The List #11
dala horses, candy lights + a non-alcoholic aperitif
I’d seen these little decorative painted horses around, but only recently learned that they are called “dala horses” and they are from Sweden. Particularly prevalent in the 1980s (like all the best/ worst stuff - how did this decade simultaneously produce such brilliant and/or heinous stuff?) but dating back to the 15th century, this little vintage one is from Planet Utopia.
A favourite discovery of recent times: Nain Trading, a company based in Hamburg, and its enormous stash of vintage rugs. They do really good dhurries (my fave as the wool isn’t too plush) and they’re well-priced with!!!! free!!! shipping!!! You do you have to do some dedicated scrolling, as the search function doesn’t appear to work in English, and there’s a lot of new/ not great rugs. But there are also tons of vintage gems, buried within. Here’s a really nice Kilim Fars.
The best present you can give a new baby (or rather, the parents of a new baby) is a) something lovely and vintage to emphasise the old circle of life stuff (I like to gift Osh Kosh dungarees or a tiny smocked dress), b) decent freezer food, or c) something bespoke from a creative woman. A close friend recently gave me one of Tora Parker’s sweet embroidered babygros for my baby and I will be so sad when he grows out of it. Here’s another one she recently made. Go commission!
It was such a pleasure to be The Beaux Store’s July curator. I’m such a fan of once London-based, now Miami-based Ashley Brenninkmeijer’s curation of vintage art and rugs, particularly her mid-century Swedish oils. They’re so versatile! She does this very cool thing where she mocks them up in your home so you can see how the art would work in your space. It made me look completely differently at how I choose/ display art. Here’s one of my faves, ‘in’ my sitting room.
A reader recently sent me a link to her upcycled bag line - I love it when my readers send me links to cool shit they make! Clare Akkan ‘resurrects’ battered vintage bags, with funky new linings. There’s The Edith: a 70s Etro number, updated with a funky geometric lining; The Diana: a vintage Gucci bag with a bamboo handle and her own geometric lining; and The Maia, my personal fave. So much work has gone into this, I’m genuinely blown away
This is a lovely enterprise: The Different Kind, a multi-brand e-store which only stocks goods by ethical and socially-minded producers. Their intention is less about shopping, and more about social change. An admirable goal, and - crucially, given that it’s a shop, and in a CoL crisis, people aren’t going to buy stuff that they don’t love - they make nice products too. For instance, this paper pulp bowl is made by Quazi Design: a workshop in Eswatini (one of the smallest countries in Africa) run entirely by women, which pulps unsold magazines from a nearby magazine distributor, into products.
