Making Jewellery in Hong Kong

 There's nothing I like better than working with my hands together with gold and diamonds.   Bored of making titschy little pieces that you can find on you tube, I decided to expand my horizons somewhat and start working in gold.

I work at the marvellous Hatton Studios- run by the gorgeous Nathalie Melville. Nathalie studied jewellery design at Central St Martins and has her own brand, Melville Fine Jewellery as well as running Hatton Studios.

Here's one of Nathalie's amazing designs.   

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Northern Ireland Trip Part 1- Belfast Political Tour

Having married an Irishman from the South who has always been intrigued with Northern Ireland's "Troubles", a trip to some of the famous areas are a must see.

After perusing Tripadvisor, we decided to go on a Paddy Campbell's Black Cab Tour after seeing the great ratings.  

We were picked up from our hotel by Ciaran who revealed that he was born and bred near the Shankills and the Falls Road - areas known for their sectarian violence.   We were shown first some of the murals that decorate the end houses of rows.  These works are against the law but huge in scale and sheer volume.

One of the murals celebrating William of Orange - who won the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, leading to the annual 12 of July celebrations.

I forgot to take a photo of this one- so I am using one found here by Wes Cowley.  Apparently this guy was called Top Gun for a very obvious reason.   

It is amazing that these well kept murals exist while there is a peace process- people feel the division between Catholics and Protestants keenly.  

There are some movements towards peace however.  At the end of the same street, you will find a sculpture commemorating a mural that has been removed.   A black and white image of the mural is pictured next to the sculpture.

The other thing that was amazing was the existence of these 'Peace Gates' .  Each night these gates are closed and locked to keep the two communities separate.   

Beside the Peace Gates is the Peace wall - a mammoth structure designed to keep molotov cocktails and pipe bombs out.  The base is covered with murals apparently tagged by graffiti artists from all over the world.   It's the only place in Belfast that it is legal to graffiti.   On the tags you will find messages written by visitors- mostly messages of peace and names of course.

This is what you find on the Catholic side- houses protected by this wall still need cages for that errant bottles that get flung across the divide.

Great images!

I love rustic paint finishes.

via remodelista

via remodelista

New products from our suppliers

There's nothing better than some new products....

First up fabulous serving trays from Dutch Deluxes...we love a great tray and this is no exception!

They come in 9 different colours and 5 shapes/sizes: 2 round and 3 rectangular.   

I love them and the colours are amazing.  Definitely shipping some of these in soon.   

Opinion Ciatti have released their new catalogue.   Sadly they are no longer making the raw steel version of their shelves.  

It's a pity, I really loved this finish but I think they are having trouble making the finish consistent.   

I'm pretty thrilled with the Moor rug from &tradition

Made of wool mixed with viscose (for that velvety feel) they are really gorgeous.   They add a nice block of solid colour to a space.   

The Sherpa weave rug from Armadillo is really similar to the Sierra rug in terms of colour.   They have introduced a dark charcoal in both these colours but also have the chalk and pumice.   The silt colour has been discontinued.    

You can see here the weave is tighter than the Sierra though it still has that textural feel and is similarly warm and comfy to walk on.    

We haven't have had the time to put everything new on the website, so if there is anything that tickles your fancy please send us an email.   

All images via suppliers.  

New Central Police Station, Hong Kong

It's a couple of years late but the edges of the New Central Police Station are finally being unveiled.  

We're excited because it's designed by one of our favourite architects- Herzog and De Meuron.   

Here it is, rising above Arbuthnot Road. 

The original site housed a prison, police station and a Magistrates' Court.  It is now being turned into an Arts and Retail precinct.  We've been contacted about getting retails space there but am a bit wary of it becoming another PMQ.   Ahhh...the vagaries of HK shoppers. 

Then need to get a few big brands in there and then it will probably become successful- but reduce the design intent ...

The old site... 

HAY at Milan

Okay, we're totally crushing on the new ranges that were spied in Milan. HAY showed at Le Pelota which was set up as distinct environments surrounded by pieces of HAYs focus collections.   It showed the breadth of HAY's collection and really emphasised the success of this amazing brand.   

HAY has developed itself not only as a furniture brand but a design driven brand as well, showing a great selection in their Mini Market concepts.   

   

Of course we love these little trays.   

HAY have introduced a new range of garden furniture - seemingly inspired by the garden pieces you would commonly find in Paris.  The range is called Palissade- more about it later.   

This light is from the new offshoot of HAY- the Wrong. London brand.   This brand will focus only on lighting.   The brand Wrong for HAY is superseded.   

Here's an example of the sinker light which comes in lots of cool stained wood colours.  

Some classic HAY accessories.  

The slit tables now come in an XL size.   Gorgeous!  

The Hackney sofa has become very popular in the store!

A nice little tableau for HAY- more about the coffee table later!

Gosh it's hard to get a good laundry basket these days....HAY to the rescue.   

These Terrazzon tables have a solid base and are suitable for outdoors.  

Images are via HAY.   

Visit us in store if there's anything you fancy!  

New AndTradition Lighting 2016 in Hong Kong

New this year from &tradition is the Passepartout light designed by Spanish designer Jaime Haydon.

Whether you need lighting for a large, expansive space or a narrow corridor, for a cosy home environment or a welcoming workspace, the Passepartout Lamp emits a light that’s surprisingly calm and tranquil. Add to that built-in LED technology that ensures a high quality light emission that’s also energy-efficient, custom designed so the light is uniformly dispersed throughout a space. 

It's available in white and black as well as brass and polished aluminium.  

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Jaime Haydon has also lent his design talent to the Formakami lamps

The Paper Lantern series is comprised of three different versions in ivory white rice paper with black stained oak accents in sizes from 46 cm in diameter to 70 cm. Each weighing only 1 kilo, they hang delicately in any indoor setting. Living proof that when East and West meet, the past becomes the present in a poetic expression of both.

Dating back centuries, paper lanterns have featured in Asia amongst the privileged and the poor, where different colours, shapes and sizes connote different meanings. Here Hayon has dispensed with cultural formalities to create a series of lanterns all in white. Hand crafted with rice paper merging various sizes and shapes together.

They look amazing in clusters.   

We'll soon have some samples in store for you.   Check back soon.   

Take a look at the NEW CATALOGUE from &TRADITION