Hanging pod plant
31 May





Jelly bowl chandeliers by Madeleine Boulesteix
18 MayWhen I saw this website, my first thought was how much I wanted to duplicate one of these beautiful chandeliers. I love eclectic design and these are the epitome of an assortment. Have not found time to make one, will post it when I do…
Jelly Bowl Lanterns
I made my first Jelly Bowl lantern seeing the round, ridged glass as a perfect vessel for light. Incidentally you can lift out the bowl of each piece to wash out dead moths and flies and return it to the lantern, but you could also make a jelly with it before it’s return!
This new style has allowed me to use objects that have been knocking around the studio for some time waiting for their vocation. These include cutlery for the first time, lovely old fish forks and knives, some with nicotine stain coloured handles. I have also used rusty and tarnished metals. There is such beauty in their patina and they seem to sit well with beads and pearl and chunky old glass oblong drops, which somehow look more opulent because they’re chipped.
These are one-offs because I use such particular items, this means they are unrepeatable, however in some cases it is possible to make something very similar. They are all individually priced so please contact me, Madeleine Bouleteix for details.
Castoffs featured for Corian
15 MayRabih Hage: The Leftover Collection
Lately I can’t get enough of geometric silhouettes. This collection is designed with the use of leftover building materials and was featured in Milan. It’s incredibly bold and speaks to me, if only…
In love with wee animal pillows
9 MayI adore Ross Menuez the designer of artist collaborated Salvor Fauna. He creates whimsical animal pillows that mix fantasy with modern silhouettes. He has reinvented silkscreen with fun colors and hip cutouts. This studio is based out of New York city as I’m sure the urban texture is a great inspiration. He is now designing t-shirts and onesies. I hope to see an entire fabric line. Dare to dream…
Design uses for pallets
7 MayA few months ago I begged my husband to drive behind a store and sort through pallet crates with me. My husband is quite accustomed to this process as I find beauty in miscellany. Years ago I fell in love with salvaged windows and spent a year making stained glass, grouted projects. Shortly after that I dedicated some time to covering furniture with beach rocks. Once Mike came home to three of our tables and a doorway grouted in rocks and chipped stained glass. He laughed and then made me promise I would never again repurpose our possessions with grout. Mike thinks I should find a self-help group for “crafters.” I recruited my best friend and she made a frame out of PALLETS! Here are a few more pics of repurposed pallets. I love to up cycle because I am notoriously cheap and am a self-confessed work in progess. I get it…
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
4 MayInspiration or Rip off
3 MayI have heard it said ‘imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.’ A little imitation-okay we will call that admiration, a lotta imitation is nonsensical malarkey. Originality is important; it’s a vital aspect of self-expression. I encourage my girls to pick out their clothes, find activities that they enjoy, and promote choices that bid conscious thought. Even at the tender age of five, my daughter seems to have a concrete idea how to assert her unique characteristics.
This said the other day I walked outside my side door and found a neighbor with paint swatches matching colors to my siding and foundation colors. I smiled and dismissed the irritation that surfaced. I can’t imagine it a difficult decision to pick out something you like. There is no right or wrong answer, it’s based on personal preference.
Here’s to my next point; giving credit where it is due. Some people are bold-faced rip off’s without an ounce of consideration for the original thought. Okay, easy enough to do in our hum drum lives. I love blue jeans but I did not create pants. However, there is no excuse for mass marketing giants to rip off artisans. One of my closest girlfriends showed me the most unusual succulent planters. She found them in a shop called Plaid Pigeon on Etsy! She has an amazing eye and what a happy accident to find something so quirky! Here’s the small world connection; while on a trip to Texas I was at a craft fair. There were dozens of travel trailers set up, and I ventured upon the design duo Plaid Pigeon! I called my friend and we laughed at the seven degrees with which the world brings us all together.
Now, I see that Dwell Studio as well as a few other brands are ripping off Plaid Pigeon! Shame Shame Shame corporate giants; outsourcing your products oversea’s and not working with the original artist’s. It is a moral and ethical crime to fraudulently copy someone’s work! How uninspired these brands have become; to worry more about the bottom line than the creative genius that conceives these pieces.