Hip snaps from my hipstamatic...

This is officially my first blog from my iPhone. I've been getting to grips with it for the last month and we've been through a lot together. I spent the first week guilt wracked at such an extravagance. The second week was getting used to the keyboard, imagine a cow trying to type with it's udders and you'd get the picture! Week 3 I really started to comprehend how amazingly useful and indespensible my new friend was and now i'm really having fun.

I'm not going to be a phone bore but some apps are fab, others are totally pointless.
Here are 5 apps I will NEVER need:

1. Gun builder(?!)
2. Spirit level (just incase i need to know whether i'm lying down or standing up).
3. Compass (a must when orienteering my way to asda)
4. Stocks ftse index update. Those of us in the design industry aren't famed for our wealth!
5. Facebook. Call me old fashioned but I've never done social networking sites. I love REAL people in the flesh!

On a better note, I found this great hipstamatic camera app which turns your phone into a camera that takes pics that look like those from the 70's. Any old snap takes on retro value, it's fab! Here are some pics of my adorable mutt and a vid of what it can do.

'Tis the Queens Birthday today...

... so what better way to celebrate than a visual feast of all things British and the good old Union Jack.

There's a fab old club called the Carlton Club near us, it has a wonderfully dilapidated interior. It's fallen from grace but I love it's tired glamour, there's a huge faded print of the queen in a guilt frame, dusty chandeliers from the 20's, a wooden dance floor and stage and lots of mismatched chairs from various eras.

It's been adopted by local DJ's and hosts some cool underground nights, I love Home on the Range, the last friday of every month, always a sell out. Cheap beer & great tunes - lets hope the Queen is enjoying the very same thing this evening!

My hospital retreat...

Well, folks, it's been an interesting week, I wound up in hospital for a couple of days this week. I'm home now and recuperating well (well I must be nearly better if I'm blogging!).

I had to take an order from a shop within 10 mins of arriving home which was a little disorientating. That's the only downside to having your own business - it doesn't stop when you do.

On the upside, it was actually a good experience to totally stop for 2 days, lie on a bed looking out a huge wall of window ( I was in the new St Mary's hosp which is fab) without any phone, internet or outside communication. It was a bit like I can imagine a retreat would be. I just thunk thoughts and had many hours to reflect on every part of my life, work and family. My brain slowed right down to a silence and since I've felt strangely calm and together and almost zen like.

Maybe we all need to totally stop every now and then, trouble is most of us are only forced to stop when we have to through illness. I think just a walk on your own would be a good time to think, so that's what I'm going to do more often. Or maybe I just need a lie in once in a while, I'm just too enthusiastic about everything!

Lotte Reiniger

Grandma arrived yesterday with a DVD of the work of German artist and animator Lotte Reiniger. I was so inspired, it's absolutely beautiful and the animation is so elegant. She worked using paper cutouts with stop motion animation. Her prolific work spans from the 1920's to the 1970's. You can see most of her animations on you tube.

To think that every scene was cut intricately and lace like with scissors is incredible. There's been a trend for laser cut greetings cards with a folky feel such as these by Rob Ryan, who's work I've always loved. I first saw his work when it graced the cover of my favourite novel Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louise de Bernier.

These mugs from Pintuck also have a similar feel with their cut out style. I think this style of illustration has a timeless feel and certainly jumps on the folk trend. It's always a surprise when you find out that this modern trend finds it's roots nearly a century ago when this style evolved so beautifully from the dexterous hands of Lotte Reiniger.

I'm feeling creative

Maybe it's the spring sunshine (and the fact that I'm running short of time before baby arrives!) but my feverish brain has been spinning with lots of creative thoughts.

I couldn't sleep last night as my design cogs whirred and clicked with new ideas. I sold out of my birdy design some time back (sob! - my fave design) so I want to create some more designs that are blank for any occasion.

I'm going to start designing next week. God I love that bit - can't wait. I've also got to think of a way to produce new products that don't break the bank. These print runs are my biggest bank breaking expense and i always have more than i need. Hmmm a little lateral thinking is in order me thinks, time to get my biz thinking hat on as well.