STYLE NV RAVE - Glocalisation Art Canvases

Those guys at Made.com are just so darn inspirational, aren't they?!


Collaborating with the Chelsea School of Art and the non-profit organisation Monkey Biz, that provide beads and beading materials to 450 women living with HIV in Cape Town, Made.com run a Glocalisation competition for Chelsea's students to design a series of wall panels using the traditional South African beading techniques. The entries were judges by Lucia Van der Poste, Nina Campbell and Made.com's Chloe Macintosh. The winners have had thier designs made up onto canvases and sold by Made.com. Some of the proceeds will go back to the winners and to Monkey Biz.

http://www.stylenv.co.uk/blogs.php?path=blogs.read&id=88

STYLE NV Chatting With Lene Toni Kjeld of Walldecoration

Danish print designer, Lene Toni Kjeld of Walldecoration, whose bold retro inspired, block-like prints are turning heads, talks to STYLE NV




http://www.stylenv.co.uk/blogs.php?path=blogs.read&id=87

STYLE NV Happy Birthday to SIR PAUL SMITH

For three creative and party fuelled years, I lived in Nottingham, studying art at Trent University. I found the people of Nottingham to be warm, fun and more importantly very design conscience. So it comes as no surprise that their most famous son, the designer, Sir Paul Smith, is so highly respected there. The little shop on Byard Lane was a mecca for any self respecting Nottinghamite and on Saturday mornings the shop was packed.




Sir Paul Smith was born in Beeston in Nottinghamshire today, the 5th of July in 1946. At the tender age of 15, Paul left school with dreams of becoming a racing cyclist. Frogmarched to work at a local clothing warehouse by his father, at first, Paul was not interested in fashion at all. But when a terrible cycling accident occurred, his ambitions were thwarted and he spent six months recovering in hospital. It was then that he met a new group of friends. "Just by chance I met a lot of people from the art college and became interested in things like art and fashion," he recalled. "Back at the warehouse I started to make displays in the showroom. . .the boss was really impressed and he gave me all the buying to do for the men's wear when I was still only 17."*



http://www.stylenv.co.uk/blogs.php?path=blogs.read&id=86

STYLE NV - TREND - New Minimalism

I'm on a diet this summer. The Slimmer's World slogan "A Moment on the Lips is a Lifetime on the Hips" constantly resonates in my head and this fact, that there is a reaction to every action, holds true in trends.




Interiors in the 90s were still pale and minimal; IKEA told us to 'Chuck out the Chintz' and opt for simple sparse interiors. Decoration was minimal; only items that were graphically aesthetic and functional could remain on show. but slowly, we began to decorate. First there were retro analglypta wallpapers, then technology moved on so intricate laser cut prints could be cut, a whole plethora of patterns exploded, vintage became in vogue, colour got confident and before you knew it, minimalism was out and eclectic craft was in.



And the cycle needs to turn again, but we learn from what preceeds us and whilst STYLE NV predicts a return to minimalism, we are not asking you to paint your entire flat white, quite the opposite infact.



Colour blocking is a major trend right now on the catwalk and perfect for new minimalism. It's strong, simple and modern. The idea is that you mix two or three very bright plain colours together for a strong, vibrant and modern look. saffron, teal and magenta or jade, poppy and lemon.

http://www.stylenv.co.uk/blogs.php?path=blogs.read&id=84

STYLE NV REVIEW - The Piccadilly Community Centre

We said our goodbyes on the island, half way across Piccadilly. My friend, on her way back to work, pointed at a building and remarked that this was the best art installation she'd ever seen. She was pointing at a community centre. On the outside of the building, A giant ‘CHEQUES CASHED’ banner was hanging, an old fashioned charity box stood to the side next to a dead bouquet of flowers and a distinguished candle in a glass jar. Surely she must mean a gallery space on the first floor or something? "No V" she said "it's a massive interactive art installation, this guy has completely transformed the whole building into a community centre, you've got to have a look". It looked intriguing, why not, I thought.

http://www.stylenv.co.uk/blogs/blogEntry.cfm?b=78

STYLE NV - FLOWER POWER - The Hydrangea

Half way through the year and no doubt most of those New Year’s Resolutions have died a death, and whilst June may not always be the sunfest we’d like, it does give us the most daylight hours, which in turns means flowers in abundance. It is hard to choose which flower should be named Flower of the month in June, but maybe the hydrangea has the edge.


Country, rustic and the very epitome of the wording ‘blooming’, hydrangeas burst out in June; they remind me of those vintage 60s swimming caps that old ladies wear! What STYLE NV loves best is that one hydrangea can even be an entire flower arrangement; stick a stem in an old medicine bottle or a old baked beans tin (this is real Constance Spry territory here) and instantly you have a cute arrangement. Hydrangeas scent is subtle, so fake hydrangeas work really well.

http://www.stylenv.co.uk/blogs/blogEntry.cfm?b=74

CRAFT - New distressed mirrors for sale

STOP THE PRESS!!! HOLD YOUR HORSES!! READ THIS SENSATIONAL NEWS!!






STYLE NV's latest collection of distressed mirrors are now on sale!

Prices

Small mirrors £115

Large mirrors £130

Extra Large mirrors £140

For more details email us at info@stylenv.co.uk

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO Piet Mondrian

A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Piet Mondrian who was born today, the 7th March in 1872. Mondrian iconic linear grid paintings in primary colours have inspired designers for decades. I confess that my first contact with Mondrian’s grid style was not through study of his paintings, but actually the L’Oreal‘s Studio Line TV advert that was first aired during the 80s. “Sculpt your hair - anyway you like it!” sang the jingle, while models with gravity defying hairdo jumped through Mondrian paintings, whilst playing the saxophone - and their hair didn’t move an inch! I so wanted to have hair like that and I remember thinking how cool the grid with block primary colour patterns were, but at twelve years old, had no idea who on earth Mondrian was. So it’s about time STYLE NV paid tribute to the main man.




http://www.stylenv.co.uk/blogs/blogEntry.cfm?b=64

STYLE NV - COMMENT - The Great Fake Debate

I was walking down my local high street to the shops, one day this week. It was a typical, cold, damp, February afternoon, with no glimmer of hope and I was wearing my floor length, real fur coat. Yes, it’s real - judge me if you like but hear me out; it had belonged to my grandmother and it’s at least fifty years old. I would never buy a new real fur coat.

Anyway, as I was walking down the road, two girls were walking behind me. I overheard one say to the other“that fur coat is sick, totally sick”. Panic sank in and I froze. I’d been caught out, they knew it was real. I wasn’t in the most salubrious of neighbourhoods and I begun to fear for my own safety. These girls would soon be chasing me down the high street, pelting me with eggs, screaming “murderer , murderer”! Shopkeepers and onlookers would throw me dark looks and I’d outlawed from town. As I began to speed up, the conversation behind had not abated. “Look at it” I heard one say, “ it’s real oright, it’s so sick man, totally sick”. I started to look into the eyes of shopkeepers, standing in their door ways – my eyes begging for mercy “it’s a really old coat” I pleaded, “it used to belong to my grandmother and I was feeling so cold today - please no eggs”! As I planned in my head my Lara Croft style getaway (something along the lines of several back flips and parkour over the roof tops), it hit me that these girls were actually paying me a compliment. They weren’t bothered that it was real or fake, my ‘sick’ fur coat was apparently really cool.
This little fur anaecdote got me thinking - whilst faux fur continues to proudlly fluff its feathers in the the ethical limelight, how green are your faux fur cushions and throws really? http://www.stylenv.co.uk/blogs/blogEntry.cfm?b=62

HOMES WE LOVE - Chez STYLE NV

I have been deliberating uploading my own home for months - egoism is not really my thing, but as Rachael and Graham have reminded me, this is a collective and I have been out ruled! It's very hard to gush about one's house as although this is my boyfriend's house, it would be fair to say that I've had a very strong influence over the design and decoration of the house.




http://www.stylenv.co.uk/p_portfolioInfo.cfm?g=50