Mengsel at the V&A

Mengsel's sweet little "Whale" and "Bigger Boat" cushions and "Fish & Chips" silkscreen print made it all the way to the Victoria and Albert Museum's Shop! So excited about this, because the V&A has always been my favourite place to go with my sketchbook with an abundance of inspiration and beautiful things on display.

The cushions and prints join a collection of seaside inspired goods to form a British Seaside collection at the V&A.

Might have to make a little trip down to South Kensington this week to go spot them in the shop. Absolutely thrilled!

You can also buy these seaside inspired items directly from the Mengsel Shop. Here's to a fabulously sunny and colourful British Summer!

and the winner of the cushion giveaway is...

CathyB!

Congratulations Cathy! You will receive two toucans cushions according to your choice. Hope they find a comfy little spot on your sofa.

I will host another giveaway soon, I promise.

say hello to folly

Mengsel has a brand new stockist in the UK, the ever so lovely Folly. Folly was conceived out of a desire to find beautiful and imaginative gifts and a love of mixing contemporary pieces with unique vintage treasures. The website stocks a selection of Mengsel prints, like Bigger Boat and Nightingale.  Some of my favourite pieces from the site...

Liberty Book of Home Sewing - £19.99

Floras Field Wooden Tray by Darling Clementine - £24.95

Un Dimanche a Paris Wallpaper by Familie Summerbelle - £44.95

House & Leisure November 2011

Two of my prints made it to the pages of the gorgeous new House & Leisure issue (November 2011). This South African magazine is a constant source of inspiration for me and always manages to get me homesick for the wide open spaces and blue skies of SA. "Tiny Towers" (blue and lime) and "Robots in Love" looks great against the backdrop of a bright yellow wall in this Kids Room inspired shoot.

Available in South Africa at Vamp Furniture, Cape Town or online at the Mengsel Shop (shipping worldwide from London, UK).
"Robots in love" HERE
"Tiny Towers" HERE

"Robots in Love" in bright red

"Tiny Towers" in blue and lime

Say hello to Hello Polly

G'day my Australian friends! I have a new stockist in Melbourne, Australia. Hello Polly just opened its online shop and was set up by Sarah Kelk (formerly of The Red Door Gallery in Edinburgh - another stockist of mine). Sarah has a fantastic eye for spotting smile inducing designs from some of the most talented designers, including Elsie Dodds, Lisa Jones and Snug.

A selection of Mengsel prints can be purchased at Hello Polly, including "Fish&Chips", "Moka Express", "Retro Roosters", tea towels and cushion range.

Here's a few of my favourite picks from the site. Visit Hello Polly at the following link: http://www.hellopolly.com.au/

Olaf cushion, Lisa Jones

Blue Flowers Wrap, nineteenseventythree

Things to Do Notepad set, The Small Object

A print, Elsie Dodds

...c'mon, I HAD to pick on of my own designs! Bigger Boat cushion cover, Mengsel

friday loves

In true rainy weekend style, there's a 15% discount offer in The Mengsel Shop all weekend. I'm sure you'll find something bright and colourful to cheer yourself up, even when it is grey and wet outside. To receive 15% discount, enter the coupon code RAINYWEEKEND at the checkout. Click HERE to go shopping.
Friday loves for a rainy London weekend...

1. Kate Spade Flicker Bon Shopper
2) Thomas Paul reversible aqua banner pillow
3) Hatty 2 Bow Sandles from Topshop
4) Relight Candle Holder Range from Heal's
5) Double breasted raincoat from Zara
6) Modern Vintage Style at Anthropologie
7) Lemon Meringue cupcake - recipe from Martha Stewart

my furniture wishlist is deadgood

While visiting Clerkenwell design week last week, I really loved the quirky and stylish furniture from British label Deadgood. I love these...

Love Console Table by Ziglam and Brook, £634

Double Love Chair by Ziglam & Brook, £2507

Deadgood Bookshelf by Max Lamb, £36

this belongs in my home: ercol for john lewis

I've been an Ercol fan for quite some time and the Ercol Daybed is on my list of things that I would put in my dream home. So fantastic that John Lewis has an exclusive Ercol range now. I'm sure they will be snapped up pretty quickly. I think my favourite piece from the range is the Treviso desk by Matthew Hilton.

Ercol for John Lewis Chiltern Dining Furniture, £179 - £999

Ercol for John Lewis Chiltern Bench, £399

Ercol for John Lewis Chiltern Nest of 3 Tables, £399

Matthew Hilton for Ercol Treviso Desk, £950

Curate 40 X Pedlars

My framed hand pulled silkscreen prints and cotton tea towels will be for sale at the Curate 40 Summer pop-up shop at the wonderfully fantastic Notting Hill store Pedlars. The pop-up shop will be launched tomorrow night (Thursday 5th May 2011) at the store. So if you are enjoying the glorious Summer in London town, please pop over to Pedlars. I promise you won't be disappointed. The collection is limited and it will only be on for 6 weeks until 12 June. See you there!

once upon a time

We are now exactly two weeks away from the biggest event of the year here in the UK. Yes, the holy matrimony of Wills and Kate (in case you haven't heard). The excitement here in London has almost reached fever pitch, with all of the shops filled with Union Jacks and Royal memorabilia. On the morning of the wedding, I will be getting on the Eurostar to Luxembourg via Brussels, so I will miss out on the big event. Maybe I'll record the whole thing on Sky? Will you be watching?

Anyway, as cheesy as Royal memorabilia can be, there's some pretty sweet and quirky things out there on Etsy to celebrate the special day.

William and Kate Royal Wedding Commemorative tea towel by Taylors Type at Etsy

Royal Party Parade Tape by Belle and Boo at Etsy

Royal Wedding Breakfast tea towel - neon pink

Westminster Abbey Cushion by Helena Carrington at Etsy

love bird commemorative tea towel by Heartzeena at Etsy

wish list: our workshop

Our WorkShop is the place to come to find beautiful, interesting and quirky design gifts. Formed by London graphic design duo Pui Lee and Gemma Stanton Love everything about this site. My favourites: 

London Tray by Swedish illustrator, Maria Holmer Dahlgren

Small Apple storage container for your bits and bobs.

Vintage Palissy Coffee Pot from the 1970s

Vintage Turi "Market" Design Coffee Set from the 1960s. 

Mango Wood Bowl, made by hand.

accessories for my dream office/studio

London based Present&Correct is a constantly evolving store, obsessed with stationary. A selection of P&C products mixed up with handmade goods, vintage items and work by designers from all over the world. In a perfect world, I would have a perfectly organised desk and office space with everything in its place. These cool items make it seem less impossible. I want everything from this store!

arrow stencil 

1960s typewriter

desk rubber stamps

french airmail set

to/from arrow labels

letterpress action clips

Good Nightingale

Yay! Yesterday, I managed to silkscreen print a new pillowcase set design of mine that I've wanted to make for a long time. It shows two little nightingale birds telling each other, "good nightingale". Even sweet little birds need a good night's sleep. At the moment they are only available in dove grey on white cotton, but I will be printing more colours soon. Which new colours would you like these couple of birdies to printed?

The "Good Nightingale" pillowcase sets will also be sold as singles, if you only need one of them. They are available to buy in the Mengsel Shop and my Etsy Shop. So hurry if you want to buy your better half a sweet Valentine's day pressie!

"Good Nightingale" pillowcase set in grey

"Good Nightingale" pillowcase set in grey

Prints Charming: House and Leisure South Africa Jan/Feb 2011 issue

Mengsel's colourful 100% cotton tea towels have been featured in one of South Africa's best interior and lifestyle magazines. The green "Retro Roosters" tea towel and black "Moka Express" tea towel will definitely brighten up your kitchen. Available at my South African stockist in Cape Town, Vamp Furniture and online at the Mengsel Shop or Mengsel's Etsy shop. So wonderful to see my work in one of my favourite magazines!

Areaware animal boxes

Discovered these adorable starage boxes from the always amazing Areaware. Animals include a whale, camel, bear, rhino, walrus and more. Made out of New Growth Beech Wood. So clever and sweet.

whale box, closed

whale box, open

rhino box, closed

rhino box, open

walrus box, closed

walrus box, open