Inspirations for an étoile home

Hello,
I guess I am not a born blogger, twitterer or facebooker (I am sure there is a new social networking site that I have never heard of) I find it very difficult to keep the world updated on what I am doing because I am so busy trying to live and manage it.
I need your help. We want to be nominated for the Studio East project for Stratford City Westfield.
Here is the link if you are up for it: http://www.westfieldstudioeast.co.uk/nominations/product-design/. It would be a great opportunity for étoile home to make it's mark on East London.

On the étoile front I am looking a new manufacturer for our beautiful bags, we had it all sorted in Portugal but I have just been informed they have gone out of business. This further delays getting the bags out but of course as always I will keep looking. I am hoping to find a company in the UK.
We moved into our new Walthamstow Village house in early September and have moved out again so the builders can remove several walls and modernise the interior floor plan.
My plan for the interior is Scandanavian Mid century Modern Cabin. I want to mix some of my favourite étoile prints with Mid Century Modern furniture, with lots of wood, exposed brick and knick knacks you might find in your grandparents house. This will of course evolve as the project will likely drag on for several years because with a baby under the age of one this can only be done during naps and the evenings. Once the builders leave my husband and I will sand and stain the floors, tile the walls, clad the walls and install the kitchen before starting on the 1st floor, I will love and hate every minute of it. Here are a few of my inspirations. I apologise for not crediting images as I cannot recall where I pulled them from. Except the machinist chair is from the Peanut Vendor.Sx

All change! We're on the move.

I was very excited last week when I went to the newsstand and bought a copy of BBC Homes and Antiques and found that the pictures that were taken of our flat last spring had finally been published. It was just in time to show the estate agents and buyers when we put our flat on the market, and sure enough it worked the first person that viewed our flat bought it. That meant that we all of a sudden had to go find ourselves a new house, all very exciting at first but soon it gets depressing as in London you never have enough money for what you want and generally there is always a fair amount of compromise to be made. We wanted to move to Walthamstow Village, a little oasis in the east of London which can often be quite depressing. We have lived in nearby Leyton for 6 years hoping for the area to evolve and gentrify a little with the forthcoming Olympics but very little did. There was no decent pub, no wine bars or restaurants that were good or even interesting so we spent all our nights out in central London. The village in contrast is like a small village in the country side but on the Victoria line, it has several restaurants, pubs and shops of the quality you would find in town. We looked at several places there and feared that in order to live there space would be a compromise but in the end we have found a 3 bed 30's build that needs some TLC. We are very excited about taking on this project and I should hopefully come across some great finds in my research to share with you.
Here are the picts that appeared in BBC Homes and Antiques, can you spot the étoile products. Thanks to Sian Williams and Polly Eltes for the lovely styling and pictures.
S

The Fabric of our Lives

Well, I finally managed to get out of the house and undertake a cultural experience. Until now all excursions out of the house were to the studio and social events with close friends aka "coffee".
I have always been a fan of quilts and have designed many for our collections but we have only ever included , Nina Patchwork quilt. The reason being that they are labour intensive and therefore very expensive. If your main selling opportunity is a website then customers can never see the work and quality put into them.
Today, I went with to see the Quilts 1700-2010 at the V&A and really enjoyed it. I cannot believe the time that has been put into the quilts in this exhibition. I love the combinations of patterns and colours. I really loved the modern takes on the quilts like the one by Natasha Kerr "At the end of the day" which features a picture of her grandparents that was found under the stairs. This linked her to an unknown part of her family. Quilts have told many stories and the tradition of quilting has been popular around the world. By the number of people at this exhibition I suspect this is another craft about to be revived.

As part of the V&A site they have included a page were you can upload your quilts, and create virtual quilts http://www.vam.ac.uk/microsites/quilts/gallery/patterns. The fifth one down was done by a woman who was so inspired after her visit to the exhibition she bought some of the quilting fabric from the V&A shop and had a go. I have also included a few other lovely quilts from that gallery. This along with the show at the V&A this should provide you with the necessary inspiration to start your own work of art.
To create your own heirloom the V&A shop at the museum and online sells gorgeous fabrics for quilting http://www.vandashop.com/section.php?xSec=357&xPage=1&selectProductsNumber=24 and you can also try Liberty's for beautiful quilting squares.

Would you rather a company like étoile made your quilts? If so, what kind would you like to see us make, what would you be prepared to pay for a beautifully crafted quilt?

In the meantime, perhaps I will start thinking about making a quilt for baby no 2 just in case they ever come along.
S

Managing Motherhood

Hello, and once again I must apologise for the absence of new postings. I am finding motherhood and managing étoile more than enough to occupy my long days. I have a new respect for all mothers especially those with more than one child.
I do love the days of hanging with other local mothers and meeting my great friends in town for tea and lunch but they are going by all too quickly.
I haven't been neglecting my duties as Creative Director, this week our new collection of rugs were added to the website. I am really pleased with how they've turned out and the picts we did with Paula and Portland look great. We have had really positive feedback from the press and customers alike. I can't wait to find a new home where Atlee will have a room and we can decorate around these rugs. I have always only had floorboards but rugs add a nice softness with a baby around.
Here are a few picts of the new collection.
S

New arrivals

I very excited to announce the arrival of our baby daughter Atlee Carmel born on February 28th. We are really enjoying being parents which explains again the big gap in my postings.
Everything takes longer at the moment as I am trying to keep étoile ticking over and being a new mom at the same time. Everyone said it would be really difficult and funnily enough it is even with my husband home on paternity leave. What happens this week when he goes back to work I am really not sure. Wish me luck
We are having delays with our spring delivery trying to get our new fabric just right from our new supplier in Portugal. I am confident it'll all be worth the effort as the fabric and printing will look even better. We are also working on our new handbags, totebags and wash bags which I am very excited about.

My pet peeve of the week is Parcel Force or Parcel Farce as I now like to call them. They deliver our parcels to a post office that is not walking distance, they say they can reroute it to your local post office on their website but after waiting a week I call them only to find out the can't in fact reroute it, they charge me VAT and an admin charge on a dress I bought in the UK but lent to a friend in America and when she returned it they charged me. I try to avoid them now at all cost.
Do you have any Parcel Farce horror stories, good couriers are hard to find.

I hope to share something more inspirational next week, let's see if I make it out of the house with young Atlee.
Shani

Rugs and Olympics

I know I am rubbish but running a business and preparing for a baby are hard work.
Today, I hopped my last hurdle which was the lifestyle shoot for the rugs I am collaborating on with Designer Rug. Here are some of the behind the scenes shots with photographer Paula Beetlestone, who has shot all the images on our website and stylist Portland Mitchell. The picts look great and so do the rugs. They will be available from mid April on the website, you can choose the size and your colour, each is made to order.

I am using my pre-baby wind down to watch the Winter Olympics taking place in my hometown Vancouver. Canada won their first Gold medal on home soil today which hopefully sets the tone for the remainder of the games. I can't wait for the hockey, Go Canada! We are hoping for a Canada v. Sweden final (the husband is Swedish). My best friends Mom, Eleanor, sent us some of the famous Canada mittens to wear while we watch the games. So sweet. We had tickets to one of the early hockey games but are having this baby so couldn't travel. My Mom has kindly taken the tickets off our hands.

I'm Back!

Firstly,

I must apologise for the large gaps in frequency in my postings. Things were hectic leading up to Christmas. I also must confess that I have become obsessed with finishing this baby blanket. I started sewing the squares together over the weekend and think I am ruining it. Must do stripes next time to avoid having to join them up after. I have also found pretty easy patterns for booties and baby hats.

I was really looking forward to a break over Christmas. So I did very little over the break except prepare the flat by making room for a cot. I am not doing any trade shows in January so I have also been busy finishing the catalogue we are sending out to all our customers. Thought it might be a little too much heading to Paris on my own 8 months pregnant to stand on my feet for 5 long days smiling.

I have also been working on a collaboration with Designer Rugs to create a range of étoile home rugs. I am really excited about these they will come in loads of colours and sizes because they will be made to order.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to write this blog every Sunday evening after hopefully a very inspirational and exciting weekend to write about. Will try not to disappoint.
Until next Sunday.
Shani