Clare Pirie

I love living in Bristol, especially when it means keeping company with people doing great things. Tim Gamlin of Harrop & Penny is one of them. He is passionate about providing high-quality, well-crafted and authentic items for the home…simple and stylish are the words which spring to mind when you scroll through the selection on the website. Here I’ve just selected my favourites but there are lots and lots of lovely items to explore…..

I am a huge fan of Glasgow and always feel happy and at home when I visit this city full of friendly folk and fabulous architecture. Last week I took a couple of days to fly up  meet my sister before she kicked of the season at her beautiful B&B island retreat, Strongarbh House. We stayed at the rather marvellous CitizenM which truly lives up to its claim of providing affordable luxury. The stylish surroundings, central location and extremely reasonable prices were just what we were after. Packed full of contemporary and classic designer furniture and fittings from Dutch design store Vitra….the interiors in the rooms and the communal areas created a feeling of well-designed, practical comfort. With free wi-fi, meeting rooms and the new addition of business facilities at SocietyM, this felt like a great model for the modern traveller. Big thumbs up. Among other things, we also breakfasted heartily at Martha’s and took in the sun soaked views from the top of The Lighthouse.

Good morning Glasgow! View from the enormous bed at CitizenM

Lights above the spiral stair at CitizenM

Booth at Martha’s

The simplicity of a Vegware spoon at Martha’s

Escalator and external wall at The Lighthouse

View from The Lighthouse

Pavement advert for Scottish National Ballet

My first full day in Brooklyn and I took it pretty easy…enjoying being away and slowly soaking up the offerings and atmosphere of Prospect Heights and Fort Greene with my new friend Ari. One of these delights was the beautiful space owned by Gabriela de la Vega who, as well as producing her own range of beautiful bespoke jewellery has created a small store which was just so perfectly pretty and understatedly elegant that I had to take away some pictures for inspiration….

So pleased and proud to have worked with the very talented Sarah Edwards who has hand made these glorious bags for the shop. Buttery soft tan leather with concealed magnets hide a deceptively spacious interior for all your evening essentials….

My sister’s beautiful B&B, Strongarbh House on the Isle of Mull is probably one of my favourite places on earth….the two weeks I spent there over Christmas and New Year felt like a proper escape from the world. Some pictures below which I hope capture the joy of the retreat…

It’s been a while since I posted on the blog but I’m back with a big happy new year, ready for new and exciting things in 2012. First up, one of my favourite new discoveries…

It was my sister who alerted my to the wonderful work of Simon C Page and I am now well and truly converted. I just love the colour palettes, simplicity and occasional quirkiness of his work. Am excited to get some of his International Year of Chemistry posters in frames and up on the walls of Clare Pirie HQ. I also home to be stocking his prints in the shop soon so….watch this space!

These new stationery items I have just started to stock in the shop, from Japanese company Midori, are the epitome of simple, stylish design with a touch of the old school. I think I might just let the pictures do the talking…

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Ryan Broom, an extremely talented artist and maker of the most wonderfully authentic pieces of furniture from reclaimed materials. It was so lovely to be able to see his work in the flesh and talk about the processes which go into creating each stand alone piece or commissioned project. His work is very much about the materials from which it is created combined with more painterly processes which give a depth of character and texture which enhance the authenticity and individuality of each piece. I get so excited when I meet people living and working in Bristol who are creating such wonderful things with such a defined sense of purpose.

Very exciting to have the work of Rouska Valkova and Roussina Valkova aka RouDesigns in the shop! All the way from Long Island City…I love the simplicity, elegance and contours of their work which are so tactile as well as being so beautiful. I am currently stocking the large creamers and the small creamer and sugar bowl set in the store…..

From Me To You is the photography blog of the beautiful and talented Jamie Beck. Her blog is always full of lovely photographic suprises and gorgeous images. Her style always shines through in the ecelectic subject matter and there is always a touch of class and glamour about her work. A recent favourite post featured the Brooklyn home of Alisa and Jared (and artist and jeweller, respectively) which takes me back to the time JP and I spent living in Cobble Hill. Some selected favourites for your enjoyment…..

All images via From Me To You