Year of No Rubbish Purchases - Month 2

Not only is this year about not buying rubbish, it is also about buying things of quality which last and last.  So this post is about money.  Avert your eyes if you have to.

Step 1, I bought Pepper the cat a tray for his food and water bowl to replace the Ikea one I had.  Given I have to look at it every day I thought something pretty would be easier on the eye.   Do you like it? It's French and it makes me think of Missoni a bit.  Or Paul Smith.  

Step 2, I took the plunge and did something I have only ever done for my wedding. I had a piece of clothing tailored for me. And what better than a black pencil skirt?  As a lawyer, one's professional life is paved with black skirts.   I cannot count how many I have bought over the last 20 years.  Now, I want one which lasts more than a year or two.  

So these fantastic people came and sized me and produced a beautiful, classic, wonderfully fitting black skirt.   Barring massive weight gain or loss, I hope it will last many many years.  And it cost only a little bit more than a skirt from a shop.  

The fabric is by Dormeuil which was established by three French brothers of the same name in 1842. They hit on the idea of importing English fabric to France.  Jules Dormeuil had a truly global vision it seems.  He opened their first store in New York in 1880.  When the company celebrated 150 years in business in 1992 the lights of the Eiffel Tower were dimmed in their honour. 

Dormeuil manufactures amazing soft wool. They also say that they invented the 'Pashmina'.  They were and are the fabric of choice for many Savile Row tailors, and I can see why.  The fabric breathes and at the end of the day, any creases just fall out.  

They made some cracking ads in the 1970s.  Are you offended by this ad? I love it.   And her sunnies.  And his red shirt and tie combo.  And the light planes and Aston Martin in the background.   

And what about this one?   That's a snake on his lapel.  

I was going pretty well this month until the global economy interfered.  Here's the thing, when I was backpacking around Europe in the 1990's the exchange rate of the Aussie dollar was pretty forlorn.  I could get 1 British pound for 3 AUD.  And the US currency was not much better (1 AUD would buy US 0.60 cents).   This made travelling very expensive, and is one of the reasons I put off travelling to the US for so long.    Of course it also made travelling fun and challenging but many Australians can remember the power of the mighty US$ in Eastern Europe and what it could buy.   And how many Australian dollars we had to exchange to get that currency.

Today, things are different.  Over the weekend the Australian dollar hit parity with the US.   Now I know that this is bad for the farmers and other exporters.  And perhaps for local retailers because the stronger dollar has meant a huge boost in online overseas sales, and I have been one of the statistics.  An added bonus is the reversed seasons.  Shop online in the UK and US and you can pick up their summer season's clothes on sale just as we are going into summer ourselves.  

(Side note:  quality clothes in Australia are expensive. I do actually try to support Australian designers and manufacturing especially original good quality designers like Scanlon & Theodore.    Whilst I am a bit sad that the Internet is maybe making it harder for them to be competitive, I think there will always be room for great High street retailers.  But at the end of the day a top is a top, and $450 is too much Lisa Ho.  And don't start me on denim.  Why would I pay $400 for a pair of J Brand jeans from the shop up the road when I can buy the same jeans for half the price online?)  

I bought these summer sandals from Revolve (on sale and very cheap):

And this necklace (not sure where I will wear it) from J Crew (on sale and very cheap):

I used a shipper for the J Crew stuff.  They were pretty reliable and quick but their shipping charges are almost Cath Kidston-esque.

And I end on this note - compare prices always.  This beautiful J Crew shearling trimmed jacket:

Is  $380 AUD on the J Crew website (converted from 378) and $415 on Net a Porter (converted from 255 UK pounds).  The difference is simply that between the two currencies. 

Do you shop online? Surely I am not the only one?  

Tweet

Drawerknob Dilemma

Here is our main bathroom.

Here is a close up of our specified-by-an-architect-with-no-children knobs.  See those corners?  They may look innocent and very 2002, but they could zest a lemon no problem at all.  They could also probably shred top security documents.  Not to mention pudgy little hands.   Not only are they are a danger but their very squareness offends me. I want to replace them.  

Quality and interesting hardware, rather like reasonably priced Italian lights, is hard to come by in Australia.   I don't know whether to do silver or stainless steel, or white or cream or grey. 

This is what I have found.   Three possibilities from Anthropologie:

Inexpensive but a little bit hideous kitchen knobs from Ikea

Cattle horn, from Mood Australia.  I am not sure if any cattle were harmed making these.  Or if by cattle they in fact mean 'cattle': 

Superbasic but functional from Budget Handles.   

Tell me, oh wise and infinitely stylish readers: where can I find some knobs to make my paranoid maternal fear go away?    And what kind of knob would you put on these drawers? 

Tweet

The Light is in the Eye of the Beholder

My son has had a rash of nightmares, about bad robots, bad ladies, bad mens, bad octopi, bad Supermen, bad dinosaurs and other bad things, which mostly live in the dark shadows of his room. 

He asked for a night light.  And I thought: well I will try anything and my daughter got one at 3 so why not. 

I loathe going from shop to shop looking for things.  My daughter has the Ikea flower night light and it is still going strong but I loathe Ikea on a Saturday and I remembered seeing one in a shop around the corner.   So, quick as a flash, as I am wont to do, I went right out and bought one. 

The light I bought was Italian, from Market Import, one of my favouritest shops in all of Melbourne which sells colourful linens and tin and porcelain from Mexico.  I also came home with some goat's milk soap and two little pear plates.   Arrgghh. 

The supposed five minute assembly of modular bits of white bendy plastic of course became 1/2 an hour but I was most impressed with the result.  Isn't it cute?

Then my husband arrived home, saw it and said it looked like the devil.   Something to do with the horns.  And I must say when it is all lit up it does give me a start, glowing in a slightly menacing way in the corner of the room.   Especially if you walk past the bedroom and quickly glance in.  

Of course it doesn't matter what we think.  Little P loves it and it lights up the room like a beacon (so now he thinks it's morning when it's actually 3 am).   Which then led to a whole series of conversations along the lines of 'Okay, it's only morning when mummy says it is morning. Until I say 'it's morning now!' you have to stay in bed sleeping peacefully'. 

Maybe I should have been less hasty and gone with an egg light, like this:

What do you think?  Devil or Cow?

Tweet

A Little Workspace in Waiting

I am pretty certain my lifelong love of Rainbow Order for all textas, pencils and pens derives from the set of 72 Derwent pencils I was lucky to receive when I was 9 years old.  This was the creme de la creme of pencil sets, and I can still remember the names of my favourite colours: Kingfisher Blue, Emerald Green and Delft Blue.  Derwent have been making pencils in Cumberland in the UK since 1832 and I love that they are still going strong.   You can see their products here.

(For another thrilling rainbow thing check out Meredy's Rainbow Cake - not sure my baking skills are up to this but still, one can dream.)

At home, our daughter has a little section of the long L shaped desk in our library-study which is hers to use as she wishes.  In an ironic turn of events, I happen to be paranoid about the internet, so our thinking is that when she is older she will have a computer here and use this area for her homework and Facebook (if it still exists although I am kind of hoping it will self-combust in the next 6 years).

When I was greeted by this sight when we returned from holidays I thought first - oh God a burglar has been here.  Then I realised that this was the way it always looked but that I usually avert my eyes.  So, it was time for a major clean up.     

To inspire me, a visit to Kikki K was in order.  This shop, run by Swedish -Australian businesswoman Kristina Karlsson sells beautiful home office supplies.  Yes their magazine holders cost 4 times an Ikea one but they are fabric covered, so they last longer and don't end up with that battered, peeling look which so many Ikea cardboard products can get. 

It is not easy to find children's study areas which have personality.  These are some I like: 

(actually am not so sure about this one - but the curtains are a cute idea)

This is simple and utilitarian.

I love the washing line of photos and the use of the storage cubes on either side of the desk.

This is a bit Martha S but still would be a good place to work for a teenager.

Thank you to Martin the Joiner who recommended we use grey felt pinboard behind the desk in this room.  It has been a lifesaver.  

So one very full garbage bag later, we now have something which approximates an unburgled desk.    The grey letterholder which can hold more than 90 textas, grey pencil holder and magazine holders are all from Kikki K.

My daughter is under strict instructions to keep it neat for at least a little while.   And who knows, by the time she is a hopefully not too surly teenager I might feel less paranoid, and she can have a desk in her room.

 

(Images (3) Country Living (4) Ohdeedoh (5) Cote Maison (6) Femaleways.com)

Tweet

A wallpaper wonderwall

I wrote here about my problem front sitting room and here about the chair I reupholstered for it.
Although I thought I had a completed corner I felt it still looked a bit naked. This is probably because of the high ceilings, which create lots of creamy blank space. Usually I like creamy blank space but the more I looked at, the more it offended me.
For the purposes of another project for this room I had obtained quite a few A4 sized wallpaper samples. I thought - why not frame them?
So that is what I did.
Ikea sells A4 unvarnished wooden frames. I bought 9 of these and then gilded them (in 'Antique Gold') with an amazing, super poisonous gilding paste I bought from a craft shop (an American product - have you noticed how all those clever products are always from the US?).
This is it. As you can see it is so easy to use that you can do your gilding with your hair done in a 1980's style wearing a white tunic top. (I didn't wear gloves so actually I found on completion that my hands were completely golden. I looked like a James Bond girl. Then I started to panic about whether I might die because my skin couldn't breathe. Then I remembered that that is only if your whole body is painted gold).
I then framed the samples I liked, and very inexpertly hung them on the wall. I could have triangulated the grid and got my protractor out and Pythagorused it but I just couldn't be bothered. Hanging is dangerous in our house because the walls are plaster and they tend to crack and crumble so I usually just do it really quickly and hope for the best.
This is how they look.

The wallpaper samples are from Florence Broadhurst, Zoffany, GP & J Baker, Graham & Brown and Little Greene Paint Co.



Given that I was going crazy with the gilding (in fact maybe the Rub'n'Buff had made my brain go weird) I then found this wooden frame I bought in Singaraja (northern Bali) and had never used and also gilded it. What I would really like to do is put a little round mirror in there but so far I can't find one. Where does one find little mirrors? I am having no luck.


All of this is really quite unlike my usual style. I don't like gold, I don't like flowery bibs and bobs, I only like minimalist lines. However, this is a room we don't use all the time, so I thought it would be a bit of a contrast. One can't be white, grey and straight-lined all the time.
And that is the moral of my story.

Tweet