Bibby + Brady Office/Studio

It's been a month since Dael & I moved into our new Bibby + Brady office/studio. When the office became available in Ossian Street, next to the famous art deco Rothmans Building, we jumped at the opportunity. Although the space is tiny, it's in a fabulous location in the ever-growing area of Ahuriri. We had some fun with colour on the outside of the black building, which was formally the Rothmans' guardhouse.

We are not a retail shop, but as much as possible we have filled it with pieces that can be bought from us on the spot, or ordered. Some of the items can be found in our online shop eg: artwork, lamp shades, poufs, marble boards...; and the larger furniture items can be ordered through us.

We had to get creative when it came to turning the space into our studio. The palm roman blind is an example of ones we can have made for clients. They can see how well it's made and how easy it is to pull up and down, but it also hides a not-so-attractive window that looks out onto a wall.

The black & white fabric curtain is hung by an invisible ceiling track and acts as a screen to hide our kitchen and packing table. We plan to swap this out with a new fabric every season. The velvet sofa is a 'Bibby + Brady special'. We have used it in several client's homes and work places in different fabric (ours is the first velvet sofa). It comes in various sizes and is extremely comfortable.

We love our Armadillo Marigold rug and plan to stock our shelves with more Bibby + Brady homeware and accessories in the near future. We will also be adding a range of custom made cushions with feather inners very soon.

Dael & I made our desks in the same style as our hairpin console tables, and they tuck nicely into our window alcove.

My dog, Sam, is a regular visitor, and is only too happy to see you if you call in. We work in the office til 4pm Monday to Thursday, and finish at 3pm on Fridays. There are times when we are out on the job, visiting clients, but if we're in and you're passing, feel free to drop in and say 'hi'.

New Arrivals in the Bibby + Brady Shop

I'm excited!... it's March which means Autumn is here, my favourite month, and we've got some amazing new products in our Bibby + Brady online shop. We've been working with Kate from Bold Lampshades for some time now, and we have collaborated to come up with three lampshades that are exclusive to Bibby + Brady - ikat, kilim, and palms. We absolutely love all of these designs, and it's a great way to bring a hit of colour and pattern into your home.

They are available as a 43cm x 29cm shade, which is a great size for a ceiling pendant, and for a standard floor lamp. It's also perfect with our beautiful mango wood table lamp base (these bases can be order through us via email).

If you want your lampshade in a different size we can arrange that too, it's no problem. Or we can have a shade made up in your choice of fabric.

Marble is still as hot as ever, and we love our new marble cheeseboards. The large round marble and wood boards measures a generous 49.5cm x 40.5cm, perfect for a large platter. The rectangular marble board is only slightly smaller at 45.5cm x 20.5cm.

As we always heed William Morris' advice to "have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful", these boards are both, and will look amazing just propped up on your kitchen bench when not in use.

Back by popular demand, we have re-stocked these three beautiful tassel necklaces. They sold out very quickly last time, so my advice is to get in quick if you love these styles.

If you love our tassel necklaces, I'm sure you'll be excited to see these new tassel bracelets. There's a choice of a chunky wooden and resin bracelet, or a finer glass bead bracelet. Both have small tassels that look great and won't be a hindrance.

For a quick overview of all our new arrivals, check them out here.

Favourite Finds

Happy Monday everyone! I have one daughter back to school tomorrow and the other two next Monday, then work life will get much easier for me :) In the meantime, check out some of my favourite recent finds...

I have Jen of Interiors Addict to thank for my first find - a Marble Macbook Skin. I've been looking for some kind of cover for my Macbook Pro for a while now, and this was the perfect solution for me. It comes all the way from Canada, but shipped relatively quickly, and was so easy to apply. You can see (below) that I chose a white marble skin, but they're also available in black marble - very cool!

These wall murals created in France are quite stunning, don't you think?! There is a range of equally amazing scenes to choose from, you can see them all here.

If you're interested in creating your own personalised wall mural (and purchasing it closer to home) our super talented sign writer can create photos and murals printed on a self adhesive material that is applied directly to the wall. He created this old fashioned world map for his son's room, and can do the same with any image you choose, as long as it's a reasonably high quality. If you live in Hawke's Bay contact me and I can help you order one.

Inspired by industrial crates these Bias Shelves look fantastic hung on the wall or used as a side table. Made in the US by Evan Clabots and Louis Filosa, they do ship internationally, and although NZ is not listed on their shipping page, you could try getting in touch for a shipping quote.

Last, but not least, this Chocolate Pumpkin Bread looks delicious! Pop a slice in the kids' lunchbox, they'll never know that they're eating veges :)

Madder & Rouge Style

Now and then you find a home that resonates with you and calls out your name. That's what happened when I first saw the home of Erin O'Malley in the Aug/Sept 2014 issue of Homestyle magazine. It's everything I love in a home - fresh white walls, gorgeous colour and pattern, lots of Moroccan and Indian influences.  It looks relaxed and inviting and super cool. I love, love, love it!

Photography by Chris Sisarich

Erin is the owner of Auckland design store, Madder & Rouge, and it too is full of really beautiful and interesting pieces from around the world. I was exploring their website this morning and have my eye on quite a few of them. Pop in to their Newmarket store, or visit them online.

New Stock in our Bibby + Brady Shop

I can't believe it's December already! This year has been a whirlwind of exciting interior projects and new business developments for Dael & I with our Bibby + Brady interior styling business. As well as lots of fabulous clients, we have also met a lot of amazing, creative people who have become suppliers of ours. And we've been developing a range of our own products to use in our clients' homes, and sell to you in our shop.

We're very excited about the first of these new products to arrive.  This stunning Kilim lampshade is made by our friend Kate, from Bold Lampshades. We've been working with Kate to select a range of exclusive Bibby + Brady shades, there will be two more joining the kilim shade soon, and you won't be able to but them anywhere else.

It's complimented beautifully by the fresh white lamp base with it's little gold legs. This is a creation by another of our clever friends, Asha, from Little & Fox. Asha has a talent for finding old furniture and homeware and using her keen eye and upholstery skills to breathe new life into them.

The two gorgeous photographic prints featured here are the start of a new range of artwork we have coming. Tide and Lake Louise are available to purchase framed or unframed, and we've made sure they're a nice big scale to create lots of impact. 

You know my love of velvet, so it's only natural for a velvet pouf to sneak into the collection. The midnight blue is quite beautiful, and we also have a soft, blush pink version arriving shortly. Pop over and see all of the new arrivals, and keep your eye out, as there will be more arriving any day.

Introducing Leven

I'm a firm believer in having a dream, and doing something every day (no matter how small) that will help to make that dream a reality. That's how I got to be working in a job I love, and that's why I get really excited when I hear similar stories of people living the dream!

Leven is a homewares store that you can visit at 14 Empire Street in Cambridge, or online. Here you'll find a treasure trove of beautiful products just waiting for you to discover them. Owner and founder of Leven, Kath Pilcher, had always dreamed of owning her own design store. A break from her career to bring up her young children gave her the opportunity to make a change. She spent a year and half setting up her business and sourcing products from New Zealand and around the globe. The doors to Leven home and design store are now open and ready for you to explore.

You can find some of your favourites in-store and exciting new products - Ashley & Co, Triumph & Disaster, Madam Stoltz, Bloomingville, Jamie Kay, and Boskke, to name just a few. If you live in, or are visiting Cambridge, make sure you pop in to see Kath. Or head over to her online shop right now. And to keep up with all new arrivals and special offers you should definitely follow Leven's Facebook page. Happy shopping.

Me & My Trend | Giveaway

It's alway exciting to meet someone who loves and lives colour and pattern as much as I do. English born, Karina McGregor is the founder of the fabulous online furniture and homeware store, Me & My Trend. After studying surface pattern and design in the UK, Karina then travelled to India where she fell in love with colour and pattern. From there (long story short) she travelled to New Zealand, fell in love again, this time with a Kiwi bloke, and now together they source fun and quirky home and lifestyle products that are fashion forward and all very much 'on trend'.

It's a brilliant website where you can shop by category... "living", "homeware", accessories"...; or by trends..."copper luxe", "scandi pastels", "monochrome", even "as seen on The Block NZ".

It's so great to see very cool, unique products that are destined to add style and personality to someone's home. Here are a few of my faves...

Now we want you to know your favourites. To go into the draw to WIN A SET OF CERAMIC STORAGE OF YOUR CHOICE, simply visit the Me & My Trend website, choose your favourite pattern (maybe gold diamonds, perhaps orange starburst...), then email me your answer and where you would put the canisters - the more fun your answer, the better your chances! :)

You'll get an extra entry for "liking" Me & My Trend on Facebook, and another for "liking & sharing" this post on my Facebook page (let me know if you've done this when you email me). The winner will be notified by email next Wednesday 3 December by 5pm, and announced on the Cush & Nooks FB page (open to NZ & Aussie readers only). Good luck everyone and make sure you sign up to the mailing list to keep up with all new arrivals and special offers.

Competition now closed. Congratulations to our winner, Maree Halcione!

Florence Broadhurst Beach Range | Recline

Florence Broadhurst is one of my most favourite designers. Her designs are quite spectacular, and just as popular today as they were in the 1960's, if not more. "Cockatoos" in golden yellow is the ultimate summery pattern, and now you can purchase your very own Florence Broadhurst beach accessories from Recline - the perfect shopping destination for your outdoor lifestyle.

The Florence Broadhurst range includes everything you need for a trip to the beach. The beach towel is large and plush with retro loop tassels at each end. It comes with a handy carry strap, and fits comfortably into the matching beach tote. The tote is a generous size, with an inner lining, internal zip pocket, and a magnetic closure. Last, but definitely not least, the beach seat is super comfy, but very lightweight and easy to carry by it's adjustable carry strap.

My girls and I have tested each of these products and we think they're all absolutely brilliant! The quality is exceptional, and I love the cockatoos design. If you want to be comfortable while still looking stylish this summer, these are the products for you, and they'd make fantastic Christmas gifts.

Make sure you check out everything else that Recline has to offer too. Each product is hand-picked to make living outdoors easy and fun.