Tag Archives: Little Quirks

Simon Smith Illustration

Posted On: Monday, April 13, 2015

SisMith-Montage

I recently came across Simon Smith’s work when putting together my last Folksy Finds post and instantly loved it. He has various illustrative styles, but this particular style is my favourite, it’s fun, bold, full of texture and definitely catches your eye.

Originally from Leicester, Simon now lives in Leeds and his ‘People of Leeds’ series, which you can find above – ‘Man Waits for Bus’ and ‘March Lane Hipster’ and also in his Folksy shop, reflects this. It’s fun and light hearted, and perfectly captures the colourful characters of Leeds. (I know this as living in Leeds I see these great folks every day!)

You can see more of Simon’s work on his website www.simonsmithillustrator.co.uk

Sketch – Art Deco with a 50s Twist

Posted On: Monday, April 6, 2015

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Last weekend I visited Sketch restaurant, somewhere I’ve wanted to go for a while, after seeing their beautiful decor in a magazine article. As you can see it’s outrageously feminine with soft, pink marshmallow tones with subtle copper accents. It fuses Art Deco with a 1950s twist making this a truly unique venue.

Upon entering Sketch you feel like Alice in Wonderland falling through the rabbit hole, it’s dark and you leave all thoughts of rhyme and reason at the door. You’re met with artwork on the walls that’s as wonderfully quirky as the venue itself. On one wall there’s bright neon lettering and on the opposite wall there’s a portrait of the Queen asleep… of course.

To reach the Gallery you have to walk through an oriental inspired room, with twisted wood lights and lego sculptures for decor, as I said, you’re in Wonderland now. This is not just a restaurant but an art gallery too…

Adorning 3 walls of the Gallery itself are original sketches by British artist David Shirley which juxtapose the soft pink decor perfectly and you’ll find yourself trying to find the funniest sketch. It’s tricky, trust me! Every little detail has been thought about in this space, including the table arrangement, condiments and cutlery, which are designed by India Mahdavi and you realise you’re in your own private exhibition space.

The food is outstanding and delicious, with many cakes to try and sandwiches to sample, but for me it was all about the venue and decor. I felt privileged to be there, as I’ve never, nor will I ever, visit a place like this again. This was Wonderland and I didn’t want to leave.

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Oh and whilst you’re there, make sure you visit the toilets…

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Happy Paper Club has Arrived

Posted On: Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Sponsored Post.

Happy-Post-Logo

Last month I announced that my friends over at The Green Gables were launching their brand new monthly stationery subscription service; Happy Paper Club and they’d asked me if I’d like to receive one of their first boxes. As I love stationery I jumped at the chance to receive a box, and last weekend my Happy Post arrived.

What a lovely surprise it was to unwrap each layer in turn, discovering something wonderful and unique inside. March’s box contained a delicately illustrated notebook and notepad, joyfully bright cards to share with friends and a cute paper doll designed by an independent designer, which would make for a great gift.

HPC1

These brightly coloured, positive cards, along with the notebooks definitely brought a smile to my face, I think my favourite has to be ‘ahoy’

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In contrast to the bright postcards, the notebook and notepad are beautifully illustrated with fine, delicate details that are so pretty I can’t bring myself to use them just yet! I think I’ll save them, hehe.

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If you’d like to receive your own Happy Post through the letterbox instead of bills and junk mail, then you better be quick, these little boxes sold out in just over an hour when they went on sale! The next Happy Paper Club box is available on 1st April and you can sign up for it here so you don’t mis out!

You can find out more about Happy Paper Club at www.thegreengables.co.uk/happypaperclub

Facebook: @thegreengables
Twitter: @happypaperclub #HappyPaperClub

 

Neon Workshops Part 3

Posted On: Monday, March 23, 2015

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In my final part of my Neon Workshop series, you can read Part 1 and Part 2 here, I want to share more of their work with you. After last week’s mood board post I thought it would be nice to do the same again this week, as I think it captures the medium of neon well.

Neon-Gallery3

I love how neon let’s you be free with your designs, there’s nothing you can’t create. Each design has manipulated, twisted and folded to create a piece of unique art that will last for many years to come.

If you’ve enjoyed reading about Neon Workshops and would like to try your hand at creating your very own sculpture, Richard runs workshops throughout the year, from one day intensive courses, to 2 hour taster sessions, there is something for all levels – I may even see you there!

Finally I’d like to say a big thank you to Richard and the rest of his team for letting me visit their studio and share their work with you, it’s been great fun, and my new found love for neon is here to stay.

www.neonworkshops.com

This is Why I Blog

Posted On: Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Over the past few weeks there have been a few little gems of quirkiness around here, whether it’s on blog features, photo’s or products, that have perfectly illustrated why I blog and share these things with you.

Sometimes I see things and love them because they’re out of the ordinary, but recently these finds have stopped me in my tracks and made my heart skip a beat, because to me, they’re that extra special, cherry on the top trying to be different without even trying, catching you off guard kind of different (if that makes sense!)

You might think why do these photos, quotes or trousers appeal so much to me, but they do, I can’t even explain it, they just stand out.

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As you know, the reason for starting this blog is my ‘I Saw This & Thought’ photos. I take them using only my iPhone, as I enjoy the limitations it puts upon me. It makes me work to capture the image I’m photographing so I have to get it right in the camera, leaving me to edit effects later. By using my phone I can photograph something instantly, like recently if I find something quirky or inspirational that I want to remember or share.

Last week a friend brought to my attention a feature from Apple, showcasing incredible photos taken only with an iPhone. I realise this is to help plug their phone, but this made me gleefully jump with joy to know that they are recognising what you can do with just a camera phone, and the reasons behind why I do it. These were my favourite photo’s from the feature…

Inspiration-montage2I’ll continue to share my quirky and unusual finds with you, and if you’ve found anything recently that’s stopped you in your tracks let me know, I’d love to see it! x

Neon Poem

Posted On: Monday, March 16, 2015

Oh how I love neon light,
and to make your Monday bright
here’s my mood boards dedicated
to this wonderful sight…

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Such wonderful colours you do shine,
it makes the world look mighty fine,
blue, yellow, green and red,
oh how you’ve got inside my head…

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You will never ever dull my day,
no matter what any one else has to say,
so shine bright you crazy thing,
as you’re about to make the whole world sing.

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Images taken from my Neon Lights Pinterest board.

Neon Workshops – Part 2

Posted On: Monday, March 9, 2015

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Last week I posted my first instalment in this month’s Artist of the Month series, featuring Neon Workshops. In this second part I’ll be showing you their work and explaining how they create these bright neon designs

At the moment Richard is exhibiting his latest work; Beautiful Hazards in the Neon Workshops gallery space. The exhibition concentrates on Richard’s interest with industrial hazard graphics and features both neon and mixed media.

Naked

The exhibition runs until 15th March, so you still have time to catch this great work.

There is a lot of time, effort and skill that goes into creating these pieces, along with a little touch of alchemy to add to the effect. Once a design has been decided, the real hard work begins. Shaping and cutting the glass over 800 degree heat is no mean feat, especially when there are no gloves! Then you have to carefully blow into the glass tube to stop it from buckling under the heat, but don’t inhale, otherwise your design will become deflated and imploding!

Bombarder

Next comes the fusing, where the electrodes are fused onto the ends of the neon, and to do this you need an electron bombarder, a machine that uses 20,000 volts to pump helium into the neon, creating a vacuum so you can then add your choice of gas depending on what colour you’d like your design to be. To begin with all neon lights emit an orange light…

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and by adding different chemicals and gases other colours are created; adding hydrogen will give you red and a touch of mercury will give you a beautiful blue hue.

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The list of colours and designs are endless, and with a little bot of imagination, there is nothing you can’t create with neon.

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