Too cold to go in the sea for me, but Gormley's statues are made of stronger stuff...

I was visiting a few New House customers in Merseyside yesterday, and Manhattan Blinds was my big surprise. I also found time to visit Antony Gormley's Other Place.

 

His amazing figures line the beach on plinths, and appear or disappear according to the tide :

 

A few heads were just popping up as the tide went down, but it was a chilly old day and the statues didn't appear to be wearing all that much. You'd have thought they'd be queuing-up at the local cafe for some hot soup? Yet there they were, doing their bit for British Art and braving the weather, hat's off to them.

My photos were not my best, so I've found a few better ones :

Painting by example

As a decorator I'm in the 'slow-movement' camp. I like to think about things long-and-hard before dipping brushes in the paint, but have been sitting on a left-over can of 'New House Grey' from one of our Top Drawer shows for over a year. Over Easter I finally got round to applying it to my kitchen wall.

I don't know how we arrived at this colour, but liked it as straight grey was too cold and blue too aquatic, while this clean cool blue-grey felt just right. We've been using it for years in our stationary and logos, so in 2011 we started painting our exhibition stands in it too.

After every exhibition there's a few inches left in the bottom of a can. There was still snow on the ground, no gardening to do, and I'd thought about it long enough....

The old colour was a battleship grey and looks ok in this pic, but was tired, gloomy and in need of refreshment.

The new colour :

 

I just need our handwriting expert Charlotte Farmer, to write some thought-provoking things on my wall now....

snow more....PLEASE!!!

Winter seems never-ending, and I wonder if it'll ever get warm again? Tonight this is the scene from my back door, and it's like living in Narnia :

I'm sure Spring will happen (eventually), and last week I visited the Isle of Wright and saw blue skies the moment I got on the ferry. 

My faithful car (H)AZL found a good spot to enjoy the weak sun :

My family have connections to the island as my Great-Uncle Vic used to assemble flying-boats in Cowes, and was later involved in developing the early hovercraft. He worked until retirement at the British Hovercraft Corporation, and sadly passed away a few years ago, aged 95 :  

Made in Britain

Ever since 1921 when Harold Stanier (my grandad) began our family business, just about everything New House has made has been made in Britain.

The only time we go overseas it's usually to Sweden. This is because there are few world-class specialist manufacturers of roller-blind fabric, and because we feel so comfortable with our Swedish chums at Almedahls-Kinna when we talk design. Many of our homewares come from Almedahls too.

However we'll always have as many items made in Britain as we can, and the other day I was with Jerry in Gloustershire, who hand-makes our wood child safety devices. Jerry didn't mind me taking a few pics :

 

 

 

 

Gardeners secret weapon?

Flakes of snow were coming down as I dug my beds and pushed a few hopeful seed onions and broad-beans into the cold spring soil. All of us at New House are gardeners, but this was not the best gardening weekend.

Normally, I can't dig without a pot of tea by my side, but as I was cooking Sunday lunch I had a glass of Italian Proscecco with me.

Could this be the perfect gardeners cold-weather wine? It's low alcohol (so you're unlikely to dig up your good perenials in error) and it's best kept chilled. In today's temperatures my usual pot of tea would have swiftly turned to a luke-warm brew, but the Proscetto remained fresh and sparkling :

Glass of Proscecco - the gardeners friend?

Broad bean seeds shivering and waiting to go in.

They are in the mud now, but my village chums will say I should have planted them when there's a Full Moon, a New Moon, or maybe even when the first Hedgehog of Spring does a little dance in a ra-ra skirt. Meanwhile, my seed potatoes are staring through the window, chitting, and waiting for their turn.... 

   

Telegraph Sam

While visiting the Blind & Curtain Friendly Forum event on Monday, I spotted BT's finest in training, learning how to climb telephone posts.

 

Rather them than me!

Friendly forum

Melanie & I went to the Curtain & Blind Makers Friendly Forum event near Stone, Staffs and it was a good day out.

This 'pop-up' exhibition was born out of the lively Friendly Forum Facebook page where interior designers wanted to meet up for a real chat.

 Lunch was provided and many suppliers took space. There were also tables provided labeled 'blinds', 'curtains' or whatever, so if you sat down, you had some idea what conversation you were about to get into. 

Is this is the exhibition of the future? It was a pop-up exhibition where like-minded people got together (at minimal cost) and enjoyed each others company. I think the Friendly Forum is onto something...