Natural History's blog

Drottingholm Drama

Another glorious eighteenth-century house outside Stockholm is Drottingholm Castle, a mansion complete with its own miniature theatre in the vaults, built in 1766 by Queen Lovisa Ulrika, who had been given the castle as a wedding present by her father-in-law, King Frederik I - her son would be Gustav III, after whom the Gustavian style is named.

The boxes in the theatre are false, with painted curtains and the beautiful wallpaper in the prima donna's dressing room is original. 

Photographs by Peo Eriksson for World of Interiors

Summer Intern Needed in Oxford

I'm now looking for someone to work with me in the office in Oxford for the next six months - if you're interested, have a look at the advertisement I have posted here on Gumtree.  Please also forward this to anyone you know who might be interested or even, if you feel very generous, consider tweeting or mentioning my search on your blog - I would be very grateful!

Stockholm Elegance

Svindersvik is an 18th-century mansion just outside Stockholm, built by the merchant Claes Grill.  Nearly one hundred years later, his daughter later sold it to Catharina Charlotta de Geer, who counted King Gustav III himself among her friends and was responsible for the Gustavian style of the interior which survives today.  It looks relatively unassuming from the outside, but inside its beauty lies in its the elegance with which grandeur is set off by the simplicity which marks this period.  The beautiful Gustavian lines contrast perfectly with the simple checked fabrics with which many of the couches are upholstered and rooms filled with rococco mirrors and floral wallpapers surround a starkly plain central dining room.

World of Interiors featured this house in February 1987 but the article could easily have been included in the February 2010 issue, so little has our desire for this style changed!

Photographs by Peo Eriksson for World of Interiors

It only *seems* as though I've been quiet...

...because I haven't had the time to put much up here yet, largely because I don't want to give anything away about the treasures that Natural History will be stocking until I have everything finished and finalized. 

While I have most of my "big" things already, many of the "smaller" things are still being tweaked and tuned by designers and the various places where they are being made.  It has been both exciting and unnerving to order and commission so many products, but it has been thrilling to see them arrive and I can't wait to show you everything.

Right now we are busy planning the photoshoot and I have been lucky enough to find a wonderful (and very patient) stylist, photographer and location and we even have a date - the 15th of April - so once that is done it is really a matter of days before the launch.  Thrilling, but it means that I have less than a month to get everything finished!

Do you notice a pattern?

I was in the Ashmolean Museum today and I spent some time in a gallery I used not take as much interest in as I should - ceramics.  A recurring motif caught my eye...

 

 

 

 

All the more interesting because, as luck would have it, you'll be seeing some china in Natural History with a particularly beautiful illustration of a brightly coloured moth, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to see how the butterfly motif has been used in so many different ways in the examples in this gallery alone!

The pictures aren't fabulous because they were taken on my iPhone, but do you have a favourite?  I thought at first that I liked the monochrome one best, but the peacock feather pattern of the second-last one wins out, I think - I love it.

Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford

New Inspirations

I love Twitter.  I know that many people outside the blogging world are quick to dismiss it, but I have come across so many wonderful people through it, the vast majority of whom I would probably never otherwise have encountered.  This afternoon I have been clicking and reading and admiring and following and would like to share a few wonderful blogs with you that I have just added to my blogroll...

I came across The Haystack Needle months and months ago, because I definitely remember linking to a gorgeous photograph on her blog.  Well, it turns out she has more!

Making it Lovely is just fantastic and I don't know why I haven't been reading her for months - her posts are gorgeously put together with wonderful, neat and clever collages and inspiring photographs.

Ensuite is written by two French sisters living in Paris.  They might not like Laduree but I think we can look past that and lose ourselves in their beautiful photographs and posts.

 Finally, {frolic} is a wonderful read, packed by its prop stylist author, Chelsea Fuss, with cleverly chosen treats and ideas (and she pointed me in the direction of ensuite - many thanks!)

So these are my latest inspiration - have you any you could share with me?

Blogging intern needed

Natural History will be opening in a few weeks and things are getting really busy over here with last minute designing, chasing up orders, moving into our new offices and getting all the things in place that will make the launch as smooth and successful as possible.  But I need help...  as the idea for the shop grew from my experiences on Passementerie, blogging is a central part of the whole enterprise and although a lot of my time is taken up with other tasks right now, I very much want this blog to be a vibrant and active aspect of Natural History's activity and would love to work with somebody who could help me bring this about. 

If you are interested or know anyone who is, please email me at theoriginofstyle at gmail.com - I would be very grateful if you could spread the word on twitter or your own blog too.

Because of the nature of blogging, the ideal person can live anywhere in the world - you don't have to be in Oxford, or even England!

Still Swooning

I recently decided to carry a very small line of furniture in Natural History when it opens in a few weeks and researching what to use and where to find it has been very exciting.  I'm starting with a very small selection of just five or six pieces - as always, my watchword is curatorship, not quantity - but I'll see how it evolves.  I would love to have some things made by hand exclusively for me, and I'm looking into it, but that is a big investment so I' might take that step after I have learned more about what people want from Natural History.

This decision was, of course, what got me onto the antique Swedish and Gustavian train of thought which has been occupying me for a while now and I am just itching to transform my house from top to toe, but of course the beauty of this style of furniture is its versatility and how it seems to fit perfectly into an otherwise quite different room.

Do you mix styles or periods in your home?  By choice or happy accident?

Image with thanks to Country Living - read their article on Gustavian furniture here.