Sania Pell

a countryside retreat – hawthbush farm

October 12, 2012  in inspiring places

Last weekend we escaped London along with my brother’s family and my parents, to Sussex to celebrate my father’s big birthday. There were ten of us in all and trying to find a suitable holiday house for a few nights had been hard. After several days searching we came across Hawthbush Farm and one of their converted barns – The Cowshed. It looked perfect so we booked it. It had the right number of rooms, a large living area and kitchen, decorated in a style that would appeal to the grown-ups and lots of land, farm animals and woods for the children (big and little) to explore. We picked the children up from school and headed through the Friday evening traffic to our destination. And it didn’t disappoint.

The style of the barn really appealed to me, the sludgy colours, the exposed beams, the lighting, paintings and vintage finds, all making it feel like a home from home. The large kitchen with huge old table surrounded by school chairs was perfect for long family meals and lots of chatting. The decor had wonderful touches like these doors and cupboards made from reclaimed wooden planks left in the original state, and wooden beams stripped back to reveal their history and character.

Simple utilitarian lighting feature throughout, with exposed bulbs hanging from red cord, draped and wrapped around the barn’s old beams. The owners, Toby and Lisa, have renovated and decorated in an eco-friendly way with organic linens too, fitting in with the working organic farm that they are sited in.

Mr P, the very friendly and rather enormous and fluffy farm cat, was a welcome addition and the children just adored him.

The views through all the windows were picture perfect and it was a pleasure watching the sheep grazing in the field behind us. It was a little grey and drizzly when we arrived but the weather turned the next morning and was glorious for an early October break. Perfect for exploring the woods and disovering all kinds of mushrooms, toadstools and other types of fungus and berries. Wild plants and flowers silhouetted against the evening sky and a rich warm glow from low autumn sun.

Apart from the other converted barns and the owners’ amazing farmhouse you couldn’t see any next door neighbours (apart from the sheep, cows and chickens) in any direction, just fields and woods. It was such a change from our usual urban weekend in the city.  There was even an outdoor wooden hot tub, steaming away overlooking a field of sheep which was a lovely touch. If glamping is your thing there are also old shepherd huts and a 1950s caravan in fields nearby, with interiors decorated in a similar style. You can also camp, have an event or wedding here and there is studio space that can be rented for day courses and retreats.  Something for everyone.

We really did have a lovely weekend here, with a couple of trips to the seaside at Hastings and Rye too which are both close by. We all enjoyed the peace and complete change of scenery and the children were happy splashing in muddy puddles and exploring the countryside. Real family fun.

There are lots of photos on the Hawthbush Farm website and you can see photos of the amazing renovation of the dilapidated farm on their Facebook page.

Comments: 6 Leave a comment

art school drop in

October 2, 2012  in inspiring places

At the end of the summer holidays I spent a joyful two weeks back at art school, listening to lectures and painting with a friend. It was a wonderful experience to have the freedom and time to paint. I usually fulfil my creativity at home by making, stitching, photographing and painting furniture, or for work it may be painting onto canvas as props for shoots but it’s not usually just painting art. I do get strong urges to paint, but it’s only on rare occasions (like here and here) that I have been able to make a few hours at a time to do it – so to have two weeks dedicated to this was bliss. I also wanted to discover my painting voice. Having worked as a textile designer producing over 500 hand painted designs a year, I could work in many different styles to suit different markets and trends but now I wanted to find a particular direction to paint in.

We learnt so much, like how to mix pigments and make our own paints and were pushed to experiment and try new ideas and step out of our comfort zones. I have always worked in acrylic, a medium I am comfortable working with, so I have also now bought some artist oil paints and am trying these too.

The building itself was beautiful and working in such an environment could only be inspirational. Corridors with high ceilings and huge windows letting in light onto the simple white and grey interior. I loved the paint splattered chairs and furniture that were everywhere, proof of the creativity of the hundreds of students that had worked in these spaces over the years.

I stepped away from my usual colour palette and started with some brightly coloured abstract paintings that were quite expressionistic, inspired by the colours of the Adriatic I had seen on holiday. I gravitated back to the more subdued palette of my current favourite greys and indigos with the occasional pop of mustard yellow or dusky pink. Some of my “work in progress” is below.

The joys of college life included mixing paint colours, canteen lunches, wearing old painterly clothes (or one of my husband’s old shirts!), standing up in front of the class and being critiqued, the camaraderie of fellow class members, having a break outside with a cup of tea on the steps, reminiscing about being an art degree student, listening to fellow students’ ideas and passions and the joy that comes when you paint a canvas that you are really pleased with. It was lovely to share it all with a good friend too. (Thank you H for taking the pic of me below!)

It’s almost twenty years since I left art college and it was great to be back. I don’t believe it’s ever too late to learn, there is always something new. I really enjoyed this time and now have lots of paintings stacked around the house. I can highly recommend going back to school and studying again and I think I am hooked. Taking a new course may well become an annual summer event.

I will definitely be continuing my painting and my dream would be to have an exhibition in the future, but who knows.  It’s good to have dreams and goals.

Comments: 12 Leave a comment

a look behind the camera

September 30, 2012  in interior styling

A few people have asked me what it is like behind the scenes on a  shoot, so I thought I would share a glimpse behind the camera on the Cox & Cox project I worked on. I remembered I had taken a few quick snaps while we were photographing the wrap and stamp section at my house, which was used as a location for one of the shoot days.

I always start by working out and drawing individual shot ideas in advance, so that I can make and source all the props needed for the different shots and to save time on the day of the shoot. Then whilst shooting, it becomes a collaboration between photographer, stylist and art director with help from the assistants, especially when there are a lot of products and shots to be completed. In front of the camera everything is set out for the shot with alternative options nearby for flexibility and to ensure the final shot works. On the periphery, out of shot it can look like a muddle with camera equipment, computer screen, laptops, props, reflectors, backgrounds, shot lists and sketches – plus all of the products! It can look a little chaotic but is all rather organised. You can see how the website version of the shot above turned out here.

Comments: 5 Leave a comment

my styling for cox & cox: part 2

September 19, 2012  in interior styling

Here are some more of my favourite images of my styling work for Cox & Cox, taken from a cross section of categories, including Decorative Home, Wrap & Stamp and Bed & Bath. There are so many more images to see, so if you like these do have a look at their website.

Cox & Cox was founded in 1999 and aimed to be different to the normal mail order companies by personally choosing interesting products for individually-minded customers who didn’t want the same old high street items. As an interior stylist and author of craft books, I have bought many of their products over the years, especially the craft items. As they say on their website, they embrace the heartfelt philosophy that it’s possible to create a home that is both beautiful and practical and I have to agree!

I am always using their rubber stamps, such as the vintage-style numbers set (£22.50) and alphabet (£18.50) and have featured them on my blog before. My husband has bought a box of gorgeous ribbons for me in the past too, so It was a joy to create shots using them all. My aim was to give customers ideas on how the products could be used, as well as showing the actual product itself, providing inspiration to get creative and try them for themselves. For instance the blank cards and envelopes (£12.50 for 50) I felt needed to be decorated and I tried to show how this could be done with their washi tapes, stamps and labels. It is the same idea with using their tapes and tags in the images with the wrapping and tissue papers, combining their products to greater effect.

Whilst I was making the props at home, my daughter was inspired by all the materials surrounding me and wanted to help me and make her own versions. We used some of her and her brother’s little creative additions in some of the images!

A good stock of blank cards, papers, tags and tapes, means you are never caught out when you remember a birthday, a celebration or just need to say thank you.

If you love to make, have a look at the Cox & Cox Wrap & Stamp section and hopefully the images will inspire your creativity.

Photographs by Emma Lee, courtesy of Cox & Cox.

Comments: 11 Leave a comment

my styling for cox & cox : part 1

September 19, 2012  in interior styling

One of the jobs I worked on in the run up to summer was styling for the new catalogue and re-designed website for Cox & Cox, the home interiors mail order company. Some of you may have seen their stylish new catalogue which dropped through letterboxes recently (if not you can request a catalogue here). I styled for three of the four weeks’ intensive shoot with a lot of prep work done in advance. Each shot was planned before hand, making sure that each item was given a little story or twist to help to make it different. I introduced creative aspects like chalk drawings, painted leaves and props, stitched cards and hand-stamped tags to give each shot its own personality. Part of the brief was to bring a new look to the collection, which includes new products for autumn and winter, and working with Cox & Cox and photographer Emma Lee I hope we have.

I thought I would share some of my favourite images and products that I styled and to begin here are some of my personal favourites from the Domestic Diva section.

My foodie assistant Chrissie baked biscuits with the C&C Cookie Cutters (from £4.50) while I made chocolates in these fab Leaf Chocolate Moulds (£10.50).

Fun Cutlery Wall Art (£50.00) for your kitchen (also useful if a giant pops round for tea).

There are lots of great products for kids too.

I will post some more of my favourite images later today, and some of the Christmas images in a couple of months’ time as it’s far too early for the C word!

If you don’t already have one then you can order a catalogue here and there are dozens more images on the new-look Cox & Cox website. They are also running a competition for a chance to win £500 to spend on their products!

Did you receive a copy of the catalogue already? I would love to hear what you thought.

Comments: 15 Leave a comment

an elle decoration story

September 13, 2012  in interior styling

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of working on this six page story for Elle Decoration Magazine which you can see it in this month’s bumper October issue, a wonderfully heavy issue as a lead up to the London Design Festival and the Elle Deco British Design Awards. It started after I submitted some ideas to the editorial team and this Japan-inspired story – with my working title of origami – was given the go ahead. One of the pleasures of working on a feature like this is you are free to be inventive. Another is working in partnership with a creative photographer, in this case talented Uli Schade who I have worked with on many previous Elle Deco shoots.

This type of photo shoot is created from scratch with a location or studio researched and all furniture, products and materials sourced and created to fit with the concept. Each shot is throughly considered in advance, though there is always improvisation and flexibility on the shoot as each shot is created.

I especially love the day bed by Another Country and the pleated paper sculpture by artist Richard Sweeney in the image above left. The concrete wall is in fact wallpaper by Tom Haga which can be produced to fit your wall size exactly.

There is a conscious mix of items in this story to appeal to all budgets, some are of a higher price, some high street and others can be made or customised at home. The desk legs in the shot above for example are simple £5 Ikea trestle legs but repeated at varying angles to create a geometric pattern under the untreated pine £35 Ikea table top painted with Fired Earth paint. I always like to make some unique objects too, to give the story its own personality and to encourage readers to do the same. Items that can be made or painted at home that cost little but create individuality. The photos below I took at home and show some of these items.

Some of the simple, untreated wooden blocks were placed in water first and then into indigo ink to create a two tone ombré look. Others were painted with acrylic paint in different flat colours on their sides as a contrast and to complement the overall colour palette.

The canvas above was painted spontaneously and freely with indigo ink and a Chinese brush that I bought in Hong Kong many years ago. The large canvas below from London Graphics was painted with Fired Earth emulsion and then I stitched an origami folding diagram through it with embroidery thread, an easy way to create art at home.

This rug took a few hours to make with the help of my assistant Polly Ord, and transformed a simple £20 Ikea rug into something unique that fitted with the story. It creates a graphic but fun optical illusion on the floor.

To read the full story, see Uli’s images at their best and find details of all of the products, you can buy the October issue of Elle Decoration in newsagents now. You can get the lovely subscriber-only covers like the one above if you subscribe. Elle Deco also has a Facebook page and you can follow editor Michelle Ogundehin and the team on Twitter too.

And as we roll into the fabulous London Design Festival I’m looking forward to hitting the shows. I hope to see some of you there!

Comments: 7 Leave a comment