CHRISTMAS 2012

I can't believe how quickly Christmas has rushed by this year. It has been fabulous having all the family together and to have time to enjoy each other's company. We put the tree up early for once and decorated it in the usual white, silver and crystal. I've always preferred this colour way as it reminds me of my childhood in Sweden. We've added splashes of red and lots of other mad decorations over the years, especially when the children were younger, but always seem to come back to this colour combination.  

I asked our daughter if she was happy decorating the tree with such neutral colours while we were doing the tree this year, and luckily she said she loves it as it is. It will be interesting to see if she keeps the tradition going when she has her own home...

Our Nordic colour themed tree, complete with felted Toby, ceramic, vintage crystal and silver decs,
plus clip-on candle holders

CHRISTMAS MAKES: EMBROIDERY HOOP DECORATIONS

Spotted these inspiring handmade Christmas decorations in the window of a pub in Bermondsey Street, on a recent trip to London. The decs instantly combine the trend for handmade and vintage objects, while also reflecting the pub's hip, yet traditional atmosphere. A great project using heirloom pieces of lace and embroidery, your own sewing masterpieces or Charity Shop finds. I love the simple hand-painted and plain wooden frames and the way the light shines through the sheer fabrics. I'll definitely be making some of these for next Christmas.

A unique and simple festive display at The Garrison Public House in Bermondsey Street, London, that boasts
its own cinema room for relaxed Sunday viewing 

WANSTEAD VINTAGE FASHION & BROCANTE FAIR

Did my final vintage fair for 2012 yesterday and it was a really good day with a great turn-out. I've taken a stall at the Wanstead Vintage Fashion & Brocante Fair in East London several times over the years and it's always beautifully organised with a great mix of stallholders. Cary Whitley of LoveVintage, who runs the event four times a year, takes a lot of care ensuring that the fair offers a wide range of true vintage fashion, homeware and ephemera. Held in a traditional church hall, the fair is a great destination for anyone looking for vintage haberdashery, small pieces of furniture, menswear, unique frocks and collectable jewellery. There's also a cafe serving hot drinks, delicious home-made cakes and sandwiches on pretty mismatched bone china. 

Some images from my stall, including shots of 1970's BIBA loose face powder and a 1950's musical jewellery box

Cary pulled-out all the stops yesterday, ensuring that the fair had a steady stream of vintage lovers queuing to get in, including a lot of men looking for vintage menswear and Christmas gifts. 

HARTNELL TO AMIES: COUTURE BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT

There's a fabulous new show in London called Hartnell to Amies: Couture by Royal Appointment, that's perfect for anyone interested in fashion and photography, plus royal- and social history. Hardy Amies and Norman Hartnell, the two stalwarts of British Couture in the 50's and 60's, are currently being celebrated in a unique exhibition at the Fashion & Textile Museum. The show highlights the advent of British couture in the post-war years and in particular Amie's and Hartnell's influence in creating a highly elegant silhouette that attracted the royal patronage of the Queen and was instantly copied by forward thinking department stores and nimble fingered seamstresses. 

Another important element of the exhibition is the photography. The late Norman Parkinson's timeless images effortlessly depict this glamorous era and compliment the sumptuous couture pieces on show.

Norman Hartnell and models, British Vogue 1953
© Norman Parkinson Limited/Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive

SHOP HOUND: OBJECTS OF USE

Here are some images of one of my favourite shops in Oxford - Objects of Use. The shop offers a brilliant mix of predominately homespun and European functional household items, including several design classics from Scandinavia which I adore, such as the iconic String bookcase and tactile glassware from iittala. It reminds me of the fabulous Shaker shops that were around in the UK in the 80's.

Everyday household tools and functional items available at Objects of Use in Oxford

Also in-store at the moment are pop-up paper snowball decorations and sheets of those vintage-looking aluminium clip-on candle holders for Christmas trees. The aluminium clips instantly transported me to when I was a child growing up in Kent and my very Swedish parents would always decorated the Christmas tree with live candles held in place with similar clip-on candle holders...I can still smell the heady mix of pine needles and burning candles and hear the endless warnings not to touch the tree!

THE ALVAR AALTO SAVOY VASE

I was recently asked to nominate an object that summed-up 'Best in Authentic Style' and immediately opted for my favourite vase, the Alvar Aalto Savoy vase. I grew up with this beautifully simple vase as my Swedish parents collected Alvar Aalto for iittala designs since the 1950's. This vase is known as the Aalto- or Savoy vase, as Aalto and his wife Aino Marsio originally designed it for an iittala competition and also used it for a commission to create furnishings for the Savoy restaurant in Helsinki in their native Finland in 1937. The clean undulating shape is apparently inspired by Sami (Lapp) women's breeches, but my parents always maintained it reflected the shape of the many lakes found all over Finland. I've always loved the purity of the design, which would be hard to better. It looks sleek and stark as an object in its own right, or takes on another guise filled with beautiful artifacts or simple flowers. 

The Aalto Savoy vase

We've bought, given away and sadly smashed a few over the years. I still have my parents' original transparent Aalto vase and also an opaque white version, that I found at a local auction house recently.  The Aalto vase is a great example of authentic style; it still looks totally modern and has perfectly stood the test of time. You can buy the vase in several sizes and colours at iittala or Skandium.

TALES FROM THE DRESSING TABLE: 60's HAIRPIECES

As a child in the 60's, I can remember being fascinated by my very glamorous mother getting ready for a big party. It was a day-long ritual that started as soon as Andre's of Locksbottom, the local hairdressing salon, opened on a Saturday morning.

I loved it when I was allowed to go with my mother to drop-off her hairpiece for a shampoo and set and always listened-in when she discussed the look she wanted. Her hairdresser would make huge gesticulating gestures around her shoulder-length hair, like a crazed windmill, to demonstrate the effect he was aiming for. It was the time of the big up-do - think Elizabeth Taylor, Tippi Hedren and Betty in Mad Men, and I was very used to seeing my mother's collection of hairpieces, in varying lengths, swaying on the washing line alongside all our clothes.


Tippi Hedren, with serious up-do, and Sean Connery in Hitchcock's Marni, 1964
Photo credit