New products

For the past few months I have been developing some new ideas and new processes (new to me anyway!) for some new products for Summer.
As a small independent maker and trader, I'm not able to work to seasons with my collections, but I'm trying to bring out small capsule collections when I can.

Recently I have been trying to figure out a way to reduce my impact on the planet with my homewares as well as my lifestyle. As a person on a day to day basis, I try to minimise my waste production, and I try to live as ethically as I can, so I feel like it's time that I add that ethos into my textiles.

I have been doing some research, and it seems that rather than cotton, hemp is a good fibre to use for environmental friendliness. From my research hemp uses around 20 times less water in production compared to cotton; its ages well and actually softens over time; it doesn't require pesticides to flourish, which means it's organic, and also uses less land in the process.
So - not to go on about it, I have decided to test some hemp out. My first batch of fabric is a hemp/cotton blend, and also a 100% hemp, and so far so good! It has a lovely texture and dyes well! I'm using Dylon machine dye to reduce water wastage and it's more environmentally friendly than a chemical direct dye.

I am going to to try out some natural dyes soon but as I'm a beginner with that it will take some trial and error!
Do you have any tips or advice for me about more environmentally and ethically sourced materials? I'd be keen to hear from you!

Foliage

I love plants. They are such an endless source of pleasure. They're never dreary or drab, but always vivacious and enlivening. Even when they've died and are all crispy and spidery, the shapes they make and the stories that they tell are endless. For a lot of interior styling, it's very fashionable to show very clean, minimalistic rooms with no plants in them. I don't trust them... a living space void of greenery.. there must be something going on...

image: The Family Love Tree

Image: Future and Found (vessel by Isaac Nichols)

Whether it's a real plant or an illustration of one, your house feels so much alive with foliage in it.
I love interior styling that is practical and homely, but fun and interesting. I am driven to make textiles that are engaging, that people want to grab, and smoosh, and  it just seems to pair so well with the animation and life of a beautiful plant.

image: Covet Interiors

I love an awful lot of Australian interiors. The playful colours, the warmth and patterns are very appealing. Looking at these a lot has I supposed influenced my tastes and because of the climate, there's always a lot of plants around. Companies like Arro Home, The Family Love Tree and Pop and Scott create the most beautiful products and particularly with the former, they are So. Much. Fun!

image: Arro Home 

That doesn't mean however, that because we live somewhere cold, that plants can't evoke the same kinds of feelings as in (much) warmer climbs. India Hobson manages to capture plants in the soggiest of climbs, and makes them look so powerful and evocative, and beautiful! Her latest venture, Haarkon with Magnus Edmondson, will encourage even the biggest plant murderers to be able to have some greenery in their home, beautifully photographed prints of plants.

image: Haarkon

I guess it's about bringing the outside in - the feeling of warmer climbs. Interacting with outdoors (without actually having to go out there!)

Illustrator Caroline Dowsett is creating a series of beautiful illustrations called "Botanical Everyday" where she depicts her planty findings on a (you guessed it) daily basis.

image: Caroline Dowsett

Alongside this post is a Pinterest board, full of beautiful, leafy inspiration. With a diverse range of plant based treats from homewares to artwork, it's worth a look. Visit here.


We will soon be releasing new products. Our first big collection since our launch in November 2014, and a lot of leafy motifs are involved -(I think I've been dreaming of warmer climbs). A sneak peak of things to come can be seen here with this cushion and embroidery. Expect warm colours, pops of texture and a newly designed website. If you'd like to know when the new products are in click here to subscribe to our website.

A little sneak peek of a few new things:

January - BIZNIZ

So some of you may know that even though I usually refer to "we" and "us here at Covet!"... It's actually just me. The last year has been an absolute whirlwind, and a very steep learning curve. I've got some amazing contributors, and products that I'm proud of, but everything is evolving and constantly changing as I find the right formats and outlets for everything!

Even though I needed a break over Christmas, and it was amazing spending proper time with family, I was really excited to start the new year, and get back to it. I have NO business background at all. and I have spent the last week binge eating blog posts, listening to podcasts, reading advice on how to run a creative business and what on earth to do next!

I know that at the moment ever more increasing numbers of my friends are going freelance, and I thought that I might share some of the most useful things that I have read.

I guess it starts with the Creative Pep Talk podcast, recommended to me by Anna Beam. Sometimes you sit there on you own worrying, and it's nice to hear that someone else shares your worries, or can recommend a way to get out of those worries!

- One of my biggest problems with my day to day work is not knowing where to start, and I just end up with the world's longest to do list, and finish each day without feeling like I achieved anything!
The below are helping me to get O R G A N I S E D.

Francesca from Fall For DIY has an incredible blog, full of DIY projects and amazing ideas, and her Pinterest has folders full of advice too. With Fran's help, I have discovered Devan Danielle, whose blog is full of advice on branding, and business identity. And then there is Chloe Social, a social media manger and blogger, whose blog is full of advice and printable resources to help DIY businesses (like mine!) navigate social media.

by Regina is an AMAZING website. She has information on anything that you may need help with in your creative business, from "steps to starting your freelance business", to a "non-techie guide to SEO". It's a great, simple and VERY useful blog.

Another blog that I have discovered which also delivers information in short youtube videos (incase you get a bit swamped by pages and pages of text) is the Female Entrepreneur Association. They also provide downloadable printouts for you to get organised with, but also practical advice and plans to follow.


There's a billion resources that you can look at, and places to get advice from, but as someone who is scared of all this stuff, these have really helped me!

Ceramics

Ceramics are constantly catching our eyes over here at Covet HQ, and not stocking any ceramicists (yet!) makes us hungry for those shimmering, sugary glazes!!

Here's a run down of some of our favourites, in no particular order.

1. Studio Arhoj

Beautifully simple shapes over in Copenhagen with Studio Arhoj. Their adorable ghosts were the first things we fell in love with! With drippy, gloopy glazes dripping from their ceramics like melted ice cream, every object they make looks totally different. We love their experimental and playful approach to colour and texture.

This image is from their S/S 2015 catalogue, which we recommend you have a good old gawp at.

We are lucky enough to own a ghosty guy which has pride of place on our mantlepiece!

2. Recreation Center

Recreation Center is Josephine Heilpern, based in New York. With dynamic dots, dashes and squiggles, the simply shaped, functional vessels are so appealing due to their heavy pattens and bold colourings. Another element which makes these ceramics stand out so well is the addition of a rubber dipped handle which features on certain products in either red or yellow.

Photo from the Recreation Center website.

3. Lauren Bamford
Lauren Bamford is a Melbourne based photographer who makes ceramics on the side! We like how experimental she is with her glazing, using them like watercolour paints, and the way that she then carves into the clay to create a surface pattern. The combination of graphic, bold lines and natural watery marks works so well together.

Photo by Lauren Bamford

4. Anna Beam
We now take a bit of a left turn, to have a look at some FAKE ceramics! All round artist extraordinaire Anna Beam has recently been making the most incredible vases/vessels, but from paper mâché! Combining her sophisticated use and love of colour, with her clever paper manipulation skills, she has made these unique pieces which we think are really exciting. 

Photo from Anna Beam's website, from the collection "Vessels 2014"

And who knows, maybe some time soon Anna will also be making some clay pieces that we can get our hands on...

John Powell-Jones

Illustrator John Powell-Jones has an obsession with texture, mark making and colour that makes his work very appealing to us here at Covet.
Using mono printing, screen printing, risograph printing, paint and clay, with many multiple layers, John's work is complex, playful, intricate and beautiful. 

"Wish you were here"

Your illustration has a focus on different print techniques. What is it about this process that appeals to you?

Traditional print gives an error margin the digital doesn’t, I like the fact the each process can inform the result of the image. 

Learning a new process and thinking how this can effect my process is something that really excites me. 

untitled piece

Is there a technique/process that you haven't worked with yet? If so, what is it, and why haven't you yet?

There’s a lot of processes that I haven’t done much of, I’ve only ever done a very small amount of etching, it’s something that I’d love to do more of.

John's latest exhibition "Abyss" in February at Islington Mill showed a lot of his characters which have moved into the 3D realm.

Your illustrations have also been mainly 2D, what made you start clay work?

The first piece was for an exhibition I was in alongside Barry Steadmund and Alex Humphreys, I wanted to try something I’d never done before. Seeing you’re work in a totally different dimension is really interesting, it makes you think about it differently, gives it a different life. 

What is the best part of being immersed in a community of artists and makers?

Collaboration and inspiration.

Who are some of your favourite artists and makers?

George Condo, Philip Guston, Gary Panter, Steve Hockett, Aliyah Hussain, Corita Kent, lots but they’re a continual source of inspiration. 

"Saint Mike"

You can see more of John's work on his website. Also, some of John's beautiful, one off figurines are available through the Covet website.

John is based at Islington Mill in Salford and his exhibition "Into The Abyss" opens tonight at 38b in London

MR

MR is a collaboration between Mariel (Osborn) and Rivca (Burns) spanning different mediums and formats. For Covet MR focuses on Modern Recycling, where the pair specialise in reclaiming materials or furniture and fixing them up in a beautiful way, or making something totally new from them.

Their first pieces for Covet have been the sofa seats and pallet shelves, which are custom made, to order, so you can have a bespoke up-cycled piece of furniture that fits perfectly into your house.
 

Looking forward to renovating some chest of drawers, and also some cane furniture (swoon!) the pair wanted to show us how easy it can be to make new and useful things for your home.

Here we are featuring their new project - a coat rack, and you can make one too!

To make this coat rack you will need:
2x pieces of fairly wide, flat wood. (We are using old bed slats!)
4x screws
doorknobs with screws (we have used 11)
4x rawlplugs
paint
a paintbrush
a drill
a screwdriver
a saw

 

1. Paint your pieces of wood whatever colour you want your coat rack to be. We just used some leftover white paint that was in the cupboard. You may need to do a few coats, and if you do, you'll need to let the paint dry in-between layers. We did 3 coats.

 2. Lay the pieces out how you want the coat rack to look.

3. Draw along both of the edges of the top piece, to mark on to the bottom piece.

4. When you take the top piece off, the bottom piece will look something like this. These marks are where you need to saw this piece of wood.

5. Once you have sawed that plank, you can glue your pieces together to make a flat cross. When we made ours, we added a short coloured piece on top afterwards as a decorative feature.

6. Now you need to mark out where you'd like your "hooks" to go.

7. You need to drill holes in these points...

8. Then poke the back screw bit in...

9. Then you can screw the fronts on...

10. Drill holes in the wall where you want the rack to go, and pop the rawlplugs in. Then screw the coat rack into place!

Now you can have a go at this yourself! We didn't measure anything out on ours as we didn't want it to be too symmetrical or perfect. We loved the idea of just whipping this together too, and it is a very fast project to do.

Though if you don't want to make this yourself, get in touch via email, and we can make a custom order for you. (Email us at hello.covetinteriors [@] gmail.com)

Aliyah Hussain

Continuing our (slightly drawn out!) series where you get to know our featured designers and makers a bit better!

This time is artist extraordinaire, Aliyah Hussain. An illustrator, painter, costume maker, flag maker and performance artist.  

What materials or processes are you interested in exploring next?

I’m really interested in working with wood. I’ve used it quite a lot in other projects but only really in one particular way and as more of a structural tool. But as I’m working with it, I’m discovering more and more properties to the material that I really like. Recently I’ve been starting to use it in a sculptural way, I got an awesome Japanese Ryoba saw for my birthday and it’s totally changed the way I work. Now I want more tools and bigger pieces of wood to work with.

What is the best part of being immersed in a community of artists and makers?

Sharing ideas, materials, processes, equipment and food.

Who are some of your favourite artists and makers?

My newest favourites are these guys -

Jonathan Baldock

Anne Harild

Tauba Auerback

Chyrum Lambert

What are you currently working on?

At the moment I’m in research mode, trying different things, experimenting with materials and figuring out ideas for a new body of work. It’s really nice to be working in the studio without the pressure of exhibitions or projects. Alongside this I’m working on a new range for Covet, which will be a series of hand embroidered pieces inspired by mathematical symbols and systems.

You can see more of Aliyah's work on her website, and also visit her pieces especially for Covet here.
Aliyah is based at Islington Mill in Salford.

Home...

Our house has an office and a studio in it. Here we live, dream, work and play. Having our home function like this has taken a while, but it feels like a creative and hardworking place that complements every side of our lives.

We have been collecting our friends' artwork for the last couple of years, and recently moved into a house where we can present it in the way it deserves. Having the space and a place we can spread out in has been one of the contributing factors to me starting up Covet, and I feel proud to have friends making such beautiful work that I want to surround myself with! Because of this I actually wanted to share some images of our home, where there are some really lovely pockets of artwork.

 

Our hallway is lined with a diverse array of prints, from L- R we have a Dazed and Confused magazine cover, Aliyah Hussain, Callum Higgins (Yes Blythe artwork) Giorgio Moroder record sleeve, my glitter box art work, and Mr Hass. Then above the door is a Supermundane print. I love the diversity in the types of image here. The colours and textures are really appealing to me, which is why they fit together so well, despite how different they are.

The front room is framed by curtains that I hand dyed. They make you feel like you've been dipped in the ocean in the day, and at night they brighten up the room, making it feel a lot more summery than it is! (The curtains, pad cushion and day seat can be custom made for you - order through the Covet website.)

This little corner, complete with a Covet day seat for reading is headed by an incredible piece by Maurice Carlin, which is from his Temporary Custodian project. This piece is a fragment of a much, much larger artwork which has been divided up and distributed (temporarily) to individuals and collectors all over the country, and explores ideas of lending and the value of art.

 -details from Maurice Carlin's piece.

The piece above the fireplace was a moving in present (as I LOVE mermaids) and is by Alex Frazer.
The Mountain pompom was made by me for a photoshoot and I will do a tutorial some day soon, as the shapes, patterns and characters that you can make with them are endless, and I want you to be as obsessed with them as I am!

 -risographs and glitter boxes by me.

-detail of Austra tour poster

Our dining room has a few select pieces, again with a slightly tropical feel!

From L- R Silent Barn listings from 2013, poster by Steve Hockett and Daniel Pickles for their marshmallow based exhibition, DR ME poster, gig poster by Lucy Jones.


The print in our bathroom is by Rob Bailey from his exhibition in Common in Manchester, last year.

Their wobbly legs are so cute, and I made some vinyl splashes to enhance the watery theme of the room! I really love this idea of adding fun and decorative detail to plain walls, so I would like to do some more soon. I will add a tutorial up here too as it is so easy and they also don't damage the wall at all, so you can add a bit of fun to a wall even if you are renting.

Our house actually contains quite a lot of work by the Covet contributors. I guess that's why I asked them to be involved in the project from the beginning, as I knew how well some of it already went together! John and Aliyah's illustrations in particular are playful and colourful and we have quite a few of their pieces up, including "Natural Selection", John's first risographed piece.

- illustrations by John Powell-Jones.

We don't have loads up in the bedroom, but to carry on my plant obsession, above our bed we have a cactus print by Caroline Dowsett which I adore! And you can also see here the wiggly Matisse style plant cushion that was made for me as a Christmas present!

We have a way to go, but having a house with lively walls makes everything better. Nice artwork and plants. That's a step in the right direction!

What I find strange, is that blue and green are the colours that I used to be least drawn to in my work, and the whole house is full of them. Maybe I'm coming around!