Jode Pankhurst among new designs to feature at Heal's come SS 2017

Watch out for beautiful porcelain decorative works by designer Jode Pankhurst, who will be launching an exclusive collection at Heal's in their Tottenham Court Road flagship in April 2017.

Jode will be one of the new and emerging designers on Heal's Discovers programme.

An illustrator who makes bold, graphic and playful pieces of homeware and also have a collection of wearable ceramic jewellery, Jode decorates her wares free-hand, as demonstrated here at a preview of her range of lovely bottles, plant holders, holding vessels of various designs.

Jode originally homed her craft in Edinborough, and she has now moved to London to continue her craft.

All photos  © Lucia Carpio.

Presents for Self and Others, from the V&A Collection at Heal’s

While looking for 2017 calendars to gift, I'm glad to find now available at Heal's Christmas Market at their Tottenham Court Road, London flagship store is a selection of wonderful goodies - an edited pick of V&A (Victoria & Albert Museum) products on offer - including not only calendars but also notecards, note books, diaries, interesting children’s books, tote bags and an array of iconic prints.  My favourite is a William Morris colouring book.  All available until Christmas eve.

Wool lamp shades at Heal's this autumn. YARN the film to launch soon.

We usually associate wool with fashion and accessories, throws and blankets and even rugs.  But what about lamp shades.

Pendant lamp shade in dip-dyed wool made by Jane Withers for Heal's.

Just launched at UK's supremo home retailer Heal's this autumn is a new collection of woolly knitted lighting hand-made by Jane Withers.

Janie Knitted Textiles was established in 2005 by Janie Withers and her partner Michael Hanmer.

The brand ethos is centred around the use of natural fibres such as merino wool, linen and cotton sourced from UK suppliers.

Trained at Nottingham Trent University in knitwear design before working in design studios for knitted textile companies, Jane has concentrated on making and developing knitted fabrics and products since 2000.


Janie Knitted Lighting focuses on using natural British merino wool from the UK, which has been dip dyed.  Now available exclusive to Heal's are geometric lamp shades in Indigo or Cerulean Blue.

Documentary film YARN to launch soon.

While still on the subject, one should note that a new theatrical documentary film called YARN is launching across the UK in a few weeks' time, from October 7th ahead of UK Wool Week.

By Compass Films in co-production with 2M Film Studio, YARN was directed by Una Lorenzen (Iceland) and Co-Directed and Produced by Heather Millard (UK) and Thordur Jonsson (Iceland).  

The film described as a poetic documentary will be released across 40 UK cinemas from 7th October 2016 ahead of UK Wool Week.

Officially selected for SXSW and Goteborg Film Festival 2016, YARN follows four international artists who are redefining the tradition of knit and crochet, bringing yarn out of the house and into the world. Reinventing our relationship with this colourful tradition, YARN weaves together wool graffiti artists, circus performers, and structural designers into a visually-striking look at the women who are making a creative stance while building one of modern art's hottest trends.

The film introduces us to the unique stories of characters from four different countries that use yarn in very different ways. Their view of the world is reflected through their passion with yarn as they travel around the world spreading their work. The characters all have one thing in common - they all work by hand and their work is in one way or another interacting with the environment; as part of architecture, the streets, nature and people. 

The film has been met in the US and Canada with critical acclaim, with the New York Times referring to it as: “You have almost certainly never seen a better documentary on yarn than ‘YARN’… thread and string should be jealous” and The Hollywood Reporter calling it “A fanciful art doc for the craft-y among us.”

Co-Director and Producer Heather Millard said: “We began production for YARN back in 2013 and since then we’ve filmed across 11 different countries (including the UK), worked with a crew from the UK, Iceland, Canada, Poland and Sweden and are now in the midst of our US theatrical release with further releases planned for Sweden, Canada, Australia, Greenland, Slovakia, Netherlands and Greece.”

For more information on YARN, to watch a trailer and to find out where it’s showing in cinemas, click HERE.

Heal's flagship store launches Cat competition to celebrate Cecil Brewer's staircase

“In dire need of a news detox”, a phrase I learned earlier this week, explains aptly how I am feeling today, so I need a distraction from staying glued to 'breaking news' reports.  

Thus, I am pondering over a choice (if I may dream a little) between a couture gown in ivory satin with hand-embroidered blue foliage and an alluring train of frilly organza, and a hand-painted cat fugurine.  Both equally rare and worthy of my and anyone’s time and attention.

Ralph & Russo's couture gown, featured in Paris this summer,
was mentioned in a story in the 17 July edition of STYLE as pictured above.

Which one would I prefer? 

Say if I have the coffer of a billionaire and money is no object, I would not need to choose.

Though I love the gorgeous gown by Ralph & Russo, featured by the Paris couture salon earlier this month and was discussed in the 17 July edition of STYLE magazine (shown here),  I can’t think of an occasion on my social calendar that would do it justice. (Another words, I can't afford it.)

So I’m left with the other choice.  

Ceramics designer Mia Sarosi creating her entry for the Heal's Cat Competition.

The cat figurine - shown here at right - is a bespoke creation by ceramics designer Mia Sarosi, one of ten designers who are involved with a charity event organised by Heal’s, the British interiors specialist and retailer which is celebrating the 100^th anniversary of its iconic Cecil Brewer spiral staircase which takes pride of place at the back of their flagship store on Tottenham Court Road in London. 

The source of inspiration for the participating designers is the Heal's Cat figurine which occupies an auspicious place on the window behind Cecil Brewer's spiral staircase keeping close watch of the traffic going up and down.

The iconic staircase by architect Cecil Brewer
was built in 1916.

The ten  designers enlisted by Heal's are to create a series of special designs for charity. They have been challenged to decorate the feline figurehead with each taking pride of place in the window of their store before going to a live charity auction in November in aid of the GOSH KissIt Better appeal.   

Heal's Cat

Other participating designers joining Mia Sarosi include Orla Kiely, Louise Lockhart, Cressida Bell, Zoe Bradley, Ikuko Iwamto, Squint Studio, Ola Studio, Rachel Cave and Donna Wilson.

Each designer is to use the Heal’s Cat which normally sits at an auspicious place by the spiral staircase as their inspiration. Their creations based on the feline figurehead will be on display in the window of their store before going to a live charity auction in November in ad of the GOSH Kiss It Better appeal.

The finished designs will be on show during London Design Week in September this year. No doubt I’ll be paying the Tottenham Court Road store a visit again.

Photos: Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect Global.

Heal’s launch first TV ad campaign on June 9th created on a high-fashion concept

Co-inciding with their annual Summer Sale, the British home and furniture retailer Heal’s showcase their best-selling Mistral sofa in their first ever television advertising campaign on June 9th, and marking the occasion with a launch party at their Tottenham Court flagship in London.  Capturing the timeless quality of a Heal’s piece, the advert takes viewers on a journey through time ending with the strapline, ‘A Love That Lasts, A Price That Can’t’.

ABOVE Behind the scenes: Heal's Mistral Sofa 4 seater in cognac leather

The film starts with the glamorous 1930s and moving through the 1960s and 1980s before arriving in present day.   The Director, Can Egvin created the high-fashion concept and has worked with Heal’s to deliver his vision.  His previous work includes Giorgio Armani; Dolce & Gabbana and The British Fashion Council so fashion shoots are second nature to him.  His vision ends on a simple shot of the beautiful Mistral sofa, a timeless classic.  Heal’s have worked with London-based singer songwriter Joel Bailey and his beautiful song about love and time, Wet Cement, is the perfect backdrop to the film.

For details of the launch party, click here.

Heal’s launch Reprinted Vintage Posters

In 1983 when the Heal’s family (of home retailer Heal’s) sold the retail business to Terence Conran’s Storehouse Group, they gave the archive to the Victoria & Albert Museum where it’s now housed. 

Above: “Winter comforts in the home” are among the highly collectible vintage posters.

As well as furniture designs, there are innovative marketing materials – some of the first brochures mailed out to customers in the 1890s when mail order was the internet of the day.

There are also 70 beautiful posters, designed to promote new furniture ranges and exhibitions in the feted Mansard Gallery which opened in 1917.

The reproduction of Heal's vintage posters make a statement when a selection is grouped together.  Above: (Clockwise from top left) “Contemporary furniture at Heal’s”, “Furniture for the garden at Heal’s”, “Heal’s for beds”, “Heals for pottery and glass”.  Large framed print, £45, small framed print, £25.  

As Heal’s have been renovating their store over the past two years they have discovered drawers filled with previously unseen vintage posters that will be given to the archive of the V&A as they had previously done.

Some original posters are in circulation and can be found on specialist poster sale sites. The ones for the Mansard Gallery exhibitions were designed by the artists on show and are highly collectible.

To celebrate the discovery of this new cache of posters Heal’s have reprinted a small collection. The posters are printed onto hand-made paper using fine giclee ink-jet printing. Available in solid, stained black ash frames made in the UK. A selection is shown above.

Handmade gifts and vintage items for Christmas from Etsy and Heal’s

Etsy Announces First UK Pop-Up Shop in London This Christmas

Heal’s presents an exciting line up of in-store events in the run up to Christmas

Etsy.com has also identified four major
Christmas 2014 trends,
including Natural Scandi.  
Click here to read more.

This Christmas, handmade gifts and vintage items will be top of shoppers’ list when seeking that unique gift for loved ones and friends.

That is why it is welcoming news that Etsy.com, the global marketplace for handmade and vintage online marketplace founded in New York in 2005, is opening its first pop-up shopping experience in the UK.

'Etsy House' will open for three days from Friday December 5th to Sunday December 7th in Covent Garden, London selling a curated selection of the handmade and vintage gifts from over 100 independent creative businesses across the UK.

For sale at the Christmas pop-up shop will be a wide range of handmade gifts, home decorations, jewellery, stationery and accessories.  Over the weekend of Etsy House, visitors will be able to watch live crafting by Etsy artisans, take part in workshops led by Etsy designer-makers and have gifts customised by makers live in the store.

Shoppers will be able to purchase items at the pop-up shop using wireless card reader technology powered by iZettle, and point-of-sale payment provider Vend.

It is the first time Etsy House in this format will be executed outside of the US as following on the success of Etsy’s first ever pop-up shop in Soho, New York in 2013 which attracted over 20,000 visitors during the 10 days it was open.

Etsy.com is an online marketplace that allows people around the world to buy and sell unique goods directly from each other – anything from food to furniture . In 2013 alone, Etsy sellers sold nearly $1.35B worth of goods and 14 million new members joined the marketplace, making our global community 40 million strong.  The  company is today based globally, from the US to Australia, France, Germany and United Kingdom, United States and ships around the world.

Etsy House will open in London from 5th - 7th December at 5 Great Newport St, London, WC2H 7HY (nearest tube Leicester Square).

Meanwhile furniture and lifestyle retailer Heal’s has lined-up a series of in-store events in the run up to Christmas, to entertain and inspire customers during the winter season. From festive floristry to a masterclass in crayon making, these dynamic sessions will provide design inspiration to last through to the New Year.

On November 27^th, Heal’s Tottenham Court Road flagship store will be transformed into a hub of festive activity to play host to its annual Christmas Party which promises to be a fun filled evening with music, drinks, tastings and other entertainments.

Throughout November and December,  experts in floristry, craft and interiors will offer workshops and demonstrations in  Heal’s stores around London.

Among these events is a special workshop for patrons to learn to design, style and create their own wreaths for the festive period, jointly hosted with London florist Wildabout Flowers.

To get in the Christmas spirit, guests will be greeted with bubbles and nibbles, then set to work to create a masterpiece, worth up to £90, with the help of a talented florist from Wildabout Flowers.

Cost: £40

Book: www.heals.co.uk/event. Places are limited. To book, click here.

Heal’s unveils first own-brand fabric collection since 1970s, and coordinating home accessories range.

Zandra Rhodes' Top Brass 2 design features her signature pink colourway for Heal's
newly launched own-label fabric collection. 

This design above is by British designer Zandra Rhodes.  Entitled Top Brass 2, it was originally designed in 1963 for the British furniture and home furnishing store Heal's and was created while Rhodes was still studying at The Royal College of Art London.  The medal motif was inspired by a David Hockney painting and the bold colour palette is representative of the Pop Art period.  Rhodes is one of the designers whose designs are featured in Heal's newly launched own-brand fabric collection.

Cressida Bell’s decorative Trees is richly detailed and heavily influenced by the 1930s and 1940s trends.

While Heal's stocks a number of top designer brands, including the likes of Missoni, Marimekko, Osborne and Little and Ralph Lauren,  now, for the first time since the 1970s, Heal’s has launched its own fabric range, championing design talents both from the UK and the European continent.

Pia Benham, Heal’s Head of Fabric & Design comments: “As part of the relaunch of Heal’s historic fabric department, we wanted to extend our current fabric offering. We hope the new collection will help further strengthen our fabric department’s position as the destination for unique and exciting designs, a place that can inspire our customers and enable them to make their homes a beautiful place to live in. We also wanted to inject fun and excitement into our Heal’s fabric design once again, by working with established as well as emerging designers – in the same way we did in the 1950s and 1960s.”

Lady Jane by Petra Börner is designed to resemble a scattered bouquet of rough cuts from the garden. The idea was derived from horticultural images taken from vintage books. 

Tea Time design by the late Diana Bloomfield reflects the 1950s period in which it was first designed. 

Cloud by Emily Patrick, based on one of the designer’s own paintings, a sky study, features her strong brushwork creating a tranquil painted effect

In addition to fashion designer Zandra Rhodes, the line-up includes textile artist Cressida Bell, figurative painter Emily Patrick, textile expert Paul Vogel, silk weaver Ottilie Stevenson, from the archive of the late Diana Bloomfield (with the help of her daughter Julia and her graddaughter-in-law Linda), as well as French illustrator Malika Favre, Swedish textiles designer Petra Borner, and Danish designers Hvass & Hannibal.

Hvass & Hannibal’s Herbarium uses the forest as its main theme for a distinctively Scandinavian feel.

Malika Favre’s exotic Peacock Flower is a bold, geometric interpretation of a floral theme. 

While the designers ingeniously use colour and patterns to highlight their individual style, some have been inspired by Heal’s heritage for this exclusive collection, others have taken ideas from vintage sources, drawing inspiration from fabric archives, or take inspiration from decorative arts, nature and even jewellery.   Geometrics and nature are popular themes. 

To design this Zig Zag pattern, Ottilie Stevenson looked to Art Deco jewellery  in particular the shapes and lines created by the gold chain links of 1940s necklaces. 

A design from Paul Vogel’s Stripe series, inspired by Heal’s own archives but uses Spring 2014’s colour trends to give it a modern twist. 

Some of the designs are in 100% cotton hopsack, such as those by  Zandra Rhodes’ Top Brass 2, Hvass & Hannibal’s Herbarium, and Malika Favre’s Peacock flower, others are in a cotton/linen/nylon mix.

Many people probably do not know that Heal’s has been going for more than two centuries.  Presently with six stores in the chain selling a wide range of furniture, lighting, interior furnishing, homewares and garden products, Heal’s started out as a feather-dressing business.   Its flagship has been at the Tottenham Court Road location in London since the mid 1800’s , and today it also sells its products on-line.
To coincide with the launch of their own-brand fabric collection, Heal’s has introduced a coordinating home accessory line, Heal’s 1810, to complement the new offering.  Named after the year in which the company was established, Heal’s 1810 includes kitchen textiles, trays, cushions and stationery, all of which feature selected patterns from the new fabric range.
Pia Benham adds, “It’s been a wonderful journey working with all the designers on our new fabrics, and we loved their designs so much that we decided to go further with some of the patterns and apply them to home accessories. As such, we have produced a whole new collection around those patterns, and that’s exactly how Heal’s 1810 came about.
“We wanted to give our customers different options to incorporate those patterns into their design schemes, whether it be using our new fabrics for soft furnishings and light upholstery, or introducing Heal’s 1810 accessories to their homes for a simple style update.”