Nidhi Chanani

I received a mail from Nidhi Chanani introducing her work to me and I thought her illustrations were very charming.

Veranda...

'At the veranda, above everything, she takes a break and enjoys the moment.'

Sari...

'I followed my mom everywhere, holding on to the edge of her sari. It was soft and silky like the comfort of her love.'

Nidhi, a freelance artist and illustrator was born in Calcutta and raised in California.

A Grand Adventure...

'What kind of fun will find these kids as they head out in search of adventure on top of a friendly elephant?'

The Gate...

'She stands at the gate and watched the world unfold.'

Do visit Nidhi's Etsy Shop for more of her lovely illustration prints.

( images by Nidhi)

Mini & Maximus posters

Last month, I mentioned these two gorgeous posters...well they've arrived! The only thing is that I didn't foresee so many pre-orders so now we've only have 5 Meow posters left in stock until next year and a few more of the Feathers poster which is actually looking even better in real than on the photo so it will also end up in my home! It's a great one for teens as it look a bit more grown-up.
Since I got two of her prints and saw how great they look in my bedroom, I have been developing a massive crush for black and white prints. I have not decided yet where I will hang them all but it's likely to be in the kitchen where the Meow poster is (but then I'm moving away from my dream kitchen) or in the lounge, either on the floor or on the wall once we've done the lounge next Spring...

Le mois dernier, j'ai mentionne ces deux posters canons...et bien ils sont arrives! Le seul truc c'est que je n'avais pas prevu que nous recevrions autant de pre-commandes et que maintenant nous n'avons plus que 5 Meow posters en stock jusqu'a l'annee prochaine et un peu plus du poster Feather qui est en fait, beaucoup mieux en vrai qu'en photo et du coup, celui-ci aussi va finir a la maison! Je trouve que c'est un chouette poster pour des ados.

Depuis que j'ai recu deux de ses illustrations, et que j'ai vu a quel point elles avaient l'air cool dans ma chambre, j'ai un peu developpe, comme qui dirait, un gros coup de coeur sur les illustrations en noir & blanc. Je n'ai pas encore decide si je vais toutes les mettre dans la cuisine ou le poster Meow est (parce que du coup, je m'eloigne de ma cuisine de reve) ou dans le salon par terre ou au mur, une fois que nous aurons refait la piece au Printemps prochain....

Sally Pring's illustrations

Last time I went to the flower market in Columbia road, I picked up some pretty cards from various illustrators in the Fleapit cafe at the corner of the street. I really liked the ones by Sally Pring, an illustrator and print-maker who graduated from Edinburgh College of Arts with a BA Hons in Visual Communication.
If you live in Scotland, you may be able to see some of her works but if not you can easily order prints directly from her website if you have a Paypal account. The illustration she did for Time Out's Paris Supplement (below) is really pretty and I love how simple the drawing she did for one of my favourite authors J.D. Salinger (although not my favourite book).It has the lightness of the Winnie the Pooh's drawings (hope Sally wont be offended by that because I think they are very pretty) but with a stroppy strike to it.

However my favourite are Pam (below) which looks cheeky and youthful and Deneuve (far below) which I assume is named after French icon Catherine Deneuve.

You can buy Sally Pring's illustrations here

Mr Darcy Proposal Dish towel

I'm loving this gorgeous Mr Darcy Proposal Dish towel by Brookish. Bit too late to get it for Valentine's but would look great framed to hang in a kitchen.

Via Designcrush

Rosie Flo's colouring books now at BODIE and FOU

Last year or maybe the year before, I came across Rosie Flo's colouring books, a very unique collection of colouring books designed by Roz Streeten. They are different from other colouring books because children can draw faces, arms and legs and backgrounds too but also they are simply wonderful and the drawings are exquisite.
So imagine my joy two weeks ago when I went to Top Drawer (a UK trade show) and saw they had a stand there....Well after having been in the back of my mind for such a long time, I thought now was the perfect time to add them to our growing range of beautiful, creative and design things for children and they are inexpensive. Well I think so...If you think that a Barbie magazine costs about £3.50 to £4.50 and comes with a vile, plasticky toy, then £5.99 is money well-spent when you get a really nice colouring book with wonderful drawings.
So we've just added the first one of the series which is now a classic: the Rosie Flo's colouring book and the Rosie Flo's Sticky colouring book which comes with a beautiful set of stickers.

My daughter Mila (4) is obsessed with stickers. Princess stickers were even on a Christmas list...so I thought I would test them on her especially since Rosie Flo kindly gave me the sticky book to take home and gosh... it has managed to take her attention from Madagascar! Every afternoon after school, since she got her new Rosie Flo's Sticky colouring book, she has been spending some time carefully colouring her book and we now have stickers on the fridge, on her Dad's t-shirt and on the stairs leading to her bedroom.

We are starting with two but of course if you like them as much as the books from Paumes, we will a lot more to our collection.
We've also added the new Rosie Flo colouring poster which we saw framed at the stand and it looks just adorable and will look very nice framed in your girl's bedroom.

Designer Roz Streeten took great care to avoid some of the things about coloring books that frustrated her as a child: the lines are thin so the activity doesn't look dumbed down for very young children, the paper is thick so colors don't bleed through and they're sturdy and small enough to tuck in a bag for travel and outings.

So I hope you like them :-)

Now, for the sexy mamans....Valentine's Day is coming soon so if your husband still hasn't got a clue, tell him to read this or make the most of the BODIE and FOU Wishlist (you need to be registered to use it) and send him in the right direction of...umm
Maybe the new La Tropezienne tote bag in black :-) The brown was already stunning but check out the black one...A-MA-ZING!
Bon I need to do some proper work now...Have a great day
xoxo
Karine

Beautiful sketchbook by Giddy Giddy

Look at these gorgeous images of a little girl's bedroom found here. So cute!
I'm loving the old sewing machine and the Fischer Price little characters. I'm going to start Mila's bedroom this weekend and it will be a bit more modern with a grey feature wall. Yes I know...grey for a child bedroom.... but I'm French and trust me, it will look fab!
However, if you love the retro vibe, you will love the 70s collection of posters and bed linens ByGraziela. They were initially designed by German designer Graziela Preiser and were HUGE in the 1970s but recently Graziela's daughter: the lovely Nina, re-launched these iconic designs which are flying off our shelves.
But back to Giddy Giddy...so I was looking at these lovely, feel-good images and I could not help admiring the header of this page.

So I explored her lovely blog a bit further, check her shop to see if she was selling prints...nothing and then I saw these beautiful sketchbooks!

I think they are gorgeous and I hope the designer behind Giddy Giddy explores this avenue further and comes up with some beautiful prints for everyone to enjoy!

Un Lion a Paris: Charming Illustrations from Beatrice Alemagna

From an outsider's perspective, it seems like children's book illustrators don't get as much respect in the art world as they deserve. Not only do they capture the forever-chased after imagination of childhood, they're also responsible for some of the most iconic images in our memories. There are few books that have developed my creativity the way some of my very first books did -- think about The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Where the Wild Things Are and The Little Prince (a great list is available here)

So even though I barely know anyone with kids, let alone kids themselves, I get super excited about really great work in this field. By way of some circuitous route through the "series of tubes" that is the World Wide Web, I discovered the work of Beatrice Alemagna, an Italian-born author and illustrator, who as a child herself, aspired to be a "painter of novels." In particular, I fell in love with her collage-style illustrations for Un Lion de Paris in which a very fierce (and very adorable) lion tours the sights of Paris. More of Beatrice's charming work below:

Alice Tait hand drawn illustrations

I got food poisoning for the first time yesterday and I was so weak I had to spend the whole day in bed wondering what on earth was happening to me. Steve was like...'check the swine flu symptoms!'...errm no thanks! Well I checked but it wasn't that and given I had gone for my early run at 6.20am before it hit me, I thought it was some kind of virus...So after fever going up and down, not being able to eat all the nice chocolate deserts Steve had brought me in the evening to cheer me up and then passing out on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night, I eventually woke up this morning feeling like I was back from the living dead.
So basically my energy level is very close to peanuts and before heading back to the sofa for the evening, I just wanted to mention the work of Alice Tait which I discovered via the Glove Factory Studios.
Alice Tait had been working as a professional illustrator for 5 years. Her style comprises of hand drawn illustration and type. She has produced a series of wonderful book covers for Chef Nigel Slater at Penguin and is currently doing regular work for Vogue and the Financial Times amongst others.

I'm loving her pigeons and her Paris and London maps are very nice but a bit too classic looking for my tastes and I still prefer the ones from Famille Summerbelle but if you love Alice's versions you can contact her directly.

Introducing Studio Violet

Studio Violet is like one of these little surprising little boutiques you found by chance while wandering around the streets except it's online. It takes you by surprise in a nice way, like someone being nice to you when you least expect it, or something really good happening to use when you need cheering up. I was reading some lovely French blogs (i.e. Made in Sud-Ouest to feel at home) and suddenly I ended up on the homepage of this pretty Swedish site and as the leaves start falling in the streets of London and I'm enjoying a cosy, relaxing Sunday afternoon at home, I thought it was sweet to be welcomed by these golden Autumn leaves and little acorns.

Studio Violet is a creative studio which was set up in Sweden in 2008 by Camilla Engman and Elisabeth Dunker, two creative girls who have heaps of creative experience under their belts. Illustrator and graphic designer Camilla Engman graduated from HDK, School for Design and Crafts, Gothenburg and was the chosen poster artist for the Gothenburg International Film Festival, 2009. Elisabeth Dunker, too, began with an education at HDK but now has added design, illustration, styling and photography to her creative skills.
Their illustrations are pretty and delicate. Enjoy....

Mon coup de coeur this weekend is

for the illustrations of Scott Balmer, who after graduating from Duncan of Jordanstone college of Art & Design in Scotland, started life as a freelance illustrator.
My favourite is the one below, called Poop in the Woods but they are all very playful and I love the fact that his characters don't give a damn about being size 0...
I think they look a lot more cuddlier with curves and big bellies, bicepts and they are all smiling!!

this is Lumberjack

If you are in the UK, you may have across his work in The Guardian but he has also done a bit of work for Inc. magazine and Business Week in the US.

This is The Amazing Hilda

This is The Hills

this is DNA

this is Sugar Frosted

You can see more of Scott's work on Flickr here

Kristina's handmade jumper

Kristina is/was studying at Camberwell College of Arts. This handmade, hand-embroidered jumper was one of her degree projects. This one was about memory and nostalgia and she embroidered words taken from her diaries when I was 16. Isn't this gorgeous?

She is also trying to finish a children book to enter the Macmillan Prize and does wonderful illustrations which she sells on Etsy.