Old Things and Inspiration

Amazing talents
The more I research, the more excited I get about some of the amazing talents around; embracing recycling and using elements within their work.

Zoe Murphy
Found a great designer the other day, Zoe Murphy, who’s British and from Margate. For all you retro lovers out there, take a look at these.



What a great way to re-invent a sideboard!

She was short-listed for the New Designer of the Year award, and promotes: “loving what belongs to you”, by re-using in an ethical and up beat fashion. Her imagery is inspired by her hometown of Margate, on the South coast on England. Her work is fun and colourful and her designs are reminiscent of the 1950’s.
See more at www.zoemurphy.com


Print designs are applied to wood veneers, Formica and even silk wedding dresses to create new works of Art. Also, her blog at www.zoemurphys.blogspot.com

Etsy, vintage renaissance
Also loving this etsy shop I found under the name vintage renaissance. It got me thinking about endless possibilities for re-using stuff. Check out that suitcase, great idea.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6821938

Forgotten Treasures
On that note, I thought I’d have a rummage around the fabric cupboard and studio! Found forgotten treasures ;-)


Look at this! So beautiful, 1940’s silk satin, which I bought from e-bay ages ago. It’s fantastic quality, and so lovely, I haven’t been able to bring myself to cut it yet!!! Love it with this pink satin. I might have to scour the charity shops for a very large standard lamp to use it on.

These are some of the vintage embroidery motifs, still attached to the original papers, which I use to decorate my lamps. I was lucky enough to come across this stash, many years ago and at the time didn’t realise what I would use them for.


Also found these old printing sets with letters and holders and pictorial stamps of stags and zebra etc.. found them at a local bric-a-brac place, perhaps I’ll try printing these onto ribbons, could work well with my lamps.


Jane Schouten
Last but not least had to show you the work of Jane Schouten. Those of you not on flickr may not have come across her amazing creations and re-invented furniture. Jane’s designs are vibrant and fun: she recycles previously loved items by customizing them in her own unique way.


How fabulous are these reupholstered chairs, using vintage blankets, and hand stitching in great colours, such as these orange ones.


The details are so beautiful, with motifs such as flowers hearts and hands.

She also has a handmade range of gorgeous items to pick from, available on her website and an equally colourful and stylish home to match, which you can see more of on her flickr photostream, search ATLITW.

Love the Wall Art pieces, they’re an eclectic mix of found treasures, and almost forgotten memories.

You can buy Jane’s work including the recycled and the handmade items at www.alltheluckintheworld.nl take a look it’s really great.