Merry Christmas from Beyond the Fridge

I created this year's Christmas card 'The Green Man at Christmas' (I seem to have a bit of an obsession with the green man, and his dog!) on my iPad using Adobe Ideas, my favourite drawing/painting App and the best £6.99 I've spent this year. I'm looking forward to creating new designs in 2013. In the meantime, Merry Christmas everyone xx

Green Dog finds a home at The Barge Inn, Honeystreet

The famous Barge Inn at Honeystreet, Pewsey, Wiltshire has re-opened having undergone a major make-over. The Barge Inn is nestled in a perfect setting next to the Kennet and Avon Canal with views across to the White Horse on the Marlborough Downs. And what's more, it's right in the heart of crop circle country.

The stylish revamp works really well with the original quirky features that have been retained, most importantly the incredible ceiling mural by artist Vincent Palmer described on the Barge Inn's website as "The Sistine Chapel of Wiltshire"

When you've finished soaking up the atmosphere and sunk a few pints of 'Croppie' you may spot my 'Green Dog' silk screen print (if you can still focus!) on the way out.

Turn your magnetic board into an Advent Calendar

I have always loved Advent Calendars. I would have been very disappointed with the chocolate ones you get today, an Advent Calendar without a little picture wasn't worth having. And it definitely had to have glitter on it too! When my children were small a very kind relation made a beautiful Advent Calendar with pockets. I have been known to write and illustrate a story and put an installment in each pocket. If you do this, for goodness sake do it in advance. I would wake up in a cold sweat at 2am and have to go and write the next part of the story. 

If you're the proud owner of one of our big magnetic notice boards it can really come into its own at Christmas time. Here's just a few suggestions, I would love to hear yours too so please leave a comment.

1. Use it for all your planning and keep lists and recipes.
2. Make a mood board of wrapping and decoration ideas, recipes, clippings from magazines etc.
3. Put all your Christmas cards on it (fix the magnet on the inside so that you can see the whole picture)
4. Make an Advent Calendar for the children. 

I always see Christmas as a great excuse to clear my magnetic board from all the clutter that builds up over the year. It makes you feel cleansed (but not if you just stuff it into the nearest drawer - sort it out!).

Now that you have a nice blank canvas it's time for the fun bit.

Cones - EasyPeasy just choose some Christmas wrapping paper and draw around a tea plate on the reverse of the paper. Cut out (I used pinking shears to make a zigzag top to the cone). Cut a quarter of the circle out then twist round to form a cone. Secure with a staple.
Wrap a small present in tissue paper and fix with an extra strong or neodym magnet. If the gift is very light it may hold with a normal strength magnet. Number each cone, I printed the number, cut it out with a scalpel then covered in glitter but you could easily use stickers or write the number on the cone.

Treasure Hunt - Use luggage tags to write clues on one side and number the other. I suggest that you plan this carefully and put the presents in place the night before (don't forget, you'll be in trouble!). This idea is a lot of fun and you can use ordinary strength magnets. I have stuck chocolates onto the magnets with double sided tape for an extra treat.

Envelopes - Again, very simple. Write the date on the envelope and maybe draw a picture or cut a picture from an old Christmas card. Put your gift inside and use the flap of the envelope to fix to the board with a magnet. You will have to test the magnet strength again to make sure it holds securely.

You could also use paper or cellophane bags. If you are good at sewing why not make some little drawstring bags, applique the numbers on and bring out each year. Whichever you decide to do the main thing is to have fun. I would love you to post a photo of your Advent Calendar creations on to our Facebook page.

Wrapping paper and chocolate tree decorations - Waitrose
Felted dog brooch - Sew Vintage Haberdashery, Wells, Somerset.
Magnetic Board - 'Utensils Red' Beyond the Fridge

The Green Magazine - Beyond the Fridge Feature

This month Beyond the Fridge was featured in The Green Magazine which I always enjoy reading as it's packed full of interesting local news about the Richmond and Chiswick area. It felt a bit strange when the July issue landed on my doormat with a double page spread about little old me on pages 40-41.

I was interviewed by the lovely Shannon Denny who expertly turned my ramblings into English! You can read the article here

Mid Century Modern Show

On Sunday we had a lovely day at Mid Century Modern at Dulwich College. We had been to last year's November show and decided we'd like to take part. It was a bit of an early start (I like a bit of a lazy time on Mother's Day!) but it was well worth it. It was very busy and the day just flew by, so I didn't get much time to mooch round. this was probably a good thing as I would have come home with more than I started with!

I did manage to nip round the show and spotted some gorgeous things. Here is just a few of my favourites.

 

 

Exotic Fruit - New Design

 

I've been sketching weird fruit for ages on and off. These are fruits of my imagination and don't actually exist (not to my knowledge anyway!). I've finally got around to making them into a new design called 'Exotic Fruit' which is now a magnetic notice board available in our usual two sizes (100cm x 750cm and 750cm x 550cm). I know that the final design has a distinct Mid Century flavour but I can't help that, it just happens!

We can also produce this pattern as a glass splash back. If you require any further information about this please email us here.

Here's the final repeat pattern and magnetic notice board. Available here at beyondthefridge.co.uk

 

 A fruity colour palette.

ipad Creations - Christmas Card 2011

  I created this year's Christmas Card on my ipad using Brushes App and a Griffin Stylus. I have only just acquired my ipad2 and it was love at first site! I planned the card in the usual way, which for me means much scribbling and splashing about in my sketchbook. I draw straight from my imagination, if I use reference I can't help trying to be faithful to what I see and the work becomes less spontaneous. That usually means a lot of strange drawings before I get something I feel I want to work with.

The great thing about the Brushes App is that you can play back the actions. If you would like to see the haphazard way in which I work, take a look at the video below.

This is the final card tucked into the bookcase. I can really see the iPad as becoming a very useful tool. Brushes is a great App, although I would like to have more layers to play with and a pen tool to create vector shapes within the same application. Watch this space, as I'm really looking forward to planning a print and creating some of the layers in this way.

Design Heroes - Inger Waage

I bought a lovely, quirky plate many years ago and have only just decided to find out more about it. My plate features a strange little bird (I have a 'thing' for strange birds!) which turns out to have been hand painted by the talented Inger Waage.

Inger Waage was born in Stavanger on the West coast of Norway in 1923. She was accepted at The Norwegian College of Applied Arts in Oslo (now the Oslo National Academy of the arts) in 1943, graduating in 1946. She then moved back to Stavanger to set up her own ceramics workshop.

Inger Waage became the first leader of a new established department for handicraft products at Stavangerflint AS in 1953. Her idiosyncratic style became so popular that by 1955 the company established an I.W department and employed up to ten assistant artist to cope with the workload.

What I love about her work is the free, confident brush strokes that give each piece such energy. I was lucky enough to discover my plate (see last image) at a car boot sale and paid very little for it. I will be keeping my eyes peeled in the future to find it a friend!

And here is my own little plate by Inger Waage.

Below are some links related to this post that you might find interesting.

Potshots Blog
Stavangerflint
HighstGallery
Youtube Video showing a selection of Inger Waage's work

Robins & Snowflakes - Christmas Doormats

It has finally dawned on me that Christmas is coming, so I have designed this doormat to help you give all your Christmas guests a special welcome. It's called 'Robin and Snowflakes' (unsurprisingly!) and comes in a choice of three background colours.

As with all our floor mats, they are made from high quality, low profile, non slip nitrile rubber with super absorbent tufts to trap moisture and dirt. They can be machine washed at 40 degrees, although you may have to hand wash the larger sizes. The sizes are 60cm x 40cm, 75cm x 50cm and 85cm x 60cm.

The great thing about these mats is that they are low profile so that you can roll them up and store them with the rest of you Christmas decorations. I'm hoping you'll agree that they will make lovely, original Christmas gifts for friends and family.

We also have a range of not so festive doormats available here.

Tent London

We took a pleasant stroll along the South Bank on Sunday to catch the final day of Tent London which was at the Old Truman Brewery in East London and formed part of the London Design Festival and I'm really glad we made it.

The exhibitors were many and varied, from well known and loved brands such as Ercol and the London Transport Museum to some really exciting and innovative designers. Here's a some lovely things that caught my eye in particular, If I had to name a favourite, it would have to be Melanie Porter's knitted home accessories including lamps and clocks, all beautifully handmade, each one being a 'one off' and a potential family heirloom!

1&2 Ercol Furniture
3 Michel Froment
4 Anthony Hartley - Furniture Designer and Maker
5 The Chair
6 Melanie Porter
7 Naomi Paul - Textiles
8 Curiousa & Curiousa