Thursday, 24 December 2009

> winter solstice at Avebury



A tradition of ours is to celebrate the Winter Solstice at Avebury every year - this really marks the start of our Christmas celebrations.  This year, complete with a beautiful dusting of snow, we actually saw the sun rise - the first time since 1998!

Happy Solstice!

Wednesday, 16 December 2009

> FOKaL feature


Asia from FOKaL featured us on her wonderful blog last week.  FOKaL is an "interior design blog and home directory tasked with finding modern design, home decor inspirations, fresh modern furniture and top design goodness!"  Asia and Vish source a treasure trove of brand new and exciting interior products - an absolute must if you are planning to redecorate!

Thanks to you both for the feature!

Monday, 14 December 2009

> Oh Christmas Tree...



We are feeling excited and very Christmassy...

we have our tree, selected by our daughter and her friends last week and freshly cut for us by Richard from The Orchard.  It is tastefully decorated in pink and white (with the exception of the most enormous red plastic bauble she insists must be on the tree) and is topped with a beautiful blue bird she made at Pre-School. We spent a lovely afternoon gathering armfuls of holly and ivy, singing carols and jumping in muddy puddles, and freshly wrapped around tiny white lights, our house now looks festive and magical!  I love this time of year!

Tuesday, 8 December 2009

> Junior magazine



We are delighted Kate Street from "Junior" has featured our "Dinosaurs Rock!" wallpaper on her Interiors page in the January 2010 issue.

Dinosaurs Rock! in duck egg blue with soft brown and punchy black is inspired by the styling of retro comics.

Thank you Kate.

Saturday, 5 December 2009

> BMX Wallcovering



One of our most popular wallcoverings, "BMX", has been refreshed.  Whilst preparing the design for a client, we altered the angle and loved it!  So did our client!  We will be uploading the new design onto our web shop today.

We are currently working on new range of BMX, Skateboarding and Snowboarding designs and these will be available in January.

Wednesday, 2 December 2009

> new supplier "Ele-ahbaant"


We have our first retailer in Australian - "Ele-ahbaant".   Ele-ahbaant (pronounced El-ly-ah-barn-t), run by Melissa Skinner, is essentially a funky clothing company, but she also has a range of wall decor available and our products will be alongside Blik's fantastic range. We are also delighted to hear that she plans to use our designs to decorate her youngest daughter's room next year - thanks Melissa, we can't wait to see what ideas you come up with!

Tuesday, 1 December 2009

> Christmas is coming...



It's the 1st of December... I know this to be true as our daughter, already fully immersed in the festive spirit, awoke us super early this morning in her excitement to open the first door on her 'huge' advent calendar!  And we are under strict instructions to put up a Christmas Tree in her bedroom this evening (after she returns from a Pantomime, naturally)!

Christmas is a lovely time of year - for me, it is filled with Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, the scent of spiced orange and cinnamon and going out on lots of exciting Christmas inspired family trips.  We have an action packed December with outings to The Bluebell Railway, Hever Castle's Christmas Winter Wonderland and The Natural History Museum and Ice Rink!

Looking forward to a happy, exciting and merry Christmas!

> "Big Ben" review by Fresh Design



Our "Big Ben" Wall Sticker Clock been featured on the fantastic Fresh Design blog.

Fresh Design are dedicated to finding and profiling the best in contemporary, fresh and modern design and we are delighted they have picked it up, writing... "We've featured lots of wall stickers before, but this one goes one step further".

Many thanks to Rachel Newcombe for the review.

> Monsters and Munchkins blog entry



Thank you to Tze Ching from "Monsters and Munchkins" for her fantastic interview with us on her lovely blog.  We had a chat last week about what inspires and drives us to create our products and our interior designs.  You can read the full interview on her blog.

Monday, 23 November 2009

> The Resident magazine



We are in this months issue of "The Resident" magazine (November issue) in the "Christmas gifts for kids" section".  The Resident magazine is Kensington and Chelsea's premier local lifestyle magazine and includes news, events and top quality products.

Sunday, 22 November 2009

> Anita Kaushal blog entry


Anita Kaushal, author of "FamilyLifeStyle" series for Thames and Hudson and writer for the Observer and the Guardian has written an entry on her lovely blog about our Wallpapers.  Many thanks Anita.

Her own stunning house has just been featured in YOU magazine - an interior designer and stylist, the detail really shows.

Wednesday, 18 November 2009

> Your Home magazine



It is always such a thrill to see our work printed in the press on on a blog...

Our "Birdie Tree" Wall Stickers are featured in the December issue of "Your Home" magazine thanks to Lucy and Jane from Rockett St George. Lara Berry (Interiors Editor) writes "We love this cute and colourful birdie tree wall sticker... the vibrant tones will brighten up any kids room, playroom or even your hallway".

Thanks very much Lara and Rockett St George x

Friday, 13 November 2009

> Kids.Modern show



We are very excited to be exhibiting again at the next Kids.Modern show at Dulwich College in London in April 2010.  Now in its third year, Kids.Modern is an exciting, innovative show and celebrates the best in childrens design by bringing together the slickest furniture, fashion and collectables from 50 designers from the UK, Europe and Scandinavia.  You may remember our stand from 2008 pictured, above.

Run by Lucy Ryder Richardson and Petra Curtis, the duo behind Midcentury Modern and The Midcentury Shows, the show is open for one day only on Sunday 18th April 2010.

Wednesday, 11 November 2009

> letter from Australia




We take the greatest of care with our Customer Service as well as the greatest pride in our products.  Occassionally, things don't quite go to plan, but we do our best to right any wrongs.

With this in mind, we supplied a lovely lady in Australia with our "Lost Garden" WallScene wallpaper this week. During the course of correspondance, we berated the lack of Customer Service available these days and were then mortified that her delivery didn't quite go as planned. After failing to be delivered on time, or to the desired address, and a lot of to-ing and fro-ing later, it arrived this morning. Here is her letter to us:

..."Thankfully there was a knock at the door early this morning and I did a little jump for joy as the paper had arrived.  It is just beautiful! Colours can look different given monotor setup etc but it is as I had hoped for and suits perfectly. My husband and I were very impressed with not only the quality of your product but the care with which it had been wrapped for shipping. We are extremely grateful for the care taken to ensure we received our order in the best possible condition.

Please continue to do what you are doing... it is fabulous.  We will certainly be recommending your company at every opportunity. Positive word of mouth is the best form of advertising.

Again many, many thanks for your wonderful service and attitude.

Should we be fortunate to have baby number 2, we know where to come."

Thank you Leanne - you make it all worthwhile!

Tuesday, 10 November 2009

> new retailer "Monsters and Munchkins"




We are thrilled that "Monsters and Munchkins" are the latest retailer stocking our products.  Tze Ching who runs the online store sources "cool and stylish products from around the globe" and is taking our Limited Edition Fine Art Prints, Deluxe Wallpapers, WallScene and Wall Stickers.  Check out her website as she has a fabulous array of designer wares, including her own children's clothing brand, "Jake and Maya".

> So Happy Kids - blogspot




Su from "So Happy Kids" included us in an article on her lovely blog site on Saturday called "On their Walls" and featured two of our Wall Sticker designs, Birdie Tree and Fun at the Fair as "some beautiful design and styles I like to decorate children's bedrooms walls".

Thank you very much Su for including us.

Thursday, 5 November 2009

> new retailer "Adorable Tots"


We are delighted to be working with Victoria at "Adorable Tots", our latest retailer.  Victoria sources luxury, designer furniture and furnishings sourced from around the world and she has an amazing and ecclectic selection of products.  I already have my eye on her "Little Chester Sofa" in silver for one of our interior projects!

She is taking our WallpapersWallSceneWall Stickers together with a selection of our Limited Edition Fine Art Prints and "Big Ben" Wall Sticker Clock.

We really look forward to working with you Victora.


Thursday, 29 October 2009

> "Big Ben" Wall Sticker clock is launched



Our "Big Ben" wall sticker clock is now available to purchase. Standing 2 metres tall, it has a working Quartz clock face with matte black metal hands. Big Ben is 150 years old this year - celebrate with this perfect, contemporary time-keeping piece!

More wall sticker clocks will be available very soon!

Available now from our Funky Little Darlings web shop.

Monday, 26 October 2009

> Onepiece Chair - 100% Design winners



Blueprint magazine and Claystation have announced the results of the Onepiece chair design competition from 100% Design London.  The Blueprint/Claystation stand brought the design process to life as visitors sat on specially commissioned chairs to create their entries - we were delighted to have been asked to create a design (you can see our "Tree of Life" chair, above) alongside the likes of Margo Selby, Jonathan Ball, Steve Wilson and Martin Wollerstam amongst others. The Onepiece chair was designed by Ben Hughes, founder of Claystation and course director of the MA in industrial design at Central St. Martins. The chair is designed to be made from a single piece of material without the use of any adhesive or fixative, and made from an innovative material Swedish material called Re-board, which is as light as cardboard but as strong as MDF.

The winners were Shauna Murphy for her 'in-situ' chair and the under 16 category was won by 10 year old Miles Dodd.  Congratulations to you both.



Wednesday, 21 October 2009

> "Big Ben" Wall Sticker clocks





We recently created a "Big Ben Wall Sticker Clock" with working LED time display for a client and loved it so much, we made one for ourselves!

It got us thinking that we should look into producing an 'analogue' version for our web shop... and so we have.  We are still mulling over which colours we will offer (current favourites amonst friends are the black, white and pink versions).  Each "Big Ben" wall sticker clock is approx 2 metres tall with a working Quartz clock movements and metal hands.  Let us know which version you like!

Available from the Funky Little Darlings web shop next week.




We are launching more 'Wall Sticker Clocks' to compliment our range of wallcoverings and wallpapers and these will be available very soon.

If you are interested in the bespoke LED version, please let us know.

Thursday, 15 October 2009

> "Fantasia" wallcovering on wooden background



We have just completed a commission to produce our "Fantasia" wallcovering with the same 'wooden'  background as seen on our website - we were so delighted with the results that we are going to add it to our mural wallcoverings section.  You can currently purchase the design in one of 5 colours... but this is our favourite!  We are also adding the design to our Limited Edition Fine Art Print range.

Available from the Funky Little Darlings web shop shortly.

Thursday, 8 October 2009

> Bambino Goodies



We have just had the most wonderful write up on our product range by Natalie at Bambino Goodies, calling our designs "a stellar collection of vibrant, well designed, high quality deluxe wallpapers, wall stickers...".

Thank you Natalie - we really being included on your fabulous blog.

Monday, 5 October 2009

> interior design service


We will be writing more about our passion for interior design shortly and creating monthly trend reports on what's hot in the world of interiors for children.

We undertake commissions to transform children's (and grown ups!) rooms into imaginative, contemporary sanctuaries of colour and style. Having designed for children for most of our lives, we really know what works for both them and their parents. We design wallcoverings, wallpapers, furniture and soft furnishings and commission the best craftsmen to create our designs.

Latest commissions are in Bristol, London, Oxford and Surrey.

Thursday, 1 October 2009

> new retailer "EcoCentric"



EcoCentric, co-founded by TV designer (and BBC HomeFront winner) Oliver Heath, are the next retailer selling our range of children's wallpapers. Their three goals are:  to make beautiful, ethical, eco friendly products readily available, to help you make more informed choices about what you buy and to be a positive, living example that eco design is beautiful design.

We are really looking forward to working with them.


Tuesday, 29 September 2009

> new Lost Garden WallScene™





We have added two new colours to our "Lost Garden" WallScene™ wallpapers.

Summer Blue, captures the evocative colours of early summer and Harvest Brown features rich jewel colours against a smokey grey/brown autumnal background. The design is our contemporary take on Chinoiserie and was inspired by walks through Blenheim Park.

WallScene™ is a new a concept for wallcoverings. Each roll contains four interchangeable drops to create your own feature wall. Additional rolls will extend the design across an entire wall... or room!

To find out more about how WallScene™ works [click here].

Monday, 28 September 2009

> One-Piece-Chair at 100% Design London




Here's a quick snap of our "Tree of Life" design on Ben Hughes' "One-Piece-Chair" as seen on the Blueprint stand at 100% Design last week.  Another image can be seen on 'Despoke' 100% Design London's new blog and on Flickr.  Visitors to the show were able to design their own graphics and see their work made into mini paper models.  At the end of the show, judges including Ben and Matthew Hilton will select the best design and the lucky winner will receive a full size chair.

The show was great (as expected) and we met some really lovely exhibitors (whom we shall talk about in more detail later this week).

Off to Decorex now!!!

Thursday, 24 September 2009

> 100% Design London




We are off to 100% Design today and can't wait to see what's new in the wonderful world of design.

We're looking forward to seeing our designs printed onto the new "One-Piece-Chair" by Ben Hughes, on show for the first time (in conjunction with Blueprint magazine and Claystation).  The chair will be featured in the October issue of Blueprint.

We'll let you know what we thought of the show and tell you about the best bits!

Wednesday, 23 September 2009

> new retailer "Urbane Living"


"Urbane Living" are the next confirmed retailer selling our range of Deluxe Wallpapers. This iconic, environmentally-led and design conscious company sell fabulous sustainable products for the home - and we are absolutely delighted to be working with them.




Tuesday, 22 September 2009

> Grand Designs Live

We're looking forward to the forthcoming Grand Designs Live at the NEC (9-11 October).  We are hoping to find some exciting soft furnishings to complete a big project we are finishing with Colliss & Quinton.

While we were looking through the latest GDL brochure recently, we were excited to see it included an image of our stand, featuring our "Tree of Life" wallcovering taken at the London ExCeL show in June 2007 - it brought back some great memories!







Saturday, 19 September 2009

> Ideal Home magazine - Fronlas boutique B&B

for those of you who don't know...

we also run "Colliss & Quinton" designing interiors and bespoke wallcoverings for 'grown-ups' (residential and commercial properties).  We were very excited to be called by "Ideal Home" magazine who are doing a feature on one of our previous interior projects, "Fronlas" (boutique hotel style B&B in Wales), which we designed achieving a 5 star rating.  We designed all the rooms and bathrooms, mural wallcoverings, bespoke pieces of furniture and even the logo and stationery.
"Ideal Home" January 2010.

The hotel was also recently featured filmed for S4/C (04Wal: Hotels of the World) series highlighting the world's finest iconic design hotels, with presenter, Aled Samuel proclaiming our wallcoverings were the hotel's "icing on the cake".


















Saturday, 12 September 2009

> One-Piece Chair for 100% Design London - update

Following on from our previous mention about the "One-Piece-Chair", Blueprint magazine (in conjunction with Claystation) contacted us to say that one, if not both of our designs are being manufactured and will be on show at 100% Design London (24-27 September).  Needless to say we are absolutely delighted and can't wait to see the chair(s) in the flesh.

Thank you Claudia for giving us the great news.

Wednesday, 9 September 2009

> mural for City Hospital, Birmingham




Another hospital takes one of our murals...

We were contacted yesterday to produce our "Dancing Dolphins" mural for the children's Urgent Care Centre at Birmingham's City Hospital.  In record time (basically working through the night), we prepared the design ready for installation on Friday.  The wall is so large that we had to add whole new sections to the design.

Thanks also to Rob, Wayne, Steve and co (our ever patient and fabulous printers), without whom we would not have been able to achieve the deadline.

Tuesday, 8 September 2009

> ant invaders...! new "Soldier Ants" wall stickers




The Ant Army invasion starts today...!

"Soldier Ants" is the latest addition to our Wall Stickers range. The ants, printed in black, red and camouflage feature radiation symbols, skull and crossbones and military stars and co-ordinates with our Soldier Ants deluxe Wallpaper. Definitely one for the boys!!!

Available to order from our webshop.

Monday, 7 September 2009

> new retailer - "Rockett St George"



We are absolutely delighted that the very hip and wonderful "Rockett St George" are our first confirmed retailer taking our Wallpapers and Wall Stickers. As one of the most inspirational, design-led websites around, and loved by Living etc., we couldn't be happier.

Thanks Lucy and Jane - we look forward to working with you.

Saturday, 5 September 2009

> blog launch

Welcome to our blog, created to share the latest information on what we are up to and showcase the best in new, modern design... exclusively for children.
We will talk about our products, new design launches, our retailers, what inspires, makes us laugh, the latest innovations and all the news and happenings in the wonderful world of designing for children.

> extension to our "End of Summer Sale"

The summer may almost be at an end, but due to popular demand, we are extending our "End of Summer" sale... grab 10% off our products and services (and 20% off our Wall Stickers) until Monday 14 September.  Enjoy!

To see our range of products [click here].

> One-Piece-Chair for 100% Design London

We have been invited by Blueprint magazine (the leading magazine of architecture and design) to submit one of our designs to be printed onto the new "One-Piece-Chair", designed by Ben Hughes, on show for the first time at 100% Design London.  Constructed from an innovative Swedish material called Re-board, the chair is manufactured in one go, including printing and cutting, and delivered flat-pack ready to be assembled.  20 full size chairs will be manufactured for the show featuring designs by architects, designers and illustrators.

Concepts shown here: