i followed the white rabbit

my alice in wonderland fantasies have been realised. how cute are these toadstool chairs, made in cape town and are clearly not just appealing for children! they are very well priced. contact me on beatnikbazaar@gmail.com if you smaak these cute toadstools!

new designs

red and blue multibuck cushions

beatnik bazaar will soon be selling some new designs by skinny laminx,which include bokkie prints and leedle tiny birds on branches, printed on tea towels and cushions. the blue and red multibuck cushion design is now available so if you were one of my eager customers waiting for the cushions, now is your time to come through :)

stanford

i'm in stanford this weekend, writing for sa-venues and even though i am very hungover, after partying with my mother and her friends in her private bar, with the all too easy to access vodca, i have managed to snap some cool atmospheric pics. i spent the morning having coffee and brunch in my mother's al fresco cafe, 'klein rivier cafe' where i chatted with no less than two other journalists who were there too, getting the scoop on this beautiful cafe.

please have a look at my stanford collage on flickr here.

frames

there are lots of new frames in at beatnik bazaar, all made locally and out of the oregan pine floors and skirting boards of buildings which are being ripped down. now how's that for recycling!

birds boutique cafe

after many searches, i finally located the bird cafe in bree street and snapped some covert images of the unique european inspired setting. what a breath of fresh air. the daily menu is hand written on large pieces of newsprint and the individual menu's are typed, old school style. items on the menu are clean and inventive, with fresh ingredients taking the stage as the main attraction in every offering. birds also stocks a few choice pieces of whimsical ceramics such as swan light bulb covers and red bird tea cups.

mid century armchairs

for those mid century nuts, i thought i'd better tell you that i've just bought two armchairs exactly like the one pictured here. i will be restoring them and recovering the cushions, most probably in some gorgeous chartreuse fabric and have them in the shop. if anyone wants to book them, just let me know!

so on friday afternoon, i skidded by facebook to find a reminder that lark was playing at assembly for the last gig on their 'brave tour' and that was supposed to be attending. after a mad scramble to find a babysitter, show her around the house, blow dry my hair and drive to town, 45 minutes away, i still made it to the assembly in the front of the queue, meeting up with friends who are also fans, although not quite like me! i perched myself upon the top of the back rest and let lark expand my mind until the witching hour and beyond. i picked up their dvd on the way out and for R160 i was so stoked to find that it included a cd aswell, with tracks performed and released for the first time since their last album, that i blasted my passenger and i all the way back to simonstown! you might be able to get your mittens on the painfully beautiful dvd at electrotrash.co.za here. get it, please, just get it x ~ed

robin sprong

capetonian robin sprong has become well known in the design community for his ridiculously beautiful wallpaper, which are typically photographed landscape scenes, turned wall art. have a squizz at the inspiring collection on his website here.

bangs are the new botox

i've loved a good fringe for years now and am desperately trying to grow my hair into this feminine yet rockin style. according to trend reports, the blunt cut bang is THE hair trend for 2009.

vinyl decals

at last, a dream come true ~ a vinyl interior sticker supplier in cape town!!! i hope to be stocking their beautiful decals shortly....drool!

property magazine

property magazine are kindly featuring me in their june issue and i am so excited about being featured in this beautiful mag that is free to the best residential areas in cape town! what exposure! this month they are featuring skermunkil jewellery in their "green" section, because skermunkil craft some of their jewellery from old spoons, cutlery and crockery. property mag found skermunkil by googling them and finding that i'd mentioned them several times on my blog, so beatnik bazaar is going to be mentioned with their article too ~ double excitement!!!

check out their amazing website here.

irish stew

my herb gardens

the making of

the main feature

my son has been ill the whole week with chest problems so i thought it was about time to whip up an irish stew, as our family believes that stew and a hot bath cure all illness. its actually true! my father and grandparents came from ireland when my dad was a youngster and my gran passed on the irish stew to him. my dad happens to be one of the best cooks i've ever known, and i think he would be quite proud of this post, if he wasn't a technotard and could use a computer! the ultimate comfort food, irish stew is like chicken soup, or otherwise known as jewish penicillin, and using fresh herbs from my garden i've created this dish with love, irish charm and a bit of magic.

ingredients

irish butter
lamb knuckles
onion
fresh rosemary
young carrots
canned tomatoes
chick peas
butternut
fresh cherry tomatoes
small onions

garlic
ginger
black pepper
chilli
salt
herbamare
fresh beef stock

you get your ginger, garlic, chilli and onions cooking in the butter over a nice low heat in a pressure cooker and then add the lamb knuckles. braise the lamb and then add your stock and a good lot of hot water, salt, fresh rosemary, pepper, and herbamare. add your canned tomatos now along with the slower cooking veg like the butternut and carrots and gradually add the rest of the ingredients. put on the pressure cooker lid and wait for the gloriousness to enfold you! add some red wine to the stew if you don't have kids and serve with creamy mashed potato and a sprig of fresh rosemary to garnish!

beautiful style

a cushion and cups from beatnik bazaar were used in this april's food & home magazine and the page looks gorgeous.

new at beatnik bazaar

these are some of the gorgeous metal creations that will be available at beatnik bazaar in a few days!

tea is the new coffee

bailey doesn't bark on etsy.com

“Now you understand the Oriental passion for tea," said Japhy. "Remember that book I told you about the first sip is joy, the second is gladness, the third is serenity, the fourth is madness, the fifth is ecstasy.” - Jack Kerouac - 'Dharma Bums'

tea strainer from www.aesopstea.com

sugar bowl and milk jug in one from www.livingfab.nl

wooden cake stand from www.merchant4.com

milk carton milk jug at www.utilitydesign.co.uk

bailey doesn't bark

circa ceramics on etsy

now i don't pretend to be a trend forecaster but i do just have a feeling for trend influences sometimes and i definitely think that tea is the new coffee! if designers have anything to do with it at all, the handmade revival sweeping the world is going to influence the ritual of serving and drinking tea. coupled with the health benefits as opposed to coffee, all the exciting paraphenalia surrounding a mid afternoon tea should become as common place as it was before the 1950's. here are some of my favourite tea time finds...

giveaway

enter the first beatnik bazaar giveaway and stand a chance to win 2 designer decals of your choice! the decals are of proteas and are available in black, white, red and olive and can be applied to virtually any surface. they can add that element of creativity to your decor theme, by sticking them on your walls, furniture, mirrors, anywhere!

all you have to do is leave your name, email address and telephone number here, by clicking on the comments button below, and we will get back to you on the 15th of March if you have won!

saturday bubbly

join us at beatnik bazaar tomorrow for some saturday bubbly!

eggcited

beautiful egg inspired designs adorn the front page of the world renowned proudly handmade website, www.etsy.com today, so i thought i'd spread the fertile scene and show you some of my hot favourite egg inspired designs.

egg, by our very own capetonian ceramic artist, nichola harris

duck egg eep tea towel, by our brilliant local designer, heather moore

the egg chair

linda bloomfield

vintage funnies

1950's funnies :)