Glorious blooms. Funky Flowers.

Spring flowers in All Saints Park, Eastbourne.
Photo by Lucia Carpio

This is a most beautiful time of the year when the days are longer and vibrant floral blooms bring a sense of optimism, even when the frustrated political climate threatens our sanity.  But the blooms won't last and we can capture the unique moments by photographing them for continuous admiration even after the flowers are gone.

Hydrangia Clock from the Funky Florals collection at Perkins & Morley.
Each clock is hand made and decorated in Pershore in Worcestershire, UK.

Over at Perkins & Morley, their 'Funky Florals' collection  - Made in the UK - showcase large overblown flowers against contrasting primary colour backgrounds bring the good vibes indoors.  Hydrangeas, lupins, pansies, poppies, tulips and marigolds are given a pop art makeover to produce a bold statement on cushions, mugs and clocks.

Tulip Cushion (45cm X 45cm) made in England from the Funky Florals Collection at Perkins & Morley.
Available in either faux suede or cotton linen options.

Marigold Mug from the Funky Floral mug range at Perkins & Morley.
Each ug feature different flowers shown in cropped detail.
The mugs are in fine bone china sublimation printed in West Cornwall, UK.

The funky designs were taken from lino cut artwork by Jill Perkins, who co-founded Perkins & Morley with designing partner Jan Morley.  The two have been a designing duo since 1987;  they both studied graphic design at Middlesex Polytechnic and have shared passions for art, design, travel and nature.

Hill & Ellis bike bag - from home to boardroom to bar in style.

Hill & Ellis' bike bag is the creation of founder Catherine Ellis who decided to start up a company dedicated to making bike bags that work for the cyclists' destination as well as their journey after a fruitless search for a suitable product.

Hill & Ellis was born, named after the founder's grandparents who taught her how to ride with and then without stabilisers.

All Hill & Ellis are firstly designed to be handsome but they cunningly attach to your bike so you can go by bike from home, to boardroom to bar in style, according to the founder, calling it "The perfect accessory for the discerning cyclist." Bags are manufactured in East London by a small leather bag producer where they are handmade by artisans with nearly 100 years of experience behind them.

Eco-luxury leather goods made in England from Sipahi

Eco-luxury, sustainably-sourced, handmade and heirloom.  Banu Sipahi was listing all the right descriptions for the modern discerning consumer when introducing her line of leather wares sold under the brand Sipahi, which was exhibiting at the PURE London trade fair earlier this year.

As the founder and director explained, Sipahi & Co offers leather goods using sustainably sourced leather and tanned exclusively with oak bark in the last tannery of its kind.

"All our leather is sourced from the West Country and carefully tanned in the last remaining oak bark tannery in the UK. A gentle 14-month long natural tanning process gives this leather the most luxurious look not found elsewhere," she said.

Their belts, for men and women, feature recycled brass buckles made in one of the last remaining English foundries, and most of the materials used for the buckle is recycled, individually sand cast and hand-polished.

"Our products are handmade in the UK by skilled craftsmen with traditional tools of English Master Saddlers.  Every detail from the burnished edges to the exact proportions of the belt holes and distance to each other is a well thought through process,"  she explained.

Additionally, the ancient saddle-stitch-method is a time consuming art: masterpieces to last a life-time, while the linen thread is 'Lin Cable Au Chinois' , made in France and is renowned for its resilience.   The strands are twisted twice before being immersed in beeswax and then brushed with horsehair.   Even the packaging is 100% from recycled materials and made in Britain.

Sipahi also offers free monogramming for orders through their website.  

All photos © Lucia Carpio 2017