Behind the Brand: Nordic House

I have to start this post with a disclaimer: Scandi interiors boutique Nordic House is one of the clients of my digital comms agency DECORUM. The company is run by husband and wife dream team Sandie and Alan Wallman (pictured above). But even if they weren't one of my clients, I'd still be posting this, because theirs is one of the loveliest online shops I've ever come across, and all their products are totally adorable and irresistible. And just to make it even better, they are some of the nicest people I've ever worked with. And they live BY THE SEA in Cornwall, and have a warehouse made up entirely of female staff...

Yes, they are brilliant. And yes, this is basically a gushfest. So let's begin...

How long ago did you set up Nordic House?

We set it up at the end of 2008, and initially launched just to friends and family. Then in March 2009, we really started trading properly.

How did the idea for the business come about?

Owning a business in Sweden for many years made us fall in love with all things Scandinavian. When we moved to Cornwall in 2005, we bought a derelict property to bring back to life and set off in search of gorgeous Scandinavian-style pieces to fill it with. We enjoyed the process so much, we decided to turn it into a business.

What inspired you?

We find inspiration everywhere – from our years spent working in Sweden to the ever-changing nature of having a home by the water and of course... Pinterest! We love contemporary design, vintage treasures, crafts, texture, originality, making mood boards, everything artisan, our team, people, Scandinavia and Cornwall… the list goes on!

Describe a typical day in the Nordic House team.

It is usually madly busy all day, as we are responsible for every aspect of the business! We divide our time between sourcing, buying, photography, PR, Marketing, HR, our team, the warehouse, website maintenance and development.... etc

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

Working with a great team of people!

What's the most interesting thing you've learnt since starting the company?

To trust my instinct...

What's your proudest achievement so far?

There have been many but among the best - first and foremost, is our fantastic team... and the moment I saw a product featured in a major interiors magazine for the first time! It was GoodHomes mag back in February 2009. We also love travelling around Scandinavia, sourcing new products for our collections and making them come to life on our website.

Any particular products you want to shout about/favourites?

Personal favourites - hmmm that’s a difficult one! From our current collection, I love our big stainless steel lanterns, the vintage zinc trunks and quirky knitted poufs.

I have just finished putting together our new Autumn/Winter collection and there are so many gorgeous new pieces in there too... All will be revealed soon!

How would you describe your personal design ethos?

Relaxed, affordable, quirky, mixing old and new, vintage and above all different!

Can you describe your own home?

It's our nest....for sharing with friends and loved ones. It's light, airy and open, with lots of pale wood, whites and blues, reflecting the water outside....

How does your life by the sea influence your work?

I find living by the sea so inspirational, ever changing, calming. The ability to go for a walk on the beach after work stimulates the soul.

What's your hope for the company's future?

To continue to grow our team, our collections and source fabulous products for our customers!

Nordic House's summer sale is now on, with up to 50% off certain items - check it out now, and prepare to spend!

Going up the Shard

I'm going to let you into a little secret, but it may disappoint you.

(It certainly disappointed me.)

Wanna hear it?

The Shard is shorter than the Eiffel Tower.

Don't believe me? It's true! The Shard is 308m tall, the Eiffel Tower is 324m.

Shocker, huh? However, either way, it's still bloody bloody bloody high. Which I had naively not really thought about much, before I booked tickets to go and see the view, for O's birthday. He's a lucky bugger, being born in June, and the sun was shining for his dotage and for once it truly was a beautiful London summer's day.

We first had a nice lunch in Kopapa, Covent Garden, before strolling along the south bank and hanging out on the beach (hurrah!). Then we walked all the way to the Shard, before going in at our allotted time of 7.30pm.

I'd tried to be really organised, and had booked tickets for then hoping we could both watch the sun set as well as get a good view in daylight. But I'd sort of forgotten that in June the sun PROPERLY sets at about 10pm - so alas we gave up, numb-bottomed and sore-kneed, at 9.30pm, after two hours of non-stop staring, and left (there are no benches up there, so it's the floor or standing).

But before we left, we got to see quite a bit. What a view! It is ABSOLUTELY FRICKIN' TERRIFYING. At least, it is if, like me, you are a normal person. However, I seemed to have been the only normal person up on the top of the Shard that day, as no one else seemed even remotely worried about the fact that the only thing standing between us and a 300m drop was one tiny piece of glass. So they were all clearly drunk or on heavy antidepressants.

Meanwhile, I spent much of the time up there clinging to a pillar, thinking in some small way it would save me from imminent death.

Anyway, here's what you get to see up on top of little ol' London... Not bad. Not bad at all.

Doing time. In Lanzarote

So, thanks to the fact that someone has decided the UK is now a year-round winter destination, last weekend my friend Amy and I decided to bugger off somewhere where it was guaranteed to be a) hot and b) cheap.

We put our requirements into Google, and out came the answer: Lanzarote. We duly booked three nights, all inclusive, at what was meant to be a FOUR star resort. OK, so we were stupid and naive - the whole holiday was under £350. Yes, that's three nights with all food and drink included, plus flights. We got what we deserved, penny-pinching tightwads that we were.

We turned up at our hotel, which was basically a goliath compound of ridiculous proportions, and the first thing the (fearsome) ladies behind reception did was tag us, like criminals, with a very blue, very plastic wrist band. The only way to take the wrist bands off was to cut them. There were also gold ones and yellow ones behind the counter - we deduced the yellow were for young offenders, the gold for lifers. I (rebellious) cut my wrist band off at the end of the first day. Amy (compliant and fearful of authority) spent the holiday fretting about tan lines. We were then allocated a room in Block H.

Yes, we were tagged and put into (cell) block H. So, when does a hotel resort start to feel like a prison?

Possibly when the corridors look like this:

Or maybe when the view from the rooms is this:

Here are some of the things we learnt from our experience in Lanzarote anyway.

• The landscape is...interesting. Sort of post-apocalyptic. Doesn't really do it for me.

• If you and a female friend wear matching visors on holiday, people will think you're American lesbians.

• Amy likes Spanish supermarkets a lot. A bottle of Beefeater gin was £4.50. These two facts may be related.

• The Spanish have hijacked Italian food. Badly.

• All-inclusive hotels are basically cruise ships without the only good bit: the stop-offs.

• We do not belong in All Inclusive resorts (yet) because we are childless and haven't gone through the menopause. Oh, and we aren't cats.

• When confronted with jelly adorned with squirty cream and chopped nuts, middle-aged men lose all sense of reason.

• One of Easyjet's pilots, Phil Shaw, is a frustrated stand-up comedian. Check out the video...

http://youtu.be/s-bZVR3ZMUk

Here are some other shots from our time inside, anyway. Twas an experience, at the very least. I'm just grateful to my lovely cell mate for helping me get through it.

The Clove Club

I so want to say I loved The Clove Club. I really do. And I sort of almost do love it. In fact, I've now decided it's possible to love the experience of eating out, rather than the actual food.

Much has been written about The Clove Club, describing it as achingly hipster - it was, in fact, during our meal that I was first introduced to the word 'scenester' - a label that had quite happily passed me by till then. I don't really know what hipster means, truth be told. I can only categorically affirm that I am not it. But I didn't feel uncomfortable at all at The Clove Club. Everyone was perfectly friendly, the service was good and efficient (so efficient that our wine glasses kept getting whipped away from us as soon as they were drained dry - possibly hipster means watching your alcohol intake - seems unlikely though?!)

What did I love about it then? To start with, I loved the simplicity of the venue - it's in Shoreditch's old town hall, but inside everything's pretty stripped back and simple, with whitewashed walls and battered wooden tables. I liked the fact the kitchen was in the dining area - it was great to see the chefs at work and they must have had some impressive ventilation as it wasn't smelly or even noisy. I loved the simplicity of the tasting menu - you get what you're given. It's £47, which for the number of courses is pretty reasonable. I liked many of the dishes - not all of them, but I did like the creativity behind the concepts and the inventive variety of ingredients. As I said before, it felt like an experience, rather than a deliciously satisfying feast.

But, but... Some of the food was odd - the raw beef with cow's curd really didn't do it for me, and I wished I could just wave a magic wand and turn it into a steak tartare. I didn't like the fact that for the first three sharing courses, the hipster nonsense took over, meaning we weren't allowed our own plates. I burnt my fingers on my chicken and had to chuck it in the bread basket for a few minutes to cool down. There's nothing really glamorous about having sticky fingers either IMO, not even if you're on holiday eating tapas under a blood-red sun. My vegetarian friend Amy was disappointed with some of her dishes, too - in her words: "my artichoke heart still had the hard bit on one side and the giant leek was silly – you can't cut a leek with a dinner knife, that's why people use a paring knife at the prep stage!"

Oh, and as charming as the ladies' loo was, seriously, having only one toilet for a restaurant/bar that size reverted the emerging scenester in me back to a cross-legged 18-year-old in a sweaty nightclub queue. Not glamorous.

But in summary, the food was imaginative and unusual, the atmosphere relaxed and I'm glad I went. But I don't think I'd go back again. I'm on the fence this time.

Behind the Brand: Sarah Hamilton Prints

I came across the wonderful Sarah Hamilton through Twitter - just one of many fantastic connections I have to thank the microblogging site for. She's a super talented printmaker, and her quirky, appealing designs adorn a variety of objects - from cards to woodblocks to furniture and even mirrors. She's also super friendly, and has a wonderful mid-century home in Dulwich, which she'll be showing off during an Open House weekend at the Dulwich Festival, on May 11 and 12.

And... *coughs*... she's very kindly asked yours truly to come down and sign copies of my book at the event...so see you there!

I caught up with Sarah to find out a bit more about her fantastic career so far...

How long ago did you start designing?

After leaving Central St Martins, having studied Printmaking back in the days before Photoshop, I made a range of handmade cards and sent them to buyers at The Conran Shop, Designers Guild and Paperchase. They were very enthusiastic about my designs and all placed orders. Requests for different products followed from other stores, including a popular collection of bathroom mirrors for Heal's.

I was then asked to make much larger focal piece mirrors, with my distinctive imagery, by architects and interior designers. This led to commissions, from galleries and private clients, for a wide range of artwork. Nowadays I sell my prints, cards, woodblocks and mirrors via Open House/Studio events in Dulwich, through shows including the East London Design Show and directly from my new website. I also have considerable experience in commercial textiles, having freelanced for a number of respected manufacturers.

What inspired you to go it alone?

I’d love to say it was a conscious decision, however I started selling my designs straight after college so I haven’t known any other life. I’ve huge respect for people who swap the security of a regular salary for self-employment. You have to embrace an insecure lifestyle but the creative freedom it allows is a price worth paying in my book.

What's the most interesting thing you've learnt in your years of designing?

It would have to be the unexpected places my designs have lead me to. You just never know when you finish a design where it will end up. For instance Georgina Wright, a weave designer for Kvadrat, bought one of the Heal's mirrors, which led to us collaborating on a project she had been working on for Elmo Leather in Sweden. We've since made lots of fascinating trips to various locations in Sweden, Denmark and Italy. One little blue mirror - how could I have ever have predicted this?

What do you enjoy the most about your work?

The day-to-day journey of discovery, experimenting with colourways, sourcing materials, creating new images or even designing the display or publicity material for a show. I just love every creative aspect of my work.

Any particular highs/lows you've experienced?

There’ve been plenty of both. One notable high was when, days after delivering a large commission to a lovely client in Hampstead, they asked for the same again for their houses in France and Norfolk. A few months later there was a great feature about the to-die-for house in The Observer, with lots of my artwork.

As for lows - when The Conran Shop were stocking my cards they approached me about designing a wide range of stationery items - a wonderful opportunity, of course. Some way down the line the buyer apologetically said Terence Conran had decided to design the range instead. I guess losing out to Terence Conran is a pill you can swallow with bubbles.

Do you have any favourite products?

There are definitely certain designs which I’m happiest with, these include Rhythmic Leaves (orange) and Birds and Urchin (powder). Behind the scenes I agonised over the colours and they both went through multiple incarnations. Making a design look simple is in reality incredibly difficult. I’m also especially pleased with the woodblocks – the depth of colour and texture is rich and rewarding and I worked very hard to achieve this look. People often say they adore the soft texture of the wood - it’s so different to working on paper - I’m constantly amazed by the possibilities.

Any advice for up-and-coming designers?

Pay close attention to detail. I was once at a buyers meeting with a smart store who were considering stocking my designs. The head buyer unwrapped my card and unnervingly scrutinised the envelope stating rather gruffly ‘I’m extremely fussy about envelopes.’ When I bought the most beautiful, but pricy, envelopes I’d wondered if anyone would even notice. He did! They do! He then placed a huge order on the spot. Skimp on food, heating, light, water but never ever compromise on materials.

What's your own home like?

We have an unusual mid-century house in Dulwich, South London. It's an upside down house with the bedrooms on the ground floor. It makes sense to live at the top of a house to maximise light and views. Period houses are wonderful but what a shame that most of the living goes on in the basement. Furniture-wise someone said of me, and I did laugh, 'you’re one of the mid-century brigade.' Well… sort of… but I’m passionate about contemporary design so I hope I didn't fossilise in 1950!

What inspired you to get involved with the Dulwich Festival?

If you love art and design and you’re interested in houses then Open House events are a must - I visited The Brighton Festival and was hooked. When we bought our house I thought it would be great to take part in the Dulwich Festival as it celebrates the wealth of creativity that the area has to offer. Last year I was amazed at how many people came to our event, so many said my designs really suited the house and they enjoyed learning how I made the work, peeking in sketchbooks and the setting of my studio, within woods.

Find out more about the Dulwich Festival Open House programme>>

See Sarah's beautiful designs on her website>>

Easter in Norfolk

So I spent Easter Sunday this year here...

Namely, Hunstanton Beach in Norfolk. Looks lovely doesn't it? Blue skies above a vast, near-empty beach. But take a closer look.

The reason this photo is blurry is because it was impossible to hold the camera still, because a) my hand was completely numb and b) the MINUS 9 DEGREE gale-force wind was literally trying to blow us into the sea.

So I know, you all know the story, you were all here for the coldest Easter on record too. In this picture, O is wearing a hat and two hoodies. Both of our jaws were almost locked frozen from the cold. The earache was immense.

We'd gone up to Norfolk to film a mini trailer for my book. The main reason for doing this wasn't so much to promote the book (although obviously that's what a book trailer is for) but because I'm a total geek and thought it would be fun. And it kind of was fun, despite the weather.

Don't worry - it wasn't so cold we decided to top ourselves. That's just a still from our fantastic footage. Ahem.

We stayed at The Lodge, in Old Hunstanton, which, mercifully, was lovely and warm and cosy, with proper pub fires blazing in the bar downstairs, and a big radiator in the room.

Sadly, we were so distracted by the cold (to the point that we drove the car down to the beach, rather than walk ten minutes - so that we had it nearby to shelter in after five minutes' filming brought on the first signs of frostbite), that I didn't take any more pictures. Which is a real shame as it's a properly beautiful part of the world.

Anyway, we actually had a lovely time, and a massively appreciated and delicious roast dinner in The Lodge's restaurant. It was an enjoyable break, even if the only thing we both said all weekend was; 'At least it's not raining. It'd be worse if it was raining. Wouldn't it?'

I'd really like to go back sometime. Preferably in the middle of a heatwave.

Bathroom reveal

So...it's been a while since I finished my bathroom, but I was waiting for some LIGHT and SUNSHINE in order to photograph it. But look, we had five minutes of the stuff on Tuesday and now it's buggered off again. So I've given up. Here's the bathroom, in the delightfully dull March light we're all now so depressingly used to. Am hoping that by posting this, the sun will decide to appear and stick around, just to spite me for not waiting a little bit longer. You may remember my personality-less bathroom from my post before here...

Grim eh? But here it is now... *ta-daaaa*

As you'll see, I didn't have the guts to go for the greeny-blue walls in the end. I was massively tempted, but decided it would look out of place with the rest of the flat, which is very light and bright. And also my uber-stylist friend Poppy Norton reminded me that if you want to do your make-up in them, it's good to keep bathrooms light as possible. The wall colour I went for in the end is Dove Tale, by Farrow & Ball, and is a really interesting shade - that goes from very pale purpley-grey to a sort of warm mushroom-brown, depending on the time of day. It's great because it gives the cosy feel I was after, without being too dark.

The sanitaryware was a bargain - the basin (Bauhaus) and toilet (Duravit) were both from CP Hart's trade centre. I reused my existing bath. The shower and basin and bath taps are Grohe, and I bought them on Amazon!

The flooring is from the Colour Flooring Company - and I love it! So soft and warm underfoot. The tiles are from Topps Tiles.

In total I spent just over £3k, including fitting, which I think is pretty good. It's not perfect, and as with any interiors junkie there are a few things that I wish I could change - or could have afforded to have done - but the main thing is it has personality, is warm and inviting, and puts a smile on my face first thing in the morning!

An evening with Maggie O'Farrell

Maggie O'Farrell is probably my most favourite living author. I am actually so in awe of her that I sort of hate her, which isn't very nice, because from what I've seen she's actually a lovely person.

I first heard Maggie speak at a Good Housekeeping 'Book Day' event, years ago when I was working on handbag.com, and the ace web-editor for GH, knowing I was writing a novel, let me gatecrash. It was held at the Mermaid Theatre and Maggie was part of a panel of authors taking part in a discussion. I can't remember what the topic of the discussion was because it was in about 2007, but I remember coming away impressed by Maggie in particular, and fired up to write more, and better.

And then I started to read Maggie's novels, and was just blown away, repeatedly. My favourite is After You'd Gone, but I was also totally charmed by The Hand That First Held Mine. They're what I call 'proper' books - stories that you completely lose yourself in, that impress with both their beautiful writing as well as their twisty plots and perceptively crafted characters. They basically win on every level. Like I said, it's tempting to hate her.

I've also heard Maggie speak at the Shoreditch House Literary Salon - which I used to go to all the time but which has unfortunately (but rightly) become so popular that the last time I went I couldn't get in (would like to point out here that I was one of the ORIGINAL MEMBERS. Ahem.)

So I was very excited when I stumbled across the opportunity to hear her again (although I'm aware I'm beginning to sound a bit like a stalker), at an event at Waterstones Piccadilly to launch her new novel, Instructions For a Heatwave.

It was a lovely, civilised evening, the likes of which I should have more often. To start with, Maggie read an excerpt from the book, then she was interviewed by Observer journalist Elizabeth Day. Then there were questions from the audience and a signing. And Bucks Fizz.

Sadly, I made a total pratt of myself getting my book signed - as Maggie was signing it, I was so nervous that I blurted out I was unlikely to actually read the hardback itself, as I was going to buy it on Kindle anyway. Massive cringe.

She was very gracious about my ridiculous outburst, thankfully. She was completely charming throughout the evening, actually, extolling feminism in a calm but spirited and firm manner, and handling a rather random and undeserved criticism from one of the audience with ease. So I still love/hate her.

I haven't started the book yet so can't include a review with this post unfortunately (although it'd likely just be a massive gushfest anyway). It feels like a lovely treat that's awaiting me. I almost want to book a week on a desert island somewhere so that I can savour it completely...

Brunswick House Cafe

To ward off the February blues (which I seem to be massively afflicted with this year), my friends Mev and Amy and I decided to have a lovely Saturday dinner out this weekend. Mev suggested Brunswick House Cafe, situated in a rather incongruous Georgian mansion, which looks a little lost and lonely surrounded by glass-and-steel-buildings near Vauxhall station.

Brunswick House is also the home to LASSCO - those curators and resellers of reclamation jewels, and so the restaurant is furnished with all manner of fascinating delights, all of which are for sale (quite weird sitting on a chair that someone could march over and buy at any moment - hopefully they'd wait for you to finish eating first).

Unfortunately as we were there in the evening, LASSCO itself was shut, so we couldn't get a proper look around. I've now made a mental note to return during opening hours.

Here's the menu for the evening we went - it changes regularly and has an olde worlde feel that's entirely at home with the surroundings.

Mev and I decided to have two starters instead of a main (we were planning ahead for pudding), and Amy (piglet) went for a starter and a main.

Mev had the button onions and mushrooms, while Amy and I had the smoked gurnard with beetroot. Then Mev and I each had the 'three potatoes'.

All three were yum - I especially loved the quirky potatoes, each of which had an unexpected element, such as the anchovies on the potato salad. The gurnard was wonderfully salty and strong, matched perfectly by the beetroot. I'm beginning to appreciate beetroot more and more - is it an ageing thing?!

Amy's main - salmon with salsify and blood orange - was a far more hearty affair. We were a bit envious, truth be told.

For pud, I had the chocolate mousse with peanuts. It came smothered in a thick layer of cream, which was a shame. I've never really understood cream. It's sickly and tasteless and a bit pointless in general IMHO. The mousse itself was good - rich and thick. I do so hate an insipid mousse.

Mev and Amy, meanwhile, shared the cheese plate.

After we'd finished our meal (which came very quickly - the service was very efficient and the restaurant wasn't too busy for a Saturday), we took advantage of the quirky entrance in order to take some daft photos. All in all, the perfect February pick-me-up.

Architectural Salvage, South Wimbledon

I only knew this place existed because I drive past it on my way to Waitrose every week *middle class cliché*.  I'd always wanted to pop in and have a look around but hadn't had a reason to really, until, with the bathroom complete (pictures to come!), I finally turned my attentions to the next thing on my To-Do-In-The-Flat list.

Which is... putting a door on the kitchen. There's no door to my kitchen or my living room (I actually think the living room door was repurposed as the wardrobe door in my bedroom, but I'll never know for sure) and although I quite like the open nature of it, there's one problem. He's ginger and a bit overweight and thinks the absolute BEST thing that anyone, feline or human, can do at 4am is thunder up and down my long hallway chasing shadows. Or silver balls.

While I'm always pleased to see Percy get some exercise, I wish he didn't choose the middle of the night for his marathon training. I feel for my downstairs neighbours, and, more importantly, myself. I therefore have to create an assault course in the hall every night before I go to bed - consisting of two artfully angled chairs and a clothes drying rack - so that his race track is more of a hurdle track and his footfall is quieter.

But it's really annoying when I need the loo in the middle of the night. Or a glass of water or whatever... And so I decided that a door to the kitchen would be the solution, so I can lock him in the kitchen at night, and hopefully encourage him to run around outside instead.

As it's at the back, the kitchen is also the coldest part of the flat, so it makes sense to close it off during the delightful snowy winters that now seem to come as standard.

But obviously, I am in need of a door. Hence my trip to Architectural Salvage last month. It turned out to be a treasure trove of delights and made me wish I was doing up a place from scratch with a bottomless budget. As with all salvage yards, space was tight and things were piled on top of each other. You really would need to have a good rummage around if you were looking for something specific.

But to give you an idea, here are some quick pictures I took - I only had my iPhone so apologies for the quality.

And finally, what I came for - one section of the shop is entirely full of reclaimed DOORS. Of all sizes and descriptions. There were some beautiful front doors on offer too.

In typical blonde fashion, I hadn't, er, measured the exact dimensions for my new door so I couldn't buy anything there and then but the owner told me that most of the internal doors were about £60. I believe this makes them a bargain and so I'll definitely be back once the carpenter is booked in.

The shop doesn't have a website, but the address is 83 Haydon's Road,  London SW19 1HH, in case you fancy popping by yourself.

2015 update: sad times! The shop seems to have shut down - and the site has been converted back into a house... will try to find out if it's moved location or gone for good.