Home Help: 3 May
The combination of blue and white means style the world over. From Gitanes cigarette packets to Chinese and Delft porcelain, these two colours together say sophistication. They evoke thoughts of the seaside holiday, too – think indigo - and- white striped linens; canvas parasols and sailors’ shirts. So as summer, at last, approaches, I have scoured the market for the objects that truly celebrate this beautiful pairing.
Cornishware pottery is a British classic. The design was first produced in the 1920s by Derbyshire pottery TG Green, but was so named because the blue-and-white design reminded an employee of the sea in Cornwall. Original 1960s pieces by the designer Judith Onions are now collectables, but are also reproduced today to the same traditional quality in the Far East for TG Green.
Willow pattern is an English interpretation of Chinese blue-and-white pottery and over the last 200 years has been made by practically every factory in Britain. Lovers Of Blue & White is a business recently founded by avid collectors of the style, selling antique and new pieces, both online and in store. Jan Constantine sells by mail order and offers a lovely willow-pattern cushion.
Nationwide sofa company Multiyork has covered its Alpine sofa in a Sanderson fabric called St Ives, which features the outlines of seaside houses in blue and white. As for the seaside holiday, Habitat’s Zatti cotton quilt is perfect for a little extra warmth on the beach, while a blue-and-white notebook by Portuguese company Saudade – 020-7729 4994, www.saudade-shop.com – is perfect for writing or sketching in.
1.Willow-pattern cushion, £120; China blue fretwork cushion, £96, by Jan Constantine: 01270-821194, www.janconstantine.com
2. and 3. Cornishware dinner plate, £20 and Betty teapot, £55, by TG Green: 07867- 787946, www.tggreen.co.uk
4. Zatti cotton quilt, £100, by Habitat: 0844-499 1111, www.habitat.co.uk
5. Alpine sofa in St Ives fabric, £1,249, by Multiyork: 0845-303 7134, www.multiyork.co.uk
Email your design enquiries to Hugh St Clair at homehelp@lady.co.uk
Cornishware pottery is a British classic. The design was first produced in the 1920s by Derbyshire pottery TG Green, but was so named because the blue-and-white design reminded an employee of the sea in Cornwall. Original 1960s pieces by the designer Judith Onions are now collectables, but are also reproduced today to the same traditional quality in the Far East for TG Green.
Willow pattern is an English interpretation of Chinese blue-and-white pottery and over the last 200 years has been made by practically every factory in Britain. Lovers Of Blue & White is a business recently founded by avid collectors of the style, selling antique and new pieces, both online and in store. Jan Constantine sells by mail order and offers a lovely willow-pattern cushion.
Nationwide sofa company Multiyork has covered its Alpine sofa in a Sanderson fabric called St Ives, which features the outlines of seaside houses in blue and white. As for the seaside holiday, Habitat’s Zatti cotton quilt is perfect for a little extra warmth on the beach, while a blue-and-white notebook by Portuguese company Saudade – 020-7729 4994, www.saudade-shop.com – is perfect for writing or sketching in.
1.Willow-pattern cushion, £120; China blue fretwork cushion, £96, by Jan Constantine: 01270-821194, www.janconstantine.com
2. and 3. Cornishware dinner plate, £20 and Betty teapot, £55, by TG Green: 07867- 787946, www.tggreen.co.uk
4. Zatti cotton quilt, £100, by Habitat: 0844-499 1111, www.habitat.co.uk
5. Alpine sofa in St Ives fabric, £1,249, by Multiyork: 0845-303 7134, www.multiyork.co.uk
Email your design enquiries to Hugh St Clair at homehelp@lady.co.uk