, pens, loose change. What do you think?

There are five differently shaped trays in the collection, but they are all sold separately and come in lots of different colours so you can mix and match to suit your tastes. A great piece of design that's practical too.

{Images: Hay}

New Vs. Old: The Things I Brought Back from Munich

I'll be writing a proper post about my time in Munich soon, but today I want to show you a few things I bought back from my travels over there. Munich has a good mix of old and new in terms of shops and markets, reflecting the city and it's history, so was a bit of a dream location for me. There are plenty of regular car boots and flea markets where you can find vintage treasures (if you are English-speaking and Munich-based try out toytowngermany.com for lists and dates) as well as contemporary homeware and stationery stores for more recent products. Below are some of the bits and pieces I picked up on the high street.

I bought lots of washi tape for a few craft projects I have in mind, some good quality bakers twine, some pegs (also for a craft project), some coloured pens and some notebooks from a shop called Semicolon. The postcard is a picture of my new favourite drink - Augustiner's Edelstoff - mainly because that's all the beer gardens sold! The heart? Well, I couldn't leave Munich without one really!

Now for the older things.

The photos aren't great, sorry! I've included a few close up shots so you can see the details in some of the pieces. The embroidered hankies are so sweet, they show a typically dressed Bavarian couple - the man in lederhosen and the woman in dirndl. The tear-out floral sheets are from a book I was given for free, the Bavarian soldiers were a bargain at €1, though I did notice later that the red one is missing arms - ooops! Finally, the vintage hanger is my favourite find, I love the typography and the cream clippers, I think it's so chic. Another bargain at €1. The rest of the items are, from the top left: a set of hand-crotchet hangers, a hand-made tapestry, knitted pan-holders, a prettily illustrated children's music book, a vintage Munich postcard, some doilies, a few meters of lace trim, seven vintage gold-coloured buttons and a mint green vintage jumper. Phew.

I hope you've enjoyed having a peek at all my new things! Hope you all have a great weekend.

{Images: Laura Blanksby}

The Polaroid Z2300

When I first bought my Polaroid P600 instant camera I remember being so happy. I had finally got what I had wanted for a long time. However, for some reason could not think of what to take photos of. I soon realised that that didn't matter though - whatever I decided to take photos of (my cat probably) wasn't the point. It was that I could hold that picture in my hands in seconds. It was the most fun thing in the world. I loved taking my camera out when I met my friends, I loved being able to give the photos to friends and family as a little memento. It was cool.

However, the Polaroid instamatic didn't last. Film was expensive - around one pound a print - and there were faults in the design. It was clunky and heavy to transport, I could only take 10 photos at a time (unless I carried more film) and film could be accidentally exposed. Adding to this, digital cameras were also on the rise. This was a sad time for me as I knew what was coming. I held out as long as I could tracking down the last remnants of film in my area, but when my P600 began to break down I knew the game was over. I bought a digital camera and contentedly used that thereafter. I love digital too, there are so many benefits in it. You can take as many photos as you like and only print the best, you can easily store and share images and you can take a digital camera everywhere you go. Though there is still that part of me that craves being able to develop your picture seconds after you take it.

This is the reason I am ecstatic about the recently released Polaroid Z2300, a digital camera that allows you to print on-the-spot. The new design is slimline and takes a memory card, just like a normal point-and-shoot, but it also gives you the option to instantly print your best images onto credit-card sized paper.

I love the nice touch of the coloured stripe on the new Z2300, it's so reminiscent of the classic Polaroid designs.

The camera prints credit-card sized photographs which have a sticky back so can be used for scrap booking or craft projects. Although the size of the prints aren't the classic size, the fact that this camera exists is fantastic, and maybe in the future they will be able to introduce a camera that prints the classic-sized, square prints.

The idea is that you load your camera with paper and a memory card. You can take as many photos as you like and can view these on the screen, and then you decide if you want to print or not. No film is wasted and the option to print instantly is always there. I'm so pleased that this camera exists as it recognises our feelings of nostalgia towards the physical print, but also that we might want to take hundreds of snaps on a night out too. I'm still secretly hoping they will develop a camera that will print the classic square prints, but until then, this will do just fine.

{Images: Photojojo}

New at Muuto

Scandinavian furniture designers Muuto have released a new collection of elegantly designed furniture and accessories. There's a lovely fresh colour scheme running through the collection with plenty of light ash wood, pastel pink textiles and white accessories. Photographer Petra Bindel shot the new products and the results are wonderful.

My favourite new designs are: the 'Corky Carafe', designed by Andreas Engesvik; the 'Under the Bell' pendant lamp, designed by Iskos-Berlin; and 'The Dots' coat hooks (not shown) designed by Lars Tornoe.

{Images: Petra Bindel for Muuto}

Love Builds a Happy Home

Hi guys, just a quick post today as I'm about to rush off to a local car boot here in Munich - hopefully I will uncover some last-minute treasures before I return to the UK on Monday! But before I go, I want to share with you a piece of art I recently came across on the Minted website. I've been looking for a piece of art for my flat for a very long time but have been struggling to decide on the perfect piece. It's got to be something I love but also something that I can live with day-in and day-out! That's why I was so pleased when I came across this lovely yellow typography print by Wondercloud Design. Not only is yellow my current favourite colour (it's so happy and bright!) but also the message is sweet. I won't lie, it's very pricey for a print, but art is such an important (and noticeable!) part of a room that investing in something you love will be worth it in the end.

The 'Love Builds a Happy Home' print is available in yellow, ivory and duck-egg blue and comes in seven different sizes from 7''x5'' to 44''x60''. If you haven't checked out Minted before do have a pop over as they are a great place to discover new art and they feature hundreds of independent designers. Hope you all have a fab weekend and hope to see you on Monday!

{Image: Wondercloud Design via Minted}

Nikki McWilliams

Scottish design seems to be undergoing a resurgence of late. Donna Wilson and Papa Stour are just two examples of how Scottish talent is becoming a major player in the design world. Designer-maker Nikki McWilliams is another name to add to that list. Based in Dundee, Nikki makes fun accessories for the home and body which all have a 'tea-time' theme. There is a fun range of cushions based on classic British biscuits, delicate art prints and cute brooches. I'm in love with the Jammy Heart cushion, not only because they were my favourite biscuits as a child, but also 'cos it's a cheery and bright design.

I've only featured the cushions on this post but here are the links if you want to view her brooches or her art prints.

{Images: Nikki McWilliams}

Toast A/W 2012

Cosy interiors fit for autumnal weather - take a look at the latest collection from Toast.

Doesn't the floral bedlinen in the first image look beautiful matched with the striped pillows? So cosy and inviting. This is only a small selection of what's available, there's lots more on-line including wicker storage boxes, storm lanterns and chunky knit socks. Head over to their site to view their lookbook or go shopping.

{Images: Toast}

Geometric Jewellery

I found these pretty geometric jewellery pieces at the British department store The Hambledon and wanted to share them as I thought you'd love them as much as I do. The sweet triangle and hexagon pendants, brooches and studs are bang on-trend and are reasonably priced too.

The painted necklaces are £24.95 each and the sweet triangular studs are £15.00 a pair. There are some lovely solid silver triangle pendants too which are worth a look.

The Hambledon is a bricks and mortar store in Winchester, Hampshire, but they have a great website (easily navigable with pretty photography!) and ship worldwide, so make sure you have a peek this weekend!

{Images: The Hambledon}