Molly Mahon

The house is basically finished but I can't stop hunting for new fabrics and wallpapers. I would love nothing more that to be able to re-wallpaper the whole house every few months.  Especially now that I've come accross Molly Mahon.  

Molly By Design is a small Sussex based company, set up by Molly Mahon and specialises in creating 'hand carved, hand printed, whimsical designs'.  The designs for her wallpapers, fabrics, cushions, stationary and lampshades are all inspired by her love of colour and the beauty of England.  And are all absolutely divine.  I am block printing's biggest fan anyway but  Molly's original designs and in bright, bright colours are something I haven't come across before and am desperately trying to work out how to wangle them into my home.  I'm thinking of re-upholstering my sofa in her khaki starry skies or going bold with a fuchsia Leaf and Wiggle...

Chair covered in Coffee Bean

Spot and Star wallpaper

Coffee Bean

Leaf

Starry Skies

www.mollymahon.com

Pretty Birdies

There's something about birds that I love. Im not quite sure what it is. Maybe their busyness. They're always tippy tapping around like old women, nosing around, wondering what their friends are up to next to them.

I became obsessed with the birds on our honeymoon in the Seychelles and was so sad to leave behind the little neon orange beauties that hopped around my breakfast bowl every morning, chirpsing away with no cares in the world.

Honeymoon birdies

There's a wonderful gallery called the Oriel Gallery near our home in Wales that i've been going to since I was tiny. A few Christmases ago they had an exhibition of Cathy Miles's work, an English metal smith who creates 3-d drawings about common bird life using wire and other bits of random material. Quite childlike but very original and she does make to order occasionally if you ask nicely.

A selection of Cathy Miles's work

www.cathymiles.com

www.orieldavies.org

Another bird fanatic is Abigail brown. She makes the coolest little bird sculptures by hand using new and vintage fabrics. They look so lifelike I almost thought they were real when I first came accross them. I'd love to build up a collection of them and have them dotted around my kitchen.

Some of Abigails work from about £140

the pieces are about 15cms in height

www.abigail-brown.co.uk