Buckets & Spades - Men's Fashion, Design and Lifestyle Blog: homeware

Showing posts with label homeware. Show all posts

13 Jan 2018

Geo Typeface Wall Clock by Paulin

Something a little different today from Scottish watchmakers, Paulin. The Geo Typeface Wall Clock is the Glasgow-based design studio's first stand-out product which ventures away – but not too far – from their original wristwatch collection. Featuring the brand's in-house created Geo typeface, the Art Deco-inspired design follows timeless design principles from the Bauhaus movement – giving empathises to bold colours, simplistic design + geometric forms.

One of the things that's really doing it for us is the sweeping second hand, which makes the Wall Clock completely silent - no annoying ticks when you're trying to concentrate.

The Geo Typeface Wall Clock retails at a very reasonable £45, and is available in two colours here.

9 Nov 2017

A Look Around Our House, One Year On | IKEA x HAY

How much have things changed in a year of being first-time homeowners?

I can hardy believe that we have been homeowners for nearly one year now. We moved into our neighbourhood on the 1st December 2016, and at the time I really couldn't even imagine what life would be like three months down the line. Being self-employed I was more worried about being able to pay the bills, than what colour we should paint our front room...

Anyone who has been in a similar position to us will know that the concept of turning a house into a "home" can be a very slow process. It took us months of DIY (with a lot of help from my new father-in-law), endless phone calls to contractors, and sensible spending to be in a place where we could start to think about how we wanted each room to look. One year on and we've only tackled a couple of rooms, but this anniversary was timed perfectly with the release of IKEA + HAY's debut YPPERLIG collection, so it felt like the perfect opportunity for us to do a proper house update.

Take a look at how we styled the new YPPERLIG collection in our home.

Injection moulded plastic YPPERLIG chairs

Beech bench with Green Vase + Tealight Holder

First up is the open plan living room and dining area. This bright space lends itself to being one of the more modern spaces in our house, with large white walls, pale woods and dark floorboards throughout. We spend a lot of time in here, and if we have guests drop by this is where we usually end up – the fridge is stocked with beer and the coffee is always on – so, along with building a new shelving system, this is where you'll find a good portion of our IKEA + HAY picks.

The greens and off whites of the YPPERLIG collection compliment our existing antique and modern furniture, along with the exposed brickwork - making the dining room one of my favourite spaces in the house!

The Nest of Tables is working a treat in our open-plan living room

Yasumi Says | PUEBCO INC Homeware Goods

PUEBCO seems to be fast becoming one of those familiar brands that so many lifestyle stores proudly display on their shelves. And it is definitely worth keeping on your radar simply because they have a heap of interesting stuff that not only look good, but also provide practical or solutions to our homeware demands.

Established in Tokyo in 2007 by Hirotoaka Tanaka, PUEBCO boldly states that they; “Create what we want to create. Find what we want”, and that "To only pursue sales performance is to loose track of our vision'".

The outcome is wide range of functional homeware and lifestyle solutions with utilitarian appeal backed with a genuine desire to offer consumers well made items with integrity. PUEBCO incorporate updated, repurposed and recycled materials into their product line-up. They take inspiration from factory brands, workshop communities across the globe and their globetrotting bazaar finds. For example, their vintage mirrors are made using salvaged window frames from India - apparently in parts of India, before a house is demolished, the window and door frames are saved for use elsewhere. Their Standard Mug is made in a remote Chinese factory out of locally sourced clay and without an ‘unnecessary glaze.

Each item that they stamp their name on fortifies PUEBCO's philosophy that well designed, well-used products are always beautiful. Finally, PUEBCO score points with me for their typographic style and packaging too - love those cotton swabs.

A selection of PUEBCO products are available at Goodhood.

You can find Yasumi at - Worship Blues | Twitter | Insatgram

23 Jan 2017

A Fresh Routine in a New Neighbourhood

Over the past five years I've become accustomed to long, tiring travel days. This isn't me moaning – it's the lifestyle I have chosen. I've previously spoken about making the decision to stay in the North of England, rather than moving to London to pursue a career in the creative industry, and even though it has restricted my opportunities – inevitably missing out on stuff because I'm not constantly on "the scene" – I've put every effort in to making things work.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you need a pretty high level of commitment to your passions, and a decent grasp on time management (those never-ending to-do lists...) to make things happen for yourself. My routine far from perfect, and I do have organisational issues, but I'm getting there.

Our house is a five minute walk to the gym, seven minutes walk to the local shops and a stone's throw away from a lovely park. There's nowhere you can't get to in our town within a 20 minute car ride, but since last Summer decided to try a new mode of transport for those shorter deals – cue the 30+ guy trying to look cool on a Penny Board.

Moving to new neighbourhood has given my a fresh perspective

on my daily routine. A new structure

is what I needed.

In fact, this is actually my second skateboard by Penny, so after a bit of basic Tony Hawk training I've found myself using it frequently if I'm needing to pick up a few bits from the shops. But I'm not going to lie, I had to practice for a few months at the darker end the day before I had the confidence to rip up the mean streets of our new neighbourhood.

Share Scandinavia by Juniqe

And confidence is something that is definitely tested in the world of self-employment; extreme highs, exciting projects + big smiles can easily be followed by sheer disappointment, self-doubt + contracts falling through. It's something you become accustom to, but it never really gets any easier, does it?

Those moments I find myself training at the gym, wandering to the shops, or just sitting down with a coffee and a new magazine are the point where I'm recharging and freeing my mind from the uncertainty of what might happen next. It ain't perfect, but then, what is?

Have you switched up your routine recently, or sticking to a tried-and-tested method?

This post is in partnership with Penny Skateboards. Thank you for taking the time to support the brands + businesses that make this blog happen.

26 Dec 2016

Yasumi Says | OPENHOUSE Magazine, The Life We Share

openhouse magazine issue 5 design and architecture

Bottom three images by OPENHOUSE Magazine stockist NEO.

I know when I've found a gem of a magazine when I reach the end of it and realise that I've read every single article, gazed at every single photo within it and yet find that I'm reluctant to bin, recycle or take cuttings from it. Then, I find myself reaching for it, referring back to it, getting lost in its images time and again and. This is how I feel about OPENHOUSE Magazine.

OPENHOUSE caught my eye because it had Tadao Ando's Casa Wabi emerging from the clean white cover of its 5th edition. In a nutshell, this is a bi-annual printed publication, from Andrew Trotter and Mari Luz Vida that takes a look into the homes/ private spaces of bright, creative people from around the world. It celebrates aspects of gastronomy, architecture, art and design.

Issue 5 features an interview with Bosco Sodi about his visionary artists retreat in Mexico. Designed by Tadao Ando, its doors are open to us via the pages of the magazine to gaze at it in all its sun scorched, monastic, minimalist and poetic glory. Another noteworthy article from this edition is HK Farm's introduction of a fascinating side of Hong Kong as an unexpectedly resourcefully agricultural place.

In my opinion, this is a magazine to watch out for on your daily grind. Selected excerpts from the current issue are available on their website here, as well as a list of worldwide stockists.

You can find Yasumi at - Worship Blues | Twitter | Insatgram

1 Dec 2016

Musical Chairs by Lernert & Sander x COS

Six furniture designers + one game of musical chairs. A simple idea, created by Dutch design studio Lernert & Sander for COS' AW16 party collection. Sometimes brands struggle to bring a real sense personality into their campaigns, or go the total opposite direction by creating something too in-your-face – COS has found a suitable middle-ground which fits their understated, yet playful characteristics perfectly.

Explore the Musical Chairs project + see more of the COS collection here.

28 Nov 2016

We Bought a House + Visiting the DFS Design Studio in Derbyshire

We bought a house! That's right, me + Hollie finally did it. Over the next few months expect to see a lot more home-related stuff on Buckets & Spades! It's mad actually, everything happened so quickly. I have loads to share about the whole buying-a-house process; being accepted for a mortgage as a freelancer, all that legal business, obstacles we've came up against, and a bunch more positive stuff too!

We'll be moving any day now and I plan to document the whole move, so make sure to follow along with my Stories on Instagram at @mat_buckets!

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In a happy coincidence, British furniture company DFS invited me down to their Derbyshire factory + design studio to learn more about their history, design processes and see first-hand how their products are made.

Did you know that DFS produce over 50% of their furniture products here in the UK, made-to-order? My preconceptions of the brand definitely led me to assume everything was made "on the cheap" in Asia, cutting corners on quality to offer constant "sales" prices. Over the course of two days my opinions of the brand were flipped on their head.

On day one we were treated to a guided tour of their main factory, just outside Nottingham (see our guide to independent Nottingham here). Along with a small group of lifestyle blogger I was given a look into the fast-paced DFS production line; taking in elements from pattern cutting, upholstery, woodwork, metalwork, hand-stitching and even had a peak into where the young apprentices practice honing their craft.

As we wandered around the factory floor I could see there was a genuine sense of pride and an all-in-it-together mentality. Day one done.

Ding, A Beautifully Simple Smart Doorbell

Ding is a doorbell that fits into your home + lifestyle in a totally new way. Moving into the smart-home way of thinking, British designers John Nussey + Avril O'Neil set about redesigning the use of a doorbell - creating a product that is not only fully customisable to your needs, and designed so you'll never miss a call, but also to slot nicely into your home with its minimal design.

This clever bit of thinking has led to a product that connects to your smartphone, giving you the ability to answer the doorbell from anywhere in your house, or even while you're away - using Ding's built-in speaker. You can also control the volume and style of the chime, turn it off when needed and receive live notifications.

Ding recently achieved a successful backing on Kickstarter - raising over 50% more than the original target. To find out more about Ding products visit here.