A Sunny Side Up 2012 From Us To You! [Inspired By Andy Smith Prints at SOMA Gallery]

Thank you to every reader in 2011 and we look forward to sharing more new designers, artist products, limited prints and an array of culture media in the New Year along with the anticipated new 2012 Artolar Culture Directory where you can submit your culture institute.

We wish you a very Merry New Year and a Happy Sunny 2012.

Posters from the Andy Smith exhibition at Soma Gallery, bright and fun perfect to illustrate our Happy New Year message.

Designer Emma Burton cornflower blue clasp purses, scarves and cushions - lovely!

 Blue rose small clasp purse

 Cornflower vintage rose cushion

Cornflower rose silk scarf

Designer Emma Burton's collection of digitally printed fashion and home accessories use her own photographs. Our favourite is the Cornflower Rose clip purse with matching scarf and cushion starting from £39.00

Emma Burton now at Designers & Makers at Somerset House until 8 Jan 2012.

Culture Sales Have Started Here Are Our Favourite Finds

Victoria and Albert Museum Shop Sale
Yohji Yamamoto’s Polka Dots Scarf £100

Tate Shop Sale
Bob and Roberta Smith Blocks £10.00

British Museum Shop Sale
Mrs Delany Square Silk Scarf £45.00

Baltic Shop Sale
Yoshimoto Nara Limited Edition Complete Works £120

Puffin Perfect. - Lovely Stamp Silkscreen Print

by Tom Frost, available at Boxbird £30

Eye Catching Ed Hodgkinson Limited Edition Artist Prints

 Madelaine, looking down

Charlotte, kneeling

Madelaine, hair up

Available from Mark Jason Gallery, Ed Hodgkinson limited edition prints £1300

Perfect Christmas Gift for Shoe Lovers - Signed Christian Louboutin Book

A devine book by the V&A £85.00 - Signed by Christian Louboutin

Add a little imagination with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Print

Perfect for a library or a children's playroom as you can read the story and see the image, pure beauty for the walls. Available from Art Republic by Spinless Claassics.

Times Top 200 Artists of the 20th Century to Now.. Picasso number 1.

Interesting read I had on Sunday afternoon, looking through this list of Times Top 200 Artists of the 20th Century to Now. Created in association with the Saatchi Gallery, to read more and see the remaining artist visit the Saatchi Gallery

Yoshitomo Nara Little Wanderer... watch it slowly roam about in its dreamlike state

Awwwww the Yoshitomo Nara Little Wanderer £120 at Baltic Shop

A selection of our favourite current limited edition prints

Royal Festival Hall Print by Paul Catherall £395

Sara Fanelli Limited Edition Print £300

Currently very apt for families and people generally, this print is available from Art Republic - Tesco Soup Can POA.

Fun Parka Print and Silent Night New from the SOMA Gallery

We have picked our two favourite prints from the New selection at SOMA Gallery

Silent Night Screen Print from SOMA gallery £60

Parka Pop Silkscreen Print by Graham Carter £100 SOMA

Have nothing in your house you do not know to be useful or you believe to be beautiful

A wonderful print which has inspired me to declutter my house by these rules, useful, beautiful  or the item shall be thrown out. I think this print shall be displayed by the front door.

Designer print by James Brown from the V&A

Wonderful Bauble Fairy Lights adding sparkle to Christmas and Japanses Paper Ballons

Looking for fun things this Christmas with a designer edge, look no further than these fabulouse cotton ball fairy lights and Japanese Paper Ballons from Petra Boase Shop

Send great Christmas Cards this year from our top ten artists and designers list

#1 Tree and Angels Pack of 10 Christmas Cards (Square) from the Victoria and Albert Museum Shop £4.75
#2 London Eye Christmas Cards from British Museum Shop £4.99 for a pack of 8 greeting cards.
#3 The Magical Forest – Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year from the Natural History Museum Shop for £2.00 each or £10.00 for six greeting cards.
#4 Maria Dahlgren Christmas card designed exclusively for Tate £5.00 for a pack of 6 greeting cards.





#5 Adoration of the Shepherds (Detail) Christmas cards from the National Gallery £2.49 per card and various other prices depending on card numbers brought.



#6 Misletoe Children Xmas Card from the Courtauld Gallery £3.95 for ten greeting cards.



#7 Child Christmas Pudding Card from the Courtauld Gallery £3.95 for 10 greeting cards.



#8 Pudding Boy Christmas Card from the VandA Shop £5.00 for ten greeting cards.



#9 Mrs Delany Christmas Cards from the British Museum Shop £5.99 for eight greeting cards.


#10 Snow People Christmas Card from Kew Gardens £2.25 per greeting card.

Fashion designer Louise Gray has designed an iPad case exclusively for the V&A

It was only a matter of time and I am pleased to say iPad covers are getting more interesting with exclusive designer and artists colloborations. Here are two great ones for this Christmas season.

#1 Fashion designer Louise Gray has designed iPhone an iPad covers exclusively for the V&A Shop  £95.00.

 Front

Back

#2 Alexena Cayless design is simply a luxury case, created in the UK using traditional Scottish shooting tweed and shoe leather. £79.95

Create a new little town of your own using Urbania tea-light holders

Create a mini town with your own little buildings from these Urbania tea-light holders by Danish ceramics company Kahler

Designer pop up Christmas tree for the space limited home

Totem Christmas tree (H75 x W60cm) is flat packed making it ideal to store all year and a designer treat for the festive season. From DutchbyDesign £29.95

Pretty Paper Owl Garland - Great Twitter Icon

Pretty Owl Garland by Helen Musselwhite 165mm sq and are constructed from several layers of coloured paper.

Stylish touch to any table - the Liberty Print Shop can help

Browsing the Liberty London site I came across this rather lovely coaster created with Mirabelle Liberty print, stylish touch to any table. I particularly like the prints on this website (and of course the London shop) but alas it takes some searching on the site but should you like a browse here is the Liberty Print Shop.

Ceramic buttons created from the fabulous Victoria and Albert Museum collection

Inspiring my designs this morning, I stumbled upon these V&A buttons which feature V&A designs created exclusively for the V&A. Individual button price £1.75 (unfortunately you cannot pick the exact button you would like or order 5 of the same design). Perhaps it’s more creative to use five different buttons for a cardigan or as dress fastening.

V&A Shop


 

Fred or Freya? Beautiful personalised cushions

It would be lovely if you could also order these cushions in yellow but these fun personalised cushions £12 from Incy through YourIndies.com are a great gifts for any new addition to a family or redecorated room.

A beautiful picture book 'Heart and the Bottle' by Oliver Jeffers [app]

Playing with the iPad book I had to share this treasure of The Heart and the Bottle book, which both delights and allows you to play with the app. It's great to see a book which comes alive and has been created for the new media, well worth downloading the app and sharing.

Oliver Jeffers Heart and the Bottle [YouTube clip]

The heart bottle for ipad

Morning coffee find today - Gold Garden Bird Gift Tag

Pretty, gold, useful and simple..

Gold Garden Bird Gift Tag £0.50

Available from The Estate Yard comes from country life in the Cotswolds.

Tracey Emin - What I'd Like To Be Teapot, Exclusive to Selfridges London

It's What I'd Like to be Teapot £95

Cat Bowl (I Love Him, I Love Him x)£40

Rothko Comfort Blanket with handwritten tag £150

Bright Monday morning and I find over my orange juice I am browsing the rather lovely items of Tracey Emin shop on the Selfridges London website. Lots of exclusive items such as this What I'd Like To Be teapot and Docket cat bowl a perfect gift for the ultimate cat lover.

The Tracey Emin's limited–edition Rothko comfort blanket, complete with a hand written tag also caught my eye for a limited piece of art this could be great to frame.

The Person You Love is 72.8% water - beautiful glass designed for Tate by Sara Fanelli

Sara Fanelli Drinking Glass £12.95

A huge fan of the award winning Sometimes I Think, Sometimes I Am book by Sara Fanelli this new range created in collaboration with Tate aims to enhance elements from the book while creating new and interesting gift items. If you haven't seen the book then I can't recommend it enough with the small book inside it’s a treasure trove of ideas for designers and visual enthusiasts alike.

View the book and gifts at Tate Online Shop