Happy Easter, Glorious Glass, 1960's Inspired Ceramics & A Glimpse Of The Future: 3-D Printed Homeware!

 

Happy Easter, Glorious Glass, 1960's Inspired Ceramics & A  Glimpse Of The Future: 3-D Printed Homeware! What a wonderful week it has been! The sunshine, the encouraging Covid figures and now we have Easter! Sometimes little things happen that gladden the soul and yesterday we received a parcel from a dear customer with Easter treats in it for the whole team - Vegan Chocolate for the Good Doctor, Hot Cross Buns for me and Cream Eggs for Lady Ange, while The Lovely Lene has bagged some Lindt, chocolate, mini eggs! My thanks to Lori and Ron for being so kind and making us all smile! I have been titivating the GD's apartment to sell - the Estate Agent took dreadful pictures (not a vase of flowers in sight!) so I have been busy buying some dove grey curtains and matching barrel lampshades to give it some curb appeal! We have also been hunting for a new bed - we did find one candidate, but the delivery date was in 6 month's time.......I am not a patient man! I have found a really glorious French example and am working on the GD (who is foolishly resisting!). My apologies to anyone that tried to purchase a silk eye-mask last w/e - the system got a bug in it and showed that we are out of stock when we were not. The technology baffles me but everything has been corrected now! In shop news.......I have been at it again! My love affair with Milanese glass continues apace and my desk is currently covered in the most glorious collection of new pieces! I covet them all, but shall just regale you with my very favourite purchases.

Shop Now - Milanese Glass - Swan Neck Decanter - £57.00 Shop Now - Milanese Glass - Pillar Coupe - £18.00 I have been utterly smitten by some truly epic decanters. The swan-like neck is in pink or green with matching stopper and the lower half is curvaceous and clear. Stunning for water, wine, whiskey.....or just to gaze at! I shall be using with my new pink glass coupes - decadent for white wine or what you will. Shop Now - Milanese Glass - Minimalist Jug With Lid - Amber - £40.00 Shop Now - Milanese Glass - Minimalist Carafe With Lid - Petrol Blue - £40.00 Equally seductive are these handsome, minimalist jug & carafe. The handles and stopper are in coloured glass (blue or amber) and the body is clear. They are a knockout and I have set aside one of each for myself - they are just too beautiful to pass up! Shop Now - Milanese Glass - Double Wall Sphere Oil/Vinegar Drizzler - £22.00 Shop Now - Milanese Glass - Bubble Oil/Vinegar Drizzler - 150ml - £31.00 Shop Now - Milanese Glass - Oil/Vinegar Drizzler - Ring - £20.00 I may have overdone it with the Olive Oil bottles this time! I loved so many and couldn't choose, so I bought them all! My reasoning is that every home should have one and it is salad season, so we shall all be generously dousing leaves and fronds with the amber nectar! We have a small, squashed sphere that reminds me, slightly, of an oil can;  a 150ml floating bubble in amber or green - soooo chic - and the 'ring' oil bottle, which makes a welcome return and suspends the oil (in undulating form)  mid-air! I simply cannot pick just one! Shop Now - Milanese Glass - Rings Vase - £70.00 The design of the 'ring' bottle has been repeated in a really elegant vase - the undulating form is in Smoke Grey and this sits inside a clear glass sheath - just add sculptural flora! Shop Now - Milanese Glass - Bubble Teal Light Holder - £12.00 Last but by no means least, I have selected a really stunning tea-light holder in clear glass. The form is ovular with a small indent to hold the votive candle. Simple, minimal and gorgeous, I will use these in the garden in the summer as the sun fades and indoors thereafter. Simply stunning! Shop Now - Sheyn - Fald Vase - 169g - Cinnamon - £68.00 Now you know that I love talent and innovation. Well I have just discovered the most incredible combination of the two in Vienna. I adore Vienna - if you get the opportunity to visit I highly recommend it - if only for the wonderful coffee and cake! 3-D printing fascinates me, but so much product created by these machines is based on plastics which reduces the appeal. However in beautiful Autriche, two very clever young gentlemen have created something really special - 3-D printed homeware that is actually made from an ecological compound based on Corn!!!  The 'SHEYN' (yiddish for 'beautiful' ) collection, is 100% recyclable, biodegradable and eco-friendly and the shapes that they have conjured are otherworldly! The vase above, for example, looks like it is made from pleated fabric but it has been printed! This is a single-stem vase and perfectly petit - the flower is held in a glass tube that is concealed inside as the compound does not appreciate water. Shop Now - Sheyn - Zayl Bowl - 309g - Ruby Red - £76.00 Shop Now - Sheyn - Hoyt Bowl - 272g - Graphite - £76.00 The large 30cm fruits bowls are equally mesmerising. One is characterised by architectural pillars that change their width as they move along the organic shape of the bowl . The other has an organic, diamond pattern on the exterior which follows the geometry of the object and, in the interior, the negative texture creates a wonderful contrast. Shop Now - Sheyn - Zayl Vase- 102g - Cool Grey - £42.00 Shop Now - Sheyn - Zayl Vase - 129g - Coral Pink - £51.00 And finally (just for the moment !) we have two additional architectural vases using the pillar shapes, but this time presenting in curved or wave-like structures. I am thrilled to bits with this collection and cannot stop touching them - they are very tactile and incredibly light. This is contemporary modernism and may well be the way of the future - I certainly hope so if this is the standard! If Stanley Kubrick were alive, this collection would undoubtedly feature prominently on his film sets! Shop Now - Milanese Ceramics - Dinner Plate - £19.50 Shop Now - Milanese Ceramics - Shallow Bowl - £18.50 I purchased these ceramics - a plate and a matching pasta bowl - simply because of the incredibly colour combinations. I think that they look seminally 1960's, with the shallow, pasta bowl lined in pale blue, contrasting with a deep terracotta body. This sits within a balconied plate, again lined in pale blue, but this time with a royal blue exterior. I hope you agree that the juxtaposition is really something and again amply illustrates that when it comes to great style, simplicity is key. Just before I leave you, the Lovely Lene has asked me to mention that the 'DOT' glasses set has just arrived as I understand that many people were waiting for them - what great taste you have! Shop Now - Milanese Glass - Dot Glasses - Set of 6 - £39.00 This w/e we are in Kent, apartment sprucing, and we are planning a feast for Easter Sunday. I am going to attempt a Simnel Cake as they remind me so much of happy Easter visits to my in-laws. My Mother-in-Law is an excellent cake baker and her Simnel cake (with marzipan and ground almonds) is the stuff of legend, so I shall see if we can pull it off. The GD can help me and put some of that baking course experience to good use! Wherever you are and whatever you have planned, I would like to wish you a very Hoppy Easter from all of the RW family - never has its message been more pertinent! Michaelx