Roger Oates Floors + Fabrics open day

It's no secret, but I've been a fan of Roger Oates and Faye's beautiful floor coverings for years. Indeed my Herefordshire cottage's wooden floors & stairs are covered by their rugs and runners.

Today and tomorrow (5 & 6th June) Roger Oates Floors + Fabrics have an Open Day, that is a behind the scenes view of what they do in their lovely Eastnor HQ near Ledbury, and it's really worth a visit :

I enjoyed watching their highly skilled staff hand working on their carpets :

The deisgn I most loved was this, and could easily see this rug sitting in my front room :

The Roger Oates design studio is a lovely place to be, and I very much apprecirated being surrounded by all their great colours :

It's that rug again - the one with the subtle herringbone pattern that I know would just look great in my front room once I do the redecorations.....

It

Roger, and one of his clever designers on a sample loom :

Roger & Faye's new luggage range is so lovely it's the best I've seen in years!

If you are in the Ledbury/Malvern area, a visit to Roger Oates is worthwhile!

First photo shoot

Melanie, Charlotte, Laura and our long-time wonderful photographer Phil James of Shadowplay, took the first images for New House's forthcoming roller blind collection last week.

Here are a few behind-the-scenes shots of them getting down to work :

 

This was a two day shoot, and took place in Laura's lovely Mum's house in the pretty town of Wivenhoe. We were so lucky to have such a wonderful location - thank you Laura's Mum!!! 

 

Phil looking every inch the professional photographer that he is :

Melanie preparing for the next shot :

Well done everyone as we now have some fantastic shots in the can!

New House's latest roller blind collection is due in July.

The girls are busy at New House

New House have many projects going on this year, and by far the largest is our new roller and accessory collection that's due mid 2015.

Making a new collection is a labour of love for New House’s team of experienced designers, who began work on it last summer. The girls, Melanie (print), Laura (weave & colour) and Charlotte (illustration) are preparing a fresh and exciting new look for New House. 

‘We want to create something radically new this time round’ says Melanie Darwin, NHT’s head of design, ‘but with many long-established weaves and prints that customers always expect, it's not always easy. Marrying change to continuity and familiarity is often one of our biggest challenge, but fortunately Nick always believes the NHT brand is at its best when encapsulating what’s new.’

The girls have been working with a specialist Japanese weaver to produce a very beautiful soft fabric with the feel of a gorgeous fashion fabric, but still works great as a roller fabric (and will be FR too). Nautical is a big trend theme, so NHT is making a roller version of Charlotte’s highly successful ‘seaside fun’ design. This is already available in mugs, trays and coasters from many stores and NHT’s own site.

Expect wider, more usable fabrics in the new roller collection, some lovely delicate prints, and extended plain ranges too. 

All available soon!

Our new favourite exhibition

Today we were at the Cheltenham Racecourse for the CABMFF April Interiors show. 

We'd never exhibited here before but when Cheryl contacted us last Friday saying a table was free, the NHT girls were instantly up-for-it and we're SO happy we did.

New House does a lot of shows, including the London ones, but the Curtain and Blind Makers Friendly Forum puts on something very different, relaxed, truely friendly and it's a real pleasure to be part of it. So much so - we wonder why we haven't done so before???

CABMFF is a Facebook group of good and clever interior designers who share their experiences and successes. The show was so lively, fun and vibrant that the only pics I took were of building our stand. After that I was too busy talking to the lovely vistors....

Setting up :

 On Special offer - mini tiebacks at £2.50 each  :

What a show. Can I suggest that everyone interested in interior design should join CABMFF ?

BBSA meeting at the National Motorcycle Museum

New House has been an active member of the BBSA (British Blind & Shutter Association) for years, and  a few days ago attended a meeting at the National Motorcycle Museum, near the NEC.

Topics covered included training and blind cord child safety. New standards came in last year, and New House's Halo cord trap is still one of the most elegant and strongest cord-tidy on the planet :

As the meeting was held at the National Motorcycle Museum, I couldn't wait to see some of the bikes. Fortunately David Jeffery of Tropical Blinds (a good customer of New House) enjoys racing motorbikes on track days, so it was great to go round the museum with him.

One of the earliest Norton's

What an amazing old motorcycle horn! :

Was this how motor bikes used to brake? I think the pads on my Claude Buttler peddlebike might be more effective than these old pads? ;

I loved the Vicker's Machine Gun on this war-time Norton, and it made us say all sorts of Jeremy Clarkson-style rubbish about middle-lane motorway hoggers that'd better beware if such a thing was fitted to our BMW's. (Just joking, as I'm sure everyone cruising in the middle lane might overtake someone eventually) :

   

I liked the colour of this bike :

This looked like some sort of Batmobike :

One of the engineering problems with motorbikes is how to disperse the engine heat without frying the rider? I'm not sure this all-copper bike has the answers, but it did look beautiful :

Other visitors to the National Motorcycle Museum that day who we followed round included Guy Martin, who I think knows a thing-or-two about bikes.

An ode to the biscuits on a New House tray

This week, we have a fine poem by special-guest blogger Charlotte Collins of Ask Her Friends.

It’s truly a very British habit

That when a biscuit is offered, you just have to grab it.

There’s simply no better partner in crime

For that pot of brew we crave come teatime.

McVities, Cadbury, Mars or Fox’s,

We just can’t resist those biscuit filled boxes.

New House Textiles has released a new design

That features the bikkies we find most divine,

And cos my biscuit experience is second to none

(sugary snacking’s my version of fun)

I’ve analysed the best of the NHT bunch -

hey, we all need something to read during lunch.

The Party Ring’s one that should really arouse ya

Due to the way it evokes such nostalgia.

The preferred snack at little kids’ parties,

An hors d’oeuvre, if you will, before goody bag Smarties,

Forgoing the ball pond and castle that bounces

To claim your share before another kid pounces.

The Jam ‘n Cream – what a whiley minx,

Brazenly making sure everyone thinks

That its jammy filled centre extends throughout

But then eating commences and you start to doubt

This impression, and somehow you’re always surprised

To find that in fact the jam’s more localised.

There’s another biscuit that’s equally fake,

But this time in reverse – it’s the trusty Tea Cake.

At first you peel back its tin foil shell

And the chocolate’s revealed, and you think all is well

But your life then improves immeasurably

When that marshmallow layer is quickly set free.

Then the one we all hold in the highest esteem,

king of all biscuits, HRH Custard Cream.

Just something about that vanilla flavour

Makes them the treat we all love to savour,

And in reward for all of that taste bud pleasure

We’ve crowned these babies our national treasure.

Now I’d better get on with the work I’ve been saving

And try to shake off my intense biscuit craving,

But if you would like to purchase something

Designed with a Tea Cake or a Party Ring,

Don’t delay it until the day ends,

Just head over now to AskHerFriends!

January cuts

It's January and cuts are happening all over at New House.

'Our 20% off EVERYTHING sale' is still on until close of play next Sunday 18th. This even includes  clearance items, which have a further 20% knocked off their already well-disconted prices.

 

Meanwhile, other cuts are being made elsewhere....

The new gardener at How Caple Court, Charlie is busy cutting and trimming the multitude of wisteria, figs, Virginia creeper, passion fruit and ivy that's been clambering up our walls for years..

Everything at the front looks super-tidy. I'd say like new, but as the building is 300 yrs old it's probably never going to look like that again.

At the back it's a different story, with the ivy now covering the statue of our saint.

Next week Charlie will have uncovered him and in thanks, we will give her a matching set of our gardening seed packet tea towels. Designed by Charlotte Farmer, they come with either jolly old-fashioned flower seed packets, or vegetable seed packets. Charlie surely deserves them!