October 2012

Handmade cards have increased in popularity by a huge amount over recent years, and it's easy to see why. They offer the chance to give a unique, thoughtful and personal card to a friend or loved one, which is something we all like to do.   We all know the pleasure of seeing an envelope drop on the mat which doesn’t have a printed address. One which doesn’t have a plastic window with your name peeping through. An envelope which isn’t manila, hasn’t been franked and isn’t addressed “Dear Householder” either.   The joy in seeing a real letter pop through your door is...
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My pick from Pinterest this week is a gorgeous shot of a hallway and staircase. Overall the interior is pretty bare and stripped back, which just allows the beauty of the small architectural details to shine through. In no particular order, here are the details I love in this shot: * The slightly worn black painted floorboards * The shape of the windows in the open door * The sweep of the staircase * The way the spindles on the staircase are shaped at the bottom, rather than fixing to a block * The fan light window down the hallway * The curved arches in the hallway *...
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Knitted cushions are a perennial favourite in interiors magazines and in homes too. They have such a wonderful tactile, comforting quality that it's hard to deny their appeal. But, they are only the start of ways to bring the warmth and cosiness of knitting into your home... without ever even picking up a pair of needles. As knitting has become more popular we've seen that translate into homewares in more and more amazing ways. At first there were just the simple things, cushion covers, floor cushions and so on, adding in an extra layer to the textures of a decor scheme, or...
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Last week we held our first ever event, the Pretty Dandy Flea at the Congregational Church in Nottingham. There were over 20 stall holders selling everything from records to tote bags to lampshades to crockery - all interiors/gifts themed, with a mixture of vintage, art, craft and curios. It was a nervous moment for me as I opened up the church hall, let the flea traders in and began to set up the Pretty Dandy stall. After a mad hour of preparation, unwrapping, positioning, styling, tidying and plumping (of cushions) the second nervous moment arrived... opening the door to the public! Luckily...
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We've been busy-bees here at the Pretty Dandy hive, finding lots of gorgeous new products for the Autumn/Winter season. Here's a few of our new chic home accessories for your browsing pleasure: What do you think of our selections? Look out for more of the great new homewares, prints, gifts, wallpapers and more that we are adding to the shop all this week! Becky x
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Join our mailing list for updates on what we do, events, new products, special offers and more. We'd love to have you on our list, so we're running a competition between now and the end of October 2012 to sign up to the list and be in with a chance to win two pretty little wine glasses. They are made from recycled glass so as well as being charming, they are eco-friendly too. Scroll down to the very bottom of this page and underneath the "Comments" box you'll see a box which says "Join our mailing list". Just type your email in...
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Recently I was delighted to head to a heap of interiors shows as part of London Design Festival 2012. I went to a few last year and had a great time meeting people, spotting trends and generally enjoying a wealth of interiors inspiration. This year was, for me, even better. It wasn’t that the design was any more exciting, just simply that as well as seeing all the fabulous products I got to meet a lot of fabulous twitter friends in real life too! Here’s Part 1 of a quick round-up of the fun of LDF12, my picks from the...
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