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Whilst in Selfridges last Friday I found they had an Anthropologie concession so it was a nice chance to snap some of their latest products. Anthropologie have been working with an artist I really admire : Starla Michelle who creates the most beautifully colourful flowers and animals. Her artworks have been used on textiles, plates, wall art and an entire alphabet of pretty monogrammed mugs. I

Last week I went to the Cath Kidston Spring Summer 2017 press show to see what new designs would be coming out for next year. Today I am posting several of their new 'conversational collections'. As well as pretty florals Cath Kidston like to produce fun themes with a modern vintage feel, and for 2017 we can expect to see this cute print (above and below) called 'Little Village' along with the

It is this time of year thoughts turn to Christmas gift shopping and many of the online stores are already stocked with goodies. One of those is Bristol based Howkapow where co-founder and creative director Cat How has a good eye for design. The post begins with this colourful wrapping paper that is a Howkapow in-house exclusive. Other arrivals in the new Christmas selection include cushions

I have finally reached the end of my Maisons du Monde marathon. It has been seven days of posts - so thank you for sticking with me - and I hope you have found something inspirational you liked. We end with a mixture of snap shots from my store visit and beautifully styled shots from their website. Everything featured during the showcase was spotted at Maisons du Monde who have a stores all

P&P today is all about the Exotic - mainly meaning designs inspired by a country that seems distant and different from your own. French company Maisons du Monde created a variety of looks inspired by countries such Mexico, Brazil, and Spain. We begin with a selection using ethnic motifs and colourful embroidery, with poms poms and South American brights. This is followed by Palm Springs and Rio

My Maisons du Monde features are carrying over from last week. One because we had a day off to focus on the Sock Design Contest and two they have so many lovely things to see. The French based retailer was founded in 1996 and celebrates it's 20th birthday this year. It has nearly 200 stores in France with a further 69 across Europe including Italy where I came across them. There philosophy is

I am still featuring Maisons du Monde, the shop I fell in love with whilst in Bologna at the beginning of this month. Here is why I liked them so much - the ranges at Maison du Monde are a lesson in how to make patterns work on a wide range of products and add value and style to a business. It is the prints that add the appeal to these goods and make them stand out from other retailers. Plus

I am continuing to post about a beautiful store I found in Bologna, Italy at the beginning of September called Maisons du Monde. This French company have a wonderful range of prints and patterns within their product ranges - and at a very affordable price. There were so many nice designs on every shelf I didn't know what to snap first when I visited . Today's collection is their retro themed '

My best discovery and favourite store in Bologna, Italy was without doubt Maisons du Monde. This contemporary store felt like a mixture between Heals, West Elm and Ikea. It was packed with patterns on a wide variety of products. So this week I will be bringing you a selection of their products through my snapshots taken in store and web pictures. Their designs are all themed into collections

I am back from a very lovely hot and sunny Italy where I saw not only the Bowie show but also lots of prints and patterns which I will bring to you over the next few days. We begin with Italian department store Coin where I snapped various ranges in the Kitchen department. All the designs were branded with their own label coincasa.

We have a real treat on P&P today with tons of new product from Donna Wilson. There are lots of fab new designs for Autumn/Winter 2016 including these fun bamboo plates featuring a fox, cat, and bear. Donna Wilson is known for her sense of humour, knitting and love of craft. Her quirky woolly creations are stocked in top stores such as Heals and John Lewis. Fond childhood memories in the

As it is the last day for Print & pattern before a little summer break I wanted to go out with something really bold and colourful. And what better than these stunning prints on cushions, fabrics, lampshades, rugs and more from bluebellgray. The company was founded in Scotland in 2009 by Fi Douglas a graduate of the prestigious Glasgow School of Art. Fi wanted to make designs with a painterly

Engel is a small company based in Amsterdam founded by Sabien Engelenburg. It began when Sabien created colourful bunting for her daughter's birthday and now features all kinds of party products including this fabulous bamboo tableware. Sabien teams up with a variety of enthusiastic designers to create the ranges which can be bought online in the Engel store or purchased wholesale by retailers

ban.do is a Los Angeles based design house that specialises in stationery, gifts & accessories that "Pack a stylish punch". The prints and patterns in the colourful lifestyle brand conjour up a mood of fun, parties and sunshine and feature on notebooks, pouches, cups, bags, etc. They are also well known for their tech gadgets and cases. ban.do was founded by two friends Jen and Jamie who in

Hokey dokey.  Too much stuff here to cover very well, but try we shall.  Hold on to your hats, folks!  It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

First off, you know how I was talking the other day about constructing the ideal educator website of children’s literature resources?  Well, this might have to be one of said resources I’d include.  Called Uncover the Past, the site is dedicated to “helping library and education professionals teach history through children’s literature!”  The booklists are particularly interesting.
Thanks to Rebecca Redinger for the link.

Next up, one for the “how cute is this?” files.  I don’t know why the idea of Mary Blair tableware isn’t commonplace, but so far this is the first place I’ve seen it done properly.  Blair, as you may recall, worked as a Disney animator for years before becoming a children’s book illustrator.Take the survey and you might win a set of your very own.

Mmm.  Process.  Sweet, delicious process.  What’s better than watching an Art Director explain how they came up with a YA cover?  Watching an Art Director explain how they came up with a YA cover after considering LOADS of alternatives.  Chad Beckerman shows us how The Haters came to be.  I don’t usually do YA, but in this special case I am making an exception.  You bet I am.

Oo.  Auction. Now normally one wouldn’t have the money for such a thing, but this one’s special.  What we’re talking about here is a Refugee Benefit Auction, created by authors Shannon Hale and Mette Ivie Harrison.  100% of the proceeds go to Lifting Hands International, a charity that gets life-saving supplies directly to refugee camps.  As for the things you could get, they’re pretty fantastic.  My personal favorite?  A pole dance (or fan dance, they’re easy) performed by Shannon Hale and Daniel Handler.  “Negligible nudity assured”.  Oddly, this item has yet to secure an initial bid.  Would someone like to lend me $10,000?

The Fictional Book Characters Who Sparked Our Sexual Awakenings. Meh. None of these ranked in my book, but it’s interesting to see the fellers other gals were into.  And, happily, it reminded me of one of my favorite Toast pieces of all time: Things I’ve Learned About Heterosexual Female Desire From Decades Of Reading.

I think I’m the last one to link to the Alexander London piece Our Stories Are As Unlimited As Our Selves or Why I Came Out as a Gay Children’s Book Author.  A great piece and one that ties in nicely with the GLBTQ chapter of Wild Things.  Should we ever update that book, this is going in.

Oo!  Eisner Award nominees.  Love that stuff, I do.  And check it out!  Not only is Nathan Hale nominated in the Best Publication for Kids category (for The Underground Abductor, naturally) but he’s also in the Best Writer / Artist category as well.  He is the ONLY children’s book creator in that category, by the way.  Regardless of whether or not he wins, that is significant.

Travis Jonker. He comes up with so many good ideas.  Have you seen his Endangered Series, uh, series?  Well, it’s a great idea.  Series that once were strong but now are waning are given a close examination.  Cam Jansen was the latest to fall under scrutiny.  I suspect The Kids of the Polk Street School already hit the dust, but if not then this would be an ideal candidate for a future post.

Wow.  Two thumbs up to the ALSC board for voting to cancel the National Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina.  American Libraries Magazine has the scoop.  Thanks to Jules Danielson for the link.

How on this good green earth did I miss Rick Riordan’s letter to kids who are faced with the dire prospect of being shown one of the Percy Jackson movies in school?  I’ve seen authors dislike their books’ adaptations before, but nothing quite matches this.  Thanks to Monica Edinger for the link.

“With such a huge international variety of books and illustrators on display in Bologna, are there differences in illustration styles among individual countries?” Yep. Moving on.  Oh, wait . . . no, let’s dwell on this idea a bit longer.  Four German children’s book publishers were asked this question and they gave their responses.  The thing is, here in the States we’re seeing some remarkably high quality German children’s book fare on a regular basis and it’s GREAT!  I’d love this question to be regularly posed with folks from other countries as well.

The site Brightly has had a couple good articles up lately.  I liked 8 Surprising Facts About Your Local Librarian not the least because I knew the librarians quoted.  NYC pride!

Daily Image:

I almost never do images of books here for the Daily Image since it’s sort of a case of bringing coals to Newcastle.  But then I saw that one of my greatest picture readalouds, one of my core books, a title I’ve loved for years, is getting a sequel.  At long long last I have an answer for those kids who have been asking me, “Is there a sequel with the tractor?”

Yes, children.  Yes there is.  And life is good.

John Lewis is also a great place to spot new designs from MissPrint, and I was pleased to see a new range of ceramics and kitchen storage. Products in the range include tins, storage jars, a milk jug, teapot, salt & pepper set, ramekins and egg cups. MissPrint also have a new wallpaper design since P&P last reported on them, a smart hand drawn geometric called Nectar.. And

Liberty have teamed up with top paper company Meri Meri to produce a range of partyware in their pretty floral prints. Items include paper cups, plates, napkins, garlands and crackers which are ideal for tea partys, picnics, weddings, hen parties and baby showers. The new collection is available online now at Sisters Guild. Also from Meri Meri at Sisters Guild funky fruits and

These striking ceramic designs are from Superliving a Danish design brand founded in 2009 by married couple Anette Stabel and Jesper Binger. This Copenhagen based design duo are inspired by the organic shapes and colours from the 1950's and 60's and have made this style, with a natural Scandinavian sensibility, a signature look through all their products. Superliving's range includes tableware,

Also at Make International you will find the work of East London designer Becky Baur. Becky's graphic fruits and cute characters feature on mugs and glasses. She also has her own online webshop selling products such as notebooks, tote bags, cards, trays, and much more. Catching my eye were these fab new rabbit posters (above & below) which give a nod to the 1980's using the latest trend for

BY MAY is a Stockholm based design studio and brand founded by Johanna Örn and Maria Bergström. The duo are hugely inspired by graphic prints and playful geometrics and use them on stationery and homewares. One of their latest creations is a range of Polygon silicone placemats with co-ordinating tea towels. And also catching my eye prints for framing or for postcards called Fragments.

Regular readers will know I love to have a mooch around on google Japan and see what designs I can find - usually with a Scandinavian flavour. This week I came across these colourful trays by Anna Berger whom we have featured previously as a member of the Scandinavian Pattern Collection. Anna has designed for several Japanese companies including Kokka Fabrics. The trays were spotted online here

I couldn't wait a minute longer to post these beautiful new designs from Marks and Spencer today. I really loved the look of their fab 'Hen' kitchen range which features Scandi style birds, fruits and flowers on a tea towel (above and below), as well as an apron, round tray, oven gloves and mugs.

I wanted to showcase some of the cute designs in Japanese company Decole's latest collections. First up are the lovely graphic birds and trees of the Pichicu Pachic mugs and teapots... And these cute mugs are from their Scandinavian Style Mina Sopo collection... And for children's melamine there is the super cute Aurinko range... And also for

Next up we have a selection of interesting homeware Christmas gifts from Boden. The British fashion label has launched a range of bold graphic designs using type and colour blocking on baubals, placemats, coasters, and tea towels. Here are my picks and there are more online at Boden.

It is a busy time for Sarah Campbell again at the moment with huge interest in her current designs and her archives - reviving those made with Collier Campbell. Currently running at the Fashion & Textile Museum in London is an exhibition of the designs Sarah and her late design partner Susan Collier created for Liberty. One of the designs to Feature is this 1972 print called Bauhaus which has