The Ultimate Placemats From Denmark, Gleaming Ceramics From Latvia & Uplifting Florals From Down-Under!

The Ultimate Placemats From Denmark, Gleaming Ceramics From Latvia & Uplifting Florals From Down-Under! Buy Now - Black Rectangular Leather Placemat £14.50 Buy Now - Cognac Rectangular Leather Placemat £14.50  It is a very sad fact that I have been obsessing over placemats for far too long. We were trained by my mother NEVER to put down a glass or a plate without a coaster or placemat in situ otherwise there were......... consequences! With this ingrained in my psyche I have always used them, however I have been unable to find anything that I actually like - there are some truly monstrous designs out there - and then when I do find something acceptable they are always far too small. A place mat should fit a plate, cutlery - including desert pieces - water and wine glasses otherwise the table isn't protected. I had quite given up hope when I came across the perfect design in Denmark. Made from high quality leather and at a fantastic, super-sized 34 x 47 cm(!!!), they fit everything without overcrowding and will last a lifetime if treated with respect. They look incredible on the table - grand yet modern and minimal. I have them in black or cognac and indulged in some matching coasters for my coffee table and napkin rings so that I can stop polishing the silver ones - life is far too short! The price is fantastic - about half that of smaller versions that I have seen.                 My quest is finally over !  Buy Now - Latvian Clay Large Serving Bowl 30cm - £57 While visiting Stockholm we stumbled upon the most wonderful ceramicist. The family has been making pottery in Latvia for 2 generations and the shapes and glazes are exquisite. Hand glazing and firing is a tricky process and getting an even glaze is very difficult but these are perfection. Large serving bowls made from Latvian red clay are glazed in 'Snow', 'Chartreuse' and the most stunning 'Midnight Grey' - a colour so sophisticated that it defies description,  it is not quite blue and not quite grey,  like looking into the sea at night. There is also a 'curved 'bowl and these are my favourites - the silhouette is so chic and I have one gleaming on my dresser as you can see. Buy Now - Latvian Clay Curved Bowl 24cm - £31.50 Buy Now - Grandiflora - £98/50mls We recently attended a very glamorous fashion launch at the Saatchi Gallery on the Kings Rd and there, nestled among the frocks and handbags, I found my good friend Clorinda with a spectacular, floral fragrance collection from Sydney, Australia called 'GRANDIFLORA' and I snapped them up on the spot ! The vision of florist, author and all round flower-goddess Saskia Havekes, this is the most exciting and modern conjuring of floral fragrances I have experienced in decades. It is said that Saskia doesn't arrange flowers she curates them, injecting drama and sculpting beauty from her petalled paramours and this is exactly what she has managed to recreate with her perfume collection. Collaborating with three of the world's most talented noses, these are outstanding scents that realise the epic beauty of their subjects and reinvent them for the 21st century. 'Sandrine' is an olfactory realisation of the Magnolia Grandiflora by the late, great Sandrine Videault,  a fragrance legend. Here she captures fresh magnolia first thing in the morning just as the dew is leaving its petals. The lemony tang is here but Sandrine has painted around it a green garden, kissed by marine breezes, dry woods and musk accords and it is heavenly. 'Michel ' is a rare offering from perfumer Michel Rouditska  and an alternative realisation of the very same flower! However, this time the creamy scent takes on a much more luscious, sensuous character with layers of patchouli, vetiver and rose with just a hint of vanilla sweetness at the base. Both of these scents capture the vivacious, citrus notes of the Magnolia bracts but interpret the character of the tree in very different ways. 'Madagascan Jasmine', also from Michel Roudnitska, is a cut-above normal star jasmine and although this is not strictly a soliflore she is definitely the star of the show. Deft touches of green leaves and woody stem add depth to this tropical beauty. 'Boronia' was created with my own mentor and the man with whom I realised my fragrance collection, the perfume deity Bertrand Duchaufour. It is based on the Boronia flowering shrubs native to Australasia and their scent, akin to lightly spiced fruit with green, hay notes, which Bertrand has dusted with cognac, caramel and warm resins to create an epic, perfumed poem.  Monsieur Duchaufour has also produced the magnificent 'Queen Of the Night', a cactus flower of legendary carnality that blooms for just one night per year and relies on its intoxicating scent to attract insects once the sun has set. Around her he has gathered all of the most heavenly flowers - wisteria, gardenia, mimosa and sambac jasmine - to create an olfactory siren's call with the promise of paradise.  If you enjoy floral scents then this collection will bring you great joy and if you think that you don't then take my advice and try them, the scales will fall from your eyes - or should that be your nose?! I am hoping that this weather keeps up - it's fantastic to be in T-shirts in the latter part of September, although selfishly I do have the most beautiful scarves arriving in October and will want to wear them - it is British weather so anything is possible! Enjoy your w/e Michaelx Copyright © *2017* *Roullier White LTD*, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 125 Lordship Lane East Dulwich London SE22 8HU Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list View this email in your browser