Drunken Plums

The seasons are definitely turning and it is so incredible to be watching it all at such close hand. Ashdown Forest seems to sigh as Summer leaves and the heat from the chalky footpaths has evaporated into beautiful dewy mounds of bracken. It is so easy to imagine Piglet and Pooh in this setting where it was set, especially when our little Piglet is busy collecting pine cones! Perfect for a few Christmas decorations or an indulgent fire. So in the spirit of collecting the Autumn fruits and being new to this foraging lark, I persuaded my unsuspecting father into a hunter gatherer expedition and was lucky to share his abundant countryside knowledge. We were alarmed by the sloes even more determindedly hiding and very sparse on the hedgerows. So feeling a little helpless I was guided by some wonderful advisors on all things rural on twitter and led in the direction of Plum Vodka. As the plums come to the end of their season we decided that since the hedgerows seemed rather bare it might be time to reap the benefits of the Farmer's Market and kilner jar in hand I shall be filling it with plum jam and the lethal sounding plum vodka! Here our recipes for a wonderful weekend of home brewing and stewing!

Plum Vodka

Plum Vodka recipes vary, but this is the one we have chosen to follow. First things first, sterilise your jars before you set sail. In all the recipes it states add half the amount of caster sugar to plum weight. Place the halved and stoned plums in a pan. Then add 75 cl of vodka or every 500g and bring very carefully and slowly to simmer and dissolve the sugar. Other recipes state that you only need pour sugar, then vodka over the halved and stoned plums in a kilner jar and shake. It's up to you! Or try brandy instead of vodka for a different twist. Shake regularly at first and then once a week. After three months strain through muslin into a  fresh bottle and enjoy...just in time for New Year!!

Any plums left over try this delicious looking plum chutney recipe...yum! http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1553649/richly-spiced-plum-chutney

Come and keep up to date with Duck Egg on our Facebook page with more info and soon our Christmas Fair details www.facebook.com/duckeggdesigns

www.duckeggdesigns.com

The Art of Inspiration - Part III 'Weaving a story'

Our third and final part inspiration is stylistically miles apart from our Duck Egg designs, but by its very nature is woven into our fabrics. I am constantly drawn to the art of tapestry. On face value tapestry might hold nothing suitable for modern design than a decorative use for keeping our draughts should you happen to live in a medieval castle or like to collect a substantial amount of dust. For these points I beg to differ. The magic of the stories, carefully crafted and coming to life through fabric is entirely magical to me. In the incredible 'Bayeux Tapestry' the force of Halley's comet as it propels its prophesies of bad omens as it powers across the tapestry, the faces of long ago and the chaos of battle so realistically rendered, display the ability of fabric to talk, to tell stories through a medium, which by it's very nature should not allow for fluidity of narrative. Tapestry allows for something other worldly to happen. It is both decorative, yet because it is (to a certain extent) a material  it is therefore something more (or less) than a painting, it is functional and behaves like something more every day, an item of clothing, a soft furnishing. It is a conundrum and we are both detached and attached. So from these epic narratives it encouraged me to allow my designs to tell a story, a story about the countryside - the natural forms and the folk lore.

Bayeux Tapestry

At University when I was studying History of Art, I found myself on an esoteric and rather more demanding course of Medieval art of a specific and defined period in France. There were four of us. It turned out to be the most incredible chance encounter of a lifetime. Through the gentle and scholastic teachings of our guide through this time, I discovered not only the worth and beauty of art such as tapestry but also one of my favourite places in Paris, the Musee de Cluny.

Musee de Cluny

Hidden amongst ancient architecture this gem of a museum boasts amongst many others, the ethereal tapestry, 'The Lady and the Unicorn'. Decorative, evocative and skillful, it is all a hanging should be and all I aspire to when designing our blinds. It is worth a visit and I say this as someone who never thought they could meander through cabinets of mitres, husband in tow at first trailing and then finally drawn into the drama of the eras the museum discloses. It reaffirms my aspirations of decorative fabrics. Through this series on our inspirations I hope it is possible to see that whilst our designs have a more abstract narrative that all our fabric designs tell a tale.

The Lady and The Unicorn (Musee de Cluny)

For us the notion of tapestry evokes a craft created not always by one individual, but often along with the techniques of embroidery and weaving (for the Bayeux is frequently described as an embroidery) these feats are a team effort. This community of weavers and embroiderers acts as an inspiration that looks to the future, that continues to form and reform and is in inherent in the strong and supportive crafts groups that growing in social media. A notion that was as current in Medieval times as it is now.

Ahoy there! How to get that coastal look...

Gurney's Fish Shop on the beautiful Georgian market place in the Norfolk town of Burnham Market

Duck Egg is on summer holidays! However, while we are away we thought we'd deviate from our ongoing series and meander the scenic route with our new coastal ideas fresh from our sojourn on the North Norfolk coast.  We never fail to have a thoroughly good time, eat far too much and have the cobwebs well and truly blown away. Huge skies, miles of sandy beaches, which after a very keen start on a  rare sunny British summer's morning we had all to ourselves; whilst there was a moment of panic as the parasol sailed away with increasing speed across the vast expanse of sand, it was very conducive to being relaxing! It was not just the little man who loved finding crabs scuttling along the sea beds in the inlets, we were all splashing each other, jumping waves and digging endless random holes in the sand! Maybe that is why we are all so fond of coastal inspiration in the home. The fresh palette of blues and bright whites is an uplifting colour scheme. It also lends itself well to shabby chic with the gentle distressed furniture and driftwood pieces.

Coastal Colours



Try softer blues with a green hint for a more subtle take on the blue and white nautical theme, try our favourite from Farrow and Ball, 'Pale Powder' and for a more statement colour perfect for hallways is 'Lulworth Blue' with a bright white or an old white, depending on how coastal you would like the look to appear.

Colours from www.farrow-ball.com







Decorative Items

There are some wonderful shops in Norfolk and while I was able to restrain myself to a certain extent, the temptation for accents of coastal style was inevitable! It is possible to do this look on shoestring too, so don't let my wish list items put you off!

Lighting

For full on seaside appeal we love this lamp...

Driftwood Twig Lamp

by Nautilus Driftwood Design

http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/nautilusdriftwooddesign/product/driftwood-twig-lamp?utm_source=GoogleShopping&utm_medium=Home%20&%20Garden&utm_campaign=76980


 For a more every day look Garden Trading have some gorgeous lights, in particular we'll be adding the aptly named 'Pendant Fishing Light'.

http://www.gardentrading.co.uk/lighting/indoor/pendant-fishing-light-white.html and a stylish but understated focal seaside piece.

Seaside appeal can also be added with a distressed life ring..

Or some artfully placed fish, you could recreate this yourself and use a subtle seaside palette, perfect for the bathroom. Hang off painted peg rails amongst towels, useful and beautiful!

Artwork

You can add coastal art work to your walls with your own photos. Choose vintage frames, even if they are strange colours, don't be put off and look for decoration and details which might look effective once painted. A great car boot/junk shop find! We love our vintage coastline Ordnance Survey map from the 1950's found on ebay, and put in a great frame above the bath! It cost very little to put together and a white mount sets it off perfectly, making it look much more expensive than it is! It is also my excuse for spending far too long soaking in the bath retracing our holiday steps!

We also have a few pieces from a very talented Norfolk artist. Visit his studio in Burnham Market and take away a little piece of the seaside for home. His sculptures, paintings and prints are original, colourful and a gorgeous addition to any interior. We love them in the nursery!

                                                    
                                                    http://www.fish-and-ships.com/


And of course we couldn't sign off without that final finishing touch, a beautiful blind in a gorgeous seaside print, the signature Crab print from Duck Egg!

We will resume with our three part inspiration guide when we return but for now happy holidays!

For more info or would like to pre order come and join us on www.facebook.com/duckeggdesigns

Duck Egg Designs

www.duckeggdesigns.com

The Art (and Food) of Inspiration Part II

We are so grateful to everyone who voted and we are very honoured to say we are part of the Decorex 100- the most influential interior specialist on Twitter!!

"Oh I do like to be beside the seaside!"

Print available from http://www.willowandstone.co.uk/made-in-the-uk/oh-i-do-like-to-be-beside-the-seaside-print-unframed-.php

My art has a strong coastal influence, in particular from the British Coast. The rugged white cliffs of Dover, the soft sandy coves of the Scottish Islands and the wistful beaches of Cornwall all hold a special magic for me. I spent many summers in my childhood on the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall, swimming off boats for beach picnics, spinning for mackerel and rock-pooling. I never remember what the weather was specifically like, but nothing remains more vivid than the feeling of sand between your toes and the gentle salty smell of seaweed. I tried sailing lessons, but I remained hopeless and never understood how to steer. For this reason I am a very willing passenger or even more keen to wander the shore searching for treasures of bleached driftwood and creating pictures in the sand. The sense of freedom staring at the broad expanse of sea, the glittering surface and the ever changing spectrum colours that the sea gives around the British shores always helps with inspiration for our prints. The seascape is pure escapism for me. I hope that the seaside prints bring that bracing fresh air into an interior and the shimmering shapes and childlike wonder of staring into a rock pool. With this is mind we created our 'Norfolk Crab' print.

(Image Copyright of Duck Egg Designs and blind made by the wonderful Katie Mosa http://www.katiemosa.com/)

So to inspire and to add a little of the coastal spirit to your interior we thought we'd share with you a few of our most favourite coastal spots and a delicious recipe perfect for a Sunday, or any day really, feast!

Norfolk Coast -Holkham Beach

An enormous expanse of sand. Beautiful, perfect for escapists. White sand and huge skies.

The Roseland Peninsula

Small coves of unspoilt beauty, here is Portloe. For interiors inspiration I love the thick rope of the boats and the battered paint, a natural shabby chic effect!

Winchelsea

An idyllic quiet spot, that creeps up on you; more sheltered than its neighbour Camber and worth it to see the Romney Marsh sheep grazing adjacent to the beach.

Camber Sands

Wild, windy and a huge gorgeous beach. Lovely in the winter and ideal for kite surfing for the more adventurous!

Northumberland 

Untouched and rugged these shores are sublime stretches of sandy beaches, perfect for some solitude and reflection.

Isle of Harris

You could mistake this Scottish coast for the Caribbean. Startlingly blue sea and incredible wildlife.

Here is the most delicious recipe we have found. Always one that we re create in Norfolk with fresh mussels, a yummy bottle from the local off license and a hefty crusty loaf!

http://www.raymondblanc.com/Portals/14/docs/Sept%202010%20Moules%20Marinieres.pdf

Take care and don't eat any mussels that remain closed after cooking or open in the preparation stage and have a good read of Raymond's advice.

If you like this please come over and like us on www.facebook.com/duckeggdesigns

The Art of Inspiration (Part I)

I have just started work on the new fabric collection for Duck Egg, that is once the tent had finally been put after the poles were danced around the garden, the bins put out, the family organised and my attempt at mending a broken drainpipe with gaffa tape (fail). Sometimes I feel a little blank and then I turn to my faithful sources for inspiration. Looking at our inspiration board I realised that they say a lot about who we are and I wanted to share them to give an insight into what makes Duck Egg tick. I hope you enjoy our little mini blog series on our top 3 Duck Egg inspirational fail safes. First off...


Inspiration No. 1

It took me a while to appreciate Chardin (1699-1779). However slowly but surely his depth of colours, his simple yet faultlessly accurate rendering of objects and the pure simplicity of his styles sets him aside from his peers. He is a very old modern artist. I return to Chardin again and again to look at his shapes. Whilst the exuberantly elaborate Rococo was swirling its way across canvas and edifice, Chadin slowly and carefully carved his own niche. I love how he bucked the trend of historical tableau's that were all the rage and ignoring the mild hysteria inherent in such works he created beautiful soulful still life paintings in particular, as well as paintings of domesticity. He always kept his work simple and cosequently they are enduring. The seemingly mundane and the overlooked take on exquisite sheen and are elevated as something to treasure - worthy of a wall space. It is this captivating quality which intrigues and inspires me. He resounds throughout the canon art. Cezanne goes to show how relevant Chardin's work was to a new age. (I also love that he was mostly self-taught. Wow.) Always worth seeing them in the flesh too and a trip to Paris is definitely essential! This one in the Louvre forms gentle curves through the shapes in the apples proving less is more.

His way of framing domestic items has inspired me with my photography, and the little man and I experimented today with some Chardin inspired shots for the website...

And while I must retire to peeling the vegetables I shall aim to do this in a suitably Chardin-esque manner amongst artfully strewn fare ...

before retiring for a (large) glass of wine a from a tumbler aside a hearty chunk of bread. Chardin really is inspirational simplicity.

Duck Egg TV

The Duck Egg team have been in somewhat of a whirlwind! It is only on a Sunday night when the little rascal has exhausted Daddy, who has gone to bed (wrong way round), whilst he is happily bouncing around in his cot that I have managed to sit down and take stock. What a crazy couple of months! Duck Egg TV is coming to you shortly!

In April Duck Egg after idly browsing through our tweets came across an interiors challenge for an makeover programme airing on Channel 4. After coming to a grinding halt in the renovations work and being overwhelmed by the delightful yet daily chaos of our lives, we jumped at the opportunity to be involved in an exciting interiors programme aiming to help DIY amateurs such as ourselves! A beloved interiors specialist was to present and knowing that we shared similar tastes, we sent off an application. Glass of wine in hand, a Marks and Spencer lasagna to the rescue and we filled out our form! The next morning dawned with bright sunshine and rather hurriedly I uploaded and sent off our application with the little man whooping and laughing as we set off for another of our eagerly anticipated journeys to the Sussex coast. I hardly dared hoped someone somewhere sitting at a desk sifting through hundreds of similar pleas, might read it.

Needless to say the application had not been perfect. I cringed at the spelling mistakes, what I thought were jovial comments and the mild hysteria that had ensued in our application, fuelled by the alcohol imbibed to gain the confidence needed. The whiff of desperation was palpable and in fact it stank of it. However, that Someone Somewhere saw Something in it and the rest as they say, is history! We were assigned a winning team and together our passion for transforming our Victorian cottage was reignited and we were underway with the planning! (I also was concerned with my outfit planning aiming to achieve practical yet sophisticated however always seemed to find the closest thing to hand that didn't look like I had stuffed it into a drawer. My wardrobe options were therefore drastically reduced!)


Along the way we have met some amazing collaborators. We have been inspired by beautiful interiors and refreshing design ideas. No one was as perturbed as I was by the space restrictions and the inventive ideas for storage were inspirational and have really influenced the way we are building our business. Interiors aside, we made some fantastic friends and the support and fun we had on the journey to create the programme and makeover our rooms were as much a bonus as our beautiful sparkling made over rooms! We filmed on location, hunted down treasures which will become family treasures, our little person was in heaven with the camera equipment and we all learnt a whole new skill set. The whole experience reaffirmed how talented our British craft society is and how genuinely encouraging this group that we are endeavouring to join is towards one another. There are so many unique skills out there and we are amazed every day on twitter by the people we meet and the unique items they create. The idea of our Duck Egg community is taking shape and when the website launches we can not wait to involve our new creative friends! Because that is what Duck Egg has become; from a  nascent shell as creative entrepreneurs, we are tentatively sticking our beaks out and finding that the world is an exciting and welcoming place!

The fabrics are done, and whatever response we find, we are proud of what we have achieved. The designs fulfilled my brief and are, I hope, a fresh take on shabby chic. I wanted them to have a sense of humour, be a little eccentric and  add a relaxed timeless beauty to any home. They also feature on the programme and of that there will be more on our next blog post on Duck Egg TV... Thinking of which I had better stir myself and deal with the devastation of toy cars, banana, soggy rice crackers and solo socks that now adorn our made over home! (But it's so stylish that even housework feels slightly glamorous now in these surroundings..!)

Renovations and how to create a vintage floral arrangement

Renovation requires epic amounts of patience! The little man and I are moving back and forwards from Grandparents and at each stage when we hope to return, something in the new house decides to pack up and refuse to work. This week it's the boiler. Poor hubby is enduring the inclement June, wrapped in woolly duck egg windowpane rugs and brisk cold baths at home. We are very lucky to be enjoying the home comforts of spoiling Grandparents and beautiful gardens. Whilst our nascent plot is ravaged by slugs and hubby's stalwart midnight gardening forages are keeping it going, it has been lovely to sit back and marvel at the fruits of more experienced gardeners and more mature gardens. I am really inspired to tackle our plot and the lawn which, I am reliably informed, has reached gargantuan proportions. In a humble way to thank my parents whose hospitality we are currently trespassing on, I have been arranging their abundant flora, which happily for me has a strong vintage feel. Heavenly scented tea roses, heavy lavender heads and frothy peonies. With this in mind here are some Duck Egg ideas on arranging vintage posies perfect for weddings and thank you's (I hope!).

After a beautiful summer wedding of a great friend of mine last year, I was struck by the vibrant and simple beauty of their homegrown flowers. It is now becoming an exciting and blossoming trend for smaller business to grow their own flowers for events and in particular support British blooms as well. Meadow flowers are flourishing and decorating spectacular bunting festooned marquess and also encouraging our own fauna too. Particularly poignant as our butterfly and bee populations dwindling.

My favourite arrangement has to have roses in. They remind me of my own wonderful grandparents who would tend to their roses in summer afternoons and bring armfuls into the house and I still remember the scent of roses as we all traipsed up to bathtime. Roses and their heavy and yet delicate petals are full of nostalgia. Choose tea roses for maximum visual effect and scent and for a traditional posy simply incorporate lavender. Lay the stalks diagonally in your hand and build the posy in a circular motion. Remove thorns where the posy is held, if you wish. Finish the arrangement and make it suitable for transporting by tying the posy with vintage stripy ribbon - we like Susie Watson's thick ribbon for tying and to also protect from any thorns.  

For displaying a posy in a vintage style, choose a china bowl. I like blue and white ones, or find a pretty floral one in a car boot sale. You will always use it! Perfect for a table display. Think about what colour scheme you are going to go for. Cut a piece of oasis to fit the bowl (florist's foam) soak. 

The 'greenery' or foliage you wish to use will go around the base in a circular fashion. Have a play with using different foliage and look for different subtle shades. I love sage for its silvery appeal and mint, using herbs for foliage adds a depth of scent and the variety of their leaves adds interesting texture.

For a vintage look there should be a slight height in the central arrangement, but not too high or it risks becoming formal. Then build in your flowers. Think about shapes and sizes. It will have maximum impact if you place smaller flowers alongside larger blooms. For this time of year sweet peas and elderflower heads can look very striking, cornflowers and roses, peonies and sweet peas too.

Or if you only have a minute nothing is more effective than a beautiful lilac head in a vintage cut glass bottle.

www.duckeggdesigns.com