Lucy Patterson HANDS-ON » Colour palettes

Collection: cloisonné and satsuma

Lucy Patterson — Thu, 10 May 2012 01:01:05 +0000

I don’t have things because they’re ‘collectable’ or valuable, only because I love them. Maybe they don’t even have much use except to delight me. Such is the case with this tiny little satsuma bowl that I picked up for a dollar or two in a flea market somewhere. It’s only big enough to hold this cape gooseberry seedcase, but I find it so beautiful.

I bought these satsuma ginger jars in a junk shop in East London near where I used to live. I don’t know how the owners made any money. They were so attached to most of their stock that they couldn’t bear to let you buy it! I suspect I only managed to get these jars because I happened to go in on a day when someone else was minding the store for them. It seems they thought their job was actually to sell things…

The first piece of cloisonne I ever owned was this napkin ring. I’ve had it since I was very small. I’ve no idea where it came from and I’m not sure if I ever really used it, but I’ve always treasured it.

I bought the green bangle in Hong Kong in the ‘Jade Market’. The blue one is a flea market find. The beads and butterfly pendant are left over from various creative projects.

Another flea market find. I think it cost $2. So much detail and beauty in a dish that’s simply for holding your pins as you sew. I especially love the combination of that yellow against the turquoise.

One of a pair of vintage Japanese clip-on earrings. I imagine they’re from the sixties, but I’m not actually sure. Again it’s that yellow…

My most recent cloisonne purchase was this incense burner. I saw it in an antique shop just after New Year when we were driving up north to our friends’ wedding. It’s an old piece and has been battered around a bit. I felt the price they were asking for it was too high, so I left it.

While we were away at the wedding though I kept thinking about it and so, on our way back down to Auckland, we stopped in and I negotiated a price that both the shopkeeper and I could feel happy with. I always say, if you’re going to regret not buying it, then get it.

If you enjoyed this post, you might like some of my other collections.

Colour palette: the women of Chefchaouen

Lucy Patterson — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:03:43 +0000

Here are some more photos from my visit to the northern Moroccan ‘blue town’ of Chefchaouen. The local Rifian women wore stripy cloth wraps in a beautiful colour palette: cherry red, mint, cream, salmon, sea green with burnt orange…all set against the chalky blue backdrop of the medina itself.

Click here and here to see my series of photos of the blue doors in the old town of Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen blue doors PART TWO

Lucy Patterson — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 01:39:01 +0000

Part Two in my series of blue doors from the Moroccan town of Chefchaouen (here’s Part One). This post’s all about the little close-up details: handles, locks, carvings, rivets, textures…and all those different shades of blue. You can see more of my Moroccan photos here and my other blog posts about my trips to Morocco here.

Chefchaouen blue doors PART ONE

Lucy Patterson — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 03:37:41 +0000

When I was last in Morocco we visited the ‘blue town’ of Chefchaouen (pronounced shef-shao-wen) in the mountainous northern Rif region. The whole of the old town is painted in shades of blue. I got obsessed with photographing doors and doorways! Each one seemed to have some unique, exquisite detail or colour, shape, material, carving, tiles, handle or lock. I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking…

You can see more of my Morocco photos here.

2010: My year in blogging

Lucy Patterson — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 04:05:32 +0000

I started this blog back in April. Over the past months there have been many times when I haven’t managed to blog as often as I wanted (or, let’s face it, at all!), but looking back over all the posts I’ve done since I started, I have to say there are many things that I’m really proud of. So I thought I’d put together three little photo albums of “post thumbnails” for you to look at (with numbered clickable links below). Enjoy! And here’s to an even better year of blogging!

1. Matryoshka Kimono Dolls, 2. Colour palette: Green, 3. Tamarillo chutney, 4. Cutest of cute hats!, 5. West Coast adventure, 6. Hands-on dog food!, 7. Pirates treasure bag PART TWO, 8. Autumn, 9. My new crafting space, 10. Friendly cat toys, 11. Birthday pancakes, 12. Magical toadstools, 13. Bush bath bliss, 14. Coral, shell and bone, 15. Autumn Blues, 16. Big skies, 17. Garden meditation, 18. The joy of wood, 19. Gratitude, 20. Birthday bunny

1. My shop is now open!, 2. Cosy Friday evening, 3. Kimono paper tape PREVIEW!, 4. Happy weekend papercut, 5. Colour palette: Red, 6. Tin can lanterns, 7. Shop update: Tom Cats, 8. Spring love: magnolia blossoms, 9. Poultry PS, 10. …and the winner is…, 11. Display jars for treasures, 12. Pin board inspiration, 13. Monday’s inspiration: Honour, 14. Happy Equinox!, 15. Fresh start and a GIVEAWAY!, 16. Paper Fan Inspiration Cards, 17. Morocco on my mind, 18. Midwinter mandarin lanterns, 19. Rainbow eggs and a basket of flowers, 20. Vintage kimono palette

1. London by night, 2. Travelling feet, 3. Poultry Show, 4. Kimono paper tape PREVIEW!, 5. New things, 6. A new season…, 7. Hand carved stamps: lanterns and blossoms, 8. Monday’s Inspiration: Creativity, 9. Rob Ryan’s shop on Columbia Road, 10. Happy Christmas!, 11. Happy New Year!, 12. Plant skeletons, 13. Header artwork, 14. Paper Fan Inspiration Cards, 15. Earth Hour 2010, 16. Contact me, 17. Monday’s inspiration: Communication, 18. Pirate’s treasure bag, 19. More gratitude, 20. Olive Harvesting

Poultry Show

Lucy Patterson — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 11:47:52 +0000

A few weeks ago we went to a local poultry show. Most of the chooks we keep ourselves are rare breeds (also known as heritage breeds), and each have their own particular traits that they’ve been bred for. The show was an absolute fest of different breeds, all in gorgeous, glossy condition.

I’m afraid I went a little overboard with the photos! So many beautiful birds and amazing colours and lighting – the bright red of combs and wattles against the muted greys and greens of the shed… And feathers! Iridescent black, burnished copper, silver and gold….

Mostly the birds seemed remarkably calm about being temporarily caged for the show. This one looked like it had had enough of being stared at though!

And this prize winning bantam looks so small and alone!

Some of the birds were like fashion models. This little Silkie looks like she’s wearing a Russian fur hat and pearl earrings!

And how elegant is this one with its windswept fur stole!

Some weren’t quite so stylish though…

We have Araucanas ourselves (they’re the ones who lay the blue and green eggs), but ours don’t look nearly as silly as this one!

How beautiful is this guy though? He’s a Silver Spangled Hamburg. I love the black dots at the ends of his feathers.

I was mostly interested in the chickens but there were some beautiful ducks, doves and pigeons too. I love this duck’s little tufty hat and the ripple feathers on its sides. Not to mention the stunning colour of its beak.

Check out the chest on this guy! All he needs is a top hat and walking stick to complete the look!

And finally, how beautiful is this dove’s tail? Particularly with the light catching it like that.

This post is dedicated to Christine Chitnis who led the fight (and won!) to make backyard chicken keeping legal in Providence, Rhode Island. Well done, Christine! (And good luck with the upcoming birth of your first child!)

Morocco on my mind

Lucy Patterson — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 09:38:21 +0000

I’m going to the UK next month for a few weeks. It will be the first time I’ve been back since I left three years ago (I lived in London for seven years), and I’m really excited about catching up with family and friends, and revisiting old haunts… AND I’m planning a little side trip to Morocco with my dear friend Amy. Oh it gives me tingles just thinking about it!

My half-sister and I went to the ancient Moroccan city of Fez a few years ago and had the most amazing time together. It was such a special trip. These are some photos from our time there.

So much inspiration everywhere. Lovely, lovely people, spectacular architecture… The tiles! Such beautiful colours and designs. Donkeys and mules wearing little rubber shoes to stop them from slipping on the steep cobbled streets… The heavenly hammam (public bath house), the food… and the shopping. Oh boy. Carpets and pottery, lanterns and brass tray tables, leather slippers and bags and pouffes…..

I’ve got Morocco well and truly on my mind at the moment. Sighhh!

Rainbow eggs and a basket of flowers

Lucy Patterson — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 09:12:01 +0000

If you haven’t already entered the giveaway, don’t miss out! I’m picking the winner on Tuesday (New Zealand time). I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying reading all your comments for the giveaway! Most of you are in the Northern Hemisphere and are loving the beginning of Autumn/Fall. It seems that for so many of you it’s the beginning of your favourite season.

Here are two more things I’m loving about Spring right now:

Rainbow eggs again! Once the Winter solstice has passed, our chooks steadily come back on the lay (having taken their annual holiday to moult and generally spruce up for the year ahead). We have a variety of different kinds of chickens (many of them rare breeds) and get a wonderful, pastel array of eggs, from palest blue and green (laid by our araucanas), to china white, and subtle shades of fawn and terracotta.

A basket of flowers from our garden. Daffodils, freesias and iris, magnolia, camellia, manuka and breath of heaven. I love the blending of pinks, yellows, purples and pale greens, with bold strokes of deep crimson…the perfect Spring palette!

These flowers are for the people of Christchurch and the Canterbury region of New Zealand which was hit by a big earthquake yesterday. You are in our thoughts.

Colour palette: Red

Lucy Patterson — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:01:18 +0000

Tomato, rose, cherry, fire engine, ruby, chilli pepper, blood, crimson, strawberry, coral, poppy, cardinal, brick, raspberry, flame, carmine, rust, scarlet, burgundy, vermillion, persimmon, maroon. The colour red can mean so many different things: stop, warning, courage, danger, love, lust, hot… Communism, Indian weddings and Chinese New Year…. Anger, passion, sin, good luck…

Old red stamps: cherries and ping pong; Christmas prayers and Communist workers; a dragon, a lion, a horse and an ox.

Red toy vehicles from our childhood: Toy trains powered by steam, electricity and small hands; a double decker London bus with most of its paint worn off; a digger, with dirt still in its caterpillar treads; and a battered, repainted truck.

Origami paper, a Chinese paper cut, vintage kimono badges and a geisha coaster.

Games pieces: Various counters and dice, a Rummy number 7, a Mastermind peg, a tiddlywinks wink, a carrom puck, a battleship and a biplane.

Red heads. Royalty, politics and history.

Vintage buttons, a crochet hook, a 1950s (or maybe ’80s?) buckle, and a spool of thread.

A handmade book from Udaipur, Rajasthan which my mother kept as a diary in 1990 during the 8 months my family and I spent in India; an old book about the artist Albrecht Dürer, a small Japanese notebook covered in washi paper, coloured pencils and a letter A.

Red odds and ends: a ball of cotton; a plastic bangle that looks like carved coral at a glance; an old pendant made from coins and beads that my father picked up in Morocco in the early ’70s; a small German glass jar with roses painted on its lid and old glass buttons inside; a vintage brooch bought at Spitalfields market in London; a paper mache toadstool and a vintage buckle.

Pin board inspiration

Lucy Patterson — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 09:27:58 +0000

Oh dear! It’s funny how life can sometimes just stop you dead in your tracks for a while. I’ve been flying along this week juggling all sorts (getting things ready for my shop, giving Reiki treatments, attending meetings, celebrating my 34th birthday, helping my Dad with various things…) and then this morning I found myself completely immobilised by a pulled muscle in my back, simply from reaching round to open a gate from the wrong side. Hmmmm…

The good news is that I’m still mostly feeling upbeat and happy, the bad news is that everything I was planning on doing at the moment has now had to be put on hold. So I was going to be launching my shop today, but instead I’ll show you some pics I took the other day of the pin board above my computer (and the shop will open soon, but just not today!). As you can see I’m at least up and about this evening, but moving s-l-o-w-l-y!

We made the pin board by covering a sheet of fibre board with hessian / burlap. At the moment I’ve mostly got bits and pieces of things to do with products for my almost-open shop pinned up there, mixed in with other odds and ends.

This first picture shows some more mini bunting made out of my kimono paper tape, this time using the cool colour range. The bunting is hanging over a Murobond paint palette, and below that is a letter I sent from Sri Lanka when I was 17 years-old to a school friend of mine (she lent me the letter recently to re-read) – ah the writings of a teenage girl! : )

Words of wisdom from Yogi Tea.

My mini bunting again and more of the Murobond paint palette, one of my new vintage kimono cards which will be in my shop, and an information card about my Paper Fan Inspiration Cards.

The photo of the man in the top right corner is one I took in Ladakh, North India when I was 19 years old. I asked him if I could take his photo (which I later sent to him) and he posed with his friend for me. I love the combination of his jewellery (including mother-of-pearl button ear ornaments) and his suit jacket. Great moustache too!

The cut-out face is for one of my Matryoshka kimono doll cushions.

The photo in the top left is from the same trip to Ladakh when I was 19. That’s me in the purple Tibetan dress, playing knuckle bones with the kids. We were staying in a tiny remote village, sleeping on the roof of a beautiful two-story mud house under an incredibly bright full moon. This particular day my friends and I spent hanging out with the kids, eating mulberries off the tree, swapping songs, and playing games. One of the most simple, joyful days of my life.

A swatch of one of the fabrics I use for making the little purses for my Paper Fan cards; old stamps that I used in my Colour palette: Green, and Coral, shell and bone posts; and a black and white photo taken by a photographer in India of my brother, Beren (hi, B!), and two little street girls we made friends with.

Another photo of a woman in Ladakh that I took, and two vintage kimono decorations that I made a couple of years ago.

What’s on your notice board? If you’ve posted about it on your blog, do link to it in your comments. I’d love to see.