I didn't know I was a fan of Orla Kiely

On the Twisted Loom workbench

There's been some progress on my favourite ongoing project, although like all personal tasks, it often gets put on the backburner in favour of paid work! I'm also still struggling to identify this three piece as it has no markings, so if you have any ideas please let me know!

My second project has been designing this upholstered coffee table. I love the shape and colour and am really pleased with the rose gold and copper wax gilding. This beauty is now for sale and I'm happy to take bespoke orders.

Ever thought about the dangly bits in upholstery and furnishings?

I'm talking about passementerie; the art and craft of creating ornamental tassels, braiding, pom poms and plenty of other frou frou. This stuff is spectacularly detailed, textural and colourful and I challenge you not to like it!  Watts of Westminster is a great place to eye up this stunning interior decadence. If you fancy looking further, this centuries old craft is also popular on Pinterest and many antique sites.

Twisted Loom... always learning.

I don't mind not knowing about every designer, upholstery technique or piece of furniture ever made. So I usually end up finding about such things at my own pace, in my own time. Of course the Internet is great for this but I love seeing things in the 'flesh' at exhibitions and museums, where I can ogle them from every angle. A recent trip to Edinburgh Museum lead me to discover fabric designers Hull Traders, which I'm about 50 years behind on! I was taken by the industrial-sounding name as well as the bright colourful prints. A quick bit of research lead to a 'few' hours gawping at their star designers Shirley Craven and Althea McNish.

That's it for now.. more visual news loosely related to upholstery next time...