Blogtacular 2015

Blogtacular at The Royal Institution

It would be weird not to blog about a blogging conference, although Im not sure how interesting it is except to other bloggers. However there is always inspiration in colour and style to be found, especially when the hosts - Blogtacular - find such beautiful venues and sponsors.

Despite having worked on both Bond Street and Berkeley Square back in the 1980s for Polygram Records, I'd never set foot in the Royal Institution of Science. They have done wonders with the interior and surprised that is had such contemporary aspects.

it wasn't lost on me that it was Worldwide Knit In Public Day

A room full of blogging women (mostly) there was a lot of love. I actually wasn't surprised that there was so much support for each other in this community.  I find that women cut to the chase, it made it easy to network. So I found out lots of technical stuff about the layout of this thing and boring stuff like that. It was very useful to me and once its all instigated I hope it will make this blog more enjoyable to you the reader.

It was so comforting for me that one of the sponsors was Annie Sloan Chalk Paint as it gave me the chance to tell some of my fellow bloggers about it, we talked about paint quite a lot as a result and so Im starting my own hashtag photo community called #paintpassion.

Join me if you like, its anything thats painted - thats it, whatever has been changed due to the application of paint qualifies, from masterpieces in oils to old shed doors, pin it on pinterest (let me know if you want to join the board) tag it on instagram and maybe in the future lets do some blogs about it.

I was thrilled to meet many people, not least of all people behind Urban Jungle Bloggers.  Expect to see some posts and talk about plants, paint and colour.

And then we rounded off the day at West Elm on Tottenham Court Road, Ive bought some cute things to feature in my photos as well as some lovely cutlery. 

Prior to the conference we had a meal at a lovely restaurant called The Cha Cha Moon, just of Carnaby Street and behind Liberty. Another old hunting ground of mine and fond memories of lots of times spent with Metallica, whaaat, did you read that correctly, yes, I was their press officer and helped to break the band in Europe. If I did my job right then you might have heard of them.

My photos from Liberty London will be going on a blog I do for Love Stitch Heswall. A fabric shop with a cafe and studio, a place for my craft connections to collaborate. 

This part of London was a great trip down memory lane and looking back at those times from my new life, where I re-use my old skills but with different tools. The list of inspiring people at Blogtacular are too numerous to mention but I shall give them more time and proper links in forthcoming posts. 

Fellow Blogtaculars, please keep in touch.  Im hoping to move this blog onto its next level now that Im armed with all the info. 

Blogging its the future .... and the future is now. 

photo by Piers MacDonald for Blogtacular and Mollie Makes

Amara Interior Blog Awards

Im going to be terribly cheeky now, I don't ask for much, but Ive never ever been voted for anything and I would sincerely love to get in the running for a blog award.  

If you like the bright and colourful stuff here, then perhaps you could nominate me in the Colour Inspirations category over at Amara here   (interiorblogawards.com) 

You may have found my blog during my residency as a Painter for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  During this time I tried to push my limits of colour combinations, painting on every surface - furniture and walls to create striking looks and atmospheres. 

My home is continually morphing from one look to another depending on the season and my mood, or, if I get a new piece of furniture to play with. Styling it up seasonally with my large range of props and foraged finds from nature and different countries. Integral to this is always the colour combinations, I respond on such an emotional level to the colours around me that I can't do monochrome. So while I love to look at the clean lines and classic design shapes in a minimalist home, its not for me. When I change my walls I feel soothed, relaxed, envigorated, cheerful, because every colour sparks an emotion. 

So if you like what I do,  then pop over to the Amara nominations page at www.interiorblogawards.com and choose the category for Colour Inspiration as I feel thats my particular thing.

Many many thanks Janice 

Styling The Seasons June part one

Another month and the challenge moves on to see how to represent the change in seasons. It's only the beginning of June so I feel I may have another Styling The Seasons photo or two in me for later in the month.  For now though, I have a few looks which seem to represent how I feel at the beginning of this month. June.

Every season I have a favourite flower, one that I think, yes, this is my favourite of them all. So when I saw this gigantic foxglove in the hedgerow, I simply had to bring it home. I have always loved foxgloves, there's something fairy like about them, very unconventional in their blossoms.

Very close by were some giant poppies, so they came home too.

For some reason we expect that as soon as June starts the weather should be good. In the UK we never learn. So far, we have had some good days, and we have also had some freakishly bad days too, without any rhyme or reason.

Ive done a bit of decorating and changing things around, so decided to do away with the dark red walls which I painted for Christmas and go back to some neutrals again, using Annie Sloan Chalk Paints of course. 

Styling The Seasons this month of June also has a sponsor, that being the incredibly stylish furniture company Loaf  so a big thank you to them for spurring us on to create some images that represent the month.  As we have actually had a hail storm at the end of May, terrible gail force winds and bright clear hot sun shiney days, all in short succession, I decided to keep the ice skates hanging on their hook next to my sun hat as a joke.  (I actually bought these in a Swedish charity shop just because they are cute despite being a bit heavy to bring back.

This time next week I will have just returned from Blogtacular and Ive also got some fun photos to do featuring cushions and cocktail glasses #lovemyjob !

At Mine

This is likely to the the first of many posts about a new on-line community called "at(mine)" because Im really quite excited about it.

Previously the At Mine website was an invite only place where members post snapshots of their own homes and tag the sources of their style. It gives an insight into people and the brands they use to style their own homes.

The idea is great for people like me who seek inspiration for ideas and also style to inspire other people with how their homes look.
My profile is http://www.atmine.com/janice_issitt if you click on this you may be asked to sign up first. 

my lounge sofa with skulls from Brocant Antique and other globally collected items

Ive photographed a few homes of friends and always felt they should be sharing their style as each is different and unique, with some areas of common interests, but the finished look is vastly different.


I took these photos at my friend Shehla's house, she cleverly mixes antique Indian pieces with French and Swedish styles. Shehla has a lovely collection of different china, like Pip Studio and Burleigh.

Shehla has several old Indian doors which have been fitted into her home in the UK

A lovely French vintage feel to Shehla's utility area. Moroccan earthenware sits completely comfortably
with French enamelware. 

Shehla's coffee table is an old Indian cart. The candle stand is from Holy Cow Home 

The thing thats ties us together, as enthusiasts for how our homes look, is finding unique and unusual pieces, and because we take such pride in putting the look together, this site will be the perfect showcase for our talents.

The site launched to the public a few days ago so please go and check it out, there are also categories for Styling The Seasons and Urban Jungle Bloggers. If you want to snoop into other peoples homes then this is the place for you. 

Also find me and At Mine on Instagram. 

Burleigh at Middleport Pottery

On my return from Heswall this week we managed to get to Stoke-On-Trent half an hour before the shop at Burleigh closed.  Phew, just in time for some photos and purchases.

If you haven't heard of Burleigh, or Burgess and Leigh, then I bet you have seen their famous range of china ware called Asiatic Pheasant.

We were too late to take the factory tour but the shop selling 'seconds' was the destination this time.  Set in its original building in Burslem its like stepping back in time. This area is currently receiving some regeneration and the back to back houses surrounding Burleigh are waiting renovation so there are lots of abandoned buildings and factories around here. 

The buildings here are totally authentic and the same as they were 150 years ago.

In the 'seconds' shop the wares are slightly imperfect and thus reflected in the price. To the untrained eye you wouldn't know there was anything wrong. 

I can't recommend that there is anything much to do around this area so my best advice is to pop there while on route to somewhere else, its very close to the motorway so not too much of a diversion.

I hope to go back for the factory tour next time I go up to Heswall and will take lots of photos then Im sure.

The china comes in a variety of pretty colours and Asiatic Pheasant is not only in pale blue but also pink, purple and green.  It looks really good mixed and matched.

To see their website click here where you can read more about the history of such a great British company. 

Tattoo Skulls and Wrap.me

If you have been nice enough to look at my blog before, you will have seen me talking about Tattoo Style.  It's my own concept for interior design which fits perfectly with the styling that we do for Van Asch who has made her name with skulls and roses on cushions and fabric.

Add to that now another fabulous lady designer and artist, Hannah Getley.  I do believe that lady luck or serendipity plays a part in who you meet in the world and it was a chance meeting at a party that drew my attention to Hannahs work, living locally to me in nearby Berkhamsted. 

These Sea Skulls are slip cast in high grade porcelain before Hannah decorates each one individually. The designs applied are influenced by sailors and their tattoos, anchors, swallows, feathers, stars, moths and tall ships.

 As each piece is individually hand decorated, Hannah can take commissions and believes the skulls are good luck talismans to those who buy them. 

You can find Hannah's website here where you can ready about her early training at art college and how she now works in film, making props.

Expect to see more of Hannahs work appearing here on my blog as well as some new cushion designs from Van Asch.  This month I am also collaborating with an interiors shop and a haberdashery so keep checking in for information and photos of some lovely new products. 

Also this week I tried out the https://wrap.me/ idea of using your own photos to make gift wrapping paper. 

make a collage from your own photos and they send you a sheet of wrapping for 4.99 uk sterling, free postage. Just the thing to wrap up your Hannah Getley Sea Skull. 

Styling The Season for May

So many flowers to choose from in the garden at the moment, and also in the hedgerow.  For styling my home with nature I chose to revamp my previous wreath with lilacs and clematis. Its above the bed so that I catch wafts of lilac scent.

Another addition to my room is a beautiful piece of original art from an artist called Anne Marie Butlin.  Her painting of apple blossom touched my heart and so, I hope to feature her in a future blog.

To find out more about Anne Marie Butlin you can find her facebook page here

I found this artist through facebook originally and took the opportunity to visit her during Crouch End Open Studios week.

As an ex-Crouch Ender I felt a soft spot for this lady and her lovely family.  Her studio at the bottom of the garden is gorgeous and oh how I would love to have a whole wall full of her work.

My painting is oil on linen. Im going to try it in a few different rooms but for now its by my bedside and Im totally in love with it.