Aled Lewis

I think these works by British artist Aled Lewis are just wonderful.

They have a playful whimsy, that is perfectly charming.

A sense of nostalgia almost.

Vintage meets contempary.

Find the little coloured donkey and friends here.

xxx elle

Michael Chandler

All of us need a friend who can charm the birds from the trees.

 Michael is ours.

Skye can declare first claim to him of course, but he belongs to all of us now!

Here he is, doing a liitle impromptu alteration to the evenings attire.

It gives a girl a certain confidence knowing that Michael approves!

Michael's accomplishments are many, and so it is very exciting to finally see his website up and running.

We already have some of his phrenology vases, filled with all manner of foilage and paraphenalia about the house.

And now we can turn our attention to other important matters, like this beaded 'Madam' mirror which is a glorious meeting of cultures.

And Michaels 'Enlightenment' series, which features stacked books as objet or as a lamp base. Perfect for library or study, or any quiet place of contemplation.

And now, these extraordinary escutcheons, last seen at SA Fashion Week.



Go to Chandler House now, and prepare to be charmed!

xxx elle

Repair

Two friends of mine, hardly blood brothers,
have this in common: they both lost their mothers
to heaven or a better man at the tender age of four...
the same age as Beatrice when they met us.
Like all my friends thay brought her treats,
teased her sweetly or applauded her feats
so that I thought, how good - they are healed -
they are here with us grown ups on the other side.
Until I noticed how when Beatrice cried
the great racking sobs of a child who is tired,
or defeated, or strung out like straining wire,
these friends followed when I carried her to bed,
stayed for the story, the caressing of the head,
waited for the bottle, the curtains drawn across
on a room full of children and their irreparable loss.

Finuala Dowling
From I Flying

xxx elle

In a perfect world...

'You'll never find it.', I told Mr Nielson better known as Sid, somewhat wistfully.

Mr Nielson had just returned from a business trip, and was more then a  little weary after a long flight, when he discovered he had left his jacket in a trolley at the airport.

Not an expensive jacket you understand, but a favourite one. Just the perfect weight for a cool afternoon ride on Mr Nielson's Harley!

'I was thinking when I looked at the cleaner in the carpark, that she looked so forlorn I should give her a big tip, but then you called and I got distracted, and got into my car without thinking.', he told me seriously.

And before I knew it, Nr Nielson had resolved to make the fifteen minute drive back to the airport to retrieve his jacket.

Ridiculous! It's an airport for G-d's sake! It's late at night. It's Africa...

Of course, he was back less then an hour later with his favourite jacket, and some delicious treats from the Engen store!

And Priscilla the cleaning lady got the tip that was intended for her.

'That's why I left my jacket there,' Mr Nielson enlightened me, 'because Priscilla needed that money tonight'.

In a perfect world...

Cowgirl blues

Don't you love people who true to their word, just go ahead and get things done!

I met the lovely Bridget at Embroidery class. 

She sat on the sofa in Lara's study week to week producing one glorious creation after another.

I desperately coveted the bag she had just completed.

And now I can have one!

And so can you...

A few short weeks after my having met her, Bridget Henderson that marvelous girl, went off to start her own business.

And now I have serendipitously found it, and can't wait to get that bag.

And More!

Find Bridget here, and get yours too.

xxx elle

Mr Nielson rides again!

Steele and I woke up bright and early, and zoomed up the road on the scooter to the cheer on the marauding hordes!

More then 35 000 riders braving the city streets for over a hundred km's in the Cape Argus Cycle Race.

But we only had eyes for Mr Nielson better known as Sid!

Suddenly there he was, that splendid male speciman!

Careering up the street like it was a Sunday stroll.

Our hero!

Not that he didn't welcome a little help from his boy...

 Till next year then Mr Nielson!

xxx elle

India House

Skye came for a visit.

She was feeling a little tired, being one of only two doctors in a ward of sixty!

Working 36 hour shifts. Is that even legal?

So we took her away...

And could not believe our luck when we arrived at India House  in Bainskloof.

Surely the most beautiful mountain hideaway ever.

India House is built of mountain stones from the land which surrounds it.

Land that is as it meant to be, untainted and wild where nothing but the flow of the river, and the sigh of wind through wild grass can be heard.

A place full of treasures without and within.

I found these in some of the bedrooms!

 Do you remember Squint?

What delight to recognise them, sitting around like visiting eccentrics.

Of course the owners left a trail to the London shop, and who can blame them!

Even the bathrooms were a sumptious treat.

Nothing to do but sleep, eat, read and play.

And bond bond bond.......................

xxx elle

Subtraction

In his beautiful book Subtraction, Clinton Friedman  shares his passion for the beautiful botanicals that grow wild in Africa.

Inspired by the mysterious, twisted and bruised forms he found being sold as 'muti' at traditional medicine stalls in Kwazulu Natal, the photographer set out to document their evocative beauty.



Each image is a restoration.

A burst of life as art, before the healing begins...

xxx elle

Sandra's Cottage

Sandra Foster, transformed a little Victorian hunting cabin into the ultimate romantic retreat.

How inspiring to think that all this romance and whimsy, was achieved with the most humble of budgets.

The chandelier hanging over the sitting area cost a mere $15 at a local flea market, and many of Sandra's other treasures are old and abandoned cast offs, given new life with a lick of paint and a little elbow grease.

A stream runs between the cottage and the trailer-home, that Sandra and her husband Todd share on the 14 acre property, and so all the furnishings had to be light weight enough to be carried over it!

The glorious shabby-chic sleeping alcove is only accessed with a loft ladder, making it the perfect secret hideaway.

xxx elle

found at The New York Times