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mini moderns have a new wallpaper collection launching next month called 'darjeeling'. described by mini moderns designers keith and mark as 'eastern chakras meet sunburst emblems, and glam rock' this design taps into a seventies retro vibe but has a distinctly modern edge. available in five colourways you can find it online here.

hemingway design in collaboration with surface view have added over forty new designs to their 2013 collection featuring geometric patterns with bright colour pops. the patterns are available as large scale wall murals, stretched canvases, wall hangings, and more. the prints were inspired by an eclectic range of sources, from the conran fabric archives to vintage finds in dusty attics. you can

when i was in john lewis picking up my free catalogue last week a stationery range called 'new japan' caught my eye. the main design has a hand drawn feel and is mixed with a mini geometric and secondary floral print. and also from john lewis a loose floral called 'tilda' on curtains and wallpaper. another of john lewis' spring summer 2013 trends is 'botanist

talking of orla kiely did you know that orla kiely has joined forces with harlequin to produce her wallpaper designs. the collaboration was announced at decorex back in september and means there are now a lot more pattern choice and colourways to choose from. you can see all 14 designs online here at harlequin.

there is a summer mood taking hold over at michelle mason this season. michelle's new products include 'beach wallpaper' and a 'lowestoft' cushion. the designs are part of a travel theme from michelle's partnership with the national railway museum to create a collection inspired by their archive of british railways posters from the 1950s and 60's. also new is st malo a wash bag range inspired

todays posts all have the theme of home decor fabrics and wallpaper. the first features new designs from sanderson, which includes 'maple' (above and below) by fiona howard. fiona you may remember is the designer behind their phenomenoly successful clocks design. maple is from the options 11 collection and is available in four colourways and comes in both wallaper and fabric. also shown below

Tra la!  It’s May!  The lusty month of May!  The time that  . . . . what?

It’s March?

Seriously?  Forget it then.  I’m going back in my hidey-hole.  Call me when it’s May.  But before I go, here’s a swath of delicious Fusenews.  Good for what ails ye.

First off, a gem.  I got the following email from buddy and Top 100 Polls guru Eric Carpenter: “So this weekend while working on a project on Weston Woods for one of my school library media courses (yes, I’m getting a library degree!!!) I came across Gene Deitch’s blog/website. http://genedeitchcredits.com.  Not sure if you’d seen this but if not take a look, just understand it might be a long, long look.”

Eric couldn’t have been more right.  Gene’s a fascinating fellow and he’s quick to recount his Weston Woods days working with Maurice Sendak, with Morton Schindel, with Jules Feiffer, or with E.B. White!  And that’s not even counting all the good stuff you’ll find if you go here.   Eric, buddy, I owe you yet again.

• So I told myself that I wouldn’t read any reviews of my own book Giant Dance Party (due out 4/23).  I figured that was a pretty safe promise to keep.  I mean, I review books myself.  Why invite trouble by reading other folks?  And that noble intention lasted me all of *checks watch* 45 seconds before I caved.  Not much is out yet, but I can say with certainty that 8-year-old Jacob at City Book Review liked the book.  He is a man of fine and discriminating taste.  Well played, young Jacob.

• A special congrats to Mara Rockliff for winning the 2013 Golden Kite Award for her truly awesome Me and Momma and Big John for Picture Book Text.   Why I do so rightly believe I made that one of my 100 Magnificent Books of 2012, did I not?  Yup.  Surely did.

• In other Me Stuff, this past Saturday I hosted a Children’s Literary Salon in the main branch of NYPL.  The topic was Diversity and the State of the Children’s Book and featured panelists Zetta Elliott, Connie Hsu, and Sofia Quintero.  It was also, to put it precisely, a hit.  We’ll have the audio up soon, I hope, but in the meantime Lucine Kasbarian has reported over at We Love Children’s Books.  Thanks, Lucine!

• One of the many advantages of joining The Niblings (four numerical children’s literary blogs joined in bringing you only the best in children’s literary news and entertainment) is that I now have a way of actually keeping up with my fellow bloggers.  Trust me when I say that I’m ashamed of how rarely I read the best folks out there.  But now, thanks to the handy dandy Facebok page, I got to see the 100 Scope Notes Newbery Medal Infographic. I dare say I’m a better person for it too.

• To be frank, I probably would have also have missed the recent 2013 Ezra Jack Keats Award winners too!  Back in the day these awards were given in New York Public Library.  Now they’ve moved to south where the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at The University of Southern Mississippi makes the announcements.  And the winners?

The 2013 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award Winner Is:

Julie Fogliano for And Then It’s Spring

And Then It’s Spring is illustrated by Erin E. Stead.

The 2013 Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award Winner Is:

Hyewon Yum for Mom, It’s My First Day of Kindergarten!

VERY excellent choices.

• And the Acme Powder Company strikes again.  This may be your favorite link of the day, I’ll wager.  Recently Robin Rosenthal of Pen & Oink took a trip to what may well be the world’s most adorable shared studio of children’s book illustrators.  Good looking too, if we’re going to be honest about it.  Hear them in their own words and get a glimpse into what an artist’s studio space ACTUALLY looks like.  Hint: Lots o’ creepy Victorian photographs.  Once you’ve finished with that you can then head on over to Sergio Ruzzier’s new and updated website.

• Aw, what the heck.  You know I don’t usually like to do anything with YA stuff, but a friend of mine asked me to mention this and I don’t see the harm.  There’s a rather sweet little Delirium Fandom offer going on right now.  Prove you’ve pre-ordered Lauren Oliver’s Requiem and you can get a nifty little signed bookplate.  Aww.

• Did you know that there was a conference out there dedicated SOLELY to children’s nonfiction?  Learn something new every day, eh?  Here’s the deets:

It’s a time of re-invention, re-education, and revolution in children’s publishing.  There are important developments that teachers, students, writers, and illustrators want to know about. A faculty of publishers, authors, illustrators, digital designers, and educators will inform and inspire at the 21^st Century Children’s Nonfiction Conference at the State University of New York at New Paltz on June 14-16.

Topics will range from “Nonfiction and the Common Core Standards” to “Creating E-books and Apps.” The weekend will offer intensives, workshops, one-to one consultations and critiques, an illustrators’ showcase, book fair, meals, and a reception at SUNY’s beautiful Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art. Full details are at www.childrensNFconference.com.

Daily Image:

And last but not least, utterly ridiculous bookshelf wallpaper!

Thanks to BB-Blog for the link.

i picked up the new john lewis ineriors catalogue at the weekend which features their spring summer 2013 ranges. one of their new seasonal trends is 'pioneer' which they describe as inspired by 'sun-baked deserts and the landscapes of  the american south-west". the graphic prints are strong and geometric with a colour palette of mocha, grey, and steel mixed with pops of colour with ochre,

i dont normally cover paints here on print & pattern but i thought the colours were so good and the photographs so well styled i could not resist this new range from mini moderns. the mini moderns design duo of keith stephenson and mark hampshire have teamed up with newlife paints to release a collection twelve colours. the paints are also environmentally responsible as they're made from 90%

as many of you know habitat were bought out last year by the home retail group (owners of homebase and argos) hence you can now find habitat designed wallpaper at your local branch of homebase. the retro-graphic wallpaper prints were created in-house and inspired by nature.there are 6 different patterns featuring geometrics, woodgrain, and stripes. i took some snapshots in my local store but you

 designer rachael taylor exhibited at the top drawer show in london last week to launch her new wallpaper designs with wallpapered.com and to showcase her own line of products including beautiful bags and aprons. rachael also hosted a 'designer charity doodle wall' on her stand. artists worked on the design live and rachael plans to digitally manipulate the resulting designs into a monotone 

high house is a new enterprise to develop a staffordshire university wallpaper brand. the designs are developed by recent graduates and students, with the collaboration of local industry and the heritage sector. their debut collections are inspired by recently discovered wallpaper fragments in the ancient 'high house' in stafford which is one of the finest tudor buildings in the country. find

sian elin thomas recently launched a new collection of textiles, at tent london including cushions, tea-towels and wallpaper. with her company sian elin now based in her native wales she has created a new range of patterns to mirror her fascination for the built environment. time spent in israel, recent travels to india and throughout the mediterranean are all reflected in her new collection.

homebase had one of their discount weekends recently and so i went in to get some paint, with camera in hand naturally, and snapped a few of their homewares including cushions and wallpaper. i am loving the return of blue which had been out of fashion for so long but at long last is back in style.

oxford based laura felicity creates hand drawn, screen printed, & handmade wallpapers and homewares. throughout  october laura felicity will be donating 10% of all profits they make from their pink products to breast cancer care charity.

isak are expert in creating stylish graphic feature walls for children's rooms as this colourful oak tree design (above & below) demonstrates. designer sandra isaksson has been inspired for her latest release by the classic story 'the owl & the pussy cat'. the designs are custom sized. customers just measure their wall, type in the dimensions in centimetres and isak will re-size, print and send

a couple of weeks ago i attended the spring summer 2013 press preview for laura ashley. the show focused on their new design collections for next year and also featured an archive display to celebrate the laura ashley company's 60th birthday. the first collection on display was 'bloomsbury' - inspired by the sussex farmhouse of bloomsbury group artists vanessa bell and duncan grant. anyone who

i have a few more shots from the laura ashley spring summer 2013 press show today. this collection called 'coastal' features the muted blues and natural creams and greys of the english seaside. the two main prints feature a geometric abstract remininiscent of pebbles and a bold painterly floral. there are also co-ordinating prints featuring stripes, checks and floral sprays. look out for the

after coastal came a much more feminine range from laura ashley for 2013 featuring lots of delicate pinks, silky textures, embroidery and flowers. the collection centres around the jacquard 'coco' bedlinen in amethyst.

laura ashley are well known for their classic english florals and next year they will be launching this beautiful rose design called 'chiswick' from their 'palace garden' collection. featuring fabulous bouquets of roses in fashionable pink, red and grey chiswick will be available on fabric, cushions, wallpaper, lampshades and more. at the laura ashley SS2013 press show last month it was

the final home decor collection on show at the laura ashley 2013 press show was kyoto, a collection of various japanese inspired florals in elegant neutral warm greys, and silvers.   

design duo keith & mark from mini moderns were both obsessed with backgammon from an early age, especially attracted to its graphic geometry. they have now created a wallpaper design based on the interplay between chevrons and discs making for a really dynamic pattern. its available in 4 colours harvest orange, mustard, chalkhill blue and concrete. mini moderns have also collaborated with magpie

i was lucky enough to be able visit the laura ashley press show last week to see what they have instore for the new autumn winter season ahead. here are a few snap shots taken at the show to give you an idea of what to expect from laura ashley's homeware designs. there were collections in autumnal golden yellow & grey, ice blue and silver, natural stones and warm greys, and plum, purple, and

designer rachel powell launched her debut wallpaper collection at new designers 'one year on' earleir this month as part of a select group of young designers. inspired by mid century design and life in the great british countryside rachel says that her designs ‘woodstock’ and ‘prudence’ "create a perfect balance between the style and personality of retro print and the simplistic nature of rural