No. 60 St Jude Street

Unicorn by Stewy, St Jude Street 

No. 15 Midmay Road 

Tina, We Salute You

The Mockingbird Tapas

No. 4 St Jude Street   [All photography by Emily Nicholson, Dursk]

Just a few pictures that were taken on my last visit to London, too lovely not to post.

Bunglo by Shay Spaniola

All imagery provided by Shay Spaniola, Bunglo

Earlier this month I became acquainted with Austin, Texas, based artist Shay Spaniola, founder of design studio, Bunglo. As an admirer of her unique hand painted fabrics, I delved deeper to find out more about the inspirations behind Shay's adventurous approach to design and her latest A/W Landscape collection.

Growing up in Detroit, Michigan, Shay had always been incredibly creative, practising various crafts and developing a unique artistic style, but it wasn't until after college when Shay travelled the world that her creativity flourished.  By collecting fabrics and interpretively painting as she travelled, Shay developed a watercolour diary that was to eventually become her bible of inspiration for Bunglo. Her unique mirrored pattern formations, brush techniques and colour choices are all inspired by the changing landscapes of an epic two year adventure. When speaking to Shay I asked about her favourite creations and was humbled by her response; to have a favourite is impossible but instead, she gets to relive the best of times through each of her creations.

'When I look at my 'Mid Century Pop' pillow I'm reminded of my childhood home, my 'Rose Water' pillow brings me back to the sunsets in Senegal and the brightly colored 'Monteverde' fabric gives a moment of ease as I reminisce the rainforest and beach side in Costa Rica. They're all much more than a design but a story and memory.'

I was also intrigued by Shay's approach to colour: not afraid to explore neutrals, brights and bolds, Bunglo has a recognisable style with a diluted tonal appeal. By designing with her own home in mind, Shay has instinctively developed her inspirations into completely organic design. Her collections are about bringing peaceful and tranquil colour into the home, but all through the language of pattern.

There's something about Shay's textiles that you don't get from other home-wares; even without knowing the story behind each design, it is easy to recognise that every item is created with care, attention and wanderlust wisdom, and from Shay's curious nature, comes truly unique, one of a kind design.

Oslo in Hackney

All photography by Emily Nicholson, Dursk

On Wednesday night myself and the other half Nik, travelled down to London for the long awaited Amara Interior Blog Awards, held at the stunning Rosewood Hotel, Holborn. The event was beautiful, filled with cheers and applauds, good conversation and of course, cocktails-a-plenty. Unfortunately I didn't make the cut, but being part of such a prestigious event and alongside creatives that I have admired for quite some time, was more than I ever could've hoped for since starting out only 3 months ago.

After checking out of our Air bnb, just a stone's throw away from where I used to live near Old Street, we were set for a day of exploring. Both feeling in a very fragile state, we felt that an undemanding day in Hackney was on the cards, doing the usual coffee and culture trip. By the end of the day we were wiped out and with a burger firmly on the brain we found Oslo, a Nordic bar and eatery restored from an old train station building, located just on the corner of Hackney Central.

Everything inside is relaxed, dim lit and exactly what you need when you're feeling a little worse for wear. The traditional charm of this East London building has been revamped with contemporary Norwegian finishing touches, creating a new aesthetic to this historic place. For example, the walls are a combination of exposed brick and indigo fades, finished with unique black and white framed illustrations. Huge indoor arches are accompanied by bellowing draped light fixtures with a lovely mauve faded effect, an obvious reflective feature of the beautiful pink tinted lilies sitting on every table. A glass jar dispenser takes pride of place at the end of the bar filled with icy, cucumber ribboned water. It was official, we were in the perfect sanctuary to cure this hangover. And the burger that we so desperately craved couldn't have been better; we went for the very fresh, pulled pork burger with garlic aioli - best choice ever. We talked, chilled, wound down for about 2 hours in Oslo, it was so easy to become part of the furniture - which by the way was all very Scandi and spindly. Just perfect.

Trend: Autumnal Tabletop

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Go minimalistic with rustic monochrome, a tabletop that takes after one of my favourite Scandi trends - concrete. Most suited for those cool, grey and knitted interiors, these ceramics let texture do the talking and decorate a neutral home with a coarse contrast, similar to the outdoor grainy textures that are most prominent in the colder months. Metallic details are also an emerging trend, Naomi Gration interprets the characteristics of concrete with dramatic brush strokes highlighted with a slight shine.

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A constantly evolving trend is the influx of dipped homewares: ceramics, textiles, kitchenware and table legs, you name it, it's been dipped. So I love that this once colour focused trend has advanced into a textural direction with a glaze dip. Matte and gloss are an abrupt combination offering a real Autumnal essential. I was recently tempted by the Agnus glaze dip mug from Habitat (top right, zoom), the silky interior is luxurious against the sandy textured base and feels completely handcrafted. Brookyln ceramicist Helen Levi takes a different approach and instead of dipping ceramics, she combines two opposing materials on the pottery wheel to create a gradual merge and ultimately a completely natural reactive pattern. I also like the spontaneous appeal of her glazed pieces, featuring ink washed dips for an artisanal, crafted feel.

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Traditional Japanese pottery has inspired the return of speckled earthenware and splattered ceramics. Updated with a contemporary application, this handmade approach combines earthy browns and neutral pastels for minimalistic pieces that punctuate a basic interior.

Ceramicists featured

- Julian Stair 
- Elephant Ceramics
- Takashi Endo
- Naomi Gration
- Yumiko Iihoshi
- Avesha Michael 
- Vitrified Studio 
- BTW Ceramics 
- Otis & Otto 
- Helen Levi 
- Herriot Grace 

Eye Candy Laundry Bags by Brabantia

All imagery provided by Brabantia

The new Eye Candy range from Brabantia breaks the tradition from your average wicker laundry basket. Unlike the usual inanimate object tucked behind your bedroom door, these fun and foldable bags integrate into any stylish interior. Whether rectangular or oval, I love the simplistic shapes combined with block colour, turning something everyday into design. Another bonus is the fact that these bags are mobile, with the top easily transforming into a handle - laundry bags never looked so good.

Available in six colours; Pastel Mint, Warm Red, Pastel Pink, Cool Grey, Royal Blue or the always-chic Black.

Laundry Bag, Rectangular - Various Colours £26.00

Laundry Bag, Oval - Various Colours £28.00

Wilder California: Photography for the home

All imagery provided by Jane Wilder 

I recently came across the Instagram account of Jane Wilder, a California based photographer with an eye for combining pastel palettes and all sorts of plants and cacti. I of course fell head over heels and was delighted to discover that this imagery was actually available as large scale prints for the home from her Etsy shop, Wilder California.

It was then I felt I had to get in touch with Wilder so that I could shout and rave about her absolutely stunning work. Her photography makes her the modern day impressionist with such an abstract approach to capturing small but perfectly formed details. The images allow you to appreciate natural formations in a new light and for me the colour is just the cherry on the cake and what initially drew me in. I'm a pastel-holic and seeing such peachy pinks and chalky blues with an overall hazy fade just hypnotised me. What I particularly like about Wilder's work is that plants are transformed into print and pattern, with contrasting colours creating unexpected lines; palm leaves reveal chevron shapes and cactus spindles create polkodot pattern. I feel I must also add that the pair of colour fade images are actually Californian skies - what bliss.

With photography in the genes, Jane studied the art in Northern California, growing up surrounded by creativity as her father and aunt are also photographers. Finding inspiration from art & interiors blogs, Wilder has a fondness for shooting diverse Californian plantlife and her natural surroundings, combining these objects of nature with such a soft-hued colour palette.

Since getting in touch with Jane, I'm delighted to announce that we are currently working together on her next collection, due to make it's first appearance on Dursk. Without giving too much away, colour will be a big focus, and I'm so glad that despite being on the other side of the world, we can collaborate to create something that is truly marvellous and expressive of our similar tastes.

Brand Watch: Jansen + Co

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New Collection: Loop

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Image provided by Jansen + Co 

I first came across Dutch tableware brand Jansen + Co around a year ago due to it being stocked in my favourite Northern Quarter coffee shop/concept store, The Fig and Sparrow (which by the way I highly recommend - best coffee in Manchester).

With a distinctive palette of block primary colour, my favourite of the colour combinations is grey and dark teal spanning across the mug, jug and teapot lines. The retro and robust shapes are an oddity, paired with such bold colours and a glossed, high shine finish. After finally tracking down the brand I was delighted to get in contact with Amsterdam based Jansen + Co, and to hear that it's newest collection, Loop, was upon release. The much loved simplistic style is carried into a squashed down and stackable design, with an even more looped handle, and in a range of typical Jansen colours.

Loop is set to release in the coming months and I can't wait to see what's in store for this unique brand.