I am going to show you chairs and armchairs that, I promise, would put you in a spring mood! Missana is a Spanish furniture brand that has been in the market for years but it was relaunched in 2012 with a new fresh style and aesthetical philosophy. They design furniture with joyfulness super-contemporary shapes and vibrant fashionable colours. This is a selection of some of the pieces I like best bu it wasn’t easy to pick they all come in various versions and in many different gorgeous colours. I highly recommend you to browse Missana website to see their full collections and don’t forget to let me know which piece you like best!
I have known Kate Wesson for a few years now. We have spent some lovely weekends in Rome together walking around and eating delicious food. Kate is a keen food explorer, a curious eater and passionate about all things related to food and its presentation . It is not a coincidence that she has had so much success working as a food stylist and food writer, she boasts a long list of brands and agencies that she has collaborated with. I love Kate’s instagram because it shows her passion for beautiful food. She posts images of what she cooks on a daily basis; her Instagram makes you salivate! Her style is honest and attractive, as food should always be.I recently asked Kate a few questions about her work and how to make this lockdown more yummy.
When did you decide to become a food stylist ?
“I made the transition from chef to food stylist fairly early on in my career at the age of 25. Working in the food industry back in the early 2000’s the hours were long poorly paid and tough. I had always enjoyed the visuals of food as much as creating something that tastes amazing. I love the different visual texture and colour combinations you can create and I recognised that the plating of dishes was often where I felt I was able to express myself the most.”
What’s been your most interesting jobs as a food stylist?
“As a very small scale micro influencer I was flown out to the Italian island of Pantelleria to document the food and culture of this beautiful place to help promote the film A Bigger Splash starring Tilde Swinton and Ralf Finns that was set on the island. I had 2 great guides who took me around and we visited the local producers, made fresh ricotta and visited the terraces where the famous pantelleria capers are grown. The island was quiet as we were out of season so we had some restaurants opening especially for us serving some delicious local dish’s cooked only for us. I loved hearing the story of how certain dishes have come about and meeting the producers who have such a passion and finding a way of documenting this through a series of images was a career highlight.”
How do you find cooking these days without being able to pop to the shops whenever you want to get ingredients?
“I’ve always been a creative cook but the current situation has really pushed me creatively to try new combinations out and I am often substituting ingredients with success (but not always!) sometimes I’ve had some real wins. The main ingredient that seems to be difficult/ near impossible to get hold of is wheat flour, it seems the only flour often left on the shelf is buckwheat and I have enjoyed using this although I am missing making pasta as I’ve run out of 00 flour now.
I have never liked food waste and recently I seemed to have stepped this up a gear too and I don’t seem to waste a single scrap any more. All stems, cores and cheese rinds are kept in a big tub in the freezer and when amassed made into stocks perhaps with a chicken carcass or left over bone from the freezer. Left over chicken skin from a Sunday roast is rendered off for its fat and the left over crispy skin is used to top a ramen or crumbled into a salad. Any peelings like potato, carrot or artichoke are crisped in olive oil and salt and eaten as a snack. This morning I found 3 bruised overly soft pears in the fruit bowl normally I would have thrown them out but instead I whizzed them up in my blender with some maple syrup, mixed spice and melted coconut oil and used this mixed to make delicious granola by mixing it with some oats, whole nuts and seeds and some chopped stem ginger. I love this new found thrifty behaviour and it seems to be spreading I hope when this is all over its something we all still manage to keep hold of.
Ive also been foraging outside when I’m out for our daily 1 hour of exercise at the moment I can pick up nettle tops, wild garlic and wisteria.”
Can you recommend interesting places to shop online for interesting table ware?
“As stylists we often go to the London prop houses to source and hire tableware/linens background surfaces and all things food related these places are like an Aldines cave full of treasures. When shopping for home or an extra special piece for a photo shoot :Kana Ana, David Mellor, La Tuile a Loup, Texit Vicens, Volga Linenare a few of my favourite places to source from.”
What’s your favourite cuisine?
“I love to explore many different cuisines, food in the UK is very encompassing and London has some amazing restaurants from all around the globe. I find my taste change all the time, we are loving south American food at the moment ceviche and tacos have been something we have cooked a lot recently. I am also enjoying fermenting vegetables and experimenting with this technique which is handy to keep foods for longer during the lock done days.”
All photographs are taken and styled and all the food prepared by Kate Wesson, as the amazing Japanese Okonomiyaki Pancakes Recipe is that you can find below.
KATE’S LOCK DOWN JAPANESE OKONOMIYAKI PANCAKES RECIPE
Serves 2
Ingredients
150g plain flour
2 eggs
150ml water
1 tsp baking powder
salt
200g Finely shredded Chinese cabbage
A handful of finely shredded kale
A handful of shredded left over- chicken, chopped ham or grated cheddar cheese
2 spring onions finely chopped
1 tsp minced ginger
70g finely chopped kimchi or sauerkraut or other fermented vegetable
sunflower/rapeseed or groundnut oil
4 tablespoons of okonomiyaki sauce or make your own by mixing together the following: 2 tbsp. Ketchup ,1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce ,1 tbsp. Honey, 1 tsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp. of mayonnaise, ideally from a squeezy bottle.
Extra optional toppings:
A tbsp. of toasted sesame seeds/ black or white or both
Finely sliced spring onion
1 tbsp. pickled ginger
sprinkle of chopped chilly
1 tbsp. siracha hot sauce
A sprinkle of Bonito flakes
A sprinkle of finely shredded nori seaweed
A handful of chopped herbs such as chives or coriander
Method
Place the flour, baking powder and a good pinch of salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Crack the eggs into the bowl and whisk in with 150ml of water until you have a smooth batter.
Stir in the remaining ingredients, don’t be afraid to substitute with what you have left over as ingredients are very interchangeable but always making sure you include the cabbage.
Heat a tbsp. of oil in a medium sized non-stick frying pan over a medium heat; spoon in half the batter to make 2 large pancakes and cook until golden, carefully flipping to cook the reverse side and repeating the process with the remaining batter. Alternatively you can make several smaller ones by spooning in the batter and cooking in batches.
When the pancakes are cooked on both sides, brush the top with a little of the okonomiyaki sauce until lightly glazed. Slide the pancakes onto plates and drizzle with the mayonnaise and a little more of the okonomiyaki sauce, sprinkle over the optional extra toppings and devour!
There are some materials that bring back memories, that carry some degree of intimacy, even if we don’t know what they are called. They change according to people’s experiences in life and some are also related to specific geographical areas. I am sure that many people who live or grew up in Lombardia associate with Ceppo stone for instance. Ceppo stone, extracted mainly from the area near Lago D’Iseo, is a natural sedimentary stone with a beautiful warm color often used in architecture and interiors all over the world.
Today, in tribute to Lombardia, a region that is being so badly affected by the disruptive force of Covid 19, we are going to look at some gorgeous designs by Tommaso Spinzi which for me evoke nostalgic feelings and have a very contemporary refinement.
Tommaso Spinzi is a young sophisticated Interior and Furniture designer with an international pedigree and a studio in Milan called Spinzi Design that offers Interior Design, Furniture Design and Art Direction services.
In 2019 he designed theOrigini Collection (Origini means Roots in English) using some recovered Ceppo stone and the frames of Mid- 20th Century Collection furniture.
The inspiration came when, having moved to Milan after many years abroad, Tommaso went for a ride on his motorcycle and saw some imposing historical architecture made from this elegant grey stone that looks like Conglomerate stone.
Origini is the result of this warm feeling of revival and procured nostalgia; the collection mixes different elements of stone, metal and brass with impressive character and uses original furniture legs from the 1950’s and blocks of recovered stone.
Each piece is unique, a statement and an investment.
(Photos courtesy Tommaso Spinzi, artwork on wall Dripping Face by Alessandro Paglia)
Finally, on 1st November, the much anticipated Ikea collection designed by Virgil Abloh is going to be available on stores worldwide.
Markerad collection counts 15 pieces: 3 rugs, a wall clock, a shopping bag in two sizes, a tool box, a day bed, a chair, a table and a wooden cabinet, sheets, a mirror and a back lit Mona Lisa art work.
Like basically everything designed by the polyhedral American fashion designer, artist, DJ, entrepeneur, the collection is probably going to be a big hit. Ikea long anticipatory advertising campaign has created a lot of expectation.
I think I will going to get the Temporary wall clock, the piece I like best!
When I was living in London, Formica cafes where still quite common, above all in the more run down areas; they generally opened until two o’clock in the afternoon and they used to serve classic English breakfasts or simple sandwiches (ham and cheese or similar), obviously accompanied by steaming cups of tea. When they first opened in the Fifties, these cafes introduced a new concept of catering: a cheap, faster, simpler alternative to restaurants yet not as impersonal and quick as fast-food outlets. They were new and they wanted to look new. It isn’t surprising that Formica, a relatively new affordable material, easy to clean and heat-resistant, was the preferred choice for the furniture.
These places have always trigged a sensation of cosiness and familiarity in me and when I found out that Child Studio had opened a new place in Kings Cross in London called Humble Pizza, but often referred to as the Formica Cafè, I was quite curious to see the photos.
Humble Pizza is an explosion of pinkness but what you notice the most is its Fifties feel. All that pale pink screams Fifties inspiration, it’s timeless. Pink formica covers the walls, tables, counter fronts and a subtle cherry wood framing divides the formica panels.
A mosaic tiled floor and some classic mid-century lights by European designers Poul Henningsen, Jacques Biny and Luigi Massoni complete the evocative vibrant look.
Olive green painted portions add interest and define spaces.
The two creative minds behind Child Studio, Chieh Huang and AlexeyKostikov(see photo below), have looked back at the history of the street where Humble Pizza is, an area buzzing with alternative creativity in the Seventies and Eighties, inextricably linked to Vivienne Westwood’s punk genius.
Evidently they wanted to create a place where people could hang out, read, exchange information and feel energized by the food and the environment.
In my opinion, they haven’t just succeeded in that but also in designing an enveloping calming place.
It looks like they wanted to create a place where people could hang out, read, exchange information and feel energized by the food and the environment.
In my opinion, they haven’t just succeeded in that but also in designing an enveloping calming place and a place that you will want to photograph.
I hope you are well. I am very well, I have a lot of things on these days. I am about to start a new project, the renovation of a 140 square metre apartment thankfully at a walkable distance from my house and I have so many exciting ideas. I hope I will be able to put them into practice.
My new website is almost ready, I will be launching it soon together with a video presenting my interior design shopping experience.
As I said I’m full of ideas and things I want to do that sometimes I think I should open a studio that follows various projects with the help of many different people working alongside me.
In my studio I would definitely have theBambi Chair and the Marshmallow Chair from Kinder Modern (an online shop selling some incredible kids design furniture) even if I am too big to sit on them.
Below is a selection of cute products that you can find in Kinder Modern designed by various designers.
The rugs are really interesting and perfect for people who love color, not just kids.
Of course the prices are far from retailers like Ikea but we are speaking about pieces of design that you will want to display even when you sons and daughters leave the house for college.
This gorgeous, sweet looking girl called Anna Karlin…
……who designs the gorgeous, sexy furniture below.
I am not a green-eye monster generally but some people seem to be blessed with beauty and talent, some more than others, let’s be honest.
Now, the question is, does being beautiful help in being successful?
I think it can either help you or in the long run make it more difficult. If you manage to rely on your looks and actually invest in your personality and abilities, being good-looking is a strength. If you only rely on your looks, you generally grow fragile because you need a lot more than that to safely cruise along in this world.
But let’s speak about the gorgeous furniture collection the super talented Anna Karlin has designed.
The stools or occasional tables are very interesting and elegant.
The black planters are basically the only planters I have seen that look like a piece of furniture and not a cage for pots.
As usual I am having a very busy September, and October is starting to fill up as well. I have something on every weekend: friends visiting, short breaks away, working Saturdays, birthday parties: it looks like my first free weekend will be in November!
Apart from the usual work load and intense social life, I am helping a friend redecorate her house.
She has recently separated from her partner and she wants to refresh the look of her apartment (it is actually true, heart broken women willing to start again change their hairstyle or the house style).
Often, in big cities above but not only, the issue is space and budget.
My strategy is to invest in some nice lights and art, in some versatile pieces of furniture and opt for a slim sofa and armchairs to maximize the space.
Mobili Fiver has some key transformable consoles and tables at very reasonable prices. I got my friend an extendable console table that doubles as a dining table, perfect for when she has friends or the large family. The consolle we went for is called First (see photo below) and it measures 90x45x76 cm when closed but it can be extended up to 305 cm and host up to 14 people!
The opening mechanism is uncomplicated and it has 5 easy-to-assembly extensions; according to how many extensions you insert the console can become 149 cm, 201 cm, 253 cm or 305 cm.
The price is very affordable because Mobili Fiver produces in Italy and doesn’t have showrooms or middle men, they just sell online; in this way they can cut costs and have more competitive prices.
The convenience to have an extendable console consists also in the fact that it is easy to carry and it doesn’t take much space.
It can save your life in a holiday house as well, in the terrace or garden; when needed, you can carry it outside easily.
Also the tables from the same brand have linear shapes and the same extendable advantage. Some, like the model “Easy” pictured below, becomes 220 cm long and the extensions can be put under the top of the table when closed; others, like for instance the model “Eldorado” from square (90 x 90 cm) becomes rectangular 180 cm x 90 cm.
It is worth keeping Mobili Fiver in mind, because many of us, despite how big are our houses are, don’t have enough space…or too many guests!
I have known and worked with Emanuele for a few years and I am very excited about his new creative adventure, Studio 140.
Emanuele is an experienced art conservator, a skilled artisan, a volcanic designer and a lovely person.
In the last twenty years, he has designed and made many beautiful tables, frames, chairs; what I am showing you today and what you can see on Studio 140 website is only a selection of what he has created so far.
Emanuele has a unique approach because he merges the expertise of an artisan, the subtlety of an restorer and the inventiveness of a designer.
The result is Studio 140, a collection of life-lasting, beautifully detailed pieces.
All pieces can be made in any size a part from the unique pieces.
Studio 140 is also working on a new furniture collection made with scagliola, a substance made of selenite, glue and natural pigments that resembles marble or semi-precious stones.
This technique was very popular during the Baroque and it allows to make very hard-wearing surfaces with a richness of colors not possible in natural marble.
I have seen a cute coffee table made with cinder blocks in a bar a few days ago which has inspired me to collect some ideas about cinder blocks DIY furniture for you.
Cinder blocks come in standard sizes and they are often use in buildings because of their low cost. A block costs around 2 euros (these days 2 euros is roughly 2 pounds and 2 dollars, just to give you an idea). The holes make the blocks lighter without compromising the mechanical strength. If you like the industrial look, cinder blocks can be used as legs for beds or tables and in many other creative ways, some of which are shown below. I like the idea of using them as planters.
Cinder blocks are already quite a statement so if you decide to use them, remember to keep the decoration of the surrounding simple and according to the style. For instance, concrete goes really well with aged wood.
