Connections ....

Fresh back from a 36 hr whistle stop London trip and on a high! I thought it an opportune moment to blog. The Pridden PR & Events Little Black Book is expanding and I am writing to share some of my lovely new contacts ... backed by advice from Paul Arden's book 'It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be', "GIVE AWAY EVERYTHING YOU KNOW AND MORE WILL COME BACK TO YOU".

IMAGE ABOVE: Paul Nash 1889-1946, The Shore, 1923, oil on canvas. Leeds Art Gallery/Bridgeman Images copyright Tate

Having spent a couple of hours drooling around Tate Britain (highly recommend going to see the Paul Nash exhibition - my previous blog 'Paul Nash via The Star Inn at Harome' has exhibition details), I made my way to 364 Old York Road in Wandsworth where the immaculate interior design company Salvesen Graham is based. Interior design guru's Nicole Salvesen and Mary Graham are going to hire out their showroom space (shown in the image below) to artists which is extremely exciting; a chance for artists to exhibit their work surrounded by fabulous interior inspiration, art & design go hand in hand, it makes complete sense!

Next on the agenda The Decorative Antiques & Textile Fair in Battersea Park, where I introduced myself to two lovely instagram friends; Molly Hogg Design (stand no. A3) & Su Mason (stand no. A25). Molly has a unique selection of exquisite rugs along with a few extras such as the intricate trimmings shown on the right. Su's eclectic range of linen textiles & art is an Aladin's cave of gorgeousness Limited time meant I didn't have time to see other fabulously displayed stands which winked at me as I sped past them... Next time I intend to put aside a good few hours for this fair! However, I am looking forward to seeing Su again at The Textile Society, Manchester Antique & Vintage Textile Fair at the end of April.

SHOWN ABOVE: Border length of silk embroidered stitched in China for the export market (to India). £500 on Molly Hogg Design's (stand A3).

SHOWN LEFT: English Stumpwork Embroidery Lion £250 on Su Mason's (stand A25).

Thursday morning took me to Gail's artisan bakery on Kings Road where I had a meeting with the gorgeously talented Emily Ponsanby. Emily has excitingly had two of her pieces selected for The Royal Society of British Artists Exhibition and well deserved!

There was just enough time to get to the Vanderhurd, Blithfield & Nicole Fabre Designs sale on Portobello Road. A haven of fabrics, lampshade, cushions & wallpaper- an explosion of inspiration the colours/designs/textures, I could have brought the lot! Such helpful staff and coincidently I bumped into the lovely Nicole Salvesen, as we eyed up the tapestry cushion covers, designed by Christine Van Der Hurd (now kicking myself for not buying them!).

SHOWN ABOVE: Early tapestry work by designer Christine Van Der Hurd

I covered a lot of ground in 36 hours, made some lovely new connections and my inspiration refreshed! Maybe time limitation is a good thing; there's certainly no time for dawdling or hesitation when the clock is ticking and who wants to dawdle through life anyway?!

Have a great weekend xx