All posts tagged: Crafts

Inspiration from Formex

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The main trend seminar at this season’s Formex, was held by one of our times greatest trend analyst Lilly Berelovich from the New York-based trend agency FS Creative. I was so excited to find that many of the influences and tendencies she shared with us, show up in the homes of my book Home Life Around the World. The slow living trend is something that many of us yearn for in the busy and fast paced life of today. The chapter Wabi Sabi in Brooklyn highlight the love of handmade craft and embrace the idea of the imperfect. Healing Spaces celebrate the patina and aged beauty of furniture that have had an earlier life. In pursuit of happiness we seek to reconnect and live a life in harmony with nature as in Living Off-the-Grid. Realising the importance of silence in the chapter A peaceful Haven and creating an equilibrium in life in Visual Quietness, both show us ways to keep us connected with ourselves. The chapters Consciously Minimal and Industrial living are perfect examples of how work and home life are interconnected in the …

Wabi sabi in Brooklyn

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East Williamsburg in Brooklyn is an area that’s becoming more residential as factories and warehouses move out. This is where Elissa Ehlin lives, and she shares her home with her husband Jay Leritz, Cougar their son, and their cat Pretty Perfect. The low-rise buildings around their home are covered in imaginative graffiti by internationally renowned street artists, and theirs is no different. They have lived here for eight years and have transformed what previously was an auto repair workshop in an industrial building into a very personal home. The extensive construction work that this has required, they did themselves with the help of friends. Elissa is an enamelist by profession like her husband, and they have one of their two studios in the same building. This atmospheric home has exposed wood beams, brick walls and metal beams, wooden floors, rustic plank stairs and a serene colour scheme. It’s set up on two levels with an open plan living room and kitchen on one floor. A mid-century conical fireplace is in one corner of the room. …

Guatemala IIII – Chichicastenango

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One day I take a shuttle and go to Chichicastenango, an indigenous town high up on a mountain. The famous Thursday and Sunday markets here are reputed to be one of the largest in Central America. It turned out that the shuttle didn’t come to San Marcos, so first I go in a shared tuc tuc to nearby San Pablo La Laguna and there we meet up with the shuttle from San Pedro. We arrive in Chichicastenango, some thee hours drive from San Marcos, via some scary hairpin bends with much tooting of the horn at each bend. Sometimes along the route, we are overtaken by chicken buses driving at breakneck speed. With packed market stalls and people milling about it’s a veritable feast for the eyes and all of the senses. There are stalls selling wooden carvings, textiles, pottery, spices, flowers and food to mention a few. A religious procession passes by. I just love the colours and the patterns here! It’s a total colour explosion. The 400 year old church of Santo Tomás. Each …