wooden bookmarks by Elsita

I've been watching designer and illustrator Elsa Mora's Elsita shop on Etsy for a while now. I'm totally fascinated by her intricate papercuts and can't imagine the amount of work that goes into creating these pieces, not to mention the precise craftsmanship. These laser cut wooden bookmarks are the perfect gift for bookworms.

Colour of the day - cornflower BLUE

Let's start a new game: colour of the day!

"City plates - collection 5" by notNeutral

"Italian blue car photographic print" by Helena Carrington 

 

"Eames Vitra Elephant"

"London wallpaper, Toile Collection" by Timorous Beasties

"Birds on a wire pillowcase" by Ryan Green

CTRL - ALT - DEL

"ctrl alt del  cushion covers by DiffractionFiber"

These super fun felt cushion covers by Chicago-based DiffractionFiber made me smile this morning. Made from eco felt (100% recycled plastic bottles), they bring out my inner geek.

NEW tea towel designs available from mengsel

                                                                     

These lovelies are available to purchase in my etsy and folksy shops now. New designs include moka express, roosters, owl, cactus and robots. All of my designs are screen printed by hand onto 100 % cotton, using water based inks. No toxic chemicals used. They are safe to wash in the machine at a temperature that is below 40 degrees. Not only safe for the precious tea towels, but also better for the environment. Washing by hand would be best though...

Hope you like them and please don't hesitate to contact me if you are interested in different colours!

a little bazaar on sunday at the book club

Mengsel Design will be taking part in the Sunday Market organised by A Little Bazaar in Shoreditch this weekend. The Venue will be at The Book Club and the handmade market will run from 12pm - 6pm on Sunday 1 November.

Just came across this helpful review about The Book Club:  read it here.

I will show some of my new tea towel designs at the market,  so hope to see you there!!!

new prints from mengsel!

in the studio

These are some of the new prints that I've been working on! How exciting. The Scandi Roosters design on 100% cotton tea towels will be available in my Etsy and Folksy shops soon. At the moment, I only have them in sky blue, but if you have any colour suggestions, you're more than welcome...

Janice Jong illustration

Janice Jong's Supermarket store has these whimsical illustrations for sale. She is a London based illustrator who creates original drawings and then enhances them digitally. The Southwark Row print looks exactly like a street near Waterloo station which I used to pass every day on my way to work!

"Southwark Row" by Janice Jong

 

"Lonely Metropolis" by Janice Jong

 

printed vintage bags by Shara Porter

Staying with the birds theme...

These lovely leather bags are by designer Shara Porter. The shape is perfect and it has a kind of vintage feel to it. Well, later I discovered that Shara finds vintage bags and wallets and then adds her own beautiful prints to the items after she has refurbished them. All of the pieces are unique and one of a kind, which makes them extra special.

bird marker

silver and gold bird markers

 

pink, lime and black bird markers

One of my favourite new sites to shop is the Swedish online store Designista. They feature a great variety of humouristic and clever design products. I spotted these bird book markers by designer Hung-Ming Chen. At only 30 Swedish Kroner (about £3) - I want one in every colour! Available in gold, silver, pink, lime and black. I'm sure I will discover a few more must haves!

bookhou softies

animal softies by bookhou

 

canadian animal softies by bookhou

These adorable softies are made from hand printed original drawings of animals on cotton fabric with polyester filling. Bookhou was cofounded by John Booth and Arounna Khounnoraj, whose shop is based in Toronto, Canada. They also create beautful furniture, bags, sculpture and other home decor items.

bird trio mobile

 

bird trio bamboo mobile by petit collage

I love the natural look of this pretty bird trio mobile from San Fransisco based design company Petit Collage. The birds are laser-cut from sustainably harvested bamboo plywood, an earth-friendly renewable resource, which makes it even cooler. The October issue of UK ELLE DECORATION focussed on the beauty of natural materials and I think that Petit Collage is onto something wonderful.

love life

Feeling quite gloomy on a Saturday night at home, I found this inspiring print on Etsy by Inkblok. Sure to make you smile...

kapitza fonts and illustrations

East London based design company Kapitza's graphic fonts and illustrations can be used as a great source of inspiration for designers of all disciplines. The company is made up of two sisters who share a love of closely observing their environments and drawing from that to create a series of images to form a collective of shapes that can be purchased as fonts.

I particularly like the Dalston fonts and images, as it really captures the spirit of that specific area of London.

"Dalston" open type font

mini moderns "sitting comfortably" wall paper

                                                             before and after

These wallpaper patterns from Mini Moderns are so fun, because you can actually colour directly onto it and make it your own. The perfect solution for mums who always have to scrub the walls after the kids display their creative talents on pristine painted walls. For modern chair design enthusiasts, the line drawings presents some of the most iconic designs from the 20th century.

Scribbling on the wallpaper at TENT London       

highlights from TENT London - Esther Coombs

 

Esther Coombs had her cute and quirky range of ceramics and cake stands at TENT London. Her beautiful illustrations adorn tea cups, ceramics and milk jugs and she creates bespoke cake stands with her designs. Esther's work embodies the new tendancy for upcycling and renewal of older items. A large selection of her work is also available to buy at her Etsy shop.

 

At TENT, I even received a cute mini collage art kit, see my assembly above!

highlights from TENT London 2009 - Zoe Murphy

Designer, Zoe Murphy is based in Margate, England and creates beautiful hand printed furniture and textiles. Zoe adds a new twist to vintage mid-century furniture and adds beauty to discarded items with her illustrative designs.

anne kyyro quinn wall panel

Finally put up my Anne Kyyro Quinn wall panel in my apartment this weekend! It was a gift from Anne, when I left my position as project manager earlier this year.This particular design is called ROSETTE and it is very voluminous and three-dimensional. Sheets of felt are folded and manipulated and stitched into place to create the origami effect. This panel measures 1 meter x 1 meter, but Anne is known mostly for her large scale bespoke textile wall installations all around the world. Have a look at the AKQ website to see her other projects.

london papercut map

Familie Summerbelle's London map is a print based on an original paper cut. Printed in France, in the instantly recognisable bright red that encapsulates all things London: red double decker buses, red telephone booths, red post boxes. I love London, my adopted hometown and this poster is so quirky, with all the top London spots clearly marked with the river Thames slicing diagonally through the map.

familie summerbelle london paper cut print

isak - beautiful happy things

One of the highlights for me at Top Drawer, was the work of Swedish designer Sandra Isaksson. Strong Scandinavian influences, especially in the way of storytelling, coupled with beautiful colours and patterns makes this brand one to watch. Isak's products are made by hand and the craftsmanship is excellent. Sustainable sources and recycled paper products are used wherever possible.

Penguin wall paper in turquoise and white

1-20 bird counting poster



bill and blossom big blue tray

in the studio

Working on my screenprints at the studio.

dog and rabbit lights

I found these fantastic dog and rabbit lights at the Top Drawer show at Kensington Olympia in London. They are from SSK Lighting, based in Soho, London. SKK specialises in lighting design and consultancy. My favourite is the new robot light. Makes me think of my own Robotica range at ETSY.

cool shades tape by Azumi and David

Just found this amazing "Cool Shades Tape" for Architects and Intellectuals on Azumi and David's website. Why spend £120 on classic Ray-Ban Wayfarers when you can have this quirky tonque in cheek version for £11 per roll? You might bump into a few things though.

Azumi and David's 'things to wear' are stocked around the world in over 40 stores, in cities such as London, Paris, New York, Tokyo and Milan etc...

Mu & Me

I have always admired the work of South African designer and illustrator Daley Muller from Mu & Me.

Check out Mu & Me's website and online shop. The illustrations are so sweet and every character has a little story, with a South African flavour. The site stocks everything from cards to notebooks and the range is available in the UK at Selfridges and Liberty in London.

Another feature on Mu & Me's website is downloadable wallpapers for your desktop. They are super adorable and are guaranteed to make you smile everytime you switch on your pc. I currently have this little beauty up on my screen.

charles avery print

As mentioned before, the kind people at Timeout magazine gave me a print by Scottish artist Charles Avery. More information about the artist can be found here: http://www.britishcouncil.org/scotland-scotlandandvenice-artist-charles-avery.htm


"Working across a range of media, Avery's art is characterised by formal beauty, humour and a spirit of philosophical enquiry, and is influenced by the work of (among others) William Blake, PG Woodehouse, Jorge Luis Borges, Joseph Beuys and Joseph Kosuth." - British Council

Have not yet found the perfect spot for it in my home, but I thought I would share...

first try

Some of my experiments from my screen printing class last week. Can't wait to get busy in the studio.