May 2013 Newsletter

Friends of Duck Egg,

Hope you are all well, having a lovely time and trying to make the most of this erratic weather (especially if you are a UK reader!).

We have been flat out with a number of projects and sourcing furniture for clients has been taking us all over the country and into Europe.

Lots of new projects to share with you so let's get started:

Bespoke Tables with reclaimed Victorian Tops:



Here at Duck Egg Designs we love our community and are big fans of social media, we meet so many talented, interesting people through it and more and more are leading to partnerships and giving extremely talented people a platform to showcase their talents.

We got approached by a talented carpenter who was as passionate about reclamation and vintage interiors as we are and we agreed on partnering up on his made to measure, bespoke Victorian Tables. To order contact info@duckeggdesigns.com with measurements and colour palette.

Duck Egg Crab Kitchen Splashbacks:



We are very excited about the launch of our Kitchen Splashbacks. This is the first one of the range which comes in made to measure sizes, colours and will be featuring more of our prints in the future, giving a bespoke, fresh, modern feel to a vintage interior or classic country kitchen.

Contact us directly on info@duckeggdesigns.com for more details.

Rocking Summer Deck Chairs:



We adore this gorgeous, stripy rocking deck chair, just perfect for the summer.

Not only is this chair easy on the eye but incredibly practical, with it's rocking motion it makes it easy to enter and exit the chair, perfect for an elderly or pregnant person still keen to enjoy the beach or garden.

The stripes are green and red pastel colours and blend in lovely with our garden.

The Deck Chair is easy to fold away, light weight and very durable (tested for hours by my husband!).

Price: £70

Vintage Weighing Scales:



As gorgeous as they are practical, no baker should be without these timeless kitchen scales. With a large and easy to read dial you will be able to measure up to 1000 ml in capacity and up to 3 kg. This sleek and stylish design with a  hint of retro inspiration is as much as a beautiful ornament for the kitchen as a staple part of everyday life. Perfect to have out on the counter and too good to hide away, this essential part of a kitchen collection looks the part in any style home and the soft Shutter Blue can be matched to other items in our range. Why not match with our storage jars or match to our bread bin?

Price: £20

Seed Box:

More Hints and Tips

Life of Pi Duck Egg Book Club Review

Book Review: Life of Pi by Yann Martel

I am one of those absurd people who insists on reading a book before they watch the adapted film even though experience tells me that the films never live up to my expectations.  Several of my friends raved about how amazing the film ‘Life of Pi’ was and so, dutifully, I decided to read the book before watching the film.

Having done limited research, I have to admit that I thought the book was based on a true story and after becoming disheartened with the pace a few chapters in, finally reading around on the internet and discovering that it was entirely fictional, I almost gave up.

For those who don’t know, Life of Pi is the story of a young boy who is stranded in a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific after a shipwreck in which he loses his entire family on their emigration to Canada.  Joining him aboard the lifeboat is a 450 pound Bengal tiger, an orang-utan, a zebra with a broken leg and a hyena.  It follows the adventures of Pi on his journey to be rescued.

I found the story incredibly slow-going.  I hadn't expected there to be such a back story about Pi’s religious affiliations, his life at his family’s zoo, the different animals, the teachers he respected etc etc before the shipwreck.  Once I realised it wasn't a true story, I actually struggled to see the relevance of a lot of it, so what if he wanted to be part of 3 different religious groups, how does that affect his ability to deal with a tiger coming at him?  Obviously, the skills he learned from his father about handling wild animals had a huge impact but this could have been condensed into a couple of chapters.  I'm sure it is almost halfway through the book before you get to the ‘good’ part.

As you can see, I was not overly enamoured with this story and am actually struggling to think of how to review it in a positive light.  I can see how it would be amazing as a film, the things they can do with graphics and how much detail Yann Martel goes into with the wildlife and fauna and sea creatures would make for fascinating watching I think but as a book it somehow misses the mark.  There is a lot of technical detail which seems irrelevant in a non-factual story.  To me, fiction allows a writer to explore the impossible, to stretch our imaginations and to cause us to wonder ‘what if?’…Martel does this up to a point with the story but then fills in the gaps with, frankly, mundane scientific details which then draw attention away from the fantastical side of this book.

Unfortunately, this isn't a book I would recommend unless you have a particular interest in the finer details of marine life.  The film, however, is one I am definitely looking forward to seeing.

Reviewed by our Superstar Duck Egg Book Club Editor - Jess.

To join the Book Club click here.

Next Book Club Book:



Until next time. x

 

More Information Here

Easter Vintage Eggs

 

Easter Eggs

Last Year we blogged about the art of decoupage and carrying on that idea we started making papier mache eggs to decorate the house with this Easter. Whether you are creating an artistic collection of delicately painted eggs in a pastel coloured wicker shopper or in my case stringing up strange oblong looking shapes with interesting daubs of paint with the help of my little helper.

Creating these little decorations is very apealing. With the crazy British weather of the last week (snow/rain/sun/rain/blizzard/rain and more rain...) we have been confined to the house. With boredom creeping up we thought in a vain hope we would really celebrate this lovely long weekend in the face of failed bbq'ing attempts with forecasts, frosts that are to due to wreak havoc with the first seedlings we have ever planted and our enduring germs! So with bunches of daffodils in blue and white jugs and cherry blossom in clear vintage vases we are spreading our Easter Eggs around the house, and hopefully distracting from the lack of painting we have done recently and the torn gaps of wallpaper, which my decorator son has taken to stripping off the walls...

You will need some balloons, newspaper and/or tissue paper (depends on whether you want a background colour or not..) PVA glue and a brush...ooh and possibly a apron, which I needed rather more than my little man!

Decide how you would like to paint your egg, polka dots are fun and quick or you might want to paint it white and decorate with a beautiful intricate chain of flowers.

Blow up the balloon and tear long strips of newspaper about 3 cms wide.

Dip the strips into the glue and smooth over balloons. 3-4 layers should be enough. Leave to dry on a rack.

If it's sunny outside, leave to dry in the Spring sunshine.

(You can add an extra layer of tissue paper or white paper for different effects).

Paint the egg it's background colour, it might need 2 layers. Decorate how you would like and I think the more garish the better. We have started polka dot eggs, but now graduating to glitter, ribbons and finger painting!! For a more vintage look you could add vintage typefaces and prints to the outside.

Have fun and for more hints and tips come and visit us at www.duckeggdesigns.com

Any other tips on Easter treats then we could love to hear from you?
More Information Here

Duck Egg Book Club - The Snow Child

The Duck Egg Book Club - Book Review: Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

The Snow Child is set in the 1920’s, and tells the story of Jack and Mabel, an childless, older couple who have risked everything and moved to a remote homestead in Alaska. The couple have moved to such a remote part of the world to try and get a fresh start following the stillbirth of their child. Mabel is clearly very haunted by the death of her baby and it has placed their marriage under considerable strain. At the start of the novel they are barely on speaking terms.

One night, a heavy blizzard starts and, in an attempt to rekindle the fun times of their courtship, Mabel persuades Jack to build a snowgirl with her.

Shortly after this a young girl appears on the edge of their homestead, Faina. Mabel is convinced it is their snow girl come to life as in a Russian fairytale her father used to read to her ‘Little Daughter of the Snow’.

One of the more interesting things about is this story is that you are never really sure whether Faina is in fact the snow girl come to life. At certain points you feel sure that she can’t be but then in the next moment your certainty begins to waver. I felt as though Ivey really kept the reader guessing right until the end.

Eowyn Ivey’s description of Alaska is beautifully haunting. I could really understand that it was such a desolate wasteland but such a stunning backdrop at the same time. Purely based on her descriptions I have added Alaska to my long long list of places I really want to visit. It was perfectly chosen for this part-fairytale, part-reality story.

The thing that frustrated me the most about this otherwise lovely tale was the ending. At several points during the story Mabel talks about how her life seems to be interlinked with the fairytale but then suggests that everyone can write their own ending, which hints that perhaps the story will not end in the same way. There is a twist, which makes a difference, I won’t tell you here as I think that would spoil it but essentially, Faina does disappear from their lives at the end. I felt quite disappointed by this ending and had hoped for more.

All in all however I think this is beautifully written and very enjoyable.

Review by the wonderful Duck Egg Book Club Editor, Jessica McGlynn.

To join the Duck Egg Book Club CLICK HERE

Feel free to leave comments on the blog and Facebook Wall.

TEAM DUCK EGG
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Spring Flowers

With March here, Spring has officially arrived, and with it, it brings a whole host of beauties to feature in your home. Beauties that come in a massive array of colours, shapes and sizes. Whether it is bright jewel shades that you favour, or something a little more subtle like pastel shades, Spring certainly offers it in abundance.

 Out of all the seasons, its probably Spring which offers the widest and varied of floral selections, all of which mix beautifully with each other and will undoubtedly create the most graceful display in any room of your home. 



 Probably the best known and widely recognised Spring flower is the humble Tulip. A masse of these simply arranged in a cut glass pitcher looks understated and elegant without being over the top. My personal favourites are a pale pink variety. The effortless, handpicked look of an arrangement such as this lends itself perfectly to the Tulip. Once cut, Tulips continue to grow and lean towards the natural light source, creating a wayward, pretty, natural looking display.

[caption id="attachment_102" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Paperwhites and Muscair"][/caption]

Narcissi are little gems when it comes to Spring arrangements… these teeny tiny daffodil type flowers are Spring personified and can’t fail to make you smile. Coming in a limited palate of whites and pastel yellows they look fabulous with blue and white china… perfect for a Dining room or Kitchen display. Because of the small nature of these blooms they mix well with other small Spring flowers such as Muscari. The china blue variety, more so than the white, look gorgeous with Paperwhite Narcissi or a pale lemon Narcissi, in little vessels dotted about your home, but particularly so on the windowsill of your kitchen! Grab an empty jam jar and pop them in… it really is as simple as that.

[caption id="attachment_103" align="alignnone" width="550" caption="hyacinth bulbs"][/caption]

If you are wanting a more bold Spring statement in you home opt for the Hyacinth. These highly fragrant bell shaped florets are densely packed onto thick fleshy stems and come in a fairly limited colour palate but are available in a range of shades, from whites and pale pinks to, my favourites, deep china blues! Again, because of the short, stocky stem length, its difficult to use these in general, everyday vases. As a cut flower they would work nicely in a glass cube vase, but I think displaying them as a potted plant looks sensational. Your florist should be able to provide them as a potted plant and depending on how much you want to spend, you can buy these already potted up beautifully in a wooden trug box or basket. The Real Flower Company do a version in their beautiful hatboxes. This would look sensational in a drawing room or study.

The final flower that I think deserves a mention is the Ranunculus. One of the loveliest of Spring blooms around, that has infinite ruffles of paper thin petals that are packed tightly together to form a perfect rosette. They come in a gorgeous array of jewel and soft pastel tones and can adapt to both low and tall arrangements. Again, you can mix these with the aforementioned Narcissi and Muscari in a simple jam jar arrangement but they can also look equally elegant in a taller, footed vase arrangement or glass pitcher. The soft stems of Ranunculus can lead to top heaviness as the buds open, resulting in a wayward, natural looking arrangement. For this reason they look great mixed with tulips and Anenomes. An arrangement such as this would look so pretty gracing a console table in a hallway.

[caption id="attachment_104" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Ranunculus"][/caption]

I hope you agree, Spring florals are a fantastic way of bringing a little sunshine to your life after a long, cold winter. Now is the time to splash out and brighten up your home. Whether it’s a simple bunch of tulips from your local supermarket, or a choice selection from your florist, Spring blooms will undoubtedly add a pretty, and cost effective lift to your home. 

Guest Blog Post by Stephanie Saunders - www.stephaniesaundersflow
Duck Egg Designs Website

March Newsletter

Friends of Duck Egg

I hope you are all well and enjoying the ever changing weather at the moment.

We have some exciting news and have been flat out on a number of projects and meeting more and more inspirational people to collaborate on the Duck Egg Designs adventure. One of the most enjoyable projects was sourcing all the furniture, mirrors, lighting and little trinkets for a gorgeous couple in Battersea. It was a full on project with a sharp deadline but the couple contacted us through a recommendation on twitter and loved our style so gave us a budget and we were off sourcing beautiful items from all over the country and adding special finishing touches to a few to make sure it all worked beautifully with their new home. Through our contacts we saved them a huge amount of money and time rather than them going down more traditional methods. We love working closely with people and know how important every home is!

So what's new?

SO MUCH!! We have launched our Poster Prints Range and we couldn't be happier. Below are a few examples:

Surf's Up



The Glass is Half Full



Good Egg



All posters start at £14 for A3 and £18 for A2. All posters can be personalised to the colours and shades you want to ensure it goes perfectly with you interior spaces. To see the complete range then go to: http://duckeggdesigns.com/Duck-Egg-Designs-Poster-Prints

DUCK EGG DESIGNS BESPOKE BUTCHERS BLOCK

We also have produced our first bespoke piece of kitchen furniture which can be painted to the colour of your choice and handmade by our trusted team of highly skilled craftsmen. We haven't even had time to put it on the website yet but just for you is a first look at the Butchers Block.




For more information on the sizes and cost of the Butchers Block then please contact us on info@duckeggdesigns.com

WHAT'S NEXT?

We are busy in the workshop creating more products and very excited about commencing on our long awaited Summerhouse / Shed Project which we will update via our blog, twitter account (@duck_egg) and facebook (search for Duck Egg)!

As always thank you all for the support and spreading the word, we love your input and feedback on all the projects and have started doing more and more one offs for our friends (you guys!).

Looking forward to catching up again soon!

Don't forget our Book Club!



Click here to visit the Book Club

Take care

Ellie x

Team Duck Egg
More Information Here

Duck Egg Book Club - Alice Hoffman's - The Dovekeepers

Duck Egg Designs runs a monthly book club chaired by our Editor Supreme, Jess. Last month our Book was Alice Hoffman's - THE DOVEKEEPERS.

Review below:

The Dovekeepers – Alice Hoffman

This is the first book of Alice Hoffman’s that I’ve ever come across; I was really surprised when I found out how many others she’d written!  It was recommended to me sometime ago but I only decided to give it a try when I was thinking of a book to kick off the Book Club with.  I’m actually really glad I did!

The story of the Dovekeepers is set in 70 AD and is based on the true story of the siege of the fortress Masada following the fall of Jerusalem.  Masada (once King Herod’s palace) became a place of refuge for fleeing Jews as it was considered impregnable.  However, the Roman Army was determined to conquer it and this story had a tragic ending with a mass suicide of the 900 Jewish inhabitants when the Romans finally began to breach the walls.  According to the ancient historian, Josephus, only two women and five children survived. 

The Dovekeepers follows the stories of four women.  We begin with Yael’s story as she flees with her father and another family from Jerusalem into the desert.  Yael’s mother died giving birth to her and she is shunned by her father.  Yael travels across the desert eventually making her way to Masada.  Revka, who witnessed the horrific murder of her daughter at the hands of Roman soldiers, comes to Masada with her two grandsons who have been rendered mute by what they have seen and her son in law who has become a fearsome warrior following the death of his wife.   Aziza is a warrior’s daughter, raised as a boy and taught the skills of warfare she must somehow stay true to herself though women are forbidden from touching weapons.  Shirah, Aziza’s mother, is learned in the ways of ancient magic but must conceal all she is and all she knows for fear of being cast out again.

This story is so complex it would take me a long time to even begin to summarise all that happens.  Hoffman has written the book in four sections, one for each of the four women but as all of these women become dovekeepers at Masada she has cleverly weaved each woman into the stories of the other’s, so we follow the journey of all four women right until the end.

The book is so detailed and precise, Hoffman literally takes you on a journey; you can feel the relentless heat of the desert, smell the intense scent of the dovecote and feel the emotions of each woman.

From reading summaries of Alice Hoffman’s other books, she often writes about magic and there is an element of that in this book.  The magic is quite dark but doesn’t take away from the story.  I don’t know whether this is magic which was practised by women at that time but it certainly wouldn’t surprise me. 

I really enjoyed reading the historical note at the end and discovering that Hoffman had kept a lot of fact in her story.  I would love to visit the site of Masada at some point as the idea that over 900 Jews chose mass suicide rather than face the Romans is utterly fascinating.  That the man leading them could inspire them to do so is also something which intrigues me.

Perhaps something to bear in mind is the fact that the book is lengthy.  At 500 pages it isn’t a light read and the material can sometimes feel a bit hefty.  It’s worth persevering with it though as I think it’s a great story, perhaps more so because it has an element of fact in it, I don’t know.

This is a story of loss, love, suffering and survival and I would recommend it 100%.

Jess - Duck Egg Book Club - Editor

If you are keen to join the Book Club then please click here: Duck Egg Book Club

More details visit us on www.duckeggdesigns.com 

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Please feel free to add comments.

Team Duck Egg. x